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Standing down, not standing up

What a display took place before Lock Haven City Council at this week’s meeting! The start of the meeting was standing room only, with scores of concerned citizens present to voice their opinions. The subject? Not the city’s budget, even though it’s the middle of budget season and few things — even national politics — affect residents more than the decisions of their local officials. No, the subject was a use request for the Clinton County Ministerium to put up its nativity scene in Triangle Park. We aren’t going to belabor the details here — there are 2,500 words on ...

Thanksgiving a time for gratitude

Thanksgiving — giving thanks — we get it. At best, it’s well-worn — at worst, cliche. And yet, at the same time, the concept of gratitude itself is frequently only paid lip service. It’s a time for list articles citing what the writer is thankful for; a time for reminders to hold loved ones dear on the brighter side — and memento mori on the darker. Truly holding gratitude is something else. It can shift attitude and worldviews. Thanksgiving is, in many ways, a selfish holiday — at least how it’s marketed: “I want to give thanks for XYZ.” Gratitude ...

The Golden Rule is corroding

An opinion piece in yesterday’s paper by columnist Jessica Johnson referenced the need for the Golden Rule, citing Luke 6:31 — Do to others as you would have them do to you, as the verse states. The coming weeks and months — and years — will likely see much discussion about free speech, “wokeness” and other cultural hot topics. Let us be blunt in our stance. Like many Americans, we were raised to hold the Golden Rule in high regard. The Golden Rule was codified as such in the 17th century by Anglican priests, although the concept itself, known as reciprocity, can be ...

Margins amongst the marginalized

As the dust settles from the rollercoaster election season, we would like to call attention to something we found particularly interesting while going over the preliminary election results for local candidates. State Rep. Paul Takac, a Democrat, appears to have won re-election amidst a horrendous cycle for Democratic incumbents. There could be many reasons for this, admittedly. But we want to hone in on one possibility. State Sen. Cris Dush and Takac have been working together to bring bipartisan aid to Snow Shoe, among other rural areas. It’s caught our eye a few times — most ...

In election fraught with tension, cast your vote

After an exhausting, bruising election season — the day is here at last. Regardless of whether you consider yourself left, right or middle, the time has come to wield the ultimate power afforded to you, the voter, under our system of government: the power of your vote. Every year, there are stories of races decided by a handful of electors. America has been closely divided for some time, and that means that, on average, your vote matters more than it would otherwise if you live in a swing state. There are reasons campaigns dedicate resources and energy bringing in extra help ...

Halloween a time for scares, sweets

The growth of Halloween over the years has been remarkable — and a little wild to behold. Many of the current Express staff are fans of the spooky season going way back, as many of you have likely noticed, and we can’t help but feel every now and then like an odd — if appropriate — transformation has happened to the season. Halloween is bigger than it has ever been, with the National Retail Foundation seeing just over $12 billion in sales in 2023. They are expecting around the same amount again in 2024, with around $4 billion of that being candy sales. According to an article ...