ORCHID: To the Youngstown Skatepark Association for its grit and determination to build a state-of-the-art skate park in the city. It most recently demonstrated that commitment by hosting a “Pop-Up” portable skate park in the expansive Penguin City Brewing Co. in downtown Youngstown. Clearly, the association proved its point for the need as more than 150 riders and 300 spectators turned up for the somewhat impromptu event last weekend. Additional pop-ups are now planned through the fall. We hope YSA and its association with the Youngstown Parks and Recreation Department can finalize plans and funding for the facility as soon as possible. They may well want to consult with neighbors to the north in Lorain who just two weeks ago finalized plans and funding for a $1.3 million, 17,000-square-foot skate park in that city.

ORCHID: To the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber and the Columbiana Area Chamber of Commerce for finalizing plans this year for a formal affiliation between the two economic development and civic organizations. The linkage is a natural fit as it enables the larger Regional Chamber to assist in development efforts in Columbiana County, which with Mahoning and Trumbull counties is an essential part of the Mahoning Valley metro area. It also preserves some local autonomy for the Columbiana chamber. As its Executive Director Zach King put it,” This affiliation keeps decision-making local while adding resources, stronger connections and capacity to serve the business community. It allows us to deliver more value for businesses across the Columbiana area.”

ONION: To CoreCivic, operators of the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center on Hubbard Road in Youngstown, for failing to adequately address repeated cases of physical violence among inmates at the private prison. Just last week police were called to the lockup after a prisoner reportedly stabbed his cellmate, a stabbing that took prison employees four hours to discover, according to media reports. That stabbing was the third within one month and reportedly the 20th at the private prison since 2024. On top of that, an inmate reached a private settlement last month in a $25,000 lawsuit against the prison operator for failing to prevent multiple beatings and sexual assaults by other inmates last year. The U.S. Justice Department, which is investigating another CoreCivic-managed prison in Tennessee after reports of excessive violence there, would do well to now turn its attention to NEOCC.

ORCHID: To the Boardman Police Department for earning the prestigious accreditation into the new Ohio Collaborative Law Enforcement Program last month. Gov. Mike DeWine created the program in 2024 to recognize law enforcement agencies that voluntarily meet or exceed roughly 36 rigid state standards that address various core responsibilities such as professional conduct, bias-free policing, crisis intervention and community engagement. The honor buys bragging rights for the department as it is now one of only 24 out of some 900 law enforcement agencies in the state to achieve the rigorous standards needed for accreditation. (In the Valley, the Mahoning Sheriff’s Office and Beaver Police Department also had earlier achieved accreditation.) A special shoutout must go, too, to Boardman Lt. Mike Sweeney and officer Bill Woods who, according to Chief Todd Werth, worked tirelessly throughout the process to ensure the Boardman men and women in blue met the program’s demanding standards of stellar law enforcement and community service.

ORCHID: To Mahoning County Job and Family Services Director Audrey Morales for her four decades of commendable service to county government operations. The Mahoning County Board of Commissioners celebrated Morales last week after rehiring her for another three-year stint as director of the critical community service arm of county government that provides a lifeline to tens of thousands of residents. Morales’ department oversees services for Mahoning County’s 40,000 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients and 77,000 Medicaid recipients. In reflecting on the praise and her reappointment during Black History Month, she was characteristically modest. “As I reflect on Black History Month and the African American women who paved the way before me, women who endured unimaginable obstacles so that doors like this could be opened, I recognize just how blessed I am.” County leaders and clients of JFS would argue they are blessed to have Morales at the helm of the agency.

ONION: To the Enbridge Gas Co. for mistakenly inflating the bills of thousands of Struthers’ users of the utility by nearly triple the correct amount. Last month, the gas company charged approximately 2,600 of its customers in the city $8.84 per MCF as opposed to the negotiated rate of only $3.74 per MCF. Though Struthers Mayor Catherine Cercone Miller said the error was an innocent mistake, we hope Enbridge nonetheless learned a lesson about double checking the accuracy of all of its bills before it sends them out to customers throughout Northeast Ohio. Such mistakes as that one in Struthers does little to build trust from sticker-shocked consumers.

ORCHID: To the cheerleading squads from Girard and Jackson-Milton high schools for winning state championships recently in the Ohio Association of Secondary School Administrators’ annual competition in Columbus. Girard’s team took top honors in the Division 4 nonbuilding category, and Jackson-Milton’s squad was crowned state champions in the Division 6 game-day nonmounting category. We give three cheers to these new titleholders and to all school cheerleaders in the Valley who excel by acting primary ambassadors of school spirit, boosting crowd morale and creating a positive, unified atmosphere at athletic events and school functions.

ONION: To state Rep. Jamie Callender, R-Lake County, for introducing legislation in the Ohio Legislature that would cut state funding to school districts that oppose the massive growth in the state’s EdChoice private school voucher program, including several districts in the Mahoning Valley. In June 2025, Judge Jaiza Page of Franklin County ruled that the expanded EdChoice program was unconstitutional, but the state has since appealed the decision. Though Callender now reportedly says he will amend House Bill 671 to lessen the funding cuts, “The bill will still penalize school districts and continues to be unconstitutional. Whether it is a dime or $1 million, it’s unconstitutional,” Eric Brown, former chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, aptly stated. Moreover, the not-so-subtle threats inherent to Callender’s legislation also represent a direct challenge to the free-speech rights of school districts throughout Ohio.