Cheer

In “Oh God, where are you?” his biographical account of the Battle of Bataan, Abie Abraham — a Lyndora native — described the hopeless fight he and other American soldiers put up to thwart the Japanese capture of the Philippine province during World War II in 1942.

The men held out under insurmountable obstacles, fighting a delaying action that history has largely forgotten. They felt forgotten, too. They called themselves “The Battling Bastards of Bataan, no father, no mother, and no Uncle Sam ... and nobody gives a damn.”

Well, we do give a damn, and we should, for eternity.

That’s why we applaud the unanimous U.S. House resolution naming the new VA center in Center Township in honor of Abraham.

Serviceman was more than a job for Abraham; it was his identity. He survived the infamous Bataan Death March and being a prisoner of war for 3 1/2 years. Once rescued, he stayed behind and helped disinter bodies of servicemen who had died along the death march so that they could be reburied with honors.

Returning home after the war, Abraham logged 38,000 hours of volunteer work at VA Butler Health Care, which is being replaced by the new, 168,000-square-foot complex that will be named after him.

The new center should rightfully and eternally bear Abraham’s name and memory, as well as the memory of his fighting spirit.

Jeer

The need is genuine. The response has been too long in coming.

At a news conference Thursday, Gov. Tom Wolf said he will call a special session of the Legislature to address the prescription opioid epidemic.

The session, to convene by early fall, will focus on producing legislative solutions to an epidemic that’s killing Pennsylvanians at a current rate of seven a day.

Among other measures, the governor wants an additional $34 million in his 2016-17 budget for treatment of opioid abuse.

The budget deadline is midnight Thursday — which might explain why Wolf announced the special session this week.

It does not explain why he failed to call a special session months earlier. Overdose deaths from heroin and prescription opioids have increased dramatically in the past four years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the parlance of sales professionals, this could be called a “trial close.” It’s like asking a potential car buyer whether she wants vinyl or leather seats with the new car she’s considering — either answer is a tentative commitment to buy.

And who among us would respond: “No, we don’t need to stop this opioid epidemic?” That would be heartless.

If we accept the $34 million increase for opioid treatment, then we’re all the more likely to accept the governor’s entire $33.3 billion proposed budget.

Cheer

Cheers and thanks to Butler County corrections officer Mark Scott, whose quick judgment to intervene in an inmate fight may have saved a life even if his action went against prison policy.

Warden Joe DeMore praised Scott for breaking up the June 8 fight that resulted in inmate Matthew Kovocovsky, 45, receiving 26 stitches. Inmate Russell Eugene Smith, 33, is charged with aggravated assault, assault by prisoner and simple assault.

“You went against our policy, but in that sense you made the right call,” DeMore said.

It’s standard procedure for a single corrections officer to wait for backup before attempting to break up any inmate fight. But Scott said the policy put Kovocovsky’s life in immediate danger. Smith was kicking Kovocovsky in the head and stomping on his skull.

Scott explained, “When the victim was on the floor unable to defend himself, I felt if I waited for backup to arrive there could have been serious head injuries suffered.”

It’s a tough job. It was a tough call. But it was the right call. Well done.