— Recently, I had a very bizarre experience. Having just gotten out of bed, and being alone, except for my two little grandchildren, I found a strange man looking in my window. Being a senior citizen living alone, it scared me.

Walking over to the door, I asked “What do you want?” Instead of answering right away, he continued to shield his eyes as he looked right and left through my window.

Finally, after my demanding that he  identify himself, he said he was a Cambria County tax assessor, and said he needed to come in and assess the property. He was very demanding, so I allowed him to come in, after which he boldly walked all through my son’s house.

Since this experience, I’ve spoken to other neighbors who’ve had the same experience.

My question: Do these county employees have the right to look into your windows and demand being left in the house?

By the way, I was told he is the final authority on how he assesses, and that he has no supervisors over him, or anyone to answer to (except possibly the commissioners, who really have little jurisdiction in his department).

Janice Kerr

Jackson Township

Editor’s note: The Cambria County Tax Assessor’s Office declined comment.



Obama administration is hurting business

President Obama has surrounded himself with radicals. Bill Ayers, unrepentant terrorist bomber in the 1960s, co-founder of Weather Underground, helped launch Obama’s political career. Ayers’ one regret was that he didn’t bomb more buildings.

His wife, Bernadine Dorn, is an adviser to Obama. White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett is a Marxist. George Soros is a backer. Google those names.

Obama is no friend of business or the coal industry. He stated on Jan. 17, 2008, “If somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, it will bankrupt them because they will be charged a huge sum.” Without coal-power plants, electric prices will soar.

On Jan. 1, 2012, 40,000 new regulations went into effect, crippling all businesses even more.

Billions have been wasted on green-energy businesses Solyndra LLC, Abound Solar Inc., Amonix Inc. and many others.

The FBI raided the offices of Solyndra and after 18 months of investigation it was determined “It is clear Department of Energy should never have issued the loan guarantee to Solyndra.”

Energy Secretary Steven Chu wanted gas prices to raise to that of European levels – $8 to $10 a gallon. Obama gave $2 billion to Brazil to drill for oil while our workers are laid off. That oil ended up going to China. He refused to finish the Canadian pipeline. Now, China has purchased Canadian oil company Nexen for $15.1 billion.

If Mitt Romney is elected, he will approve the Keystone Pipeline on day one, creating thousands of American jobs, and he will also examine job-killing regulations.

Paulette Cononie Torchia

Johnstown



Send drug dealers back where they came

Ever since the National Drug Intelligence Center, located on Washington Street in the city of Johnstown, was shut down, there has been an increase in drug-related murders and robberies here.

Drug lords coming into our city from out of town are Johnstown’s No. 1 problem.

These people pick small towns to unload drugs, and hide out with relatives and friends. They also bring along weapons.

Our limited police force can’t be on watch 24/7. Our city leaders need to implement a better way to keep these people out.

Innocent citizens are being killed. One can tolerate only so much. It’s time leaders of our city protect our area.

I thank our police force for its exceptional crackdowns, etc. – but our officers can’t do it alone.

Our city leaders need to focus more on this issue – and send these people back where they belong – out of our city.

B.J. Mroczka

Johnstown



Honking horns cause problems for some

I would like to bring attention to a matter that may not be well understood by the general public.

There is a horn-honking epidemic, which is not only a noise nuisance but it’s also a serious problem for those who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

I am a veteran of the war in Afghanistan and, sadly, I am almost crippled or paralyzed by the unnecessary honking of horns. It is a problem that affects PTSD sufferers, and anyone else who may suffer from generalized anxiety. When the horns honk at shopping centers as if we were caught in New York City traffic, I just want to dig a hole and bury myself in the safe confines of my wartime bunker.

Therefore, I would like to ask the public to please limit the honking of horns to emergency use only ... as the horn was designed.

I know that modern vehicles are equipped with horns that honk when doors are locked, but, please, make the extra effort to use the automatic door locks inside the vehicle.

On behalf of all combat veterans, thank you for your help and assistance on this matter.

Also, if there is an organization willing to support this anti-horn-honking endeavor, perhaps with bumper stickers, etc., I would be greatly appreciative. Feel free to contact me if you can help on this matter.

Patrick Monahan

Johnstown

Be a hero, save a life                                                                                                              In the July 28 edition of The Tribune-Democrat, “In the Spotlight,” Ruth Rice did an excellent job telling the story of David George of Strongstown. It was a tragic, yet heartwarming, story. 

Apparently, David, being an active

21-year-old, had taken the time to become an organ donor. It seems that during his entire life, David had been doing things for others, and even in his death he continued doing so. Somehow, David just did things as a matter of course.

It’s difficult to find such selflessness anywhere these days, let alone in someone only 21 years old. David probably never thought of being someone’s hero, but it sure appears that he was and always will be.

On the same subject of saving lives, the Red Cross on Jari Drive held an open house in its apheresis department in mid-July and, disappointingly, only four people showed up.

For those unaware of apheresis, it’s the taking of plasma and platelets from the blood and supplying them to leukemia and cancer patients to help them with the ability of the blood to clot.

Platelets are helping people of all ages – from infants to adults – and are easy to harvest with no pain for the donor.

In roughly 90 minutes, the average donor can supply enough platelets to help at least two recipients, and this can be done every two weeks. That’s a lot of life-saving help for those in need, and a loss of life is not necessary to do it.

Let’s be heroes like David and save a life.

Marvin R. Gindlesperger

Davidsville



Welfare never meant to be way of life

I feel compelled to respond to Rich Holsinger’s letter of Aug. 8, “Federal budget: Warfare versus welfare.” Although he takes issue with defense spending, Article 1, Section 8, of the Constitution mandates that Congress shall provide for the defense of this country to include raising and supporting armies, navies and militias.

Interestingly, the section in question reads: “Congress shall provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States.” Some have argued that this is justification for the welfare system.

However, due to the way the section is worded, it actually has more to do with the safety and protection of this country than administration of social programs. 

He asks why Head Start would be cut. A study by the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the program that was started in 1964, indicates that the program has no lasting positive effect on children.

There are currently 69 federal early-education and child-care programs costing $25 billion annually. How well do they work? In 1964, there were 350,000 Americans on food stamps; in 2011, there were 44.2 million.

In 1973, 204,000 Americans were in jail; today, there are about 1.8 million.

These were the at-risk children targeted by those programs. 

I often thank veterans for their service. I have never felt the need to thank someone for being on welfare. It was never intended to be a way of life, but a helping hand.

Unfortunately, social programs seem to foster dependency. The military provides a service.     

Ken Herdman

Johnstown

 

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