TheBurg

03.19 | theburgnews.com | 9 news Delay in school BoaRD appointment It may be months before Harrisburg residents learn who will be the newest member of the district's school board, as a court hearing in the matter isn't slated to take place until late April. Court of Common Pleas Judge John McNally has scheduled an April 23 court date to hear a citizen's group response to a petition supporting Ralph Rodriguez, a city resident who wants to fill the vacant seat. e group known as Concerned about the Children of Harrisburg (CATCH) responded to the petition filed on Jan. 24 on behalf of Rodriguez. As part of its response, CATCH asked the court to appoint its own preferred candidate, Cornelius Chachere. is petition response appears to have triggered a series of events that will take several months to resolve. e parties now have until mid-March to finish their discovery processes, followed by the April 23 court hearing. Jayne Buchwach, a member of CATCH, said that her group opted to respond to Rodriguez's petition, as opposed to filing an original petition in support of Chachere, after they saw that Rodriguez's supporters had filed first. "e response states our objections," she said. "It also tells the court—this is who we think should be on it." e response touts Chachere's qualifications and, like an original petition would, asks the court to appoint him. To add further complexity to this issue, former school board Director James ompson also has filed a petition with the court for the seat. Technically, this makes four candidates for the seat: Rodriguez, Chachere, ompson and Marva Brown. In their petition, Rodriguez's supporters mention that appointing Brown also would be acceptable to them. e board seat became empty following the Dec. 16 death of school board Director Melvin Wilson. e remaining board members, split between Rodriguez and Chachere, failed to muster a majority of five votes to replace Wilson within a 30-day time period, throwing the matter to the court. Buchwach said that she wasn't concerned about having only eight members on the board for an extended period. "e board is contentious," she said. "So, having eight there or nine there—it really doesn't matter." Meanwhile, five of the nine school board seats will be up for election this year. CATCH has vowed to put up its own slate of candidates for the board seats. ica BoaRD complete A Harrisburg resident and former media executive has secured the final seat on Harrisburg's new financial oversight board. David Schankweiler, former publisher of the Central Penn Business Journal, was appointed to the five-member Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority (ICA) by state Senate Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati. Schankweiler joins UPMC Pinnacle executive Tina Nixon, nonprofit professional Audry Carter, attorney Kathy Speaker-MacNett, and property developer Ralph Vartan on the newly created ICA, which will oversee Harrisburg's finances for five years. Until 2016, Schankweiler was the CEO and owner of Journal Multimedia, which published the Central Penn Business Journal and other publications. Since his retirement from the publishing industry, he has served on numerous nonprofit boards. e board met for the first time last month in an organizational meeting. neW police GeaR Harrisburg police last month showed off a pile of new protective gear, equipment it purchased with a grant from UPMC Pinnacle. At a press conference, the city's police bureau shared samples of new vests, helmets and steel plates, part of about 120 pieces of protective gear that will help protect officers from lethal, high-caliber weapons, according to police Commissioner omas Carter. In total, UPMC Pinnacle donated more than $40,000 for the equipment purchase. at figure includes about $20,000 raised last June from the "3.2 to Protect the Blue" race, which was organized by UPMC Pinnacle emergency room nurses, with the UPMC Pinnacle Foundation donating much of the remainder. "I had no idea of the dedication and love that these people showed our officers," said Carter, flanked by UPMC nurses and Harrisburg police officers. e new gear includes 60 helmets, 40 "body armor level 3 ballistic" protective vests with steel plates and 20 additional steel plates. e vendor, Royersford, Pa.-based Body Armor Megastore, contributed another 10 armor body vest sets. Carter said that the need for the equipment arose last year following the death of U.S. Deputy Marshal Christopher Hill during a raid on a house in Allison Hill. e bureau realized that its helmets and vests were not adequate to protect against today's powerful firearms, he said. Deputy Police Chief Deric Moody said that his officers will not wear the equipment regularly, but will keep it nearby in case it's needed. After the press conference, Mayor Eric Papenfuse stressed that the equipment was not the full body armor "riot gear" that the bureau requested in 2017 after high-profile clashes throughout the city between "anti-Sharia" protestors and "antifa" counter- protestors. at gear was already purchased following a $68,000 allocation from City Council, he said. FetteRman staRts listeninG touR A packed room and dozens of speakers greeted Lt. Gov. John Fetterman in Harrisburg last month, as he kicked off a statewide listening tour on the proposed legalization of recreational marijuana. Some 300 people filed into the auditorium of the Harrisburg Jewish Community Center for the first of 67 such events, as Fetterman began to wind his way through every county in the commonwealth. For about two hours, Fetterman listened patiently and respectfully as speaker after speaker rose either in support of or in opposition to the proposal, often sharing with him emotional stories from their lives. One young man named Darryl said that he was arrested and jailed for possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia and now can't find a full-time job because of those convictions. "at's why I'm struggling so badly, because of a stupid possession charge," he said. "It's time to end this." To that end, a few speakers recommended not only legalization but expungement of criminal records for those previously convicted. Les Stark, executive director of Reading-based Keystone Cannabis Coalition, a pro-legalization advocacy group, said that, in Pennsylvania, about 25,000 people a year are arrested for marijuana possession. "How many lives have been ruined in Harrisburg alone?" he asked. "Over the next 10 years, will we ruin the lives of 250,000 more Pennsylvania citizens?" Several speakers identified themselves as users of medical marijuana, which is legal, and testified to the effectiveness of cannabis for treating their conditions. While most attendees spoke in favor of legalization, some did not. Several speakers said they feared that legalizing recreational marijuana would lead to greater threats to public safety—from the potential of more car accidents to the possible greater use of harsher drugs. "My main concern is that I have a grandchild turning 16," said one man. "My concern is that I believe recreational marijuana is a mind-controlling substance. I'm afraid for her to be driving out on the highway when some other driver's mind is being controlled by marijuana." Other speakers accused the state of wanting to legalize recreational marijuana as a revenue-raising tool. "I'm not against medical marijuana, but I am against use of recreational marijuana," said one man. "I believe the administration just wants to create a new revenue source to tax and spend." roughout the lengthy event, Fetterman said little from his seat on the stage, listening attentively as people spoke their minds. At one point, he asked would-be speakers to allow a woman, who was holding an infant, to move to the front of the long line. e woman, who said she drove in from Hummelstown, offered a moving story about surviving AIDS then, relatively late in life, giving birth to her baby. "Medical cannabis helped me survive by the skin of my teeth," she said. "It can't be denied to others." illeGal Guns seizeD Harrisburg police have seized hundreds of firearms over the past few years, following a department-wide push to take illegal guns off of city streets. At a press conference last month, police lined three long tables with handguns, rifles and shotguns, which they said was a small sample of the 646 illegal weapons confiscated from 2016-18. Capt. Gabriel Olivera said that, in 2016, city police Commissioner omas Carter instructed officers to focus on the epidemic of illegal weapons in the city. "All these guns were seized mostly without officers engaging these individuals with gunfire," Olivera said. "Our officers have shown great restraint." According to Olivera, 196 guns were seized in 2016, 252 in 2017, and 198 in 2018. The far majority of these weapons have been handguns. Carter said that, even before 2016, his officers routinely seized illegal firearms. But he wanted them to be more mindful of illegally owned guns, most of which have been stolen, as they patrolled and made arrests. "I work with these amazing men and women on a day-in and day-out basis, and I know their capabilities," he said, referring to his officers. "It's something the entire agency bought into." Olivera mentioned that, for 2018, Harrisburg had about a 10-percent drop in "Part 1" offenses, which include the most serious crimes like murder, robbery and aggravated assault, compared to 2017. He also cited a 5- to 6-percent reduction in "Part 2" crimes, such as simple assault, disorderly conduct and most drug possession offenses, which are generally considered to be less serious. "I can't tell you that the number of guns has reduced the homicide rate," Carter said. "But I can tell you that it has reduced violent crime." Olivera said that, after police seize a stolen gun, officers try to determine the rightful owner, so it can be returned. If no owner is identified, the gun eventually is destroyed, he said. 2019 aRts aWaRDs announceD eatre Harrisburg has announced the recipients of the 2019 Awards for Distinguished Service to the Arts in the Capital Region ("Arts Awards"). Ronnie Waters, a jazz musician, arranger, composer and educator, will receive the "Award to an Individual," and e State Museum of Pennsylvania will receive the "Award to an Organization, Company or Group." e awards will be presented on Sunday, June 2, in a theatrical gala at Whitaker Center in downtown Harrisburg. e event is open to the public, and proceeds benefit eatre Harrisburg. For more information about the awards, including banquet reservations, visit www.theatreharrisbug.com/artsawards.

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