THUMBS UP: It’s important that Ogden City Council continue to work on and plan for Ogden’s future water needs and the infrastructure that will require. According to a Standard-Examiner report, since Ogden’s last culinary water plan was adopted in 2012, construction of a new water treatment plant, new storage facilities, a number of large transmission lines and patched leaks have saved the city about 584 million gallons of water per year. The reclaimed water also saves about $1 million annually. As Utah attracts more growth, water conservation and efficiencies will be paramount and cannot be ignored.

THUMBS DOWN: Waiting for charges to be made against Candice Follum, the former Weber County evidence technician who ate methamphetamine from the evidence locker she was responsible for, makes lines at the DMV look like instantaneous service. After an investigation began in January, Follum was formally charged Tuesday in Ogden’s 2nd District Court with 20 counts of altering public records, a third-degree felony, and 20 counts of possession or use of a controlled substance, a class A misdemeanor. She told investigators she had been stealing drugs from evidence for roughly three years.

THUMBS UP: To the parents of the Pleasant View girl who went on a small $400 online shopping spree, what a great way to teach by example. After they discovered her and the toys had been delivered, they made an effort to donate the toys to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City. If only all mistakes could end up being such a generous benefit to others.

THUMBS UP: Finally. Finally. Finally. While it might be in southern Utah, it was reported earlier this week that proposals were made to address the zoo that is Zion National Park, one of Utah’s great five National Parks. While we live in the north, visiting southern Utah’s beauties is just as rewarding and the National Park Service would be wise to obtain and carry out proposed changes to visitor-entry lanes, creating a short-term visitor pull-out area and replace drainage systems that get overwhelmed with flooding. After all, we hardly doubt Zion, and Utah as a whole, will see a decrease in visitors anytime soon.

THUMBS UP: Less billboards along a corridor? Who can be opposed to that? Designating the West Davis Corridor as a scenic byway is a win for the community in preserving areas as growth encroaches and compromises ensue. Hopefully this will positively influence a perpetuation of the speed limit and freight truck prohibition agreement that is set to expire in 2020.

THUMBS DOWN: In new discussions and debates about Proposition 2 and medical marijuana that took place this week, we were reminded of the words of the late LDS leader Gordon B. Hinckley who said that church leaders do not tell their members how to vote. Likewise, whether for or against the ballot proposition in November, we urge Utah voters to exercise their own rights as citizens, to become well-versed in the language and policy of what is being proposed so you can make a decision as an individual on what you think is acceptable for Utah moving forward.