Lycoming County government has a big problem. Quite simply, it owns more property than it needs. Here is the inventory — the primary facility where the county commissioners and the bulk of county offices are located is the Executive Plaza building, which sits behind another county property, the Lycoming County Courthouse. The County Prison is,
READ MOREThe study of history is not as appreciated as it once was, but there are some important lessons to be learned from the past. One of these is from the process of economic development in the rural areas of the United States that took place in the early to middle part of the 20th century.
READ MOREA rather interesting debate occurred at the work session of the County Commissioners on June 18th when Commissioner Tony Mussare questioned Ed Robbins, Director of Juvenile Probation, rather intensely over the cost of sending at-risk youth to the George Junior Republic complex at Grove City, PA. Commissioner Mussare was gagging over the price tag of
READ MOREEvery organization has that one job that everyone wants to avoid. Believe it or not, the county court system has one too — and it is called Family Court. Senior Judge Dudley Anderson admitted this openly at a ribbon cutting ceremony held at the Lycoming County Court House on Monday, June 17th. He noted that
READ MOREOn Tuesday, May 21st, one of the most important elections in years will be held here in Lycoming County. Though all elections are important in some respect, this one has the potential of changing the direction of county government for many years to come. Though voting for mayors, borough council members or township supervisors are
READ MOREEarlier this month, the Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners gave final approval to the hunting and trapping seasons, and bag limits for the 2019-2020 license year. Hunters and trappers will see more changes occurring in the regulations than usual happen in an upcoming season. Let’s take a look at some of the changes. One of
READ MOREAn item in the work session of the County Commissioners Meeting on Tuesday, April 2nd was for approval of a grant of $1,256,912 for the Lycoming County Library System. This is a lot of money, to be sure. When discussions of money for much, much less sums sometimes get quite contentious among the Commissioners Board,
READ MOREStrike a blow for physical fitness and help raise money for an excellent organization, when the Super Hero 5K Run/Walk takes place on Saturday, April 13 at the Lewisburg Area Recreation Park. You may wonder, “What is the Susquehanna Valley CASA?” According to Yvonne Heatley, Executive Director of Susquehanna Valley CASA, Susquehanna Valley CASA –
READ MORELycoming County is now just seven weeks away from the May 21st primary. Those with decades of political background in this area claim that this might be one of the most important primary elections in many years. Consider that all three county commissioners, the county row officers, the district attorney, Court of Common Pleas judges,
READ MORERick Mirabito has announced that he is running for a second term as County Commissioner for Lycoming County. Running under the Democratic ticket is a bonus for him, as the Republican side is so crowded, the Voter Services Department may have to use a reduced font size to get all the candidates on one ballot.
READ MOREAt the Lycoming County Commissioners’ work session on Tuesday, March 12th, the commissioners announced that they were making a proclamation on the coming Thursday regular session declaring that particular week “Sunshine Week.” This highly alert feature writer could not help but ask, “Isn’t it a little late to recognize a special week when the week
READ MORETony Mussare has declared his candidacy for a third-term as Lycoming County Commissioner. He has the most seniority on the current board, and if truth be told, these past eight years have been a constant challenge for him. But then, challenge is something that Tony Mussare is used to. When Tony graduated from South Williamsport
READ MOREPrison overcrowding in Lycoming County has been around so long, it is almost seemed like “prison” and “problem” were two words joined together in marriage. Five years ago, GEO Services began the process of removing that word “problem.” Today prison overcrowding has not just been removed as a problem, the prison has vacancies! What it
READ MOREA long debate over a grant request at a recent Lycoming County Commissioners meeting seemed to take on Shakespearian dimensions — “to be or not to be, that is the question.” Hamlet was talking about his mortality, but this debate appeared much less momentous. The subject was about bicycles for parolees. When a county agency
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Commissioner Jack McKernan has officially announced that he is seeking a second term of service on the Board of Lycoming County Commissioners. In his announcement, he emphasized his commitment to improving the financial stability of the county, addressing long-standing problems such as the river levee, the White Deer Golf Course, and regional solutions for EMS,
READ MOREAlmost a year ago, Mya Toon, Lycoming County’s Chief Procurement Officer, asked in a work session of the Board of County Commissioners to “award contract for EIP to PFM contingent upon EIP grant award.” The mind blurs in the barrage of abbreviations, but the commissioners acted like it was a Christmas gift. Commissioner Jack McKernan
READ MOREThe year 2019 will be remembered in Lycoming County for decades for the ‘ballotopocalypse’ that will take place. For starters, there will be primary and general elections for positions such as the three Lycoming County commissioners, five county row offices, two court of common pleas judges, the mayor of Williamsport, and four Williamsport city council
READ MOREWords are powerful. In the world of politics, words are the instruments of positive engagement, building support for an action, position or initiative, but can also be the weapons of destruction, tearing apart an opponent to make way for a new course of direction. In this sense, public discourse can sometimes resemble a battlefield, where
READ MOREWelcome, everyone, please come in. I see you remembered what I said about coming in the door from the parking lot located on the Court Street side. I know that is a little confusing with the sign above the entranceway door saying “Executive Plaza Building, 330 Pine Street.” Follow me as we are going to
READ MOREHappy New Year! I just can’t even fathom that it is the year 2019. Where have the 70s, 80s, 90s and early 2000s gone? Not to mention, we’re working our way towards 2020. If you are around my age or older, tell me that doesn’t sound like a science fiction movie? One thing is for
READ MOREThe beginning of a new year is generally a time to make resolutions, but it also should be a time to do a little strategic thinking. All of us would benefit by examining the challenges of the coming year that should be factored into our thinking or planning. This is certainly true for county government
READ MOREThis is my First Annual County Hall Corner Award presentation. In 2018, 52 articles covered many areas of county government, and as I reviewed them, I came up with four categories of awards. First is the MOST FUN AWARD for the article that was the most personally enjoyable for me to research and write. There
READ MOREThe Lycoming County Commissioners have extended their agreement with Billy Casper. Casper will continue to oversee all operations of White Deer Golf Course until 2021. I have yet to see the new and improved contract as my Right to Know Request is currently in customs. I did hear that the County tweaked some wording, and
READ MOREWinston Churchill thought playing golf was dumb. He commented that it was a game designed to hit a very small ball into a very small hole with instruments ill-designed for the purpose. Many in Lycoming County would echo those sentiments. Why does the county need a municipal golf course anyway? Actually, Lycoming County is very
READ MOREWhen 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
READ MOREThere are three reasons that the general public attends public municipal meetings — to engage, enrage, and enjoy. The Lycoming County Board of Commissioners meets twice weekly with occasional exceptions due to holidays or training events. The Tuesday meeting is a “work session,” meaning that the commissioners review the items that will be voted on
READ MOREFew things in life are more precious and beautiful than a baby. And thus, few things are more tragic and horrible than the death of such a one. The county coroner is one who must see this over and over again, and even experiencing it once is once too often. It was with this past
READ MOREI had every intention of writing a great piece, but then I ran into a few distractions. I did the best I could to find something fast, but nothing came to mind. Politics man. I am extremely thankful that the midterm elections are over. And perhaps life will even get back to normal. I have
READ MOREIt all started with Jason York, director of the Lycoming County Resource Recovery Facility, otherwise known as the County Landfill. As there are often expenditure items that need to be approved by the county commissioners, Jason is something of a regular at the weekly work and regular sessions of the Lycoming County Commissioner meetings. Jason
READ MOREMarketing people know that the most difficult part of advertising is just getting attention. Cognitive science reveals that there are two kinds of attention — conscious and unconscious. Conscious attention is when we purposely pay attention to something because we feel we need this information. It could be anything from an ad for something we
READ MOREWhen a person is elected to local office, they quickly realize that there is a lot they do not know. Very few residents of the county recognize how much time that municipal officials spend in training. It starts with the County Commissioners who actively participate in the programs of CCAP, the County Commissioners Association of
READ MOREOne feature of the current County Commissioner board is that they are not deaf to concerns of the community. Unfortunately, being willing to listen does not necessarily mean they can do much about the problem. One of these concerns is the ongoing problems of volunteer fire companies and EMS service. In July of 2017, the
READ MOREAt the regular Lycoming County Commissioners Meeting held on September 27th, three service recognition pins were awarded. Dave Bonus, from the Resource Management Services Department, received a 30-year service pin as did Karen Miller, from the Pre-Release Center. Carla Miller from the Department of Public Safety and Chris Shuck from the Prison received 20-year service
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