Laurels & lances: Caps, meetings and closings
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Laurel: To help in healing. Sometimes it takes a mom to recognize what’s going to make someone feel better.
Heather Shuker, 49, knows what doctors have done for her daughter, Hannah, who has battled severe seizures for 20 years. But being there through it all gave her a perspective a medical professional can miss. The electroencephalograms her child needed were scary.
They can require days of gauze-wrapped heads with wires attached to the scalp. Shuker found a way to make this easier to bear when she created NillyNoggins, a reusable cap to make the process a little easier and less traumatic.
The Shaler mom says Hannah is her top priority, but by identifying a need for her daughter and finding a solution, she has helped other parents navigate their children’s medical problems with a little less anxiety.
Lance: To less access. Indiana Township is still the only community in the Fox Chapel Area School District that doesn’t livestream its meetings.
Supervisors recently voted, 3-2, against broadcasting.
Mayor Albert Kaan, Deputy Mayor Darrin Krally and Supervisor Paul Jorgensen said they spoke with constituents and the issue wasn’t a concern.
“I believe that local government needs to be done locally,” Jorgensen said. “I want to keep it local and in person.”
That would be ideal, if everyone was free to come to meetings at the time and place where they are held. However, not everyone is able to do so because of work schedules or illness or child care considerations. And in 2024, that shouldn’t matter, because the technology exists to make meetings accessible despite schedule.
By Jorgensen’s logic, reporters shouldn’t attend any meetings because, if people cared, they would attend. There shouldn’t be broadcasts of football games because real fans buy tickets. It’s a ludicrous argument.
So is the majority’s secondary defense: that they have voted this down before. Making the wrong choice twice doesn’t make it a better decision.
Lance: To a hard pill to swallow. Mainline Pharmacy is closing nine of its 11 locations in March, including its Harrison City and Blairsville shops. The announcement came via Facebook, with the company reporting losses of more than $350,000 this year alone because of inadequate reimbursements.
If this seems like a familiar story, it’s because Health Mart pharmacies in Lower Burrell and Leechburg closed in January, citing similar reimbursement issues.
The irony is that on Feb. 2, Mainline co-owner Jack Moschgat was quoted in a TribLive story about independent pharmacy challenges in the wake of the Health Mart closings. He spoke about how smaller businesses were able to distinguish themselves from larger chains because of services like compounding, individual dose packaging and delivery.
Now many Mainline prescriptions are being transferred to Rite Aid locations. Rite Aid is offering positions to interested Mainline employees.
That might not be a comfort for workers or customers, however, due to Rite Aid’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing and several area store closings.