Thumbs down to the mayhem and hatred so visible on the streets of Ferguson, Mo.

Racial tensions in the small town have been apparent for years, and the match that touched off that powder keg was the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old black man, on Aug. 9.

He is at least the fifth unarmed black man killed by police in this country in a month. Think about that.

The Ferguson police, with an overwhelmingly white department, have long had a testy, confrontational relationship with the community, which has become predominantly black in recent years. When Brown was shot at least six times by Officer Darren Wilson, and his body cruelly mistreated afterward, many locals had had enough.

There have been protests in the street. Police have brought in military-style equipment in a clumsy effort to maintain peace that only fueled further outrage.

Brown was no angel, as video of him shoving and intimidating a convenience store clerk moments before his death have shown. But being a reckless teenager does not mean someone deserves to be shot, either.

We await further investigation to learn what really happened between the cop and the kid. We do know this much: the cop is safe, on paid leave, while the kid died after being struck in the arm and head by at least six rounds.

The people in the street have not always covered themselves with glory, either. There have been incidents of vandalism and looting, and in one case, a citizen was shot by another person for some reason.

While many protestors only want to express their opposition to racism and other evils, there is also evidence of agitators who have come to the Missouri town to stir up anger and resentment.

We are not passing judgment here; there seems to be a lot of blame to go around. But it’s clear that in what has been called a “post-racial era,” there is a great deal of anger, distrust and outright hatred in our land.

Racism is an old American tradition. We’d like to see this one disappear but are not naive enough to think that will happen anytime soon, if ever.

Thumbs up to Powell Volunteer Fire Department crews who worked through the night at the scene of an Elk Basin fire.

When firemen got the call on Monday night, they expected to be there for a while. It turned into nearly 21 hours.

Most firemen stayed at the scene until 6 a.m. Tuesday, when many of the volunteers had to get ready for their regular day jobs. Some firemen remained there through Tuesday morning and afternoon, missing work so they could monitor the blaze and keep water on it.

We’re reminded once again of how demanding the job is, and how well the Powell Volunteer Fire Department serves our community.

We appreciate their response to every call — whether it’s a false alarm that takes a few minutes or a fire that burns all night.

Thumbs up to the Powell City Council for not entering into a three-year contract with a New York firm to place videos on the city website — and then use that as a springboard to sell advertising to local businesses.

The council rejected a proposal brought before it Monday night to allow CGI, Inc., of Rochester, N.Y., to produce videos for the website at no cost, and then sell advertising to support it. The city was even considering sending a letter, on city letterhead and signed by Mayor Don Hillman, to businesses urging them to do business with the company.

However, that is on hold right now.

We applaud the city for wanting to upgrade its website and agree there is a need to promote and market Powell. But we also feel there is enough talent and knowledge right here in our community to provide those services to the city and the residents of Powell.

Thumbs up to WyoLotto, which has cleared all the hurdles and is prepared to launch the state lottery on Sunday.

After years of debate, the state approved the sale of Powerball and Megamillions in Wyoming. It created a corporation to oversee it, and hired a CEO, Jon Clontz, with experience in gaming.

Clontz has worked diligently to set things up and helped drum up interest with a statewide tour that included a stop in Powell last week.

Ticket sales start at noon Friday. There are six Powell locations where you can buy tickets. If you don’t wish to play, don’t.

If you do, and are tired of driving across state lines to buy a ticket, feel free to invest a dollar or two and dream about maybe hitting it big. One winner is sure — the state of Wyoming will clear at least $6 million for cities, towns and counties, with more in the future pledged to schools.