The Editor's Notepod, Wed., Jan. 25, 2012

That marijuana incident at Hanover School, Meriden, involving a 4-year-old who arrived with packets of the stuff is really unfortunate. It’s too bad when a small child becomes the center of a situation with such characteristics.

Southington is already engaged in a typical budget dilemma: cut sports or teachers. It’s not really a good plan, long run, when one program is pitted against another.

Wallingford is again discussing its long-dormant insurance commission. While it is certainly good to make sure all decisions are made transparently, it is hard to figure why decisions made by a committee of five would be any better than decisions made by one professional employee.

It sounds like a really good idea to switch Meriden water and sewer bills to a quarterly payment basis. Maybe folks could also pay on-line, if that can be done without extra cost, to save postage.

It doesn’t look as if the Gura Building in Southington will be disappearing any time soon. The panel to plan its future met for the first time and talk was not of removal but of finding new uses, public or private.

The Wuterich case is concluded, and the Meriden soldier can go on with his life. International chips will fall where they may.

Let’s keep things in perspective: it was widely reported that state workers filed fraudulent claims for food stamps after Hurricane Irene. As facts emerge, it appears 686 of 800 workers who applied did so eligibly (what does that say about state wages?) and 98 have been forwarded for fraud review, of which 4 have retired and 4 have been fired, hardly a huge scandal when dealing with aid of between $200 and $1,200.

Platt Senior Sammi Barillaro’s efforts to raise money in Meriden for Special Olympics through a Polar Bear Plunge at Hammonnasset on February 11. You don’t have to jump in to help this effort, just pledge.

It’s probably good that Southington schools review homework policy – as in how long per day – since all kids have busy schedules and folks should know what to expect. On the other hand it does reduce the process to a sort of accounting exercise rather than a learning experience, since homework, ideally, helps kids learn something, not just occupy their time.