Letters: Dush’s use of the gavel; Teachers are key to students’ success
Dush’s use of the gavel
Our new state senator, Cris Dush of Brookville, has shown the men of Pennsylvania how to control their women. A while back Sen. Amanda Cappelletti, who serves on committee chaired by Dush, used the word “insurrection,” referring to Jan. 6, and Dush gaveled her out of order. “We don’t use that here,” the Air Force veteran said.
Men the world over have been struggling to find a way to keep their wives quiet and it took Senator Dush to show us the way. Slam down the gavel and rule them out of order.
I wonder if that works for him at home.
R. Thomas Berner, Bellefonte
Teachers are key to students’ success
As the calendar flipped to March, I was struck by how wonderfully close to normal it felt as students began spring break this year. I hope the teachers, paraprofessionals and school staff who have carried our community through the last three years could also exhale for at least a few days.
I was a paraprofessional at Mount Nittany Middle School from August 2019 through November 2021 and witnessed their Herculean efforts to keep our kids safe, learning and connected. March 6, 2020, was the last day of in-person classes before remote closure. In the spring break, summer and school years that followed, I did what I could as a para and parent to help, but the hard work and worry about how to meaningfully adapt content and reach students fell to teachers.
Today, I want to acknowledge the expertise and agility that K-12 teachers repeatedly demonstrated throughout the pandemic. Their resilience and expertise made learning possible in the context of multiple new technologies and changing teaching formats.
I am now one of five parents running for SCASD school board as the Slate for State; the others are Amy Bader, Gretchen Brandt, Dan Kolbe, and Aaron Miller. We are deeply committed to academic success for all students.
We understand that academic success depends on the expertise teachers share daily with our students and community. We recognize their years of educational training and classroom experience as valuable forces for the public good.
Anne Demo, State College. The author is a candidate for State College Area school board.
Election results speak for themselves
Every Pennsylvanian should seriously grade our voting performance in the last two general elections. We helped select a President that can’t find his way off a stage much less make decisions regarding our national security, as well as the safety, livelihood and freedoms of all Americans. He hid in his basement for most of a campaign that would have normally turned the tide to his opponent and even chose a running mate who embarrassingly giggles her way through conversations and speeches with zero knowledge of her subject. Then, we elected a U.S. Senator who clearly didn’t have the requisite mental and physical qualities to serve and, as current events demonstrate, may never be able to adequately represent Pennsylvania or this nation.
Here are but a few examples of the impact of how we voted: the disastrous, humiliating evacuation of troops and equipment from Afghanistan; ever-increasing threats and behaviors from China and Russia; a resurgence of terrorist groups abroad and unchecked destructive groups at home; the highest inflation rate in over 40 years and an economy on the brink of recession; energy independence to dependence; over 5 million illegal, unvetted encounters at the Southern border, including an estimated 900,000 gotaways; and a dramatic increase in fentanyl deaths.
The performance of our elected officials can seriously affect our livelihood in so many ways; and American citizens should always assess the impact of not voting, as well as how we voted. Results speak for themselves!
Bud Grimm, State College
