Opinion

It’s clear something serious is wrong

Letters to the Editor December 11, 2025

It’s clear something serious is wrong We Americans like to think the best of other people, and we are generally forgiving. But we’re not stupid. When it is clear that something is seriously wrong, we speak our minds. The current government is seriously abusing our trust. President Donald Trump has used the Department of Justice to go after his perceived enemies. His tariffs are stoking inflation. ICE has been rounding up people based primarily on the color of their skin. And now two helpless survivors of an attack on a boat suspected of carrying drugs have been ...

Not missing Biden at all

Letters to the Editor December 11, 2025

How glad I am that Joe Biden is gone. When he was president, the economy was bad, unemployment high and we had horrible relations with other countries except Russia and Ukraine. Biden and the Democrats hurt working people with scams like the new green deal and incited violence and chaos. Yes, life in America is definitely better under conservative Republicans than Democrats. John Pierce Cocoa Beach, Fl. Formerly of Bellwood

Letters to the Editor December 10, 2025

I wanted to point out the discriminatory tax the property tax is. The majority of people who pay to support the county are property owners. Why do people who work hard to save the money to become home owners, be the only ones to bare this responsibility? Then, as they age and pay off their home, the county continues to tax them to the point they must leave it because of this burden or they will take the property. Everyone that lives in this county should have that burden. This is a discrimination on the property owners that is unfair. Services of the county are for use of all the ...

Blair County CYF must not be allowed to backpedal

Editorials December 9, 2025

Sometimes it is advisable to endure some discomfort for a while, in hopes of achieving something better that is being sought for the longer term. That might be good advice for the Blair County commissioners now regarding the seventh provisional license that the state Department of Human Services has issued to the Blair Children, Youth & Families agency. Commissioners Chairman Dave Kessling indicated on Nov. 24 that he and fellow commissioners Amy Webster and Laura Burke were considering appealing the state’s provisional license decision because of progress CYF has made to fix ...

CBRS auctions put services at risk

Letters to the Editor December 9, 2025

Six years ago, I started Crowsnest Broadband in central Pennsylvania to solve a problem in my own backyard: people couldn’t get online. Not reliably, not affordably, and not fast enough to work, learn or stay connected. Our Appalachian forests are beautiful, but their topography and other factors prevented access to the Internet. As a result, many homes couldn’t stream a video, join a Zoom call or even make a phone call, leaving the area in the digital divide. This is where we live. And in a time when Internet access is a necessity, we decided to do something about it. So, we ...

Loss of health care subsidies affect all

Letters to the Editor December 8, 2025

On Dec. 31, the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) subsidies will end, because a reauthorization was not included in the “Big Beautiful Bill” that passed in July. If these subsidies expire, about 5 million people will lose their ACA coverage, and premiums for 20 million more will likely increase by an average of 114%, causing many individuals to stop their insurance. With fewer people accessing health care coverage due to cost, everybody’s premiums will increase and hospitals will incur a significant increase in charity care. As a retired couple not yet Medicare ...