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Our Opinion

Our opinion: District entering time of contraction

Sheffield basketball players who said they’d prefer to play for Warren Area High School rather than Sheffield made the decision not to offer varsity girls basketball at Sheffield an easy decision for Warren County School District board members. Without full buy-in, there is no way Sheffield would have had enough players to participate. But the bigger question, in light of the district’s shrinking fund balance, is this — what further contractions are possible to balance the budget. We’re already seeing signs district officials are eyeing further cuts. Band uniforms are ...

Our opinion: More county housing data needed

It’s good news that new home construction in 2023 added $4.66 million to Warren County’s tax base. The news could be even better if we knew whether or not there was more such construction happening in areas not covered by the county’s zoning ordinance. County Planning Commission members were told about the 24 new home permits the county knows about that added a reported value of $4.66 million in new construction. The problem is the county’s zoning ordinance doesn’t cover all townships and boroughs in Warren County - though it does cover most of the townships with the most ...

Our opinion: Disappointing end for historic site

We enjoyed thinking of what a restored Fairmont Hotel could mean for Youngsville. The Fairmont Hotel is the oldest building in Youngsville, with the borough built around the building as more and more people came to the Youngsville area. Keeping that history alive was part of the draw for both Nathaniel Weaver, the building’s last owner, and those who wanted to see his restoration of the hotel succeed. But damage from a January fire at Lonnie’s Pizza made that restoration too big and expensive a project. It’s a disappointing end for a building that played such a big part of ...

Our opinion: Historic eclipse day has arrived

We’ve seen all of the trailers, seen old photos and heard from all the experts. Today, Mother Nature trumps all of the movie studios and brings you a literal once-in-a-lifetime blockbuster event. Of course, we’re talking about the solar eclipse. Chautauqua and Warren county residents find themselves living in some of the best seats in the house for today’s eclipse. We usually have to pay to see what Mother Nature does today for free. We’ve heard about all the preparations and the potential elbow-to-elbow traffic of visitors coming to our area because we’re in the path of ...

Our opinion: Donor backlash hitting the GOP

Democrats are lapping Republicans in this year’s election fund-raising, and could that be because GOP donors are wondering what they get for their money? Donors, both small-dollar and large, helped Republicans retake the House in 2022, and all they’ve received in return is a majority that revels in operating like a functional minority. Soon it may not even be a majority at all. Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher, one of the GOP’s best Members, announced on Friday that he’s resigning from the House on April 19. Colorado Rep. Ken Buck’s last day was Friday. You can criticize both ...

Our Opinion: Child care and taxes are challenging issue

We do not envy our state legislators as they attempt to resolve one of the most difficult problems confronting Pennsylvania’s workforce — the shortage and expense of child care. The state House Finance Committee met recently, according to a report by The Center Square to discuss the feasibility of employer tax credits to offer employees child care benefits. We understand and sympathize with the desire to incentivize child care benefits. A system that shares the costs will allow workplaces to hire and promote more completely based on merit, rather than having strong candidates ...