Thumbs up, thumbs down 9/29

To the person or persons who made three phone calls threatening an employee of Middle Eastern descent at the CertainTeed Corp. plant in Williamsport. This is what the terrorists want - to divide America and provoke bigoted behavior.

To the majority of the 1,200 Washington County students who attended summer school and improved their academic achievement. Some students just need more help to get where they need to go.

To Elizabeth Donohoe, a Frostburg State University professor who has volunteered to lead 16 to 18 focus groups to try tgo determine what qualities citizens, business leaders and other community leaders want in a new school superintdent. Thanks.

To the unruly students, reckless drivers and rude parents who've made it necessary to assign West Virginia state troopers to school buses in Jefferson and Berkeley counties. Shame on you.

To Hagerstown Planning Commission members Fred Nugent and Jim Stone, who want new restrictions on agricultural zoning to discourage farming within the city. Is the proliferation of farms in the city really a problem?

To the Hagerstown Roundhouse Museum, for holding a Railroaders Candlight Vision at the Burhans Boulevard Museum tonight at 7:45 p.m., to raise funds for Salvation Army disaster relief.

To Ron Peiffer, a top Maryland educations official, who says girls may outperform boys on standarized tests because most elementary school teachers are women, who may not understand how boys think. And the research to back this up is where?