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Jason Ibrahim was my friend.

Jason was a 29 year old father of three.  A husband to Elizabeth.  A software developer.  A city councilman.  Most of all, a Christian.

Jason’s faith was deeply rooted.  In high school, he searched for truth.  He found it in the life and words of Jesus Christ.

It’s that same Jesus who has, this weekend, received Jason into heaven.

These aren’t empty words, and they are not words that will spoken only as a comfort.  They are words that thunder with truth, because they were lived.  Jason did not put on a show about his faith; he was confident that Jesus is alive, that the core Christian beliefs are true, and that life’s secret isn’t in religious activity but in believing and obeying God.

He put this faith into action in a number of ways.

Jason, as many of you know, was a newly elected Altoona City Councilman.  He had energy and ideas to make our community better.

Some of you also know that Jason was a co-founder of ILoveAltoona.com.  He put his abilities and ideas to use to create a venue to highlight the great things about our area.

Jason will be missed.  His infectious humor and enthusiasm; his desire to know and understand issues well not to just take a party line; his passion to protect innocent life… these things we will remember.

Fortunately, those who love Jesus Christ and obey Him will see Jason again one day.  That’s our confident hope.

Dr. Tom Coburn, a conservative U.S. senator who is also a medical doctor, wrote the following article: The Health Bill is Scary, published in the Wall Street Journal’s website.  He argues that government guidelines in the health bill will likely reduce life span for some Americans.  While this is a “national” issue, I bring it up here on ILoveAltoona.com because it will affect us locally.  Read it here, then comment on your thoughts below.

(BY MATT GARBER) Along with other members of Council, staff, community leaders, and project partners, I attended the City’s press conference held Monday to unveil the new Public Safety Wi-Fi system which is in place.  The goal of the system is not to provide public Internet access (which some cities have tried to do for profit, generally failing at that goal), but to provide a system enabling Codes, Fire and Police units to spend more time in the field and to do their jobs more effectively.

The system was conceived of around four years ago and received the support of staff, Mayor Hippo and Council.  It was significantly researched and carefully designed.  The price tag is significant, though viewed as a long-term investment to expand the ability of limited staff to respond quickly, stay in the field more, and be more efficient.

WTAJ filed a report on this at WeAreCentralPA.com, which can be read for additional information.

(BY MAYOR-ELECT BILL SCHIRF)

I would like to thank the voters for electing me to serve as your next mayor.  It is a tremendous honor to represent all the citizens of Altoona.  For the past four years, I have been a very dedicated member of city council and our community.

When I announced my run for the office of mayor in front of nearly sixty supporters on February 12 at the Juniata Civic Association, I made a sincere statement to be a full-time mayor and to be dedicated, accessible, and responsive.  On January 4, 2010, Inauguration Day, I will reiterate that commitment.

Within the last thirty-five years, I have been active in the community in numerous organizations and leadership positions.  With these qualifications, I developed a twelve point plan for my campaign.  All of this information can be found on my website until the end of the year at www.schirfformayor.com.

I would like to congratulate all the candidates who ran for an elected office in Altoona.  Everything was positive, and we developed a good rapport with each other throughout the campaign.

Again, thank you so much for this opportunity to serve and lead our city as mayor, and I will continue to be “Active in Making Altoona a Great Place to Live.”