Susquehanna County Blog

As we get closer to January 7th, enquiring minds are posing this question: “Will Michael Giangrieco actually take office as the minority commissioner in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania?”  Let’s examine this on several levels. 

First, given the well known quality of self confidence (read that as ego and arrogance), will he be satisfied to NOT be the chairman of commissioners?  Although Michael got more votes than  either MaryAnn Warren or Leon Allen, it is NOT carved in stone NOR is it law that the one receiving the most votes will necessarily be voted in to the Chairmanship.with the most votes is automatically the chairman.  Quite to the contrary.  Since this is the first time the Democratic Party has taken control of the Commissioners’ office - ever, there is no way they will let the minority commissioner of the party they have been controlled by since the beginning of time and just beaten.  In the event the Majority commissioners elect have a lapse in judgment, it will almost assure that the Democrats will Never Again, at least in the  be the majority party.  The view from here is that they will not have a lapse in judgment and MaryAnn Warren will be the Chairman of Commissioners.

Second, lets discuss Ethics.  There are several in the Law Community in Susquehanna County who are waiting with baited breath to see if Michael Giangrieco, Esq. will continue to practice Law after January 7th.  As previously noted on this blog, the Pennsylvania Law Weekly in June, 2007 had an article in the ethics column stating the problems with continuing a practice and voting on items as a county commissioner.  In fact, one attorney is willing to offer free office space to the Pennsylvania Disciplinary Board (as they will need an office) to run a continuing investigation of Michael if he persists in practicing law if he in fact does get sworn in as a county commissioner.

Third, is a question which still remains unanswered.  It is a question of sheer, basic economics.  Why would anyone in their right mind give up or curtail the business in their obviously successful law practice which arguably makes many multiples of the commissioner’s salary.  Surely it isn’t for the benefits.  While one can understand the argument of giving back to the community, the cynic in this writer absolutely doesn’t believe it about this person in this case. 

Another writer in this blog previously referred to Michael Giangrieco as possibly becoming the “Incredible Sulk” due to the first item above.  One should never  believe that because someone is “self assured” that they are not intelligent.  Quite the contrary.  However, some things just don’t add up.  Thus, the view from here is that unless there are some factors which haven’t been considered yet there is the real possiblilty that the Minority Commissioner Elect will come up with some reason (read excuse) why he cannot serve.   Or, if he does get sworn in, he will probably find a “reason” to resign within a year.  Of course this will bring further discomfort (read embarassment) to the Republican Party, possibly assuring another Democratic win in a future election. 

Finally, if Minority Commissioner Elect Michael Giangrieco, Esq. does not serve, or leaves during the term of office, the Judge (Kenneth Seamans) with input from the Republican  Party will choose the successor.  If that would occur, smart money would be on the number 2 Republican in the Party, Ray Telnock. 

As always, your responsible input is welcome.  To leave a comment, you have to register.  No one here wants or needs your real name, but you do have to register.  It’s Free!!  Go to the Meta section on the right side of the page and register.  Do it now.  Responsible comment is always welcome.

The very first entry on this site was about  Bluestone.  Since that time, more information has become available and it is time to write the first update.  You can read it if you search either by Bluestone in Susquehanna County or in the archives.

It was reported (a few weeks ago) in the local media, that BS Quarries has withdrawn their application to do a large expansion to their operations in New Milford Township.  Was this a “win” for the “People”?  Certainly, if you ask the landowners on Sutton Road and that portion of PA 848 that is most traveled by the stone trucks, they will say it was.  If you ask the people who work for BS, it was certainly not a positive thing.  It did force the New Milford Township Supervisors to have to address at least in some measure the issue.  It is a good thing they have a solicitor is on the ball and offered appropriate advice. 

If you go to GoogleEarth and zoom in on Susquehanna County, you will be surprised at the quality of the images.  It appears they were made in late 2006 or early 2007 and are recent enough and good enough to see all the quarries in the area as they currently are.  Some are quite large.   How many are there?  How many are being worked without permits?  How many which are no longer worked, been properly closed?  There are more than a few of these.

Oh yes, how about the economic development side of the Bluestone Industry?  While there is little official information available about the industry specifically in any terms, a little sneaks out from time to time.  The largest conventional employer in Susquehanna County is and has been for many years, Barnes Kasson Hospital.  There are roughly 400 who work there.  I am quite sure the number of independent contractors working in the Bluestone Industry easily exceeds that by multiples as does the payroll.  A year or so ago, the word on the street was that the reported income of the Bluestone industry in Susquehanna County exceeded $110 million annually.  So, grouped together as an industry, Bluestone is easily the largest employer and revenue generator in Susquehanna County.  Does anyone know of a larger business here?  By the way, if $110 million was reported, how much was unreported?  That’s anyone’s guess, but one estimate suggested in the neighborhood of $250 million total.  If either of these numbers are even remotely close, they dwarf the Barnes Kasson figures. 

Two very simple questions - How many families are fed from our native rock?  How can anyone say there are no jobs in the county?  There is a continual need for workers in the industry, both skilled and unskilled, which has to be fed by workers who aren’t afraid to work (usually from a Latin American country who may or may not be “documented”). 

Our ancestors came to this country with ideas and the willingness to work.  Many did not speak English when they came here.  Most learned it as they embraced their America.  Today, we as a people are weak, spoiled and are unwilling to take on the challenges of the day.  Many feel they are too educated to have to do manual labor.  Education is a wonderful thing.  It should be embraced thoroughly and completely.  However, never forget where we have all come from.  Don’t look down on the person who does manual labor.  At least he or she is working and not part of the welfare system which has become so prevalant in this country and especially in Susquehanna County.

Ah, but which one!  Over a very short period we will have had Bear Season, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday (which also shares the day with our local major holiday) First day of deer season and the beginning of Christmas. 

Also to be included in this time frame are the Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving, also known as “If you try to feed me any more leftover turkey, I won’t be responsible for my actions days”.  At this point, even the dog isn’t interested!  This is when pizza, chinese, mexican and even McDonalds becomes somewhat appealing!  Just anything but turkey…

People who become acquainted with our area area amazed to learn that schools actually close here as well as some businesses for at least the first day of the antlered deer season, better known as the First Day of Buck.  In 1987, a well known local National Bank ran an ad in the local paper to say they would be closed for the First Day, but MAC would be open to serve 24 hours a day.   To many who have spent their entire lives here and some who haven’t, this is as important “holiday” to them as Memorial Day, Labor Day, the 4th of July and Christmas itself.  Well, maybe not Christmas, but close, very close…

Actually, the hunters are doing those of us who live here a service, although most don’t see it that way.  The more deer that are “harvested” mean less deer to run into on our well built, high visiblility roads.  If you have ever hit a deer with your car, you know what I mean. 

Anyway, we have made it through Bear Season, Thanksgiving and Black Friday and are anxiously waiing for the start of deer season and for Santa Claus to appear. 

 It’s a great time to be in Susquehanna County.  Let’s welcome the hunters, let them harvest the deer while we harvest their wallets.  We should really appreciate these days.  As the county gets built up, there will be less and less areas for hunters to go.  This will eventually mean less and less hunters which means less and less tourist dollars spent here over the course of the year.  Of course, we do still have around 15,000 acres of State Gamelands in Susquehanna County.   As Manny Gordon would say “Enjoy, Enjoy”

While some dislike the influx of hunters, traffic and other things similar, the side that many fail to see is the influx of dollars spent at the local restaurants, bars, stores, and other retail establishments throughout Susquehanna County.  For this, we should be thankful, even if a few deer are sacrificed in the process.  

The question has been raised on a different post on this blog as to who won the race for school board directors in Mountain View Schools.  It is no secret that there was a very hard fought write-in battle for the directors’ positions.  What led to such controversy?  Is this partially due to the actions (or lack of actions) of certain board members?  How is the school doing academically?  When the Scranton Times issues a report card for all school districts in the spring, Mountain View is NOT a shining star above all in the county.  Why is this?   Enquiring minds would like to know.  For those of us who are taxpayers in the Mountain View School District who children either currently attend or have attended, we would like to know what is going on.

Please post comments here rather than the previous topic.  Thank you. 

The word “ZONING” is one of the more polarizing words in use today, especially in Susquehanna County.  The typical knee jerk reaction when someone raises the idea of the “Z” word is the following: “Don’t tell me what I can do with MY land”. 

What those people fail to realize is that implementing zoning isn’t so much what they can or can’t do on their own land, it’s what their neighbor can do on THEIR land which could impact everyone in the neighborhood. 

If, and that’s a huge word, it can be implemented properly, it can be extremely beneficial to all.  Consider the following two examples where Zoning could have been a huge help:

1.  Lenox Township.  An individual came to the County Planning Commission a few years ago with a plan to have a commercial use of a vacant property.  The stated use is a pizza parlor.  This seems like a pretty simple decision.  The landowner did the proper thing by applying for a ” Land Development” and all the paperwork was in order.  The members of the Planning Commission approved the plan as everyting had been done correctly.   Great.  Now we can all get pizza in Lenoxville! 

One little problem.  The owner decided he wasn’t making enough money six months later and changed the pizza parlor into a strip club.  This created the requisite outcry of indignation and questions to the Planning Department of “What are you going to do about this?”  Of course the answer was “Nothing.  The landowner presented his plan, he was approved for a commercial use of the property.”  The Planning Department and Planning Commission had acted appropriately, they worked within the loose framework they were given.  Once a property has been approved for commercial use, that is it.    Unfortunately, like it or not, a strip club is a commercial use.  If there had been zoning - along with a township ordinance which was enforceable, this never would have happened. 

By the way, the strip club stayed in business for a few years and finally closed due to a lack of business (only in Susquehanna County could even that type of economic development fail).  Now it is in the process of being transformed into a restaurant type of operation once again.   

2.  Bridgewater Township.  Although this plan never made it to the Planning Commission, it very easily could have.  And, due to lack of zoning in Bridgewater Township, this commercial use could have become a part of our community.  How many of you remember when there was a company who wanted to use a commercial building on PA 706 a little East of Montrose, for a youth detention center.  This was a commercial enterprise where the facility was to serve not only local troubled youth, but youth from anywhere in the Commonwealth.  

If memory serves, it was to be next to a family who had school aged children and within a quarter mile of the Montrose Area High School.  This information made the rounds, the community was typically outraged and in the mean time, the facility located in another county who was more receptive or just didn’t care.  Just understand this, if this facility wanted to persue their plan, very little could have been done to stop it.  

Make not mistake, these facilities are (unlike the previous example) a very necessary thing.  However, the correct location is extremely important.  Of course, now we have a facility in the county which deals with troubled teens, located near the county jail and recycling center.  It is not near the local high school and is presumably not near anyone with school aged children.  Is that the best place for this facility, maybe yes, maybe no.  One thing is certain, it is a much better location than near the high school.

So You Know!  Currently, out of 40 municipalities, there are 5 boroughs (Forest City, Hop Bottom, New Milford, Susquehanna Depot and Montrose) and one township (Herrick) which are zoned. 

Do we need zoning?  That decision is ultimately up to the various Borough and Township officials.  However, they are supposed to be representing their residents.  Please be sure they are well informed and act on behalf of their constituents rather than their own, sometimes myopic vision for the future of their municipality.  

This writer is not suggesting that if zoning were to occur that it be a micromanaged affair.  After all, we do live in the country.  It’s just about seeing the integrity of the land use of the county remaining intact. 

Of course, the Bluestone community may take exception to this discourse, but it isn’t necessarily about them.  Rather it is about someone or some entity who comes to this rural area who thinks they can do something here which would not be tolerated anywhere else.  Think about that!

Your thoughts?  To leave a comment, please go down the page on the right to the “Meta” section.  You will have to register (no, we don’t need or want your real name), log in and start writing.

Apparently, the proposed 3 Lakes Sewer project is being met with mixed reviews by some.  This project will ultimately clean up potential sewer issues at the lakes, upgrade the existing system as well as promote economic development along PA 706 East of Montrose. 

A little background.  The players are the Montrose Sewer Authority which has a collection system and a treatment plant which services Montrose.  The Bridgewater Municipal Authority has a collection system, however does not have a treatment plant.  In fact, it has been said that Bridgewater is a client of  the Montrose Authority.    One more piece of information - The Montrose Authority currently needs a state mandated upgrade. 

 Currently, the two Authorities are considering a jointure.  

The first question here is the following:  “Should the residents of Montrose Borough be responsible, at least in part for the cost of the 3 Lakes expansion?”

A second question is:  “Due to the requirement of a state mandated upgrade, should the existing customers only be responsible for the upgrade or should it be the responsibility for the 3 Lakes expansion customers to be responsible as well?”

 A third question is:  “If there were no expansion, would there still be a state mandated upgrade to the existing system and if so, how much additionally would it cost the individual customers?”

 A fourth question is:  “Assuming there is an expansion, would the cost of the mandated upgrade be spread among the new customers as well as the existing customers?”

A fifth question is:  “How much will this expansion cost the current customers individually (not counting the cost of the mandatory upgrade?”

There have been other sewer expansions in Susquehanna County.  Two notables are the Tri-Boro Sewer Authority expansion into Lanesboro and the expansion of the Hallstead - Great Bend Joint Sewer Authority to New Milford.  The Lanesboro expansion was done a number of years ago, however, the New Milford project is only recently completed.   It is believed that neither of these projects included an increase for existing users.  The local expansion was funded by bonds, as well as user fees.  The user fees however are different in both expansion towns from the original fees.   

The idea of creating a jointure for the 3 Lakes project could make sense under the right set of circumstances.  Especially if it helps to manage costs, makes it easier to apply for grants and reduces a level of bureaucracy.  However, if these three items and others are not at least being discussed, very publicly between the two Authorities, as well as the questions above with the existing and new potential customers, why?  

 Your thoughts?

Below is a link to the most reliable information regarding the status of the Susquehanna County Commissioner Candidates.  This information was supplied by Gary Wilder, Susquehanna County Voter Registrar.  The paper has handwritten on the bottom ” Official Returns - Pre Final Certification 11/15/2007, G.A Wilder, Voter Registrar”.  While these results are almost anitclimatic to anyone who has been reading this blog, there are some surprises.  Remember, you read it here first! No sense in waiting for the newspapers next Tuesday or Wednesday!

 First, the Winners - by votes - rather than party.

Mike Giangrieco  -R   3,969

MaryAnnWarren   -D (Incumbent) 3,177

Leon Allen   -D        3,169

 Congratulations to the Winners! 

Then there were the Runners-up - by votes - rather than party

Jeffrey Loomis -R (Incumbent)  3,094

Roberta Kelly  -R (Incumbent)   2,366 

Thomas Jurista -I    1,309

Fred Baker -R            708

So, there you have it.  History has been made in Susquehanna County with the first elected Democratic majoriy county commisioners.  

The hope here is that there will be some real change in the way the county government is administered and that the new commissioners will not fall into the same rut which has been the way of life in the past.  It is too easy to have double the registered voters (Republican party) and essentially be assured of a win no matter what.  This time it didn’t happen.  If the Democratic party wants to retain control here, they better produce and do it fairly quickly!

 By the way, for those who don’t know, both Lackawanna and Bradford Counties now also have a Democratic majority in their respective commissioners offices.

Time to move on to the next topic.  Although politics is a huge source of interest in Susquehanna County, the election is over.  There are many, many subjects which need to be discussed.  So, let’s get started!  As always, your suggestions are most welcome.  Just post as a response here. 

Maybe it is just wishful thinking that the final results of this commissioner race will be know today or tomorrow, but it should be getting very close now. 

Predictions:

After the fat lady sings - Giangrieco, Warren and Allen will be the next Susquehanna County Commissioners.  This is quite interesting as the biggest vote getter (Giangrieco) will be relegated to the position of Minority Commissioner.  What a slap in the face.

Kelly will have to update her resume and get a job in January (unless the incoming commissioners do some crazy thing like make her Chief Clerk or economic development director).   History shows us that things like this have happened before in our little county.

Baker will return to his normal life and probably try it one more time in four years.

Loomis, who, according to more than one resident, will continue to sell beer and laugh about it.  He may be back in four years as well.

Jurista will also probably run again in four years as a Republican, Democrat, Independent or ??

Maybe there will be a court challenge if the write-in vote gets anywhere near 3,166 votes.  This is the number needed to exceed the number of votes (3,165) the number 3 slot (Leon Allen) currently has. 

There may be court action from another unsuccessful candidate regarding running new political ads after the legal cutoff period.  

The Republican Party will  (and probably should)  form a circular firing squad.  In the end, no one will be willing to accept blame, although those Republicans who pushed the write-in candidates RATHER THAN SUPPORT THE ENDORSED CANDIDATES are obviously EGO Driven rather than team members of the party.  You are largely responsible for the outcome of this election.  Maybe you boys and girls should submit your resignations before you embarass the party any more.  Don’t know where you will go though - the Democrats probably don’t want you either.  The Republican party better get its act together NOW before the 2008 elections are here and Susquehanna County votes in a national election in a way which has never been seen  before.  If that happens, the Republican party in Susquehanna County will start to know the way of life the Democratic party has endured for many, many years - that of being the party in second place.   Currently, they are going to have to play catch up.  Even with the majority of voters registered to the GOP, don’t think they are stupid.  They are going to vote for the person, not the party.  Many split their vote this time.  The day of keeping the electorate in line has passed.  This election has proven that.  Let’s face it, through the actions of some, the Republican party has finally succeded in snatching defeat from the jaws of victory (with appologies to Winston Churchill).

The Democratic Party, who has usually at this time after an election,  assembled its own circular firing squad, this time will not.  Why? Simply put, for the first time in history, they will be in control of the Commissioners office in Susquehanna County.  Let’s see if they will be able to assume the leadership roll with some dignity and decorum which has been lacking in the office for many years.  Time will tell.  The incoming minority commissioner elect will probably attempt to sway the majority commissioners elect to his mindset as he is an ego driven attorney.  He will possibly even attempt to get one or both Majority Commissioners to elect him as chairman.  If the Democrats want to have ANY hope of having their candidates reelected in 4 years (2011), or have ANY credibility as a viable party from January, 2008 forward, they should flatly reject this nonsense, especially the “I am the lawyer, listen to me” approach and/or the Commissioner chairmanship, if this prediction comes to pass.

Oh yes, if the incoming minority commissioner continues to practice law after he is sworn in, look for members of the law community to offer free office space for the Pennsylvania Disciplinary Board to open a branch office in Susquehanna County.    

Finally, the newspaper “reporters” who have overtly and covertly (so they think) supported Roberta Kelly in her failed bid to retain her employment have ruined their credibility as members of the media.  Objectivity is not a word which has any real meaning to you does it?  The incoming administration MUST NOT permit these “reporters” to become part of the story or even worse, advisors to the commissioners.   Homework assignment for all readers of this blog - look up Yellow Journalism.  See if that describes these “reporters” - if you have had enough interaction with them to form an opinion.  If it does, you should contact their managing editors, publishers, etc. and let them know you don’t appreciate these “reporters” actions.  Thus, the prediction here is that at least one “reporter” may become unemployed if this person’s managing editor or publisher has any sense of decency or interest in credibility as a media outlet in Susquehanna County.  

The next post should be the final results of the 2007 Susquehanna County commissioners race.  Are you as sick of it as the rest of us?

Time to move onto  something a whole lot different…

According to the New Milford Township write in sheet, Roberta Kelly (and the various spellings thereof) received about 100 votes.  Fred Baker has 34.  According to the county website, there are 1,218 registered voters in New Milford Township.  Of these, 503 chose to vote in the municipal election.  The county website says there were  a total of 133 write in votes. 

So, as of now, it appears the current tally (in order they appeared on the county website) is:

MaryAnn Warren      199

Leon Allen                 92

Michael Giangrieco   214

Jeffrey Loomis           171

Tom Jurista                 46

Roberta Kelly              99*

Fred Baker                  34

*    This number is estimated, based on various spellings of the name. 

Again, these results are from New Milford Township ONLY.   If New Milford Township is any indication about the rest of the county (and it may not be), the overall election results will probably not change. 

More later.  If you have information about the write-in vote in your municipality, post it here.

The write-in votes are still being counted with the end nowhere in sight.  By the middle of Friday afternoon, Clifford Township had been completed.  This would make 5 of the 43 precincts in Susquehanna County.  Actually, there are 40 townships and boroughs, however Forest City, Susquehanna and Montrose Boroughs all have 2 precincts, thus there are 43.  Each of these 43 has write-in votes which have to be counted by hand, with each separate spelling of every vote has to have it’s own count.  Thus, every one who voted for Mickey Mouse gets a separate entry from every one who may have voted for Michael Mouse, Micky Mouse, Micky Maus and so on.  Add to this the votes for “None of the Above” and the spelling variations of that, “Any One Else” and any number of other wasted votes; in addition to the write-in candidates and the various spellings of their names and you have a lot of time invested.

While one can appreciate the level of frustration being experienced with various politicians, voting for “Donald Duck” is not going to solve the problem.  Further, if one is a legitimate write-in candidate for an office, why not invest a couple of bucks and have preprinted stickers with their correctly spelled name and hand them out to prospective voters.  Of course this could also create problems if the stickers come off in the optical scanning process.  Stories of jammed scanners and lost votes have been told in other parts of the country. 

The moral here is to buy quality stickers and hand them out to voters (if they want them), a reasonable distance from the  polling place.  What’s a reasonable distance?  Good judgment should determine that.  Being right in the voter’s face 10 feet from the door, in the middle of a forest of political signs, although legal, is really showing signs of desperation and could well offend the very voter the candidate is trying to reach. 

Finally, those candidates who have write-in votes which have been misspelled will have to go to court to attempt to get them added into their count if they are rejected.

Add the number of write-in candidates and the misspellings to the number of offices being sought (it’s not just about the commissioner race as virtually every office has some write in votes) and the “My Dog could do better” votes. 

Sorting out this mess is a thankless job which takes time and more patience than most of have. 

The results will be here eventually.  No voting system is equipped to handle a large numbers of write-in votes.  Although everyone who is entitled to vote may vote for whom they choose, discretion, maturity and common sense should prevail.