Cheers & Jeers
Cheers: We salute the many recent community initiatives in Greene County to help local residents this holiday season. The Tri-County Leathernecks’ annual Christmas Toy Program was once again a huge success, with hundreds of area children receiving presents to open on Dec. 25. This would not be possible without the numerous organizations, agencies, churches, fire departments, businesses and individuals who either helped with the toy distribution at various sites across the county or donated a wide array of toys and bicycles. Also, a number of agencies and organizations, including Beacon Health Options, Blueprints, the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and the county’s human services and drug and alcohol programs recently handed out 150 food boxes to community members. There are other initiatives we could mention here, but it would take up too much space. It is just easier to say that Greene County communities always step up to help their neighbors, and we hope that this wonderful tradition continues in 2022 and for many years to come.
Cheers: The Connellsville wrestling team is commended for its performance last Saturday at the Moon Duals. The Falcons finished 5-0 with wins over Moon (68-3), Mt. Lebanon (63-12), West Allegheny (42-33), Quaker Valley (53-19), and Upper St. Clair (75-0). Evan Petrovich (113), Gabriel Ruggieri (126), Chad Ozias (138), Hunter Claycomb (172), and George Shultz (189) went undefeated over the five matches. Chad Jesko (160), Lonzy Vielman (145), Ethan Ansell (152), Tyler Gallis (285), Jacob Layton (120), Dennis Nichelson (215), and Trent Huffman (106) dropped just one match. Cheers also to Mount Pleasant’s Dayton Pitzer for winning the 215-pound title at the Panther Holiday Classic, hosted by Mount Aloysius College. Jamison Poklembo finished second at 138 pounds.
Cheers: Peace on Earth and goodwill to men seem to be in painfully short supply right now, with anxieties about COVID-19 still pervasive, rising prices draining pocketbooks, American democracy under attack and plentiful uncertainty about the future. If there is a glimmer of hope to this year’s Christmas celebrations, it’s that we can now be more comfortable celebrating it with family and friends thanks to widely available vaccines that can curb serious illness and death. Other treatments being developed could help get us closer to the COVID-free lives we led two Christmases ago. Also, the United States and the world have confronted challenges even more daunting in the past and have prevailed. Along with peace and goodwill, we all could probably use doses of optimism and courage this season.
Cheers: Teachers, social workers, nurses, and other workers who fulfill critical roles in our economy have been eligible for some types of student loan forgiveness, but Pennsylvania has been treating debt relief as income and taxing it accordingly. This meant that someone who had $50,000 in debt forgiven would have been hit with a $1,535 tax bill from the state Department of Revenue. However, the administration of Gov. Tom Wolf announced last week that the forgiven debt would no longer be considered taxable income. The governor explained, “These people have chosen to serve the public, and often in lower-paying fields, because they want to make a difference. They don’t have thousands of dollars lying around to pay a one-time tax bill. So it’s wrong to take what should be a blessing and turn it into just another burden.”