Laurels & lances: Involved, closed, rejected
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Laurel: To youth involvement. Young people are often painted as being unconcerned with what is going on in the world around them beyond their smartphones, Starbucks and avocado toast. That’s why we should encourage and support when our kids are participating in something bigger than themselves.
Abby Rickin-Marks, a Fox Chapel Area senior, is not just getting involved. She’s encouraging her peers to do the same via a social justice workshop planned for Oct. 24.
“We must start small, looking at our own schools and our own lives to make that difference. As a community, I feel that students across the region are able to improve school experiences, broaden empathy and promote diversity widely,” she said.
It is never too soon to realize everyone has a responsibility to be an active participant in their world.
Lance: To a sad goodbye. We all knew that covid-19 and the ensuing economic crisis was hitting some industries harder than others. Entertainment might be among the most grievously injured. You can’t put a concert in a takeout container.
And so it was with little surprise but a heavy heart that we heard of the closing of the South Side’s Rex Theater, a music venue that has hosted great shows for more than decade in its current incarnation, but has a history that stretches back more than 100 years to its beginnings with vaudeville.
“While we greatly appreciate all of your support, and we understand that many of you would like to find some way to save The Rex,” the owners wrote, “please trust that we have considered every option and have done everything possible to keep our dream alive for as long as we could.”
Lance: To an undeserved no. Milo Miller, 15, of Wellsburg, N.Y., tries to find names for waterways that don’t have them. And because his father grew up in Westmoreland County, he recently tried to christen two local streams, naming them after members of his family who lived and died here.
Greensburg said yes to naming the trickling stream Wirick Run, after his great-great-grandfather who farmed nearby. Council adopted it unanimously with support from Mayor Robb Bell, even though they expect that if anyone calls it anything at all, it will probably continue to be Northmont Creek.
But Penn Township shot down his proposal to name another stream Hindman Brook after his great-grandfather, Samuel Hindman, who died in 2002.
“There was really nothing that raised to the level of a significant contribution to the area from Mr. Hindman,” said township manager Mary Perez.
Ouch. Not everyone can win a battle or be elected to office, but how big does a contribution have to be to merit giving a name to a an unnamed stream? Maybe sometimes the life of a guy who raised a family that cared enough to ask is enough.