Herb Riede's Blog

I have taken quite a hiatus on blogging, but I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Please drive safe, especially on Main Street and Third Street, where accidents have been regular lately. If you see Mayor Noel, please thank him for his years of service! And congratulations to incoming council members Jim Snyder and Fred Walter! The new council members will be sworn in January 3 at 7PM. Mark Reichart, re-elected, and Anthony Weaver, elected to a to fill out the term he was appointed to, will also be sworn in at that meeting. I will be sworn in as Mayor (for the term to begin Jan. 1st, 2006) today at District Magistrate Bowman's office at 5:30PM in order to be ready to swear them in on the 3rd.

The Pennsylvania state police has activated the Amber Alert on behalf of the Warwick Township Police Department after the child was abducted on Sunday morning and the parents were shot and killed. Kara Beth Borden, 14 years old. She's a white female 5 feet 1 inch tall. She's 100lbs. with brown hair and blonde highlights. She was last seen wearing a black sweat shirt with "Pillar" across the front , blue jeans and black sneakers. She was last seen at 8:00 Am on Sunday, 11/13/05 at 15 Royal Drive, Warwick Township, Lancaster County. She was reported abducted at gun point, after the murder of her parents, by David G. Ludwig, white male, age 18, brown hair and eyes. The vehicle in this abduction is a red Volkswagen Jetta bearing Pennsylvania registration EHH0994 .Anyone with information is asked to call Warwick Township Police Department at 717-626-3162 or dial 911. Anyone with information is asked to call Warwick Township Police Department at 717-626-3162 or dial 911. Q...

http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051109/ELECTION/511090494 Yeah, so he's one week older. But he fought at 17 and got the Democratic Nomination AT 17. He didn't wait until he was 18 and do a write-in. Plus his victory was LARGE and DECISIVE, and uphill. Regarding being 18, our's said: "I can't stress enough that's not why I'm doing it," he said in a March interview. "It's apparent that our economy has been failing, and it's going to take everyone in town and activism from council to promote it." Two vote victory, and relying on a flimsy "18-year-old high school student" as a write in. Heh. Ours can Mayor circles around yours. Chris - The Youngest REALLY ELECTED Mayor, not one in on a sympathy "by". http://www.seeleyformayor.com/ :-P (This post is all good fun and in rivalry)

An Important Notice from the Superior Court of the State of California, County of San Mateo, United States and from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Canada, About a Class Action Settlement Involving the PS2 IF YOU OWN A PS2, YOU COULD GET BENEFITS FROM THE SETTLEMENT. A proposed settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit concerning the performance of the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system ("PS2"). You may be a member of the Class whose rights may be affected by this lawsuit. The sole purpose of this notice is to inform you of the lawsuit so that you may decide what steps to take in relation to it. If the settlement is approved, Class Members who complete and return a Claim Form, on or before February 16, 2006, may be eligible to receive settlement benefits. The claim form may be accessed at www.PS2Settlement.com or obtained from the PS2 Settlement Administrator, c/o Rust Consulting, Inc., PO Box 1784, Faribault MN 55021-1784. Whether you are enti...

EDITED December 21, 2010: In September 2009 I moved to Meadville to be closer to ailing family. This was a decision that is still sometimes difficult. My old 717 cell phone number was assigned to someone else, and the new person began receiving calls relating to my business at all hours. To reduce this, I am redacting my old 717 home and cell phone numbers from this post, as they are not my current numbers. Please visit www.facebook.com/herbriede for up to date contact information. In addition, I discontinued my mayoral website in 2010. To avoid confusion, I have removed the link to this as well. I miss McSherrystown, my girls miss it, they grew up there, and it is a good place to live. - Herb === My wife, my mother and I wish to say thank you to all of those people we met while greeting voters at the polls. As your next Mayor, I take the position of Mayor seriously. I ran on establishing 24 hour police protection and making the roads safer for pedestrians and drive...

POLLS ARE OPEN UNTIL 8PM McSherrystown Precinct #1 Votes at S.A.V.E.S. Station #1 (Formerly McSherrystown Fire Hall). This District is Fourth Street and west to Plum Creek. McSherrystown Precinct #2 Votes at Delone Catholic High School Auditorium. This District is Fourth Street and east to Oxford Avenue.

http://www.boydsstuff.com/events/halloween2005.cfm

I work with a bunch of characters... Today at Boyds everyone dressed up for Halloween. Here are a few photos from the event: http://www.t-mobilepictures.com/MayorHerb/MayorHerbAndFriends/ This is my desk at Boyds. The toxic glow from my water cooler makes me think twice about taking a drink. Everybody had fun today. Halloween on Halloween is always cool. Apologies to neighbors of the Boyds office who may have heard chainsaws and screams coming from the paging system. That was my fault >:-D Red M&M walks South Fourth Street in Mcsherrystown

Evening Sun Online - FRONT PAGE NEWS : "3,000 Catholics coming to McSherrystown" By CHARLES SCHILLINGER Evening Sun Reporter The diocese-wide procession will be one of the first in history. And it's to honor what was one of the last initiatives of the late Pope John Paul II. So it's not too surprising to Bishop Kevin Rhoades to hear estimates the "solemn march" through the streets of McSherrystown and Conewago could reach 3,000 people from a 15-county area. ... "What better place to celebrate than at the roots of our faith, the church where the Holy Eucharist was first celebrated in this diocese?" he said. The procession will be rain or shine, starting along North Third Street in McSherrystown and winding north along Conewago Township's Church Street. North Third Street, between Main and North streets, will be closed from 11:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Segments of several other streets will be closed at varying times due to the progression of the p...

If you read this, please keep on top of the weather. The remnants of Hurricane Rita are passing over Pennsylvania today.

I love to learn. I've re-enrolled in college, I've attended classes for Council Officials, I've completed a course on leadership. I've also done a few campaign trainings, and this served as a refresher course for me... http://www.blogforamerica.com/archives/006912.html (Third pic, at the picnic, on the left)

I don't post about my day job at The Boyds Collection here in McSherrystown, considering the delicate position I'm in as an elected official and as an employee of a publicly traded corporation in said municipality. As Web Developer, one of my duties is to send the emails to the distribution list, and this particular email compels me to violate my normal rule. Boyds has never hesitated to step up to help those in need - after 9/11, with the Starlight Foundation, with Daffodil Days and so much else. This is a particularly great way for children to know they helped someone in need - and remember that lesson in the future. For more about the store in Gettysburg, visit: http://www.boydsbearcountry.com/events/ I wouldn't be suprised if there are merchants in McSherrystown with similar ideas, and I'll be making the rounds and posting any drop off contribution locations we have here at home - AFTER work :) We know our friends are always ready to lend a helping paw, and right n...

Hurricane Katrina has left hundreds of thousands of people homeless . But thousands of people throughout the region are stepping into the breach to offer free shelter to those in need. http://www.hurricanehousing.org/

I've been fighting quite a nasty cough over the past month... Just completed the last of a round of antibiotics, prednizone and occasional uses of an inhaler to get over a pretty bad cough/respiratory infection that my daughter and I have been fighting since late July after (presumably the cause) plugging in an Air Conditioner that had been stored for months in the basement and not yet cleaned, but was still turned to "on". I immediately got a face full of dust and have been coughing since. Between always vigilantly avoiding triggers for cluster and migraine headaches and this, the past month has been a chore to do much more than my day to day work at Boyds (my day job, which I rarely talk about). The last bad day I had was Saturday, when I was cold to the world for 15 hours. --- I've just bought a "Democratic Blue" 2006 Chevy Cobalt and traded in my trademark bumperstickered "purple" (Maroon) 1998 Chevy Astro van. Here's a few reasons why I di...

I met Joe at the recent Democratic Club Picnic Club this past Saturday. I circulated for him in 2002, but we had started a few weeks and were a couple hundred signatures short of the 1,000 needed. Now he's calling for more people to run with him! Joe Otternein for Congress JOE OTTERBEIN JR LAUNCHES UNUSUAL BID FOR US HOUSE Shrewsbury Democrat Calls for More Democrats to Compete for Nomination (York, Pennsylvania) Today Shrewsbury resident Joe Otterbein announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination to challenge Representative Todd Platts. Instead of hoping to keep other candidates out of what many consider a long-shot attempt to defeat the three term incumbent, Otterbein is asking other Democrats to challenge him. Otterbein told supporters at the York County Judicial Center that, "Politics should be about people getting together and solving problems. As competitors we can work together to find solutions to the real problems in our communities. Rather than bluster and pr...

Evening Sun Online - FRONT PAGE NEWS : "Outage leaves thousands in the dark" Where we you when the lights went out? Power in McSherrystown was out from about 1:30 until about 3:45. All street lights were out, as were both local traffic lights. Neither light had backup power to "blink". Power was out along Eisenhower Avenue as well. Met-Ed automated outage service had quoted 7:45AM as the time when power would be restored when I called in the outage on my cell phone at about 1:45AM. I received an automated phone call confirming the power was back on just before 4AM.

Wireless AMBER Alerts System - AMBER Alerts for your ZIP Code to your Cell Phone Help find missing children in our area when it matters most - in those first few hours. You will receive a AMBER Alert message when a child goes missing in the ZIP codes you designate. According to T-Mobile (my carrier, used as an example) - "You won't be charged for receiving an alert, and you just may be the one to save a child's life." Looking through the history of Wireless alerts sent for PA, it appears they've only sent one so far, in the Philadelphia area. They appear to be intelligently targeted into a focused area, so that if you get an alert, you should know to take notice.

Young Democrats of Adams County - YoungAdamsDemocrats.com I am resigning as President of the Young Democrats of Adams County at Thusday's Meeting. I've served as Preisdent since we founded the organization in February, 2003. Next Meeting: August 18, 6:00PM Ragged Edge Coffee House ( http://www.raggededgecoffeehs.com ), 110 Chambersburg St., Gettysburg, PA

Salon.com - War Room : "War Room It gets ugly in Crawford We thought the blowback against Cindy Sheehan hit rock bottom when Bill O'Reilly suggested that her vigil in Crawford, Texas, 'borders on treasonous' and Michelle Malkin offered up the view that Sheehan's dead son wouldn't approve. Then we thought it couldn't get any worse when the president of the United States said he couldn't take the time to meet with Sheehan because his exercise schedule was more important. We were wrong. On Monday night, a driver in a pickup truck rammed through rows of white crosses Sheehan and her supporters have placed across a road near the president's Crawford ranch. So much for supporting the troops: The crosses bore the names of soldiers who were killed in the war in Iraq. " Update: Arrest In Texas Protest Cross-Up

There will be a special meeting of Borough Council Wednesday to discuss the ongoing matter of the 2nd Street sidewalk project at 7:00PM at 338 Main Street, McSherrystown, PA (regular scheduled council meeting follows at 7:30PM). Other matters on road conditions may also be brought up at this meeting, however the focus is on the project last year where PennDOT and it's contractors, in the opinion of council and residents, failed to install sidewalks to the Borough Code, which had been provided to PennDOT in the contract. PennDOT has admitted an error in not passing on the Code to the contractor, and the contractor has admitted not following PennDOT's own soecifications for installing sidewalks, that expansion joints (the sidewalk lines that allow for expansion of the sidewalk with weather) were not installed according to Borough Code nor PennDOT specifications. The Borough has also pointed out that the sidewalks have a finish rougher than the Borough Code allows, and that one pr...

I'm honored to have been selected as the Pennsylvania Young Democrats Delegation Chair for the Young Democrats of America 2005 Convention in San Francisco, California. I am proud to be leading such a powerful and qualified delgation, consisting of vice-chair Will Anderson, a former PAYD VP, delegation whip Tony Campisi, the immediate past PAYD President, current PAYD Officers and Exec Board Members President Yarone Zober, National Committeeman Josh Pasek, National Committeewoman Christina Stacey, Recording Secretary Don Palesky, Mid-Atlantic YDA Caucus Chair Charles Duncan, YDA Women's Caucus Chair and Candidate for National Executive Vice President Stephanie Strazisar, and PAYD Northwest Regional Coordinator Christopher Seeley - who is poised to make history at 17 as the youngest Mayor in Pennsylvania's history. PAYD Delegates also include Ken Wolfe, Chrissy Rockwell, Andrew Lewis, Amanda Nowotny, Marvin Bing-Kinard, Robin Sciotto, Jeff Dzamko, Nyota Robinson, Alex McNeill...

Eric's model.. Coming to a campaign near you.. - Herb GOODWORKS-PAC.ORG ANNOUNCES A NEW MODEL FOR ALL DEMOCRATIC CAMPAIGNS GoodWorks-PAC.org : "GOODWORKS-PAC.ORG ANNOUNCES A NEW MODEL FOR ALL DEMOCRATIC CAMPAIGNS For Immediate Release Date: Tuesday, August 2, 2005 Contact: Eric Loeb, GoodWorks-PAC, 215-849-2737, info@goodworks-pac.org Shireen Barday, Tsabar campaign, 917-697-9402, shireen@gurforcitycouncil.com (Philadelphia, PA) GoodWorks-PAC.org, a Federal political action committee based in Pennsylvania, has endorsed the campaign of New York City Council candidate Gur Tsabar as a model for all Democratic campaigns. GoodWorks-PAC.org recruits and assists Democratic candidates who use public service in their campaigns. These campaigns highlight Democratic values, earn positive media, and strengthen the Democratic Party's ability to turn out voters. Gur Tsabar, a Democratic candidate for City Council in New York's 2nd District, has achieved stunning success by organiz...

Did I mention our State Rep voted for this pay raise? (After giving money back to the state for fiscal responsibiltity, and then using our judicial officials as excuses and blaming it on Philadelphia based economics - while not saying whether he'd forgo the money - see Colgan's blog below..) It could be noted that Rep. Nickol voted against the pay raise, refused it since, and has even proposed reducing the size of the state legislature - all things our bloated state budget could use, and I support. In the evening Sun, he said "I don't think I should be paid any less than my colleagues. I work just as hard as they do." and of course the candidate I support, who is opposing Rep. Maitland, Alan Henry has also been on about this.. Have I ever mentioned I'm taking a 25% pay cut by going to Mayor? It's even been noticed by some other local area bloggers: Daniel P. Colgan, McSherrystown (who has taken me to task as well about money and raising taxes - but I...

Susqehanna Poll : "Q6. Thinking about the new property tax reform law called Act 72 which was enacted by the State General Assembly and uses proceeds from slot machines to reduce property taxes for homeowners. Generally speaking, do you support or oppose using revenue raised from slot machines to reduce property taxes for homeowners? (Test Intensity) 1. Strongly support 107 36% Total Support: 54% 2. Somewhat support 55 18% Total Oppose: 36% 3. Strongly oppose 64 21% 4. Somewhat oppose 45 15% 5. Undecided 26 09% 6. Refuse 3 01%" MoE ~5.66%

THIS BLOG ENTRY WAS PHOTOGRAPHED BY JAMES ROBINSON OF THE EVENING SUN :) E-Cycle Your Electronics! Council has approved Leftovers Recycling Services to collect computers, printers, monitors, cabling, modems, keyboards, scanners, copiers and other office machines. The service also accepts DVD, CD, and VCR machines as well as cordless power tools, battery packs and other rechargeable batteries (but NOT TVs). The electronic recycling service will be available during the borough's regular recycling hours as soon as the container can be placed. The McSherrystown recycling operation is at the borough public works building on Oak Lane just off of North Second Street. The center is open Wednesdays from 3 to 6 p.m. and every third Saturday of the month from 8 a.m . until noon. (Based in part on http://www.eveningsun.com/Stories/0,1413,140~9956~2966842,00.html ) Ban on dogs in public parks now in effect where posted Because of a few irresponsible residents causing a potential health hazard ...

Linda Minger with Bob Casey and volunteers including a large contingent of Pennsylvania Young Democrats http://www.electminger.com http://www.payd.org http://www.bobcaseyforpa.com I'm standing in the rear on the far right, looking over PAYD President Yarone Zober's head (front row). Carlisle Councilman Tim Scott (Left end) and I made a road trip of it. The district encompasses Allentown in the Lehigh Valley.

Karl Rove: Repeat Leaker Ron Suskind: Articles : "Sources close to the former president say Rove was fired from the 1992 Bush presidential campaign after he planted a negative story with columnist Robert Novak about dissatisfaction with campaign fundraising chief and Bush loyalist Robert Mosbacher Jr. It was smoked out, and he was summarily ousted. " This was in January 93 in Esquire... Before the other source said it was uncovered. Karl Rove: I didn't do it Apparently, Rove testified to the Grand Jury that he heard from Robert Novak and another reporter that Valarie Plame was a CIA Operative, and that his telling yet another reporter this secret information that these other reporters shouldn't have had wasn't his fault because he's just an innocent gossip monger, I guess is his defense. God forbid he have any kind of national security clearance. The Local Blogosphere: about to get a land rush? Had a call from the Evening Sun yesterday from Seth Goldstein [ bl...

Alternet An interesting historical footnote on Rove and his sleazy tactics. Not only does Rove know this dance, but he and his partner have danced it before. A Nov. 9, 2003 Houston Chronicle article by Rick Casey reveals that Rove was fired from Pappy Bush's '92 re-election campaign. The reason: he leaked information intended to smear a political opponent (a fellow Republican) to a national columnist. That columnist's name was Robert Novak. /snip My Comments: I know emails are dangerous. I've used them for over over a dozen years since before the web (ala FidoNet). You can re-read what you've sent and realize "do I really sound that way"? Blogs are even worse. With archive.org and the permanence of the web, every word is forever. Have I gone on double super secret background with a reporter? No comment. Will I in the future? No comment. But never, ever in an email or on paper. I'm not that stupid. Technically anything a public official posts can become...

Riede taking on a new cause? I am sure every elected official is hurt when a constituent doesn't like them. Or at least I'd like to think so. It's because of this that I'm holding back until I talk to Mr. Colgan to respond to most of the letter. If he wasn't my constitiuent, then it's gloves off! But one point must be made crystal clear, because it's a glaring error on Mr. Colgan's part. Where he says: I'd also like to point out that Mr. Riede has no such apprehension in levying a one percent tax on the people of McSherrystown to pay for increased police protection. I'd like to simply print what he is quoting me from : EMPHASIS ADDED We need to move to 24-hour police coverage. To establish our own 24-hour police force, we would have to invest in, at minimum, two new officers. One innovative way to fund this includes establishing a 1 percent Nonresident Earned Income Tax , thereby spreading the costs equitably to those ...

Herb Riede's Blog - November 30, 2004 "Senior Primaries" House Bill 1672 PDF Text - Introduced 06/09/2005 Sponsors: Grucela (D137); Bebko-Jones (D1); Biancucci (D15); Bishop (D192); Boyd (R43); Caltagirone (D127); Shapiro (D153); Solobay (D48); Staback (D115); Wheatley (D19); Cohen, M. (D202); Costa (D34); Frankel (D23); George (D74); Goodman (D123); Hanna (D76); James (D186); Josephs (D182); Mann (D132); Mundy (D120); Nickol (R193); Oliver (D195); Ramaley (D16); Harhai (D58); Daley (D49); Thomas (D181) I appreciate the support that Rep. Nickol gives to the community, and representation he provides to ALL of Adams County! This bill would allow 17 year olds to vote in a primary if they turn 18 before November. This only affects those who have birthdays between spring and November, but this would for larger school-wide GOTV civic events for primaries.

Why Join the March? From the vanishing glaciers in Montana to the damaged coral reefs of Florida; to sinking villages in Alaska and wild fire outbreaks in California, the impacts of global warming are a part of daily life across the United States. It is crucial that you join the March because the consequences of doing nothing are unimaginable. Or locally, our dwindling water supplies and increasing frequency of drought (not helped by the loss of pervious suface), change in insect patterns and plant and animal diseases It affects everyone. Young, old, rich, poor, urban, rural, right wing, left wing, those in the middle. Global warming is a national security problem, an economic problem, and a public health problem. And it's not going to get better unless we act now Americans from all regions and walks of life need to join together and urge our leaders to take action to stop global warming. Leading scientists, political and religious leaders, prominent Americans and concerned citizen...

Alan Henry for State Representative - Campaign Chair Responds to Attacks on Mr. Henry Yeah.. That's Me..

The Adams County Democratic Committee Challenges All Other County Committees Across PA to Support the Pennsylvania Young Democrats At it's Monday General Meeting in Gettysburg, the Adams County Democratic Committee applauded it's two Young Democrats who were elected to state positions while contributing $300 towards the cost of attending the National Convention in San Francisco , CA Aug. 3-7. The Committee also moved to send a challenge to all County Committees to match or exceed Adams County's contribution, in their attempt to reach their $10,000 goal. Another $100 was also raised seperately at the event. James Muller , Candidate for Adams County Sherriff in the Republican Primary, Accepts Democratic Nomination James Muller attended Monday's Committee meeting and the Committee pledged to support Muller, along with it's incumbent candidate for Treasurer Theresa Adamik, in this year's November election.

Last Year, Young Democrats across the state of Pennsylvania set national records for vote margins for Kerry and increases in youth turnout. The Pennsylvania Young Democrats need your help to make sure we get the support we need from our national organization next year as we did last year. The YDA will hold it's elections for new officers in August, and we need YOUR HELP making sure we secure Pennsylvania's full allotment of votes. We need to send 19 delegates, and we want to make sure that those who are willing to go and are most passionate about winning next year and emphsize the need for Young Democrats across the country to support, volunteer for, and contribute to efforts to gain a seat in the U.S. Senate next year. Here's what your money can buy: $50 will pay for someone's registration $100 will pay for one night's room for two delegates $250 will pay for round trip airfaire $500 will sponsor a delegate I hope to raise $10,000 by the end of the month. Contribut...

Any fight against an overly oppressive and agressive majority rule in Congress - particularly when that same majority holds all three branches of government - should be met with a measure of respect, not with accusations of tyranny or comparisons to Hitler, as Senator Santorum has shamefully and immorally decided to stain the Senate Floor with. Santorum should apologize to his Democratic Constituents in Pennsylvania and Democrats across the country for his unacceptable, divisive, and inflammatory remarks. I applaud the 7 reasonable Republican senators who refused to destroy the trust and deliberative process of the Senate by diffusing the threat of the nuclear option. The reactions by the now pro-nuclear minority against these seven have ranged from disappointment from some to downright threatening from the most extremist leaders. Santorum, his supporters - these high spending, unethical, immoral "conservative" groups bent on complete, absolute and consolidated pow...

Mavis Kelley was an active online Democratic Activist and a colleague on the Draft Gore 2004 PAC Steering Committee. The last email I received was one she sent to the "al_gore_supporters_only", mentioning that a 100% match for bone marrow had been found. In February, 2003, when I ran for McSherrystown Borough Council while the 2004 Presidential Cycle was revving up, Mavis gave me re-writes and advice on the initial design of this website. It is a personal disappointment that we could not succeed in our mission to Draft Gore into the race, since he had, and has for 2008, the single best set of qualifications and ability to win than any other person in our country. She truly gave it her all in the hopes that it may come true. My condolences to the family, and my fellow Draft Gore alumni. Local Newspaper Obituary: http://www.legacy.com/GrandForks/LegacySubPage2.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=3355229

Shortly after 11PM tonight, I received a call from Christina Kristofic with the Evening Sun, who gave me the results of the polls of the McSherrystown Democratic Mayoral Primary: McSherrystown #1 (S.A.V.E.S. Social Hall) Herb Riede 58 Kenneth Moul 16 McSherrystown #2 (Delone Catholic High School) Herb Riede 28 Kenneth Moul 22 Total Votes: Herb Riede 86 Kenneth Moul 38 While I am certaintly excited to win the Democratic nomination, I would also like to thank Ken for running a clean race about the issues. On the Republican ballot, noone filed for the primary, however it appears I also received the most write-in votes as well. I received at least nine "perfect" votes, with more containing misspellings and such, according to the preliminary tally on the doors of the precincts. Ten valid votes are required to win a nomination. Noone else appeared to meet or exceed five on the Republican side. With that said, I'd like to thank my poll volunteers from today for all their hard wo...

Commissioners give casino blessing By TRAVIS LAU Evening Sun Reporter Adams County Commissioners will not stand in the way of plans to bring a casino to Straban Township, a board majority said Wednesday. And two commissioners said they will support the effort. Commissioners Glenn Snyder and Lucy Lott said Wednesday that the county has no business fighting a proposal by the nine-member Chance Enterprises to build a slots parlor, spa and hotel on 42 acres along U.S. Route 30, just northeast of the Route 15 interchange. And with the proposal announced Tuesday having to clear several hurdles before it’s considered for approval, Lott and Snyder said they will stand behind the initiative. “I will support their efforts,” Snyder said. “I don’t know how we couldn’t support them,” Lott said. While legislation passed in 2004 will create 14 licenses for slots parlors statewide, 12 of those licenses have been earmarked to be built in specific locations or areas. That means competition for the remai...

Primary may decide McSherrystown mayoral race Two Democrats face off in May 17 election. By CHRISTINA KRISTOFIC Evening Sun Reporter When long-time McSherrystown mayor Cyril Noel steps down at the end of this year, two Democratic candidates hope to take his place. And the primary election could decide who will become the new mayor of McSherrystown, unless someone begins a write-in campaign or a minor party challenger surfaces before the general election in November. Herbert Riede, 27, is already involved in McSherrystown politics as a councilman. He serves on the borough's highway and police merger committees, the Adams County Democratic Committee and the Adams County Comprehensive Plan Update Transportation Element Steering Committee. Riede said he believes his experience with the various committees and interaction with borough employees makes him the best candidate for the job. Kenneth Moul, 47, said he thinks he's the best candidate because he has prior experience serving as...

Watching Walmart - Remember Wal Mart's Buy American Program? "Sam Walton’s bestselling autobiography is titled “Made in America”. And as recently as 1994, company literature titled “Bring It Home To The USA” touted Wal-Mart’s commitment to American manufacturers saying “The Buy American program is both a commitment and a partnership.” That was then. This is now. " I'm not entirely an "everything must be made in America" type - yes, there are some benefits to a free market society. But the goodwill bought by so many years of selling this idea of jobs staying in the U.S. supplying WalMart has changed to WalMart spinning in new commercials that WalMart is so great because of the so many jobs of their own they produce, the low standard of living of which drags down the rest of the economy. I have weened myself off WalMart, and my pocketbook has grown - not shrunk, as a result. I don't know whether it's the lack of marketing and impulse purcha...

Sort of... The Evening Sun and the League of Women Voter's have both sent me their list of questions, and of course I must do what every candidate must do - compact what you want to do into 75 or 150 words. I will be answering both post haste. I will post my answers here as well. Contribution: $20.00 Per Person (includes union-made button, left)* South Street Park, McSherrystownFood by: Rick's Hog Wild Catering * Pit Beef Sandwiches, Chips, Refreshments

A Friend's Letter to the Editor: Evening Sun, Hanover, PA (Reprinted with permission of letter writer) Editor: On March 28, 2005, the Pennsylvania General Assembly took steps to empower women and strengthen families by introducing the " Prescription Contraception Equity Act ." Out of pocket expenses for healthcare are more than 68 percent higher for women than men. Not only is this discriminatory, but inflicts an unnecessary burden on family stability. This bill not only seeks to provide coverage of contraception, but also provides counseling services for effective use. While it is understood that abstinence is the only foolproof way to avoid unexpected pregnancies, little is common knowledge on the issue of contraception fail rates and potential causes. For example, if a woman has been taking an antibiotic, for perhaps a sinus infection, the antibiotic can render birth control pills ineffective. With an ever skyrocketing divorce rate, financial insecurity i...

Evening Sun Online - LOCAL NEWS Borough OKs junior council member By MELODY ASPER Evening Sun Correspondent McSherrystown borough will soon be the first municipality in the area to establish a Junior Council program. The idea was brought to Wednesday night's borough meeting by councilman Herbert L. Riede. The Junior Council program was established in Wesleyville borough in Erie County in 1999, according to Riede. Since then, other municipalities have followed suit, including Carroll Valley and Carlisle. "It would help get young people interested in borough government," Riede said. "And then, when they get out of school, they could actually run for a seat on the regular council." A junior council person would attend the regular meetings of council and would be allowed to voice their opinions. They would not be allowed to vote and could not attend "executive" sessions. The junior member also would not be privy to personnel issues. Council passed a resolu...

Come and Get It! - Let's have a picnic (a tasty one at that) and chew the fat (no pun intended)... Contribution: $20.00 Per Person (includes union-made button, right) * South Street Park, McSherrystown Food by: Rick's Hog Wild Catering * Pit Beef Sandwiches, Chips, Refreshments If you can't make it and still want to contribute, click here! You can also be a Sustaining Contributor or send your contribution by mail to: The Committee to Elect Herb Riede P.O. Box 54 McSherrystown, PA 17344-0054 McSherrystown Residents: Email me your concerns or thoughts on McSherrystown issues (best method) "NO PURCHASE NECESSARY" , Call me at 717-521-1221 evenings from 6-8PM, or knock on my door at 225 Main Street at around the same time. I would prefer to schedule a time one on one with you.

After long months of speaking with the school administrators and advisors before introducing the measure, I introduced a resolution to establish a Junior Council Position at tonight's council meeting. I am proud to report that Council member Anthony Weaver seconded my motion and the resolution passed, establishing the position. Suitable candidates - High School Juniors or Sophomores living in McSherrystown (who will be a Junior or Senior in the 05-06 year) should submit a one page cover letter to the Borough Office by the end of this school year. The most qualified candidate will be chosen by Borough Council and take office and sit on council beginning in September. I will be notifying the schools about the passage of the resolution within the next few days. I am proud of this.

Harrisburg Area Community College I've enrolled in college - locally in Harrisburg Area Community College/Gettysburg to pursue a Business Management/CIS degree. I've already applied for my transcripts from Edinboro to be faxed to HACC, and I'm looking at the night/Internet classes available at the Gettysburg campus. With a full-time job, running for Mayor, running for Treasurer of a state-wide organization, and my fingers in other efforts, enrolling in college may look suicidal, but I never got my degree, and I know how important it is to have one. I don't intend to go full time, and I have a full time semester of general courses from Edinboro University under my belt, so I hope some credits will transfer me about a quarter of the way. Combined with the ability of the Leadership Adams/Hanover class to count as an elective towards a Management degree, and I at least know I'm not starting from scratch. I got my acceptance letter from HACC yesterday. Of course they acc...

Pennsylvania Young Democrats No, I don't want our Borough Treasurer to get the wrong idea. Besides, you don't run for that. I am running for Treasurer of the Pennsylvania Young Democrats in the upcoming June Convention. As Correspondence Secretary to a failing organization when I was first elected in early 2003, the Pennsylvania Young Democrats had NO Website, an ill President, and an Executive Board in disarray. Not to say our Executive Board has not had our trouble - an impeachment, and that it appears that I will be the only officer to run for re-election to the new administration. However, I want to grow our fundraising presence online and offline, and be more aggresive - and not only through events. I want to: - Implement Online Contributions (with real credit card processing, sustaining recurring billing options, etc.) - Source fundraising opportunities for chapters such as the PA Blue Poster Program - Fund our committee members, campaign invasions, and potentially a You...

In my short time on council, I have proposed a Junior Council Position (I will be introducing it soon), fought unsuccessfully to keep curbside recycling, proposed better enforcement of our building codes for rental properties to protect against slums (as the only "renting councilman"), and I am carrying through a long stalled study on a police merger that stands in the way on discussions of increased police protection, while we deal with an increasingly urban borough population. As Mayor, I will continue to be a strong voice at council meetings, and in my first term I will make as my goals: - Attaining 24 hour police coverage - Relieving through traffic on Main Street for pedestrian/bicycle/vehicle travel - Restoring Curbside Recycling for Borough Residents I have found out Friday that I have competition in the Primary. Elected officials and community leaders, including the current Mayor, now 72, have encouraged me to run. I believe I can win, but I could use your help. Contr...

Bob Casey for PA.com Bob Casey has officially decided to run for the U.S. Senate in 2006 against Virginia resident Rick Santorum. In a move of party unity , Barbara Hafer has already withdrawn her candidacy and Governor Rendell has pledged his support. I am estatic that our party is coming together on this so we can start NOW. Bob Casey will be at the Gettysburg College to speak on the future of the Democratic Party on April 21st, 7PM. See the Adams County Democratic Committee website for details about this Gettysburg College Democrats event. I have sent emails through old treasurer campaign links encouraging (begging) him to run, although I am nothing more than a nusiance, to be sure. I stand ready to work on the 2006 ticket!

After careful consideration of President Bush’s State of the Union address and his subsequent speeches on the matter, I humbly submit a response from the Democratic youth who may someday come to rely upon the program he, and other anti-Social Security Republicans like Senator Santorum, threaten with these dangerous changes. First off, I actually agree with Senator Santorum, who said about one of the President’s speeches, "I think it was an attempt to reassure younger as well as older workers that his plan was safe." The President's words, in fact, serve as no reassurance to this younger worker. The Republican leadership is counting on younger workers not to listen to everything being said, and to only hear the false, but attractive, "keep your own money" mantra. The initial concern among many of us critics was that those who gained in our investments by our retirement would end up needing to support those who lost in their investments, and that only those involv...

UFCW Talking to Wal-Mart Workers I support the Democratic Party taking up the national effort to Unionize WalMart workers as described in the link above.

Herb's Al Gore '08 Blog - I will be posting live from DC special and exclusive to AlGore-08.com over the weekend from the DNC and YDA events.

mcall.com - Siptroth wins special election for 189th District state House seat A Smithfield Township supervisor defeated a business owner by 209 votes in a special election Tuesday to fill the vacant 189th District state House seat. According to unofficial results, Democrat John J. Siptroth received 3,452 votes, or 51 percent, and Republican Diane L. Hannan got 3,243 votes, or 48 percent. About 6,695 votes were tabulated in the district, which includes parts of Monroe and Pike counties. The seat became vacant when Kelly Lewis resigned Dec. 6 to head the nonprofit Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania. Also see: http://www.pahdcc.com http://www.votesiptroth.com This is an upset pickup of a formerly Republican state house seat in Pennsylvania. Congratulations John!

McS'town looks at rental unit inspections I viewed photos passed among council showing the mold infestation mentioned at the link above during the meeting, prompting my comments. I vowed to look into what is possible for McSherrystown and here is an example of what Chambersburg has gone through with their regular rental unit inspections: Meeting Minutes, Chambersburg Borough 1/16/2002: http://www.borough.chambersburg.pa.us/minutes/2002/january_16__2002_meeting_minutes.html And the resulting Chambersburg Borough Rental Unit Inspection Ordinance: http://gcp.esub.net/cgi-bin/om_isapi.dll?clientID=182555&depth=3&hitsperheading=on&infobase=chambers.nfo&record={1FF578E}&softpage=Document42 What was left out of the Evening Sun article was that council quickly came to a general consensus that any proposed inspections would be on tenant turnover - that is, when someone moves out, the unit would need inspected between tenants. This was thought to mi...

House Bill 25 would replace Property Taxes with a 3% increase in Sales Taxes and a 1.5% increase in Income Taxes. Sales and Income taxes are collected by the state, and sure enough, just like the Business Gross Receipts Tax Scam, this bill is nothing but a monkey wrench just waiting to be thrown into the system. "Distributions to school districts shall be based on the amount of real property tax collected by each school district during the base year..." So what's a base year? "Base year." The first fiscal year of a school district, municipality or county beginning after June 30, 2005. So the calculations of the share of state money will depend on the snapshot of where your school district is at - THIS YEAR. If it's growing, too bad. If it's shrinking, more power to ya! This bill is incomplete compared to the Gross Receipts bill in it's detail - but basically is the same as last year's bill only in your face and on your bill. ...

Blog for America - Adams County Dem Committee , Blog for America - PA Young Dems want Dean , PoliticsPA - Young Dems Want Dean OK I'm officially tired of it.. I did my taxes this weekend. 10 days to DC - and now the world knows I'm coming! (But they couldn't care less ;)