Critics of our fair Greater Johnstown area often refer to a stench about the place, in a figurative sense.
They speak of crime, political corruption, the powerbrokers operating from bases in nonprofits, rampant poverty and the like.
But, in recent days, there was a stench of a different sort, an unpleasant aroma that permeated the area.
Various media reports detail people calling 911, and being told to reserve such calls for mischief, like the fights at the Ferndale Jubilee. More on that later.
The other day, I noticed the unpleasant smell myself, which has been described as manure-like. I found it to be not unlike the stench that greets one driving past the Dornick Point Sewage Treatment Plant along Cramer Pike on a warm summer evening. But officials contacted by the media regarding various treatment facilities pleaded innocence
No, I didn’t call 911 for an explanation.
Media reports indicate the smell was wide-ranging, with confirmed stink in Davidsville, Richland, East Taylor Township and elsewhere.
Only because the media accounts tended to agree will I accept their version without dispute. I say this because the local NBC affiliate’s noon report, which my wife had on in the background as I wrote this, had the news reader talking about Senator Bob Mendez resigning due to corruption.
The accompanying chyron at the bottom of the screen also had “Bob Mendez.” Memo to the station, it’s Bob MENENDEZ!
The Altoona CBS affiliate had its announcer pronounce the name correctly, but also had the incorrect “Mendez” spelling on its chyron.
Beyond the media, an unpaid correspondent of mine told me his tale of leaving a Somerset County facility and proceeding home through Jerome, Davidsville, Hollsopple and onward to the lofty perch along Ridge Road between Hollsopple and Hooversville where he lives, expecting to meet aromatic relief there. Alas, he did not.
All the way, he was accompanied by the stench, prompting him to take measures such as looking in the bed of his pickup truck for an unwanted passenger, and then moving to examining the soles of his shoes to check for having stepped in something.
Another person had contacted him about the stink being present in Bon Air. As an aside, I always got a laugh in my childhood about the community of Bon Air (Good Air) being located above the belching blast furnaces of Bethlehem Steel, located down the road in Franklin. It’s all relative, I guess.
It seems the Johnstown Stench (what a nickname for our next minor league sports team!) has dissipated, leaving behind a trail of unanswered questions. Those include will it repeat as does The Hum, a low-frequency noise heard periodically ’round the world?
If only it were that easy to rid the area of the other stench that afflicts us. In this case, we speak specifically of crime.
Ferndale’s Jubilee has been a summer highpoint since I was a child and even well before, this having been the 93rd example. Despite a time when it nearly had its lamp extinguished due to lack of volunteer workers and the like, the event continues.
But the stench of crime was rife this year at Ferndale’s signature event.
Media reports indicate one man has been arrested for passing counterfeit $50 bills, said man reportedly having heroin and additional funny money on him when arrested.
My son, wife and two granddaughters hit the Jubilee at mid-week, spending legitimate cash. I’d thought about us returning Saturday for the fireworks, but life intrudes.
Subsequent events, such as fights and arrests Saturday at the Ferndale event, make me grateful for having stayed home.
To sum up, the unpleasant manure smell seems to have passed. Our figurative stenches remain with us.
Sam Ross Jr's site 