rachelh@myweeklysentinel.com
TOWANDA — Bradford County Commissioners concluded their meeting on Thursday, Aug. 26, with a discussion about voting and trusting local government.
The discussion started when, during the public comment portion of the meeting, Canton’s Pam Denlinger spoke about her concerns of “eroding freedoms, local mandates, and the lack of trust in local government the past six months.”
“I am here to offer myself as a liaison to Bradford County, with a partnership with the local government to build the strength of faith of our local government,” said Denlinger.
She noted that she, along with a few friends, has formed a group called “Northern PA Patriots,” which as of this meeting had 80 members and has been active for one week.
Denlinger then went on to speak about her concerns with auditing Pennsylvania counties, and the resisting that Tioga County Commissioners had done concerning the topic.
Regardless, she wanted to inform commissioners of her faith in them.
“I want to get to know the local government better and get more people involved,” said Denlinger. “I want to encourage a resolution that supports the Constitutional rights of the citizens of Bradford County.”
She concluded saying “I am here for you.”
“Our founding fathers were wise individuals,” said Commissioner Miller. “They understood how government should really work. They created a ‘bottom up’ governing body. They did that for a reason. They understood that once you start a mass in power at the top, it doesn’t turn out. History has proven that numerous times over.”
Commissioner McLinko went on to comment on Denlinger’s comment with the Tioga County audit, stating that there was “a lot of misinformation and that had Douglas Mastriano (the person calling for the Tioga County audit) sat down and spoke with them (Tioga County Commissioners) and explained his reasoning, things may have gone differently.”
Mastriano is a Senator for for the York area of Pennsylvania.
McLinko then went on to note that he has an active lawsuit out against the Commonwealth concerning ACT 77, which is about mail-in voting, citing that he believes it goes against the Constitution of Pa.
Commissioners received a question on whether or not they are for state voting or local.
Commissioner McLinko noted that “Voting is not a right, it’s a privilege, given by our veterans,” he said, pointing to two veterans that were present in the meeting “Thanks to them.”
He then went on to say that the commissioners are for keeping voting local.
Other news
Commissioners Miller noted that the Sheshequin Half Path Marathon will take place on Saturday, Oct. 2, in Sayre. The route begins at 9 a.m. and follows along the river through an area rich in Native American history. Runners will experience 1219 feet of elevation change throughout the race, enjoying some challenging hills, valleys, and beautiful fall leaves.
“Please register for this great event,” said Commissioner Miller, “It’ll be scenic with the fall and is a great opportunity.”
Commissioners voted to approve the action taken on Aug. 18 to approve the correspondence as Bradford/Sullivan Drug & Alcohol, Single County Authority’s request to change options from a public executive commission to a planning council model instead. This will ensure the entity is now part of the Human Services Department of Bradford County, as clarified by Commissioner Miller.
Commissioner John Sullivan wanted to publicly recognize and congratulate the Post family for entering their farm in the Century Farm program in state college.
Commissioners voted to proclaim September as National Preparedness Month in Bradford County and had Public Safety Director Matt Williams read the proclamation letter during the meeting.
They also noted that the next meeting will be held on Thursday, Sept. 9, in the Public Safety Building and will recognize 9/11’s 20th anniversary.