Everyone's Opinion Newsletter

I am writing in response to Carol of Altoona and her say about volunteering. I really liked and agreed with your column. Being the Blair County Arthritis Walk Chairman this year, I find it hard to get committee members, volunteers, and teams for the walk.

I do have one complaint though. If the walk was for cancer or autism we would have thousands of walkers and donations. People do not realize arthritis is so severe. It has an age range of birth to death. I know so because my 3 year old daughter Martina was diagnosed at the age of 18 months with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. People say it is not life threatening or as severe as Autism, MD, C.P., MS, AD/HD and cancer. Well, little do you all know JRA is just as severe and so is adult arthritis. Martina takes two injections a week, one of which is Enbrel and the other is Methotrexate. If you know anything about drugs, Methotrexate is a Chemotherapy drug used to slow joint deterioration. It is not a glamorous drug nor is Enbrel! It sure isn't glamorous to receive injections twice a week for a child for the rest of her life. Top that, Autism! I am not bashing Autism, but I get so upset that Autism gets so much more awareness than Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. Come on Blair County, pitch in and form some teams, the same as you do for the cancer walks. These are all life threatening and life changing diseases and they all deserve equal treatment and volunteerism. If you are interested in helping, forming teams, sponsoring or donating, please call the chairman at 693-2459 Tracey Maurer. The Walk is May 10, 2008 at the Curve Ball Park.

www.Blaircountyarthritiswalk.kintera.org

Tracey

Hollidaysburg, PA

Our church hosted a Thanksgiving dinner this year to serve to anyone in our church and the surrounding community. We asked the people in church to sign up so we knew how many people to expect. Please note that we started this project 3 weeks before Thanksgiving so many folks already had plans. But we went ahead with the Thanksgiving Dinner anyway.

The day of the dinner there were 5 or 6 of us who had signed up. We cooked 2 donated turkeys and prepared a full turkey dinner just so we would be prepared if more people showed up. By the time dinner was served we had 3 more members of our church join us for dinner. We sang "Praise God from Whom All Blessings flow" and sat down to eat.

And then the miracle occurred. As we sat down to eat, a black man came though the church door "to get warm" He had hopped a freight to New York when in actually he would have ended up in the south somewhere.

And here's where the miracle begins. He was caught in Altoona and ordered off of the train. So he walked around and ended up at the Altoona Hospital. They gave him directions to the men's mission.

When this man got to the men's shelter he was turned away and told that he could come back at 5:00pm.when the shelter opens. So, since this was 1:00, he had to find someplace open in order to get out of the bitter cold weather. He said that he just kept walking around until he finally found an open door.

We invited him to our table; got him food and drink and enjoyed conversation with each other. We finally found out how our drifter, Joe, came to our church. He had lost his job in Cleveland and was going to his nephew's house in New York. The only problem was that Joe had to find a way to get to his nephew's house. So, he hopped a southbound train and got thrown off in Altoona. If he would have remained on that train he would not have even been close to New York!

Around 2:00 we finished cleaning up from the dinner and we still had to help Joe out. He wasn't permitted to be in the mission until 5:00 pm so our preacher and her husband took Joe to a church that they knew he would be safe and warm until he could get into the shelter.

The next day, our pastor and her husband took Joe to the bus station, and the church provided him with a ticket to New York!

Joe was very grateful and felt , as we did, that this was "all by design."

Joe just wanted to be warm and we just wanted to open our doors to help anyone we could.

Joe is alive and safe and we were infused with the joy of God's providence.

The only question I have left from that day is: why are shelters not open all day long on a holiday? We were told that the men must leave the shelter by 8:00am so they can look for a job! Joe was passing though - I don't think he would be able to look for a job on Thanksgiving Day nor did he plan on staying in Altoona.

Are there no exceptions to the "out at 8:00am" and not back in until 5:00pm? How many people are wandering our streets everyday because of these rules?

We really need to find a better way of taking care of the men and women who need use of our shelters. Does anyone out there have any ideas?

Carol,

Altoona, PA

The closing of the Bi-Lo store at Station Mall is just a bigger plan to "bus" customers to the new Martin's on Chestnut Ave. All of the Senior Housing is in that area and where are they to shop? Most do not have cars or family to do shopping for them. Try carrying 2 bags of groceries on a bus or van and pay extra for each additional bag. Do some research: Who is a partner in the Martins' complex and who is a partner in the Station Mall? The Mall will become an all medical complex in the future.

Marla

Altoona, PA

For those who do give their time to volunteer, hats off to you. This includes commissions, boards, and all of the men and women who are active in the community. Everyone is better off with volunteers like you. If anyone is looking for a volunteer opportunity, I know of about 5 volunteer openings. Let me know if anyone is interested.

Joseph Dodson

Mayor of Hollidaysburg Borough

I recently was asked to drop off the food that my church had collected for the food bank. I loaded it into my car and proceeded to the food bank only to find out that they are only open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. I couldn't believe that, in a city of this size, we do not have enough volunteers to man the food bank on a daily basis.

It is time for the people of this community to step up - give a little of your spare time to volunteer for non-profit organizations; go though your pantries and donate the food you really won't use; go through your closets and donate the clothes you haven't worn for a year; or donate money to any of the many organizations (food bank, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, etc.) in this area that help those in need. Face it folks, any one of us is just a heartbeat away from needing help these organizations provide.

Carol

Altoona, PA

I moved here in early last year from Indiana, PA and everything in Blair County seems to be fine to me. I haven’t had any negative experiences yet. I can say that my wife and I have noticed that between the two cities, people here seem to be more pleasant and courteous here. It’s a nice area. Even though I used to live on a small farm, this city has been good for me to adapt to. Everybody knew everybody and there was no autonomy in Indiana, but here you can live on your own without being watched by everyone. To make it even better, it’s not very crowded here either.

John

Hollidaysburg, PA

Jeff,

Thank you for your letter. Voter apathy is an issue that many active participants in the political process are concerned about. Commentators in the media use concerned tones when an election occurs like this past one, where in Blair County the turnout was disappointingly low.

This leads me to three questions. Why does low turnout occur? Does this indicate apathy on the part of the public? If so, what can we do to change it?

In my opinion, low voter turnout can happen for several reasons. They might include (a) lack of enthusiasm for candidates, (b) a feeling that the candidates won't be able to make positive change, (c) belief that their vote won't make a difference, (d) lack of resources to make an informed decision, or (e) genuine apathy about the political process. Of course, there can also be incidental factors like weather that impact turnout.

In many cases, I believe these reasons do point to general apathy -- which ultimately reflects a major concern about our society. Citizens of democratic nations vote not only to impact the result of the election but to exercise the freedom that they have been given.

Voting can be seen as a duty -- a way of honoring those who have sacrificed for our freedom and a way of letting leaders know we will hold them accountable to act wisely and prudently in office. A public that does not care or cannot find the time to become informed is a public that will more easily be mistreated, abused or taken advantage of.

So the final question -- what can we do to change voter apathy? I think simply getting men and women to the polls in May and November is not really solving the root issue.

 What we really want is an active citizenry -- informed, interested and engaged in what is happening in their local community. Here is what I think is needed:

- Genuine, character-based leadership at all levels of government. As men and women who are already leaders in their homes, businesses and churches step forward with genuine passion for the community, others will rally around them and become more excited about the political process.

- Increased use of the Internet as a vehicle of information. I am genuinely pleased with how the Internet has made political candidates' views and opinions readily available to the public. Even local candidates are starting to use websites. In 2008, I want to see the City significantly improve its communication through that venue.

- More venues and education on real community issues. Every day, teachers, businesspeople, politicians, social workers, clergymen and women, and other citizens grapple with challenges facing Altoona and Blair County. I think finding ways to initiate real community dialogue -- starting in high schools and going into town halls, neighborhood associations, Internet discussion groups and local TV and radio -- could be a positive direction. Elections can be polarizing but if we work together toward solutions on the "off-season" we'll be better equipped when voting time rolls around.

As far as forming a bipartisan commission, my reaction is that it is not the duty of the City or any other governmental entity to try to get citizens to vote. Rather, voters should be taking it upon themselves to use that opportunity to keep their government in check!

Private organizations such as political parties have traditionally informed and motivated voters. As far as a public billboard, that may be a good idea; however, those who don't know it is Election Day are apparently not taking it upon themselves to keep informed, as discussion of Election Day is all through the local and state media -- it may go back to the issue above of a broader lack of involvement in local issues.

Ultimately, we need to acknowledge that citizens have the right to not vote, and we will respect that as well. But I would like to encourage Blair Countians to actively engage in informing themselves and getting involved in local issues. Remember, it's not all about how 'likely' we are to succeed. Doing things because they're the right thing to do -- not just because we think we can succeed -- is genuine leadership. That's the kind of activity in our community that could be a great start in the right direction.

Matt Garber

Altoona City Council