ORCHID: To Mary Ann Franklin, the compassionate grand dame of Warren, for her years of devoted and selfless community service to the city. Franklin, at a spry 99 years young, rightly received a key to the city and a proclamation of honor last week from Mayor Doug Franklin (no relation to Mary Ann). Over the years, she has worked tirelessly in instilling pride in the city, beautifying urban areas with community gardens, reinvigorating Quinby Park to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars, serving on city boards and advocating strongly for Juneteenth observances in the community years before it became a federal holiday. We see no signs of Mary Ann slowing down her lifetime of good works anytime soon. As the mayor put it, “She’s got a lot of energy; 99 is young for this lady.”

ORCHID: To Howland native David Schaffer for his latest HBO project that had him directing none other than former President Barack Obama, an executive producer of the show. Conceived to coincide with this summer’s America250 celebrations, “Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness” stars Larry David, longtime friend of Schaffer’s, in a seven-episode mini-series that pokes a little fun at American history milestones. The show debuted last weekend to rave reviews. Check the newest episode out for yourself next Friday night at 9 on HBO.

ONION: To summer revelers in the Valley who run slipshod all over rules and laws governing local beaches and state parks. Deputies with the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office conducted a crackdown on lawbreakers at Lake Milton earlier this month at the behest of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Fifteen people were cited with summonses for offenses including open alcohol containers, drug paraphernalia possession, marijuana possession and public consumption of marijuana. Kudos to the deputies for ensuring health and safety rules are followed to keep the beaches and park areas inviting for all. The crackdown also serves as a valuable reminder to cannabis users that recent revisions in state law now prohibit marijuana use in public areas.

ORCHID: To McDonald resident Jeff Rasile for his hiring as the director of SCOPE Senior Services. Rasile looks like a perfect fit for the critical position overseeing senior citizen programming and centers throughout Trumbull County. The former government teacher and coach for McDonald and Champion schools clearly has a long, distinguished background in helping others, a trait we feel confident will transfer easily to his new position.

ORCHID: To the Ohio Parole Board for recently acting responsibly and in the interest of public safety by denying parole for two hard-core scum-of-the-earth Trumbull County convicts: John E. Kopp and John Lysikowski. Kopp, 59, convicted in 2001, is serving a 15-years-to-life prison sentence for five counts of rape and other sex charges involving a 14-year-old victim. Lysikowski has served 39 years in prison after being convicted for the June 1987 stabbing death of a Warren man in Weathersfield. As they typically do, Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins and his assistants, sent compelling arguments to the board urging denial of their release. We’re pleased parole board members gave them the credence they deserve and those two potential threats to society will remain firmly locked up.

ONION: To trash collectors who provide poor or no service to their customers in the Mahoning Valley. Several residents of Girard recently attended a city council meeting and issued complaints about their service. They cited examples of trash and debris left all over roads and devil strips and certain neighborhoods of the city being bypassed altogether. Councilman Thomas Grumley agreed: “Trash is all over the place some weeks,” he said. While we recognize sanitation workers face thankless, dirty jobs, any instances of garbage strewn carelessly across properties open the door to blight and public-health threats.

ORCHID: Posthumously to Helen Hart Hurlbert, longtime publisher of the Tribune Chronicle, for her upcoming induction into the Youngstown Press Club Hall of Fame. Hurlbert, known affectionately to those who worked for her as “the boss lady,” oversaw a period of rapid growth and modernization of the newspaper from the 1930s to the dawn of the 1980s. Her stern but thoughtful and passionate leadership of Ohio’s second-oldest newspaper was matched only by the plethora of good works she did for a variety of civic and community development projects in Trumbull County. Her tireless commitment to high journalistic standards to create a highly informative publication remains a bedrock foundation of the newspaper to this day.

ORCHID: Posthumously to Helen Hart Hurlbert, longtime publisher of the Tribune Chronicle, for her upcoming induction into the Youngstown Press Club Hall of Fame. Hurlbert, known affectionately to those who worked for her as “the boss lady,” oversaw a period of rapid growth and modernization of the newspaper from the 1930s to the dawn of the 1980s. Her stern but thoughtful and passionate leadership of Ohio’s second-oldest newspaper was matched only by the plethora of good works she did for a variety of civic and community development projects in Trumbull County. Her tireless commitment to high journalistic standards to create a highly informative publication remains a bedrock foundation of the newspaper to this day.

ORCHID: To the Schwebel Baking Co. of Youngstown for its more than 100 years of service to the Mahoning Valley and a four-state region. Its announcement last week that it will cease all operations later this summer shocked and saddened tens of thousands in the Valley who grew up savoring Schwebel products and have stayed true to the iconic “Youngstown-born, Youngstown-bread” brand. We hope all assistance possible is given to the approximately 500 workers at its main plant and other Ohio workers who soon will be jobless.