ORCHID: To longtime Champion High School softball coach Cheryl Weaver for her 27 years of outstanding and hypersuccessful years leading one of the winningest scholastic athletic teams in Ohio history. Weaver, who recently announced her retirement to the sadness of many, was honored last week by Champion Township trustees. The officials acted to rename the road leading to the school’s softball field “Weaver Way” in honor of Champion’s champion coach. Over her long career, her squad made eight appearances at state championship play and won six of them. We join her players, school district and township leaders in wishing her a well-earned and enjoyable retirement from the field.

ORCHID: To Howland Local Schools administrators and board of education members for instituting changes in their busing policy to maximize efficiency and usher in cost savings for taxpayers. At its recent meeting, Superintendent Kevin Spicher said the district will discontinue driveway-to-driveway bus stops. He noted, “It was an incredible amount of fuel, and fuel is outrageously expensive right now, because you’re going from making 30-plus stops to five,” adding far fewer stops also will result in less wear and tear on the vehicles as well. As fringe benefits, drivers traveling behind buses will have far fewer – sometimes frustrating — stops and students’ journeys home should be much quicker.

ONION: To those who disrespect public park property or who break park rules and end up hurting all would-be respectful park users. In Austintown last week, eight padlocks were reported stolen and in McDonald, city council was informed recently that several park activities had to be canceled earlier this summer due to an increase in rule-breaking by park users. These antics serve as a reminder for parents to watch closely over their children while at play and to instill in them rules of common courtesy to others and to park property.

ORCHID: To Trumbull County Sheriff’s Office Maj. David Bobby for spearheading efforts to lessen overcrowding in the county jail. Bobby said he and other jail officials are negotiating with Geauga County jail officials to house overflow inmates from the Warren jail in that county’s jail in Chardon. The Trumbull jail as of last week was holding 350 inmates compared with 240 inmates two years ago. Its capacity is 308. The dangers of jail crowding are clear and compelling: precipitating a surge in violence, self-harm, and infectious disease outbreaks among inmates and creating unsafe, high-stress working conditions for corrections officers.

ONION: To perpetrators of the so-called “Veterans Savings Program” scam in which our nation’s military veterans are maliciously swindled out of key personal information and hard-earned cash. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Northeast Ohio Healthcare System last week issued alerts warning veterans about fraudulent postcards sent to them promising extra monthly benefits (typically $185) and free dental coverage. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs strongly urges recipients of this flim-flam not to respond to such unsolicited attempts by scammers. Meanwhile the VA should investigate the scam thoroughly and prosecute the fraudsters to the fullest extent of the law.

ORCHID: To the Legacy Dog Rescue and Never Muzzled animal-care organizations in the Mahoning Valley for their recent highly successful fundraiser in Austintown to rescue cats, dogs and other pets who endure smoke inhalation from structure fires. Specifically the two groups collaborated for a day of basket raffles and other events that raised more than $30,000, which will finance 240 pet oxygen masks for first responders in fire departments throughout Trumbull and Mahoning counties. The groups also collected a whopping 700 pounds of pet food to give to owners in need. If you could not make it to the fundraiser, visit each group’s Facebook page to find ways you can help.

ONION: To U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., for callously thwarting the latest and best opportunity yet to make thousands of Delphi salaried retirees whole. As many have known for years, those 21,000 retirees, including hundreds in the Mahoning Valley, were denied their full pensions when Delphi filed for bankruptcy in 2009. The proposal in the U.S. House would have provided a lump-sum payment covering the pension benefits they should have received with 6% interest added to account for the delay. Foxx, chair of the all-powerful Rules Committee, simply said an unidentified lawmaker opposed the plan so she dropped it from the larger pending Defense spending bill. Despite this latest defeat, we urge U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Dayton, and Valley Reps. Dave Joyce, R-Bainbridge, and Mike Rulli, R-Salem, to continue this fight for equity and fairness for the retirees.

ORCHID: To Home City Ice in Austintown for donating 500 bags of ice to help keep dogs cool at the Trumbull County dog pound during the recent blistering heat wave. The shelter in Howland relies heavily on ice to help keep kennels cool and to provide refreshing treats for the animals during the summer. Many other individuals chipped in with the cool cubes as well. To learn how you can help the facility during our long hot summer — or any time of year for that matter — contact the pound at 330-675-2787.