Coup d'état tentée en Forty Fort

Forty Fort official hurls accusations at council president

 Chacke remains Forty Fort head

People who live there tell me that Forty Fort is a nice place to live but like most small towns it has financial pressures. It is still waiting for Wilkinson to forward the half million dollars it collected in the borough's name that has resulted in curtailing overtime and the council will forgo their paychecks until they get the money. Former councilman  Andy Tuzinski raised a stink over $50 and Mayor Boyd Hoats broke a tie to keep Chacke as council president then again cast the tie breaking vote to eliminate the short sighted idea of cancelling the agreement with Kingston to provide joint fire and ambulance services. Then Tuzinski attacked what Chacke does for a living. 

Joe has impressed me over the years as a common sense Republican. A rare commodity these days. He ran for State Rep in 2006 in 2006 but came up short. When the  Barletta immigrant fervor was sweeping the area he was a cooler head when some idiot proposed a similar law and an English only ordinance.

A solution in search of a problem

I make the argument all the time, what are we here for? We're not elected to Council to debate illegal immigration, we're here to address the real local issues like police & fire protection, road paving, snow plowing, zoning, etc

Wyoming Valley Flood 2011-update

I haven't gone wandering around today to see the devastation heeding the advice of those in charge. If you're curious there are plenty of pics online. Earlier today Gov. Tom Corbett chastised the media for encouraging people to send in their flood pictures because they are still people in the evacuation areas. Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton had a press conference this afternoon and announced that 4 jerks/scumbags/criminals had been arrested for looting. He also announced that anybody in the evacuation zone after the 9PM curfew will be arrested.

So far the levee's are holding with some seepage in Forty Fort and the gates in Wilkes-Barre but the Susquehanna River is still so high you can't be too careful. There is a lot of force behind all that water. There are worries that various bridges may get wiped out with a particular concern about the Pierce Street bridge that was destroyed in 1972.

On the home front we just pumped out my mother's basement because the water took out her water heater and was threatening the furnace. That didn't stop her from turning it on this morning, oy vey.

Wyoming Valley Flood 2011

Above it is a picture of Gardner's Creek in Plains. Most of us call it Mill Creek.

I'm relieved to report that my little place on this earth known as the Hudson section of Plains Twp has not been wiped out, yet. I did a quick tour earlier today and posted a few pics here. I drove down River Street on the other side of town earlier encountering some water on the road but it was passable. I'm not about to go sightseeing along the Susquehanna because a very wise told me in 1972 that if your not here to help you're just in the way then handed me a sandbag.

The River is predicted to crest just below the 41 feet that the levy system will hold but my worry is that all that water weighs a lot and is moving fast. In the 1972 Agnes flood the Susquehanna River topped the 35 foot dikes by 6 feet but much of the devastation was caused by the dikes failing in Forty Fort and along Old River Road in Wilkes-Barre. I don't think that punching a bunch of holes in the dikes was a good idea to create a riverfront park after all that money was spent to build them. An earthen dam is much better protection than a metal wall that took it's place.

A word to 2 of my blog buddies. Mark in 1972 the water made it to the old ACME Market on Pennsylvania Avenue just past Beaumont St. That is about 1/2 a block away from you. David it was up to North St. just down the street. Take care my friends.

I will update in a few hours and will not make any political points until the crises abates.

Below is a pic of the Q at the flooded ballfield behind the Polish Club in Hudson. He is only one enjoying this.

A solution in search of a problem

Forty Fort considering an English-only ordinance


A Forty Fort councilman wants to take what he sees as a pre-emptive step and make English the official language of the borough.

"With us being an extremely small borough with an extremely small budget, we can't afford to hire interpreters, we can't afford to make copies of our ordinances in other languages," Dave Williams said Monday.

This is the same guy that proposed a copy cat illegal immigration ordinance that is Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta's claim to fame. That proposal was voted down. Now he wants Forty Fort, with almost no minority polulation let alone an immigrant problem, to pass a law that addresses a problem that doesn't exist.


To his knowledge, the borough has not had issues with requests for translators or for documents to be produced in languages other than English, Williams said.

I have some advice for Mr. Williams, if you want to translate a document go to Babel Fish.

You can read the Forty Fort ordinance here.

I asked Council President Joe Chacke about this:

Gort,

I didn't get a chance to contact the reporter yesterday after she had called, but I am opposed to it. Getting beyond the illegal immigration argument that is the genesis for this ordinance, I have some serious concerns with it.

First and foremost, I feel this may be a discriminatory ordinance that could and probably would lead to lawsuits. How could we tell a legitimate U.S. Citizen that we refuse to aid them in any manner if they don't communicate in English? Essentially this ordinance states that if you can't speak or write English, Forty Fort doesn't do business with you. That's just wrong. Could you imagine our Founding Fathers taking this stance?

Secondly, we already only print in English and we all only speak English in meetings. Why do we need a law to tell us to do this? In the event someone didn't speak English and had some concerns or questions, as a Representative of Forty Fort, I would go out of my way personally to help them. That's why I'm there.

I make the argument all the time, what are we here for? We're not elected to Council to debate illegal immigration, we're here to address the real local issues like police & fire protection, road paving, snow plowing, zoning, etc.

I will be voting no on this ordinance.

Thanks,

Joe

Immigration again

Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta continues his one trick pony campaign as he tries to unseat Congressman Paul Kanjorski. This web ad takes issue with the standing ovation that members of Congress gave the President of Mexico when he addressed a joint session. I can't actually spot Kanjo in this clip but you get the idea.





I hope that Barletta is not advocating a repeat of that disgusting display that happened outside the Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre when the former President of Mexico Vincente Fox came to town in 2008 when the crowd was chanting "Deport Vincente Fox " and other ugly things.





I'm sure that if Barletta somehow gets to be a member of Congress he will be polite to a foreign Head of State. The woman yelling into the megaphone reminded me of this for some reason.


El alcalde Lou Barletta quiere ver sus papeles and he agrees with the Obama Administration that the US military should be used in law enforcement but wants more troops. For more than a hundred years it has been illegal to use the US military to do law enforcement and that's the way it should be.

Locally the Forty Fort council has decided that they don't want any of "those people" to move into their town voting 5-1 to support the Arizona Immigration law. Last I checked Forty Fort doesn't have an illegal immigration problem. The only sane person on the council on this issue is Joe Chacke who voted against the resolution.



"It's always been my belief, my philosophical, political belief, that immigration is a federal issue," he said. "Local governments and state governments don't belong in illegal immigration. The country is divided and it's going to come to a head at some point, but I just don't think it's Arizona's or Forty Fort's position to address it.

Update: From Ed Mitchell
"Congressman Kanjorski didn't even attend the joint session. Don't let facts get in the way of your propaganda, Lou"