Cheers & Jeers
Cheer: Funding through Fayette County’s Local Share Account program has provided a number of municipalities and organizations more than $5.5 million over the years to invest in projects that help make the county a better place to live. The most recent round of LSA grants, which totaled $658,090, was announced earlier this week and will support public safety initiatives, recreational projects and infrastructure improvements throughout Fayette. The county’s LSA funding comes from 2% of the gross terminal revenues from Lady Luck Casino at Nemacolin in Wharton Township. In all, 21 projects benefitted from the program during the most recent cycle, joining dozens of others that have used LSA grants to help financially support both necessary and wanted improvements.
Cheer: High school seniors in California, Illinois, Texas and a few other states are required to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form before they graduate. Being required to fill out a form is typically a task no one relishes, but a FAFSA form would show if a student is eligible for federal assistance to help pay for college or some other sort of training. State Sen. Scott Martin, a Lancaster Republican, believes students in the commonwealth could be missing out on aid and wants filling out the form to be mandatory unless a parent or guardian allows a student to opt out. Martin said in a legislative memo that “students are missing opportunities for higher education because they are unaware of financial assistance and resources that might be available to them.” According to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star, the proposed legislation has the support of Daniel Greenstein, chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. With billions of student aid going unclaimed every year, taking the time to fill out a form is a small price to pay.
Jeer: The drug xylazine is approved for use in large animals like horses as a pain-killer and sedative. It is most definitely not meant for human use. But it has started to turn up in this area, mixed with opioids sold illegally, and it has resulted in overdoses. It can knock users out for hours, but the overdose-reversal medication naloxone does not work with it, and xylazine’s side effects include skin ulcers and rotting flesh. Simply put, it is absolutely nothing to be trifled with, and it’s making the fight against the opioid epidemic even tougher. Ann Milgram, administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, explained, “Xylazine is making the deadliest drug our country has ever faced, fentanyl, even deadlier.” In Pennsylvania, the Shapiro administration has added xylazine to the list of Schedule III drugs. State Rep. Danilo Burgos, a Philadelphia Democrat, pointed out, “People need to be aware that basically they’re being sold trash. This is not just giving you a temporary high, it’s destroying your body.”