Thumbs down to the number of Wyoming residents and visitors killed while bicycling in our state and to those who oppose efforts to make Wyoming’s highways and roads safer for bicyclists.

Tim Young, executive director of Wyoming Pathways, a bicyclist support group, said there is a demand for action. Deaths have been reported in Casper, Sheridan, rural Natrona County and rural Laramie County.

“Following this summer’s tragic string of bike fatalities in several Wyoming communities — Sheridan, Casper and Cheyenne — we’ve been hearing from concerned residents around the state asking what can be done,” Young was quoted as saying.

The safety advocates asked the Joint Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs Interim Committee to consider a mandatory safe distance, perhaps merely 3 feet, for cars to pass bicycles on state roads.

They also favor harsher penalties for drivers who strike, hurt or kill bicyclists, maintenance equipment workers, horseback riders, wheelchair users and others.

Young hopes a legislator will step to the fore in the next session and introduce a bill to make the roads safer for those who prefer other means of transportation aside from trucks, cars and other motor vehicles.

That seems like a very reasonable request to us.

Thumbs up to National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs Sept. 15 through Oct. 15.

It’s rather fitting that this lands between two months, since many Hispanics stand betwixt two cultures. They are a growing — 54 million as of July 1, 2013 — and vital part of the American patchwork quilt while still maintaining a foothold in their native lands. It covers people with roots in Spain, Mexico and the Spanish-speaking nations of Central America, South America and the Caribbean.

President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaimed National Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968, and Congress expanded the observance in 1989 to a month-long observance. The observance, like the people it honors, was on the grow.

The Hispanic population of the United States constitutes 17 percent of the nation’s total population and it is increasing at an amazing rate — half of new Americans are Hispanic. We are seeing large population bumps across the West, including here in Wyoming.

Look in the grocery stores for the Hispanic items now for sale, and listen to the sound of Spanish spoken daily in our community. While we may be observing National Hispanic Heritage Month, the fact is we should recognize the diversity of our community, state and nation on a daily basis.

Thumbs down to the Goshen County Sheriff’s Office and its grenade launchers.

Sheriff’s Office Lt. Jeremy Wardell was quoted by the Casper Star-Tribune as equating the launchers with other non-lethal “tools” for controlling potential trouble in the county jail.

The office got its first grenade launcher in the 1950s, received a second one later and most recently obtained a M79 single-shot grenade launcher from the Department of Defense.

The DOD has been handing out military-style equipment, from tanks to, well, grenade launchers, in recent years. It’s why we see photos and video of police officers in armor in American cities and towns.

While we all support protecting our officers, and admire what they do for our communities, we see little need for the militarization of American law enforcement.

Thumbs up to Ken Burns and PBS for the brilliant series on Theodore, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Burns and his talented team produced a stunning seven-part series that explored the enduring impact the Roosevelt family had on this nation for nearly 80 years. Republican Theodore and Democrats Franklin and Eleanor led progressive efforts to expand basic rights to Americans while also leading the country over economic straits, past threats from Wall Street titans, through the Great Depression and on to victory in World War II.

The Roosevelts, related through blood and marriage, did this despite a family history of depression, individual illnesses and weaknesses and the opposition of their political rivals. One point Burns makes clear: These were flawed humans who overcame their problems to accomplish great things.

The series remains available on the PBS website, is available on DVDs to purchase, and is sure to be repeated on TV several times. It’s well worth your time.

Burns has been telling the stories of America since the 1980s, examining the CivilWar, baseball, jazz and many other sections of our history. “The Roosevelts” was one of his best.