[naviga:h3]Cheer [/naviga:h3]

Prosecutors involved in the case of a 17-year-old boy accused of crashing an ATV and killing a friend while driving drunk in February are exercising due diligence by delaying court proceedings while they gather more information and work to determine if the defendant, charged with homicide by vehicle, should be charged as an adult.

The details of the case surrounding the Feb. 27 rollover crash in Clarion County, which killed Briggs R. Buck, 16, of Chicora, are still incomplete because of its filing in the juvenile court system.

What has been made public, however, is disturbing. Assistant District Attorney Russ Karl says the defendant, drunk on alcohol provided by his uncle, left Buck on the roadside, drove home and went to bed without using his cell phone to call for help.

Karl says the boy also deliberately misled investigators, sending them after false leads that hampered their investigation.

Karl asked for more time to gather information. Defense attorney Jack Haller asked for psychiatric and neurological evaluations for his client.

Those are all reasonable requests. Buck’s family deserves nothing less than a no-stones-unturned investigation into the circumstances that resulted in his death.

[naviga:h3]Jeer[/naviga:h3]

What can you say about the Kathleen Kane saga other than, it just keeps getting more bizarre?

Under fire to resign and the target of criminal felony charges that she leaked grand jury information, Kane has tried to deflect attention by raising the specter of an “old boys” network that routinely exchanged offensive e-mails, and is out to scuttle her because of her investigation into their activities.

Kane has disciplined more than 60 members of her staff at the Office of Attorney General for this conduct. But on Thursday we learned that Kane and her twin sister, Ellen Granahan, who heads the office’s child predator unit, were in on the action.

Kane herself received 11 of the “troubling” e-mails; Granahan is accused of sending or receiving 58 digital messages that mocked people of different races, joked about domestic abuse and included racy photos of men and women.

It’s difficult to argue that a cabal of “good old boys” is out to get you when that cabal includes yourself and your sister, which may explain why Kane has only selectively released e-mails to benefit her cause — a practice she continues to utilize. Supreme Court Justice Michael Eakin faces a disciplinary hearing Monday after Kane recently sent his e-mails to an ethics panel.

If there’s anyone who deserves the scrutiny of a hearing on ethics, it’s our attorney general. Kane’s conduct continues to shame and perplex our entire state.

[naviga:h3]Cheer[/naviga:h3]

A group of good Samaritans who thwarted an accused knife-wielding mugger last Sunday on Monroe Street in Butler are all deserving of a hearty holiday thank-you.

As Zachary Angert, 29, of Summit Township tells the tale, as many as a dozen people banded together to apprehend Zachariah A. Swann, 25, of Butler, who, armed with a large, fixed-blade knife, is alleged to have snatched a woman’s purse after asking her for a light for his cigarette.

The group faced off with the knife-wielding Swann despite his threats to stab and kill them, and wrestled him to the ground, where they held him until police arrived.

It’s no small thing to risk injury or death to help a perfect stranger and apprehend the suspect in a violent crime.

Best and safe holiday wishes go out to Angert and all the good people involved in turning the tide of this tale from harrowing to heartwarming.