Registration Drive Kicks Off at Gracedale

Lamont McClure calls Gracedale "sacred ground"

One of the things that really bothered me when I was circulating a nomination petition this year is the number of employees who just don't vote. These people, more than anyone, have borne the brunt of Executive John Brown's misguided tenure as county executive. They are the ones who have seen their wages shrink as their health care benefits are taken away. They are the ones who work without a contract. They are the ones who gave back $2.5 million per year, in negotiated benefits, to keep Gracedale in County hands. They are the ones who are working short-staffed for an executive who actually hopes more of them quit do he can pretend he's saving money. They are the ones who should be at every polling place this Spring and November. On Saturday, AFSCME started a registration drive with a small rally, attended by about thirty people, at Gracedale. The fear that Gracedale might still be sold echoed from speaker to speaker, though nobody has advocated its sale since a referendum in which voters decided to keep the home.

Peg Ferrarowants reimbursements increased.

I was an advocate of Gracedale's sale. I also happen to believe in democracy. Some have very stridently argued for its sale on this blog, but always do so anonymously.

Among those at Saturday's gathering were Council members Mat Benol, Peg Ferraro, Ken Kraft, Lamont McClure and Hayden Phillips. Controller Steve Barron was present. Abe Kassis, one of three judicial candidates, was also present for the brief gathering.

McClure, as usual, minced no words. He called Gracedale a gift from the Moravians to care for those in need, making it "sacred ground," kinda' like an old Indian burial mound. In reality, the Moravians sold what they called Gnadenthal to the county. They got $90 an acre, too, which was pretty good back in 1833. But McClure was on one hell of a roll, so I did not have the heart to correct him.

Steve Barron

Barron pointed out that employees have an opportunity to vote for their CEO, their directors and their auditor. He, like me, is genuinely puzzled that workers don't vote.

The he called Gracedale a gift from the Moravians, too.

Mat Benol told the audience he knows of no Council member who is "against" Gracedale.

Peg Ferraro, who urged people to vote either Democrat or Republican, laid the blame for Gracedale's continuing financial woes on the doors of state legislators and Governor Wolf. The problem is the reimbursement rate paid for residents, which is not keeping pace with expenses. Though the census at Gracedale is maxed out, the nursing home will continue to lose money unless the reimbursement rates increase.

According to Steve Barron, the actual county contribution to Gracedale last year was $2.8 million. If that is borne out by the independent audit, as Barron suggested, that's far less money than was budgeted as a County contribution. But even Gracedale supporters would agree that something needs to be done to fix that reimbursement rate. Amazingly, a for-profit nursing home gets a higher reimbursement rate, in what seems to be an unspoken desire to push counties away from nursing homes.

(From left to right: Abe Kassis, Ken Kraft and Steve Barron. I wore a Kraft sweatshirt, which gave me diplomatic immunity. I also brought a fierce attack dog in case the Fake Rev tried to "love me to death".).

John Brown, whose own spotty voting record makes him a lousy voter registration poster boy, was a no show. But he spent his spy, Cathy Allen.

Maybe she'll get another raise.