Note: Today we pause to acknowledge the people and groups who make the Central Susquehanna Valley a better place to call home. Readers may nominate individuals for recognition by e-mailing the identity of the nominee and a brief description of his or her outstanding action. Write to: jfinnerty@dailyitem.com.
A tip of the hat to those who placed more than 4,000 flags in the ground to create a Field of Honor in Elysburg to acknowledge the deaths of all the American soldiers killed fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. The group added six yellow flags to honor Northumberland County's fallen soldiers -- Sgt. Brent Swank, of Northumberland, Sgt. Dale Lloyd, of Watsontown, Capt. Robert Scheetz Jr., a Shamokin native, Spc. Matthew Sandri, of Shamokin, Spc. Zachariah Long, of Milton, and Staff Sgt., Michael Quinn, a Line Mountain graduate. The Field of Honor is part of Elysburg's All Home Days events, which officially begins on Aug. 30. Those visiting the festival ought to take the time to pause and consider the sobering reminder created by the veterans and other volunteers last week.
... and a tip of the hat to the Community Harvest and several other free public meals regularly sponsored by church and service organizations in the region. The Community Harvest is a free meal offered every Monday at St. Andrews Church in Milton. Organizers say the meal relies on the generosity of donors and volunteers, including those from Bucknell University. The Community Harvest attracts as many as 200 diners a week, some who come for the chance to eat dinner surrounded by friends and neighbors, while others are attracted by the opportunity to get a decent meal at no cost. The efforts of those who make such free meals possible fill both voids, and the region is better because of it.
... and a tip of the hat to the region's hospitals. Recently released federal data shows that several measures indicate that local medical care is on par with industry standards. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released data showing the percentage of people who died while receiving treatment for heart attacks, heart failure or pneumonia at hospitals nationwide. In almost all cases, local hospitals reported death rates close enough to the national averages that the difference was statistically insignificant.
Opinion
A tip of the hat to ...
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Good-paying jobs
I am writing in response to comments made by several lawmakers and certain media regarding people receiving unemployment compensation not searching for employment but only wanting extensions.
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Economy is tough but still pay rises
It was my first time attending a Lewisburg School Board meeting last night. I went to hear public comment on the Boards recent decision to extend the Superintendents contract, which included a 20-plus percent pay raise.
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Sunbury has a lot to offer
I would like to respond to the letter writer that inferred that Sunbury was a pretty package with nothing inside.
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Mutual aid is necessary
Mutual aid agreements in local law enforcement strike at the heart of basic small-town decency. When a neighbor is in need, those equipped to help ought to drop everything and spring to aid.
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Lifting me higher
I am not a winner of a Pulitzer Prize, nor am I an author of best selling novels, I'm just a human being attempting to live life here on earth with purpose and I can find no greater way to do that than through my faith and my belief in God.
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Understaffing
I read with interest your article regarding police mutual aid in Northumberland County.
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Carney, Marino ought to get focused on issues
U.S. Rep. Chris Carney and Tom Marino ought to focus on the issues in the upcoming campaign for Congress.
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Blatantly unfair
The Pennsylvania Republican Party is supporting an effort to strike third-party candidates from the general election ballot in November.
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Fiscal responsibility
This editorial letter is only the second such letter I have been moved to pen in my lifetime.
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Schools need a little help from home
Milton High School failed to meet its adequate yearly progress under Pennsylvania's version of the federal No Child Left Behind because one student did not show up for the standardized test.
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Good-paying jobs
