Orchids & onions
ORCHID: To Mahoning County Engineer Patrick Ginnetti for his perseverance in successfully pursuing a network of funding sources to begin a massive $6.2 million repaving and improvement project for the rapidly developing Mahoning Avenue corridor in North Jackson. The project, for which Ginnetti has been planning for years, finally got the green light when the U.S. Economic Development Administration and Ohio Public Works Commission chipped in the lion’s share of the project’s cost. The road improvement and roundabout construction at Bailey Road are designed to better accommodate the growing number of businesses and industries that are locating in the corridor between state Route 45 and Duck Creek Road. The safer and more pleasing traffic flow that will result by early next year no doubt will serve as an additional incentive for heightened economic hubbub in that fast-growing industrial and commercial corridor.
ORCHID: To the East Palestine Train Derailment Health Research Program and the National Institutes for Health for successfully opening a spacious new office in town to serve as ground zero for ongoing long-term health studies of those impacted by the toxic derailment there three years ago this month. Researchers from the University of Kentucky, Yale University and the University of Pittsburgh are enrolling residents, coordinating studies and sharing findings directly with the community about long-term health impacts of the disaster. “The NIH’s research hub offers the people of East Palestine a pathway to clear answers about their health they deserve,” said U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. We and the people of East Palestine will hold Kennedy to that responsible commitment.
ONION: To school district leaders throughout the state who slyly attempt to skirt Ohio’s open records law by refusing to release public records requested by taxpayers or the press. In a victory for accountability and transparency, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled last week that Xenia Community Schools officials must fork over the list of email recipients it uses to distribute newsletters and other information to the public because it clearly constitutes a public record. The school district argued that the email list was exempt from the Ohio Public Records Act because it included “protected student information” but it failed to provide a copy to the court as ordered for review. Such antics not only fly in the face of the state’s public records act, it also invites cynicism and mistrust among the very people who keep school district operations financially afloat.
ORCHID: To Campbell City Council for strengthening that city’s already stellar reputation as a safe haven for cats, dogs and other companion animals by recently approving the sale of a vacant parcel of land in the city that it owns to New Lease on Life animal shelter. The animal welfare organization has endured deplorable conditions at its current Struthers facility because the landlord has neglected to maintain the structure and make critical repairs, according to shelter owner Maria Guyan. The new shelter will permit New Lease to improve and expand its services, such as opening a spay-and-neuter clinic. The city benefits as well by putting a prime parcel of city land to productive use and by furthering its reputation for compassion toward companion animals that it has earned by drafting and enforcing some of strictest anti-tethering and animal protection ordinances in Ohio.
ORCHID: To the Mahoning Valley congressional delegation for bringing home the bacon to our region by inserting several key projects into the 2026 federal appropriations bill signed earlier this month by President Donald J. Trump. As a result, nearly $8 million in federal funding will flow to the Valley for four critical projects. The lion’s share of that funding, some $5 million, has been earmarked for the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in Vienna to finance critically needed major upgrades to its smaller runway. The work is necessary to maintain Federal Aviation Administration standards so that the Western Reserve Port Authority can continue work toward reinstituting commercial passenger air service there and for the continued viability of the adjacent Youngstown Air Reserve Station. The remaining earmarked federal funding will finance critical road, water and other infrastructure projects in Boardman, Struthers and Niles.
ONION: To the seemingly growing ranks of social-media fraudsters who use sites such as Facebook as convenient channels to scam victims out of hundreds or thousands of dollars. Last week, a man was swindled out of about $400 for application fees and a security deposit for a nonexistent Boardman apartment. A few days later, a Valley woman reportedly lost $1,930 to a poster posing as a real estate agent for application fees, security deposit, court fees and rent on an apartment. The latter con artist’s insistence that the payments be made with Visa gift cards should have set off alarm bells that the transactions were suspicious. To prevent such callous victimization, avoid doing business with any unfamiliar individuals or companies online.
ORCHID: To former Youngstown State University Department of History Chair Martha I. Pallante for making the initial contribution last week of more than $12,000 to the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry & Labor endowment fund, the first of its kind in the industrial museum’s 32-year history. The support fund for the West Wood Street landmark will help preserve and promote the history of the once mighty steel industry in Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley. The endowment at YHCIL, more commonly referred to as The Steel Museum, will help to ensure our region’s noble industrial heritage will continue to be preserved and appreciated. Now that Pallante has planted the seed, we urge others to step forward to further nourish this praiseworthy endowment through their own donations.
Orchids & onions
ORCHID: To Mahoning County Auditor Ralph Meacham for implementing a fraud protection program covering property transfer deeds for county residents. It’s the first of its kind in any county in Ohio to provide no-cost protections to homeowners. Homeowners would be remiss not to sign up for the protections by going to the Mahoning County auditor’s website (auditor.mahoningcountyoh.gov) and clicking on the Property Ownership Alert Subscription page in the Tools tab. “I want criminals put on notice: This office will do everything in our power to prevent a fraudulent property transfer,” Meacham said. Kudos, too, to Mahoning County Recorder Richard Scarsella for implementing a notary fraud protection program that will also cover deeds. Other counties in the Mahoning Valley and the Buckeye State should follow Meacham’s and Scarsella’s responsible and exemplary leads.
ONION: To court-appointed SOBE Thermal Energy Systems receiver Reg Martin for continued failures to provide critical steam heat to 28 downtown Youngstown properties. The failures became more severe during the recent extreme cold snap that sent temperatures plummeting below zero and left many workers in downtown office buildings and patrons to other structures such as the Central YMCA shivering due to SOBE’s poor and inefficient service. The problems have gone on far too long. It’s time for the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to intercede, remove Martin as receiver and replace him with someone who will work tirelessly and responsibly to do whatever it takes to expeditiously restore reliable, efficient and quality heating and cooling services to the heart of the Mahoning Valley in downtown Youngstown.
ORCHID: To the Hubbard High School Prep Bowl team and its coach Michael Brekoski for recently winning the 2026 Trumbull County championship by besting 16 other stellar teams from districts throughout the county. Just as gridiron and basketball stars deserve cheers for their dedication and outstanding performances at their crafts, so, too, do students who rise to the top of their game in academic prowess. The popular competitions also ooze in long-term value by fostering strong critical thinking skills, boosting confidence and promoting academic excellence in a competitive, team-oriented environment.
ONION: To the Office of the Ohio Public Defender for significantly reducing its level of funding support to counties throughout the state to help finance legal representation for indigent defendants who cannot afford it. After reimbursing nearly 100% of such costs in 2022, the state has lowered reimbursements every year since, and today stands at an estimated 82% for fiscal year 2026. The reductions, according to Shara Taylor of the Trumbull County commissioners office “jumped our payments significantly right out of the gate.” At a time when county governments — and most all local governments — face critical financial struggles to provide services and meet state mandates, such pullbacks in state support only make balancing their budgets all the more taxing.
ORCHID: To the Ohio School Bus Safety Program for awarding about $1 million to a wealth of school districts in the Mahoning Valley last month to ensure the safest mode for student transit to and from school remains the good old reliable and trusted yellow bus. The funds will be used for repairing, replacing or adding authorized safety features (such as cameras or other safety enhancements) to new and existing school buses. The program’s proactive initiative represents a practical and welcome investment in the state’s most precious resource bar none — its children.
ORCHID: To state Rep. Tex Fischer, R-Canfield, for sponsoring new legislation to increase penalties for those who boisterously disrupt formal religious services in Ohio. His House Bill 662 was motivated by recent angry protests inside a church in St. Paul, Minnesota, that resulted in federal grand jury indictments against at least nine people, including former CNN anchor Don Lemon. HB 662 would make a conviction for disturbing a lawful meeting of religious worship more serious by increasing it from a first-degree misdemeanor to a fifth-degree felony. That move would result in potential one-year prison sentences for violators. We find Fischer absolutely justified in asserting, “We want to continue to permit people to practice their First Amendment right of freedom of religion without being harassed.”
ORCHID: To shareholders of Kimberly-Clark Corp. and Kenvue Inc. for approving K-C’s acquisition of the consumer health company in a vote last week. The merger creates a mammoth $32 billion global health and wellness leader, combining iconic brands such as Huggies and Kleenex with Kenvue’s portfolio that includes Band-Aid and Tylenol. The company’s exciting new growth spurt comes at a particularly auspicious time for the Mahoning Valley, as Kimberly Clark completes work on its massive $1 billion production plant and distribution campus in Trumbull County with hiring projected to begin this spring.
ORCHID: To Mary Anne Russo, longtime Youth Services supervisor at the Hubbard Public Library, for giving nearly four decades of dedicated, creative and helpful service to scores of appreciative young people and their parents in that community. Russo retired as the children’s librarian last week after 37 years there, as well as more than four additional years at the Ritter Public library in Vermilion. Over those years, she instituted many positive changes and enhancements to the children’s area, including brighter lighting, an indoor gazebo, a dedicated room for children’s programs and an outdoor sensory garden. She also oversaw creative fun-based literacy programs. At her recent retirement party, she thanked Hubbard parents for sharing their children with her. We’re certain, however, that Russo, too, that most of those parents would join us in sending supersized thanks to her for the positive impact she has made on hundreds of children’s lives.