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Tuesday, March 31, 1998     Page: 10A

SAYSO
   
Three cheers to Jerry Kellar on his response on coach Paterno’s recent
remarks. That column was really outstanding, extremely well written, and gives
it a much deeper understanding on labeling everyone a bigot. I want to say
thanks, Kellar, you really have your pulse on today’s uptight society. You
have a great writer, a great newspaper. ThanksThis is in response to Mr.
Kellar’s column of Wednesday, the 25th of March. Mr. Kellar, I stand beside
you; you’re not alone. I, too, am of Polish descent. Barbs and insults are
only skin deep for all, not only the thin-skinned. We fluff off our skin every
28 days for a new one, a clean one. God bless you, JoePa, and Jerry Kellar.
Signed, a Polak and proud of it.
    All I got to say is, amen Jerry Kellar, amen, and I’m a Notre Dame fan.
   
The anti-McGroarty phone calls to SAYSO have the strange political odor of
a not-so subtle campaign to cast the mayor in a negative light. I believe that
the last Wilkes-Barre mayor to accomplish anything constructive was “fill in
the blank if you can.”
   
Tomorrow when I wake up I’m going to smile at everybody I see. Have a good
day.
   
I want to thank Jerry Kellar for his defense of Paterno. I’m a senior
citizen whose ancestors came from Wilkes-Barre when it was a ghost town. I
don’t know what’s happening to the people around here if they can’t take an
ethnic joke. We were raised on them.
   
Editor’s note: And they should continue for time eternal?
   
This is a reply in a call in on the Polish American citizens about looking
for names of people for Polish pilgrims or signers of Declaration of
Independence. If one goes to Jamestown, the original first permanent English
colony in America established in 1607, there’s a plaque dedicated to those
people that included four Polish tradesmen and four German tradesmen. If one
goes to the plain at West Point, there’s a statue there to a General Kosciusko
who built the rifle pits and fields of fire at the Battle of Saratoga. This
victory so impressed the French that they recognized the United States and
began to give it aid. There’s another general by the name of Pulaski, that
they considered the father of U.S. Calvary, he was shot by a grape shot cannon
in October, I believe it was Oct. 9, 1779, and died two days later from his
wounds. Also in McPherson’s book on the Civil War, he talked about the
Confederate bands playing polkas. It’s kind of odd that a Confederate band
would play polkas.
   
I’ve called several times about Steve Corbett and his jerky columns. This
guy is a goof. Now a judge can’t even talk or make a comment. Since when does
he consider himself to be God?
   
Editor’s note: Corbett says, “I assume you’re talking about the Irish joke
that County Judge Mark Ciavarella made at a Lion’s Club meeting. The judge
told his joke, defended it when we spoke and completely refused to see how
ethnic humor contributes to fostering negative stereotypes. You call that a
gag order? By the way, I have too much respect for good people who believe in
God to respond to your God crack.”
   
This call is in response to your article in the sports section about the
opening of the girls coaching position at the Wyoming Area School District. If
your reporter had done some research, he would have found that the school
board and the athletic committee doesn’t unanimously vote to recommend that a
position be opened unless there are very compelling reasons that aren’t
associated with a win/loss record. Without causing any further embarrassment
to Mr. Zezza, this was not a last-minute decision by the school board but one
that has been needed for several years.
   
Editor’s note: A news correspondent asked two school board members why they
decided to open the position. Neither would give an answer, so you’re problem
isn’t with us, it’s with them. If the board won’t say why Jerry Zezza won’t be
retained, then we can’t very well report anything other than the facts we
have. And those facts include three playoff appearances in Zezza’s six
seasons. If any members of the school board want to talk, we’ll listen. But
we’re not holding our breath.
   
Three cheers for Mike McGinley for showing McGroarty the big phony he is
with the bonuses. Of course the mayor has to attack McGinley’s father. Well,
when McGinley’s father ran the street department he didn’t have red ash all
over the streets for six months out of the year, that you put down there with
a big screw-up, and then have these poor public works people running around
and sweeping them by hand to clean up your mess. Keep up the good work, Mike.
   
This is in reference to the Nanticoke Housing Authority’s efforts to get
rid of Mr. John Walters, executive director. In spite of few complaints, Mr.
Walters is held in high regard by the majority of the residents of the housing
units. He does his utmost to respond to their needs, but it’s impossible to
satisfy everyone and especially the elderly who expect to be taken care of
immediately. The recent appointed members of the board are know-it-alls, when
in reality they know very little about managing.
   
I’m calling in regards to the shooting in Bloomsburg, supposedly by the
ex-mental patient. As a worker in a state mental institution, I just got to
send my kudos to Governor Ridge and his pals that want to close all these
places. This is what will be walking the streets.
   
Why I’d like to know when Pope John Paul became the pope, the Catholic
church was in debt a couple billion dollars. I’d like to know, are they still
in debt?
   
I’m a nurse at the Wyoming Valley Health Care System, I’m one of those who
didn’t want to be represented by a union, but lost, obviously, evidently.
However, now I find that we have to be, whether we voted for the union or not
represented by the union. We still, especially those of us who had not signed
union cards, we have no idea what is in this contract that now governs and
rules us. We get little drifts of information from our superiors, but we have
nothing in writing. It’s sayso or hearsay or whatever, but we have noticed
there are a lot of unbelievable, nitpicking, stupid little rules that are now
inserted between the working force and management, and whenever you say
anything about it or ask a question why, it’s, “well, you people wanted the
union, there’s nothing you can do about it now.” And while I did have a
favorable feeling toward management, now I’m beginning to be bitter, because
it’s unbelievable, the tension. I’m looking for a new job.
   
I just like to say that Mayor McGroarty certainly has no class. A person
that would bring up someone’s father, like he did with Mike McGinley,
obviously has no class, and certainly can’t negotiate. But then again, this is
the same person that blamed the telephone company for his mistake.
   
Bob McGinley’s father was a hard-working man and he worked for that
$19,000. The bonuses McGroarty gave out, those people didn’t, they were being
paid but he chose to give out bonuses.
   
Mr. McGroarty, you, Boris and McCarthy think bonuses should be given out to
privileged people. I think you should use your own money, not taxpayers’
money.
   
Tell Jerry Kellar that Tom Ma