What Has the Study Commission Accomplished?

Nearly a year ago, in a cloud of confusion and debatable legality, an eleven member government study commission was elected to investigate alternative forms of county government.

 Almost from the very beginning an air of confusion surrounded the study commission. Eleven members were required to fill the commission however the number of candidates filing petitions was far less. In the eleventh hour the League of Women Voters announced a list of residents willing to serve if written in on Election Day.

Right away reports of printed lists of the write in candidates taped to voting machines and the questionable wording of pre election advertisements in the paper appeared.

None the less the commission hit the road running in January but it wasn’t long before the attendance was barely enough to make a quorum.  There has been a lot of talk about who shows up and who only comes if there is a vote. The attendance record and minutes had been available on the Lawrence County web site at www.co.lawrence.pa.us however the only thing you find there now is pictures of the committee members.

 For several reasons I have only been able to attend one meeting of this committee and what I saw that evening left me scratching my head, I have never seen a meeting run this way in my life. It looked to me as though there were three men hell bent on a change and it didn’t matter what it was. At the time they were talking a 7 member council but they also talked of a Home Rule Charter.

In the beginning of July a motion was made to disband the Study Commission after a letter from the District Attorney concluded that the League of Women Voters had acted illegally by endorsing the write in candidates making the legality of the commission questionable. The motion passed on July 2 2008 however 22 days later one of the members who voted to disband changed his mind.

At this point in time an informed voter should be asking what kind of circus this is. Right now we have a group of elected officials who are very dedicated to moving the county forward. A change in the form of government would not only be extremely expensive but counter productive.

Some of my earliest memories of New Castle are of my Dad managing the A&P in Lawrence Village Plaza. He would bring us up to New Castle to visit Cascade Park or just as a treat out to dinner at Winky’s.

    It just wasn’t Christmas until we came into town to see the window displays at Troutman’s and all the decorations downtown. There were always people walking the sidewalks shopping or doing business in town.

    Years later I came here to work and was astounded at the emptiness. Where there were storefronts on East Washington some were empty but overall the city was still alive. The Towne Mall, now the Cascade Galleria, was full of stores and kiosks. People were shoulder to shoulder there all the time. There were things for kids to do and places to go.

A trip down memory lane for many people can bring dozens of stories from every neighborhood in the city. Online I read story after story from people that grew up here and have moved to the four corners of the United States, I’ve even been fortunate to have been able to meet a couple of them.

  My memories for the most part are of bigger things because I was under ten years old when Dad worked here. I remember the giant slide at Lawrence Village that sat where K Mart is now. Fisher’s Big Wheel and Gaylord’s where Big Lots is now. I mentioned the Winky’s across from the main gate at Cascade Park. Going there was a family treat every couple months back when a man could feed a family of four, for five dollars and still get change back. Our neighbor’s father up the street worked at “The Tube Mill” or US Steel in Ellwood and he would take the whole bunch of up to Cascade for the company picnic every summer. The Safari ride there nearly scared five pounds of brown out of me. I thought the Hippo was going to eat the boat.

   A trip in East Washington Street looking at the buildings makes you marvel at what this city used to be. My wondering starts at the Wright Building just west of the Court House, a five story white building with intricate stone work on the front. Recently a furniture gallery opened in the first floor store area that had for years been boarded up. A few doors down the street is a long closed gas station that still advertises unleaded gas for $1.89.

 Progress is inevitable but it was still sad to watch the old movie theater being torn down to make way for more parking on the corner of East Washington and Croton Avenues. The only high side of that is when there is a need for more parking; jobs are coming to that area. In recent weeks work crews have begun the task of gutting out the old Troutman’s building, the home of another childhood memory. It just wasn’t Christmas till we came up to New Castle to see the animated displays in Troutman’s windows and the Norelco Santa on TV.

  My memories of downtown from the late 60s and early 70s are few since I spent the most of that time exploring Lawrence Ave in Ellwood but I do remember that there were always people walking the sidewalks window shopping. Store fronts I don’t remember the names of lined both sides of the street, now only memories for most residents. What used to be storefronts are now either empty or occupied by offices with the windows covered over.

In the last few years a lot of work has gone into the beautification of the downtown. Building facades have been redone side walks and streets rebuilt and new lighting all around. Add to that the completion of the Cascade Center Riverplex. The addition of the Mill Street Grille and Lannigan’s Irish Pub has given downtown a little life again. But those are just two successes while other places like the half filled Washington Centre and other empty store fronts scream at you as you pass by.

  A year ago I posted pictures of the Towne Mall, now the Cascade Galleria, online. Back in the early 90s when I worked in town the concourse in the mall was always crowded. I talked to a man recently that could still name every business in there by memory. Now with the place almost completely filled with offices the mall walkers can barely navigate the narrow halls. About the only holdovers left are the fountain in the main concourse and Towne Mall Pizza.

 After being away from Lawrence County for ten years I returned to a ghost town a pitiful few businesses remained. The last bastion of the old city, Joseph’s, is now moved to the townships too.

  In the past I, like others, have been critical of some of the major property owners in town for sitting on empty storefronts and not trying to restore town to its former luster. I realize it is not necessarily the job of these men to prop up a lagging economy but a lot of projects have been announced, funded, and even built to sit as empty as the others. I’m happy to see that over the past several weeks work has begun on the promised restoration of the old Troutman’s building to prepare it for occupancy by InfoCision. Day by day the progress is starting to show. One can only hope that with the coming of the new horse track in Mahoning Twp. being built by Centaur Inc. and the anticipated slots license will continue to spur the growth so badly needed in this area.

The Republican Party has been the strongest and only pro-life supporting party. In my opinion, a party or a group of people who does not condone the killing of unborn babies is a far lesser of an evil than the ones who do.

The Democrats way of fixing a problem is adding taxes. Look at Pittsburgh who just added a 10% increase on alcoholic beverages to help pay for the Port authority. Why couldn’t the Port Authority rid of the larger less efficient and less used buses and replace them with much smaller and more fuel efficient buses? If the democrats really believed in fewer taxes then why do the ones in congress keep asking to repeal the presidents tax cuts? I believe in growth meaning fewer taxes for the businesses means more jobs and better prices for you and me.

I believe in sufficient livable wages, but what good did the minimum wage increase do? Some may not understand this concept, but you are the owner of a small business and just getting by. Now you by law have to give an increase in wages to your employees that are paid minimum wage. What else does the owner have to do, but raise the prices on whatever the product or service that he or she sales. Then around the country prices rise to make up that difference. Who ultimately suffers the middleclass? Why because of a pay raise for the minimum wage earners do you think you are also going to be given a raise to make up the difference probably not? Now you have new employees coming in possibly making what it took you several years to make. Democrats are for the hard working middle class Americans right?

I believe there should be a tough stance on illegal immigration policies. I don’t blame anyone for wanting to come to this great country to enjoy the freedoms that we do. I just believe in doing it legally.

I believe in rewards for success and hard work not punishment. I believe that it’s the dreams of most of us all to become successful and to have money. I don’t believe that a person should have to pay more taxes or be punished for his or hers success. I want to be separate from the person next to me. I want my and his hard work to be looked at individually.

I believe our nations veterans should be given the best care and respect that this nation has to offer. I don’t believe a war should be made into a political or personal battle. When there is men and woman overseas fighting. Get them what they need.

I believe in my 1st and 2nd Amendment rights. I like to hunt and target shoot and I like to know that if someone comes into my home with the intention to do harm that I can defend my family and myself. I believe in the freedom of religion not from religion.

I believe in less government. I don’t think our government should be involved in our daily lives. Examples: Taxed to get married or taxed to die. Restrictions of the 2nd Amendment like Washington DC.

I love the environment and enjoy the wildlife and the outdoors. I don’t believe in Global Warming. I also don’t believe that restricting our industrial businesses is going to make much of a difference for the environment, but rather it cost more American jobs while letting a country like China continue to become the most polluted industrialized country in the world. At the same time taking away more American jobs.