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ORCHID: To the Kimberly-Clark Corp. for its leading role in landing the state of Ohio national honors as the 2026 recipient of the Silver Shovel Award from Area Development magazine. The prestigious award recognizes states that have demonstrated exceptional performance in attracting high-value economic development projects that create significant jobs and generate substantial capital investment. Clearly, K-C's $800 million investment in a massive new Trumbull County production plant fits that bill. Sharing in the honor also must be the numerous economic development agencies in the Valley -- from Lake To River to Western Reserve Port Authority to Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber -- whose collaborative efforts succeeded in landing one of the largest investments in the Valley's future in decades.
ONION: To any and all derelict parents who irresponsibly enable their young children to risk injury or even death by roaming and playing in the streets unsupervised. Last week, Warren police reported a young diapered toddler playing in or near the busy Elm Road Northeast. Fortunately a Good Samaritan rescued that child, and police eventually located the parents from Trumbull County Children's Services. If the charges of child endangerment against the father stick, he should face maximum penalties, particularly since this is not the first time Warren police said the child has been rescued while unsupervised and playing in a street. Such scenarios not only pose a wide range of safety risks to children but also can play key roles in vehicle crashes and injuries to motorists.
ORCHID: To state Rep. David Thomas for rightly winning the 2026 Public Service Award from the Ohio Realtors organization for his successful work at achieving measurable property tax relief for all Ohioans. Thomas, R-Jefferson, who represents portions of Trumbull County in Columbus, received the honor for his tireless work to achieve property tax relief in the Ohio General Assembly. He played key roles in drafting and passing the state's most significant property tax overhaul in half a century last year that resulted in over $3 billion in savings for taxpayers. We congratulate him and urge him to keep up that stellar constituent-minded work.
ORCHID: To Warren City Councilwoman Honeya Price, D-6th Ward, for her leadership in spearheading the new Trash Busters program in the city. The program involves putting city youth to work picking up trash, whacking overgrown weeds and hauling debris from blighted corridors of town. In return, they are paid a small stipend for their labors. Price clearly articulates the long-term value of the program not only for urban beautification but for the young people involved in it: "This right now is keeping kids off the street. If we get them to work and pay them to do things, we're showing them how you make money the right way... by doing community stuff." But the committed and conscientious city council member is not stopping there. She also is playing a key role in council efforts to update and strengthen municipal ordinances governing blight and to ensure they are rigidly enforced.
ONION: To those who sponsor or engage in the despicable game of dogfighting in the Mahoning Valley. A home in Coitsville Township recently was raided and Ashley Maldonado, a humane agent in Mahoning County, said many pieces of evidence recovered there revealed tell-tale indicators of dogfighting. Dogfighting clearly ranks as one of the most severe forms of animal cruelty, causing profound physical, psychological, and social harm to the animals. Authorities in the Valley and throughout the state and nation must aggressively work to bring its perpetrators to harsh justice and maximum penalties, which in Ohio can amount to fines of $5,000 and 18 months in prison.
ORCHID: To the Ohio Supreme Court for wisely refusing to hear an appeal from Linda McCullough, the former Vienna Township fiscal officer convicted of seven counts of tampering with records and two counts of theft in office last year in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court. McCullough was accused of misusing her elected position for personal financial gain to pay credit card and store bills. Because of her financial mismanagement, overspending and theft, Vienna has fallen into the abyss of fiscal emergency from which it slowly hopes to recover by 2028. Clearly, the damage caused by McCullough's greedy shenanigans merits her spending each and every day of her just eight-year sentence in the bowels of the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville
ORCHID: To Trevor and Jennifer Debth of Raleigh, North Carolina, for their amazing sleuthing skills in winning the extremely well planned and well organized community treasure hunt in Newton Falls last week. The Debths walked away from the five-monthlong hunt with more than $43,000 in cash and prizes. But they are not the only beneficiaries of the hunt that garnered national attention. The attraction drew hundreds of first-time visitors to the village, giving it a much-needed jolt in economic vitality. It also highlighted local history and landmarks while fostering greater community pride. Hats off, too, to Falls shop owner Tom Colosimo for organizing the successful venture. Here's hoping it becomes an annual tradition in the Valley's town with ZIP (its code is the easily memorable 44444).