When I attend the County Commissioners Meetings, I see people from time to time that know me, and they ask, “Larry, why are you here?” My standard reply is, “I cover the county for Webb Weekly and write a column called, ‘County Hall Corner.’” Often people apologize that they read the column but miss the byline. I tell them that there is no need to apologize; the important thing is that they read it. Yet now that they have a face to the column, they sometimes ask how I choose the subjects that I write on.

This is why I answer the first question so carefully, and state that I “cover” the county for Webb Weekly. In one sense I am a reporter, but in another sense, I am not. When I studied journalism in college, I was taught that a good reporter should try to put the who, what, where, and when of the subject in the very first sentence of an article. But as a columnist, I am more interested in the hidden questions — what is behind the who, what, where, and when.

To give an example, at the work session of the County Commissioners on Tuesday, November 27th, Commissioners Tony Mussare and Rick Mirabito were in attendance. From a reporter perspective, I would be focused on the issues that would be discussed and any resolutions that might be reached. But from a columnist standpoint, I was much more intrigued on what dynamics would play out in the absence of Commissioner McKernan.

After attending some 200 county meetings of this board, I have observed that Tony Mussare and Rick Mirabito agree on probably at least 90 percent on the issues, but the 10 percent they disagree on, they disagree quite strongly and have no qualms about stating so. Jack McKennan in his role of chairman often plays the part of referee when the action starts heating up.

For much of the meeting, the two commissioners discussed and reviewed a myriad of issues ranging from contracts necessary for the operation of the County Landfill, approval of increases to the employee pension plan, upgrading hardware necessary for information storage, and matters relating to the office of public defender. They even had to deal with difficult questions during the “public comments” segment on budget cuts to the Lycoming County Historical Society.

Any neutral observer would probably have noted that through all these agenda items and Q/A, the two men were both keen to understand all the pros and cons, balancing a strong conscious need to cut costs against the necessity of maintaining needed programs and services. The two commissioners know their stuff and work hard to show they are looking for the best solutions to these difficult problems.

But my instincts told me that trouble was brewing, it was just a matter of time. Two particular issues almost guarantee the sparks to start flying between these two commissioners, and those are the issues of the hotel tax funds and White Deer Golf Course. Sure enough, the meeting was almost over, and these two matters came up. The hotel tax somehow weaved in from the question about the budget cuts, and the golf course arose when an employee was present and asked if any decisions had been made about it.

What started as each commissioner stating their positions descended into a less than friendly tete-a-tete between them. At this point, Referee Jack would normally step in, but in his absence, the two were free to duke it out. However, the hour was late, and it was obvious there were other engagements that both men had to attend, so an uneasy truce was declared and the meeting was adjourned.

Yes, pension plans, the county landfill, and the public defender’s office are all worthy of attention and a good columnist tries to touch on such issues from time to time, but give me a good old scuffle once in a while to keep things interesting. We missed you, Jack, but not too much.