I scoured the paper from the front page to the classified section and found nothing besides finding out that it is easy to get a pet cat for free around here. However I was really talking about the recent jury commissioner election race.
Nothing. Nyet. Nada. Nix.
No wonder voter turnout dropped off this year. Not one mention of the candidates in the voter guide. But I cannot put all the blame on the newspapers. The official Schuylkill County Government Website lists all of the elected officials but not one mention of our elected Jury Commissioners. Yet the website still gives the long departed Judge Wilber Rubright a top billing.
Some complain that the jury commissioners are irrelevant in this day and age as they only stuff an envelope once or twice a year and get paid handsomely. Bucks County jury commissioners were pulling in about twenty grand a year for an hour or two of work. Not bad. Montgomery County pays t
heir jury commissioners over thirty one grand a year plus over twenty grand in fringe benefits. I don’t know what they get paid in Schuylkill County since they have no real office and have no presence on the website. They retain a phantom-like existence around here.I, for one, have always admired a jury commissioner and consider any attempt to abolish the office as an assault on our way of life. Yep, when I was in grade school, when others wanted to be a fireman, truck driver, or professional wrestler, I used to say that I wanted to be a jury commissioner. I wanted to wake up every morning and go out and do nothing.
Thankfully, jury commissioners still get a lot of respect in the coal region. Gerry Bonner, the Luzerne County Jury Commissioner, is under indictment by a federal grand jury for passing bribes; but that did not prevent him from getting re-elected with over 18,300 votes with the help of his party that campaigned for him despite the indictment. In Luzerne they get paid a paltry $10,000 per year plus benefits. Congratulations Gerry! You certainly can now use the salary to help pay for your defense costs.
It would be disgraceful for the position to be abolished and tossed aside like a like a no-longer-needed training bra or an eight-track player. What needs to be done is to get our jury commissioners some good public relations and get them out in the public doing something that at least has the illusion of productivity. Don’t hide them away any longer as if they were some of your embarrassing crazy relatives.
Yes, we all concede that they serve no real function. That is a given. However they are harmless, so why not let them free the county commissioners from pointless ceremonial affairs such as throwing out the first snowball at the Winter Carnival, kissing a burro at the Haven Burro Day, or marching in the annual Orthodox St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Let the jury commissioners act as a source of county and coal region pride.
I want you to write to the county webmaster and demand that these forgotten souls be listed as reigning county officials - and certainly ahead of any deceased public servants. If the webmaster refuses then demand that the Jury Commissioners get their own MySpace page – its free you know. Suggest a theme song so that the public can connect to them. Ask that they get special hats and uniforms with plenty of buttons and ribbons (that always makes the wearer look important). For crying out loud, give them an office somewhere. I think the courthouse clock tower would be perfect. If these suggestions were heeded, any costs would be repaid ten-fold by the tourists coming to the county to get a glimpse of the elusive jury commissioners, now treated as royalty as they wave out of the tower window to the crowds below.
Thankfully, jury commissioners still get a lot of respect in the coal region. Gerry Bonner, the Luzerne County Jury Commissioner, is under indictment by a federal grand jury for passing bribes; but that did not prevent him from getting re-elected with over 18,300 votes with the help of his party that campaigned for him despite the indictment. In Luzerne they get paid a paltry $10,000 per year plus benefits. Congratulations Gerry! You certainly can now use the salary to help pay for your defense costs.
It would be disgraceful for the position to be abolished and tossed aside like a like a no-longer-needed training bra or an eight-track player. What needs to be done is to get our jury commissioners some good public relations and get them out in the public doing something that at least has the illusion of productivity. Don’t hide them away any longer as if they were some of your embarrassing crazy relatives.
Yes, we all concede that they serve no real function. That is a given. However they are harmless, so why not let them free the county commissioners from pointless ceremonial affairs such as throwing out the first snowball at the Winter Carnival, kissing a burro at the Haven Burro Day, or marching in the annual Orthodox St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Let the jury commissioners act as a source of county and coal region pride.
I want you to write to the county webmaster and demand that these forgotten souls be listed as reigning county officials - and certainly ahead of any deceased public servants. If the webmaster refuses then demand that the Jury Commissioners get their own MySpace page – its free you know. Suggest a theme song so that the public can connect to them. Ask that they get special hats and uniforms with plenty of buttons and ribbons (that always makes the wearer look important). For crying out loud, give them an office somewhere. I think the courthouse clock tower would be perfect. If these suggestions were heeded, any costs would be repaid ten-fold by the tourists coming to the county to get a glimpse of the elusive jury commissioners, now treated as royalty as they wave out of the tower window to the crowds below.
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