News Record from North Hills, Pennsylvania • Page 11

North Hflls News Record Mark A. Whittaker, Opinion Editor, 1-800-874-9994 Friday, March 14, 1997 Our Mission The North Hills News Record strives to be a vital, daily reflection of its community By providing timely, accurate information that empowers readers, the News Record brings together the boroughs and townships that make up the North Hills, provides a forum for diverse viewpoints and leads the community to solve its problems. Our View Public needs teacher pacts wo state senators this week proposed measures to improve the public's ability to monitor and comment on contract negoti- ations lietween teachers and schooTbdards. Senate President Pro Tempore RobertJube- lirer, R-Altoona, suggested the most strident measure by proposing that negotiation meetings between teachers and school boards be open to the public. Jubelirer's plan no doubt makes most Taxpayers nave a public officials right to know cringe, and probably TT noeducatorinpferai- what's being done syivania favors the with their money.

Opening teacher thing to do. negotiations to Public business the public and ducted inVbHc" giving notice of Teacher salaries and contract VOtCS are benefits account for nn -A pnft about 72 percent of a 8 00a 8 school district have a right to know about negotiations that involve such a large chunk of local-tax dollars. Allowing the public to witness negotiations would be a steady, eye-opening reminder for both sides that they are talking about tax money, not their own. Sen. Melissa Hart, R40th of McCandless, has offered a suggestion that is not as drastic as Jubelirer's.

Hart wants to require school districts to give 72 hours' notice of meetings that would include a vote on teacher contracts. Her biB is a response to numerous "early bird" contract extensions adopted last year, including several in the North Hills. The extensions were negotiated quietly more than a year before expiration of existing contracts. School board votes usually were the first public notice that the boards were even considering new contracts. The 72-hour notice would give the public a chance to be aware of contract votes and perhaps comment on the proposed contract Existing laws require school boards to seek public comment about school budgets.

Unfor- junately. Jhe laiygsjj)arjof ked hi without public advice. The Legisla- I Hart and7ubel3refbllls. Signal essential at Wexford Run-Rt. 910 omeowners around the Wexford Run Road-Route 910 intersection in Marshall are right to renew their call for a traffic signal at the intersection.

The homeowners association for Huntington -Marshall Woods in Franklin Park plans to discuss the need for the signal at a meeting this weekend. Members hope to get the attention of state and municipal leaders. The residents say the heavy traffic makes it dangerous to enter Route 910 from Wexford Run Road. The intersection, between Route 19 and Interstate 79, is heavily traveled by commuters heading to and from work. In a survey of News Record readers, it was ranked one of the most congested intersections hi the North Hills.

It handles about 11,300 cars a day. Putting a signal at the intersection is just one of the changes that should be made if PennDOT ever gets around to making improvements to the Route 910 interchange with 1-79. North Hills News Record A Gannett Newspaper Established in 1962 137 Commonwealth Drive, Warrendale, Pa 15086 (412) 772-3900 S. Mark Adklns President, Publisher and Chief Executive Officer Richard Leonard Executive Editor David C. Fritz Managing Editor Mark A.

Whittaker Opinion Editor Chance to help others worth more than money ost people want to serve God, but only ID an advisory capacity. Almost everybody wants to help others in need, 'hypothetically speaking. At North Hills Community Outreach, I am privileged to work with eight strong and talented women who serve God and the community in concrete ways. Cindy Gilch and Dianne Buirge have been employed at Community Outreach for 10 and eight years respectively, and fulfilling the organization's mission is their job and their life's work. Community Columnist Fay Morgan As director of food and emergency and poverty, i the At writes our newsletter and maintains our equipment.

Without public acclaim, Dianne keeps everything running smoothly behind the scenes, so our program staff can devote their time to aiding local families in hardship, crisis services, Cindy is responsible for i organization's food pantry and for authorizing funds for rent, clothing, medical care, child care, transportation and critical home repairs. Cindy also handles our seasonal kets and toys lor distribution to families in need at holidays. Compassionate to all yet savvy at spotting a scam, she was named the News Record's "North Hills Person of the Year" in 1996 for her service to the community. Dianne is our chief financial officer. In fact, she's our only financial officer, and, like all of Outreach employees, she juggles many 6n-the-job responsibilities.

In addition to financial record keeping, Dianne coordinates our fund-raisers, temporary Outreach assistant Betty Cech is our "newest" staff member. A volunteer for seven years, Betty is on special paid assignment for four months while Cindy works with the Greater funds for the poorest food pantries in Allegheny County. Incredibly energetic, Betty never says "no" to any task. As employment specialist, Carolyn Pschirer helps others find jobs so they can meet family expenses. Carolyn has a special ability to relate to all kinds of people.

In the morning, she might meet with someone with a'PhD who was laid off after decades as an executive. In the afternoon, she might see a person with GED who's been fired from a minimum- wage job for absenteeism due to family problems. She gives both tangible help to prepare for a successful job search. Diane Hutchins is our resource specialist, and her responsibilities include overseeing our peer support groups and our legal assistance program. So also manages the work of persons completing court-ordered community service by volunteering at Community Outreach.

These individuals have been found guilty of crimes including child abuse, petty theft and drunken driving NppHWg in eay either They are both glad to have the opportunity to labor in service to God, and the community. Some staff members regularly stay late to see people who can't get in earlier, When I leave, Marjorie Mills is usually still at her desk in the basement; we tell her she occupies our "spacious lowei' level," and she pretends to believe it One of Marjorie's major responsibilities is assisting persons who are delinquent with their utility payments. Many of those; Marjorie works with have health concerns or disabilities. One week, she helped keep likes a real challenge. Since the average hourly wage at Outreach is $7.33, all our staff members could make more working almost anywhere else.

But they find satisfaction Linda Raab, a registered nurse, is the coordinator of Outreach's nonmedical care for the frail elderly. She and Outreach Assistant Karen Wagner share office space at our Millvale satellite. The satellite is three flights up, with poor ventilation and no air conditioning. It routinely reaches 90 degrees in the Mfflyale office in the summer, and in the winter if common for Linda and Karen to. wear their coats all day at their desks.

Yet I've never heard one complaint from Jl, a woman with two broken arms and a single mother with a child who was-quadriplegic. Eighteenth century church reformer John Wesley said, "Do all the good you i. 11 all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can." All the community's problems, aft the! world's problems, could be effectively addressed, if we each served our neighbors in practice, not theory. Fay Morgan of Skater is executive director tfNortitJWsCommiatity I Outreach and a member of the News Record board of community columnists. Her column appears every other Friday.

Groveling for cash reveals addiction to power Another View Deborah Mathls A ccording to polls which is to say, the gospel in Washington -most Americans aren't especially concerned about the mechanics of fund raising for political campaigns. Specifically, the majority is not put out of sorts by the way President Clinton and the Democratic National Committee raised money. Yeah, sure, they say; the parade of fat-cat overnighters in the Lincoln Bedroom is tacky and probably a little shady. And, yeah, sure, the president serving coffee, croissants and policy to -big'contributors irtfanV parent pandering for pay. And, yeah, sure, Johnny Chung's loitering around the White House, handing out big checks wins a wink and a wince.

But so what? they say. What's new about a politician doing social or political favors for major financial supporters anyway? Indeed, there is nothing new except, perhaps, the endlessness of money-gathering. Thanks to modern political campaigning polling and television production and airtime being the big ticket items people of modest means can forget a serious run unless they can somehow attract enough free news coverage to sate their hunger for publicity. Yet, even that apparently doesn't ease the money hunger, because President Clinton can never complain about a lack of coverage, but still his campaign felt it needed to buy TV time. Meaning it couldn't get enough of the green stuff.

This craving is not discriminating. It alike. It afflicts Republican and Democrat jind Independent and jnP mate- Beltway and out; incumbent and upstart Notwithstanding their dignified station and prestigious trappings, most politicians apparently lead lives of quiet desperation. For money. Because raising money requires perpetual-motion, I don't doubt that the calls for reform are at least a little -siflcer-ei-Aftef-'aHrhow-maay-ehiefeeo hands can you pump before the knuckles bruise? And how many times can you ask someone to write a check before you're drowning in snake oil? It can't be fun and it's bound to be exhausting even, at times, humiliating.

The fact that they continue despite these rather significant minuses, despite embarrassing revelations about how and bTowtf and" yellow; small town and big city; inside the Lenin would love Cranberry tree issue It must be true that we do not learn from the experiences of the past! Here is Lenin's doctrine on ownership of property and his wish to redistribute that ownership through redhrision of all land: The Bolshevik dream is to create, hi the future, collective farms hi which no one could say This is mine and everything would be held in common. The mine must die." I hope we are not trying to introduce this concept again. Having just read your article "Preserving die Trees," Lenin's words seem to jump out of history and ask us poor common foDc Who does own those trees --the state, as Lenin envisioned, or a private citizen? Have we developed a collective farm mentality, or am I misinformed that someone under our rights of private ownership actually paid hard- earned cash for that property and holds title to it, with the right to do with it as they see fit within existing federal, state and municipal regulations? If a township employee, whose salary is being paid from the taxes generated by such land and development ventures, has his private agenda, I suggest he buy the land on which the trees stand and do with it as he sees fit Some supervisors do not seem to be able to separate the forest from these trees. dinners can anyone choke down in -ateekbeforc the stomach rebels? reaDy is. We only thought we knew.

Just tike any other junkie, the transaction is simple at first. But as the habit grows, scruples diminish, and, before long, getting the money to feed the monkey by any means is necessary. Now, the poor souls have proposed that they are fit to set up their own rehabilitation program doctor and patient, you kiss before the lips chap and swell? How many and despite their furrowed-brow denun- tells us nails that goes on nonetheless we haven't a clue how addictive power 1500, Chicago, III. 60611. Letters to the editor How to write The News Record welcomes comments from readers about any subject Letters should be 350 words or less Letters must be signed and should include the writer's home address and daytime telephone number for verification Anonymous letters will not be published Letters are subject to editing Nu poetry, please BY MAIL Send letters to Opinion Editor, News Record, 137 Commonwealth Drive, Warrendale, Pa 15086 BY FAfcCall 772-3915 I BY E-MAIL: Our Internet address is i BY PHONE: Call 772-7397 any time, I ON THE WEB: Our World Wide Web homepage can be found at http newsrecord Some of us seem to have forgotten this! Does anyone understand the importance of solving the turnpike, 228, Route 19 interchange connector problem and what beneficial effect solving this problem would have for the area? Are the trees in question really an issue, or is this a smoke screen to divert our attention from the major issue that certain paid and elected officials prefer not to handle? J.D.

Spink, Lancaster Township Editorial loses touch with reality I find it inconceivable that a newspaper that just last week advocated extending -eraiiterry lias mare. Instead of focusing their attention on this major problem, some supervisors elect to gather headlines about trees that were harvested legally to clear an area that will create tax revenue and jobs. Lenin would have embraced the concept expressed by certain supervisors. Thank God we have our own constitutionally protected right of private ownership. a liaffic iiiulif ''Allegheny County'soppi ates public park in Ross that would include badly needed baseball and soccer fields for our youth.

You have offended not only every taxpayer hi Ross but every taxpayer in the region. Perhaps the morons on your editorial staff would better serve the community if they investigated truly "misdirected" tax money. Why not start with the $12.2 million that was given to the Penguins? Your newspaper certainly is out of touch with reality. Ted A Klamut.Ross Keep parties out of school board races overly reliant on the recommendations of the Republican Committee. No other elected office affects our daily lives more directly than our local school board.

As voters, we must educate ourselves the most pressing issues facing Nofth Allegheny and choose candidates who will best represent our needs. Until the Legislature changes the current method of cross-filing in school board elections, political committees should refrain from endorsing school board candidates in primary elections. This will force voters to know who they are voting for and what the candidate represents. Political affiliation has no place in school board elections. Gayle Little, McCandless Mount Pleasant Road needs repairs Mount Pleasant Road in Warrendatels completely full of potholes, one after another.

It is a continuous chain -of potholes waiting to damage your car. Warrendale is starting to build up, and more people are beginning to use this road. Mount Pleasant Road is so bad.ydh can't exceed 10 mph without taking a chance of blowing a tire. To make matters worse, the potholes are all large and deefi. This makes it hard to control your car The few times someone did try to fiB to surrounding counties would be opposed to using state tax money to help fund a public park in Ross! Evidently the News Record believes that it is OK to tax out-of-county residents in order to help fund private, for- profit groups such as the Penguins, Pirates and Steelers, but it is a "poor use of state taxpayers' money" to fund a Louise Bradley's letter of March 7 pointed out how political committees can overstep their level of influence.

It's refreshing to hear someone who is a member of an organization as powerful as the Republican Committee willing to speak out and spark debate and discussion. North Allegheny voters have become tfley- did nbt do ii g6od job, which left the road there is any hope to fix Mount Pleasant Road, they should do it right or rip whole road out and start over. Mount Pleasant Road is an accident waiting to happen. I believe some action should be taken to prevent an accident, Marcie Craig, Marshal.