“Fraternities just aren’t getting it” was the headline of a Mirror editorial on Nov. 10, 2017. The editorial began: “The senseless death of a Penn State University fraternity pledge in February, reported nationwide, should have made every fraternity and sorority — at every college ...
Congressmen Glenn Thompson and John Joyce’s proposal to spend $15 million on Chronic Wasting Disease research in the hopes of developing a future cure and learning more about the disease, while laudable, only serves to kick the can down the road. Any cure or vaccine will likely be years ...
I’m writing about the April 1 letter (“Altoona VA, staff helps combat vet persevere”) written by Sgt. Bernard Masino. This is a very uplifting narrative. I am a former Air Force emergency room medic during the Vietnam conflict, though I did not serve in Vietnam. However, I counseled ...
I am writing to share my experiences about Rick Benzel, the best candidate for magisterial district judge. My family experienced a crisis some time ago and we were fortunate to have officer Benzel assigned to the incident. I learned he was highly professional, had a tremendous work ethic and ...
As we near the primary election cycle for 2019, the most important race is for Blair County commissioner. In viewing the field of candidates, there’s only one that has the track record to take charge of the issues facing our county, and that’s Bruce Kelley. I’ve known Kelley for ...
The question for many seeking Blair County commissionership relates to the reassessment debacle. While both of our other commissioners, Tomassetti and Beam, approved of the issue, Bruce Erb played no role in implementing it. Many chastise him for his involvement, but Erb did not get elected, ...
Do not be fooled again by the “no new taxes” article of April 16. A lot of these present school board members are running for reelection. Do not vote them back in. Vote for the ones who have opposed this building and are fighting for the taxpayers. Do your homework before casting a ...
President Donald Trump revealed two pieces of big news earlier this month — one of them of enormous importance to millions of Americans who do not yet enjoy technology taken for granted by many of their neighbors. Some of those second-class tech citizens live right here in our ...
An article from the British Medical Journal states, “Two and a half years after beginning to hear evidence, the General Medical Council (GMC) has ruled that three researchers acted improperly in the conduct of their research into a proposed new syndrome of autistic enterocolitis” (Bedford ...
I would like to endorse the following five candidates for the Altoona Area School Board: Sharon Bream and Ron Johnston are currently on the board and are up for re-election. Eric Haugh is a partner at Pyramid Engineering and is a mechanical engineer. His knowledge will give insight to ...
This year, voters have an opportunity to elect two extremely qualified individuals to the Board of Commissioners. Over the past four years, Bruce Erb has addressed many issues that have often been ignored. He’s worked to reduce costs and prioritize our limited income. He’s worked to ...
Regarding the women who have voiced complaints against Joe Biden, why didn’t they confront him at the time instead of waiting months or years later? I’m sure he would have backed off and offered a sincere apology. For many of us, when we see someone who seems stressed or sad or scared, ...
On Thursday, April 11, at 7:30 p.m., my son and I were eating supper at Denny’s. Behind my booth, a woman came in with one or two small children and were seated. The children were well behaved and quiet. I never saw them because my back was turned to them. When our waitress came to ...
On this Easter Sunday, as Christians around the world celebrate Jesus Christ’s resurrection, a sense of sorrow also prevails, due to Monday’s devastating fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, described by the Vatican as the symbol of Christianity in France and a great symbol of ...
In response to Jan Mills Sr.’s letter on March 30 on home rule charter, why is it all right for Commissioner Terry Tomassetti to convince the taxpayers that home rule will be better than the form of government we have now? That’s his opinion. But it isn’t all right for commissioners ...
Not all virtues are created equal. Loyalty is a virtue, but loyalty to an unworthy cause is dishonorable. Your editorial of April 10, “Cohen offer to Dems cheap trick,” implicitly condemns Michael Cohen for disloyalty to his former boss and kindred spirit. Cohen lied to Congress in ...
The proposed fireworks ordinance introduced by Altoona City Council on April 10 is laudable in its intent but might not be enough to avoid a repeat of the dangerous, irresponsible fireworks mayhem that the city experienced last July 4. The city is limited in what new fireworks provisions it ...
Gov. Tom Wolf’s “Restore Pennsylvania” fund sounds nice, but it’s really just a vehicle to impose another severance tax. He’s been unable to sell the severance tax to skeptical legislators in previous years, so now he’s trying to tie it in with a fund that would pay for flood ...
I’m here to voice my support for Bruce Erb for Blair County commissioner. He not only has a proven record serving the county for his past term, but he has credentials throughout his life of 30 years in the banking industry that have honed him into the perfect candidate for the commissioner ...
Committed Christians believe in an all-powerful God whose majesty and beauty cannot be comprehended, much less matched. Yet on rare occasions, humans are moved to incredible feats of creation as testaments of the depth of their faith. More than 850 years ago, on an island in the Seine River ...