Sunday, February 28, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Early dismissal
Here is the dismissal schedule for today due to the inclement weather.
12:00-pre-k
12:15- K
12:30- grades 1-12
There will be no after school activities today.
It should be interesting to see the traffic at 12:30.
12:00-pre-k
12:15- K
12:30- grades 1-12
There will be no after school activities today.
It should be interesting to see the traffic at 12:30.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Meetings cancelled for 2/24
Just received a call from the district saying that due to a power outage at the school, all after school activities and tonight's meetings are cancelled.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Enumerator----results
from the bcct:
District-place correct code on returns
By: MANASEE WAGH
Bucks County Courier Times
The Morrisville School District found that 39 percent of all tax filings used the wrong code in 2009.
This tax season, be extra careful. Know your school district and report the correct school code on your tax return.
It's a seemingly minor point amid the acres of details on a tax form, but making a mistake has consequences that can affect the amount of state funding your school district gets.
When errors occur, each district must figure out which taxpayers reported the wrong school code, and pass the information on to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Known as the Act 80 review, this process consumes hundreds of hours each year.
In 2009, the Morrisville School District found that 39 percent of all Morrisville tax filings used the wrong code, based on the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue's list of taxpayers who reported the Morrisville school code on their returns.
The state sends Morrisville a list of addresses of taxpayers who used the Morrisville code in their returns and the district compares those to the addresses in the borough. Then, the district sends the state a list of corrections and the state amends its records.
"It's a problem Morrisville has been dealing with for about 30 years. What we're looking for is a more permanent solution," said Paul DeAngelo, the district's business administrator. On his desk was a 2-inch thick packet of property lists, reports and analyses complied from just one year of correction work.
Each tax season, his office also has to mail a list of addresses incorrectly filed under Morrisville to their proper school districts. Then each district has to perform its own verification. It's a very time-consuming process and can lead to further oversights, DeAngelo said.
This year, the district received an $8,000 state grant to hire Julie Shemelia, an enumerator who examined the past three years of geographical problem areas.
"What I found most alarming is that 25 percent of filers who put Morrisville as their district in 2009 live in wealthier communities," said Shemelia.
This is a problem because funding formulas for state aid depend on the income of district residents, she said. In general, the higher the income level, the less financial aid a district can get.
In 2006, aid to Morrisville dipped because the district didn't correct for out-of-district filers, said DeAngelo. The reduction in aid affected special education and other programs, he said.
Neighboring Pennsbury typically has the most incorrect filings. More than 1,100 tax filers - 25 percent of residents - filed using Morrisville's school code in 2009.
Comparatively, those residents made up only 4 percent of Pennsbury's filers. It's a district of more than 26,000 households. Morrisville has just 3,191 addresses.
"You can see how the impact of accurate filing really affects a small school district," Shemelia said.
Other school districts that show up in Morrisville's tax files include Council Rock, Neshaminy and Bristol Township, as well as a smattering of addresses from other parts of Bucks County.
Morrisville has several zip codes that overlap with neighboring districts, making mistakes on tax forms more likely - especially if you don't have children in school, said Shemelia. A single household may make the same mistake over a period of decades by copying information from the prior year, she said.
DeAngelo has urged state Sen. Chuck McIlhinney, R-10, to push the state for a lasting solution.
Simply informing taxpayers won't work, McIlhinney said.
"Because of overlap with zip codes, this would happen every year. You can educate people all you want, but if someone's working in New York City five days a week and comes home and fills out their tax return thinking they're living in Morrisville, that's what they're going to write," he said.
Going through the Act 80 review every year may be frustrating, but it's worth it, because otherwise Morrisville would lose its rightful share of state aid, he said.
"A good fix would be to give Morrisville one zip code and other areas like Lower Makefield (which belongs to Pennsbury) other zip codes. That's the easiest, cheapest solution, but it has to be done on the federal level," McIlhinney said.
District-place correct code on returns
By: MANASEE WAGH
Bucks County Courier Times
The Morrisville School District found that 39 percent of all tax filings used the wrong code in 2009.
This tax season, be extra careful. Know your school district and report the correct school code on your tax return.
It's a seemingly minor point amid the acres of details on a tax form, but making a mistake has consequences that can affect the amount of state funding your school district gets.
When errors occur, each district must figure out which taxpayers reported the wrong school code, and pass the information on to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Known as the Act 80 review, this process consumes hundreds of hours each year.
In 2009, the Morrisville School District found that 39 percent of all Morrisville tax filings used the wrong code, based on the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue's list of taxpayers who reported the Morrisville school code on their returns.
The state sends Morrisville a list of addresses of taxpayers who used the Morrisville code in their returns and the district compares those to the addresses in the borough. Then, the district sends the state a list of corrections and the state amends its records.
"It's a problem Morrisville has been dealing with for about 30 years. What we're looking for is a more permanent solution," said Paul DeAngelo, the district's business administrator. On his desk was a 2-inch thick packet of property lists, reports and analyses complied from just one year of correction work.
Each tax season, his office also has to mail a list of addresses incorrectly filed under Morrisville to their proper school districts. Then each district has to perform its own verification. It's a very time-consuming process and can lead to further oversights, DeAngelo said.
This year, the district received an $8,000 state grant to hire Julie Shemelia, an enumerator who examined the past three years of geographical problem areas.
"What I found most alarming is that 25 percent of filers who put Morrisville as their district in 2009 live in wealthier communities," said Shemelia.
This is a problem because funding formulas for state aid depend on the income of district residents, she said. In general, the higher the income level, the less financial aid a district can get.
In 2006, aid to Morrisville dipped because the district didn't correct for out-of-district filers, said DeAngelo. The reduction in aid affected special education and other programs, he said.
Neighboring Pennsbury typically has the most incorrect filings. More than 1,100 tax filers - 25 percent of residents - filed using Morrisville's school code in 2009.
Comparatively, those residents made up only 4 percent of Pennsbury's filers. It's a district of more than 26,000 households. Morrisville has just 3,191 addresses.
"You can see how the impact of accurate filing really affects a small school district," Shemelia said.
Other school districts that show up in Morrisville's tax files include Council Rock, Neshaminy and Bristol Township, as well as a smattering of addresses from other parts of Bucks County.
Morrisville has several zip codes that overlap with neighboring districts, making mistakes on tax forms more likely - especially if you don't have children in school, said Shemelia. A single household may make the same mistake over a period of decades by copying information from the prior year, she said.
DeAngelo has urged state Sen. Chuck McIlhinney, R-10, to push the state for a lasting solution.
Simply informing taxpayers won't work, McIlhinney said.
"Because of overlap with zip codes, this would happen every year. You can educate people all you want, but if someone's working in New York City five days a week and comes home and fills out their tax return thinking they're living in Morrisville, that's what they're going to write," he said.
Going through the Act 80 review every year may be frustrating, but it's worth it, because otherwise Morrisville would lose its rightful share of state aid, he said.
"A good fix would be to give Morrisville one zip code and other areas like Lower Makefield (which belongs to Pennsbury) other zip codes. That's the easiest, cheapest solution, but it has to be done on the federal level," McIlhinney said.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Confirm or deny...have at it!
Since our return to the blogosphere we have kept relatively quiet. However just because it's not on the blog doesn't mean that all things are peachy keen in the schools. Here are some things our sources have been saying:
1. Double standards- There are various things that have been affecting the PTO in a negative manner. Last year the PTO was giving strict guidelines on how to operate and how to fund raise. Very recently there has been a few fundraisers where the PTO was left out of the loop, and the guidelines that the PTO is made to follow, were not followed by these groups. For example, the PTO last year wanted to do a pajama day fundraiser for the 5th graders. They were told the 5th graders were not allowed to wear pjs to school, therefore it could not be a fundraiser. Very recently there was in fact a pajama day, which included the 4th and 5th graders, the PTO was not involved in this fundraiser, and found out about it after it happened.
2. Why on earth would an organization ask for popcorn donations when the PTO owns a popcorn machine? Once again the PTO was told they could not do more than one popcorn day a month. Now it seems like it's ok to do so as long as the PTO is not involved. This may come off sour grapes, but the PTO has worked very hard for the kids the past year to be underhanded, and undermined by the administration. Thumbs down for double standards.
2. In preparation for next year the color guard coach wanted to recruit 5th graders to be part of the guard next year. Makes sense right? The kids are already at the school and the coach could get a jump on practicing the routines with new members. Guess what she was told? Give up? She was told NO! The reason given was 5th graders were not allowed to participate is because they would then have to let them do the same things that were offered to the 6th graders. Guess what is offered to the 6th graders? Don't know? 6th graders are allowed to do band,chorus, and color guard. So what is the harm in letting 5th graders do color guard? Thumbs down again to the administration.
3. The question was raised at the last board meeting regarding the music teacher situation. It has been well discussed that this teacher will be teaching kindergarten next year. This comes from a very reliable source. So for the board and administration to look surprised when this question came up is a shame. Unless there really is some back room deals going on that the administration or board members do not know about.
There are people behind the scenes trying to make Morrisville a better place. It's a shame whenever someone has a new idea it is immediately shot down. It's a shame when there are sets of rules for some and not for others. Let's work together to make Morrisville a better place to live.
1. Double standards- There are various things that have been affecting the PTO in a negative manner. Last year the PTO was giving strict guidelines on how to operate and how to fund raise. Very recently there has been a few fundraisers where the PTO was left out of the loop, and the guidelines that the PTO is made to follow, were not followed by these groups. For example, the PTO last year wanted to do a pajama day fundraiser for the 5th graders. They were told the 5th graders were not allowed to wear pjs to school, therefore it could not be a fundraiser. Very recently there was in fact a pajama day, which included the 4th and 5th graders, the PTO was not involved in this fundraiser, and found out about it after it happened.
2. Why on earth would an organization ask for popcorn donations when the PTO owns a popcorn machine? Once again the PTO was told they could not do more than one popcorn day a month. Now it seems like it's ok to do so as long as the PTO is not involved. This may come off sour grapes, but the PTO has worked very hard for the kids the past year to be underhanded, and undermined by the administration. Thumbs down for double standards.
2. In preparation for next year the color guard coach wanted to recruit 5th graders to be part of the guard next year. Makes sense right? The kids are already at the school and the coach could get a jump on practicing the routines with new members. Guess what she was told? Give up? She was told NO! The reason given was 5th graders were not allowed to participate is because they would then have to let them do the same things that were offered to the 6th graders. Guess what is offered to the 6th graders? Don't know? 6th graders are allowed to do band,chorus, and color guard. So what is the harm in letting 5th graders do color guard? Thumbs down again to the administration.
3. The question was raised at the last board meeting regarding the music teacher situation. It has been well discussed that this teacher will be teaching kindergarten next year. This comes from a very reliable source. So for the board and administration to look surprised when this question came up is a shame. Unless there really is some back room deals going on that the administration or board members do not know about.
There are people behind the scenes trying to make Morrisville a better place. It's a shame whenever someone has a new idea it is immediately shot down. It's a shame when there are sets of rules for some and not for others. Let's work together to make Morrisville a better place to live.
Friday, February 5, 2010
The library is getting A/C
We love to see some positive things happening around us! Good luck Dianne and her staff on the upcoming A/C install!
From the BCCT:
Grant to provide central air for the library
By: DANNY ADLER
Bucks County Courier Times
The Morrisville Free Library will close for at least four weeks this spring as contractors install a central air-conditioning system in the former church building that houses the community library, officials said.
Borough officials said the more than 100-year-old library is scheduled to close April 24 and reopen May 24, if everything goes according to plan. Diane Hughes, the library's director, said she hopes the work will be over by June, when the library begins its children's summer reading club.
The work is being paid for by a grant of more than $190,000 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Community Development Block Grant program - an amount nearly equaling the library's yearly operating budget. It costs Morrisville $197,000 to run the stained-glass windowed library, which inhabits an old Episcopal church built in 1911 at North Pennsylvania and East Palmer avenues.
More than 100 people use the facility daily, according to officials, who said the library has a collection of more than
25,000 items and a patron base of about 7,000 members.
People will have to use other community libraries or branches within the Bucks County Library Network while the borough library is closed. Morrisville library patrons will be able to return books to the library's drop box even while the building is shut down.
The borough opened nine bids for the air-conditioning project Wednesday. They ranged from $147,000 to more than $192,000.
Council President Nancy Sherlock said the council could award a contract for the work as early as the borough council's 7:30 p.m. Feb. 16 meeting at borough hall, 35 Union St.
For years, the library has used two window air conditioners to cool the building. Patrons said the new addition will be warmly received.
"This will really make it comfortable here," Hughes said. "The patrons will really feel the benefit of this."
In the last two weeks of April, the library will begin moving things like plants, chairs and tables to make way for the construction. The books and shelves will remain in the library, Hughes said, but they will be covered so nothing gets damaged.
Volunteers to help the library move equipment and furniture can call 215-295-4850.
From the BCCT:
Grant to provide central air for the library
By: DANNY ADLER
Bucks County Courier Times
The Morrisville Free Library will close for at least four weeks this spring as contractors install a central air-conditioning system in the former church building that houses the community library, officials said.
Borough officials said the more than 100-year-old library is scheduled to close April 24 and reopen May 24, if everything goes according to plan. Diane Hughes, the library's director, said she hopes the work will be over by June, when the library begins its children's summer reading club.
The work is being paid for by a grant of more than $190,000 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Community Development Block Grant program - an amount nearly equaling the library's yearly operating budget. It costs Morrisville $197,000 to run the stained-glass windowed library, which inhabits an old Episcopal church built in 1911 at North Pennsylvania and East Palmer avenues.
More than 100 people use the facility daily, according to officials, who said the library has a collection of more than
25,000 items and a patron base of about 7,000 members.
People will have to use other community libraries or branches within the Bucks County Library Network while the borough library is closed. Morrisville library patrons will be able to return books to the library's drop box even while the building is shut down.
The borough opened nine bids for the air-conditioning project Wednesday. They ranged from $147,000 to more than $192,000.
Council President Nancy Sherlock said the council could award a contract for the work as early as the borough council's 7:30 p.m. Feb. 16 meeting at borough hall, 35 Union St.
For years, the library has used two window air conditioners to cool the building. Patrons said the new addition will be warmly received.
"This will really make it comfortable here," Hughes said. "The patrons will really feel the benefit of this."
In the last two weeks of April, the library will begin moving things like plants, chairs and tables to make way for the construction. The books and shelves will remain in the library, Hughes said, but they will be covered so nothing gets damaged.
Volunteers to help the library move equipment and furniture can call 215-295-4850.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Fitzpatrick pledges 4 term limit
From the bcct:
Fitzpatrick pledges four term limit
By: GARY WECKSELBLATT
Bucks County Courier Times
The Republican restated his challenge to keep campaign spending to $1 million.
Saying it was good enough for Gen. George Washington, Republican congressional candidate Mike Fitzpatrick pledged Wednesday to limit himself to eight years in the U.S. House if he were elected to represent the 8th District.
"Four terms, then come home to Bucks County," Fitzpatrick said.
And since the former congressman has already served one term, he's got only six years to go.
"It would be my self-imposed personal commitment," he said.
In a 75-minute conversation with the Courier Times editorial board, Fitzpatrick reiterated his challenge to limit campaign spending to $1 million; gave his prescription for health care reform; and said if he wins the Republican nomination he would ask Congressman Patrick Murphy, his Democratic opponent, to participate in one town hall event each week.
"I'd do one a day and twice on Sunday if he'll agree to it," he said.
In a press release late Wednesday, Fitzpatrick stated: "Washington has become a town of embedded politicians, many of whom have lost their connection to the real world. A seniority system exists that rewards congressmen for political careers lasting decades and encourages members to serve in perpetuity. If money and power corrupt then Washington is the epicenter.
"I have no interest in becoming a professional politician," his release continued. "If the voters of our district choose me, I will represent their best interest wholeheartedly without regards to a political career. I pledge today not to become part of the problem, but part of the solution."
On health care, Fitzpatrick criticized Congress for "spending a year on it and accomplishing nothing." The lack of legislation was a "failure" for President Barack Obama, he said.
Rather than making the problem 2,000 pages big, Fitzpatrick said it should have been handled by looking for "commonsense solutions."
His four primary fixes:
??Permit individuals to purchase insurance across state lines
??Allow small businesses to group together and obtain purchasing power similar to large corporations and trade unions
??Medical liability reform: end junk lawsuits to reduce the practice of defensive medicine
??Support health care clinics that provide care for the uninsured. This would include tax credits for doctors who work at clinics.
"Our system performs miracles every day," said Fitzpatrick, a recent cancer survivor. "There have not been many times that the government has managed something better than the private sector."
In response to Murphy spokeswoman Kate Hansen describing his call for campaign spending limits a "gimmick," Fitzpatrick said, "I'm dead serious about it."
He called money the "gateway drug to the bad things that happen in Congress" and said of trying to raise campaign cash: "You think about it every day."
In two previous House races, Fitzpatrick outspent Ginny Schrader, $1.27 million to $620,000, and Murphy $3 million to $2.4 million.
Asked if he were the incumbent - with bountiful financial benefits at his disposal - would he agree to such a limit?
"If it was reasonable, why not," he said. "This is a very different economy. A lot of people are out of work. + If not a million dollars, maybe two million. What's the number?"
He said running a congressional campaign with frequent town hall meetings would lead to a more "substantive" political discussion compared with television commercials that are most likely short sound bites, often negative.
"In 2010, money will not buy an election," said Fitzpatrick, who added, "I'm just seeking a level playing field."
He said he entered the race with the support of his wife, Kathy, and six children "who are going to inherit what we're doing in the nation's capital."
He quoted from a book titled "New Deal or Raw Deal?: How FDR's Economic Legacy Has Damaged America," by Burton Folsom. The words are those of Roosevelt's Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau in 1939:
"We are spending more money than we have ever spent before, and it does not work," Morgenthau said. "I want to see this country prosperous. I want to see people get a job. I want to see people get enough to eat. We have never made good on our promises. I say after eight years of this administration, we have just as much unemployment as when we started and an enormous debt, to boot."
Fitzpatrick pledges four term limit
By: GARY WECKSELBLATT
Bucks County Courier Times
The Republican restated his challenge to keep campaign spending to $1 million.
Saying it was good enough for Gen. George Washington, Republican congressional candidate Mike Fitzpatrick pledged Wednesday to limit himself to eight years in the U.S. House if he were elected to represent the 8th District.
"Four terms, then come home to Bucks County," Fitzpatrick said.
And since the former congressman has already served one term, he's got only six years to go.
"It would be my self-imposed personal commitment," he said.
In a 75-minute conversation with the Courier Times editorial board, Fitzpatrick reiterated his challenge to limit campaign spending to $1 million; gave his prescription for health care reform; and said if he wins the Republican nomination he would ask Congressman Patrick Murphy, his Democratic opponent, to participate in one town hall event each week.
"I'd do one a day and twice on Sunday if he'll agree to it," he said.
In a press release late Wednesday, Fitzpatrick stated: "Washington has become a town of embedded politicians, many of whom have lost their connection to the real world. A seniority system exists that rewards congressmen for political careers lasting decades and encourages members to serve in perpetuity. If money and power corrupt then Washington is the epicenter.
"I have no interest in becoming a professional politician," his release continued. "If the voters of our district choose me, I will represent their best interest wholeheartedly without regards to a political career. I pledge today not to become part of the problem, but part of the solution."
On health care, Fitzpatrick criticized Congress for "spending a year on it and accomplishing nothing." The lack of legislation was a "failure" for President Barack Obama, he said.
Rather than making the problem 2,000 pages big, Fitzpatrick said it should have been handled by looking for "commonsense solutions."
His four primary fixes:
??Permit individuals to purchase insurance across state lines
??Allow small businesses to group together and obtain purchasing power similar to large corporations and trade unions
??Medical liability reform: end junk lawsuits to reduce the practice of defensive medicine
??Support health care clinics that provide care for the uninsured. This would include tax credits for doctors who work at clinics.
"Our system performs miracles every day," said Fitzpatrick, a recent cancer survivor. "There have not been many times that the government has managed something better than the private sector."
In response to Murphy spokeswoman Kate Hansen describing his call for campaign spending limits a "gimmick," Fitzpatrick said, "I'm dead serious about it."
He called money the "gateway drug to the bad things that happen in Congress" and said of trying to raise campaign cash: "You think about it every day."
In two previous House races, Fitzpatrick outspent Ginny Schrader, $1.27 million to $620,000, and Murphy $3 million to $2.4 million.
Asked if he were the incumbent - with bountiful financial benefits at his disposal - would he agree to such a limit?
"If it was reasonable, why not," he said. "This is a very different economy. A lot of people are out of work. + If not a million dollars, maybe two million. What's the number?"
He said running a congressional campaign with frequent town hall meetings would lead to a more "substantive" political discussion compared with television commercials that are most likely short sound bites, often negative.
"In 2010, money will not buy an election," said Fitzpatrick, who added, "I'm just seeking a level playing field."
He said he entered the race with the support of his wife, Kathy, and six children "who are going to inherit what we're doing in the nation's capital."
He quoted from a book titled "New Deal or Raw Deal?: How FDR's Economic Legacy Has Damaged America," by Burton Folsom. The words are those of Roosevelt's Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau in 1939:
"We are spending more money than we have ever spent before, and it does not work," Morgenthau said. "I want to see this country prosperous. I want to see people get a job. I want to see people get enough to eat. We have never made good on our promises. I say after eight years of this administration, we have just as much unemployment as when we started and an enormous debt, to boot."
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Time for a public saging
From the bcct:
Time for a public saging
By: KATE FRATTI
Bucks County Courier Times
It's a little new-agey for a historic borough, but I propose a public saging of Morrisville. Couldn't hurt.
Huge bundles of the healing herb sage - saging practitioners call them smudge sticks - could be burned in a daylong spiritual cleansing ceremony aimed at ridding the old river town of its collective angst.
Could take mountains of dried herb to get the job done. Financially-pressed Morrisville's got a debilitating case of what ails it - pessimism, skepticism, paranoia, negativity and crippling doubt. It leads to a lot of bickering, nay-saying, finger pointing, second-guessing and conspiracy theorizing.
Sage! More sage!
Symptoms include an inability to celebrate even the good stuff. That includes large gifts of money, like the $400,000 grant just announced for improvement to the especially hard-pressed First Ward, made up of scattered blue-collar neighborhoods that literally are on the wrong side of the tracks and so separated from the borough proper.
The grant, $80,000 a year for five years, is courtesy of the Wachovia Regional Foundation. The amount won't pave the streets with gold, but it could be the impetus for some cleanup and improved safety. Maybe leverage other grants from other sources.
A strategic plan for the ward, paid for with a $100,000 planning grant, calls in part, for the creation of an information center where Ward One and Bridge Street residents could get be made aware of resources - financial counseling, training, jobs, transportation, stuff like that.
And so we're told this week that the first $80,000 will be administered out of a new First Ward community center at the Robert Morris apartment complex on Bridge Street. It's 900 square feet of free office space that'll be accessed from the street. A paid coordinator will plan programs and organize events like neighborhood cleanups in the First Ward and along Bridge Street.
This is where, if this column was an old record, the needle would jump, and then sail across the record with a grating scratch and ripping sound.
Robert Morris apartments? What? That's in Ward Two. No one told us there'd be a community center at Robert Morris!
Another symptom of what ails Morrisville is failure to communicate. While the Bucks County Housing Group welcomed so much resident input before it made the application to Wachovia, there's been little communication since, community organizers say. No one was invited to review the grant application, and a resident steering committee sure as heck never knew the housing group planned to put the center in its low-income apartment complex instead of the senior center or some vacant store front. What else don't we know, they wonder.
The committee learned about the Robert Morris location, members said, in a meeting days before the location and the grant were to be publicly announced at an event that was to include Wachovia reps and Congressman Pat Murphy.
At that same meeting residents were insulted to further learn the steering committee would be dissolved and a new resident advisory board formed.
Say what? After all the work we did?
Hard feelings have ensued. Some committee members planned to protest at the formal check presentation, which had been set for Feb. 1.
Then someone thought better of that. Protest $400,000? Really? Risk alienating Wachovia just to make a point? Mayor Rita Ledger called Nancy Samborsky, executive director of the housing group, to press for more meetings. Nancy, who is, by all accounts, a caring professional and a girl with her heart in the right place, called off the check presentation and celebration until she could meet again with residents to hear them out. And to explain why a center at Robert Morris will work for the First Ward.
At those meetings residents say they'll seek reassurance that the grant money - whose release they helped secure by participating in community meetings and conducting surveys and focus groups - will be used as they'd hoped. To strengthen the First Ward and not Bucks County Housing Group.
And so there will be more talks. Someone would do well to smudge the conference table before anyone utters a sound.
February 03, 2010 02:13 AM
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Beth M., 02-03-10, 2:59 pm Rate: 0 Report
Isn't it the 4th ward in Morrisville that needs the most help? They sure wouldn't have to scam by not having any apartment buildings to be able to qualify for the grant.
I just don't understand why anything in a town the size of Morrisville would be for one ward and not all wards. The Ivan House is an excellent resource/outrea ch center. Why would Morrisville need another one. Morrisville is less than 2 square miles total. Sounds like this first ward group had a chance to do something wonderful for the whole town but instead are playing the gimmy gimmy game. Just more of the same old stuff for Morrisville. Its a real shame. Maybe mom was wrong and people really do never change.
False Profit, 02-03-10, 3:22 pm Rate: 0 Report
In its adjective form, the on-line Merriam Webster dictionary defines "sage" as things like:
"wise through reflection and experience" and
"proceeding from or characterized by wisdom, prudence, and good judgment".
That's the problem. We haven't had enough sage people running things in Morrisville. Their ham-handed my-way-or-the-h ighway bungling, smackdowns, and poor communications have engendered mistrust and distrust, even of good things.
Essentially, we've reaped what we've sown. Hopefully, that's changing under the new council majority. The town just doubled down on the same old same old with the school board, though, unless some people have major changes in personality, outlook, and behavior.
Time for a public saging
By: KATE FRATTI
Bucks County Courier Times
It's a little new-agey for a historic borough, but I propose a public saging of Morrisville. Couldn't hurt.
Huge bundles of the healing herb sage - saging practitioners call them smudge sticks - could be burned in a daylong spiritual cleansing ceremony aimed at ridding the old river town of its collective angst.
Could take mountains of dried herb to get the job done. Financially-pressed Morrisville's got a debilitating case of what ails it - pessimism, skepticism, paranoia, negativity and crippling doubt. It leads to a lot of bickering, nay-saying, finger pointing, second-guessing and conspiracy theorizing.
Sage! More sage!
Symptoms include an inability to celebrate even the good stuff. That includes large gifts of money, like the $400,000 grant just announced for improvement to the especially hard-pressed First Ward, made up of scattered blue-collar neighborhoods that literally are on the wrong side of the tracks and so separated from the borough proper.
The grant, $80,000 a year for five years, is courtesy of the Wachovia Regional Foundation. The amount won't pave the streets with gold, but it could be the impetus for some cleanup and improved safety. Maybe leverage other grants from other sources.
A strategic plan for the ward, paid for with a $100,000 planning grant, calls in part, for the creation of an information center where Ward One and Bridge Street residents could get be made aware of resources - financial counseling, training, jobs, transportation, stuff like that.
And so we're told this week that the first $80,000 will be administered out of a new First Ward community center at the Robert Morris apartment complex on Bridge Street. It's 900 square feet of free office space that'll be accessed from the street. A paid coordinator will plan programs and organize events like neighborhood cleanups in the First Ward and along Bridge Street.
This is where, if this column was an old record, the needle would jump, and then sail across the record with a grating scratch and ripping sound.
Robert Morris apartments? What? That's in Ward Two. No one told us there'd be a community center at Robert Morris!
Another symptom of what ails Morrisville is failure to communicate. While the Bucks County Housing Group welcomed so much resident input before it made the application to Wachovia, there's been little communication since, community organizers say. No one was invited to review the grant application, and a resident steering committee sure as heck never knew the housing group planned to put the center in its low-income apartment complex instead of the senior center or some vacant store front. What else don't we know, they wonder.
The committee learned about the Robert Morris location, members said, in a meeting days before the location and the grant were to be publicly announced at an event that was to include Wachovia reps and Congressman Pat Murphy.
At that same meeting residents were insulted to further learn the steering committee would be dissolved and a new resident advisory board formed.
Say what? After all the work we did?
Hard feelings have ensued. Some committee members planned to protest at the formal check presentation, which had been set for Feb. 1.
Then someone thought better of that. Protest $400,000? Really? Risk alienating Wachovia just to make a point? Mayor Rita Ledger called Nancy Samborsky, executive director of the housing group, to press for more meetings. Nancy, who is, by all accounts, a caring professional and a girl with her heart in the right place, called off the check presentation and celebration until she could meet again with residents to hear them out. And to explain why a center at Robert Morris will work for the First Ward.
At those meetings residents say they'll seek reassurance that the grant money - whose release they helped secure by participating in community meetings and conducting surveys and focus groups - will be used as they'd hoped. To strengthen the First Ward and not Bucks County Housing Group.
And so there will be more talks. Someone would do well to smudge the conference table before anyone utters a sound.
February 03, 2010 02:13 AM
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Beth M., 02-03-10, 2:59 pm Rate: 0 Report
Isn't it the 4th ward in Morrisville that needs the most help? They sure wouldn't have to scam by not having any apartment buildings to be able to qualify for the grant.
I just don't understand why anything in a town the size of Morrisville would be for one ward and not all wards. The Ivan House is an excellent resource/outrea ch center. Why would Morrisville need another one. Morrisville is less than 2 square miles total. Sounds like this first ward group had a chance to do something wonderful for the whole town but instead are playing the gimmy gimmy game. Just more of the same old stuff for Morrisville. Its a real shame. Maybe mom was wrong and people really do never change.
False Profit, 02-03-10, 3:22 pm Rate: 0 Report
In its adjective form, the on-line Merriam Webster dictionary defines "sage" as things like:
"wise through reflection and experience" and
"proceeding from or characterized by wisdom, prudence, and good judgment".
That's the problem. We haven't had enough sage people running things in Morrisville. Their ham-handed my-way-or-the-h ighway bungling, smackdowns, and poor communications have engendered mistrust and distrust, even of good things.
Essentially, we've reaped what we've sown. Hopefully, that's changing under the new council majority. The town just doubled down on the same old same old with the school board, though, unless some people have major changes in personality, outlook, and behavior.
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