Thumbs up for the Park County Fair for providing a week full of family-friendly fun and entertainment while highlighting local 4-H and FFA projects as well. County fairs are an important reminder of our agricultural roots that provide kids with a chance to showcase their animals and other projects — which serves as an excellent learning experience while also reinforcing their hard work.

The community showed their support by setting a new record total in bids at the Junior Livestock Sale for the fourth year in a row for a total of $428,933.

That’s an impressive amount of money for a small community such as ours to generate in support of youth ag projects.

The fair also brings the community together to enjoy concerts and performances, and compete in some unconventional events such as the Demolition Derby and Pig Wrestling.

An additional thumbs up goes to the local law enforcement for their service at the fairgrounds as well as to fair-goers for having fewer violations than usual and for being well-behaved.

A separate thumbs up entirely to fair food — it was delicious, and we can’t wait for next year’s round of tasty treats.

Thumbs down to the volatile oil market and its downward trend that’s poised to impact everything from tax revenue to employment. As of Wednesday, oil was priced at $47.61 a barrel. If current trends continue, the county and special tax districts such as the Northwest College could lose millions in revenue and more of our neighbors could lose their jobs — and the impact is not limited to just those working in the oilfield.

We’re not suggesting that oil needs to go back to more than $110 per barrel, but having it high enough that employment and tax revenue aren’t impacted in Wyoming would be greatly appreciated.

Thumbs up to Powell’s students scoring well on the Proficiency Assessments for Wyoming Students (PAWS). Results came out earlier this month, and Powell’s kids scored at least 10 percentage points higher than the state average in the percent of students who tested at proficient and advanced in 10 of 14 PAWS categories. Powell also exceeded the state average of proficient/advanced by more than 20 percentage points in fifth grade reading, fifth grade math and seventh grade reading.

High test scores mean a bright future ahead for our local kids, and it shows that our schools are doing a good job of preparing our next generation of community leaders.

The saying goes that it takes a village to raise a child, so strong academics are a sure sign that parents, teachers, coaches and everyone involved in shaping the lives of our local kids also are doing a good job.

Thumbs down to the weather, as usual. First we were saturated in heavy rainfall in the spring. Then on Monday afternoon and early evening, a storm struck the area that reportedly spawned a blow down in the Big Horn Mountains and lightning hit a barn near Heart Mountain, burning it to the ground. We are used to wild weather, but nobody wants to see destruction.

Thumbs down to people who announce their candidacy for president but are not qualified for the position. Political affiliations aside, the next leader of our country needs to be qualified for the job, able to make tough decisions and improve the quality of life of all Americans.

We are just barely halfway through 2015 and the list of presidential candidates is growing pretty long already — but how many are serious contenders with the credentials needed to be president?

Thumbs up to optimism and upbeat attitudes about fixing problems. No matter what the issue is, it seems national media can’t get enough of covering individuals and groups who are offended over something.

So to those who are approaching our nation’s problems with plans of doing something rather than just complaining about it, we give a big thumbs up.