Laurel: Those of us who rely day in and day out on dictionaries and spell-checkers have a lot of admiration for good spellers. Becoming one takes hard work, and Sarah Hartman has earned our respect. The Windber Middle School seventh-grader last week won the 34th annual St. Francis University Spelling Bee. We wish Sarah lots of luck as she moves on to compete in the March 20 Pittsburgh spelling bee and, hopefully, earns a spot in the National Spelling Bee.

Barb: Washington High School beat Monessen in a basketball game last week, but we can’t imagine anyone coming away from the Westmoreland County gym in a celebratory manner. A halftime fight between two girls quickly expanded with other fans and eventually some of the basketball players joining in. The second half of the game was played without the 1,600 spectators, who were removed. A better decision would have been to end the game, period. Police were still probing the incident by midweek with more charges being filed. Monessen’s athletic director said he was “deeply disappointed.” A lot of other people should be, too.

Laurel: How wonderful is this? A 1.5-acre site that formerly housed Babcock Lumber, and is considered one of the most blighted in Ebensburg, is being eyed as a park. Borough officials hope that the state will cover most of the cost from its blight-removal grant program. The property sits near the well-used Ghost Town Trail and borough-owned baseball fields. Borough Manager Dan Penatzer showed council members pictures of the blighted site, plus an artist’s rendering of the proposed Babcock Park. We wish the borough good fortune on this project, which would include a small structure, a picnic pavilion and several parking spaces.

Barb: Here’s more ammunition for gas drilling opponents. State police near Towanda in northern Pennsylvania say they recently discovered a natural gas well-drilling service truck that was – get this – more than 41 tons over the weight limit for the road it was on. Ouch. A police corporal said it was just the latest of numerous examples of state troopers finding overweight natural gas trucks inflicting damage on area roads. Drilling crews are flocking to Pennsylvania as they rush to extract natural gas from the potentially lucrative Marcellus Shale formation. The truck’s driver drew traffic citations worth more than $25,000. The drilling must be very lucrative for someone to chance those kinds of fines.

Laurel: Congratulations to Johnstown’s Andres Taylor, who last week won a unanimous boxing decision in his Pittsburgh Hilton fight. And Taylor, who many have told us is a genuinely nice guy, was excited with more than the outcome. “There were like 12 Steelers there,” said Taylor. “It was neat to have the Steelers cheering for me when I’m cheering for them every Sunday.” Taylor’s next fight will be part of a mixed martial arts and boxing card at Altoona’s Jaffa Mosque on Feb. 20. A lot of Johnstown area folks are expected to attend.

Laurel: Also from the sports pages, two local soccer players and a volleyball coach have earned honors. Richland junior Dylan Horne has been named to the all-state team for a second time and Conemaugh Township senior Julie Byer, for a first time. The two were recognized last week during the Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association banquet in suburban Harrisburg. Also gaining honors was Tony Crisafulli, veteran North Star girls volleyball coach. He has been named the 2009 Mideast Sectional Coach of the Year by the National Federation of State High School Coaches Association. The Mideast section includes high school programs in Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. Hats off to all three.

Barb: We’re not fans of pranks. Too many things can go wrong or they can become costly for others, as was the case in one we reported last week. When an employee at the Cambria County Courthouse opened an envelope and white powder spilled out, it sent a scare throughout the facility. Emergency response workers were summoned and quickly determined that the substance, fortunately, was medicated talcum powder. There were no injuries – but there certainly could have been. “It was a heck of a prank,” Fred Smith, county safety director, said. To say the least.