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President’s pay raise makes PSU woes hard to take

Editorials

Penn State is having money trouble. Just ask. The administration will tell you. “The challenges we face — declining enrollments, demographic shifts and financial pressures — are not unique to Penn State, but they require us to make difficult choices,” President Neeli Bendapudi wrote in a February message. That was when she announced that some branch campuses could be shuttered. Three months later, with no plansfor the campuses’ future, the decisionwas made and rubber-stamped by the trustees. Among those closing would be New Kensington and Fayette. But that’s not all. ...

Trent Hidlay’s epic comeback inspires a county

Editorials

It started with the crowd in Zagreb roaring as a young man from Mifflin County, raised on hard wrestling mats and the honest encouragement of neighbors, facing a wall that looked too high to climb. Down 10-2 in the World Freestyle Wrestling final at 92 kilograms, Trent Hidlay stared across the mat at Amanula Gadzhimagomedov of Russia—a name fit for the record books, a foe most would call unbeatable at that point. But this story wasn’t about Russia or world rankings. It was about the kind of grit our county has always known, the sort you find in farm fields before sunrise or in ...

Reminder about transparency necessary

Editorials

Events in two school districts in Lycoming County recently have left us concerned. When Loyalsock Township School District recognized the need to lock down a campus and have armed state police patrolling its perimeters, we unfortunately found the district and the state police to be reticent with information. We respect that Loyalsock Township School District took the necessary steps for safety and to keep parents aware of the situation — but many people live around the school in question and due to the difficulty in getting thorough, comprehensive information from either the dis- ...

Can’t we all just get along?

Editorials

Imagine sitting at an outdoor concert, enjoying the evening’s warm summer breeze, your attention fixed on the musical act performing on stage. Your favorite artist starts the second song of his set, and you begin to sing along. Suddenly, out of nowhere, an object is hurled in your direction, striking you in the back of the head and knocking you unconscious. You awaken a few seconds later to searing pain as security guards and other strangers gather around. As unbelievable as it sounds, that hypothetical scenario can – and did – happen, to Michael Mollenkopf, at the recent Jason ...

The Terrible Trolley unveiled

Editorials

Just in time for the start of football season, the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum in Chartiers Township unveiled its latest restoration project, The Terrible Trolley, so-named for the yellow Terrible Towel that Pittsburgh Steelers fans wave at games and rallies. Painted black and gold and bearing the Steelers logo, the restored trolley traveled down the city’s streets from 1980 to 1986. It was rebuilt in 1989, then retired in 1998. Early on, the Terrible Trolley went by the name Streetcar 1713, built in 1949 by the St. Louis Car Company, and originally ran on Pittsburgh Railways’ ...

Education part of addressing workforce future

Editorials

The Sun-Gazette has emphasized — and will continue to emphasize — that jobs, workers, housing and energy are critical components of the revitalization or sustainability of our region. Pennsylvania College of Technology and Lycoming College have consistently proven their worth as assets to our communities. A recent hearing helmed by state Sen. Gene Yaw, R-Loyalsock Township and state Sen. Dave Argall, R-Rush Township, on workforce development demonstrated this yet again. As our reporting on that hearing in the Sept. 5 edition of the Sun-Gazette noted, Pennsylvania’s population ...