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Schools can reopen safely, get kids back in classrooms

We make note of the column and editorial cartoons on this opinion-editorial page as we espouse that public schools do their best to reopen and get students back in the classroom — safely amid this pandemic. Fact is, at-home instruction is not as effective. Ask any teacher. Too many kids — and their parents — don’t pay attention. Kids get behind. We’ve spoken to some teachers and they tell us some kids are failing because their attention is not “in school” but rather, whatever is on TV or on their cellphone. Mom and dad — and especially the many single parents ...

Working together brings solutions

A formal public safety building in or around Jersey Shore makes sense, provided it can be adequately funded without too heavy of a tax burden on citizens and property owners. The Tiadaghton Valley Regional Police is one of the true success stories of regionalization of services. The force provides police services via intergovernmental agreements with Jersey Shore and Porter Township as the charter municipalities. The TVRP also provides patrols for Nippenose, Piatt,Cummings and McHenry townships in Lycoming County. We’re confident to say the cost per capita for police services in ...

Thank your local and state plow truck driver

We don’t think anyone would argue that it has been a tougher-than-normal winter. Snow ... and lots of it in our region. Sleet. Freezing rain. But it really is a “normal” winter ... Normal as in this kind of heavier snow occurs every few years or so. So we just deal with it. Stay off the roads if you can. Heed the warnings from local and state officials. Be patient because Mother Nature is in charge. Reach out to help others who don’t want to or cannot drive in these conditions to see if they need help. And wave to your plow truck driver or neighbor on their ATV, tractor ...

It’s time to reconsider restrictions

Has the time come to reopen our businesses and remove restrictions on their operations? At this stage of the pandemic, we believe owners and operators of private enterprise have become educated enough and have sacrificed enough to make well-informed decisions about whether to fully reopen, how to reopen and, of course, how to protect their patrons. Masks. Hand-washing. Disinfecting. It’s happening, and those who go out to shop and dine are being smarter, too. When a problem arises, the businesses temporarily close. Again, it’s happening. Yes, health and well-being are ...

Pennsylvania’s vaccine rank not acceptable; time to call National Guard

Is it time to call in the National Guard? We say the answer is an emphatic YES. As we turn the calendar page to February, Pennsylvania was ranked either 49th or 44th — depending on which report you read — among the 50 states for administering the coronavirus vaccine doses it had received. The administration of Gov. Tom Wolf disputes that low ranking, claiming that instead of being in the bottom 10 that Pennsylvania is in the top 10. We found a ranking of all 50 states in Becker’s Hospital Review. As of this past Tuesday, 1.97 million doses had been distributed to ...

Until vaccine supply meets demand, it’s a waiting game

We share local officials’ frustration that the vaccine to prevent COVID-19 is not rolling out fast enough and even then, access to it is frustrating. It’s almost like only the strong will survive this. Sorry, but this is a life-and-death situation. You call a phone number and get prompts, not a person. And it appears that 99 percent of the vaccine are scheduled through health systems’ web sites. Tell that to the many elderly residents and others who don’t have internet, let alone a computer. Once local areas get more supply of the vaccines, why not schedule mass ...