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South Strabane fighting it’s own Demons page 2...
Hollick’s grade is a D because he doesn’t play well with others and had to ask in an open meeting why the township would buy 1 and 2 cent stamps. It had to be explained to him that they were using old ones that needed more postage. He also lacks the interest of the common good and makes statements that discredit other statements he has made. Rumor around the township is that residents may be asking for Hollick to be expelled from the board. Resembling a gargoyle is supposed to keep away evil spirits, not make you one.
Tony Zelenka- Zelenka has good and bad points but has proved to be on the wrong side of the issues. During the TIF meetings he showed more concern for the developers than the residents and ignored what the people wanted. Recently, according to Bell, he mislead him into believing he would abide by Bell’s wishes and put Don Trautman back on the board. Instead he stuck with Hollick and put on DePretis in a move that upset the community. Although Zelenka has occasionally shown concern and interest in the residents, it is few and far between. He recently agreed with a resident who accused Hollick’s attack on Dennis Makel and his driveway to be personal, Zelenka agreed with her in public.
But with the little good has also been the self-interest based around a ball field. If Zelenka put as much effort into the township as a whole as he does the ball field he would be a much better supervisor. Zelenka gets a C, but also may be facing expulsion.
Lou DePretis- Took a position that didn’t belong to him, and can’t win over the public. DePretis, like Zelenka, has his good and bad days. Following in the footsteps of Hollick and Zelenka he also tends to push personal agenda’ s whether it be a skate park or a client’s son’s interest, at the cost of residents. Like the other two he is also known to become irate with the residents at meetings to the point of becoming red in the face. Questionable moves with the township accounts that he and Hollick attempted to mastermind recently have left residents skeptical of his motives. As stated before, like Hollick he brings up issues in supervisor comments that no one is expecting and asks for a vote. Unlike Hollick, DePretis is more of a follower than a leader. He seems easily confused often and like Koman focuses on little issues like feral cats and not the overall picture of the township. DePretis gets a D+ for having a little bit more concern for the public over Hollick.
Ed Mazur- The mouth of South Strabane that seemed so full of fight during the TIF meetings has proved to have more bark than bite. Mazur has come off as more naïve than anything over the last two years. But to Mazur’s credit he is always seeking the just and legal answer. He asks questions and likes to hear from the public. He will take the time to get an answer and try to figure out a problem for the residents. His knowledge of the township is a double edge sword. It proves he knows what he’s talking about but also turns it into an unneeded drawn out history lesson. But no matter what Mazur truly wants to do the right thing. He needs to learn follow through and like Koman, find the guts to stand up to the other bullies on the board. The people put Mazur on the board for a reason now show us what you got. Because he is not living up to his full potential and has almost taken a cowering position on the board Mazur gets a B. But you do have to give him credit; it took them over a year to break him. With a new member on the board and the prospect of fair decisions Mazur may get a second wind and could end up valedictorian. Mazur’s haunting quality is his story telling ability that can send even the scariest souls back to the bowels of hell.
Ex-Supervisor Don Trautman also needs to be graded, but as a teacher not a student. Trautman was elected and served as supervisor for 24 years. He was the rightful and fair replacement of Bell. Not only does he still serve on the planning commission he attends almost every supervisor meeting as an audience member. Those same supervisors who voted against him often have the audacity to ask him questions during a meeting that none of them have the answer too. And being the gentleman that he is, he answers them. But Trautman is by no means meek or mild mannered. He has kept his passion for the township and often stands up for the residents showing why Hollick and Zelenka may not have voted for him. Unlike Koman and Mazur who tend to be suckered into a vote, Trautman stands by his guns and the residents. Trautman gets an A for his continuing effort. He could get an A+ if he lived up to his potential and ran for office again.
Overall the South Strabane Supervisors are failing. It has been more than a year since they hired someone to fix the township web site. Something a high school student probably could have done in an afternoon. The supervisor’s lack follow up and don’t hold Township Manager John Stickle accountable. But the supervisors also lack the foresight to see how far behind the township really is. They have a Polaroid camera, and antiquated phone lines. By the time they get the web site up computers may not exist anymore.
But what scares me most about the township is something I read in “A Prayer for Owen Meany,” by John Irving. The outspoken character, Owen Meany, is writing an editorial to his classmates warning them about the new headmaster and how his ways are “Oligarchy.” He then defines the word for those who don’t know it stating it’s “A form of government in which the power is vested in a few persons or in a dominant class or clique; government by a few.”
In reading that one line a chill went through me scarier than any ghostly experience I have ever had on earth. It was that one statement that explained the vortex that is the South Strabane Supervisors.
