Local government.....think city councils, school boards, and mayoral office, is the heartbeat of a community. Decisions made here directly impact schools, parks, housing, and even how your garbage gets picked up. Yet, these critical roles are often filled by people who may not reflect the diversity of age, perspective, or lived experience in their community. It's time for younger generations to change that.

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You don't need decades of experience or a degree in political science to run for office. Many local government roles are part-time and involve learning on the job. What's most important is your passion for improving your community and your willingness to listen, collaborate, and advocate for others. Think of it this way: if you've organized a volunteer project, led a student group, or started an initiative in your neighborhood, you already have the skills needed for leadership.

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Learn the Process: Research the requirements to run for office in your area. Many local offices have low or no filing fees and few barriers to entry.

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The future isn't something that happens to us—it's something we create. By running for local office, you can help shape a community that works for everyone. Don't wait for someone else to step up. Be the leader your community needs.

Well, I certainly wasn't expecting a council meeting in the early morning of Saturday, December 14, but that's exactly what we had today. I don't know if it was scheduled as an emergency, or simply as a continuation of the December regular meeting when a few major topics were left unresolved. Regardless, there was an agenda that was very similar to the agenda from the December 9 regular meeting. Once again, a few important topics were discussed, and as always, council didn't resolve all of them.

Truth be told, they failed miserably.

This sleepy meeting began with public comment from a resident of Scottdale supporting the efforts of the police while operating with depleted manpower during 2024. She also urged council to help alleviate the excessive overtime being accrued by the borough by voting to have the two new officers sworn in at the last meeting, to begin working immediately. (Overtime is reported to have exceeded $120k for 2024) There was some discussion at the last meeting to not have the new officers start work until after the new year. (Not really sure why seeing as the new year starts in a few weeks. I'm pretty sure all of this had something to do with a upcoming 2% pay raise coming up for the police.)

So much for public safety. The thing that sucks is this could have been taken care of on Monday.

In the end, Councilman Chronowski made a motion to have the officers start immediately. His motion was seconded and passed after a roll call vote with councilperson Robson casting the lone no vote. Maybe a few of the officers can now catch a break and rest for a few days.

Council also finalized the financial payout for Chief Pritts, who is leaving his position next year. In addition, they also approved the chief to assist as a part-time officer as needed within the borough providing Pritts accepts the offer. The part-time position does not allow for insurance, seniority, or any other collective bargaining points that are in effect for full-time officers.

The SCCIA lease (one-year term) for office space at the borough building was discussed and it was suggested that the term of the lease be at least two years long. Borough Manager Coffman will re-work the lease and present it to the organization for review.

Now the fun stuff.....(again) the CD rates for investment.

I'm not even sure where to start. In a nutshell, there are only two banks that can be considered, Mid-Penn (where the funds currently are) and Somerset Trust. Both banks provided interest information to council weeks ago. This was prompted by Mayor King's request for 'more information' in relation to the terms of money market accounts.

In the end....and to make it as simple as possible, Mid-Penn has offered 4.28% for 2025. Somerset Trust is currently at 4.23% UNTIL the first quarter of 2025 when the rate will increase to 4.76% 

Once again, Mayor King was skeptical about the Somerset Trust rate, even though these rates have been passed around for a few months now.

Councilman Chronowski, who was the only lucid person in the group this morning, made a motion to accept the Somerset Trust rate, only to have the motion die on the vine for lack of a second. This is your council at work.

So.....NOW, at the behest of Councilwoman Colebank, we are going to create a 3-person committee to study the NEXT batch of identical information that they will receive from the banks regarding their interest rates, and present those findings at the JANUARY meeting.

Nobody will say this, but I'm gonna take a shot.

I saw a council trying to appease a mayor that had a stellar career at one of the banks in the running for the deposits. But, at some point in time, somebody has to grow a set and break the bad news to the mayor that Mid-Penn cannot, or is not, willing to match Somerset Trust's rates. You can try to sugar coat this anyway you like, but that's the truth. Producing another set of numbers 'in writing' won't change that fact.

This is ANOTHER delayed decision by a council that can't seem to make a lay-up.

The fact that we had to do this on an early Saturday morning smacks of bullshit. I just am not sure what aroma it is yet.

This council should be ashamed at having their borough manager make the SAME request she has made before to the banks.  Nothing like building more good-will (yeah, that was sarcastic as hell) with businesses in town.

Apparently, the borough has yet to find an independent auditor to do their close out audit for the year. Am I the only one that wonders why that is? Are independent auditors that busy?

In closing, Councilwoman Colebank reminded council that they really need to get serious about bids for fence at the MPH because after three attempts, if council doesn't award a bid, contractors may not want to do business with the borough in the future.

Really?

This borough has been screwing the pooch on this building for years. All the mental masturbation in the world won't make this situation any better. The people in town know how screwed up this whole thing has been. Buy ALL the fence....put it up......and let's all wait until the side of the building falls out into the street and jacks something, or somebody up. It's inevitable.

As always, corrections and additions are welcome.

I have a headache.

So let me take a quick guess at what the deal is with this situation. (Keep in mind that I have no children and know pretty much nothing about their football program)

Tell me if any, or all of these might be correct.

There is a school board member that is pissed off that their kid doesn't get to play as much as they think he should.

Many parents are upset with the fact that high school football now has no problems with districts bringing in 'ringers' to supplement their football programs.

This 'co-op' sounds like it is a concept that can be ripe for corruption.

The coaches just flat-out don't like some of the kids for various reasons?

How do any of those sound?

I have a problem thinking that the kids from Geibel are coming here for the 'love of the game' only. It just feels like there is somehow, some way, cash or other 'incentives' are being used to get them here. I could be wrong but I like a good conspiracy theory.

But hey, the bottom line is we can screw ALL these kids over because there is an endless supply of parents and board members that think their kid is the next Heisman Trophy winner.

The saga continues. Let us know, specifically the folks living in the area of the MPH, what your thoughts are on the latest 'solution' that Scottdale Borough is thinking about implementing to reduce the danger around the building.

There were a few big topics were touched upon at the latest Scottdale council meeting (December 9).

Before the regular meeting, a public hearing was held regarding the transfer of a liquor license to Scottdale from New Kensington. The transfer of the license would allow Pat Hill to move forward with her plan to provide alcohol sales at her ongoing renovation of Gracestone Manor. The transfer would allow for Hill to apply for a liquor license within Scottdale Borough. (Later during the meeting agenda, council unanimously approved a resolution to allow the transfer to occur)

At the beginning of the regular meeting, a moment of silence was held for the wife of councilman Andy Pinsky's wife Cherie, who passed away last week.

Two of Scottdale's newest policemen were sworn in by Mayor Chuck King. Lance Carlton and Clay Berkebile will be our two newest officers. Their starting date will be announced at a later date.

The new budget for 2025 was presented for approval by Borough Manager Stacey Coffman. The new budget will require cashing out a CD for $459k and a transfer from a Money Market Fund for $350k to the General Fund so the borough can operate for the remainder of the year and the first quarter of 2025. Any surplus from these funds that is not used will be re-invested. The budget was approved by vote of council.

The most interesting topic of the night was when Councilwomen Yeager proposed to either ban or tax the 'games of skill' machines located in any establishment that is not a bar or . (ie; gas stations) The solicitor stated that these machines are now considered games of skill and not gambling devices, and therefore cannot legally be regulated. (Yeah, believe it or not. We all know what they are.) One of the main issues of this type of regulation was how can you single out one type of business and not another that both have the same machines. (It was glossed over and never discussed) Yeager's contention is that she doesn't like watching children sitting on the laps of people 'playing' the machines in the gas stations. Further, she feels that bars and clubs have rules regarding children in those establishments, so they should be exempt from and regulation. A local businessman spoke at the public comment portion at the end of the meeting and pointed out that cutting the revenue or placing a tax on the income from the machines in the clubs could effectively put them out of business. I personally hope this idea dies on the vine. I don't play these machines but if people want to piss away their money while their children watch, it's none of my business and probably shouldn't be anyone else's either.

There was also an ongoing discussion about CD rates from local banks. In a normal world, you typically will take the highest possible interest rate when investing funds, but apparently, not in Scottdale. Two banks (I won't name them) submitted rate sheets. One bank submitted a blanket rate (on ALL account the borough holds) of 4.65% and the other bank submitted a rate of 4.28%. I'm fairly certain most people would take the extra half point and run, but we don't do that here. The sticking point was councilwoman Yeager and Mayor Chuck Moore seemed to think that the bank that quoted the higher rate did not have the proper verbiage in their investment documentation, and that the bank was not clear on how they handle money market checking accounts. The problem I had was that while the input from the mayor was welcome, it should not be allowed in making policy. In addition, there were other members of council that just as easily could have made a motion to accept the highest rate, but they were silent. Instead, this topic is once again tabled until the borough office can do MORE meaningless research on something that should have been a simple transaction.

I'm so tired of having to even think about the publishing house, but the new plan is that the traffic patterns around the building will be changed. I tried to follow all the changes but part way through I kind of went into a publishing house coma and pretty much tuned out. I can tell you they plan on flat out closing the alley along the building, AND they will be buying MORE fence to put all around the building. Questions about how and when the building will be cleaned out and the antennas removed, and the new fence installed were answered pretty much like they have always been.......'we don't know'.

We found out the nativity scene that is located in front of Dollar Bank is pretty much at the 'end of life'. (Well, it was more likely worn out 20 years ago.) While nothing official has happened yet, council is starting to look at solutions to raise money to buy new figures. (They are pretty pricey...estimated at 5k) In the future they may be looking for benefactors or people good at fund-raising to help in their efforts to replace the nativity. If you have any ideas or are willing to help, you might want to contact the borough.

Based on the 630-page report on the Hunter Biden laptop, there were 191 documented sex crimes, 128 drug crimes, and 140 business crimes. However, Daddy Joe pardoned him from any prosecution going back to 2014.

Biden's America is truly the most corrupt place in the world.

Stole this one from a post I read on Gettr.

Your 7-year-old wakes up exhausted.
Not because he's sick.
Because it's 6AM.

You pour him cereal.
Not because it's healthy.
Because it's quick.

He stares at an iPad.
Not because it's good for him.
Because you need to get ready.

The school calls later:
"He can't focus"
"He can't sit still"
"He needs testing"

The doctor writes a prescription.
Not because your boy is broken.
Because the system is.

The truth?

His brain is FIGHTING:
- Chemical food dyes
- Sugar crashes
- Screen addiction
- Sleep deprivation
- Natural energy

But we medicate the child Instead of fixing the cause.

Your grandfather's kids:
- Played outside
- Ate real food
- Slept well
- Moved freely

No pills needed.

Modern parenting isn't convenience.

It's warfare.

Against your own child

I really hate how people just 'forget' the atrocity our own government perpetrated against the people of this country. There isn't enough rope to hang all the people that had a hand in this crap.

Hospital administrators, doctors, even nurses, should all be held accountable if guilt is proven.

These 'life-saving' vaccines were given away free. Why not insulin, chemotherapy, EpiPens??

They all need executed.

The holiday season kicks off in Scottdale on Saturday, December 7.

Be sure to visit the downtown area for a full day of celebration and fun!

The Geyer Theater for the Performing Arts kicks off the day with their annual Elf Run. Dress up as your favorite elf and take part in a festive 5k run/walk. The event registration starts at 8:00am.

Shoppers have an opportunity to find lots of Christmas gifts with two big craft/maker market shows.  The St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Church opens the doors at 9:00am and runs until 3:00pm. The large West Overton Village Holiday Makers Market runs from 10:00am to 3:00pm on Dec. 7 & 8.

The ever-popular Christmas House Tour runs from 1:00pm to 5:00pm and is sponsored by the Scottdale Historical Society. Visit five historic home, one church, and the Geyer Theater. Tickets are available at  HOUSE TOUR TICKETS

From 3:00pm to 4:30pm, be sure to bring the kids for Cookies with Santa at the Scottdale Elks. 

Also, don't miss the holiday-decorated parking meters throughout downtown.

The day finishes with the Scottdale Winter Lights Celebration. Santa will make his first appearance of the year at the parade that starts at 5:00pm. After the parade, bring the kids to the gazebo for treats and a chance to meet Santa Claus.

Finally, as an online treat, the Annual Main Street Scottdale Christmas poem with be posted on Facebook, in this forum, and on the Main Street Scottdale webpage.

Make ytou calendar for this big day of yuletide events!!