Butler County Community College President Nick Neupauer is a man of his word. He proved that last year when, in response to his successful challenge to the college to raise $25,000 for the annual campaign ($30,000 actually was raised), he made good on a promise to walk from his Slippery Rock home to the college — a 20-mile hike.

But more important than Neupauer's more than four-hour walk is what he has accomplished since his appointment as the college's eighth president on Aug. 1, 2007. And that's why the BC3 board of trustees voted to renew his contract, which will continue until changed by the board.

"This was our way of showing the confidence we have in Dr. Neupauer as president of BC3," said Ray Steffler, trustees board chairman. "We are pleased with the direction he has taken the college."

But the contract didn't come without some initiatives presented by the trustees, although those goals were not actually written into the contract. As noted in an article about Neupauer's contract extension in Thursday's Butler Eagle, those objectives include expansion at the Cranberry Township campus, creation of a Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning that would be a hub for professional development, creation of a quick-response team to evaluate expansion opportunities, increasing online course offerings and improving the full-time to part-time faculty ratio.

The target year for achieving all of those goals is 2015.

With Neupauer having successfully tackled goals outlined by the trustees over the past two years, the president is poised to do likewise regarding the newest goals.

Butler Health System's Heart and Vascular Center always has had a stellar reputation.Early on, it achieved high rankings when compared with other hospitals providing the same kinds of care.But now HealthGrades, the nation's leading health care quality assessment company, has named Butler Memorial — for the first time — as the top cardiovascular surgery program in the state. HealthGrades also ranks BMH's center in the top five percent nationally.HealthGrades ratings measure patient outcomes for each of more than two dozen procedures and diagnoses. Butler Memorial received the highest-possible ratings for coronary bypass surgery and valve replacement surgery.Some people have the mistaken notion that getting the best care requires going to a hospital in a big city such as Pittsburgh or Philadelphia. HealthGrades' latest ratings prove otherwise.

Even though his sentence might be within the state's sentencing guidelines, the penalty meted out to 36-year-old Shane W. Young of Butler seems lighter than it ought to be.Young was sentenced by Butler County Judge Timothy McCune to two years of probation and 50 hours of community service for stealing his aunt's morphine-based pain medication on June 6.Young pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit theft and possession of a controlled substance, both misdemeanors.The aunt, Doris Lemons, 57, is suffering end-stage Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) — otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Her son, Tracey Scott of Florida, said after Young's sentencing earlier this month, "If not for those medications, she would be in excruciating pain. Even with the medications, she is sometimes in great pain."Yet Young refused to return the medication after he was confronted about the theft prior to police being called.Lemons can no longer walk on her own. When she tries to speak, she often is not understood. Thus, she communicates her thoughts by writing them down or by pointing to letters on a board.Still, she was in court when Young was sentenced to convey her hurt feelings over what her nephew had done. That was done by way of a letter that Lemons wrote, which her husband read in the courtroom.Later, when standing before McCune to hear his sentence, Young said, "I'm very sorry for what I did,"It was a predictable comment. Most defendants experience a sudden rush of sorrow as they are waiting to learn what will be in store for them.As for Young's sentence, it does not match the pain he caused.If Young has any real remorse, he should reflect on the agony he caused his aunt and contrast that with his own good fortune.<B><I> — J.R.K.</B></I>