Kudos to two locals who continue to take risks and dedicate themselves to making a difference in the quality of life Dedham offers while supporting those who choose to make their mark with the pen or a lens.

Martin Hanley, managing director of the James Joyce Ramble, deserves a commendation for choosing to dedicate the 23rd Annual 10K Ramble to kidnapped reporter Jill Carroll. Carroll, a graduate of UMASS, Amherst, has dared to go where others fear to tread in her attempt to find the truth concerning the war in Iraq while working as a freelance reporter for "The Christian Science Monitor." She has been in captivity for 46 days. Hanley, who logged hours as a local reporter himself some time ago, said the Ramble has always been about more than a sporting event. Raising public awareness of human rights violations inflicted especially on writers and artists has been key during the last fifteen years of the organized event scheduled to take place this Sunday at 11 a.m. when runners queue up at the starting line located at the Endicott Estate on East Street in Dedham.

Carroll, who is being held by terrorists who have no respect for free speech and expression, is one of several journalists across the globe being strong armed by representatives of authoritarian regimes who customarily use prison, torture, and death to deny the free flow of information. According to Reporters Without Borders since the start of the Iraqi War, 86 journalists and media assistants have lost their lives in search of truth. And www.freedomforum.orgreports that more than half of the journalists that died were targeted specifically because they were journalists. To help insure the free flow of information, Reporters Without Borders provides a handbook for bloggers and cyber-dissidents on its Web site. Along with directions on how to set up and run a blog, it also provides tips and tools on how to blog anonymously while escaping possible censorship from oppressive governments. The site characterizes bloggers as the new heralds of free expression.

When it comes to heralding free expression, Paul McMurtry, owner and manager of the Dedham Community Theatre, deserves a commendation too. Sunday night his theatre provided the time and place for independent filmmaker L. Steven Stanley to screen "Secrets From Somewhere." A film that explores an emotionally charged relationship between a fashion photographer and a youthful, sexy but unsophisticated, blonde model, it brought many familiar images to the screen offering locals a little extra. A familiar Newbury Street Boutique, Dedham Square, the Mocha Java Coffee Shop and the Endicott Estate were a few of the many sites brought to the screen as the two leads, Vivian Rae and Chris Kingston, struggled to work out their infatuation with each other while each of their paths took different turns placing themselves and others on an emotional rollercoaster. Stanley is already busy at work on his next independent film "Casting Doubt" that he plans to begin shooting early next month when he uses the theatre for his set.