Wows and Scowls
WOW: After a quarter of a century of service, Judge William Franks, 70, ended his term Dec. 31 as president judge of Fayette County Common Pleas Court, but he hopes that his work in the courts will continue. He has applied to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court as a senior judge. If approved, he would have an office in the Fayette County Courthouse and travel to court assignments to sit as a judge in courtrooms throughout the commonwealth. Judge Franks was a practicing attorney in Fayette County for 20 years prior to winning a position as judge in 1978. The jurist has politely but firmly declined all offers for a retirement celebration. He hopes to match the record set by his father who finally retired at the age of 90. We wish him well in seeking to top that record of lifetime achievement. SCOWL: Electronic vandals continue to create and distribute so-called computer viruses through e-mail systems. The viruses are more than mere nuisances. Some can cause a computer operating system to shut down, disrupting business and family communications. The perverse satisfaction derived from causing harm to others only reflects the true stupidity and bitterness of those who create them. We would say these hackers should grow up, but even children know it’s not right to inflict such misery on innocent people.
WOW: Angela Zimmerlink’s reappointment to another five-year term as a member of the Fayette County Housing Authority’s board of directors is a positive development, both for the housing authority and for the county. County commissioners Vince Vicites and Sean Cavanagh voted to reappoint Zimmerlink. Commissioner Ron Nehls voted against her, citing questions he had about how former housing authority executive directorTom Martoncik was treated at the authority during his brief tenure there. Nehls also has made it known that he believes it is best for the county if controversial issues are resolved behind the scenes, rather than in public debates. Vicites and Cavanagh chose the right course in supporting Zimmerlink, who believes public discussion of public issues is essential.
SCOWL: Pittsburgh City Council has adopted a resolution asking the Federal Highway Administration and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission to evaluate an alternative plan for the 24-mile section of the Mon-Fayette Expressway into Pittsburgh. Council wants state and federal officials to review a plan proposed by the environmental group PennFuture. That proposal calls for an “urban boulevard,” along with expanded busways and light-rail service, and adding more biking trails. Some Pittsburgh officials fear the development of the expressway would make it easier for businesses to leave the downtown area and move to sites along the expressway route in the suburbs. Their idea of progress is to have a high-speed highway into the city with a one-lane, dirt road for traffic coming out of the city. Sacrificing regional progress, such as the 58-mile expressway, in order to isolate downtown Pittsburgh is a misguided effort to protect businesses from competition which will ultimately and most assuredly fail. PennFuture’s proposal has not even a ghost of a chance of ever being approved because it would create nightmarish traffic jams worse than those Pittsburgh currently suffers from.
WOW: Forty-seven tons of recyclable items were transported to the Greene County landfill during a three-month period last fall, and the number continues to grow each quarter. Eleven recycling trailers are located throughout the county for residents to deposit recyclables, including glass, paper, aluminum, steel and bi-metals, and plastics. The program is all voluntary because no municipalities have mandated recycling. All of the material is sorted by hand at the Greene Arc recycling center. The project has numerous benefits by reducing the pressure on illegal dumps, adding to improving the environment, protecting wildlife, and contributing the economy.
SCOWL: Anyone who would steal gravemarkers and then attempt to sell them for scrap has obviously reached the bottom of the barrel, even among thieves. A Coraopolis man has been charged with 47 counts of theft, vandalism and receiving stolen property. He is accused of selling the cemetery nameplates for $1,600 to a junkyard which planned to melt the metal down. As many as 75 nameplates may have been removed from gravesites.
WOW: The Fayette County commissioners managed to negotiate a health insurance plan which avoided the necessity of an over-all tax increase for 2003. The savings, along with other expense reductions, resulted in a revenue-neutral budget of $16.2 million with a millage rate of 2.51. The budget also takes into account a projected loss of $95,000 in revenue from the natural gas tax which was ruled illegal by the state Supreme Court. When you compare the recent tax increases approved by several area school districts, the credit to the commissioners for holding the line on expenses is particularly commendable.