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Hits and Misses

3 min read

We recently noted that, for the first time ever, more Americans are smoking marijuana than tobacco, which reflects marijuana’s growing acceptance and more relaxed laws surrounding the drug. However, the investigative news site Spotlight PA pointed out this week that laws in Pennsylvania are extremely vague when it comes to protecting workers who use medical marijuana, and some employees have been fired when they have tested positive for the drug even when they were not impaired. Others have been denied jobs because they use medical marijuana, or been denied unemployment benefits when they’ve been fired. There are 400,000 medical marijuana users in Pennsylvania, so this is not a small slice of the population. Business groups, including the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, have asked lawmakers for clarity on this issue. As marijuana becomes more a part of mainstream American life, a rethink of workplace policies when it comes to its use are in order.

Fall festival season is about to swing into high gear, and two September mainstays are going to take place this weekend. The Covered Bridge Festival is happening at 10 locations in Washington and Greene counties Saturday and Sunday. Some of those sites include the Krepps Bridge in McDonald, the Wyit Sprowls Bridge in West Finley and the Ebenezer Bridge in Nottingham Township. There will be handmade arts and crafts, entertainment, food and historical reenactments at many of the locations. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Also, starting today, the Pennsylvania Bavarian Oktoberfest happens in Canonsburg. It will have German and American food, beers, amusement rides, entertainment and more. Oktoberfest will continue through Sunday. The weather is supposed to be agreeable this weekend, and both events offer a good reason to get outside.

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and it’s been an opportunity to highlight the agencies that individuals can turn to if they are feeling despondent and are considering harming themselves. The Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services in Washington County can connect residents to a variety of resources, including therapy and medication management. As a story in Sunday’s edition of the Observer-Reporter and Herald-Standard pointed out, there’s been an increase in people seeking help from mental health services since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, so these services are needed now more than ever. The story also pointed out that earlier this year, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline dropped its 800, toll-free number and switched to a simpler number: 988. Suicide rates have increased steadily since 2000 – about 40,000 Americans take their own lives every year – and these local and national agencies are working hard to bring this grim number down.

Students at Allison Park Elementary School in the Chartiers-Houston School District have a new addition to their building this academic year – a STEAM classroom built around the study of science, technology, engineering, art and math. It’s a classroom packed with gadgets and tools like robots and a 3D laser printer, and, according to Dr. Gary Peiffer, Chartiers-Houston’s superintendent, “It will give our kids opportunities to integrate technology, to work with programming, to work with some robotics skills and build that base of technology skill sets that can be applied across all subject areas.” It’s good to see the school district giving its students a leg up in these vital subject areas.

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