Thumbs up to a constructive discussion last week about whether guns should be allowed in Wyoming’s public schools, or if they should still be kept out. This is an important issue in the community, and it needs to be discussed rationally and objectively.

We agree with local school leaders and legislators, who say the issue should be studied and discussions should continue.

This was a good example of the need to make these decisions at a local level rather than passing a state law with a one-mindset-fits-all approach.

It was unfortunate that some local residents touted the meeting on social media as an attempt to conduct secret talks about guns in schools. In actuality, the meeting was scheduled between school district officials and local lawmakers to discuss legislative issues going into the upcoming 2016 session of the Wyoming Legislature. The gun issue was a last-minute add-on to the agenda, which included other discussion items.

Thumbs up to the continuing war on lake trout, which is beginning to succeed in reducing the number of lake trout and increasing the cutthroat trout population in Yellowstone Lake.

Years ago, it was possible to stand on Fishing Bridge and near other waters in Yellowstone National Park and see hundreds, or even thousands, of cutthroat trout as they swam from the lake into rivers and tributaries to spawn in the spring. Now, they’re rarely visible.

Lake trout, illegally introduced into Yellowstone Lake in the 1990s, have decimated the cutthroat population, thereby causing a break in the natural food chain in the park.

Lake trout are larger than cutthroats, and they swim deep in Yellowstone Lake. Lake trout lay their eggs in shallow areas in the lake, which eliminates the chance for bears and other predators to catch them spawning since they are already out in the lake.

With fewer opportunities to catch cutthroats, many bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem no longer know how to fish the rivers and streams. Due to the decline in cutthroat numbers, the bears’ mothers never learned the skill to pass it down to their cubs. Now, biologists say, grizzlies are turning to other food sources, such as elk calves, to fill that gap in their diets in the spring.

Thumbs up to this year’s RoboRumble competition at Powell High School. It’s good to see the annual robotics competition growing in popularity, and the number of PHS teams doubling from two to four.

Team 3188 (Squiggle Splat Bang) from Powell won the Inspire Award and finished in first place as the alliance captain, paired with teams from Jackson. The second place alliance captain was Team 10731 (RadioActive) from Powell, paired with Team 10541 (RoboPanthers) from Powell and a team from Midwest.

The robotics program provides an outlet and an intellectual challenge for students who enjoy working with computers and robotics technology. It also blazes the trail to future careers and entrepreneurship for the program’s participants, since many of the jobs of the future will center on technology and robotics.

We also offer kudos to Judith LaPlante, who coaches the robotics teams, and other volunteers who help with the program, including her husband, Rick LaPlante. They are making a very real difference in these students’ lives.

Thumbs down to the alleged starvation deaths of seven horses in Clark.

We understand that feeding and caring for horses is expensive, and it can be a serious burden to someone who is struggling to make financial ends meet. But there is no excuse for letting horses starve. These devoted animals exchange their work and freedom for the care and sustenance they need. Failure to provide even the barest necessities is inhumanity at its worst.

Help is available to anyone who is unable to care for their horses. According to Park County Sheriff Scott Steward, they can contact the Wyoming Livestock Board for help in finding someone to care for their horses. While that may be less desirable than selling the horses, it is far better than letting the animals suffer and losing them through death.