The LuLac Edition #429, March 1, 2008

PHOTO INDEX: OUR 1968 LOGO, THE "MAYBE I'M AMAZED" ALBUM COVER, LUZERNE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ETHEL PRICE, FRANK CROSSIN AND ED WIDEMAN (CIRCA 1968) AND CURRENT OCCUPANTS GREG SKREPENAK AND MARYANNE PETRILLA.

THE OFFICE

In the late 60s and 70s, Exeter Borough Councilman, Gas Station owner and 5th District Democratic Chairman would try every few weeks to get my uncle, Timmy Pribula, then a Wyoming Area School Director and Courthouse employee fired. Jerry would get a bee in his bonnet about what my uncle did or did not do on the school board or just invented an excuse to cause trouble. At the time the three Commissioners were Frank Crossin, Ed Wideman and Ethel Price. Jerry would go from office to office to stir the pot. Crossin smiled and yes-ed him to death. Wideman arched his eyebrows in mock horror and said that he’d look into Jerry’s allegations. Price never let him in her office because this was a Democratic party matter. Jerry never got my uncle fired from the Assessor’s office but you can bet as he was making his rounds, the commissioners knew what was coming next. Their offices were right on top of one another and yes most likely they were overheard discussing matters great and small.
This brings us to the current Courthouse controversy of office space among the Commissioners. When Sam Guesto resigned, Commissioner Skrepenak moved into his office. But with the new appointment of Guesto’s successor, Chairwoman Petrilla halted the move this week because it wasn’t discussed by the entire board. In the meantime, Minority Commissioner Steve Urban jumped in and said that the board needs to be consulted on a thing like this. Pointing to his own cramped office, Urban suggested taking people in the Commissioner’s meeting room or a vacant office for privacy. Skrepenak right now is feeling bewildered. In his mind are those big billboards touting both he and Petrilla as “a team”. Now he tells the local media there are three independent Commissioners and he can’t even get cooperation on this matter. Skrep says he needs the privacy and more room. He is, after all a big guy. But there’s more to this story, it tells us that in the next term, this will not be a united bunch. And while Skrep is being a gentleman and not pushing the issue, you can bet that his supporters will take this as a “diss” against the big guy by the woman he handpicked to be his team mate. Petrilla’s point is that most Commissioner’s share an office suite. True, but she might be adhering to the old adage, “keep your friends close…but your enemies closer”. In the meantime, there are some who say Skrep should have made the changes in his waning days of the first term with Rose Tucker, but as the kids say, “who knew??”

DIAZ RESIGNS

Sam Diaz has resigned as Luzerne County budget/finance chief to accept another job. His resignation goes into effect March 14. Diaz was a straight shooter and did his job. He just got caught up in the crossfire that is county politics. We wish him well.
Full disclosure: Sam Diaz and I played on a few softball teams in the early 1980s.

MAYBE I’M AMAZED

That WNEP TV’s weathercaster Joe Snedecker said on radio, TV and on the website, that this might be the last snowfall for certain people in his audience. He basically said that there are some people who will die and not be with us and therefore this will be the last time they see cold, snowy weather. Okay fine, people die but do you have to put it in a weather forecast? Has Mr. Jovial (who I proudly share a birthday with) gone dark on us? He is of course stating a fact of life and death but I was struck by his comments today thinking how they might affect someone going to a funeral, having an elderly parent at the end of their life or someone battling cancer. I love “The Sned” but this was pretty odd……The Wilkes Barre City Council is still trying to decide what to do with the ordinance that would charge money for free speech in the city. There was a little protest outside of City Hall Thursday night but Council was still looking into the thing, WB Councilspeak for “maybe later but not now!” or to their credit, “not at all”. Council did get the gist of the demonstration with Rick Cronaurer and Kathy Kane intimating that council got the message of the protesters…….Maybe I’m amazed that when the Scranton University Community gets a huge grant from local benefactor Louis DeNaples, the local media has to find some semi-articulate student who babbles about “how much trouble he’s in”. No facts, just empty headed comments that support the continued smear. Is this cookie not benefiting from the largesse and generosity of the DeNaples family?..... Maybe I’m amazed that there are so many babies in Scranton/Wilkes Barre and Hazleton that don’t have a chance at life. Nope, I’m not talking about abortion, I’m talking about the thugs who think they can grow their penis by beating the crap out of a defenseless baby and the dumb bunny women who let them into their lives and between their legs. I’ve been accused of being a liberal on these pages but not on this issue. First off, there should be mandatory life for killing a child. For the woman, even if she were a bystander, she did nothing to stop it. Mandatory sterilization. No child should ever have that type of start in life. Face it, their life is over before it begins. While they lay in a cold grave, mom and dad (not married of course) enjoy three hots and a cot. Yeah, I’m a stinkin’ liberal!!!!..............I’m amazed that Steve Corbett is so worked up about being dissed by the Obama people. Corbett, their campaign is smoke and mirrors, if they did any checking up on you, they’d know you’d ask the hard questions. Obama can most likely answer those questions but it is not the style of the campaign to go head to head, face to face, they prefer the sermons from the mount approach. Still, you have to say the Dems have an embarrassment of riches in both Clinton and Obama. That will be the ticket too, interchange it any way you like……Maybe I’m amazed that the barely literate people of Edwardsville are giving their opinion on the closing and/or opening of The Glass Bar. Was there thirty years ago when it was “The Club Lee” or “Last Chance for Romance” bar. Haven’t been there since but here’s my take: an owner can’t control the type of crowd he gets. Who knew “Doughboy” would shoot women in a parked car? They weren’t in a bar, they seemed safely on their way home. The bar is not the problem, the problem is the criminals living among us. The neighbors have it wrong, bars don’t kill people, convicted felons we let into our area with guns kill people and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The owners of The White House Café closed that bar and someone was shot there the other night when the shutters on thec establishment were starting to grow moss. Yeah, it was the bar that shot that guy in the neck!!!.......How about Lou Barletta saying he didn’t know anything about the David Duke website? Hey, I’m not running for a Congressional seat, I work a full time job, have various and sundry interests which include keeping tabs on a 91year old mother in law and 87 year old mother. Plus I do have to speak to Mrs. LuLac once in a while, how come I knew?....................It does not amaze me George W. Bush had no clue that gas would be approaching the $4.00 a gallon level, it amazes me that he was stupid enough to admit it…..and isn’t it amazing that the Scranton Mayoral race might come down to a test of loyalty for an employee. Mayor Chris Doherty says he’ll stay with Fire Chief Davis as long as he’s in office handing his challengers a readymade constituency and issue.

1968

Forty years ago this week, new Johnson Defense Secretary and Democratic party wise man Clark Clifford receives a Pentagon internal review of Vietnam War strategy, calling for a gradual US withdrawal and the shifting of the burden of the war onto Vietnamese puppet troops…………….The state government gave the county government a $51,000 grant to purchase Moon Lake in Plymouth Twp……In the meantime Wilkes Barre teachers dissatisfied with their wages headed to Harrisburg for a protest at the Capitol…..County DA Blythe Evans was in Washington D.C. at a conference on organized crime….Long time Duryea Democratic Councilmen Edward Pier Maziarz and party vice chair died at the age of 56. His wife Lucille succeeded him on Council and served many years…..in Pittston at St. John’s Grade School students were treated to government surplus orange juice carried from the cafeteria to the classrooms in 10 gallon containers and this week in 1968, the Beach Boys held down the number one song in the country and LuLacland with “Darlin’, from YOU TUBE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5v9DXNJQuB4.
Also from YOU TUBE, a clip of the late William F. Buckley who died this week giving his take on the ’68 Presidential election days before voters picked Richard Nixon as the 37th President. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXLTDUPJqsU. And throughout the year 1968, Comic David Frye impersonated Buckley and it was right on the mark. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFW17jbT9QQ.