When Henry Ford introduced the Model T in 1908, America had almost no paved roads outside the cities. One of the early owners’ biggest headaches was tires punctured by horseshoe nails left on the road. “Forget about this car thing,” Ford’s detractors might have said. “We don’t ...
One of the Webster’s Dictionary definitions for the word “atonement” is “the reconciliation of God and humankind through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ.” In reflecting on the events of the first Good Friday about 2,000 years ago, today’s Christians are more inclined to say ...
One sentence in the Associated Press story about the Monday swearing in of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court makes it clear he was the right choice for the position. Gorsuch, 49, is known as an “originalist” or a “strict constructionist.” According to the AP, that means ...
Penn State University’s crackdown on fraternities and sororities should not have had to happen. Members of the university’s Greek-letter organizations are old enough to recognize dangerous, irresponsible, unlawful conduct, and the fact that they are subject to serious consequences if ...
It did not take long for our nation’s enemies to learn that when former President Barack Obama warned certain actions would constitute crossing a “red line,” they had nothing about which to worry. “Red line” after “red line” was crossed with no consequences. That no longer is ...
Without an approved budget in place when Pennsylvania’s fiscal year begins on July 1, Harrisburg should not be permitted to spend money outside the realm of vital services. If a budget isn’t passed and signed into law by 11:59 p.m. June 30, the Pennsylvania Treasury’s power to release ...
Graham Spanier had the power to halt former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky’s molestation of children about a decade before Sandusky’s perverted deeds were revealed in late 2011. The fact that Spanier, Penn State’s former president, didn’t inform police ...
The resurrected attempt in the Pennsylvania Legislature to legalize video gaming terminals in taverns, bars, truck stops and off-track betting locations makes some sense from a revenue perspective for this state that’s dogged by an estimated $3 billion shortfall. But whether it makes sense ...
Pennsylvania faces the difficult task of addressing what Gov. Tom Wolf and the Legislature seem to agree is a $3 billion deficit — a figure $1 billion higher than what state government acknowledged during 2016-17 budget preparation last year. Because no one in Harrisburg has disputed that ...
All right-thinking people harbor respect for police and the important, indispensable job that they do. In the course of conducting their duties, they risk their well-being and their lives on others’ behalf. That phrase “to protect and serve” isn’t fluff. It’s the foundation ...
Harry S. Truman, president of the United States from 1945-53, kept on his desk in the Oval Office a sign with the phrase “The Buck Stops Here.” The sign was his acknowledgment that the president has to make the decisions and accept the ultimate responsibility for those decisions. In the ...
Central Pennsylvania will lose a summertime friend this year, but with the promise that it will return in 2018, much more vibrant and family friendly. That friend is Lakemont Park, which is targeted to remain closed this summer as its operator, the Lakemont Partnership, embarks on major ...
Reade Township in northeastern Cambria County remains a municipality in need of soul-searching. That suggestion isn’t directed at the township’s residents, who must watch while unrest encompassing the township’s municipal authority and board of supervisors prevents smooth operation of ...
It’s been about 11 weeks since a new law addressing specifically the violent act of strangulation — choking — went into effect in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, the commonwealth has been slow in disseminating information about it. It’s likely that many people in the Mirror’s ...
There’s a powerful new villain on the drug scene, and talking about it before it claims people here — warning how deadly it is — is preferable to waiting until coroners and other law enforcement officials are counting its victims. Last month, coroners of Blair and Cambria counties ...
For nearly 40 years, the Hollidaysburg Veterans Home has been a source of great pride for Blair County. It garners respect not only here, but from well beyond this county’s borders. Some people might recall that during the home’s early days — it opened on June 30, 1977, with just ...
Had two former Penn State University officials done the right thing, some children might have been spared the ongoing pain of having been sexually abused. Apparently, the university’s football program was more important to the two. Former Penn State Vice President Gary Schultz, 67, and ...
Regardless of how public reaction plays out regarding the departure of Tyrone Borough Manager Phyllis Garhart, the borough council erred in its handling of information related to the situation. And, unfortunately, borough residents still remain in the dark about the circumstances leading to ...
The amount of anger, hatred, vitriol, division and fear currently dogging the United States might be unprecedented. But the conflicting moods and friction currently in play across the country should not keep federal lawmakers from holding open forums with their constituents, often referred ...
Dilapidated properties have no place in any community. They’re unsightly and often dangerous. They erode the value of neighboring properties. But an even broader negative impact is how they diminish the character and appeal of the municipalities in which they exist, especially if there’s ...