Cheers & Jeers - Herald-Standard

Cheers: Anyone who has been in a profession that is contracting and has pondered what else they can do with their skills and experience knows just how stressful and uncertain that can be. The United Mine Workers of America Career Centers in Ruff Creek has been assisting those displaced from jobs in the coal industry for almost 30 years through training in a diverse range of areas. They will soon be training people for jobs at a facility near Morgantown, W.Va., that will be used for the production of raw material for lithium iron phosphate. Batteries for electric vehicles use lithium iron phosphate, so the facility will be given new life, be part of the cutting-edge sector of green energy, provide employment for at least 75 people and boost the local economy. Cecil Roberts, the longtime president of the United Mine Workers, was on hand for an announcement at the center this week, and said, “These jobs are not a threat to the coal industry. These are jobs that coal miners can have.”

Jeers: The apparently random fatal stabbing of an off-duty Pennsylvania State Police liquor enforcement officer who was jogging on the Montour Trail in Moon Township on Oct. 22 was unsettling for obvious reasons. Making matters worse, it turns out the suspect in the attack had earlier been released without a monetary bond by Allegheny County District Judge Xander Orenstein after being accused of assaulting and robbing someone in Pittsburgh’s Point State Park. Orenstein has also released other suspects without requiring a cash bond who did not show up for preliminary hearings, and he has been stripped of overseeing preliminary arraignments where bond is determined by Allegheny County’s president judge. State Rep. Tim O’Neal, who represents the Washington area and is the Republican whip in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, floated the idea of impeaching Orenstein in a Facebook post, and also mentioned the possibility of a legislation that would mandate a cash bond for violent suspects. The cash bond mandate is a good idea. However, impeaching Orenstein for simply making bad judgments is a bad idea. O’Neal explained, “Really, what it comes down to is Allegheny County residents who voted for (Orenstein) were not voting to let violent criminals out on the street.” That is true. And Orenstein’s fate should be left in the hands of those voters, not Harrisburg legislators.

Jeers: Whether deserved or not, New York City’s sports fans have a reputation for being raucous and, yes, sometimes a tad obnoxious. During Tuesday night’s World Series game, two Yankees fans crossed the line from being slightly obnoxious to being grossly so. Early in the game, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts reached into the first row of the stands to catch a foul ball. It’s something that happens frequently, and most fans have enough respect for the game to get out of the way and let a player make a catch or not. But two fans egregiously interfered with Betts, with one pulling at his glove to try to get the ball, and the other grabbing his wrist. The fans were both ejected, though they gave high-fives to their fellow Yankee faithful on the way out, and were barred from attending Wednesday night’s game. Maybe the two fans were swept up in the mood in the stands or feeling grumpy after watching the Yankees lose three World Series games in a row. Who knows? But just what did they think they were accomplishing by messing with a player from the opposing team?