A grassroots effort by Nazareth area residents, calling themselves, #NoJailatGracedale, will be hosting a Q&A with NorCo Executive and Council candidates on Sunday, October 15, 1 pm, at Tuskes Park. That is located next to Eagles Landing. Lamont McClure and John Brown, the two Exec candidates, are expected. So are Council candidates Hayden Phillips, Ron Heckman and Ron Angle.
21 comments:
Good for them. I hope Mr. Angle does not use the Delbacca tea party talking points that will be given to Phillips.
Thought Angle was not goi8ng to want to build a new prison.
'going'
Don’t be fooled on the 15th by the new position that Phillips and Brown will have.
They think you are fools and will believe anything
Mr Ohare, could you explain why zoning in Nazareth can be overcome by the county to build a jail. Someone told me that excluding a use is a guarantee that the use will be allowed by a court or something like that?
Why? folks need to do their homework before they buy a home. When you buy a house adjacent to county owned land you can expect that at some point it will be developed. This could be a jail, recycling center, compost facility etc. Don't act like an innocent bystander when a plan like this comes to light. Deep down you folks knew something like this would be proposed at some point. I'm sure you are absolutely fine having the facility built somewhere else as long as its not your back yard.
NorCo has owned that land since the mid 1800's,and it has been a farm for much of that time. In fact, it was a working farm for use by people who lives at one time in what was known as the poorhouse. The notion that a jail is a steady progression of what to expect in publicly owned land is nonsense. But by all means, insult these property owners some more. I'm sure John Brown has no need of their votes.
5:44, Upper Nazareth is zoned for jails, buy only in a few limited areas that contain undesirable things like quarries. No one could build a jail in a quarry. Under Pa law, if a zoning use is excluded, it must be permitted anywhere. Thus, a good lawyer could challenge Upper Nazareth's zoning on the basis that it is exclusionary.
"Thought Angle was not goi8ng to want to build a new prison"
He doesn't. When the notion of a new jail was pitched before, it is Angle who said, "Who wants a new jail?"
Where are the courts on all of this? The current jail's proximity to the courthouse is a big plus. Easier transport of inmates for hearings, court appearances. Why would the judges want inmates housed eight miles away where they have to be driven back and forth by at least two C.O.'s and with a better chance of escape? Leave the jail where it is. Renovate where you can and must. Tear down the plagued parking garage and build a new jail there.
How about this . Get NorCo people to broker a deal with Easton city ,build it in WestWard and get the people from The Twp. That don't want a prison in their back yard to put it on their bill to compensate City of Easton for real estate taxes and related issues .
Bring it on up to Bangor and give our people jobs.
Angle promoted a new jail in the slate belt a few years ago.
He promoted a detention center for illegal immigrants that would actually make $ for the county. And when people said they did not want it, that ended it. He has steadfastly opposed a new county jail.
Isn't Angle a staunch supporter of Brown and the other republicans on county council? He is part of the Snover team.
Ron is a staunch supporter of what he thinks is right. He has always been his own man. He would be an effective check on either Lamont or Brown. People would have to prepare for meetings again. He is very friendly with Lee, as am I. But no one would accuse me of being part of team Snover, and it would be nuts to do that to Ron. The blue blood Rs hate him. The Dems hate him. But he, like Ron Heckman or Jerry Seyfried or Jim Hemstreet or John Stoffa or Rich Grucela, are the guys who understand the county and would do the right thing. Ron Angle is more of a showman than the others, but in the end, they were all interested in what is right for the county.
Bernie@10:36 - Gracedale Almshouse was built in 1838 and housed the poor, elderly, and mentally ill of the county. This Almshouse/Farm functioned till 1950 when it was converted to office space for the Conservation District, Ag Preservation, Penn State Extension etc. The residents of the Almshouse worked the farm to produce crops and textiles that were sold to support the operation.
In Berks County they have the Welfare Tract which was a parallel operation to what Northampton had. Now it houses the Conservation District/other Ag offices, a personal care home, police, morgue, wastewater treatment plant, detention center, and wait for it . . . the county prison. One of the houses closest to the prison is of comparable value to homes in the development adjacent to Gracedale. The point I was trying to make was that land use changes over time and these folks were bullshitting themselves by not recognizing that fact. Let's turn Gracedale back into the Almshouse that way it was in the good ol' days. I'm sure the neighbors would have no argument about that! See what I'm trying to say? Seems we have lost a sense of accountability for our decisions in life. Its always easier to claim ignorance and blame others.
Oh and they don't have to be happy about it either. They just need to recognize the fact that they bought a house next to county owned ground. So any function of the county may pop up there one day. As momma would say, "That's the way the cookie crumbles".
Not so simple as that. It is ridiculous to suggest a prison use so close to residences. It is a public safety concern. In Easton, the jail is close to residences, but the jail was there first.
I think the rest of us in the county need to start a petition to build the prison at Gracedale. A lot more of us than the neighborhood around Gracedale. Then it won’t get built in our neighborhoods.
Go for it! The hell with those Nazareth voters. You don't need them.
Bernie I looked at tax maps from the late 1700's and another from 1860 and there were houses near Washington and Walnut. Plus when was the last time someone escaped from the Easton jail? Couldn't the argument be made that the Easton jail is a public safety concern and should be moved to a less populated area?
Next time I'm in the courthouse I'll grab you and we can head over to the library to look at the 1789 map of Easton. If I'm wrong you're buying lunch.
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