Thumbs up to Helena middle school students honored in the Rose Garden recently.

President Bush and EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson presented Shannon Thennis, Christine Patten, Jaden Maharg, Joshua Barrows and Jordan Barrows with the President's Environmental Youth Award for the "EARTH Action" project they designed to raise awareness of environmental issues in Montana.

Thumbs down to a bomb threat at Carroll College last Saturday. A caller to a student in Guadalupe Hall said there was a bomb in the building and that students should leave. No bomb was found, but such calls always are extremely disappointing.

Thumbs up to the state Department of Transportation's plan to build a pedestrian and bicycle tunnel under the Capital Interchange. The few Helenans who dare to walk or bike across the bridge over Interstate 15, which was not designed for foot traffic, will agree that such a tunnel is badly needed.

Thumbs down to the news that Chlamydia infections in Montana have increased 17 percent since 2005, mostly among people ages 15-24. The increase in the number of the sexually transmitted ailments mirrors a national trend. More than one million cases were reported in the country in 2006.