ORCHID: To Shirley Price and Shirley Stoops-Frantz, aka “the dynamic duo,” for their combined 41 years of superlative service on the Bristol Public Library Board of Trustees. Price, a retired second-grade teacher in the community, is retiring this week after 22 years on the board. Stoops-Frantz, a retired pastor at Bristol Community Church, is stepping down after 19 years of leadership there. Library Manager D’Lynn Johnson, appropriately lauded the two Shirleys: “They both worked hard as board members and helped the library get through some hard times.”

ORCHID: To John J. Cafaro, a retail and manufacturing executive of the Mahoning Valley’s respected Cafaro family, for his generosity in donating $3,000 to the Cover Down Fund. His donation will enable the Veterans Service commissions in Mahoning and Trumbull counties to provide much-needed food vouchers to local veterans experiencing food hardship over the holidays. We join Herm Breuer, founder of the recently established charity, in singing Cafaro’s praises: “We are grateful for Mr. Cafaro’s continued commitment to honoring those who have served and for helping strengthen the local safety net for veterans in our community.”

ORCHID: To the Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership revitalization agency for its plans to clear out and clean up five abandoned and potentially dangerous gas stations in the county. Specifically, TNP is seeking funds through the U.S. EPA Brownfield Cleanup Grant program for such eyesore nuisances in Warren, (2), Mineral Ridge, Liberty and West Farmington. The value of such brownfield remediation is multifold. It will decrease community exposure to hazardous substances, create safer communities by removing vacant and structurally compromised buildings and potentially generate job growth via new development. To learn more about the project and to support its awesome mission, attend an informational meeting about it at noon or 6 p.m. Jan. 7 at the main Warren-Trumbull Public Library in Warren.

ONION: To those who are too quick on the draw to dial 9-1-1 for queries or issues that are hardly life-threatening or emergencies. Trumbull County 911 recently reported a whopping 200,000 such calls last year, and while many result from automatic transfers to 911 during off-hours of local police and fire departments, many also are simply a product of carelessness. The negative consequences are severe: They tie up emergency lines, delay responses to actual life-threatening emergencies and divert critical police / EMS / fire resources from serious incidents.

ORCHID: To state Rep. Nick Santucci, R-Niles, for his most recent honor as Legislator of the Year from the Ohio Aviation Association. The nonprofit association singled out Santucci for his “leadership and his efforts to ensure that Ohio continues to be a center of innovation for the aviation industry.” His expertise and advocacy for airport and aerospace will be needed now more than ever as the Mahoning Valley prepares to launch its $62 million state-of-the-art Innovation Hub for Aerospace and Defense in Youngstown.

ORCHID: To the Trumbull County Commissioners for acting expeditiously to buy high-quality boilers for the county jail to prevent loss of heat there and the exorbitant costs of moving some 300 inmates elsewhere. The executive board for the county approved spending just shy of $500,000 to replace the jail’s faulty 30-year-old boilers. We’re pleased they agreed on high-efficiency units that will last up to 50 years and save taxpayers more than $1.5 million over their lifetime, according to Commissioner Denny Malloy. While we congratulate commissioners on their swift action, we also continue to urge that they establish a comprehensive preventive maintenance program so that any utility or infrastructure issues can be detected long before they threaten the public health and safety of inmates and staff.

ORCHID: To Youngstown State University’s powerhouse quarterback Beau Brungard for his mountain of deserved recent accolades. He has been named first-team All-American by SI.com FCS Central, the Associated Press, FCS Stats Perform, the American Football Coaches Association, and he received the esteemed Walter Camp Award. If that weren’t enough the New Middletown resident also rises as one of three finalists nationally for the prestigious 2025 Walter Payton Award, affectionately known as The Heisman Trophy of the FCS, to be bestowed early next month. We wish Brungard nothing but continued success on and off the field.