Garrett Jones, 16, of Franklin Township deserves praise for his leadership skills in heading a project in which Snyder Cemetery, in a remote area of Moraine State Park, was cleaned and renovated.

For Jones, the project no doubt will earn him the Eagle Scout ranking that he is pursuing. He currently is a Life Scout in Troop 33 in Prospect.

One of the rules of an Eagle Scout project is that the scout cannot do any of the work; he has to lead others in accomplishing the project’s goal.

On Aug. 27, when most of the work at the cemetery took place, Jones led a group of 14 people, mostly scouts and their parents.

However, there were others whose contributions should not go unnoticed, including Muddy Creek Presbyterian Church, which donated $500 toward Jones’ effort; Allegheny Mineral, which donated gravel for the cemetery pathway; and Steckman Memorials, which provided an engraved entrance stone at a price that the project could afford.

The cemetery, whose newest grave dates to 1893, contains six gravestones. Over the years, vandals destroyed nine others.

But the cemetery’s small size didn’t mean its renovation would be an easy fix. Rust was removed from an iron gate at the cemetery entrance, and the gate was painted. Gravestones that were no longer standing straight were straightened.

Meanwhile, the workers established a new path to the cemetery, a ditch was cleaned out, and brush in and around the cemetery was cleared.

Dan Bickel, park manager, considered the needed work at Snyder a high priority.

“He (Jones) did a fantastic job,” Bickel said.

But this latest chapter in Snyder’s history might not be the last one written. There’s a chance that Troop 33 will take on, as a troop project, annual maintenance of the cemetery.

That would be an exemplary gesture and have a long-lasting impact.

CheerLarry Powell’s spirit of giving and concern should not go unnoticed, not only in his school system but across the nation.Powell is the Fresno County, Calif., school superintendent who is giving back $800,000 that he would have been paid over the next three and a half years and, instead, has agreed to work for $31,000 a year — $10,000 less than a first-year teacher — and with no benefits.“How much do we need to keep accumulating?” asked Powell, 63, who has fared well financially in his job over the years, but is now concerned about possible cuts in pet programs. For example, since his salary comes out of the district’s discretionary budget, for the next three years he’ll be able to steer the money he is giving up to the areas that he desires.He is especially committed to kindergarten and preschool programs, the arts, and a project that steers B and C students into college by teaching them how to take notes and develop better strategy skills.Powell isn’t going to have money challenges when he retires in 2015. He’ll still earn a six-figure retirement, considered especially comfortable by the standards of California’s farming heartland.But how many people would agree to run 325 schools and 35 school districts with 195,000 students for less compensation than a starting California teacher earns — for even one year? Not many, if any.It’s to be hoped Powell achieves all of his objectives made possible by his generous give-back and selfless concern for others.

Jeer Now that former Pennsylvania House Speaker John Perzel has pleaded guilty to eight counts of conflict-of-interest, conspiracy and theft charges, state residents are justified in reflecting on a statement Perzel made following his six-day preliminary hearing in May 2010.At the conclusion of that legal proceeding, Perzel, who at that time was continuing to maintain his innocence, said he was left with a sense that “being a politician is now illegal.”As well as being wrong about proclaining his innocence, he erred in regard to his post-hearing observation.Being a politician isn’t illegal, but being a crooked politician is, as he will learn more clearly when his sentence is handed down.There should be no mockery of Perzel’s violations of the public trust by way of a lenient sentence, as was seen in the light five-year sentence handed down to former state Sen. Vincent Fumo after his conviction on more than 100 counts of corruption. Fumo now faces re-sentencing after federal prosecutors appealed his original prison term.Perzel faces up to 24 years in prison.When Perzel was charged in November 2009, he released a statement accusing then-Attorney General Tom Corbett, now Pennsylvania’s governor, of “political opportunism at the expense of my reputation.”Then, in a court filing last year, Perzel’s lawyers said all of the 82 counts of wrongdoing filed against him were unfounded. They said “all of the activities . . . had a legitimate and legal legislative purpose that provided tremendous benefit to the citizens of Pennsylvania.”Not so. They were an unconscionable assault on tax revenues paid by state residents.The dilemma of Perzel and others involved in state political corruption — including some who still face trials on their alleged illegal activities — should serve as a manual leading to better government.But “being a politician is now illegal”? Perzel knew better than to make such a stupid, arrogant statement.