Praise to Superior Court Judge Richard Okrent for giving a harsher sentence than recommended to the teen who killed Robbie Myrick Jr. of Marysville Getchell. Not only is he being held more accountable for what he did, it also gave some happiness to the Myrick family.

Praise to the Marysville School District for taking public comments for 1 1/2 years regarding the future of schools here. People can’t complain. They were given plenty of chances not only to say what they don’t like, but also ways to help solve problems.

Raze to the school district if it doesn’t incorporate many of these ideas into its future planning. The public process is not just government going through the motions. It is government listening to the people. We are the ones you work for, not state or federal agencies or teachers unions. We will be watching closely the district’s decision at the end of May, and the following vote by the school board.

Praise to the Attorney General for stepping in and filing a lawsuit in an effort to get the Marysville Strawberry Festival into position to thrive. There has been too much animosity toward each other the past few years on something that’s supposed to be a fun, family community event first and foremost.

Praise to Steve Fitzpatrick and others who risked their lives to try to save fire victim Ted Shockley. In all this talk about heroes nowadays, people like you truly are.

Praise to The Herald Business Journal for honoring Lacey Harper as an Emerging Leader in Snohomish County. Her work as a laision in both the Oso Slide and Marysville-Pilchuck shooting shows just how deserving she is.

Praise to those who built that new stage at Legion Park in Arlington. What a great addition to an already wonderful outdoor community center.

Praise to the city for putting traffic circles on 2nd. We love when the city responds quickly to complaints from residents about safety.

Praise to Arlington for honoring Tina Davis and her volunteer work with “A Christmas Wish.”

Praise to the city of Marysville for coming up with a plan not only for a new police-jail facility, but also for a Civic Campus. The best news is it will cost us next to nothing – a 10-cent tax on every $100 spent in town. Selling off city land will pay for most of the rest. And we will have a city hall area we can be proud of for years to come.

Praise to Marysville police for using a new law to confiscate guns temporarily from someone who was a danger to himself or others. While we think the law should be used as little as possible, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Praise to Arlington for its Complete Street project. This is the kind of planning we thought we’d see when the Growth Management Act passed about 30 years ago, but better late than never.

Praise to Arlington Fire for getting a new medic unit instead of continuing to put good money after bad trying to fix an old one.

Praise to all of those who volunteered to help the environment on Earth Day.

Praise to those who understand not all kids are going to college, and are responding by making more opportunities to learn about the trades. Instead of dropping out because they don’t get school, they can learn a trade and get paid well and contribute to society.

Praise to the Tulalip Tribes for bringing big-name entertainment to town again this summer. Not only does it help put Marysville on the map, it also helps local businesses, especially hotels and restaurants. Praise to the city of Marysville for putting on the second annual Mother-Son Superhero Dance. We hear that there are few like it. It’s too rare, unfortunately, for us to see in public such huge smiles on the faces of moms and their boys.