ORCHID: To Ann Saksa and her daughter Jennifer Saksa for devoting a combined 54 years of dedicated service to the Trumbull Career and Technical Center in Champion. Between them, they helped keep the halls and classrooms of the sprawling school in ship shape ever since it first opened as the Trumbull County Joint Vocational School in 1978. Saksa retired as a custodian in 2002, and Jennifer recently retired. Too often the value of custodial work is underrated and underappreciated. But we concur with Jennifer who argues, “If done correctly and conscientiously, being a custodian is hard work, sometimes daunting and taken for granted, but also rewarding when the task is completed.” We wish the mother-daughter team a clean sweep of enjoyment in their newly shared retirement.

ONION: To operators of Belmont Pines Hospital in Liberty for failing to keep their patients under control, which led to a recent fracas at the behavioral hospital. Earlier this month, three teens were arrested after several staff members were assaulted and portions of the hospital were severely damaged. Earlier this year, police had to quell an aggravated riot at the facility. In that March uprising, multiple staff members were physically assaulted and one had blood spit on her. This string of violent disturbances, along with allegations of sexual abuse at the hospital and the recent sudden resignation of the hospital CEO, should raise some eyebrows and spur a thorough investigation of the facility by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

ORCHID: To the Trumbull County Commissioners for approving the much-needed and long-awaited relocation of two major county departments last week. The county’s Emergency Management Agency and the coroner’s office have endured cramped quarters, unseemly odors and other problems at their shared site on North River Road for far too long. The plan in place is to move EMA to a former fire station in Cortland and allow the coroner to occupy all of its current Warren site. We’re particularly pleased that because the county owns both buildings, there will be no cost to acquire them. Earlier estimates to build a new facility for the coroner ran around $2 million. Now there’s a great case of fiscal responsibility in action

ONION: To witnesses of violent crimes — or any crime for that matter — who fail to cooperate with police and other authorities to apprehend guilty parties. Yes, we’re familiar with the “snitches get stitches” adage that providing valuable information to police will lead informants to become targets of retaliatory violence. In the name of justice and public safety, however, those fears should be set aside (and police protection requested in exchange for valuable witness accounts). Recently, Warren police reported “near zero” assistance from the public in a fatal shooting at a convenience store this month, despite surveillance footage showing multiple people present. In Youngstown, Mahoning County Prosecutor Lynn Maro recently reported a rash of uncooperative crime witnesses. Apathetic and tight-mouthed witnesses only run the risk of giving criminals a get-out-of-jail-free card and making their communities more dangerous.

ONION: To Newton Falls Village Council for taking final action last week to authorize unstaffed speed cameras in school zones in the community. Many, including this newspaper, continue to see use of such devices as cash grabs above public-safety tools. In the case of Newton Falls, officials freely acknowledge the cameras will help finance its newly restarted police department. Before council took its final vote on the matter, we strongly urged members to consider other means to maximize public safety, such as patrols near schools at entry and dismissal times. We’re miffed and disappointed they chose not to even consider such alternatives.

ORCHID: To Nadia C. Zarbaugh, a 2024 Poland Seminary High School graduate, for her appointment by Gov. Mike DeWine to serve as the newest student member of Youngstown State University’s Board of Trustees. Zarbaugh, a member of the university’s prestigious Sokolov Honors College, aims to become a physician in Mahoning County. She has a stellar academic and community service record and strikes us as an excellent choice for the voice of the students on the university’s policymaking board. We join YSU President Bill Johnson in looking forward to the insight and perspective she will bring in her new and important role.