(Allentown, PA, July 3, 2012) – Having committed to starting his employment yesterday as director of communications with the Allentown School District, Keith Pierce APR has informed Superintendent C. Russell Mayo, Ed.D., that he has decided to withdraw from the position in light of the ethics violations that surfaced after the interview process and acceptance of the job offer took place. “There was no evidence of these civil violations during the interview process and Keith did not mention them,” says Dr. Mayo, Ed.D. “The district was not informed of them through calls made to past employers or during standard protocol checks. I am sorry to learn of this situation after the selection of Mr. Pierce. Additional measures for screening have been put in place as a result of this experience. I accept and appreciate his withdrawal, and I wish Keith well in his further career pursuits."
The above release was distributed this morning by Susan Williams and Associates, on behalf of Allentown School District. Pierce was hired to provide communications and public relations in house. Those services had been provided by Williams for a number of years, and apparently will continue to be, at least for the immediate future.
Jul 3, 2012
Coming To Easton
Ghana's ambassador to the U.S. said Quartey's claim is phony. Quartey, said Ambassador Daniel Ohene Agyekum, doesn't know what he's talking about. Prominent Ghana expatriate Dr. Samuel Quartey, a podiatrist in Philadelphia and a member of the Ga tribe, agreed with the ambassador.When The Morning Call discovered that a new school district hire in Allentown had shenanigans in his past, the Superintendent quickly distanced himself from the impostor; Sal Panto doesn't seem to have that capacity.
photo of Sal with his king by Michael Kubel / The Morning Call
The Corner Market
Although I doubt that there will ever be a show at the Historical Society, or brochures at the Visitors Bureau, perhaps nothing encapsulates the history of Allentown more than the corner grocery stores. Allentown proper, is mostly comprised of rowhouses built between 1870 and 1920, long before the era of automobiles and suburban supermarkets. Most of the corner markets were built as stores, and over the years many were converted into apartments. Up until the late 1940's, there may have been well over a hundred operating in Allentown. Some specialized in ethnic food. The bodega at 9th and Liberty was formally an Italian market. Live and fresh killed chickens were sold at 8th and Linden, currently H & R Block Tax Service. A kosher meat market is now a hair salon on 19th Street. The original era for these markets died with the advent of the supermarket. In the early 50's some corner stores attempted to "brand" themselves as a "chain", as shown in the Economy Store sign above. That market is at 4th and Turner, and has been continually operating since the turn of the last century. Ironically, as the social-economic level of center city has decreased, the corner stores have seen a revival. Most of these new merchants, many Hispanic and some Asian, know little of the former history of their stores, but like their predecessors, work long, hard hours.
above reprinted from March 2009
Jul 2, 2012
Hat Tip to Steve Esack
I tip my hat to Steve Esack, education reporter for The Morning Call. This morning he reveals that the recently hired public relations officer for the Allentown School System has a history of being loose and free with public school money. He apparently was cited in the past for ethic violations, concerning the use of a school district credit card for his personal purposes; But, there's a much more disturbing question about the article. Why does Allentown need a PR man? Our main problem has been poor hiring, by both the school administration, and the school board. Zahorchak was hired because he had been a Director of Education under Rendell. In reality, it was a political appointment of favor, not a surprise in Pennsylvania. This PR man apparently rode the coat tails of a previous such appointment. Although I recently praised the school board, here's hoping that they dump their new PR man, and the position itself. I'm on the mailing list of a private contractor who currently handles the communications for the district. She does an excellent job, for a fraction of the cost.
UPDATE: This story made the headline of Monday's hard copy edition. How pathetic that the School District hired a person for public relations at $87,000, and got this result. How pathetic would it be for taxpayers to now pay this guy to defend himself? Time for both the gentleman and the position to quickly depart. Time for Russ Mayo and the School Board to realize that taxpayers are disappointed that they would still hire glorified bubble blowers in these hard economic times. I now deeply resent my 2.6% tax increase.
Natural Born Promoter
photocredit:molovinsky
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