Northampton Press

When I read about massive earthquakes or devastating forest fires destroying communities, I often comment on how nice it is to live in Pennsylvania, where severe weather is not such a big concern.

The occasional small tornado or earth tremor make the news and cause a stir, but for the most part, we feel safe from Mother Nature's outbursts.

Last year's heavy snow on Halloween weekend set me straight, however, about how severe weather can come anywhere at any time.

Once upon a time, older adults who spent hours reminiscing were told to "stop living in the past."

Today, reminiscing by the aging population is no longer considered a negative sign of old age. Seniors are encouraged by health care professionals and social workers to remember and review decades of life experiences.

Personally, I'm an addict for such history. Whenever an elderly person wants to look back and talk about his or her life, I'm all ears.

I was raised with the notion I could be anything I wanted to be.

There was never discussion on barriers placed on particular careers because I was a girl.

We recently lost a very important woman, Sally Ride, who helped pave the way for young girls.

Ride was the first American woman in space and the youngest American to ever circle Earth.

According to her biography on sallyridescience.com, she answered a NASA newspaper ad seeking astronaut candidates in 1977 while finishing her Ph.D. She already had degrees in physics and English.

To the Editor,

As a point of clarification, the Coplay "Mayor's Achievement Award" was an award I developed in 2002 when I was the Coplay mayor.

The award is presented to former, retired Coplay elected officials having a long, distinguished volunteer service to Coplay. I felt it was and is important to recognize hard work.

The Aug. 15 arrest of state Rep. Joseph Brennan, D-133rd, on simple assault and DUI charges, and the subsequent press release announcing he would not seek re-election in November should lead residents of the Lehigh Valley to conduct deeper research into who their candidates and elected officials are.

We, the people, should place higher standards on our elected officials, and those public officials should abide by higher ethical and moral standards.

Berks-Lehigh Regional Police recently issued a Community Message via Nixle that an individual was going door to door asking questions of homeowners regarding the Parkland and Northwestern Lehigh school districts.

In this case, the man turned out to be a legitimate salesman.

I recently experienced something similar, except the man at my door was asking to see my electric bill.

According to Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda L. Kelly, identity fraud is the fastest growing crime in America, affecting some 9 million Americans every year.