The governor’s recommendation to halt high school fall sports is not binding. Our governor talks about his daughters competing in high school, and their senior year was not halted nor canceled. We only have one life to live and our seniors have only one time to fully participate in sports ...
Quite a few laws exist today simply because there are members of our citizenry who lack good judgment, AKA common sense. In the 1980s, we were encouraged to wear seat belts because statistics confirmed that seat belts save lives. If you remember the old lap belts, you can probably recall ...
I read about Cannon Hinnant, the 5-year-old murdered execution-style in North Carolina by his neighbor for riding his bicycle across a neighbor’s lawn. His brother and sister watched it happen. There was no coverage by major news networks. There were no riots, protests, violence, ...
In this time of COVID-19, I think about the pro-life and pro-choice labels we use to classify ourselves. If you wear a mask to prevent yourself, your family or your friends from being infected, you are pro-life, as protecting another’s life matters to you. If you choose to not wear a ...
I have to ask State Rep. John Joyce why nothing has been done for years regarding the attachment of totally unrelated legislation to good, clean, viable legislation. Now we are hurting again by the tricky tacking on of totally unrelated legislation having to do with the post office. That is ...
I’d like to congratulate David Butterbaugh, Mayor Matthew Pacifico and City Manager Ken Decker for having the vision to hire the new Codes Department officer Scott Brown. This excellent choice holds all certifications pertaining to code enforcement. Brown will be a great fit to work along ...
I am reading with sadness the tired old cry for more federal money for Altoona. Of course, it’s not just Altoona. Every American city, school district and state government has a budget shortfall this year, and most likely will have a similar situation next year. Are we supposed to ...
It was disappointing to see so many “Trump 2020” signs along Route 36 between Altoona and Brookville as I headed to Forest County, where I spent much of my childhood. I cannot help but wonder what causes support for an administration that does harm. Do they not realize that this ...
In light of the COVID-19 crisis, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf made the decision in early March to shut down schools across the state for the remainder of the year. These orders also caused many private practices to shut their doors. I am a speech language pathologist working at a private ...
It began with an unexpected encounter. I was on the checkout line at the supermarket, when a guy comes up behind me and starts to make idle chatter while we wait. He’s really close — just behind my left shoulder. I turn to look at him and immediately say, “Please pull up your mask.” ...
President Donald Trump, like many two-bit dictators, has discovered law and order and anarchists. This, he hopes, will be his path to victory in the November election. In his political ads, it is claimed that Joe Biden supports “defunding the police,”and that this will lead to an ...
We are doomed to fail if we forget what history lies behind us. This has been stated in many words by others before me and in our present day. Even President Donald Trump said it in an article that was published in the June 24 Mirror where he argued against the removal of statues. History ...
Yes, it’s time for a turnover. Congressional turnover, that is. It’s time for all “professional” politicians to go. They need to be sent back to their homes and take regular jobs. How can they represent us when they don’t know what we go through just living life? We need term ...
I hear the Democrats blaming President Donald Trump for everything. Now, I see a commercial put on by Democrats blaming Trump for nursing home deaths. That blame goes to Gov. Tom Wolf and his health advisor, Dr. Rachel Levine (both Democrats). My aunt passed away by herself (her kids were ...
Kudos to Molly Kibler for her recent excellent letter to the editor detailing why the 52-acre forest along Brush Run adjacent to Calvary Cemetery should be preserved, not developed. Shame on the Logan Township Board of Supervisors for facilitating such development by using taxpayer money to ...
Freedom cannot exist without law. Our forefathers knew liberty had its ultimate source in God. So they declared: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty ...
When is vandalism no longer a violation of local law? If a young person, teen or preteen had written in chalk for a skate park on the walls of the courthouse, parents and children alike would be given some kind of reprimand. As far as removing the chalk applied by adult women, rain is a ...
In July, bipartisan bills, known as the Coronavirus Economic Relief for Transportation Services Act (CERTS Act), were introduced in the U.S. Senate (S.4150) and U.S. House of Representatives (H.R.7642). If enacted, CERTS would provide $10 billion in economic relief for over-the-road buses, ...
Blair County may not be aware of a significant attribute in its midst. Our various area communities, such as the city of Altoona, Logan Township and Blair County, as well as related organizations and all the service clubs, are missing opportunities to be gained by promoting what we have here ...
Since the pandemic began, grateful citizens have found creative and heartfelt ways to show their appreciation for the front-line workers who provide essential services. Through parades, gifts, nightly cheers and many other ways, we’ve recognized the sacrifices of first responders, law ...