STAFF REPORTS

NEWS@TALKWILLIAMSPORT.COM

The Lycoming County Board of Elections has learned that two political advocacy groups, the Voter Participation Center (VPC) and the Center for Voter Information (CVI), will be conducting unsolicited direct mailings to Pennsylvania residents that contain voter registration applications and mail ballot applications.

These unsolicited mailings are NOT affiliated with or endorsed by the Lycoming County Board of Elections. The VPC and CVI organizations bear all responsibility for the mailings, including any mailings that contain incorrect information.

The mailings are expected to begin in late August and continue through mid September.

Any recipient of an unsolicited VPC or CVI mailing who wishes to be removed from the mailing list can do so by noting a code near the bottom of the letter and emailing the code to the correct organization:

unsubscribe@voterparticipation.org

unsubscribe@centerforvoterinformation.org

Recipients can also request to be removed from the mailing list by calling VPC at 866-255-6750 or CVI at 866-290-1599.

Lycoming County Board of Elections

www.lyco.org/vote

Photos: Alicia Carnevale (Miller) current WAHS gym teacher (left) and

Ryan Miller former WAHS head baseball coach (right) (Courtesy: Facebook/META).

Carnevale and Miller were married last year.

Todd Bartley, TalkWilliamsport.com

News@TalkWilliamsport.com

Lycoming County District Attorney, Ryan C. Gardner issued the following statement (listed below) Wednesday afternoon regarding the active criminal investigation into current Williamsport Area High School School gym teacher Alicia Carnevale (Miller) stemming from an alleged “kissing” incident of a student athlete.

Photo: Ryan C. Gardner, Esq.

Lycoming County District Attorney

Gardner Statement:

“As you are aware, this office received information that surfaced on one or more social media platforms regarding an alleged incident that occurred after a WAHS Football game involving a student athlete and teacher Alicia Carnevale October 28, 2016.  

Upon receipt of this information, the matter was promptly referred to the Pennsylvania State Police requesting that an investigation be conducted.  PSP appointed a special investigator from a neighboring barracks. 

Following a thorough investigation by the Trooper and review of all paperwork provided to this Office, this Office has made the following conclusions:

1.       The alleged conduct does not rise to the level of a crime as defined by the Crimes Code; and

2.       The alleged conduct occurred outside of Lycoming County.  Accordingly, even if criminal charges were appropriate, Lycoming County was/is not the proper venue.

3.       This matter was well investigated by the WAHS and its counsel at the time.

4.       The Williamsport Area School District did timely submit a Child Line report regarding this matter.  

In light of the above, the investigation into this matter is closed.    

Ryan C. Gardner, Esq.

District Attorney”

The alleged incident occurred after Williamsport defeated Berwick 56-23 to close out the regular season (9-1) on the road.

By defeating Berwick, Williamsport wrapped up an undefeated Wyoming Valley Conference Championship.

The Championship kicked off a raucous post game celebration.

Nearly one month later at Mansion Park in Altoona, Pittsburgh Central Catholic dismantled Williamsport 62-21 ending the Millionaires season at 12-2.

At this writing, Alicia Carnevale (Miller) remains employed as a Williamsport Area High School gym teacher.

This is a developing story on TalkWilliamsport.com

Todd Bartley, TalkWilliamsport.com

News@TalkWilliamsport.com

In response to a public outcry to address the silence from the WASD administration and school board as it relates to criminal charges being filed against a high school teach and high school principal; on Thursday afternoon the Williamsport School District issued another “statement”.

On background, previous WASD publicly issued statements regarding the 2018 WAHS baseball/Myrtle Beach indecent sexual assault case have contained patently false information.

The “WASD statement” of July 21, 2022 is as follows:

“Joint Statement from WASD and the Williamsport Area Board of Education on Recent Allegations

In light of the recent allegations of misconduct made against two of our employees, we wish to acknowledge our community’s concerns, sense of shock and heartbreak over these reports.

Please know that we recognize and share in the deep distress this news has caused our community. The School District and Board of Education are taking these accusations very seriously and continue to respond accordingly, following school policies and procedures consistent with these situations. We’re cooperating to the fullest extent with law enforcement as the investigations into these allegations continue, and we ask for your patience and understanding as we work through this process. At this time, we must fulfill our legal obligations and proceed correctly and carefully without interfering with or disrupting the investigations.

We wish to assure you of our commitment to the safety and well-being of our students and expect all staff to adhere to the highest ethical practices and conduct. We will not tolerate behaviors that compromise that commitment. By working together, we can ensure that our schools will continue to be safe and effective learning environments for our students, staff and community.

As always, please encourage your child to let a trusted adult know if he or she witnesses or is aware of any suspicious activity or behavior. Parents and students also can anonymously file a report through the state’s Safe2Say Something Anonymous Reporting System by calling 1-844-SAF2SAY or by visiting www.safe2saypa.org.”

The “WASD Statement” of July 21, 2022 reads nearly word for word the same public comments of Dr. Timothy Bowers, WASD Superintendent, Tuesday evening at the WASD school board meeting.

The “WASD Statement” of July 21, 2022 never uses the word victim or addresses resources available to students who may have been irreparably harmed by the alleged conduct of a WAHS teacher or recently promoted WAHS principal.

This is a developing story on TalkWilliamsport.com.

Todd Bartley, TalkWilliamsport.com

News@TalkWilliamsport.com

After garnering a significant win for elected officials across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; Krista Rogers, Lycoming County Controller provided an exclusive statement to TalkWilliamsport.com.

The statement in its entirety reads as follows:

“I am very happy with the court’s order. I am in contact with my attorneys on next steps, and how to facilitate compliance with the order.”

Earlier this afternoon in the aftermath of defeat, the Lycoming County Commissioners issued a statement relating to their legal appeal options of the Order issued by Judge Leete returning transferred employees as well as functions previously removed – back to the office of Controller.

This is a developing story on TalkWilliamsport.com.

Previous Reporting:

https://talkwilliamsport.com/exclusive-lycoming-county-controller-files-case-to-compel-commissioners-to-comply-with-pa-law/

https://talkwilliamsport.com/lycoming-county-commissioners-respond-to-lycoming-county-controller-claims/

https://talkwilliamsport.com/lycoming-county-commissioners-double-down-against-controller-after-catastrophic-court-case-loss/

https://talkwilliamsport.com/the-stakes-in-legal-case-between-the-commissioners-and-lycoming-county-controller-just-went-up/

https://talkwilliamsport.com/was-the-injunction-filed-by-the-lycoming-county-commissioners-against-the-lycoming-county-controller-even-necessary/

https://talkwilliamsport.com/commissioners-issue-press-release-in-response-to-talkwilliamsport-com-reporting/

https://talkwilliamsport.com/caught-in-the-middle/

Todd Bartley, TalkWilliamsport.com

News@TalkWilliamsport.com

In the aftermath of the stunning defeat handed to the Lycoming County Commissioners by Judge John B. Leete in the case brought by Krista Rogers, Lycoming County Controller against them; on Monday the Commissioners issued a statement.

The statement is published in its entirety below.

“We have studied the recent decision from Judge John B. Leete in the case brought by the Controller against the County. We respectfully disagree with the Court’s ruling and believe it was wrong for a number of reasons. We will be analyzing that decision while we consider how best to proceed.

We remain focused on the core issue of how taxpayers will best be served and protected and where the County’s general ledger, payroll, and accounts payable functions should be housed in that regard.

When those three functions were within the County’s fiscal department for generations before we recently transferred them to the Controller, they were performed seamlessly and in a manner which protected the taxpayers. The Commissioners paid the payroll and performed the accounts payable and accounts receivable functions. The Controller’s oversight ensured that the Commissioners did not violate any laws or County policies.

After these functions were assigned to the Controller, however, it became clear that the same office that would be performing the functions — the Controller — also would be overseeing their legality. In essence, the “fox would be guarding the hen house.” We cannot believe that the General Assembly wanted a division of the duties between the Controller and the Commissioners in a manner that would permit such an arrangement to exist.

The Court’s Order would, if not appealed, send these functions back to the Controller.

We consider that Order to be legally incorrect, but we continue to assess the practical question of whether the functions can now be effectively handled by the Controller’s office.

The answer to that question will drive our decision. We wish to emphasize that we are not approaching this decision in an adversarial manner, but simply from the point of view of what is best for our taxpayers.”

The currently elected Lycoming County Commissioners are Scott L. Metzger, Chairman, Tony R. Mussare, Vice Chairman and Richard Mirabito, Secretary.

The currently elected Lycoming County Lycoming County Controller is Krista Rogers.

This is a developing story on TalkWilliamsport.com.

Says Biden’s border policies have left UACs vulnerable to exploitation, human trafficking

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Fred Keller (PA-12) introduced the Safe Sponsor Act which would ensure unaccompanied alien children (UACs) are placed only with U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents who are vetted and capable of providing necessary care. Original co-sponsors of the Safe Sponsor Act include Representatives Nancy Mace (SC-01), Madison Cawthorn (NC-11), Randy Weber (TX-14), and Louie Gohmert (TX-01).

Under the current system, while potential sponsors must undergo background checks and complete a sponsor assessment process, sponsors are not required to be permanent legal residents or US citizens. As these individuals are often less documented than their counterparts with either permanent resident or US citizenship status, this oversight leaves a potentially dangerous gap in sponsors’ vetting process and provides a loophole exploitable by human traffickers.

Congressman Keller told The Washington Times in an exclusive interview that the Safe Sponsor Act is a response to the Biden administration’s failed border policies that have put unaccompanied minors at greater risk of falling victim to human trafficking. Here are some excerpts from the story:  

Mr. Keller said the Biden administration doesn’t do a good enough job checking out sponsors who come to claim the Unaccompanied Alien Children, or UACs, from government custody, and some of them are putting the kids into abusive situations.

***

His legislation comes amid a record-shattering surge of UACs.

***

At one point HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement had more than 22,000 children in its custody, most of them stashed in makeshift camps that critics said were filthy, spread disease and left kids traumatized.

***

Seeking to rush kids out of those conditions, the Biden administration last year weakened the background check process for sponsors, making it easier for people to come and collect children.

***

Many of the sponsors are in the country illegally themselves, and there are documented cases of UACs being placed with sponsors who beat them or force them into child labor.

***

“Once these children are here, we need to know what’s happening to them. And the information right from the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security are showing us that they have no control over it,” [Keller said].

***

Read the full story here.

On the introduction of the Safe Sponsor Act, Congressman Keller made the following statement:

“Unaccompanied alien children, at no fault of their own, have been thrust into a dangerous situation at the southern border that has left them vulnerable to exploitation by human traffickers, cartels, and violent criminals. Current Biden administration policy doesn’t require sponsors of these children to be legal residents or U.S. citizens. That’s totally unacceptable and leaves a dangerous gap in the government’s vetting process. Month after month, we have seen the national security and humanitarian crisis at the southern border worsen. The Safe Sponsor Act is a necessary step to ensure that these children are shielded from bad actors and given the proper care.”

Congressman Madison Cawthorn (NC-11):

“Weak immigration policies and emboldened cartels under the Biden administration have placed innocent children in grave danger of human trafficking. It’s essential that Congress ensure unaccompanied alien children are placed with vetted, trustworthy sponsors. I’m proud to cosponsor Congressman Keller’s Safe Sponsor Act and call on congress to act now; let’s take this vital step in protecting potential victims of human trafficking.”

Bill text on the Safe Sponsor Act can be found here.

Background:

After being apprehended by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), UACs are placed into the care and jurisdiction of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), a branch of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). ORR is then tasked with placing “an unaccompanied child in the least restrictive setting that is in the best interests of the child”; many UACs are released into the custody of sponsors, oftentimes a close relative. HHS reported that DHS referred to ORR 122,731 UACs in FY2021 alone.

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Fred Keller (PA-12) issued the following statement in response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address:

“President Biden’s State of the Union address was more of the same hypocrisy that has characterized his administration since day one. The president campaigned as a unifier, but his speech was anything but. The reality is, the Biden administration and Washington Democrats’ weak leadership has put America last.

“Biden’s assault on American energy, totalitarian vaccine mandates, and big government spending have deepened our divisions. The American people know that this path is not sustainable because they are the ones who are working every day and driving our economy forward despite having the odds stacked against them by this administration.

“Americans are facing record-high inflation for necessities like gas and groceries, businesses cannot find workers, and illegal aliens and illicit drugs are flowing across our southern border undeterred. Instead of the Biden administration doubling down on policies that are failing American families, we must work to put America first, reassert our strength at home and abroad, restore our God-given freedoms, and renew the American dream.”

The following is an opinion editorial authored by Todd Bartley, TalkWilliamsport.com, News@TalkWilliamsport.com.

While he was a councilman, Derek Slaughter asked a now infamous question during a city council meeting to Bill Nichols, then city finance director and manager of River Valley Transit “where are the numbers?”

At which point, Nichols replied, “sounds like a platform to me.”

Echoing the same refrain four years later; now as Mayor, Slaughter still cannot come up with the numbers.

When asked by city council what the current financial state of the city is, Slaughter answered, “with the audits still going on we don’t know what funds are there and what funds are not, we just don’t know.” 

Now, Mayor Slaughter has had to close City Hall after the codes department condemned the building.

So if Mayor Slaughter has no idea what the numbers are or where the numbers come from; is it any wonder city departments are scattered throughout the City of Williamsport under multiple leases with any number of landlords?

HE HAS NO PLAN!

In fact, there was never a plan.

After City Hall closed, City Council asked months ago for Mayor Slaughter to provide them with a plan on costs to repair and/or renovate the building.

To date, Mayor Slaughter has yet to provide the plan.

On reason, belief and the actions of Mayor Slaughter; there is never going to be a plan – since he has no intention of ever going back to City Hall.

How is that conclusion drawn?

During a mayoral candidate forum years back Slaughter was asked about staying or leaving city hall; (paraphrase) “there is no reason to put anymore money into that building.”

In the early days of him taking office as Mayor he was invited to tour any number of buildings owned by Lycoming County; as the county looked at reducing its footprint and realizing more economies of scale with a shrinking population.

Slaughter toured Executive Plaza (current home of numerous Lycoming County Offices), as well as Third Street Plaza (TSP) most notably the home of Lycoming County Voter Services and the Lycoming County Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

Lycoming County and the City of Williamsport have an agreement in place to swap nearly equal sized parcels in order for the county to be able to more easily sell Executive Plaza.

The real estate closing has yet to take place and according to those close to the transaction – “it is puzzling why this deal has not closed yet.”

Based on a pre-covid-19 study done by local government officials the needed office space to accommodate the entire City of Williamsport government would be 10,000 square feet or less.

That number did not include the Williamsport Bureau of Police.

So here is the plan after Mayor Slaughter wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars on a handicap ramp to nowhere in front of City Hall.

Slaughter and his administration are most likely facing a ruling from Federal Judge Brann in favor of the Center for Independent Living; finding the City of Williamsport in contempt of a court order since City Hall remains closed.

Third Street Plaza is already ADA compliant.

The City of Williamsport should enter into an inter-governmental lease agreement with Lycoming County for 10,000 square feet or less of space on the 4th Floor of Third Street Plaza.

This amount of space is less than half the available space on the 4th floor. The remaining space on the 4th floor could be leased by the Williamsport Bureau of Police as offices and records storage.

The space is move-in ready as of April 1, 2022.

The 4th floor is accessible via elevator and could easily be secured since the Williamsport Bureau of Police could also locate on the first floor of the building with a security office or on-duty desk in the former bank location.

A portion of the bank space could be sectioned off for the City finance department and possibly co-locate with Lycoming County central collections department and make use of the drive-thru for citizens to pay taxes and fines.

This would cut down on the foot traffic into the courthouse.

With the Third Street Parking Deck steps away, the City Police Department could have its vehicles in a controlled environment with video surveillance as well.

The TSP and Third Street Parking Deck locations potentially provide even quicker response times for the Bureau of Police.

If Lycoming County also moved the Commissioners Offices and public meeting room into Third Street Plaza; multiple public meeting rooms could be wired for live video streaming; creating tremendous leverage for both County and City governments.

City Council would be able to have working committee meetings and simultaneously the County Commissioners could hold their public meetings as well.

As an example, in case of a flooding event; the gathered leadership can easily meet in the EOC and then come to the public meeting rooms and deliver real time information to the public.

This was first suggested by this author nearly a decade ago related to the launch of local government and education channel 75.

If the City of Williamsport is unwilling to spend between $6 million and $20 million dollars to bring City Hall to code; it would take a minimum of 6 years to hit that number by leasing space in Third Street Plaza.

As Covid-19 demonstrated with all of the remote meetings; government entities are shrinking their footprints.

The synergies that can be realized with a move like this are tremendous; instead of having multiple departments in separate buildings and multiple leases, this plan eliminates that need and consolidates the functions of city government.

Going forward, as the closing on the existing deal for Executive Plaza and the City of Williamsport whole of government moves into Third Street Plaza, all I ask is attribution to this article when it occurs.

Even college professors understand lack of attribution and plagiarism are frowned upon.

This is what actual, “Transparency, Efficiency and Accountability” in “good government” really look like.