(7/2020) In 2011 I never imagined that I would be contributing, uninterrupted, to the Emmitsburg News Journal for nine years. Also, when I became a county commissioner I never imagined I would be dealing with the fallout of the Covid-19 epidemic. The solid fiber of our county has helped us to navigate through the problems that have left other communities in disarray. Yes, we did hear from those that were demanding we specifically follow their point of view, but the Commissioners are maintaining a path that is concerned about both lives and livelihoods.

There must be a proper balance between lives and livelihoods to allow for sufficient economic strength to provide the resources to protect, feed, clothe, care for and manage a nation’s existence. It is very disconcerting and sad that people have died and are suffering from the virus. We must protect the most vulnerable in our population. However, on the other hand we cannot magnify the situation by terminating livelihoods, thus creating another level of suffering in even greater numbers. Having livelihoods and work is what has allowed our nation to maintain a quality standard of living for our citizens.

If the heartache of death had overtaken our national will during World War II, we would have walked away from doing what was needed to save our nation and to win the war. In similar manner, I am not willing to throw away the strength of our nation because we have encountered Covid-19. Unfortunately, Governor Wolf has a different mindset. Several weeks ago, he said he wanted to create a "new commonwealth" beyond the pandemic. Check out his agenda at "Plan for PA- Recovery" on the PA website. This agenda seems to have a higher priority than moving to re-open PA. His recent march with demonstrators reflects his mindset. He also said that continuing the emergency declaration would be the source of more federal funding. I oppose this kind of opportunistic reasoning. Rather we need to be putting our state back to work. That requires no federal funding and diminishes deficits. It appears to me that the Governor’s ideology (agenda) is deliberately obstructing the re-opening of PA.

It is probably obvious that I am in favor of re-opening PA. However, it must not be done with an ideology in mind, but approached with constitutional discipline and civility. The County Commissioners Association of PA attempted for months to enter into a measured and practical discussion with the Governor. Eventually, after considerable pressure, he agreed to conference with CCAP and open lines of communication. As a result, CCAP has a response team in place that communicates three days a week, but it is split among PEMA, DOH and the Governor’s office. The discussions included requests for information about the metrics involved in decisions, congregate care, what it looks like moving past the green phase and engaging the schools about the reopening process. Also, there was discussion on preparedness for a virus resurgence and exploring a different schedule for more opportunities for interaction. As far as anything dramatic happening to open PA, that obviously has not happened. Most of the communication that flows back and forth has been dealing with the medical issues and little regarding livelihoods and lifting business restrictions. As of the writing of this article there appears to be no guidance from the Governor’s Office, Department of Health, or the Department of Education pertaining to the opening of the new school year.

From my perspective, the opening of the next school year has many unanswered questions. What format and style of education will take place? If it does take place, how efficient and effective will it be? Bussing will likely be another matter. Perhaps this will be the year of the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter Schools. It would certainly be a predictable and complete package of education. An advantage of cyber education is less exposure to health issues. There is plenty of information online to research the cyber option.

During all that has been happening, the County was challenged with conducting the June 2nd primary election in a manner as never before. Several factors impacted the election process, the corona virus and the dynamics of the no-excuse mail-in ballot. Two facilities that have always been available as polling sites were closed due to virus concerns. So, two new locations were put into action as polling sites. Also, all polling sites instituted measures to reduce voter expose to potential virus contact. We also lost former poll worker as a result of their concern of being exposed to the virus. Numerous recruitment efforts were made to find sufficient replacement workers and that effort went well.

Additionally, recent legislation created a new voting option, no-excuse mail-in ballots. There was a total of more than 10,000 mail-ins, which meant that over 20,000 envelopes had to be opened, the mailing envelope and the inside privacy envelope. Each envelope opening was followed by manually emptying the envelopes. To manually open over 20,000 envelopes would have taken hundreds of extra man hours plus a likely delay in producing election result. The solution was to purchase a high-speed automatic envelope opener for $6,000. This machine eliminates the cost of thousands of dollars in man hours plus it will be available into the future. We anticipate receiving as many as 30,000 mail-in ballots in the next election. The unit will pay for itself over just a few election cycles.

We have been receiving an increasing number of inquiries about the CARES Act Federal funds available to counties. The seven most populated PA counties have already received funding directly from the Fed. The remaining 60 counties will receive CARES funds in proportion to their population and it must come through the state. My calculation of what Adams County should receive was nearly the same as the state’s calculation, $9.3 million. In the coming weeks we will be following Federal guidance in the distribution of the funds related to the effects of COVID-19 in Adams County. The county has submitted the required application for the funds which are expected to arrive by July 15th.

Please have an enjoyable and safe 4th of July holiday.