For Governor Corbett's plan to privatize the state's socialist liquor monopoly to have the best chance of success, it would have to actually be argued on fundmental principles and not tied to more Harrisburg pull-peddling. By using such buzz words as "convenience" and, not by accident, excluding such words as "liberty" and "free enterprise," Governor Corbett will predictably be subject to a barrage of objections that could easily be answered if privatization was based on returning the government to its core function and not diluted with concessions to special interests (such as education). …

To the Editor: Flu season is harsher this year than previous years. The American Lung Association of the Mid-Atlantic urges everyone to take healthy steps to weather the flu season. Vaccination is safe and effective and the best way to help prevent influenza. Influenza vaccine options are available for children, adults and seniors.  Parents of young children should know that children 6 months through 8 years of age receiving a flu shot for the first time need two doses of vaccine, approximately one month apart, for optimal protection. Along with getting vaccinated, warding off influenza is as…

Dear Patch, My name is Lisa Librecht Kamp and I am organizing a Ladies Day Out Fundraiser to benefit The Rachel Librecht Family Foundation.  The Rachel Librecht Family Foundation was created in 2003 when our family suffered the tragic loss of Rachel. Rachel was a daughter, sister, aunt and friend but she was also a great teacher of special education students at Seneca Valley High School. She was a graduate of Montour High School 1996 and Gannon University in 2000. During all her years teaching she shared with our family the challenges these students face. Through our grief we formed the …

In a recent Letter to the Editor, a Jackson Township resident reported that our organization, the Voter Participation Center, erroneously sent a voter-registration application to her 16-year-old daughter. We are not familiar with this incident but, if true, we regret the mistake. The Voter Participation Center is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that is only interested in helping eligible Americans to register to vote. In fact, since 2004 we have helped register 1.6 million Americans—enabling them to participate in our great democracy. No state election officials in Pennsylvania or …

To the Editor and Readers, I am writing as a result of a second attempt by mail to register my 16-year-old daughter to vote.  I threw away the first mailing, giving the sender the benefit of the doubt that it was a mistake.  The second one arrived last week from the Voter Participation Center in Virginia. The founder of that organization is a Page S. Gardner, and the former name of that group was the Womens Voice Womens Vote.  When trying to contact the number on the website, it is no longer in service. The web page states over 4 million registrations have been sent out, my question being how…

During the June 25, 2012 SVSD Board Meeting to approve a 4.4 mill increase of the 2012-2013 budget which culminated in a 10-percent homeowner tax increase over the past two years, one SVSD board member indicated that "we have cut the 2012-2013 budget to the bone," another targeted the Commonwealth for the SVSD budget ills and one even had the audacity to say "We could have raised taxes to 5.71 mils as an exception approved by the state." That being said, it is worthy of note that our increased homeowner taxes are funding 12 administrators with salaries from $100K to $163K, eight employees …

Hey, Taxpayer, While you were out trying to avoid heatstroke this summer, your state government actually did something. The Pennsylvania Legislature passed another one of those pesky budgets determining exactly what your taxes have bought you this year.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t mind paying taxes if I get a good return on my investment. And what better investment than our children, our future? I’m speaking, of course, about public education. So was this a good return? Let’s see:GOOD NEWSPA. BUDGET PASSED HIGHER THAN GOVERNOR WANTED: Last year, the Legislature cut $818 million from …

Generally, a government's role is to provide those services which their citizens cannot reasonably expect to provide for themselves. Moreover, government does not usually compete with private enterprise for those services which private enterprises can more aptly and economically provide the community. And certainly government should not be in the business of trying to make money through risky ventures like building golf courses and club houses. When government competes with private enterprises, its citizens generally lose by being "over taxed" in the long run. Of the 129 Greater Pittsburgh …

While I applaud the Seneca Valley School District board's efforts to try to balance the 2012-2013 school budget by eliminating 15.5 personnel positions and then potentially increasing school-related fees for students, it is intuitively obvious SVSD cannot live within its financial means, as ironically the personnel reductions have not mitigated the proposed budget from increasing over last year. For example, the 2011-2012 budget was $94.5M, and now the proposed 2012-2013 budget is $97.2M, a 3-percent increase after the reduction of the 15.5 personnel positions? The board appears to be …

In a letter to the editor in December, Cranberry Township Supervisor Bruce Mazzoni wrote he would give up his stipend if fellow Supervisor David Root gave up his, and then he reneged on his word. In the same article, he was condescending to a fellow CT resident. Well, Mr. Root caught all of his fellow supervisors off guard when he led by example by signing paperwork in late December 2011 to relinquish his annual stipend of $4,125. Mr. Root then challenged his fellow board members to follow his lead and give up their annual stipend. No one did. While Mr. Mazzoni continues to try to mitigate …

I am writing to urge you not to support Gov. Corbett’s budget as proposed with its devastating and disproportionate cuts in education.I believe education always is valuable to the individuals, the families, the cities, states and the country. Without education, we will not be able to compete with the other countries. Our children will not be able to better themselves or gain solid employment. The advantages that the United States has had, our country’s fortitude and ingenuity are as a result of—not in spite of—the education we provide our children.I urge legislators to find another way to …

For the second straight year, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has proposed massive education budget cuts.For the second straight year, Corbett has proposed massive cuts to colleges, universities and K-12 public schools.For the second straight year, Corbett has proposed the state do less for its citizens and more for big business.Why? It’s all about profits. There’s money to be made shortchanging kids’ educations. States throughout the country spend the majority of their budgets on schools. On average, states spend about 40 percent of their tax revenues on K-12 and colleges, according to The …

Does it bother you to constantly see speeders violating the 25 mph speed limit on the streets of your neighborhood where children play? Do you ever wonder what our police force is doing or not doing to protect us from the perils posed by speeding vehicles that constantly endanger our children, elderly citizens, our property and our well being in general? Can you imagine the external obsolescence this speeding problem causes to your property value? Do you wonder why this insidious problem never seems to abate? Cranberry Township has budgeted in its 2012 budget $4,783,890 for public safety and …

Any idea what the following numbers represent: 97.24, 100, 105.7, 107.71 and 114.91? Simply stated, 97.24 represents the Seneca Valley School District tax mill rate for 2009; 100 was the mill rate for tax year 2010; 105.6 represents the rate after the 5.6-mill increase for tax year 2011; 107.71 represents the 2-percent rate increase index currently authorized by law to SVSD for tax year 2012; and 114.91 is the mill rate being explored as one of four possible budget scenarios to fill the projected $4 million budget shortfall for 2012-2013 school year in order to maintain the SVSD fund at its …

“Almost.” It’s a scary word sometimes. Like when you put freshly brewed coffee too close to the edge and it ALMOST spills over ...Like  when you’re running late to work, gun that yellow light and ALMOST get clipped by an oncoming minivan ... Like when your tiny toddler teeters at the top of the steps and ALMOST tumbles down ...At times like these, ALMOST is both a terror and a relief. That’s how all of Pennsylvania feels now that our state legislators ALMOST passed a bill to enact school vouchers and expand charter schools.We feel sick that it ALMOST happened, yet relieved that in the end …

Superman, where are you?Filmmaker Davis Guggenheim tells us America’s waiting for a caped crusader to solve our education crisis. Us regular Joes just aren’t up to the task. Well, look up in the sky, it’s a bird ... it’s a plane ... no, it’s a Republican governor! Fresh from slashing $860 million from public schools budgets, Gov. Tom Corbett has swept in to finish the job of “saving” Pennsylvania’s school kids with his new education proposals. Just in the nick of time too. This year alone, Pennsylvania’s public schools have increased class sizes, stopped tutoring children who fall behind, …

So this is how public education ends - not with a scream but with a whimper.  With apologies to T.S. Eliot, the above sentiment sums up the position of the thousands of parents, children and teachers in the TEACH organization with regard to the farce played out [last week] in Harrisburg — the passage of a 2011-12 state budget that unnecessarily slashes $1.1 billion from education, $860 million of which was lacerated from our public schools especially the poorer ones.Gov. [Tom] Corbett made it clear these are not just “austerity measures.” He did this by accepting four new vehicles for himself…

“Whoever troubles his own household will inherit the wind."  -- Proverbs 11:29  The T.E.A.C.H. organization would like to express its outrage at Republican House members for passing a state budget proposal that still cuts over $1 billion from education across the commonwealth. All Democrats and two Philadelphia Republicans voted against the measure. Republicans had been hoping for a unanimous vote among their party. They didn’t get it. This just goes to show how difficult it is for anyone to support this twisted budget. We visited, called, and wrote as many local Republican representatives as…