“When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”

This famous motivational saying has been attributed to various sources, including legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne.

It’s a call for someone who has been challenged by life’s fickle finger of fate to rise above the adversity and prevail.

This brings us to the tough times in Schuylkill County government. The commissioners’ former chairman George Halcovage Jr. is under investigation by the state Attorney General’s office at the request of the county’s district attorney, Michael O’Pake. An internal investigation concluded that Halcovage violated three county policies concerning sexual harassment, conduct unbecoming an official and verbal and physical abuse - charges that Halcovage denies.

The county’s long-serving former Clerk of Courts, Stephen Lukach Jr., 70, of Lake Hauto, was sentenced to 27 months in prison and ordered to pay $15,927 in restitution for embezzling public funds. He will begin serving his prison term next month.

A number of employees have retired or resigned recently because of the “mess” surrounding county operations. The situation, according to frequent critic and former Mount Carbon Mayor Jeff Dunkel, “is a disgrace at the courthouse.”

A group earlier this year began a move to change the county’s form of government from commissioners to a home rule commission even as Halcovage said “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Maybe that’s the point: It IS broke.

The public has been clamoring for action to right the listing ship of state.

The commissioners’ response to the discontent: By a 2-1 vote, they decided to make it more difficult for the public to participate in the board’s official meetings which are being held via Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is precisely the wrong response at a time when the public is seeking dynamic leadership and clarity to lead the county out of its time of confusion and chaos.

The public needs reassurance that its top county officials are up to the job and not in hunker-down mode to shut off adverse criticism.

The commissioners, led by Chairman Barron “Boots” Hetherington and former chairman Halcovage, voted for the public comment restrictions last week. Commissioner Gary Hess voted “no,” saying that the board needs to hear the people.

I agree with Hess that any public meeting, whether it is held in person or on a Zoom-like platform on the internet, needs decorum, but, let’s face it, democracy is messy, especially when views become passionate and the public is shaking its fist, demanding change.

Those who run for public office either know this or should know it. They need broad shoulders and should expect divergent views and sharp criticism from time to time.

The guidelines intended to bring decorum to commissioners’ meetings would, among other impediments, require a county resident to submit his or her comments in writing to the county clerk so they can be included in the meeting’s minutes.

The guidelines also prohibit the video and/or audio recording of the meeting unless the person making the recording discloses the information to the commissioners’ chairman.

The latter is clearly a violation of the Sunshine Law, which allows the recording of public meetings without any such advance notice. This includes official Zoom meetings.

This interpretation has been confirmed by Melissa Melewsky, legal spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, who has branded these changes as an unreasonable barrier that discourages public access.

Hetherington said if the recording provision is problematic, it can be removed, and he admitted that he was not necessarily in favor of it in the first place.

This entire new policy is a problem and needs to be rethought and re-examined. It strikes me as a case of throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Some meeting participants are behaving badly, so let’s penalize all of the participants.

It is telling when a row officer scathingly criticizes the commissioners, but that is precisely what Clerk of Courts Maria Casey did at a recent meeting. While Casey’s remarks might have crossed the line with references to the “Fourth Reich” and “Hitler,” many of her other comments reflect the public’s growing disaffection with county government.

“You don’t bully people,” the second-term Republican said to the Republican-controlled board. “You don’t try to shut down people. You never abridge free speech. Ever.”

In calling Hetherington a “puppet” of Halcovage, Casey warned the board chairman, who was appointed in April to replace the late Frank Staudenmeier: “You’re not going to have your way here. We’re going to speak our mind, so you’ll just have to get used to it until you’re voted out.”

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com