High Points of the Valley (Graphic Illustration)

* Switzerland of Ohio Local School District representatives delivered 300 “calm-down kits” to students at Elm Grove and Middle Creek elementary schools and Bridge Street Middle School. Those schools in Ohio County serve the areas hit hardest by deadly flash flooding in June. Kits included items such as fidgets, candy, lip balm and hand sanitizer — which provides “tactile grounding” for students, according to school counselors. There are also stickers and notes of positive affirmation for students in the kits, even some full letters of encouragement. Southeast Healthcare Services’ Rebekah West told Heather Hines, a counselor at Elm Grove Elementary, that she and her students in Monroe County wanted to do something for those in the Northern Panhandle who were going to need extra support going into the school year. We applaud West and her students for thinking about how to support students across the river and several counties away as those students try to start the school year after a horrific early summer in their communities. Thank you, folks.

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* As perhaps thousands of visitors flocked to downtown Parkersburg Aug. 23, the draw was not a parade or a road race, it was all the good food, beverages and company available at the annual Downtown Throwdown Food and Beer Festival, which highlights locally owned eateries. Marvin Edwards, president of Downtown PKB, said “I think we have a very good vibe downtown,” referring not just to the Throwdown, but Taste of Parkersburg, Meet Me on Market and other events. That good vibe is drawing people from other communities, too. “It is just Parkersburg,” said Tom Kramer of Belpre. “We come to this and the Taste of Parkersburg. It is a community event that we just love doing. It is just a great experience.”