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Orchids and Onions

l ORCHID: To Brookfield Local Schools, donors and all the volunteers who reacted to an order by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, and turned out to make the stadium handicapped accessible in time for the start of the football season.

l ORCHID: To Taco Bell for stepping up to fund the funeral for a Warren teen who worked at a local Taco Bell restaurant. Shemar Latrae Glover, 19, was on his way home from work when he was killed early Sunday in a car crash on Elm Road, Warren.

l ONION: To the person who called in a bomb threat to Niles McKinley High School on only the second day of the new school year, leading to hours of work by the city’s police and fire and a loss of a day of school for those students who want to learn.

l ORCHID: To all those in the community, including Warren police, who have been working hard in attempts to locate missing Warren woman Alesha Bell, 18, and to those who have been providing support to her family.

l ORCHID: To organizers, donors and participants in the Pink Ribbon Golf Classic held in July at the Youngstown Country Club. The classic recently donated $15,000 to the American Cancer Society. Next year’s event will be July 18 at Avalon Lakes Golf and Country Club. (Submitted by a reader)

editorial@tribtoday.com

Orchids and Onions

ORCHID: To Olivia Simpson, a registered nurse who witnessed 13-year-old Kalil Travis being struck by a car, and quickly sprung into action. Simpson said she performed basic trauma care on the boy and stabilized his spine.

ORCHID: Also to donors, including many who are John F. Kennedy High School alumni, who offered to donate money, a new bike and safety equipment to the boy, who is a 7th grader at Warren JFK, and was riding his bike home from football practice when he was struck by the car Aug. 8.

ONION: To the city of Warren for leaving the restrooms in Packard Park without stall doors, lights and, in some cases, running water. It appears the exterior has been nicely painted, but the inside – what matters the most – was untouched and in the words of park visitors “disgusting.” When asked about it, Mayor Doug Franklin responded: “If I would have known, we would have closed off the restrooms.” We think a better answer would have been: “If I would have known, we would have fixed the problems.”

ORCHID: To six people who this month graduated from the Trumbull County Common Pleas Drug Court. The program, offered as “treatment in lieu of conviction,” has proven to be a success, with 65 to 70 percent of of the people accepted completing it successfully.

ORCHID: To the family of Jimmy Marucci, 29, of Hubbard, who died in 2012 of non-Hodgkin Lymphoma for organizing the mud run at Big Game Raceway on Hubbard-Masury Road. The annual “Seven-Mile Burner” raises funds that were donated to Akron Children’s Hospital, and keeps the memory of their loved one alive.

editorial@tribtoday.com

Orchids and Onions

ORCHID: To Youngstown State University for its recently announced GIVE back. GO forward pilot program that rewards seniors 60 and older who volunteer at least 100 hours at certain organizations to earn three credit hours at YSU or Eastern Gateway Community College.

ONION: To the Trumbull County Transit Board and its former mobility manager John Moliterno for an improper $518 reimbursement outlined last week in the release of a 2014 financial audit. The reimbursement was made with no itemized receipts and included $158 for alcohol purchases. Moliterno later repaid the money and the board has changed its policy. Still, it should not take a state audit to point out that its wrong to spend public money on alcohol or to reimburse without itemized receipts.

ORCHID: To Youngstown for being named among the top 10 in two categories of Business Facilities magazines annual Metro and Global Rankings. The city ranked 10th in the economic growth potential category and sixth for cost of living.

ORCHID: To Lordstown High School junior Hannah Emerson, who spent part of her summer at a journalism and media conference in Washington, D.C. She was among 290 high school students nationwide who gathered at George Mason University. Young people who realize the importance of being educated and sharing public information are a big key to keeping the fourth estate strong in the future.

ORCHID: Also to Speed Check and Greenwood Chevrolet, along with George Mason University, for their donations that helped make Hannah Emersons trip to Washington, D.C., possible.

editorial@tribtoday.com

Orchids and Onions

ORCHID: To Youngstown State University for its recently announced GIVE back. GO forward pilot program that rewards seniors 60 and older who volunteer at least 100 hours at certain organizations to earn three credit hours at YSU or Eastern Gateway Community College.

ONION: To the Trumbull County Transit Board and its former mobility manager John Moliterno for an improper $518 reimbursement outlined last week in the release of a 2014 financial audit. The reimbursement was made with no itemized receipts and included $158 for alcohol purchases. Moliterno later repaid the money and the board has changed its policy. Still, it should not take a state audit to point out that its wrong to spend public money on alcohol or to reimburse without itemized receipts.

ORCHID: To Youngstown for being named among the top 10 in two categories of Business Facilities magazines annual Metro and Global Rankings. The city ranked 10th in the economic growth potential category and sixth for cost of living.

ORCHID: To Lordstown High School junior Hannah Emerson, who spent part of her summer at a journalism and media conference in Washington, D.C. She was among 290 high school students nationwide who gathered at George Mason University. Young people who realize the importance of being educated and sharing public information are a big key to keeping the fourth estate strong in the future.

ORCHID: Also to Speed Check and Greenwood Chevrolet, along with George Mason University, for their donations that helped make Hannah Emersons trip to Washington, D.C., possible.

Orchids and Onions

ORCHID: To A Special Wish Foundation, Hubbard Township Police Department and all the participants who helped make the dream come true for 5-year-old Memphis Vance of Hubbard by naming him police chief for the day. Memphis, who suffers from liver disease Embryonic Biliary Atresia, has undergone dozens of surgeries, blood transfusions and even an organ transplant already in his short life.

ONION: To truck drivers and operators of an injection well in the area of Tibbetts Wick Road that caused damage to roads, leading to hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs. The bill is being footed by Liberty Township taxpayers. Since then, weight limits have been posted on the roads in an attempt to prevent further damage.

ORCHID: To McDonald village administrators for finding ways to remodel and prepare to reopen a community center. Mayor Glenn Holmes and village Administrator Tom Domitrovich said they’ve been able to secure about $100,000 in grants and save up other village funds to enable the project without asking residents for tax increases.

ORCHID: To the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and all the bird enthusiasts that turned out last week to take part in the Birds of Mosquito celebration at the Lakeview Recreation Area. The event focused on the importance of maintaining the environment for the hundreds of birds that make it their home and that travel through the region.

ORCHIDS: To Champion High School Robotics Team members and two members of Boy Scouts Troop 28 who volunteered at the annual book sale at the Warren-Trumbull County Public Library last weekend. (Submitted by a reader)

editorial@tribtoday.com

Orchids and Onions

ORCHID: To Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1090 and local Boy Scout troops 15 and 8 for their work last week in ensuring that 200 torn and tattered American flags were permanently retired appropriately and with dignity.

ORCHID: To the Trumbull County Adaptive Baseball League, which offers participation to disabled children and adults. Games, like the one last week in Brookfield, allow players to bat until they get a hit, have “buddies” on the field for assistance, and are welcoming to anyone with disabilities who are unable to play traditional baseball.

ONION: To the Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy in Champion that closed last week with little or no advance notice to its customers who had their prescriptions registered there. Customers told the Tribune Chronicle they were caught off guard and unhappy about the unannounced transfer of their scripts. (Submitted by a reader)

ORCHID: To all the local racers in the All-American Soap Box Derby last week in Akron. Of particular note is Rachel Bockelman, 18, of Cortland, who placed 6th in her division. Born with Spina Bifida, Rachel is paralyzed from the waist down. She should be an inspiration to all.

ORCHID: Congratulations also to the other five local competitors in Saturday’s national Soap Box Derby event. They are: Alan Rihel III, of Niles; Victor LaRose, of Austintown; Abbie Postlethwait of Mineral Ridge; Hailey Frederick of Niles; and Lia Brammer of Poland.

editorial@tribtoday.com

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