ORCHID: To Valley Partners and Warren city leaders for partnering in an economic development program that is showing positive and measurable results. VP, a nonprofit with a focus on growing small businesses throughout the region implemented a small business loan program to help budding businesses with $1.5 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan and approved by Warren City Council two years ago. Those funds, administered as a revolving loan fund, supported 15 small businesses, creating or retaining 61 jobs, according to Teresa Miller, Executive Director of Valley Partners. The program also serves as a broader success story for the ARP program, which was designed to produce long-term sustainable improvements for communities large and small in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

ORCHID: To the Trumbull County commissioners for forming a task force to address building a new county dog pound and responding to the growing problem of abandoned dogs. Frankly such a commitment to solving what Jason Cooke, leader of the Healthy Hearts and Paws Project, calls “a crisis with regard to dogs,” is long overdue. As cases of abuse and abandonment have skyrocketed in recent years, shelters for their recovery and care have been stretched beyond their limits. Though there has been talk for several years now of building a larger pound, concrete action has been sorely lacking. Commissioner Denny Malloy has suggested creating a public-private partnership to finance and oversee the project. Given the major constraints on the county’s operating budget, such a plan would appear to have merit. Meanwhile, we look for quick activation of the task force and expeditious decision-making by the group to give animal welfare agencies and the dogs themselves some long-needed relief.

ONION: To the newest crop of sleazy scammers who are targeting family members of individuals in the Trumbull County jail with totally bogus demands that they owe court fees, fines or house arrest costs and must pay them immediately over the phone. Truth be told, the county sheriff’s office never requests payments by phone. All legitimate payments, the office says, are processed through the courts, clerk of courts or official government channels. So if you become a potential victim of this scam, here’s what to do: hang up immediately, avoid sharing personal or financial information and contact the sheriff’s office with concerns at 330-675-2508.

ORCHID: To the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown for launching a special task force on school safety and security in the aftermath of the horrific mass shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis last month. The task force will bring together law enforcement, first responders and school leaders to coordinate best practices and make building-specific recommendations, according to the diocese. In addition, comprehensive safety inspections of every school in the six-county diocese began last week in Mahoning County. We commend Bishop of Youngstown David Bonnar and Dr. Stephen Jones, superintendent of Catholic schools, for their expeditious and responsible actions to ensure maximum safety for all students. For as Bonnar himself put it, “”Even in our churches, it seems, our children are not completely free from danger.”

ORCHID: To Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel for organizing and leading a new statewide fitness challenge for youngsters in grades 4-8. The former president of Youngstown State University visited Struthers Middle School last week for a pep rally with participants for the Team Tressel Fitness Challenge that officially begins Sept. 8. From our perspective, the program has tremendous potential for success in improving the physical and mental health of children. Unlike other programs, such as the President’s Fitness Test, no one-size-fits-all regimen of activities is thrust upon the children. Instead, they get to choose from a variety of activities and set their own goals, thereby heightening motivation levels and determination to succeed. We’re confident that with Tressel at the helm, the 160,000 middle schoolers taking part in the challenge will go the distance to meet or beat their goals.

ONION: To those irresponsible and dangerous individuals who continue to insist on driving under the influence of alcohol, marijuana or other drugs. A checkpoint and saturation patrol by the Mahoning Valley OVI Task Force on a recent Friday night made four arrests for impaired driving. That breaks a trend of 0 OVI arrests at earlier checkpoints this year and illustrates that driving a motor vehicle under the influence remains a serious public safety danger. Through Aug. 30 of this year alone, the Ohio State Highway Patrol has handled 14 fatal OVI-related traffic crashes in the Mahoning Valley. It appears as if no end is in sight for the commendable but much-needed work of the task force and other law enforcers who work to keep impaired drivers off the roads.