Laurels to all the people behind the scenes — and in front —who maintain the Christmas parade tradition in Rowan County. While spectators jockeyed for parking spaces and prime viewing spots this week, the volunteers who ran the South Rowan Christmas Parade and the Holiday Caravan in Spencer and Salisbury were in the home stretch of a months-long process. They had to do a lot of organizing in advance to make their parades come together. The payoff for them is helping Rowan County kick off the Thankgiving-Christmas-New Year’s season in a fun, family-friendly way. Kudos to the organizers and the people who were in the parades, and even to the people who came out to see them. You brought smiles to a lot of faces.

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Dart to the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning, which became all too real for more than a dozen young people in Salisbury earlier this week. The house where they were hanging out had no electricity, so someone decided to use a generator to keep them warm and to provide light, and they closed up the space. Unknown to them, the generator was also filling the air with odorless carbon monoxide, a gas that can be lethal. The young people in the house started getting sick, and some fainted. The consequences could have been much worse. Let this serve as a reminder to everyone; if for some reason you have to use a generator at your home, keep it outside, at least 20 feet from the house, doors and windows. Never put it in your house or garage.

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Laurels to the good souls who spent Thanksgiving helping other people enjoy bountiful meals. Volunteers at Providence Baptist Church, for example, served 150 free meals on Thursday. The church has been celebrating Thanksgiving this way for about 15 years. “People are hurtin’, people need help,” said the pastor, the Rev. Jason Brown. For most of us, Thanksgiving means eating too much and watching football games on TV. For those volunteers, it means service.