Some recent headlines in The Vindy can reflect the same ol’  Valley:

In Youngstown, police officers were caught not playing by the rules during their overnight shifts by leaving early and still being paid.

In Trumbull County, an agency is getting heat for possible overcharges to the county’s senior tax levy for line dancing, bocce and golf.

And in Canfield, former township trustee Paul Moracco is finding his own public challenges. At summer’s start, he worked as a township trustee to create a new job for the township. He then promptly resigned as a trustee and was miraculously offered the job he helped create.

What we now know after a http://www.vindy.com/news/2008/sep/14/paul-moracco-left-the-fair-board-april-25-after-17/" target="_blank">story last week: Moracco had just resigned from a 37-year job at the Canfield Fair after being confronted with police reports that the off-season vehicle storage business that he ran for the fair had irregularities caused by his lack of adherence to policies.

I don’t like hearing “Well, that’s just how things go in the Valley.”

Consider this: In each of the above scenarios – and this may be bucking valley tradition – the truth came out from colleagues and co-workers.

People were tired of seeing someone play loose with the rules — and get away with it.

We are our own best remedy. We will live better lives if we choose to act properly, even if it means holding a peer or agency accountable.

You may wish to say “same ol’ Valley” when some people become embroiled in allegations of misdeeds.

But maybe it’s not the same ol’ Valley in one important aspect:

We know about these incidents from people on the inside who were tired of seeing the some ol' stuff and brave enough to come forward with their concerns.