If there is one prevailing aspect of today’s political climate, it is hate. And hate has no boundaries, so even a simple forum of four potential county commissioners could have turned into a shouting match. Instead, the program that took place on Tuesday, October 3rd, at the Eagle Grange #1 in Montgomery was more like
READ MOREAt the Lycoming County Commissioners Meeting on Thursday, August 31st, the commissioners made a proclamation that they have done for the past few years. They declared September as Suicide Prevention Month. It will take more than a decree to turn around this terrible source of death. In acknowledging the importance of this proclamation was Lycoming
READ MOREI waited until August 29th to wave the white flag, not for surrender, but as in NASCAR racing, it symbolizes the last lap around the track. In ten weeks, we will have an election, and there will be at least two new Lycoming County Commissioners coming on board. I have been touching base with the
READ MOREA major event in Pennsylvania happened last year that missed my attention. The Fern Hollow Bridge (also known as the Forbes Avenue Bridge) in Pittsburgh’s East End collapsed on January 28, 2022, injuring some ten individuals. President Biden was an eyewitness to this event. He commented on this last week as he stopped in Milwaukee
READ MOREThe folks at the Clinton County Fair are hoping for a wonderful way to celebrate their 50th anniversary this year as the Fair takes place July 29th to August 5th at the Clinton County Fairgrounds. The Fair was born as a result of several meetings between 1971 and April 1973. In August of 1972, this
READ MOREJust in case you haven’t already heard, the 2023-2024 hunting licenses for Pennsylvania became available for purchase this past Monday, the 26th of June. The licenses are available through the usual sources – online, sporting goods stores, the Pennsylvania Game Commission office in Jersey Shore, or wherever you usually purchase your license. But, the big
READ MOREOne refreshing thing that comes out of the Lycoming County Commissioners Meetings is that Scott Metzger, Tony Mussare, and Rick Mirabito have a mind of their own and follow their own convictions. Yes, they listen to their constituency — quite well, actually — but they are not controlled by them. Unfortunately, the normal pattern is
READ MOREThe Lycoming County Commissioners Meeting on June 1st began as usual, with Commissioner Scott Metzger beginning the meeting with a prayer and then the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. As everyone was taking their seat, Metzger stated, “We’ll convene the commissioners meeting at this time, and we welcome back Larry Stout from the state
READ MOREOne of the recurring themes that is heard repeatedly at the Lycoming County Commissioners Meeting is about their concern for the future. It was brought up again at the most recent meeting on Thursday, June 1st, concerning the use of the federal ARPA Funds, which are being used for ‘generational’ projects. The focus is well
READ MOREI believe most folks would agree that the days seem to go by more quickly with the passage of time. Often, before we realize it, days seem to slip by, weeks click away more rapidly, and months seem to fly off the calendar. Where does the time go? So before hunting season seems to slip
READ MORECharles (Chuck) Kiessling proves the adage that the squeaky wheel does get the grease, even if the wheel has to squeak for ten years or more. At long, long last, Coroner Kiessling has a new facility for the work of the Lycoming County Coroner’s Department. It is located at 3341 Wahoo Drive in Williamsport, which
READ MOREIt is a very rare week when there is not a recognition for some organization or cause that results in a proclamation from the Lycoming County Commissioners. There is no lack of options, as by some counts, there are as many as ten to twelve such proclamations every day, week, and month! It starts with
READ MOREApril is a special month for me as a writer for Webb Weekly. It was in April of 2014 that I wrote my first article, a LION (Leader in our Neighborhood), on Kathy Fenstamaker, a mother who hosted headbanger bands for young people. For the next two years, I wrote over 80 columns on all
READ MOREI am a year late in highlighting the 200th anniversary of the birth of the man considered to be the Father of American Landscape Architecture. Born on April 26, 1822, Frederick Law Olmsted’s most notable accomplishment was constructing Central Park and Prospect Park in New York City and designing 100 other public parks. Olmsted also
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When George Heiges stepped down from Director of the Office of Veteran Affairs for Lycoming County in June of 2019, I felt the position would be impossible to fill. In Director Heiges’ eight-year term, he had established Lycoming County as not only having one of the best Veterans Affairs Office in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
READ MOREThe men and women who fought and died in the Vietnam War are probably the most underappreciated and underrecognized of American veterans. Largely because they were involved in the most controversial war in American history. In a bid to reverse the injustice done to these veterans, a Vietnam Veterans Recognition Day was established. Vietnam Veteran
READ MOREThis month marks the third anniversary of the shutdowns from the COVID virus. The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 as a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Almost immediately, Governor Wolf announced that Pennsylvania needed a two-week pause to ‘flatten the curve’ to help prevent the spread of the virus. Maybe it was because it was
READ MOREA petition for a referendum seeking the establishment of the office of controller for Lycoming County was filed with the Bureau of Elections at the Court House Friday afternoon. The petition, which contained the signatures of 112 electors of the county, was referred to Marshall C. Anspach, county solicitor for approval. If the petition is
READ MORE“I don’t even know where to start in describing this project.” So spoke Jason Yorks, director for the Lycoming County Resource Management Services (LCRMS), more commonly known as the County Landfill. Jason made this comment while standing at the podium at the Lycoming County Commissioners Meeting on Thursday, February 16th. He was advocating for the
READ MOREIt was noted in the article a couple of weeks ago entitled “Blueprint for ARPA Funds” that the primary focus for disseminating the $22 million federal grant funds to our area would be for generational projects. Commissioner Metzger emphasized this again at the Lycoming County Commissioners Meeting on February 9th. The commissioners keep mentioning this
READ MOREIf there were a known serial killer in our area, all of us would be up in arms. Parents would be protecting their children 24/7. Everyone with a carrying permit would be carrying. What would you say if I told you that this killer has taken the lives of seven Lycoming County residents in the
READ MOREFunny things happen when a person wins a big pile of money in the lottery. They suddenly discover a whole lot of friends and relatives that they never knew they had. The same thing happened to Lycoming County when they were awarded $22 million from the federal government in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
READ MOREWhen the Lycoming County Commissioners brought up the subject of live-streaming their meetings a few years ago, I had to smile. It was hard enough for me to sit through those work sessions and regular meetings week after week; I could not imagine following them virtually from a single static camera. But, and not for
READ MOREFor the past several years, I have always used the last week of the year to look back at my columns and see what my readers thought of my articles. I want to thank all those who have spoken to me personally or written comments to let me know your opinions about those articles. Feedback
READ MOREThe building directly across the street from the Lycoming County Courthouse is 33 West Third Street. Owned by the county for the past couple of decades, it has largely served as a rental property, but over time the tenants have moved out, and this has opened up the possibilities for the county to house services
READ MOREIf the birth of a child is one of the happiest moments a mother and family can experience, the death of such a child in the first year of life would have to be one of the most horrible events imaginable. Tragically, each year there are about 3,400 sudden unexpected infant deaths that occur in
READ MOREFor most of the 1990s and into the first decade of the new millennium, I lived in Eastern Europe and wore a number of hats, one of which was working as a human resource management specialist. Picking up my MBA in Belgium and Ph.D. in Latvia, and postdoctoral work at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government,
READ MOREAs noted in last week’s article, the issue of a permanent location for the Lycoming County Coroner’s office is one of the hottest hot potatoes that the county commissioners have faced in some time. The incredible irony is that all three of the commissioners are completely on board with securing a center for the coroners’
READ MOREI remember well my first visit to a Lycoming County Commissioners Meeting in April of 2016. Jim Webb Jr. had asked me to attend to see if covering these meetings could become a weekly column. I had great doubts going in, but I was surprised at the dynamic that took place between the Commissioners at
READ MORESeptember is National Preparedness Month, which certainly does not cause parades and festivals from communities around the country — but it is something that we should not just push aside lightly. The tragedy that occurred in the United States on September 11th, 2001, was recently commemorated by thousands of bikers at the 911 Memorial Ride.
READ MORELycoming County has very few big employers. The medical community (UPMC Hospital & Susquehanna Physician Services), the educational community (Pennsylvania College of Technology, Lycoming College, and the Williamsport and Loyalsock School Districts), and another major employer that many do not recognize as such — Lycoming County government itself. The county employs 550 full-time and another
READ MOREThe one government official that I have the most admiration, as well as the most sympathy for, is Lycoming County Director of Voter Services Forrest Lehman. Listening to Forrest is like sitting in a college classroom and hearing a brilliant professor explain a complex system in such clear terms that even a freshman would be
READ MOREAn interesting addendum to the East Third Street/Old City Revitalization Project that was highlighted in this column last week was the objection to the process given by Commissioner Scott Metzger at the close of the Thursday, August 4th meeting. His comments were quite poignant and hit pretty hard as both commissioners Mirabito and Mussare apologized
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