July 21, 2008 10:21 am
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Barry Billings (“Quit feeling and start thinking,” Readers’ Forum, July 13) asks the rhetorical question, “Who wants to change being the greatest nation in the world?” The answer is, of course, no one.
But the majority of Americans appear to have awakened to the fact that we must change in order to restore, secure and increase that greatness.
Billings trots out every tired trope of the this-country-is-going-to-heck-in-a-handbasket type to support his position. The pièce de résistance being that anyone not of Billings’ opinion is a “spineless liberal socialist.”
Here are two news flashes for Billings:
1. Those of us who don’t worship at the temple of “my country, right or wrong” are not unpatriotic.
2. We agree on many points, though not on the underlying principles.
There are things worth dying for. All involve our nation rising above using the same barbarous actions and tactics he so abhors when others use them.
It is the liberal left that he so reviles that turns to scientific research to shore up its policies. He thinks that one can stop time and maintain a nation’s standing by refusing to budge regardless of changes in knowledge and circumstances.
This can’t be done.
If we are to grow and prosper as individuals and as a nation we must constantly adapt and change.
Some of us embrace this truth and are determined to shape that necessary and inevitable change.
Brian Vogel
Staunton, Va., formerly of Johnstown
WAVE volunteers an outstanding group
WAVE (Windber Area Visioning Experience) would like to thank all who were involved with our record hop/car cruise-in on June 29 at Windber Recreation Park.
We would especially like to thank Bill Bahorik. Without his generosity, this event would not be possible. His philanthropy and unwavering support to our community is unmatched. He has brought back many memories to our dance guests by allowing us to borrow and use his vintage jukeboxes, pinball machines, etc.
During the 1950s and 1960s, record hops were held at Windber Recreation Park. Our organization’s goal is to bring back these dances. We wanted to resurrect something from the past that many local residents still remember fondly.
It takes a large group of volunteers to make these record hops happen. Our volunteers are outstanding. We cannot thank them enough for the hard work it took to make this event all that it was.
To our guests, thank you for spending the evening with us, for dancing the night away, enjoying the music and making it all happen. Above all, thank you for supporting WAVE, which in turn supports Windber.
Our dance subcommittee worked countless hours on this project. The persistence, determination, attention to detail and organizational efforts of WAVE director Noretta Haydu and subcommittee member Fred Mock were second to none.
Thank you for supporting WAVE and all our efforts throughout the calendar year. We hope to see you “at the hop.”
Victoria L. Hiteshew
Windber
WAVE chairwoman
Daffodil Days gets stronger every year
On behalf of the Cambria County unit, American Cancer Society, I, as chairwoman of the West Side school project, would like to commend all the faculty from area school districts who made the 2008 Daffodil Days’ school campaign a huge success.
To the students who took the time to sell daffodils to parents, relatives and friends, a job well-done. You have helped many patients more than you know.
I have been a school coordinator in this program for about 15 years, and the sales have increased annually. Many people in Cambria County may not be aware that all proceeds benefit local cancer patients through service programs and research.
Kudos to the following top-selling teachers and staff who gave selflessly to coordinate the sales in their perspective buildings: Denise Cunningham, Westmont middle school, $2,791; Nancy Smith, Greater Johnstown High School, $2,314; Janice Troyan, West Side Elementary, $2,311; Jan Layton, Westmont Key Club, $1,304; Angela Boutiller, Penn Cambria Middle School, $1,292; and Kathy Bold, East Side Elementary, $1,074.
Thanks to the other participating schools: Blacklick Valley, St. Benedict, Ferndale Area, Central Cambria, Portage Area, Richland, Forest Hills, Greater Johnstown Career and Technology Center, Penn Cambria, Conemaugh Valley and Jackson Township. The total collected by all participating schools was $17,490.
A special thank you to the personnel of the American Cancer Society office who meticulously organized this sale.
As this fundraiser gains momentum, hopefully more schools in Cambria County will become involved.
Janice Yursky Troyan
Johnstown
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