One of the biggest worries we have in Carbon is people on fixed incomes being able to afford to stay in their homes even after the mortgage is paid off. It is, or should be, the duty of all elected officials to keep this in mind when they spend our tax dollars. Which is why I am gobsmacked by what our county commissioners have approved at their recent meeting: $5 million for first responder training facilities, $7 million for repairs to the courthouse and NOW another $9 million to purchase and bring to code the old middle school so it can be used for office space; $21 million!

Where is this money coming from? How much are our taxes going to be raised to pay for this? I have no problem with the first responders but I have a huge issue with the office space. There is a building in Lehighton that is perfect for offices and costs around $560,000 with no improvements needed, so why are they spending $9 million on a building that had to be shut down because it was unsafe for children to attend school there?

Tina Henninger

Aquashicola