Greene won’t prosper without state, local reforms
The Herald-Standard on Nov. 3 carried two articles that I feel struck a common chord. The first article appeared on the front page under the headline: Rendell: Government got a ‘black eye.’ The second article appeared in Section B, local news under the headline: Greene County could be center of new industrial revolution. The first article reports that Gov. Rendell made the “black eye” remark in addressing the repeal of the recent controversial pay raise. The governor is also reported to have remarked that the government needs reform.
The needs for reform in state government is nothing new and has repeatedly been identified through studies performed by prestigious think tanks. This is especially true regarding studies of chronic problems within our lousy public education system. Of course the recommended reforms go unheeded while the problems escalate.
The second article is a great commentary by a Greene County expatriate who is a mining engineer and self-professed dreamer. The writer laments what he perceives as mismanagement or non-management of special quality Greene County coal. He “dreams” of a day when the county becomes a production hub for new energies to be derived from the remaining coal resources. Envisioned are a great variety of high performance ultra-clean gasified and liquefied fuels plus endless kinds of other products.
Such dreams are dashed in Greene County by the nightmarish dreams of our ignoble aristocratic gentry. The nightmares include, but are not limited to, an unsanctioned county bedroom community plan, and preservation of nonproductive or noncompetitive farmland through establishment of game lands and rails-to-trails, etc. Then of course we have the nightmarish active ill will toward highways improvement, storm water management, industrial development, world-class public schools and public libraries.
According to the guest commentary, at the current rate of production the existing county coal reserves will be depleted within 50 years. Should the writer be serious about his dreams he had better wake up and smell the coffee, because there first needs to be a heck of a lot of reform in state and local governments. Otherwise he should just keep on dreaming.
Paul Lagojda
Carmichaels