Well for now Reiter is still one of our schools. It looks like it will remain closed for the upcoming school year however. Looks like Grandview is getting new windows too. Any idea when this project will be started?
from the BCCT:
Board to move students
By: MANASEE WAGH
Bucks County Courier Times
Fourth- through eighth-graders will share the same building with high school students. M.R. Reiter Elementary will remain closed through the 2009-10 school year.
Morrisville school board voted Wednesday night to provide an official statement to the state about keeping two of its schools open this year.
M.R. Reiter Elementary will remain closed through the 2009-10 school year. The board has yet to decide whether to close it permanently.
Though the vote to move all children in grades four and five into the high school building was taken in February, the state Department of Education needs paperwork showing which schools would be operational.
According to the plan, children in grades four through eight will share the same building with high school students but will be kept separate from them and form the Morrisville Intermediate School. Grades nine through 12 will be called Morrisville High School and remain in separate hallways. Grades four through six will also be kept apart from grades seven and eight. Those in grades pre-kindergarten to three will be at Grandview Elementary School.
Reiter's future will be determined at some later point based on the results of an ongoing engineering study, said board President William Hellmann. The school suffered a furnace explosion in December 2008. Though no one was hurt, the aged building's condition worsened, and children had to be moved to other schools.
The board also voted to accept a $444,000 bid by Architectural Window, one of four bids received on July 28 to replace all windows at Grandview. It also accepted a $17,000 option by the same firm to create new windows in large closets. Since some students from Reiter were moved into Grandview, the district has been trying to expand possible instructional spaces in the school.
Additionally, the board accepted a $43,700 bid to remove asbestos located in the caulking and glazing of the windows.
Further planned renovations for Grandview include upgrades to mechanical systems and more door replacements.
Before the meeting ended, board member John Buckman asked for two more items in light of recent vandalism to the high school during its summer renovation. Vandals crashed a truck into a door at the back of the school, ripping up a copy of renovation plans and throwing around the contents of the maintenance room. Police are investigating the incident.
Board members voted 6-0 for requesting that Bucks County detectives join the investigation to uncover the perpetrators, and for hiring a private security firm to patrol the school.
Members Brenda Worob, Joseph Kemp and Robin Reithmeyer were absent.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Observations from tonights meeting
Any news from tonights meeting? Post your comments and observations here.
"Time for change Pennsbury"
Found a "sister" blog from our neighbors in Pennsbury. Makes for some interesting reading.
Here is the link:http://timeforchangepennsbury.blogspot.com
Legislation would create benefits plan for school workers
from todays bcct:
Legislation would create benefits plan for school workers
By: JOAN HELLYER
Bucks County Courier Times
Opponents say the proposal favors the unions too much.
HARRISBURG - A Pennsylvania lawmaker from Central Bucks County has co-authored legislation that would create a statewide health benefits plan for school employees.
School districts pay about $1.5 billion per year or approximately $1 out of every $6 of property taxes toward employee health care costs, state officials said.
House Bill 1881 would establish a benefits board to secure health plans for school employees across the state at a lower rate than what school districts pay individually to cover benefit costs, according to the state House Web site.
The initiative would save hundreds of millions of dollars, lower property taxes and contain costs in the long term, according to State Rep. David Kessler, the Berks County Democrat who introduced the bill last week in Harrisburg with State Rep. Bernie O'Neill, R-29, of Warminster.
"This would take the burden off the local school boards and local taxpayers to negotiate (employee health benefits)," said O'Neill, a former special education teacher at Centennial's William Tennent High School in Warminster. "This is one of the biggest things we can do to make better use of our education dollars at the state and local level."
The Pennsylvania State Education Association supports the proposed legislation, said Wythe Keever, a spokesman for the state teachers union.
"Our members face increased pressure at the bargaining table because of rising health care and insurance costs," Keever said. "PSEA believes a well-designed statewide health care plan that satisfies the need of public school employees represents the best possible solution to address the external forces impacting health care coverage."
But not everyone is sold on the idea, though it is getting bipartisan support from House members.
The proposed set-up tilts the benefits board in the favor of labor unions, Tim Allwein, Pennsylvania School Boards Association assistant executive director, said Tuesday.
The Pennsylvania benefits board would include the state finance, education and administration secretaries and insurance commissioner, eight school employee representatives and four candidates recommended by the PSBA, a trade group.
"There's not enough input for the taxpayers," Allwein said.
O'Neill said he'll meet with PSBA representatives in Harrisburg today to try to resolve their concerns.
In the meantime, the bill has been referred to the state House Appropriations Committee for consideration.
If state lawmakers and the governor approve of the plan, the benefits board could be established by July 2010, Allwein said.
The board's first order of business will be to review the benefit plans of all school districts in the state and then come up with a proposal on how to consolidate the costs, he said.
Legislation would create benefits plan for school workers
By: JOAN HELLYER
Bucks County Courier Times
Opponents say the proposal favors the unions too much.
HARRISBURG - A Pennsylvania lawmaker from Central Bucks County has co-authored legislation that would create a statewide health benefits plan for school employees.
School districts pay about $1.5 billion per year or approximately $1 out of every $6 of property taxes toward employee health care costs, state officials said.
House Bill 1881 would establish a benefits board to secure health plans for school employees across the state at a lower rate than what school districts pay individually to cover benefit costs, according to the state House Web site.
The initiative would save hundreds of millions of dollars, lower property taxes and contain costs in the long term, according to State Rep. David Kessler, the Berks County Democrat who introduced the bill last week in Harrisburg with State Rep. Bernie O'Neill, R-29, of Warminster.
"This would take the burden off the local school boards and local taxpayers to negotiate (employee health benefits)," said O'Neill, a former special education teacher at Centennial's William Tennent High School in Warminster. "This is one of the biggest things we can do to make better use of our education dollars at the state and local level."
The Pennsylvania State Education Association supports the proposed legislation, said Wythe Keever, a spokesman for the state teachers union.
"Our members face increased pressure at the bargaining table because of rising health care and insurance costs," Keever said. "PSEA believes a well-designed statewide health care plan that satisfies the need of public school employees represents the best possible solution to address the external forces impacting health care coverage."
But not everyone is sold on the idea, though it is getting bipartisan support from House members.
The proposed set-up tilts the benefits board in the favor of labor unions, Tim Allwein, Pennsylvania School Boards Association assistant executive director, said Tuesday.
The Pennsylvania benefits board would include the state finance, education and administration secretaries and insurance commissioner, eight school employee representatives and four candidates recommended by the PSBA, a trade group.
"There's not enough input for the taxpayers," Allwein said.
O'Neill said he'll meet with PSBA representatives in Harrisburg today to try to resolve their concerns.
In the meantime, the bill has been referred to the state House Appropriations Committee for consideration.
If state lawmakers and the governor approve of the plan, the benefits board could be established by July 2010, Allwein said.
The board's first order of business will be to review the benefit plans of all school districts in the state and then come up with a proposal on how to consolidate the costs, he said.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Districts saving energy, cash
from the bcct:
Districts saving energy, cash
By: JOAN HELLYER
Bucks County Courier Times
Reducing building usage during the summer is one way to cut energy costs.
Facing tighter budgets and ever-increasing expenses, local schools and school districts are taking various steps to reduce energy costs during their summer breaks.
Bucks County Technical High School and the Bensalem, Council Rock and Pennsbury school districts are among the local public schools that have adjusted building usage and made other moves to conserve energy, officials said.
Council Rock began a year-round energy conservation effort four years ago. During the summer, the initiative includes adjustments of air-conditioning levels and most buildings are open four days a week with extended hours.
The schedule revisions have helped the district realize savings of between $150,000 and $300,000 each month during the summer over the last couple of years, according to Council Rock's Web site.
The school system has earned national recognition for its efforts while saving about $6.27 million, or about 45 percent in energy usage, during the four years of the program, according to district officials.
Bensalem, which has about seven fewer buildings to operate than Council Rock, started a similar cost-cutting move this summer by curtailing building usage, officials said.
Officials in that district expect to save between $30,000 and $35,000 in utility costs by closing all buildings on Fridays except the administrative office and Benjamin Rush Elementary School, which houses a summer camp program, spokeswoman Susan Phy said.
Bensalem's summer schedule runs from late June until Aug. 24, Phy said.
The comprehensive tech school, which serves the Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury school districts, also is operating on a four-day schedule from mid-July through Aug. 14, officials said. Operating hours are 6:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Monday through Thursday for the school off Wistar Road in Bristol Township.
Closing the school on Fridays during the summer and modifying the air-conditioning levels in non-occupied rooms will save about $12,000 in energy costs, tech school business administrator Sharon Rendeiro said.
Pennsbury officials are determining how much their district is saving by consolidating summer operations into seven of its 16 buildings, spokeswoman Ann Langtry said.
Other local school systems, including Bristol Township and Centennial, have looked into reducing summer energy costs, but cannot do so because buildings in those districts are in high use, officials said.
In addition, several construction projects under way in Centennial would not allow for a consolidation of building usage, said Acting Superintendent Sandy Homel.
However, the district could see some benefit from the mild summer the area has enjoyed thus far because air conditioners have not been in heavy use, Homel said.
Districts saving energy, cash
By: JOAN HELLYER
Bucks County Courier Times
Reducing building usage during the summer is one way to cut energy costs.
Facing tighter budgets and ever-increasing expenses, local schools and school districts are taking various steps to reduce energy costs during their summer breaks.
Bucks County Technical High School and the Bensalem, Council Rock and Pennsbury school districts are among the local public schools that have adjusted building usage and made other moves to conserve energy, officials said.
Council Rock began a year-round energy conservation effort four years ago. During the summer, the initiative includes adjustments of air-conditioning levels and most buildings are open four days a week with extended hours.
The schedule revisions have helped the district realize savings of between $150,000 and $300,000 each month during the summer over the last couple of years, according to Council Rock's Web site.
The school system has earned national recognition for its efforts while saving about $6.27 million, or about 45 percent in energy usage, during the four years of the program, according to district officials.
Bensalem, which has about seven fewer buildings to operate than Council Rock, started a similar cost-cutting move this summer by curtailing building usage, officials said.
Officials in that district expect to save between $30,000 and $35,000 in utility costs by closing all buildings on Fridays except the administrative office and Benjamin Rush Elementary School, which houses a summer camp program, spokeswoman Susan Phy said.
Bensalem's summer schedule runs from late June until Aug. 24, Phy said.
The comprehensive tech school, which serves the Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury school districts, also is operating on a four-day schedule from mid-July through Aug. 14, officials said. Operating hours are 6:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Monday through Thursday for the school off Wistar Road in Bristol Township.
Closing the school on Fridays during the summer and modifying the air-conditioning levels in non-occupied rooms will save about $12,000 in energy costs, tech school business administrator Sharon Rendeiro said.
Pennsbury officials are determining how much their district is saving by consolidating summer operations into seven of its 16 buildings, spokeswoman Ann Langtry said.
Other local school systems, including Bristol Township and Centennial, have looked into reducing summer energy costs, but cannot do so because buildings in those districts are in high use, officials said.
In addition, several construction projects under way in Centennial would not allow for a consolidation of building usage, said Acting Superintendent Sandy Homel.
However, the district could see some benefit from the mild summer the area has enjoyed thus far because air conditioners have not been in heavy use, Homel said.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Potpourri for the week of 7/26-8/1
This is your place to rant/rave about any topic you may wish to discuss.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Reminder: Special board meeting 7/29
Just wanted to post a reminder of the special board meeting that will take place on 7/29. I'm sure they will slip in the closing of M.R. Reiter in there somehow. Also on the "agenda" is the award of bids for the Grandview school window replacements, discussion of the Capitol View School Lease agreement, and "such other matters as may properly come before the Board."(Reiter).
Does anyone have any info on the status of the Capitol View lease. Could they want to take this over as a replacement for Reiter?
Will P.W. make an apperance at the meeting?
NOTICE
MORRISVILLE SCHOOL DISTRICT
Notice is hereby given that the School District of Borough of Morrisville will hold a Special Meeting on Wednesday, July 29, 2009, 6:30 p.m., in the Auditorium of the Morrisville Mid/Sr. High School located at 550 West Palmer Street, Morrisville, PA. The purpose of the meeting is to approve the bid award of the Grandview Elementary Window Replacement Bid, restructure of the School District for the 2009-2010 school year, personnel items, discussion of the Capital View School Lease Agreement, and such other matters as may properly come before the Board.
Marlys Mihok
Secretary
Does anyone have any info on the status of the Capitol View lease. Could they want to take this over as a replacement for Reiter?
Will P.W. make an apperance at the meeting?
NOTICE
MORRISVILLE SCHOOL DISTRICT
Notice is hereby given that the School District of Borough of Morrisville will hold a Special Meeting on Wednesday, July 29, 2009, 6:30 p.m., in the Auditorium of the Morrisville Mid/Sr. High School located at 550 West Palmer Street, Morrisville, PA. The purpose of the meeting is to approve the bid award of the Grandview Elementary Window Replacement Bid, restructure of the School District for the 2009-2010 school year, personnel items, discussion of the Capital View School Lease Agreement, and such other matters as may properly come before the Board.
Marlys Mihok
Secretary
East Falls:Don't move school here
This item also arrived in our mailbag.
From Philly.com
East Falls: Don’t move school here
By Zoe Tillman
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
When East Falls resident Meg Greenfield sees the boarded-up buildings and concrete wasteland along the 4300 block of Ridge Ave., she imagines a pulsing street with stores and office space topped by luxury apartments.
Center City attorney David Shulick sees something else: a new campus for his alternative education school for students who have disciplinary problems and others at risk of not graduating.
Schulick, president of state-accredited Delaware Valley High School, expects to sign a contract with the Philadelphia School District to open in September but he's facing community opposition.
"Putting a school in an area like that is disruptive," said Greenfield, vice president of the East Falls Community Council.
Officials of the East Falls Community Council and the area's Development Corporation and Business Association said they fear the school will scare away new businesses and residents and unleash 400 teenagers into an area they see as a future community hub.
Shulick has signed a three-year lease for the site on June 1 with property owner Mark Sherman, who owns several other properties in East Falls.
Issues like redevelopment, Shulick said, are a cover for community bias against students labeled "at-risk."
"We have a phenomenal reputation," he said. "Within six to eight months of opening, they're going to realize what a...resource we are."
The school boasts a 93 percent graduation rate.
Shulick began meeting with the community soon after signing the lease, a move Greenfield and others say made them feel duped and suspicious.
"The community is active," Greenfield said. "It feels strongly that we should be involved in what goes into our community."
On July 13, an estimated 300 people - many voicing opposition to the school - crammed into the Falls of Schuylkill Library and spilled out onto the lawn for a public meeting. City Councilman Curtis Jones has also said he wants the school to find another site.
"My vote would be things that were conducive to commercial growth," like a grocery store, he said.
The showdown has been "like the scene from "Frankenstein" where people are going after the monster," with pitchforks and torches, said East Falls resident and property owner Billy Ross, 39.
The Philadelphia School Distict is negotiating contracts with all alternative education providers, including Delaware Valley High School, said a spokesperson.
Shulick, who would not comment on the negotiations, must have a written agreement with community representatives to get a contract.
East Falls - an economically and racially diverse area that is home to both affordable housing units and Governor Rendell's Philadelphia residence - has had plans to redevelop the vacant side of the 4300 block into a mixed-use corridor since 1998.
The community groups still hope to turn the other vacant lot on the block - held by the Redevelopment Authority of Philadelphia - into a mixed-use corridor. The RDA has signed an agreement with private developers to sell the property for such a project.
Developer David Stubbs would not comment on the impact of the school on the plan.
East Falls Development Corporation President Carolyn Sutton said she believed a school would hurt developers as they raise money to buy the site.
Prospective buyers expects to see stores, not a school, she said.
Shulick is closing the Bustleton Ave. campus, which no longer has enough room, and plans to use the two buildings to house about 400 students - 200 students grades 7 through 9 in one, 200 students in grades 10-12 in the other. He's had annual contracts with the district to operate the school on Bustleton Avenue for the last several years.
The high school was created in 1969 by a group of local educators, including Shulick's father. It moved to the Bustleton site in 1980, and Shulick took over in 1999. The Warminster campus opened last year.
The students are at-risk of not graduating, he said, for reasons like lack of motivation, drug and alcohol use, or problems at home. None have been expelled from public schools, and cannot stay if they are disruptive.
The school features small classes, technology-equipped classrooms and a sophisticated computer program to track students' behavior and progress.
At the request of community members, Shulick said he also plans to open the school's computer labs and meeting spaces to the public, and positively engage students - who are required to have afterschool job training - in the neighborhood.
The campus will be called the Judith B. Shulick Memorial Education Center, after Shulick's mother, who was killed in a 1991 car accident.
The school's opponents say its track record doesn't matter. They still fear losing the redevelopment project and worry that the presence of school buses on Ridge Ave. would make rush hour traffic worse.
"The kids could all be Harvard-bound, walk on water," Greenfield said. "It's still a school and it's not an appropriate use of space."
East Falls residents are not a united front, however.
Resident Demetria Snell, 40, a nurse who lives about a block away from the site, said she supports the school.
"They worry about such little things," she said. "This is something to help kids, why not do it?"
Alfred D'Alessandro, 22, who grew up in the area - he has "East Falls" tattooed on his left wrist - said that education should trump redevelopment.
D'Alessandro, who works as a cook at a pizza shop down the block from the site added, "Will business be as helpful as having 400 kids getting their diploma?" he said. "No."
Contact staff writer Zoe Tillman at 215-854-2917 or ztillman@phillynews.com.
From Philly.com
East Falls: Don’t move school here
By Zoe Tillman
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
When East Falls resident Meg Greenfield sees the boarded-up buildings and concrete wasteland along the 4300 block of Ridge Ave., she imagines a pulsing street with stores and office space topped by luxury apartments.
Center City attorney David Shulick sees something else: a new campus for his alternative education school for students who have disciplinary problems and others at risk of not graduating.
Schulick, president of state-accredited Delaware Valley High School, expects to sign a contract with the Philadelphia School District to open in September but he's facing community opposition.
"Putting a school in an area like that is disruptive," said Greenfield, vice president of the East Falls Community Council.
Officials of the East Falls Community Council and the area's Development Corporation and Business Association said they fear the school will scare away new businesses and residents and unleash 400 teenagers into an area they see as a future community hub.
Shulick has signed a three-year lease for the site on June 1 with property owner Mark Sherman, who owns several other properties in East Falls.
Issues like redevelopment, Shulick said, are a cover for community bias against students labeled "at-risk."
"We have a phenomenal reputation," he said. "Within six to eight months of opening, they're going to realize what a...resource we are."
The school boasts a 93 percent graduation rate.
Shulick began meeting with the community soon after signing the lease, a move Greenfield and others say made them feel duped and suspicious.
"The community is active," Greenfield said. "It feels strongly that we should be involved in what goes into our community."
On July 13, an estimated 300 people - many voicing opposition to the school - crammed into the Falls of Schuylkill Library and spilled out onto the lawn for a public meeting. City Councilman Curtis Jones has also said he wants the school to find another site.
"My vote would be things that were conducive to commercial growth," like a grocery store, he said.
The showdown has been "like the scene from "Frankenstein" where people are going after the monster," with pitchforks and torches, said East Falls resident and property owner Billy Ross, 39.
The Philadelphia School Distict is negotiating contracts with all alternative education providers, including Delaware Valley High School, said a spokesperson.
Shulick, who would not comment on the negotiations, must have a written agreement with community representatives to get a contract.
East Falls - an economically and racially diverse area that is home to both affordable housing units and Governor Rendell's Philadelphia residence - has had plans to redevelop the vacant side of the 4300 block into a mixed-use corridor since 1998.
The community groups still hope to turn the other vacant lot on the block - held by the Redevelopment Authority of Philadelphia - into a mixed-use corridor. The RDA has signed an agreement with private developers to sell the property for such a project.
Developer David Stubbs would not comment on the impact of the school on the plan.
East Falls Development Corporation President Carolyn Sutton said she believed a school would hurt developers as they raise money to buy the site.
Prospective buyers expects to see stores, not a school, she said.
Shulick is closing the Bustleton Ave. campus, which no longer has enough room, and plans to use the two buildings to house about 400 students - 200 students grades 7 through 9 in one, 200 students in grades 10-12 in the other. He's had annual contracts with the district to operate the school on Bustleton Avenue for the last several years.
The high school was created in 1969 by a group of local educators, including Shulick's father. It moved to the Bustleton site in 1980, and Shulick took over in 1999. The Warminster campus opened last year.
The students are at-risk of not graduating, he said, for reasons like lack of motivation, drug and alcohol use, or problems at home. None have been expelled from public schools, and cannot stay if they are disruptive.
The school features small classes, technology-equipped classrooms and a sophisticated computer program to track students' behavior and progress.
At the request of community members, Shulick said he also plans to open the school's computer labs and meeting spaces to the public, and positively engage students - who are required to have afterschool job training - in the neighborhood.
The campus will be called the Judith B. Shulick Memorial Education Center, after Shulick's mother, who was killed in a 1991 car accident.
The school's opponents say its track record doesn't matter. They still fear losing the redevelopment project and worry that the presence of school buses on Ridge Ave. would make rush hour traffic worse.
"The kids could all be Harvard-bound, walk on water," Greenfield said. "It's still a school and it's not an appropriate use of space."
East Falls residents are not a united front, however.
Resident Demetria Snell, 40, a nurse who lives about a block away from the site, said she supports the school.
"They worry about such little things," she said. "This is something to help kids, why not do it?"
Alfred D'Alessandro, 22, who grew up in the area - he has "East Falls" tattooed on his left wrist - said that education should trump redevelopment.
D'Alessandro, who works as a cook at a pizza shop down the block from the site added, "Will business be as helpful as having 400 kids getting their diploma?" he said. "No."
Contact staff writer Zoe Tillman at 215-854-2917 or ztillman@phillynews.com.
Help save the pool update
We were alerted from an emailer to the "help save the pool" article which apperared in the BCCT a few weeks back.
The following is from the comment section. It is interesting to see how our elected officials and others were perceived. Thumbs down to Stephen Worob, and Ed Baily!
wpconklin, 07-14-09, 12:45 am | Rate: 1 | Report
The turn out for our event was not as good as we would have liked, However I had the pleasure to meet a couple of the Council members. Jane Burger, Very nice lady, Listened to what we had to say and acted as if she wanted to put some of our ideas into consideration (Thank You), Stephen Worob, Felt like what we were saying was going in one ear and out the other, Had all the answers and we could offer nothing new? The kind of guy I would not want in my town little lone running it! Rita Ledger Very nice, Sounded as if she was following why we felt the pool was so important and was very interested in getting things started, Lastly Ed Bailey not sure where he fits in, But approached us very combative stating that the news paper was way off and could not be further from the truth...... Well Ed, Your wrong! Although it is true that the pool is not owned by the town, it is owned by the members and the elected board for which there is none and in addition is just part of the community. And to justify the disgraceful condition on "We don't own it" is no more than a cop-out! I think we should drop all the politicking and start taking care of the community. We have begun to plan next years event which will be held on July 10th 2010 I hope to see more of the town take part! Special thanks to Rita Ledger for donateing back her winnings from the 50/50, Cindy Prawki for all the efforts she put into this event, Brad Sharp for comeing up from South Carolina to attend our event. And lastly to those who attend, Next year will be much larger with a year of planning We are hopeing to have Wanda Cummings Kartal, as the chairperson (if she will accept
The following is from the comment section. It is interesting to see how our elected officials and others were perceived. Thumbs down to Stephen Worob, and Ed Baily!
wpconklin, 07-14-09, 12:45 am | Rate: 1 | Report
The turn out for our event was not as good as we would have liked, However I had the pleasure to meet a couple of the Council members. Jane Burger, Very nice lady, Listened to what we had to say and acted as if she wanted to put some of our ideas into consideration (Thank You), Stephen Worob, Felt like what we were saying was going in one ear and out the other, Had all the answers and we could offer nothing new? The kind of guy I would not want in my town little lone running it! Rita Ledger Very nice, Sounded as if she was following why we felt the pool was so important and was very interested in getting things started, Lastly Ed Bailey not sure where he fits in, But approached us very combative stating that the news paper was way off and could not be further from the truth...... Well Ed, Your wrong! Although it is true that the pool is not owned by the town, it is owned by the members and the elected board for which there is none and in addition is just part of the community. And to justify the disgraceful condition on "We don't own it" is no more than a cop-out! I think we should drop all the politicking and start taking care of the community. We have begun to plan next years event which will be held on July 10th 2010 I hope to see more of the town take part! Special thanks to Rita Ledger for donateing back her winnings from the 50/50, Cindy Prawki for all the efforts she put into this event, Brad Sharp for comeing up from South Carolina to attend our event. And lastly to those who attend, Next year will be much larger with a year of planning We are hopeing to have Wanda Cummings Kartal, as the chairperson (if she will accept
Morrisville to hold public meeting on Adult entertainment establishments
An emailer alerted us to this one..thanks!
MORRISVILLE BOROUGH
Notice is hereby given that Borough Council of the Borough of Morrisville, County of Bucks, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, will hold a public meeting at 6:30 p.m. on the 11th day of August, 2009 at Morrisville Borough, 35 Union Street, Morrisville,
Pennsylvania, to adopt the following Ordinance:
AN ORDINANCE OF THE BOROUGH OF MORRIS-
VILLE, COUNTY OF
BUCKS, COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA,
AMENDING CHAPTER 27 (ZONING) OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE
BOROUGH OF MORRIS- VILLE, BUCKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, AMENDING THE LAND USE AND REGULATIONS, INDUSTRIAL LAND USES
KNOWN AS ADULT ORIENTED ESTABLISH-
MENTS, NOW TO BE
KNOWN AS ADULT ENTERTAINMENT ESTAB- LISHMENTS (SECTION 465-17G(10)).
MORRISVILLE BOROUGH
Notice is hereby given that Borough Council of the Borough of Morrisville, County of Bucks, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, will hold a public meeting at 6:30 p.m. on the 11th day of August, 2009 at Morrisville Borough, 35 Union Street, Morrisville,
Pennsylvania, to adopt the following Ordinance:
AN ORDINANCE OF THE BOROUGH OF MORRIS-
VILLE, COUNTY OF
BUCKS, COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA,
AMENDING CHAPTER 27 (ZONING) OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE
BOROUGH OF MORRIS- VILLE, BUCKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, AMENDING THE LAND USE AND REGULATIONS, INDUSTRIAL LAND USES
KNOWN AS ADULT ORIENTED ESTABLISH-
MENTS, NOW TO BE
KNOWN AS ADULT ENTERTAINMENT ESTAB- LISHMENTS (SECTION 465-17G(10)).
Kids keep sharp over the summer
from todays bcct:
Kids keep sharp over the summer
By: MANASEE WAGH
Bucks County Courier Times
A free summer program allows students to reinforce their math and English skills, let loose on athletic fields and flex their creativity in special projects.
About 20 kids thought hard about how many eggs could be put in an empty basket.
After much animated discussion, they started shouting out guesses. Teacher Ashley Campellone smiled widely as she gave them the answer.
"Only one. After that, it's not empty anymore!" she said as the kids groaned and laughed at her joke.
Divided into teams they named Dark Star, Bubbalicious, Donkey Banana Kong and The Cupcakes, the students worked on logic puzzles as part of a non-traditional math class.
About 75 Morrisville students have gathered at Grandview Elementary School weekdays for the last five weeks to reinforce their math and English skills through classroom lessons, let loose on athletic fields and flex their creativity in special projects.
Today is the last day of the program and the kids said they couldn't be more satisfied with going to school in the summer.
"I've had a really fun time. I'd recommend going here rather than staying at home all day," said Ryan Kearton, 9.
The Academic Sports Achievement Program camp, now in its fourth year, is financed by federal funds through the district's 21st Century Grant Community Learning Centers.
"It's awesome; we go on good trips and there's nice food, too. The teachers are good and the coaches are very patient," said Amanda McCourtie, 12.
She said she likes working with kids of different ages during a variety of activities. "It helps you make friends. You can help out the younger kids and the older kids can help you," Amanda said.
Each day starts with breakfast. About a dozen teachers and coaches guide fifth- through 12th-graders through two hours of sports, including soccer, volleyball, basketball, softball and flag football. The students then have a short break, followed by two hours of math and English.
They also participate in a project period about once a week. Some kids created and acted out a play, learning public speaking skills in the process. Last year, they made commercials and did a magic show, said camp coordinator Norma Wingate. The day ends with a free lunch.
Wingate got the idea for the camp from her years working with Temple University's National Youth Sports program, another summer camp.
"The staff has been really faithful year to year. That makes it easier for the kids, too," said Wingate, who's also an athletic trainer and the dean of student affairs at the borough's high school.
The Morrisville program is different from a regular school day in a few ways.
For one thing, students of different ages and grades work with each other in team-based activities. For another, there's no homework, though kids are tested at the beginning and end of the month-long camp to gauge their progress.
"Teachers try to keep them engaged and motivated," Wingate said. "We ask the kids to make a commitment to doing well."
Field trips are a part of the summer program, too. This week, the kids went to Dorney Park. They've also attended a Trenton Thunder baseball game and visited the Herr's potato chip factory in Chester County.
The district holds a similar camp for students entering kindergarten through fourth grades, as well as a tutoring camp to bolster children's academic abilities. It also partners with Actors' NET of Bucks County for theater camp.
Megan Johnson, a former student in the academic/sports camp, enjoyed her experience so much the 17-year-old came back to help coach softball. "You get to teach kids how to do new things. It's cool to see kids look up to you and listen when you ask them to do something," she said.
In teacher Melissa Mahoney's English classroom, kids decorated the back wall with their personalized versions of fairy tales. They had to experiment with starting their sentences in as many different ways as they could for the stories.
Coach Seth Feit, a health and physical education teacher from John Paul Jones Middle School in Philadelphia, coaches flag football at the camp and helped Mahoney in the classroom.
"(Wingate) does a phenomenal job of keeping them on track academically, and also with fun," he said. "This free camp is great for the community. We just keep growing."
Kids keep sharp over the summer
By: MANASEE WAGH
Bucks County Courier Times
A free summer program allows students to reinforce their math and English skills, let loose on athletic fields and flex their creativity in special projects.
About 20 kids thought hard about how many eggs could be put in an empty basket.
After much animated discussion, they started shouting out guesses. Teacher Ashley Campellone smiled widely as she gave them the answer.
"Only one. After that, it's not empty anymore!" she said as the kids groaned and laughed at her joke.
Divided into teams they named Dark Star, Bubbalicious, Donkey Banana Kong and The Cupcakes, the students worked on logic puzzles as part of a non-traditional math class.
About 75 Morrisville students have gathered at Grandview Elementary School weekdays for the last five weeks to reinforce their math and English skills through classroom lessons, let loose on athletic fields and flex their creativity in special projects.
Today is the last day of the program and the kids said they couldn't be more satisfied with going to school in the summer.
"I've had a really fun time. I'd recommend going here rather than staying at home all day," said Ryan Kearton, 9.
The Academic Sports Achievement Program camp, now in its fourth year, is financed by federal funds through the district's 21st Century Grant Community Learning Centers.
"It's awesome; we go on good trips and there's nice food, too. The teachers are good and the coaches are very patient," said Amanda McCourtie, 12.
She said she likes working with kids of different ages during a variety of activities. "It helps you make friends. You can help out the younger kids and the older kids can help you," Amanda said.
Each day starts with breakfast. About a dozen teachers and coaches guide fifth- through 12th-graders through two hours of sports, including soccer, volleyball, basketball, softball and flag football. The students then have a short break, followed by two hours of math and English.
They also participate in a project period about once a week. Some kids created and acted out a play, learning public speaking skills in the process. Last year, they made commercials and did a magic show, said camp coordinator Norma Wingate. The day ends with a free lunch.
Wingate got the idea for the camp from her years working with Temple University's National Youth Sports program, another summer camp.
"The staff has been really faithful year to year. That makes it easier for the kids, too," said Wingate, who's also an athletic trainer and the dean of student affairs at the borough's high school.
The Morrisville program is different from a regular school day in a few ways.
For one thing, students of different ages and grades work with each other in team-based activities. For another, there's no homework, though kids are tested at the beginning and end of the month-long camp to gauge their progress.
"Teachers try to keep them engaged and motivated," Wingate said. "We ask the kids to make a commitment to doing well."
Field trips are a part of the summer program, too. This week, the kids went to Dorney Park. They've also attended a Trenton Thunder baseball game and visited the Herr's potato chip factory in Chester County.
The district holds a similar camp for students entering kindergarten through fourth grades, as well as a tutoring camp to bolster children's academic abilities. It also partners with Actors' NET of Bucks County for theater camp.
Megan Johnson, a former student in the academic/sports camp, enjoyed her experience so much the 17-year-old came back to help coach softball. "You get to teach kids how to do new things. It's cool to see kids look up to you and listen when you ask them to do something," she said.
In teacher Melissa Mahoney's English classroom, kids decorated the back wall with their personalized versions of fairy tales. They had to experiment with starting their sentences in as many different ways as they could for the stories.
Coach Seth Feit, a health and physical education teacher from John Paul Jones Middle School in Philadelphia, coaches flag football at the camp and helped Mahoney in the classroom.
"(Wingate) does a phenomenal job of keeping them on track academically, and also with fun," he said. "This free camp is great for the community. We just keep growing."
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Vandals crash truck into middle/senior high school
Yet another "black eye" for us. Now someone drives a truck into the middle/high school. Luckily no one was hurt. Will this cause a delay in the renovations?
from the bcct:
Vandals crash truck into middle/senior high school
By: MANASEE WAGH
Bucks County Courier Times
Vandals crashed a truck into a door at the back of Morrisville Middle/Senior High School, breaking the door and damaging the surrounding brick wall early Wednesday morning.
Authorities said unknown individuals in an allegedly stolen pickup truck backed into the metal maintenance and receiving area door. The vehicle was found abandoned in a ball field adjacent to the school's parking lot.
By afternoon, workers had put up a temporary wooden structure to block the hole, but a crack extends far up the side of the wall.
"When we found it, the door was off its hinges. Everything was in shambles. It looked pretty bad," said Tim Lastichen, director of facilities for the district.
Broken bricks littered the maintenance room. Nothing appeared to be stolen, but the room's contents, including supplies, cleaners and a computer, had been strewn about. A set of plans for this summer's renovations were found torn apart, though the district has another copy. A refrigerator standing against the door had been pushed back by the force of the blow.
"It was a hard crash. That must have hurt," said Lastichen, who examined the truck about 6 a.m. and found the engine still warm.
Security cameras were temporarily offline, or someone might have seen what was going on, Lastichen said.
A black tire mark could be seen on the pavement in front of the door. School officials also found expletives spray painted on another door at the back of the building and on a contractor's truck.
The vandalism occurred as the district is busy overseeing extensive renovations for the school.
The district's engineer inspected the building for possible structural damage. Morrisville police are investigating the incident. Insurance should pay for the damage, which might require a partial wall replacement, Lastichen said.
Superintendent Elizabeth Yonson plans to issue the results of the engineer's inspection as soon as it becomes available.
The newspaper was unsuccessful in reaching police working on the case Wednesday.
from the bcct:
Vandals crash truck into middle/senior high school
By: MANASEE WAGH
Bucks County Courier Times
Vandals crashed a truck into a door at the back of Morrisville Middle/Senior High School, breaking the door and damaging the surrounding brick wall early Wednesday morning.
Authorities said unknown individuals in an allegedly stolen pickup truck backed into the metal maintenance and receiving area door. The vehicle was found abandoned in a ball field adjacent to the school's parking lot.
By afternoon, workers had put up a temporary wooden structure to block the hole, but a crack extends far up the side of the wall.
"When we found it, the door was off its hinges. Everything was in shambles. It looked pretty bad," said Tim Lastichen, director of facilities for the district.
Broken bricks littered the maintenance room. Nothing appeared to be stolen, but the room's contents, including supplies, cleaners and a computer, had been strewn about. A set of plans for this summer's renovations were found torn apart, though the district has another copy. A refrigerator standing against the door had been pushed back by the force of the blow.
"It was a hard crash. That must have hurt," said Lastichen, who examined the truck about 6 a.m. and found the engine still warm.
Security cameras were temporarily offline, or someone might have seen what was going on, Lastichen said.
A black tire mark could be seen on the pavement in front of the door. School officials also found expletives spray painted on another door at the back of the building and on a contractor's truck.
The vandalism occurred as the district is busy overseeing extensive renovations for the school.
The district's engineer inspected the building for possible structural damage. Morrisville police are investigating the incident. Insurance should pay for the damage, which might require a partial wall replacement, Lastichen said.
Superintendent Elizabeth Yonson plans to issue the results of the engineer's inspection as soon as it becomes available.
The newspaper was unsuccessful in reaching police working on the case Wednesday.
Group hopes grant revitalizes First Ward
From the BCCT:
Group hopes grant revitalizes First Ward
By: DANNY ADLER
Bucks County Courier Times
A nonprofit organization hopes a $750,000 grant can add services to Morrisville's First Ward, an area challenged with absentee landlords, blight and increasing poverty levels.
The Bucks County Housing Group recently applied for the five-year implementation grant from the Wachovia Regional Foundation. Two years ago, the housing group received $100,000 for a planning study of the First Ward, which is made up of three neighborhoods south of West Bridge Street.
"The implementation grant will not fund bricks and mortar, but it will fund services and planning tools that will help primarily the First Ward, but also the borough itself," said Nancy Szamborski, the housing group's executive director.
According to the strategic plan drafted in December 2008, the First Ward struggles with absentee landlords, noise, traffic, trash, blight, vagrancy, homelessness and increasing poverty.
The money could help the First Ward achieve its primary goals: providing the area with a sense of identity; keeping it safe and clean; increasing access to social, transportation and government services; and promoting the ward as a good place to live and do business.
Szamborski told borough council Monday night that the money would be used to create a neighborhood association and crime watch, a community center and a Web site, while funding grassroots improvement projects such as a "Yard of the Month" program and community events.
The funds also could create two new jobs. The first would be a full-time community builder to follow through on longer-term goals such as renovating the Delaware River waterfront area and Delaware Canal, as well as serve as an advocate for the ward to the borough. The second would be a part-time community service coordinator, who would organize services and events, coordinate with other organizations and maintain the community center schedule.
Group hopes grant revitalizes First Ward
By: DANNY ADLER
Bucks County Courier Times
A nonprofit organization hopes a $750,000 grant can add services to Morrisville's First Ward, an area challenged with absentee landlords, blight and increasing poverty levels.
The Bucks County Housing Group recently applied for the five-year implementation grant from the Wachovia Regional Foundation. Two years ago, the housing group received $100,000 for a planning study of the First Ward, which is made up of three neighborhoods south of West Bridge Street.
"The implementation grant will not fund bricks and mortar, but it will fund services and planning tools that will help primarily the First Ward, but also the borough itself," said Nancy Szamborski, the housing group's executive director.
According to the strategic plan drafted in December 2008, the First Ward struggles with absentee landlords, noise, traffic, trash, blight, vagrancy, homelessness and increasing poverty.
The money could help the First Ward achieve its primary goals: providing the area with a sense of identity; keeping it safe and clean; increasing access to social, transportation and government services; and promoting the ward as a good place to live and do business.
Szamborski told borough council Monday night that the money would be used to create a neighborhood association and crime watch, a community center and a Web site, while funding grassroots improvement projects such as a "Yard of the Month" program and community events.
The funds also could create two new jobs. The first would be a full-time community builder to follow through on longer-term goals such as renovating the Delaware River waterfront area and Delaware Canal, as well as serve as an advocate for the ward to the borough. The second would be a part-time community service coordinator, who would organize services and events, coordinate with other organizations and maintain the community center schedule.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
School renovations on schedule
Looks like P.W. is officially on the job. It looks like her first task was to arrange this little get together. Although by reading the article she had nothing to say.
from the BCCT:
School renovations on schedule
By: MANASEE WAGH
Bucks County Courier Times
The school board has planned a special July 29 meeting to award bids for Grandview Elementary School window replacements.
Long gouges are on the walls of the classroom, where ventilators have been ripped out.
Chairs are stacked upside down on tables huddled in the middle of the room, and the detritus of a construction project lies scattered everywhere.
Morrisville Middle/Senior High School may not look pretty now, but extensive renovations are right on schedule to be completed before the start of school Sept. 8.
The 50-year-old school on West Palmer Street is getting all new ventilation systems, a new boiler system, all new windows and some doors, an updated electrical system, asbestos removal and air conditioning in some common areas.
Engineering company Vitetta is handling the $4 million initiative to modernize the building, first opened in 1959 with an addition built in 1974.
"This is the replacement of items that have been in these buildings for many years, mostly original equipment and infrastructure that is 40 to 50 years old," said board President William Hellmann.
During a Thursday afternoon tour, Morrisville School District's facilities director Tim Lastichen, Hellmann, board member William Farrell, Superintendent Elizabeth Yonson, business administrator Paul DeAngelo and new district press officer Pat Wandling observed the work that's been done since before school let out in mid-June.
They stepped carefully over tubing and wires on the floor and observed the ceiling in the library. Several of the ceiling tiles have been removed, exposing metalwork and hanging electrical wires. The library will get a new heating and air-conditioning unit soon.
"Now this is called a hole in the ceiling," said Lastichen. "The duct work is in pretty good shape. The broken and stained ceiling tiles will be replaced. Air vents will stay as is in their areas."
Besides the administration offices, located at the rear of the high school building, the library is the only room that already has air conditioning. The payroll and pupil services departments are getting a brand new rooftop A/C unit.
In the gym, unit ventilators have been taken down, and heat and air conditioning will be put in. In addition, the cafeteria, auditorium and Large Group Instruction room are getting air conditioning for the first time, while other rooms are being prepared to receive air conditioning in the future. Currently, some classrooms use window units to cool the air.
In a hallway, long black and white pipes connecting the new boiler room to the rest of the building snaked along the exposed ceiling and sparks flew from a distant corridor as a worker welded pipe for a new heating system.
The building will get 80 updated ventilators and a new boiler. The two old boilers, located in two separate rooms on different sides of the building, have been removed. The new double boiler system, hot water heaters and all new pumps will supply the entire building after being set up in the older of the two boiler rooms near the cafeteria.
It's going to be an all new mechanical room for the whole building. It's a more efficient way to do it," said Lastichen.
Asbestos abatement started in May and is mostly done, he said.
High on the wall between each classroom and the hall, rectangular holes are being cut out for fire dampers, which would contain any fire started inside the room. The systems are being installed to bring the building up to current fire codes, Lastichen said.
A year ago, new fire suppression systems were put in the kitchen, and plumbing also was brought up to current code requirements.
The deadline to complete all work is Aug. 28.
Morrisville schools are undergoing other changes, too.
Since a furnace explosion in December 2008 put M.R. Reiter Elementary out of commission, the district has been mulling over where to place Reiter children. This past semester, some have been on Grandview Elementary property on Grandview Avenue, while others have been placed in the high school building.
This fall, district children in grades four through eight will share the high school building, but they'll be kept apart from grades nine through 12.
Grades nine through 12 will be called Morrisville High School, while grades four through eight will be the Morrisville Intermediate School.
Seventh- and eighth-graders will be separated from the younger ones in the current middle school wing of the building, said Superintendent Yonson.
Four through six will be in separate corridors, close to administrative offices.
"If anything, I think the older students will be protective of the young ones," said Yonson.
Grandview will house grades pre-K through three.
Yonson has called the new plan, which the board voted for in February, "a better utilization of rooms and teachers."
Renovations are to be done at Grandview Elementary School as well, though a timeline has not been set yet, said Lastichen. A bid is going out for the removal and replacement of windows and doors at the school. The school board has planned a special July 29 meeting to award bids for the window replacements.
The board has no plans yet to work Reiter, on the corner of Harper and Hillcrest Avenues, which also needs major renovations. One option is to sell the building. In January, residents expressed a variety of views for what the district should do with Reiter, but the school board hasn't yet decided.
from the BCCT:
School renovations on schedule
By: MANASEE WAGH
Bucks County Courier Times
The school board has planned a special July 29 meeting to award bids for Grandview Elementary School window replacements.
Long gouges are on the walls of the classroom, where ventilators have been ripped out.
Chairs are stacked upside down on tables huddled in the middle of the room, and the detritus of a construction project lies scattered everywhere.
Morrisville Middle/Senior High School may not look pretty now, but extensive renovations are right on schedule to be completed before the start of school Sept. 8.
The 50-year-old school on West Palmer Street is getting all new ventilation systems, a new boiler system, all new windows and some doors, an updated electrical system, asbestos removal and air conditioning in some common areas.
Engineering company Vitetta is handling the $4 million initiative to modernize the building, first opened in 1959 with an addition built in 1974.
"This is the replacement of items that have been in these buildings for many years, mostly original equipment and infrastructure that is 40 to 50 years old," said board President William Hellmann.
During a Thursday afternoon tour, Morrisville School District's facilities director Tim Lastichen, Hellmann, board member William Farrell, Superintendent Elizabeth Yonson, business administrator Paul DeAngelo and new district press officer Pat Wandling observed the work that's been done since before school let out in mid-June.
They stepped carefully over tubing and wires on the floor and observed the ceiling in the library. Several of the ceiling tiles have been removed, exposing metalwork and hanging electrical wires. The library will get a new heating and air-conditioning unit soon.
"Now this is called a hole in the ceiling," said Lastichen. "The duct work is in pretty good shape. The broken and stained ceiling tiles will be replaced. Air vents will stay as is in their areas."
Besides the administration offices, located at the rear of the high school building, the library is the only room that already has air conditioning. The payroll and pupil services departments are getting a brand new rooftop A/C unit.
In the gym, unit ventilators have been taken down, and heat and air conditioning will be put in. In addition, the cafeteria, auditorium and Large Group Instruction room are getting air conditioning for the first time, while other rooms are being prepared to receive air conditioning in the future. Currently, some classrooms use window units to cool the air.
In a hallway, long black and white pipes connecting the new boiler room to the rest of the building snaked along the exposed ceiling and sparks flew from a distant corridor as a worker welded pipe for a new heating system.
The building will get 80 updated ventilators and a new boiler. The two old boilers, located in two separate rooms on different sides of the building, have been removed. The new double boiler system, hot water heaters and all new pumps will supply the entire building after being set up in the older of the two boiler rooms near the cafeteria.
It's going to be an all new mechanical room for the whole building. It's a more efficient way to do it," said Lastichen.
Asbestos abatement started in May and is mostly done, he said.
High on the wall between each classroom and the hall, rectangular holes are being cut out for fire dampers, which would contain any fire started inside the room. The systems are being installed to bring the building up to current fire codes, Lastichen said.
A year ago, new fire suppression systems were put in the kitchen, and plumbing also was brought up to current code requirements.
The deadline to complete all work is Aug. 28.
Morrisville schools are undergoing other changes, too.
Since a furnace explosion in December 2008 put M.R. Reiter Elementary out of commission, the district has been mulling over where to place Reiter children. This past semester, some have been on Grandview Elementary property on Grandview Avenue, while others have been placed in the high school building.
This fall, district children in grades four through eight will share the high school building, but they'll be kept apart from grades nine through 12.
Grades nine through 12 will be called Morrisville High School, while grades four through eight will be the Morrisville Intermediate School.
Seventh- and eighth-graders will be separated from the younger ones in the current middle school wing of the building, said Superintendent Yonson.
Four through six will be in separate corridors, close to administrative offices.
"If anything, I think the older students will be protective of the young ones," said Yonson.
Grandview will house grades pre-K through three.
Yonson has called the new plan, which the board voted for in February, "a better utilization of rooms and teachers."
Renovations are to be done at Grandview Elementary School as well, though a timeline has not been set yet, said Lastichen. A bid is going out for the removal and replacement of windows and doors at the school. The school board has planned a special July 29 meeting to award bids for the window replacements.
The board has no plans yet to work Reiter, on the corner of Harper and Hillcrest Avenues, which also needs major renovations. One option is to sell the building. In January, residents expressed a variety of views for what the district should do with Reiter, but the school board hasn't yet decided.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Political Catfight
The article below is from the first voter in the first ward from the May Primary. Her last sentence pretty much sums up everything. "Quite frankly, the politics in this borough disgust me." Yep, the politics in this town stink! It is time for the residents of this town to elect new leaders. The "old guard" whether on the school board, or the borough council have done nothing to promote commerce, tourism, or goodwill in this town. This town has the potential to be a gem, and the sad thing is, the elected leaders who have called Morrisville home for decades have no vision for the future. The time for CHANGE is now, vote for new leaders in the Nov 3 election. Only with a change in leadership can Morrisville thrive. To borrow a cheesy tag line, to "stay on track" is really not in Morrisville's best interest.
from the BCCT:
Political cat fight
By: GUY PETROZIELLO
Bucks County Courier Times
I am writing in response to Ms. Brofman's letter that appeared in this newspaper on June 30. I feel I have no choice since she used me to further her own agenda.
I was the first voter in the First Ward on the day of the May, 2009 primary election. The polling place opened promptly at 7:00 a.m. When I entered the voting booth, there was a glitch that resulted in a delay of perhaps two minutes, which does not fall into the category of "simply inexcusable." I pulled my time sheet for that day and I arrived at 7:28 a.m. That means I had to have left the polling place by 7:10 a.m. at the very latest, or I wouldn't have been to work by that time. Had I felt the delay was "inexcusable," there would have been a letter sent to this newspaper as soon as I got to work that morning.
I do not appreciate being dragged into this political cat fight by Ms. Brofman. Quite frankly, the politics in this borough disgust me.
Cynthia Dee Wilson
Morrisville
from the BCCT:
Political cat fight
By: GUY PETROZIELLO
Bucks County Courier Times
I am writing in response to Ms. Brofman's letter that appeared in this newspaper on June 30. I feel I have no choice since she used me to further her own agenda.
I was the first voter in the First Ward on the day of the May, 2009 primary election. The polling place opened promptly at 7:00 a.m. When I entered the voting booth, there was a glitch that resulted in a delay of perhaps two minutes, which does not fall into the category of "simply inexcusable." I pulled my time sheet for that day and I arrived at 7:28 a.m. That means I had to have left the polling place by 7:10 a.m. at the very latest, or I wouldn't have been to work by that time. Had I felt the delay was "inexcusable," there would have been a letter sent to this newspaper as soon as I got to work that morning.
I do not appreciate being dragged into this political cat fight by Ms. Brofman. Quite frankly, the politics in this borough disgust me.
Cynthia Dee Wilson
Morrisville
Friday, July 17, 2009
Helping kids gear up for school
Thumbs up to Citizens Bank for a great idea. We will be sure to drop off a donation next time we are in the grocery stores.
From the BCCT:
Helping kids gear up for school
By: JOAN HELLYER
Bucks County Courier Times
Area Citizens Bank branches are collecting pencils, pens, crayons, glue sticks, plastic rulers and other school supplies.
The new school year begins for most local kids in about six weeks, and Citizens Bank wants to make sure low-income students arrive on the first day with new backpacks and supplies.
"We want the kids to be excited about going back to school, develop a love of learning and enjoy going to school each day," said Daniel Fitzpatrick, president and CEO of Citizens Bank for Eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.
To get that excitement going, the bank is staging its annual "Gear for Grades" initiative at area branches, bank officials said.
This is the fifth year the branches are collecting donated school supplies, including pencils, pens, crayons, glue sticks, plastic rulers, erasers, safety scissors and spiral notebooks. The supplies will be stuffed into the logo-less backpacks purchased by Citizens Bank, Fitzpatrick said.
The drop-off sites include several area branches in area Acme and Giant stores that have school supply sections, the bank president said.
The setup makes it very easy for store customers to buy some supplies and then drop them off at the bank branch, Fitzpatrick said.
Once the collection drive ends Aug. 2, the branches will stuff whatever they have collected into the backpacks, he said. They'll then give the completed packages to local relief agencies, which will distribute the backpacks to students in need.
From the BCCT:
Helping kids gear up for school
By: JOAN HELLYER
Bucks County Courier Times
Area Citizens Bank branches are collecting pencils, pens, crayons, glue sticks, plastic rulers and other school supplies.
The new school year begins for most local kids in about six weeks, and Citizens Bank wants to make sure low-income students arrive on the first day with new backpacks and supplies.
"We want the kids to be excited about going back to school, develop a love of learning and enjoy going to school each day," said Daniel Fitzpatrick, president and CEO of Citizens Bank for Eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.
To get that excitement going, the bank is staging its annual "Gear for Grades" initiative at area branches, bank officials said.
This is the fifth year the branches are collecting donated school supplies, including pencils, pens, crayons, glue sticks, plastic rulers, erasers, safety scissors and spiral notebooks. The supplies will be stuffed into the logo-less backpacks purchased by Citizens Bank, Fitzpatrick said.
The drop-off sites include several area branches in area Acme and Giant stores that have school supply sections, the bank president said.
The setup makes it very easy for store customers to buy some supplies and then drop them off at the bank branch, Fitzpatrick said.
Once the collection drive ends Aug. 2, the branches will stuff whatever they have collected into the backpacks, he said. They'll then give the completed packages to local relief agencies, which will distribute the backpacks to students in need.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
More job handouts in Bucks
from the BCCT:
By: JENNA PORTNOY
Bucks County Courier Times
Republican commissioners hired two employees Wednesday without advertising the positions - as the Democratic commissioner says Bucks County protocol should have required.
Commissioner Diane Marseglia said secrecy around hires allows for political patronage or favoritism, while Commissioners Jim Cawley and Charley Martin said candidates' qualifications alone determine whether they get jobs.
Cawley and Martin hired an administrative assistant for public information. The hire will earn $30,992 a year plus benefits and replaces an employee who transferred to another department.
The other hire is a legal secretary, who will work part time for $19 an hour while being trained by her predecessor. Cawley and Martin said they consider the job a confidential position, meaning it should not have to be advertised.
No other candidates were interviewed for the jobs.
"With 9 percent unemployment, we interviewed one person each and took no applications?" Marseglia said. "How did these two people know to send their resumes in for these two positions?"
Human resources pulled about a dozen resumes on file for the solicitor to review for the legal job, said acting Director Meri Dolan.
Public Information Director Stacey Hajdak said Chief Operating Officer Dave Sanko gave her the resume of the employee whom she ultimately selected. Sanko did not immediately return messages Wednesday evening.
Marseglia offered a motion to develop a policy for advertising all jobs in some manner - whether within the department, on the county Web site or in some way. She does not consider the legal job confidential.
Her colleagues did not support the effort, prompting her to say, "Policy as usual," and vote no on all 44 personnel items before the commissioners during their annual evening meeting at Peace Valley Nature Center in New Britain Township.
"It certainly puts everything into question, doesn't it?" she said.
In March 2008, Cawley and Marseglia voted to advertise jobs after enough time passed to let internal candidates step forward. If no one applied, they said at the time, the job would be posted online and in other venues.
Marseglia considered the change a victory for the 400-some employees whose jobs are not covered by union rules about advertising.
At the time, Cawley said the details of the job-posting policy would be worked out. Cawley said Wednesday that his vote a year ago was intended to "encourage" then-Human Resources Director Carmen Thome to develop a policy regarding advertising.
Because that never happened, he said, he will make sure a policy is adopted - in a public setting - so it's clear that all non-confidential jobs must be advertised before hires are made.
All three commissioners agree their secretary jobs should be considered confidential, meaning up to them to fill.
Martin did not support efforts to change the policy a year ago or Wednesday.
"I have no complaints," he said. "Everything's working out just fine."
By: JENNA PORTNOY
Bucks County Courier Times
Republican commissioners hired two employees Wednesday without advertising the positions - as the Democratic commissioner says Bucks County protocol should have required.
Commissioner Diane Marseglia said secrecy around hires allows for political patronage or favoritism, while Commissioners Jim Cawley and Charley Martin said candidates' qualifications alone determine whether they get jobs.
Cawley and Martin hired an administrative assistant for public information. The hire will earn $30,992 a year plus benefits and replaces an employee who transferred to another department.
The other hire is a legal secretary, who will work part time for $19 an hour while being trained by her predecessor. Cawley and Martin said they consider the job a confidential position, meaning it should not have to be advertised.
No other candidates were interviewed for the jobs.
"With 9 percent unemployment, we interviewed one person each and took no applications?" Marseglia said. "How did these two people know to send their resumes in for these two positions?"
Human resources pulled about a dozen resumes on file for the solicitor to review for the legal job, said acting Director Meri Dolan.
Public Information Director Stacey Hajdak said Chief Operating Officer Dave Sanko gave her the resume of the employee whom she ultimately selected. Sanko did not immediately return messages Wednesday evening.
Marseglia offered a motion to develop a policy for advertising all jobs in some manner - whether within the department, on the county Web site or in some way. She does not consider the legal job confidential.
Her colleagues did not support the effort, prompting her to say, "Policy as usual," and vote no on all 44 personnel items before the commissioners during their annual evening meeting at Peace Valley Nature Center in New Britain Township.
"It certainly puts everything into question, doesn't it?" she said.
In March 2008, Cawley and Marseglia voted to advertise jobs after enough time passed to let internal candidates step forward. If no one applied, they said at the time, the job would be posted online and in other venues.
Marseglia considered the change a victory for the 400-some employees whose jobs are not covered by union rules about advertising.
At the time, Cawley said the details of the job-posting policy would be worked out. Cawley said Wednesday that his vote a year ago was intended to "encourage" then-Human Resources Director Carmen Thome to develop a policy regarding advertising.
Because that never happened, he said, he will make sure a policy is adopted - in a public setting - so it's clear that all non-confidential jobs must be advertised before hires are made.
All three commissioners agree their secretary jobs should be considered confidential, meaning up to them to fill.
Martin did not support efforts to change the policy a year ago or Wednesday.
"I have no complaints," he said. "Everything's working out just fine."
More on the upcoming Jazzfest
From the BCCT:
The festival is held in memory of Michael F. Sherlock, late husband of council President Nancy Sherlock, an avid music lover who died of cancer in 2002.
Williamson Park in Morrisville is becoming one musical joint this month.
The first of 11 free, summertime events kicked off last weekend, and have your dogs, Daddy-o, walk you to one of Morrisville's big draws at the riverside park this weekend.
The annual Morrisville Jazz Festival, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday at the Delmorr Avenue park, features music from former Morrisville resident Eric Mintel of the Eric Mintel Quartet, the Dan McCombe Trio and the Arpeggio Jazz Ensemble.
In its sixth year, the jazz festival is sponsored by the Michael F. Sherlock Foundation, the borough and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, organizers said.
The foundation was formed by borough council President Nancy Sherlock and her family in memory of her late husband, who at 50 passed away from lung cancer in 2002. It was formed to support and sponsor musical and community events, as its namesake was an avid music lover, and raise money through donations to support cancer research, according to Morrisvillejazzfest.com.
Other free summer concerts and events are planned at Williamson Park this summer:
The Dan McCombe Trio from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. July 25; country western jams by Ron Crites from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. July 26; Actors' NET of Bucks County presents the Summer Stars Show featuring kids 7 to 12 years old performing "Bucks County Kids in Camelot" from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. July 31; the Actors' NET also will feature teens 13 to 17 years old in a musical spoof of the "Twilight Zone" from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Aug. 1; The Tri-County Band hits the stage from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 8; Thursday Night Jazz from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 16; Point Blank Band from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 23; The Mayor's Labor Day Picnic - featuring music, food, games, contests and more - from noon to 5 p.m. Sept. 7; and the Irish Festival featuring Irish band Na' Bodach from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sept. 12.
The festival is held in memory of Michael F. Sherlock, late husband of council President Nancy Sherlock, an avid music lover who died of cancer in 2002.
Williamson Park in Morrisville is becoming one musical joint this month.
The first of 11 free, summertime events kicked off last weekend, and have your dogs, Daddy-o, walk you to one of Morrisville's big draws at the riverside park this weekend.
The annual Morrisville Jazz Festival, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday at the Delmorr Avenue park, features music from former Morrisville resident Eric Mintel of the Eric Mintel Quartet, the Dan McCombe Trio and the Arpeggio Jazz Ensemble.
In its sixth year, the jazz festival is sponsored by the Michael F. Sherlock Foundation, the borough and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, organizers said.
The foundation was formed by borough council President Nancy Sherlock and her family in memory of her late husband, who at 50 passed away from lung cancer in 2002. It was formed to support and sponsor musical and community events, as its namesake was an avid music lover, and raise money through donations to support cancer research, according to Morrisvillejazzfest.com.
Other free summer concerts and events are planned at Williamson Park this summer:
The Dan McCombe Trio from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. July 25; country western jams by Ron Crites from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. July 26; Actors' NET of Bucks County presents the Summer Stars Show featuring kids 7 to 12 years old performing "Bucks County Kids in Camelot" from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. July 31; the Actors' NET also will feature teens 13 to 17 years old in a musical spoof of the "Twilight Zone" from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Aug. 1; The Tri-County Band hits the stage from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 8; Thursday Night Jazz from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 16; Point Blank Band from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 23; The Mayor's Labor Day Picnic - featuring music, food, games, contests and more - from noon to 5 p.m. Sept. 7; and the Irish Festival featuring Irish band Na' Bodach from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sept. 12.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
What were they thinking?
We were out and about the other day and noticed that the front of Grandview school was "freshened up". Kudos for the effort, but who chose the color? Was it some leftover paint they found when cleaning out M.R. Reiter? It looks more like a police station than an elementary school. Yes it's only paint, but schools should be welcoming and inviting, this looks like a jail. Thumbs down to whoever picked this awful color.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Looking for something to do this weekend?
Sunday, July 19 3pm-9pm
Sixth Annual Morrisville Jazz Festival
Featuring in order of appearance:
Dan McCombe Trio
Arpeggio Jazz Ensemble
Eric Mintel Quartet
Williamson Park Stage
Bring your chair or blanket
Free concert
Visit: www.morrisvillejazzfest.com
Sixth Annual Morrisville Jazz Festival
Featuring in order of appearance:
Dan McCombe Trio
Arpeggio Jazz Ensemble
Eric Mintel Quartet
Williamson Park Stage
Bring your chair or blanket
Free concert
Visit: www.morrisvillejazzfest.com
Monday, July 13, 2009
Wasted Opportunity
From todays BCCT:
Wasted opportunity
By: GUY PETROZIELLO
Bucks County Courier Times
Regarding the Morrisville School Board's June 24 vote to hire a part-time communications director: The board majority fumbled a great opportunity. The board voted 6-2 to hand the job to Patricia Wandling for $25,000. Morrisville resident Melissa Danbury, who has a child in the schools and is active in the PTO, volunteered to do the job for free for six months.
The hiring "process" was a farce. The position was never posted until that evening, resumes arrived the day before and interviews were never conducted. Board members didn't have a full job description prior to voting. How could they have made an informed decision?
Wandling is a former employee of school district solicitor Michael Fitzpatrick. She hosts the WBCB radio program "Speak Your Piece," and had board President Bill Hellmann on her program the day before the May 19 primary election. Her hiring is classic cronyism.
Hellmann often mentions the financial crisis Morrisville is facing and has not replaced departing teacher aides. Board member Marlys Mihok called faculty members' stipends for positions outside their classroom responsibilities "obscene" and said they should volunteer their time. If Morrisville is in such bad financial shape and the board wants volunteers to step up, why wouldn't the board consider using a volunteer for the job on a trial basis before voting to pay someone $25,000?
Diane Carpenter
Morrisville
Wasted opportunity
By: GUY PETROZIELLO
Bucks County Courier Times
Regarding the Morrisville School Board's June 24 vote to hire a part-time communications director: The board majority fumbled a great opportunity. The board voted 6-2 to hand the job to Patricia Wandling for $25,000. Morrisville resident Melissa Danbury, who has a child in the schools and is active in the PTO, volunteered to do the job for free for six months.
The hiring "process" was a farce. The position was never posted until that evening, resumes arrived the day before and interviews were never conducted. Board members didn't have a full job description prior to voting. How could they have made an informed decision?
Wandling is a former employee of school district solicitor Michael Fitzpatrick. She hosts the WBCB radio program "Speak Your Piece," and had board President Bill Hellmann on her program the day before the May 19 primary election. Her hiring is classic cronyism.
Hellmann often mentions the financial crisis Morrisville is facing and has not replaced departing teacher aides. Board member Marlys Mihok called faculty members' stipends for positions outside their classroom responsibilities "obscene" and said they should volunteer their time. If Morrisville is in such bad financial shape and the board wants volunteers to step up, why wouldn't the board consider using a volunteer for the job on a trial basis before voting to pay someone $25,000?
Diane Carpenter
Morrisville
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Potpourri for the week of 7/12- 7/18
This is your place to rant and/or rave about any topic you would like.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Special board meeting 7/29
Any ideas what this could be about? M.R. Reiter closure?
From MV.org
Board of Ed
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Special Board Meeting
The special board meeting will be held in the AUDITORIUM located in the Middle Senior High School at 6:30 p.m. of the Morrisville Middle Senior High School, 550 W. Palmer Street, Morrisville, PA.
Site: HS Auditorium
Time: 6:30PM
From MV.org
Board of Ed
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Special Board Meeting
The special board meeting will be held in the AUDITORIUM located in the Middle Senior High School at 6:30 p.m. of the Morrisville Middle Senior High School, 550 W. Palmer Street, Morrisville, PA.
Site: HS Auditorium
Time: 6:30PM
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Cell tower to rise atop roof
From the BCCT:
Cell tower to rise atop roof
By: DANNY ADLER
Bucks County Courier Times
A land use and two height variances cleared the way for T-Mobile Northeast to construct the 102-foot tower.
Three was the lucky number for T-Mobile Northeast LLC on Monday.
During the third session of a zoning hearing, zoning officials approved in a 3-0 vote three separate variances for the company's third proposal to bring a cell phone tower to Morrisville.
T-Mobile in May first proposed a 102-foot, three-sided cell tower "stealthed" as a clock tower in the parking lot of the Morrisville Shopping Center at East Trenton and North Pennsylvania avenues. That proposal was amended in June when the company said it would consider putting up a lattice tower and moving it to the roof of the Dollar Tree store there.
At Monday's hearing, the zoning hearing board approved a land use and two height variances for the third proposal - a tapered, white "flagless flagpole" where the antennas will be hidden inside the structure atop the store.
The cell tower, to stand atop the two-story building, will still top off at 102 feet from the parking lot ground, engineer and project manager Mario Calabretta said.
"It will still give us the height that we need for the antennas," Calabretta said of the tower, which T-Mobile hopes will fill a 2/3-square-mile coverage gap in Morrisville.
While a handful of residents have questioned whether T-Mobile needs to construct the tower in Morrisville, critics said they were pleased that the company listened to their and the zoning hearing board's concerns and revised their plans.
One of the critics, nearby Crown Street resident Bill Setzer, said he was surprised by Monday's amended plan.
"It is less intrusive than the original proposal," he said after the board's unanimous vote by members Steve Schmelzer, Andrew Redmond and Raffaele Persico.
Resident Deborah Colgan encouraged the board to deny the application, saying she didn't feel T-Mobile did enough to demonstrate that other locations couldn't be used for the cell tower.
"It's putting an unattractive utility at the entrance to our town," she said.
Cell tower to rise atop roof
By: DANNY ADLER
Bucks County Courier Times
A land use and two height variances cleared the way for T-Mobile Northeast to construct the 102-foot tower.
Three was the lucky number for T-Mobile Northeast LLC on Monday.
During the third session of a zoning hearing, zoning officials approved in a 3-0 vote three separate variances for the company's third proposal to bring a cell phone tower to Morrisville.
T-Mobile in May first proposed a 102-foot, three-sided cell tower "stealthed" as a clock tower in the parking lot of the Morrisville Shopping Center at East Trenton and North Pennsylvania avenues. That proposal was amended in June when the company said it would consider putting up a lattice tower and moving it to the roof of the Dollar Tree store there.
At Monday's hearing, the zoning hearing board approved a land use and two height variances for the third proposal - a tapered, white "flagless flagpole" where the antennas will be hidden inside the structure atop the store.
The cell tower, to stand atop the two-story building, will still top off at 102 feet from the parking lot ground, engineer and project manager Mario Calabretta said.
"It will still give us the height that we need for the antennas," Calabretta said of the tower, which T-Mobile hopes will fill a 2/3-square-mile coverage gap in Morrisville.
While a handful of residents have questioned whether T-Mobile needs to construct the tower in Morrisville, critics said they were pleased that the company listened to their and the zoning hearing board's concerns and revised their plans.
One of the critics, nearby Crown Street resident Bill Setzer, said he was surprised by Monday's amended plan.
"It is less intrusive than the original proposal," he said after the board's unanimous vote by members Steve Schmelzer, Andrew Redmond and Raffaele Persico.
Resident Deborah Colgan encouraged the board to deny the application, saying she didn't feel T-Mobile did enough to demonstrate that other locations couldn't be used for the cell tower.
"It's putting an unattractive utility at the entrance to our town," she said.
Does this sound familiar?
Below is a letter to the bcct regarding a parents experience with the dress code in Bristol Twp. This sounds very familiar to what happened here back in the 2007-2008 school year. It was called a policy but was never enforced. There was a handful of students that wore uniforms, but by November, not 1 child was wearing the uniforms. The issue has come up in board meetings since, but when it was it was tabled for another time. We personally feel that there are way too many other issues that need to be addressed before implementing a dress code policy in Morrisville. The board members spearheading the dress code campaign were Brenda Worob and Marlys Mihok. Marlys has this paranoia and pre-conceived notion that children wearing clothing with sports team logos are gang members. Ask her about this, We're sure she has the pictures to prove it. And Brenda Worob really offers no real value to the discussion, she is just going along with Marlys on this one. Remember Brenda votes with Hellmann& Co over 90% of the time. Not too many free and independent thinkers on this board, especially the ones up for re-election in November. Speaking of the Nov. 3 election. It will be interesting to see if this topic comes up again in the fall.
It's not a 'policy' if it's not enforced
Bucks County Courier Times
In the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year, Bristol Township School District officials made a big deal about implementing a uniform policy. Guess what? By December hardly any of the kids continued to wear the uniforms.
As a parent, I noticed not once did the school reach out to gather support from parents wanting to contribute to this policy after it was implemented. Slowly, most students stopped wearing the uniforms. My child consistently fought me on this issue. I called the principal of John Fitch Elementary, Karen Snedecker, who did return my call but we never connected.
In lieu of this, on Nov. 11, I wrote Mrs. Snedecker a letter requesting that the kids still wearing the uniforms be rewarded with extra paw prints (an internal good behavior incentive program for the kids) - maybe have the opportunity to conduct the morning announcement.
Principal Snedecker responded in writing that she couldn't comply with my request because it would affect those kids who wanted to wear uniforms but couldn't afford them. That day, I gave the choice of wearing the uniform to my child who chose to wear street clothes. Immediately upon receipt of Snedecker's response, I wrote to Superintendent Ellen Budman. She also returned my call, but we never connected and failed to write a response.
In my letter to her, I asked her to reward the kids with extra paw prints, a pencil, an honorable mention over the intercom. I asked why the PTO sold embroidered uniform shirts with the Fitch logo, of which I spent over $100 in clothes, if the school district isn't making any other effort to support the policy. That was quite deceiving.
In my opinion, $6-$8 per piece of clothing is certainly affordable when these kids have designer book bags and sneakers, carrying cell phones and iPods. This "uniform" policy was a big waste of time and a bigger waste of money - money wasted on uniforms for a policy that went to waste by December. They didn't even request the teachers wear uniforms to help support this!
I've now discovered that registrants for kindergarten were not advised that uniforms are even preferred! The entire handling of this uniform situation was sloppy from the start. It's embarrassing. I love John Fitch Elementary but why does our district have such a bad reputation?
On June 3, I reached out to Ellen Budman. She did return my call the same day and advised me, "Although the uniform policy is not mandatory, we do like our students to wear uniforms." I said, "Is that all you have to say regarding that issue?" She said "yes" and we ended the call.
All I am saying is this: Bristol Township needs to take a positive, constructive approach to reaching out to those parents willing to comply with the uniform 'suggestion.' I am sure many parents will comply. Although compliance may be slow at first, it will catch on.
Bristol Township has to make some sort of effort to implement this procedure. Once the uniforms catch on, we can have a closet of donated used and new clothes to eliminate some of the cost for those in need. Lastly, I support uniforms 100 percent, but only when the school makes an honest effort to make the change.
It's not a 'policy' if it's not enforced
Bucks County Courier Times
In the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year, Bristol Township School District officials made a big deal about implementing a uniform policy. Guess what? By December hardly any of the kids continued to wear the uniforms.
As a parent, I noticed not once did the school reach out to gather support from parents wanting to contribute to this policy after it was implemented. Slowly, most students stopped wearing the uniforms. My child consistently fought me on this issue. I called the principal of John Fitch Elementary, Karen Snedecker, who did return my call but we never connected.
In lieu of this, on Nov. 11, I wrote Mrs. Snedecker a letter requesting that the kids still wearing the uniforms be rewarded with extra paw prints (an internal good behavior incentive program for the kids) - maybe have the opportunity to conduct the morning announcement.
Principal Snedecker responded in writing that she couldn't comply with my request because it would affect those kids who wanted to wear uniforms but couldn't afford them. That day, I gave the choice of wearing the uniform to my child who chose to wear street clothes. Immediately upon receipt of Snedecker's response, I wrote to Superintendent Ellen Budman. She also returned my call, but we never connected and failed to write a response.
In my letter to her, I asked her to reward the kids with extra paw prints, a pencil, an honorable mention over the intercom. I asked why the PTO sold embroidered uniform shirts with the Fitch logo, of which I spent over $100 in clothes, if the school district isn't making any other effort to support the policy. That was quite deceiving.
In my opinion, $6-$8 per piece of clothing is certainly affordable when these kids have designer book bags and sneakers, carrying cell phones and iPods. This "uniform" policy was a big waste of time and a bigger waste of money - money wasted on uniforms for a policy that went to waste by December. They didn't even request the teachers wear uniforms to help support this!
I've now discovered that registrants for kindergarten were not advised that uniforms are even preferred! The entire handling of this uniform situation was sloppy from the start. It's embarrassing. I love John Fitch Elementary but why does our district have such a bad reputation?
On June 3, I reached out to Ellen Budman. She did return my call the same day and advised me, "Although the uniform policy is not mandatory, we do like our students to wear uniforms." I said, "Is that all you have to say regarding that issue?" She said "yes" and we ended the call.
All I am saying is this: Bristol Township needs to take a positive, constructive approach to reaching out to those parents willing to comply with the uniform 'suggestion.' I am sure many parents will comply. Although compliance may be slow at first, it will catch on.
Bristol Township has to make some sort of effort to implement this procedure. Once the uniforms catch on, we can have a closet of donated used and new clothes to eliminate some of the cost for those in need. Lastly, I support uniforms 100 percent, but only when the school makes an honest effort to make the change.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Cell tower hearing continues Monday night
Cell tower hearing continues Monday night
Posted in News on Sunday, July 5th, 2009 at 9:44 pm by Courier Times staff writer Danny Adler
Morrisville zoning officials will continue a hearing with T-Mobile Northeast LLC Monday night to consider a proposed cell phone tower at the Morrisville Shopping Center at East Trenton and North Pennsylvania avenues.
The original proposal before the Morrisville Zoning Hearing Board called for a 102-foot tower “stealthed” as a three-sided clock tower in the parking lot of the shopping center, a proposal that would eliminate nine parking spaces. After being questioned in May about possible alternative sites at the shopping center, T-Mobile came forward at a June hearing with a proposal for a lattice tower atop the Dollar Tree store there.
T-Mobile said they had to do a structural analysis to see if the alternative was a viable option. They are expected to update the zoning hearing board at 7:30 p.m. Monday at borough hall, 35 Union St.
T-Mobile hopes the tower will help T-Mobile fill a 2/3-square-mile coverage gap in the borough.
Posted in News on Sunday, July 5th, 2009 at 9:44 pm by Courier Times staff writer Danny Adler
Morrisville zoning officials will continue a hearing with T-Mobile Northeast LLC Monday night to consider a proposed cell phone tower at the Morrisville Shopping Center at East Trenton and North Pennsylvania avenues.
The original proposal before the Morrisville Zoning Hearing Board called for a 102-foot tower “stealthed” as a three-sided clock tower in the parking lot of the shopping center, a proposal that would eliminate nine parking spaces. After being questioned in May about possible alternative sites at the shopping center, T-Mobile came forward at a June hearing with a proposal for a lattice tower atop the Dollar Tree store there.
T-Mobile said they had to do a structural analysis to see if the alternative was a viable option. They are expected to update the zoning hearing board at 7:30 p.m. Monday at borough hall, 35 Union St.
T-Mobile hopes the tower will help T-Mobile fill a 2/3-square-mile coverage gap in the borough.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Potpourri for the week of 7/5 - 7/11
This is the first installment of our "potpourri of the week" posts. Here you will be able to comment and discuss anything you would like. Try to keep comments relevant to their appropriate post. Thanks again for all of your efforts.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Happy 4th of July
Happy 4th of July to everyone! Hope you all have a fun and safe holiday weekend. Beginning on Sunday 7/5 we are going to start a weekly "potpourri" post. This will be a post when readers can comment on any topic they wish. It can also be a place for suggestions for the blog. Let us know what you think.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Help save the pool
From the BCCT:
Help save the pool
By: KATE FRATTI
Bucks County Courier Times
The only thing it takes for evil to triumph is for good men and women to stand idly by. Or in the case of Morrisville's community pool, to simply stop paying attention.
The pool at Williamson Park, a place that served as a centerpiece for more than 50 years of happy childhood summers, stands this season empty and eerily quiet.
The good news is there are people working behind the scenes to see it comes back to life next summer.
Attorney Lee Rockafellow, a former Morrisville mayor, swam at the pool as a kid, worked as a lifeguard and then coached the swim team in the 1960s. "It's near and dear to my heart," he says.
After law school, Lee donated his legal representation to the non-profit, volunteer board of directors who ran the pool.
In recent years, one of those boards ran the pool right into the ground. There are worries about misappropriation of funds, Lee said. For certain, there was misuse of credit cards and even non-payment of withholding taxes for lifeguards. In addition, $20,000 of insurance money isn't accounted for, and well, he could go on for another half hour talking about the mess this particular band of volunteers made when heads were turned. Poor record keeping, over spending.
The borough owns the pool land, but the board never reported to the council. And that's because the borough never required that it report.
Which leaves me scratching my head. Why the lack of oversight? Well, heck, the pool kept opening, I'm told. Sure, membership was down, maintenance issues were creeping up, but no major hassles or reasons to worry.
Until, that is, a flood destroyed the lower pool. Folks started to poke around the pool more. They took note of maintenance issues, new board of health regs for the snack bar and filter systems. They asked about the books.
And found there was no money. No plan. No way the pool could continue this way.
In 2007, a new board was formed and a "Save the Morrisville Pool" fundraising campaign. Then, this year, Rockafellow and Joni Cappuccio, a CPA working alongside him to right things, advised the gates be closed until finances were cleaned up, debts settled and a plan for the future put in place.
Rockafellow is hopeful the pool can become part of the borough parks and recreation department making it eligible for grants and other breaks.
He expects to meet with the council this summer in anticipation of fall budget talks, but no official date has been set.
But there is a date for a multi-year high school reunion and fundraiser for the pool. That'll be July 11 from noon to 8 p.m. "at the island," which is how Morrisville kids always have referred to Williamson Park. There'll be a $5 donation requested for singles, $10 for a family.
Lori Rosati, 41, who was raised in the borough and now lives in Levittown is among those who've volunteered to help get out the word. The goal is to raise not just money but awareness for the pool.
Lori, like many Morrisville natives, was shocked to find it empty and looking for all the world like another example of a town's failure to thrive in modern times.
"I'm saddened by it. Deeply saddened," Lori said.
Same for Cindy Porter Prawki, now living on Long Island. She's the lead organizer for the July 11 event which will include crafters. Morrisville grad Wayne Conklin, who now lives in Maryland, owns Music Express and will provide DJ entertainment for the day. For more info, e-mail Cindy at cynnsyn@optonline.net.
Cindy was raised in Morrisville's Grandview section. Like Rockafellow and the others, she recalls idyllic summers spent at the pool first learning to swim and then life guarding. This is where the town gathered. Where it made memories.
Morrisville Community Pool was a good place. A wholesome, family place. That sort of place is worth some attention. She's hoping you'll give it some and turn out to show your support on July 11. Bring a picnic and your memories.
Help save the pool
By: KATE FRATTI
Bucks County Courier Times
The only thing it takes for evil to triumph is for good men and women to stand idly by. Or in the case of Morrisville's community pool, to simply stop paying attention.
The pool at Williamson Park, a place that served as a centerpiece for more than 50 years of happy childhood summers, stands this season empty and eerily quiet.
The good news is there are people working behind the scenes to see it comes back to life next summer.
Attorney Lee Rockafellow, a former Morrisville mayor, swam at the pool as a kid, worked as a lifeguard and then coached the swim team in the 1960s. "It's near and dear to my heart," he says.
After law school, Lee donated his legal representation to the non-profit, volunteer board of directors who ran the pool.
In recent years, one of those boards ran the pool right into the ground. There are worries about misappropriation of funds, Lee said. For certain, there was misuse of credit cards and even non-payment of withholding taxes for lifeguards. In addition, $20,000 of insurance money isn't accounted for, and well, he could go on for another half hour talking about the mess this particular band of volunteers made when heads were turned. Poor record keeping, over spending.
The borough owns the pool land, but the board never reported to the council. And that's because the borough never required that it report.
Which leaves me scratching my head. Why the lack of oversight? Well, heck, the pool kept opening, I'm told. Sure, membership was down, maintenance issues were creeping up, but no major hassles or reasons to worry.
Until, that is, a flood destroyed the lower pool. Folks started to poke around the pool more. They took note of maintenance issues, new board of health regs for the snack bar and filter systems. They asked about the books.
And found there was no money. No plan. No way the pool could continue this way.
In 2007, a new board was formed and a "Save the Morrisville Pool" fundraising campaign. Then, this year, Rockafellow and Joni Cappuccio, a CPA working alongside him to right things, advised the gates be closed until finances were cleaned up, debts settled and a plan for the future put in place.
Rockafellow is hopeful the pool can become part of the borough parks and recreation department making it eligible for grants and other breaks.
He expects to meet with the council this summer in anticipation of fall budget talks, but no official date has been set.
But there is a date for a multi-year high school reunion and fundraiser for the pool. That'll be July 11 from noon to 8 p.m. "at the island," which is how Morrisville kids always have referred to Williamson Park. There'll be a $5 donation requested for singles, $10 for a family.
Lori Rosati, 41, who was raised in the borough and now lives in Levittown is among those who've volunteered to help get out the word. The goal is to raise not just money but awareness for the pool.
Lori, like many Morrisville natives, was shocked to find it empty and looking for all the world like another example of a town's failure to thrive in modern times.
"I'm saddened by it. Deeply saddened," Lori said.
Same for Cindy Porter Prawki, now living on Long Island. She's the lead organizer for the July 11 event which will include crafters. Morrisville grad Wayne Conklin, who now lives in Maryland, owns Music Express and will provide DJ entertainment for the day. For more info, e-mail Cindy at cynnsyn@optonline.net.
Cindy was raised in Morrisville's Grandview section. Like Rockafellow and the others, she recalls idyllic summers spent at the pool first learning to swim and then life guarding. This is where the town gathered. Where it made memories.
Morrisville Community Pool was a good place. A wholesome, family place. That sort of place is worth some attention. She's hoping you'll give it some and turn out to show your support on July 11. Bring a picnic and your memories.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
"The PW File"
Several of the comments below were posted as comments under other headings, but a Hellmann crony like Pat Wandling deserves her own post. Pat Wandling's new position should be called "campaign manager", "spin doctor" "mouthpiece" , don't let the board fool you, their only interest is to "Stay on Track".
By the way, does anyone know when Patricia's first day on the job is?
From 12/15/2008 BCCT.
Middletown Supervisor Kathy Heuer was first appointed at an illegal meeting. Now we know. Ms. Heuer’s initial appointment to the township board of supervisors occurred at a “secret” meeting held 15 minutes before the public meeting, according to published reports.
As a longtime resident of this community and political observer, nothing should surprise me, including the lack of outrage in Middletown. But I am surprised and disappointed. I believe once it was revealed publicly that Ms. Heuer’s appointment to the seat vacated by former Supervisor Lisa Pflaumer was not legal she should have immediately stepped down.
Instead, Ms. Heuer, Supervisor Heuer, chose to fight in court — and spend our tax dollars to defend her action and prove her point.
And what did she prove in court? She proved that her appointment involved violations of the state’s Sunshine, or Open Meetings Law. She proved that the meeting where she was appointed was invalid and everything that occurred at the meeting was invalidated by the court. She also proved that a judge would remove her from office when she refused to step down.
There are two questions our new supervisor needs to answer: Why did she vote to hire a lawyer at our expense to defend an indefensible meeting? And, will she agree to reimburse us for these shenanigans?
Pat Wandling
Middletown
December 15, 2008 9:32 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Comments To This Article:
- ###
(12/15/2008 )
This "longtime resident of this community and political observer" is actually a republican political hack who hosts a slanted radio show on a station owned by Pasquale Deon that only about six people listen to. She was also Mike Fitzpatrick's campaign manager or treasurer, which makes it no surprise that she is trying to defend the main sleaze-artist that brought all of this expense to the people in his desperate attempt to be named Middletown solicitor. It is good to see, however, that the corrupt Middletown republicans still have this 74-year-old hack spewing lies and swinging for them - they haven't been able to recruit fresh talent for decades. Pat Wandling you are a fraud, and nobody believes your lies.
Disenchanted Democrat - Will she pay us back?
(12/15/2008 )
Probably not but we can all hope for a bailout. The Democrats brought this upon themselves and now we are all paying for it. Why is it that there is so much turmoil in Middletown? I never remember such mud slinging when the Republicans ran things.
Gabriel - What???
(12/15/2008 )
DD, I agree with you 100% that the democrats brought this upon themselves, but if you can't recall turmoil under GOP control, your memory needs a little upgrade. How about the time they forced out a successful business manager (1 of 2 they forced out), or expanded the number of citizens on the country club committee and then appointed a powerful member of the GOP who is involved in commercial property development? There's more, but that's just what's off the top of my head.
Excuse my being repetitive from prior posts but what the democrats did was arrogant and stupid, but it's NO DIFFERENT than what happened under GOP control. When people like Ms. Wandling who, assuming the above anonymous post is accurate, pose as non partisan individuals and act amazed at the behavior of the other party, it is so hypocritical. Let's remember that in the end, the court decision was to redo the meeting which is what the democrats were going to do until the GOP's filed an injunction. Same decision with no benefit to the taxpayers, but apparently it's given the GOP some much desired ammo at our expense.
In the end, neither party has served the public in this matter. It's political gamesmanship at its worst. If anyone out there really believes one party is more guilty of pulling this crap than the other, you've got blinders on.
July 2, 2009 9:47 AM
WBCB Pat Wandling...the tri-fecta « previous next »
Pages: [1]
Author Topic: WBCB Pat Wandling...the tri-fecta (Read 283 times)
thevoice
Hero Member
Posts: 101
WBCB Pat Wandling...the tri-fecta
« on: May 25, 2008, 07:42:02 AM »
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes, another posting of Pat Wandling, girl reporter and host of the "Speak your republican piece". Ready, let me first ask all of you a question. When you go back to work this week ask you employer if it would be ok if you left the office in the middle of the day to go and work another job for an hour. Make sure you add into it that you want to be paid for the time you are not in the office and ,yes you'll be paid by the other employer as well . What do you think your current employer would say to you ? Well, seems that old Bob White at the Bucks County Re-developement authority has no problems with allowing Pat to take off in the middle of the afternoon to work her speel at WBCB. Now I'm kind of slow so maybe some of you can answer this question for me as well. The funding for the Bucks County Re-delvelopemnt authority, are they funded with tax-payer dollars ? If it is how and why do they allow a employee to work for the BCRDA and WBCB at the same time ? Also, ido you, as a tax payer, do you se something wrong with this picture ? I mean Pat is serving two masters , BCRDA and WBCB , ( maybe its three masters when you include the republican party ), and as the bible states, serve two masters and you 'll end up hating one and loving the other. Look, if I am wrong I do hope some of you will bring me up to speed in regards to this situation.
Logged
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lawrence E. Tamanini
WBCBs Pat Wandling, listener "miifs" Pat
(1/1)
thevoice:
Well well well, the other day I tuned in to WBCB and a caller stated on the air that Pat Wandlings' employment/appointments can be attributed to her party affiliation ! Pat was taken aback, she suttered for a moment. Pat then replied " No, thats not true, I'm an independent thinker". Well Pat, nobody that has ever heard you would ever say you are an independent thinker. No my dear, you are nothing more then a political parrot for the republican party . Now there is nothing wrong with being a political parrot, hell, the dems have their fair share. What was hilarious was how you stated that you are a "independent thinker"! What a hoot! You, independent, please stop I'm laughing so hard it hurts ! Each and everyday all you do is spin whatever Congressman Murphy is qouted in the press and if not the congressman you go after Diane Marseglia or some other democrat. You use the theme of your show like its a chance for people to vent their fustrations on what is going on in their community to campaign retoric for any republican that is running for that office. In my opinion, you do a dis-service by being the host and at the same time being the republican parrot. Hell, they should have you perched in a cage repeating, "Repubican want a vote".
Now I ask all of you to tune in to SPEAK YOUR PIECE on WBCB 1490 AM and tell me if you remotely think that Pat Wandling is either an"independent thinker" or just another political parrot.
Citizens for Common Sense Forums
General Category => Local Politics => Topic started by: thevoice on February 26, 2008, 11:56:31 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Title: WBCBs Pat Wandling, doing the old flip-flop
Post by: thevoice on February 26, 2008, 11:56:31 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Listening to "Speak your republican piece" I heard old Pat Wandling do the old flip-flop . During the last congressional race old Pat came to me and stated that they, Mike Fitzpatrick campaign, was going to go after Patrick Murphy on his military record. I was privy to a copy of congressman Murphys' military record and responded back to her that that was a dumb idea. Furthermore, I explained , in detail , each and every aspect of the congessmans' record to her but she failed to listen, or whoever the genius was that came up with that idea. It was dumb and it ended up costing Mike votes from many vets. Mike should of had better sense then to stoop to such a low level and in particular one that made no sense and was a losing proposition all the way around. On the air, Ms. Wandling made light of congressman Murpys military experience and that just because he, Murphy ,was in the military that gives him or ANYONE the experience to run for office. Now Pat Wandling was the one who articulated on the air that military experience was not a big deal. Her words not mine. Pat had to take this position due to the fact that Mike Fitzpatrcik never served.
Well, here comes old Pat now getting ready to do the old flip-flop since the republicans now have a potential canidate that has a military record and sadly lost a son in Iraq. Listen to Pat now, (if you can stay awake) now Pat is crowing a different tune. Yes, Pat is now marching to a different drummer when it comes to military experience.
So step away from the pool as Pat Wandling gets ready to do another belly flop.
http://liberaldoomsayer.blogspot.com/2007/02/paid-for-by-mikey-08-for-congress.html
Check out this in particular:
I can only imagine what Mike Fitzpatrick was thinking when he read that front-page story about (finally) the Democrats’ solution for Iraq. I think he may have said, “Hey, that sounds familiar.”
Pat Wandling
Middletown Township, PA
And a commenter:
At 9:31 AM, Anonymous said...
Another case of sour grapes..or is it the first volley in the 08 campaign?
The letter writer worked for the Fitzpatrick campaign..and is the host of the radio program on at noon on wbcb radio, 1490 am ...owned by Pat Deon.
This is what can be called "keeping it all in the family".
By the way, does anyone know when Patricia's first day on the job is?
From 12/15/2008 BCCT.
Middletown Supervisor Kathy Heuer was first appointed at an illegal meeting. Now we know. Ms. Heuer’s initial appointment to the township board of supervisors occurred at a “secret” meeting held 15 minutes before the public meeting, according to published reports.
As a longtime resident of this community and political observer, nothing should surprise me, including the lack of outrage in Middletown. But I am surprised and disappointed. I believe once it was revealed publicly that Ms. Heuer’s appointment to the seat vacated by former Supervisor Lisa Pflaumer was not legal she should have immediately stepped down.
Instead, Ms. Heuer, Supervisor Heuer, chose to fight in court — and spend our tax dollars to defend her action and prove her point.
And what did she prove in court? She proved that her appointment involved violations of the state’s Sunshine, or Open Meetings Law. She proved that the meeting where she was appointed was invalid and everything that occurred at the meeting was invalidated by the court. She also proved that a judge would remove her from office when she refused to step down.
There are two questions our new supervisor needs to answer: Why did she vote to hire a lawyer at our expense to defend an indefensible meeting? And, will she agree to reimburse us for these shenanigans?
Pat Wandling
Middletown
December 15, 2008 9:32 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Comments To This Article:
- ###
(12/15/2008 )
This "longtime resident of this community and political observer" is actually a republican political hack who hosts a slanted radio show on a station owned by Pasquale Deon that only about six people listen to. She was also Mike Fitzpatrick's campaign manager or treasurer, which makes it no surprise that she is trying to defend the main sleaze-artist that brought all of this expense to the people in his desperate attempt to be named Middletown solicitor. It is good to see, however, that the corrupt Middletown republicans still have this 74-year-old hack spewing lies and swinging for them - they haven't been able to recruit fresh talent for decades. Pat Wandling you are a fraud, and nobody believes your lies.
Disenchanted Democrat - Will she pay us back?
(12/15/2008 )
Probably not but we can all hope for a bailout. The Democrats brought this upon themselves and now we are all paying for it. Why is it that there is so much turmoil in Middletown? I never remember such mud slinging when the Republicans ran things.
Gabriel - What???
(12/15/2008 )
DD, I agree with you 100% that the democrats brought this upon themselves, but if you can't recall turmoil under GOP control, your memory needs a little upgrade. How about the time they forced out a successful business manager (1 of 2 they forced out), or expanded the number of citizens on the country club committee and then appointed a powerful member of the GOP who is involved in commercial property development? There's more, but that's just what's off the top of my head.
Excuse my being repetitive from prior posts but what the democrats did was arrogant and stupid, but it's NO DIFFERENT than what happened under GOP control. When people like Ms. Wandling who, assuming the above anonymous post is accurate, pose as non partisan individuals and act amazed at the behavior of the other party, it is so hypocritical. Let's remember that in the end, the court decision was to redo the meeting which is what the democrats were going to do until the GOP's filed an injunction. Same decision with no benefit to the taxpayers, but apparently it's given the GOP some much desired ammo at our expense.
In the end, neither party has served the public in this matter. It's political gamesmanship at its worst. If anyone out there really believes one party is more guilty of pulling this crap than the other, you've got blinders on.
July 2, 2009 9:47 AM
WBCB Pat Wandling...the tri-fecta « previous next »
Pages: [1]
Author Topic: WBCB Pat Wandling...the tri-fecta (Read 283 times)
thevoice
Hero Member
Posts: 101
WBCB Pat Wandling...the tri-fecta
« on: May 25, 2008, 07:42:02 AM »
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes, another posting of Pat Wandling, girl reporter and host of the "Speak your republican piece". Ready, let me first ask all of you a question. When you go back to work this week ask you employer if it would be ok if you left the office in the middle of the day to go and work another job for an hour. Make sure you add into it that you want to be paid for the time you are not in the office and ,yes you'll be paid by the other employer as well . What do you think your current employer would say to you ? Well, seems that old Bob White at the Bucks County Re-developement authority has no problems with allowing Pat to take off in the middle of the afternoon to work her speel at WBCB. Now I'm kind of slow so maybe some of you can answer this question for me as well. The funding for the Bucks County Re-delvelopemnt authority, are they funded with tax-payer dollars ? If it is how and why do they allow a employee to work for the BCRDA and WBCB at the same time ? Also, ido you, as a tax payer, do you se something wrong with this picture ? I mean Pat is serving two masters , BCRDA and WBCB , ( maybe its three masters when you include the republican party ), and as the bible states, serve two masters and you 'll end up hating one and loving the other. Look, if I am wrong I do hope some of you will bring me up to speed in regards to this situation.
Logged
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lawrence E. Tamanini
WBCBs Pat Wandling, listener "miifs" Pat
(1/1)
thevoice:
Well well well, the other day I tuned in to WBCB and a caller stated on the air that Pat Wandlings' employment/appointments can be attributed to her party affiliation ! Pat was taken aback, she suttered for a moment. Pat then replied " No, thats not true, I'm an independent thinker". Well Pat, nobody that has ever heard you would ever say you are an independent thinker. No my dear, you are nothing more then a political parrot for the republican party . Now there is nothing wrong with being a political parrot, hell, the dems have their fair share. What was hilarious was how you stated that you are a "independent thinker"! What a hoot! You, independent, please stop I'm laughing so hard it hurts ! Each and everyday all you do is spin whatever Congressman Murphy is qouted in the press and if not the congressman you go after Diane Marseglia or some other democrat. You use the theme of your show like its a chance for people to vent their fustrations on what is going on in their community to campaign retoric for any republican that is running for that office. In my opinion, you do a dis-service by being the host and at the same time being the republican parrot. Hell, they should have you perched in a cage repeating, "Repubican want a vote".
Now I ask all of you to tune in to SPEAK YOUR PIECE on WBCB 1490 AM and tell me if you remotely think that Pat Wandling is either an"independent thinker" or just another political parrot.
Citizens for Common Sense Forums
General Category => Local Politics => Topic started by: thevoice on February 26, 2008, 11:56:31 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Title: WBCBs Pat Wandling, doing the old flip-flop
Post by: thevoice on February 26, 2008, 11:56:31 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Listening to "Speak your republican piece" I heard old Pat Wandling do the old flip-flop . During the last congressional race old Pat came to me and stated that they, Mike Fitzpatrick campaign, was going to go after Patrick Murphy on his military record. I was privy to a copy of congressman Murphys' military record and responded back to her that that was a dumb idea. Furthermore, I explained , in detail , each and every aspect of the congessmans' record to her but she failed to listen, or whoever the genius was that came up with that idea. It was dumb and it ended up costing Mike votes from many vets. Mike should of had better sense then to stoop to such a low level and in particular one that made no sense and was a losing proposition all the way around. On the air, Ms. Wandling made light of congressman Murpys military experience and that just because he, Murphy ,was in the military that gives him or ANYONE the experience to run for office. Now Pat Wandling was the one who articulated on the air that military experience was not a big deal. Her words not mine. Pat had to take this position due to the fact that Mike Fitzpatrcik never served.
Well, here comes old Pat now getting ready to do the old flip-flop since the republicans now have a potential canidate that has a military record and sadly lost a son in Iraq. Listen to Pat now, (if you can stay awake) now Pat is crowing a different tune. Yes, Pat is now marching to a different drummer when it comes to military experience.
So step away from the pool as Pat Wandling gets ready to do another belly flop.
http://liberaldoomsayer.blogspot.com/2007/02/paid-for-by-mikey-08-for-congress.html
Check out this in particular:
I can only imagine what Mike Fitzpatrick was thinking when he read that front-page story about (finally) the Democrats’ solution for Iraq. I think he may have said, “Hey, that sounds familiar.”
Pat Wandling
Middletown Township, PA
And a commenter:
At 9:31 AM, Anonymous said...
Another case of sour grapes..or is it the first volley in the 08 campaign?
The letter writer worked for the Fitzpatrick campaign..and is the host of the radio program on at noon on wbcb radio, 1490 am ...owned by Pat Deon.
This is what can be called "keeping it all in the family".
Verizon Channel 38
For those out there in TV land that receive Verizon Fios, the borough channel is now on Verizon Channel 38. Not sure when Verizon picked up the channel, but it's good news that they did.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)