The National Transportation Safety Board has issued a positive recommendation in regard to drunken drivers that Pennsylvania should embrace.

The NTSB is suggesting that all states require ignition interlock devices for convicted drunken drivers, including first-time offenders.

Seventeen states already have laws requiring the use of the device by all those who have been convicted of driving while intoxicated.

A few years ago, the federal government tied allocation of some funds to pushing states to lower the blood-alcohol level for determining driver intoxication to .08 from 1.0. The government should consider similar pressure on the states regarding the ignition-interlock requirement.

That requirement wouldn't get all drunken drivers off the road, but it would cause many drivers to think twice about getting behind the wheel if they've consumed intoxicating beverages.

According to the NTSB, the devices currently are the best available solution to reducing drunken-driving deaths, which the board said account for about a third of the nation's 32,000 traffic deaths each year.

In particular, the board noted a new NTSB study that found some 360 people a year are killed in wrong-way driving crashes on high-speed highways. That study concluded that 69 percent of wrong-way drivers had blood-alcohol levels above the .08 legal limit.

Pennsylvania lawmakers have been remiss in not following the other states that already have implemented the NTSB recommendation.

Some Freeport School District residents might be puzzled about why it is taking so long for the board to make a final decision regarding the site for the district's new $31 million middle school in Buffalo Township. The board's project timeline calls for a public hearing in February, despite the actual location not yet having been finalized.But the board should be commended for its ongoing discussion and concern that the building be constructed in the right location, all issues considered.The feeling of the board now is that the building's originally targeted location might have traffic-safety issues that another nearby location on the same tract of district-owned land would not have.Traffic is a major concern, since plans call for the project to include parking spaces for 236 cars. Meanwhile, the project must ensure easy entry and exit for 24 buses.For taxpayers concerned about the project cost, Daniel Lucovich, board president, indicated that the goal is to remain in the same project price range, whichever site is selected.Despite the project architect being directed to analyze the proposal to move the building, Superintendent Chris DeVivo said that would not constitute a project delay. Construction still is scheduled to begin on Oct. 15, with construction to be completed in April 2015.Occupancy is scheduled for September 2015.The time to consider changes is before they would adversely affect a project. That's what the Freeport board is trying to do.

It's uplifting that there is good news in local communities this holiday season dealing with people's generosity and concern for others.That's because, so far, there's been no good news emanating from Washington, D.C., about the ongoing “fiscal cliff” negotiations.As a headline in Wednesday's Butler Eagle proclaimed, there's been not much progress in the fiscal-cliff talks, with neither side willing to budge on its ideas for resolving the issue. A headline on Friday noted that “Voters have fading faith” regarding a solution anytime soon.Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reminded federal leaders that the fiscal cliff already is having unwanted effects on the economy, with the current uncertainty affecting consumer and business confidence, leading businesses to cut back on investment.Americans elect their leaders to resolve tough issues. Regarding the fiscal cliff so far, they're not getting their money's worth.