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Orchids and onions

• ORCHID: To Jake Ouellette of Warren, the young man who jumped into action without a moment’s hesitation when he saw a young girl floating in the water at Willow Lake in Champion. He pulled her out, saw that she was purple and immediately started CPR. His quick action likely saved the child’s life. Ouellette, 19, will leave next month for basic training in the U.S. Army. May God bless and keep him safe.

• ORCHID: To the Niles Democratic Central Committee for delaying its meeting where members will choose the next mayor of Niles from among 10 applicants. The meeting had been set for July 18, but now has been delayed until July 27 “in an effort to ensure full transparency” and to give “everybody time to get their information out for the public to take it all in and learn whatever they want to know,” Trumbull County Democratic Party Parliamentarian Jeffrey Goodman said. We have argued before against rushing into these crucial decisions, and we are pleased to see this time the party agrees.

• ONION: To the council members in Newton Falls insisting that council meeting minutes be a verbatim transcript. Minutes from a recent meeting here totaled 25 pages. That’s ridiculous! The Ohio Attorney General’s office says Ohio Revised Code 121.22(C) states that a public body must keep full and accurate minutes — but not necessarily an exact transcript of every word said. If council wants to keep a full accounting, then don’t ask the clerk to write a transcript and don’t hire a costly stenographer. Simply audio or video record the meetings and post the recordings online. Many boards do that, and it works fine for everyone!

• ORCHID: To the YWCA Mahoning Valley for offering a five-week girls camp this summer to help encourage young girls to explore and possibly pursue careers in science, engineering and mathematics — fields that often are male-dominated. This program is meant to encourage girls so they know anything is possible, regardless of gender.

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