Cheers and jeers from around the news:

• Jeers to further attempts to change Maine’s school consolidation laws. After the vote on Nov. 3 to uphold the legislation, discussion about alterations should have ceased. Yet opponents of consolidation were back before lawmakers this week, advocating to weaken the law.

Enough is enough. Consolidation has already sustained myriad amendments to suit the particular needs of different districts. Its terms have been altered, delayed and compromised. At some point, however, the process of creating the plan must end, and a plan — any plan — must be executed.

That time is now. A vote to repeal the law has failed. It’s time to enforce it. Otherwise, this entire time-consuming process would truly become a colossal waste of time.

• Jeers, again, to continued opposition to charter schools. Maine Education Commissioner Susan Gendron said this week that her department had no interest in pursuing them. Attempts to enact legislation creating charter schools has also regularly failed.

Charter schools are a worthy experiment, with a strong track record in 39 states. Opposition to them has strived not to upset the current system, yet the national pace set by the Obama administration stands to reward districts and states that embrace innovation.

Gendron said there are other advancements that the state could consider, such as performance-based pay for teachers, that are more important than charter schools. We agree, but have difficulty believing any of these words will turn into action, given the repeated triumphs of the status quo.

• Cheers for direct democracy, and for the creative expression of opinion. Town meeting voters passed a recall ordinance this year amid concerns about the actions of the selectmen. Now armed with the ability to petition selectmen from office, concerned citizens got ready to state their reasons.

One petition complaint against selectman Glen Young, was for having “obviously unkempt, uncombed RED hair.” While Young does, indeed, have red hair, we cannot comment on his skill with a comb.

And, fortunately, that was not the intent of the petition passer, resident Greg Harris. Instead, he was trying to demonstrate that selectmen can be too easily be recalled under the ordinance and for possibily illegitimate reasons.

“I think the ordinance was poorly written,” Harris told the Sun Journal. “It’s a dangerous ordinance, and I think it needs to be addressed sooner rather than later,” he said. While we’re not sure we agree with Harris, we admire his flair for the dramatically adsurd.

• Cheers to Col. Lewis Millett, distinguished soldier, Medal of Honor recipient, native of Mechanic Falls and graduate of Bates College. He died this week at 88. We applaud his service.

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