A long-overdue effort is under way to correct the deplorable condition of many Butler streets. The streets in poor condition are the result of decades of neglect.

New City Councilman Richard Schontz Jr. merits praise for the effort he is leading — and which other council members have had a hand in — to accomplish as much resurfacing and other street repairs as possible this year.

Not so worthy of praise is the simple repairs to the city's playgrounds and parks that continue to be left undone.

It shouldn't take a multi-year planning effort to replace a missing or damaged swing or to sand the rust from a jungle gym. Likewise, a major planning effort isn't necessary to cut back overgrown foliage or to do some minor painting — or to replace a basketball net or deteriorated netting for volleyball or tennis courts.

If the city doesn't have the money and/or manpower to do such simple tasks, it ought to be reaching out to community groups or the county courts' community service program for help.

Simple deterioration evolves into a much bigger problem, as the long-running deplorable streets situation has proven. The parks shouldn't be allowed to evolve into an embarrassing mess, when minor improvements can do so much for them.

Sure, money is a problem, as Councilwoman Kathy Kline, director of parks, recreation and public property, points out. But despite her department's meager budget, more could be done, if only she and the department reached out to others, instead of planning for some future day or project.

The children of today aren't going to care if the city replaces a basketball hoop or netting five or six years from now.

It's time to add immediacy to comprehensive parks/playgrounds planning. The current deterioration isn't going to get better if inaction on small, basic needs continues.

State Sen. Kim Ward, a Westmoreland County Republican, wants to make it illegal for someone to witness a violent crime and fail to report it to police.Her intent is laudable.In a bill she has dubbed "Jennifer's Law," Ward is reacting to the torture and killing of a mentally disabled woman in February. According to police, Jennifer Daugherty, 30, was brutally tortured for several days before being stabbed to death.Her body was dumped in a parking lot.Two of the six people accused in Daugherty's death are facing the death penalty — as well they should. It would seem that the other four merit substantial sentences as well.But indeed, it should be illegal for anyone to witness a violent crime and fail to report it to law enforcement authorities. Especially, big cities like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are rife with cases where murder investigations are being hindered by witnesses' refusal to come forward and provide evidence.Ward's measure is one that should not be accorded snail's-pace consideration like so much of what Harrisburg considers is subjected to.The current legislative session in Harrisburg has only about six months remaining, but that should be plenty of time for "Jennifer's Law" to be passed by both houses of the General Assembly and sent to Gov. Ed Rendell for his signature.

The dental office of the Community Health Clinic of Butler County at 103 Bonnie Drive in Summit Township has compiled impressive numbers since opening in November.The only downside to what the dental office has been able to accomplish is the realization that so many people in this county are badly in need of its care — not having sufficient resources of their own to seek and pay for dental work.Despite what it has been able to accomplish to date, the clinic reports that a significant backlog of dental patients remains, and it continues to seek additional dentists, dental assistants and hygienists to volunteer, even for short periods of time.For some volunteers not currently employed full time, service at the clinic might be an opportunity for making new contacts that could someday result in a full-time job.As an article in the June 18 Butler Eagle reported, the clinic currently has 12 volunteer dentists who to date have completed more than 200 fillings and 150 extractions. In addition, two oral surgeons are handling more extensive procedures, such as whole-mouth tooth extraction.Besides basic examinations and cleanings and the fillings and extractions, the clinic staff provides advice to patients on how to minimize or avoid future problems."We teach them how to floss . . . and ways to improve their dental hygiene," said Cecelia Foster, center executive director.The clinic does not provide crowns, dentures or orthdontic procedures, but the care it does provide is a giant step toward returning patients to a life of dental health — assuming that they follow up with ongoing routine examinations and subsequently needed procedures.The Community Health Clinic has compiled a remarkable record of meeting the medical needs of people without insurance and who are income-eligible for its services. For the past seven months, that record has spilled over in a positive way to those needing dental care. The clinic's dental days are Mondays and Fridays.It is to be hoped that others will volunteer so that the center can help more people, and cut down or eliminate the backlog.