Letters: 5 years of PFAS contamination and no accountability; Protect rural health care in PA

5 years of PFAS contamination and no accountability

For more than five years, families in my neighborhood have lived with a reality no one should accept: our water is contaminated with PFAS — “forever chemicals” linked to serious health risks — and the source has been traced to the Penn State University Airport.

Penn State publicly presents itself as a “good neighbor” and responsible community steward. For those of us living with contaminated water, that claim rings hollow.

Despite years passing, our families have received no meaningful relief, no permanent solution, and no accountability. Instead, we endure quarterly water testing, each round filled with anxiety. At the same time, our largest financial investments — our homes — are being devalued because we must disclose contaminated water on our property deeds.

Who will buy a home knowing the water is unsafe? Who will lend against it? Through no fault of our own, our homes have become liabilities.

This is not speculation. We have documented water test results, contamination maps, and Pennsylvania DEP findings clearly showing the extent of PFAS impact in our community. The harm is real, and the plume continues to expand, potentially affecting more residents.

This is not just an environmental issue — it is a human one. Families who did everything right have had their lives disrupted while a powerful institution delays and deflects.

We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for responsibility, action and answers. After more than five years, the community deserves justice — and Penn State must be held accountable by action, not slogans.

C. Bartram, Benner Township

Protect rural health care in PA

In rural Pennsylvania, health care depends on the people who wear many hats and work closely together. I want to express my gratitude to the clinicians and staff who continue to serve patients in the face of limited resources and long distances. It’s been an honor to be one of those clinicians myself and this year, I’m taking a bigger role in advocating for my fellow professionals. As part of the leadership team of the Pennsylvania Medical Society, I’m going to push for policies that truly help our profession and the people we serve.

Policy decisions made in Harrisburg have real consequences in communities like ours in Centre County. When care systems are well coordinated, patients are more likely to receive timely diagnoses and follow-up. When systems are fragmented, delays and confusion become part of daily life.

As lawmakers consider scope of practice proposals in the coming session, rural communities should not be treated as test cases for unproven solutions. Access challenges are real, but they require thoughtful, sustainable approaches that strengthen care teams rather than divide responsibility.

Patients benefit from knowing who is responsible for coordinating their care.

Physician-led, team-based care offers a practical framework for rural settings. It supports collaboration while maintaining continuity and clarity for patients navigating an already challenging health care landscape.

I am hopeful that policymakers will approach these issues with care and respect for the communities affected. By prioritizing coordination and patient-centered solutions, Pennsylvania moves forward without compromising the quality of care we deserve.

Dr. Lorraine Rosamilia, Port Matilda

Federal agents showing ‘clear overreach’

The Fourth Amendment guarantees “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.” Most Americans are not subjected to constant suspicion, arbitrary searches, or the fear of armed intrusions into their private sanctuaries. These practices obliterate personal security and freedom.

Yet the Fourth Amendment is applied far more loosely in the border zone, where federal agents wield “extraordinary” authority. In this zone, agents may conduct warrantless searches of anyone — citizen or not — and carry out expedited deportations without courts and with sharply diminished due process. Within 25 miles of the border, agents may enter private property without a warrant. The president has now authorized agents to force entry into homes without judicial approval. This is not normal, and it is not consistent with American constitutional tradition.

Few Americans realize that the border zone extends 100 miles from any land border or coastline. It includes more than 20 major cities — including New York, Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia — as well as all of the Northeastern states and roughly half of Pennsylvania. Nearly two-thirds of the U.S. population lives under extraordinary federal powers.

More troubling, these same powers are being exercised far beyond the border zone, including in Minneapolis, 150 miles inland.

As federal immigration operations expand, the distant becomes immediate, the exceptional becomes routine, and the targeted becomes indiscriminate. This is a clear overreach and a dangerous departure from the constitutional norms that define a free society.

Lassie MacDonald, State College

Thompson represents Trump’s wishes

Short, sweet and simple.

Glenn Thompson doesn’t represent his constituents. He represents whatever Trump wants.

Robert Echard, State College