When parents are concerned about conditions in their children's schools, they should let their feelings be known. Parents of students at Slippery Rock Elementary School are doing just that in pushing for smaller class sizes.

Kindergarten, fourth- and fifth-grade classes at the school consist of 27 students; the state Department of Education recommends a maximum of 22 students in elementary classrooms.

While the district might have financial and available facilities issues in addressing the parents' concerns, petitions that will be circulated in favor of smaller class sizes are an appropriate basis for discussion.

Several parents already have attended school board meetings to express their concerns about the elementary school's class sizes.

Perhaps one option would be for concerned parents to establish a committee to meet with the school board for a comprehensive look at all that would be involved in changing from the current setup.

Dogs in Cranberry Township have something to wag their tails about. Work on a long-sought-after community dog park will begin later this month or in April, and it's expected that the park will be open sometime during the year.The two-acre dog park will be adjacent to Cranberry Community Park. Several years ago, the township bought 28 acres next to the park, and the dog park will be on a portion of that tract.To the community's credit, taxpayer money will not be involved in most of the dog park work. The Cranberry Township Rotary Club has pledged $45,000 toward the park, while the Dog Park Committee, which is made up of community members, has raised another $21,900.What the township is providing is the site access and preparation work.The total project cost is estimated to be about $75,000."This is what Cranberry is all about, working together, getting things done," said township supervisors chairman Dick Hadley.The park will be divided so big dogs and small dogs have their own place in the facility. About a half-acre will be for small pets, while the remaining 1.5 acres will be for large dogs. The park will be double-gated and will include water stations, shade areas, and trash/waste stations.Cranberry officials demonstrated their problem-solving ability in their work on the planned dog facility. During an environmental assessment of the land, a wetlands area was found near the proposed access to the park.That issue was resolved, paving the way for the project to continue.For many Cranberry residents, the park will be a welcome addition from a recreation standpoint for themselves as well as from the standpoint of a facility benefiting their pets.Cranberry Township has many assets. The dog park will be another one.

Contract talks should begin with a positive, open-minded attitude on both sides of the negotiations table.However, Evans City hasn't even begun talks with the police department regarding a new contract — the current pact expires at the end of this year — and already there's negativity surrounding the upcoming bargaining.The negativity has erupted over the makeup of the borough's negotiating committee, which will consist of Councilmen Harry Shaffer and Homer Mercer, with Councilman Roy Long serving as the alternate.The motion on appointment of the committee, which was made by Shaffer and subsequently approved, caught council President Cheri Deener by surprise. Deener said she believed the negotiating committee should be made up of a single representative from each of the borough's committees.Meanwhile, police Chief Joe McCombs also was caught by surprise and expressed his dissatisfaction as well.In fact, McCombs made a dire prediction about the upcoming talks."I guarantee you (the police contract) will be going to arbitration," the chief said.McCombs accused Shaffer of "going in (to the negotiations process) negative already."The council rejected Deener's suggestion that makeup of the negotiations committee be tabled.Not only is this early disagreement troubling, portending anything but amicable talks. But the situation also suggests that Deener, despite her role as council president, isn't in touch with everything that's going on in borough government behind the scenes.That should be troubling to borough residents, as well as Deener.McCombs pointed out that in 1995, the borough and police department were forced to go to arbitration to resolve that contract dispute. The police ended up receiving a hefty pay increase.Whether McCombs' prediction will be on target remains to be seen. However, an early order of business should be for all elected Evans City officials to get on the same page.