Cheers & Jeers
Cheers: The volunteers who recently helped restore a Greene County monument dedicated to area military veterans are to be commended. The 1945 Center Township Honor Roll in Rogersville, which displays roughly 160 names honoring soldiers from the western end of the county, was discovered by local residents last month to be in urgent need of repair, and after it was brought to the attention of West Greene American Legion Post 416, a few volunteers took it upon themselves to replace the glass, repaint the trim around the monument and take care of other general maintenance issues. We applaud the selfless volunteers who took the initiative to care for the monument and asked for nothing in return, for making sure that the tribute to area soldiers continues to stand tall so that their contributions to this country are never forgotten.
Jeers: It’s hard to fathom after all the suffering and death many have seen as a result of COVID-19, but about 12% of nurses in the United States say they have not yet been vaccinated and don’t plan on getting their jabs. So far, only about 1 in 3 hospitals are mandating vaccines for their employees, and according to an article last week in Bloomberg Businessweek, hospital administrators are facing a dilemma: “Mandate the vaccines and some nurses will quit. Don’t mandate the vaccine and some of your nurses will get COVID, rendering them unable to work, or even landing them in the very intensive care unit where they normally work.” If these nurses continue to insist on not getting vaccinated, they should ask themselves if they are in the right line of work.
Jeers: Sirhan Sirhan was 24 years old when he shot and killed Robert Kennedy in Los Angeles in June 1968, motivated by some jumbled mix of political grievance and mental illness. The death of the New York senator and brother of the late president John F. Kennedy was an affront to our democracy and made the already turbulent 1960s even more tempestuous. There’s the possibility now, after more than a half-century behind bars, that Sirhan will be paroled. The Kennedy family is split, with some of his children not opposed to Sirhan being free, while others vehemently objecting. Setting aside the grave and heinous nature of Sirhan’s crime, how would a man pushing 80 function in a society he has not been a part of for most of his life? California Gov. Gavin Newsom has the final say, and he should make sure Sirhan stays behind bars.
Cheers: Congratulations to Sam Cadwallader of Connellsville, who is one of 500 people nationwide with Down syndrome selected to have a photo displayed at the National Down Syndrome Society Times Square video presentation later this month in New York City. He was selected from more than 2,100 entries. Known for his community service, Cadwallader, 24, volunteers at St. Vincent de Paul Society in Uniontown, the Fayette County Community Action Food Bank and Connellsville Area Community Ministries. The presentation will be streamed live from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Sept. 18 through the National Down Syndrome Society Facebook page.