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A park ranger works to protect you

By Dan Manka A park ranger is your friend. He is the embodiment of the law in the park. His presence keeps me safe. He enforces the rules and sees to it that others keep the rules, too. Our park is a better place, because he and his fellow rangers are there. A ranger treats everyone with integrity, character, justice, mercy, helpfulness and compassion. He is a friend to all, but he is also an enforcer of the law. He is a comfort to the law-abiding visitor, and his services are necessary to control the one who breaks the law. He has the right to use force when appropriate, ...

State must fix unemployment benefits system

Of all the systemic weaknesses that the pandemic has revealed — in the economy, education, and housing and health — the failure of government is a tragedy unto itself. For the past year, the focus has centered on the failures at the federal level to respond effectively to the pandemic — and more recently, to plan for equitable and rapid vaccinations. But the failures aren’t limited to federal government. States, including Pennsylvania, have also racked up failures — and possibly none are more galling than the chaos confronting Pennsylvanians trying to get unemployment ...

GOP blockage of gun storage puts kids at risk

How were the kids able to access a gun? That is one of the first questions that comes to mind after hearing about last month’s tragic death of Nyssa Davis — a 9-year-old girl who was shot in the head in her North Philadelphia home while playing unsupervised with her 12-year-old brother and 5-year-old cousin. Nyssa’s father, who illegally possessed the gun, was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter, and so was her brother. A fraction of a second and a family ruined. Whatever the legal status of the gun, this particular tragedy could have been prevented with one ...

Fill county election spots before too late

The collection, counting and certification of votes has usually generated little rancor or controversy in Luzerne County. Then came the epochal year of 2020, with a handful of mail-in ballots mistakenly discarded by the county Bureau of Elections, dueling demonstrations outside the bureau’s offices and the two GOP members of the Election Board pointlessly voting against the normally pro-forma certification of the Nov. 3 results. Now, with the May 18 primary looming, the county’s voting apparatus appears unfocused and ill-prepared. The Election Bureau has lacked a director since ...

Spears torturing public

At age 11, Britney Spears played the wholesome American girl on “The All New Mickey Mouse Club.” A few years later, she was on concert stages surrounded by big teddy bears as she bumped, grinded and moaned. There was also a pole dance. Ladies and gentlemen, this is entry-level kiddie porn. The despoiling of innocence has always been an easy sell. Spears and her pushing parents understood well that a schoolgirl in bobby socks singing lascivious songs would draw enormous amounts of attention. They had America debating the propriety of this act, which meant everyone was ...

Potter Creek, Cove mourn selfless Corle

The Northern Bedford and Southern Cove areas lost an extraordinary member of our community last Monday with the passing of Wayne Corle. Perhaps you knew Corle as a talented body shop owner who could repair a crashed vehicle and make it appear brand new like few others. Or maybe you’ll long remember his ear-to-ear grin as he ribbed you or joked about something, to which you could only smile in return. Like a stand-up comic with a well-rehearsed routine, Corle would spout off five or six jokes in a row, without missing a beat. His personality was truly infectious. I feel ...