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Letters to the Editor

Pride belongs in Jefferson County

To the editor: All good people should be concerned over how the freedom to exist for the LGBTQIA+ community is in jeopardy in our area. Recent events have shown that we must take a stand against discrimination and ensure that our community remains a safe and welcoming place for all individuals. It is disheartening to witness the obstacles faced by LGBTQIA+ people. Recently, a family friendly drag show in Wheeling had to be canceled due to death threats, highlighting the presence of bigotry and intolerance. Just this week, the efforts of a church leader in Wellsville to pressure ...

The Trump ‘reality’ show

To the editor: It was revealed recently that Special Counsel John Durham, who was appointed in 2019 by Attorney General William Barr, who was ordered by President Donald J. Trump to somehow prove that the FBI’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign was “personally motivated against him (Trump), concluded to the contrary that the “FBI had no choice but to investigate Russia’s hacking of Democratic e-mails and planned to share their findings with President Trump.” In the 2019 report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, which was confirmed by a ...

Our country is in crisis

To the editor: The headline in a recent issue of the Herald Star was “Biden celebrates a ‘crisis averted.’” I believe our country has been in a state of crisis since Jan. 20, 2021, and will remain in crisis as long as Biden remains president. Here are some examples of the crisis our country is in due to Biden’s incompetence: Biden stopped building the southern border wall and discontinued the Trump immigration policies that limited the number of illegal migrants entering our country. It is estimated that 5 million people have illegally entered our country including ...

Generosity in midst of hard times

To the editor: Throughout the years, employees and former employees of the W.H. Sammis Power Plant have graciously given their gifts of time, effort and monetary donations, to the Urban Mission. Our Back-to-School Bash, our Christmas toy distributions, and our weekly food distributions have all benefited because of their generosity. As one of their last acts of service to our community, on the day their facility closed, June 2, Urban Mission Ministries received a hand-delivered donation of more than 70 individual checks totaling more than $14,000. These donations left such ...

Seeking refuge from cult of personality

To the editor: A cult of personality is defined as a public figure such as a political leader who is presented to the people as someone who should be admired and loved. Propaganda is one way to help create a cult of personality, another tactic is that any criticism of the individual is met swiftly with attacks by their surrogates and followers on the people criticizing the cult leader. We have watched this in national politics since 2016 with the GOP cult leader Donald Trump. Trump bragged about what a smart guy he was, how he “had the best words,” how “rich” he was etc, ...

Rational education might work better

To the editor: I read the well-intended editorial on Page 4A of Tuesday’s edition (“Remember: Teens, alcohol don’t mix.”) I, respectfully, would like to offer another opinion, perhaps something to ponder. About four months out of every year I work in Europe, primarily in Austria and Germany. Their approach to teenage drinking is different. Their legal drinking age is 16, however, their legal driving age is 18. Perhaps there is something to teaching them to drink “intelligently” first and then to drive? I have a picture of a sign I took at a restaurant in Vienna, ...