An anonymous donor's willingness to provide $1,000 for the Regatta at Lake Arthur's fireworks display provided a strong incentive for others to come forward to provide the remaining $4,000 that was needed for the Aug. 5 display.

The $1,000 carried the stipulation that the other $4,000 was in hand, which the regatta did in fact achieve.

Now, an anonymous donor has offered to match donations up to $25,000 in connection with this year's Butler Public Library fundraising campaign.

That commitment to the library is commendable, whether or not the anonymous donor allows his or her identity ever to be divulged.

This year's library campaign is seeking to raise $100,000.

Commendably, the library is planning to "go the extra mile" in reaching that goal. For the first time, volunteers will canvass businesses for contributions to the campaign.

It is to be hoped people of the community will come forward with donations small or more significant to ensure a successful fundraising effort.

Despite the internet, the library continues to be an indispensable resource for the community.

Taxpayers of the Freeport School District have a right to know the status of Superintendent Joseph Malak.School board members' refusal to even acknowledge that the superintendent, whose salary is $132,000, is on a leave of absence raises the question of what else the board is not telling district residents.Unfortunately, the Malak "mystery" is the second major saga of secrecy over the chief school administrator position to hit the district in the past half-dozen years. In 2000, the board was similarly tight-lipped when then-Superintendent Donald Tylinski was given approval for a one-year unpaid leave of absence.Tylinski never returned to Freeport, eventually becoming superintendent of the Seneca Valley School District.District residents who are aware that Malak left his position in the spring might be wondering whether he will follow Tylinski's example of never to return.Regardless, the board has an obligation to district residents to reveal relevant facts surrounding Malak's absence. For example, knowledge of whether Malak is on a paid or unpaid leave is important for the taxpayers to know, since they pay his salary.Malak isn't the school board's boss. The board is Malak's boss.The board should acknowledge that in the way it deals with information regarding Malak's status — openness, not secrecy.Board members were elected to represent the best interests of the district. The secrecy involving Malak's status violates that premise.A valid question at this juncture is whether board members who choose to operate outside the best interests of taxpayers should be board members at all.Probably not.

Donald Stegner, 24, of Leechburg, Armstrong County, has earned Penn United Technology of Jefferson Township, as well as himself, a special plateau of recognition at the National Institute for Metalworking Skills in Fairfax, Va.The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Apprentice Training also has taken special note of his accomplishment.Stegner, who has worked at Penn United since May 2004, is the first person in the nation to earn a machinist certificate under the NIMS competency-based apprenticeship program.Under the old hours-based system, it could have taken four years for Stegner to attain his new certification as a journeyman machinist. Stegner earned his in about three years, according to Bill Jones, Penn United Technology president.According to a NIMS news release, "In the NIMS system, workers demonstrate their competencies by writing programs, setting up and operating machines and controlling quality, to achieve industry agreed-upon tolerances and specifications."In order to earn his certificate, Stegner had to earn 12 credentials in various areas.The competency-based system has been in the making for three years, involving a partnership between NIMSand the federal Labor Department.Penn United is a tool-and-die manufacturer and also specializes in die design, precision grinding and machining, metal stamping and carbide products.