It's time for the Connoquenessing Township Board of Supervisors to finally put to rest the case involving the firing of two township road crew members in April 2009.

The township's latest defeat, at the hands of the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board, is sufficient evidence that the supervisors — specifically, Supervisors Evelyn Hockenberry and Jack Kaltenbaugh — should end this unflattering chapter in the township government's history.

Even the township's solicitor, Larry Puntureri of New Castle, opposes further pursuit of appeals, even though he could make additional money if the case were prolonged.

However, Hockenberry, at a supervisors meeting Wednesday, made it clear that she is adamant that appeals continue.

She is embracing the wrong stance.

Hockenberry's conduct during Wednesday's meeting didn't reflect the important position — chairwoman of the supervisors board — that she holds. Rather than exhibiting leader-like conduct, she waved her hands about, repeating over and over that "my motion (to appeal) stands."

Her actions suggest a person locked in a personal vendetta, rather than someone representing her municipality's best interests.

As for Kaltenbaugh, amazingly, it took a while for him to decide whether he actually had seconded a motion by Hockenberry to appeal the labor board ruling to Butler County Court.

He finally said he hadn't and wouldn't second the motion, which then died.

Supervisor Steve Misko was absent.

Perhaps it's time for Hockenberry to rethink her leadership position on the board, if not her board seat. Wednesday confirmed that she has lost control of her responsibility to promote good, fiscally responsible government.

As for Kaltenbaugh, who has been aligned with Hockenberry, he too needs to ponder the direction of the board and work to change the board's troubling course.

What's been happening in Connoquenessing Township isn't government; it can be better characterized as an embarrassing assault on responsible municipal management.

The Harmony Volunteer Fire Company displayed impressive emergency-response skills in the way it handled a fire involving a gasoline-carrying tanker truck Tuesday morning in the northbound lanes of Interstate 79 near the Route 68 exit.It was there that the fire began after the rear axle of the truck broke, with sparks setting the back of the truck ablaze. The scene held the potential for what Harmony Fire Chief Tim Sapienza said could have been a catastrophe.In addition to the fire company in general, special praise is merited for the fast-thinking efforts of Harmony Capt. Paul Reynolds, who, aware of the potential for a big explosion, immediately upon arriving at the scene began spraying foam on the truck to extinguish the flames and otherwise cool down the vehicle.That got the situation under control quickly and prevented a worse scenario from evolving.Unfortunately, there still are people who think volunteer firefighters' skills are inferior to those of full-time, paid firefighters.Watching Harmony firefighters attack Tuesday's emergency might have caused those people to think otherwise.

The state Board of Education deserves credit for putting its weight behind an effort to make school meals healthier and to ensure that schoolchildren get adequate regular exercise.Given the alarming reports from across the country of the looming health care costs associated with rapidly rising levels of obesity and diabetes in young people, the board's effort to promote healthier eating and more exercise for public school students is not surprising. Nevertheless, it still is welcome.The board's statement said that "getting junk foods out of our schools and getting healthier food options and 30 minutes of daily physical activity into them are simple steps that can have a tremendous impact for our young people."Health and nutrition experts have long known that school meals could, and should, be healthier. The growing movement to remove sugary drinks, including sodas, energy drinks and sweetened fruit drinks, as well as unhealthy snacks, from school vending machines is a parallel movement taking place outside the school cafeteria.Tackling school lunches is central to the efforts of British chef Jamie Oliver to improve the health — while reducing obesity and the associated illnesses — of the people of Huntington, W.Va., through his prime-time reality television show, called "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution."Oliver's efforts revealed the dominance of highly processed foods in many school cafeterias and the relative lack of fresh and local vegetables and fruits in meals. His exposure of the unhealthy options in many school lunches was an eye- opener for many, as was his statement that the ubiquitous chocolate milk cartons in many school cafeterias contain as much sugar as a can of soda pop.Parents across the state should urge their local school officials to improve the nutritional value of the meals served in school lunchrooms by reducing processed foods and replacing them with fresher, regionally sourced foods, emphasizing vegetables and fruits.Schools should not fall back on the excuse that they are meeting state or federal standards. There is no reason why schools cannot exceed government nutrition standards — and support the objectives outlined by the state Board of Education, even before the possibly lengthy review and approval process is complete and the new guidelines become law.