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View from Hickory Heights: Easters long ago

Local Commentaries

Last Sunday we sang the hymn “Abide with Me”. That took me back to the church I went to in my youth. At Grace Lutheran Church in Dunkirk, we ended all Wednesday night Lenten services with that hymn. I knew the first verse by heart. The lights were dimmed so we had to memorize it. After singing we left the church quietly. It is funny how little things trigger memories. I had not thought about that for years but the hymn brought back my memories clearly. I remember our Good Friday service. Different churches took turns hosting it. It went from noon to three o’clock. We had off ...

Our opinion: Increasing timber production a responsible decision

Our Opinion

A recent executive order by President Donald Trump to streamline regulations and allow more timber to be harvested from U.S. Forest Service lands invites what possibly could be a trivia question: Under which U.S. department’s jurisdiction does the U.S. Forest Service fall? If you answered the U.S. Department of the Interior, which supervises national parks and fulfills a mission of preserving natural areas and sites of note, you would be wrong. If you answered the Environmental Protection Agency, which enforces environmental regulations to curtail pollution and limit environmental ...

Our opinion: Take time to get REAL ID

Our Opinion

Gotten your REAL ID yet? No? Don’t worry, you are not alone. In fact, the majority of Pennsylvanians haven’t. According to the latest statistics released by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), only 26 percent of Pennsylvanians have applied for a REAL ID. That’s certainly more than a bit concerning, considering the May 7 deadline is approaching quickly. On Tuesday, PennDOT announced that it will hold special REAL ID Days across the Keystone State to help residents prepare for the deadline when federal enforcement begins. The REAL ID Act was passed by ...

More than a penny for your thoughts

Local Commentaries

Last Friday, it was yet another foray into the piled-up boxes in the garage. I am determined to get through the last of my mother’s stored items that landed here last fall… from her last rented storage unit. Friday was a success. A friend and I emptied, sorted, and dispatched a dozen boxes. Some of the boxes were light, some heavy, but there was one large covered laundry basket that felt like it was nailed to the floor. Each tug on it required a loud grunt. WHAT did she store in this thing? The answer was layers of glossy coffee table books, 3 and 4-pounders. Plus a porcelain piggy ...

Our opinion: State is about to get serious about distracted driving

Our Opinion

A recent analysis of state court data shows Warren County, and its rural neighbors, haven’t been writing many tickets for distracted driving over the past four years. According to data released recently by the state court system, there were 10,291 tickets for distracted driving written from Jan. 1, 2020, through Dec. 31, 2024. Only 21 (.21%) of those tickets were written in Warren County. Rural counties in the region followed suit. Forest County had only 13 distracted driving tickets written over four years. The numbers were slightly higher in Bradford County (45 distracted driving ...

Our opinion: State must improve energy affordability

Our Opinion

For as much time as state lawmakers spend bloviating about the state’s energy policy, you’d think energy would at least be affordable in Pennsylvania. You’d be thinking incorrectly. A state sitting atop a vast natural gas reservoir finds itself the 32nd ranked state in energy affordability in the Energy Affordability 2025 report from the American Legislative Exchange Council. Wyoming has the lowest average energy price in the country at 8.4 cents per kilowatt hour while California is the highest at more than 20 cents per kilowatt hour. Pennsylvanians are paying 11.86 cents ...