ORCHID: To Sarah and Eric Senges, owners of Boardman Grocery Outlet on Boardman-Poland Road, for donating 5% of their total sales Sept. 13 to the West Boulevard Elementary School PTA. The donation extends the tradition of giving to the community’s schools by the Senges. They have sponsored several Community Day givebacks at various Boardman buildings, have supported various teacher appreciation days and volunteered to walk in the Memorial Day Parade with Robinwood Elementary students and staff. In so doing, they set a sterling example for other businesses in the district and in other districts throughout the Valley to establish strong and supportive business-school partnerships.

ORCHID: To Poland Township police, government leaders and residents for their mutually supportive roles in making their community the fifth safest in Ohio, according to a ranking recently released by Travel Safe Insurance. Township police Chief Greg Wilson credits the above-average amount of training his officers receive, state-of-the-art equipment generously provided by township trustees and a supportive community for the honor. As Trustee Eric Ungaro aptly put it, “It is just a great team effort.”

ONION: To Youngstown city officials for failing to promptly pay $40,000 to owners of Erie Terminal Place downtown for damage the city caused to the commercial and residential building while 20 Federal Place across the street from it was undergoing a massive asbestos removal operation and partial demolition last year. In a settlement reached with Erie Terminal Place in mid-May, the city agreed to fork over $40,000 for the damage but in the intervening four months, no council resolution has been drafted or approved by city council to authorize the payment. As of this writing early this week, no such resolution was on this week’s council agenda. The city sets a poor example for good government by, at worst, reneging on or, at best, unduly delaying its promise to a major downtown enterprise.

ORCHID: To Lordstown officials and Mahoning Valley economic development agencies for their success in attracting to the village what Open AI, Oracle and SoftBank call “one of five new U.S. AI data center sites under Stargate, OpenAI’s overarching AI infrastructure platform.” The Valley faced stiff competition among 300 competing proposals from more than 30 states for the massive venture that is sure to fuel additional economic and population growth to our metro area. Coupled with the continued expansion in advanced manufacturing initiatives locally, the new AI center will further reinforce the Valley’s growing reputation as a technology leader in the nation and world.

ONION: To perpetrators of a growing text-message rip-off scam in which recipients are tricked into sharing personal financial information to those falsely claiming to be from the Ohio Department of Taxation. The scam text claims, “Your tax refund request has been approved and is now pending release.” It includes a link that leads to a fake website to confirm account details — and to gather personal information to enable the scammer to easily swindle you. Anyone who falls prey to this scam should not click the link and should immediately report the incident to local law enforcement authorities and to the Ohio Department of Commerce’s Office of Consumer Affairs at 866-278-0003 or webdfi-oca@com.ohio.gov

ORCHID: To participants and partnering sponsors led by Vallourec for cleaning large swaths of major roadways in Youngstown and Girard recently to fittingly mark World Cleanup Day. About 50 volunteers spent the day clearing litter and debris in seven zones of the two cities — most notably along U.S. Route 422. Vallourec, the France-based producer of premium tubing for energy markets, is credited with inspiring the day of community service. The cleanup complemented other ongoing initiatives to revitalize the Route 422 corridor of Youngstown and Girard and also contributed to the noble global goal of reducing solid waste pollution.

ORCHID: To members of the McDonald High School National Honor Society for spending the bulk of the past spring repainting and refurbishing the community mural in the village park that celebrates the municipality’s incorporation in 1919. Since McDonald students from previous classes created the 40-foot-by40-foot mural seven years ago, it has seen more than its fair share of wear and tear as it is placed on the ground where runners and other passers-by can easily mar it and advance its aging. McDonald residents can now take renewed pride in the community landmark and in their school district’s responsible and public-minded student body.