ORCHID: To the dozen schools in Mahoning and Trumbull counties that recently earned the coveted Purple Star awards from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce. Those schools are Canfield High School and Canfield Village Middle School, both of which had their star renewed, plus new honorees Lakeview High School, Mineral Ridge High School, Niles Primary, Niles Intermediate, Niles Middle and Niles McKinley High schools, B.L. Miller Elementary in Sebring, Southington Elementary School, South Range Elementary School and West Branch Middle School. The award highlights a school’s significant commitment to supporting military-connected students, who often face unique challenges such as frequent relocations and parental deployments. They also go above and beyond in recognizing and honoring military veterans in their districts and in playing a vital role in taking care of those who serve the nation.

ONION: To drivers who continue to hit the roads drunk as skunks. A sobriety checkpoint in Youngstown last week netted a whopping eight Operating a Vehicle Impaired arrests in a few short hours. The arrests reportedly included a Youngstown police officer. Recent OVI checkpoints in the Mahoning Valley typically have netted one, two or even zero OVI arrests. The steep increase clearly illustrates that some pig-headed drinkers still have not gotten the message that excessive alcohol consumption (or drug use) mixed with operating a motor vehicle simply don’t mix well. It also illustrates that the need for ongoing checkpoints and regular saturation patrols by the task force and all law enforcement agencies to rid roadways of these menaces must continue unabated.

ORCHID: To the recently announced 25 Under 35 honorees for 2026 of the Mahoning Valley Young Professionals organization, an affiliate of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, for strong skill sets that are making an impact through leadership, innovation and community involvement. The honorees, too numerous to list here, include representatives from banking, financial management, the arts, retail, marketing, education, local government and more vocations. Their achievements and successes not only bring honor to themselves, but they also could help stem the high tide of outmigration of young people from the Mahoning Valley. After all, the 25 honorees rise as concrete examples for other aspiring young people that great opportunities and livelihoods are available right here in their own back yards of Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties.

ORCHID: To 20-year-old Juliette Dietl of Boardman for her courage, optimism and resilience in dealing with her second bout of glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer. Her positive attitude and unbridled desire to beat the odds of the often-fatal diagnosis have won her admiration of many fellow victims of the disease. Her narrative of overcoming her challenges also has gained her more than 15,000 followers on TikTok. We’re certain her positivity brings a ray of sunshine into the lives of others facing the same or similar diagnoses. Kudos must also go out to her mother, father and fiancé who have provided unconditional support to Juliette. Those who wish to help this spirited young woman continue her needed treatment in Germany should plan to attend fundraisers on her behalf at the Riverview Golf Club in Newton Falls on Sunday or at The Lake Club in Poland on May 14.

ONION: To perpetrators of a new and seedy text-message scam throughout Ohio regarding totally false accusations of traffic violations to recipients. According to county sheriffs, motorists are getting messages claiming to be a “Final Notice – Court Enforcement Action” for an alleged traffic violation tied to their vehicle. These messages demand payment, may appear to come from a court and often include a QR code. They are false. The sheriffs also offer this sage advice: Never click on a link or scan a QR code from an unknown source. Targeted victims of this scam also should report it immediately to their local law enforcement agency.

ORCHID: To Columbiana County Republican Party Chairman Dave Johnson for his recent election to Ohio’s Republican National Committee. Johnson, of Salem, is one of the longest-serving county chairmen in the state, having first been elected to the post in 1989. Over the years, he has been regarded as one of the most influential members of the party in the state and in playing a major role in shifting the state and the Mahoning Valley from Democrat dominance to Republican control. In his new role, Johnson will oversee the party’s fundraising, strategy coordination and the 2028 presidential nominating process. The former Ohio state representative’s inclusion on the state’s national committee rises as a natural and well deserved extension of his years of dedicated and honorable political and community service.

ORCHID: To the Ohio Supreme Court for unanimously acting last week to remove a potential barrier to convicted murderer Danny Lee Hill’s legitimate and well-deserved death sentence. The justices ruled 7-0 that Hill cannot use civil rules to challenge his punishment of execution. The court reversed an appellate decision that allowed Hill to use a civil rule to argue against his conviction based on intellectual disability. Sadly, however, the case must now go back to the Warren-based 11th District Court of Appeals to follow the proper postconviction relief process. His date with death has been rescheduled to July 18, 2029, which itself is a travesty for someone convicted in 1986 of the 1985 brutal rape and murder of 12-year-old Boy Scout Raymond Fife in Warren. His mother Miriam and other family members have been denied justice and closure for far too long already.

ORCHID: To students, teachers and staff at Struthers High School and Youngstown Chaney High School for recently earning the prestigious Governor’s Momentum Award from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce. That award is aptly named as it recognizes schools that have zoomed upward in their overall Performance Index on 2025 state report cards by three or more points from the previous year. These significant improvements validate schools’ efforts to improve student achievement, enhance schools’ reputation and boost community pride. They also serve as models for other districts in the Mahoning Valley in demonstrating that measurable academic improvement is attainable and well worth actively pursuing.

ORCHID: To Trumbull County Sheriff’s Office Detective John Dina for spearheading the office’s first internship program for criminal justice students at Youngstown State University. In the program, the interns receive hands-on exposure to nearly every facet of law enforcement. Ben Phillips, 19, a first-year criminal justice student, recently spent 90 hours rotating through the sheriff’s office operations from the ins and outs of making arrests to overseeing convictions in local courts. That hands-on experience paid off handsomely for Phillips. “It cemented more that this is the career that I want to continue with,” he said after finishing the internship and applying for a job as a corrections officer. Such results also benefit the sheriff’s office and other law enforcement agencies in conquering common challenges of understaffing and lackluster recruitment efforts.