Drivers, pay attention to ban on cellphone use
Back in June, a law was enacted to prohibit use of handheld electronics (cellphones) while driving. It’s called Paul Miller’s Law. As someone who does a lot of driving in the Lehigh Valley, I’ve noticed just as many people if not more are still driving while using their phones. They are either talking or texting or in some cases even watching videos.
I know that for the first year of the law only a warning is to be issued. I would be interested in knowing how many warnings have been issued across the commonwealth or even in the Lehigh Valley. Maybe people don’t know about the law, since I haven’t heard anything about it since it went into effect. Maybe we need to do some public service announcements or put it on the electric billboards on the highways to educate people. Or will this just become another unenforced law like clearing all the snow from your car?
Doug Klemm
Bethlehem Township
Hunters Sharing the Harvest is an independent nonprofit
We thank Mr. Currier of Lower Macungie Township for his recent deer donation and his Nov. 23 letter recognizing Hunters Sharing the Harvest.
For clarification, HSH is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit, not affiliated with any state agency. While our work is partially supported by the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, we must raise the remaining funds needed to reimburse participating processors so hunters can donate at no cost. Our mission depends on individual donors, corporate sponsors, and private and public foundations.
The PGC’s website links to ours and also includes its own list of cooperating processors approved to handle deer harvested in chronic wasting disease Disease Management Areas. Some of those processors participate with HSH, but many do not. To find HSH processors near you, go to sharedeer.org/meat-processors for the most accurate and up-to-date list.
During the 2024-25 season, HSH coordinated the distribution of 283,789 pounds of venison to Pennsylvanians facing food insecurity. Over our 34 years of operation, more than 3 million pounds have been provided statewide.
Thank you again, Mr. Currier, for your generous donation and for helping highlight our mission.
Randy K. Ferguson
The writer is the executive director of Hunters Sharing The Harvest.
‘Nutcracker’ a holiday treat right in the Lehigh Valley
I want to thank all who participated in the Repertory Dance Theatre’s wonderful performance of “The Nutcracker.” All worked so hard in each of their roles. I, a Lehigh Valley senior, did not have to travel to New York City to see a professional performance.
Janet Wanesky
Lower Macungie Township
D-Day wasn’t recognized on its anniversary date
On the 81st anniversary of D-Day, I failed to find any reference to it in The Morning Call. Please tell me my eyes just didn’t see it. If you didn’t print anything, how can you apologize for this? And if I missed it, you did a great job of burying it.
Ron Grassi
Pennsburg
Trump should designate climate change as the enemy
When two members of the National Guard were shot in Washington and a refugee from Afghanistan was charged with this crime, President Trump was quick to act by condemning people who came from certain countries. and restricting immigration from those countries. It is a tactic he uses over and over, labeling certain immigrants as deranged criminals and terrorists. This tactic allows those who want a quick solution to our county’s problems to just blame immigrants and wait until Immigration and Customs Enforcement deports them. This tactic also divides us, since not everyone is willing to blame an entire nationality for the crimes of a few.
Trump’s skills at rousing the population against a common enemy would be better used by redefining the enemy. He should designate climate change as the enemy. All humanity would benefit by limiting the release of greenhouse gasses and developing clean energy sources. Listen to the scientists, Mr. Trump, and leave immigration and law enforcement to people who know what they are doing.
Daniel Gasda
Bethlehem
States with large populations lack government representation
When Senate Speaker Thune has a photo op, who are the people standing on either side of him?
Sen. Barrasso (whip), Sen Lankford (vice chair) and Sen. Capito (policy chair). What is significant to me is that these senators are from among the least populated states: Wyoming (50th), South Dakota (46th), West Virginia (40th) and Oklahoma (28th).
What that means is senators representing about 7 million citizens (2% of the U.S. population) are controlling the operation of the U.S. Senate: which bills receive votes, which bills get discussed and who gets to speak. It also means that politicians with small population experience are deciding policy for 323 million people that they do not understand or represent. Remember that U.S. department heads and officials also come from small population states, for example Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who hails from South Dakota, where she is not allowed to set foot on all of the Native American reservations.
Please vote for those who will represent you in 2026.
David Thompson
Lower Macungie Township
Ads touting Mackenzie vote are a poor use of money
The Lehigh Valley is being bombarded with more than a million dollars in political ads to justify our Congressman Ryan Mackenzie’s vote on what I call the “oligarch relief bill.”
The ad cherry-picks a few middle-class perks from the bill, while leaving out the drastic cuts to social programs (SNAP, Head Start, etc.), education (reducing student loans by no longer classifying nursing and education as professional degrees), and health care (cutting Medicare and Medicaid — after the next election to provide cover — and National Institutes of Health funding for Alzheimer’s and cancer research) while ballooning the deficit by a projected $3 trillion by giving tax breaks to the top 1% (who will get millions) and providing a few leftovers to the middle class.
I suggest reading the bill and getting all of the facts before sending your thank you to Mackenzie. Wouldn’t it be nice if some of that million being spent on the ads could go to organizations like the Third Street Alliance, New Bethany, Allentown Rescue Mission, Boys and Girls Clubs, etc., or give it to the United Way to distribute where needed. Perhaps then compassion would win.
John Squarcia
Forks Township
The Morning Call publishes letters from readers online and in print several times a week. Submit a letter to the editor at letters@mcall.com. The views expressed in this piece are those of its individual author(s), and should not be interpreted as reflecting the views of this publication.
