Letters: League of Women Voters Centre County’s Candidates’ Night is set for Oct. 8

LWVCC Candidates’ Night set for Oct. 8

The League of Women Voters of Centre County will be holding its biannual Candidates’ Night Forum virtually on Oct. 8.

Candidates’ Night will be broadcast live by C-NET Channel 7 at 7 p.m. and online at cnet1.org. A video of the event will be available later on cnet1.org and at www.lwvcentrecounty.org.

Candidates for the following contests have been invited to participate:

PA 12th U.S. Congressional District

Lee Griffin (D)

Fred Keller (R)

Elizabeth Terwilliger (Write-in)

PA 15th U.S. Congressional District

Robert Williams (D)

Glenn Thompson (R)

PA State House (76th District)

Joe Waltz (D)

Stephanie Borowicz (R)

PA State House (77th District)

Scott Conklin (D)

Stephen Yetsko (R)

PA State House (81st District)

Ian Kidd (D)

Rich Irvin (R)

PA State House (171st District)

Peter Buck (D))

Kerry Benninghoff (R)

There will not be an in-person audience to ask questions. Residents may submit questions through Oct. 1 at www.lwvcentrecounty.org, by email to lwvcentrecounty@gmail.com or by mail to LWVCC, P.O. Box 962, State College, PA 16804. Each question must identify the political contest to which the question is addressed. Questions should not be addressed to a specific candidate.

The LWVCC Voter’s Guide will be published by the CDT in print and at www.centredaily.com. Candidates’ self-provided answers to questions can be found at www.vote411.org. General voting information can be found at www.votesPA.com, www.lwvcentrecounty.org or from the Centre County Elections Office at 814-355-6703.

Help neighbors in need

Many important nonprofit organizations face huge funding problems as they struggle to deliver desperately needed services during this pandemic. Among them is the Bob Perks Cancer Assistance Fund, which helps pay nonmedical bills like rent, utilities, food, gas and more, for local cancer patients who are undergoing treatment, and have little or no income.

Every cancer patient is referred by a local hospital or medical facility and every dollar used to pay a cancer patient bill is a donated dollar. So far in 2020, the Bob Perks Fund has lost the opportunity to raise $75,000 in donations because of canceled fundraising events. Generally, the Bob Perks Fund raises and pays out $230,000 annually for cancer patient bills. In 2020, the cancer patient referrals keep coming in but the donations to pay their bills are severely restricted because of COVID-19. To continue providing much-needed support through the end of the year, the Bob Perks Fund developed “STRIVE FOR 25,” a GoFundMe Campaign to raise $25,000 in 25 Days to support cancer patients through December.

Please consider supporting your neighbors who are fighting for their lives and face eviction, utility shutoffs, and inadequate food supply by donating to the Bob Perks Fund. Visit bobperksfund.org and click on the “Strive for 25” Donate Now” link. On the same page, you can also click on “donate” to use PayPal, or send your check to P.O. Box 313, State College, PA 16804.

Thank you for helping your neighbors in need.

Incumbent’s lack of response is revealing

Hats off to the CDT for putting its voter guide online. It’s easy for voters to find their respective ballots and then read about the candidates and their positions.

When I checked out the candidates for my legislative district, the 76th, I was glad to read cogent answers from challenger Joe Waltz, a retired educator, but dismayed that the incumbent had not answered the five questions posed to all candidates. “Did not respond” is the only answer voters in the 76th get from the incumbent.

Is that any way to represent the people? No response.

1984 or 2020?

There are two pandemics underway in this country. We have the rapid spread of COVID-19, which this year will kill 1.3 million Americans — a hundred 9/11 attacks. But 50 million Americans are also caught up in a personality cult. Some think of it as partisan politics, but read the characteristics of cult behavior, and you decide.

Cults typically have one central revered leader who claims more knowledge than science or experts, and a singular ability to save the world. He creates chaos, dividing “his people” from outsiders by promoting an alternate reality that dismisses science, expert knowledge, and hard facts. Information is carefully controlled through specific anointed sources that parrot the leader’s proclamations — all else is “fake news.” Members boast their willingness to do anything for their leader, including assault or kill. This accurately describes the GOP extremism that Donald Trump has stoked.

Many of us outside the cult recognize these phenomena, while cult members fiercely attack any question or criticism of their leader. The rest of us know we can challenge our leaders, and regularly do. We wouldn’t choose a leader who claims supreme knowledge, or who dismisses science or facts. We know that human value is not conditional, and believe in the rule of law and the Constitution.

This is a very dangerous situation. Please, speak out for what you believe, and for what you want for America. If you want to save our democracy, you must use it — by voting.

Lock Haven University’s Impending Crisis

Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, PASSHE school Lock Haven University is facing a crisis that will affect students and staff alike in Clinton and Centre County. Last year, State System Schools were required to develop and start implementing a plan that will make these schools more efficient and financially stable in four years. In the spring of 2020, when the pandemic hit, the Office of the Chancellor moved this deadline to two years, which will make this plan far from efficient causing the school to make brash decisions.

Part of the plan includes reaching the student to teacher ratio from the 2010-11 school year. In this year, PASSHE schools saw a record amount of new admissions and the classes were full. However in the past 10 years, the admission rates have dropped. To comply, LHU will be forced to let go around 100 faculty, 47 of whom are professors. That is approximately 25% of our professors.

As a senior education major, at LHU, I am terrified of the consequences this will have. Programs and majors like the social sciences will be cut and professors will be let go. The lack of variety of majors and classes will put us at a disadvantage when we enter the workforce. It will uproot the lives of a quarter of our professors, who are active members of the Lock Haven community.

The outlook is grim. However there is still time to reach out to officials who can change this deadline.