Laurels & lances: Voting, truth and rebuilding

Laurel: To party being less important than community. The Murrysville-Export Republican and Democratic clubs have worked together this year to garner 85 signatures necessary on a petition filed in Westmoreland Common Pleas Court seeking an order to redraw the Sardis and Newlonsburg precincts.

The community hopes splitting each of those precincts into two will reduce lengthy lines for voters like those seen in recent elections. The board of elections said it will not contest the request.

U.S. Congress and the Pennsylvania Legislature should take note.

Lance: To letting politics get in the way of truth. We ought to be able to trust our politicians, but that can be tough sometimes. Trusting our doctors is something different. U.S. Rep. John Joyce, R-Altoona, has walked back comments he made about 12 cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis being treated among asylum-seekers crossing the Mexican border.

It wasn’t true. The Arizona county in question hasn’t seen the disease in at least six years. Joyce’s remarks were the result of a string of misinformation and a deleted Facebook video.

He may be a freshman Congressman, but Joyce is also a doctor. He should know how to find out if an infectious disease has been identified. He should also understand that sometimes inaccurate information is just as contagious as measles, and if this story spreads in Pennsylvania, he will be Typhoid Mary.

Laurel: To rebuilding a work of art with the work of artisans. The Wendell August Forge of Grove City understands the destruction of fire after a blaze at the business 10 years ago, and also how it can help you build something beautiful. The metalsmiths are creating a special ornament to raise money for the restoration of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, as well as rebuilding three Louisiana churches lost to arson.