Thumbs up to another successful Homesteader Days event, and to the ideal weather Mother Nature provided for the occasion.

The sixth annual event was the biggest and best yet. One attendee told the Tribune, “This has become my favorite event of the year.”

It featured fabulous food, ranging from fair-like fare to tastes from yesteryear, such as rootbeer floats, whole wheat bread with honey butter, corn on the cob — cooked with steam piped in from a steam tractor — hand-pressed apple cider, and sourdough biscuits and baked beans cooked over a fire in a Dutch oven.

Besides providing entertainment for a growing audience, Homesteader Days highlights the agricultural heritage of Powell’s past and present, and it raises money for projects at Homesteader Museum.

A pie auction at this year’s event raised about $2,500 to support renovations for the tool barn behind the main museum. It proved to be a big success, with one pie auctioning for more than $300; several went for more than $200.

Thumbs up to cooler, wetter weather last week that helped calm wildfires burning in the greater Yellowstone region.

However, we’re not out of the woods yet, and it’s important for people planning controlled burns to check the weather and plan accordingly. It makes no sense to start a fire on a day when the National Weather Service has issued a red-flag warning for fire danger; yet, that continues to happen.

The result at times is a call for the Powell Volunteer Fire Department to come to the rescue to put out an out-of-control burn. That needlessly uses fire department resources and takes up volunteer firefighters’ time that they would rather spend doing other things or being with their families.

Thumbs down to a power outage last week that caused problems for residents and businesses in Powell. It happened at a particularly bad time for restaurants, some of which closed for the night on Sept. 12 when they were unable to serve dinner customers.

We recognize that power interruptions will happen from time to time, and we appreciate the efforts of city of Powell electric crews who work hard to prevent outages and to keep them as short as possible when they occur.

Thumbs up to the 9/11 ceremony that honored first responders who died while trying to rescue people during the terrorist attacks in 2001. We are grateful for the efforts of emergency responders who continue to put their lives on the line to help others in need.

We encourage residents to attend the Powell First Responders Appreciation Day from 5-7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 27 at the Powell Fire Department. Our community is very fortunate to have the dedicated emergency responders — employees and volunteers with the Powell Police Department, Park County Sheriff’s Office, Powell Fire Department, Powell Emergency Medical Service and the Wyoming Highway Patrol — who show up on a moment’s notice to rescue us or keep us safe.

Thumbs up to locals who showed up to support Powell High School’s Homecoming Parade and the week’s sporting events. This community’s willingness to pull together to support its schools and its youth is one of the things that makes Powell an outstanding place to live.