ORCHID: To the Youngstown Board of Education for finding a viable and fiscally responsible solution to its ongoing transportation issues. The board last week agreed to outsource its busing needs to Petermann Bus Co., an Ohio-based private company with experience in school transportation. According to Superintendent Jeremy Batchelor, no current drivers or bus aides will lose their jobs. The contract also will reportedly save the financially-strapped district about $3 million per year while providing service to all students, including high schoolers who had been excluded from district service. We also hope that an improved and reliable student busing system also will help reduce the urban school system’s disturbingly high chronic absenteeism rate.

ORCHID: To the Youngstown Radio Reading Service for reaching its milestone 50th anniversary this year as a vital and fulfilling service for the blind and vision-impaired population of the Mahoning Valley. The station, a subcarrier of WYSU-FM, offers a variety of programming, including daily readings of content from The Vindicator and Tribune Chronicle, talk shows and special interest programming. The station, which can be streamed worldwide, is a mission service offered by Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries. The value of the service is self-evident in promoting independence, lessening isolation and keeping listeners engaged in their community. For more information, to volunteer or to donate to YRRS, call 330-759-7921.

ONION: To teenagers who get their kicks by taking part in so-called “teen takeovers.” A “teen takeover” refers to large, spontaneously organized gatherings of young people who converge on public spaces, retail areas or entertainment districts after coordinating on social media. Sadly, these massive crowds too often descend into chaos, brawls and violence. One such takeover this spring at a skating rink in Boardman resulted in pepper spray being deployed to break up a fight and disperse a large crowd. As summer gets into full swing and the likelihood of such takeovers increases, local police agencies should not hesitate to monitor them closely and break them up quickly. Targeted businesses should not think twice about adopting strict escort policies for those under 18.

ORCHID: To state Reps. Cecil Thomas, D-Cincinnati, and Phil Plummer, R-Dayton, for responding rapidly and appropriately to recent revelations that deaths from domestic violence in Ohio have skyrocketed to shocking new heights. They totaled 157 in 2025, a 37% increase from 2024, and the number of felony domestic violence cases doubled over that same period. The two have introduced House Bill 846, which would require the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation to develop and maintain a publicly searchable database of people convicted of domestic violence more than once. As Plummer puts it, “If we can shine the light on a certain group of individuals that continue to commit domestic violence, we may be able to save some people along the way.”

ORCHID: To responsible safety-conscious drivers and hard-working law enforcement agencies for producing the safest Memorial Day weekend on Ohio roads in two decades. Over the four-day holiday weekend, only six traffic fatalities were recorded throughout the Buckeye State. That compares to 14 last year and 26 deaths in both 2023 and 2024. Part of that steep decline must be attributable to the stepped-up saturation patrols and OVI checkpoints during and in advance of the weekend by the Ohio State Highway Patrol. With traffic fatalities in the state running slightly above last year’s level overall, now the challenge must be to continue and improve upon the holiday weekend’s relatively strong safety record throughout the second half of the year.

ONION: To disreputable home-improvement companies and contractors that pocket sizable down payments from customers but then fail to complete work, do shoddy work or do no work at all. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost recently sued a Mahoning Valley contractor, alleging violations of the Consumer Sales Practices Act and the Home Solicitation Sales Act. “This contractor pocketed down payments only to abandon the projects,” Yost said in reference to the Valley case, in which several complaints of scams were filed. Heed the attorney general’s words to the wise: Check credentials of home-improvement companies before signing any contract and avoid any requiring a large down payment or requiring full payment before the project is completed and inspected.

ORCHID: To the Ohio Adult Parole Authority for last week denying early release of convicted Trumbull County 61-year-old child rapist Ronald Harris from the Marion Correctional Institution. The authority clearly listened to the well-founded pleas of Trumbull Prosecutor Dennis Watkins’ Child Assault Prosecution Unit led by Gabe Wildman and Jennifer Paris. As Paris pointed out in her communications to the authority board, “The facts underlying Harris’ conviction reflect a prolonged and calculated pattern of sexual abuse against … a vulnerable child in his care.” That threatening demeanor, coupled with a relatively recent incident of Harris violating prison rules by engaging in sexual activity inside the prison, clearly indicate he does not deserve an exit door this year from his maximum sentence of life in prison.