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Sky has no limit for PSU Altoona

Shining rays of sun on some good news: Penn State Altoona has enjoyed tremendous community support over its 83-year history. From its humble beginnings in 1939 when it opened in the old Webster School Building in downtown Altoona to its move to Ivyside Park in 1948 to its expansion over the past 20 years into downtown Altoona — giving it the best of both worlds — what was once and is still known as “the campus” remains an important entity to our community. To maintain its place for so long, of course, takes generosity, and that was on full display during the retirement ...

Education progress eye-opening

Those adults who thought that the pandemic’s disruption to in-school learning would not produce serious negative consequences were kidding themselves. Just how serious those negative consequences have turned out to be should serve as a wake-up call to parents, educators and communities alike. The message from the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress is a real eye-opener, and that’s an understatement. Perhaps students in this part of Pennsylvania did not fare as badly as children who attend some inner-city or small, predominantly rural schools, but parents here ...

Address Gaysport flooding

If you build a home or a structure to house a business, or otherwise live in or operate an enterprise in what many people might refer to as a “hurricane alley,” and such a weather event severely damages or destroys your investment, it oftentimes can be salvaged or rebuilt. However, there can be no guarantee that Mother Nature will spare you and your belongings from repeat events sometime in the future. Consider the fears and uncertainties that remain in Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. Now, consider what is afflicting Hollidaysburg’s Gaysport neighborhood. It is a ...

Don’t let your guard down against COVID

COVID-19 vaccines and newly developed treatment options have made significant inroads into defeating this health enemy. When that victory might happen is unclear, but hope is now discernible amid what was overwhelming despair, particularly during the spring and summer of 2020. But there is new word that we’re not out of the proverbial woods yet, due to variants emanating from the COVID virus’ original version, and people here and beyond need to avoid relaxing their pandemic-related guard. In fact, some people seem more disgusted seeing dogs riding in grocery shopping carts — ...

Strides made in continued fight vs. cancer

“Cancer-detection blood tests gain ground,” an article in the Oct. 8-9 edition of the Wall Street Journal, no doubt caught the eye of many, if not most, readers — and not only older ones. If the news proves accurate, the time might come eventually when the tests in question might become as common as such screening tools as colonoscopies for colorectal cancer and mammograms for breast cancer. However, that time might be years in the future, although perhaps not very many. What is concerning on the surface but perhaps not as much of a potential problem as many people might ...

The Mill project needs more sustained push

Altoona — its officials and residents — would be remiss if they were nonchalant about the continuing vacant status of The Mill project, which is near the former Bon Secours Hospital site (before that, Mercy Hospital). Any community with an unused or underused asset like this one would be foolish to be content with waiting for someone to “come knocking,” rather than mustering resources to aggressively seek a tenant or tenants to inject life and vitality into what exists. Over about the past six decades, stemming from the seeds planted during the early redevelopment years, the ...