Here's a Peach one that's long overdue:
This region of the Northeast is sometimes referred to as a particularly rusty part of the rust belt, a moniker that deserves its own Pit, but we'll reserve that one for later.
For a place that the economy sometimes forgets, the City of Warren and Warren County has an inordinate amount of artistic opportunities. Blessed with one of the most beautiful theaters in the region (The Struthers Library Theatre) as well as a growing number of art galleries and artist venues, the opportunities for escape from the mundane continues to grow and ripen.
Even some of our smaller communities, like Youngsville, have established galleries, and artist cooperatives are sprouting up elsewhere as well. We think that's just Peachy.
Here are one Peach each for Ellis Beardsley, a Warren Area High School sophomore, and Youngsville's Abel Robinault for qualifying for the PIAA Cross-Country Championships today in Hershey. Robinault, a senior, has qualified for states three times. It is Ellis's first time qualifying for states. We predict it will not be her only trip.
This week's Pit goes to any political activist from any political party who hasn't retrieved all the election signs they poked in the ground previous to Tuesday's mid-term balloting. Remember, politics is an excellent opportunity to recycle, another way of saying to the winners: Think about that next term. And, to the losers, if at first you don't succeed...
A particularly sweet Peach goes to Pat Evans, who should think of it as a bit of dessert following her recognition by the Warren County Chamber of Business and Industry as the recipient of its annual Community Service Award.
A former county commissioner, a volunteer for more organizations than you can throw a stick at, Evans is a model of community involvement that more people should emulate.
And for the life of us, we can't remember a time when we saw her without a smile on her face. Maybe there's a link...
Road work is a fact of life in these parts, exasperated in Warren by a number of on-going improvement projects, including Streetscape. Despite the frustration they can often generate, those things don't deserve Pits. However, drivers who give into that frustration and ignore signs and signals from flaggers, deserve a heaping helping of the crusty centers of Peaches. Crews are replacing a gas line on Third Avenue between East and Market Streets. Give them a break.
There is a four-way stop at the intersection of Liberty and Pennsylvania Avenue; it has been that way for a couple weeks now. It's hard to believe, but people still cruise through them.
This Pit is easy to avoid. Take your time and be courteous. It's not that hard.