Homeowners and businesses depend on firefighters for their safety and to protect their property in the event of a fire. Firefighters, in turn, depend on their training.

Last week, the fire school operated by the Butler County Fire Chiefs Association marked 60 years of providing some of that training.

Many firefighters from Butler County and beyond have received training through the fire school that began with 100 firefighters practicing their skills on a baseball field in Evans City in 1951. Since then, the fire school has grown and moved several times, developing a strong connection to Slippery Rock University and Butler County Community College in recent decades.

The peak enrollment for the school was 640. Last weekend's program had about 420 students, close to the average.

What started 60 years ago has now grown to include classroom work at SRU and BC3. The construction of the public safety facility at the community college in 2002 drew the program from SRU, because of the additional space and new facilities.

The dedication and vision of those who started the school is laudable. And through their efforts in growing the program, they've helped hone the skills of thousands of firefighters, benefiting hundreds of thousands of people — in Butler County and beyond.

Most people unfamiliar with U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner a month ago have had the opportunity to get to know the brash New York congressman as a result of the sex scandal surrounding his sending suggestive text messages and cell phone pictures to young women. The news media and late-night talk shows have had plenty of fodder as they reported on and ridiculed the congressman.But Weiner isn't the only nut case who allowed himself to get caught up in something stupid. Consider Pennsylvania District Judge Isaac Stoltzfus, who is at the center of a situation being addressed by a state judicial panel.The judicial panel says Stoltzfus brought disrepute upon the bench by handing out condom-stuffed acorns to women outside the state Capitol.According to the panel, Stoltzfus offered the acorns to two female state employees. The women discovered that the hollowed-out acorns contained unwrapped condoms.The incident took place in September.Could Stoltzfus' district be a candidate for merger into some other district or districts? If he has time to be engaged in such bizarre conduct, his court caseload obviously is light.Although prosecutors determined that Stoltzfus hadn't committed a crime — he originally had been cited for disorderly conduct — he should have better sense, and character.What can be said about Weiner can be repeated regarding Stoltzfus:“What was he thinking but, more so, why?”

It's small change compared to the massive bailout of the financial industry, but the past week saw the U.S. Senate side with consumers and retailers over credit card companies and big banks. The issue involved something invisible to consumers, but very lucrative for banks and credit card companies — the so-called swipe fees paid by retailers each time a debit card is used. The fees generate $16 billion a year for credit card companies and banks.A provision in the Dodd-Frank financial reform law called for lowering the fee from 44 cents to 12 cents per swipe. And in recent weeks, the financial industry lobbied Congress intensely to kill the swipe-fee reduction or delay it. The delay strategy assumed that with months of additional study and hearings, the plan to lower the swipe fee would quietly die.One member of Congress said it was a tough vote because he had “friends” who were bankers and “friends” who were retailers. Translated, that means he was lobbied by both sides and received campaign money from both sides — or “friends.”Despite the power and influence of the financial industry in Washington, D.C., the vote to defeat the lower fees fell six votes short of passing.So, after massive bailouts for the biggest banks and an ongoing bailout in the form of low-interest lending from the government that guarantees the biggest banks easy profits, the Senate voted in favor of retailers and, presumably, consumers.Amazing.