ORCHID: To the 10 honored members of the 24th class of Community Stars, sponsored by The Tribune Chronicle. The program, co-sponsored by Trumbull 100, celebrated those stellar community servants at a ceremony at St. Demetrios Community Center in Warren last week. All of them routinely go above and beyond to make a measurable impact in the community and the lives of others. Detailed stories on each of them and their achievements appeared in last week’s newspaper. The honorees comprise Kenneth Boring of Mineral Ridge, Sharah Hirt Buzulencia of Warren, Esther Gartland of Cortland, Molly Halliday of Cortland, Moriah McCorkle of Warren, Lorie Prokup of Howland, Mary Ann Raidel of Bristolville, Tom Smith of Girard, Ted Toles III of Braceville and Joe Warminski of Niles. Congratulations to you all!

ORCHID: To Newton Falls businessman Tom Colosimo, AMVETS Post 112 and others involved in the multi-year campaign to secure a prime spot for the central business district of the village in the National Register of Historic Places. Their successful efforts culminated last week with the installation of beautiful Downtown Historic District signs at both ends of the newly designated area. The designation not only rightly recognizes the historic and architectural significance of downtown Newton Falls but also likely will serve as an additional calling card to attract more businesses and visitors to the thriving community. It’s another feather in the cap for Colosimo who spearheaded the community’s $30,000 Treasure Hunt that continues to pique interest from within and beyond the Mahoning Valley and that has succeeded in increasing tourism to the quaint village.

ONION: To irreputable hacksters who masquerade as employees of companies or local governments by filing bogus and self-serving direct deposit changes online to payroll systems. That shady scheme snatches the rightfully earned dollars from the actual worker and transfers them to the fraudster. Just such a case recently was uncovered for a Liberty Township employee. To their credit, the Liberty Township Trustees toughened payroll policies to require any changes to an employee’s bank or banking information to be handled in person. Other communities without such protections should follow suit.

ORCHID: To Weathersfield Township police officers Isaiah Brazofsky and Brandon Freer for their heroic life-saving response to a recent emergency call. The two men were dispatched to the Salt Springs Road bridge above Interstate 80 in response to reports of a man sitting on the wall with his feet hanging over the bridge who was threatening to jump off to end his life. To their credit, Brazofsky and Freer acted calmly and carefully to deescalate the potential calamity and convince the troubled individual to move off the wall. He then was safely taken into protective care and transported for treatment. As township Trustee Ed Whittaker told the officers, “You showed your humanity, and building trust with that individual is a credit to you and your leadership.”

ORCHID: To Girard City Council for last week overriding Mayor Mark Zuppo’s veto of a municipal law it recently passed that requires city council approval for all expenditures over $20,000. While the mayor argues that threshold is way too low, we agree with council members’ united front that lowering that threshold will encourage city leaders to become more fiscally responsible in their decisions on discretionary spending of taxpayer dollars. At a time when local governments throughout the Mahoning Valley and Ohio are challenged with rising costs and shrinking revenue bases, such enhanced oversight of the public purse is to be commended.

ONION: To irresponsible drivers of motorbikes and side-by-side four-wheel vehicles who endanger public safety by stunt riding on public roads. Hubbard Police Chief Brenda Freeman recently reported ongoing problems with such scofflaws in the city and township. She said the problem has gotten to the point where headstones in the city’s cemetery have been damaged and many recreational motorists are zooming through parks. Too often, efforts to apprehend the miscreants are thwarted as they zip off roadways and into trails that are off limits to police cruisers. That’s why we hope residents ticked off by the noise and dangers of such stunt riders will provide photos and videos to police to better identify and apprehend violators.

ORCHID: To the Western Reserve Port Authority for its successes in ensuring the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in Vienna remains a strong asset to the Mahoning Valley. In a joint meeting with commissioners from Mahoning and Trumbull counties last week, WRPA leaders reported several uplifting facts about the airport over 2025. For example, last year the facility obtained a 98.5% hangar occupancy rate, handled approximately 28,000 plane landings, received $12.6 million in grant funds for runway and other improvements and generated about $300,000 in revenue. That data should silence the doubting Thomases out there who falsely bemoan nothing takes place there these days. During the coming year, we look for continued progress at YWRA and hope efforts continue aggressively and successfully to restore commercial air passenger service there.