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On Easter, let Christ’s message never grow old

Easter should be a time of great joy, fulfillment and celebration, consumed by the knowledge and appreciation of Christ’s victory over death. Unfortunately, this year, Easter seems destined to be somewhat less than that, when there is reflection and contemplation regarding this planet’s big picture. As in other years, on Easter morning, it is true that most faithful will flock to services inside churches in the spirit of love and hope, while others will attend Easter sunrise worship services outdoors amid the same spirit, if weather permits. Regardless of where a ...

Rural health care needs to break cycle

Sometimes it seems like rural communities are caught in a vicious cycle — jobs and amenities are not available that would keep young people there, and as the population declines, the remaining jobs and amenities shrivel, which makes a revival even harder to pull off. A recent story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette offered a case in point. It reported how a six-county region in the northern part of Pennsylvania will no longer have a hospital that offers maternity care because Elk Hospital in St. Mary’s plans on shuttering its obstetrics unit in the next two months. It’s an issue ...

Changing the clocks means testing your smoke alarms, too

Daylight saving time begins tomorrow, Sunday, March 10, and the American Red Cross encourages everyone to test their smoke alarms as they turn their clocks forward to make sure the devices are working. “Working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a home fire in half as you only have about two minutes to get out,” said Jorge Martinez, CEO, American Red Cross of Greater Pennsylvania. “Every second counts when there’s a home fire and the sooner an alarm alerts you to a fire, the sooner you can get to a safer place. When you turn your clocks forward this weekend, test your ...

Data on uterine cancer raising concerns

Women across America have been delivered a wake-up call regarding uterine cancer, but it probably will take at least several years to ascertain how well they have paid attention. Hopefully, women of the Southern Alleghenies region will be among those eventually delivering the message that they have responded correctly. According to a report in the Feb. 13 Wall Street Journal, the disease will kill an estimated 13,250 women in the United States this year, on its way, the American Cancer Society says, to surpassing ovarian cancer and becoming the deadliest gynecologic ...

You want to do something that could save lives?

Give blood. Type O is the most needed blood group by hospitals, but donations aren’t keeping up with patient needs, according to the American Red Cross. Type O-positive and O-negative blood are being distributed to hospitals faster than donations are coming in. Red Cross Biomedical Services is the largest single supplier of blood and blood products in the U.S. The Red Cross says it’s tackling the blood shortage one donation at a time. To incentive people to give blood, the nonprofit is offering donors a chance to win Super Bowl tickets to Las Vegas for Feb. 11. You can ...

Thank you to our highly valued volunteer firefighters

Bob Bowmaster deserves our praise. For 41 years, this gentleman has put himself at risk serving as a volunteer firefighter for his local and neighboring communities in our region. We write about Bob — who was highlighted in photos on Page A1 in this past Thursday’s edition of The Express community newspaper — to bring attention to the dedication and service of ALL of our volunteer firefighters. Waking up in the middle of the night, rushing to the station and heading out to a house fire or accident — in single digit and below-zero temperatures. As a volunteer. Why? To ...