Hits and Misses
Of all the horrors that can befall homeowners, a sewer backup is right near the top of the list. And some North Franklin residents endured that this week when sewage flooded their basements on Spring Valley Drive. One resident reported that up to eight inches of “black, stinking sewage” seeped into his basement, and most of his belongings were destroyed. Mike Sherrieb of the Washington-East Washington Joint Authority said the main sewer line was blocked because of sanitary baby wipes that had accumulated over time. Even though they are alleged to be flushable, they are not permitted in the system, Sherrieb said. The incident is a timely reminder that pretty much the only things that should be flushed down commodes are human waste and toilet paper. Not disposable diapers, bandages, paint, pet waste, cotton balls or anything else. Avoiding flushing these things could save you – and your neighbors – a considerable amount of money, time and aggravation.
The just-released Clint Eastwood film “Richard Jewell” is reviving memories of the bombing that happened at the summer Olympics in Atlanta in 1996, and how security guard Richard Jewell went from being a hero to a villain after he was named as a suspect, but became a hero again after he was cleared. Most movies of this stripe take dramatic liberties, but the portrayal of a reporter in the film is rankling the editors of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The film implies that Kathy Scruggs, a reporter with this newspaper, traded sex for information. The newspaper vehemently denies this was the case, and has vehemently defended how they reported the case. Scruggs is not here to defend herself, having died of an overdose of prescription medication in 2001 when she was just 42, and the FBI agent she is said to have had a relationship with is also dead. The newspaper is asking Warner Bros., the movie’s distributor, that a disclaimer be added to the film. For the sake of fairness, they should do so.
About 1.7 million people in Pennsylvania benefit from food stamps, and proposed changes by the Trump administration could see hundreds of thousands of them being booted off the program. One rule would limit the ability of states to exempt work-eligible adults from maintaining steady employment in order to receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Another possible rule change would prevent states from exceeding federal income eligibility thresholds, and a third would set a national standard utility allowance when determining benefits. The administration of Gov. Tom Wolf opposes the changes, and Teresa Miller, Pennsylvania’s human services secretary, put it well: “How does taking away someone’s food budget help them get a job? How does removing assistance help anyone toward self-sufficiency? It doesn’t, it only creates more challenges and barriers for people who already experience significant barriers.”
Young people benefit when their parents, grandparents or some other adults read to them. Literacy improves, along with vocabulary and comprehension. That being the case, students who attend Trinity North Elementary School are benefitting from the Read With Friends program, which has seniors from Strabane Woods and Premiere Health Center coming to the school’s library once a month to read and chat with first-graders. The seniors also benefit because they are able to share their experiences and be involved in the community. We can only hope that the first-graders participating in the program do something similar when they are older in, say, 2090 or thereabouts.