Surprised

[kshillbillys]

You're absolutely right Janet! Why is there no Elk County Court Docket published or Sheriff notes published in the "county" newspaper? And, Liz, as far as for publicly bashing ones' boss, I don't believe I bashed Ernie or the rest of the Elk County Citizens, who are my bosses. And if I have apparently stepped on ones' toes, I talk about people to their faces and publicly, not behind their backs and not in an executive session (which isn't open to the public). Walker, District 1 Commissioner...has a nice ring to it. LOL 

[Mom70x7]

Why is there no Elk County Court Docket published or Sheriff notes published in the "county" newspaper?

As far as I know, they're not published because there's no one in the county that will go to the courthouse, gather the information and send it in. Jerry Wagner used to do some of it and no one has picked up the slack since he moved.

I, for one, would sure appreciate it if someone tracked down the information. 

[Janet Harrington]

Well, it would have to be someone who doesn't have to leave the county to find work.

[Wilma]

Remember when Rose Leo used to make her rounds picking up whatever news she could?  Let's face it, folks, there will never be another Rose Leo.  What we need to do is find a solution that will work without someone having to spend a lot of time collecting the news.  Every office in the courthouse has at least two people in it.  From my observations, there is some free time for someone in each office.  Not constantly, but maybe at least once a week.  If each office would write up a short paragraph about anything newsworthy that happened in their office each week, then combine them and e-mail it to Rudy, no one would have to take a lot of time.  Or maybe once a month, just to make the public feel like they are being kept informed.

We do get some county news through the Commissioner's minutes, but I need a magnifying glass to read it.  The treasurer keeps us informed as to who needs to renew their vehicle registration.  The Register of Deeds informs the commissioners as to what her office has collected each period and the EMS director does the same thing with the ambulance collections.  I used to enjoy reading the land transactions.  These things could be a part of a monthly county news item.  Once in awhile there will be something about the tickets issued.  Someone in the sheriff's office would surely have the time to compile these.  Court cases are public information anyway, so why couldn't there be a court docket printed?  Do I need to go on?  I can suggest things, but I have no idea about how to implement it. 

[Janet Harrington]

I think someone should ask the Independence Reporter how they get their news as they have city/county arrests in the paper all the time.

[Varmit]

Wow - MR Ks Hillbilly - do you always publicly bash your bosses... nice... might want to check out the facts first!

Since when does being an employee mean that a person can't express his or her opinion on a public forum?  As for "boss bashing"...when those bosses are elected public officals they are open to comments.  BTW, what facts did he not check?? 
I'm curious, the issue of price has been raised a couple times now,...what was the cost?  How many contractors were contacted in order to find the lowest bidder?  How much research actually went into this before the commisoners decided to spend the money that the taxpayers have provided?  How many alternatives were looked into?

Oh and one more thing.  Dist 1 commissioner is up for re - election - why not put your money where your mouth is... my term is up in 2012... anyone want the job?

Wait a minute, let me check...yep, this is still America, and people still have the RIGHT to voice their opinion.  That means that the average citizen can criticise an elected public offical when that citizen feels that said offical is not doing his/her job. 

As for the cost of one life...how about taking the time to actually find a resonable solution to this problem.  Treating the citizens of Elk County as a threat is not the answer.  How about finding the person that made the threat?  Of course, that would mean that our local law enforcment might actually have to do something that doesn't include chatting it up over coffee that the gas station or cafe. 

As for GPS...whose brainfart was this.  To even come up with this as a possible solution is ridiculous.  Whatever happened to picking up a radio and asking where a person was and what they were doing?  And before you or anybody starts criticising the road crews, they should consider what those guys are doing.  You have truck drivers, heavy equipment operators, diesel mechanics working for less than $10 an hour.  I think quite a bit of slack should be given.

Liz,  I really hope you run for re-election again.  You have done a great job!  Please, don't encourage just anyone to run for your position.

That is a matter of opinion that varies greatly.  Every citizen that is able should run for that position.  A persons personal life is just that, Personal.  Do you honestly think that the county affairs are being run very well...have you seen our roads??  Isn't kinda funny how some roads look really good while others look like crap?  Ever wonder why that is?  Take a look at who lives on some of the better roads.

[Diane Amberg]

Generally speaking ,what's wrong with GPS? They get used lot for missing vehicles etc. I can't say this as fact but it might be cheaper than a radio system.

[Varmit]

Diane, we already have radios in our vehicles.  Trust me no one would want to steal a county truck.  The reason they looked at putting GPS units in the road crew vehicles was because of the "many" complaints they said the got about the road crew.  They thought that if they could look at a computer and see where a vehicle was at that would ensure that none of the road crew were just sitting around.  What they failed to realize that just because a grader or truck is parked on the side of the road that doesn't mean that an employee is doing anything.  They might be working on a ditch, a grader could be waiting on a load of rock, or they might just simply be taking a lunch break.  They still wouldn't be able to tell what an employee was doing without asking them using the radios we already have in place.  Long story short... it would be cost prohibitive and nothing more than a power trip.

[Diane Amberg]

I guess I'm too trusting, I'd figure if you weren't moving you were busy outside the vehicle. As far as your truck being stolen, I never thought anyone would steal an ambulance either.....wrong!

[Janet Harrington]

Well, I have to report.  I had an opportunity to go to the courthouse on Friday.  I had court business.  It was very simple to get in.  When it was time to leave, I learned that the wooden doors had been equipped with push handles just like the school has.  So, getting out is not an issue.  I don't know what it will be like if the dispatcher gets busy or there are several people that need into the courthouse, but time will tell.