Wows and Scowls
Wow: Not too many people are struck by a train and walk away with a few bumps and bruises. UPS driver Paul A. Lanzi is one lucky fellow. He was making deliveries Wednesday in Fredericktown and attempted to drive over the tracks at the Route 88, Maple-Glenn crossing when a Norfolk Southern train was coming through. The train T-boned the side of the UPS truck and pushed it nearly 600 feet. Although the crossing had signal lights, it isn’t gated. —
Scowl: In nearby Denbo residents have complained enough about overloaded, speeding trains that Centerville Borough Council asked for a meeting with their congressman to help resolve problems associated with the coal trains. Residents claim the cars are overloads, the trains move too fast causing their houses to rattle, shake and buckle. In Monday’s edition residents’ concerns were expressed in a story. In a picture that ran alongside, a photograph showed a child walking down the middle of the tracks on her way home from school. Surely the school and parents aren’t sanctioning track-walking as a commuter route.
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Wow: We realize the disappointment that this Sunday’s Super Bowl will not feature the Steelers is still keenly felt by many fans. So perhaps there’s a few extra bucks wadded up in your pocket as enthusiasm for office pools is on the wane. If so, you might want to consider kicking in a few dollars for Souper Bowl Sunday, sponsored by Fayette County Community Action Agency’s Food Bank. The Food Bank exists almost solely on donations from the community and is able to leverage each dollar donated into about $10 worth of food for those who might otherwise go hungry. More than a million pounds of food is distributed to 26,000 people through 47 pantries. It’s hard not to be a fan of the Food Bank and want to cheer them on. If you would like to donate to Souper Bowl give Jennifer Canada a call, 724-437-6050, ext. 264.
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Scowl: In this space last week we had wondered whether the Uniontown Area School District had a policy regarding chaperones for students on school-sanctioned trips. The question was left hanging after the girls’ basketball coaches were suspended when each admitted to having one alcoholic drink while escorting the team over the holidays to a Florida tournament. It turns out that no such policy is in existence, nor does the board require that chaperones undergo clearance checks. Most parents assume that anyone working with school children has undergone state-required clearances. Board member Dorothy Grahek said the board has discussed this in the past but failed to act because it couldn’t figure out who should pay for the checks. The board is now considering adopting a policy. We encourage it to do so.
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Scowl: A Democrat lawmaker whose constituents clearly didn’t want him to represent them in Harrisburg any longer needn’t worry about losing his paycheck. Former Rep. John Lawless of Montgomery County who lost his re-election bid is now working as a consultant to the House Democratic Caucus. His $63,629 salary (the same as his legislator income) will be paid out of House Minority Leader H. William DeWeese’s caucus fund. Retiring lawmaker Ed Lucyk, of Schuykill, took a part-time caucus job. His pay is $25,000 for each of the next two years. DeWeese, according to his spokeswoman, “understood they both have immense policy expertise… and considers them valuable resources, which is why he brought them on.” Just another example of the lawmakers taking care of their own.
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Scowl: Generally we criticize wasting taxpayers’ money on lavish affairs (such as the wining and dining that occurs through caucus funds) but it might have been better had the taxpayers’ footed the bill for Gov. Ed Rendell’s $3-million inaugural bash. Instead, the affair was underwritten by large donations from corporations, unions and trade groups, including the state-employee unions AFSCME and SEIU. AFSCME had supported Rendell’s opponent in the gubernatorial race; perhaps the union was attempting to buy some goodwill with the governor.
SEIU project director Diane Topakian told the Associated Press that the union hoped its contribution would help sensitize the governor to the issues important to the social-service and health-care workers it represents. It’s “a reaching-out to him,” she said. “We want to move forward: We might have had our differences in the past, but you’re the governor now. We want to work with you.” A $50,000 contribution shows just how much the union wants it.
The AP lists other contributors topping $50,000 as Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Philadelphia, AT&T, the law firm of Buchanan Ingersoll, Comcast, Deloitte Consulting, Duquesne Power & Light, casino operator Park Place Entertainment; PECO Energy and its parent Exelon Generation, James C. Schwartzman, SAP Public Services Inc., and Unisys.