Too bad.I believe Mike Lewis and Jeff Adams would have been good school board members.So would Marihelen Hower, Mary Lou Sigler, and Phil Nash for that matter.Anyone of them would do a better job than the four on the “The Ticket to Chang_”
But this is America.The voters have spoken with the majority getting what it wants.And the citizens that didn’t vote will get what they deserve.Too bad they had to drag down everyone with a brain and a conscience who exercised their constitutional right to vote and speak out against the “Ticket of Chang_.”
Sadly, Mary Lou Sigler is the only one left outside “the ticket” with a chance at one of the vacant school board seats.But she is a democrat running on the democratic side. Her chances of winning are remote, especially after finishing fourth behind three republicans.Unbelievable isn’t it?Democrats voting for three republicans over a fellow democrat.
This really makes you wonder about the teachers.What do they think about all this?Did they vote “the ticket” and if so, was it because they don’t like Dave Runk?After all, Harpster (a former teacher) promised to fire the administration if “the ticket” wins.Isn’t it the mantra of the teachers’ union to hate the administration?You bet.
I wonder how many administrators they are going to fire and how much it will cost?But cost should be no issue because firing administration was number one on their agenda.Sounds expensive.How are they going to do that when they promised to be fiscally responsible?Puts them in a pickle, doesn’t it?
And what about the new high school?Did you know they want to stop building it?Perhaps when construction halts, they will leave it there as is and make it the community playground.Kids will love climbing the jungle gym of steel girders and playing in the big dirt piles. Wish we had a playground like this when I was a kid.
And finally, they promised smaller class sizes? I wonder how they are going to do that when they continue to cut staff and programs to balance their budget.So if I understand this correctly, they want to cut teachers to balance a budget then hire teachers if the classes get too big.Makes a lot of sense doesn’t it.
Well, MifflinCounty, you have spoken and have requested change.You better brace yourself because change is coming and it ain’t good!
So time has come and passed and I think all of you are interested in whom I believe will best represent us. I refuse to even mention the ticket anymore. In my opinion, while they may all be nice people and have nice families, they are simply not qualified to represent me. Anyone that is running as a fiscal conservative, but is in favor of buying as much stuff as they can is simply not fiscally conservative. Spelling errors and arguing to replace yourself on the school board, is enough reason for me to not vote for you.That pretty much eliminates 4 of them.We are left with five. So now its time to cut someone. I have had a really hard time with this. A really hard time. I kept making lists and I keep returning to the two same names.
The following two people are absolute must votes. The two officially endorsed candidates of Mifflin County Online are as follows: 1.)Dr. Mike Lewis 2.)Mr. Jeff Adams
Dr. Lewis and Mr. Adams have the Energy and Experience needed to bring our district to the next level. I think at times, Mr. Adams has had a difficult time, but he has persevered. I have recently talked to him at a school event and he was really on message. I heard him at the debate and he had great ideas about alternate funding, I just thought he could have explained it better. Dr. Lewis is eloquent. Want someone that is accessible to the voters? How about posting your phone number on your campaign signs! That takes courage, and he should be applauded.Why these two? Well, they have done the best job and speak to what I am concerned about. Dr. Lewis brings plenty of experience. He knows budgets and how to work with them. He knows what programs can be cut, and what ones should NOT be cut. Unlike the two members of the, " Ticket to Chang_" whom recently voted to CUT, that's right, CUT library and Art from the elementary curriculum, who needs that right? Idiots.
So what about my two other votes? Well, that's up to you my friends. I really can't make the decision. So you get to chose two, in no particular order.
1.) Mari Helen Hower- Some good ideas. Has met a lot of people. I e-mail her quite a bit and I believe she would do a great job. I think she may be influenced by some current board members and by some current school administrators. Overall, her heart is in the right place. Her ideas may be misguided because by her own admition, she is young in this process. I think if she got the position, her eyes would really open to some of the challenges we face.
2.) Mar Lou Sigler- Ok, I haven't met her. Haven't even talked to her. But she talks her mind. Anyone that has the courage to say that she couldn't support Union Elementary 100% really has some courage. At least she is honest and truthful.
3.) Phil Nash- Say it aint so Joe. Yeah, Phil has been on since Christ was in school, but at least hes got experience. He is really interested in what he feels is best for the children and the people of Mifflin County. Now I believe some of these things are misguided, I think there is more to education than making budget cuts. Phil stood up for the new school. I think the new school was a bad idea. But, I respect his view and his courage to stand up for what he believes in.
So how about a prediction from the blogger? 1.) Adams 2) Lewis 3.) Hower 4.) Nash 5.) Sigler 6.) Harpster 7.) Parkes 8.) Sharp 9.) Hurlbert <----- Is he still running??
Lets touch on some other races.... Tammy Hunter wins a close race. Arron Gingrich, hope I spelled that right, Wins in a LANDSLIDE. Peachy, whose first name is apparently Pick, wins and has a difficult general. Steele, wins a very close race for Sheriff.
These are my thoughts. I am right or I could be wrong!
GET OUT AND VOTE!!! ADAMS AND LEWIS REAL change for Mifflin County!
After hearing the candidates for Mifflin County School Board deliver their platforms Wednesday night at Indian Valley High School, I certainly know who I’m not going to vote for.To be blunt, the "Ticket to Chang_" is a no-go, as Tony Soprano would say.Walter Harpster’s opening remarks had to be the worst speech I ever heard.Thank goodness, he only had 30 seconds.As the people in the audience waited to hear him talk about the issues, he pointed to people in the audience, telling them he had them in school while a teacher for 34 years at Indian Valley.That was it.Apparently, he was reaching out to the teachers, trying to get their vote.
It didn’t get much better after that.He completely ignored one of the questions and said that the Mifflin County School District was 150 million dollars in debt.Huh.I don’t know where that figure came from because the district took out a bond issue to pay for the school and the effect it will have on the yearly budget is between 10% and 15% of operating costs.And the district has a triple A credit rating.A bank will give a home buyer a loan as long as the monthly payment of the mortgage does not exceed 35%.
I would like to give Walter his due but I just can’t.He says he’s a fiscal conservative, which I would have believed until I heard him say he wants Mifflin County schools to take over the vo-tech school.It certainly sounded like a good idea until Mike Lewis pointed out that Mifflin County would have to buy Juniata County’s share of the building and property, at a cost of 15 to 20 million dollars.Is that fiscally conservative Walter, or did you just not think things through?Nash and Parks support this idea also... Parks doesn't have anything between his ears and Nash is out of touch. At least Hower and Adams admitted to not knowing enough about it to venture an opinion.
I actually thought that Kristen Sharp and Travis Parks conducted themselves okay.But remember that Sharp home school’s her child and Parks bobs his head up and down whenever Kirk Rager talks.For that matter, so does Harpster.And Jim Hurlburt,Hello Jim...Where are you Jim?Didn’t see you there Jim.Better things to do, I’m sure.
Clearly, the most articulate and well-spoken of the candidates was Mike Lewis.He pointed out that voting as a group, like the "Ticket to Chang_" intend to do is not healthy for the school district.I agree.I like Jeff Adams’ ideas, although he did not articulate them very well Wednesday night.Nash is clearly a supporter of Dave Runk, while Hower quotes statistics that appear out of context at times.Sigler’s comments didn’t matter after she implied that she might close Union Elementary.It’s going to be hard for her to recover from this
I have heard many say that they are unsure who they want to vote for but are dead certain they won’t vote for the "The Ticket to Chang_":Harpster, Parks, Sharp, and Hurburt. I couldn’t agree more.
I know you’re waiting for my endorsement.But I’m going to hold off on that until next week.Stay tuned.
I sat back and began to reflect on this whole change thing. Maybe one of you out there can fill me in on what I am missing. Perhaps I am just looking over something.
The "Ticket to Chang_" has said in very public forums on more than one occasion that they are out to change administration. Which I still argue is their way of arguing against two members of their own ticket. But no one ever accused this crew of being the only members of the Greater Mifflin County Chapter Mensa Society, if you catch my drift. They have spelled campaign signs the wrong way, they have created a divide in the community, they went from being fiscally conservative to spending wildly. Basically, they are on big colossal mess.
But here is what I think is the biggie, they are arguing for a change in administration. Which, I will assume they mean Superintendent (Dave Runk) and Assistant Superintendent ( Ed Curry). Clearly, they do not mean principals. They had a chance at the last board meeting to really disagree with the status quo and vote against a hire put forth by the administration, but the two current board members on the "Ticket to Chang_" went along with it. Like they always do.
Now, I am a new follower of this school mess, and believe me its quite a mess. Upon doing my research on this issue I have found that every newspaper article I read that mentions the name, Dave Runk, it 95% of the time mentions how he put together a 0% increase in taxes. Apparently the Ticket to Chang_ feels that this is unacceptable. They instead, would apparently like to opt for an increase in taxes and an increase in spending. Which they all freely admitted they wanted to do in their interviews with the school teachers, buy everything top of the line.
Yeah, getting rid of a guy that keeps taxes low, increase spending off the charts that's exactly what the people of Mifflin County Want....WHAT ARE THESE PEOPLE THINKING?
As I mentioned yesterday, I received the copy of the sheets that were distributed to the teachers. I read all of the answers. " The Ticket To Chang_" consisting of, Walter Harpster ( former teachers union member), Kristen Sharp(home schools her kids), Jim Hurlbert ( Who??) and Travis Parks (Can't vote without knowing what Kirk Rager is doing), all had basically the same answers.
It has been common knowledge that the teachers have had a love hate relationship with their former friend, Mr. Harpster. According to my source, many prominent union members are rallying against him.
They ( The Ticket To Chang_) all hit on the same tone. Why are you running, was the question, EVERY SINGLE PERSON ON THE TICKET TO CHANG_ said,"Change Administration." That is the best reason you could come up? I am running for political office because they aren't good? What is this, the third grade? Could we get someone to educate these 4? Allow me to let you 4 in on a little secret. You technically, are part of the administration!!!!! TWO OF YOU ARE ON THE BOARD!!!! YOU ARE RUNNING AGAINST YOURSELVES!!!!!!!!From where I sit tonight, your right we need a change, we need to get keep you 4 off the board.
They were all singing the same song when it comes to the new school. " We didn't want it, but now that were building it, buy the best stuff." You can't be a selective conservative. If your a conservative, you conserve on all issues. If you didn't want to spend the money in the beginning, don't spend the money now. Own the issue. Own your argument. Be against it the whole way. Have some backbone, if you could find it. People may develop at least a little respect for you, and your ticket.
Blogger Blogger where have you gone..... I am still here my faithful readers.
Why haven't you written anything? Nothing to write. I have seen in the open line some of the things I have reported have gotten picked up. I think it is interesting, people say no one reads this blog, well it looks like someone does...
On average, I get about 1,700 views a day. Of these views, 90% are in Pennsylvania. Of the 1,700 views, on average 300 are unique views, meaning they are viewing for the first time. 70% of viewers to this blog stay on for longer than a half hour.
I got an interesting sheet from a teacher friend of mine. Looks like they are pointing the membership of the local union towards the four members of the CHANG ticket. I haven't gotten the sheet from her yet but I expect to get it tomorrow and share some of my thoughts with you. Apparently the union interviewed all but one of the candidates and gave a breakdown of the interviews to the members. I am going to get this information and see what these candidates had to say to the union.
Honestly, the police board was great to cover. These school board characters, they really are something else.
What would you say if I told you that there is a person who is running for school board that has zero faith in the Mifflin County Education system?
Call me crazy but I like my leaders to hold an optimistic view. I really don't want them to have a personal agenda or look for something to complain about. I don't want them running for the board so they can support more wild crazy witch hunts. I don't want them to have zero faith in our educational system.
What would I tell you if their was a person that was running for the school board that does not send their child to a public school? Mrs. Sharp is currently seeking election to the Mifflin County School Board. She has a child that is school age. That child does not attend public school. This to me is a double standard. Not only that, she is running for the board with a ticket of men that promise to save Union Elementary. She apparently feels that she would do a better job educating her child than the folks at Union. That is fine, it is her decision to home school. But, why save the Union then? What is the need to save a school that she apparently has NO faith in? Maybe she could start saving the school by sending her child there.
In an article published in the Lewistown Sentinel she was quoted as saying, "It is my desire to bridge the gap between the school administration and the community in a more effective manner," What gap exists? How would you know of this gap considering your child doesn't attend a public school? Maybe you could help this gap by sending your child to school! Then get yourself involved with the Home and School Association and begin work from there. That seems to me to be a logical option. Unless, you had a hidden agenda. This would then be something to cover yourself with.
She further says, "The early years are the foundation of education." If she really feels this, why not send her child to the public school? Why not send them to the school that your group of people you are running with feel is the best school in the district?
I like my leaders to have integrity. I like my leaders to be free of hidden agendas. I like my leaders to send their children to public school.
Here is the bottom line. IF YOUR RUNNING FOR SCHOOL BOARD. YOUR KIDS SHOULD ATTEND PUBLIC SCHOOL. NO QUESTIONS ASKED.
I know I spelled change wrong, you'll understand why in a minute.
New rule, if your running for school board you must be smarter than a fifth grader. I took a drive around through Reedsville and saw these signs. First of all, these people are supposed to run the schools. Instead, it looks like they got a group of third graders, gave them some Mountain Dew and black spray paint and had them to do their signs. As if this weren't bad enough, they spell the word candidate wrong. So, if your running for school board, make sure that at least ONE of the 4 people you are running with know how to spell the word C-A-N-D-I-D-A-T-E-S. Honestly, reflect on this for a while......Not one of them, not single person knows how to spell, and we should trust you to run our schools? This is the funniest thing ever. Ya know, covering the police was fun, but this, this is like a dream.
I have visual proof for you...take a look.... its great..
So I just wanted to zoom in on it really quick so you get the full effect. Maybe we could get one of the C-A-N-D-I-D-A-T-E-S, to explain how this happened, better yet maybe we could get them some better signs. MONEY FOR THE POOR ANYONE???? ANYONE AT ALL???
Don't close the Reeds Gap State Park Pool. I know its easy for me to say, "Don't close it." when I really don't use it all that much, but still, it shouldn't be closed. Why is it that the space has to go empty? Just a big field. Why not demolish it and put up a new pool? Get some local municipalities to put up some funds to help out with it. Also, charge an admission fee. I am sure people would be ok with having to pay something to use the pool. Perhaps, all of the money used to fund the police force could be used for the pool instead. Let's be honest the money that goes to the police force is like throwing money down the drain any way. At least if it goes to the pool everyone will get use out of it.OK I WONT START DOWN THIS PATH AGAIN.
Second, what about just fixing the current pool? Again, let it go for this year only charge an admission and use that money to fix the pool. People don't mind paying for something when the know where the money is going. In the current economic climate, lots of kids aren't going to be able to take a vacation this summer. Allow them to use this pool. Appeal to the community for help. I am sure something can be done.
Readers of this column know how much we have focused on the Mifflin County Regional Police Board. It is now time pay focus on the school board. No local election is more important than this one. The future of Mifflin County Schools is at stake.
The current members of the board are Beth Reifsnyder, Phil Nash, John Traxler, Kirk Rager, Travis Parkes, Dave Molek, Dr. Ruth Armstrong, Robert Bratton, and Walter Harpster. The incumbents up for election in 2009 are Travis Parkes and Walter Harpster. Robert Bratton has chosen not to seek reelection. Four of these members serve on the board of the Mifflin-Juniata Career and Technology Center. They are Kirk Rager, Travis Parkes, Walter Harpster, and Robert Bratton.
Based on what is reported in the news, this is a divided board with a coalition formed by Rager, Parkes, Traxler, and Harpster who nearly always vote the same on every issue.
Harpster and Parkes are currently running on the same ticket with two new candidates: John Hulbert and Kristen Sharp.
I know nothing about the beliefs of Hulbert and Sharp, but I fear that having them run is an attempt by the Rager camp to take over the board. Is this something the citizens of Mifflin County want?
I don’t think so. I want our elected officials to think independently and make their own decisions and not come to board meetings after privately meeting decide how to vote. The future of Mifflin County schools is too important for one collective mind to decide on all matters. You may think I am wrong about this, but think about it. These are the same people that thought it would be a good idea to build a school during a recession. Also, the same people that are to busy to attend meetings on a consitant basis. Also, the same people that are afraid to make the tough decisions.
If anyone has an e-mail address for Mary Lou Siglar, Kristen Sharp, Walter Harpster or any of the other candidates please forward them to me.
Talk about running for a reason. She really seems to be interested in doing the right thing. I have taken a look at past Mifflin County School Board meeting minutes, she has been very active. This is not a person who needs on the job training. She has experience as she points out. She is interested in students. That is a novel concept. To often people run for this position as a stepping stone. No concerns with that here. She really is interested in students and student learning. She knows all of the statistics. Pointing out the areas of weakness withing the Mifflin County School District.
The Bad...
I may take some heat for this but, I wish she would take a stand on the issues. By creatively dancing around the questions, the electorate will look through that. She offered no opinion on the new high school, just a question. When it came to teacher negotiations she pointed out that negotiations are on going. What does that mean? She claims that early childhood education needs to be reviewed. My question was what was her opinion of it. Do you like it? Is it worth funding? She also seems to have the board view out of focus. The board makes policy, the superintendent carries these policies out. She gave the school board a "C". They aren't doing good, but aren't doing bad either. Even when it came to school district consolidation, she had a neutral opinion.
I think its clear she is not a politician. That's a good thing. We need new blood. I think she should polish her message a little bit. I wish her the best of luck.
I understand that the current board members that are running are going to be running as a ticket. It will be interesting to see what their platform is.......
They better start with how they decided to build a school during a recession.
I actually got this survey a while back. I have waited to post it until Marihelen has made her announcement. Now that she has, I would like to share this survey with all of you. Feel free to send any follow up questions to me. I do have another survey that will be posted after the candidate makes his/her announcement.
1. Why are you running?
I can be a voice for our community as a parent, tax payer, and as a concerned citizen.
2. How would you describe the current state of the district?
Mifflin County School District faces the challenges that most of our school districts are facing across the USA---improving academics to meet minimal requirements, focusing on every student to be sure they reach success, preparing our children for a world that is difficult to predict (due to technology, innovation, etc...) and keeping all of these initiatives within our fiscal framework as a community. Our district currently is weak according to Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE). Our district is in Corrective Action; Mifflin County School District is of 12% of schools in the State to be at this level. This can be viewed at www.PAAYP.com.
3. What is your opinion about building the new high school?
My opinion of the new school would be summed up with this question: How does the new building guarantee better success for every child in the district? We need to keep in mind three safety concerns: Academic Safety, Physical Safety and Emotional Safety.
4. Do you think the students of the county are well-served by the district? We have excellent staff who desire to well-serve each and every student in Mifflin County School District. I believe intentions are good; unfortunately we live in a time where we are not measured on intentions/or opinions. We must use only researched proven data for policies but also for all material we use for our curriculum. And, my philosophy in life is that we all have a lot to learn in order to meet success, the same is true for Mifflin County School District.
5. What is your opinion about the teachers' union and negotiations with the district?
Our teachers' union and the negotiations with the district are never ending, nor should they be.
6. What is your opinion on early childhood education?
Early education is a growing concern for all school districts. We know that by instituting the very best, research-based practices at an early age, we can move students and have them meet with success faster. In order to level the playing field in K-12 education, early education has to be reviewed.
7. What is your opinion about vocational education?
Vocation education is a viable trade any student will take with them for life, even if the student chooses to put it aside and pursue other educational adventures, they can always fall back to the trade they learned in school. I believe the expectations are changing rapidly in these areas and that we need to continue to improve our programs in technical education in order for our children to be prepared for employment upon graduation. I do however; feel vocational education should not withhold the children from necessary classes for college placement.
8. Should the district cut any current programs in order to balance the budget?
I believe if the current programs are not to enhance the child's academic success then we should open discussions about re-focusing our resources.
9. How should the district best address "No Child Left Behind?"
We should focus more on how to educate each child. 60% of our children in Mifflin County are Proficient according to PSSA testing assessment scores which mean 40% of our children are not at Grade Level. It takes one and one-half times to educate students below standards than those students at the necessary academic level.
10. What is the role of a school board member?
The role of a school board member would be make policy and to hold our Superintendent accountable to policies that the State and local Board of Education has established.
11. What current letter grade would you give the school board? Why?
My grade for the school board would be a C. The reason I chose this grade is to give credit where it’s due for holding our school tax at a minimum rate. I also will add the district has chosen programs to make our district more successful, however, I believe programs are not being mandated throughout our district. This gives me, and should give all community members, great concern. I believe our district needs to intensify accountability within our administrators to be successful. This will provide the proper support to our staff.
12. What do you think of the idea to consolidate school districts? Will this help of hurt Mifflin County?
My thoughts of consolidating the school are neutral. I would need to have more information to have an opinion, but I have a few thoughts. On the positive, this could provide more options for children who are part of a more cohesive system. However, I can foresee difficulty in managing a larger organization.
John Snyder and Nelson Rieffannacht (a.k.a. Nelly) each received a distinctive award from the Mifflin County Blog.Snyder was honored with the “Talking Out of Both Sides of Mouth” award and Nellie “The Gross Exaggeration” award.Both were recognized in their respective categories for their performances at board meetings in the months leading up to the firing of former Police Chief William Herkert.
Snyder separated himself from the other pretenders in July when he made the motion to allow Chief Herkert and other authorized personnel the authority to make purchases for the MCRP for $1,000 or less without board approval.Then in the same meeting he commented that he believed the police chief had too much power to make financial decisions.
Not satisfied that this statement alone would bring him victory, one month later he asked Herkert why the board did not vote on the purchase of 2 guns at a cost of $1,000.Recall that one month earlier he gave Herkert the authority to make such a purchase.
Did John think this was enough?No, he didn’t.Like the 2007 New England Patriots, he put the hammer down on the opposition.Granting permission for the chief to purchase patrol scooter for $2,300 at the August meeting, he did a big about face in September to rescind the purchase, claiming that the costs of training, clothing and accessories to the scooter would bring the total to over $4,300.One can only speculate about the grades John got in 3rd grade math because financial records show that total costs associated with the scooter amounted to $3,180.
Had enough yet?Sorry.Even though we are all crying “uncle” by now, Big John launched a 90 yard touchdown bomb against a hapless secondary back in April by questioning Herkert about why he would purchase rain coats for the force at $90 per coat.John wondered why they couldn’t be purchased more cheaply from another vendor.Have you been to a clothing store in the last 15 years John or are you a regular customer at Goodwill?
Now we move on to Nellie.As reported by the Sentinel, Nellie made the following statement at the September 29 board meeting as justification for firing Chief Herkert: "We're looking at willful misconduct and insubordination, (involving) budgeting and operations. Monies have been used for purposes for which they were not originally intended."
To anyone hearing this who doesn’t know Nellie, one would think that Herkert was the Bernie Madoff of MifflinCounty, abusing the public trust for his own gain.So, let’s look at Herkert’s high crimes and misdemeanors according the public record reported in Saturday’s Sentinel:
A.Charging the MCRP for turnpike fees for officers receiving police training.This expense makes all of us shudder.The officers could have taken a longer alternative route to spare the county the burden of these fees.And to offset the extra cost of gas, they could have turned off the engine when on downhill segments of the highway.
B.Charging the MCRP $116 for fuel costs to and from this same training.Oh my God…Do you know the price of gas?Couldn’t the officers have hitchhiked?Yes, I know hitchhiking is dangerous but these are trained police officers who are very capable of defending themselves against assault from criminals who might pick them up.
C.Not charging officers for mileage to and from work when they take MCRP vehicles home.Never mind that they are on call 24 hours a day.There are many days when they are not called.Not charging them for mileage bleeds the public like a paper cut and is much worse in the wintertime when officers might use up all the window washer fluid driving to and from work in bad weather.
D.Charging the MCRP $90 apiece for raincoats (Recall earlier that Snyder cited this as a high crime).Why do officers need raincoats anyway?It’s just water and they can always dry off when they get home.Work is not the place to keep our officers comfortable.
E.Hiring Damon Lewis Peachey to administer an email program for block watch groups.Even though Herkert twice discussed this with the board, he failed to recognize that good memories are not a strong suit of this board.Why do we need to keep block watch groups informed about anything pertaining to the public’s safety?
F.And finally, making the MCRP pay the insurance deductible for the body repair of Car 17.Why worry about Car 17?There are 16 other cars without any body damage.Why can’t the officer driving Car 17 deal with it.Maybe driving a wrecked car would inspire him to improve his performance on the job and become one of the top 16 officers in the force who get to drive an undamaged car.
Of course, we must recognize that the above examples are only the serious crimes that got Herkert fired.We don’t know anything about the minor violations.Like for example, did Chief Herkert ever take home a MCRP ball point pen and allow his family to use it for reasons other than police business?And what about toilet paper?Did Chief Herkert ever authorize the use of extra soft toilet paper when he could have gotten single ply paper for $2 less per case?Or, God forbid, did he ever take a roll home for private use?We’ll never know the answers to these questions but I’m sure Nellie does.
In conclusion, I have to wonder what Snyder and Nelly will do for an encore.Do they have the capacity to top themselves and further separate the MCRP from the other police forces in Pennsylvania?Rest assured that the sky is the limit with these two superstars.Every meeting is a new opportunity for them.No doubt that when their term is up, they will be elected into the Hall of Shame on the first ballot, while continuing to make the Mifflin County Regional Police board the laughing stock of Pennsylvania.
Hey everyone hope you are all enjoying a long weekend.
I have sent surveys out to other people who have announced that they would like to run for school board. They have not answered my e-mails. This raises concerns for me. If they are already not willing to answer questions and they aren't even elected imagine what it will be like when they are elected. It would probably like....well how things are NOW!!!!!
Any way....
Lets talk about the new strip club. Now, unlike other people I am not going to say that I am morally offended by it. I'm not going to say that I have never gone to a strip club. What I do have a problem with is the business owners. I must be honest I don't know the people that do own the business, however I would like to council them on something.
Boobs are not the answer. I mean, lets be honest. You bought a building that by all accounts is where one star restaurants go to die. Your business didn't succeed. I don't believe your business failed due to a lack of boobs. It failed because in my opinion the food wasn't good, the atmosphere was mediocre and perhaps your menu was a bit over priced. Not because of a lack of boobs. But, the brain trust of the business got together and thought, well sales are down we haven't really attracted any new people to our establishment, its been a really slow few years. Lets get some boobs in here. I understand you need to make a change, or un-change, but the point is this is the wrong direction to take. This building is by schools and churches. Not to mention the YMCA. I think if you want to open a strip club do it somewhere else. Not in the middle of the town.
Well, I have gotten a lot of comments and a lot of views about Jeff Adams survey. I really found it interesting and I greatly appreciate him filling it out. So any way, here are my thoughts. Take them for what they are worth. Or, disagree with me and stop reading now. It is all up to you...
The good....
Jeff is a rather young man. He seems to look at this position with a new eye. He seems to share the same sentiment about education that most people in our area do.
His LERTA idea is a good idea.
From all of the places I have checked, he does seem to be a strong fiscal conservative. He does have a reputation of a hold the line type of man.
He is correct also in saying that there is a divide in the district. The county is divided on many issues and so is the school board.
He seems like a realist. He did not say our school district is the best in America however he also believes that it isn't the worst. I would agree with this.
He also realizes the vital role vocational education plays in our district.
I also like how he points out that the role of a school board member really is to make sure students are educated the best way possible. I doubt the current board would pass this test.
The Bad..
This Union Elementary thing has to go. I'm sorry, but it is a small building. If it comes down to raising my taxes or keeping this small building open, bye bye Union.
Enough with blaming the state for a lack of funding. I am so sick of hearing how Harrisburg is putting the screws to us.
Early education is the wave of the future. It will make our students competitive not just with students in America but around the world.
Thanks as always for reading,
Mifflin County Blog
I have also sent out three other surveys. When they have finished and completed them I will post their answers.
Sorry for the delay. I am off to a terrible start to 2009. Very bad health for myself and several family members. I want to hope that I will update every other day as I was, but I can not commit to that yet. I have gotten several well wish e-mails and I thank you. I have also gotten a few e-mails from people that are interested in running for school board.
Here are the questions I sent to Mr. Jeff Adams. While he tells me to call him Jeff, I will still refer to him as Mr. Adams. If anyone out there can think of some questions I should add to the survey that I will send out to future members, please send me a comment or an idea. I really think by taking it one step at a time, we can change how our voices are heard. I will share my thoughts about this survey tomorrow. I would like for you all to read it for yourselves and make your own judgment first.
The Survey.
1. Why are you running?
I am running for school board for many reasons, but the welfare and education of my children and the children that the school district serves should always be first on any candidates list. One reason for my candidacy is that I am committed to keeping Union Elementary open. It is truly an asset to the children and parents that is serves. I also believe that the school board can play a vital role in keeping taxes down countywide by working with municipal and county government with tax abatement programs like LERTA that encourage property owners to fix up deteriorated properties rather than letting them become condemned eyesores and ultimately torn down removing them from the tax roles and increasing the burden on the properties left. I also believe that I have a record of strong fiscal constraint and always having an open ear to the public during my time on the Lewistown Borough council. I will listen to the constituents and make carefully thought out decisions if I am to be given the privilege to serve our community on the school board.
2. How would you describe the current state of the district?
I feel the current state of the district is divided. The district and the board is divided on issues ranging from the budget, the new high school, and union elementary. We as a district face a budget deficit as well as huge logistical issues concerning the ongoing construction projects across the district.
3. What is your opinion about building the new high school?
The new high school is a reality now like it or not. We must however be very careful when constructing it. We must remember that we are not working with a blank check from the taxpayers. That said, we must also try and make a school that will last for generations to come. It is a very sticky situation and must be handled with the utmost care.
4. Do you think the students of the county are well-served by the district?
I have seen several other districts across the country in places like rural West Virginia, to inter-city schools in LA from my time as missionary. After visiting these schools I feel that the district is doing an adequate job preparing students for the next step in the journey of life. We have numerous clubs and outreach programs as well as a good variety of athletics available for our students. Academically I feel that the district is on par with the rest of the state but there is always room for improvement.
5.What is your opinion about the teachers' union and negotiations with the district?
After spending several years on the Lewistown Borough Council I got the privilege of renewing the union contract for the workers of the Borough of Lewistown. All jokes aside it is a very difficult and painful process that is as much fun as a visit to the dentist. We absolutely want quality teachers educating our children. Quality education however comes with a price. We must make sure we treat our staff fairly but not put ourselves in a deficit at the same time. Healthcare is always a huge factor in negotiations, and the cost is always on the rise. We must be willing to shop around to numerous providers and find quality yet affordable care. We must go into negotiations with an open mind and ears to make it successful.
6. What is your opinion on early childhood education?
Having a preschool aged child let me be the first to tell you that preschool is very expensive. It does prepare children for kindergarten and those who either could not afford preschool or had chosen not to go are at a distinct disadvantage when they enter the school system. The waiting list for subsidized child care is very long with most children are never getting a chance to attend at all. The Headstart centers across the county are at maximum compactly and private schools are not very affordable for the average family. I feel the state needs to step up with regard to early childhood education. The state needs to move away from some frivolous transportation projects and increase funding to childcare facilities and increase the income guidelines for subsidized childcare across the state. So few are able to obtain help to provide early childhood education while others fall out of the income guidelines and simply cant afford the $400 - $600 a month price. I do not however feel that the district should have preschool programs as one of our services. The district is not in the position to take on such an endeavor at this time. We should be approaching the state however to use some of its more abundant resources into making early childhood education a reality for more children across this county as well as the state.
7. What is your opinion about vocational education?
Vocational education is something I feel is very important for Mifflin County due to our geographical location in rural Pennsylvania. My wife attended vocational school and it has helped prepare her for her current education she is undergoing to become a veterinary technician. Teenagers are very unique in nature and have very different dreams and goals. Some may want to open a hair and nail salon after graduation, while others may want to work on the family farm, or go to culinary school. And vocational school prepares them with the tools to enter the workforce right away. We are giving these students a head start on life.
8. Should the district cut any current programs in order to balance the budget?
NO! Unfortunately music and art programs are often times the first programs to be cut . The budget can be balanced with hard work and fiscal constraint. No cuts need to be made.
9. How should the district best address “No Child Left Behind?”
The district stands to lose far to much in government funding to not take the program seriously. I do think we need more accountability in our school systems so students are not slipping through the cracks. The educational needs of every child however are very different and cant be measured by a test. I think that corrective measures need to be taken with regard to the program.
10. What is the role of a school board member?
The role of a school board member is to make the very best education available for the students of the district and to wisely use the money that comes from each and every one of the taxpayers pockets.
I just wanted to take some time to explain how I moderate comments. I do not mind what you write in as long as it meets the following guidelines.
1. Please do not curse. While I enjoy doing it, I don't think this is a proper forum for that. We are all intelligent people and can explain our point of view without using 4 letter words.
2. Explain your point- Simply calling someone a name is not going to get published. If you call someone a name or a slacker and have a reason to back it up, I will publish it.
3. Try and be respectful- I know your probably thinking I should take my own advice. I try to be respectful and make my points as clear as possible. I understand emotions run high, that is to be expected. But, let us try to make out points without stepping into the gray area.
4. I don't just publish comments that agree with me. I have no problem with you not agreeing with me. I really do want to make this a forum to express our thoughts....
On to other news. I have reached out to Mr. Adams about his school board candidacy. He responded to my e-mail but has not responded to my questions as of yet. However, if you have any questions for me to ask him please let me know. Another thing, if you know of any other people that ARE running for school board, let me know. I would like to send them out a survey as well.
I really hope we can start a movement here endorse some people and get some changes around here.
Well, just when I thought I was out, it pulled me back in. I really thought I had the flu bug beat, but it came back...again....for the third time. Man it is really a nasty bug this year. Any way, I haven't been completely dead. I am keeping tabs on all of the local announcements and who is going to be running for each race. A little while ago, I created a post about the Mifflin County School Board. I was asking if people had any information to send it in. I was overwhelmed with responses. However, since this is an election year, I am going to attempt to find out who the best representatives for the people will be.
The first person to enter officially the race, Mr. Jeff Adams seems like a rather nice man. Fairly young, has an interest in a succeeding school district and seems to bring some fresh ideas. I am interested if he has any friends on the board and aside from getting the apparent teacher backing, how he feels on different issues. I have sent Mr. Adams a survey for him to fill out and return to the blog. If he does do it I will post the entire survey here on the blog.
Please stay tuned, and thanks for all the well wishes.......
Hey all, I have not died. I just wanted to drop in and thank everyone for all of the e-mails I have received. I have gotten a horrible flu bug. I was in and out of the hospital for the last ten days. But, I am feeling a little better and my posts will be more frequent. I really do apologise to all of my loyal readers, this was clearly something out of my control. I do intend to follow up on some missed stories for those of you that e-mailed me.
I suspect that the Mifflin County Regional Police board members will not resign their positions despite my repeated requests.But that should not surprise anyone because these are the positions where backward thinking incompetents always seem to surface. Is it the power they crave of do they just want everything to be the same as when they were kids.Wake up people…. This isn’t Mayberry.
I’m sure you think I am only referring to the regional police board, but I could just as easily talk about the local school board, who opted to starve the educational programs to fund a new high school that is much larger than it needs to be.
But, it doesn’t stop with the new school.I do not subscribe to printing scandalous rumors but I have heard from so many people in the community tell me the Mifflin County School Board is corrupt.I am not saying they are but I plan to look further into this.I encourage anyone with any information about this to send it to my blog.
I took some time to reflect on what was published yesterday in the newspaper. I know you are all probably expecting for me to publish a crazy rant, but honestly I am torn.
On one hand, I feel that this lady may have suffered enough. Her name has been in the paper, she probably can't go any where without people saying something to her about everything that happened and finally she is being blogged about online. Enough is enough perhaps.
On the other, she deserves what she got. Come on admit it, sending a reckless email like this was asking for controversy. Spreading racism via an email to an entire police force is not an extremely responsible thing to do. Even if you don't find it racist, one would have to admit that perhaps it wasn't the smartest thing to do. You would also have to admit that she probably got off easy with simply a letter in her file. I feel she should have been fired, at the very least suspended without pay for a given amount of time.
Then we go to Mr. Chatman.
While you may not like everything he had to say, you must give him credit for having the courage to say it the way he did. He certainly got the shock value vote. I give him credit for standing up for what he believes in. My advice to Mr. Chapman would be not to leave. I find it hard to believe a man with his courage would be run out of town by a silly email. Let's face it the bottom analysis should be that it is really a silly stupid racist email.
Finally, the third player in this was the Police Board. By any and all analysis these people have failed. Just look at some of the dumb comments certain members made during the meeting. I am not simply talking about this incident. I am speaking in general. This email was more or less the cherry on top. They really need some form of direction. Just in case you haven't noticed everything they do is a reaction. They had to react to the situation with the former Chief. And now again, they are reacting to this e-mail scandal. I am not asking for them to be fortune tellers, but I am asking for them to have a little vision on where this police force is headed. In my opinion they are not capable of this, that is why I have repeatedly asked for them to resign. I would like to ask for this yet again today.
Overall though, I felt worse for the police officers. Can you imagine the level of stress the men and women in blue must be under? Day in and day out they place their life on the line for us. Now they are forced to worry about what is happening in regards to leadership. This should not be their concern. They should have only one, keeping themselves and us safe. This board has not allowed for that. Instead the force is placed under extreme pressure due to a lack of leadership at a board level.
This situation was created because of a lack of leadership. A true great story was on the second page of the paper. The story about the officers that did the right thing and were credited for their courage. Unfortunately that story was lost because of the tarnished reputation this board has created. Which is why I still say, all of them should resign.
Whats done is done and there is no going back. This is an extremely divisive issue.Let us look to the future, try to build a stronger force with hopefully better and stronger leaders.I do not think however, these board members are capable of that.
