About the ballot questions on emergency declarations

May 15, 2021

In the spirit of political partnership and sorely-needed bipartisan cooperation, we suggest voters on Tuesday provide checks and balances when it comes to emergency disaster declarations and vote yes on the two ballot questions addressing this very important issue. We ask: How has the past year-plus gone for you? Have you had to face furloughs or educate your children remotely at home, all the while trying to work yourself and keep an income coming in? Has your workplace or business been forced to close, at least temporarily? Are you satisfied with the state of Pennsylvania, in ...

PLCB more focused on profit than community

May 14, 2021

The state-run Wine and Spirits Store in downtown Lock Haven has been bringing people — shoppers — downtown for the past 43 years. The beneficiaries: Surrounding merchants and the community. So here we go again: The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) has voted to move that store off Main Street and into a shopping plaza off Walnut Street. We remind the PLCB of The Downtown Location Law — Act 72 of 2012 (Senate Bill 276). That law requires the state Department of General Services (which handles all purchase and leasing of property) to consider “locating or ...

A strong workforce needs people in skilled trades

May 11, 2021

The battle against COVID-19 may well have been the world’s greatest challenge since World War II, and just as life after the war was not the same as it was before, life after the coronavirus is almost certainly not going to be the same as it was 15 months ago. To cite just one example, so many people have worked remotely, and have done so without a detectable drop in productivity, that it is bound to call into question the purpose of all those enormous office buildings out there, which will have knock-on effects on office parks, downtown business districts and the whole commercial ...

The fight over a proud school’s mascot

May 3, 2021

In the past couple of weeks, the Bellefonte Area School Board faced a pair of critical decisions. With all due respect, it failed both times. First, on April 13, the board voted 8-1 in a special meeting to remove all Native American imagery from the district. That means the Red Raider logo will go from everything — from school-issued handbooks to big-ticket items — such as the basketball court at the high school. Like it or not, the logo will soon disappear. Then, at a second meeting on April 27, the board voted 6-3 to remove the word “Red,” but keep “Raiders.” That ...

Please step up and strengthen our Democracy

April 26, 2021

It is so important that enough people step up to serve as poll workers at elections. County governments are in need of such people — pretty much everywhere. Our Democracy is made possible by the “thousands of regular citizens who serve as poll workers,” Maria Boileau, Clinton County’s voter registrar, recently reminded us all. “These are the people who do the important work of checking in voters at polling places and setting them up at voting machines.” Further, she said, “We depend on these workers to run fair and secure elections.” We could not agree more. And ...

50 years of Regatta deserve special attention

April 24, 2021

There are many volunteers, organizations and institutions in our region worthy of praise for the dedicated time and effort people put into making our area caring and vibrant, whether with events or causes. The Lock Haven Area Jaycees is one of them. In fact, the Jaycees created something that has and should endure as one of the iconic events that puts Lock Haven on the map: The annual Labor Day Regatta. That holiday weekend event brings many, many people to little old Lock Haven for powerboat races, food on the midway, carnival rides, arts and crafts, live musical entertainment, ...