Sunday, August 23, 2026
Now That Really Bugs Me

Since I’ve reached old age, there isn’t much that really bugs me anymore—with a few exceptions. But the one thing that has bugged me all summer are bugs.

For more than two months, every step off the deck and onto the lawn has come with an unwanted entourage of relentless gnats swarming around my face. Curiously, the moment I step back onto the deck, they vanish. I’ve talked to many people who have noticed the same thing, including the roofers who were here last month and the guys who installed the gutters.

I’ve learned that these nuisance pests are likely eye gnats, which are attracted to the moisture, protein and salt found in our sweat and around our eyes and mouths. They breed in damp, organic-rich soil, decaying vegetation and wet lawn debris. With the large amount of rain we’ve had this summer, it seems we’ve created pretty much the perfect environment for them.

Unlike mosquitoes, these little pests aren’t necessarily after us for a meal. They are attracted to moisture and tend to hover relentlessly around our faces, especially at eye level. My elevated deck catches enough of a breeze to keep them away, while the lawn seems to trap the ground-level humidity and provide the damp conditions they need.

So, if I want to push back against the swarm, I apparently need to make the lawn less inviting: keep the grass mowed short, allow the soil to dry between waterings, and clear away damp grass clippings and other organic debris.

I need to get one of those silly hats with a portable fan on the brim. I’ve read that even a little breeze is enough to make these tiny pests look for someone else to bother.

So, if you’d like to learn to be more patient and let the troubles of life bounce off you, come to my backyard. If you can tolerate being out there for any length of time, you can probably handle just about anything life throws at you.

Saturday, August 22, 2026
Nine Months Late, a Visit to BeeDee, and Another Downpour

They say you should change the batteries in your smoke alarms whenever daylight saving time shifts back to standard time in November—when we turn the clocks back an hour. Well, I did just that today. The only problem is, I’m not sure whether I’m nine months late or three months early!

To tell you the truth, I’ve been putting it off. I’m not even sure when the last time was that I changed the batteries. Usually, I wait until one of them starts chirping. And, of course, once that starts, it drives me crazy, so I have no choice but to change the battery. At least I finally got around to doing it today.

In the early afternoon, I went up to Brookville to see BeeDee. She was able to talk somewhat, but she wasn’t doing great. She kept telling me she was ready to go, repeating it several times. She said Don had been up to see her before I got there, and I guess Ron and Fran went up shortly after I left. I’m glad she had some company throughout the day.

Then, in the evening, we got another very heavy downpour. What would a day be like around here if we didn’t have a hard rain?

Friday, August 21, 2026
One More Fish Dinner at the VFW

Mark and I decided we better go to the VFW one more time for fish. The servers were visibly upset after only finding out two or three days ago that their jobs would be abruptly ending in another week. The place was rather crowded, which wasn’t surprising considering the circumstances.

Though I wanted to have a good meal, I thought to myself that maybe if it wasn’t very good, I wouldn’t miss it quite as much. Well, that wasn’t the case. The food was excellent, which somehow made the evening a little more bittersweet.

As I was checking out, I told the cashier that I wasn’t sure where I’d go, if anywhere, for fish dinners. She said the American Legion is good and that she had heard the Loomis is giving some thought to Friday fish dinners after learning the fate of the Liberty House. So maybe there will be some new options.

She also told me they had run out of fish tonight. They will be open next Friday, but they won’t be serving fish. I guess that means tonight really was one more VFW fish dinner—and I’m glad I went.

Thursday, August 20, 2026
Central Clarion Names Its Football Captains

The Central Clarion football team voted on its captains for this season, with both the players and coaches casting votes. Brody was named one of the team’s four captains, along with Brendan Bracken, Carter Hindman and Ethan Rex. It’s quite an honor for Brody and a nice recognition of the respect he has earned from both his teammates and coaches.

Wednesday, August 19, 2026
Saying Goodbye to the Liberty House

Lue called me to tell me that “What’s Happening in Clarion County” had posted that the Liberty House Restaurant will permanently close at the end of this month. That is disappointing news for me. I had been eating there fairly regularly over the past few months.

I heard the decision stems primarily from rising operational costs, ongoing staffing challenges, and a smaller number of customers, all of which have made day-to-day operations unsustainable.

I had been looking forward to dining there each Friday night when the football team had a home game. I will miss their baked fish dinners and the convenience of having a good place to eat before the game. It’s always disappointing to see a local restaurant close, especially one that has become part of my routine.

Tuesday, August 18, 2026
So why have data centers become so controversial?

Governor Josh Shapiro has significantly reversed course on data centers in Pennsylvania. After previously promoting the industry and encouraging major investments, including Amazon’s proposed $20 billion investment in the state, Shapiro has now taken a much tougher position. On Tuesday, he signed an executive order imposing strict new requirements on data-center development, including local community approval, environmental protections and safeguards against higher electricity costs for Pennsylvania residents.

So why have data centers become so controversial? Although they may look like nothing more than large buildings filled with computers, modern data centers—especially those supporting artificial intelligence—can consume enormous amounts of electricity and water. They can require new power plants, transmission lines and substations, raising concerns that ordinary homeowners and businesses could end up paying higher electric bills for infrastructure needed by huge technology companies. They can also create concerns about water usage, environmental impact, noise and the loss of farmland or the rural character of communities where they are built.

There is also a question about whether the economic benefits are worth the costs. Data centers can represent billions of dollars in investment and create many construction jobs, but once they are completed, they generally require far fewer permanent workers than a traditional manufacturing facility of comparable size. Communities are therefore asking whether they should accept the disruption and demands on their electricity, water and infrastructure simply to attract a large technology company. 

Shapiro's new position doesn't completely shut the door on data centers, but it essentially says that if these companies want to build in Pennsylvania, they must pay the costs they create, meet strict environmental and transparency standards, and have the support of the communities where they want to locate.

Monday, August 17, 2026
Ebola in the Congo Hits Close to Home

One reason the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo caught my attention is that our church supports two missionaries who have spent many years serving there, Ann and Bill Clemmer. The Clemmers live in Goma, near the Congo-Rwanda border, where they serve with International Ministries, working alongside organizations including HEAL Africa and IMA World Health. Bill provides support to health-care workers, hospitals and clinics, particularly in maternal and child health, while Ann works with widows, orphans and vulnerable children. They have been missionaries since 1992, serving not only in the Congo but also in South Sudan and Haiti, with assignments in places such as Somalia, Yemen and Burundi. Bill is now serving as a Senior Regional Technical Advisor for Public Health and Ebola Response, so this current crisis is not something happening somewhere far removed from people we know—it is something that directly affects the work Bill is doing.

The Ebola outbreak in the Congo has now become the deadliest Ebola outbreak in that country's history. As of August 16, health officials reported 4,945 confirmed cases and 2,325 deaths, surpassing the previous record of 2,299 deaths during the 2018–2020 outbreak. It is also the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak ever recorded in the Congo, with the virus spreading roughly five times faster than previous outbreaks at a comparable stage. The outbreak is being caused by the relatively rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment. What makes the situation even more troubling is that many new infections are occurring in people who aren't connected to known cases, making contact tracing extremely difficult.

What makes this especially frightening is the potential for this to become the worst Ebola outbreak ever recorded anywhere in the world. The current outbreak is already the second-deadliest, behind the 2014–2016 West African epidemic, which killed more than 11,000 people. The Congo's response is being hampered by armed conflict, displaced populations, inadequate health-care infrastructure, mistrust and misinformation, and difficulty getting health workers and supplies into affected communities. The WHO says community cooperation, rapid identification of cases, contact tracing and isolation are essential to stopping the virus. The encouraging thing is that Ebola can be contained, and health organizations—including IMA World Health, where Bill is working—are actively responding. But I understand, with the virus currently spreading so rapidly, the world is watching closely to see whether the response can catch up with it.

Sunday, August 16, 2026
The Rain Just Keeps Coming

Today was another big rain event in our area, and by evening Frank and Lou had water coming into their basement again. I loaded up my Shop-Vac and ran it out to them. They didn’t end up with a tremendous amount of water, but there was enough that they had to keep sucking it up for a while.

On the way out, I saw emergency vehicles in several different places. The first was near the Pizza Pub, and then I saw several more between there and Franklin and Lou’s. Apparently, quite a few people were dealing with flooded basements.

Here at the house, we received 2.61 inches of rain, while Frank and Lou got 2.46 inches. The most I saw reported in the area was just past the Eagles by Port’s Farm, where they recorded 2.82 inches.

These heavy rain events seem to be happening very frequently this summer. It seems like hardly a week goes by without another storm dumping several inches of rain somewhere around us.

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