Fontones: Pocono Record poll and Town Hall responses paint two different pictures of PA

For our first week of "Town Hall," we asked you, our readers, whether or not Gov. Tom Wolf should step in to impose new COVID-19 mitigations in Pennsylvania. We offered you two ways to share your view with us: via a submitted response, or a digital poll.

And you let us know what you thought.

After the poll closed on Thursday, I saw that we received 267 responses, with 116 of those coming from the same IP address, mostly on the same day. We'll block the option for multiple votes next time, in order to make sure we are accurately portraying what you readers think, without someone skewing the metrics this way or that.

Even if we remove the votes from that IP address, the majority of you still voted "no"— but the margin is slim. Without the person that voted 116 times, we had 85 out of 151 people vote against new COVID restrictions in PA (56.29% of the vote). Sixty-six of you voted "yes," for 43.71% of the vote. Just about all but one vote came from within the United States, with a single person voting from India.

To me, that represents a close vote, but the sentiment is clear: Pennsylvanians in the Poconos don't want new government-imposed COVID-19 restrictions.

For those of you that submitted your thoughts via a written response, I noticed a sense of frustration.

Half of you wrote that you'd like to see Wolf step in and do "something," while the other half urged Poconovians to look out for themselves.

Rob Galvin, a parent with students in Pike County's Delaware Valley School District, describes a school district without COVID mitigations and skyrocketing case numbers.

"We were let down by the Governor who did nothing, the DOH who did nothing, and the DOE who did nothing," he wrote in his response.

What we know about DV is this: There has been an ongoing conflict over whether or not the school should impose COVID mitigation at all. A vote held Friday will map out the district's response going forward. One of the mitigations up for a vote: ending contact tracing. The rationale behind ending that practice was the prevalence of the Omicron variant.

Since it's the most prevalent variant right now, "the common assumption now is that practically everyone has been or will be exposed shortly," the district said.

In Monroe County, our numbers continue to break records. COVID cases in Pike County and other Pocono counties have been increasing every day.

When will we turn the corner on the pandemic? "Time will tell" is not a sufficient answer for me.

Read what you had to say in full, here.

What's a 'Town Hall?': Pocono Record Group Editorials to be called 'Town Hall', and here's why.

Next week's Town Hall prompt

Next week's prompt, should you choose to accept it: Proposed redistricting maps are poised to make major changes to congressional districts that include the Poconos.

The House GOP proposed a citizen-drawn map that outlines which counties would form new congressional districts. The whole of Monroe County would become part of a new District 8, whereas it is currently split between districts 8 and 7.

Do you feel that this would further gerrymander our region? Or would this be a welcome change? Districts 8 and 7 are currently represented by Matt Cartwright and Susan Wild, both Democrats.

Will your U.S. rep change?:Pa. House GOP picks citizen map for new congressional districts

Read more: How the proposed Pennsylvania state House map scores in every required measurement

Participants should email submissions to be included in our next roundup, between 200 and 400 words, to Managing Editor Ashley Fontones at afontones@poconorecord.com. Please put "Town Hall" in the subject line. Pocono Record Town Halls are the new name for our Group Editorials project.

Submissions get an edit for grammar and AP style. The deadline to submit for our next Town Hall is noon on Thursday, Jan. 27.

If you aren't into sharing your thoughts, share your vote in this week's Town Hall poll. Vote online at https://poll.fm/11023083, or right here at PoconoRecord.com.

Ashley Fontones is the Managing Editor at Pocono Record. Reach her at afontones@poconorecord.com.

This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Pocono Record Town Hall: Readers preferred poll to written response