Jim Thorpe Pennsylvania

Carbon officials fear state budget cuts could impact human services

JIM THORPE - How much the state's $27.15 billion budget is going to impact counties isn't clear, according to the Carbon County commissioners.

However, they believe some human services agencies in the county will be negatively impacted based on what they've heard from the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania.

On Thursday, the board of commissioners approved service agreements for the Office of Children and Youth for 2011-12. The agency has a $4 million budget to meet the needs of troubled families and children.

"We're content with having people in place to deliver those services that are needed as determined by Children and Youth or the court," commissioners Chairman William O'Gurek said, when asked about the state budget after the meeting.

Gov. Tom Corbett and legislators slashed the Human Services Development Fund, which provides funding for Children and Youth, the Area Agency on Aging, mental health/mental retardation and other programs.

"I think it's safe to say there may be less services because of the cuts, but just how much remains to be seen because we don't know those numbers yet," O'Gurek said.

"We know the number they cut statewide but we don't know how it is going to affect each county's allocation," he added. "Each of our department heads will have to assess the impact of the state budget."

Commissioner Wayne Nothstein said legislators haven't yet determined a formula for distributing the money to the counties.

The commissioners noted that state budgets run from July 1 to June 30, while the county's budgets are based on the calendar year.

"We will have to take into consideration how much of that state budget we will be getting in the first half of next year," O'Gurek said.

Camp store opens

The county's new camp store opened for the season Thursday at Mauch Chunk Lake Park.

"We now have a camp store that is bigger and better than what we had before," O'Gurek said.

The store was completed late last year and represents an investment of more than $90,000, the commissioners said.

"Bob Brown, who runs our food concession, also runs the camp store. It's a beautiful building and well-stocked. We know he'll do a great job at the store," Commissioner Charles Getz said.

He and fellow commissioners called it a great addition to the park and believe that once campers know it is in a better location (near the parking lot exit) than the previous store they will find it more convenient than driving for miles to buy needed items.

Koch Show at Carbon County Cultural Project, Jim Thorpe, PA

Here above is me and my wife Alice standing in one of the two gallery spaces CCCP devoted to the show. Behind us are to the left Memorial , oil on panel, 18 x 36", 2011 and From Day to Night , of the same size, medium and date. The latter painting is a reflection on the passage of time. It was inspired by a long week I spent in Camden, Maine overlooking the Penobscot Bay and wishing the persistent rains would abate. They finally did in the late afternoon of my final day there. The painting is as much about hope for a clearing sky as it is a report on what actually happened. Here below on the left is  Caves Road III,  oil on panel, 28 x 21, an important painting in my development from the early 1990's. It was painted from life on a forested road that reminded me so much of the long wooded driveway that led to the home where I grew up in upstate New York. I was working in the winter and for one of the first times was taking a more imaginative stance with my basic color choices- in this case the grey-violet shadows in the trees. I liked how this turned out and was encouraged by the success to pursue a more personal color sense in subsequent paintings. In the middle is Banner,  oil on panel, 24 x 18", 2011. It's done entirely from my imagination and owes much to my many painting trips to Cape Cod as well as memories from when I was a boy on the Lake Ontario shore. Perhaps my most vivid memory of my youth was watching the trees stirred by the strong breeze off the water. They seemed to have mastered the art of combining elegance and strength. Who wouldn't want more of that in one's life? Here is Victor Stabin, the artist who converted the 19th century stone factory  building into the CCCP complex. He's showing his respect for the evening's events with his animated gesture. Victor is a wonderful painter who has an extensive collection of his paintings and prints on permanent display in the building. One of his works is reproduced at the end of this post. Above on the left ,   Memorial  is actually based on a plein air oil study done on the summit of Cadillac Mountian in Acadia National Park in Maine. I've been painting there regularly since '82 as it is one of my all time favorite motifs. The title comes from the sad departure of our daughter Louisa's old cat Clifford, a frequent visitor and boarder at my studio who we had to put down the same week as I was finishing the painting.

Jim Thorpe, Original All-American

Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, "an image preserved"

Jim Thorpe, Olympic Champion

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Jim Thorpe