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ORCHID: To the Warren Civil Service Commission for unanimously refusing to rescind the resignation of embattled former Warren Police Chief Eric Merkel last week. Commission members rightly argued that considering that Merkel legally signed his resignation document, he was bound to honor it as a contract. The commission had no statutory authority to rescind his resignation, and its members noted Merkel benefited from the resignation in obtaining about $75,000 owed to him from the city. The former chief argues that city officials used threats and duress to force his resignation. Those allegations, however, are issues beyond the scope of authority of the civil service commission.
ORCHID: To Weathersfield Board of Education member Matthew J. Glidewell for his recent appointment as director of the Trumbull County Job and Family Services department and the county's Child Support Enforcement Agency. Glidewell bested 13 other candidates for the critical position overseeing cash and food assistance to residents, employment opportunities and protective services for vulnerable populations. He brings extensive experience to the post, having previously served as the assistant superintendent for the Ashtabula County Board of Developmental Disabilities and director of finance and operations for the Northeast Ohio Network Council of Governments. He also is well suited for the dual role of JFS and CSEA director given his vast experience with children. That longstanding merged role in Trumbull County, unlike most counties in the state with separate JFS and CSEA directors, bodes well for more efficient service delivery and savings to taxpayers.
ONION: To former Ohio state Rep. Derek Merrin for using foreign-made campaign merchandise while running for the U.S. House of Representatives this fall on a "Made in America" platform. Merrin, the Republican nominee for the 9th Congressional District of Ohio, has distributed campaign T-shirts made in Bangladesh by Gildan, a Canadian apparel company, according to recent reports from Spectrum News. That shamelessly flies in the face of his campaign mailers that use the slogan "Derek Merrin's plan: good jobs, bigger paychecks, made in Ohio."
ORCHID: To officials of the Lake to River Greenway Trail Coalition, Trumbull County Metroparks, the city of Niles and others for successfully completing and opening Phase IV of the biking and hiking trail last week. The more than $5 million project of 4.5 miles of trail fills in a vital missing link of the bikeway by connecting Niles to Warren.That link completes the 43-mile Western Reserve portion of the trail. The 100-mile trail from East Liverpool on the Ohio River to Lake Erie at Ashtabula Harbor is now substantially complete as well. The benefits run rampant. The trail provides recreation and fitness for walkers, bikers, joggers and inline skaters. It also provides access to the masses to scenic nature as the path passes through farmland, lush woodlands, gentle rolling hills and scenic waterways. As an added perk, the new portion of the trail was funded largely through grants and private funding. Way to go!
ONION: To U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth for his plan to livestream the federal execution by firing squad on Dec. 3 of Nidal Hassan, the convicted mass shooter and killer of 13 soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009. Psychologists warn of the potential severe, negative mental health impacts of viewing the killing of another human being, particularly among children. Others see broadcasting an execution as barbaric and compare it to the few authoritarian regimes, such as Iran and Afghanistan, that continue the practice. To ensure justice for victims, we continue to support the death penalty for the most egregious of crimes -- and Hassan's crimes clearly fit that mold. Nonetheless, executions should never become sensationalized public spectacles. All U.S. states forbid public executions or open-to-the-public viewing of state-sanctioned executions. The federal government should do likewise.