Jeers and cheers
JEERS: Spring is in the air but unfortunately so is the smoke from brush fires, which have been made worse by the wicked winter, which left many places with dried vegetation. The brush can become extremely flammable, spreading fires quickly across the local landscape. That spells trouble for local volunteer firefighters, who have been busy the last couple of weeks putting out a number of brush fires across the county.
That all makes it more important for local residents to be extremely careful, both in putting our cigarettes and keeping a close eye on trash fires. South Union Township Volunteer Fire Department Chief Rick McCormick said his department has been called out on several fires recently that were the result of trash fires getting out of hand. People really shouldn’t have to be reminded about the dangers associated with cigarettes and burning trash, but here’s another one. Be careful. The life you save may be your own.
CHEERS: Being small and rural, Fayette County doesn’t often host first events of any kind, so kudos have to go out to Uniontown residents Dave Slusarick and Matt Dowling for spearheading the first ever Pennsylvania Literary Festival to be held May 30 through June 1 at the Uniontown Mall.
The festival will feature a number of activities, including various classes and workshops and readings by a number of authors. The keynote speaker of the event is writer John Dixon, the author of “Phoenix Island,” which inspired the CBS show “Intelligence.” The Fayette Chamber of Commerce will sponsor a writing contest for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Now, all it needs is your support. Be sure to mark it on your calendar. It’s only a couple of weeks away and will be here before you know it. For more information, go online to www.palitfest.com.
CHEERS: What in the world would we do without people like Debbie and Bill Hudak of Smithfield. Nurturing and adopting foster care children has become second nature for the Hudaks, who have opened their hearts and their home, serving as foster/resource parents for the past 21 years to nearly 100 children, including many with special needs.
The Hudaks are among thousands of foster/resource parents nationwide being recognized this month during National Foster Care Month. The campaign aims to raise awareness of more than 400,000 children and youths up to the age of 18 living temporarily in foster care, including 156 of them in Fayette County. Anyone interested in joining the Hudaks as foster care parents can call Fayette County Children and Youth Services at 724-430-1283.
JEERS: Three years ago, Gov. Tom Corbett’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission recommended that a health registry be created to track people near fracking operations who reported they believed they were sick because of fracking. However, nothing has happened, mainly because Corbett hasn’t allocated any money for it. Impact fees from the Marcellus shale have generated millions of dollars for the state, with most of it going to local municipalities affected directly by the drilling and 17 state agencies. But not a nickel has been spent toward creating a health registry.
Officials said a health registry could show trends of illnesses, collect data and potentially answer the question of whether fracking is safe — a debate currently characterized by emotional arguments on both sides with little factual data to back up their claims. Is it possible that Corbett doesn’t want anyone to know of any possible health problems? Let’s hope that’s not the case, but. until the governor starts funding such a registry, his motives are open to question.