CTE Center

THUMBS UP: District 88 held open house this week in its new Career and Technical Education center, or CTE. District 88 has the makings of a first-rate CTE program, dedicated to helping introduce and train students toward careers in the skilled trades and business.

The district got an immense jump start on this program with the donation from the Ryberg family, who gave them the old Windings building. This gives the program a first-class facility for learning things like welding and fabrication, auto mechanics, woodworking and carpentry, etc.

We hope District 88 voters will join the Rybergs in supporting this program on Nov. 2, by voting yes on the two questions on the District 88 ballot.

Ethical studies

THUMBS UP: For several years now the New Ulm Rotary Club has been holding an Ethics Workshop for local high school juniors and seniors. They gather for a day long session in which they hear presentations about ethical questions and quandaries that people deal with in business, then split into teams where they are presented with a real world ethical problem and discuss what they would do. They learn that ethics isn’t always a black and white decision, that each decision may have a variety of unintended consequences.

Rotary’s hope is that students will apply this ethical thinking to their lives, and it will permeate through their social group.

Rotarians deserve a thumbs up for this meaningful exercise.

Rec Center snag

THUMBS DOWN: It is embarrassing for the New Ulm Park and Rec Department that plans for the grand reopening of the city Recreation center this Sunday had to be postponed. After all the money and construction work that went into improving and expanding the building, an air handling unit in the Vogel Field House — the one air handling unit in the building that wasn’t replaced — gave way Friday.

Some day Park and Rec staff will look back on this and laugh, we’re sure. Hang in there, everyone. It’s still a great building and we can’t wait for the grand re-reopening.