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Can we talk? Colleges invest in civil discourse

Editorials

Indiana University of Pennsylvania and the University of Pittsburgh are spending nearly $5 million to teach students how to talk to one another. IUP received a $2.29 million federal grant to create a Center for Dialogue and Civic Life. Pitt was awarded about $2.7 million to build a regional model for civil discourse and civic leadership. Both efforts are multiyear and staff-heavy. Faculty say they are responding to a growing problem: Students increasingly avoid disagreement, not because they lack opinions, but because they fear engaging at all. Those investments may be smart. They ...

Readers' opinions

Letters to the Editor

Thank you to ‘Twelve Days of Christmas Angels’ To the Editor: I would like to thank the wonderful “Twelve Days of Christmas Angels.” Our family was chosen to enjoy such a great blessing for the holidays. Each night of the twelve days of Christmas, we had a package anonymously delivered to our front door. The gifts correlated to the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” and were so very delightful and thoughtful. This tremendous act of kindness not only made the holiday more enjoyable for me, but also made our entire family look forward to what was coming next. When ...

Businesses deserve clarity in regulations

Editorials

In Wednesday’s edition, we addressed the contrary approaches or tones taken by our federal and state governments regarding environmental policy. As has historically been the case, we reiterated our belief that responsible development of domestic energy sources — including natural gas and oil — is a key factor in delivering the affordable energy needed to reduce the pressure on families’ budgets and to allow enterprises — businesses, school districts, local governments and more — to devote fewer resources to their own utility bills and more resources to investing in their ...

Sensible changes improve nutrition policy

Editorials

The Trump administration has flipped the national food pyramid as part of its campaign to “Make America Healthy Again,” and once again the new dietary guidelines recommend Americans change their food habits. The main takeaway: don’t get take-away. Eat more protein and fats. Scale back on breads and pastas. “We are ending the war on saturated fats,” said Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The villains of the new food pyramid are “highly processed foods laden with refined carbohydrates, added sugars, excess sodium, unhealthy fats, and chemical additives.” The ...

Living to please God

Local Columns

1 Thessalonians 2:1-16 Have you ever been criticized? How did it make you feel? Some people can say very unfair, negative things at times, can’t they? The apostle Paul knew what it was like to be criticized. In the New Testament church there was a group of people known as the Judaizers who wanted to keep Christianity as a Jewish sect. Since Paul was determined to take the faith to the Gentiles, these Judaizers looked for every opportunity to find fault with him. They accused him of being in the ministry just for the money. That was a joke. Paul continued to support himself as ...

How books are ordered at MCL

Local Columns

Let’s talk about library books. There are a lot of books published every day but at Mifflin County Library we have to be a little selective in what books we offer. That doesn’t mean we censor, that means we have to stay within budget. Shelly, the assistant director, orders all of the adult books for MCL in Lewistown and for the Kish Library in Belleville. She orders all of the fiction, nonfiction, Large Print type books and paperbacks that are for readers over 18-years-old. MCL is a popular materials library. This means we order New York Times bestsellers and books that are ...