The April 3 front-page photograph of workers cleaning the brick and granite facade of the Lafayette Apartments on South Main Street in Butler served as a reminder that spring cleaning efforts and building maintenance can contribute to making Butler more attractive. And, a more attractive look can bring more people and more business into the downtown.

The masonry cleanup work on the Lafayette building has made a noticeable difference and washed away the gray grime that had accumulated on the stone in recent years. The attractive historic building now looks clean, and its architectural details now are more visible.

The prominent corner building reclaims some pride as a Butler landmark.

Other improvements are visible along Main Street with new second-floor apartments and a cafe opening just a few blocks north of the Lafayette building.

Spring cleanup can be as simple as some cleaning, a fresh coat of paint, or the renovation of a building facade.

A new mural is planned for the second story of the Smith's Flowers building at Main and West New Castle streets that will add visual interest to Main Street.

Building owners throughout the business district should take notice of the improvement that each of these projects will make in the overall appearance of the downtown, then think about what they can do to make Butler more attractive and vibrant.

Although a committee dealing with Butler County Government's purported office space shortage was dissolved last month, individual studies being conducted by two of the former committee's members are not out of line.The office space issue isn't going to go away based on inaction, and the prospect of no letup in the rising costs of construction dictate resolution of the issue sooner rather than later.Even if the board of commissioners ultimately opts for the do-nothing option at this time, having the information from the current studies in hand could provide a starting basis for future consideration.Carrying out the individual studies are Dick Rittelmann, a retired architect, and Bill Barthlow, the former chief operating officer of North Pittsburgh Telephone Co.The other member of the committee that was dissolved was Commissioner Jim Eckstein. Eckstein had disagreed with the way the other two committee members had wanted to study the issue.Eckstein should have been more open-minded about the conduct of the study, even if he ultimately disagreed with its results. He might have acquired a sounder basis for arguing against what the study recommended, if he still felt the study was off target.Having information from as many perspectives as possible is in the county's best interests.If the county in the end decides that an option must be pursued — new construction, buying an existing building or renting office space — the commissioners will have professional viewpoints to justify their decision to county taxpayers.Rittelmann and Barthlow deserve praise for their desire to try to help the county, despite the committee's demise.

There’s nothing wrong with people buying lottery tickets in the hope of gaining instant riches such as the $640 million Mega Millions jackpot of March 30 offered.That said, it’s troubling that so many of those people who were willing to dole out hard-earned money — some, hundreds of dollars or more — tune themselves out from issues of real importance that directly affect their lives.For example, many of those players could care less about what happens in Harrisburg’s or Washington’s governmental chambers — until something directly impacts their wallets or pocketbooks.They fail to speak out on local issues as they are evolving. They cower from using a few minutes to express an opinion that might help guide their elected or appointed decision makers.But they’ll stand in line for an hour, if necessary, to buy a chance for riches with hundreds-of-millions-to-one odds.It’s human instinct to want to no longer be burdened by the financial challenges of life. That’s OK.But it also ought to be more ingrained in people’s lives to want to be a part of things that are more important in the bigger picture — and, more easily attainable.The next time people are standing in line hoping they’ll buy a ticket that will bring them instant riches, they should at least acknowledge — to themselves, if not to others — that there are plenty of better ways for that time to be spent.Although a small gesture, it would represent a positive start.