This week we offer the latest installment of an occasional Editorial Ink Drops feature we titled “Standing O’s And Oh, Nos!” — because some issues and individuals in the community deserve this kind of heightened focus, for good or for ill, right at the top of our front page.

Oh, No! — We were saddened last week to learn of the untimely death of former Newtown Police Sergeant John Cole, who was reportedly found deceased near his Naugatuck home on September 19. Cole, 60, represented Newtown and our Police Department honorably and admirably as he rose through the ranks from his arrival in town in 1989, to his promotion to Patrol Sergeant a decade later, and then being elevated to the rank of Detective Sgt, where he led an eight-person detective division until his retirement in 2014.

In one of his last interviews with The Newtown Bee, he reiterated his professional motto: “Be honest and fair — and hold yourself accountable for what you do.” We were fortunate to know and have John Cole looking after our community. We had great respect for him and believe that while a “Standing O” does not do him enough justice, we simply salute him while mourning his passing.

After receiving a heartwarming note for this week’s “Letter Hive,” we are compelled to rise and extend a Standing O to Bev Bennett Schaedler and her dedicated leadership in managing the Friends of Newtown Seniors Chores Services initiative. As she recently described it in The Bee, “FONS Chore Services helps Newtown seniors by helping them remain home safely, independently, and comfortably. I have a list of wonderful volunteers and also maintain a vetted, for hire, list of professionals that come highly recommended.”

If you want to feel good, consider lending your time to the cause as Bev does. FONS is always seeking more volunteers who would like to participate in this program. If you are interested, call 203-430-0633.

Oh, No! What is wrong with individuals who are motivated to not only destroy public property that provides an important public service, but also who do it repeatedly? We are referring to the losers who have done so much repetitive damage to Dickinson Park’s permanent bathrooms, that Parks Department officials have been forced to close them while so many visitors are still coming out to enjoy this wonderful green space, its playgrounds, skate park, and pavilion. While portable facilities will be provided in its place, it is a shame the brainless exploits of vandals have brought officials to take this action.

We have praised them before, but we rise in a Standing O once again for the Newtown Emergency Communications Center staff who perform so admirably under pressure. Such was the case on September 26, when between 11:11 am and about 1 pm, two savvy telecommunicators (dispatchers) coordinated medical and fire response across six incidents — two of them gravely serious — while continuing to manage all police calls for service, and greeting visitors to the police headquarters lobby requiring assistance.

By the end of the day, these cool-headed pros continued to address another half-dozen additional calls requiring fire and/or EMS coordination, prompting Emergency Communications Director Maureen Will to proudly declare: “I have the best team in the state and they show me that every day.”