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SUNDAY, MAY 1, 2011
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THE TIMES LEADER www.timesleader.com
LETTERS FROM READERS
C.O.P.S. picks its candidates wisely
SEND US YOUR OPINION Letters to the editor must include the writer’s name, address and daytime phone number for verification. Letters should be no more than 250 words. We reserve the right to edit and limit writers to one published letter every 30 days. • E-mail: mailbag@timesleader.com • Fax: 570-829-5537 • Mail: Mail Bag, The Times Leader, 15 N. Main St., WilkesBarre, PA 1871 1
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arlene Straka’s letter to the editor (“Vote for candidates who work for us all,” April 20) is implying C.O.P.S. wants favors from its endorsed candidates who get elected. C.O.P.S. doesn’t play those games. The fact is C.O.P.S. wants its candidates to provide good government for all the people of Luzerne County. In seven years, there’s never been any scandal associated with any of the candidates whom C.O.P.S. has endorsed. The candidates C.O.P.S. has endorsed are the ones who constantly expose corruption and have improved Luzerne County. They were never asked for any favor. C.O.P.S. is endorsing individuals for Luzerne County Council who cannot be bought, will stand up for righteousness and are qualified to run county government. Our candidates never criticize without offering a logical solution. The attorneys whom C.O.P.S. is endorsing/supporting for Luzerne County judge posts are of the highest moral fiber, and Luzerne County would be lucky to have them.
struction that accompanies gas drilling? The constitution of Pennsylvania clearly states that it is the responsibility of the state to protect sources of drinking water. But, with few exceptions, our state leaders act as enablers for an industry that is not safe – an industry that ultimately will convert much of our clean and quiet countryside into a polluted industrial mess, a patchwork of drill pads, compressor stations and refineries. A few well-intentioned efforts on the part of lawmakers, including U.S. Sen. Robert Casey, state Rep. Phyllis Mundy and state Rep. Karen Boback, are likely to be met with opposition from other lawmakers who are financially beholden to the industry. The battle lines in this war against unchecked industrial expansion are drawn at the local levels of government. As the associated legalities are clarified, a potential solution emerges. A township may adopt a legally viable ordinance that realistically addresses the dangers. During a recent PennFuture workshop on watershed legalities, the lawyer-presenters provided examples of township ordinances that address the issue of industrialization. Some of these ordinances, including one being proposed for Nockamixon Township, Bucks County, were held up as examples of how to effectively regulate industrial expansion within a community. Others, which included a model ordinance submitted by the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors, were described as industry-friendly and – perhaps intentionally – ineffective. Anyone interested in learn-
Dan Smeriglio President, Citizens Opposing Political Suppression (C.O.P.S.) Hazleton
Local control can protect our water
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ne similarity shared by ex-Gov. Ed Rendell and Gov. Tom Corbett is the blatant willingness to advance the cause of the gas drilling industry in Pennsylvania, no matter what the consequences to residents or the environment. The proof is in the rubber stamp wielded by the state Department of Environmental Protection. To whom may Pennsylvania residents turn to find protection from the de-
vited n I e r ’ You nnual A r u To O
ing more about local ordinances is encouraged to contact the Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition, at www.gdacoalition.org. It is up to us citizens to fight for the right to clean water and for property values. The greatest thing about the United States is that a citizen has the right to speak out loudly, and without this right, truth would often be of little consequence. David Wasilewski Hunlock Creek
Social services facing challenges
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here is a phrase that has been popularized recently: “coalition of the willing.” While applying to the ability of nations to join together in a war setting, the term applies to domestic needs as well. Financial problems facing government and the nonprofit sector have substantially increased in recent years. This is true in the Pocono-Northeast. There has been an astonishing increase in emotional issues facing people across the Wyoming Valley threatened by the loss of jobs, the much higher cost of gasoline, high unemployment rates and the much higher demand for social services. Talk to individual social service agencies, and there is a constant refrain of ever-complex cases that not only relate to disadvantaged and lowincome people, but also to middle-income families. If the trend that has evolved over the last two or three years continues, and financial support for agencies continues to be a problem, then that
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might call for drastic, out-ofthe box responses. Perhaps, the first step in that movement would be the establishment of a coalition that included as many of the area’s social service and related organizations as possible, all geared to a single cause: working to enhance the service delivery system and improve the ability to assist families, couples and individuals. This Valley has a tradition of meeting the needs of people in many different ways. Let us create the best domestic “coalition of the willing” in the nation’s history. Howard J. Grossman Executive director Jewish Family Service of Greater Wilkes-Barre
Catholic schools all about numbers
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no longer have a vested interest in the recent announcement to close several area Catholic elementary and middle schools; then again, maybe we all really do have a vested interest if we live in Northeastern Pennsylvania. My four children attended Catholic schools in Luzerne County: two are alumni of Bishop O’Reilly; one is a graduate of Holy Redeemer High School. Bishop Joseph Bambera recently announced the cost per seat in a typical classroom. The diocese published charts with a declining enrollment to support the closure of St. Mary Assumption (Pittston), Gate of Heaven (Dallas), Marian Catholic (Scranton) and Sacred Heart (Carbondale). Seems like in any business it always comes down to numbers. But should the choice to send your children to a Catholic school be simply about numbers? Whatever happened to a true sense of community in which the local church family actually did support the Catholic school? I believe that the rumors of
closings and consolidation that began in the 1990s were a catalyst to the declining numbers that appear in the charts today. Numbers don’t lie, but the “how the numbers got here” is interesting. I vividly recall the consolidation of Seton Catholic, Bishop O’Reilly, Bishop Hafey and Bishop Hoban. There was a great deal of shock and concern, especially because some of the school budgets were operating in the black! The bishop at the time did not want to hear of any alternate plans that were proposed by the very people who were “paying the bills.” During the early years of Holy Redeemer many wouldbe graduates opted out of the Catholic system altogether. So back to my point of having a vested interest today. Remember the comment that there is a “cost associated with every student?” The public schools in Northeastern Pennsylvania will now be burdened with covering that cost. And as property owners and renters, we will be absorbing some portion of this cost. There was a time when the Catholic Church’s involvement in the community focused on two areas: caring for the sick in the form of Catholic hospitals and neighborhood Catholic schools. Sometimes I like to remember when it wasn’t just about numbers. John Minetola Luzerne
Plan to break liquor monopoly
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hy should John Q. Public not gain from the expected privatization of Pennsylvania’s liquor store system? Many people in the commonwealth would like to have competition in the liquor business, and now that it seems likely, there is speculation that some fat cats will take over the whole enterprise and make out like bandits. Pennsylvanians will be left
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holding the proverbial bag. How would it benefit the people, for example, if some well-known, local billionaire or politico starts a chain of liquor stores? The last thing that most Pennsylvanians want is to go from a state-run monopoly to a monopoly with those on the “in” making out like bandits, and life being worse for the rest of us than when the government ran things. So, I propose that we figure out some way that any interested Pennsylvanian can purchase a lottery ticket (just one perhaps) for, say, $25 from the same stores that sell them today. A portion of the proceeds could go to the store and the rest to the state. Set a purchase value for each liquor store and each distribution warehouse. After people buy their tickets, draw the lottery numbers for each of the stores. If your number comes up for a particular store or warehouse facility, you have the right to buy it at its posted price. When you buy the store with perhaps some prearranged financing or by partnering with somebody else, poof, you are in the liquor business. If you do not want to buy it after checking it out, you can give your ticket back for, say, $125, giving you $100 profit. The state can sponsor subsequent lotteries for returned tickets. You also can sell your ticket for whatever amount you like to whomever will pay that amount. I would suggest that the state have a limit on the number of stores an individual firm/person can acquire, so we do not wind up with another monopoly. Pennsylvania wins and Pennsylvanians have an opportunity to share in a phenomenal opportunity. Whatever is good for the people of Pennsylvania should prevail. We’ve been waiting a long time for this. We can wait a little longer to get it done right.
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