High Points of the Valley (Graphic Illustration)

* State lawmakers are spending their time on a lot that should make all West Virginians worry about legislative priorities. But last week, the state Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Senate Bill 585 — and should be commended for it. The Cohen Craddock Student Athlete Safety Act would require impact-reducing helmet covers for middle and high school football players during practice. That is a wonderful step toward better protecting these players. But the guardian caps are not free. The bill creates the Cohen Craddock Memorial Grant Program to help schools afford the safety equipment. But it will rely on both potential appropriations by the state Legislature AND private donations. If you are an individual or corporate sponsor who has already spent money helping candidates you believe have the best interests of West Virginia kids at heart, don’t waste time letting those same folks know you will be sending money to the grant program WHEN they pass the bill. Cohen Craddock’s parents believe his life might have been saved had he been wearing a guardian cap. Lawmakers must understand, now, that a lack of money will not mean some kids are protected while others remain at risk.

* Washington County Career Center welding students are putting their skills to good use with the Military Tribute Banner Project in New Matamoras, as they help the program keep costs low by manufacturing the brackets for the banners themselves. “The brackets for these banners are a little expensive,” with the students here at the school, I thought it’d be a good, real-life project for them to give them some experience and then it will help bring the cost down of our military banners,” said Sam Howard, one of the instructors for the welding program at Career Center. “The banners are $125 and if we had to buy the brackets, it was going to be up around $175 so it’s quite a savings for this program.” Families hoping to buy a banner to pay tribute to a loved one who served are surely grateful for the work these students have done to make it a little easier for them to do so.