ORCHID: To Trumbull Town Hall for providing the Mahoning Valley with an entertaining and informative lecture series for the past 47 years. TTH last week hosted its final speaker — Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel — before disbanding due to rising costs and falling membership. Over those decades, the organization has garnered rave reviews from thousands for its yearly series of diverse, famous and intriguing speakers. They included such heavy hitters as Shirley Jones, Rita Moreno, Jane Seymour, Cloris Leachman, Jamie Farr, Stefanie Powers, Larry Hagman, Alex Haley and many others. We are saddened to see this Valley institution fall by the wayside, but will continue to cherish its legacy of community enrichment.

ORCHID: To Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership Health and Wellness Coordinator Lydia Lynch and the many volunteers who planted dozens of trees to appropriately mark Arbor Day in Warren recently. Warren Safety Service Director Eddie Colbert attended the planting event at Burbank Park and presented a formal city council resolution recognizing Arbor Day. Warren has done a great job in recognizing the importance of reforestation in the city with plans to plant 1,250 shade trees over the next five years through a federal Urban and Community Forestry Grant. Given the many benefits of tree planting — improved air and water quality, reduced energy costs and better stormwater management — other cities should follow Warren’s tree-mendous lead.

ORCHID: To U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, for taking time out of his busy schedule last week to sit down and brainstorm solutions to pressing local issues with elected leaders of Trumbull County and Warren city governments. Much of the discussion focused on the county’s current health-care crisis stemming from the closures of Insight Hospital & Medical Center in Warren and Insight Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital in Howland. To the surprise of many in the audience, Moreno proved to be a staunch ally with officials in attendance. “What we need is an operator that has a strong balance sheet, that’s healthy, and, most importantly, that wants to be in the hospital business,” Moreno said, adding that some progress has been made already in securing a new operator for the hospitals. We urge Moreno to continue aggressively his fight to reopen the vital health-care facilities.

ONION: To bartenders and store clerks who fail to check IDs before serving or selling alcoholic beverages to customers. Recently, Youngstown police cited a bartender at a downtown Youngstown club for serving a 19-year-old a mixed drink. Failing to verify a customer’s age and subsequently selling or serving alcohol to a minor can lead to serious consequences, including fines, license suspension, and even criminal charges. Worse, it can also lead to minors drinking too heavily, driving and getting themselves or others seriously injured or killed.

ORCHID: To Michael Summers for his talented service to Liberty schools over the past 26 years as band director there and for his stature as one of the Mahoning Valley’s longest-serving music educators at nearly four decades. Summers conducted the Liberty High School Jazz Ensemble in a farewell concert last week at Woodland Estate in the township. On his retirement the band director said he was blessed to have had such a rewarding career with great students and administrators in the school district. We’re confident district leaders, students and parents alike feel blessed to have had his sustained devoted leadership at the helm of band programs in Liberty.

ORCHID: To Warren Mayor Doug Franklin and other city leaders responsible for launching a new veterans’ appreciation initiative. The Warren Honors: Veterans Banner Program will feature banners with photos, names and service details of veterans with strong ties to the community. About 100 are expected to be hung during this first year from City Hall to Courthouse Square. Franklin emphasized the purpose of the program that runs from Memorial Day to Veterans Day: “These aren’t just banners. They are family photo albums raised high in the sky. They are reminders that service doesn’t end when the uniform comes off.”

ORCHID: To state Rep. Tex Fischer, R-Boardman, for recently introducing legislation to require employers in the construction business to use the federal E-Verify program to ensure all workers hired in Ohio are legally authorized to work in the United States. The bill is designed to protect Ohioans from competing against illegal workers, who often undercut wages and produce lower-quality work, according to Fischer. Of course, it would also help ensure businesses abide by the guidelines of federal immigration laws. It deserves a quick smooth sail through the Ohio General Assembly and a speedy signature into law by Gov. Mike DeWine.