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Opinion

Prison plans should shift into high gear

Editorials

Mostly aimed at Blair County governments of the past, well-deserved criticism about procrastination over the issue of a new county prison has been meted out in this space. The need for a new incarceration facility has been known for decades by government leaders as well as many other people of this county. The problem has been that, rather than tackling new construction when a new facility could have been built for a small fraction of the current cost, county leaders chose instead to kick the proverbial can down the road and hope some future commissioners board would “pick it ...

HASD board made correct decision

Letters to the Editor

Congratulations to the Hollidaysburg School Board for its decision to approve the text recommended by the AP for its AP psychology course. That sounds ironic, doesn’t it — that a school board should be commended for selecting the best tool to be successful in a course, which students will pay to take an exam to earn possible college credits? To have selected a different text than the one specifically created for the course would be tantamount to choosing a drivers’ education text for a different country, then asking the students to be successful on the Pennsylvania driving test. ...

PennDOT improvements vast over past

Editorials

The Mirror’s April 14 edition provided a detailed look at the 2026 schedule of highway work in the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s District 9, which encompasses Blair, Bedford, Cambria, Somerset, Huntingdon and Fulton counties. The work schedule will continue the record of progress that has evolved at PennDOT over the past 50 years. Many older residents of this region can recall the 1970s, when large potholes were common on area roadways. One story emanating from that troubled highway era was that a northern Blair resident, apparently to call attention to a ...

Children should be allowed to explore

Letters to the Editor

I read with interest about the dilemma regarding the “attractive nuisance” posed by the restored Beaverdam Branch of the Juniata. I grew up in Coalport beside an unspeakably polluted creek which we were absolutely forbidden to go near. At age 86, I am here to tell you that no force on Earth will keep children away from water. The country, and even Blair County, must be full of rivers that are longer, swifter, rockier and more dangerous than the Beaverdam Branch and yet are not fenced. Very little children ought to be supervised. If they are not, a stretch of still water may not ...

Corp. welfare for hospitals raising costs

Editorials

Hospitals are not as unpopular as other health care sectors, such as drug manufacturers and insurance companies. But like other businesses, they are prone to rent-seeking and fiercely defensive of special breaks. Case in point: The 340B drug discount program. The federal program was created in 1992 to help hospitals and clinics in poor communities. In recent weeks, it has become the target of new lawsuits over complaints that wealthy health systems are abusing the benefits and driving up costs for everyone else. The program requires pharmaceutical companies to sell drugs at a ...

Children should be allowed to explore

Letters to the Editor

I read with interest about the dilemma regarding the “attractive nuisance” posed by the restored Beaverdam Branch of the Juniata. I grew up in Coalport beside an unspeakably polluted creek which we were absolutely forbidden to go near. At age 86, I am here to tell you that no force on Earth will keep children away from water. The country, and even Blair County, must be full of rivers that are longer, swifter, rockier, and more dangerous than the Beaverdam Branch and yet are not fenced. Very little children ought to be supervised. If they are not, a stretch of still water may not ...