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A week that changed one woman’s mind about the COVID-19 vaccine

“I would rather get COVID than get the Vaccine.” One week later I changed my mind. My mother, my daughter, and I were driving back from Wyoming last August after two weeks of vacation fun. The highlight of the trip was a huge country and western concert featuring Blake Shelton. We shared the event with tens of thousands of his loyal fans, and even though COVID was still on the rampage, we weren’t worried – the concert was outdoors. It was during that trip that I was asked if I was vaccinated against COVID and answered with the statement I soon regretted. It’s just that I ...

It’s the community and family

We already know that aberrant behavior, whether it is killing with guns or bombs and/or drug usage or other demeaning, dangerous behavior can happen in any school system in any community. We should also know by this time that it must be dealt with in community and family units primarily. The schools cannot do it for us. It just will not happen if done by the schools alone. So, who am I to say this? Some background. We had two boys who are now men. For years before we had children, I worked as a counselor and then administrator of programs in the American Juvenile Justice System and ...

COVID-19 still very much alive

Are you over 50 or immunocompromised (weakened immune system)? If so, please read this! Those that fall in the above category are at increased risk of severe COVID-19 illness and death. Keeping up with COVID-19 vaccinations is a crucial way to stay safe for you and for all other elders in our community of Lycoming County! As the Administrator for Valley View Rehab & Nursing Center, getting vaccinated is the most important thing we all can do to keep our VIP elder residents safe from exposure to COVID-19. Many elders have comorbidities. This is a simultaneous presence of two or more ...

Pennsylvania’s next governor will face a looming budget deficit

In 2019-20, over 75,000 kids in Pennsylvania were denied a chance to leave their failing schools. Now there will be 30,000 fewer, thanks to a major win for students in this year’s budget. The budget includes a $125 million expansion in the Educational Improvement Tax Credit — the biggest ever in the program’s history — that will empower more families with scholarships to attend the school of their choice. The previous caps on the program not only denied students better alternatives but turned away $116 million in business donations to the program. We should do more than ...

Will president’s trip be mischief in the Middle East?

President Joe Biden is jetting off to the Middle East but, the question is, for what purpose? The President is to touch down in Israel amid upcoming elections in that nation. Israel is currently under the stewardship of an interim Prime Minister who, naturally, is not in a position to make any deals. Is it the President’s intention to pressure or support one political party or another in Israel? It sounds absurd, but Joe Biden would not be the first president to attempt such officious intermeddling. President Obama famously defended the use of American money to support anti-Prime ...

To test or not to test

My brother recently flew in from Florida to visit the family. During the flight he wore a mask, not only to protect himself from COVID but also from airborne allergens. When he arrived here in “sinus valley” he believed his slight congestion was allergy and sinus related. As the day moved on his congestion became worse and he felt tired, which he attributed to having been up since four that morning. So before we headed out for a long awaited, highly anticipated outing, we decided it was “best to test” to be sure COVID was not the cause. Although he felt he was ok — no ...