Armstrong County Commissioners Schedule Press Conference for Today

DAMAGE CONTROL OR NEW REVELATION? The Armstrong County commissioners James Scahill (left), Rich Fink, and Patricia Kirkpatrick will hold a press conference later this afternoon, according to Chief Clerk George Skamai (right).

A press conference has been scheduled for this afternoon by the Armstrong County Commissioners with the media and the county’s Information Technology director James H. Venturini.

This comes on the heels of a Thursday public meeting when commissioners, through a Pittsburgh attorney, revealed pornography was found on county-owned computers used by Armstrong County Coroner Robert Bower.

Although not mentioned in a request made by Chief Clerk George J. Skamai, it is presumed the meeting will offer reaction to last Thursday’s announcement.

“[The commissioners] want to make it clear that the news conference will involve the Board of Commissioners, the media, and our IT director Jim Venturini. Nobody else will be permitted into the room for this event,” Skamai said.

Bower has accused the commissioners of political posturing by purposely not placing their attorney on the agenda.

“I get a copy of the agenda. If I had seen his name on there, I would have been at that meeting.”

Bower said the revelation that surfaced in April 2009 was not to be made public since there was no basis for criminal charges. He said the decision to go public now was to discredit him.

“They know that during the last commissioner’s race, I had a petition ready to go. I was going to run for county commissioner. I chose not to. They know I was going to run in two years. I am sure that they do not want to be in a position to have anyone run against them, especially someone who is already in an elected capacity.”

Bower has been the Coroner for the last 24 years and denies that he was the person who visited sexually-explicit Internet sites.

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