JUNE 17 - JUNE 23, 2000
JUNE 23, 2K
Just like McKean County
Good morning. It is 52.9 degrees at 6:39 A.M.
I am a frequent A&E watcher. Last night was the premier network episode of
"Murder One" which was really a re-run from years ago, but it was the first time
it was on A&E so that made it their premier, not to mention the fact that it was the
first show in the series. Actually they showed the first two shows.
I fell asleep before episode one ended but a little after one when Sharyn touched my
back to see if I was in bed I woke. Once I wake I am generally up for several hours so I
checked out A&E and sure enough, when I turned on the TV, I was at the point where I
fell asleep. They play it three hours later for the people in California who aren't at the
beach or making movies. So I settled in and watched the rest of the one episode and all of
the second.
This was an "Emmy" award winning series about lawyers. So was "LA
Law." Then when I was growing up there was "Perry Mason." "Law and
Order," the program that came on after "Murder One" is a hybrid of cops and
lawyers. I think that was an "Emmy" award winner, too.
"Murder One," like "LA Law" is a Los Angeles based legal crime
program. It starts off with one of the most powerful men in LA being charged with
the murder of a sexy nude 15 year old that her sister, a former prostitute and lover of
the powerful man describes him as "like a second father to her." Kind of sounds
like McKean County, doesn't it.
When it looks bleak for the rich and powerful man, enter some sexy married woman who
claims to have been with the rich and powerful man when he got the call from the sexy nude
dead 15 year old and also claims she accompanied him to the 15 year old's apartment, which
was paid for by the rich and powerful man. That really sounds like McKean County!
She gives him the alibi he needs and after seventy-two hours, is released from jail.
While all of this is going on, the husband comes to the police station, is outraged, so
on and so on - the usual cuckold husband deal - a whole lot like McKean County, an
underlying story is going on with the black receptionist's boy friend, also black, not
much like McKean County - she would have been white and he would have been black, is
charged unjustly for assault with a motor vehicle and leaving the scene of an accident.
Enter the pompous Judge who is automatically superior to the entire world. No comments
on McKean County.
Of course the poor guy, who is a teacher of small children is being framed, anyone who
watched for two minutes could see that, but the cops couldn't. After all, they are LA cops
and they are in a contest with New York City cops to see who can run up the highest arrest
record of minorities on an annual basis. Not much like McKean County unless you look upon
the whites and the blacks in LA and NYC as them and us. If you do that, then it suddenly
becomes all too much like McKean County.
"Why?" you ask.
Because if you are a rich and powerful man in McKean County, you can import cocaine
with immunity, use it yourself, pass it on to all your rich friends, and sell off the rest
to the little people, who, if they get caught using are in a world of trouble.
All your underlings will be protected. And if you are involved in an accident and are
drunk, no one will put your name in the paper. In fact you can do it two more times, one
time the DA will lose the paper work and nothing will ever happen, the next you will get a
traditional slap on the wrist and be humiliated by being forced to pick up papers one day
and never complete that day, either. And after the three incidents, then you can continue
to drink and drive and the police will always look the other way because you are a rich
and powerful man. In fact that even works for certain clubs when their sticker is
displayed on your car.
But heaven help anyone else!
The most serious crime in McKean County is driving after drinking. It is even more
serious than selling drugs of any kind. It is especially more serious than rape or child
molesting. In fact, those cases are actually played down anymore. Because they have become
so matter of fact, who cares? Just don't get caught drinking and driving. That is a case
they can prove and it is a sure money maker for all the lawyers here in McKean County.
So what does all of this say?
I asked the boys and the lady at the Bradford Hotel this the other night. Welfare Wes
put it best.
"It goes to show that they get away with everything and we get away with nothing.
Why wasn't I born rich instead of just good looking and smart?"
Just like McKean County!
Your comments are welcome at editor@mlrmag.com
JUNE 22, 3K
Pretty girls
Good morning. It is 62.4 degrees at 6:28 A.M.
I stopped in the Bradford Hotel last night. The rains had ended and Tom Clark
wanted to have a beer with me and discuss doing an anthology of his first fifty articles.
When I talk business like that, only the Bradford Hotel will do. After all, we have all
the "brain trusts" in Bradford located at that single location and that in
itself is the best kept secret around.
Believe it or not, everyone at the Bradford Hotel reads me each and every day. Dave has
seen to it that every room has been made PC compatible and the latest in high speed
communication has been provided. That was part of Dave's plan to bring the hotel into the
new millenium.
Gosh. Was that ever an over used two words. "New Millenium!" I even used them
in a political speech I gave at UPB before the election. A lot of good it did in that
endeavor. Which brings up another good question.
What ever happened to George Duke's investigation of the person who said those things
about him in the famous investigation?
It is funny how all that ended. His private investigator was carrying around a medical
file which he purported was mine from my hospital stay at Bradford Regional Center. He
showed it to two people that he was interviewing/harassing and claimed that the time I
spent in the hospital was a fake. He was trying to get someone, anyone, to lie and link me
somehow to that piece of literature.
Needless to say, anyone who knows me knows that I hate hospitals and really don't like
doctors very much. It's funny like that. I dislike doctors about as much as I dislike
lawyers. However, I do connect with some of the ones who are out there much like I am.
Greg Henry for lawyers; and Doctor Kirsch for the doctors. The good doctor and I get along
famously, even though both of us are well known for our gentle and kind dispositions.
But when the word of the medical file being shown around town reached me I hit the
roof. I went straight to the hospital and went to see the president. I told him what I
knew and demanded an explanation. Of course George denied that such a thing was possible.
Of course he brought in all his underlings who told me the same thing. However, two
reliable sources both told me they had seen what appeared to be hospital documents and
charts with my name on it. So who was lying?
I told George I didn't believe him. I told George I believed he was lying and I left.
I have never done anything about it. I never wrote about it until now. Ironically, that
day, George Duke (not to be confused with George Leonhart, President of the hospital) and
his investigation ended. His private investigator from Erie left town and never came back.
Why is that? Did he really have my medical records as I was told and I suspected? Was the
confidentiality of the patient and the hospital breached? And if it was, what was the
chain that led to it.
With Mike Shuler, President of Zippo, the same company George Duke owns with his
brother Charlie, not to confused with their cousin Charlie the Tuna, on the board of the
hospital, certain implications could be taken, but I am not saying that they should.
Unless the private investigator had a mole or a girl friend in the hospital, what possible
way could my medical records have fallen into his hands? You tell me!
I laughed when the private investigator said I was faking what ever happened to me last
September. Anyone who knows anything about hospital stays anymore, knows that to get three
days out of an insurance company for anything, even a heart attack, is phenomenal. They
wanted me in for 23 hours of observation and not in a telemetry unit. It was the good
Doctor Kirsch who fought with them and got me the full treatment. If I was able to fake
enough to fool the Doctor, the staff, and loads of other people, I am really wasting my
talents. Still, the question does remain. Did he, and if he did, how did he get my medical
records?
But I did find out one thing for sure when I was at the hospital in September. It has a
whole lot of pretty girls working there. And if there is a plus for dirty old men like me,
the pretty girls are it. Putting aside the cesspool at the top playing and dabbling in the
politics of the Bradford Area Alliance, Bradford Regional Medical Center is a fine and
wonderful facility.
The people who work there are conscientious and caring people. They deserve better than
what they get. In other cities they would have the pay, the benefits, and security they
don't receive here. But this is McKean County. The people who should promote unions here -
the Jim Weavers, don't. They only promote themselves and what is good for them. And they
are friends with the likes of Dick McDowell and Mike Shuler who control the wages in
the area. They are in bed with the likes of Ray McMahon and that crowd who are in the real
estate and minimum wage business. And when you look at it like that and realize our school
taxes are coming in July, the pretty girls become the only real plus that I can find.
Your comments are welcome at editor@mlrmag.com.
JUNE 21, 2K
Girls
Good morning. It is 62.4 degrees at 6:39 A.M. The rain and the thunderstorms
started about 3:15 this morning. Right now it isn't raining but it is dark off to the
west, Warren way, and it is coming here.
I guess the best thing any father can ever have in his life is a daughter. Daughters
love their dads. They love their dads their whole lives and as long as he is alive, they
have that feeling that they are safe and they are loved. The worst single event in their
lives, generally, is the death of their dad. And dads know that about their daughters,
too.
Daughters start off as girls. Girls, aside from the usual differences, are a lot
different and a bit more difficult than boys. Perhaps that is the reason they are so
special, the fact that they are so much more difficult and when they are, that bond is
what you are forced to draw upon.
From the moment they take their first breath and utter their first scream, girls are
becoming women. Boys on the other hand aren't in any hurry to be men. Some, like me, never
grow up.
Boys like being taken care of and having that security to depend on. Girls on the other
hand are all too willing and often very much in a hurry to establish and verify their
independence. Perhaps that is necessary because they will become mothers and another life
will soon depend exclusively upon them for their existence.
The independence is always there. How they fix their hair. What they are going to wear.
When they are going to bed and on and on. It never ends and as busy as boys are playing
ball and getting into things, girls are just as busy but in other directions. And that is
where it all begins.
I never had my own daughter to raise. When Sharyn and I were married we became a modern
day Brady Bunch with a station wagon and a Golden Retriever. She had her daughter and son.
I had my son. We put what we had together and did the best we could to give our children a
safe and decent home whether they thought they wanted it or not. That was how I learned
about girls.
Kim came to me just after her thirteenth birthday and already had her dad. I became the
wicked step dad. In spite of that, like a dad who was always there, I both benefited and
paid, all at the same time.
I was used to boys. Jason was a walk in the park and Geoff, always my baby, took his
rightful place as the baby in the new family. Kim, on the other hand, was a handful.
As anyone finds out when they assume a situation like I did, along with girls come
their friends. Some are good. Some are not so good. In Kim's case, most were good, but
like Kim, had their own brand of baggage, too. Enter Amy.
If there was ever a pair that belonged together to drive their parents into insanity,
it was these two. Kim always had something to say about everything, still does now that
she has her Masters Degree in Community Counciling; and Amy was grounded for much the same
reason. In fact, if all the groundings Amy received and were enforced rigidly, then this
picture never would have been taken because Amy would still be grounded to her bedroom
this very day.
Instead, Amy (left) and Kim (right) survived along with her parents and
Sharyn and I, somehow. They survived, graduated, and went on to college, graduated again,
got married, and started their own families. Amy has two little girls who as I hear are
every bit as mouthy as she was (justice for sure!); and of course Kim is Sam's mom, and
Jeremy's, too, from time to time, but that is a story about us guys for another day.
Even though I was never really Kim's father, she has made me feel like one
so many times. That includes the bad: the K-Mart tennis shoe story, the defiance and
independence; and the good which by far is much more prominent in my memories of her
growing up. And all the sayings I had about her: "Kim's idea of camping is a Holiday
Inn." I did that to her. I have to take the credit because nothing was ever too good
for her or the boys. Then there were the other things.
Me taking her shopping for clothes at the beginning of the school year.
Her mother was impressed when we came home with a navy blue skirt. "How did you get
her to buy that?" Sharyn asked. I remember smiling and wondering how I did it myself.
After all, Amy and Kim were, as Sharyn put it this morning when she saw
the picture above: "They were The Queens of Anderson High School. "
Yes they were, too. At least in our eyes they were. And today they still
are.That is why I held my tongue when they went off to Las Vegas without their husbands
recently.
But knowing Kim, and Amy, too, their husbands probably enjoyed the peace
and quiet for a few days. Taking care of the kids was no doubt a walk in the park.
Pictured above is the whole gang that went to Vegas. From the left
they are: Michelle, Amy, Rachel, Shanna, and Kim (and I had better not get any of this Limbo
Girl crap again from you guys!). (Hope I spelled everyone's name correctly.)
Is that beer in front of Amy? OH MY GOD!
No. I won't tell the story about Amy drinking a wine cooler and getting
sick and going to bed and missing the whole party. Not this time anyway.
Now they are home and back to work - except for Kim who is on vacation
this week and spent yesterday by the pool with Sam. And watching her with him I could see
the wonderful woman she has grown to become and even be her mom's best friend. But the
little girl was still there, too, and I hope it always will be, too. Because it is the
little girl in women that allows men to love them as much as we do. If they were just
women all the time, there would be no human way for us to peacefully coexist. Thank God
for girls!
Comments are welcome at editor@mlrmag.com.
JUNE 20, 2K
Who do they ruin next?
Good morning. It is 51.2 degrees at 6:23 A.M. It is going to be sunny most of
the day and then we will get clouds in the late afternoon and thunderstorms around
midnight.
I am starting late because I was going through my archives of columns (also available
to you) to find a fact that the Error ignores when they write about the Alliance
and the Chamber of Commerce.
With all the overtones of the Carolyn Gulnac Episode, now the godfathers of Bradford
have turned their attention to Candy Bush.
Last weekend we were treated to stories about how Candy Bush, while Executive Director
of the Chamber of Commerce allegedly embezzled between $61,000 and $62,000 over an eight
year period.
The Bradford Error reported Friday:
Between 1992 and December 1999, Bush allegedly issued herself payroll checks over
and above what she was entitled to and failed to deposit some of the cash she received for
the two organizations, according to court papers filed with District Justice Chris
Hauser's office.
Bush, 52, who resigned in December after a 13-year career, is charged with one
count of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds, a third-degree felony. A
preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled for July 5.
Bush could not be reached for comment Thursday night.
And that comes on the heels of the Bradford Area Alliance attempting to replace her
with their choice last summer. Ironically, Chris Hauser, then running for District Justice
was one of the parties and members of the Alliance who attempted to oust her. When they
failed after public sentiment was clearly against them, they forced her to resign after
embarking on an examination of the books. The story that broke in The Error is
not new. Doug Shaw when he was at WESB-AM reported that Bush was under investigation in
January. And, the mis-statement of facts in not new either.
Carolyn Gulnac was accused of stealing money over an eight or nine year period. Sound
familiar? The Error did its job by reporting "the facts" that the
bosses wanted reported. To this day no charges have ever been brought against Mrs. Gulnac,
yet to this day a cloud hangs over her and for all practical purposes her life has been
ruined. And when the allegations are conveniently forgotten, what then? How does she get
back what was taken from her.
Now we start all over with Candy Bush. We have the investigation. We even have a
slimeball attorney on the scene - Tony Clark. We also have the County Detective claiming
that Bush incriminated herself when she allegedly admitted that she had indeed done what
they are accusing her of doing. And The Error was quick to report it.
Okerlund was also told that when Bush resigned in December, she admitted to several
chamber board members that she had misused some of the organization's funds, court papers
said.
Okerlund then interviewed Bush, who admitted that she had issued herself extra
payroll checks and failed to deposit some cash she had received for the two organizations,
court papers said.
What is that supposed to mean?
The first paragraph is hearsay. The second paragraph can easily be explained as expense
reimbursement checks because even if it is just under $62,000 over an eight year period
what does that say? That is under $8,000 a year and it does sound like expense
reimbursement.
Then they would have us believe that the benevolent Alliance is looking out for our
good.
The Error repeatedly reports the same mis-statement of facts when it says that
the Alliance members contribute over 90% of the Chamber of Commerce annual dues.
FOR THE RECORD THIS IS A REPRINT OF MY COLUMN OF AUGUST 13, 1999 WHEN I SPELLED
OUT EXACTLY HOW MUCH THE CHAMBER RECEIVED AND WHERE IT CAME FROM.
"The total dues for 1999 for the Chamber of Commerce with 331 members
is $46,315.
"There are twelve members of the Alliance. American Refining Group pays $800.
The Bradford Era pays $441.50. Bradford Forest Products pays $320. Bradford Regional
Medical Center pays $635. Kessel Construction pays $275. KOA Speer Pays $525. McCourt
Label pays $385. McDowell, Wick, & Daly pays $192. National City Bank pays $1,050.
Pitt Bradford pays $350. Top Line Corp pays $105. And, Zippo pays $1,750.
"That's the Bradford Area Alliance and how much they pay in dues to the
Chamber of Commerce. When you add it all up, they pay $6,828.50 combined in dues. The
remaining 319 members pay a total of $39,486.50. Why should 12 companies say what is going
on and where do they get off saying that they are paying 90 - 95% of the dues paid to the
Chamber? In fact, where does The Era or anyone else get off saying that and giving the
impression that without them there would be no chamber? "
When I look back at the story I wrote about the twelve member Alliance and their
spokesman trying to replace Bush last year, and when I listen to the tape recording of the
bosses telling Chamber President Dale Phillips why she had to be replaced, why am I not
surprised that this has happened? It sure seems like Dick McDowell, Mike Schuler, and the
rest of the Gang of Thirteen were going to get her one way or another. It looks like they
have and we must ask ourselves: "Is this how they are going to do things in the
future?"
Good question.
Ask Carolyn Gulnac how she is doing and ask the Chamber Board where were they all these
years? And if what they are alleging is true, why did it take so long to discover? Where
was the oversight? Isn't one of the Board members a banker?
And why did they discover it only after the Alliance and the rich boys got their
fingers burnt?
Your comments are welcome at editor@mlrmag.com.
JUNE 19, 2K
If I Had A $1,000,000 BY TOM CLARK
How many times have you said that?
I had long forgot a wonderful PBS special many years ago of Pete Seeger crooning the
old folk song that wished of riches to spend on one's love. The other day, I was listening
to WESB's Bruce Fyfe, the station's credible on-air talent, and he played a nice version
of "If I Had A $1,000,000" by the Barenaked Ladies.
It's been a quite awhile since I've slipped into that common daydream of someone
handing you a sizeable check, be it a lottery winning, inheritance or whatever. We've all
visualized the possibilities of a sudden windfall that would save us from our everyday,
bill paying existence.
But what if you were approached by someone who said, "Here's $1,000,000, spend
none on yourself and do with it what will be best for your community." Yeah, yeah, I
know, try to open a strip club on Main Street and double your money when the city freaks
out over the concept.
Too obvious of an answer!
Give it to the American Cancer Society, Red Cross, United Way or other recognizable
charity? You may as well donate $112,000 directly to someone who needs it and pocket the
rest, because most of the big charities spend 80-90% of their collected monies on
administrative costs.
I heard Bruce play the Barenaked Ladies song version on Wednesday afternoon, a few
hours after I spent my noon hour at "Lunch In The Square", which should be on
everyone's monthly calendar as a "can't miss it."
For those not familiar with the community event, downtown restaurants and food shops
set up their operations in Veterans Square once a month and provide us with a varied
sampling of some excellent foods. It's run by one of the downtown business organizations
and, I'm embarrassed to say, I'm not sure which one. Gee, being ignorant of the facts
makes me eligible to be an Error writer! (Perhaps if my dear old friend Jen called me for
a banner to hang in the Square proclaiming the event...)
Anyway, I've written before about the opportunities afforded living in a large
metropolitan area. When I lived in Roanoke, VA, I often attended such events as First
Fridays, Festival In the Park and the Brown-Bag Lunch Hour, all events that are not
necessary to describe in detail but made me think of how such events would not be possible
in a small town like Bradford.
It occurred to me after Lunch In The Square that there are some in Bradford who are
really trying to offer some variety to life here. The problem doesn't lie with the lack of
ideas but more so in the disinterest and apathy of the community at large and the general
non-support of city government to enrich its citizens' lives . Yes, the
city backs the "Lunch In The Square" event, but I suspect more for pageantry
than actual participation.
Later that day, I heard the song, "If I Had A $1,000,000" (I knew I'd get
back around to writing about it!). What would I do with $1,000,000 not meant for me but
the good of the community? My thoughts turned to some of the insider information I get
from unnamed sources and a few things that have been in the news, although sugar-coated in
the usual Error fashion.
We've all heard the complaints from kids that we need a skateboard park. There is a
group that wants to build a walking and biking trail through Bradford. The Bradford Men's
Softball League needs a decent field to play on, as does all of organized baseball in the
city.
The first thing I would do with my $1,000,000 is axe the existing administration of the
Bradford City Parks and Recreation Department and hire some people who know how to run
such a program, then give the new folks the rest of the money to fix the ongoing problems.
The current Parks people make no effort of serving its citizenry. George Pascarella,
one of only two City Council members (Tom Shay is the other) who genuinely cares about our
kids, had to jump down Parks Director Jeff Andrews throat to get the dirt necessary just
to get our Little League fields in minimal playing shape.
Compounding the sorry condition of our parks, we are going into the third week of June,
and the city pool isn't open as of this writing. Do you want another blatant example and a
possible explanation?
Drive by Jack Burns Park on North Kendall Avenue and check out what used to be the
community wading pool. It's unusable state is not due to the lack of funds. For the past
two years, Ray McMahon's OECD, which has no work force of its own, has been keeping the
Parks workers busy on the OECD Onofrio Street project.
It's one of those little back room deals between McMahon and Andrews, who, for
some reason, feels the need to suck up to McMahon. Ed Sutherland, the Public Works boss
who keeps the city in fine working order despite City Hall, is fuming over this misuse of
city employees, but his hands are tied by the mighty McMahon. What the Hell is going on
here?
Say what you want about parental guidance, education and other contributing
factors, but a strong recreational program will benefit kids in more ways than just giving
them something to do. If you build decent facilities, you will attract more participants.
I wouldn't let my worst enemies' snot-nosed kids play on the sub-par fields in Callahan
Park. If it weren't for the dedication of the parents and coaches, the city would let the
fields turn into cow pastures while the OECD modernizes
its slums
So, now you say, "Wait a minute. UPB and the Bradford School District just
announced the possible expansion of the UPB facilities to make it a first-class athletic
complex". First, it's a long way off. The word "possible" was quite
prevalent. Second, these facilities won't be for public use, I can guarantee that. The UPB
police will have "shoot on sight" orders for anyone without a permit who steps
onto one of their fields. The article was a typical Error fluff piece that was an
attempt to put Cheri O'Mara in a favorable light.
Speculation is not something to take to the bank.
Bradford should get out of the real estate business and concentrate their efforts at
building recreational facilities that will serve all of its residents. The money they
over-spent on Tom and Bud's building on Main Street would have been more than enough to
fix the embarrassingly decrepit tennis courts at Hanley Park. The profits from selling the
former Poppy's building on Main Street could build a nice skateboard and inline skating
park.
Take away the OECD money pit, the one that has spent mega $$$ and brought about
eight total jobs to Bradford, and use that money to build baseball and softball fields
that could be looked at as a source of community pride.
Like the line from "Field Of Dreams" says, "If you build it, they will
come". Would, or does, any organized sports leagues in Bradford have the opportunity
to host regional or, perhaps, state playoff tournaments? Certainly not, not with our
crappy fields. If a town lands such events, that means people coming to that town and
spending money in that community.
Not only would we be providing more opportunities for our kids to stay on the fields
and out of trouble, we would be pumping much needed revenue into the coffers of local
business. Just think of it, skateboard competitions, Little League tournaments, softball
tournaments, perhaps even a World-Class BMX (bicycle motocross) or mountain bike event.
The potential could be endless.
I could rewrite the song, something like, "If I Had A $1,000,000 And Gave It To A
Town That Put Its People And Their Needs First". Your comments are welcome at tcclark@2-cool.com. 'Til next week...
Comments are welcome also at editor@mlrmag.com.
JUNE 17 & 18, 2K
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