Breaking News

Local Commentaries

Our opinion: A reach on an unneeded proposal

State Rep. Brad Roae wants to make it easier for Pennsylvania residents to follow election results. Roae, R-Meadville, has introduced a co-sponsorship memorandum for legislation he is drafting that would require the Pennsylvania Department of State to restore information on Election Night that tells voters how many voting precincts have reported their data. Those watching for Pennsylvania’s election returns will want to know how much of the vote has come in and from where - yet that information was removed from the state Department of State website about five years ago, according to ...

Plants facing transition as signs of fall appear

The August garden is slowly getting ready for the end of the summer season. We have lost a significant amount of sunlight over the last weeks and while we tell ourselves there is lots of summer gardening left, the truth is, Mother Nature has other ideas. The garden is in transition. The ...

Youngsville school closing too ‘disruptive’

As a resident of Eldred Township, the article outlining the school board’s planned motion to consolidate Youngsville High School into Eisenhower is concerning (Aug. 27). A direct drive to Youngsville High is 16 miles from my house, taking on average 21 minutes. Children in the area get on the bus at 7 am. Their bus ride with all stops is already just under an hour long. The trip to Eisenhower is double that mileage. How does the school board realistically expect students from the western townships to double their commute time? Out of all options, this closure seems like the ...

State takes a step with provider funds

For years, Pennsylvania’s intellectual disability and autism (ID/A) provider community has demanded real help from lawmakers to provide more resources for home and community based providers to ensure adults with ID/A and autism receive the services they need to live as independently as possible in their communities among family and friends. The provider community has also advocated for increases in reimbursement rates that would allow us to raise the wages for direct support professionals (DSPs) which will help address the shortage of DSPs across the state and pay our DSPs a living ...

View from Hickory Heights: Lessons with the Paper Cutter

I belong to a group on Facebook that posts old items to see if anyone recognizes them. The last post was one that I instantly recognized. It was a paper cutter. I have at least two of these at home, but they differ slightly from posted type. The type posted was what I would call a heavy-duty model. I am not sure if they went out of favor in the elementary school, but I used it all the time. I did lessons with shapes that I cut on the paper cutter. I had the children identify the shapes, then make a design out of it. For instance, I would give the children four black circles, two red ...

Looking at home through another’s eyes

My step-daughter is visiting. She has come east from Marina del Rey, California for a week with us and to attend a family wedding in North Carolina. She was really looking forward to spending some uninterrupted time here, in Warren, Pa. I never knew Valerie until about twenty years ago and she has been a delight added to my life. Although she has visited on holidays – the Fourth of July, Christmas, Thanksgiving – we have never had the opportunity to spend much time alone. There has always been a houseful of O’Briens, with many conversations and lots of activities. This week is ...