vol. 135 - no. 232 more inside no tax increase in ridgway...
TRANSCRIPT
Vol. 135 - No. 232
Partly sunny. Highs in the lower 50s.
Full report, A3
20 pages
Classi� ed ......................... B6
Comics ............................. B4
Lifestyles ......................... A4
Lottery ............................. A9
Opinion ........................... A8
Public Notices ............... B6
Sports ............................... B1
$1.75
•GeorgeD.Nestor,81
The Courier Express offi ce will be closed Thurs-day for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Normal offi ce hours will resume Friday.
Opening will be delayed
Incoming residents of the new Colonial Court-yard facility in Clearfield will be waiting until after the new year to nestle in to their new home. A2
Click It or Ticket
As part of a statewide Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement mobiliza-tion, the state Department of Transportation and Clearfield County law en-forcement agencies kicked off a seat belt safety cam-paign this week. A3
Trooper shot at traffic stop
A traffi c stop on a high-way turned violent when a suspect got back into his car and fl ed, rear-ended a school bus and then shot and wounded a state trooper. A6
No newspaper Thursday
Tomorrow’s
Forecast
Index
ObituariesA9
MORE INSIDE
Kids Give
Thanks
By Nick Hoffman
DuBOIS — Water was a top-ic of discussion and concern at Monday’s DuBois City Council meeting.
Gary Geurndt and an un-identifi ed member of the Drug Free Water Supply Coalition began to make their case for submitting the issue of fl uori-dated water to a citizens refer-endum.
The pair began presenting a prepared script when Council-woman Diane Bernardo inter-jected with a series of questions about a referendum. Inquiries were made several years ago about the same topic but were not pursued.
They said DuBois water - which is consumed in the city as well as Sandy and Union townships in Clearfi eld Coun-ty and Sykesville in Jefferson County - was fi rst fl uoridated more than 50 years ago.
They cited studies that sug-gest that fl uoride has minimal benefi t on teeth while creating severe issues with bone struc-ture and thyroid, among oth-ers.
“What are you willing to gain what?” Geurndt asked. “The risks outweigh the ben-efi ts. We’ve got to clean the wa-ter up.”
City Solicitor Toni Cherry tried to explain that if the group wants to pursue a refer-endum, it is up to the members to circulate petitions and follow the procedures for putting the question on the ballot. It is not up to the city to authorize it.
Several “fl ip” comments were made and after City Man-ager John “Herm” Suplizio and Councilmen Randy Schmidt and Ed Walsh warned them
Watertopic atDuBoisCouncilsession
By Katie Weidenboerner
ST. MARYS — Workforce develop-ment was the buzz word at the Tues-day afternoon luncheon hosted by the Northwest Industrial Resource Cen-ter and St. Marys Area Chamber of Commerce.
In November of 2013, it was iden-tifi ed by the DISCOVER Partnership of Elk & Cameron County that there was one job opening for every three unemployed people in Elk County and every four in Cameron County.
One of the hurdles to placing peo-ple in jobs that are available is train-ing.
“I do think that the number one asset of any company is a qualifi ed trained workforce,” said Congress-man GT Thompson as he took to the podium Tuesday.
“You can have the best idea, the greatest technology, a great location,
a tremendous marketing program, an army of people to help with gov-ernment compliance, but if you don’t have that qualifi ed trained workforce you don’t have anything.”
Lack of a qualifi ed workforce leaves to two outcomes - shutdowns or foreign ship outs - neither of which Thompson sees as a viable option to bolster the economy of Pennsylvania.
“Manufacturing is more a part of our gross domestic product today than any time in history,” Thompson said.
“There are no social programs that provide greater results than a good paying job.”
As an Education Workforce Com-mittee member, Thompson said he has worked to reauthorize the Work-force Innovation & Opportunity Act with important changes such as en-suring people are being trained for in-
demand positions, rather than those with no openings. Additionally, there is a requirement for the majority of members on a Workforce Investment Board to be employers.
Another important change which could be on the horizon for education before the year’s end is the possible repeal of No Child Left Behind, a controversial 15-year-old federal law which suggests that high expecta-tions goal-setting will result in great-er educational achievement for most students.
“This is long overdue. We’re pre-paring our kids - not for great careers or good jobs in trade positions - but to score really well on specifi c test ques-tions that don’t have any relevance in real life,” Thompson said.
On a conference committee which voted its repeal in a 39-1 vote, Thomp-son said the committee suggested lo-cal and state control be replaced,
Thompson stresses importance of training to place people in jobs
By Katie Weidenboerner
RIDGWAY — In a split vote Tuesday night, Ridg-way Borough council nar-rowly approved water rate increases, while refuse rate increases glided through with unanimous approval.
The council approved to raise its water rates by $1 per thousand gallons for 2016. This means the aver-age residential customer
would see a minimum in-crease of $2 on their month-ly bill.
Environmental Man-ager Paul McCurdy added that customers in Ridgway Township will also likely see an increase, although he couldn’t provide fi rm num-bers Tuesday.
Councilmen Frank Quat-trone, Sam MacDonald, and John Casolo voted in favor of
the motion, as well as the tie breaking vote from Mayor Guillermo Udarbe.
All who voted in favor saw the need for the in-crease as preliminary engi-neering estimates indicate the borough will be faced with a $20 million overhaul of its water and sewer pipes, some of which are over 100 years old.
“I don’t like raising the
rate but what are you going to do,” Casolo asked. “The pipes need fi xed.”
In opposition to the in-crease were Councilmen Steve Keener and Ralph Dussia, as well as Council-woman Nina Stolburg.
Councilman J.R. Geitner was not present for the vote.
After the meeting, Stol-burg said she voted against the increase because she felt
it could be held off for anoth-er year.
“A lot of people com-plained to me saying they have a hard time paying their water bill,” Stolburg said. “I just wanted to give the community a break.”
Dussia and Keener said instead of increasing the rates, they believe money could be taken out of the
No tax increase in Ridgway budgetResidents will see increase in water and trash fees
Congressman GT Thompson provided updates on federal policy affecting Pennsylvania industry during a luncheon at The Highlands restaurant in St. Marys Tuesday afternoon. (Photo by Katie Weidenboerner)
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2015
By Elaine Haskins
DuBOIS — Directors of the Du-Bois Area School District recently created a position for facilities man-ager to be effective on or after Jan. 4.
The board also approved the job description for facilities manager. The job summary states that the fa-
cilities manager will be responsible to ensure that facilities are aligned to the Local Education Agency vi-sion and strategic direction.
Some of the duties will include: • Responsible for developing, im-
plementing and maintaining LEA’s facilities budget.
• Coordinates the utilization of staff, equipment and/or systems for the LEA.
• Maintains the buildings and grounds of the LEA.
• Serves as coordinator and liai-son to all vendors for services, sup-plies, repairs and other measures to the LEA.
• Participates in the district planning process to ensure facility goals are aligned to the district vi-sion and strategic direction.
• Responsible for the develop-
ment and implementation of LEA preventative maintenance program.
• Performs duties with compli-ance of all federal, state and local regulations and LEA policies and procedures.
• Accountable for scheduling and work assignments of maintenance and custodial staff.
• Is responsible for overseeing
DuBois School Board creates facilities manager position
See Position, Page A9
See Ridgway, Page A9
See Water, Page A9See Jobs, Page A9
St. Marys
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