Editorials

Orchids and onions

ORCHID: To Boardman and Cardinal fire districts for exploring the possibility of merging into one larger service unit. A committee was formed to study a proposed merger. Early indications show it could benefit both departments by providing EMS services to Boardman and a strengthened crew of firefighters for Cardinal -- without having to go to voters seeking large property tax levies to meet those needs. We hope talks prove productive and result in a joint force as soon as possible. We also hope other fire departments in the Valley consider similar consolidations in the name of fiscal responsibility and community safety.

ORCHID: To Springfield Township firefighter Jared Musial for his heroism while responding to the East Palestine Norfolk Southern train derailment. Mahoning County commissioners honored Musial last week with a formal resolution of thanks for his courage that resulted in preventing the massive blaze from gaining ground into the downtown area. Musial was forced to thrust himself into the fire and managed to use only the water on a pumper truck to control the fire and prevent much more serious danger to the community.

ONION: To vandals who have been breaking into vehicles in Boardman with disturbing frequency lately. In past weeks, Boardman police many break-ins, particularly targeting Kia and Hyundai vehicles, the hot-to-steal models nationwide. Vehicle owners should take added precaution when leaving their vehicles parked. At the very minimum, make sure all doors are locked, a common-sense protection several recent victims failed to do.

ORCHID: To St. Elizabeth Boardman Hospital for securing the No. 6 spot in Soliant's Top 20 Most Beautiful Hospitals in America. The contest recognizes hospitals for facility design, aesthetics, comforting staff and patient experience based on public nominations and votes. The 16-year-old hospital has undergone many significant improvements in health care and aesthetics over those years, including addition of a 165,000-square-foot, seven-story patient bed tower in 2012. Soliant began the contest in 2009 after a university study concluded appearance of a hospital contributes to positive patient attitudes.

ORCHID: To the Youngstown State University Board of Trustees and the YSU Ohio Education Association faculty union for reaching an agreement on a new three-year contract quietly and peacefully before its current pact expired. It contains modest pay raises and small increases in faculty health insurance co-pays, and was produced during about eight months negotiating. We're pleased that, unlike previous years at YSU and unlike faculty talks in some public school districts, negotiations progressed smoothly, productively and without drama. As Vice Provost Jennifer Pintar said when trustees ratified the pact: "It's a great day for YSU and the Youngstown community."

ORCHID: YSU Trustees get a second orchid for their decision to name a one-block stretch of campus roadway between Wick Avenue and Bryson Street as One Tressel Way in honor of the many accomplishments of former YSU President and head football coach Jim Tressel, who retired earlier this year. The honor is richly deserved.

ONION: To Suzanne Ginty of Girard for clearly failing to learn any lessons on the dangers of drunken driving after repeated apprehensions for that offense. Ginty pleaded guilty this week to her sixth operating-a-vehicle-impaired charge in the Mahoning Valley in the past 15 years. In the newest case, Ginty almost collided with a Liberty police cruiser in September 2022. Police found a bottle of Smirnoff Blue Ice in the center console of her automobile. It's no wonder her blood-alcohol level registered at 0.36 percent, more than three times the legal limit of 0.08 percent to drive in Ohio.

ORCHID: To vast majority of athletic departments at high schools throughout the Mahoning Valley who began accepting cash as payment for tickets at high school football games this month -- before a new requirement under Ohio law takes effect in October. Thanks to efforts of state Sen. Sandra O'Brien, who represents Trumbull County, Ohio's Legislature approved the law requiring school districts to accept cash payments at all school events. Some schools recognized the hardship previous policies of online ticket purchases caused for those without internet access or without sufficient computer savvy to navigate their way to ticket sales, and implemented a new policy more than a month early.

ONION: To those few local school districts that have not yet introduced the new "Cash is King" policy for scholastic event tickets and concession stand sales. It appears they might be more interested in just following the "letter of the law," than providing a service to residents, family and fans overall.

editorial@vindy.com

Editorials

Orchids and onions

ORCHID: To The Gelbman Foundation for pledging a $1.5 million gift to Youngstown State University's Zoldan Family Student Center campaign to rebuild and revitalize the campus student center. The foundation honors the late Dr. Frank and Pearl Gelbman of Youngstown, powerhouses in civic philanthropy whose foundation continues to help worthy causes. The gift to YSU will appropriately honor the couple and keep their legacy alive for decades as the large multipurpose room in the center, to be modeled after the Chestnut Room in Kilcawley Center, will be named The Frank and Pearl Gelbman Room.

ORCHID: To ONE Health Ohio and Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley for launching their Food is Medicine project. The project provides patients with food boxes prescribed by ONE Health Ohio and purchased by Second Harvest. The boxes contain boxed milk, cereal, whole grain pasta, beans, canned tuna, canned fruits and vegetables and peanut butter. We're pleased the program is much more than a food giveaway; it also educates recipients on healthy eating habits that can last a lifetime. Orchid, too, to Ohio first lady Fran DeWine who visited the Valley this week to promote the program.

ONION: To the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for dragging its feet in cleanup and recovery work in East Palestine and its environs more than six months after the disastrous Norfolk Southern train derailment. We echo the sentiments of U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Cincinnati, who visited the community this week. "It's taking way too long to clean up this town," Vance told residents. Even though the EPA has conceded that its plans to remediate local waterways have moved slowly, the longer the inaction, the longer the suffering endures for residents and visitors of the community.

ONION: To leadership in the U.S. House and Senate for moving at a snail's pace on the Railway Safety Act of 2023, sponsored by Vance and senior Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Cleveland. The Railway Safety Act would toughen safety standards on major railroads, give regulators more authority, increase fines and offer more funds for first responders. The Senate bill has been ready for a floor vote since May. Worse, the House bill has been stalled in committee since March. These basic safety protections should not be fodder for bipartisan sniping. The sooner the legislation is adopted, the sooner East Palestine residents and others can breathe easier knowing the risks of catastrophic derailments have been reduced.

ORCHID: To rocker Paul Stanley of KISS for selecting the Butler Institute of American Art for his first major museum exhibition. "Paul Stanley: The Other Side" opened Sunday and will be on display here through Oct. 8. The exhibition features a range of work, from self-portraits in KISS Starchild makeup and paintings of other icons like Marilyn Monroe and Jimi Hendrix to still lifes and more abstract work. Guests at a $1,000-per-couple preview opening last weekend were wowed by the variety and splash of the rocker's artwork. We're certain the celebrity exhibition will draw many first-time visitors to the Butler who no doubt quickly will recognize what a grossly undervalued gem the art museum is in our community.

ORCHID: To the Mahoning Valley Historical Society for purchasing a spacious parking lot adjacent to its Tyler History Center on West Federal Street in downtown Youngstown. The purchase brings numerous benefits, including space for staff and visitors to park conveniently, outdoor exhibition panels to attract passers-by to the center and room for future expansion of the main center building. Most importantly, it will ensure MVHS can preserve the Spring Common area, which years ago accommodated the downtown's second public square. This acquisition is the latest example of MVHS's successful efforts in recent years to become a more vibrant and visible force in the culture of the Valley.

ORCHID: To the 11th District Court of Appeals for rightly denying a request from Jason LaRosa for relief from his murder conviction in the grisly killing of 94-year-old Marie LaCastro of Niles in 2015. Trial evidence showed LaRosa, a teenager at the time, struck the woman several times in the head with a heavy flashlight before dragging her body to a bedroom of her home, where he tried to rape her. We're pleased that his complaints of ineffective counsel and lack of change of venue for his case fell on deaf ears and that his appropriate life-in-prison sentence remains intact.

Editorials

Orchids and onions

ORCHID: To five-star concert promoter and organizer JAC Live for producing yet another successful mega Y-Live concert in downtown Youngstown last weekend featuring Kid Rock, Lee Brice and Buckcherry. An estimated 20,000-plus people gathered in Wean Park for the concert, traditionally the largest of the year in Youngstown. Despite the huge crowd and several road closures downtown, the event went off without any major hiccups or disruptions, a credit to JAC Live's keen detail-oriented oversight. In addition, the large upsurge in foot traffic and commerce downtown before and after the show was music to the ears of many downtown business owners.

ORCHID: To The Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County for expanding its innovative "Library of Things" program to include tools to assist young people to learn to drive and receive their license. The maneuverability kit, available for checkout free at any branch of the library system, includes orange cones and guide poles for practicing driving and parking, a 55-page guidebook to Ohio motor vehicle laws and even stress balls to help parents cope with the rigors of teaching their children the rules of the road. Once again, the PLYMC has proved it is not your grandfather's library anymore by responding to patrons' contemporary needs beyond traditional book loans.

ONION: To. U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, for voting no recently on a defense bill that included a $2.5 million allocation to the Youngstown Air Reserve Station to fund a design study for a new fire station at the base to replace its current station that is more than 40 years old. Vance explained he opposed additional aid for Ukraine that also is contained in the bill, even though about two-thirds of Americans still support such aid, according to recent polls. Fortunately, the bill passed the senior chamber of Congress without Vance's vote. We urge U.S. House members representing the Valley to ensure the local funding remains intact in the final bill to be ironed out and passed in the House.

ORCHID: To the Sisters of the Humility of Mary for their success in transforming the former Villa Maria High School campus into the welcoming and enriching Villa Maria Education and Spirituality Center. The center, located just across the Ohio / Pennsylvania border in Lawrence County, Pa., offers a growing number of programs for groups and the public, including children's camps, music festivals and gatherings to discuss prayer, healing and social justice. The public also is invited to pick fruit from the center's farm. To be sure, the education center is a hidden cultural and spiritual gem in our region.

ORCHID: To two Youngstown State University spring graduates who bested thousands of competitors to win top national fraternity awards. Clay Miller won the 2023 Ellsworth C. Dent Man of the Year Award by Sigma Tau Gamma Fraternity among 2,000 members in 59 chapters. Niko Mastorides was named True Gentleman of the Year, the highest honor bestowed on an undergraduate member by the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. With more than 12,000 members, representing 220 chapters, SAE chooses one member annually based on scholastic achievement, fraternity involvement, university leadership and community service to receive the True Gentleman of the Year Award. The awards reflect well on the two young men and on YSU.

ORCHID: To the Austintown 12U softball team for clinching the Little League Softball World Series Central Region championship last weekend. A full team effort fueled the title, what with Mila Hamley and Annabel Mikesell's strikeouts from the pitchers' mound, Seneca Coates' running catches in outfield, hits from Kate Averell or Zara Burt or acrobatic outs at first base by Tori Greathouse. Now beginning Sunday, the team moves on to North Carolina for World Series play in a true global competition with other teams from Europe, Latin America, Asia and other parts of the United States. We heartily congratulate the Austintown squad and its coaches and wish them nothing but continued success in its quest for the world championship.

editorial@vindy.com