[naviga:h3]Cheer [/naviga:h3]

Bendiciones to Alex Lopez-Foubert. The 8-year-old third grader at St. Kilian School, Cranberry Township, got to meet Pope Francis during the pontiff’s visit to Philadelphia Sept. 26 and 27.

Alex, the son of Alejandro and Lorena Lopez, of Cranberry, had honored the pope by choosing Francis as his hero for a second-grade class project last spring.

For their presentations, Alex and his classmates dressed up like their heroes. Alex dressed like the pontiff and even made a video.

Their presentations were put on display in the school’s cafeteria for Hero Night. There, parents and relatives got to see the students’ projects and ask questions about the people they picked.

Alex says the pope is his hero “because Pope Francis speaks Spanish like him, likes soccer like him and most importantly, motivates him to be a saint,” said his father, adding that the idea for the presentation was all Alex’s and that he was passionate about it.

The parish sent a copy of the video to the Vatican, along with a handwritten letter to the pope from Alex.

That led to a formal invitation to meet with Francis — and the honor of representing all Hispanic and Latino Catholics in the U.S. by presenting Francis the Cross of the Encuentros. The 5-foot-tall, wood cross symbolizes the history and future of journey of faith among Hispanic and Latino Catholics.

Alex, his parents, grandparents and sister Maite got to speak with the pope for about four minutes at Liberty Hall.

We’d like to think the Lopez family represented all of Butler County as well.

[naviga:h3]Jeer [/naviga:h3]

What’s done is done. The new VA Butler Health Care Center is being built in Center Township — not in Butler Township as originally planned.

Not in Butler Township on the Deshon Woods property, which was left a muddy wasteland when a prior developer had its contract revoked.

Not in Butler Township, home of an existing VA center whose future is unclear.

When Center Township officials came asking for a tax increment financing plan, Butler Township commissioners had good reason to be wary. They also had reasons to harbor a grudge, but those reasons aren’t so good.

Manager Ed Kirkwood was correct in his assessment that the TIF proposal was premature and was being handled improperly. But Kirkwood may have gone too far when he said he was “insulted” by Center Township’s handling of the proposal process.

It does seem peculiar that Center officials are pursuing what should be the business of the VA contractor, Cambridge Healthcare Solutions, should be leading the TIF proposal process. Cambridge would get any diverted tax revenue as reimbursement for infrastructure and property improvements.

It also was unconventional for Center officials to attend a Butler School Board meeting the previous week to propose the TIF, when the township still had not officially discussed the matter at one of its own meetings.

The township is in a hurry because PennDOT reportedly wants a commitment soon toward its plan to enhance the interchange of Route 422 and New Castle Road, tying the northern end of the interchange to the future VA site — and an adjacent 100 acres for which Cambridge has an option to develop.

Center officials did a poor job explaining their intentions, and the reason for the rush, to the school board and to Butler Township. Consequently, the presentations led to misunderstandings and rejection.

But despite the bad start, there’s potential for great things to happen on that 100 acres of farmland. It’s simply too early in the planning process to market that potential.

At the same time, the benefits of commercial development don’t stop at the municipal boundary. A boost in local jobs would help neighboring townships, the school district and the county.

That’s something to keep in mind. Let’s not allow personal insults to turn municipal neighbors into Hatfields and McCoys.

If escalating animosities kill a potential development, then nobody benefits.

[naviga:h3]Cheer [/naviga:h3]

Cheers to the Taylor family of Cranberry Township. After almost seven months away, Air Force Tech Sgt. Gerry Taylor surprised his daughter Ivy, a freshman at Seneca Valley Intermediate high school and his son Jason, a sixth grader at Haine Middle School, on Monday with an early return from deployment overseas in an undisclosed location in southwestern Asia.

His family was not expecting him home until November, Jason said.

Ivy said she texted “two more weeks” to her dad on Monday morning and then there he was.

Taylor surprised his daughter earlier in the morning and the whole family, including wife Jaime and older son Michael, and went to Haine to surprise Jason at an assembly in the school gym.

Jason went to the gym with his class and Principal Dan DiDesiderio began to talk with them about Veterans Day. DiDesiderio said there was a special guest and he introduced Taylor.

“When Mr. D said welcome our veteran Jerry Taylor, I got up and ran as fast as I could” and gave his dad a big hug, Jason said. “It was a total surprise, I am just really happy that he’s home.”