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Election looming, so get ahead

It is heartening to see many people stepping forward to run for public office and serve the citizens of our region of Pennsylvania. Serving as an elected representative is kind of thankless these days, what with our divisive politics. The May 16, 2023, Primary Election in Pennsylvania will see various local offices up for election. Yes, this year is a big local election year. At the county level, you’ll see races for sheriff, commissioner, auditors, district attorney, prothonotary and register and recorder. In local courts, you’ll see races for magisterial district ...

Railroad has some image work to repair

For Altoona and other communities in this region through which Norfolk Southern trains traverse, the railroad generally is regarded as being a good community partner. Blair County Emergency Management Director Mark Taylor voiced that exact description in recent days as cleanup continued in East Palestine, Ohio, from the Feb. 3 NS derailment that produced an environmental mess, plus raising concerns about whether derailment-related adverse health impacts might be in the future for some residents of the small community. Among the train units that derailed a quarter-mile from the ...

Don’t fight blight with jack-o-lantern

Altoona City Councilman Bruce Kelley probably did not appreciate fully the significance of a comment he made at a council meeting in January when he and his municipal colleagues were brainstorming how best to promote housing construction within the boundaries of the Mountain City. Actually, the comment was more than an observation. In fact, it merits being the foundation for what ought to be forthcoming on the city’s housing front this year and in years beyond. For those who might have missed Kelley’s words or forgotten them, they are worth repeating: “We tear down and never ...

As a country, we must help our children

Most of today’s parents accept that their daughters and sons are being challenged in ways they were not while growing up. Unfortunately, many parents today, especially those who remember fondly what they describe as carefree teenage years, resist the notion that the feelings their teenagers are experiencing in the America of today might be much different from what they remember regarding their lives while in high school. Even the shootings and other violence some schools have experienced over the past several decades in this country have failed to sway some parents’ thinking that ...

Stadium renovation right call

Shining rays of sun on some good news: The Penn State Board of Trustees is moving forward on a major renovation to Beaver Stadium. For the past several years, the university has been wrestling with whether to build a new stadium or modernize its current 106,592-seat home. PSU confirmed its intentions following last week’s Board of Trustees meeting, and we think it is making the right call. Plans are still being finalized and will be presented to the board for a vote in the “near future,” PSU said. The football program is a major source of price to this region and ...

Roaring Spring dialogue needs to continue

As Roaring Spring continues moving past its paper-making history, mixed emotions nonetheless will remain firmly entrenched in the community — indefinitely. On the one hand, there will be cautious optimism about what a proposed recreational complex on the former Appvion paper mill site will mean eventually for the borough’s future. On the other, residents and others living nearby will continue to lament the jobs and $38 million in annual payroll lost when the mill was shuttered in early 2021. Now, with razing of the plant having begun, a new sense of finality must be acknowledged, ...