Give educators credit for adapting to new methods

December 4, 2020

OVID-19 has been an enormous challenge to the nation’s public school system. It has forced tens of millions of students to stay at home, often for months at a time, rather than go to class. Give educators credit for doing what they could with “remote learning.” Thrown suddenly into a whole new way of trying to reach students, many teachers have done remarkably well. Still, there is no substitute for having students in seats in front of a teacher. Arguing that technology can be a substitute for regular human contact is dreaming. In the wake of the epidemic, the great ...

What a shame bus service has to end Dec. 31

December 3, 2020

It looks like the City of Lock Haven will again become the only Third Class city in Pennsylvania without public bus service. With grant funding running out amid PennDOT running into a massive financial shortfall caused by the pandemic’s lessening of gasoline consumption — thus the receipt of the wholesale gasoline tax — the bus operator, River Valley Transit, said PennDOT ordered that “the service has to stop on Dec. 31.” We expect current and pending road projects to be “ended” as well. What a shame. Sure, ridership has fallen. But what do you expect during a ...

Cautious optimism for a vaccine

November 28, 2020

A vaccine or vaccines are on the way, we’re told. Thank God. And please make sure the roll out and distribution are equitable and swift ... swift to those who deserve it first and foremost. Health care workers. First responders. Senior citizens. Yes, U.S Food and Drug Administration officials and scientists are in a race against death. It is one they must undertake in a cautious sprint. Two COVID-19 vaccines appear nearly ready to go. Before doses already on the production line can be distributed, the FDA has to approve them. Effectiveness in the 95% range is ...

Let’s continue to CARE … and shop local!

November 27, 2020

Small Business Saturday is tomorrow and perhaps it is no more important than now as our nation battles a deadly virus. Mitigation efforts and, of course, people’s hesitancy to get out among others is hurting those local entrepreneurs who we count on — and take for granted — to provide us with the products and services that enrich our lives. They deserve our support ... and patronage. And to that end, federal CARES Act assistance has been invaluable for many American families and businesses. Without it, what appears to be a record-setting recovery from the financial crisis ...

The gift the virus gives us

November 26, 2020

any of us may not spend Thanksgiving Day 2020 with familiy and friends out of precaution of catching or spreading COVID-19. If this monstrous virus is telling us anything it’s that it is time to look inside your heart and give thanks for who and what you have in your life. How angry many of us are of being robbed of the various things we enjoy in life — and take for granted — as COVID-19 forces restrictions of all kinds. Sadly, many people get and express anger at these restrictions when, in our humble opinion, those elected officials who impose the recommendations are trying ...

USPS had election missteps, but deserves better support

November 23, 2020

Told in school that a really, really big test was coming up and that passing it was critical not just to you but also to your entire school, you’d probably do all you could to be prepared. Were you told that no expense would be spared in providing resources for you to prepare for the exam, you probably would be confident of earning an A. But then, you aren’t the U.S. Postal Service. If this year’s presidential election is proving anything to Americans, it is that the USPS deserves more support. From rank-and-file mail sorters to the agency’s top brass, it has been clear ...