On Thanksgiving Day, an unnamed hunter saved the lives of three people in Paris.

Heading out early to hunt, the man was driving past a house and noticed flames. A responsible person would have called for help. This good Samaritan did much more than that.

He honked his horn, got out of his truck and pounded on the front door until he woke up the family sleeping inside.

Saved were Nick Merrill, Samantha Bean and their 7-month-old daughter.

The house was a total loss, but this young family is alive thanks to the quick action of a stranger who did the right thing. Cheers to him, whoever he is.

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There is an extraordinary coatroom in Oxford called — appropriately — the Coat Room.

A project of Rightstart Inc., the Coat Room (located in the former K&K Store on Route 26) offers a selection of clean winter coats, sweaters, hats, mittens and boots racked and ready for people to select at no charge.

Really.

According to the Coat Room’s supervisor, Wendy Williams, the 15-year-old community project collects, cleans and organizes hundreds of coats to ensure that everyone who wants a coat has access to one. “We do our best,” Williams said, “to make sure everyone has warm clothing, from the elderly to the homeless teens, children, and moms and dads.”

This is a true community resource that serves a critical need, and it could use a little help itself.

This year, as cold weather arrived, Williams said the inventory at the store was unexpectedly low, with fewer donations than normal coming in.

We urge anyone who can donate a coat, or other warm clothing, to the Coat Room to do so now, before it gets any colder. There are people who need that clothing for basic comfort.

Clothing and coats can be dropped off at the Hannaford store in Oxford, or at the Norway Laundry on Paris Street in Norway, a business that generously cleans the coats before they are distributed to those in need. Cheers to this spirit of community in the Oxford Hills.

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Cheers to Glenn Aho, Auburn’s city manager, who is taking a hard stand to ensure that the hours public employees are paid to work are actually hours worked.

He has taken the unusual move to stop permitting charitable and other organizations, including personal financial advisers, to meet with Auburn public employees en masse.

This is not an anti-charity move; it’s pro-taxpayer action.

Aho estimates that getting all Public Works employees together in a single group costs the city $1,200 in lost work time and transportation. Do that six times a year, and we’re talking a $7,200 loss of taxpayer funds.

If any group wanted to get all city employees together, that effort costs $3,000 each time. Do that six times a year, and now we’re talking real money.

Aho has discouraged these group meetings since he’s been Auburn’s manager, and formalized the policy last week. He knew it would be controversial because, as he said, if you “look at it from the group’s point of view, you have 100 to 200 employees all at once and in one place,” which is a great opportunity for one entity to efficiently deliver a pitch.

However, any time Auburn’s employees are away from their desks at these group meetings, Aho said, “we don’t get our work done.”

What he means is that they don’t get the public’s work done, which is what they’re being paid to do. We applaud Aho’s resolve.

editorialboard@sunjournal.com