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‘Discovering Mongolia with Harry’ to be presented at Dietrich Theater

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Report: Hazleton chief is not leaving post

<p>Like so many people in the community, we were proud to welcome Aaron Keller home last week as a champion.</p><p>In case you missed it, the 21-year-old Dorrance Township resident recently competed in the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Abu Dhabi, competing in various cross country competitions, bringing home two silver and one gold medals.</p><p>On Saturday, Mountain Top residents lined Route 309, outfitted with posters congratulating Keller on his accomplishments as he waved from a shiny red firetruck that led a parade of emergency vehicles blaring their way along the highway.</p><p>It truly was a sight to see, and a welcome befitting a hometown hero.</p><p>Readers should not find it surprising to learn, then, that we at the Times Leader believe the Special Olympics program is a worthwhile investment that has done much to enrich the lives of participants and their families. Over its half-century of service, the Washington-based organization has engaged with millions of athletes in hundreds of countries.</p><p>Naturally we were disappointed earlier this week when Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced a $17.6 million cut in Special Olympics funding under President Donald Trump&#8217;s $4.75 trillion federal budget proposal.</p><p>So were many other people around the country, including some outraged Republican lawmakers who joined Democrats in vowing that they would never approve the cut.</p><p>&#8220;I want to tell you whoever came up with that idea &#8230; gets a special Olympic gold medal for insensitivity,&#8221; U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (R-Ill.) said in an exchange with DeVos on Thursday, expressing disbelief &#8220;that we can&#8217;t spend $18 million to support this dramatically successful venture.&#8221;</p><p>Lo and behold, Trump announced a change of plans on Thursday afternoon.</p><p>&#8220;The Special Olympics will be funded. I just told my people,&#8221; Trump said prior to departing D.C. for a rally in Michigan.</p><p>What the heck just happened?</p><p>Was the proposal really just an anonymous bureaucrat&#8217;s careless (or callous) plan that Trump &#8212; famous for an aversion to reading long documents &#8212; didn&#8217;t know about until he watched DeVos&#8217; tone-deaf defense of the move explode into a PR nightmare?</p><p>Did the president know &#8212; and approve &#8212; of the cut, only to rethink it in the wake of legitimate bipartisan fury?</p><p>Or was this a diversionary tactic designed to draw outrage on one flank so the White House could ride to the rescue while other, potentially more controversial issues fly under the radar?</p><p>We may never know.</p><p>That said, we are not suggesting that a cut to Special Olympics would be a good thing &#8212; obviously &#8212; but it is a private organization with other funding sources. The group likely would find a way to make up the deficit and continue doing its worthwhile work if Washington did step away.</p><p>DeVos knows this <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/devos-criticized-plan-cut-special-olympics-funding-61980214" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">and acknowledged as much</a> in her explanation of the proposal.</p><p>Meanwhile, as <a href="https://www.vox.com/first-person/2019/3/28/18285277/betsy-devos-special-olympics-budget-cuts" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">news site Vox pointed out</a>, DeVos and her department have quietly been dismantling legal protections designed to ensure free public education for students with disabilities &#8212; protections the Department of Education withdrew under Trump&#8217;s mandate to eliminate &#8220;regulatory burdens.&#8221;</p><p>The plan to cut Special Olympics funding was cruel, provoking howls of anger and intense media coverage, as the administration likely knew that it would.</p><p>But it&#8217;s a minor piece of the bigger picture of which citizens and media must not lose sight.</p><p><em>&#8212; Times Leader</em></p><style>
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Our View: Special Olympics flip-flop raises questions