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Roses&Thorns

Roses for those helping children impacted by the ICE raid. This includes each and every person: church folks, teachers, social group members and neighbors. Which isn’t surprising given the caring and generous nature shown repeatedly throughout the years by our community’s good people. No child should suffer undue hardships. Having a parent removed suddenly from your life is startling and difficult for little children to absorb, regardless of circumstances. As far as the raid goes, we will dutifully follow the legal process as it unfolds and report on it accordingly. Front and center. Fallout will likely cover a wide area. Actually, it already has. Let’s make sure the kids affected are treated properly.

Thorns for those impassioned residents compelled to drive past Fresh Mark while honking and cheering. It was bad form. It created a bad optic just when so many outside eyes were peering into our fair city. It accomplished nothing. Take the high road and let due process run its course. It also was another form of distracted driving.

Roses (Quaker Red, of course) for the annual Penn-Ohio Stateline Classic being held Thursday in Salem. It provides an early summer fix for those high school football addicts champing at the bit for the next season to arrive. It provides a chance to showcase Reilly Stadium which — with the new playing field and track along with other renovations over the years — ranks with the very best in our entire area. It provides a chance for two outstanding Quakers, Zach Bezon and Mitch Davidson, to play one more time on the home field before their families and fans. Best of luck to all of our area players chosen to participate a final time while representing their high schools and our state. Go Ohio!

Roses for Holy Trinity Lutheran, St. Paul, Emmanuel Lutheran and First United Methodist churches for raising a $1,000 donation to the Salem Community Foundation for the Salem PD’s K-9 unit. The churches combined to hold a joint summer Bible school which provided children with fun activities while providing spiritual enrichment. These days, children certainly can’t get too much of that.

Roses for the county unemployment rate dropping to its lowest rate in 18 years. Columbiana County had well over 10,000 unemployed people getting unemployment benefits early in 2009. That current number is 1,287. Someone in Washington is doing a great job at filling jobs. He just has to let go of those annoying Tweets.

Roses for the Summer Feed program under way at Salem High School. The federally-funded project allows local children up to 18 to get a free lunch at the high school cafeteria Mondays-through-Fridays until Aug. 17 — or just when a new school year is beckoning. It is nice to see some of our tax dollars being used locally and for a good cause. As we reported Thursday, over 1,000 students were served during the program’s first two weeks which began June 4. Also taking advantage of a full, nutritious meal were 75 adults paying $3 per lunch — a pretty good bargain. Most important is that Summer Feed assures –with a little bit of effort on parents’ part of getting kids to the school — each child will get a full meal that he or she otherwise may not get during the course of a summer day.

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