Cranberry Township Patrolman William Wilson deserves plaudits for effective police work in connection with the quick apprehension of an arson suspect early Monday.

Wilson became suspicious of 26-year-old Michael Thomson of Seven Fields as Thomson, who appeared unusually nervous, was walking in the Cranberry Commons shopping plaza toward Franklin Road. When he stopped to talk with Thomson, Wilson detected the odor of smoke, as well as signs that he had been in a "barn-like environment."

The fire destroyed an abandoned barn on Mars Road.

Wilson deserves praise for the thoroughness he displayed in searching for a suspect and for the excellent observation skills he employed when confronting Thomson.

Other evidence later was uncovered that linked the suspect to the fire scene. Thomson subsequently acknowledged that he started the blaze, saying he had set fire to paper and cardboard in the barn.

Having an arsonist on the loose is unsettling to any community. Wilson's good police work should be a source of comfort to Cranberry residents.

The courts and the city council will decide the fate of Rodney D. Rosen, 42, of Butler, the city Streets Department worker charged with driving a salt truck while intoxicated. While he was on the job, the city truck he was driving struck an unoccupied city police cruiser.While the drunk-driving issues are obvious, Rosen's action has produced an additional negative impact about which some city residents might not be clearly aware. But it's an important consideration nonetheless.Rosen being off the job — he has been suspended — will make the already short-handed Streets Department staff even more short-handed.If the department boasted a workforce of much larger size, Rosen's absence might not be felt so much. But with the department operating with just four employees, including Ralph Graham, department foreman (five employees at times when a Parks Department worker helps on an as-needed basis), the loss of even one individual is a serious matter.In this extended spell of nasty winter weather, Rosen, who has 18 years of work experience with the city, has done the department and city residents a serious disservice by his decision to come to work when he apparently was in no condition to do so."This (Rosen's trouble with the law and suspension) puts us in a bind," said Joseph Bratkovich, Streets Department director, on Friday.Bratkovich said city officials would be discussing alternative measures during the coming week.

Area baby boomers nearing eligibility for Social Security benefits should be grateful to Butler Social Security Office officials for their decision to take the sign-up process to the people.Sign-up sessions are scheduled for 6 to 9 p.m. Jan. 27 at the Butler Public Library, 218 N. McKean St., and from 6 to 9 p.m. Jan. 29 at the Cranberry Township Municipal Center, 2525 Rochester Road. To schedule an appointment for either session, benefit-recipients-to-be have been asked to call Darla Rine, operation supervisor, at 724-282-6205, Ext. 214.George Ziecina, Social Security district manager, has announced that additional meetings might be scheduled."We are ready to schedule more meetings around the county, especially if the turnout for these is large, for municipalities who call us and have a bank of computers we can use to access the Internet," he said.While it's a fact that the Social Security Administration's Web site has featured online registration since 2000, local Social Security officials understand that some people might want to talk directly with a representative, and accommodating those individuals is the purpose of the two upcoming sessions."There are 78 million baby boomers, with 10,000 baby boomers reaching age 62 each day for the next 20 years," Rine said. Getting all of those people signed up for benefits will be an enormous task for Social Security staffers.The local Social Security Office deserves a thumbs-up for its willingness to do something extra on behalf of future beneficiaries, rather than merely having them wait in long lines during regular office hours.