Widely recognized as an effective delivery system for letters and packages, the U.S. Postal Service will demonstrate next weekend that it also is a powerful food-collection operation.

As part of a national effort on May 13, postal service carriers will be collecting canned and other non-perishable food donations.

Donations can be left beside residents' mailboxes or left next to the blue mail collection boxes throughout the city area. Also, donations can be left next to parked U.S. Postal Service vehicles during the day.

The Butler area food-collection effort is being done in partnership with Butler County Community Action and will be used to help area families and individuals.

Begun in the early 1990s, the national food drive has collected hundreds of millions of pounds of food. The 315,000 members of the National Association of Letter Carriers have expanded the food-collection effort over the past decade to include nearly 1,500 branches and activities in all 50 states.

A hearty cheer to the U.S. Postal Service and all its workers for this worthwhile effort on behalf of less-fortunate Americans.

For any municipal government, maintaining order at meetings is one of the key components to successful completion of important business.Municipal officials have the responsibility of ensuring that meetings are conducted in an orderly fashion; residents who attend meetings have the responsibility of allowing their officials to address issues on the agenda without interruptions — whether or not they agree with the course of discussion or what eventually is decided.There usually is a time set aside during meetings for residents to ask questions and state opinions. Unless specifically asked for their views outside the parameters of that time frame, visitors to meetings should remain quiet and respectfully observe the proceedings.Judging from an article in Wednesday's Butler Eagle, it is amazing that Oakland Township's board of supervisors is able to accomplish anything. Tuesday evening's supervisors session was little more than unproductive blather.While there is a right way and a wrong way to address differences of opinion and contentious issues, Tuesday's meeting was an example of how not to hold a meeting.The supervisors and standing-room-only crowd were equally to blame that nearly a four-hour block of time was consumed accomplishing little.The supervisors allowed the meeting to get out of hand, and it didn't take long for residents to seize the opportunity and, in effect, hijack the session.The residents in question deserve praise for their interest in attending the meeting — regardless of what issue or issues sparked their attendance. However, that praise should not extend to at least some of the residents' conduct during the meeting.The tone of Tuesday's meeting was uncalled-for and should not be repeated.

All of Butler County should feel a sense of pride in the approximately 150 students in grades 7 through 12 who have been nominated for this year's Butler Leaders of Tomorrow awards. Ten finalists will be announced at a dinner Monday at the Pittsburgh Marriott North in Cranberry Township. One of those finalists will be named Butler Leader of Tomorrow.While almost daily, scholastic athletic successes are spotlighted in the news media, it is less frequent that students are recognized for the triple successes of community volunteerism, high grades and extracurricular activities participation. The goal of Leaders of Tomorrow, currently in its fourth year and again sponsored by Sprint and the Butler Eagle, is to provide that well-deserved recognition.While it is the students who are in the forefront at the dinner, the event also allows parents to share in the success stories of which their children are an important part. Indeed, it is the parents who provide encouragement and make sacrifices of time and other resources so their children can be active in their community as well as their schools.Whether selected as a finalist or not, all of the students nominated should be proud of their accomplishments and look forward to continuing their involvement.