I am an unashamed enthusiast for promoting Lycoming County and this general area. I have lived in large cities and enjoy the opportunities and activities they offer, but for overall quality of life — I would not trade this place for anywhere. This same attitude is shared by the Lycoming County Commissioners as well as virtually every one of the government and community leaders that I have had the opportunity to meet and know. For the most part, they are all sharp enough and talented enough that they could live and work anywhere, but they choose to live here.

This leadership has been exhibited during the two recent crises that have impacted our country; COVID-19 and the George Lloyd demonstrations and riots. Both of these events have taken a very deep toll in our country. Through the past couple of months, the commissioners have worked extremely hard to walk that fine line of compliance with Governor Wolf’s quarantine mandates and also pushing him hard to recognize that our circumstances were not what was being experienced in the heavily populated areas of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, or Harrisburg. It has been a delicate tap dance for our local leaders as the state government controls a lot of tax money that flows our way, and as the saying goes, it is not smart to bite the hand that feeds. But with unity, the three commissioners have made a strong case for the physical and economic health of our area.

The other crisis has been the explosive and destructive demonstrations in major cities throughout the country. When a George Floyd-type protest was announced for Williamsport for Sunday, May 31st, there were many who were quite concerned. Commissioner Tony Mussare attended the event and found himself duly impressed by what transpired.

“Each individual sign held and every chant, expressed their inner emotional feelings. As leaders, whether we agree or disagree with their messages, we must pay close attention to them. We must act to improve what needs to be changed and implement those changes in a reasonable time frame. This action will assure that their message was heard and that democracy will prevail over anarchy. I only witnessed one unfortunate outburst that was quickly extinguished by young men who understood
how important this protest was to their cause and they should be commended for taking positive action that assured a peaceful demonstration. I observed young men and women handing out water bottles for the crowd and cleaning up debris that was left behind so our city looked clean and presentable once the protest was over. I witnessed Justin from Domino’s Pizza, deliver pizza at no charge to the crowd and heard recordings from Dr. Martin Luther King that inspired people to gather peacefully but let your message be heard.”

Commissioner Mussare noted that such a peaceful protest on that Sunday afternoon was a testament to our community and a shining example to the nation on how we must act in times of turmoil. He couldn’t be more right.