More well-deserved laurels to James P. “Pinky” Trexler and Dr. Clyde Young. Both men were honored this week for their decades of dedication and service to the Rowan County American Legion baseball program. They’ve done it in different ways. Trexler, 93, has been cooking hot dogs at Newman Park for 57 years. He’s become such an institution, they’re now known as “Pinky dogs.” Just as well-known are Young and his trusty trumpet. It’s just not a Legion game unless the 91-year-old doctor is there playing anything from “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” to “Three Blind Mice.” (He’s looking at you, umps.) More than any other game, baseball is rooted in tradition. Around here, Pinky’s dogs and Young’s songs have become tradition, and both men have become institutions.

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Dart to irresponsible pet owners who drive up the population at the Rowan County Animal Shelter around this time every year. The shelter takes in about 125 animals a week, county officials say, but it nearly reached that number in less than three days last week, including 40 in one hour. A shelter employee said the influx was due to it being “puppy and kitten season” and the fact that many owners won’t have their pets spayed or neutered. Animal advocates say they want, at least, a more humane method of euthanizing animals at the shelter. County officials have said they hope to work toward a “no kill” model where only animals that can’t be adopted due to age, illness or aggression are euthanized. That’s only going to be made more difficult as long as people see the shelter as a dumping ground for their unwanted litters.

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Laurels to the young men and women spending part of their summer in Rowan County making trails more user-friendly in Spencer Woods, the 42-acre urban forest conserved by the LandTrust for Central North Carolina and now owned by the town of Spencer. Members of the N.C. Youth Conservation Corps, the 10-person crew is one of four spread out across the state doing this type of work. They’re getting paid minimum wage for some pretty hard labor, but the rewards, members say, come in experience, character-building and the bonds they form. After its two-week job here — which includes building and rerouting trails, erecting a bridge and installing culverts — the team will relocate to the mountains for a five-week project near Asheville. It’s technically a bigger task, but not bigger to the Rowan residents who will have an easier time appreciating Spencer Woods thanks to these young people who made it accessible.