Letters to the editor: Millcreek needs experienced leader

Why does the Millcreek Township School District have such poor luck with superintendents?

Is it just bad luck? I submit it's that they don't know how to select a superintendent. Like most districts, they use the all too common approach of advertising. Well, who are those looking? Are they not current superintendents soon to be out of a job; ones unhappy where they are; or young administrators seeking their first superintendent's position?

The solution is simple: Go find a successful superintendent.

The individuals applying to Millcreek are probably OK as people, but are not equipped to administer an $85 million budget. While the board is learning, a superintendent learning is not optimal. Millcreek needs an experienced, practicing and successful superintendent.

Millcreek did in the past have capable superintendents, namely Larry Sayre and Bob Agnew, with whom I served. Since that time, there has been a procession of individuals with the title superintendent, some their first job as superintendent, and others from districts vastly unlike Millcreek. Not everybody can be highly effective in this demanding position.

I feel qualified to offer this helpful suggestion based upon service as superintendent for two districts, service twice in Millcreek as assistant superintendent, 23 years of service overall, and because of my fondness for the district that gave me my start in school administration, the Millcreek Township School District.

Robert Alan ZitoErie



Cabela's would help bayfront

I was wondering if anyone has thought about putting Cabela's down on the bayfront? How perfect for them to have the bay right out their back door to do fishing, kayaking, canoeing or any other kind of seminars they might have.

Think about it. They wanted it in Millcreek Township because it was near Interstate 79. Well, on the bayfront you have the connector, and think what it would do for the city and the bay area.

Pat LynchErie



GE began taking cheapest path

We've been reading recently about GE Transportation's talks with United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers Local 506 concerning the pending loss of 950 jobs at the Erie works, and we consistently hear the company bring up the term "elephant in the room," regarding the $64,000 annual income of the average GE Transportation employee.

I doubt that anyone has ever spouted such a hypocritical comment. With a chief executive who makes $22 million and division heads who are paid in the double-digit millions as well, what gall. One of our former bosses even pulls down $89,000 a month not to work. And to top off this hypocrisy, CEO Jeff Immelt is President Barack Obama's job czar, supposedly working to help America to bring back jobs with a living wage that would stimulate the country's economy. This comes from a company that has continually sought out the cheapest source of suppliers, labor and parts to build world-class locomotives.

Not the best value, not the highest quality or most reputable, no, the cheapest!

I worked there 38 years, and my father was there for a 32-year career as well. When we compare notes, almost every crisis we saw was due to GE's insatiable appetite to cheapen the product and increase the profit. We saw the foundry that made excellent castings at GE close and experienced years of substandard substitutes. The same could be said for the machine tools, as they bought the cheapest available whether they worked or not. Later it became systematic with the lean philosophy in which managers were rewarded for eliminating inventory even when it meant employees stood around waiting for parts.

GE and UE 506 were at their best when piecework was the practice in production and employees were their own boss to get the job done right. Innovation in production procedures almost always started with the folks on the job because they wanted to be safer and more productive.

Management's philosophy usually was give us the baby, don't tell us about your labor pains. Well, we've lost the incentive for the everyday Joe to make that shop a better place, and most managers haven't a clue. And by the time they do, GE moves them to another job.

Bob LewisWest Springfield



Social Security bill deserves support

One premise must be dealt with before any meaningful discussion about Social Security can be held -- Social Security is not and has never been a contributor to the debt.

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, has introduced a Social Security bill that is deserving of universal support. The bill raises the benefit cap as well as the taxable earnings cap over 10 years. Currently, a cap exists on allowable payments. There is also a cap of $113,000; above this amount no Social Security tax can be withheld. I and most people pay Social Security taxes on every dollar we earn our entire working lives. This change would affect only people who do not pay Social Security on all of their income. Additionally, a 1 percent increase in the business contribution would take effect over 20 years.

Our benefit increases would be calculated according to the consumer price index for the elderly. CPI-E takes into account the cost of housing and medical expenses, and would raise the average benefit about $70 a month. The wealthy would also benefit as well as the poor, because their health care is superior, therefore they live longer and collect more. This is in stark contrast to the proposals out there for a "chained-CPI," which would cut the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment.

In summary, to follow a famous quote, "Early to bed, early to rise, get the heck out and organize," I call upon everyone, regardless of your age: If Social Security is as important to you as it should be, let your senators and representatives know of your support for this bill.

Judy JobesErie



Fox not wanted at VA hospital

I agree wholeheartedly with veteran Robert Moore that we are forced to watch Fox News ("VA's decision to show Fox rapped," Erie Times-News, June 8). I also am a patron of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. I earned it, and now I wonder why I'm forced to ingest this trivia.

It seems that we as veterans are told now what to watch; that means forced. I was never surveyed and, quite honestly, it's like being in school when we had to read from someone else's Bible. As it stands now, we are or should be forced to pray, forced to watch political indoctrination, and told that termites and cows cause global climate change.

The last statement has no study, or proof at all anywhere in the scientific community. There is no scientific proof of what they say, and the Earth is not flat. And, after all, women can get pregnant from a rape, and Dick Cheney still provokes anger.

Joseph HodappErie



'Dumb-outs' cause bus change

The problem that required the Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority to change the bus route on State Street to the more dangerous options on French and Peach streets is very simple. The problem is the dumb-outs that were installed that prevent the buses from making safe turns.

I was behind a bus recently and it couldn't even make turns with ease onto State Street or from State Street. Whoever proposed these stupid dumb-outs should be fired. They have done nothing but snarl traffic, and they don't really serve any useful purpose.

The people who ride the EMTA have been put into a very dangerous situation by having to cross more streets to get to where they can catch the bus. When the buses stopped on State Street, there were usually people around, and now they have been placed where the people could be assaulted because of lighting and other problems.

The buses ran on State Street for years, and years safely, until they put the dumb-outs in. Now the buses have to go around the dumb-outs to get back into the flow of traffic. They remind me of the Transitway Mall on State Street that had to be removed.

Carl PetersonErie



Driving comparison argument shot down

In reference to Dan Galena's letter "Guns at park encouraged," (Erie Times-News, June 1), he does not take into account the number of hours in which motor vehicles are a threat to public safety (i.e., people driving cars, trucks, etc.) compared with the number of hours in which guns are a threat to public safety (i.e. people handling loaded guns, whether intentional or unintentional).

If the average gun-permit holder handles his or her loaded gun as much as the average licensed driver spends driving cars, trucks, etc., then Mr. Galena's argument may be valid. My guess, however, is that the average licensed driver spends far more time driving than the average gun-permit holder spends handling his or her loaded gun.

If I am correct, then the figures that he quotes from the U.S. Census will indicate that public safety is far more threatened by the presence of gun-permit holders handling his or her loaded gun than it would be by licensed drivers driving cars, trucks, etc.

Joe GiannamoreErie