ORCHID: To Warren native and 2019 Howland High School graduate Vince Mauri for his superlative performance at the Glass City Marathon in Toledo late last month. The Arizona State University and Notre Dame graduate finished the grueling event with a time of 2:05:54, running 16 minutes ahead of the second-place finisher. In so doing, he set a new record for the marathon and also became the fourth-fastest American marathoner in history. He also broke the state record by more than 13 minutes. With such stats as those, we’re confident Mauri will have no trouble conquering his next major challenge: competing as a marathoner in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

ORCHID: To the Ohio Parole Board for recently making the eminently correct and just decision to deny parole for two of Trumbull County’s most notorious criminals. Board members denied early freedom for Alfonsia Perry, 68, and Christopher Daniel, 57. Perry was convicted in 1994 for beating his Hubbard girlfriend with 71 blows from an ax handle in front of her young children. Daniel was convicted in 1989 of the savage, fatal attack of a couple in Warren 1988, killing the husband and permanently blinding the wife. Both are scheduled for their next parole hearings in 2029; both again should be readily denied.

ORCHID: To the Newton Falls and Maplewood boards of education for planning a shared-services agreement for one treasurer for both districts. The shared services model for district treasurer appears to be working quite well in the Mathews and LaBrae districts. To be sure, such economies of scale and consolidation of services save districts precious taxpayer dollars and generally provide better, more efficient service. Other school districts in the Mahoning Valley would be prudent to explore such models as well.

ONION: To primary election candidates and their supporters who have been too lazy to remove campaign signs from private and public properties throughout the Valley since Tuesday’s election. The sign owners have had ample time to remove them. When placed, the signs supporting candidates for a variety of local offices presented a timely message to help impact the outcome of the election. Today, however, they serve no useful purpose and merely stand out as an outdated sign of visual environmental pollution.

ORCHID: To the Liberty High School Robotics Team 91445E, Attack of the Sentinels for finishing eighth in world competition recently. The team, consisting of eighth graders Jacob Lepsik, Christian Coggins, Vincent Ferrara and Gabe Pekalla, clearly performed superlatively among the field of 400 teams in the VEX IQ World Robotics competition in St. Louis last week. We parrot team coach Jacob Mellinger in his praise of the team: “”I couldn’t be more proud of how hard they worked and the way they represented our school on the world stage.”

ORCHID: To Warren-based Covelli Enterprises for its continued generous philanthropy and robust community service that’s being demonstrated this week via its “Chip in for Children’s Mental Health” campaign. Covelli, the largest franchisee of the Panera Bread restaurant chain, is donating $1 for every scrumptious Chocolate Chipper cookie it sells through Sunday to Akron Children’s to continue funding a mental and behavioral health coordinator in the region. That coordinator already has worked to train 500 teachers in the Valley on the social and emotional needs of children and on how to lessen student misconduct. So bite in to the popular treat this week, and join in the campaign to enhance children’s behavioral health.

ORCHID: To the Trumbull County Educational Service Center for launching its promising Career Navigator program in eight Trumbull County school districts in the upcoming academic year. Career Navigator programs in public schools are increasingly valuable for helping students bridge the gap between education and employment, improving graduation rates, and providing personalized guidance on postsecondary options. It rightly recognizes that all students do not fit the college mold and the reality that many highly skilled and well-paying professions make rewarding career choices.

ONION: To perpetrators of a new and seedy text-message scam throughout Ohio regarding totally false accusations of traffic violations to recipients. According to county sheriffs, motorists are getting messages claiming to be a “Final Notice – Court Enforcement Action” for an alleged traffic violation tied to their vehicle. These messages demand payment, may appear to come from a court and often include a QR code. They are false. The sheriffs also offer this sage advice: Never click on a link or scan a QR code from an unknown source. Targeted victims of this scam also should report it immediately to their local law enforcement agency.

ORCHID: To Mark LaMoncha, president and CEO of Columbiana-based Humtown Products, for being honored by President Donald Trump earlier this week as Small Business Person of the Year for U.S. Small Business Administration. Lamoncha was selected among all other state nominees for the prestigious honor. He has overseen amazing production and hiring growth in recent years at Humtown, a global leader of conventional and 3D printed sand cores and molds. In his remarks, the president said the federal government could use more leaders just like Lamoncha. Truer words were never spoken.