Diversity Lacking In Scranton, Wilkes-Barre Police

Locator map of the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Metropolitan Statistical Area in the northeastern part of the of . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One.

That’s the number of racial minorities on the 143-officer Scranton police force.

Meanwhile, Scranton has morphed into a fairly diverse city in recent years.

The 2010 census reported the city was more than 5 percent black and 3 percent Asian. More than 80 percent is white. About 10 percent of the population is Latino.

With the mostly white police force in Ferguson, Missouri, making headlines while trying to quell protests from the mostly black town residents after a white officer shot a black teenager last month, the lack of diversity in police departments, and the problems that come with it, have been pulled back into the public eye.

Read more: http://citizensvoice.com/news/diversity-lacking-in-scranton-w-b-police-1.1748937

Meeting Crowd Fumes Over Hiring Brother Of Wilkes-Barre Mayor

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Luzerne County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

WILKES-BARRE, PA – The Wilkes-Barre Area School Board grappled with an angry standing-room-only crowd as they dealt with the fallout from hiring the mayor’s brother over a more qualified candidate at a tense meeting Monday.

Ten days earlier, the board voted 5-4 to hire Brian Leighton, brother of Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton, as a truant officer. After that meeting, school board directors Christine Katsock and James Susek, who voted against the hiring, said Leighton was not the candidate recommended by the district interview committee.

Four residents, including an unsuccessful candidate for the job, stood before the board Monday and berated it for the hiring.  Robert Kadluboski, a Wilkes-Barre tow-truck driver and frequent critic of the city government and the school board, called the hiring “a slap in the face of the taxpayer.”

Board President John Quinn, Vice President Louis Elmy, Dino Galella, Phil Latinski and Maryanne Toole voted to hire Leighton at a special meeting Aug. 2.  Lynn Evans and Rev. Shawn Walker joined Katsock and Susek in the failed opposition effort.

Read more: http://citizensvoice.com/news/meeting-crowd-fumes-over-leighton-hiring-1.1535302

Reading Mayor Vaughn Spencer Fined For 5 Illegal Hirings

The city Charter Board has fined Mayor Vaughn D. Spencer $1,000 for illegally hiring five assistants not approved by City Council as the charter requires.

Spencer has appealed the fine to Berks County Court, but at the request of attorneys for both sides, President Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl sealed the ruling and the appeal documents.

The city ordinance governing the Charter Board requires its rulings to be kept confidential until the targets exhaust their appeals.

However, a copy of the board’s ruling was obtained by the Reading Eagle.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=432492

Owen J. Roberts Media Circus Back In Town

Looks like the rumor mill is running full-tilt at the Fishwrap online over the new OJR Superintendent of Schools leaving.  The OJR School Board rushed to hire a replacement for wrongfully terminated Myra Forrest and less than two years later the new guy resigns.  All the details are “confidential”??  Smells like day-old fish guts to me.

Despite all the “drama” this has caused and the pall it has cast over the Owen J. Roberts School District, the students suffer when there are too many turnovers.  It seems more than coincidental that this guy is “outta here” already.  If it is just “bad timing” then more of an explanation is due OJR taxpayers without violating anyone’s “confidentiality”.

The board owes it to OJR taxpayers and students to do a better job of selecting a candidate who is “in it for the long haul”.  Continuity is important and we are talking about educating our children – not hiring someone to run the fryer at Mickey D’s.  You had a perfectly good superintendent, who was totally committed to the district, and you fired her for no good reason!

Two thumbs down for more drama!

Where There Is Drama, There Is The Pottstown School Board

I read the article in today’s Sunday Mercury about the latest PSD nonsense that is distracting the school board from their primary task of making sure our children receive a proper education.

Wildly hurling racial accusations is quite serious.  From what I know of Michele Pargeon, she does not appear to be a “racist” as she is being labeled by Ms. Harris.  I am sure there is as misunderstanding here. 

As usual, Thomas Hylton is in the fray adding his “two cents” now that he has more time on his hands after being dethroned as Lord God Tree King.

I would hope President Huss takes immediate charge of this situation before it gets TOTALLY out of hand.  At this juncture we appear to be about there with front page headlines in the Mercury.  We just love to stir the pot over at the Mercury!

The school board needs to learn how to work and play nice with each other or the whole lot of you need to go.  We have too much at stake here and there is too much work to be done.  This political posturing needs to stop.  How convenient Mrs. Pargeon is up for re-election and now all of a sudden this issue develops.

I voted for you Ms. Harris but honestly I am starting to wish I could take my vote back.  I am NOT liking what you have brought to the table thus far. If this is any indication of future behavior that we can expect from you, I will vote for someone else when you come up for relection.

Two thumbs down for this childish behavior!!!  Nice black eye for Pottstown!