It's remarkable and fun sometimes to consider how one person's presence can change the way a community sees itself.

Daniel Dickey is a good example. The 2007 graduate of Seneca Valley High School is leaving what must be a deep impression on the tiny Alaskan village of Golovin, where he teaches high school math. He also coaches cross country at Golovin's Martin L. Olson School, which has an enrollment of about 20 students in grades 6 through 12.

With the help of some Butler-area enterprises, the cross country team that's 3,500 miles away is competing this year in new shoes and uniforms. Not bad for a tiny, one-store, one-church village near the Arctic circle, with no paved roads to run on.

Golovin has a population of 156, according to to the 2010 census. Its chief claim to fame is being a checkpoint along the Iditirod Trail Sled Dog race from Nome to Juneau.

But the cross-country team suits up in style. Up-N-Running in Valencia sent five pairs of shoes, while team jerseys were bought from the Mark-Im custom clothing store in Butler.

These must be treasures for youngsters in such a remote town. The youngsters take pride in knowing someone thinks enough about them to provide the uniforms and shoes.

One of the runners said as much in a thank-you note.

“I received a very nice letter from one of the girls on the team and a picture of her running,” said Ed Doyle, owner of Up-N-Running. “I thought that was really neat. And she's apparently doing quite well.”

Long-distance cheers to Dickey and his runners.

Jeers to Jaxson de Ville, mascot of the NFL Jacksonville Jaguars, for a display of gross insensitivity during the Jaguars' 17-9 loss last week to the Pittsburgh Steelers.For those who missed it, the mascot held up a Pittsburgh Steelers Terrible Towel along with a sign that read “Towelscarryebola.”Ebola is the virus that has killed hundreds of people in three African nations and threatens to kill tens of thousands more people globally. The current outbreak in West Africa is the largest and most complex Ebola outbreak since the Ebola virus was first discovered in 1976, according to the World Health Organization, with more cases and deaths than all previous ebola outbreaks combined.The virus causes a hemorrhagic fever with symptoms including fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache and sore throat, followed by vomiting, diarrhea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases internal and external bleeding. The disease kills about 50 percent of people it infects.Jaxson's ebola wisecrack was an attempt at topical humor — the comedic genre made famous by late night talk show hosts. But practitioners of topical humor know that some issues, like ebola, are too fresh or too horrific for poking fun.The Jaguars mascot crossed that line, unfortunately. There's nothing funny about ebola.Then again, considering Jacksonville's 0-5 season, there's not much else to laugh about, either.

Few sins are more egregious than repeat drunken driving offenses. Habitual offenders put themselves and others at risk of death, serious injury and damage, which results in higher motorist insurance premiums for everyone. And their irresponsibility reveals the unfortunate truth that license suspensions don't work.One state lawmaker, York County Republican Stan Saylor, wants to replace DUI suspensions with what he believes is a better way of monitoring drunk drivers. Saylor's proposal is worthy of a cheer.He's preparing legislation that would either eliminate license suspensions for DUI offenders or at least allow them to get a restricted license, which allows them to drive to work. He thinks ignition interlock systems would be more effective. When the system is installed in your car, it prevents you from driving if you have been drinking.“You still have a car, you're still going to drive. People have to get back and forth to work or they lose their job and of course they end up on welfare,” Saylor explained in a recent news report.His initiative already has support from Mothers Against Drunk Driving. “We support any efforts by Representative Saylor to essentially do away with license suspension, as long as the offender has some other monitoring on them, such as an interlock,” said MADD spokesman Frank Harris. “Other states have implemented these and they've seen reductions in drunk driving deaths by over 38 percent. That's pretty remarkable in the scope of traffic safety.”That would go a long way toward the ultimate goal of safer highways.