During his nine Major League seasons, Butler's Matt Clement gave area baseball fans a special reason to want to peruse the sports pages.

Many area fans followed his career during those years and were excited to watch a "local boy" pitch in an All-Star Game and playoff games and receive a World Series ring.

Those same fans were saddened by the injuries that hurt his performance and, in the end, forced an early halt to his career. His retirement was announced during the past week.

No one can accuse Clement of giving up without a fight. He was able to come back and pitch in spring training this year, despite being told after surgery that he might never pitch again.

Although he did return, it was clear to him that he no longer was at top form and that this was the right time to step aside.

"I'm getting out on my own terms," Clement said. "I feel good about that."

And Butler area baseball fans can feel good that he represented this area so well for so long at the Big Leagues level.

Thousands of area youngsters would love to follow his footsteps and repeat his successes.

Sometimes school board meetings are "dry" and boring. But Monday's Slippery Rock School Board meeting was anything but that, thanks to district kindergarten pupils.The kindergartners presented a "readers theater" that was developed around a unit on community helpers and also celebrated the late Fred Rogers' birthday, which was March 20.The students involved in the presentation designed puppets to represent community helpers such as firefighters, police officers, postal carriers, doctors and librarians. The pupils lined up in front of a microphone and read a sentence describing the occupation of their particular community helper.After they were finished, they gathered on stage, lifted their puppets and sang Mister Rogers' "Won't you be my neighbor?""I think it's something we would like to continue on through the years," said kindergarten teacher Terri Lombardo.Although they probably didn't think of it at the time, Monday's experience provided the pupils with another kind of educational experience. They learned that there is a group of people who gather each month to decide things that affect their classrooms and the ways their school helps them to learn.The pupils can feel proud that they were such an important part of Monday's meeting, and they should use that experience in being excited about other new things that their teacher helps them learn.

Pennsylvania state troopers deserve praise for their diligence in attacking the problem of motorists driving under the influence. In 2008, the troopers set a record for the number of such arrests.A total of 16,156 arrests were made a 3 percent increase over 2007.But while the troopers deserve praise for what they were able to accomplish amid their other duties, what is necessary to jeer is the amount of people who continue to drive while intoxicated, endangering themselves and innocent motorists and pedestrians.Meanwhile, it is sobering to ponder the question of whether more people were driving under the influence in 2008 than in 2007.Regardless, when apprehended, they deserve more than a slap on the wrist that doesn't discourage future drunken driving.Still, state troopers' accomplishment can't go without positive notice. Officials are crediting education, training and targeted enforcement as reasons for the increase in DUI arrests. The state police also said troopers conducted more evaluations to find drivers under the influence of illegal or prescription drugs.Those who choose to drive drunk disregard all that's at stake because of that risky behavior. They also ignore the pain and suffering they often cause until it's too late.Unfortunately, people will die on the state's highways this holiday weekend due to drunk drivers. They will be tragedies that could have been avoided.