Local Government TV

Friday, October 19, 2012

Salute to Volunteers

At Tuesday's ZHB meeting, I posted a picture of four of Bethlehem's five Board members. Jim Schantz, unfortunately, is blocked from view. I remedied that tonight with this solo shot of Jim, as he listens to some points made by his colleagues.

It's the least I can do. Jim probably thinks I'm giving his growing list of enemies a target, but I'm actually trying to compliment people who volunteer untold hours to serve their community.

Some psychotherapist (who also does amazing things with cabinets) with a Master's Degree from Kutztown testified earlier this week that more than half of all drunks and pot heads are actually raving lunatics who want to have sex with giraffes. He might even be right because I do think giraffes are kinda' cute. But we addicts and alkies are perfectly normal compared to your average Zoning Hearing Board member.

These guys technically get paid . But it's about three cents an hour to sit through never-ending meetings. No matter how they decide, they're going to piss people off.

Who in his right mind is willing to do that?

Then there's school boards, who also have an uncanny knack of never being able to make anyone happy. And these are volunteers who don't even get three cents an hour.

I could see volunteering to be a firefighter. True, you could get fried, but  sounds pretty cool.

They make movies about these guys running into burning buildings and thwarting terrorists. But school director? ZHB member? What cool movies do they make about them?

We bloggers are starting to get into movies. True, we're usually cast as bad guys. But we're there.

10 comments:

  1. Berbie, people serve on many boards as unpaid volunteers like the Redevelopment Authority and the Southside Task Force.

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  2. That's true, and they deserve credit. But those are relatively noncontroversial positions.

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  3. That's NOT Jimmy Schantz. I know Jimmy Schantz. THAT is a picture of General Longstreet.

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  4. who DOESN'T wanna have sex with Giraffes?

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  5. Redevelopment Authority - puppets being controlled by a gimp ex lawyer and headed by a bankrupted self serving never was.

    Southside task force - old bitter people clinging to the past and a dead industry as they walk amongst trash and drug deals

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  6. School boards can't make anyone happy?

    I beg to differ.

    They make themselves and their own kids happy, the unions happy, the golden parachuted-superintendents and their ever-growing band of hallwalking administrators happy, D'Huy engineering happy, construction companies happy, holders of their (our) bonds happy and the D party happy, just to name a few.

    The only people who are unhappy with school boards are us regular folk who provide the money to make all the above happy horseshit possible.

    -Clem

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  7. Every now and then we make some local employers and colleges happy by graduating some pretty intelligent kids. But I bet you would beg to differ with that.

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  8. Yet, there seem to be few vacancies for these positions. There's either something to be gained that hasn't been revealed here, or the giraffe thing.

    I'm leaning giraffe.

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  9. "Mike Faccinetto said...
    Every now and then we make some local employers and colleges happy by graduating some pretty intelligent kids. But I bet you would beg to differ with that.

    10:45 AM"

    Point conceded, the decline in quality and quantity nationwide (because we are just so heartless and simply refuse to "invest" enough), notwithstanding.

    -Clem

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  10. School Boards, Board of Supervisors, Zoning Boards, Planning Commissions, City Council.... all things that make up our way of life and how we govern. Sorry folks, deal with it. If you don't like these Boards, volunteer or run for office. Oh, I forgot, that takes time energy vs. sitting behind a computer or writing a letter to the editor bitching about taxes and being not happy. If you don't want to step up and "try" to make real difference, do yourself and your health a favor and move on. Nobody really cares about what you think as one individual bitching.

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