Butler artist Tom Panei is providing a splendid service to the community by way of his dedication to keeping the Welcome to Butler kiosk along Route 8 fresh and interesting.

Not only did he commit to installing new panels now, but he said he hopes to install replacements every three or four years to keep the kiosk from becoming boring.

One of the panels removed recently was auctioned off at Butler Downtown's annual meeting on Tuesday, generating $325 for the downtown revitalization group.

“Welcome to Butler, a great place to live,” proclaims the Route 8 kiosk, which is at the southern end of the General Richard Butler Bridge.

The kiosk might provide a different message if it were allowed to become faded and otherwise deteriorated.

At least for the foreseeable future, thanks to Panei, that's not going to happen.

Butler County residents should take notice of the Sheriff's Office's positive work on two fronts.Sheriff Mike Slupe and his deputies deserve an “A” for the number of warrants served between July and October and for Slupe's decision to create a top-10 list of fugitives that already has resulted in some of those fugitives being located.On the warrants front, 619 were served from July to October this year compared with 281 during the same period in 2009, the year prior to Slupe assuming the office.In addition to the warrants actually served, the Sheriff's Office attempted to serve an additional 628 warrants to people who weren't immediately located.Of the fugitives on the top-10 list, three were located within three days of the first Butler Eagle article dealing with the list on Nov. 7. Slupe said Friday that an update on the list would be forthcoming soon.The 10 people on the initial version of the list did not show up for a county court hearing, resulting in warrants for their arrest being issued.“If you don't show up, we're coming to get you,” Slupe said, expressing the determined attitude that should be in place in sheriff's offices in all counties.

U.S. Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper was elected in 2008 for a full two-year term, and presumably members of her staff will be paid for the entire time they are working for her.Thus, there is no excuse for the 3rd Congressional District office to refuse to accept new constituent casework until Congressman-elect Mike Kelly is sworn in in January.Dahlkemper should direct that her office staff accept — and begin work on — new cases in the weeks ahead and merely turn over the files to Kelly when he succeeds Dahlkemper, whom he defeated in the Nov. 2 election.There's no reason for new cases to be forwarded to the office of U.S. Sen. Robert Casey, when those matters initially were directed to the 3rd House District office. An announcement that work would be forwarded to Casey's office was made by Dahlkemper's office earlier this month.Examples of the kind of casework that is in question are matters regarding Veterans Affairs or Social Security benefits and passport assistance.Dahlkemper said in a news release that cases often take 60 to 90 days — and sometimes longer — to resolve. She indicated that her staff would continue to work on cases already begun.Despite the time it takes to resolve issues, the 3rd Congressional District office, like every other congressional office, is a full-time responsibility, whether its elected congressman or senator wins or loses an election.There should, therefore, be no interruption of service provided by that office, as long as there still are people staffing the office.

It might be a small example, but Butler County residents are again demonstrating their compassion.On Nov. 5, a letter to the editor in the Butler Eagle from Cindy Ford expressed concern for a litter of kittens born to a pregnant cat that was dropped off at Ford’s Franklin Township property.Ford has been taking care of the pregnant cat and her two kittens for some time now, but she has to keep them outside because she has a large dog. The dog must be on a chain when the kittens are around, so keeping them is not practical. And because the kittens are outside, Ford is worried about the approaching winter weather.She tried to take the kittens to the Humane Society, but learned that she would have to make a payment before the agency would take the kittens. The Humane Society has, however, been helping Ford with food for the kittens.Ford called other animal shelters and ran into the same payment issue, which, she says, she cannot afford.Already owning a dog and not having extra money available for the kittens, Ford says she is not equipped to keep the kittens. In her letter, she asked “if someone can help.”Within a few days, four people had called the Butler Eagle about offering to help Ford and the kittens. The callers each offered financial help to have the kittens taken in by the Humane Society, where they can be cared for until they are adopted.The latest word is that the kittens will be taken to the Humane Society this weekend and then placed in a foster home until they are adopted out.The plight of two kittens might not rank with many of the troubles facing people in Butler County or elsewhere, but the response by Eagle readers to Ford’s concerns is a reminder of the compassion for which Butler County is well known.