Call this A Tale of Two Johnstowns, subtitled The Good, The Bad And The Ugly of this area.
First, the good – just one small example. The wife wanted to try a Friday seafood buffet at the Dugout Cafe in Woodvale and we did. It was excellent.
A father and two daughters were doing most of the work. Food was great. Price was very reasonable. We went early and that was a good thing because it was getting crowded by the time we left. This helps explain the inquiry, which surprised us when we entered, asking if we had reservations.
As far as I know, without doing a lot of research, this business operates without needing the input of lots of public cash to keep it open. I doubt there were any secret meetings, or behind-the-scenes political contributions, or grants to out-of-town consulting firms to try to revitalize the Maple Avenue corridor on which the business sits.
I’m thinking Dugout Cafe does not fall into the burgeoning nonprofit/not-for-profit category so dominant in the area, a segment which always seems able to pay huge salaries to administrators first, last and always.
Admittedly, there is a relatively new CamTran Taj Mahal that has been built near Dugout Cafe with taxpayers funds, which may benefit Dugout Cafe, but I am comfortable doubting that was a consideration.
It is safe to presume there are other positive stories in the area – I’m aware of many – but the bad and ugly is so pervasive it is disgusting.
Kudos to John DeBartola and Joseph Taranto of the Revitalize Johnstown Facebook page, who continue to fight to pull back the curtain on all the secrecy that pervades in what should be public dealings.
The pair had an entertaining video covering a lot of this posted on YouTube recently, with a link to it on the Revitalize Johnstown Facebook page.
Meetings that should be public, but aren’t, is a common theme. So is the supposed opportunity to speak at meetings that actually are held in public, but that opportunity is truncated inexplicably.
DeBartola showed a sheaf of paperwork regarding one such legal action in which he is involved.
DeBartola and Taranto are running for the office of Cambria County Commissioner. They are running on transparency, accountability, and using political office to benefit constituents, not themselves.
They are on-point regarding our misguidedly overwhelming emphasis on tourism, and spending millions of dollars toward that end, while ignoring real community problems that might be better addressed with those funds.
It was mentioned in the video that so much of the money seems to get stuck in downtown projects, and trails, with modest benefits, while blighted areas such as Walnut Grove, Oakhurst, Moxham and the like are virtually ignored.
It’s a safe supposition that this is repeated throughout the county.
DeBartola and Taranto (or maybe Taranto and DeBartola since it was pointed out in the video Taranto is listed earlier on the ballot) are offering a new approach.
I’m not sure they can deliver because, like Donald Trump as president, they will be fighting against entrenched bureaucracy that prefers our inefficient, secretive, politically incestuous ways.
Unless something changes dramatically between now and the election, I will vote for DeBartola and Taranto. And I would encourage others at least to consider the possibility that, in view of the all-too-evident decline of the area, it’s time for the different approach that they promise to provide.
Sam Ross Jr's site 