The Daily Item from Sunbury, Pennsylvania • 10

ETDOini The Daily Iteiri Sunday, November 2. 2003 Page A10 Going nowhere fast EDITORIAL The winner is not us The vote to select the next state senator from the 27th District is perhaps the most politicized of the political contests to be decided jn Tuesday's general election. 'Not that the two major-party candidates ANDY ROONEY Aiiniiscivs aic uvciuy jjyuuwu uuc both' are career politicians, Republican John Gordner of Berwick and Democrat Kent Shelhamer of Bloomsburg' posses laid back, "almost folksy personal styles. And their politics are not that very different. Shelhamer, a farmer, is a old-fashioned, pro-life, conservative Democrat.

Gordner, a lawyer, is a "liberal-enoueh ReDublican to have been a the P-47s Thunderbolt. It wasn't as maneuverable as the Spit but much more powerful. An American who had been a Spitfire pilot and switched to the P-47 told me it was like the difference between riding a circus pony and straddling a tien. -t I vasn't being litft at during the most dangeroukJflight I ever took. I spent 29 days in a heli-1 copter flying across, the United States taking pictures for a documentary film called "A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF AMERICA." The Sikorsky had two engines and two best-helicopter ever but they've never really finished inventing the helicopter.

One of our two pilots was killed in a crash shortly after our trip. Too bad about the Concorde. Like a lot of good things, we could afford it if we didn't waste so much on useless weapons like tanks, battleships, submarines and fighter planes. Our latest fighter, the F-22 Raptor, costs $99 million and none of us will ever get a ride in one of those. was killed when he was shot down in Normandy.

The last airplane so distinctive that I never forgot it was the four-engine 747. A pilot told me it was the best airplane ever built but it was also too expensive to fly. There was a stairway to an upstairs lounge in lb 747, and. I was up there on a flight with Jimmy Durante and Jack Nicholson." You don't forget that flight, although Nicholson had a personality I'd like to forget. I've lost track of airplane, since'-" the 747., They're all the same.

The biggest changes were to make the aisles harrower and the seats closer togetherPassenger planes used to have aisles wide enough so you could get by the food carts to go to the bathroom. During World War II, I flew in a B-17 as a reporter on the second 8th AF raid on Germany. My plane, the Banshee, was hit and I was scared stiff but it made a good story. The British Spitfire was one of the all-time great airplanes. It helped save the British Isles from invasion.

Our best fighter plane then was I've been thinking about airplanes since they grounded the Concordes because they were too expensive. It was sad. I Pew twice in a Concorde. CBS paid for "it and I forget how I convinced them I was that important and in so much of a hurry. I don't remember what it cost, but the fare on the last' trip for one per- son from New York to London and back was $10,000.

i 'There's some basic law of nature being violated although I can't put my fingef on what it is when we are able to invent something so expensive we 'can't afford it. Most people remember their first airplane ride or some memorable flight they've taken. I always get wondering how those little wings on a passenger plane can keep 200 passengers, all their luggage and 5,000 gallons of gas up in the air. I flew a lot in what may be the greatest airplane ever built, the DC-3. It wasn't glamorous like the Concorde but it was the workhorse of World War II top speed of 230 mph.

The Air Force called it the C-47 and bought 10,000 of them from Douglas. It didn't fight any battles but it carried several million American sol-' ciiersall over the world and I was one of them. Dozens of DC-3s are still flying in South America" 65 years after they were built. Douglas tried to improve" the C-47 with the it was a dud. I flew in one from India to China and it didn't make me easy knowing they'd lost many of them flying over the Himalayan Mountains, known as "The Hump." Some joker had scrib-bled on the wall behind my bucket seat: THIS IS A THING YOU DON'T SEE OFTEN TWO ENGINES MOUNTED ON A COFFIN! If anything compares with the DC-3 in longevity, durability and safety, it's the reliable little Piper Cub.

It wasn't the Cub's fault that my school friend Charley Wood, the class poet, an artillery spotter, Democrat a few short years But more is'at stake than personal style or even personal politics. They are. running in a special election that is of more interest to special-interests particularly the major-party leadership in Harrisburg than is typical for the Central Susquehanna Valley. There is a long and tortured back, story to this particular election. It starts with venerable state Sen.

Edward Helfrick, who resigned from his post this summer. During his last term in office, a series of events changed the make-up of his district and the course of this election: The redisricting process carved eastern Union County out of Helfrick's district, which had the effect of eliminating long-time state Rep. Russ Fairchild of Lewisburg from a chance to succeed Helfrick in the Senate. The dynamic and effective Fairchild had been seen by many as the heir apparent to Helfrick. John Gordner, a relatively low-profile Democrat in the state House, decided to switch parties.

As a. relatively low-profile Republican, he quickly gained Helfrick's endorsement as his chosen replacement in the Senate. Helfrick resigned from his post, citing reasons, a year before his four-year term should end, forcing this special election, which eliminated the normal primary, election by which voters would begin to choose their candidates. These events, by design or not, propelled Gordner to a front-runner position, which, in turn drew Shelhamer a former state repre- TUEGfANT WAISTLAND Idle atiumiv auu ui dgiiiuiiuic uui ui semi-retirement to oppose him. Despite years of public service, neither candidate had been that well known outside Columbia County.

And while each has positive personal qualities, neither is a "natural" fit for the Central Susquehanna Valley. Indeed, both candidates have a few strikes against them. Gordner may be damaged goods in the Senate. His previous party-switching truly angered the Democratic leadership, which has mounted a vicious advertising campaign against him, complete with mocking tunes in radio ads. 64 OF ALL AMERICANS ARE WERWEIGHT LETTERS How enective a senator could uordner oe wnen nearly half his colleagues whistle "Pop goes the Weasel" whenever he walks by? Shelhamer, for his part, says he is running to protest the selection process that "anointed" Gordner more than for any personal ambition.

In fact, Shelhamer pledges not to run again after the short, one-year replacement term is over. That is an honorable pledge in some ways, but the people of the Central Susquehanna Valley deserve a bkmore of a commitment to their representational needs than a year-long protest. In light of these developments, The Daily Item has chosen to endorse the only candidate truly qualified to represent the Valley in the state Senate: Russ Fairchild. Too bad he was not given the chance to represent the Valley in the Senate, a job he had earned through long service to the entire region, and one he is more than qualified to hold. Too bad, also, that this election was stolen from Valley voters by political maneuvering in Harrisburg.

The best man will not win this election, because the best man was left off the map. Whoever wins the election will have to work awfully hard to win the hearts of a jilted electorate, and he will have less than a year to do so. against As past president of the Pennsylvania State Association of Jury Commissioners and a jury commissioner of Northumberland County, I attended the presentation on the home rule form of Government presented to interested citizens at the Northumberland County Career and Arts Center auditorium in Shamokin. I also have read and studied the final report. I urge the voters of Northumberland County on Nov.

4 to vote no to the council-manager optional plan of county government. As an elected official, I operate under the security of the individual voter and am accountable to the County and its Court System. To perform my duties, I took an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America, and, therefore, I have the moral and legal obligation to perform such duties beyond any reproach. To replace me would require hiring an employee who takes no such oath and may bring personal prejudices to the job of jury selection. To suggest that job politics would be euminated by abolishing elected managerial positions and instituting an elected council and hired form of County Government is not only idealistic but erroneous.

The average citizens have much protection and access to the systems of government when they are represented by elected officials. To remove these links to government is detrimental and ill serves the public. Voters of Northumberland County keep your elected officials on the job. Scrutinize their efforts and replace them at the ballot box when they do not perform the duties they were charged with. But keep your present form ofgpvernment and vote no on Nov.

4 when you see the question on theoallot. George A. Dorko, Shamokin The Daily Item 200 Market St. Telephone: (570) 286-5671 Sunbury. Pennsylvania 17801 Toll free: (800) 792-2303 Janet A.

Tippett President Publisher Leonard M. Ingrassia Editor For home rule I would like to take the opportunity to clear up several misconceptions about the home-rule question, which will appear on this year's ballot in the upcoming general election. First of all, a vote for home rule does not guarantee a removal of any county official from office. Recently there have been ads in the media that allude to this. Either these individuals are ill informed of what home rule is or they are dcliberetly trying to confuse the electorate.

If any of these "so called" experts on home rule would have found the time to attend the most informative Brush Valley Chamber of Commerce public meeting on home rule, they might have a better understanding of the concept. Voting for home rule on this fall's ballot only begins a process which the citizens of Northumberland County will have the direct opportunity to participate and have input on. On this year's ballot are a list of commission candidates, who, if the question passes, will have the task of researching and gathering information and solicit input from the residents of the county On what their feelings are on the county government structure. If after this process, which will take least four years to complete, any recommendation from the commission will be just what it is referred to as, a recommendation. At that time, the recommendation of the commission will be placed on the ballot, and only after a favorable vote by the electorate of the county, will any changes be implemented.

I would also like to take this opportunity to inform your readers then-are currently several counties in Pennsylvania which have a home rule charter and also numerous municipalities, which are governed through home rule. Specifically, Luzerne County has completed their home rule study after several years of gathering input and information, and that county's electorate will be voting on the issue in this November's election. Also, Lacawanna county implemented a home rule charter a few years ago and it should be noted that their home rule charter does not consolidate or remove any county office holders. Finally, I would like to commend the other public minded individuals who have joined me in running for the position of home rule commissioner. They will be sacrificing time out of their own lives for a non- paid position, whose office will eventually be disolved.

The only motive in seeling the office of home rule commissioner is to investigate the idea of improving the lives of the resident of Northumberland County. Further, without the aid or endorsement of any political party, each of the commission candidates, were required to get in excess of 200 names on special election petitions issued by the Pennsylvania Department of State before having their name placed on the ballot Greg Sacavage, Kulpmortt Sacavage is a candidate for the Home Ruh study commission. Joanne Arbogast Managing Editor Features David R. Hilliard Managing Editor News Craig Urey Managing Editor Opinion Published daily and Sunday by The Daily Item Publishing Company, a division of Onaway Newspapers Inc. Entered as Periodicals.

Postage Paid at Post Office. Sunbury, PA 17801 USPS (e65-500). Subscription price a By earner 13.50 per Jk'k rtfenths. 189 00; one year $172.00. Mail service not available in areas served by newspaper carriers.

By mail (cash in advance. Pennsylvania, $6 per week. Out of state. $7 per week). ii I l.

We encourage letters from readers. include ycuf full name, address and a telephone number where you can be reached during daytime hours for verification and content questions. Letters should be no more than Z0Q words in length and address a topic AU submissions become the property of The Dai' kern and may be ed pubs-shed or reused in ether mod' urn. Address; Letters to the Editor, TheDaiylt-rn 200 Mi-icct St. Sur.rxr,PA17SG1 letters da'Mtemxorn Fax: (570) A diverse community Is i our greatest asset.