Clairton board, secretaries reach accord 
4-year settlement includes additional $1,200 each year  

BY MICHAEL DIVITTORIO

Clairton City School Dis­trict has a new contract with the Clairton Secretarial Association. 
 
The school board approved the agreement, effective July 1, 2012, through June 30, 2016, by a 6-2 vote on Wednesday night.
 
Directors Robert Harri­gan and Sue Wessel were opposed. Board vice presi­dent Paulette Bradford was absent.

“It gives us labor peace with all our bargaining units for at least the next year,” board president Rich Livingston said. “We can plan our budgets because we have knowledge of what our employees are going to make. Everything’s been settled.”

The contract impacts six secretaries — one for the elementary school, guidance counselor, special education and high school, and two at the business office.

Livingston said the con­tract gives each secretary an additional $1,200 each year across the board, and includes a starting salary wage freeze for all four years.

School directors approved contracts for paraprofes­sionals last year, and for teachers in September 2011. They
expire in June 2015 and June 2014, respectively.

The paraprofessional con­tract was the first in district history.

The teachers contract included a wage freeze for a year, and no raises for the first and second years of service to the district. The previous teachers contract expired in 2010. 
 
School directors approved a change to this year’s calen­dar, scheduling Wednesday as a make-up day for Feb. 28, when a sewage prob­lem caused cancellation of classes.

Directors approved Josh Geletko as a volunteer coach for the boys basketball team, and Ted Ulmer, Dean Brad­ley and Dennis Gullasky as volunteer assistant baseball coaches for the 2013 season. 
 
District officials met with state Sen. James Brewster, D-McKeesport, prior to the board meeting.

Livingston said they wanted to show Brewster the district’s budget.

“He’s been very support­ive of the district,” Livings­ton said. “We want to make sure that when he goes up to Harrisburg, he has all our information to show what the state budget is doing to us. I want
to thank him for coming.”

The board expelled two students on Wednesday.  
 
Michael DiVittorio is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-664-9161, ext. 1965, or mdivittorio@ tribweb.com.

“It gives us labor peace with all our bargaining units for at least the next year.”  
 
RICH LIVINGSTON
SCHOOL BOARD PRESIDENT

Judge gives councilor 2 more days to answer primary challenger  
BY PATRICK CLOONAN

Clairton’s Democratic con­test for mayor remains a four­way race, at least for six more days.

On Wednesday, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Joseph M. James gave Coun­cilman Richard Ford III two days to resubmit his state­ment of financial interest.
 
Mayor Richard Lattanzi’s attorney Glenn A. Smith will have two days to respond and then Lattanzi’s challenge of Ford’s candidacy will be aired before James April 3 at 1:50 p.m.

James considered chal­lenges to municipal ballot positions for the May 21 pri­mary. 
 
Smith contends that Ford failed to disclose all sources of income and names and addresses of creditors to whom he owed $6,500 or more.

“He’s hiding tax debt owed to the city,” Smith said.

“My client reasonably believed payment was made in good faith,” Ford’s attorney Burrell Brown said. 
 
Ford and Lattanzi share the ballot with Councilman Terry Lee Julian and former council candidate Kenneth Barna.

Julian is running for re­election to council in Ward 3. He is challenged by legal sec­retary Levina B. Lasich,
who is seeking to remove Julian from the ballot for mayor and council, claiming that Julian owes more than $34,000 to the city and Clairton City School District.

James tossed that challenge because Lasich did not file it in a timely matter.

Julian said he may take legal action, because docu­ments attached to Lasich’s petition gave incorrect infor­mation
about what he still owes from a venture that went out of business in 1996.


He said the documents should have come through a right-to-know process, not from tax collectors for the city and school district.

Liberty’s Democratic coun­cil contest remains a five-way race, but may prompt a rare plaintiff’s appeal to Common­wealth Court. “My understanding is that we are going to appeal,” attor­ney J. Jason Elash said after James upheld the candidacy of incumbent S. Larry Sikor­ski.

Debbie Helderlein testified.

Elash, a former Liberty solicitor, had borough solici­tor George Gobel as his co­counsel, while attorney Mat­thew D. Racunas and his associate Kristin Mackulin represented Sikorski.

“We have a lot of hot-shot lawyers here,” James joked.

James told Sikorski to sub­mit an amended ethics state­ment to the borough by Friday.
  
“I have to thank Mr. Racu­nas for his excellent work,” Sikorski said.  “He did a tre­mendous job against the whole borough.”

A Dravosburg challenge was averted when Democrat Debo­rah Poppell withdrew her can­didacy for council.

She and former police chief Kenneth Holland quit the race prior to a Wednesday deadline for withdrawals.

Incumbent William J. Snod­grass Jr. challenged Poppell’s Democratic Party registra­tion.

Snodgrass remains on the May 21 primary ballot with fellow incumbents Barbara J. Stevenson and Jay McKelvey and former borough postmas­ter John Palcsey.

Patrick Cloonan is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-664-9161, ext. 1967, or cloonan@tribweb.com.

Positions for vote in May 21st primary election are:

Mayor
Council positions for Wards 2 & 3
School Board positions for Wards 2, 3, 4 & At large

The Candidates in this primary election are:

Running for Mayor:
Democrats: Kenneth Barna, Richard L. Ford III, Terry Lee Julian, Richard Lattanzi
... Republicans: No candidates

Council – Ward 2:
Democrats: Richard L. Ford
Republicans: No candidates

Council – Ward 3:
Democrats: Terry Lee Julian, Lee (Levina) B. Lasich
Republicans: No candidates

School Board:
At- Large: Cross- filed Republican and Democrat: Gloria E. Bostick Ruffing
Democrat only: Tonya A. Payne

Ward/Region 2:
Democrat only: Gloria L. James.
Republican: No candidates

Ward/Region 3:
Cross-filed Republican and Democrat: Richard Livingston
Democrat only: Barbara Ann Roberts.

Ward/Region 4:
Democrat only: Paulette A. Bradford
Republican: No candidates

These are the people who seek to represent you. It is your duty to know what these positions control and what the candidates can and will do for our city/school. If you haven't taken an interest in this in the past, perhaps you can start now as it is important on the local level to choose the leadership wisely. Remember to look at the bigger picture and how each of these candidates will benefit the community as a whole..

Monday - Night of Clairton HIstory 7:00 p.m. Municipal building - For the public

Tuesday - Clairton Lions Club Meeting - New members welcome 6:00 p.m. WAC Club

Wednesday - School Board Workshop Meeting - 6:00 p.m.  High School Board Room (#225)

Thursday - Clairton Municipal Authority Meeting - 4:00 p.m.  Municipal Authority (Sewage plant)
Thursday - Vacant Property Review Committee - 5:00 p.m.  Municipal Building

This is just a weekly reminder that the recycling pickup is this week. 
Recycables will be picked up on the same day as your trash pickup.

First Recycling Bin for the place of residence is free and can be picked up anytime from 9:00am to 5:00pm in the Engineer's office at the city municipal building. Additional Bins are available for $6.00 each. 

Recycling Calenders can be picked up in the Engineering Office.  


Recyclable Items:
 
Clear Glass : Food and Beverage Only

All Cans: Aluminum, Bi-Metal, Steel (Tin)

Newspaper: Black and White Only/Minimum Color is Acceptable

Designated Plastics: HDPE, PETE and PVC Look on bottom of container for the Recyclable Symbol