Mark W. Smith

Matt, There is not a loss of daycare, but a loss...

2009-05-25T21:07:41.287-04:00

Matt,
There is not a loss of daycare, but a loss of one particular facility. Daycare in our county did not disappear with this decision. There are daycares available to parents in the Towanda region of the county. It is a county facility that had to close because we can not afford to keep it open. However, the daycare program is still in existance where it seems to be the most necessary

Mark, Very good decision on the part of the BC co...

2009-05-25T03:10:30.596-04:00

Mark,

Very good decision on the part of the BC commissioners and for the taxpayers. This might also be an opportunity for a young entrepreneur to start a day-care business in Bradford County.

Employees have the opportunity to apply for any op...

2009-05-22T20:58:05.690-04:00

Employees have the opportunity to apply for any open postions within the county and depending on thier qualifications they can be hired. It was well explained why the daycare at South Towanda had to close and as for hiring into other departments, depending on the department, we may need to fill slots to get work done that needs to be done. Simply "absorbing employees" may sound like a great idea

Why are the commissioners laying people off from t...

2009-05-22T02:52:35.714-04:00

Why are the commissioners laying people off from the daycare program but hiring in other departments? Wouldn't good management include a plan to absorb the staff into other programs before hiring new employees? Will you and the other commissioners committ to re-hiring those laid off employees before hiring anyone else into the county?

Thank you for being the watchdog on this issue. Th...

2009-04-11T08:14:00.000-04:00

Thank you for being the watchdog on this issue. There is a reason that drilling has stopped in New York and there are lawsuits pending in West Virginia. Greed coupled with an attempt to recovery in this depressed economy is a prescription for the ravaging of the natural resources of our county and our state. Please continue to fight for the protection of our most precious resource, not gas or oil

That testimony sounds interesting...do you have a ...

2009-03-25T15:59:00.000-04:00

That testimony sounds interesting...do you have a date and time?

Mark,Buses don't have legs.

2009-03-04T23:17:00.000-05:00

Mark,

Buses don't have legs.

Frank, I'm frustrated too. It's frustrating all ar...

2008-12-23T21:08:29.490-05:00

Frank,
I'm frustrated too. It's frustrating all around. We did make cuts. How many jobs should I have eliminated? We eliminated 19 of them. We cut services because of funding cuts from the state in Children and Youth, Mental Health and we got cut 5.2% in library funding. We have to strike a balance, at least the best balance we can with the situation we have. I don't think it is healthy for

Hi Mark. I undersatnd money is always a problem fo...

2008-12-23T08:52:00.000-05:00

Hi Mark. I undersatnd money is always a problem for the county and losing State funding is hard to keep programs running but how is it the county can keep spending and using tax payer money like an open check book. Money low. Just raise taxes. Lost revenue? Too bad. Why dont you take some advise from some of the people who are losing there Jobs in the county or on ferlough through the holiday

J. Hackney, In terms of the "inflaming interaction...

2008-12-21T21:30:11.344-05:00

J. Hackney,
In terms of the "inflaming interaction" you referenced. John is a pretty sincere and kind person. He knows we have all these people that work for us, we see all their hard work for months trying to make the best out of a bad situation with county finances, rising costs and state cuts. Then you have one person who takes exception at one public meeting to everyone elses hard work

Thanks Steven. The budget is right on this blog an...

2008-12-21T20:31:23.913-05:00

Thanks Steven. The budget is right on this blog and on the county website.

Certainly we can all be for our own self interest ...

2008-12-21T20:17:00.000-05:00

Certainly we can all be for our own self interest and say "I WANT MY MONEY NOW" in referring to her gas leasing and using that as a source of revenue rather than increasing income tax or any other tax. The bottom line is if you do not care about roads, community health care or bradford county infrastructure then you will likely oppose any taxes. But taxes cannot be eliminated. I would suggest the

Unfortunately, I do not believe this is a unique c...

2008-12-19T18:32:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, I do not believe this is a unique case for Bradford county. I believe you will be seeing this state wide if not nation wide. It is a tough position to be a politician of any party right now. There is certain need of a change in how things are done.

It is concerning however that we are starting down the same path from the national level all the way down to our local level

I am certainly sorry you feel that way. I, of cour...

2008-12-19T16:33:27.857-05:00

I am certainly sorry you feel that way. I, of course, respectfully disagree. I could be more specific but specifics generally are difficult to communicate, especially the many it would take in terms of the budget. But I can give you an example. Take for instance the jail budget. The previous board did not take into consideration things such as nataural gas and electric for the expanded facility.

The first sign of a politician who is in over his ...

2008-12-18T19:53:00.000-05:00

The first sign of a politician who is in over his head is to blame everyone who came before him, without being really specific. Those republicans on the steps of the courthouse represent many of us Mr. Smith. You are not smarter than everyone else in this county. The gas lease money doesn’t belong to the county, it belongs to the citizens and as a citizen and a republican, I want my share now, so

I want to offer my church for anything anyone in t...

2008-12-08T15:21:00.000-05:00

I want to offer my church for anything anyone in the community or in the office of the commission may need it for.

Regards,

Tina Ratcliff

Yeah, Yeah Rob, note the time. You could get back ...

2008-12-05T20:36:28.513-05:00

Yeah, Yeah Rob, note the time. You could get back to me a little quicker with the editing so I don't look like such a fool. Thanks Buddy....!

P.S. It's "hope", not "hpoe"....LOL!

I hpoe your proofreading of the newsletter was bet...

2008-12-05T14:06:00.000-05:00

I hpoe your proofreading of the newsletter was better than on the blog...(freind? mid working late?)LOL

I feel like Doug has never taken a class on econom...

2008-12-05T02:58:00.000-05:00

I feel like Doug has never taken a class on economics or basic finance in his entire life...

No wonder John never seems to bring home a deer.

2008-11-29T02:13:00.000-05:00

No wonder John never seems to bring home a deer.

It wasn't me, I wanted to spare my fellow, much ex...

2008-11-12T18:09:05.116-05:00

It wasn't me, I wanted to spare my fellow, much experienced hunting Commissioner the embarrassment. It was funny. In fact it is still funny....LOL

I see you have not lost you touch in hunting, I th...

2008-11-12T10:16:00.000-05:00

I see you have not lost you touch in hunting, I think I may have kept that story to myself, but it made for a good chuckle, Keep up the the good job in practicing gun safety..

I like the new layout.

2008-10-17T23:50:00.000-04:00

I like the new layout.

This is a FYI,A bill setting liability protection ...

2008-09-24T13:26:00.000-04:00

This is a FYI,A bill setting liability protection terms for Pennsylvania's emergency medical services workers was approved Wednesday by a Senate committee.

The measure, sponsored by Sen. Lisa Baker, R-20, limits EMS workers from being sued for a range of actions taken in good faith unless gross negligence or willful misconduct on their part is proven.

It was approved by the

In regards to your summary of Friday: You know th...

2008-09-22T09:25:00.000-04:00

In regards to your summary of Friday: You know the GOP will do everything they can to make it a partisan issue, the majority of its members have no qualms about stomping on the old politics of compromise and reason when it comes to a hot-button issue.