Thumbs-down: to the number of volunteer vacancies on committees and boards assisting Boone Town Council. Many of us already volunteer our time with our church, with scouts or with an area nonprofit, by way of example. Many more of us don't. As of today, seven town boards have 16-volunteer vacancies in interests ranging from affordable housing to trees. Make a difference in your community by effecting change for the better through involvement with an organized group positioned to make that change.

Thumbs-up: to the dozens of Blowing Rock residents who filled the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum's Community Room for a question-and-answer session with North Carolina Department of Transportation officials. The issue is a widening project on U.S. 321 — a project that will inflict traffic concerns including changing traffic patterns and road closures on the town. Staying informed as the road work continues will add to the project's public safety.

Thumbs-up: to the arrival of Girl Scout cookies in the High Country scheduled for Feb. 10. Besides the “yum” factor, this is the organization's signature fundraiser and allows the mission of Girl Scouts — to “build girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place” — to endure, as it has done for 100 years as of 2012. If you didn't pre-order, there's still ample opportunities to support  the scouts. Cookies will be widely available throughout the county, officials say.