Cheers & Jeers
Brad Hundt
A mountain of DVDs at the Hidden Treasures warehouse in Canton Township
Mike Groll/Associated Press
In this 2009 file photo, a radio transmitter is inserted into a little brown bat in an abandoned mine in Rosendale, N.Y. Biologists feared some bat species would become extinct when the mysterious 鈥渨hite-nose鈥� fungus was first noticed in some caves in upstate New York.
Cheers: For better or worse, Americans accumulate a lot of stuff. It can create clutter in our dwellings, but it also keeps the economy rolling 鈥� deciding to get a better grade of toaster or grab one of those shirts that look good on the store mannequin is helping to keep money circulating and people employed. And people just outgrow things, they wear out or people die and leave behind a raft of possessions. A story in today鈥檚 缅北禁地 looks at how thrift stores in the region handle the tsunami of goods they receive. Goodwill employees have, in fact, described it as 鈥渁 river,鈥� and part of their job is to keep it flowing. When it comes down to it, thrift stores are a win-win for everyone. They give unwanted goods a second life, and if there are no takers, the items often end up being recycled. And the proceeds go toward such worthwhile endeavors as job training or helping unhoused individuals get back on their feet. U.S. National Thrift Store Day is looming over the horizon on Aug. 17, and that should remind us of the vital place the stores have in our communities.
Cheers: There鈥檚 something magical about opening a time capsule. What objects did people generations before us leave in it? And what kind of a message were they trying to send to strangers who would live decades later about the lives they were leading? On Tuesday, a time capsule was opened that had been placed in the former Brownsville General Hospital when it was under construction in 1914. It was undisturbed for more than a century and was discovered when the hospital, which later became a nursing home, was demolished two years ago. There was nothing all that extraordinary in it 鈥� a flag with 48 stars, some coins, some newspapers and programs for Brownsville clubs and lodges. Nevertheless, we should be glad Brownsville鈥檚 leaders provided these artifacts for us all those years ago. They will be on display at the Flatiron Heritage Center on Market Street in Brownsville for a couple of months. Hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, except on Mondays.
Jeers: For most of us, bats are a source of fear or annoyance. We don鈥檛 want them orbiting around our abode like it鈥檚 a haunted house, and we definitely don鈥檛 want them in our house or in our hair. But bats are crucial players in the ecosystem, and the news that Pennsylvania鈥檚 little brown bat is on the edge of extinction is not the kind of news anyone should applaud. The bats have ended up on the endangered list, both within the commonwealth and nationally, as a result of a deadly fungal infection that first cropped up about 10 years ago and causes a white, powdery substance to build up around their noses. It destroys their ability to hunt or fly. Bats are important in keeping the insect population in check, and if they disappear, it would be troublesome for Pennsylvania鈥檚 agriculture industry. Doug Wentzel, program director at Huntingdon County鈥檚 Shaver鈥檚 Creek Environmental Center, told the Pennsylvania Capital-Star, 鈥淭o have the most common species of bat in Pennsylvania reduced to endangered species in a decade is phenomenally sad.鈥�