Laurel: To a local leader. Westmoreland County is really having a heyday in the state Capitol at the moment.

In addition to all people elected to represent the county’s constituents in the General Assembly, there is the fact that Republican Kim Ward of Hempfield is the first female Senate majority leader.

She is joined now by another native in a position of authority.

Michelle Henry is the state’s acting attorney general after the elevation of Josh Shapiro to the governor’s office. While Henry may have come to work with Shapiro in the AG’s office as first deputy after time spent in the Bucks County District Attorney’s office, that’s not where she got her start.

Henry is a Greensburg native and a graduate of Greensburg-Salem High School. She also interned at the Westmoreland County district attorney’s office.

“She’s the real McCoy — a forthright prosecutor. Justice in Pennsylvania is in good hands with her,” retired Westmoreland DA and judge John Driscoll said.

Lance: To a foul ball. Irwin plans to raise the fees for use of ball fields at two community parks.

That’s unfortunate, but it happens. The price of everything is going up, so it makes sense that the borough needs to find ways to adjust.

But the cost of using the fields at Irwin Park and Penglyn Park isn’t just rising a little. The proposal has fees doubling, going from $10 per use to $20.

Sure, a $10 increase might not seem like that much — except when it’s a 100% increase. That’s the kind of thing that the leagues using the fields will then have to scramble to cover at a cost of an additional $6,450 over 2022. Covering that might mean charging little kids and stretched families more than what was in their plans.

Incremental increases make more sense than the wallop of a doubled fee. It’s too late to go back in time and implement that now, but Irwin’s council members shouldn’t blame people for feeling like they’ve been hit by a line drive.

Laurel: To community spirit. It is hard for anyone to rally after a profound loss. The Alle-Kiski Valley was hit hard by the Jan. 2 killing of Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire and shooting of Tarentum Officer Jordan Schrecengost.

However, that community — despite the borders between boroughs and townships — pulled together in the days leading up to McIntire’s funeral with “We Support Our Police” signs and blue light bulbs on front porches. It continues to do so with fundraising efforts since.

On Sunday, Tarentum Mayor Bob Lang and Council President Scott Dadowski urged people to push forward with that support.

“I challenge you to keep this sense of pride,” Dadowski said. “Keep those signs in your yard. Keep those blue bulbs up. There’s no need to take any of that down.”

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