Cheer

Four decades is a long time for anything to endure, whether that’s a marriage, a bridge — or a festival.

So The Butler Fall Festival definitely deserves kudos for remaining a community mainstay for such a long time. The annual gathering of vendors, clubs, musical acts and other attractions never fails to amuse and delight residents and visitors to Butler’s main street.

Things haven’t always been easy or simple for the festival, which in 2015 was nearly canceled because of a lack of volunteers and funding.

Of course, the festival wasn’t canceled that year — or any year over the last 40, which is an incredible feat of longevity and a testament to organizers’ willingness to give their time and sponsors to give their dollars to help make the event a reality.

It’s often said that people don’t know what they have until it’s gone, but we know how lucky Butler is to host this event every year — which is why we hope it celebrates many more anniversaries in the years to come.

Jeer

The state’s pension crisis continues to be a source of shame — or at least it should be — for our elected officials.

On Thursday, testifying before a panel charged with finding ways to cut pension costs going forward, a finance expert from Oxford University attempted to quantify just how much the legislature’s inaction is costing Pennsylvania taxpayers.

Ludovic Phalippou’s estimate — about $3.8 billion over the past decade siphoned off by investment firms and fund managers — is almost unbelievable.

Almost, but not quite. Mismanagement of the state’s two main pension plans — SERS and PSERS — has been staggering. The funds, which have racked up billions in unfunded liabilities, are less than 60 percent funded — a shortfall that costs taxpayers a premium for every dollar in wages and salaries paid to public employees.

The notion that money managers have profited to the tune of billions while these funds, and taxpayers, struggle with unfunded liabilities that hit $77 billion last year is unacceptable. And while public officials have done something, in Senate Bill 1 of 2017, to shift future state employees and teachers to more self-funded retirement plans, that doesn’t address the underlying liabilities.

This is yet another reminder that Pennsylvania can’t afford to keep shunting this crisis off and hoping it will deal with itself.

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It’s always encouraging to see private citizens willing to step up and lend a hand in an emergency. But it pleases us even more when we see them going a step further, and seeking out the training and certifications that will enable them to work alongside emergency workers during a disaster.

That’s exactly what about 50 people involved with a group called The Pennsylvania Volunteers have done. Commissioners recently approved an agreement with the group allowing them to provide ancillary services during a disaster — things like food, shelter and other necessities.

County emergency services director Steve Bicehouse and county commissioners have offered votes of confidence for the group, with Commissioner Kevin Boozel pointing out that the group’s free training sessions could prove useful to residents considering whether or not to pursue emergency training themselves.

We hope The Pennsylvania Volunteers continues to see its membership grow as it offers aid and support both to disaster victims and the emergency services workers its members work alongside.

There is always room for people who want to be, as Rich Wilson, the group’s vice president, says, “part of the solution.”