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Diamonds to the Harlem Globetrotters for their longstanding outreach programs that send their stars to schools for anti-bullying programs. On Monday Hops Pearce visited Hanover Area Memorial Elementary to entertain youngsters with the team’s famous antics and give a few students lessons on the Globetrotter ball handling tricks. All of which, of course, masked the real message. “Who can tell me what empathize means?” Pearce asked, then answered “It means to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, to listen and understand what they are going through.” Sure, the visits give the team some free publicity for their Feb. 22 appearance at the Mohegan Sun Arena, but Pearce made the visit sound selfless.“The euphoria I get from the exchange of positive energy with the students is much greater than the euphoria I get from playing. It lasts longer.” A welcome attitude.
Coal to the careless use of space heaters, and to manufacturers so eager to make a buck they put shoddy heaters on the market. We don’t know what was the exact cause, but we do know a space heater apparently exploded in a Plains Township home destroying a home and leaving a couple out on the streets. Space heaters are ubiquitous for a some sound reasons, not the least of which is economy. Why heat up a whole home if you only need to warm one or two rooms, or why spend money to extend a system to an unheated room when a stand alone heater is so much cheaper? But the quality of heaters varies and too many people disregard the safety protocols recommended by manufacturers and experts. When it comes to space heaters, carelessness or cost-cutting — whether by manufacturer or purchaser — can lead to disaster and even tragedy.
Diamonds to the Reading & Northern Railroad and government officials at Jim Thorpe for working out a deal to bring the passenger excursion train rides back to the quaint borough. The railroad company pulled out of the area following a dispute about an amusement tax. The borough understandably felt the train rides should have been paying the tax, while Reading and Northern insisted it was a freight company, not an amusement company, and that the train excursions were a way to “give back” to the community. They also argued they bring hundreds of thousands of visitors to the borough who spend tens of thousands of dollars. Both sides made good arguments, which is why an editorial ran in this space last October urging a compromise. Apparently, one was found, and the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway returns Saturday in time for Winterfest. Kudos to both sides.
Coal to the bizarre discovery that someone was stealing school bus batteries. Patrick Hotopp has been charged with the crime, accused of selling the batteries to scrap yards, though the case has yet to fully play out. Whether he did it or someone else took them, the crime is worthy of particular disdain. Stealing is bad enough. Stealing from a school bus is stealing from children who rely on the bus to get to school and prepare for their future. The theft of a school bus battery likely isn’t a major expense (unless, of course, it is an electrically-powered vehicle). It’s the fact that children are affected that makes this such a mean act.