Program lets hunters give venison to food banks<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
I wish more hunters would participate in this program to help the needy!<\/p>\n
My thought is if more hunters were aware of this program they would also participate.<\/p>\n
Bruce Currier<\/p>\n
Lower Macungie Township<\/p>\n
Advent a season of spiritual preparation<\/p>\n
The liturgical season of Advent, which is a penitential period beginning four Sundays before Christmas, commences Nov. 30 this year.<\/p>\n
The season encompasses a period of spiritual preparation for Christmas as well as the preparation for our homes with decorations for upcoming festivities.<\/p>\n
On the Sundays preceding Christmas, an Advent wreath is displayed in churches with four candles \u2014 depicting that of hope, peace, joy and love.<\/p>\n
May we prepare our hearts \u2014 as love came down at Christmas with the manifestation of God incarnate. Let us take a deep breath among our whirlwind activities \u2014 lest we lose sight of the real meaning of the celebration.<\/p>\n
This Advent, let us truly prepare our hearts for Christmas, prayerfully saying, \u201cCome to my heart, Lord Jesus \u2014 there is room in my heart for Thee.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Advent wreath \u2014 symbolizing the eternal nature of love \u2014 having no beginning and no ending is love \u2014 and Jesus is love.<\/p>\n
Jacqueline L. Quigley<\/p>\n
Allentown<\/p>\n
Claim about Democrats and socialism are false<\/p>\n
It\u2019s interesting that a recent letter to the editor in The Morning Call claimed that Democrats are embracing socialism, apparently just because the writer didn\u2019t like the outcome of the most recent election. The election did not have any reference to \u201csocialism\u201d 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 \u201cI won.\u201d<\/p>\n
Apparently, some just want to bash Democrats by making false claims about socialism.\u00a0 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\u2019t like Pennsylvania\u2019s fair elections, explore a real socialist or communist country.<\/p>\n
William Finamore<\/p>\n
Hanover Township, Northampton County<\/p>\n
Support bill to make drug pricing transparent process<\/p>\n
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\u2019re always one step behind the bills.<\/p>\n
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 \u2014 and President Trump \u2014 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\u2019s a risk we simply can\u2019t take.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Penelope Grayson<\/p>\n
Greenwich Township<\/p>\n
Thank you to fundraiser participants<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019 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.<\/p>\n
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!<\/p>\n
The Rev. Dianne Kareha<\/p>\n
The writer is the Convener, Greater Allentown CROP Hunger Walk.<\/p>\n
Immigrants less likely to commit crimes<\/p>\n
Seems like nearly every week a conservative news outlet (Fox, Newsmax) headlines a crime committed by an immigrant.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
For more detailed information seek information from the American Immigration Council, the Cato Institute, and research published by the National Institute of Justice.<\/p>\n
Karl L. Schwartz<\/p>\n
Upper Nazareth Township<\/p>\n