This week we offer the latest installment of an occasional Editorial Ink Drops feature we titled “Standing O’s And Oh Nos” — because some issues and individuals in the community deserve this kind of heightened focus, for good or for ill, right at the top of our front page.

The volumes of articles, photos, and column space The Newtown Bee provides promoting our beloved C.H. Booth Library is our editorial equivalent of a constant Standing O. We believe it is the job of a local newspaper to highlight and promote community assets, and that means the many services and activities like those our local library provides. While the saying may be a cliché, our local library actually does offer something of value to every person in Newtown. And, while it certainly was not expected, The Bee was so very proud to have been nominated by Library Director Doug Lord to receive the 2022 News Media Award from the Connecticut Library Association for our continued support of that legacy institution at 25 Main Street.

When we hear individuals questioning the effectiveness of our five Newtown volunteer fire companies, we are compelled to say, “Oh No!” It is as concerning to The Bee as it is to the many dedicated and selfless fire service volunteers when certain opponents of the Wharton Equity Partners Hawleyville warehouse proposal suggest our local volunteers and their capable network of mutual aid agencies may not have the capacity, training, or apparatus to respond to a fire or other emergency at such a facility. It is further disconcerting that some think the development — if approved — could have a detrimental impact on Newtown’s overall ISO rating and its collateral affect on everyone’s property insurance rates. We hope reading our related feature in today’s edition will help you feel reassured that our local fire companies and partner responders can handle any type of fire or related incident at this or any other industrial facility in our community, and that it will decidedly not affect your annual property insurance bill.

We write a lot about our Newtown Health District, because maintaining and enhancing our collective public health is critically important to The Bee, as it should be to every Newtown resident. So we extend a Standing O to NHD staffers and their Director Donna Culbert for their constant and aggressive promotion of tick awareness and the prevention of tick-borne diseases among our population. During May, recognized as Lyme Disease Awareness Month among other things, the health district team is stepping up again, touting its BLAST initiative as part of a greater, year-round effort to educate and protect us all from the insidious infections and diseases ticks may carry.

Even more insidious is the extreme uptick in overdoses and deaths being caused by fentanyl. Last year, Connecticut lost more than 1,500 lives to overdoses, many because of this relatively new and treacherous pain killer that is finding its way into many types of drugs that are accessible on the street. Newtown is among the communities that has lost more than a few of its own — mostly young adults — to fentanyl overdoses in recent years. So our final Standing O for May goes to Dorrie Carolan and her team at Parent Connection for recognizing a recent spike in overdoses and convening a community “Dare To Discuss Drugs’” forum for parents and other motivated Newtowners on May 25, at 6:30 pm, at Newtown Middle School. The Bee has long and strongly supported the Newtown-based organization, and we urge you to take advantage of the resources they offer, including this upcoming event.