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Plan to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count

Autumn Hanley Howard The Great Backyard Bird Count starts on Feb. 14 and ends on Feb. 17 this year. I’m encouraging everyone in Centre and Clinton counties to take part. With as little as 15 minutes per day, you can help bird research and build up ecological data of our state. Plus, you can improve the mental health of yourself and your family by birding together. The primary goal of the Great Backyard Bird Count is to document bird species diversity. Researchers use this data to understand species distribution — what species appear and where. Researchers also compare the data ...

You got hoodwinked!

Jim Hironimus White Hall I am going to enjoy sitting back for the next few months and watch Trump put the boot to his MAGA followers by taking away many of their benefits. He enjoys the company of billionaires and millionaires. Trump did finally say that “he could not guarantee any price drops!” Prepare to do the menial labor jobs and get off of the welfare train when Trump ships out all the illegal immigrants who will do those jobs! This should be a blast to watch all his, as he calls you, “under-educated followers,” get screwed by him and his failure to help you! But take ...

Our Republic: Going off the cliff?

Tim Mannello Williamsport What are the clear indicators that a Constitutional Republic is losing its democratic freedoms? These are some tell-tale signs and they are all in the works: 1) Public officials and citizens feel they cannot express dissenting opinions because they fear vengeful payback from their government’s leaders. 2) Laws are passed and enforced that limit information dissemination, financially cripple or eliminate media outlets and threaten journalists opposing government policies. 3) Peaceful protests are met with violence, unwarranted arrests or unlawful ...

Where is our humanity?

Ross Adams Boalsburg Inhumanity towards others feels so pervasive it could bring the most stoic to tears. There’s the ongoing invasion of Ukraine and the murder of its people, a president who praises authoritarian leaders and threatens our democratic allies, but it’s the continued support of Israel’s acts of genocide against the Palestinian people, by both political parties, that should be sounding the alarm. As Nazi Germany began the systematic murder of Jews, right-wing factions convinced our leaders to sit on the sidelines until we were attacked at Pearl Harbor. Now, as ...

Shock and awe here?

Kimball Shinkoskey Woods Cross Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) says Donald Trump’s scheduled Day 1 release of 100 Executive Orders will constitute “shock and awe.” (Face the Nation, 1-12-25) This military metaphor suggests that the 47th President plans to shove his agenda down the throats of Americans. Here is how Wikipedia describes “shock and awe:” “Shock and awe is a military strategy based on the use of overwhelming power and spectacular displays of force to paralyze the enemy and destroy their will to fight.” Two things stand out here besides the naked use of ...

Honor, service, integrity, respect, trust, courage and duty

Joseph Regan Ardmore, Pa. Since the first police department was formed in 1845, thousands of men and women have taken the oath to protect and serve. Every day, these brave individuals put on their uniforms and say goodbye to their loved ones without the certainty that they’ll return. No matter the circumstance, police officers continuously strive to uphold their vow to protect others. Jan. 9 marks National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day. Since 2015, this gives the public a chance to show its gratitude to the over 900,000 law enforcement officers in our nation. In light of this, ...