Laurel: To an Oscar-calibre officiant. Tom Hanks may have famously declared there is no crying in baseball, but a few tears at a wedding are not unexpected. Here’s hoping he had a few hankies handy when he presided over the exchange of vows for a Bellevue couple.

Krisna Poznik Stahl and now-husband Tyson Stahl were already living a life out of a Hanks movie as they renovate their 102-year-old home a la “The Money Pit.” But Poznik Stahl took a chance and sent the movie star a letter, asking him to officiate at the wedding in their home. Imagine their surprise when he said yes.

Hanks has been spending a lot of time in Southwestern Pennsylvania in recent years. He played Fred Rogers in the 2019 production of “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” and is now filming “A Man Called Otto” in various locations.

This isn’t the first wedding he has been in either, although the other was a spur-of-the-moment photo bombing at the Fairmont Pittsburgh hotel. Hanks just seems to love being a part of people’s happiest moments.

Lance: To a scary find. Freeport police worked with Gilpin officers and their police dog Monday after a gun was found in Second Street Park.

The weapon was discovered behind the baseball field scoreboard and police say there was never “a viable threat to public safety.” The gun was a 12-gauge shotgun which does not have to be registered. Ownership was unable to be determined and the weapon was not reported stolen. A search for other hidden guns turned up nothing.

While the gun was not in reach of children and police had to climb the scoreboard to retrieve the weapon, it is still a reasonable concern for locals. It goes without saying that stashing a gun in a public park, no matter how high off the ground, does not count as safely securing a weapon as any responsible gun owner should do.

Laurel: To a good priority. Mental health concerns are becoming more and more serious. They can be confusing and complicated to address. Kudos to Hempfield Area School District for taking steps to help.

The school board approved a $23,190 contract with California-based Care Solace to link families to services in the community.

While many concerns about mental health have risen since the coronavirus pandemic, the issue was already on the rise before that. In 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 1 in 3 high school students experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, up 40% over 10 years.

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