Program lets hunters give venison to food banks

I was blessed this year by harvesting a nice eight-point buck. The government shutdown and economic circumstances have made it very difficult for many people in Pennsylvania and across the country. I read that local food banks are in extremely short supply. I wanted to do my part to help.

I donated my venison to the Hunters Sharing the Harvest program sponsored by the Pennsylvania Game Commission. On the game commission web site is a list of deer processors that participate in this program. The processor will butcher the deer at no cost to the hunter and provide the venison to local food banks for distribution.

I wish more hunters would participate in this program to help the needy!

My thought is if more hunters were aware of this program they would also participate.

Bruce Currier

Lower Macungie Township

Advent a season of spiritual preparation

The liturgical season of Advent, which is a penitential period beginning four Sundays before Christmas, commences Nov. 30 this year.

The season encompasses a period of spiritual preparation for Christmas as well as the preparation for our homes with decorations for upcoming festivities.

On the Sundays preceding Christmas, an Advent wreath is displayed in churches with four candles — depicting that of hope, peace, joy and love.

May we prepare our hearts — as love came down at Christmas with the manifestation of God incarnate. Let us take a deep breath among our whirlwind activities — lest we lose sight of the real meaning of the celebration.

This Advent, let us truly prepare our hearts for Christmas, prayerfully saying, “Come to my heart, Lord Jesus — there is room in my heart for Thee.”

The Advent wreath — symbolizing the eternal nature of love — having no beginning and no ending is love — and Jesus is love.

Jacqueline L. Quigley

Allentown

Claim about Democrats and socialism are false

It’s interesting that a recent letter to the editor in The Morning Call claimed that Democrats are embracing socialism, apparently just because the writer didn’t like the outcome of the most recent election. The election did not have any reference to “socialism” on the ballot. I will also add that the Nov. 4 election was a perfect election. It was a beautiful election! It was a fair election with no false claims of voter fraud, no attacks on the government, and no losers claiming “I won.”

Apparently, some just want to bash Democrats by making false claims about socialism.  Where are the examples they are using to make such false claims? I will add that the U.S. government buying into private businesses, as this current administration is doing, is a factual direct definition of socialism. If people don’t like Pennsylvania’s fair elections, explore a real socialist or communist country.

William Finamore

Hanover Township, Northampton County

Support bill to make drug pricing transparent process

As a retired schoolteacher living with diabetes, and as the wife of a man battling prostate cancer, I know how heavy the weight of medical expenses can be. Over the last few years, it feels like we’re always one step behind the bills.

The 340B program was supposed to help families like ours by giving hospitals discounts on medications they could pass along to patients. Unfortunately, it seems like too many hospitals have used the program to boost their revenue instead. The 340B Access Act would fix that by demanding transparency and ensuring that savings actually reach patients. I should also voice that the most favored nation policy some lawmakers — and President Trump — are pushing is not the answer we need right now. Importing foreign pricing systems could reduce access to the very drugs patients like my husband depend on. It’s a risk we simply can’t take.

If Congress truly wants to make health care work for people, it should start by reforming the systems that already exist. Support the 340B Access Act and reject the most favored nation proposal. Families like mine are counting on it.

Penelope Grayson

Greenwich Township

Thank you to fundraiser participants

We want to thank the walkers, sponsors, and other donors who raised over $30,000 last month through the Greater Allentown and Bethlehem CROP Hunger Walks on behalf of our food-insecure neighbors.

Twenty-five percent of the funds raised will return to the Lehigh Valley to benefit such ministries as the Allentown Area Ecumenical Food Bank and the Lehigh Churches’ Conference Kitchen in Allentown, as well as Essentials Cafe and several food pantries in Bethlehem. The remaining funds are used to aid disaster relief, development and resettlement efforts worldwide. CROP Hunger Walk funds have been used recently to assist those devastated by flooding in the United States and by the war in Ukraine.

What a wonderful tribute to one very tangible way in which congregations work together with businesses, local political and community leaders, schools, and other groups and individuals to help our neighbors in need!

The Rev. Dianne Kareha

The writer is the Convener, Greater Allentown CROP Hunger Walk.

Immigrants less likely to commit crimes

Seems like nearly every week a conservative news outlet (Fox, Newsmax) headlines a crime committed by an immigrant.

Their audience may not realize that research consistently shows that immigrants in the U.S. are less likely to commit crimes than native-born citizens. According to independent sources this finding holds true for both documented and undocumented immigrants across various studies and data sources, including historical data spanning over a century.

Despite this, public perception often associates immigrants with higher crime rates. The data does not support these claims and the practice has led to the acceptance of brutal crackdowns by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents carried out without due process.

For more detailed information seek information from the American Immigration Council, the Cato Institute, and research published by the National Institute of Justice.

Karl L. Schwartz

Upper Nazareth Township

The Morning Call publishes letters from readers online and in print several times a week. Submit a letter to the editor at letters@mcall.com. The views expressed in this piece are those of its individual author(s), and should not be interpreted as reflecting the views of this publication.