Shamokin | Opinion

Flaws, yes, but state budget process offers good lesson

It's difficult to identify a lot of good having come from the state's disastrous budget process this past summer and fall. Not only was passage of the budget 101 days late, the final plan included myriad cuts that, among other things, led to pink slips f

Back in ... 1924

- In New York City, Helen Paul, of South Sixth Street, Shamokin, was set to marry a Kansas mining engineer named Frank Anderson. From there, they would go to the foothills of the Andes Mountains in Colombia, where Frank Anderson was employed by a gold mi

State's casino lobby far from transparent

State lawmakers and regulators consistently have fallen short of their long-ago promise to make casino gambling in a Pennsylvania completely transparent. State regulation has been marked by internecine warfare between state agencies, after-the-fact revel

Broadband development would improve our area's infrastructure

Are the collective voices of our area enough to be heard? So many times over the past 50 to 60 years, our area has been left behind. The anthracite region, with a declining population base, a resulting economic collapse and decaying social infrastructure

Vanaskie example of slow pace in filling bench

U.S. District Judge Thomas I. Vanaskie, of Scranton, a Shamokin native, didn't encounter any obvious deeply rooted opposition during his recent confirmation hearing for a seat on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. The judge deftly handled a few question

Letters to the editor

Furnace fixed, church back in sanctuary

To the editor: I am writing concerning the church I pastor in Mount Carmel, Zion Primitive Methodist Church on Market Street. Rumors have been circulating that our church has no money, therefore, we are meeting at the parsonage next door. The reason we h

Join the fun of Downtown Christmas

This year's "Downtown Christmas" is scheduled for 2 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5. Building on the success and response of last year's event, the Northumberland County Council for the Arts and Humanities has added an ice carver to this year's event. The eve

Salvation Army looks for holiday help

Dear friends: Once again in 2008, more than 1,000 children were able to awaken Christmas morning marveling at the gifts of toys and clothing under their trees. For many of these children, this thrill was only possible because of all the generous supporte

Parents need to teach kids better behavior

To the editor: Today I read your item about the bus driver from Southern Columbia. I do not agree with what happened, and God knows how any one of us would have reacted. But your saying that the bus drivers owe the utmost respect to the students floors

Veterans honored by D.C. trip

To the editor: It was a great honor for the participating veterans to partake in the bus trip to Washington, D.C., sponsored by King Coal Tours. During the trip, veterans gathered for breakfast and then visited the World War II, Korea and Vietnam memoria

Don't get me started

Original disdain for Vietnam vets leads to 'thanks' for today's troops

From time to time, we receive thank you notes from our readers. We might receive cards to thank us for covering a fundraising benefit, or from a person we featured in one article or another. Hearing the words "thank you" never grows old, but sometimes, i

Rebuilding trust at Fort Hood

I wonder how the hundreds of soldiers gathered at the Soldier Readiness Center (SRC) at Fort Hood on Nov. 5 will ever learn to trust their buddies again. Troops spend months, even years, building trust within their ranks. You get to know each other and r

Einstein and Baby Einstein: It doesn't take a genius to settle this controversy

Albert Einstein, whose name is synonymous with genius, was a slow learner as a child. He was so slow to speak, his parents consulted a doctor, according to Walter Isaacson, who wrote "Einstein: His Life and Universe." Before he became the greatest physic

Week in News

Hiding in executive session

The words "executive session" often represent a safe haven for elected officials, while, for journalists, they're like a pair of four-letter words. Executive sessions are permitted under the state's Sunshine Act for various reasons, including the discuss

Twists, turns in election news

It was a municipal election year in 2009, and for newsrooms that always means a heavy load on election night, both in May and November. This year, however, was even more demanding than usual. The issues weren't necessarily more important nor were there m

Walts Way

Cleaning house often proves to be a moving experience

You would not expect to see a hermit crab compete successfully on "Jeopardy" - except perhaps in the category "Crusty Crustaceans." However, those little sea creatures show themselves to be smarter than we humans in one area. When they move, they either

Talking Points

Once upon a series

The New York Yankees are appearing in their fortieth World Series. No other major league baseball franchise even comes close. Back in February, while watching the Bucknell Bison struggle on the hardwood, I heard the talk for the first time about how no m

Next stop - Budget Canyon

It is said the only thing guaranteed in life are taxes and death. Provided you call Penn's Woods home, you may want to include on that infamous list state lawmakers failing to come up with an annual budget by the statutory deadline of July 1. The budget

Capital Matters

Harrisburg tries to clean up its act

HARRISBURG - Just days ahead of the second major round of criminal indictments in the probe of illegal activities in the Pennsylvania Legislature, Senate leaders introduced a new code of ethics that seeks to keep their employees from doing political work

Sound Off

Sound Off 11-21-09

Free rides Three hundred and nineteen more state workers are being laid off. What they should get rid of are the cars, gas and insurance money that they pay for with our tax money so the politicians can have free rides. If you or I get a job in Harrisbur

Sound Off 11-20-09

Mammogram must In light of recent newspaper articles and television news stories regarding the need for early screening mammography and breast self-exams, I urge all your women readers to please continue these practices. I am a mammographer by trade, and

Sound Off 11/19/09

Take the bet Frog, this is for you: If that guy still wants to bet you, take the bet. I will cover for you. Just give me a message in the paper. Going nowhere Hey, Reno. How about those Packers? Let's go Pack! Whoo! Frog's take: Cowboys aren't going anyw

Sound Off 11-18-09

Open forum Well, I see now Obama decided to try the 9/11 terrorists in regular criminal court instead of being as war criminals in a military tribunal. This way they get to bash the United States in an open forum and exercise constitutional rights that t

Sound Off 11-17-09

Tailgating To the guy who is always complaining about the Penn State tailgating at their football games, I would like to tell him that, hey, Prohibition has been over for 60 years. This goes on at most universities and colleges before football games and