Kickin'

Home Rule...our new beginning brought to us by the same old political crowd.

The link: Home rule would change hiring policy

The excerpt: Advocates for the home-rule charter proposed for Luzerne County claim it would transform how county employees are hired and promoted.

"For too long, Luzerne County government has served as a vehicle to provide patronage jobs to relatives, friends and political supporters," the Luzerne County Government Study Commission wrote in its official report.

"These practices have excluded many qualified and meritorious candidates from service to our county. At a time when Luzerne County government should be a shining example of a meritocracy, it is instead often perceived as simply a bureaucracy of the well-connected."

Flashback…from The Times Leader:

FOR THIS CREW, COUNTY JOBS A FAMILY AFFAIR

After a sudsy flea bath, Babs headed to the Luzerne County Courthouse this week to sniff out a tip about a bunch of kinfolk with public jobs.

After a brief delay in the security area - her dog tags set off the metal detector - Babs paused in the courthouse rotunda, wondering why only two-leggers are pictured in the water-stained artwork on the ceiling.

Just the thought of water gave Babs the urge to lift her leg (so to speak) on the commissioners' glass door, but she resisted. She followed her nose down the marble steps to the basement, trailing slobber as the rancid scent of political patronage grew steadily stronger.

There, in the Assessor's Office ... A-Rooooo! A-Rooooo!

The tip: ``Check out the Heffron family. Eileen Heffron is a tax assessor. Her brother, Richard Heffron, is in personnel. ... A sister-in-law, Donna Heffron, works with the gypsy moth spraying program. Also, they hire all their kids for every summer program above everyone else. You'll find they all came from Frank Crossin. Eileen spends most of her day at ...''

The background:

It's common knowledge in the courthouse the Heffron family is close to former Commissioner Crossin, who still carries a lot of behind-the-scenes weight in county government.

``I'm doing my job, that's all I have to say,'' said Richard Heffron, executive director of the Luzerne County Human Resources Development Department, who declined to address the caller's allegation about the Crossin connection. His sister, Eileen Heffron, referred comment on her productivity to her boss, Assessor's Office Operations Director Tony Alu.

``She's a very valuable part of my team. She's great. She has experience. She has a wonderful personality. She works well with people,'' Alu said. ``She's nothing but an asset to my department, and I'm very proud to have her working for me.''

What Babs found:

Two members of the Heffron family and one former member of the family work full-time for the county. Four of their children have had summer jobs. Richard Heffron worked as a county adult probation officer in 1996. His date of hire was not available from court administration.

In April 1997, he was hired as an ``employment component manager'' at the county Department of Human Resources for $32,334. Last year he was promoted to human resources executive director for $56,000 a year.

Richard, who often goes by the nickname ``Kick,'' donated $100 to the election campaign of majority Commissioners Tom Makowski and Tom Pizano in 1999 and $125 to the campaign of Makowski/Crossin in 1997. His daughter, Megan, also donated $100 to the Makowski/Crossin campaign in 1995.

One of Heffron's children, Erin, worked as a recreation aide at the county Mental Health/Mental Retardation summer day camp in the summer of 2000. She was paid $5.25 an hour for 250 hours.

Eileen Heffron works as a real property field investigator in the Assessor's Office for $23,592 a year.

Her daughter, Kimberly Heffron, had a summer job at the Moon Lake Park concession bathhouse in the summers of 2000 and 2001. She was paid $5.15 an hour in 2000 for 450 hours.

Donna Heffron, an ex-sister-in-law, has worked for several years as an environmental technician/secretary in the county Environmental Special Projects Office. Her annual salary is $22,792.

Two of Donna Heffron's children have been hired for summer jobs in the county.

Her son Patrick worked as a recreation aide in the summer of 1994. Then he earned $4.25 an hour. Donna's daughter, Melissa Ann, has worked as a field assistant in the Environmental Special Projects Office in the summer of 1996, 1997 and in 2002. She earned $40 a day in 1996.

Environmental Special Projects Director Ron Rugletic said he has requested that Melissa Ann work in his office this year because she is familiar with the county's West Nile Virus prevention program from her past work with the county and her involvement in a West Nile public awareness campaign as a student at King's College.

``I do ask for the same people back so I don't have to spend time doing a lot of training,'' Rugletic said.

Donna's ex-husband is Charles Heffron of Luzerne. Charles Heffron, 215 Union St., Luzerne, donated $600 to the election campaign of Makowski/Crossin in 1995. A company named Heffron, Heffron & Hinchey at the same Union Street address gave $230 to Makowski/Crossin in 1998.

How Mad is Babs?

The Heffrons are clearly connected. Babs gives them 4 HOWLS (out of a possible five), which puts them in the doghouse - at least in Babs' book. Of course, their doghouse should have a dome.

And to quote INXS, one of my favorite bands…

Sometimes you kick!

Sometimes you get kicked!

I realize you girlies on the left have idolized Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, the lifelong Democrat who incorrectly sought to score political points by blaming completely unconnected Republicans to a multiple murder in Arizona.

He said all the right things, as if they were previously written for him by James Carville Or Bill Maher: Open only in the event of Tea Party-inspired violence.

But, as is usually the case when Democrats deliberately overreact to breaking events (in lieu of facts), Sheriff Dupnik is obviously the second biggest dupe in this case, second only to the deranged shooter.

And before you go nominating him for the coveted Democrat/Marxist of the Year award, consider this quote, attributed to him by the Arizona Republic newspaper from 2009:

He said it was wrong "to spend the millions and millions and millions of dollars that we do catering to illegals."

Blasphemy! Blasphemy, you say.

According to your past statements, there is no amount of money not worth investing in (giving to) Amerika’s largest illegal voting bloc.

Anyway, your new darling is a dupe.

Later

* Nancy Kemp, where are you?