Cheer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is routinely the target of critics who take issue with its overreaching ways. But on the subject of indoor tanning, which the FDA has proposed barring to anyone under the age of 18, the organization is right on target.

The organization also wants tanning facilities to take some steps to increase users’ safety when and if they do choose to tan indoors — and with good reason.

Tanning beds are linked to more than 419,000 cases of skin cancer in the U.S. each year, according to 2014 research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention don’t mince words about the practice: “Indoor Tanning is Not Safe,” proclaims the CDC website. The organization says that indoor tanning leads to more than 3,000 emergency room visits per year.

Thirteen states, as well as the District of Columbia, already prohibit indoor tanning for minors. Pennsylvania prohibits anyone 16 and under from using a tanning salon.

But the evidence on tanning beds is too damning to trust to a patchwork of regulations enacted at the state level. The FDA’s push to establish a federal rule is a welcome one.

Jeer

The National Football League was more than justified in fining and suspending New York Giants wideout Odell Beckham Jr. for one game after his conduct last Sunday during a chippy contest against the Carolina Panthers.

If anything, Beckham — who acted like a petulant, violent child rather than the 23-year-old man he is — should be thankful his punishment isn’t more severe.

Beckham was whistled for three unnecessary roughness penalties and was clearly out of control. When he launched himself, at full speed, into the helmet of Panthers cornerback Josh Norman in the third quarter, his only intent could have been to grievously injure his opponent.

That’s completely unacceptable conduct, and it’s not the first time Beckham has crossed the line. This is the fourth time the second-year player has been fined or suspended for violent or improper conduct on the field.

Beckham has tried to defend himself by saying he’s a “competitor” and hiding behind the nature of the game.

What he did doesn’t qualify as football. Any second-rate bully can suit up and take dangerous cheap shots. Beckham has the real talent and maturity it takes to play legal, smash mouth football every week — should he decide to follow the rules.

Cheer

There’s nothing quite like a helping hand during the holidays to brighten everyone’s day, and a long-running program, Hunters Sharing the Harvest, is well-deserving of a thank-you for its work helping provide meat to needy families.

The effort, which has been in operation since 1991, involves hundreds of hunters who collectively donate thousands of pounds of venison to help supply meat to 24 programs in Butler County.

The meat goes to help needy families, and the program is ranked No. 3 in the entire state for the amount of donations it takes in each year.

Tom Rossman, who coordinates the program, says he’d like to be No. 1 — a laudable and achievable goal, given how generous Butler County hunters, businesses and nonprofit organizations have been in the past.

Butler County’s food pantries serve about 2,000 families — 4,500 people — with about half of those individuals being either seniors or children.

As county Commissioner-elect Leslie Osche said, this is incredibly important work to be doing. It is the Christmas spirit put into action year-round.

Cheer

It’s not often we watch a holiday tradition in the making, but on Thursday morning we got that pleasure as a group from the Center for Community Resources walked Main Street, handing out tins of Christmas cookies.

Mike Robb, the center’s executive director, Chris Lunn and Eric Schultz didn’t plan the impromptu giveaway. The holiday spirit just took them — and then 200 tins of cookies got taken by surprised motorists and pedestrians.

“We just wanted to spread a little holiday cheer,” Robb said. “There’s always negativity going on, so we figured we’d have some positivity. It was a pretty great experience.”

Robb said the trio had so much fun handing out the tins, and were so tickled by the reactions of many people, that the center plans on making it an annual tradition.

What a great way to make some Christmas memories, and spread good, old-fashioned holiday cheer.