Editor’s note: During the course of a week, issues are covered that might not lend themselves to full editorial comment, but they are worthy of The Sunday Telegraph weighing in – thumbs up, thumbs down or neutral.

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Thumbs DOWN – To the Board of Health for recommending to the Nashua Board of Alderman that the mask mandate be lifted. While the pandemic definitely is waning, we likely are not completely out of the woods, so to speak. Yes, wearing a mask in the summertime can be uncomfortable. Yes, it would be great to ditch the masks. Yes, many people now are vaccinated. However, another month or so of mandatory mask wearing likely would get us completely in the clear, allowing even more people to complete the vaccination process. Hopefully, many still will voluntarily wear masks, just to be extra safe.

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Thumbs DOWN – To the New Hampshire Sentate for killing legislation that would have provided a buffer zone from landfills near state parks. The New Hampshire Senate on Thursday killed legislation that would have prohibited the construction of landfills near state parks. The bill, which had passed the House last month, would have created a 2-mile buffer zone around parks in which landfills couldn’t be located. It was driven by opponents of a proposed landfill in Dalton near Forest Lake State Park, and senators who voted against it said the issue was a matter for local zoning officials and environmental regulators, not the Legislature. “While recognizing the concerns of the local residents, this bill would have significant repercussions on land owners’ rights and the use of the state legislative process to address what is basically a zoning issue, a local zoning issue,” said Sen. Kevin Avard, R-Nashua.

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THUMBS UP – To Bedford Police Offiver Michael Heikkila abd his partner for rescuing a German Shepherd that had fallen into a 500-gallon septic tank as it was being serviced. The 85-pound dog was about 6 feet (1.8 meters) down in the tank Monday, police in Bedford said. The officers and the homeowner used a catch pole to pull the dog to safety. The dog was doing well, and was given a bath. “We were just grateful to get the dog out and cleaned up,” Heikkila said.

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