Local athletes qualified to compete in championships

To the Editor:

From March 13 through the 15, six local track athletes qualified to compete in the New Balance Indoor Track and Field National Championships in Boston, Mass. These young men represented the Juniata Valley Striders. On behalf of these athletes , their coaches, and families, we would like to extend a huge thank you to those who made this opportunity possible. Thank you to the Juniata Valley Striders, Dunkin’, New Life Church, Back Mountain Flower Farm, Downtown OIP & Grill, the Otero Family, the Styers Family, the Palopoli Family, and Wingman Restaurant.

“Greatness is a journey. We will all arrive at different destinations.”

Sincerely from the hearts,

Carter Smith, Reese Cubbison, Wyatt Kauffman, Connor Lynch, Aiden Scavitti, Styers Oden, Coach Alex Monroe, and Parents

Is cutting outreach programs ‘draining the swamp’?

To the Editor:

Mr. Molek’s letter of March 13, 2025, praises the Trump administration for “draining the swamp” through executive action and by directing agencies to remove burdensome regulations. By “the swamp” I assume Mr. Molek refers to government agencies like the Veterans Administration, which provides health care to our veterans every day, as well as pensions and disability benefits. Also, I assume he is referring to the Social Security Administration, which has been mailing out monthly benefits since 1940 WITHOUT MISSING A PAYMENT. In addition, the Department of Education, which provides student loans and financial aid, enforces civil rights, and regulates services for low-income and disabled students; and the Environmental Protection Agency, which ensures that we drink clean water and breathe clean air. It is interesting that in the same issue of the Sentinel with Mr. Molek’s letter there is an article (page A3) stating that the administration is “eliminating two programs providing more that $1 billion for schools and food banks to purchase food from local farmers and producers. About $660 million of that went to schools and childcare centers.” On page A5, again in the same issue, an article states that “the Trump administration is halting a $1 billion program that helps preserve affordable housing …for low-income Americans.” My question, Mr. Molek, is: Is this administration trying to end legislative overreach, or to end any outreach to ordinary Americans at all?

Joan D. Loewen

Lewistown