Herbert Basham isn't the only school principal who feels it's important to maintain daily interaction with students. What's important to Slippery Rock Elementary School is that it has such a leader in its ranks.

It does make a difference when pupils can feel comfortable around their principal in an upbeat educational atmosphere. And that is the kind of learning environment that Basham, a Grove City native who was hired this summer, intends to create.

And, as Slippery Rock Elementary School principal, Basham intends to keep interaction as one of his pillars of leadership in his dealings with the school's staff and with parents.

"You've got to get to know people," he told a Butler Eagle reporter. "You handle one problem at a time. People just want you to listen to them."

It's hard to argue with that. The same is true for his thinking in regard to students.

"I'm the kind of person who will greet them first thing in the morning and see them off on the bus," he said.

Basham was recommended unanimously by the committee of teachers, administrators and school board members who interviewed him and four other candidates for the position. It is to be hoped that Slippery Rock Elementary School students will be unanimous in their desire to work hard for their new principal.

Zelienople Borough Council was correct Monday in allowing Don Geis, an urban planner from Potomac, Md., to speak in opposition to the proposed 14-unit Burton Manor condominium complex, even though Geis, a borough native, no longer lives there.Prior to allowing Geis to speak, Bonnie Brimmeier, borough solicitor, had reminded the council that it was under no obligation to allow him to speak since he was not currently a resident and initially refused to divulge on whose behalf he was speaking.Eventually at the meeting, the identities of at least some of those residents, including Geis' brother, Ralph Geis, a Beaver Street resident, were made known.It is important for the council to have a broad range of input regarding the controversial condominium complex. Don Geis' 50 years of experience in the urban-planning field have given him an important perspective on proposals such as the one in question.That is not to imply that the borough should not approve the complex; that is for the council to decide."You don't put multi-family housing in single-family housing," Don Geis said.He said a long slide toward other problems results when multi-family units are mixed in with single-family homes.At this point, the important thing is that the council allowed itself to hear the views of Don Geis. The council and community residents will have to live with whatever the council decides.

What Oakmont wanted is something with which Oakmont now should be content to live.Taxpayers statewide should not have to foot the bill for resurfacing and other repairs to Hulton Road, which leads to Oakmont Country Club, where next year's U.S. Open is scheduled to be held June 14-17.But that might be about to happen, if a deal between the state Department of Transportation and the borough is finalized.Six years ago, Oakmont took over the state-owned section of Hulton in question so the borough could gain local control and lower the speed limit to 25 mph from 35 mph.Amid the transfer of responsibility, rather than resurface the 3,800-foot section of roadway, PennDOT gave the borough $58,000, which many people, including PennDOT, would have presumed the borough would use for road repairs.Not so; the borough allowed the roadway to steadily deteriorate.Now borough officials are hoping that the state will relieve them of the repairs responsibility — the estimated cost of which is $200,000 — and spare them embarrassment when 80,000-plus visitors converge on Oakmont for the premier golf event.The borough says it doesn't have the money to make the needed repairs but is willing to pay back to the state the $58,000 it received in 2000, plus nearly $12,000 in interest.Having made what it now regards as a bad decision six years ago in what was perceived then to be in the community's best interests, the borough should be content to borrow $130,000 for the needed work, with borough residents footing the bill.Taxpayers outside of Oakmont shouldn't have to pay for Oakmont's mistake, despite the economic benefits to be derived beyond Oakmont's borders during the premier golf tournament.Information coming out of Oakmont indicates PennDOT would restore the 35 mph speed limit as part of retaking control of the road and resurfacing it."The speeding issue has sort of gone away for us," said Roger Dunlap, Oakmont's borough manager, who wasn't involved in the original transfer.For Oakmont, the priority now is money.On behalf of taxpayers statewide, even though not a huge amount of money is involved, PennDOT should back away from the deal, leaving Oakmont to bring Hulton Road up to par.