I did not know that August 19 is a holiday: Sock Puppet Assertiveness Day.
A good friend has suggested that we should celebrate this holiday year round.
You all know my issue with anonymous comments on the internet. Visit the Yahoo greeting card for Sock Puppet Assertiveness Day, an interesting alternative to anonymous comments.
And have your sock puppet send it to a friend.
I can hardly wait for August 19.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
May meeting of Tarentum Borough Council clarifies and mystifies
On Monday evening, May 16, 2006 at 6:30 PM the Tarentum Borough Council held its regular monthly meeting. All the members of the council were present, along with approximately forty citizens present to observe and give comments.
The meeting was two hours and fifty minutes long, (My Tarentum readers will recognize this as a long meeting for our Borough Council. My Pittsburgh Presbytery readers - pros at handling long meetings - will recognize this as almost as long as a short presbytery meeting.) Citizen comments filled the first hour of the meeting.
One of the issues clarified at the meeting was the purpose of the executive session held on April 17. (my blog here, here, and here; VND here and editorial here) The issue first arose in this meeting at the time when the Council was voting on one of the most important actions it would take - to approve the minutes of the previous meeting. The minutes first circulated to the Council members acknowledged that Councilwoman Newcomer had stated the meeting was for a personal matter. In fact, the council considered personnel matters, among other things. The motion to approve the minutes included a correction to the purpose of the executive session to indicate that it was for personnel matters.
Citizens asked Council President Newcomer what she planned to do to rectify the Council's violation of the Sunshine Act, and what she knew and was intending to do in the executive session on April 17. Solicitor Strellec explained that the Council had not adjourned before the executive session and the public could have stayed until the executive session was over. Solicitor Strellec acknowledged that people do misspeak, and stated that the minutes can be corrected to reflect what was intended rather than what was actually said. Councilwoman Newcomer refused to disclose what intentions had been in her mind before the executive session.
There were also issues concerning the retirement of Borough Manager Jeffrey Thomas. Apparently there had been a move afoot by the Administrative and Employee Relations Committee to lay him off as early as last Friday. One citizen spoke at length about the possible increase in the cost of unemployment compensation to the Borough. If there were a layoff the bill for the next three years would be an increased percentage (perhaps tripled) of the total payroll of the borough. No reasons were ever offered for the potential layoff, which apparently came to light only after Mr. Thomas submitted his letter of intention to retire. The motion to lay off the borough manager was withdrawn before it ever came to a vote.
In light of Mr. Thomas' retirement, the Council voted to advertize for the position of Borough Secretary, and will begin the process of passing an ordinance to eliminate the position of Borough Manager.
There were a number of citizen comments with concerns about garbage pickup, the "Pride in Tarentum" revitalization process, the Christmas parade, an unpaid bill owed by the borough, requests for more parking downtown, the development of the Keystone Opportunity Zone, and the dredging of Bull Creek.
In the Finance Committee report there were a number of questions about the use of money. The Council adopted a motion that all purchases will be by purchase order and accompanied by the original receipt.
The Council adopted new ordinances on fines for parking tickets and excessive police calls. A proposed ordinance on the regulation of apartment dwellings has been held up for further work and review
The schedule of Wednesday summer concerts in Riverview Park was announced:
For those who think that Tarentum Council meetings are all about a legendary feud between council members Magnetta and Sopcak, take note that during this meeting Councilman Magnetta made a motion to have the solicitor send a letter to Highlands Little League laying out the conditions for their work on the field house at Dreshar Stadium. Councilwoman Sopcak seconded the motion, and it was adopted unanimously.
The meeting adjourned at 9:20, in time for Councilman Rossey, and perhaps a few others, to catch at least the second half of The Apprentice.
The meeting was two hours and fifty minutes long, (My Tarentum readers will recognize this as a long meeting for our Borough Council. My Pittsburgh Presbytery readers - pros at handling long meetings - will recognize this as almost as long as a short presbytery meeting.) Citizen comments filled the first hour of the meeting.
One of the issues clarified at the meeting was the purpose of the executive session held on April 17. (my blog here, here, and here; VND here and editorial here) The issue first arose in this meeting at the time when the Council was voting on one of the most important actions it would take - to approve the minutes of the previous meeting. The minutes first circulated to the Council members acknowledged that Councilwoman Newcomer had stated the meeting was for a personal matter. In fact, the council considered personnel matters, among other things. The motion to approve the minutes included a correction to the purpose of the executive session to indicate that it was for personnel matters.
Citizens asked Council President Newcomer what she planned to do to rectify the Council's violation of the Sunshine Act, and what she knew and was intending to do in the executive session on April 17. Solicitor Strellec explained that the Council had not adjourned before the executive session and the public could have stayed until the executive session was over. Solicitor Strellec acknowledged that people do misspeak, and stated that the minutes can be corrected to reflect what was intended rather than what was actually said. Councilwoman Newcomer refused to disclose what intentions had been in her mind before the executive session.
There were also issues concerning the retirement of Borough Manager Jeffrey Thomas. Apparently there had been a move afoot by the Administrative and Employee Relations Committee to lay him off as early as last Friday. One citizen spoke at length about the possible increase in the cost of unemployment compensation to the Borough. If there were a layoff the bill for the next three years would be an increased percentage (perhaps tripled) of the total payroll of the borough. No reasons were ever offered for the potential layoff, which apparently came to light only after Mr. Thomas submitted his letter of intention to retire. The motion to lay off the borough manager was withdrawn before it ever came to a vote.
In light of Mr. Thomas' retirement, the Council voted to advertize for the position of Borough Secretary, and will begin the process of passing an ordinance to eliminate the position of Borough Manager.
There were a number of citizen comments with concerns about garbage pickup, the "Pride in Tarentum" revitalization process, the Christmas parade, an unpaid bill owed by the borough, requests for more parking downtown, the development of the Keystone Opportunity Zone, and the dredging of Bull Creek.
In the Finance Committee report there were a number of questions about the use of money. The Council adopted a motion that all purchases will be by purchase order and accompanied by the original receipt.
The Council adopted new ordinances on fines for parking tickets and excessive police calls. A proposed ordinance on the regulation of apartment dwellings has been held up for further work and review
The schedule of Wednesday summer concerts in Riverview Park was announced:
- June 21, Gas House Annie
- July 12, Lilly Abreu
- July 19, Chromatics
- August 2, Curt Marino
- August 17, a karaoke contest
For those who think that Tarentum Council meetings are all about a legendary feud between council members Magnetta and Sopcak, take note that during this meeting Councilman Magnetta made a motion to have the solicitor send a letter to Highlands Little League laying out the conditions for their work on the field house at Dreshar Stadium. Councilwoman Sopcak seconded the motion, and it was adopted unanimously.
The meeting adjourned at 9:20, in time for Councilman Rossey, and perhaps a few others, to catch at least the second half of The Apprentice.
Monday, May 15, 2006
"A Season of Discernment": 3. Pittsburgh Presbytery has an actual conversation about the report
On Saturday, May 13, 2006 the Beulah Presbyterian Church hosted a conversation for Pittsburgh Presbytery among ministers, elders, and members about "A Season of Discernment", the final report of the Theological Task Force on the Peace Unity and Purity of the Church.The report concludes with a number of recommendations to the PCUSA General Assembly meeting in Birmingham, Alabama next month (June 15-22). The recommendations call for further dialogue and study at the local level, but there is controversy around Recommendation 5, which some see as simply restating how our Presbyterian system handles ordination decisions, while others see it as introducing a new form of "local option" that would enable presbyteries or sessions to ordain gay or lesbian ministers, elders, or deacons.
Getting to this conversation was a long journey in Pittsburgh. On October 20, 2005 the Pittsburgh Presbytery heard from Mike Loudon, a member of the Theological Taskforce, and it had been indicated that there would be a further discussion at the Pittsburgh Seminary. There were some difficulties in finding leadership for the conversation at the seminary, and the Presbytery had two intervening debates relating to issues raised in the report in January and April 2006. The scheduled conversation was announced to the Pittsburgh Presbytery in April.
Twenty-three people were present, a group that included pastors, elders, retirees, a teenager, people related to congregations of all sizes, and from different points along the theological spectrum. As I signed in, I noticed that twenty-three people had told the Presbytery office they would be there; some of them didn't show, but an equal number of walk-ins replaced them.
Given the large turnouts we had seen at the recent Presbytery meetings planning to debate matters, some wondered whether this was a disappointing turnout for a conversation that would not lead to making a decision or taking action. As I looked around the room at the self-selected participants, I reflected to myself that we were only a slightly larger group than the Theological Taskforce itself. There were enough of them to do their job. I think there were enough of us present to make a hopeful attempt at dialogue.
We began the day with worship. We sang "Holy, Holy, Holy!" a capella. Gathered at separate tables we reflected on 1 Peter 2:9-10, and answered the following questions in groups of two or three:
- What strikes you as the most amazing/most daunting designation of the church in these verses?
- Which of God's mighty acts do you feel called to proclaim?
- What is the most important about being God's people?
Following worship counted off by threes to assign ourselves to separate discussion groups. Three members of the Presbytery Council (Tom Bice, Frances Wilson, and Bebb Stone) were present to serve as convenors/reporters for the groups. We discussed our hopes and concerns about the report, and what it would mean for the life of the congregations of which we are a part. We had a brief break for refreshments, and then the convenors reported to the whole group what had been discussed at each table.
The two hour conversation was positive and worthwhile. I hope that there can be future times for dialogue such as this.
My other articles about "A Season of Discernment": 1 2 3
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Bidding open for Tarentum Skatepark
Tarentum is one step closer to having a free public skatepark. Today's Valley News Dispatch included the bid notice for the the park.Although the committee makeup for the Tarentum Council has gone through two major changes this year, the project has moved ahead and did not slip through the cracks.
According to the bid notice the bids will be opened on June 2, 2006.
Stay tuned!
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Laurels and Lances
In the tradition of the occasional Laurels and Lances piece on the editorial page of the Valley News Dispatch:
Laurels to the Valley News Dispatch for the four Golden Quill Awards given to VND staffers by the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania at the awards banquet Monday night in Pittsburgh. No other newspaper in its circulation group (under 45,000) received as many 2006 Golden Quills. The Trib Total Media organization received a total of 13 Golden Quills; the VND's awards were a significant percentage of the total.
One of the favorite pastimes of many Valley residents is to harbor memories of when they were let down by the local paper and to criticize the paper as if all those disappointments were still the present reality.
Wake up, Valley residents! It is 2006. We have a decent newspaper in town. Its reporting and photography has the respect and recognition of other journalists in the region.
Lances to the Valley News Dispatch for leaving this story off its website the day it appeared in the paper.
Today's web page for the Valley News Dispatch has a glaring omission among the day's headlines. One has to read the paper edition to get this story. Or know to look for it elsewhere online (here or here).
You really are allowed to toot your own horn online, especially when it is good news about excellence in the Alle-Kiski Valley.
You should not have kept the awards a secret from your online readers.
Laurels to the Valley News Dispatch for the four Golden Quill Awards given to VND staffers by the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania at the awards banquet Monday night in Pittsburgh. No other newspaper in its circulation group (under 45,000) received as many 2006 Golden Quills. The Trib Total Media organization received a total of 13 Golden Quills; the VND's awards were a significant percentage of the total.
One of the favorite pastimes of many Valley residents is to harbor memories of when they were let down by the local paper and to criticize the paper as if all those disappointments were still the present reality.
Wake up, Valley residents! It is 2006. We have a decent newspaper in town. Its reporting and photography has the respect and recognition of other journalists in the region.
Lances to the Valley News Dispatch for leaving this story off its website the day it appeared in the paper.
Today's web page for the Valley News Dispatch has a glaring omission among the day's headlines. One has to read the paper edition to get this story. Or know to look for it elsewhere online (here or here).You really are allowed to toot your own horn online, especially when it is good news about excellence in the Alle-Kiski Valley.
You should not have kept the awards a secret from your online readers.
Monday, May 08, 2006
May meeting of Tarentum borough committees
The Tarentum Borough Council held committee meetings on Monday evening, May 8, 2006 at 6:30 PM. The Council went into executive session twice, and announced what they were going to be doing each time.
The first executive session was brief. They said the executive session was for personnel issues, and made a point of pronouncing every syllable to make it clear that they were not closing the meeting in order to get personal. Council President Mary Newcomer apologized for the confusion that occurred the previous time the Council went into executive session. The council went to a side room to have some privacy. When they came back from the first brief executive session, President Newcomer invited Borough Solicitor David Strellec to describe what they had discussed. The solicitor explained that the Federal Family Medical Leave Act now applied to the borough and that he had recommended to the council that they needed to adopt a FMLA policy.
It was announced that the Council would need to go into executive session a second time at the end of the meeting.
The council began to discuss the problem of high levels of trihalomethane in two recent tests of water in East Deer. Tarentum supplies water to East Deer. The high levels occurred during the summer, and storage may be related to this issue. Unfortunately, I had to leave the meeting before the committee concluded its discussion of the topic.
When I came back to the meeting there was a discussion related to COG (the Allegheny County Council of Governments). First Avenue is going to be repaved, and the milling will start soon. A notice about grants for the skatepark will be in the Valley News Dispatch on Wednesday.
There was a noisy dispute about alleged behavior of a council member or borough employee. What was particularly distressing to me about this part of the meeting was that it seemed that almost no one was ready to recognize the authority of the Council President to keep order. Citizens and council members were talking over each other, exchanging accusations that "you're out of order." The only person in the room with the authority to say that to anyone was the Council President; when she did intervene she should not have had to repeat herself to establish order, and should certainly not have had to argue with citizens about her ruling.
Borough Manager Jeff Thomas announced that he will retire in September and had sent his letter of resignation to the members of the Council.
Councilman Bill Rossey spoke about the kick-off for the revitalization program (described in this blog here and in the Valley News Dispatch here). The banners and entertainment for the evening had all been donated.
Joe Davidek reported that a company has a desire to drill for oil in the KOZ (Keystone Opportunity Zone). If they were to find oil, the borough would get a share of the proceeds. The council is going to need to decide soon what it wants to do with the land in the KOZ, i.e., whether there should be oil drilling or some other development of the land.
The Council went into executive session again at 8:00 PM, and asked the public to leave the Council Chambers. The Council left executive session at 8:40. It was reported to the public that the Council had been discussing borough personnel, job descriptions, and related matters.
The first executive session was brief. They said the executive session was for personnel issues, and made a point of pronouncing every syllable to make it clear that they were not closing the meeting in order to get personal. Council President Mary Newcomer apologized for the confusion that occurred the previous time the Council went into executive session. The council went to a side room to have some privacy. When they came back from the first brief executive session, President Newcomer invited Borough Solicitor David Strellec to describe what they had discussed. The solicitor explained that the Federal Family Medical Leave Act now applied to the borough and that he had recommended to the council that they needed to adopt a FMLA policy.
It was announced that the Council would need to go into executive session a second time at the end of the meeting.
The council began to discuss the problem of high levels of trihalomethane in two recent tests of water in East Deer. Tarentum supplies water to East Deer. The high levels occurred during the summer, and storage may be related to this issue. Unfortunately, I had to leave the meeting before the committee concluded its discussion of the topic.
When I came back to the meeting there was a discussion related to COG (the Allegheny County Council of Governments). First Avenue is going to be repaved, and the milling will start soon. A notice about grants for the skatepark will be in the Valley News Dispatch on Wednesday.
There was a noisy dispute about alleged behavior of a council member or borough employee. What was particularly distressing to me about this part of the meeting was that it seemed that almost no one was ready to recognize the authority of the Council President to keep order. Citizens and council members were talking over each other, exchanging accusations that "you're out of order." The only person in the room with the authority to say that to anyone was the Council President; when she did intervene she should not have had to repeat herself to establish order, and should certainly not have had to argue with citizens about her ruling.
Borough Manager Jeff Thomas announced that he will retire in September and had sent his letter of resignation to the members of the Council.
Councilman Bill Rossey spoke about the kick-off for the revitalization program (described in this blog here and in the Valley News Dispatch here). The banners and entertainment for the evening had all been donated.
Joe Davidek reported that a company has a desire to drill for oil in the KOZ (Keystone Opportunity Zone). If they were to find oil, the borough would get a share of the proceeds. The council is going to need to decide soon what it wants to do with the land in the KOZ, i.e., whether there should be oil drilling or some other development of the land.
The Council went into executive session again at 8:00 PM, and asked the public to leave the Council Chambers. The Council left executive session at 8:40. It was reported to the public that the Council had been discussing borough personnel, job descriptions, and related matters.
Saturday, May 06, 2006
"The future of Tarentum is whatever we want it to be."- William Rossey
There was a festive atmosphere in the Grandview Elementary School auditorium as about 110 people gathered for the 7:00 p.m. town meeting about revitalizing Tarentum.
Curt Marino of Seita Jewelers was singing a variety of songs in the auditorium while participants signed in at the door, picked up literature for the meeting, and found their seats.
Among the items being distributed was a questionnaire and a list of committees on which residents could serve if interested.
About 7:15 Councilman Bill Rossey began the meeting, stating that there was a broad consensus that changes needed to be made and that everyone must be part of it.
He named a number of good things that have been happening in Tarentum, as well as projects the Borough Council is working on. He said that Tarentum needed a comprehensive plan, and invited residents to participate in the process of establishing one.
He then introduced a series of guest speakers who spoke in support of establishing a comprehensive plan.
According to State Representative Frank Dermody, Tarentum already has the base for a business community that cares.
Denny Puko of the Pennsylvania Department of Community Economic Development said that we need to ask for and seek change.
Jim Burn, our representative on the Allegheny County Council, told us that Allegheny is the only county in Pennsylvania that does not have its own comprehensive plan, and that establishing one was a priority for Allegheny County's Chief Executive, Dan Onorato. He spoke about his experience as the mayor of Millvale when it developed its own comprehensive plan, and said that before Hurricane Ivan devastated Millvale, there were already grant proposals submitted to accomplish goals in the plan; the existence of a comprehensive plan gave their grant proposals an edge over those from other communities. He emphasized that the fundamental tenet for the process of developing a plan must be what is in the best interests of Tarentum, not anyone's personal agenda.
Rossey recognized a number of other local officials: Mary Bowlin, Chair of the Allegheny County Chamber of Commerce; the mayor, council members, the borough manager, the borough's code enforcement officer, and local business owners.
He then invited residents to share their comments, which continued until about 9:00 PM. A number of residents spoke about their decisions to move to Tarentum. There were a number of comments to the effect that the Pittsburgh Mills is a good thing for Tarentum, providing jobs and attracting people to the area.
Curt Marino of Seita Jewelers was singing a variety of songs in the auditorium while participants signed in at the door, picked up literature for the meeting, and found their seats.Among the items being distributed was a questionnaire and a list of committees on which residents could serve if interested.
About 7:15 Councilman Bill Rossey began the meeting, stating that there was a broad consensus that changes needed to be made and that everyone must be part of it.He named a number of good things that have been happening in Tarentum, as well as projects the Borough Council is working on. He said that Tarentum needed a comprehensive plan, and invited residents to participate in the process of establishing one.
He then introduced a series of guest speakers who spoke in support of establishing a comprehensive plan.
According to State Representative Frank Dermody, Tarentum already has the base for a business community that cares.
Denny Puko of the Pennsylvania Department of Community Economic Development said that we need to ask for and seek change.
Jim Burn, our representative on the Allegheny County Council, told us that Allegheny is the only county in Pennsylvania that does not have its own comprehensive plan, and that establishing one was a priority for Allegheny County's Chief Executive, Dan Onorato. He spoke about his experience as the mayor of Millvale when it developed its own comprehensive plan, and said that before Hurricane Ivan devastated Millvale, there were already grant proposals submitted to accomplish goals in the plan; the existence of a comprehensive plan gave their grant proposals an edge over those from other communities. He emphasized that the fundamental tenet for the process of developing a plan must be what is in the best interests of Tarentum, not anyone's personal agenda.
Rossey recognized a number of other local officials: Mary Bowlin, Chair of the Allegheny County Chamber of Commerce; the mayor, council members, the borough manager, the borough's code enforcement officer, and local business owners.
He then invited residents to share their comments, which continued until about 9:00 PM. A number of residents spoke about their decisions to move to Tarentum. There were a number of comments to the effect that the Pittsburgh Mills is a good thing for Tarentum, providing jobs and attracting people to the area.
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