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1:05 PM Friday, February 5, 2010

Here are this week’s “thumbs up” and “thumbs down” selections:

Thumbs up to Butler County commissioners for taking the first step toward a centralized purchasing process for local governments. Commissioners on Feb. 1 tapped a county manager, Randy Quisenberry, to begin setting up the process that, officials believe, will save money for local governments on joint purchases of items and materials that they all use, such as office supplies and computer equipment. Leaders throughout the county have agreed that a consolidated purchasing program could pay off — buying in larger quantities should result in lower prices — but the idea had been languishing for months, until commissioners acted last Monday. We applaud the start of what we hope is a cost-saving measure for taxpayers across the county.

It took three weeks to make it official but we’re pleased that Greg Rasmussen has accepted the Middletown Board of Education’s offer to become the next superintendent of the Middletown City School District. Rasmussen, currently the assistant superintendent of the Wichita (Kan.) School District, will become the third Middletown superintendent in the last 10 years, succeeding Wayne Driscoll and Steve Price, and will start on the job on April 5, a month before a crucial school tax levy vote. That means he will have to hit the road running or — to be more accurate — campaigning. We want to extend a hearty welcome to our new superintendent (and his family) and wish him the best of luck in his new job. His success here will translate into success for our schoolchildren.

One of our favorite local causes, Middletown Area Neediest Youth (aka MANY), got a much-needed boost this week when the Middletown Community Foundation announced that it was providing MANY with a $7,500 grant for its important mission — that is, providing school-appropriate clothing for needy children in Middletown-area school districts. What’s unusual is that MANY officials had only asked for $5,000 — an essential part of MANY’s $35,000 fundraising goal for the year — but the Community Foundation, recognizing that the need for MANY’s services is greater than ever, decided to give the organization an additional $2,500. Bravo to the Middletown Community Foundation for this and the other vital grants it bestows locally, and to MANY for helping so many students in the 38 years since it started.

Thumbs up to Miami University for doing its part for the institution of marriage. A couple of days ago, we commented on the declining state of marriage, locally and nationally, as the economic recession takes its toll on Americans’ romantic ambitions. However, Miami University made headlines last June when 1,087 couples renewed their wedding vows at its “Miami Merger” event in Oxford. This week, we learned that Miami officially broke the world record for the most couples renewing their vows at one time, according to Guinness World Records. And who says romance is dead?

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