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Letters to the Editor

We can do better

I am nobody of importance, just an average citizen who enjoys the company of kind and interesting people. I have no special title or authority over anything. I love to be outdoors and do what I can, when I can, to assist in planting trees, grow native plants on my property, and I work in the mental health field. The other day, while birding with a group in Tipton, we looked up at Brush Mountain, which glowed red with budding and leafing trees. It was April 1. Two older gentlemen mentioned that not even 20 years ago, Brush Mountain didn’t leaf or bud until at least May. While ...

Routch a good choice for judge

The 2025 primary election finds Blair County in a unique position in relation to electing two common pleas judges due to the lack of retention of Judge Elizabeth Doyle and the death of Judge Fred Miller. There are four good candidates for these two positions. One of the candidates that I proudly support is Michael Routch. I have known Mike for over 25 years. Mike is a local attorney, strong conservative, former Republican State Committee member, former vice-chair of the Blair County Republican Committee and a loyal husband and father. He will bring care and compassion to the ...

Please do not cut the VA

To my knowledge, the Veterans Administration has three categories: 1. The VA hospital system 2. The cemetery 3. The VA benefits (the most important one), which consists of from 10% to 100% disability rating. In my opinion, there must be close to a million people receiving VA disability payments. What I’m afraid that might be cut is the professional staff like Dr. Keith J. Parowski, D.O. He is the doctor who treated me in Urgent Care (emergency room) at the VA Altoona on Sunday, March 9, 2025. Please, please, do not cut the Veterans Administration. Dan Casey Altoona

Protest is not terrorism

The Trump administration recently announced it would be investigating anti-Zionist protesters for terrorism violations. This is after detaining a permanent legal resident who was not accused of any crime simply because they disagree with his political speech. Mind you, this is the same administration that pardoned violent insurrectionists who stormed the U.S. Capitol and attacked police officers. But nonviolent protest is now terrorism if the administration does not agree with their message? Do you see the imminent threat to liberty yet? The administration will excuse any ...

Trump missed cutting his own spending

When Donald Trump went into his second term, he appointed Elon Musk to root out waste, fraud and abuse in our government; here is some he missed. Trump has cost taxpayers $10 million playing golf 10 days out of his first 30 days in office. In his first term, he cost taxpayers $47 million for his golfing. He cost the taxpayers $15 million to go to the Super Bowl and his trip to Daytona 500 cost taxpayers between $4 million and $20 million. He froze funding for the CFPB and USAID. He wants to cut funding for agriculture by $230 billion, the education workforce by $330 billion, ...

Democrats, judges creating the crisis

I hear people, primarily national Democrats, forcefully telling us we are in a Constitutional crisis. We are, except the country’s president does not cause it. The federal district judges have created it through rulings to control the president. Nothing in the Constitution grants them the authority to make national rulings regarding the president’s actions. That is the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the United States. We are experiencing a tyranny of the judiciary. The Democrats favor that kind of tyranny, but tyranny is tyranny. Judges cannot be permitted to run the ...