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Change is inevitable, progress is optional

MERLE HARNISH

Lock Haven

Being relatively new to Lock Haven (my wife and I moved here nearly two years ago after I retired), some of what I am about to say may not be completely accurate. That said, I have some observations about Lock Haven and Clinton County and I will now share them.

I have family living in the area and have learned through visits and discussions with them that Piper Aircraft had once been the major employer in the area, employing upward of 3,500 people. When Piper left for Florida, there was a very large job void. Two major employers are here at present, First Quality and Lock Haven University. However, together they do not employ as many people as Piper did in its day.

The effect of this has been a prolonged depression in property values. Also, when LHU built two large dormitories several years ago, the rental market in the area was also hit hard.

Clinton County is one of the poorest counties in Pennsylvania. It has been said that you could buy a house with a credit card in some parts of the county.

That is pretty sad.

The lack of good job opportunities in the area means that many young people do not stay after graduation from high school or do not come back after college. The school system here does not do enough to prepare students for life, so the percentage of those who do go on to college or technical school is very low.

Change is inevitable. If nothing is done about the depressed state of Clinton County, further decline is the inevitable change.

Progress is optional. However, progress requires strong leadership, and I do not see that in Lock Haven and Clinton County.

We have a natural resource in Lock Haven that is not developed the way it could be. The Susquehanna River is beautiful and could become an attraction to bring people here. I would recommend raising the dam below the Jay Street Bridge by 18 inches to deepen the river upstream. We also should have a small marina on the Lock Haven side, where boaters could buy fuel and tie up for a while, visit downtown restaurants and stores.

Deepening the river would provide a larger area for recreational boating and bring more boaters to Lock Haven. Anyone who owns a boat and fuels it from a gas can would appreciate the convenience.

The Fallon Hotel recently closed. The building needs major rehabilitation. It was built by the queen of Spain and is an historical landmark. It should be restored and turned into a first-class hotel, something that Lock Haven doesn’t have.

I have heard it said that there are no jobs available. It is not that there are no jobs. I have also read that there are millions of jobs available nationwide in manufacturing and technical fields, but there is a serious lack of qualified candidates.

We need a partnership among LHU, Keystone Central School District and Clinton County to train people for those jobs and bring some of those to Clinton County. I am willing to work with these institutions in any way I can to help this cause.

(Merle Harnish, M.B.A., is a retired chief financial officer.)

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