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OP-ED: James Veech’s frantic, patriotic summer

At 52 years of age, James Veech of Uniontown was beckoned from his law practice and book-writing to serve his state and nation just as the United States began four years of bitter fratricidal fighting in the spring of 1861. "Judge" Veech, as he was known (though he was never a judge), was ...

OP-ED: Planting trees to make the world a better place

One of the electives I took in college was philosophy. During the late 1960s, Indiana University of Pennsylvania attracted some fascinating young professors, and one of them changed the way I looked at the world. The term paper I wrote for Professor Davis was titled "Exploring the Philosophical ...

Rising above a toxic home life

Q. I leave for college in 5 weeks and IÎÞëÊÓÆµ™m not coming back. I know that sounds dramatic. HereÎÞëÊÓÆµ™s the truth. My parents are toxic. I live with adults who are mean and unkind to each other and to me. My two older siblings left home for college and never returned; they only connect with me. I ...

OP-ED: The Capitol, once beautiful, can be again

Just before the July Fourth holiday, Atlantic magazine online ran a short article entitled "The Capitol City is a mess" in which the writer, Matt Viser, commented on the many eyesores awaiting visitors to Washington, D.C., as the nation celebrated its 250th birthday. According to Viser, the ...

OP-ED: Remembering the man who made me who I am today

My dad was born with personality. Pure, unfiltered personality. The kind that made strangers feel like old friends and old friends feel like family. If he walked into a room, he quickly owned it. We were close, he and I. The kind of close where you donÎÞëÊÓÆµ™t have to explain things because the ...

Keeping in tune with today’s slang

Q. I feel so dumb. Everyone I know seems to know slang and I have no idea. How can I keep up with slang? ÎÞëÊÓÆµ“ 14-year-old Mary JoÎÞëÊÓÆµ™s Response: What an interesting question! IÎÞëÊÓÆµ™m not surprised youÎÞëÊÓÆµ™re curious about slang ÎÞëÊÓÆµ“ it seems to change rapidly. Slang is a type of social code. It ...