United High School in Indiana County isn’t in the Mirror’s general circulation area. However, the high school isn’t very far from communities that this newspaper reaches each day; the United School District is connected to Blair County by Route 22. The high school, just outside the ...
Social media is like alcohol, in some respects. When not handled with care, it can loosen inhibitions and affect judgment adversely. But also like alcohol, social media need not be harmful if used intelligently and in moderation. Ask Roseanne Barr about that. The entertainer’s career is a ...
The unconscionable incident that occurred last week in the Hollidaysburg Area School District has caused young people and adults alike, from within and beyond the school system, to wonder how, in this purportedly enlightened time, the four students involved became complicit with such a ...
Now that central Pennsylvania is experiencing some breaks from the persistent rainy weather that has dominated the past several weeks, more people will be venturing outside more often, not just to do yard work but also for walks in the woods or to enjoy recreational assets that parks ...
So many opportunities await a country of graduating high school seniors. The world is open before them, just waiting for each to make their mark. Make no mistake, each of them will. This week, with graduation season in high gear, we’d like to offer our grads some thoughts as they enter ...
This hasn’t been an easy spring for those in charge of cemetery maintenance to ready them for today’s important observance of Memorial Day. The persistent rainy conditions have greatly challenged the dedicated workers. In most places, those maintenance workers do a tremendous job, and ...
A severance tax on the Marcellus Shale gas-drilling industry has been one of Gov. Tom Wolf’s major priorities since he became Pennsylvania’s chief executive in 2015. If he’s re-elected in November, it’s likely that that so far elusive goal will remain one of his agenda items, going ...
Nellie Drew, a sports-law professor at the University of Buffalo, told the Wall Street Journal that the U.S. Supreme Court’s on May 14 decision invalidating federal prohibitions on sports betting across the country would “add an entirely different dimension to fan engagement.” That’s ...
Eric Frein exuded cowardice when he used the cover of darkness, trees and vegetation to mask his ambush of two Pennsylvania state troopers in September 2014 in Pike County. One of the troopers died at the attack scene — outside the Blooming Grove state police barracks — and another was ...
Tuesday didn’t produce the strong voter turnout that the primary election deserved, but people who did venture to the polls provided evidence that they were paying attention prior to the balloting. That was especially true in Blair County, which will elect two new state House members in ...
Officials of municipalities in this part of Pennsylvania should be interested in watching how Reade Township’s missing-equipment saga plays out but not for a reason some might expect. To those other municipalities, the identity or identities of anyone who might have had a hand in making the ...
For once, Hillary Clinton is right on target. Her warning about negotiations over North Korea’s weapons buildup is absolutely correct. Clinton, during a visit to Australia last week, said U.S. officials should make no concessions to the North Korean regime without seeing concrete action ...
The unflattering housing-condition information compiled by a survey launched by Altoona’s city planning office last summer doesn’t mean the Mountain City is a bad place to live. To the contrary, the survey’s optimistic side is that this community is being proactive in trying to ...
All of Blair County’s registered Republicans and Democrats should exercise their duty to vote in today’s primary election. With the national political situation so mired in uncertainty in this midterm election year, the eyes of the nation will be on Pennsylvania throughout today, ...
One of the many downfalls of Pennsylvania having too many units of local government is needlessly convoluted and redundant tax collection. Millions of dollars that could go to services or back to taxpayers go instead to the cost of collection. The state government partially resolved that ...
As has been evident for months, Pennsylvania’s state budget-preparation exercise for the 2018-19 fiscal year has been less acrimonious than the commonwealth’s three previous annual budget-making processes. Regarding those previous years, most state residents can recall the $2 ...
The upgrades planned for Bellwood-Antis Community Park will enhance the facility as an asset for people to enjoy — and about which to be proud — for many years. But as area residents look forward to a day when the upgrades will be completed, they should not fail to understand the three ...
Area school districts should set aside time this summer to deal with the issue of electronic cigarettes. For those districts that already have implemented policies and actions, the summertime task should consist of evaluating what’s been done so far and the success of those efforts, plus ...
Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey sat in Sun-Gazette offices in late February and talked about the need for bipartisanship and civility in the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. Nice words. Then Sen. Casey voted against Michael Pompeo’s confirmation as secretary of state, choosing to ...
Relatives and friends of the victims in unsolved murders, including some in this region, no doubt are wondering whether new hope might exist for closing some of the cases. That new anticipation stems from the arrest on April 24 of an alleged serial killer and rapist in California who had ...