Howard Jack Latest to Resign as TACT Director

Former Manor Township Supervisor Howard Jack - shown on left with General Manager Patti Lynn Baker during a Town and Country Transit Board of Directors meeting in March - has resigned. He was the Manor Township representative for the past 13 years. Jack did not seek re-election last year as Supervisor of Manor Township, completing 36 years in that office.

by Jonathan Weaver

A former Manor Township supervisor resigned his seat on the Town and Country Transit Board of Directors last week.

Howard Jack, who served Manor Township for 36 years before he chose not to run for re-election in November 2011, informed current supervisors by letter of his resignation in April.

According to Secretary Jill Davis, Jack resigned due to health reasons.

Jack was on the Town and Country Transit board for 13 years. He was the only Manor Township representative in the municipality’s history with the transit authority.

While the seven other municipalities (Applewold, East Franklin, Ford City, Ford Cliff, Kittanning, Manorville, and Armstrong County as a whole) joined with Mid-County Transit Authority in the 1970’s, Manor Township joined in December 1998.

Town and Country Transit General Manager Patti Lynn Baker wished Jack well after she was notified of his resignation.

“Mr. Jack has been a very-large supporter and always available when we needed checks signed. He has been very faithful in his attendance to the Board meetings, (where) you can’t conduct business unless you have a quorum.

“We really appreciate and thank him for his dedicated service to public transportation here in Armstrong County for the last 13 years,” Baker added. “We will really miss him on our Board.”

Supervisor Pat Fabian volunteered to represent Manor Township at the May 16 meeting, but encouraged other residents to serve on the Board – which meets at 4PM the third Wednesday of each month at their North Grant Avenue, Kittanning headquarters – regularly.

Any Manor Township resident interested should contact Davis at 724-763-9215.

The first Manor Township “local match” payment will be paid this October, while the remainder is paid in April 2013.

Jack is the latest local representative to resign. Former Ford City Borough Council President John Lux resigned in July 2011, while former Kittanning Borough Councilman Thomas Close resigned in January.

Neither municipality has appointed a permanent Board replacement. Kittanning Borough appointed 4^th Ward Councilman Richard Reedy as a temporary representative in April, but discussion on a regular attendee was tabled at last night’s meeting.

Manor Township Website Online by Friday

Manor Township Supervisor Pat Fabian tries to log on to the new Township website last night (www.manortownshippa.com) but was unable to as Lenape Tech students who designed the site were making last-minute adjustments. He hopes the site - hosted by Allegheny Graphics of Kittanning - will be operational by tomorrow.

by Jonathan Weaver

ManorTownshipPa.com may not be working today, but township supervisors hope their new website will be online for this weekend.

Under construction by two Lenape Technical School students since October 2011, the website was to be functional by the beginning of May. However, Supervisor Pat Fabian said students are still finalizing the site.

“The girls are finishing up a few more things,” Fabian said.

Supervisors agreed to compensate the students with a more than $430 Visa gift card each. Payment was calculated by multiplying the 28 weeks by the current Pennsylvania minimum wage rate ($7.25). Fabian motioned for the payment.

“It’s my recommendation that we buy these two young ladies a gift card in the amount of $434,” Fabian suggested.

Fabian said during a normal cooperative program at the technical school, students would be able to work on their trade outside of the classroom, but the equipment was not available at the township municipal building.

“To go outside and have someone develop this website, you’re talking probably $4,000 and we’re getting it for under a thousand bucks,” Fabian said.

Lenape Administrator Dawn Kocher-Taylor and Instructor Ed Dupaly agreed with Fabian’s recommendation. They also suggested payment through a scholarship, but students were not where or if they would attend higher education.

Supervisors agreed in April the website would be hosted by Allegheny Graphics of Kittanning.

Local residents will not only be able to get rid of trash the week of March 14, but also recycle after supervisors made an agreement with David’s Recycling of Vandergrift.

Owner David Bracken has made recent agreements in multiple local municipalities during the past month, including with Kittanning Borough, Ford City Borough and East Franklin Township.

Fabian said he currently takes his recycling to Ford City, but looks forward to recycling with Bracken weekly.

“I for one take my recycling to Ford City because we don’t have recycling – and I take a lot of it. I’m definitely interested in you coming in,” Fabian said.

In addition to taking cardboard, tires and plastic at the Manor Township firehall every Tuesday from 11AM-7PM, Bracken and his crew will be at Trash Week twice – Tuesday, May 15 and Friday, March 18.

“There’s so much we do there’s very-little garbage you people are going to end up having,” Bracken said. “There’s tons of ways to make money, but everybody has to want to do it.”

Most recyclables are hauled away for free, but residents will have to pay for Bracken to take tires – $1.60 – or computer monitors – $3.00.

“You have nothing to lose,” according to Armstrong Conservation District Manager Dave Rupert.

Township supervisors will receive half of Bracken’s earnings and can apply for Performance reimbursement through the Department of Environmental Protection at the end of each year.

For more information on David’s Recycling, call 724-553-3879.

Supervisors also announced that Manor Township police received a $650 donation from the Ford City VFW Post 4843 for the purchase of updated codebooks and to upgrade traffic cameras in the two police vehicles.

At the meeting, Sgt. Terry Bish said both sets of items could be paid off through the donation after purchasing refurbished cameras.

“We don’t want to do a whole new system – it’s $1,500-$2,000 for a whole new system (and) the cameras you can’t get new anymore…but we can get used ones for about $200 a piece, which we could use that $650 and it wouldn’t cost the township anything,” Bish said.

The traffic cameras record automatically as soon as the sirens are activated or can be manually operated.