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View from Hickory Heights: Celebrating moms

Local Commentaries

When my mother-in-law died in 2003, I got a book back that my husband and I had given her in 2000. It was “Chicken Soup for the Mother’s Soul”. I only remember the year we gifted it because she wrote the date inside of the book. I know that she appreciated it and read it from cover to cover. I decided I would read it again this year. I had read it before, but as things go you forget some of the stories. I found a quote written by Ruth Bell Graham, Billy Graham’s wife. She wrote, “As a mother, my job is to take care of what is possible and trust God with the ...

Our opinion: Borrowing a slippery slope

Our Opinion

We can’t think of many who would argue that Warren County didn’t need a bond issue to pay for new radio towers. No one wants to have communications among first responders in a critical situation stop because it’s raining - which can happen with the old towers with copper wire. We’ve known for a while that the three radio towers the county plans to replace were going to have to be paid for with a bond issue at some point. That time is now. The $5.2 million emergency radio tower upgrade will include installation of three new towers – one in Sugar Grove, one in Elk and one ...

Life is a ‘Special Occasion’

Local Commentaries

I get a bang out of advertisements for “Special Occasions.” Restaurants, wedding venues, florists, greeting cards – each market their goods to help us celebrate. We all have birthdays, anniversaries, reunions, and other special days in our lives tugging at our heartstrings. But at my age? Every day is a special occasion. My BFF in New York City and I have been friends since 1963. Every year, we celebrate our special occasion: our graduation date from the American Airlines Stewardess College on April 10th. Most years it’s just a phone call, but we don’t forget. That day is ...

Our opinion: Garden Club deserves thanks

Our Opinion

For six decades a group of dedicated volunteers have spent their spare time making sure Warren looked its best. We’re talking, of course, about the Warren Garden Club, a group that has spent years tending to city gardens in parks throughout the city and at Warren General Hospital as well. The group has disbanded as its membership numbers has decreased in recent years as members got older and were more and more unable to keep up with the club’s work. What has happened to the Warren Garden Club isn’t uncommon. The Federated Garden Club of Pennsylvania is seeing membership in ...

Our opinion: Act now on reassessment

Our Opinion

Many Warren County property owners are getting letters with their new tentative property reassessments and next steps in the process. We’re sure many - particularly those who have seen their assessment increase - have questions. Now is the time to ask them. The entier process of reassessing properties is to make sure everyone is paying their fair share. For years some have been paying too much in property taxes while others weren’t really paying their fair share - particularly those whose properties were purchased closer to the last countywide property reassessment. It’s ...

Our opinion: Drive downtown parking study

Our Opinion

City Council members have approved a smaller, $3 million project to fix the worst of the issues in the Clark Street parking garage. The smaller rehabilitation project won’t be the last time we talk about the Clark Street garage. And, in our opinion, our next talk should include whether the Clark Street garage needs to continue to exist. Mike Holtz, city manager, said before the COVID-19 pandemic the Clark Street garage was typically 90% filled with usage at its highest levels the year before the pandemic. But the past five years have seen decreasing use of the Clark Street garage. ...