Down River – Nov. 25, 2015
First Off:
Everybody at The Record hopes your Thanksgiving is a special day surrounded by family and friends. We are blessed and fortunate to live in the United States and, to put it in the simplest terms, it could be a lot worse. But it could be a lot better. A little more collective tolerance and respect for our fellow man would be good; think about that a bit after your turkey and before you nod off.
Looking Back, Looking Forward:
As 2015 begins its slow descent leading to the approaching ascent of 2016, here’s a quick look back at news from a year ago, this from the perspective of a year later:
It was December a year ago that Firetree Ltd. announced it was withdrawing application for a conditional use to allow construction of a halfway house/re-entry facility in Lock Haven’s hill district.
The Williamsport non-profit said it would be resubmitting its application. A year later, that hasn’t happened…
It was a year ago First Quality announced its Lock Haven site had been selected to host a third paper machine. A year later construction has not begun but those who know say due diligence continues, that First Quality has been putting its efforts towards completing installation of a previously announced machine in Anderson, SC. That project is nearing completion…
It was a year ago that western Clinton County folks were hoping rumors of a natural gas to energy plant would come to fruition. A year later planning for that project continues and prospects increase that construction for the Renovo Energy Center can begin in the second quarter of 2017.
Waiting for a Budget:
It’s certainly surprising that the Clinton County Commissioners haven’t given us at least ballpark figures as to what the 2016 county budget will look like.
Just about every county municipality has announced a preliminary budget plan, everyone but the county. This is the first time in memory we haven’t had some word on where the county stands at this point in time. There were intimations at last week’s meeting, the commissioners last session until next month, that if they want to do a couple big-ticket things in 2016 there might have to be a hike in the real estate levy, something that hasn’t happened since that jump from 4.7 to 5.4 mills a couple years back.
The state budget (or lack of same) also has to factor in the great unknown facing the county. We mildly chide the commissioners for not having something substantive for us for 2016 here in November, five weeks away from the new year. So then what do we make of our governor and state legislature for not having a budget going on five months into the state’s new fiscal year? Let’s call it shameful. And the reports we see coming from Harrisburg indicate that a state accord is still some distance away. Shameful.
Back to the county: the commissioners have talked about addressing the appearance of the county courthouse. Its façade is fading quickly; the two towers look in need of at least some substantive cosmetic work beyond the news lights planned for installation and the paint peeling on the building’s outside walls is intensifying.
The courthouse needs to be restored to its previous luster, not allowed to fall into the bedraggled appearance of that half-block-long row building further up E. Water Street. The City of Lock Haven has made a sizeable commitment to upgrade the appearance along Water Street; the county should add to that effort by putting meaningful dollars into a courthouse upgrade. If improvements aren’t made soon, you can book it will cost a lot more later.
Flailing for Dollars:
It’s one of life’s personal disappointments, my schedule preventing attendance at the most recent scrum, this one face-to-face and in court, between musician/entrepreneur/philanthropist Stephen P. Poorman and larger than life attorney Lee Roberts.
Last week’s Poorman-Roberts faceoff in the small courtroom of the Clinton County Courthouse was the latest and most direct on-the-record such confrontation between the two, locked in an unending series of suits, petitions, arguments and more over the future development of some ramshackle holdings along Lock Haven’s Bellefonte Avenue.
Judge Michael Salisbury apparently had drawn the short straw and gets to preside over these interminable proceedings. He did appear to leave the door open for his possible future escape when he told the parties involved that at one point he had been a small shareholder in Jersey Shore State Bank, the financial institution caught in the crossfire of the Poorman-Roberts differences.
Stating that while he could render a fair verdict in the matters at hand, Judge Salisbury did give the two sides until Nov. 25 to file any motions for his removal. The sense here is His Honor wouldn’t be overly distraught if one side or the other moved for his withdrawal.
While The Record couldn’t make it to court, The Express knocked itself out with two front page stories last Friday. There was nothing in their coverage to indicate that appearances by Poorman and Roberts in the witness chair (separately, not together) were not cordial, that courtroom decorum was maintained at all times.
If and when Down River gets a heads-up from the court on their next appearance in this continuing series, we’ll print it here so we can all adjust our schedules accordingly.
