Laurels & lances: Eagles, dogs and viruses

Laurel: To achieving goals. Anyone who reaches the rank of Eagle Scout has put in some real work and time to get to a level in Boy Scouts of America that isn’t easy to attain. Just 4% of scouts climb to that highest rung on the organizational ladder.

So Elizabeth and Hannah Yothers, 18, of Unity, aren’t better than their fraternal triplet brother Matthew or any of the other 60,000 or so scouts who make the Eagle rank each year. They do stand out a little, though.

The young women are the first female Eagle Scouts in the Westmoreland-Fayette Council. What is remarkable is the speed with which they accomplished the honor. Many can take the whole potential seven years of their scouting career to make the journey. The Yothers sisters did it in just two.

They were only able to join Troop 1372 in February 2019 when the national organization opened membership to girls. They didn’t have time to complete it by the normal deadline of their 18th birthday, but new female members were able to get an extension of an extra year. They only needed nine months.

That kind of dedication is an example to other scouts, regardless of gender.

Laurel: To man’s best friend. It’s a cliche that can prompt eye rolls. Someone talks about their beloved rescue pet and earnestly says “Who saved who?”

Michael Groce, 53, of Harrison knows the answer. Harley, the boxer mix he brought into his home less than a year ago, is his hero. Harley didn’t just act as his canine therapist as he dealt with cancer, chemotherapy and recovery. No, he also literally saved his new home and family from a fire.

“We could have lost everything, including Harley,” Groce said of the fire, started by a charging cable. “If I had not been home and he not alerted me, it could have been catastrophic. We could have lost our home.”

That’s one good dog.

Lance: To unwanted visitors. Pennsylvania has been fighting off the coronavirus pandemic for 11 months. The vaccination process hasn’t been as smooth as hoped, but at least it has seemed as though the end was nigh.

And then we got our own version of Paul Revere warning us about a British invasion. This week, Allegheny County health director Dr. Debra Bogen announced the first case of the United Kingdom variant of covid-19.

“I suspect that it’s been present in the county for a while,” Bogen said. “This news reinforces the need for us all to double down on the efforts we’re taking to control the spread of the virus.”

Let’s just please be careful.