ORCHID: To Southington Township Fire Department Capt. Scott Bower for his professionalism and long history of leadership and mentoring that rightly won him this year’s Trumbull County Firefighter of the Year award from The Tribune Chronicle and SERVPRO. Bower, a firefighter for more than 40 years, distinguishes himself for his expertise and experience that dates back to round-the-clock service during the devastating May 1985 tornado that ripped through the county. Southington residents should consider themselves fortunate to have Bower as a committed public-safety servant. As his son, Southington Fire Chief Scotty Bower, put it, “He has always been a pillar here. Capt. Bower’s unwavering dedication has stood steadfast and has been an example of true community service.”

ORCHID: To current and past operators and staff at Boyd’s Kinsman Home for providing compassionate care and nurturing support to adults with developmental disabilities in our community for more than five decades. The facility in Kinsman recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of Carlene (Boyd) Jones’ role as director of nursing at the facility. She is the daughter of Carl and Agnes Boyd who founded the assisted-living center in 1971 for their son, Dale. She said, “They started this based on love and it continues based on love. To me this is a calling. I am blessed every day.” To that we might add, so, too, are the three dozen Boyd residents blessed many times over to live in such a supportive setting.

ONION: To those perverse individuals in our community who continue to engage in human trafficking — exploiting others for profit by using force, fraud, or coercion to engage in labor or commercial sex operations. The Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force, in conjunction with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, recently busted 135 suspected traffickers in a statewide operation dubbed Operation Next Door. That name is apt as it illustrates that trafficking has risen as a major social problem virtually everywhere among us. As Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene put it, “The ugly fact is that human trafficking occurs in every county and every neighborhood across the state” We commend the task force and urge it to continue to aggressively hunt down and prosecute to the fullest extent of the law the perpetrators of this vile crime.

ORCHID: To operators and staff of the newly opened Trumbull County Behavioral Health Crisis Center and Sister Jean’s Lighthouse for providing critically needed crisis intervention services and transitional housing for women and children experiencing homelessness. The $4.3 million facility located in a former warehouse in Warren features eight fully furnished apartments and is expected to serve about 3,000 people in Trumbull and Mahoning counties annually. As such it is a most fitting tribute to the legacy of Sister Jean Orsuto, a Humility of Mary nun who directed the similarly compassionate Emmanuel Community Care Center in Girard for many years until her death in 2024.

ONION: To Franklin County Municipal Court Judge Mary Kay Fenlon for recently sentencing a woman whose vicious dog mauled and completely disfigured the face of an 11-year-old girl to a paltry four days in jail. Even more outrageous is that the same judge gave the Reynoldsburg woman permission to keep one of her dogs. To be frank, however, this miscarriage of justice stems more from the extreme weakness in Ohio law that treats serious dog maulings as mere misdemeanors. Legislators in the state Senate can and should act promptly to toughen those penalties by approving the House-passed Avery’s Law, named after the young victim in this case.

ORCHID: To Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and the Ohio Legislature for taking concrete actions recently to reduce the number of drug overdoses and overdose deaths in our state. DeWine last week issued an executive order to permit state-funded distribution of several overdose prevention tools, such as test strips for xylazine that can detect the presence of cocaine, fentanyl and other drugs. The Ohio Senate and House last week overwhelmingly approved a bill to allow public and private schools to carry drug overdose reversal medicines such as Narcan and use them in emergencies. We only wish both actions could have come years sooner.

ORCHID: To Michael Heinzer of Hubbard for making an incredibly generous donation of $100,000 to Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley in memory of his wife. Heinzer and his wife Kathleen “Cass” Heinzer have long volunteered for Second Harvest and helped organize and operate the St. Patrick Food Pantry in Hubbard. The impact of Heinzer’s recent colossal contribution perhaps is best expressed by Second Harvest’s Associated Director Renee Fuller: “The Heinzer family has set an example that goes beyond dollars and cents. It’s about the impact of caring deeply. Their legacy will live on each time a family is nourished because of their kindness.”