ORCHID: To Youngstown Mayor Derrick McDowell for filling each and every Cabinet position in his new administration before his inauguration as the city’s 52nd chief executive earlier this week. At first glance, his mix of seasoned city department heads with new and talented faces appears to show promise for his goals of improving all facets of the city and its services. In the coming weeks and months, we’ll hold the mayor to his vow “of reclaiming our identity and driving towards the results that every resident and all 33 neighborhoods here deserve.”

ORCHID: To the Cleveland Browns Foundation, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce and Harvard University’s Proving Ground program for improving public school attendance through their sponsorship of the statewide Stay in the Game Attendance Network. As part of the program, Chomp, the Browns’ mascot, and Steely McBeam, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ mascot, recently visited Campbell City School District’s K-6th grade building to honor participating students. That visit and other perks provided through SIGA have helped to boost attendance there and at other participating schools in the Mahoning Valley and the state. Cheers to the students and SIGA for expanding the valuable assets of regular attendance: academic success, higher graduation rates and development of crucial life skills.

ONION: To any and all hooligans who use what should be venues of competitive fun as playgrounds to instigate violent mayhem. More than five fights involving many people broke out after a recent basketball game between East and Chaney high schools in Youngstown. The altercations became so disruptive city police were forced to use stun guns to quell the disturbances. Though no students from either school were reported as among the ruffians, the disturbance nonetheless created chaos and turned an event meant for building community spirit into a source of fear and danger for students, families and staff of each school.

ORCHID: To newly appointed Southern Park Mall Manager Bill McClure for his commitment to improve all facets of operations at the major Mahoning Valley shopping center and entertainment venue in the coming months. McClure, a longtime Boardman resident, said he and his staff are committed to improving marketing and attracting new tenants. His optimism comes at a time when many had fears of the worst for the mall, punctuated by long-delayed payment of taxes from owner Kohan Retail Investment Group. Now that those payments have been made, along with vows to meet all future obligations on time, we hope a new and positive era for the 1.2-million-square-foot complex at last may be dawning.

ONION: To owners of live Christmas trees who irresponsibly choose to set them out for the garbage collector to add to already overstuffed landfills. Instead, residents should opt to recycle their holiday trees through the Mahoning County Green Team’s tree recycling program that operates at 14 sites in the county through Jan. 31. By doing so, the tree continues to contribute to growth – not waste — by serving as natural wildlife habitats for fish in area lakes as part of an Ohio Department of Natural Resources program. For a complete list of drop-off sites and hours of operation, visit https://www.mahoningcountyoh.gov/963/Recycling.

ORCHID: To Youngstown Phantoms hockey star Cooper Simpson for his superlative play on the ice but, more importantly, for his compassion and commitment to the community off the ice by establishing the Coop Cares program in partnership with Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley. His initiative creates meaningful experiences for pediatric patients and their families by providing them with a memorable free night out at Covelli to watch a Phantoms game, complete with a personal video from Simpson and a Coop Cares T-shirt. To date, forward Simpson ranks second in overall scoring in the 16-team U.S. Hockey League. In his community outreach and support to Valley families, however, he clearly ranks a standout first.

ORCHID: To the Lordstown Police Department and other law enforcement agencies in the Mahoning Valley that participated in the mutually beneficial Shop With a Cop program during the holiday season. In Lordstown, children in the community traveled to Eastwood Mall’s Target via police cruiser and limousine to pick out holiday gifts and necessities. The value of the program cannot be overstated. It enables children to interact with police officers in a fun and trust-building setting to counteract negative perceptions they might have developed from outside influences. It also strengthens bonds between law enforcement agencies and communities by proving police are deeply invested in the welfare of the residents they’re sworn to serve well beyond their official duties.