Happy 100, CHS

THUMBS UP: Cathedral High School in New Ulm is celebrating its 100th anniversary this weekend during its Homecoming festivities. Originally named the Catholic High School of New Ulm, it was renamed Holy Trinity High School in 1937. CHS was renamed Cathedral High when the New Ulm Diocese was formed and Holy Trinity Church became the cathedral for the new bishop of New Ulm.

Over the past 100 years, Cathedral, its teachers and its graduates have contributed greatly to New Ulm. It continues today to be part of a strong educational triumvirate, with New Ulm High School and Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School.

We salute Cathedral, the New Ulm Area Catholic Schools and all of its families and supporters on the school’s 100th anniversary.

Walmart responsibility

THUMBS UP: Walmart Corp. exhibited a laudable sense of corporate responsibility earlier this month when it announced it would stop selling ammunition for handguns and short-barrel rifles, in the wake of mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, Dayton, Ohio and Odessa, Texas.

On Friday, Walmart took another step that will no doubt affect its bottom line but make it a better corrporate citizen when it announced it will stop selling electronic cigarettes in Walmarts and Sam’s Club stores. The company cited the “growing federal, state and local regulatory complexity” for the decision.

Walmart is large enough that these changes won’t have much impact on its profitability, but it deserves credit for putting doing the right thing above making more profit.

Timely warning

THUMBS UP: A whole slew of law enforcement, medical first responders and firefighters worked together in Springfield this week to present an important and timely warning to Springfield High students.

A mock crash site, complete with a sheet-draped “victim,” introduced the students to the reality of what can happen when a driver uses a cell phone or falls prey to some other distraction while driving.

These first responders are the ones who have to deal with scenes like this, who treat the injured, remove the bodies and have to notify families after a crash. If a simulated demonstration can help prevent one such crash, it will be a worthwhile exercise.

We hope students in Springfield and elsewhere in Brown County will heed the warning.