Christopher Paige for Congress

There is at least one Republican in Pennsylvania's 11th Congressional District that is willing to take on Paul Kanjorski that is not named Lou Barletta.

Coulter Jones broke the news in the Citizens Voice a few days ago that Christopher Howard Paige filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission this past week, clearing the way for the 37-year-old Skytop man to run for Congress. Paige, who runs a hedge fund with his wife in Monroe County, was a registered Democrat until 2008, but switched registration to the Republican Party after the Democratic-majority Congress passed the TARP - the Troubled Assets Relief Program, which was part of the bailout of the U.S. financial system.

My first reaction was Who is this guy? So I started asking around.

I contacted long time Kanjorski spokesman Ed Mitchell who replied "Never heard of him. Got balls running as a hedge fund manager these days!"

Our best local researcher McGruff did some digging and found out that Paige graduated from the University of Virginia, has a law degree from Yale University and a master's degree in political science from New York University. He was the Director of The Pace Poll and is now dealing in exotic financial instruments that most of us don't understand and may have contributed to the financial meltdown that happened last fall. He moved to the Poconos in 2006 was a registered Democrat until 2008.

Some choice quotes.

From the CV:

"I'm not some hardcore Republican. What the Democratic Party has been doing with the economy has been disastrous. We cannot let this continue."

He takes a shot at Barletta.

"We've tried that twice. We don't need to try that again. I don't share his approach on immigration at all. I think he would damage the Republican Party's reputation with that approach."

And he took a shot at Kanjo about his oversight of the financial industry and his vote for the TARP program.


"That's like bragging you were on the bridge of the Titanic and in charge of navigation," Paige said. "These bailouts were unbelievably expensive, and obviously ineffective if you look at what has happened to the economy. Just take it the common sense, how does it make sense to take our money to give it to banks so they can lend our money back to us?"

More choice quotes from the Pocono Record.

“I was outraged by the bailouts which I think are unconstitutional. You are throwing societal resources at inefficient companies.”

“The housing bubble was fueled by government policy subsidizing home ownership. We've got to stop trying to subsidize various industries.”

In an interview with pa2010.com he said “I think the public has decided to get rid of Kanjorski, they just saw Barletta as an unacceptable alternative,” Paige said. “Had it been someone else, we would have won last year.”

I had a brief conservation with Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta on Saturday who also had no idea who this guy is and declined to respond to Paige's criticisms. I asked him a few questions.

The last time I talked to you I got the impression you were running for Lt. Governor, what happened to that?

"I want to be in a position to affect change and that is not an office that would let me do that."

Are you going to run for Congress again?

"I haven't ruled it out and I'm very seriously looking at the race."

Has your Congressional campaign committee raised any money this quarter?

"Very little, just trying to retire the debt."

When I talked to you in your office last January it was obvious that you love being the Mayor of Hazelton.

"Staying Mayor is not out of the question."

Mayor Lou will be teaming with Mayor John DeStefano Jr. of New Haven, Conn. to discuss immigration at a forum at Wilkes University on Oct. 22.

One thing that I like about Barletta is that he has a thick skin. I disagree with him on many issues and have beat him up on this blog many times but he always talks to me.


Corey O'Brien didn't return a phone call asking for comment.

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Update: As noted Paige was a Democrat until 2008 and his campaign contributions reflect that. According the the HuffPo he gave $2300 to Hillary Clinton in 2008, $1800 to John Kerry in 2004 and $600 to Howard Dean in 2004. Watchdog.net lists contributions of
$250 to Actblue and $250 to Sestak For Congress in 2006.

Bellas fired

Or suspended, it amounts the same thing.

WEST PITTSTON - The Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority suspended Executive Director Allan Bellas without pay today after Bellas rescinded a promise he would resign amid "trouble" stemming from a federal corruption investigation.

His legal problems appears to be part of one the property tax give away programs to local businesses that promise to bring "good paying jobs to the area because of our work ethic." The rest of us make up the shortfall in tax revenue every year. The TL has more about Tax Incremental Financing. A source familiar with the investigation said Bellas has signed a plea agreement with federal prosecutors and is expected to be charged soon with accepting money in connection with some official action. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he did not know if the alleged wrongdoing was related to Bellas’ position on the authority, the Wyoming Valley West School Board or some other entity.

He also served on the LCCC Board of Trustees from 2003 to 2007.

So I will go out on a limb and predict that he will be charged with just one crime leaving us to wonder what else he did like many of the other people snared so far. I want trials for all these people detailing who paid them how much and when.

His wife, Nancy Bellas, is the Democratic nominee for Luzerne County Prothonotary and could probably now kiss that off.

I have been predicting for months that Republican Carolee Medico Olenginski would win the election and fair or not this probably made her case about corruption.

Baseball, Football, Painting, Politics and Religion

Pretty much a complete Sunday.

While watching the Eagles beat the worst team in the the NFL, the Red Sox getting eliminated from the playoffs and as of right now it looks like the Evil Empire will knock off the Twins we somehow got most of the living room painted. New carpeting and furniture is next.

My post yesterday about Gina Nevenglosky 's Day of Prayer at the courthouse resulted in a spirited discussion and I would thank everyone (especially Rene and Steve)for joining in the banter with some thoughtful comments. I will concede that I may have overstated that this was violation of the establishment clause of the 1st amendment as many of you pointed out but when I read the agenda for the event it came across to me as a church service on public property masquerading as a political rally.

Religion is a good thing that motivates many people to do good things such as making sure their neighbors have enough to eat but when it gets into the political realm it can be destructive. How many wars have been fought because one tribe thought that the one next to them worshiped the wrong god or didn't worship god in the right way? I think Jesus had it right, “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.”

I'm not religious but I have always tried to live my life according to the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." If only politicians could live up to that.

On a lighter note the best way to see me at church is to sit by the window and I will wave to you as I drive by.

This has floating around for a while and I don't know how true it is but it gave me a chuckle and is a good critique of religion:

Is Hell Exothermic or Endothermic (Boyle’s Law)

Bonus Question of the mid-term exam: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle’s Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant.
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One student, however, wrote the following:
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“First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let’s look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle’s Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added. This gives two possibilities: 1. if Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, and then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose. 2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over. So which is it?


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If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my freshman year that “it will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you,” and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number 2 must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is, therefore, extinct…leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a divine being, which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting “Oh my God.”

Kanjo to the rescue

The Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre has hit a rough patch lately and some people are predicting it's demise because of the sour economy. I think it will survive but they have to book better acts than Johnny Mathis and Brian Wilson but that's just my opinion.

Anyway, Congressman Paul Kanjorski will announce on Tuesday that he got some money to fix the roof on the place.

The Kirby is a gem and is my favorite place to see a show and we have seen many of them. The upcoming lineup has something for everyone. I looking forward to the imitation Pink Floyd band in the winter.

Kanjorski has been on CNBC talking regulatory reform and working hard in committee meetings trying to figure out how to avoid another meltdown like what happened when Bush was occupying the White House. Note to my Republican friends: history didn't start on January 20th of this year. The government's finances were blown up by the last guy. I haven't blogged much about his work to reform the financial industry because it gets too wonky for me but if you are interested you can read about it here.

He even got a shout out from our Nobel Prize winning President.

Pray with Gina today

Republican candidate for Register of Wills Gina Nevenglosky will be praying at the Luzerne County Courthouse today at 1PM.

The program was sent along by Kathy Dobash.

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Opening Prayer by Pastor Tom Miller of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship

Selected Christian Songs by the Perspective Church Praise Band

Prayers for our County and the Elected Officials of Luzerne County By Pastor Sarah Washington

Why support Gina in this election? By Pastor Sam Washington

Commissioner Steve Urban - remarks and special introduction of our Republican candidate for Register of Wills/Clerk of Orphans Court Gina Nevenglosky

Selected Christian Songs by the Perspective Church Praise Band

Open to the public for prayer

Closing prayer by Pastor John Murray

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WTF? I think the 1st amendment regarding the separation of church and state even applies to Luzerne County. I have never met Gina despite going to countless Republican events over the last few months but she was always a no show. We will miss each other again because I will be watching the Penn State game on ESPN 360 at that time because Comcast removed ESPN Classic from my cable lineup last year.

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Update: A couple of wags on my Facebook page have suggested that the courthouse needs an exorcism instead of a prayer service. Another Monkey is worried that Facebook and Twiiter will kill blogging. I think that Facebook expands my audience but I haven't tried Twitter yet.

This guy has balls

I spotted this LTE in the CV written by an attorney that recently started practicing in Luzerne County. Under the previous regime of Conahan and Ciavarella he would never win another case in this county again. We will see if things change.


Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. claims he saw nothing, heard nothing and knew nothing about the injustice occurring in the courts of Luzerne County. I don't believe him. I do believe that he would do anything to save his $157,000 a year job, as would his fellow judge, Tom Burke.
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Terrorists at Guantanimo Bay had more rights than children did in Luzerne County. How would you feel if it were your child who was lied to, tricked and unjustly sent to kiddie concentration camp?
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Olszewski and Burke claim they did nothing wrong. "It wasn't me, It was them. I didn't know. How could I know?" Just men had a duty to discover the truth. Olszewski said the hearings took place a half a mile away in another building. How could he hear? How did an advocacy group over 100 miles away in Philadelphia hear enough to file lawsuits on behalf of more than 500 children? How did the FBI know enough about it to raid juvenile probation? Olszewski says if he knew he would have told the FBI. If "ifs" and "buts" were candy and nuts, oh what a party we'd have.
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I was a judicial law clerk in Schuylkill County. In my experience, what went on in the courthouse and in many of the cases was common knowledge among the judges, staff members and law clerks. Even then, almost 10 years ago, stories were coming out of Luzerne County from lawyers and litigants alike, that the judges were crooked, that the cases were fixed. It was not until I started practicing in Luzerne County that I realized that most of the gossip was true.
Peter Paul Olszewski and Thomas Burke have failed us. They have failed to protect us. They have failed to protect our children.

Now it is election time and they want you to know them as "Peter Paul" and "Tom." After they win retention they're back to being "Your Honor," and we the people are back to being nobodies. In this lawyer's opinion, Judge Olszewski and Judge Burke do not deserve to be retained as judges.
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Attorney Joseph A. Woitko
Beaver Meadows

The question I keep asking is how does everybody know what was going on in Lokuta's courtroom but nobody knew what was going on in Ciavarella's? Zen want's to know why the District Attornerys David Lupas (now Judge) and Jackie Musto Carrol and their staffs did not notice a gross disparity between the offense and the punishment that was meted out?

And how about the Probation Department and the Public Defenders?

PPO-2 answered my question a week ago and the TL has Tom Burke's defense today.


"I can tell you categorically I did not have a single incident where a lawyer came to me and said, ‘By the way, there’s something you should look out for because there may be abuses,’ ” Burke said. “We can look back now and say if there were more checks and balances, maybe these abuses would have been discovered sooner.”

Cliff Lee goes the distance

Phil's up 1-0 in NLDS

This is why they got him from the long suffering Indians.

Cliff Lee threw a complete game against the Rockies scattering 6 hits with 5 strike outs giving up a meaningless run in the 9th inning with 2 outs leading Philadelphia to a 5-1 win over Colorado. After a shaky start he retired 16 in a row until a wind blown single in the 7th. He even got a hit and stole 2nd. My team MVP Jason Werth lead the offense going 2 for 3 with an RBI and 2 runs scored including a triple that I thought was going to be an inside the park HR.

The Dodgers beat the Cardinals 5-3 and the Evil Empire knocked of the Twinkees 7-2.

Get well Leonard

Luzerne County Director of Elections Leonard Piazza had a health scare a few days ago but it looks like he will be okay. He is a workaholic who puts up puts up with cranks like me bugging him at all hours with questions about election law issues and he always responds. He is one of the good guys in county government.

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If you are on Facebook go wish him well.

Gas and water

Relatives of Mrs G informed us the other day that they signed a 5 year lease with a company to drill for natural gas on their land in Wyoming County for the tidy sum of $125,000 and the promise of royalties down the line. They didn't want to hear my objections to that decision even when I pointed out that they live off well water that may become polluted. They just saw dollar signs.

To drill just one well requires 1 to 5 million gallons of fresh water that is treated with all sorts of chemicals and most of it remains in the ground that that may leech into the aquifer. The water that rises to the surface is held in man made ponds lined with plastic and containment barriers that have failed and spilled into local streams and rivers killing fish and polluting drinking water.

Now various companies are proposing to build treatment plants so the water from the extraction can be discharged into the Susquehanna River and other waterways. The first problem with that is that companies doing the drilling won't disclose what chemicals they are using claiming it's "propriety information."

Near Tunkhannock North Branch Processing LLC hopes to build a plant near Skyhaven Airport to clean the “frac” water and discharge it into the river. The locals aren't thrilled with the idea, “If they’re going to discharge it into the Susquehanna River, which people fish in, which people play in, it should be clean enough to drink,” said George Turner, a local geologist with experience handling contaminated water. “If they can’t clean it up that much, then reuse it as frac water.”

Another plant is in the works near Williamsport to be built by TerrAqua Resource Management. Kayak Dude spoke out at the DEP permit hearing. Don Williams of Harleysville said allowing the gas industry to gain a foothold in the state would set back environmental improvement efforts decades. Williams compared "the Marcellus Shale frenzy" to making a pact with the devil.
"We are once again striking a Faustian bargain at the expense of our natural resources, degrading the quality of our land and our waters in exchange for the false promises of jobs and the fleeting economic prosperity for a limited few," he said.
"I am fully opposed to the further degradation of the Susquehanna River ... and I am respectfully requesting this application be denied," Williams said.
Williams added that until the gas industry provides full disclosure of all chemicals used in the hydrofracturing process, action on all gas drilling wastewater treatment plant applications be suspended.

Don's complete testimony is here .

un-naturalgas.org is a New York state site about Marcellus Shale that has a great primer on all the issues involved, take a few minutes and read it.

This post about living next door to gas drilling activity documents the impact on your quality of life even if you don't allow drilling on your land but your neighbor does.

“It’s not just the drilling”: living with pipelines

Number 4 on Minnesota

This is killing my Green Bay friends.

Skrep wants to borrow more money

"I am alright with borrowing."- Luzerne County Commissioner Gregory Skrepenak

No matter how many jobs they eliminate or expenses that they cut in the end Majority Commissioners Democrat Maryanne Petrilla and Republican Steve Urban will have to vote to raise property taxes if they want to avoid borrowing even more money. Nobody wants to pay more taxes, I know I don't, and they just may pay for that decision in the next election.

The reason this is coming to a head now is because the last administration of the Bond Brothers, Skrep and Todd Vonderheid, put out unrealistic budgets full of fictitious revenues then scrambled the next year restructuring debt and borrowing even more money just to meet payroll.

Nobody has been as hard on Petrilla as I have been. I would like to interview her and ask some questions about the 2004 campaign but she has been upfront on the county's fiscals woes.

It's hard to follow the incompetence and fiscal recklessness of the previous administration. Just ask Barack Obama.


http://citizensvoice.com/news/budget_hearings_start_as_county_looks_to_make_cuts

First dustup in the 11th CD race

Ace political reporter Borys caught this in Corey O'Brien's announcement that he is running for the Pennsylvania 11th Congressional seat against Paul Kanjorski that was included in his prepared text.

"The old-style politics of greed and personal profit have no place in our government, and we must fight to replace them with new-style leadership. In our region, we deserve to receive our fair share of federal tax dollars. And we deserve a congressman who will put that money in your pockets, not his own pockets."...To those who think all politicians are corrupt, I say let’s change that.


Kanjo campaign spokesman Ed Mitchell, accused Mr. O'Brien of making a "wild statement" that was "almost libelous."

So it looks like the Cornerstone controversy that was investigated up and down and in and out by the Navy and the Karl Rove Justice Department but no charges were ever filed will be front and center of the O'Brien campaign. When I interviewed Corey last April he declined to take a shot at Kanjo's ethics but times change.

You mentioned Congressman Kanjorski and what’s going on in Luzerne County in the same breath, do you think he has any ethical problems?


I’m not going to talk about other potential candidates in 2010. I can just tell you that my record on ethics reform, openness and transparency are very, very clear. I have a strong record with respect to that. Other people can judge his record of ethical considerations and that kind of stuff. I think that there is a clear distinction there between myself and him with respect to that. But that’s for somebody else to talk about. If I get into this race I’m going to be running a campaign based on what I’ve been able to get done and what I want to do going forward and other people can make those comparisons. Some people may say our records differ with respect to openness and transparency.

Phargon Phillies Phinish in Phirst

The unsung hero of the team this year was Jason Werth. He came up just short of the century mark for RBI's (99) and runs scored (97). Jason got a hit when they needed one and finished with 36 HR's and 20 stolen bases. He also made the All-Star team for the first time in his career.

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I'm not too optimistic about the Phillies chances this post-season but anything can happen in baseball. The last 2 years they had to fight their way into the playoffs and were red hot in September but this year the Sept/Oct record is 19-16. Let's hope that this resting the starters strategy works. But if your closer gives you a heart attack every time he takes the mound the only thing you can do is put a towel on your head and hope for the best.

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In other sports news the Eagles were off this week and the Cowboys lost. Penn State took care of business clobbering Illinois 35-17 and will play cupcake U next week then they get into the meat of the Big Ten schedule with Minnesota coming to Beaver Stadium and a trip to the Big House after that to play Michigan.

Joe Sestak was in town yesterday

Congressman Joe Sestak (PA-07) was at Wilkes Unversity in Wilkes-Barre yesterday and the first I heard about it was a message on Facebook from a student the night before. I've been bitching about the poor advance work of the Sestak campaign for months. Maybe I'm getting a big head but I think they should let the the local bloggers know when Joe will be in the neighborhood especially since we want to support him. One wag made the observation that he wants to be the Senator from MSNBC instead of Pennsylvania.

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Sestak is taking on party switcher Arlen Specter in the 2010 Democratic primary for US Senator from Pennsylvania. The President , Governor and the other Senator are backing Arlen after he realized that he couldn't win a Republican primary election against right wing darling Pat Toomey who came close to knocking him off in the 2004 Republican primary. In that election his biggest boosters were White House occupant George W Bush and our junior Senator from Virginia Rick Santorum who is now looking at running for President. There are many Democrats like me that have never voted for Specter and never will. Scottish Law, Anita Hill, single bullet, Ira Eichhorn the list is endless.

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Anyway, we have a report from Wilkes student Tony Thomas about Sestak's visit:

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On October 2nd Congressman Joe Sestak visited Wilkes University for an intimate town hall meeting with college students. Sestak spoke for about and hour and a half on the job market, economy, and his ideas for helping college students. Joe stated he supports investing 85 billion in small businesses through the Small Business Administration which he argues would improve economic recovery and help stem job losses.

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While in Congress Joe voted to increase the maximum for Pell Grants, he voted to increase eligibility for Pell Grants, he voted to increase unsubsidized Stafford Loans by $2,000. He also voted to give parents more time to repay those loans.

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Students and faculty were given the opportunity to ask Sestak his opinions on a variety of issues. Healthcare and the Public Option were the first issues that were brought up in questioning. “I got in Congress for his healthcare bill”, he told the audience. Sestak supports the House bill that mandates all Americans get health insurance or risk a fine for not doing so.

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As for the Public Option, Sestak said that he strongly supported it. His response was met with applause from the audience. He clarified that the plan would not be subsidized by the public, but would be paid for by money the insurance companies receive from premiums paid by the insured. Sestak said that the plan would save money because the government would not have to pay advertising costs and would not be paying tens of millions of dollars for a CEO to run it. Instead Sestak said that the government would have an individual similar to a Cabinet official run the program for a salary of around $200,000 dollars.

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Other questions were on the war in Afghanistan, gay marriage and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, marijuana legalization, and Ron Paul’s Audit the Fed bill.

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War in Afghanistan:

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Sestak acknowledged that the war in Afghanistan is a very difficult issue and he said that if the goal is to eradicate al-Qaida in Afghanistan and along the Pakistan border, then he does support continued efforts. However, if the goal is national building, he stated that he does not support continued efforts. He does support a timetable for withdrawal, but stated that there should not be a mandatory date as of yet to withdraw.

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Gay Marriage and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell:

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Sestak stated that he believes all Americans are equal. He highlighted his support for repealing the Defense of Marriage Act. Joe clarified that he believes marriage is up to a church, but he said that if a church wants to perform same-sex marriage they should be allowed to do so. On DADT, Sestak highlighted his 31 year career in the Navy and told the audience that he strongly supports repealing DADT. Joe stated that he believes that the Obama Administration must do something for equality by the end of the year and he suggested either ending DADT or DOMA.

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Marijuana Legalization:

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Sestak stated that he does not support legalizing marijuana even for taxing the substance. He suggested that perhaps a generation difference contributed to his opinion being different from the student who questioned him. Sestak did point out that he supports medicinal marijuana.

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Audit the Fed:

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Joe was asked about Ron Paul’s Audit the Fed bill and stated that he supports the bill 50%. He believes in transparency of government and accountability, but pointed out that a truly independent investigation is needed and he wants to avoid a political investigation of the Fed.

Joe concluded the event by thanking all those in attendance and said that he in this race for Pennsylvanians and not for political interest. He criticized Arlen Specter’s conversion to the Democratic Party and said that Specter is a flight-risk if elected. Sestak slammed Specter for putting politics above governing by highlighting when Harry Reid recessed the Senate so Specter could attend a fundraiser and not be criticized for missing votes. Sestak said that he would never put politics above his elected duties.

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Thanks to Tony for covering this event. I can't make it to everything so I am asking my readers to help me out. Please cover and write-up anything to do with local or state politics and send it to me. Maybe I should offer a prize like a tee shirt for being a front page guest poster on Gort42. The Mean Old Man will probably just shoot the thing with a shotgun.

The Rodney Dangerfield of this race is State Rep Bill Kortz. He gets no respect.

Kanjo responds

Statement by Ed Mitchell on behalf of the Kanjorski campaign (PA-11) on O’Brien announcement:

“Congressman Kanjorski looks forward to a full and thorough debate of his record and the issues in the primary election.“He believes that in today’s tough economic times we need a Congressman who has a record of fighting for veterans’ benefits, protecting Social Security and Medicare for seniors and pushing for job creation and affordable health care for all working families.

“Congressman Kanjorski is the best person to do that.”

Kanjorski's campaign website is

Kanjorski Democrat Standing Up For Us

His government site is

Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski Proudly Serving the 11th District of Pennsylvania

Corey O'Brien for Congress

It's official tomorrow morning. He is going announce he is running for the PA-11th CD seat now held by longtime Congressman Paul Kanjorski. Then he will go on a bus trip around the district.

The press release

COREY O’BRIEN LAUNCHES CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN WITH 30-HOUR, NON-STOP, NO SLEEP BUS TOUR

Saturday, October 3, 2009 – From the steps of his childhood home, Lackawanna County Commissioner Corey D. O’Brien officially announced Saturday morning that he will be a candidate for the United States Congress (PA-11) in 2010.Immediately following the announcement, Commissioner O’Brien, joined by family members and friends, launched a 2-day, 30-hour, non-stop, no sleep bus tour through PA-11.

The bus tour began in Dunmore, PA and is traveling to a number of neighborhoods, restaurants, companies and other venues in Carbon, Columbia, Lackawanna, Luzerne and Monroe counties.

Commissioner O'Brien plans to focus on his record as a champion of common sense government, fiscal responsibility and ethics reform in the campaign:"For far too long, politicians have been catering to special interests while leaving people in our region to fend for themselves. I'm running for Congress to replace the old-style politics with new-style leadership, by promoting job growth, encouraging health care reform, holding myself to a higher ethical standard and working to strengthen our children’s educational opportunities."Prior to his election as Lackawanna County Commissioner in 2007, Corey O'Brien practiced law and hosted an award winning public affairs television show. He currently resides in Moosic, PA with his wife, Atty. Michelle O'Brien and their two young children.A question and answer session will be held on the bus prior to its departure from Dunmore.

O'Brien has a website up:

Corey O'Brien for Congress Democrat for Pennsylvania's 11th District

Renee Butts out

At a campaign event for GOP Controller candidate Bob Sypniewski last May Renee Butts announced that she will be seeking the Republican nomination for the 118th State Rep District seat held by Democrat Mike Carroll. Well, things change and Renee now has other priorities.

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So far I haven't heard of any Republican willing to take on any of the Democratic Luzerne County state legislators next year. I hope that some people will be willing to step up to the plate because I hate unopposed elections. After this year's version of the state budget fiasco they all deserve an opponent and that includes Republican Karen Boback.

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Renee was kind enough to send along an explanation of her decision:

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I apologize to the many who pledged to support me in my race for State Representative for the 118th Legislative District, and to all the people of the 118th who need a voice and need to be heard by their state representative, but I am no longer going to contend for this position.

Mr. Right proposed to me, and Mr. Right (one of the few conservative young men in this area) does not live in the 118th, and I’ve chosen the greater certainty of a life with Mr. Right over running against an incumbent Dem in NEPA (i.e. David vs. Goliath). My fiancé works in Hazleton – a long commute from the 118th. It would have been a bit premature to ask him to sell a house and move for an election I may not win. (I don’t think there are too many jobs for chemical engineers in the area, either.)

I feel as if I am letting down many of you. I’m sorry I was not able to be the person and the voice you needed. I wish I could find someone to take my place. I hope and pray that the 118th will find someone worthy to represent them or that the incumbent will make you more of a priority and change some of his stances, such as the tolling of I-80.

As I am no longer running, I feel compelled to tell you what else colored my decision. The other element to my decision was people in my own party. Yes, fellow Republicans. And I suppose what this comes down to isn’t one party or another – it is what is right for the people. I met with some resistance from Republicans who felt I should have worked for other state reps. They trotted out my former opponent’s resume, which includes working for people whom they wish to remove from office. (Why would they have wanted me to work for these people again?) They were willing to support someone they disagreed with instead of a young woman with a will to fight and a heartfelt desire to defend the best interests of the 118th and the interests of all Pennsylvanians, not to mention a woman whose ideals jived with their own. However, this was not the primary reason. Again, the primary reason is Mr. Right. Otherwise, I thought it might have, at the very least, been fun to try to win over these people. And, if not, prove them wrong, prove to them that I could have been their voice and worked tirelessly for them.

However, I do want to give a special thanks to the West End Republicans of Monroe County. These people were willing to whole-heartedly throw their support behind a political newcomer, not even from their hometown. But they liked what I had to say. There is a lot of heart there and anyone who would take my place would find a wealth of tireless enthusiasm and great welcome from these wonderful people. I wasn’t even from their county, but we connected over a desire for a different direction for Pennsylvania.

And to the many people who think I loathe Democrats, all of my bridesmaids are members of your party. But friendship, and the willingness to pull each other out of sticky situations definitely crosses the aisle. Though we disagree politically (I may loathe their ideals, and they may loathe mine), we are always there for each other. I hope that whichever party your next state representative is from will make the same commitment to you, because that is his responsibility. I hope that your next state rep can be truly a part of your communities, a part of your lives, and serve you proudly.

God Bless you all! I only hope for the best for you!

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Renee Butts

Nancy, we hardly knew ya

15 down and hundreds to go.

The TL and CV are reporting that Wyoming Valley West School Board President and executive director of the Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority Allen Bellas has signed a plea agreement with federal prosecutors and is expected to be charged soon with accepting money for an official action. He also served on the LCCC Board of Trustees from 2003 to 2007 and the feds are also looking at that outfit. If you are keeping score at home that makes it 15 people that have now been charged with corruption in Luzerne County this year.

His wife, Nancy Bellas, is the Democratic nominee for Luzerne County Prothonotary. Not knowing her connections I was surprised that she won the primary against Duryea politico Art Akulonis and the most qualified candidate Gerald Mullery. Now it makes sense or should I say nonsense.

I have been predicting for months that Republican Carolee Medico Olenginski would win the election and fair or not this probably just sealed the deal.

I spent the afternoon browsing Bellas' campaign finance reports that ace Election Bureau honcho Leonard Piazza has posted on the county website and they have many familiar names. She accepted money from Bob Mericle after he was identified as being one of the two bribers of the Juvie Brothers. Other highlights are contributions from Maryanne Petrilla, Bob Reilly, Jim Blaum, Frank Crossin, Murry Uffberg, Bill Joyce, Mike Pasonick, AJ Lupas, Mike Butera and other cast members of the local Democratic establishment.

Who has money to waste on politicians?

A recent comment asked "How do you go about finding all money michael pasonick gave out and to who?"


Start with the Federal Election Commission for US House and Senate races. Open Secrets donor lookup is also a great tool.

Then move on to the Pennsylvania Department of State election website which has a Contribution Search feature.

The Luzerne County Campaign Finance Reporting page is a little tougher to navigate since all reports are scanned and there is not a search option.


I've been reading the local campaign finance reports and will tell you what I find but I need your help. There is no way that I can read all these reports before the election so I am asking for some help fellow Gortian's or should I say Fortytwooer's. Read the reports and report back what you find.

One thing that keeps keeps jumping out at me is the in-kind contributions from businesses. I thought it was illegal for a candidate or political organization to accept a contribution from a business even in Pennsylvania.

The Mericle of money

Multi-party Bob Mericle was named as Participant number 2 in the Juvie Brothers bribery scandal that hit the news last January and in August he was charged with being part of it.

He is going to skate.

That hasn't prevented him from greasing the wheels this year as he has always done.

The Pennsylvania Department of State’s Campaign Finance website lists the money Mericle has been spreading around just this year. It's an old habit with Bob.

March 17th he gave $500 to State Rep John Yudichak

May 27th $10,000.00 to State Senator Ray Musto

On July 1st Mike Carroll recieved $2500 from Bob.


The kicker is his May 24th contribution to Bill Amesbury, Luzerne County Judge candidate, on May 24th of $500.

Update: Mericle donated $100 to Democratic Prothonotary candidate Nancy Bellas on April 9th

It's a go

O'Brien to take on Paul Kanjorski

From a press release:

Wednesday, September 30, 2009 - Lackawanna County Commissioner Corey D. O’Brien will make his intentions known regarding a run for the United States Congress (PA-11) on Saturday, October 3, 2009 at 9:45 a.m. from the steps of his childhood home, 1906 Delaware Street, Dunmore PA 18512.


ABOUT COREY O’BRIEN



As an 18-year old Dunmore High School senior, Corey successfully lobbied for a $600,000 federal appropriation to build a community center in Dunmore. Today, residents of Dunmore enjoy a $4.5 million state-of-the-art community center that mirrors Corey’s early vision of providing residents with a multi-generational community center.

Corey O’Brien continued his civic involvement in college. While attending Penn State University, Corey testified before a Pennsylvania House Education Sub-Committee promoting affordability of higher education. After college graduation, Corey interned in the Clinton White House and was later appointed to a position in the United States Agency for International Development.

After serving in the Clinton Administration, O’Brien attended and graduated in the top of his class from The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law. Corey is licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and in the District of Columbia. Corey is also licensed to practice before the United States Supreme Court and other federal courts.After 10 years in Washington, D.C., Corey and his family moved home to Northeastern Pennsylvania.


After being back in Pennsylvania for only four months, Corey launched the public affairs television show, The Pulse with Corey O’Brien on FOX56. After only one season, The Pulse with Corey O’Brien was recognized by the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters as an Outstanding TV Public Affairs Program/Series. The Pulse was also recognized by the Electric City newspaper as the region’s top public affairs television talk show. In addition, Corey served as a political analyst on the ABC-affiliate, WNEP-TV 16, and WILK News Radio. Corey also hosted a radio program, Corey O’Brien Now on WILK News Radio.

In 2007, Corey O’Brien was elected to the post of Lackawanna County commissioner in an unprecedented landslide victory, with Corey and his running mate winning in all of Lackawanna County's 163 precincts. Corey O’Brien resides in Moosic, Pennsylvania with his wife, Atty. Michelle R. O’Brien, and their two young children, Kate and Casey.

Gas pains

About 3 years ago a friend who lives near Tunkhannock told me that a company knocked on his door one day and said he had a deposit of natural gas on his land and offered him a nice check upfront if he would agree to let let them drill for it on his land. He discussed it with his wife and they signed a contract that included a promise of royalties that have yet to be paid.

He now regrets that decision because he is dealing with the noise and destruction of his property similar to what has been documented at bob's blog.

When he first told me about it I thought it was great because we need more energy and local people would make a few bucks but it is now obvious that if that the regulators in DEP and EPA don't get a handle this it has the potential of causing as much environmental damage in the 21st century as the coal mines did in the last two.

Headlines like these are scary.

State can’t see forest for trees

Pa. orders shutdown of Cabot drilling

Dimock, Pennsylvania: A community paying the price for natural gas production with hydraulic fracturing fluid spills

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Raping the enviroment (again)

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Frickin’ fracking?

Not really understanding all the issues involved I asked my friend Kayak Dude to explain it for us.

Drill, Baby, Drill?

Should we open our state forests to additional natural gas drilling to (finally) strike a long-overdue budget deal? My fellow Pennsylvanians…not so fast.

The drilling process known as "hydrofracturing" is barely underway in this commonwealth, and we've already had three chemical spills in less than a week, multiple fish kills, and many folks in Dimock, PA ( Susquehanna County ) cannot drink the water coming from their wells. Is this acceptable? I think not.

I've been following the growth of this whole Marcellus Shale natural gas play for almost two years. Those in favor of widespread drilling and those in opposition, with the oil companies offering big upfront checks and the promise of new found riches to the former, are locked in a battle of words and wills being played out in local, regional and national government and the media.

What is the truth? Is the estimated amount of recoverable natural gas locked in the Marcellus Shale Formation (MSF) truly a major step toward our nation's goal of energy independence? Is the state budget really the place to put our natural resources out for bid? Do the oil companies really care about Pennsylvania's environment? Have they truly drilled 10,000 wells "without incident'? Are environmentalists justified in raising concerns about the whole hydrofracturing process and its aftermath, or are they just doing that tree-hugging liberal NIMBY ( don't forget unpatriotic ) thing again?

Let's look at the facts. The oil industry and geologists have known about "gas shales" for decades. In early 2008, some PSU and NYU professors "stunned" the oil industry by estimating that the MSF contained approximately a two year's supply of natural gas based upon current consumption levels. This estimate far exceeded prior yield expectations. But wait. Less than 9 months later, the same professors revised their original estimates based upon information PROVIDED BY AN OIL COMPANY. Yes, Virginia…that's true. Their new yield projection was seven times higher than numbers they offered earlier that same year. It has since doubled again, somewhere near a 30 year (estimated) supply. I wonder if these same two professors grade on a similar curve? I wonder how long I'd have a job if I routinely revised my estimates sevenfold in either direction? "Ooops! Sorry guys, we're only going to see a $30 million profit this year, not the original $210 million I projected..." Waddya mean, I'm fired?

Fact is - the manner in which they drill into the MSF, which is over a mile beneath the surface, is radically different from the "10,000 safely drilled wells" already in production. The drilling technology - developed by Halliburton, repeat, HALLIBURTON - is relatively new.

Once the drill bit approaches/enters the MSF, it is slowly turned from vertical to horizontal, and heads laterally another 3,000 feet or so. And

not just in one direction, but several. Think of a spider web, and you'll get the picture. At this point, water, sand, and a whole slew of chemicals - both known and unknown - are injected into the MSF under great pressure to fracture the rock - a.k.a. hydrofracturing or "fracking" for short - and release the natural gas trapped in the MSF. And for the record, we are talking about a ~million of gallons (or more) of water per well per day. That water is being taken from our streams and rivers as well as municipal sources, i.e. our drinking water supply. Now, once thousands of gallons of chemicals - many of them highly toxic to anything needing water to exist ( like us ) - are mixed with the water and injected underground, about 40-60% of that mixture stays down there. The rest ( flowback ) returns to the surface along with the natural gas that is released. In addition to the toxic brew of chemicals, the flowback/fracking wastewater contains an extremely high levels of salts, metals and…radioactivity. I've read reports that the MSF drilling wastewater is about ten times saltier than sea water. Problem is, right now, our existing wastewater treatment plants cannot handle or adequately treat this flowback water. Not even close. And since the drilling companies will not release a complete list of all chemicals used, the plants that want to treat this water - and release it back into our streams and rivers - still don't know what to they need to treat and/or remove!
That's a brief overview of the fracking process, and there's far, far more to consider. PA's forests and farms are being cleared for access roads and drilling sites. PA's Endless Mountains are being quarried for the stone to pave the access roads and the drill pads. Small trout streams are having their waters siphoned away. And on, and on...and on.

It doesn't take a degree in rocket science, or environmental science, to understand what the long-term impact this will have on PA. Short-term, those people who sign leases will get some up front money to be followed - provided the drilling begins and is successful - by a steady stream of royalty checks for however long the well produces. Once that money stops coming in, they will be left with an empty bank account, probably having their drinking water trucked in like the folks up in Dimock, and when they try to sell their property years down the road, they will be in for a very rude reality check.

For anyone who wants to learn more about both sides of this issue - and it is not going away anytime soon - my advice is to educate yourselves. There's plenty of information out there from both sides of the debate. And while you're at it, please consider dropping our ex-VP Dick Cheney a quick line and ask him why he decided to exempt the hydrofracturing process developed by HALLIBURTON from the Safe Water Drinking Act while behind closed doors in 2005? I'm sure he'll be quick to respond.

Cynic that I am, I do not believe the oil companies "we care about your environment" mantra. I've seen what they've done elsewhere. And whenever someone who stands to make money from MSF drilling opens their mouth, I always envision the following: "I wonder how many times Bernie Madoff said: Don't worry, your money ( replace with property ) will be safe with me..."

Economic revitalization? Jobs? A prosperous new future? Haven't we all heard that before? Remember the inflatable dam?

Don Williams

Don is the author of Susquehanna River Sentinal who has blogging for 10 years. Congratulations Don and Thank You.

Where are the local Democrats?

The Luzerne County Republican Party and Row office nominees have had a bunch of high profile get togethers, media events and fund raisers since the the May Primary but I've hardly heard a peep out of the Democratic row officer candidates.

Democratic Judge candidate Bill Amesbury has been on the hustings and Tina Gartley has a slew of events listed on her website. Republican Dick Hughes is also working hard. I have bumped into Judge Thomas Burke (R), who is up for retention, in a few places and I have yet to hear anyone say a bad thing about him. As far as I know he is not even raising money. The other judge up for retention, Peter Paul Olszewski Jr., knows that he is in trouble and has an event this week. Via PittstonPolitics.com PPO-2 will host a retention rally this Thursday, Oct 1 at 7PM. It will be held at the Red Mil Tavern in Pittston.

It looks like the Judicial candidates are running their campaigns independently of the county Democratic Party. That is probably a good stratergy.

Back to the row officer races.

Long time Register of Wills Dottie Stankovic is up against Republican Gina Nevenglosky. I always liked Dottie because she wouldn't always play ball with the powers that be. Her best endorsement came from former county Democratic Chairman Joe Mazur who was "gleeful" that Steve Flood lost the Controller nomination to Maryanne Petrilla in 2005. He said that "She and certain other people have been a cancer within the organization."
I haven't been to any Polka festivals lately so I haven't seen Dottie. Gina has scheduled an event at the courthouse on Saturday October 10, 2009 at 1:00PM.

Republican Carolee Medico Olenginski is looking to return to the office of Prothonotary after being defeated twice by the disgraced Jill Moran. Carolee has been everywhere since the primary and I still predict that she will win in a walk. Nurse Nancy Bellas won the Democratic nomination in May and hasn't been heard from since.


In the Controllers race Bob Morgan surfaced today to complain about a math error on Walter Griffith' s campaign finance report. Morgan was the only Democratic candidate for Controller in the primary which I thought was kind of weird for an open seat. Take a look at Morgan's report and you will see some familiar names. This is the first times in months that I have read Morgan's name in the papers or anywhere else. Griffith has been everywhere asking people for their vote.

Regular commenter Will Toole, the Independent candidate, has been pressing the flesh, working the blogs and writing letters to the editor. His latest missive in the CV asks the same question I have been asking the last few years.

Why hasn't casino gambling reduced property taxes?

I'm sure (hope) that our Democratic candidates will be more visible in the next few weeks before the election. If they think that they can rely on the registration edge to carry them to victory they are in for a big surprise. You still have to ask people for their vote and in this toxic atmosphere that may not be enough.

Olszewski answers my question

Luzerne County Judges Thomas Burke and Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. are up for retention to the Court of Common Pleas this year and they are feeling the heat of the fallout of the Juvie Brothers scandal that may result in them losing the yes/no vote. That has never happened to a sitting judge in this county in my memory.

A few days ago I asked how does everybody know what was going on in Lokuta's courtroom but nobody knew what was going on in Ciavarella's?

His response is in the CV today:

Not only were the vast majority of Judge Ciavarella's juvenile court proceedings closed to the public, they were conducted at Penn Place, located approximately ½ mile away from my courtroom in the Luzerne County Courthouse. Furthermore, during my 10 years on the bench, not a single parent, prosecutor, police officer, probation official or judge ever complained to me that Judge Ciavarella routinely denied juveniles their right to counsel. Nor did I know that he accepted "finder's fees" or sentenced juveniles illegally.

PPO-2 has been beat up in the local press and talk radio the last few days over that frat boy picture with Conahan and Ron Bellitiere that was anonymously provided to the local papers. Fair or not a picture is worth a thousand words.

Knowing that he is in trouble Olszewski is now in full campaign mode with a website up and filed a finance report with the PA Department of State indicating that he is raising money.

The website is:

Vote Yes to Retain Judge Peter Paul Olszweski, Jr.

The hompage lists 10 reasons to vote yes including a bunch of awards that he won and winning death penalty convictions when he was District Attorney that more than likely will never be carried out. Overall I think that PPO-2 was a pretty good DA especially when you compare his record to his incompetent successor.

There is not much on the campaign finance report yet and it includes a couple of errors such as listing his party as Republican and listing the office he is seeking as being in the 14th Judicial District (Fayette County).

I have always resisted the guilt by association argument. Heaven knows I've had my picture taken with some unsavory characters over the years. How much this hurts his chances remains to be seen. I always vote no on these questions no matter what is going on but I'm just a contrarian bastard.

Don't Panic

So Penn State lost to Iowa. They always lose to Iowa. I thought that the offense was suspect after the first 3 games and it was shut down by Iowa after the first quarter and made some mistakes in the fourth that cost them the game.

Remember that in college football it's better to lose a game in September than in November. Many one loss teams have played in the Rose Bowl and for the national championship. If Penn State can win out through the rest of the schedule they will climb back in the polls. I know it's a tall order with a trip to Ann Arbor and the Buckeye's at home but it is possible.

The Phillies continue the heart attack September and this guy keeps reminding us of the 1964 collapse. The previous 3 years they were hot red hot in September but this year they are playing .500 ball because of late inning bullpen meltdowns and will probably limp into the playoffs.

The Eagles are running that funky high school offense with direct snaps to the running backs and option plays. It worked well this week as they downed the mighty KC Chiefs 34-14. All eyes were on Michael Vick but he was mostly a decoy playing only 11 snaps. Kevin Kolb threw for 327 yards and two touchdowns, LeSean McCoy had 84 yards rushing and one TD, and DeSean Jackson and Brent Celek each had 100-plus yards receiving. The defense was solid limiting Matt Cassell to just 90 yards passing and held Larry Johnson in check.

Back to Michael Vick. He committed unspeakable crimes against animals but I believe in redemption. He paid the price by going to prison and remember that there are 2 players in the NFL that were involved in the murders of human beings that are allowed to play. Mrs. G and Quincy are not so forgiving of Vick.

Walter has some questions

This is guest post from Republican Luzerne County Controller candidate Walter Griffith.

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This week I attended the Luzerne County Commissioner meetings which included the County Prison Board Meeting, Work Session and the Commissioner meeting .

The Public comment portion of the meetings I was allowed to address some issues at the Prison Board meeting and I asked about the Deputy Warden Sam Hyder issue regarding his taking vacation and not placing the time in the record for the payroll department and what if anything the County Prison Board was planning to do about this constant ability of our County Employees to take advantage of the taxpayers of this County. I was told they cant discuss it because it was a Personnel issue, but the question still remains as to why the Deputy Warden is still allowed to be on the payroll at all because of his constant and never ending ability to defraud the taxpayers of this County.

The Commissioner Meeting was then held on Wednesday and there was an issue regarding the termination of Veterans Director Richard Wren and 4 people spoke to his ability to be a fantastic Director and the fact that he has made a mistake and should be given a reprimand but not as severe as termination and this was ignored by two of the Commissioners and Mr Wren was terminated without a question or discussion.

My question and confusion here with this situation is a simple one, if the people that have abused the taxpayers by using the debit cards illegally were not terminated, and there was clearly plenty of evidence that they abused their power, then why was Richard Wren terminated without the ability to repay his mistake as well ?

What was different with this incident that was not the case with Mr Sam Hyder and James Blaum and the others ? What was it that made the crime that Richard Wren did to the taxpayers less offensive than that of the "Magnificent Seven" with the debit card debacle.

I think Mr Wren deserves proper reprimand and discipline but is termination of a Director of Veterans Affairs for a $70.00 infraction the proper punishment and what about the thousands of dollars that were taken by the "Magnificent Seven" and they were all allowed to keep their positions, and some were even rewarded with promotions.

The County Commissioners need to rethink their personnel policies and start looking at doing the right thing instead of the politically correct things for themselves.

Walter L Griffith Jr.
Luzerne County Controller Candidate

Spring Break

(L to R) Judge Peter Paul Olszewski, attorney John Kennedy, Ron Bellitiere and and former Judge Michael Conahan


CV: "It's obviously being done to embarrass me before the election," Olszewski said of the photo...In a tense, hour-long interview with The Citizens' Voice editors and reporters Thursday, Olszewski said he believes the June 2005 photo was mailed anonymously to the media by Conahan and/or his codefendant, former county Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr., to hurt his bid for a second 10-year term in November.
"If you publish this, you're doing Mark's bidding," Olszewski said. "You're doing what the most corrupt judges in the world want you to do."...Through his attorney, Al Flora Jr., Ciavarella said the accusation that he was the source of the photo was "absolutely not true." Conahan declined comment through his attorney.

I never get invited to any of the good frat parties. It looks like these guys were playing some serious blender games. McGruff wants to know Who took the picture?