Jeers and cheers
JEERS: Pennsylvania is ranked 15th in the country for the percentage (21.8) of its population being over the age of 65, considerably higher than the national average of 15.1 percent. With so many senior citizens, you’d think Pennsylvania would be a great place to grow old. Well, think again, AARP ranked Pennsylania 42nd overall in a new study on long-term services and supports for the elderly and 46th in terms of affordability and access to long-term care.
The problem, according to Ray Landis, advocacy manager for AARP Pennsylvania, is that the commonwealth’s long-term services are among the most expensive in the country. Christina Reese, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Aging, said the state is in the process of launching initiatives aimed at improving long-term services to the elderly. That would be welcome news. This is a problem that definitely needs addressed, the sooner the better.
CHEERS: That new face you’ve been seeing at the Uniontown YMCA is more than likely Steve Snider, the new CEO. Hired July 1, Snider brings some solid credentials to the job. He worked for 11 years at the YMCA in Parkersburg, W.Va., before serving at the Lima, Ohio, YMCA for three years. He was then hired as the executive director of the Sandusky, Ohio, YMCA, where he stayed for 13 years before coming here.
Snider said while he wants the YMCA to be a place where people can get in shape, he also wants something more, noting the organization tries to fulfill the Christian principles of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility. He said the YMCA offers programs for people of all ages from senior citizens to young people. Snider said the people in Fayette County have been very welcoming and open to him. Let’s hope that his tenure here is a long one, beneficial both for him and the county.
CHEERS: People wanting to help those with cystic fibrosis and also have a good time Saturday night should head to Eddie’s Tavern on Francis Street in Uniontown. Performing there from 9 p.m. to midnight will Gina Rendina, an outstanding singer. A Fayette County native, Rendina performs at weddings, private events and various outdoor festivals in Pittsburgh throughout the year, including at the Rivers Casino.
Rendina said she became interested in raising funds for the disease after meeting mothers of children with cystic fibrosis. The exciting thing, according to her, is that much progress is being made in fighting the disease, and there’s hope a cure could be around the corner. There is a $10 suggested donation to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation at the door for the event. Checks, made out to the foundation, may also be sent to the Pittsburgh office at 810 River Ave., Suite 100, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15212.
JEERS: They say no good deed goes unpunished, and that’s certainly been the case for John Fabry of the Goldsboro-Fabry Funeral Home in Fairchance. Fabry provided the burials for two homeless veterans under a new law in January but still has not been reimbursed by the Department of Veterans Affairs for the expenses related to the funerals. Under the law, veterans without known relatives were to still get formal military burials. However, the law made no provisions about how to pay for the burials, so Fabry and other funeral directors are being left out in the cold.
U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Hollidaysburg, has introduced the Dignified Interment of Our Veterans Act, which would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to study its process for handling the burials and come up with a way to make sure those involved get paid for their services. The original law was great in making sure that veterans got dignified military funerals, but it needs expanded so that funeral directors who handle such services can get paid. The situation needs rectified so that Fabry and others are reimbursed for their services.