Editorials / Opinions

Twenty years ago my wife and I had the idea to establish a children's charity project in a small village in Honduras- a place where kids could be kids and have a safe place to play. This included the usual story time, sports, arts and crafts, English classes, and always breakfast and lunch for whoever showed up; sometimes we did 150 meals a day. For a number of reasons, including the level of crime and violence in Honduras (which had the distinction of the highest murder rate in the world), we changed the focus of the project to general education, especially English instruction, and vocational training, especially carpentry and sewing, along with various village improvement initiatives; it became much more part time. The last time I was there was in early 2020, arriving three days before the global corona virus pandemic was declared and the world shut down. It proved to be an interesting experience! To this day we get word from some of the project attendees, now all grown up, and it's gratifying to hear that some of the happiest times of their childhoods were at our project, with one saying, "It was the place to be."

Establishing the project required some fairly involved legal processes, not the least a requirement to form a Honduran corporation. My wife and I are, surprisingly, not getting any younger (the project was something we did mostly after retirement), and I will be traveling to Honduras shortly to make arrangements for the future of the project and our assets, which will largely include turning things over to Hondurans we know well and trust fully. This will require dealing with the Honduran legal system, and the most important document involved is the equivalent of a Power-of-Attorney. In consultation with a Honduran lawyer, we learned in order to accomplish this we needed to obtain an apostille, something we were clueless about. It basically involves a notarized document being certified by the PA Dept. of State that makes it acceptable in other countries. We had no idea what to do, and I thought to contact the office of our local PA representative, Jonathan Frtiz, expecting the usual bureaucratic non-sense. Our expectations were not met: when I called Fritz's office in Harrisburg I asked the person who answered if she (Cortny) had any idea what an apostelle is, and she said "Sure." Considering we need to have the apostille in hand quickly, we visited Frtiz's New Milford office with the notarized document and met the amazing district manager, Alexandra. She looked it over, said it seemed to be in order, took it to the post office, sent it overnight to the also amazing Cortny in Harrisburg, who hand carried it to the Dept. of State, had it certified, then sent it back to Alexandra, ready for pick-up after just a few days.

We can hardly contain our appreciation for the office of Jonathan Fritz and, of course, Cortny and Alexandra. They turned what we assumed would be a protracted and perhaps futile endeavor into something that was completed in a few days. So… many, many thanks to them, and also to the wonderful notary, Tanya, at the Susquehanna branch of the PSB&T. It's not everyday hopes are not only met- in this case by people we didn't know- but are fully and quickly realized due to the efforts of friendly, helpful and competent people. Truly above and beyond! Thank you!

Sincerely,

Reid Fitzsimons, Thompson, PA

“Never in the history of modern polling has “corruption” been the leading issue in an American election. Gallup poll reported that 89 percent of Americans now believe corruption is widespread in their government.

A Fox News poll released this week asked registered voters what worries them most heading into the midterms. The winner was not affordability or the economy, which have dominated every election cycle in living memory. A whopping 88 percent of voters said they were extremely or very concerned about Corruption in Government. It beat high gas, grocery prices and healthcare,” Miles Taylor.

The University of Massachusetts at Amherst is also out with a poll in which 97% of Americans – nearly everybody – says there is corruption in our government. In the UMass poll, respondents were asked to rank four governmental institutions from most to least corrupt. Most people, 53% listed the president first. Forty-one percent listed Congress as the second most corrupt branch of government.

The corruption concerns surrounding the Trump administration are extensive, they include: personal enrichment of Trump and his family, conflicts of interest, abuse of power, weakened accountability, and the erosion of the rule of law. Forbes estimates Trump is approximately $2.7 billion richer than when he won the 2024 election.

Liz Oyer, a longtime Justice Department attorney handling pardons, was fired by the Trump administration in March. She noted, President Trump has granted pardons that have wiped out over $1 billion in debts owed by wealthy Americans who have committed fraud and broken the law. When wealthy donors, corporations, and foreign interests can invest in a president's ventures, contribute millions to his projects, or seek favorable government decisions, Americans have a right to ask: Who is this government serving – the public or those who can afford access?

Sincerely,

Joan Reading, Union Dale, PA

I hope many Pennsylvanians had to opportunity to watch the gubernatorial debate last week. If you did you saw State Treasurer and candidate for Governor, Stacy Garrity in complete command of the stage and the issues.

Most importantly Stacy was truthful, something Mr. Shapiro was not.

Garrity called out Shapiro on his budget misrepresentation when the moderators did not. Shapiro tried to claim he had an $8 billion budget surplus. Stacy pointed out, correctly, that Shapiro was referring to the “Rainy Day Fund” which is not supposed to be used to plug budget deficits but for emergencies.

Furthermore, Stacy Garrity clarified that when Shapiro took office four years ago the Rainy Day Fund was $10 billion dollars. He spent $2,000,000,000 of it already. She also pointed out the budget was late for four years in a row. Last year Shapiro was campaigning in New Jersey and Virginia instead of signing our PA budget!

Ms. Garrity also called out Shapiro on his refusal to accept new federal new tax credit scholarships for families to use at private schools, including religious ones. Even New York and California have accepted these. Stacy pointed out Shapiro is hurting PA families just so he can spite the federal administration.

As further proof that Pennsylvania could use a woman as Governor, Stacy raised the issues of concern to many women. That included Shapiro using $295,000 of taxpayer money to buy the silence of a woman harassed in Shapiro's own office and Ellen Greenberg's supposed death by suicide that Shapiro went along with as Attorney General despite her being stabbed 21 times including 10 times in the back and neck.

Our Commonwealth deserves a Governor who has a life of public service as does Colonel Stacy Garrity who served for 30 years in the Army Reserve, deploying three times during the Gulf and Iraq Wars and earning the nickname “The Angel of the Desert,” not someone who has a career of self-service.

Sincerely,

Ed Arzouian, Lanesboro, PA