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Community dinner

THUMBS UP: The New Ulm Community Thanksgiving Dinner served up over 1,000 meals on Thursday, a labor of love by the New Ulm Community Friends organization, for anyone who wants to partake.

The dinner was originally organized after bad weather scrapped many people’s travel plans. Organizers thought about people who couldn’t make it to be with friends and family, and those who had no family to be with, and decided to put on a dinner for everyone. It has been going strong for many years, and had become many families’ Thanksgiving tradtion.

Thanks to the Community Friends and all the volunteers who make this dinner possible.

Shopping and giving

THUMBS UP: Black Friday, which has been creeping farther and farther into Thanksgiving Thursday, is well known as the opening of the holiday shopping season. But it is also the start of the holiday season of giving.

A lot of organizations have long-standing programs that provide assistance for people in need during this time of year. The Sertoma Club collects money and toys for Santa’s Closet, the Kiwanis Club raises money for Coats for Kids, there are giving trees, adopt-a-family programs, the Salvation Army Red Kettles. A new project this year is the 24 Hours to Fight Hunger program, which started at 8 p.m. Thanksgiving evening and continued on through Friday evening. Volunteers sat atop the Anytime Fitness building to encourage people to donate to the New Ulm Food Shelf.

We appreciate those who think of others and do so much to help them at this time of year.

Ray Rice return?

THUMBS DOWN: Ray Rice, the former Baltimore Ravens running back who was suspended for two games by the NFL, then indefinitely suspended for knocking out his fiance in a casino elevator, has had his second suspension overturned by a court. He is now available to sign with any team that will have him. We doubt he will be seen on a football field again, at least not this season.

Rice’s case, along with the Adrian Peterson child injury case, created as much trouble for the NFL?as for the players. It exposed the NFL as an organization that had no policy for domestic violence, that made up penalties as it went along depending on how much bad publicity was created. Rice’s big penalty came only after a videotape of the actual punch in the elevator came to light, even though everyone knew what had happened on the elevator.

This case makes it very clear that the NFL needs to develop specific policies and penalties for its players’ bad behavior, then enforce them diligently.

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