Trending
ORCHID: To Lisa Hill for her well-deserved promotion to Mahoning County dog warden last week. Hill has been working for over 17 years with organizations committed to the welfare of our beloved four-legged friends. For the past 10 years she has worked at the dog warden's complex on Meridian Road as a kennel canvasser and supervisor. Clearly she brings a wealth of experience and a passion for humane treatment of dogs to the post. We're also impressed with her goals of much stronger community outreach and education on the roles and responsibilities of pet ownership. Given the seeming unending reports of inhumane and abusive treatment of dogs and cats in the Mahoning Valley of late, such an educational blitz clearly cannot come soon enough.
ORCHID: To Canfield Local Schools' Board of Education members, administrators, faculty, staff and, most importantly, its students for the high school's superlative showing in the recently announced 2026 Best High Schools rankings nationwide by U.S. News and World Report magazine. The home of the Cardinals outranked all other high schools in the Mahoning Valley and came in the top 5% of schools in the state and nation. The rankings measure student achievement in advanced placement courses, college credit curricula, Ohio State Tests,and other protocols such as graduation rates. Clearly, Canfield High has made the grade -- and then some!
ONION: To Democratic Party Ohio governor candidate Amy Acton for refusing to debate Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican gubernatorial candidate in this fall's hot and close statewide race. Ramaswamy said he's accepted invitations from CNN and others to debate offers, but Acton has emphatically stated she will not engage in a one-on-one give and take with her challenger. She cites the Republican "scam artist's" unflattering ads against her as a primary reason. Though some of the pro-Ramaswamy ads may indeed go too far and be a bit misleading about Acton's personal life and tenure as state health director, such no-holes-barred and over-the-top campaigning has regrettably become all too commonplace. More importantly, Acton's refusal to confront Ramaswamy on a formal and controlled platform such as a debate stage denies Ohio voters an important side-by-side comparison of the stands of both candidates, neither of whom have ever held elected office.
ORCHID: To Mr. Darby's Vintage & Antiques shop on Market Street in Boardman for its recent statewide recognition and acclaim. Travel publication Ever After in the Woods included Mr. Darby's in its article on "10 Surprisingly Affordable Vintage Shops in Ohio Perfect for a Weekend Road Trip." The digital publication praised the winning stores as places where shoppers can browse at their own pace, find fair prices and leave with something more memorable than a typical retail purchase. The local store, across from Southern Park Mall, features more than 100 vendors. Its supersized selections may be matched only by Mr. Darby's big heart. The store regularly gives back to the community by hosting fundraising events for nonprofits and others in need such as Animal Charity. It also recently raised $1,000 to benefit the St. Vincent de Paul Society in the Valley.
ONION: To CoreCivic and those in charge of overseeing its Northeast Ohio Correctional Center for seemingly failing to adequately address repeated cases of physical violence among inmates at the private prison in Youngstown. Just last week police were called to the lockup after a prisoner reportedly stabbed another with a large metal shank after an altercation over walking over a freshly painted area. The suspect is an alleged member of the brutal MS-13 gang from El Salvador. The stabbing reportedly is the 22nd over the past two years at the privately operated lockup. That's unacceptable for inmates and staff at the prison. The U.S. Justice Department, which has investigated another CoreCivic-managed prison in Tennessee after reports of excessive violence there, would do well to now turn its attention to NOCC.
ORCHID: To the Jackson-Milton High School football program for inviting clients of Gateways to Better Living to a recent on-the-field practice session. The resulting interaction brought benefits to both groups: clients of Gateways, which provides services to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and to the student football players. The visit allowed many of the Gateways clients to at last observe football firsthand, something many of whom were denied during their school years. For the Blue Jay players, the interaction sowed seeds of li felong lessons in inclusion and acceptance of people from all walks of life. Other schools and other athletic programs should follow Jackson-Milton's commendable lead.
ORCHID: To Mahoning County Land Bank Executive Director Debora Flora for her recent selection as board president of the Ohio Land Bank Association, a statewide organization representing Ohio's 71 county land banks. Flora, a former Vindicator entertainment editor, has certainly earned that statewide leadership role. She and staff at the land bank have scooped up a shovel full of advancements in her 14 years at the helm. Among them have been demolition of 2,000 blighted buildings, securing more than $12 million for development of once-decaying brownfield land and building new homes in Youngstown and other areas of the county in partnership with the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp.
ONION: To all who fail to follow safety and security protocols at high school football games. A Youngstown man recently was arrested after he had a run-in and argument with a Warren police officer standing guard at the Warren Harding-Youngstown football game. The man was irate over Mollenkopf Stadium staff saying they would refuse to let him re-enter if he left after halftime. High schools across the country routinely enforce rules that prohibit new entry or re-entry into a stadium after halftime as a proactive safety and crowd-control measure. Those who refuse to respect the rules would be better off staying home.