Laurel: To going for the gold. Winter or summer, whenever the Olympics roll around, Americans tend to get into the flag-waving support of Team USA. This year, Westmoreland County has particular reason to cheer.
Jasmine Jones, a Hempfield graduate and former Eastern Michigan sprinter, is competing as a brakeman for the U.S. women’s bobsled team at the 2026 Winter Games in Italy.
She didn’t glide to that spot. Her path included eight crashes in one season.
Off the ice, she was finding her footing as a mom after coming back too soon after giving birth. Then there was grieving the loss of her grandfather, longtime Jeannette coach Arthur “Hookum” Graves. There was physical and mental work to do.
With the support of family — including a mother working swing shifts to help care for her granddaughter — Jones reset, recommitted and rebuilt. She joined the Air Force World Class Athlete Program and worked her way back into contention. She was not just determined to make the team. She also wanted to excel.
Olympic dreams are easy to celebrate when they end on a podium. They are harder to see in the predawn workouts, the rehab sessions and the doubt that creeps in after a crash.
Westmoreland County can be proud not only of where Jones is competing but also how she got there.
Lance: To leaving people high and dry. Residents of Munroe Tower in Oakmont are dealing with a sanitary nightmare.
Tenants of the 62-and-older affordable housing apartment complex were instructed not to flush toilets, shower or run water because of plumbing problems tied to a pump room issue. Parts are reportedly on order. In the meantime, seniors have been told to carry water in containers and avoid putting anything down the drain.
That is inconvenient and unpleasant, but things break and unfortunate situations have to be endured sometimes. What is unacceptable is the tone.
A letter to residents didn’t empathize or ask for grace. Instead it blamed them.
“This is the fault of the people who are using their toilets. Also, the reason the pumps are broken is because of people not following the rules of the building,” read a letter from Munroe Tower management obtained by TribLive.
Residents were also told not to call the office for updates.
These are older adults living in a building that advertises 24/7 onsite maintenance. They are not children being scolded for breaking rules. Expecting seniors in a building with 100 apartments to just find other toilets or showers to use is impractical and unrealistic.
If the system failed, management owns that problem. Telling residents it is their fault — while their apartments begin to smell — is not a solution. It is a deflection.
