Laurels & lances: Culture, Kody, court and carrying
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Laurel: To preserving culture. The 42nd annual powwow held last weekend in Indiana Township by the Council of Three Rivers American Indian Center was an opportunity to share and appreciate native cultures.
“We’re getting together to greet, meet and have fun and respect each other’s way of life,” said Russell Simms, founder and executive director of the center.
The event is equal parts a way for the 105 tribes represented by the center to connect and participate in cultural activities in an area where there are few chances for Native American people to interact as well as an educational outreach to the public.
Both are a step toward keeping important cultural traditions and identities alive at a time when it is too easy for them to be lost or overlooked.
Lance: To flying the coop. Kodiak, a Steller’s sea eagle, managed to escape its habitat Saturday at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh’s North Side. All week, aviary crews have been on the lookout for the bird which looks a little like a larger bald eagle.
Kodiak is better known as Kody, not that he’s responding to his name and coming home. He has, however, been sighted in the area by residents but not yet recovered.
Come on, Kody. Come back. You have a bunch of new fans eager to get a glimpse of you.
Laurel: To staying on the case. A new trial date has been set for Jonathan Held.
The former Westmoreland County sheriff was a frequently controversial figure as he led a department fraught with its own legal woes, the most significant of which was when the state Attorney General’s Office filed a public corruption case against Held. The trial in that case ended in a mistrial in 2018 and the question of what would happen next has been up in the air every since.
Senior Judge Timothy Creany has now set jury selection for a retrial on March 21.
This is important both for the people, who deserve to have a final decision in the case, and for Held himself, who should get to move on without a cloud of uncertainty hanging over him.
Lance: To packed bags. In a six-day period, five guns were caught by Transportation Security Administration personnel at Pittsburgh International Airport. There have now been 28 guns found at the airport in 2021.
Bringing a gun through a security checkpoint at the airport comes with a hefty fine. Seriously, people, just leave it at home.