Bury My Heart at the Wounded Warrior 5K

Heartless bastard confirmed!

Actually, that's the one thing the paramedic from Cetronia Ambulance was unable to find. I have no heart, which explains why I'm a blogger. But even a heartless bastard like me was unable to resist a 5k to benefit our local veterans and their loved ones.

Keystone Wounded Warriors, an organization that honors the sacrifices made by our men and women in the military, hosted today's first-ever Wounded Warrior 5k in Upper Macungie's Lone Lane Park. Over 300 people participated and were rewarded with water, bananas and ... hot dogs.

Race coordinator Sam Johnson, who runs Allentown's Marine Corps Reserve Center, was "ecstatic" about the turnout. Race proceeds will help Pennsylvania's returning vets make the transition into civilian life.  

Alvin the tool dog

Alvin the tool dog, a 3 year-old Golden Retriever therapy dog, ran the race. He's famous for fetching different tools. I caught him in the third mile, where I shouted, "Go get the screwdriver!." Alvin dragged owner Steve Hujsa off the course and I slipped by them both.

All's fair in love and 5ks.

But one runner I was unable to catch was Breinigsville's 10 year old Drew Kloss. In his first ever race, he finished in 26:28, about 30 seconds ahead of me.

"How did you do it?" I asked.

"Probably my mom," Drew responded, as he and his sister chowed down on very healthy hot dogs and potato chips.

You could tell this was a military 5k. The flat course was clearly marked about every three inches, and the volunteers all called me "Sir," which caused me to turn around a lot.  

You don't have to run these 5ks. You can walk, and most of you will probably beat me.

Mighty Chris Casey is at the Bat

Then from five thousand throats and more there rose a lusty yell;
It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;
It pounded on the mountain and recoiled upon the flat,
For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.

My good friend and fellow blogger, the Mighty Chris Casey, is still at the plate. He exposed the credit-card scandal that ultimately led to the resignation of two supervisors in Upper Macungie Township. He's run for the office once before and lost.

Strike one!

Then, when no one else would challenge state rep Doug Reichley in a heavily Republican district, Casey stepped back into the box. He waged a courageous, though ultimately unsuccessful, campaign against an incumbent featured on Bill White's rogues' gallery of state legislators who either voted for or accepted the midnight payraise.

He signaled to the pitcher, and once more the dun sphere flew;
But Casey still ignored it and the umpire said, "Strike two!"

Now, in an attempt to restore transparent and accountable government in Upper Macungie, the Mighty Casey is still at the plate. He won the Democratic nod for supervisor on Tuesday with 365 votes. He'll face the voters in a heavily Republican district who don't seem to mind officials who use credit cards for personal expenses or who send out fliers at taxpayer expense on election eve.

Oh, somewhere in this favoured land the sun is shining bright,
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout,
But there is no joy in Mudville—mighty Casey has struck out.

Earley Gets Squirrely in Upper Macungie!

The Morning Call has an interesting account of today's supervisor race in Upper Macungie Township, where fellow blogger Chris Casey is making his third swing at the plate. Obviously, he's my choice for the Democratic nod.

Morning Call columnist and blogger extraordinaire Bill White tells us how Republican incumbent Ed Earley plans to retain his seat.

With so little information, it's easy to manipulate us. Upper Macungie Township chose the week before the election to mail out a fat full color newsletter that features no less than three nice photos of incumbent Ed Earley, who is seeking re-election in a contested primary. Its glowing account of the township's progress serves as a great free campaign ad for a guy who, at best, was asleep at the switch while his two co-supervisors were grossly misusing township credit cards. I don't think the timing of this mailer was a coincidence.

Pa.'s Ethics Commission Slops Upper Mac Pigs at Public Trough

Chris Casey has finally been vindicated. He's the dude who dimed Upper Macungie supervisors fattening themselves at the public trough. He's paid the price. Public ridicule and the occasional death threat have taken their toll on his physical health.

The arrogant little piggies who abused their public trust, Tom Gorr and Porter Krisher, admit nothing beyond their consent agreements. They've been fined a paltry $14,000 by a disinterested state ethics commission for thefts that included $56,000 in payments to a tree service company owned by Krisher's son. No criminal prosecution. No resignation.

The trough's open for business again!

In his own blog at True Dems, Casey tells us

my favorite credit card expense of all is not Tom Gorr's charging his college courses, hell, it's not even his charges to duenow.com. to write his term papers for him. No, my absolute favorite is that he spent $1500 of taxpayers money for his enrollment at L.A Weight loss centers!

At the same time he was charging "business meals" to the Township credit card!
Taxpayers were paying for it going in, and coming out!

Talk about taxing both ends!

I'll have more to say about our state ethics commission later. Why wasn't this referred to the DA for criminal prosecution? With evidence this damning, why didn't the state insist Krisher resign as part of this consent agreement? It has done a disservice to Lehigh Valley residents. It has allowed a thief to remain in public employment.

We need a few more Chris Caseys and a few less of those public piggies in Upper Macungie, as well as the state ethics commission. Why not put Casey there? I know he's ugly, but that would be real reform. It wouldn't take a new law or constitution, either.

The Lehigh Valley: A Fragmented Mess

Last time I told you about Upper Macungie Township, where township supervisors are trying to explain inflatable dolls and questionable township expenses to state regulators. Bill White believes the second class township code, which allows supervisors to hire themselves, is part of the problem. I agree, but think there's another reason.

The Lehigh Valley is a fragmented mess, a challenge for any lover of jigsaw puzzles. It's a quagmire of Upper and Lower Saucons, Milfords, Macungies, Nazareths, and Mount Bethels. We've got North and South Whitehall, Allen and East Allen, Catty and North Catty, Bangor and East Bangor, and Easton and West Easton. We're a morass of 62 separate municipalities and 2 counties. On the local level, we elect 466 officials to represent 578,500 people, or 1 local and paid elected official for every 1240 residents. And this is without looking at our 17 school districts.

The Lehigh Valley is not unusual. Pennsylvania possesses "one of the nation's most labyrinthine systems of state and local government." Its 2566 municipalities is the third largest total of general governments in the nation, according to a recent Brookings Institute report.

So what's the big deal, you may ask. Isn't government supposed to be close to the people? Well, yes. But having so many of them has the opposite effect - it makes local government both weak and unresponsive. That's certainly what's going on in Upper Macungie. Let me give you some examples.

First, our fragmented governance enables developers to run roughshod over haphazard municipal land use plans and local zoning. That's why open space referenda are really just a joke. They do nothing but create little playlands for all the McMansions.

Second, because we're such a mess, the state can ignore us. Parochial concerns prevent us from agreeing on anything, whether it's the location of a baseball stadium or a casino. Municipalities compete over business locations, luring a business like Lehigh Valley Plastics from another location just a few miles away. State officials can play municipal officials against each other, which keeps them weak. We could be much more forceful if we were united.

Third, because we are so divided, unelected groups like the LVPC can set our agenda. Although much of the LVPC's work is excellent, their mandate does not come from the people, and that is reflected by their "public" hearings, which are almost always scheduled when those of us who work are unable to attend. Elected municipal officials are hesitant to question LVPC recommendations because their municipalities are unable to fund studies that might reach different results.

The final and most serious problem is a fragmented response to pandemics, natural disasters, or our coming energy crisis. Most of the Valley's major businesses already have plans in place. Our local governments, however, are simply not equipped to deal with these problems, and instead pretend the problem is not there.

Our two County execs, John Stoffa and Don Cunningham, recognize the importance of a regional approach to the Lehigh Valley's problems, and have begun exploring areas where government services can be consolidated. So far, they're mostly discussions, and no one has even broached the idea of consolidating a few municipalities or merging Northampton and Lehigh Counties.

One example of the difficulties faced, both by Stoffa and Cunningham, is in the idea of a regional health authority. Northampton County Council recently authorized the study of a regional health authority, which makes perfect sense in the face of a pandemic or natural disaster. Those won't stop at municipal boundaries. Yet Councilmen Lamont McClure, Charles Dertinger, and Wayne Grube voted against this salutary proposal, defying common sense with parochialism.

Regional problems require regional solutions. And perhaps it's time to consider one Lehigh Valley County, but that won't happen in my lifetime.