The photo in Tuesday's Butler Eagle of dejected Penn State quarterback Matt McGloin leaving the field after the Nittany Lions' season-opening loss last Saturday to Ohio University typified the feelings of many Penn State faithful. PSU fans hoped the game would help instill a more upbeat mood at the school, recovering from the scandal-marred offseason triggered by former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky's sexual-abuse crimes.

But despite the dejection of McGloin and others, there was something positive to be noted — the Penn State players who chose to remain with the team despite the sanctions imposed on the football program by the NCAA.

McGloin is one of those players.

Over time, Penn State — the football program and the school — will recover from the fallout of the Sandusky scandal. Players on the field or sidelines last Saturday merit praise for choosing to be a part of the road back.

The name Butler Township Zoning Hearing Board suggests it provides township residents with a venue for expressing their opinions on zoning issues before those issues reach the township commissioners.That the commissioners are considering eliminating zoning hearing board hearings works against the best interests of residents.It would eliminate a valuable time resource for fully evaluating issues, some of which might be highly controversial. Relegating such issues only to the commissioners could have two disadvantages.First, the commissioners would miss out on an early heads-up regarding the arguments and concerns surrounding a zoning matter.Next, there would be a smaller window for all opinions to be presented, and in some instances opinions might never be expressed because of tighter time constraints.The commissioners see money-saving advantages of eliminating the hearings in question. Less money will have to be spent on advertising the hearing board sessions.But the small sum that will be saved must be stacked up against the disadvantages of the public not being fully informed and not having ample opportunity to express opinions.Keeping the hearing board hearings makes more sense. Township residents should join in emphasizing that point.

Many people ascribe to the attitude of not wanting to get involved in unpleasant situations. And where danger is present, that usually is the advisable approach.But in the case of 551 W. Brady St., where a woman was living — apparently for years — in horrific filth while caring for 25 cats, someone should have stepped forward to alert authorities.Those who had contact with the woman — and a number of people did on a fairly regular basis — but didn’t alert authorities need to rethink their inaction.No one should live in such squalor, for whatever reason.The odor from the woman’s home and yard wasn’t just confined to that small area; a reporter noted that the foul odor was evident even across the street.Yet no one opted to act on the woman’s behalf — and also on behalf of the cats in her home.An article in Thursday’s Butler Eagle reported that the woman currently was being housed at Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Meanwhile, the cats, through the work of the Butler County Humane Society, were being housed in foster homes.As for some of the people who knew of the woman’s plight, was their inaction due to not knowing who to call? The police obviously were the first place to start.Did the woman’s acquaintances fear offending her? They should have risked that possibility for the woman’s health and well-being.Had the woman pleaded with them not to alert authorities? Only they know the answer to that question. But even if she did, they should have ignored her pleas.As for the house, it is in such a deplorable state that it will have to be torn down.Efforts are under way on many fronts to improve Butler. Situations such as the one in question hurt those efforts and undermine opinions of the city.