Feb 14, 2025 3 min read

Cheers & Jeers

Cheers: With the national divorce rate hovering between 40 and 50%, it is refreshing to see that lasting love is alive and well here. On this Valentine’s Day, we send a shout-out to those couples whose love endured for 25 years and beyond, and shared their secrets to marital bliss in Sunday’s edition. Communication, friendship, forgiveness and respect, they say, are keys to living in harmony and helped them reach marriage milestones. “Working together will get you through,” said Rose DeRosa of Washington, who has been married to her husband, Arthur, for more than 60 years. “Love is a memory that no one can take from you,” Rose said. “So you just make those memories.”

Cheers: Cheers to a couple of local track and field stars who had an impact on Penn West California’s second-place finish at the Bob Shannon Invitational hosted by Denison on Saturday. The Vulcans won five events, and Laurel Highlands graduate Alessandra Peccon and Belle Vernon graduate Rosalyn Perozzi had a hand in two of them. Peccon, a sophomore, finished first in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.89 seconds, just ahead of teammate Riley Tighe, who was second in 7.90. It was a P.R. for Peccon, and both runners qualified for the PSAC meet with their performances. Perozzi, also a sophomore, combined with Madison Murtland, Kirsten Gross and Gabriella Fralin, easily won the distance medley relay with a time of 12:46.38, over 25 seconds ahead of host Denison. California’s 117 points put it behind only first-place Case Western Reserve, which edged out the Vulcans with 119 points in the nine-team competition. California will be in action again today at the two-day Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational hosted by Liberty in Lynchburg, Va.

Jeers: In a disturbing report, gambling rates among teens and young adults are on the rise, and the ease of access to sports betting and other forms of online wagering has led to problems among them. McGill University’s International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-Risk Behaviors reports between 60% and 80% of high school students gambled for money in 2023, and up to 6% are considered addicted to gambling. “The availability has increased at a meteoric level,” Josh Ercole, executive director of the Council of Compulsive Gambling of Pennsylvania, told Karen Mansfield in a report Sunday. “And the more normalized it becomes, the more likely you’ll see kids become engaged.” So what’s a parent to do? Ercole, along with social worker and gambling addiction counselor Jody Bechtold, say it’s important for parents to talk with their children about gambling risks and consequences. Start early, they said, before kids are exposed to online platforms and establish guidelines regarding online activity. And intervene at the first sign of excessive gambling.

Cheers: Thanks to Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Fayette County landmark is on track to being preserved for future generations to enjoy. Shapiro outlined plans last week to acquire Laurel Caverns through a donation from owners David and Linda Cale and make it Pennsylvania’s 125th – and first underground – state park. The move will ensure the preservation of the natural calcareous sandstone cave in Farmington that is also home to one of the largest bat hibernacula in the northeast. “Every single owner, along with so many people in the community, have worked to advance this concept of preserving the Laurel Caverns,” said David Cale. Everyone who has owned this has always thought this is a park that should be, and needs to be, preserved.” The acquisition would include future work on infrastructure, safety improvements, and a concession agreement to operate the public tour portion of the new park.