The South Butler School District shold be more proactive in resolving the dangerous bus stop at the corner of Freeport Street and Plantation Drive.

That is the site where students from The Plantation housing development in Clinton Township must now wait for their bus each day. Some parents accompany their children to the bus stop, putting themselves at risk as well.

Parents should not have to go to a school board meeting to plead for resolution of such an issue, as occurred at a board meeting on May 4.

Parents who attended that meeting told the board that they have witnessed numerous traffic violations, including vehicles passing the bus while it was stopped with its red lights blinking.

“There have been at least five near-accidents,” parent Barbara Ansell told the board.

But if the school district warrants criticism for not resolving a problem about which it obviously has been aware for some time, the parents at the bus stop also warrant a measure of criticism for also not being proactive enough about the problem. Even though parents have lobbied successfully with the Clinton Township supervisors to make that area a no-passing zone and to lower the speed limit, which many drivers still routinely violate, a parent or two should be stationed at the location with cameras to record the violations. Beyond that, they also should record the license plate numbers of the irresponsible motorists, then turn that evidence over to the state police.

This would not be the first time parents took such action to try to protect their children. The mere presence of a parent with camera in hand might serve as a deterrent.

A plan for moving the bus stop to another location has fallen through, and the district said it would be consulting with its solicitor about the situation.

But it’s long past due for the issue to be resolved, and the district should acknowledge that by expediting a solution.

Addressing the problem is a more palatable option than having to deal with the ramifications of an accident in which a student is injured or killed.

CheerThe nine defendants are innocent until proven guilty. However, state narcotics agents and local police departments involved in a two-year investigation of a million-dollar drug ring that operated in part in Butler County deserve praise for the skill with which they have handled the probe.They built their case through the key role played by the Cranberry Township police during the initial stages of the investigation, followed by a series of undercover drug buys carried out by state agents and police in three counties.The Butler County man who is one of the nine defendants is Tyler Dunlap, 30, of Lancaster Township. He is charged with six counts each of delivery of cocaine and possession with intent to deliver cocaine, and a lone count of criminal use of a communications facility — all felonies. In addition, he is charged with misdemeanor possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia.According to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Bureau of Narcotics Investigation, which spearheaded the probe, the drug ring distributed more than 90 kilos of cocaine with a street value of $2.5 million.All of the defendants’ cases will be prosecuted in Butler County.While this case represents a significant accomplishment for investigators, the unfortunate fact remains that these defendants got their supply of drugs from someone else, who still remains free.A bigger accomplishment than the arrest of these nine individuals would be the apprehension of their supplier or suppliers, who presumably have ties to other drug operations.Therefore, while these arrests are indeed an accomplishment, they are merely a possible steppingstone.These investigators’ work has no end in sight, and they would appreciate any tips, anonymous or otherwise, that would lead them to other drug dealers.

CheerIf the Pittsburgh Pirates are ever again going to be a winning team, they will have to hustle every time they are on the field.That is the point the team’s new manager, Clint Hurdle, has been attempting to instill in his players since taking over the reins of the team.To his credit, Hurdle didn’t back down from that during the past week when one of the team’s leaders and one of the faces of the franchise, Andrew McCutchen, chose not to run out a third strike when the ball bounced away from the Los Angeles Dodgers’ catcher. Had McCutchen hustled, he might have beat the throw to first base and, despite striking out, been a base runner.In response to what McCutchen didn’t do, Hurdle benched his star player for Thursday’s game, also against the Dodgers.To his credit, McCutchen didn’t question Hurdle’s decision.“Lesson learned. I’ll go from there,” McCutchen said.“We are focused on winning, but we are focused on building something greater and better as we go forward,” Hurdle told a Pittsburgh sportswriter. “I think there are certain things that are non-negotiable.”Had Hurdle not taken a strong stand against McCutchen, it would have sent the wrong message to the rest of the team.The Pirates will be better as a result of this important managerial decision.