- 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 mining group.
- Young Louis Genoskie and the entire city of Shamokin expressed gratitude to Ted Kulp, who was a watchman at a North Shamokin Street rail crossing. Genoskie, with the exuberance of youth, ran from the Sample shoe store, where he worked, crossing the track without looking. Kulp screamed and waved at the engineer of the oncoming freight. The train stopped inches away from Genoskie.
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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 revelations about license awards, a revolving door for regulatory personnel moving into the industry, and so on.
Just this week Pittsburgh newspapers reported that a statewide investigative grand jury is looking at as-yet undisclosed casino licensing issues.
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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, seemed like a cause for Saint Jude.
Collectively, however, the voices of northeast Pennsylvania are once again being heard, and each of us living here needs to make it known that we count.
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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 questions that were raised regarding a few of his decisions, public speeches and writings.
It will be interesting now to see how long it takes to have a confirmation vote. About 10 months into the Obama administration, the president has been slow to nominate federal judges and the Senate has been even slower to confirm the nominees.
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- Amid snow flurries, Coal Township Board President Torrance Spotts invited the public to an open house to view the new, modern township headquarters on West Wood Street. The building was the predecessor to the present facility on West Lynn Street. The board president also revealed the real estate valuation of Coal Township as $4.9 million.
- You could get out of Shamokin by bus in virtually any direction in 1961, and the cost was in the reasonable category. For example, there was daily bus service to and from Harrisburg with a one-way trip pegged at $2.65.
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Attorney General Eric Holder was well aware of the emotional implications, security issues and costs associated with conducting civilian criminal trials in New York City for five prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
He was correct, however, in holding true to American principles of justice in making the controversial decision.
Among the five is the self-proclaimed architect of the Sept. 11, 2001 aerial attacks on the World Trade Center, Khalid Sheik Mohammed. He was captured in 2003 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
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