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Bickering, not bipartisanship, is hurting us all

By T.J. HEENAN History has shown that America works best when bipartisanship prevails, as our forefathers intended, working together in the spirit of democracy and compromise. A classic example of bipartisanship is President Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill which passed in 2021. As of March, $15.8 billion from this bill was headed to Pennsylvania with over 455 specific projects identified for funding. These projects include investment in roads and bridges, with 3,112 bridges and over 7,700 miles of roadway rated in poor condition. Other projects include funding for ...

Who is looking out for state’s interests?

By now, we have all heard Gov. Josh Shapiro complain that he is tired of getting his “ass kicked” by other states. He has opined that Pennsylvania is losing out to economic development in Ohio. Ask the authorities, planners and chambers of commerce in the western part of the state about the difficulties of enticing businesses to come to Pennsylvania, rather than Ohio. Pennsylvania is also next in line to get an old-fashioned “whooping” by West Virginia, a state that not only actively supports the coal industry, but also the natural gas industry and the integrity of the electric ...

Fun with Bookmobile

Many of you may not even know about the bookmobile that used to operate in this area. I am not sure how many years it was around, but I know for sure it operated from the late sixties until the eighties. We were frequent visitors when my youngsters were growing up. The children looked forward to the day the bookmobile would park by Hale’s Red and White Store. That was the day we got to exchange our books. The children picked out their own books that they wanted me to read to them. I picked out some books for myself. Every two weeks we could exchange them. Rural patrons really ...

That complicated era before cellphones

Before we depended on cellphones, we somehow managed life. Looking back though, I remember many days – mostly involving travel – that would have been lots easier. This little story was one of them: My sister-in-law, Julie, raised five accomplished children. She and Ted enjoyed their tennis and golf games together. She kept a neat-as-a-pin household while occasionally indulging in her bridge game or a good book. As much as I admired her, I have to say she was not in her element behind the wheel. There was that one trip to the Adirondacks … Julie’s close friend in Rochester had ...

Parents’ values, ethic evident at Kondaks Market

By SPENCER, ERIN, LUKE, GRAHAM and GRACE KONDAK Our parents, Kurt and Beth Kondak, purchased Kondaks Community Market in October of 1988, just about one month after they were married. Just in their mid-20s, they risked a lot to invest their lives into this small grocery store and catering ...

View from Hickory Heights: I remember when …

I moved from my hometown more than 60 years ago. Urban Renewal went through and everything changed. I recall stories of my grandfather going out and getting lost. His memory was not that bad, but the landmarks he was so used to seeing disappeared. Once I saw what had happened in Dunkirk, I could understand his dilemma. Stores were no longer there. In some cases, nothing replaced them. It must have been very confusing to the old folks at that time. Two years ago, when I returned for a class reunion, I took the time to ride around the area. My husband and I went to look at my ...