OCTOBER 16 - OCTOBER 22, 1999
OCTOBER 22, 1999
The Insult
Good morning. It is 45.7 degrees at 6 A.M.
Timothy Williams was found guilty of Third Degree Murder in the killing of
Police Officer Steve Jerman. He can be sentenced to 20 to 40 years in prison. Our
compliments to Geroge Petrisek for the insight he gave us during the trial. Now the
appeals will start. Now to a story that is appearing in the printed version of The
Mountain Laurel Review, now in distribution.
Kane, Pennsylvania is a lovely small town tucked away in the hills of the northwestern
expanse of the state. The Kane family, dating back to Judge Kane, a famous Pennsylvania
jurist in the early 1800's and going on to General Thomas Kane, Civil War hero and later
an investor and developer in and of the region, gave the town its name. Their descendants
still live there.
Kane is the second largest town in McKean County. It has a daily newspaper, a radio
station, and is proudly known as "The Black Cherry Capital of the World." Big
timber, the wood industry, and manufacturing have historically been the town’s
lifeblood.
People from Kane are unique to themselves. They are different from people who live in
Bradford. Not in a bad way; just in a way that defines them. That is never bad. While some
might argue the point, being a Swede is no better, or worse, than being an Italian or a
German. People from Kane are identified just like that.
Keeping that in mind, I am curious over a recent turn of events.
The term of Michael Holtz on the McKean County Solid Waste Authority expired in 1998.
Mr. Holtz had been a designated representative for the Kane Area. It is the exclusive
right of the County Commissioners to make appointments to the Solid Waste Authority. It
was the unanimous choice of the County Commissioners not to reappoint Mr. Holtz for a
succeeding term. Instead, a new representative was sought.
Even though the authority never properly received authorization for seven districts and
seven representatives, instead of the nine at large member board as originally configured
when the concept was incorporated, the commissioners attempted to abide by the wishes of
the board regarding the geographical residence of the members. While Mr. Stratton proposed
a personal friend from Wetmore Township to represent Kane, Mr. Weaver and I chose a man
who has been a long time Kane resident. That was David Hickey.
Dave Hickey appealed to us because he had no political affiliations or ties to the
existing board. He was retired and able and willing to serve. His children had attended
Kane Schools and his son, Dave Hickey, Jr., was a local resident with his wife and family.
Unlike other residents who have their garbage picked up and hauled to the land fill, Mr.
Hickey carried his own and is a regular customer. For that reason, it was our opinion that
he had a first had working knowledge of the operation. We were unaware that he had moved
just over the county line. His mailing address was Kane, PA., but he was a mile too far
down the wrong road.
Not withstanding that glitch, Mr. Hickey has always been an active member of the Kane
Community. He worked in Kane and he shopped in Kane. Mr. Hickey paid taxes in Kane. He is
also a property owner in Hamlin Township and pays taxes there, as well as McKean County
taxes, too.
State law does not differentiate or exclude persons from serving on authorities just
because of where they live. That would be like saying only Italians or Germans can serve
and Swedes cannot. The happenstance of Mr. Hickey’s property being too far down the
wrong road is of no concern. In fact, the mere idea that even though he was out of the
county and is served by the land fill in the way that he is really adds to his
qualifications as a board member. While two of the three commissioners saw it that way,
Mr. Stratton and his friends on the authority did not.
Mr. Stratton is a farmer in Keating Township. He has no interest in Kane. He
doesn’t shop in Kane and his children never attended the Kane Area schools. His
candidate was not from Kane, yet he continually states over and over that he did not vote
for Mr. Hickey, who in fact, is.
Jay Chapman, an outspoken critic of Dave Hickey and a ring leader in the effort to deny
Mr. Hickey his seat is also from Keating Township. Like Mr. Stratton, he also has no
interest in Kane either.
The same holds true for Dick Tyger of Bradford Township. Like County Commissioner
candidate, Al Pingie, Tyger is a Bradford Township Supervisor. The last thing either of
them care about is what is best for Kane.
Brian Sees is from Mt. Jewett. What connection does he have to Kane? Why would he care
about what is and is not good for the Borough? And the same holds true for other critics
who are not affiliated with the Solid Waste Authority but have used the Dave Hickey issue
for their own political gains.
And finally, let’s not forget Mr. Falk, the Chairman of the Authority. He is a
school superintendent from Otto-Eldred. Like the others, he is not from Kane, nor does he
have connections to Kane. But, for some reason, Mr. Falk feels he knows who can best
represent Kane. How is that?
Throughout the entire dialogue regarding the Hickey appointment, the people of Kane
have continually been insulted. What is happening here is very similar to what is
happening with the timber industry. A group of outsiders are attempting to exert their
wills and directly affect the lives and the welfare of the people of Kane. The outsiders
sue to stop the timber harvest; and outsiders who comprise the majority of the Authority
do not want Kane represented. Not much difference there!
The refusal to seat the representative for the Kane area is a direct slap across the
face. And, looking deeper into the issue, it appears that the Republican members of the
authority, as well as Mr. Stratton, all seem to object further because Mr. Hickey is not
one of them. Mr. Hickey is a Democrat. It sure has the smell of the Republican party
bosses exerting their wills in this, doesn’t it?
Now Mr. Hickey has been forced to go to court to ask a Judge to allow him to take his
rightful seat on the Solid Waste Authority. Mr. Hickey wants to represent the people of
Kane. Mr. Hickey wants to do his duty and out of his own generosity, work for his friends
and neighbors without the benefit of any financial reimbursement or pay. He has wanted to
do that all along. What is wrong with that?
Your comments are welcome at rdhedbud@penn.com.
OCTOBER 21, 1999
In defense of Kane, and especially George
Good morning. It is 36.5 degrees at 6:02 A.M.
Today the new printed issue of The Mountain Laurel Review is hitting
the streets. Instead of giving you what I have been trying to for the past two days (The
Insult - a story about Kane and the Solid Waste Authority) I have a commentary on a
commentary on George Petrisek, a fellow writer who has been covering the Williams trial.
George Petrisek has been writing daily editorials regarding the trial of a
young man charged with the murder of a Kane Police Officer last February. The accused is a
young man from a neighboring county. The following is a letter that was sent to
the Publisher and Editor of The Era via e-mail him regarding his
writing.
Subject:
Very Distasteful
Mr... Satterwhite:
I though the article written by one of your reporters in regard to the William's trial
to be in very poor taste. When your reporter stated that is looks like "Coudersport
Vs. Kane" at the trial, I wonder where his head was, or even more important, where
the Editor was when this story was approved. Your reporter seems to have a special place
in his heart for the District Attorney. Some questions he should be asking are: why was
immunity granted so early? Why was the defendant moved to another hospital closer to his
attorney? Who is paying for this attorney? Does your reporter know the defendant is the
nephew of Thomas Bowman, the former Commissioner of Potter County? That Mr.. Bowman is now
the aide to Senator Specter? That the attorney is a personal friend of Specter's son? I
think your paper owes an apology to the people of Coudersport and Kane. And maybe he
should be fired. If he were a "good" reporter, he would know some of this
information and dig a little deeper and tell the whole story. If you would like to contact
me, please do so.
Very Distasteful
Mr... Satterwhite:
I though the article written by one of your reporters in regard to the William's trial
to be in very poor taste. When your reporter stated that is looks like "Coudersport
Vs. Kane" at the trial, I wonder where his head was, or even more important, where
the Editor was when this story was approved. Your reporter seems to have a special place
in his heart for the District Attorney. Some questions he should be asking are: why was
immunity granted so early? Why was the defendant moved to another hospital closer to his
attorney? Who is paying for this attorney? Does your reporter know the defendant is the
nephew of Thomas Bowman, the former Commissioner of Potter County? That Mr.. Bowman is now
the aide to Senator Specter? That the attorney is a personal friend of Specter's son? I
think your paper owes an apology to the people of Coudersport and Kane. And maybe he
should be fired. If he were a "good" reporter, he would know some of this
information and dig a little deeper and tell the whole story. If you would like to contact
me, please do so.
This was not my letter. George shared it
with me so I removed the gentleman's name and address. However, I do have an opinion (why
be surprised now!) about what he said.
So what!
Who cares who is related to who? A man was
murdered. It is very public trial. The lawyer for the accused says his client was too
drunk to remember what happened. That was all reported in the newspaper and on the radio
and television. George is doing something else. George is giving us an insight that we
cannot get from the daily news reporting. George is allowing us to be in the court room
and experience, as he has experienced, the internal dynamics of the trial.
The fact that Kane is on one side and
Coudersport is on another is the way it happened. Lucky for us that George was there to
point it out. Otherwise, how would we have known?
Is it important? George doesn't say. He just
said it happened and I am glad that he was there to say it happened.
I don't know for sure, but maybe the people who
are reading what George has been writing are finally realizing what I have been saying and
doing all along. That is called:
EDITORIALIZING
There is a difference between writing the news and giving impressions and
opinions. I have done that for seven years. Certain writers of the news use this device to
attempt to report the news. That is wrong. Even though it is wrong, it does happen.
George is not attempting to portray his editorial as the news. He is
giving opinions - only his opinions - and that is proper and damn fine writing, too.
Other questions, like the one regarding immunity, are raised in the letter. The
writer is missing the boat here. There will be plenty of time for George, and me for sure,
to write about that if this young man is acquitted.
It appears that he doesn't like Coudersport being brought in the spotlight and
in association with this trial. Too bad.
It appears that he thought George was bashing Coudersport and talking up Kane.
Too bad again.
I am going to e-mail the letter writer this column. This is what I have to say
to him.
Dear Sir:
I think you are all wrong about a fellow journalist and fine writer. Personally, I have
never cared for Coudersport or the people I have thus far met from the place. The three
young people we have been treated to since last February - all from Coudersport and your
county - certainly are, I hope, not representative of the town and the county. However,
with the history I have followed regarding the place, I must lean to the opinion that they
are. Your letter and your lack of understanding seem, in my opinion at least, to lean that
way also.
Signed, Harold T. Beck.
George had a solution to the problem. He wrote on the top of the relayed
message: "I'm not sure about me, but certainly the editor should be
fired......"
I'm with you, George.
John, I am sure, would have a different opinion.
Comments are welcome at rdhedbud@penn.com.
OCTOBER 20, 1999
Cornplanter's Cave
Good morning. It is 43 degrees at 6 A. M.
I had planned a political article. I have two of them. But an e-mail I received
made me change my mind. It was in regards to the legendary cave that Chief Cornplanter
went to in times of stress or when he just wanted to get away from being a leader.
Contrary to popular belief, Cornplanter did not always have the unconditional
support of his people. The Seneca Nation was divided in two parts - the northern Seneca
who were settled along Lake Erie and the Niagara River in present day New York State; and,
the southern Seneca, who were settled along the Allegheny River, known as the Ohio River
in the times of the French exploration and settlement of the region. (1670 - 1750)
Cornplanter was considered a radical. He led his people on their own path and
chose not to ally himself with any white nation. The northern part of the tribe, was
friendly to and followed Joseph Brant, Mohawk War Chief and British mercenary. Cornplanter
was opposed to this path and he and his people were shunned. Fortunately for his people,
they survived when the Mohawk were nearly decimated. So much for being the radical!
Mr. Beck, I was wondering if you can help me out with some information, My name is John
Stoneman, I am the guy who is documenting all the caves and large rock locations in this
area, I don't know if you have seen one of my guide maps or heard of what I am doing.
Anyway, I read of a cave in your Cornplanter Chronicles story that Cornplanter used as a
place to go and think, do you remember that reference?
I have also heard or read rumors of this cave from other sources, but unfortunately I
don't remember where. I remember that the cave is supposed to be on the west bank of the
Allegheny River and that the cave had a very large room and an underground lake in it.
Does this ring a bell?
Cornplanter was supposed to have found it when he shot a deer when he was younger and
the dear ran into the cave. I've been told that the cave may be up on Tracy ridge on the
east bank of the river. Do you know if the information you used was accurate? Do you have
any additional information that may be helpful to me? How about any caves in Marshburg? (
I know about the Klondike caves as well as the two near Colosmos rocks ) .
Thank you for any information you can provide !
PS. I've researching an area called White sands picnic area, near where Marjorie West
was missing from. Did you know that at about that time there was a rock area very close
that was labeled ( on an old map I have seen ) as a Panther den ? Many of our rock areas
around here that had caves, also had panthers or mountain lions and it was normal for them
to drag prey back into their caves or dens.
John Stoneman stony@penn.com. Visit my
web page at: www.angelfire.com/pa2/STONEMANGUITARS/index.html.
THANKS !
I wrote back to Mr. Stoneman and told him the following:
My information was accurate on the west bank location. I spoke to three of the
Boy Scouts who found it circa 1947. The description I have is from them. One of them had
pictures - old black and white and very hard to distinguish characteristics. It is my
understanding that when the damn was built the entrance was sealed and it was flooded.
They all took an oath of silence at the time they found it, realizing what they had
stumbled upon. It was their belief, and that of many of the elders of the Cornplanter
Tribe at that time, that the cave was the actual burial place of Cornplanter, not in the
cemetery as we were told. Being a resting place, the Scouts treated it with reverence. I
am going to use your article on my editorial page today. I will post your e-mail address.
Perhaps you will get some additional information.
Harold Beck.
I have written about this cave several times in the four volumes of Cornplanter
Chronicles. According to legend, he did shoot a deer and it did run into the cave and
died at the edge of the pond that was in the large room. He was with his uncle, Chief
Kiasutha at the time. It was at that time he learned about the Erie Indians who once
occupied the same lands as the Seneca. Kiasutha explained to his nephew how it was that
the Seneca came to kill all of the Erie (1626) and take their lands.
The markings, writings, and paintings on the walls that existed even then
in 1947 were from the Erie, not the Seneca. Also, it appears that it was the Erie the
Iroquois imitated when they planted the huge fields of cultivated corn. The Iroquois, the
Seneca in particular, provided protection to the farmer tribe in return for food stores to
get them through the winter.
I recently wrote about the cave in Volume 4 Part IV of the Cornplanter
Chronicles. In that episode, Cornplanter takes his friend, Jeremiah Morrison hunting.
The two men did not talk as they climbed following the game trail. They could see the
heavy elk hoof prints in the soft ground. They saw deer tracks and tracks from several
wolves. They continued to climb.
The trail came into a natural opening. It was about twenty yards wide in all directions
and even though it was on the side of the mountain, it was relatively flat. There
Cornplanter stopped. Morrison welcomed the break.
"Look," Cornplanter said as he pointed back in the direction from which they
had come.
Morrison looked back and marveled at the sight. Below them was the valley with the
river winding through it. He could see the town with the smoke from the fires climbing
into the sky. He could make out the ant like movement of the people in the town, and
beyond that, he could see the island and the home of his brother, James. Beyond that he
could see the smoke from the saw mill up Kinjua Creek.
"This is magnificent," he exclaimed. "This is magnificent."
Cornplanter stretched his arm to the north. Up the river, Morrison could see smoke
rising from the town of Cold Spring. He had visited it with the Chief and could not get
over the marked difference between the inhabitants of that place, and the people he knew
that lived under the protection of the Chief. While the Cornplanter Seneca had advanced
and had prospered, the Seneca of Cold Spring were largely very primitive. Once farmers,
their fields were abandoned. Their leaders had taken their share of the money paid to them
by the United States Government. With it they bought blankets, whiskey, and food for their
people. In a very few years, they had become lazy and shiftless. It was a drastic contrast
to the people with whom he worked six days a week.
"From this point, we watched our enemies come to attack us. It was from here that
we signaled to our braves and attacked the intruders before they could reach us. We save
our women and children from this point."
Morrison understood how strategic this out look was. He was unaware of its existence.
It was virtually invisible from the floor of the valley, yet it commanded the entire river
valley for miles and miles.
From that place, Cornplanter changed direction. He began to walk parallel to the river
and begin south. They were in a deep and dark part of the forest. They were in a place
that the sunshine probably never reached, not even in the winter. Cornplanter knew his
way. He had obviously traveled this path before. Morrison followed in silence, awestruck
by the enormity of the forest. They continued for nearly an hour. Then suddenly, the Chief
stopped and turned to his friend.
"Few men have ever been where you stand. No white man has ever been here. I am
part white and I was the first when my uncle brought me here. Now you are the first of
your race. You must swear never to bring another living person to the place we are about
to go. It is a holy place and it is sacred."
Morrison nodded his head.
"I swear that I will honor your wish, friend."
Cornplanter smiled. It was unusual for the Chief to smile. It was, in fact, the first
time Jeremiah Morrison had ever seen Cornplanter smile in the years that he had known him.
From that point they began up the side of the mountain. They went a difficult hundred
yard or so through large boulders and on rocky ground. There were springs originating in
the rocks and running down the side of the mountain, each forming its own hollow in the
side of the mountain. Each was its own fountain of life, feeding the animals and the
plants below.
Following as best he could, Morrison saw Cornplanter turn the corner around a boulder
and disappear from sight. Morrison could not determine where he had gone. It was as if he
had just disappeared. He proceeded cautiously but did not call out. To do so, he felt,
would betray in some way the confidence that the Chief had placed in him.
Between the boulder and the mountain side there was an area of darkness. He moved
toward it. As he stood at the very edge of the darkness, he could see nothing. Still, he
knew he had to trust the Chief. He stepped forward.
It was as if he had passed into another world. The darkness had suddenly turned into
light. It was sunlight. As Jeremiah looked for the source of the light, he once more could
see the valley below. He could not understand how that could be. Somehow he was in another
opening in the forest, this time about ten yards in all directions. Directly across the
opening and opposite the river valley was the opening to a cave. At the doorway that led
to the inside of the mountain, Chief Cornplanter was standing, waiting for him.
"Come," he said to Morrison.
Morrison silently obeyed. He walked the ten yard to the Chief.
Cornplanter took Morrison’s face in his hands. He was taller than the other man
and looked down in his eyes. Jeremiah’s skin began to burn slightly. Cornplanter had
some substance on his hands and it had been absorbed into the other man’s body. In an
instant, his head seemed to explode with colors and sounds. The colors were those of a
vast spectrum, some of which he had never before seen. The sounds were the sounds of the
forest; but strangely enough, Morrison understood the sounds he was hearing were those of
the past, the present, and the future, all rolled into one audible sight, all presented at
once.
Morrison fell to his knees. He was unable to stand erect. He slumped down to the ground
and at once he began to cry. He began to cry uncontrollably. It was as if he was a child
once more. It was as if he was old and he was dying. What he felt at that moment he would
later be unable to describe.
The Chief lifted him to his feet. He supported him as he took him into the cave.
"You are now ready," Cornplanter said.
He did not say what he was ready for, but somehow Morrison understood.
"Come and rest," Cornplanter said.
He placed Morrison in a corner of the cave and covered him with a blanket. Morrison
slept. He slept and he did not dream. He had no idea how long he had slept, but when he
woke he could see the light of a fire in an adjoining room deeper into the mountain. Still
unsteady, he rose and he walked to the entrance to the other room. He was careful not to
fall into the small pond in the center of the room as he crossed it. He noticed the trout
in the pond. They had no eyes. He looked behind him. No light entered the cave and it was
then that he realized that there was no light except for the light of the walls of the
cave in that first room. He wondered to himself how that could have been?
Entering the second room he immediately saw Cornplanter sitting at the fire facing him.
Cornplanter’s face was aglow with the light of the fire. It was different in a very
strange way. Somehow, it was the face of the man when he was much younger. The beard and
the scars of war were all gone. It was a face illuminated with wisdom and he felt very
inferior as he looked into his eyes.
"Come and sit with me," Cornplanter said to Jerry Morrison. "Join me in
this time of peace. Join with me as I try to understand what I cannot. Sit with me at this
fire of knowledge. Come see what I see and wonder with me what it means. Help me explain
the unexplainable."
The unexplainable to Cornplanter, a psychic in his own rite, was when he
projected himself into the future, all he saw was water. He would speak of the water
nightmare that haunted him for the ten years preceding his death. He never understood that
in less than 150 years the entire area would be flooded over by the Allegheny Reservoir.
Your comments and input are welcome at rdhedbud@penn.com.
OCTOBER 19, 1999
Making history
Good morning. It is 23.4 degrees at 5:12 A.M.
You think about a number of things when you sit in the dark early in the morning. When
your mind is at peace you have the opportunity to reflect. When you mind is especially at
peace, then you can reflect in a way that you don't have to be critical of yourself. You
can objectively evaluate your life as a life, not what you would have done different.
I went to the Custer City Men's Club Dinner last night. I am a member. I have been
since around 1990. John Benedict who just turned 92 yesterday has run the club and
historically been the spark plug to see that we met and ate together one Monday a week
during spring, summer, and fall. (We don't meet in the winter months.)
Even though my attendance has been down in recent years, it was good to see the men and
speak with them. I picked up where I left off and really, nothing has changed. Just a
bunch of good guy who get together and eat. Not much to meet the eye, but in itself, quite
a statement.
I am one of the younger members. Most of the men are retired. They talk golf, sports,
politics, and their marriages. What else would they talk about?
They all joke in a good natured way about their marriages. One man said: "I still
believe you should be able to decide once every five years if you are going to stay
together or not." I remembered hearing that from him every year for the past nine
years. Seeing how he is still married, his wife probably doesn't think a whole lot of the
idea. He, by the way, being a very sensible man, probably doesn't bring the idea up at
home, either.
Walt, a buddy of mine, scoffed at the idea. "There are a whole lot of perks that
go with having a long and happy marriage," he said. He didn't elaborate, but all of
us knew what he was talking about. There sure were. Life really can be good.
Years and years of living with the same person doesn't sound all that appealing to our
young people. Why should it? They are young and very healthy. They are in their primes, or
so they believe they are. The Pepsi Generation has given way to a street wise, sexually
experienced, pseudo ecology minded, politically correct group of young people who seem to
believe that they will boldly go where we never dreamed of going.
Wrong!
They are as wrong as we were back in the sixties when we believed that we were going to
chart new territory that our parents dared not go. What we didn't realize, and what they
don't realize, is that every generation dreams of upsetting the apple cart and sending the
apples rolling across the street in all directions. They dream of doing it, but few
actually do. Ours did. Today we pay for it.
We pay for it in what has happened to our families nationwide. What we started then has
now spread across the western world and into Australia and we find our families being
challenged like they have never been in the past. We challenged the traditional concepts
of marriage. Too many of us have paid that price, and the price has long ranging effects.
It is the interest on the loan that has come due. It is the price that our children had to
pay for our selfishness and it is coming home to roost right in our own backyards.
We were the generation that was going to fix things for the future. We did just that.
We fixed them alright, but not in the way that we thought we would. No. Instead we fixed
them in a way that requires that they be fixed again, and try a we may, we will never be
able to put them back the way they were.
When it is all said and done, what is it that we really want out of life? Is it money?
Is it sex? Is it power? What is it that we believe that we really need? What is it that
anyone really needs?
Good health has something to do with it. You take it for granted until you don't have
it. Then, when you don't, not much really matters. You can be the richest, sexiest, and
most powerful person in the world - John Kennedy, Jr. was on that path - but when
mortality bites you and your health is gone, then what else is there?
There is a whole lot to be said for being at peace within one's self. There is a whole
lot to be said for being at peace with one's mate. I think that when you are at peace, not
much from the external world can affect you.
I think that was one of the perks that Walt was talking about. I think the perks are
the joys you receive from knowing that someone is there for you and you are there for
them. Those are the perks, the joys, we have never told our children about. That was what
our generation turned it's back on - the values of our parents and theirs before them.
That is why so many of us are not at peace. That is why more and more of our generation
are using chemical means (prescription drugs) to achieve what those men at the Custer City
Men's Club found comes with age and living life.
Artificial happiness is the reward for what we have done. The generation of mood
leveling drugs are the interest on the loan we took out years ago. A pill a day is the
price we pay for selling our values for the instant gratification of doing our thing. And,
we are paying for the fact that if we couldn't be with the one we loved, we loved the one
we were with. Yep! That's the loan we took out, principal and interest, compounded daily,
that has now come due.
I looked around the room last night and I sat in the dark this morning. Those men had
histories! "I have been married 46 years," Glenn said. "I have eight
children and sixteen grandchildren." I listened. He defined himself by his family.
His family was his history - his story. How interesting! How unique!
In the dark I realized that I was lucky. I had come back. I had saved myself. I was
able to define myself like that, too. I was able to point to my children and now a
grandchild and say something like Glenn. One man showed me a picture of his grand
daughter. "Do you know this girl?" he asked. I didn't at first but at a second
glance I did. It was my son's girl friend. And he defined himself and in the process was
defining me, too. That's history and mystory. Oh well. The things that come to you in the
dark.
Your comments are welcome at rdhedbud@penn.com.
OCTOBER 18, 1999
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE UNDER ATTACK, AGAIN!
On August 13th I wrote one of my "Bradford Hotel" articles
aimed at the Bradford Area Alliance and their attempted take over of the Chamber of
Commerce. Now it seems that it is happening all over again and it goes to show how corrupt
the Alliance and the OECD really are and that they do have a secret, hidden agenda. They
want to make the decisions that affect your lives!
Just to refresh your memories, in July of this year, The Bradford Area Alliance, led by
their paid front man, Mike Glesk, attempted to replace Candy Bush as the Executive
Director with Ron Orris. They sent out a letter to all the members of the Chamber and it
was signed by the whole pack of them. That includes: American Refining Group, The Bradford
Era, Bradford Forest Products, Bradford Regional Medical Center, Kessel Construction, KOA
Speer, McCourt Label, McDowell, Wick, Daley, Hartle, Hauser, etc., National City Bank,
University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, Top Line Corporation, and Zippo.
Mr. Glesk, in one of his interviews defending the actions of the group, stated that the
Alliance contributed nearly 90% of the revenues of the Chamber and therefore should be
able to properly exert influence on who the Executive Director should, or should not, be.
The article pointed out the fallacy and the overall untruthfulness of that statement.
Welfare Wes (a fictional character is speaking:
"How's that?" he asked. "It's been reported several times in The Era,
and even when Marty wrote her column "Alliance has lost credibility" and she
called Chris Hauser a chauvinist, she said they paid the greatest part, I think 90 to 95%
of what the chamber took in with dues."
I laughed. "You read it where?" I asked teasingly. "Did you say the
Error, or The Era?"That was always good for a laugh and I sure got one on it. Then I
continued. I took a paper out of my pocket. I began to read from it.
"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? Tell me!" I demanded, losing it a bit
myself."
I used the fictional presentation to demonstrate how much they really paid. It was not
like they said or was it the way Marty Robacker Wilder believed. Needless to say, the
Chamber and the Alliance were both upset when I disclosed the internal figures. I thought
it would have ended there. I thought, but it didn’t.
As a result of being threatened with the loss of a business account, the Vice President
of the Chamber resigned. Like many organizations, the Vice President automatically
succeeds the President in the next year. With the resignation the Chamber decided that
they should put it up for a vote to allow Dale Phillips to serve as President for one more
year. Everyone was satisfied with the job Dale had done. Everyone except the Alliance and
their allies over at the Office of Economic and Community Development - you know, the
infamous OECD led by none other than Ray McMahon, himself.
Still smarting from the blow they were handed by Phillips when he turned back their
advances on installing their hand picked man to run the Chamber, they are now moving to
replace him.
Dave Lunden, Ray McMahon’s Lieutenant, has been at the heart of this. It dates
back to Tina Phillips and her brother, Tom Riel, buying 101 Main Street out of the Tax
Claim Repository. I had to intervene in that matter because Nancy Ollinger, the Tax Claim
Director who believes she works for herself, began to make up her own rules as she went
along. That included contacting Lunden who put in opposing bids on behalf of the City,
when the Commissioners told her to sell it to Phillips and Riel.
Even after the sale went through, Lunden told Phillips and Riel that: "The mistake
you made was contacting Beck in the first place." Through Lunden, the city dangled
free money in front of them in an effort to win them over and have them turn their backs
on me. "Beck is hated all through City Hall," he told them. "They despise
him."
Oh well. What else is new?
Now it’s election time, for me and for Dale Phillips. Dave Lunden, fronting for
Ray McMahon and the Bradford Area Alliance is at it again.
"If you want to remain as President of the Chamber of Commerce," Lunden
recently told Phillips. "You have to swear that you will have nothing to do with
Harold Beck. If you don’t," he threatened. "We will replace you with Mary
Rae from Futures. We have the votes to do it!" he said.
Well Dale has heard that before and Dale understood all too well who was really behind
this and why.
Mary Rae is not even on the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce. Evidently,
the Alliance and Mr. McMahon don’t have too many allies on the Board after the
unfriendly takeover attempt in July. Still, if they can’t get control one way, they
will try to get it another, and this is it. And, I am the battleground.
I don’t understand what the big deal is and why the Alliance has to control the
Chamber of Commerce?
They control City Government. Lee Ann Lyons Doynow is owned by them and she leads the
others, except for Corignani, and delivers for her boss over at Pitt.
Now that Al Pingie is on the ballot for County Commissioner, and with my expected
defeat on November 2nd, they feel they will control the majority of the
Commissioners - Weaver has always been their man. Stratton, they feel, will go along and
follow Weaver, who they envision as Chairman of the new board. That way they will get the
County to pay for the ball field at Pitt ($12,000 a year), something I have opposed since
taking office in 1996.
You had better wake up and wake up fast. You had better realize what is going on here.
We are talking about an elite group taking over the workings of the governments in this
county. We are talking about you being disenfranchised and not being included. We are
talking about the way things used to be. What will be next?
Your comments are welcome at rdhedbud@penn.com.
OCTOBER 17, 1999
There was no new story.
OCTOBER 16, 1999
Idle Thoughts By Tom Clark Staff Columnist
I'm burned out. So much so lately that I am blurting out a four-letter
word every time the alarm goes off in the morning. It seems that my
attention span barely reaches my elbow. The old adage, too many irons in the fire, comes
to mind. Where did that come from? An overworked blacksmith?
Anywho, today's column and, periodically, future articles
will be a menagerie of thoughts, observations and ramblings by yours
truly. I figured I had better warn you because this might get ugly, at
least from an organizational perspective. So, here goes:
>Did you feel a little crowded this past Tuesday? That was the day that
"experts" proclaimed as the date that the world's population would exceed 6
billion people. I'm not sure how exacting the number may be, since we lost 10,000+ in
Taiwan in one shot, during the recent earthquake.
Everyone is very excited about the upcoming turn of the century which, inevitably,
brings with it a multitude of reminiscing of the last 100 years and its highlights. What
is lost in the shuffle is the change of
the decade, out with the '90's and in with the 00's. I still have not
heard what the consensus is on what to call the new decade. My vote is for "the
aughts". Kinda cool, eh?
Speaking of the '90's, it will always be remembered as the decade that made us forget
about the '80's. What a lame 10-year stretch that was. Culture Club and Duran Duran, the
Yugo and Ronnie Reagan. Need I say more?
The greatest invention, to me at least, came to us in the '90's. I am forever indebted
to the guy who came up with "Pay At The Pump". Gas up and get the Hell out of
there. No more rubbing elbows with the cretins inside the convenience store or standing in
line behind some fat loser buying $20 worth of random scratch 'n sniff lottery tickets.
Nothing jerks me more than to be in a hurry and have these genetically defective slobs
holding me up with their pipe dreams of easy money. Take your sorry asses out and find a
job or, if you have one, a better job. I think lottery ticket sales should be restricted
to 3:00 - 3:07 AM. If they really want to play the lottery, they can get out of bed to do
it and not inconvenience me.
What's with all of the tractor trailers parked on every Bradford city
street? No one cares about this? Our town looks like a Truckstops Of America. I'm happy
that these people who drive them are gainfully
employed, but do you have to park them in front of your house? If the city recognized this
as a problem, perhaps a lot could be maintained somewhere and they could charge a nominal
fee for parking there, then ban rig parking on the city streets.
This would be a good project for the OECD, that is, of course, as people allege,
only if Ray McMahon has an opportunity to shove a few bucks in his pocket from it. But
then, who believes that?
Bradford has roughly 400 houses for sale, yet new ones are constantly being built. The
town is losing population. None of this adds up.
The snobby sob's in Ellicottville are whining because the US 219 upgrade project will
bypass their town, much like it did in Bradford in the '70's. They feel that, by losing
the highway through the village, businesses will suffer. Get over it, already.
Ellicottville is a destination, they will still have their influx of Canadians every
weekend.
Anyone who went to the Bills game last Sunday can not be sympathetic with them. Every
Oktoberfest, the traffic through town is unbearable and provides a strong argument to
bypass the village. I'll still frequent E-ville, but will also be happy to fly by it at 65
MPH when I'm headed to Buffalo.
Speaking of US 219, are you sitting there, keys in hand, waiting for the four-lane
project to be completed from South Bradford to DuBois? Forget it, not in our lifetime.
When they pumped all of the funding into the passing lanes south of Tack's Inn, that
pretty much sealed the fate of any major corridor upgrade. No one in Washington is
interested in US 219, including Bud Schuster, a fellow Pennsylvanian and the powerful
transportation maven.
By the way, whatever happened with Chris Hauser's stupid idea of dropping a half of a
million bucks into a lobbying effort for 219?
Was that just a brain fart or is he too busy manipulating The Bradford Era
for his own personal gain in the upcoming election?
I spoke with Dick Cavallero a few times and he gave me the lowdown on how underhanded
Hauser and The Era have been concerning the District Justice race. I'm holding
off on publishing the information until it is closer to the election.
Some people have accused me of being too hard on The Era for all of the lame
journalistic efforts they display. "If you don't like The Era, why do you
still read it?"
Where else am I going to find valuable data such as bowling scores and blue jay
sightings? If they continue to use the banner, "Your Dependable News Medium",
they should try to live up to it. The local rag is about dependable as the weather.
Besides, it gives me something to bitch about.
Publisher's Comment: Obviously, something Tom enjoys doing. Thanks Tom.
See you next week.
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