Valley Laurels & Lances

Lance: To idiots behind the wheel. The state police have devoted extra time and effort to writing tickets on Route 28 for the past week. Why• Primarily because too few people obey the "Steer clear" law, which requires that drivers move away from the lane next to the berm when an emergency vehicle is on the side. And we saw a state trooper struck yesterday in Armstrong County. This is a commonsense law that truly saves lives. Drivers need to pay attention, lest they pay a $250 fine.

Laurel (with a caveat): Westmoreland's parks overseers. Finally, we can reserve county park facilities online, a big improvement over an antiquated system of paperwork, which had to be mailed. Why did it take so long to move the process into the Internet age?

Lance: To Ford City Mayor Marc Mantini. When the borough council reopened its 2012 budget, a reporter from our sister paper in Kittanning went to its budget committee meeting. Mantini wanted to close the meeting, lest the reporter tell the taxpayers what their elected public officials were doing with their money. When the reporter told Mantini closing the meeting would violate the open meetings law, Mantini pronounced him "sanctimonious" and threw a hissy fit. Yes, how dare the reporter "force" the council to obey the law?

R.I.P.: Terry Van Horne. Terry served the Valley well as a state legislator, municipal official, attorney and in various civic roles. And he was an all-around good guy. He'll be missed.