The Publisher's Page BY HAROLD T. BECK

JUNE 8 - 14, 1998

JUNE 13-14, 1998 

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JUNE 12, 1998

Golfing in the Woods

Attention all golfers! If you are like me, you spend most of your time in the rough and the woods. That was where I got the idea to play an entire round in the woods. Think about it. Nine holes of rough and trees.

Tomorrow, starting at 8 in the morning, we are playing nine holes in the woods for charity. The second Rainbow Charity Classic will be held for the benefit of the McKean County Family Centers. A chicken barbecue will be prepared by the workers of the four family centers and there will be volleyball, croquet, and a ton of games for children. The golf is for us adults.

The charge is ten dollars for golf, $6.00 for half a chicken, potato salad, and a roll. The games are free and the weather is supposed to be beautiful. The Rainbow Inn will be open during the day and adult beverages are available to anyone with proper identification.

The course begins in front of the Rainbow. It is a trimmed hole and the closest we have to a real golf course. You are allowed three clubs and can tee every shot. It is a dog leg right, 199 yard, par 5 hole. The hole is a hula hoop. All the holes are hula hoops and after awhile, you will believe that they aren't big enough.

We have many prizes donated by county businesses. The second hole, a par three 85 yarder, has a closest to the pin prize. Eighty five yards may not sound long, but it is not an easy hole by any means.

The third hole is also tough. It is a 200 yard par 5 with narrow paths to the final 85 yard shot at the hole. Then the course opens up on the fourth with a 310 yard hard dog leg right  par 5. A fallen apple tree, a large dirt pile, and various trash pose problems to the reckless golfer. The fifth hole is also open and is a 260 yard par 4.

We go into the woods on the sixth hole. It is a 70 yard par three with a prize for any hole in one.  Seven is partially wooded in high grass. It is a 244 yard par 5 and not easy by any stretch of the imagination. Trees pose a major problem along with rough ground.

The eighth hole is a closest to the pin hole. It is 112 yards long and is a par three. A perfect shot is what is needed. We expect many birdies and even a few holes in one here.

Finally, we come to nine.  The entire 610 yard par 12 hole is wooded. You are shooting on paths and they are narrow. If you get carried away, you will be in trouble. Take short cuts at your own risk.

We have prizes for the Best Score for a man and a woman. There are prizes for second, third, and fourth places. We also have prizes for the worst man and woman's score as it is all for fun. We are expecting good weather and will be golfing from 8 to 3. Come out and join us and help a very valuable McKean County resource.

 

JUNE 11, 1998

THANKS GEORGE!

In the middle of trying to get a belt for my new lawn tractor from Sears, you gave me a bright beginning to my day. I didn't read The Era until I got to work. Goodness, George, don't tell Larry that I was reading the paper in my office on county time while he is off in Guatemala. Opps! I did it again. Sorry. I'll try to be better.

A man and his magazine, that is me. You don't like me picking on Larry Stratton because he's a nice guy. You are right, George. I shouldn't pick on Larry and I shouldn't pick on writers at the paper. You are also right about it now being difficult separating me from the magazine. Who ever said that I had to do that anyway?  Who said that I shouldn't have political opinions and who said that I shouldn't voice them?

The articles you refer to in your editorial were in print before Mr. Stratton left for Guatemala. What is more, George, I give Mr. Stratton a copy of each article every day. He sees them before most people. You make it sound like I am doing this behind his back. I am not. I am right up front.

You also make it sound like what I write is not true. Everything I said in those articles are facts. For example George, look at the following:

Larry's tax break. I asked him to reconsider his position for  a week. I felt it was wrong for us to get special treatment. Mr. Barr was giving him just that. Larry and I got elected because we promised the voters we would be different from the last bunch. What he did was exactly what they would have done. I had to oppose it.

The low level nuke. I told Larry in Philadelphia that talking to those people was dumb. I was courteous and attended the meeting he set up in August. I again was courteous when he brought out the ordinance and talked about repealing it because it stood in the way of the dump in the county. I was also courteous when I refused to go to his unpublished meeting. All the while George, I told him repeatedly that if it blew up he was on his own because I opposed bringing that poison into the county.

George, that was a stupid idea and it was dirty business!

Kilmer's papers were a lie and Larry was part of that when he said I set up the meeting. I didn't. I opposed it from the beginning and it is wrong to say anything else. Your paper printed that lie and never called me for a comment. What was right about that?

Did you do to me exactly what you are accusing me of doing to Larry? Do you do that regularly? What makes what you do right and what I do wrong? Still, George, in it all, you are right. I should take it a bit softer. I can do that.

The editorial was great for this web site. It was like getting a free ad from The Era. Normally, about 600 people a day read this page. By eleven yesterday morning, 550 had logged on to see what I had to say. The average time on the page went from 4 minutes 35 seconds to 7 minutes 2 seconds. By the end of the day at midnight, 1,425 people had read the Publisher's Page. What a great day! I didn't believe that you had that much influence. I might nominate you for the Pulitzer myself!

Really George, I am not a bad guy. Those people from Harrisburg actually said a few nice things about me yesterday. You were there covering the meeting. You heard them. They must have shocked you because they certainly shocked me. Imagine that, George; a bum like me backing a program that is good for families and kids! Who would believe that?

All in all, George, I am not mad in the least. What you said goes with the territory. It does upset my wife, but that is another story and set of circumstances. The editorial was well written. You expressed yourself well. Your point of view was consistent. You have improved a whole lot there. Keep writing editorials like yesterday's, I might ask you to write for The Mountain Laurel Review.

JUNE 10, 1998

The Government We Deserve

I don't have to read The Bradford Era today. Call me psychic, call me a liar; I know what it there.  With City Council, the rubber stamp body that does the bidding of Ray McMahon, the real mayor of Bradford, you don't need a program. They have a track record, and as if you are betting on the Kentucky Derby, you can guess the results.

Last week, the former Mayor, Arvid Nelson, and I had lunch. Arvid was interested in an article that appeared in the Spring Issue of THE MOUNTAIN LAUREL REVIEW, and is in this web site. He commented to me about recent articles in the MLR and set out to explain to me why the various appointments we thought should have been made with the change of administration were not, and never could be made.

During that conversation, Arvid told me about the unique arrangement Ray McMahon had. That was specifically his employment contract that had no termination clause on the part of the City, only on Mr. McMahon's part, when he chose to retire. I made that employment contract public this past Monday on this web page and at the weekly County Commissioner's Meeting.

Immediately, Connie Cavallaro denied that any contract ever existed, even though Arvid told me that Connie voted to give him the closed ended deal. You know, Connie denies alot of things. She denied that they were talking to ARG about a tax break, yet Mr. Golubock, in his statement at the reassessment hearing, all but said that it was promised. Who do you think might have made that promise?

Anyway, in an objective article written by Jim Buck, Connie is quoted as saying, "I think if all this gets in the papers, I'm sure any future company that would see that would think twice about coming here. Somebody like that could ruin everything. People in this county better wake up."

Connie, I agree with you! People better wake up! Go look in a mirror. Just because you pose a grandmotherly image, that does not make you any better than anyone else in the system that has always operated only for the privileged few. Connie, you are no better than the man you protect, Ray McMahon, and you are now showing yourself up for it. Yes, Connie, I just might ruin everything. I do it by exposing all of your sweetheart deals.

On the heels of Connie's denial of the existence of any employment contract, Peggy Comilla finds one! It is dated December 27, 1994. It was set up, as Arvid told me, to protect Ray and several others, for their pensions as the Bradford Redevelopment Authority became the Office of Economic and Community Development. It had an out clause for both parties at the end of each year. Fine.

Now, back to the Kentucky Derby, or rather City Council. Without reading the paper I am sure I am denounced as a liar, a trouble maker, and a destroyer of   the economic future of the entire county. Those words will be uttered by politicians and bureaucrats who will in the next breath oppose the privatization of the Land Fill which would produce lower garbage collections fees for every citizen of the county and expand the tax base by $300,000 which would allow county taxes to continue to remain stable and not increase.

I am sure that they denied Ray McMahon has the contract I described.   Peggy probably stopped in 1994 and didn't look at the Executive Session in November of 1995 when they (Arvid, Connie, Mark Austin, and Tyler-absent June Gray) also voted to name the warehouse on Zippo Drive the Ray McMahon Building. It was at that time they gave him his golden deal and he became McKean County's Golden Bureaucrat. I am sure that those minutes may have been conveniently lost or misplaced. Even with the denials, just try to fire Mr. McMahon and see how fast that contract surfaces.

Making me the bad guy, Connie, isn't going to work this time. Your nose is growing! Ray has the contract and you know it! You also know that the people will just sit back and do nothing. You are counting on that and again, just like the Kentucky Derby, it is on the racing form.

People don't care! They are getting the government they deserve and probably really want. You are just one of a long line of politicians who do the bidding of the people who stay behind the scenes and call the shots. While I am interesting, I don't expect people to rally with me and demand that you finally conduct government in an open and straight forward manner as the law mandates. Heck, Connie, Mark Hollenbeck can't even spell Sunshine Act. I know that!

People will forget this one just like they have already forgotten the deal you and Ray promised ARG. Sorry we couldn't accommodate you. We read the law and it said we had to be fair to all taxpayers. We never saw the clause that you and Ray use. We couldn't find the part that said  to give certain people special treatment in the name of whatever you believe you are doing at the time.

People will sit quietly and read the story in the paper. They will yawn, or they will laugh, or even curse me. What can I say? People get the government they deserve and want. Unfortunately, Connie, you and Ray are it. It isn't the way it is supposed to be. You are supposed to represent those people at the Senior Center with their taxes, too. You aren't supposed to try and burden them with ARG's share, too. That is exactly what you tried to do!

JUNE 9, 1998

A Matter of Dollars and Common Sense

As he kicks off his campaign to become County Commissioner, Hamlin Township Supervisor Bill Kilmer is conveniently positioning himself opposite me on every issue. It was Mr. Kilmer who produced the mysterious fax from his friends at Chem-Nuclear that suddenly made me the major proponent of bringing a low level nuclear dump to McKean County.

Mr. Kilmer's fraudulent document was eagerly pounced on by the media. The so called "document" was verified by John Burk as being factual. This is the same John Burk who called me a demi-gogue when I would not sit quietly when  his secret dealings with various elected officials that included Mr. Kilmer and County Commissioner Larry Stratton were made public.

Mr. Kilmer's fax from his buddies at Chem-Nuclear was a lie. Mr. Kilmer knew it and so did Larry Stratton. Even fully knowing that I never invited Chem-Nuclear to McKean County, let alone set up an initial meeting with them, Larry Stratton attempted to pull his and Mr. Kilmer's irons out of the fire by verifying that I indeed set up the meeting. That did not happen. As I said yesterday, Larry Stratton sets up all meetings for the Board of Commissioners.

Mr. Kilmer's record on economic development is not one to write home about, by any stretch of the imagination. It is one of a bully who must, at all costs, have his own way. When the chipper mill was being located in Hamlin Township, it was Mr. Kilmer who ignored the requests of the residents who would be directly affected, to exercise caution and go slow.

Instead, Mr. Kilmer bullied his way forward. The noise of the chipper mill was not in his back yard. It was of no consequence to him. What did he care about a few people who lived miles from his house? The same holds true with the Music Mountain Project. Again, he is the bully on the block and everyone had better get out of his way.

Now Mr. Kilmer is the sponsor of a resolution by the local township officials group of which he is the president, requesting that the land fill not be sold. It seems to make more sense to him to be able to say that the County owns and controls a land fill and be 15.66 million dollars in debt, than to say the County is solvent and receiving taxes on an industrial venture. Something is missing here. I fail to understand his reasoning or the reasoning of any official who would oppose industrial development that produces taxes and  revenue, and passes on lower costs to their people. All of these officials should re-think their position.

Mr. Kilmer has eagerly sought noise and pollution and called it progress. He understands the small amount of taxes his township collects from these undesirable endeavors. He understands it and dismisses anyone who opposes him as a kook. He calls them environmentalists, tree huggers, and nuts. Then in the very next breath he proclaims that private industry will ruin the land fill after he has personally ruined the peace and quiet of many residents of his own township.

Mr. Kilmer stubbornly ignores the financial benefits to the County by the privatization of the land fill. Immediately our tipping fees would drop $4.00 per ton. If we are to believe that 60% of all waste going into the land fill is generated in McKean County, then the people of this county would immediately save $192,000 the first year. The City of Bradford, which generates at least half of all County waste, would immediately realize a savings of around $96,000 a year just on tipping fees. That would give the Mayor and City Council enough to give Ray McMahon another raise on his life time employment contract.

Mr. Kilmer also ignores the $300,000 in tax revenue the privatization would produce. He also ignores the union jobs that would be created with full benefits and wages equal to other unionized land fills across the country.

Mr. Kilmer ignores the immediate 2.4 million dollars cash profit the sale would bring to the county. He ignores the $1.00 per ton royalty the county would receive on every ton that would go into the land fill until it eventually closes in about 25 to 30 years regardless of who owns it. Yes, he is willing to turn his back on $12,000,000 that would be paid directly to the county in royalty fees alone, not to mention a minimum of $9,000,000 in taxes, too.

Mr. Kilmer knows the land fill is an albatross hanging around our necks. He doesn't care. He needs an issue so he can attempt to run for County Commissioner. He realizes, like I do, that our Flow Control Ordinance is illegal. Right now, anyone who wants to, may truck their municipal waste sixty miles to the Greentree Land Fill in Kersey and save $3.50 per ton. While that might not make sense to small haulers, I would think it would make alot of sense to the City of Bradford. They could save $84,000 this year alone just on tipping fees.

What doesn't Bill Kilmer understand? Is it the truth and is that why he was so quick to use that fraudulent document against me? Is it the truth, or is it the dollars? Is it that, or is it just maybe common sense?

JUNE 8, 1998

The Anatomy of a Deal

The American Refining Group (ARG) finally had it's day before the Real Estate Board of Assessments on Tuesday, June 2, 1998. That came on the heels of stories, charges, accusations, and pieces of mis-information and outright lies regarding the existence of a deal, or the attempt to make a deal. I was right in the center of the storm and the vortex swirled around me daily, threatening to sweep me away to Oz.

Near the end of the weekly Commissioner's meeting on June 1st, a rare appearance was made by Ray McMahon, Director of the Bradford Area Office of Economic and Community Development. Mr. McMahon spoke about ARG and singled me out claiming I had accused him of negotiating a deal for the refinery that would give them ten years of a tax exempt status, similar to other deals that Mr. McMahon has indeed negotiated.

Mr. McMahon further went on to poke fun at the author of the original story as he did not know the name of the 25 million dollar hydrotreater that ARG claims that they need to buy. He tied the purchase of the machine to survival, thus making it imperative that the County give them a low tax assessment. Following that statement, he invoked God as his witness that he was not involved in any kind of deal and was not part of the process of setting ARG's tax assessment.

That was not the first time Mr. McMahon used God in this argument. He did it at the Chamber of Commerce meeting at the DeSoto Holiday House, May 21, when he said to the room, "I swear to God that there is no deal." I would have to agree with Mr. McMahon on that first statement as being factual. It was only because without the Commissioners, there could be no deal. We did not attend the meeting to make the deal when he invited us. We sent Dave Evans and Jay Paul Kahle.

I did not answer Mr. McMahon at the public meeting. It would have been improper to do so as I was to sit in on the hearing the following day. I saw Mr. McMahon as attempting to provoke me into making a public statement that might otherwise compromise my objectivity. I did not allow that to happen.

Harvey Golubock spoke for ARG at the hearing. He spoke from a prepared statement. When I refer to what Mr. Golubock said, I want you to know that I am using his words, not mine.

He pointed out that the refinery employs 195 people and is responsible for 50 million dollars of economic benefit to the area. I did  not and would not attempt to dispute that. Also, he mentioned the need for the 25 million dollar hydrotreater and how the Halloran Family had been subsidizing the refinery to the tune of several million dollars.

We joked about the use of the word "deal." It was a light moment, but was really no laughing matter in view of all that had come before that time. Was there a deal? Was Mr. McMahon involved? Was it as he contended, or was it as John Gates reported?

I never once said that a ten year deal was offered to ARG. John Gates sources suggested the ten year deal. John only reported what they told him. Mr. McMahon's repeated characterization of me contending that is absolutely false. It was false just as were his statements that he was not involved at all. He was in it alright, and right up to his neck!

Harvey Golubock said at the assessment hearing: "Most enlightened, supportive communities recognize that some degree of tax relief to new and struggling companies is a small price to pay for increased or sustained jobs. Tax relief is far less expensive than welfare and unemployment. ARG's current payroll is in excess of $6.7 million that is spent primarily in the local community. That is 195 families not on welfare or unemployment. Why is New Jersey willing to spend one billion dollars to lure the New York Stock Exchange to that State? They fully recognize that sometimes you have to spend a little to get a lot-and to them one billion is a little compared to the revenue that could be generated from having the Stock Exchange in New Jersey."

What was that if it was not a plea for special treatment? Should we pass along favorable tax treatment just because Bob Cummins Construction Company needs a new bulldozer that will employ two more people? Should we pass along favorable tax treatment to someone who employs twenty people? Where does this start and where does it end?

We set an equitable fair market value on the real estate. That was our job and we did it. At the end I shook hands with Mr. Golubock and it appeared that he was pleased with the outcome. On behalf of the people, I was satisfied. The story doesn't end there.

Mr. McMahon is no stranger to sleazy back room dealing. He attempted to arm twist this board to give ARG favorable treatment out of the sight of the public eye, contrary to what  is required by law. If he wasn't trying to do just that, why then did he invite the three of us to a sit down with ARG, the City, and the School District in March? What was the purpose of that meeting?

Things got out of hand over this assessment. Mr. McMahon was making promises of deals and favorable tax treatment that he could not keep. He attempted to smear me by misrepresenting what I said. Mr. McMahon is used to having things his own way and when someone stands in the way, he uses all of his resources to discredit them. He will have his way or else!

How is it that Mr. McMahon is so comfortable in his position? How is it that he does not fear that the people might just get tired of his shenanigans and demand that City Council and the Mayor replace him? Why didn't it phase him that by giving ARG favorable tax treatment, he would in effect raise everyone else's taxes? Why? The answer was not easy to find, but once I did, it certainly opened my eyes.

Ray McMahon has an employment contract that runs until he decides to retire. He cannot be replaced by the Mayor or by City Council. While he is a public servant; just like J. Edgar Hoover or a Supreme Court Justice, Ray McMahon has his job for life. That is one hundred per cent true; and just as it is true, it is also equally absurd!

Public officials and bureaucrats must serve at the will of the people. Mr. McMahon's position allows him the freedom to do exactly as he pleases and answer to no one. This is wrong. His actions in and around ARG show a blatant disrespect for a system that is intended to operate in the open and in the plain view of the public. In the case of Mr. McMahon and his contract that runs until he decides to retire is as contrary to the public good as it would have been to assess the refinery at one dollar as many wanted us to do.

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