ORCHID: To Champion Township Zoning Board member John Streitferdt for his remarkably long and productive tenure on the board. Township trustees and the Trumbull County Planning Commission recently honored Streitferdt for his 61 stellar years of service on the board, including 20 as its chairman. His involvement stretches even further back to 1957 when he played a role in passage of the first zoning regulations, which contributed to the growth and commercial and industrial development of the vibrant suburban Warren community. We wish the adept community-minded nonagenarian many more years of exceptional service to the township and its residents. He’s truly a champion for Champion.

ORCHID: To the Warren-based AVI Foodsystems Inc. for its generous $1 million gift recently to the Youngstown State University Kilcawley: Centered on the Future Campaign to massively renovate the university’s student center. In appropriate recognition of the gift, the main dining area in Kilcawley will be named “The Payiavlas Family Dining Commons” after the Payiavlas family that founded what has become the largest family-owned and operated food and hospitality service provider in the United States. As YSU President Bill Johnson noted, “This gift by one of the Valley’s most prominent and generous families means that thousands of students will enjoy the benefits of an exceptional dining experience.”

ONION: To careless or forgetful parents and guardians who leave children unattended inside hot motor vehicles this summer. An updated study released last week from the organization No Heat Stroke reported that 1,025 children have died in hot cars, including 23 in Ohio, from Pediatric Vehicular Heatstroke since 1998. NHS offers these potentially life-saving tips: Never leave a child unattended in a vehicle, ensure all occupants leave the vehicle when unloading, always lock your can and make sure children do not have access to keys or remote entry devices. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, if you see a child unattended in a hot vehicle, call 9-1-1 immediately.

ORCHID: To the hundreds of gold, silver and bronze medal winners in the Tribune Chronicle’s 2025 Readers’ Choice Awards. This year’s contest, for which the winners were announced in a special section of last weekend’s newspaper, featured more than 200 categories ranging from auto and truck accessory companies to vacuum dealers. A whopping 100,000-plus votes from Valley residents were recorded in tabulating the victors. These awards not only recognize outstanding Valley businesses but have added value as they represent the opinions of the people who count, the customers themselves.

ORCHID: To David Toepfer of Howland for being nominated by President Donald J. Trump to become the next U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Toepfer would then become the chief federal prosecutor for the 40 counties included in the district. We’re confident Toepfer has what it takes to succeed in this critical position. He has gained nearly 30 years of legal experience working in Ohio, including a 10-year stint as an assistant prosecutor for Trumbull County. His then boss and current Prosecutor Dennis Watkins called him “an amazing employee.” We urge the Senate to confirm Toepfer swiftly. Partisan political stonewalling, such as that suggested by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., must be avoided at all costs.

ONION: To potential candidates for public office who do not follow the relatively simple rules for petitioning for the ballot. Last week, for example, the Mahoning County Board of Elections refused to certify five independent candidates for this fall’s general election for such issues as failing to identify which ward race and others for not properly signing and dating petitions. In Trumbull County, candidates did much better with all independents certified for the ballot. Still, questions were raised there for lack of proper dates and other more minor irregularities with petitions. Clearly, the lack of attention toward simple ballot procedures reflects poorly on any would-be candidate’s overall attention to detail, a character trait sorely needed for any public officeholder.

ORCHID: To visiting Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Judge Patricia Cosgrove for rightly rejecting a request for early release from prison from former Niles Mayor Ralph Infante. Infante, who served as the leader of the Mahoning Valley’s third largest city from 1992 to 2015, was convicted on 22 charges including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, gambling, tampering with records and theft in office. For those and other offenses, the 10-year prison sentence was lenient enough, and we commend the judge for keeping the corrupt ex-mayor behind bars and further solidifying the principle that no one is above the law.