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Pharmacists integral to life in rural Pa.

Opinion

I began my career at Patton Pharmacy, my family’s pharmacy in Northern Cambria County, which my father started from scratch in 1974 — one of the few independents left in that part of the state. For more than 30 years, I have practiced almost entirely in rural Pennsylvania, including years at Mission Pharmacy in Armstrong County and Klingensmith’s Drug Stores across Armstrong and Clarion counties. In each community, I watched the same pattern: hospitals struggle to stay open, physicians retire without replacements, specialists move to urban centers , and the community pharmacy ...

Billing abuse for autism aid unconscionable

Editorials

Most people cannot imagine the challenges autism poses to families caring for someone afflicted with the developmental disorder. But when those challenges are exacerbated by unscrupulous individuals and companies, people need to take notice and not be shy about projecting their disgust and calls for remedial legal action and stiff penalties, criminal as well as civil. Those who would try to take advantage of the families in question — and, in the process, the victims of the disorder themselves — don’t deserve any leniency in any court of law. Meanwhile, there should be no ...

Too much PDA over president hard to take

Letters to the Editor

Perhaps nowhere was the blind spot of the Right toward President Donald Trump on such full display as it was at the religious gathering in D.C. on May 17 where a MAGA radio host said the man was “raised by God” to construct a new White House ballroom. If you believe in God, how can you believe He would “raise” such a vile human being to do anything? This is the epitome of blind love, a real and dangerous condition that cripples the brain’s critical thinking and social judgment centers. Sufferers can’t see or they choose to ignore flaws and negative traits, no matter how ...

Parting with parking firm the right move

Editorials

It doesn’t make sense to allow a problem to fester when there’s the ability to put the problem to rest. The Altoona Parking Authority followed that thinking on May 26 when it voted unanimously to terminate its contract with the company it hired just over a year ago to manage downtown parking. It’s not the purpose of this editorial to pass judgment on the company’s performance — that was an authority responsibility — but only to observe that the authority acted correctly if it felt there was evidence enough to support its action. All responsible city entities, besides ...

Taken to task on rubber dams

Letters to the Editor

As the Altoona Water Authority’s since-retired engineer who was mostly responsible for the decision to contract HTE Engineering of Sandy, Utah, for the fabrication of the rubber dams, I found your pontificating remarks to be quite patronizing, considering you don’t know what you’re talking about. Along with ISO quality assurance certification, HTE met the specifications I had put forth that mirrored our former Bridgestone rubber dams that were manufactured in Japan. Bridgestone was the largest global producer of rubber dams, which were known for their durability. After they ...

Concerns over river disappointing

Letters to the Editor

I read with great disappointment the Mirror article describing the “dangers” associated with children playing in the widened Juniata River running adjacent Dell Delight Park. Widening the river at that location made it visible from the park and ironically shallower. Just because you can see the river and it’s wider doesn’t mean it’s more dangerous than before. The thought of an organization — the American Legion — founded to support men who risked their lives to save the free world, would want to curtail children from engaging in exploratory play, outside, in a river, ...