Jeers and cheers
JEERS: Bernie Kasievich defeated incumbent Uniontown Mayor Ed Fike in a major upset last year, vowing to bring a “positive attitude and energy” to the ofice. But that “positive attitude and energy” were nowhere to be seen during a city council meeting Wednesday. Kasievich failed to show up for the meeting, resulting in a 2-2 tie on a controversial motion to adopt a rental fee and inspection ordinance.
Kasievich has spoken in support of the motion, so his absence was a surprise. Since Kasievich failed to return a call from a 蘑菇视频 reporter, we’re not sure what happened. However, if something came up, the meeting could have been rescheduled. As it is, another vote on the motion can’t be taken for six months. With a number of hard decisions ahead of him down the road, it’s not a good sign that Kasievich was a no-show on his first big vote. Let’s hope it’s not a sign of things to come.
CHEERS: Don’t tell Nancy Verderber anything negative about high school students these days. Verderber, a staff member of the American Cancer Society, has watched as high school students in the Mon Valley have come together in recent years to raise thousands of dollars through the Relay for Life fundraiser to help find a cure for cancer. Close to 80 teams from Charleroi Area, Frazier, Belle Vernon Area, Ringgold and Elizabeth-Forward school districts participated in a recent Relay for Life fundraiser.
Last year, the students raised $125,000, and the goal this year was $135,000. Many of the students have been directly affected by cancer, with the disease striking friends and family members. Some students have even been victims of cancer. There were inspirational words from cancer survivors, and remembrances of those who died from the dreaded disease. Overall, the event was a huge success, showing that high school students these days are a pretty amazing group.
CHEERS: Veterans today face a number of challenges, from finding jobs in a struggling economy to dealing with post-traumatic problems from their time in the service. Some may turn to drugs and alcohol as a way of dealing with those problems and eventually find themselves snared in the country’s criminal justice system. But luckily for them, there’s help available in the way of special veterans courts. Fayette County started such a court in 2013, and it’s doing very well, according to Fayette County’s Problem Solving Court Manager/Liaison Kate Vozar.
Vozar said most of the veterans who go through the program aren’t hard-core criminals. She said they’re just people who need help. But she said it’s not easy for the veterans involved in the program, noting they have to work hard to deal with their problems and overcome them. Vozar said she still is trying to get the word out to veterans that the program is available. We hope that all the veterans in need of help take advantage of the program. It’s certainly the least we can do for our veterans who done so much for us.
JEERS: Hard to believe in this day and age, that corrections officers don’t have the tools and equipment to do their jobs. But that’s what state Reps. Tim Mahoney, D-South Union Township, and Pam Snyder, D-Jefferson, said they discovered on a recent eye-opening tour of the State Correctional Institution at Fayette. The legislators said they were told there have been 19 assaults on guards this year, as well as 41 inmates caught with drugs and seven weapons confiscated.
Both Mahoney and Snyder said they were stunned to learn that not every guard carries pepper spray or a radio. Mahoney said the DOC needs to have a more clear-cut policy on visitors trying to smuggle in drugs and the punishments they face. Snyder noted the prison is short-staffed, with guards having to work overtime amid skyrocketing stress levels. Mahoney and Snyder said they plan on meeting with state Department of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel and Superintendent Jay Lane. These certainly are serious issues, and we hope that Wetzel and Lane will work as quickly as possible to resolve them.