Posted: Monday, 06 April 2009 11:13AM
Put The Courthouse Back In Order
Steve Corbett Reporting
Monday, April 06, 2009
You think I’m kidding.
You don’t believe I’ll keep making a big deal out of the missing metal letters that are supposed to spell out “Luzerne County Courthouse” on the walls adjacent to the steps.
But I want the letters replaced.
You should, too.
And I won’t stop squawking about the disrepair at the otherwise most majestic structure in Northeastern Pennsylvania until it’s fixed.
I noticed missing letters more than a year ago.
Then last week I noticed that county workers had still not repaired the damage.
The E in Luzerne is gone from the east River Street wall beside the former front entrance to the courthouse. All that remains on the south side is the L. The U-Z-E-R-N and E are gone. I was so disgusted with the mess that I didn’t even check the north side of the courthouse.
Because of security concerns, people now must enter from the south side. That change alone makes the courthouse experience less than what it once was. Locking the front doors and closing off the main entrance adds to the sad state of affairs inside the dome.
It’s bad enough that the ongoing federal public corruption probe is ongoing – a criminal investigation that’s already netted four high-ranking county workers including two former president judges who pleaded guilty to receiving $2.6 million in kickbacks.
That alone casts a pall on the people’s business that takes place at the courthouse and casts suspicion on public service workers who do their best to do their jobs.
Walk inside the building, though, and you’ll see stained glass and art that rivals the state capitol in Harrisburg, a place that might be the nicest state capitol building in the nation.
Before I left for my California adventure in 2002, I noticed that caretaking inside the county courthouse was deteriorating. When I returned in 2006, the slide had continued.
At least people can no longer smoke outside the courtrooms and the bitter odor that once permeated the building is gone. But the odor that now replaces it reeks of a strange mix that smells like antiseptic and pesticide.
The other day I thought I smelled formaldehyde and wondered if somebody had pickled the public trust and stored it away until they could steal it, taking it home to call their own.
Cheap white paper taped to the beautiful marble pillars instructing people not to sit on the once brightly polished railing doesn’t help the atmosphere either.
But the missing letters comprise the height of disrespect to the people who deserve better government and government buildings in tiptop shape.
We know the courthouse is out of order. But to advertise it on the outside while FBI and IRS agents are running through the inside is completely unacceptable.
When I reported the worn out wording on the courthouse last week, a caller to “Corbett” said that he called the buildings and grounds department and told the man who answered the phone that he wanted to know when the missing letters would be replaced.
The caller said the county worker laughed at him.
Such a cavalier attitude from a public servant also is unacceptable.
Police call such refusal to acknowledge deterioration part of the “broken window” theory of community devolution. If people refuse to fix the first broken window on a longtime healthy block, they will likely ignore the second and the third and the fourth. Before you know it, the block is on a downhill slide that one day might take the whole neighborhood.
Such ignorance has ruined cities.
People get frustrated asking for help and complaining to no avail. Sometimes they are tempted to give up. And sometimes they quit trying to make it better.
We’re not going to quit.
I plan to call the three county commissioners today and ask for their help in making a little improvement that can rise above partisan politics and personal animosity. I also want them to understand that we plan to watch every bureaucratic action and inaction they take or don’t take. And we’re going to make a scene when they try to ignore even the simple jobs they are paid to perform.
I’ve already found a guy who has offered to fix the problem and replace the letters. He can make them shiny and new, restoring their original luster and sheen. He offered his services as soon as he heard about the problem.
Fixing the name of the place might be purely symbolic, but it might also be the best way to start fresh.
I kid you not.
|
Corbett
E-Mail
Print
