Roses, a bit late, to the organizers, volunteers and participants who made last month's Community Dinner a rousing success in spite of less than optimal conditions.

The annual dinner, held in the McDougle School cafetorium (gotta love that word), is exactly what it sounds like -- a meal for the community, an opportunity for people of every demographic stripe to sit down and break bread together. The food is terrific, the entertainment performed by a variety of local artists is always fun, and you always leave with more friends than you arrived with.

This year's dinner was up against the elements: March 1, the day of the event, was about as nasty as it gets -- terribly cold, rainy, snowy, just miserable. But hundreds of people turned out anyway. If anything the harshness of the conditions outside only increased the sense of warmth and good company inside.

These things don't happen by themselves; it takes a lot of people to put together a big meal and entertainment for a crowd that size. Mildred Council -- Ma Dip to most of us -- headed up the food preparation, and Nerys Levy and the rest of the organizing committee were, again, indefatigable in coordinating the day.

Roses to Irma Tejada and Chris Kanoy, who have created for themselves an imaginative pastime in their retirement that turns out to be informative and fun for the rest of us, too.

Tejada and Kanoy, retired healthcare professionals who worked at UNC Hospitals, recently published their second children's book about one of our local communities.

"Polly and the Forbidden House" is about an artistic-minded girl who roams Hillsborough in search of subjects to paint. Written by Tejada and illustrated by Kanoy, the book puts the story of Polly front and center, but along the way it includes many of the most notable landmarks and historic places in that history-laden town. Young readers, almost without realizing it, will get a sort of illustrated tour of their community.

This is Tejada and Kanoy's second book; two years ago they published "A Weekend in the Paris of the Piedmont," which of course was about Carrboro. Next up is a children's book set in Chapel Hill.

Tejada and Kanoy have been active in introducing the book to young people by doing readings in the schools. Not only have they given their community a new lens through which to see and learn about itself, but they have also offered an admirable example of how to begin a fresh new chapter of life after retirement.

Roses to Chapel Hill Police Lt. Pat Burns, who led the effort to build a partnership between the local community and a federal program aimed at reducing crime involving guns.

Project Safe Neighborhoods launched its newest community program, Project SAFE Orange, last week with an event at the Southern Human Services Center. The program aims to reduce gun crimes in a number of ways, most of them centered on building partnerships between police departments, nonprofits and local residents.

We have too often experienced the devastating consequences of gun violence in this community. By building connections and communication, by increasing awareness and alertness, the Project Safe Neighborhoods program can only help in the effort to make our towns and neighborhoods safer.