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 Up – To the New Hampshire Executive Council for reversing course and voting to accept $22 million in federal money to help increase the state’s vaccination rate. Last month, the Republican-led council, a five-member panel that approves state contracts, rejected $27 million in federal vaccination funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over concerns language in the grants would have bound the state to follow federal directives and mandates related to COVID-19. The language the Republicans opposed has appeared in other contracts they approved, and both Republican Gov. Chris Sununu and Attorney General John Formella said it does not in any way impede the state’s sovereignty. Later in October, the council voted to use $4.7 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding to help community health centers and regional public health networks set up school-based and community vaccination clinics. With the approval of Wednesday’s funds, that money will now be repurposed.

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Thumbs UP – To the Bishop Guertin girls soccer team on its state championship win last week. Emily Neily’s first and only goal of the 2021 season came in the 56th minute of regulation and gave the Cardinals a 1-0 win over Bedford Sunday night for the Division I championship at Bill Ball Stadium. It’s Guertin’s first girls soccer crown since 1992, when it beat Fall Mountain 3-2 in double overtime for what was then the Class M-S crown.

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THUMBS UP – To the Nashua High School South boys soccer team who won their first Division I title in its history, post-Split, by a 3-2 margin over Hanover. The Panthers became the first team in Division I to finish undefeated (18-0-1) since Hanover did it in 2013.

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