The manager at Nathanael Greene’s Publick House in Greene said the new restaurant was a product of the owners “listening to the public.” The public was right about what the community needed and the owners, the Olivieris, turned the concept into a reality in a classy way. Thumbs up for creating what should prove to be a long-term social fixture for the community. – JFM

I was glad when an elderly New Berlin gentleman refused to accept his attacker’s apology in county court on Friday. The young man beat his victim in the head with a crowbar, and months later in court he offered a teared apology. There are a number of things someone should be forgiven for, but that’s not one of them. Of all the crime covered by this paper in the last few years, details in this case showed the perpetrator’s absolute violent disregard for others’ well-being. Their apology doesn’t hold much water now, and they’ll all soon be paying the price for their callousness. – JFM

Thumbs down to the citizens of Norwich who steal shopping carts, and then abandon them on street corners and lawns. Thieving, littering, and a having a general lack of respect for private and public property is no way to go through life. People need groceries, some people don’t have cars, and some people just can’t carry the bags that far. What do people do when they don’t have the resources of others? They adapt. Purchase a rusty wagon, allot money to purchase a cab for your trips to the store, or strike a deal with the store to use their carts. If everybody resorted to stealing and other extensive acts of disrespect every time we are in a tough situation, the world would fall apart. – MHM

Thumbs up to everyone participating in or donating to the Relay for Life tonight. Sometimes in the face of such adversity these events may appear to be too small to make a difference. It doesn’t take much to lower the public morale when we see what feels like daily losses to this disease. However, individual defeats should be matched head on with individual victories, and as far as I know cancer has not beaten a community, and as long as communities continue to show support, it never will. – MHM