Records from the recent paving of State road 117 indicate that our own Bill Care had urged, during the planning meetings for this project, that crosswalks be painted at the intersection of 117 and Pinch Rd. Now, why this was of interest to him was not recorded. But I suspect that it is because it is a dangerous intersection--frought with fatal peril.
However, when the project actually went down, the state said to Care, essentially, the entrance to the Campmeeting, across Pinch, leads to, aaahh, nowhere. So, they can't do the painted crosswalk there.
So, since that rejection, Care has been hell-bent to make a "receiver" end for that painted crosswalk that he wants across Pinch. Let's also admit that it gives his staff something to do for a month or so, as well as an excuse to use his "big toys." With a sidewalk in front of P&W's home, he can now request his coveted painted crosswalk.
Let's now talk about the reality of that scenario.
First, the Borough Council is not acting responsively to its constituents by carrying out this project. The Council has received any number of written and formal complaints about this type of "development" within the Chatuaqua. However, the Borough Council has never acknowledged and incorporated these concerns into their actions. Instead, they just do things like this project on the sly. FOr example, in the Sept. Borough Council meeting, they tabled this sidewalk project, essentially until P&W die. [That's a paraphrase of Care's comments, but I have it available on dvd for your review, if you would like to see for yourself.]
Second, you and your neighbor's elected this council, and, well, they can do what ever they want in this regard. As long as they spend less than ten thousand a pop, there basically isn't much to keep them in check.
Third, as with MANY other MGB commitments, this project serves noresident or property owner in MGB. It starts across the street in the Campmeeting, runs across a private citizen's property, and ends in, well, a road. It does not connect with another sidewalk, a park, a bench, nothing pedestrian or ped-like. Further, it does nothing to address the reasons WHY that intersection may be dangerous. And, whats more interesting, is that the residents that have really driven home the reason why that intersection is dangerous, have been ostracized and targeted for police harassment--all under the authoritative umbrella of authority from Care and the Council.
Fourth, the Chautauqua Board has adopted a "no more tree cutting" resolution, which applies to this project. Or, is supposed to apply---but is not really being enforced.
In the next couple of days I will post the video of the council tabling this project, and pictures of how it leads to nowhere. In the meantime, we are grieving the loss of a family friend-Toby. However, if anyone feels like it, I have the name of an attorney who is adept at filing Sunshine Act violations and will also file an injunction on this matter. I will gladly share it with you at your request.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
"MGB, where incestuousness is the political standard?
At the risk of annoying those few persons in my community that I find have enough of that thing called integrity to show me that they deserve my respect, this post is going to be very frank. Mind you: you must read this post thoroughly, and repeat it accurately, for none of these people have said that they want to run for Borough Council in this Nov 3 election. I just think they--or people like them should be the ones at the helm right now, for we certainly seem to be in that political conundrum where the people who really have a sense of "representational" government and integrity in government also recognize the enormity of the burden and the commitment it takes to meet the task. So, they decline to run for things like boro council--and we are left with second best--if we are lucky.
So, I wrote to Santa yesterday and I asked him to make Nov 4, 2009 the day when I wake up to find that persons like Karl Gettle, Roberta Warshaw, and Bill Barlow have been elected to boro council. So, to my knowledge, based on all my review of public material, discussions with officials, and review of the laws, I think that:
1. The incumbents have proven completely unresponsive to citizen concerns. In fact, I have been trying to "make an appointment" to speak with one incumbent since before the Art Show. Apparently, spending time learning of your constituents' concerns is an option in Mt. Gretna. But I can't really say that that particular incumbent isn't just following her council president's lead-I also know him to never have responded to a constituent's concerns. By the way, he is also an incumbent this year.
2.Let's pull up our sleeves and stick our hands right in the dishwater. Our incumbent council president is the person responsible for the financial and administrative operations of our borough. And, here's what he has allowed to happen:
A. He has allowed our tax collector to apparently fail her duties--and is trying to pass resolving that financial disaster on to us. By law, our Earned Income Tax collector is required each year to reconcile the EIT monies and to repay any overpayment. However, Mt. Gretna Borough is being accused of being overpaid EIT for many years--to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. It seems to me that the only way for us to accumulate overpayments is for our tax collector NOT to have performed the required annual reconciliation. And, its a red herring to throw up, as a defense, that calls were made to the then EIT director and he said everything is fine. PA employers, also by law, are required to withhold their employees EIT AND to report those witholdings to the PA Dept of Revenue quarterly. The tax collectors certainly have access to that data, at least, which only means that they may have to wait three months or so for it.
B. He has allowed public equipment and personnel to be used for private gain. It is my understanding that staff like Bill Care and "his guys"--and our machinery, vehicles, and other equipment, are used to do things like re-grade roads in the Campmeeting or Heights. However, when I asked to see all the Boro's contracts, I was only shown three snow-plowing contracts and one police services contract. So, for example, I am only left to conclude that no contracts exist with Care for his personal use of our equipment or staff, or for accommodating his work as an independent contractor for any other entity. Nor can I conclude that there is any contract for MGB resources to be supplied to any other homeowners association or municipality.
C. He has allowed a slew of conflicting relationships to exist--none of which provide any benefit--either out of convenience or cost savings. He has allowed our city solicitor to represent us as well as the "enemy" on this alleged EIT overpayment issue. He has allowed the city solicitor to represent him and the boro in his personal real estate agreements with MGB--the very entity in which he is council president. He has allowed the tax collector and "bookkeeper" and our treasurer to be a married couple--under the law, spouses enjoy what we call "spousal immunity" when it comes to things like testifying against your "better half." This means that even if the treasurer, and the audit which he is responsible for generating each year, find something amiss, there are some serious questions as to whether he could publish that finding-especially if it leads to legal action.
D. He routinely violates our right to participate in municipal proceedings and discussions. He allows items of public interest to be tabled, while instructing/allowing staff to carry out the tabled item anyway, and he makes decisions without providing the public access to them. For example, the boro apparently reduced its staff size by one, yet I know of no public discussion of that issue. Reducing staff size is NOT a confidential matter--how you tell that person that his/her position is gone is confidential, however. So there is no excuse for us finding out through the grapevine that the Water Authority has "picked up" one of our staff.
Second example: at the Sept. Council meeting, the issue of taking a portion of Peter and Walter's land, cutting down more trees and paving a sidewalk from Campmeeting entrance to---nowhere in the Chautauqua, was tabled--for years. To paraphrase Allwein, he said that the budget right now couldn't afford it, and that Peter and Walter wouldn't own that property forever. Care's interjection was something like "Yeh, they'll be dead at some point." And, the issue was tabled until there were different owners to attempt to get them to contract away their land to the Boro. [Additionally, at the Sept Chautauqua meeting, the Board adopted a resolution placing a moratorium on cutting down trees in the Chaut.] Yet, just last Monday, Care and his crew started this project anyway, which will including cutting down at least 4 more trees in addition to the one that they cut down Monday. Again--the sidewalk leads to no where in the Chautauqua--travel lanes and parking areas for automobiles do not count, there simply is no place at the end of the proposed sidewalk to properly and safely receive pedestrians. If the intersection is an issue--perhaps dealing with it properly is in order...
I found what I consider to be a host of these examples, and Allwein himself admitted at the Sept Boro Council meeting that he has had, and intends to continue having, private discussions about public matters.
D. He has failed to present himself with transparency and the kind of integrity that we should expect from our representatives. In his campaign ethics disclosure, he fails to admit that he has an indirect real estate interest (his Jiggershop lease), that his lease has clauses in it that result in a interest in other leases and matters of both the Chautauqua and the Boro, that he has real estate agreements with the Boro, etc. The Boro budget also has a "Jiggershop" account, out of which it pays a relatively small portion of the temporary parking staff that is hired throughout the summer. Where is the contract for this, when was/is it negotiated, and why didn't I get to see that? More importantly, why is the Jiggershop's apparent burden so small compared to the other leaseholders in the Boro? Does Allwein recuse himself when it comes to parking issues? And, how many of these other types of "sweet deals" are there for him with the Boro?
It is time to pry open all these nasty little redundancies, overlaps, and deficiencies: just exactly how many ways are we going to allow staff to make money off our resources and our fees and tax money. Is Bill Care really our municipal works guy and a "private consultant" to the water authority or to any other municipality? Does he clock off the boro clock when he changes hats? If the EIT system was so poorly checked on that EIT collectors across the state are able to hold on to revenues without impunity--to the tune of $811,000 alone by the Leb Co EIT collector., and nobody's been checking on our EIT collector, who has any real idea what's been happening in MGB regarding EIT--or with any other monies going through our borough.
I think this confluence of events makes it imperative that we change the leadership in our community. Which is why I will not be casting one single vote for any of the three incumbents, but will be writing in three names of those I think would do a better job. I think of it as kind of a "vote of no confidence."
So, I wrote to Santa yesterday and I asked him to make Nov 4, 2009 the day when I wake up to find that persons like Karl Gettle, Roberta Warshaw, and Bill Barlow have been elected to boro council. So, to my knowledge, based on all my review of public material, discussions with officials, and review of the laws, I think that:
1. The incumbents have proven completely unresponsive to citizen concerns. In fact, I have been trying to "make an appointment" to speak with one incumbent since before the Art Show. Apparently, spending time learning of your constituents' concerns is an option in Mt. Gretna. But I can't really say that that particular incumbent isn't just following her council president's lead-I also know him to never have responded to a constituent's concerns. By the way, he is also an incumbent this year.
2.Let's pull up our sleeves and stick our hands right in the dishwater. Our incumbent council president is the person responsible for the financial and administrative operations of our borough. And, here's what he has allowed to happen:
A. He has allowed our tax collector to apparently fail her duties--and is trying to pass resolving that financial disaster on to us. By law, our Earned Income Tax collector is required each year to reconcile the EIT monies and to repay any overpayment. However, Mt. Gretna Borough is being accused of being overpaid EIT for many years--to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. It seems to me that the only way for us to accumulate overpayments is for our tax collector NOT to have performed the required annual reconciliation. And, its a red herring to throw up, as a defense, that calls were made to the then EIT director and he said everything is fine. PA employers, also by law, are required to withhold their employees EIT AND to report those witholdings to the PA Dept of Revenue quarterly. The tax collectors certainly have access to that data, at least, which only means that they may have to wait three months or so for it.
B. He has allowed public equipment and personnel to be used for private gain. It is my understanding that staff like Bill Care and "his guys"--and our machinery, vehicles, and other equipment, are used to do things like re-grade roads in the Campmeeting or Heights. However, when I asked to see all the Boro's contracts, I was only shown three snow-plowing contracts and one police services contract. So, for example, I am only left to conclude that no contracts exist with Care for his personal use of our equipment or staff, or for accommodating his work as an independent contractor for any other entity. Nor can I conclude that there is any contract for MGB resources to be supplied to any other homeowners association or municipality.
C. He has allowed a slew of conflicting relationships to exist--none of which provide any benefit--either out of convenience or cost savings. He has allowed our city solicitor to represent us as well as the "enemy" on this alleged EIT overpayment issue. He has allowed the city solicitor to represent him and the boro in his personal real estate agreements with MGB--the very entity in which he is council president. He has allowed the tax collector and "bookkeeper" and our treasurer to be a married couple--under the law, spouses enjoy what we call "spousal immunity" when it comes to things like testifying against your "better half." This means that even if the treasurer, and the audit which he is responsible for generating each year, find something amiss, there are some serious questions as to whether he could publish that finding-especially if it leads to legal action.
D. He routinely violates our right to participate in municipal proceedings and discussions. He allows items of public interest to be tabled, while instructing/allowing staff to carry out the tabled item anyway, and he makes decisions without providing the public access to them. For example, the boro apparently reduced its staff size by one, yet I know of no public discussion of that issue. Reducing staff size is NOT a confidential matter--how you tell that person that his/her position is gone is confidential, however. So there is no excuse for us finding out through the grapevine that the Water Authority has "picked up" one of our staff.
Second example: at the Sept. Council meeting, the issue of taking a portion of Peter and Walter's land, cutting down more trees and paving a sidewalk from Campmeeting entrance to---nowhere in the Chautauqua, was tabled--for years. To paraphrase Allwein, he said that the budget right now couldn't afford it, and that Peter and Walter wouldn't own that property forever. Care's interjection was something like "Yeh, they'll be dead at some point." And, the issue was tabled until there were different owners to attempt to get them to contract away their land to the Boro. [Additionally, at the Sept Chautauqua meeting, the Board adopted a resolution placing a moratorium on cutting down trees in the Chaut.] Yet, just last Monday, Care and his crew started this project anyway, which will including cutting down at least 4 more trees in addition to the one that they cut down Monday. Again--the sidewalk leads to no where in the Chautauqua--travel lanes and parking areas for automobiles do not count, there simply is no place at the end of the proposed sidewalk to properly and safely receive pedestrians. If the intersection is an issue--perhaps dealing with it properly is in order...
I found what I consider to be a host of these examples, and Allwein himself admitted at the Sept Boro Council meeting that he has had, and intends to continue having, private discussions about public matters.
D. He has failed to present himself with transparency and the kind of integrity that we should expect from our representatives. In his campaign ethics disclosure, he fails to admit that he has an indirect real estate interest (his Jiggershop lease), that his lease has clauses in it that result in a interest in other leases and matters of both the Chautauqua and the Boro, that he has real estate agreements with the Boro, etc. The Boro budget also has a "Jiggershop" account, out of which it pays a relatively small portion of the temporary parking staff that is hired throughout the summer. Where is the contract for this, when was/is it negotiated, and why didn't I get to see that? More importantly, why is the Jiggershop's apparent burden so small compared to the other leaseholders in the Boro? Does Allwein recuse himself when it comes to parking issues? And, how many of these other types of "sweet deals" are there for him with the Boro?
It is time to pry open all these nasty little redundancies, overlaps, and deficiencies: just exactly how many ways are we going to allow staff to make money off our resources and our fees and tax money. Is Bill Care really our municipal works guy and a "private consultant" to the water authority or to any other municipality? Does he clock off the boro clock when he changes hats? If the EIT system was so poorly checked on that EIT collectors across the state are able to hold on to revenues without impunity--to the tune of $811,000 alone by the Leb Co EIT collector., and nobody's been checking on our EIT collector, who has any real idea what's been happening in MGB regarding EIT--or with any other monies going through our borough.
I think this confluence of events makes it imperative that we change the leadership in our community. Which is why I will not be casting one single vote for any of the three incumbents, but will be writing in three names of those I think would do a better job. I think of it as kind of a "vote of no confidence."
Saturday, October 17, 2009
EIT Bureau admits there was a pattern of distribution based on set or predetermined percentages
I recently asked the EIT Bureau Board President to confirm whether or not there was a percent-allocation distribution schedule. He recently clearly replied that there was a pattern of distribution based on a predetermined, or set, percentages. However, he said that it wasn't a "schedule." This response confirms the three points that I have been blogging about since July:
1. There was a known distribution pattern that Foltz did not deviate from. The accusers' own report demonstrates this.
2. Keystone's current distribution of EIT revenue is a deviation from an admitted distribution pattern, yet this change in the rules of administration for this tax was never properly enacted. The Enabling Act for the EIT requires such rules be adopted via resolution. There is no evidence that this was ever done. In the meantime, because our solicitor is failing to push the EIT Bureau and Keystone to follow the law here, Mt. Gretna is getting seriously short changed.
3. Our city solicitor is failing to properly represent Mt. Gretna on this issue. The accusers have not presented any evidence that presents any sort of legal sufficiency--its all been conclusory hearsay and accusation. Therefore, there is no basis for our solicitor to get us into any "settlement" negotiations, much less, a "settlement." His failure to properly represent us is primarily based in his conflicting representation of municipalities that are the "accusers" in this matter.
At the last Borough meeting, I asked our borough solicitor to "Please show me where you are finding the proof that something was done wrong here, because, in all my research, I can't find that proof?" His answer was for me to "read the Local Tax Enabling Act. The proof is in there." That is not a sufficient answer--and I knew that, because I, unlike some legal practictioners Ihave met, like to do my homework BEFORE asking the question. So, I kindly replied to him that I have already referred to that Act, and the laws embodied there really contradict all the things he has been asserting. (Later in the meeting, he admitted to another concerned resident that the documentary evidence that was found really is poor--"paper shoved in garbage bags shoved in a closet.")
You other residents should know that, before presenting that question to the Borough, I spoke at length with three very knowledgable sources--other EIT collectors and the Harrisburg guru on the matter, who each spent enormous amounts of time reviewing the Enabling Act with me. I am very appreciative of their graciousness in spending so much time with me and their transparent and eager sharing of knowledge on the administration of the EIT and the Local Tax Enabling Act. However, in each conversation, we concluded that:
1. There is NO mandate for distribution according to actual contributions to the EIT pool. That's simply how EIT taxing entities usually do it.
2. That taxing bodies are allowed to deviate from the 50/50 split by agreement (as long as they don't exceed the tax allowed by law), and
3. That such rules can be created by the tax officer but must be adopted by resolution.
So, applying these laws to the facts here, the conclusions are that an agreement to distribute according to the admitted to percentages was made some time ago, it was adhered to, and Keystone is deviating from that policy even though no resolution has been adopted that changes the administration of this tax in terms of distribution.
Further, the Enabling Act requires that each municipality annually reconcile its EIT receipts with the tax officer so that any adjustments for over or under payments can be immediately made. There has been no suggestion or evidence presented that this did not happen, and there is no requirement that it be done in writing. For nearly 50 years since this tax has been levied in Lebanon County, NO municipality or school district is known to have complained about being accused of, via this annual reconciliation and adjustment requirement, under or overpaying. So, absent sufficient evidence establishing the contrary, the ONLY supported conclusion here is that the distribution pattern was indeed an accepted "schedule" and ALL under and over-payments were reconciled annually.
The reality is that the EIT Bureau lost track of what it was supposed to be doing. That Foltz embezzled $800,000, that he could send a municipality a check at the ring of a phone call, and that he didn't send EIT entities outside Lebanon County their due revenues collected do NOT show that he didn't distribute the revenue appropriately within the County. Why? Well, a recent state study of the EIT shows that this tax is so poorly administered that millions and millions are "lost" each year--even to embezzlement. (The estimates put the loss at from $100 million to $200 million, a year!) Further, if your county's plan allocates a set percentage to each municipality, you know exactly how much you can send it when it calls you asking for a check. In Mt. Gretna's case, Foltz knew he could send us .35% of whatever had come in recently. From the resulting consistencies demonstrated in the actual EIT data of the McKonly Asbury report, Foltz apparently did an efficient job of making sure municipalities got only their percentage for the year, even though you could call and get part of that percentage earlier, rather than later. And, that recent government study also established that many EIT collectors weren't even sending the outside taxing bodies the tax their own county collected from the other counties' residents--ever. So, its no surprise that Foltz may have been under-paying these other taxing bodies--that was, and still is, common practice across the state.
Ultimately, all this is irrelevant but highlights a much more important point: it is up to the alleging entity to prove its case--it is not up to Mt. Gretna to prove its "innocence."
Here, the allegedly under-paid municipalities, the EIT Bureau, and our own solicitor are relying on the McKonly-Asbury report to make the accusers' case. (There is a link to that report in the Links List at the bottom of the page.) However, that report does not have the authority of an audit, and it relies on highly inaccurate data and hidden formulas to craft a conclusory argument:
1. The DOR data is simply not a reflection of EIT data, and therefore can not be used in place of EIT data--the two are very different sets of numbers, and
2. According to the Bureau's own admission, set percentages were apparently applied to the McKonly derived DOR data, yet those percentages were never called out in the report. Nor does the report explain its use of those percentages.
The report simply is a well-crafted, non-objective statement manipulated by the accusers to state their accusations in a different way. More importantly, no matter what way I read the report, I can not find that it provides support to their allegations--especially not legally sufficient support to justify taking more of our money for any type of "repayment" plan.
The documents referred to in this post can be viewed by clicking their link in the Links List at the bottom of this page.
1. There was a known distribution pattern that Foltz did not deviate from. The accusers' own report demonstrates this.
2. Keystone's current distribution of EIT revenue is a deviation from an admitted distribution pattern, yet this change in the rules of administration for this tax was never properly enacted. The Enabling Act for the EIT requires such rules be adopted via resolution. There is no evidence that this was ever done. In the meantime, because our solicitor is failing to push the EIT Bureau and Keystone to follow the law here, Mt. Gretna is getting seriously short changed.
3. Our city solicitor is failing to properly represent Mt. Gretna on this issue. The accusers have not presented any evidence that presents any sort of legal sufficiency--its all been conclusory hearsay and accusation. Therefore, there is no basis for our solicitor to get us into any "settlement" negotiations, much less, a "settlement." His failure to properly represent us is primarily based in his conflicting representation of municipalities that are the "accusers" in this matter.
At the last Borough meeting, I asked our borough solicitor to "Please show me where you are finding the proof that something was done wrong here, because, in all my research, I can't find that proof?" His answer was for me to "read the Local Tax Enabling Act. The proof is in there." That is not a sufficient answer--and I knew that, because I, unlike some legal practictioners Ihave met, like to do my homework BEFORE asking the question. So, I kindly replied to him that I have already referred to that Act, and the laws embodied there really contradict all the things he has been asserting. (Later in the meeting, he admitted to another concerned resident that the documentary evidence that was found really is poor--"paper shoved in garbage bags shoved in a closet.")
You other residents should know that, before presenting that question to the Borough, I spoke at length with three very knowledgable sources--other EIT collectors and the Harrisburg guru on the matter, who each spent enormous amounts of time reviewing the Enabling Act with me. I am very appreciative of their graciousness in spending so much time with me and their transparent and eager sharing of knowledge on the administration of the EIT and the Local Tax Enabling Act. However, in each conversation, we concluded that:
1. There is NO mandate for distribution according to actual contributions to the EIT pool. That's simply how EIT taxing entities usually do it.
2. That taxing bodies are allowed to deviate from the 50/50 split by agreement (as long as they don't exceed the tax allowed by law), and
3. That such rules can be created by the tax officer but must be adopted by resolution.
So, applying these laws to the facts here, the conclusions are that an agreement to distribute according to the admitted to percentages was made some time ago, it was adhered to, and Keystone is deviating from that policy even though no resolution has been adopted that changes the administration of this tax in terms of distribution.
Further, the Enabling Act requires that each municipality annually reconcile its EIT receipts with the tax officer so that any adjustments for over or under payments can be immediately made. There has been no suggestion or evidence presented that this did not happen, and there is no requirement that it be done in writing. For nearly 50 years since this tax has been levied in Lebanon County, NO municipality or school district is known to have complained about being accused of, via this annual reconciliation and adjustment requirement, under or overpaying. So, absent sufficient evidence establishing the contrary, the ONLY supported conclusion here is that the distribution pattern was indeed an accepted "schedule" and ALL under and over-payments were reconciled annually.
The reality is that the EIT Bureau lost track of what it was supposed to be doing. That Foltz embezzled $800,000, that he could send a municipality a check at the ring of a phone call, and that he didn't send EIT entities outside Lebanon County their due revenues collected do NOT show that he didn't distribute the revenue appropriately within the County. Why? Well, a recent state study of the EIT shows that this tax is so poorly administered that millions and millions are "lost" each year--even to embezzlement. (The estimates put the loss at from $100 million to $200 million, a year!) Further, if your county's plan allocates a set percentage to each municipality, you know exactly how much you can send it when it calls you asking for a check. In Mt. Gretna's case, Foltz knew he could send us .35% of whatever had come in recently. From the resulting consistencies demonstrated in the actual EIT data of the McKonly Asbury report, Foltz apparently did an efficient job of making sure municipalities got only their percentage for the year, even though you could call and get part of that percentage earlier, rather than later. And, that recent government study also established that many EIT collectors weren't even sending the outside taxing bodies the tax their own county collected from the other counties' residents--ever. So, its no surprise that Foltz may have been under-paying these other taxing bodies--that was, and still is, common practice across the state.
Ultimately, all this is irrelevant but highlights a much more important point: it is up to the alleging entity to prove its case--it is not up to Mt. Gretna to prove its "innocence."
Here, the allegedly under-paid municipalities, the EIT Bureau, and our own solicitor are relying on the McKonly-Asbury report to make the accusers' case. (There is a link to that report in the Links List at the bottom of the page.) However, that report does not have the authority of an audit, and it relies on highly inaccurate data and hidden formulas to craft a conclusory argument:
1. The DOR data is simply not a reflection of EIT data, and therefore can not be used in place of EIT data--the two are very different sets of numbers, and
2. According to the Bureau's own admission, set percentages were apparently applied to the McKonly derived DOR data, yet those percentages were never called out in the report. Nor does the report explain its use of those percentages.
The report simply is a well-crafted, non-objective statement manipulated by the accusers to state their accusations in a different way. More importantly, no matter what way I read the report, I can not find that it provides support to their allegations--especially not legally sufficient support to justify taking more of our money for any type of "repayment" plan.
The documents referred to in this post can be viewed by clicking their link in the Links List at the bottom of this page.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Theater Gala!
Well, the Gretna Theater's annual Gala was this Saturday, and, as usual, the Good Doctor, Rene, and Larry pulled off another great event. We love going, if not just because it connects us with the family that lived in our house before us--the Coghlan's, and with our neighbor, Reba. And its Mr. Coghlan that seems to be the theater's most remembered and cherished director. When we purchased this house, we asked for one piece of artwork to remain. Jack went along with that request, and let us select one out of three or so that he left behind on the closing day. He told us that they were all done by a family friend. Now that I have lived with that piece for a few years, I certainly recognize Coghlan's style and signature, and spotted another of his paintings Friday hanging in the doctor's office.
It was also interesting to see the finished construction work at the Hershey Hotel, and they really had the grounds loaded with potted plants and new trees. The food and champagne was great-especially the crabcakes and beef. And, we sat with the Meloni's and their crew, who turned out to be a fun crowd.
Although we left the event without reaching our spending limit, we still caved and made some spontaneous auction purchases. Last year, I made a potty-run and came back to find that my better-half had gotten caught up in the auction fever and won a helicopter ride for three. So, this year, I avoided consuming too many liquids so that I could stay and keep a governor on her while the hi-priced items were being auctioned. She broke free once, and started bidding on this beautiful ring that was valued at well over $1000. I have to admit that she has been buying me some very pretty jewelry this year and, well, this was a very pretty ring... So, I was tempted to let her go. But, when she counter-bid at $500, I thought that we were wading into dangerous territory since neither of us knew if it would even fit us. So, I flashed a grin at her and she turned her paddle over on the table--thank god!
This year, we won autographed Hank Williams Sr/Jett Williams music memorabilia that my country music-star grandfather will love (he used to be a back-up performer for one of the first country radio programs in Wheeling, West Virginia, and taught a number of the industry's icons their first guitar chords). One of the disc sets in the package was a compilation of recently discovered audio recording of Hank Sr.'s radio performances, so my grandfather is going to love it.
We also got a weekend getaway and the helicopter ride again. That pilot is awesome--its worth it just to meet her.
I kinda liked the football autographed by JoPa, but I was alone in that sentiment. Apparently, "he signs everything"--and that from a Penn State season ticket holder.
We donated a couple of things for the auction, including two of our Penn State season football tickets and was glad to see items donated from other local Gretnans. This year, let's make more a showing and really drum up some local donations for the next Gala.
It was also interesting to see the finished construction work at the Hershey Hotel, and they really had the grounds loaded with potted plants and new trees. The food and champagne was great-especially the crabcakes and beef. And, we sat with the Meloni's and their crew, who turned out to be a fun crowd.
Although we left the event without reaching our spending limit, we still caved and made some spontaneous auction purchases. Last year, I made a potty-run and came back to find that my better-half had gotten caught up in the auction fever and won a helicopter ride for three. So, this year, I avoided consuming too many liquids so that I could stay and keep a governor on her while the hi-priced items were being auctioned. She broke free once, and started bidding on this beautiful ring that was valued at well over $1000. I have to admit that she has been buying me some very pretty jewelry this year and, well, this was a very pretty ring... So, I was tempted to let her go. But, when she counter-bid at $500, I thought that we were wading into dangerous territory since neither of us knew if it would even fit us. So, I flashed a grin at her and she turned her paddle over on the table--thank god!
This year, we won autographed Hank Williams Sr/Jett Williams music memorabilia that my country music-star grandfather will love (he used to be a back-up performer for one of the first country radio programs in Wheeling, West Virginia, and taught a number of the industry's icons their first guitar chords). One of the disc sets in the package was a compilation of recently discovered audio recording of Hank Sr.'s radio performances, so my grandfather is going to love it.
We also got a weekend getaway and the helicopter ride again. That pilot is awesome--its worth it just to meet her.
I kinda liked the football autographed by JoPa, but I was alone in that sentiment. Apparently, "he signs everything"--and that from a Penn State season ticket holder.
We donated a couple of things for the auction, including two of our Penn State season football tickets and was glad to see items donated from other local Gretnans. This year, let's make more a showing and really drum up some local donations for the next Gala.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
If you won't keep up, then your elected duty obligates you to step aside.
Before the Chautauqua was "born", the internal combustible engine was regarded as too unreliable to have any future--steam wasn't quite cutting it as a source of power for this type of engine. With the discovery in the late 1800's of a chemical that was much more powerful than even dynamite--naptha, the future of the internal combustible engine became explosively clear.
However, that future was as a work engine.
At about the same time, the founders of the PA Chautauqua were outlining the characteristics of this community and providing future leaders with a job description. However, for the founders, the thought of every Chautauqua homeowner owning and operating--within Chautauqua boundaries, their own private internal combustible engines was unfathomable. So, when creating the Chautauqua, was it really possible for the community's founders to account for or address leafblowers, lawnmowers, sand-rakers, pressure washers, etc?1 Put this way, probably not.
Neither could the founders predict that amplified sound would become so prevalent and powerful, as the first audio amplifier was not invented until 1906. 2 They could never have predicted that today's Chautauqua-ites would be exposed to a daily cacophony of car stereos, personal listening devices, home stereos, televisions, amplified live music.
And, even though Faraday invented the electric motor in the mid-1830's, the Chautuaqua founders probably also never suspected that each of us here would be subject to the constant hum of the electric motors of our--and our neighbors', air conditioners, refrigerators, furnaces, garage door openers, hard-drives, generators, or blowers and deflators for amusement-park inflatables.3
In social terms, with the incorporation of the Chautauqua many, many decades ago, it probably is redundant to say that they also never would have predicted that christians--even catholics and mennonites would be urging their faithful to support the inclusion of LGBTQ individuals in marriage, in ordination, and in the loving community of christian fellowship within their church. Yet, that is exactly the society that we live in today4,5
Even though it was really difficult to predict the future characteristics of this community and its inhabitants, the founders still provided a way for us to address the changing technological, social, and local characteristics of the times. It assigned our elected representatives the responsibility of protecting the health and welfare of the community. This is the function of local government, of state government, and of federal government, across the board.
Granted, it does take time for our leaders to keep up with social and technological changes. For example, as a nation, we didn't recognize the need to protect the quality of common resources, such as water and air, until the 1940's. That's not so long ago, considering that we have been an organized representational form of government since 1776 and we have been dumping pollutants into our air and water since the industrial revolution, which also began in the late 1700's. You have to ask yourself "why did it take so long to formally acknowledge that you shouldn't poop where you eat"? or that you shouldn't throw your refuse and pollutants into the public resources (air and water) that we suck into our lungs and pile into our bellies? In any event, now we know that we have to protect those things that are essential to our health.
So, I have been asking myself how long it will take for us to formally acknowledge that our common resources, like air, can be violated by more than just contaminating it with exhaust, runoff, fossil fuels, biohazards, etc. But this resource can be violated in other physical ways as well. And, how long will it take for our leaders to recognize that it is their responsibility to protect us by keeping up with the times and making the necessary adjustments. So, if we invent things that are just relatively new ways of contaminating that resource we require to remain healthy, that means leaders must do things to protect it.
This "go see what mom says" only to be told "go see what dad says" is a complete failure of elected officials to protect our general health and welfare. Boro Council and Chautauqua Board both have a responsibility to protect the physical quality of our air from contamination from the unfettered and unregulated operation of internal combustible engines, electric motors, or amplified sound. But now that they have their water authority, their sewage system, and their state-fuel-funded paved roads, neither body can seem to find anything better to do than to obsess about making new ordinances that target only one homeowner or another or that add another paved way or sign to our 87 acre site.
If they can't keep up or won't keep up with the times, then they should do the ethical thing and at least step aside. There are plenty of competent replacements around. Plenty.
Sources:
1 http://books.google.com/books?id=Zm0AAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA13869#v=onepage&q=&f=false
2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_amplifier
3 http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blfaraday.htm
4 http://www.pinkmenno.org
5 http://www.dignityusa.org
However, that future was as a work engine.
At about the same time, the founders of the PA Chautauqua were outlining the characteristics of this community and providing future leaders with a job description. However, for the founders, the thought of every Chautauqua homeowner owning and operating--within Chautauqua boundaries, their own private internal combustible engines was unfathomable. So, when creating the Chautauqua, was it really possible for the community's founders to account for or address leafblowers, lawnmowers, sand-rakers, pressure washers, etc?1 Put this way, probably not.
Neither could the founders predict that amplified sound would become so prevalent and powerful, as the first audio amplifier was not invented until 1906. 2 They could never have predicted that today's Chautauqua-ites would be exposed to a daily cacophony of car stereos, personal listening devices, home stereos, televisions, amplified live music.
And, even though Faraday invented the electric motor in the mid-1830's, the Chautuaqua founders probably also never suspected that each of us here would be subject to the constant hum of the electric motors of our--and our neighbors', air conditioners, refrigerators, furnaces, garage door openers, hard-drives, generators, or blowers and deflators for amusement-park inflatables.3
In social terms, with the incorporation of the Chautauqua many, many decades ago, it probably is redundant to say that they also never would have predicted that christians--even catholics and mennonites would be urging their faithful to support the inclusion of LGBTQ individuals in marriage, in ordination, and in the loving community of christian fellowship within their church. Yet, that is exactly the society that we live in today4,5
Even though it was really difficult to predict the future characteristics of this community and its inhabitants, the founders still provided a way for us to address the changing technological, social, and local characteristics of the times. It assigned our elected representatives the responsibility of protecting the health and welfare of the community. This is the function of local government, of state government, and of federal government, across the board.
Granted, it does take time for our leaders to keep up with social and technological changes. For example, as a nation, we didn't recognize the need to protect the quality of common resources, such as water and air, until the 1940's. That's not so long ago, considering that we have been an organized representational form of government since 1776 and we have been dumping pollutants into our air and water since the industrial revolution, which also began in the late 1700's. You have to ask yourself "why did it take so long to formally acknowledge that you shouldn't poop where you eat"? or that you shouldn't throw your refuse and pollutants into the public resources (air and water) that we suck into our lungs and pile into our bellies? In any event, now we know that we have to protect those things that are essential to our health.
So, I have been asking myself how long it will take for us to formally acknowledge that our common resources, like air, can be violated by more than just contaminating it with exhaust, runoff, fossil fuels, biohazards, etc. But this resource can be violated in other physical ways as well. And, how long will it take for our leaders to recognize that it is their responsibility to protect us by keeping up with the times and making the necessary adjustments. So, if we invent things that are just relatively new ways of contaminating that resource we require to remain healthy, that means leaders must do things to protect it.
This "go see what mom says" only to be told "go see what dad says" is a complete failure of elected officials to protect our general health and welfare. Boro Council and Chautauqua Board both have a responsibility to protect the physical quality of our air from contamination from the unfettered and unregulated operation of internal combustible engines, electric motors, or amplified sound. But now that they have their water authority, their sewage system, and their state-fuel-funded paved roads, neither body can seem to find anything better to do than to obsess about making new ordinances that target only one homeowner or another or that add another paved way or sign to our 87 acre site.
If they can't keep up or won't keep up with the times, then they should do the ethical thing and at least step aside. There are plenty of competent replacements around. Plenty.
Sources:
1 http://books.google.com/books?id=Zm0AAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA13869#v=onepage&q=&f=false
2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_amplifier
3 http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blfaraday.htm
4 http://www.pinkmenno.org
5 http://www.dignityusa.org
Saturday, October 10, 2009
OMG! Pictures of Progress
Just found some "Before" pix of our first big house renovation project: an abandoned house with beautiful bones that had spent the last 30years of its 115 year old existence being totally neglected. As we revisited these photos, we are both gasping in horror. How easily we forget the details of certain trauma... I will spare sharing with you the full extent of our pain, but will post here enough for you to see what "lovingly renovated" means.
This tour will take you from the first floor, through to the attic. Its a three story brick twin whose ceilings are all about 9 feet, or more (including the basement and the attic). The guts were completely removed, yet we preserved as much original detail as possible, including the trim, wood floors, stained glass, pocket doors, claw foot tubs, etc. Everything that could be recycled was recycled, from bikes to metal to gypsum. Still, we hauled over 26 tons of debris and personal effects out of that place. We also did things like furred out the walls and added non-toxic insulation (soy-based and sprayed in with non-toxic materials).
When we acquired it, it had been un-inhabited for nearly 15 years (some renters stayed their after the owner died), yet the utilities were still "live", including water and electricity! (you will see scorch marks on the walls at the switches). The back corner (in the kitchen) needed to be rebuilt, and the roofs over the bays had been leaking for decades. And I really can't explain what was going on in the bathrooms, except to say that it was the usual stuff that you have to watch out for in a bathroom--only that no one watched out for that stuff for a while.
The single mom that last lived there with her very young children had moved only two doors down, where they still live today. And, I have to admit, that fact has been the most curious and difficult thing to reconcile during this process, because Mom didn't even want her boys' hand made mother's day cards or their birth certificates. Its possible that the boys may want them some day, so I haven't been able to throw them away yet and I have been trying to develop a relationship with the one who still lives with Mom. He seems like a nice kid, maybe just a little "un"guided.
The before pix will be followed by the "after systems replacement and drywall" pix for whatever particular room is shown.
Have fun!
1ST FLOOR
Kitchen
2ND FLOOR
Hallway
This ceiling is where a street cat had given birth to her kittens. As I was taking down the plaster, I saw what looked to be two rats staring down at me. It was two newborn kittens--so new that they were still pinkfaced and had not opened their eyes yet. Dead ones, live ones, fertile ones, newborns--found 'em all in this house. It didn't take Momma-cat long to reunite with her babes after we relocated them to the back yard and designated the area off limits to humans and debris. They were gone in a couple of hours.
Back Bedroom
Guy with the flashlight is the structural engineer. A great guy with an even better laugh.
Middle Bedroom
This room has one of the bays in it that I mentioned earlier
3RD FLOOR
Back bedroom-also with bay windows. When we removed the king size mattress you see on the floor there and pulled back the wall to wall carpeting under it, the floor was actually gone already, leaving us to fall, with the dusty remnants of the underpad, between the floor joists to the second floor below. And there you have it, a wonderful justification to pressure the architect to deviate from her dogged adherence to "maintaining the architectural integrity of a 115yr. old house". In other words, an opportunity to do something more modern and creative.
Looking down from the attic
Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?
This tour will take you from the first floor, through to the attic. Its a three story brick twin whose ceilings are all about 9 feet, or more (including the basement and the attic). The guts were completely removed, yet we preserved as much original detail as possible, including the trim, wood floors, stained glass, pocket doors, claw foot tubs, etc. Everything that could be recycled was recycled, from bikes to metal to gypsum. Still, we hauled over 26 tons of debris and personal effects out of that place. We also did things like furred out the walls and added non-toxic insulation (soy-based and sprayed in with non-toxic materials).
When we acquired it, it had been un-inhabited for nearly 15 years (some renters stayed their after the owner died), yet the utilities were still "live", including water and electricity! (you will see scorch marks on the walls at the switches). The back corner (in the kitchen) needed to be rebuilt, and the roofs over the bays had been leaking for decades. And I really can't explain what was going on in the bathrooms, except to say that it was the usual stuff that you have to watch out for in a bathroom--only that no one watched out for that stuff for a while.
The single mom that last lived there with her very young children had moved only two doors down, where they still live today. And, I have to admit, that fact has been the most curious and difficult thing to reconcile during this process, because Mom didn't even want her boys' hand made mother's day cards or their birth certificates. Its possible that the boys may want them some day, so I haven't been able to throw them away yet and I have been trying to develop a relationship with the one who still lives with Mom. He seems like a nice kid, maybe just a little "un"guided.
The before pix will be followed by the "after systems replacement and drywall" pix for whatever particular room is shown.
Have fun!
1ST FLOOR
Kitchen
2ND FLOOR
Hallway
This ceiling is where a street cat had given birth to her kittens. As I was taking down the plaster, I saw what looked to be two rats staring down at me. It was two newborn kittens--so new that they were still pinkfaced and had not opened their eyes yet. Dead ones, live ones, fertile ones, newborns--found 'em all in this house. It didn't take Momma-cat long to reunite with her babes after we relocated them to the back yard and designated the area off limits to humans and debris. They were gone in a couple of hours.
Back Bedroom
Guy with the flashlight is the structural engineer. A great guy with an even better laugh.
Middle Bedroom
This room has one of the bays in it that I mentioned earlier
3RD FLOOR
Back bedroom-also with bay windows. When we removed the king size mattress you see on the floor there and pulled back the wall to wall carpeting under it, the floor was actually gone already, leaving us to fall, with the dusty remnants of the underpad, between the floor joists to the second floor below. And there you have it, a wonderful justification to pressure the architect to deviate from her dogged adherence to "maintaining the architectural integrity of a 115yr. old house". In other words, an opportunity to do something more modern and creative.
Looking down from the attic
Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?
Found Dog
This cute mutt was running around SR117 Friday and Saturday, and was taken by the Humane Society on Saturday morning.
If he's yours (I think its a male) or if you know who's looking for him, please contact the humane society. Maybe his finder will post in a comment below the number of the shelter that has him or who she called.
So far, all we know is that he is a good dog without a collar. Don't know yet if he has a chip or tat.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Honest and Open Government
I came across this preamble the other day while reading about our state's Open Records Law, it completely summarizes the concerns that I have heard from many of you regarding Mt. Gretna Borough Council (and the Chautauqua Board activities). So, I thought I would print it here for you, and provide you with the link.
"Ensuring open and honest government is a bedrock principle of democracy. It can only be attained through the unfettered exchange of information between citizens and their government. A citizen’s right-to-know, sometimes known as freedom of information, fosters accountability, prevents abuses of power and promotes trust in government. "
PA's right-to-know law is codified in Act 3 of 2008, and the state has a website about it for us at:
http://openrecords.state.pa.us/
PA's Sunshine Act, which can be found here http://www.dced.state.pa.us/public/oor/SunshineAct.pdf
requires that boro council officers conduct deliberations, and take official action, in public meetings. See Section 704.
The law further requires the boro council to give 3 days notice to the public of any meeting between them where they deliberate or take official action. See Section 709
However, it seems like A LOT of stuff has been secretly discussed and decided on by our boro council--and those discussions aren't necessarily protecting our health, safety, and welfare. Ever attend a council meeting? Sometimes there is such a lack of discussion before any vote, that the meetings only last 20 minutes or so. Sometimes, the boro council president just tells the others what the deal is going to be--i.e. the official action has already been taken, like giving informed consent to our city solicitor so he can represent both sides of this EIT issue. (Don't forget that such consent has to be given in writing--but that consent issue is never presented for discussion, much less voted on by council).
There is NO exception allowing the boro council to keep secret any such deliberations unless they are deliberating about something like an employee, a collective bargaining agreement, or a real estate contract. Oh, yes, and of course if its about something like they are actually being sued and its lawyer-client privileged stuff. See sections 707, 708, and 712
So, this means that we have the right to know about, attend, and record any deliberations that our council members have about boro business--including committee meetings, budget discussions, and this EIT issue. It also means that any of their discussions occuring outside of the public's access is illegal. Its not something that's up to Chuck to decide. Its the council's duty, requirement, obligation...according to PA LAW.
"Ensuring open and honest government is a bedrock principle of democracy. It can only be attained through the unfettered exchange of information between citizens and their government. A citizen’s right-to-know, sometimes known as freedom of information, fosters accountability, prevents abuses of power and promotes trust in government. "
PA's right-to-know law is codified in Act 3 of 2008, and the state has a website about it for us at:
http://openrecords.state.pa.us/
PA's Sunshine Act, which can be found here http://www.dced.state.pa.us/public/oor/SunshineAct.pdf
requires that boro council officers conduct deliberations, and take official action, in public meetings. See Section 704.
The law further requires the boro council to give 3 days notice to the public of any meeting between them where they deliberate or take official action. See Section 709
However, it seems like A LOT of stuff has been secretly discussed and decided on by our boro council--and those discussions aren't necessarily protecting our health, safety, and welfare. Ever attend a council meeting? Sometimes there is such a lack of discussion before any vote, that the meetings only last 20 minutes or so. Sometimes, the boro council president just tells the others what the deal is going to be--i.e. the official action has already been taken, like giving informed consent to our city solicitor so he can represent both sides of this EIT issue. (Don't forget that such consent has to be given in writing--but that consent issue is never presented for discussion, much less voted on by council).
There is NO exception allowing the boro council to keep secret any such deliberations unless they are deliberating about something like an employee, a collective bargaining agreement, or a real estate contract. Oh, yes, and of course if its about something like they are actually being sued and its lawyer-client privileged stuff. See sections 707, 708, and 712
So, this means that we have the right to know about, attend, and record any deliberations that our council members have about boro business--including committee meetings, budget discussions, and this EIT issue. It also means that any of their discussions occuring outside of the public's access is illegal. Its not something that's up to Chuck to decide. Its the council's duty, requirement, obligation...according to PA LAW.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
MGB exposed to another costly expense
Please note that, because of the nature of the topic of this post, no anonymous comments will be posted. I will not participate in the furtherance of the injury done to this man and his family by letting persons publish comments on this blog for which they are not willing to take responsibility. I am more than happy to publish your comment with a way for me to verify that you are the author--and I will keep your name confidential. But this post is based on confidential witness statements who are willing to own their statements. As it should be in a case like this.
Some "pills" are hard to swallow. And, no one has come forward with verifiable information that this doctor was NOT hospitalized, and I have the statistics to show how disparately criminal this 200 person population has become under Cornwall PD's protection and service. Just compare the Cornwall PD's policing results of MGB with any other group of our size and demographics--99% white, at an average age of 48years, and with a phenomenally higher education rate and annual income than both the state and the nation. I am more than happy to print your comments, but I not allow the blog to be used to victimize this man any further--so, if you want to disagree with this representation of how he was treated or of Troxell's conduct, you will have to at least confirm authorship of your comment.
During the Art Show this year, those wonderful professionals that our council hired to protect and serve our community almost killed a man--a decent, law-abiding, medical professional who was suffering from a medical event that often has rapid and fatal consequences.
This 62 year old doctor started suffering from heat stroke while visiting the Art Show, and as he tried to get into his air-conditioned car that his wife was picking him up in, our temp parking staff accosted him. Now, this isn't surprising, as parking staffers here have often done similar stuff to other visitors and residents of Mt.Gretna. You see, parking staff here in Mt. Gretna have behaved so poorly as to have garnered a number of complaints and to have earned themselves notoriety for inflamming a situation rather than for serving the public and diffusing a situation. Once again, on that day, they had their "how powerful am I" suits on and refused to offer the man retreat from the sun or medical assistance. Instead, they ran to Cornwall's finest and accused this 62 year old man of misconduct and insisted that he be arrested.
Cornwall's finest that day was David Troxell, who happens to also be the officer with a reputation for inflating petty stuff, traumatic medical events, and even the most minor accidental conduct into criminal charges, especially when he can make a criminal out of older professionals with impeccable conduct records that happen to be in a quiet--and safe, little "village" that his department has $25K a year services contract with (with a 6% automatic annual fee increase). He also happens to be the same officer who failed to operate his vehicle in a safe manner and to maintain control of it, thereby smashing his cruiser into another vehicle. Funny how no reckless endangerment, misconduct, or traffic charges were filed against him, even though he caused real--measurable, incontrovertable--injury to another person's property. Guess they figured his conduct and its results were too minor to be considered criminal. Guess this also means that Cornwall PD has figured out a great way to ensure their contract with MGB--make out as many criminal activities as you can here, make it look like we really are a bunch of hooligans with penchants for criminal misconduct and require the police-state offered by Cornwall PD.
However, inflating charges and turning Mt. Gretna into a 200 person village of well-educated, charitable, working class professionals and retirees into criminals seems to be a Cornwall PD modus operandi that I will demonstrate in a later post. Now, back to our story.
Troxell, dressed a lot like the parking staff, with their big patches and white shirts, came upon the dentist, threw him in handcuffs and baked him even more in the back of his unventilated, un-airconditioned cruiser--again, with the sun glaring down. Of course, when the man started really feeling the effects of heat stroke and started banging on the windows for help-anybody's help, Troxell admits that the man appeared agitated. But instead of diffusing the situation and rendering medical aid, he used that excuse to haul his @ss away and book the man for any charge he could come up with--like misconduct.
However, you can only deny reality for so long, even if you are licensed to carry a loaded weapon and to immediately crush another person's liberties. By the time Troxell got this man to Lebanon to be booked, his core body temp was so high and his electrolytes so twacked that he lost control of his muscles and couldn't move. It wasn't until the gravity of the situation was so in his face and undeniable that Troxell apparently acknowledged that there was something drastically wrong here and that he might hurt this man even further if he tried to wrench his cramped and stiff body from the narrow confines of the back of his cruiser. And that's when the ambulance was called.
Yet, to add to his "I am here to protect and serve" approach, Troxell managed to pull the guy from the car anyway, laying him on the black, baking pavement to wait for the ambulance to arrive. The wife, who followed Troxell with the family car, must have truly been petrified by these genius moves. Needless to say, the guy spent hours in the hospital emergency room getting cooled off and rehydrated so that Troxell could then throw him back into the cruiser, take him back to central booking and take his mug shots. Meanwhile, with her husband on the verge of death, Troxell refused to let the guy's wife see her husband, and even threatened to keep him in jail overnight. I guess Troxell figured that if he agitated the guy and his wife enough, they might break down and do something that he could inflate into even more charges.
So any way, this incident presents what we in the legal world call risk--risk of litigation as the question of who is liable for this man's injuries is resolved. And, the risk seems pretty high here. Why do I think its a big risk? Well, because all the facts of this situation lend themselves to this man having a police misconduct lawsuit that he has a good chance of winning:
--the injuries are pretty provable, so there won't be much to litigate in that respect;
--Troxell had taken this man into custody, so he was responsible for his well-being;
--both Troxell and the parking staff have a history or reputation for inflamming non-criminal conduct in the performance of their duties; and, most importantly to MG
--Mt. Gretna officials had prior notice of the parking staff's bad behavior and apparently did nothing to protect its citizens and guests from it. They also hired--and supervised, the police and the parking staff.
Oh, there are other relevant facts. But just know that regardless of whether the doctor wins his case or not, it will be costly to defend. And, it will be a defense that Mt. Gretna will be forced to put on, as I suppose my audience is sophisticated enough to know, because when this kind of action is filed, the municipality will also be a named defendant.
It may even cost Mt. Gretna in terms of bad publicity for the Art Show and Mt. Gretna.
Granted, this won't be on our municipal leaders' agenda until a year or so from now, given all the procedural formalities that are required. But, when notice of a police misconduct case is served upon them, it will take up a lot of space, so to speak.
By the way, to check out just how serious heat stroke is, go to http://www.medicinenet.com/heat_stroke/article.htm
There, you will also learn that a symptom of heat stroke is agitation. Go figure.
The information for this post was gleaned from reviewing various public records and from interviewing witnesses. Out of respect for the doctor's privacy, I will not provide a copy of the records on this blog, even though they are public documents.
Some "pills" are hard to swallow. And, no one has come forward with verifiable information that this doctor was NOT hospitalized, and I have the statistics to show how disparately criminal this 200 person population has become under Cornwall PD's protection and service. Just compare the Cornwall PD's policing results of MGB with any other group of our size and demographics--99% white, at an average age of 48years, and with a phenomenally higher education rate and annual income than both the state and the nation. I am more than happy to print your comments, but I not allow the blog to be used to victimize this man any further--so, if you want to disagree with this representation of how he was treated or of Troxell's conduct, you will have to at least confirm authorship of your comment.
During the Art Show this year, those wonderful professionals that our council hired to protect and serve our community almost killed a man--a decent, law-abiding, medical professional who was suffering from a medical event that often has rapid and fatal consequences.
This 62 year old doctor started suffering from heat stroke while visiting the Art Show, and as he tried to get into his air-conditioned car that his wife was picking him up in, our temp parking staff accosted him. Now, this isn't surprising, as parking staffers here have often done similar stuff to other visitors and residents of Mt.Gretna. You see, parking staff here in Mt. Gretna have behaved so poorly as to have garnered a number of complaints and to have earned themselves notoriety for inflamming a situation rather than for serving the public and diffusing a situation. Once again, on that day, they had their "how powerful am I" suits on and refused to offer the man retreat from the sun or medical assistance. Instead, they ran to Cornwall's finest and accused this 62 year old man of misconduct and insisted that he be arrested.
Cornwall's finest that day was David Troxell, who happens to also be the officer with a reputation for inflating petty stuff, traumatic medical events, and even the most minor accidental conduct into criminal charges, especially when he can make a criminal out of older professionals with impeccable conduct records that happen to be in a quiet--and safe, little "village" that his department has $25K a year services contract with (with a 6% automatic annual fee increase). He also happens to be the same officer who failed to operate his vehicle in a safe manner and to maintain control of it, thereby smashing his cruiser into another vehicle. Funny how no reckless endangerment, misconduct, or traffic charges were filed against him, even though he caused real--measurable, incontrovertable--injury to another person's property. Guess they figured his conduct and its results were too minor to be considered criminal. Guess this also means that Cornwall PD has figured out a great way to ensure their contract with MGB--make out as many criminal activities as you can here, make it look like we really are a bunch of hooligans with penchants for criminal misconduct and require the police-state offered by Cornwall PD.
However, inflating charges and turning Mt. Gretna into a 200 person village of well-educated, charitable, working class professionals and retirees into criminals seems to be a Cornwall PD modus operandi that I will demonstrate in a later post. Now, back to our story.
Troxell, dressed a lot like the parking staff, with their big patches and white shirts, came upon the dentist, threw him in handcuffs and baked him even more in the back of his unventilated, un-airconditioned cruiser--again, with the sun glaring down. Of course, when the man started really feeling the effects of heat stroke and started banging on the windows for help-anybody's help, Troxell admits that the man appeared agitated. But instead of diffusing the situation and rendering medical aid, he used that excuse to haul his @ss away and book the man for any charge he could come up with--like misconduct.
However, you can only deny reality for so long, even if you are licensed to carry a loaded weapon and to immediately crush another person's liberties. By the time Troxell got this man to Lebanon to be booked, his core body temp was so high and his electrolytes so twacked that he lost control of his muscles and couldn't move. It wasn't until the gravity of the situation was so in his face and undeniable that Troxell apparently acknowledged that there was something drastically wrong here and that he might hurt this man even further if he tried to wrench his cramped and stiff body from the narrow confines of the back of his cruiser. And that's when the ambulance was called.
Yet, to add to his "I am here to protect and serve" approach, Troxell managed to pull the guy from the car anyway, laying him on the black, baking pavement to wait for the ambulance to arrive. The wife, who followed Troxell with the family car, must have truly been petrified by these genius moves. Needless to say, the guy spent hours in the hospital emergency room getting cooled off and rehydrated so that Troxell could then throw him back into the cruiser, take him back to central booking and take his mug shots. Meanwhile, with her husband on the verge of death, Troxell refused to let the guy's wife see her husband, and even threatened to keep him in jail overnight. I guess Troxell figured that if he agitated the guy and his wife enough, they might break down and do something that he could inflate into even more charges.
So any way, this incident presents what we in the legal world call risk--risk of litigation as the question of who is liable for this man's injuries is resolved. And, the risk seems pretty high here. Why do I think its a big risk? Well, because all the facts of this situation lend themselves to this man having a police misconduct lawsuit that he has a good chance of winning:
--the injuries are pretty provable, so there won't be much to litigate in that respect;
--Troxell had taken this man into custody, so he was responsible for his well-being;
--both Troxell and the parking staff have a history or reputation for inflamming non-criminal conduct in the performance of their duties; and, most importantly to MG
--Mt. Gretna officials had prior notice of the parking staff's bad behavior and apparently did nothing to protect its citizens and guests from it. They also hired--and supervised, the police and the parking staff.
Oh, there are other relevant facts. But just know that regardless of whether the doctor wins his case or not, it will be costly to defend. And, it will be a defense that Mt. Gretna will be forced to put on, as I suppose my audience is sophisticated enough to know, because when this kind of action is filed, the municipality will also be a named defendant.
It may even cost Mt. Gretna in terms of bad publicity for the Art Show and Mt. Gretna.
Granted, this won't be on our municipal leaders' agenda until a year or so from now, given all the procedural formalities that are required. But, when notice of a police misconduct case is served upon them, it will take up a lot of space, so to speak.
By the way, to check out just how serious heat stroke is, go to http://www.medicinenet.com/heat_stroke/article.htm
There, you will also learn that a symptom of heat stroke is agitation. Go figure.
The information for this post was gleaned from reviewing various public records and from interviewing witnesses. Out of respect for the doctor's privacy, I will not provide a copy of the records on this blog, even though they are public documents.
Monday, October 5, 2009
EIT Community Meeting
will be Tuesday, Oct 20th, at 6:30 p.m, in the Boro's Boardroom (behind the post office).
This meeting is to provide the answers to those pesky questions about this alleged overpayment of EIT revenue. And, we will share with you how other municipalities are dealing with the issue--like Cornwall, whose council president recognizes that there is no real basis for extracting any "repayment" from Cornwall residents.
We will talk about what the real issue is--because its NOT complicated. Its just been made to be "mysterious".
RSVP if you like, and review some of the documents before you come, again, if you like. I will post as much as I can in the links list below.(I haven't yet figured out how to get the DVD up, but I am still working on it.)
This meeting is to provide the answers to those pesky questions about this alleged overpayment of EIT revenue. And, we will share with you how other municipalities are dealing with the issue--like Cornwall, whose council president recognizes that there is no real basis for extracting any "repayment" from Cornwall residents.
We will talk about what the real issue is--because its NOT complicated. Its just been made to be "mysterious".
RSVP if you like, and review some of the documents before you come, again, if you like. I will post as much as I can in the links list below.(I haven't yet figured out how to get the DVD up, but I am still working on it.)
Timber harvest non-compliance
The PA SGL has NO authority to carry out its mission by increasing our risk of fire loss. It has a myriad of techniques at its disposal--it can NOT pick the technique that puts us in danger of a catastrophic forest fire. It simply is not authorized to LESSEN our health, safety, and welfare.
I posted the pix of BLOCK 2's timber harvest results. They are at http://picasaweb.google.com/viragogretna/Block2TimberHarvestResults#
Here is the page of the timber harvest contract for that block:
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B5ATkbVJQ0FiNjU0ZjE1ODAtNWExYi00ZmZkLThhNTEtNTkyZmE0MGE0NzY5&hl=en
(no spaces in the url)
It specifies the number of trees to remain standing, the number of den trees to remain, and the number of snags. The general terms of the contract also specify reseeding requirements and compliance with state environmental laws, including erosion and sedimentation control. Here is a comparison of the numbers on the contract against what is actually out there today:approx 70 reserved trees (contract calls for 153)
approx 6 snags (contract calls for 44)
approx, oh, maybe a couple hundred den trees (contract calls for less than 20)
And here is the state's erosion and sedimentation control law that the State Game Land and the timber harvester are required to follow:
http://www.elibrary.dep.state.pa.us/dsweb/Get/Document-65564/363-2134-008.pdf
This law is known as "Chap 102" , and can be found at 35 P.S. §691.1 and 25 Pa. Code Chapter 102 & 102.1.
Via a Delegation Agreement with the State's DEP, our county's conservation office is contracted to enforce and investigate the SGL's and the harvester's compliance with the law. However, after submitting two written requests to the Lebanon County Conservation Office to investigate compliance with Chap 102, their director has failed to respond. Thus, the LCC Office clearly appears to be failing its Delegation Agreement. This is something the DEP would like to know about--an agency not working its delegation agreement. They can be contacted at 717-783-7577.
And, here is the State Game Land's mission:
Sec. 322. Powers and duties of commission.
(a) Duties. - It shall be the duty of the commission to protect, propagate, manage and preserve the game or wildlife of this Commonwealth and to enforce, by proper actions and proceedings, the laws of this Commonwealth relating thereto. (See http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/view.asp?A=478&Q=150972#322)
There is nothing in their enabling legislation that forces them to use any specific technique, and there is certainly nothing in their enabling legislation that allows them to pile fuel behind our homes.
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