Orchids & onions
ORCHID: To the family of Melina Michelle Edenfield of Canfield and, posthumously, to Melina herself for helping to establish a foundation in Melina’s name that has raised more than $1.4 million over the past five years to research and treat pediatric brain cancer. Melina’s life was sadly cut short at age 4 from diffuse midline glioma, the most aggressive form of brain cancer in children. The family recently sponsored its sixth annual — and greatly successful — Choose Joy for Melina 5K and More at Canfield High School. Its name is based on how Melina had urged others to “Choose Joy” during her illness. We and many others are pleased that the same spirit of joy and care will live on through the family’s foundation to improve the lives of others with DMG.
ORCHID: To Corey Brozina, associate professor and associate director of the Youngstown State University Rayen School of Engineering, for winning his fourth National Science Foundation grant. The recently announced $320,000 grant will be used to research integrating artificial intelligence into engineering education. It is just the newest feather in the multi-feathered cap of Brozina, who has secured an amazing $1.6 million in NSF funding, including the largest NSF grant in YSU history in 2020. Considering that only 12% of NSF applications nationwide are approved, the engineering school official clearly has the right stuff to successfully secure outside funding for public research.
ONION: To the thief or thieves who have been targeting stylish muscle cars in Boardman in recent weeks. Boardman police Chief Todd Werth told our reporter last week, “more cars are being stolen in Boardman than anywhere else” in the region, and muscle cars are sought after and more frequently targeted these days. Their clear appeal to miscreants stems from high horsepower and high value, making them a target for both pleasure and profit. That’s why it’s critical for owners of muscle cars — and any vehicle for that matter — to use multiple theft deterrents, including secure locks, steering-wheel locks, electronic kill switches and/or GPS trackers. Anyone witnessing suspicious tampering with a vehicle also should waste no time in reporting it to authorities. We wish Boardman police the best toward putting a dent in such crimes.
ORCHID: To the Youngstown Foundation for awarding the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown one of its largest-ever grants of $400,000 to support two major renovation projects at the acclaimed Wick Avenue museum. The renovations will support the preservation of the Butler’s collection and help establish a creativity center for programs in art, education and entrepreneurship. The work and the foundation’s support are essential to the museum’s ongoing efforts to regain accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums, according to longtime museum director and curator Louis Zona. The improvements and the renewed accreditation will go far toward putting new luster on this longstanding Mahoning Valley artistic gem.
ORCHID: To state Sen. Al Cutrona, R-Canfield, for his ongoing and meaty legislative initiatives to combat animal abuse — and now child abuse. Cutrona announced last week he is introducing Senate Bill 265, which would prohibit Ohio residents from becoming an adoptive parent or a foster caregiver if they are convicted of any charge of cruelty to companion animals. The new legislation makes eminently good sense. Judges, criminal justice leaders and exhaustive research all have proven the strong link between animal abuse and child abuse. This new bill comes on top of those Cutrona already has in the hopper to outlaw declawing of cats and to sharply increase penalties for those convicted of abusing companion animals. The General Assembly should waste no time in sailing all three through to passage this fall.
ONION: To SOBE Thermal Systems LLC of Youngstown for its repeated failures to pay rental fees rightly due the owner of the containerized mobile steam plant that it uses to provide heating and cooling services to 27 buildings and 90 residential units in the downtown vicinity. The utility has until Sept. 30 to resolve the matter or Wabash Power Equipment Co. is legally permitted to repossess the critically needed mobile steam plant. That could leave thousands who rely on the utility’s services literally out in the cold.
ONION: To U.S. Secretary of Defense (or Secretary of War, as he prefers) Pete Hegseth for issuing chilling new restrictions on press freedom in coverage of the nation’s military news inside the Pentagon. A memo released late last week demands that journalists pledge not to gather any information — including unclassified documents — that has not been authorized for release or risk revocation of their press passes. It is a further crackdown on press freedom after Hegseth announced in May that reporters would no longer be permitted to roam the halls of the Pentagon freely. We join others in the national news media in protesting these restrictions and fighting them as they represent a direct assault on First Amendment rights.
Orchids & onions
ORCHID: To Don Jones, owner of the Canfield Fresh Coat franchise, for his generosity and hard work in restoring the backstops at the Mill Creek Junior Baseball League’s ballfield in Youngstown. Earlier this week, Jones and his team of about a dozen workers power washed the panels and then painted them to look brand new. The paint was donated by his company’s Fresh Coat Cares program to assist nonprofits, and Jones himself donated all the labor. We’re certain the longtime baseball league is thankful and appreciative that Jones and company stepped up to the plate for this vital and much-needed community improvement.
ONION: To parents and guardians who fail to keep guns out of the reach of children. Last week, a 13-year-old Youngstown boy was rushed to the hospital after handling a firearm that accidentally fired, according to police reports. This injury comes on the heels of the recent death of a Struthers toddler who was killed when accidentally handling a firearm that had been left on a table in his full view. Such senseless deaths and injuries are far too prevalent in our community and our nation. According to a May 2025 analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, firearms are now the leading cause of death for children and teens in the U.S. Many parents and others charged with overseeing and keeping children safe must do better.
ORCHID: To the Kikel Charitable Trust, administered by Farmers Trust Co., for continuing its proud tradition of supporting Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley by donating an additional $1 million last week. The latest of some $8 million in overall donations to the pediatric hospital will target its health center in Warren, which provides general and specialty pediatric services to families in the community; the Mahoning Valley Food Farmacy, which provides fresh and pantry-staple food at the Akron Children’s Boardman campus; and the outpatient pharmacy, which makes it easier for caregivers to get prescriptions when bringing their children to the facility for illness, treatments and other services. We are confident Akron Children’s will continue to be responsible stewards of the trust, formed by three very generous and philanthropic Boardman sisters who died within years of one another in the late 1990s.
ORCHID: To the Western Reserve Transit Authority and the U.S. Department of Transportation for partnering to make mass transit on WRTA buses much more safe. WRTA recently unveiled new safety-focused technology being added to two of its fleet of 47 large fixed-route buses. The enhanced protections include those for blind-spot detection and side-impact alerts, adoptive cruise control and lane-keeping assistance, forward collision avoidance and automated emergency braking. They were financed with a $1.9 million federal grant to the authority from DOT and shared with transit authorities in two other counties. Hopes run high that WRTA can move toward converting all of its large buses with the help of a similar, but much larger $15 million federal grant program. Now that certainly would give the Valley a lift, WRTA!
ONION: To those motorists in Liberty who have been stepping on the gas far too heavily of late. The township police department last week reported a significant uptick in speeding complaints throughout the community. According to acting police chief Ray Buhala, 80 vehicles were stopped in a recent two-week period for driving above posted speed limits, with the majority of the drivers township residents. Those who are endangering public safety by driving like maniacs merit public condemnation, but Liberty police — who should continue to crack down hard on speeders — merit the community’s commendation.
ORCHID: To the Montrose Group LLC from Columbus for completing an impressive economic development strategic plan for the city of Youngstown. The findings of the plan were revealed at a city council meeting last week. The plan, which includes five concrete recommendations for growth, should now be taken seriously by council members and administrators of the city. Among them are expansion of the city’s economic development department, enhancement of the business attraction and expansion program and growing residential and retail sectors through targeted campaigns. In some of the initiatives, such as new housing development, the city is off to a great start. We urge all involved to keep building the momentum to put a fresh new coat of vitality on Youngstown’s image.
ORCHID: To the League of Women Voters of Ohio for its civic-minded campaign to register more young people to vote in the upcoming November election. The league recently brought its mobile “Your Voice, Your Vote, Your Power” trailer to Youngstown State University, where league members successfully registered many students to vote. Such campaigns are to be commended in the needed effort to narrow the gap between older and younger voters’ participation in elections. In the 2024 presidential election, for example, only 47% of Americans 18 to 24 voted compared with 77% of adults 65 and over, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Orchids & onions
ORCHID: To leaders of the Austintown Local School District for constructing an impressive outdoors Veterans Plaza to permanently honor our nation’s proud military heroes. The new plaza, which features benches surrounded by an arrangement of seven flagpoles with the American flag at the center, was officially dedicated at a recent ceremony. Its significance cannot be overstated. As Austintown Schools Superintendent and Army veteran Timothy Kelty put it, “This dedication is not only for our country, but for our Austintown community, as we memorialize the strength, determination and bravery of those who call this place home.”
ORCHID: To Carl Nunziato of Boardman for recently marking 25 years of stellar service as a member of the board of directors of the Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley. According to Mike Iberis, director of the three-county food bank, Nunziato has been instrumental in overseeing growth and success at the agency through his passionate advocacy for people in need. Of course, Nunziato’s penchant to help others transcends the food bank. The wounded Vietnam War Army veteran also has been a longtime advocate for veterans (The Carl Nunziato VA Clinic in Youngstown is named after him). Additionally, he has spent decades as a lawyer ensuring disabled Americans are never denied the civil rights due them.
ONION: To youthful motorists who take the wheel without the needed commitment to safe and responsible driving. The Ohio State Highway Patrol recently released data showing that from 2023 to 2024, drivers from 15 to 25 years old were involved in 154,363 crashes, the majority of which they were at fault. Those crashes led to 398 deaths and 41,473 injuries. To its credit, however, the highway patrol has launched a statewide youthful driving safety campaign. Its DRIVE to Live program partners with schools and community groups to help teens build safe driving habits, such as not following too closely, obeying all traffic signals and speeding. Let’s hope the campaign puts a dent in careless teen driving.
ONION: To past and some current Youngstown officials for failing to meet deadlines on the city’s massive wastewater improvement project mandated by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. As a result, the city is now required to fork over a massive $739,000 penalty. The city missed milestone dates for the completion of an upgrade to its wastewater treatment plant and the submission of preliminary designs for a Mill Creek Park sewer interceptor project. Though the decree was signed in 2014, the city waited until mid-2021 to request deadline extensions — too late under the decree. Now that work on the project is gaining steam, we hope it unfolds toward completion by October 2035 with no further hitches.
ORCHID: To the management and workforce at Boardman Subaru for making a generous $10,000 contribution to Boardman Glenwood Junior High School last week in an effort to ensure a smooth and well-prepared start to the 2025-26 academic year. In addition to the monetary donation that was divided evenly among teachers to purchase supplies, the Subaru crew hauled in 20 boxes filled with pens and pencils, folders, colored markers, earbuds and other important items to enhance students’ learning. The project serves as a noteworthy model for others of the value of community and business support for local education.
ORCHID: To model train enthusiast Dennis Mamone of Poland for donating a brand new Lionel “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” train set to Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley to entertain patients. The special Lionel set includes a colorful Wonka engine and two train cars with Oompa Loompa characters from the movie moving around when the train is in motion. It also has a matching caboose. A child in a wheelchair could easily control the train, and it has voice command possibilities that a handicapped child could use for operations. The retired Youngstown City Schools history teacher no doubt has put smiles on the faces of many children at the hospital through his generous and thoughtful gift.
ORCHID: To The Youngstown Playhouse and the Youngstown Foundation for ensuring that the show must go on this season — even for those with an inability to pay for tickets. Thanks to a generous donation of $60,000 from the foundation, the Valley’s largest community theater can set aside thousands of tickets for low-income families and for seniors and others on fixed incomes. The program merits robust applause on two fronts. First, it ensures the Playhouse will have full audiences for the variety of its shows that actors and technicians invest so much time in. Second, it opens a whole new artistic dimension to thousands in the community who otherwise would never have that opportunity.
Orchids & onions
ORCHID: To Youngstown police and members of the Project Impact crime-fighting team for their noteworthy achievements in reducing violent crime in the city this summer. Impact’s partnership among city police, Ohio State Highway Patrol, the FBI, Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Marshals Service, Ohio Adult Parole Authority and the Ohio Investigative Unit achieved unprecedented success over the summer. Between June 18 and Sept. 1, Youngstown recorded zero homicides, and its 2025 homicide toll on Sept. 1 stood at eight. That’s still far too many but represents a major reduction from the 17 it had recorded by the start of September 2024. Such undeniable success should give impetus to lengthening the spring and summer initiative to ensure a similar impact in making Youngstown as safe as possible all year long.
ORCHID: To the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown for launching a special task force on school safety and security in the aftermath of the horrific mass shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis last month. The task force will bring together law enforcement, first responders and school leaders to coordinate best practices and make building-specific recommendations, according to the diocese. In addition, comprehensive safety inspections of every school in the six-county diocese began last week in Mahoning County. We commend Bishop of Youngstown David Bonnar and Dr. Stephen Jones, superintendent of Catholic schools, for their expeditious and responsible actions to ensure maximum safety for all students. For as Bonnar himself put it, “Even in our churches, it seems, our children are not completely free from danger.”
ONION: To those irresponsible and dangerous individuals who continue to insist on driving under the influence of alcohol, marijuana or other drugs. A checkpoint and saturation patrol by the Mahoning Valley OVI Task Force on a recent Friday night made four arrests for impaired driving. That breaks a trend of zero OVI arrests at earlier checkpoints this year and illustrates that driving a motor vehicle under the influence remains a serious public safety danger. Through Aug. 30 of this year alone, the Ohio State Highway Patrol has handled 14 fatal OVI-related traffic crashes in the Mahoning Valley. It appears as if no end is in sight for the commendable but much-needed work of the task force and other law enforcers who work to keep impaired drivers off the roads.
ORCHID: To the Mahoning Valley Manufacturing Coalition for making a $10,000 donation to help make an exciting and forward-moving program at Choffin Career and Technical Center in Youngstown a reality. The city schools’ career center recently had an open house to unveil its brand-spanking new advanced manufacturing program and laboratory. Among the high-tech equipment in the lab are several 3D printers, robots, a machine for industrial plastics and learning systems for basic hydraulics, electric relay controls, pneumatics, alternating and direct current electronics and measurement tools. The new program complements excellently other AM initiatives in the Valley, such as America Makes and the Youngstown Business Incubator. More importantly, it has great potential to train young people for exciting and plentiful growth-industry jobs.
ORCHID: To Jim Henshaw for his dedicated 15 years of making the Austintown Senior Center one of the biggest and best facilities for mature adults in the Mahoning Valley. Henshaw, who is retiring at the spry age of 84, has overseen tremendous growth in programming and membership over the past decade and a half at the center. Back in 2010, the new ACS began with Bingo nights but over the years, Henshaw has overseen expansion to many games and amusements, healthy physical activities and classes in everything from cooking to the Spanish language. As a result, the center’s membership has skyrocketed from about 400 to 1,400 today. Township Trustee Rob Santos was effusive in his praise of Henshaw: ” I greatly appreciate his long service and dedication to our senior center and our seniors. The next individual who takes the position has some pretty big shoes to fill.” Truer words never have been spoken.
ORCHID: To Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel for organizing and leading a new statewide fitness challenge for youngsters in grades 4-8. The former president of Youngstown State University visited Struthers Middle School last week for a pep rally with participants for the Team Tressel Fitness Challenge that officially begins Sept. 8. From our perspective, the program has tremendous potential for success in improving the physical and mental health of children. Unlike other programs, such as the President’s Fitness Test, no one-size-fits-all regimen of activities is thrust upon the children. Instead, they get to choose from a variety of activities and set their own goals, thereby heightening motivation levels and determination to succeed. We’re confident that with Tressel at the helm, the 160,000 middle schoolers taking part in the challenge will go the distance to meet or beat their goals.