There are some places that politics just do not belong.

Not many such places exist in today's United States, and I can handle most of that. I can accept that health care decisions are being made by doctors and politicians who are (heavily) influenced by pharmaceutical companies. I can even live with the fact that what I eat and what I pay for it are controlled in large part by which government regulations or subsidies we're enforcing this month.

But there are some places that must remain sacred, untouched by politics in any form, or humanity as a whole is threatened.

I have sort of a superstition. When I find myself thinking things can't get worse, I stop myself immediately. "Don't tempt the Fates!", I remind myself. Because almost always, things really can get worse.

The lack of a state budget. Swine flu. Bullying. Property tax reform. Wage tax collection reform. Health care reform. State test scores. There are any number of critical issues requiring the attention of school board members.

So please, please tell us why the Avonworth School Board would involve itself in something as relatively insignificant as a booster organization trying to collect money it believes is due from two parents?

With only a couple weeks left in the year, local officials are being forced to make the hard decisions when it comes to budgets for 2012.

In Bellevue, final adoption of the budget will not be considered until Dec. 30, with a public hearing to be held Monday, Dec. 19. Council members are continuing to debate the proposed .25 mill property tax increase and a 25 cents per 1,000 gallons sewer surcharge hike.

Council member Linda Woshner said that since the news of the tax increase came out, she has heard from several people opposed to it.

Bellevue has been home, off and on, for the past 20 years for Kathy Coder, but since returning here in 2004, the community has become her passion.

"When we moved back, we bought a 100-year-old house. It was lots of work, and at the same time, I kept thinking I wanted to get involved with Bellevue. I knew nothing about local government, but I thought I'd like to bring some ideas here."

Coder went to a few council meetings, found herself replacing a council member who had resigned, and shortly after was elected council president.

A handful of unhappy Ben Avon residents brought their concerns to Tuesday's borough council meeting, and were happy just a few minutes later when they learned the problem had already been resolved.

Shane Scigliano of Ridge Avenue told council about smoke that had been pouring up Ridge Avenue last week from the Paff Construction building on Brighton Road.

"We woke up coughing up black stuff -- we thought our house was on fire," he said.

Some 80 percent of the people who now receive care at Allegheny General Hospital - Suburban Campus will continue to do so when changes in service are instituted this August. That was the message representatives of the West Penn Allegheny Health System (WPAHS) brought to a town hall meeting in Bellevue, held one day after WPAHS announced that the emergency department and inpatient care would be taken off life support in 90 days.

Two Ben Avon natives who have spent years helping orphans in Haiti aren’t about to let a little thing like a massive earthquake get in their way.

Jamie (30) and Ali (21) McMutrie have been living in Haiti, with Jamie spending about half the year there, caring for the children who come to live at Brebis de Saint-Michel de L’Attalaye, or BRESMA, orphanage in Port-au-Prince.

The orphanage is sponsored by the Answered Prayers organization in Washington State.

In addition to providing for children in one of the world’s most impoverished countries, BRESMA also arranges for adoptions.

An Ohio Township man has been named as the North American representative to an international council focused on Carpatho-Rusyn culture.

John J. Righetti was elected to the North American seat of the World Council of Rusyns, the coordinating body for Carpatho-Rusyn cultural activity internationally.

He was elected at the 10th World Congress of Rusyns held in Ruski Kerestur, Serbia, in June.

Avalon and Bellevue residents who fall into one of several groups considered at high risk for the H1N1 virus can obtain free vaccinations through the Northgate School District.

Northgate received 1,600 doses of the vaccine, which were offered first to students and staff at five clinics. More than 1,000 doses remain, and now are being offered to the community.

State Rep. Robert Matzie will host an "Older & Wiser" seminar from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30, at the Knights of Columbus hall, 450 Lincoln Ave., Bellevue.

Independence is something that has always been treasured in American society. Our dedication to the concept of independence started with the entire nation’s battle for freedom from a monarchy that sought to control everything from our religious beliefs to the expenditure of tax dollars. We formed a country based on individual rights. But more than that, we revere the image of the rugged individualist, courageously standing alone against the powers that be.

And that is where our desire for independence ends, with the “powers that be.” We have never wanted our governments to be independent from the will of the people. For more than 200 years we have adopted laws at every level of government to ensure that those paid with our tax dollars conduct business in the open, where we are able to observe and comment on -- not to mention influence -- the decisions made.

It is a distinction that Bellevue officials would do well to recognize.

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