It's troubling that in these final days before Tuesday's election, the Butler Eagle has had to cover news about thefts of political signs.

But yet that has been necessary stemming from incidents and criminal charges in Clinton Township. And, the newspaper has heard allegations from a candidate about missing signs in the Center Township supervisors race.

Advertising his or her name and qualifications is a right of anyone seeking public office, and that right should not be obstructed, if carried out in an appropriate way.

Campaign signs have traditionally been one method candidates have used in their efforts to obtain votes. Theft of such signs is childish and underhanded — and a statement of the insecurity of some candidates' supporters about the ability of the candidates to win votes by way of a fair campaign.

To discourage future incidents of such theft and political sign destruction, the courts should make a firm statement by the punishment they mete out for such offenses.

The time to remove campaign signs is the day after the election — by the candidate and his or her supporters — not before the balloting takes place.

It has taken a long time for a study to take shape about developing a visitors center near the Interstate 79-Route 422 interchange in Muddy Creek Township. Although the idea has been discussed since the early 1990s, only now has a $20,000 grant been received from the state Department of Community and Economic Development to fund the study.Part of the study will be to determine potential construction costs and a time frame for the work — as well as a good location.A visitors center in that area makes sense. State Department of Transportation statistics show that 49,000 motorists travel that section of I-79 daily, while 26,000 motorists use Route 422 in that area each day.Having Moraine State Park on one side of the interchange and McConnells Mill State Park on the other would make the proposed center a popular stopping place — enabling both Butler and Lawrence counties to showcase their attractions. Coupled with that is the reality that I-79 has no rest stops in that locale.Butler County is advertising for proposals from companies with the expertise to conduct the study. Finding the right company should be less of a hurdle than obtaining the study grant has been.Jack Cohen, executive director of the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau, also has noted that the proposed center could tap into traffic that eventually will be en route to a new casino and harness racing track planned for Mahoning Township, Lawrence County. But the center also could be a valuable resource in promoting all of Western Pennsylvania.Depending on the findings of the study, the next challenge will be to find money to build the center.That might not be easy, but the two counties should remain committed to finding the funds to make the project happen.

Steve Mannell deserves praise for his accomplishments during more than a decade as Cranberry Township's public safety director. His departure to accept a position with a private military contracting firm is a loss for the municipality.It is to be hoped that the township will find a replacement who will be as good for the township as Mannell has been.Mannell, in the years since his hiring in February 1996, oversaw the doubling of police department personnel, to 28 from 14 officers. In addition, Mannell is credited with bringing the latest technology to the department.When Mannell arrived after retiring from the military, the department had only two computers, and antiquated data-management systems were in place. Likewise, the police radios were old and there were no cellular phones.Today the department has all-new computer and software equipment, laptop computers in all of its cars, new high-tech crime and data-management systems, cell phones and new radios for the police and other township departments.The most recent addition is an electronic fingerprinting system.To say that Mannell has been good for Cranberry Township is an understatement. A better description is that he was the right person at the right time for addressing emergency services challenges brought about by Cranberry's fast growth.The township's police, fire and emergency medical services are losing a good friend.