Saving The Queen City Airport

When I grew up on Liberator Ave., I would walk up Catalina Ave. toward school, which was at the end of Coronado. The streets were named for the Vultee-Consolidated WW2 planes, and the neighborhood was next to the airport built as part of the war effort. Vultee Street was built to connect the hangers with the Mack 5C plant, which was given over to Vultee-Consolidated for plane part manufacturing. Today this small airport is known as Queen City, and is threatened by Mayor Ed Pawlowski.

1944 was the first full year of the operation for the company's Allentown, Pennsylvania factory. Consolidated Vultee handled over $100M in wartime contracts at their Allentown plant where they produced TBY-2 Sea Wolves, components parts for B-24 Liberator bombers and other essential armaments and products for the war effort.

Pawlowski covets this unique part of our history to expand the tax base. What he doesn't understand is that more housing or commercial space is not in Allentown's best long term interest. Unfortunately, long term interest is not a term understood by our current leadership. There is a whole development of started houses off S. 12th St. and Mack Blvd. which were never completed. There are filled in foundations on 8th Street, also never completed. More housing is the last thing both the real estate market and school system need. Likewise, the existing commercial sector has been struggling to maintain an acceptable occupancy rate. Queen City airport is an unique asset to Allentown. If LVIA does successfully expand, a separate airport for small planes is very desirable for safety. Considering Pawlowski's predetermined objective, I question whether he should have been appointed to the LVIA Board.

above reprinted from 2011

UPDATE NOVEMBER 20, 2019: Queen City Airport ended up being retained by LVIA.  Ed Pawlowski was only finally dislodged from Allentown by the federal authorities.  This blog takes pride in having recognized his schemes for what they were, long before the local politicians or press.

Breaking Some Eggs

I'm afraid that once again some eggs got dropped in the 2007 recipe for molovinsky on allentown. Don't blame this chef if the politicians and newspaper don't always deal from the top of the deck, and I take notice. This blog realized early on that Zahorchak's Pathway to Success was anything but, and apparently responded appropriately, considering his departure before school ended. Along the way, The Morning Call helped itself to one of my reports, and defended the snatch. Those dropped eggs are a mess. Speaking of eggs, one of my favorite posts of the year was titled Boxing Eggs. In that post, I recall working in my father's market, and the ride there. Such posts allow me to introduce Allentown history, and share photographs of that by-gone era. I also promote 95 year old boxers, who fought in the 1930's. Occasionally. I get to combine history and current political mistakes, such as in Saving the Queen City. I also stretch the recipe to advocate, be it for the abused former merchants of Hamilton Street, or the neglected WPA park structures.

above reprinted from 2012

UPDATE NOVEMBER 19, 2019: This blog is in its twelfth year of breaking eggs.  With the departure of Tucker Yarn and Kruper Appliance, the former mercantile district is now completely gone.  Federal authorities have made my criticisms of Mayor Pawlowski now unnecessary.  I do continue to criticize the NIZ, and the Morning Call continues to defend and promote the status quo, whatever that may be.  Speaking of the paper, my opinions are once again not welcome there.  I have changed the policy here on the blog...I no longer accept anonymous comments. Although it has reduced the number of comments substantially,  I believe it adds to the page's credibility.  I will continue with the recipe.  Caution, floor slippery with broken eggs.

9 Years Later At Allen High

Margie Peterson did an excellent profile this summer(2010) on the Allentown School Superintendent applicants. Who finally got the job, John Zahorchak, would have been my third choice, out of the four candidates. Zahorchak impressed the School Board because he was the Pennsylvania's Secretary of Education. Two other candidates had experience in running large inner city school districts; Zahorchak's previous hands on experience was in little Johnstown. Although we're not a large city, we have the large "inner city" problems. Zahorchak's Harrisburg position was a political appointment by Rendell. I suspect the Board thought he would know the ropes in terms of grants; Apparently he does. Allentown is getting a grant of $2.5 million for a few years. To qualify for the grant, the school district must "fire" principals, either in underperforming schools or those who had a position more than two years. One of those to be "fired" is Allen's principal, Keith Falco. Falco is the glue which keeps the lid on Allen. Falco would be charged with organizing a special school for over-achievers. Zahorchak also wants a special school for disruptive students; that better be a big building......

..... I do know that Falco does an excellent job in discipline at Allen High, which needs it. To relocate him to a gifted honors environment seems to be wasting his talent. To do this, to chase a $2.5 million grant for a few years, suggests a bureaucrat who spends too much time reading the Professional Educator Journal.

Zahorchak said if he doesn't raise the test scores in three years, fire him. John (Zahorchak), we don't really want to fire you now, but we don't care that much about the standardized test scores. What we care about is kids walking home from school and not beating each other up. We care about kids being respectful to the neighborhood as they walk. We care about long term taxes, not short term grants.

above reprinted from October of 2010.  A few years later the school board would end up buying out the underperforming Zahorchak's contract.

GUEST UPDATE BY SCOTT ARMSTRONG NOVEMBER 18, 2019: Who could believe the city of Allentown could become more dysfunctional than it already was? Thanks to ASD Superintendent Thomas Parker and the board, it has. They instituted "Restorative Practices" (a policy in which traditional discipline is replaced with empathy and smiles) in the face of a dismal nationwide track record. The result - - in the words of two Allen teachers I spoke to -- has been chaos. And recently, that chaos has been spilling out into the surrounding neighborhoods on a daily basis. Residents are now constantly disrupted by large groups of loud and unruly students. There is daily hookah pipe smoking on the streets, alleys and park; students lounge on our porches, casting litter about and vandalizing property. In the past few months, this disorder has compounded, resulting in more dysfunction. Cars roaring their engines and racing on our streets; drugs bought and sold in plain sight. Dismissals have gone from bad to worse and often every available police patrol in the city is needed just to break up fights and other mob actions. The result is a community with almost zero quality of life during school hours. This new situation is exhausting and frightening residents, becoming an unnecessary drain on police resources, and degrading the students' educational environment.     Scott Armstrong

Democracy Being Subverted in South Whitehall

When Wehr's Dam was inspected by the state in 2012, it was rated "overall in good condition."  We are now being told that it needs a $million dollars worth of repairs. What happen to the dam in the last few years? Nothing structural happened, but it has been submitted to much deception.

In 2014 the Wildlands Conservancy approached the township commissioners with a proposal to demolish the dam at the Wildlands expense. Demolishing dams is one of their general goals, and they make an administrative fee from grants they find for such projects. Because the dam is so historical and unique, a grass roots effort began to defend the iconic structure. Nowhere else can you see water flow over a bridge and under a covered bridge in the same spot. The Wildlands is very connected to the township. At that time a son of one of Wildlands directors was park director of South Whitehall, and the Wildlands helped create the township park master plan, which called for the dam's removal. Because of the public outcry, the commissioners placed a referendum on the ballot in 2016 concerning the dam's future. Because they linked keeping the dam with a $600,000 loan and tax increase, they felt the voters would condemn the dam for them, with no political consequence. To their surprise, the beloved dam survived the referendum. With this unexpected obstacle, the Wildlands then presented the state DEP with a report claiming that the dam has much bigger structural defects than observed by state inspectors. By now the former park director, a son of a Wildlands director, had been promoted to head of the township public works. He and the township made no effort to defend the dam, and have accepted the Wildlands engineering recommendations without appeal or protest. Because of these shenanigans, the current price tag to repair the dam is now a $million, exceeding the amount approved by the voters in 2016.

It is apparently necessary for residents of South Whitehall to once again defend their history. When the referendum passed in 2016, they thought that the cherished dam was saved. They underestimated the arrogance in that township building, and perhaps overestimated the integrity there.

The Wildands Conservancy is a local sacred cow which is protected by the local press.  The Morning Call has been refusing to print my letters to the editor. The reporters have been declining to return my calls.  I have been pressing this issue for the last two weeks because I know how the Wildlands operates.  As soon as they get the green light from the commissioners, their hired excavator will breach the dam the next day.  Our history and that magic spot will be a pile of rubble within hours.

Lehigh Valley History, A Thing of Wonder Gone

The former greenhouse at the current Trexler Park was the pride of Harry and Mary Trexler. The General was very specific in his will about its future;

I, Harry C. Trexler declare this to be my last Will and Testament: ......into the Treasury of the City of Allentown, for the perpetual maintenance of said Park, (Trexler) as well as the Greenhouse thereon located. This bequest shall include all the plants and other contents of said Greenhouse (1929)

Although nobody in charge of Allentown remembers, the greenhouse was a thing of wonder. Full of banana trees and other tropical plants, it was a true escape from winter for all visitors. Its demolition was a project that the Wildlands Conservancy would have loved. The park director at the time touted all the money in maintenance to be saved. He then took that projected money and planted the southeast section of the park along Cedar Creek in natural species. Several years ago Allentown Park Department cut down all those plantings, and we now have nothing to show for our loss of the greenhouse.

Flash ahead thirty years, and South Whitehall Township will demolish another thing of wonder, if not stopped. The Wildlands Conservancy paid an engineering firm to compromise their credibility with an absurd report, on how expensive it would be to keep Wehr's Dam. I will not let the dam go quietly.

Paying For Pawlowski

When Ed Pawlowski won reelection in 2017, it pretty much summed up everything that can go bad in local government. A former prosperous city, whose population shifted to one which is essentially hand to mouth, actually elected someone charged with shaking down contractors to fund his own exit from the city.

I had opposed Pawlowski's scheme to sell the water department, which had been a positive cash flow for the town. Back in the day when Allentown had industry, its water production had been scaled up to meet those demands. Although the industries had faded, the city was positioned to sell its water and sewage overcapacity to surrounding municipalities. In a very short sighted scheme to avoid a tax hike, Pawlowski sold that golden goose to the county water authority. Although residents were assured that their water rates would be constained, that turned out to be one more broken promise. With this water authority now switching to monthly bills with a base charge, the waters rates are increasing exponentially,  especially for those who use the least water.

The hapless home owners who recently saw a huge tax increase, will now also be paying much more for their water. Pawlowski did move on from the city, but not in the way that he had hoped for.

Wildlands Conservancy Reneges On Pledge

Chris Kocher's letter to the editor,  which appeared in The Morning Call on December 7, 2014, assured the public  that the Wildlands Conservancy will respect certainly whatever decision South Whitehall Township makes about the (Wehr's) dam's future.  It was of course just a public relations gesture, knowing full well how much influence his organization welded over the township.  In reality, the Wildlands have written the township's Master Park Plan, which called for the dam's demolition.

When the Commissioners were presented with over 7,600 signatures, actually collected at the dam itself, they felt publicly pressured not to give the Wildlands permission to proceed with the demolition.  However,  they declined to proclaim the dam saved, or grant it historical designation. Likewise,  despite Kochers gesture in his letter, he made no subsequent statement.

The Commissioners then decided to hold a public referendum on funding the dam's repair, believing that the public would never vote themselves a tax increase to save the dam.  Once again they underestimated the public's regard for the beautiful historic structure.

Although Chris Kocher publicly stated that the Wildlands would back away from the dam's demolition if the Commissioners voted to save it, he never has afforded the residents of South Whitehall the same respect.  On the contrary, the Wildlands has written the state, claiming that the dam is in poorer condition than the state inspection indicated. It is now morally incumbent upon the Wildlands Conservancy to respect the wishes of the public, as affirmed through the referendum.  After writing his letter to the editor back in 2014,  hopefully Kocher has the integrity to now publicly repeat his commitment to the residents of the township.

reprinted from January of 2018

photocredit: K Mary Hess

Crimes By The Wildlands Conservancy

photo by Tami Quigley

The top photo shows the Robin Hood Bridge, before the Wildlands Conservancy demolished the little Robin Hood Dam, just downstream beyond the bridge. The dam was only about 10 inches high, and was built as a visual effect to accompany the bridge in 1941. It was the last WPA project in Allentown, and considered the final touch for Lehigh Parkway. Several years ago, the Wildlands told the Allentown Park Director and City Council that it wanted to demolish the dam. The only thing that stood between their bulldozer and the dam was yours truly. I managed to hold up the demolition for a couple weeks, during which time I tried to educate city council about the park, but to no avail. If demolishing the dam wasn't bad enough, The Wildlands Conservancy piled the broken dam rubble around the stone bridge piers, as seen in the bottom photo. I'm sad to report that the situation is now even worse. All that rubble collected silt, and now weeds and brush is growing around the stone bridge piers. I suppose the Wildlands Conservancy considers it an extension of its riparian buffers.

The Wildlands Conservancy is now going to demolish Wehr's Dam at Covered Bridge Park in South Whitehall. The township commissioners are cooperating, by having a grossly inflated price associated with repairing the dam, to justify a disingenuous referendum. Sadly, by next spring I will be showing you before and after pictures of that crime.

top photo by Tami Quigley

above reprinted from August 2016

UPDATE: To everyone's surprise, especially the Wildlands Conservancy and the South Whitehall Commissioners, the referendum to save the dam was approved by the voters in November of 2016. The Wildlands Conservancy and the South Whitehall Commissioners are now conspiring to have the dam demolished anyway, by exaggerating its problems with the Pa. DEP...I have documented the communication between the Wildlands, State and township,  As for Lehigh Parkway, the Wildlands Conservancy should be made to remove the former dam rubble that is despoiling the vista of the Robin Hood Bridge piers.  I have been trying to interest the Morning Call about the voter suppression in regard to the Wehr's Dam referendum.  In today's paper there is an article about the danger high hazard rated dams pose to residents downstream.  I hope the paper's article today is a coincidence, and not intended to serve the Wildlands conspiracy about Wehr's Dam.  BTW,  Wehr's Dam is rated low hazard, because it poses no danger to residents.