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Meanwhile, non-election news to digest

The midterm election has been like solitary confinement for Pennsylvania residents, like millions of other people across the United States. News about the war in Ukraine, about North Korea’s increased boldness regarding its missile capabilities, and reports about efforts to combat this nation’s inflation problem — as well as a myriad of other significant issues either in this country or abroad — have been off center stage for weeks as the run-up to the election played out, then the election itself. Now it is clear that issues related to the midterm ballot counting could drag ...

‘Gender Queer’ has no place in classroom

The Hollidaysburg Area School District finds itself in the middle of a firestorm concerning a teacher’s decision to bring a sexually explicit book into her classroom. “Gender Queer,” the book in question, is a graphic novel memoir by Maia Kobabe on the author’s journey to identifying as non-binary — neither male nor female. When the book was openly visible to students in the classroom of English teacher Nicole Stouffer, it drew the attention of the community and spread through social media. An estimated 300 people showed up at the Hollidaysburg Area Junior High School on ...

Vets know they’ve made a difference

On this day to honor America’s veterans living and dead who served honorably in this nation’s armed forces, it is appropriate to reflect on several messages of the late President Ronald Reagan relevant to the observance of this national holiday. One that particularly stands out: “Some people live an entire lifetime and wonder if they have ever made a difference in the world. A veteran doesn’t have that problem.” Indeed, America’s service personnel, men and women alike, whether they served — or are serving — overseas or stateside, have had a profound impact in ...

Mental health of teens must be prioritized

From 2009 to 2019, the number of high school students who reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness increased by 40 percent, to more than one in three, according to Jackie Baker of UPMC Behavioral Health. The pandemic and other challenges confronting society “will have rippling effects for years to come,” Baker told the Williamsport Sun-Gazette. Dr. Olufunke Oladejo advises parents of teenagers to be aware that mental health afflictions often have different symptoms for young people than for adults. She says teens may overreact, have behavioral problems and ...

Exercise your civic duty: Vote

Based on what has happened on America’s political front over the past two years — much of that fallout from the previous four or five years or longer — today’s general election balloting is entwined not only with legitimate governmental issues of the day but, rightly or wrongly, also with deep concern and outright fear about the nation’s ultimate well-being and survival. The level of nervousness over what will transpire today, as well as the results that will be forthcoming, is inconsistent with most U.S. elections of the past. Regarding most past elections, primaries as well ...

Embracing the season for sharing

From an economic standpoint, these are challenging times. Few would disagree. However, numerous families and individuals in Blair County have endured difficulties and financial suffering and hardships not of their own making over the course of numerous decades, even encompassing the time more than a half-century ago when the railroad industry was the main prosperity engine employing thousands of bread winners. Many longtime residents still recall that not everyone lived within the realm of that railroad-inspired prosperity. The prospect of hunger was a real problem then; it remains a ...