Cheers & Jeers
Media Creative
Cheers: All too many children in this region and throughout the United States suffer from food insecurity, but 10 community organizations and school districts in Fayette, Greene and Washington counties have been honored by the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank for their efforts. Child Hunger Hero Awards have gone to the East End Community Center in Uniontown; Carmichaels and Southeast Greene school districts in Greene County; Southmoreland School District, which covers a portion of Fayette County; and Trinity, Avella, California, Fort Cherry and Ringgold school districts in Washington County. The awards were given based on the districts and the organizations being involved in such areas as school meals, summer food, after-school meals, school pantry programs and weekend backpacks. “The kids who are at risk who may not have food or a lot of food over the weekend are identified by our school counselor,” said Curt Walker, food service director for Carmichaels. “We put together two breakfast items, two lunch items, two snack items, two dinner items – all shelf stable items. It’s in their backpacks anonymously on Friday on the bus so they have food to eat over the weekend.”
Jeers: You wouldn’t think that what you purchase at the grocery store could be affected by problems at a rural hospital hundreds of miles from where you live. But that is the case, according to a report released by the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform. It found that more than 600 rural hospitals across the country – more than 30% – are in danger of shutting down because of money woes. The report noted that a paucity of hospitals in rural areas could adversely impact the agricultural and energy industries because those sectors will have a tough time attracting and keeping employees if no hospitals are nearby. The report also stated that the primary reasons rural hospitals are faltering are low reimbursement rates from insurers, low patient volumes, low financial reserves and difficulties in attracting staff. Many initiatives have been launched to help rural America, from transportation expansion to broadband extension, and keeping rural hospitals afloat needs to be part of the conversation.
Jeers: It’s a presidential election year, and most political junkies are following every gyration of the upcoming rematch between President Biden and former President Trump. But a reality that political obsessives may be missing is how little attention many of their countrymen are paying to the day-to-day drama that unfolds in Washington, D.C., in state capitals and on the campaign trail. A poll recently released by Gallup found that only 32% of Americans pay close attention to politics. This is actually an improvement over the 1980s and 1990s, when the number was below 30%. The poll found that 41% of Americans follow politics “somewhat closely” and the remaining 27% follow politics not very closely or not at all. Perhaps part of this can be explained by something former Republican operative Stuart Stevens said in the latest issue of The New Republic: “One of the greatest gifts of a democratic civil society is the freedom not to think about government…” But it’s also helpful to keep in mind something the Greek statesman Pericles once said: “Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you.”