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Meanwhile … at the museums

It will take some time for us all to get used to the “new normal” after the COVID-19 epidemic. One aspect of our lives that should not change — but could — is the variety of museums that educate and entertain us. Throughout the world, most museums had to close during the height of the pandemic. Financial pressure means that nearly 13% of them may never reopen, UNESCO and the International Council of Museums estimate. The most likely victims are the small, specialized, local museums in many of their communities. Without the big endowments and donor bases enjoyed by ...

Cautious, smart reopening set for ‘The Haven’

Now in its 150th year, Lock Haven University has not had to deal with such a crisis as the coronavirus, save for the 1918 flu pandemic. But working to adapt to a new normal, LHU just announced a “Return to The Haven” for students the fall of 2020. With that, LHU President Dr. Robert Pignatello also announced the campus will see slight increase in enrollment. That’s great news! “We are encouraged by our positive enrollment and retention numbers for this fall,” Pignatello said. “The latest fall 2020 headcount enrollment projection represents a slight increase from the ...

Symbols of slavery belong in museums, not on public streets

No one knows with certainty how many human beings — men, women and children — were forced to stand on the 800-pound stone that remained planted in the ground on a street corner in Fredericksburg, Virginia for 176 years. What we do know is that each and every one of them was treated like an animal. Each and every one was sold and bought. They were enslaved black Americans. The stone was an auction block used solely to display human beings being bid on by white people. Recently, Fredericksburg officials had the stone removed. The local NAACP chapter had called for the action ...

‘Defunding’ police can lead to disaster

Calls for massive “defunding” of law enforcement are simply insane. When political correctness addles our brains to the point we fail to recognize the critical need we have for the “thin blue line” to safeguard us from crime, we Americans will be in real, imminent danger. Yet some politicians not only are listening to calls that law enforcement agencies be destroyed, they are leading the charge. A few days ago, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti proclaimed his eagerness to slash $150 million from his police department’s budget. “To see legislators who aren’t even ...

City’s plan to close streets, bring indoors outside is great

If using indoor space for patrons is restricted due to the virus, why not take the indoors outside? That’s just what the City of Lock Haven is doing starting today on public space on East Main Street, closing that main thoroughfare from Jay Street westward to Grove and Vesper Streets. The streets and nearby space will close from 10 a.m. Fridays and remain closed until 9 p.m. Saturdays through late September. It is meant to give space — allow more space — for people to patronize downtown businesses and then stay or sit outside. It’s a bold plan. PennDOT also gets credit ...

Congratulations seniors!

or many of our cherished high school graduates, 2020 will go down as the lost year. School ended prematurely due to the pandemic, and with it went proms, award, baccalaureate and graduation ceremonies and more. You know, those end-of-school-year days when you really think about the next chapter in your life. Backyard graduation parties were put off or downsized. Many seniors probably couldn’t even enjoy the company of their grandparents for fear of the virus. It’s safe to say this has been a somber year for our future leaders. And so while our natural instincts are to ...