WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 2016

THE MERCURY

| LOCAL NEWS | 5
A

HARRISBURG

Top prosecutors twin files complaint about sisters office

The Associated Press

Pennsylvanias embattled attorney generals administration is facing yet another employee complaint
this time from her twin
sister.
Attorney General Kathleen Kanes twin has filed
a wage and gender discrimination complaint
against her sisters office,
HARRISBURG, PA. >>

Walk
FROM PAGE 3

6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The time of

tour is also when the outdoor Pottstown farmers
market will be open so attendees can enjoy both activities. Tour walkers will
be served light refreshments in the lobby of The
Security Trust Building
and have the opportunity
to view Pottstown from the
upper floors of the building.
The Mercury Mile will
begin in the same location
noon today. The plaza is

Prayer
FROM PAGE 1

upon a students right to

invoke God, Jesus Christ,
Buddha, Allah or any other
religious reference in any
comments they choose to
make in speeches during
the graduation.
The meeting was still
going on as The Mercurys deadline approached,
however the newspaper
was informed that the
board voted to allow the
students to decide if they
want a student representative to make a speech
beyond that of the salutatorian, valedictorian and
school officers on a subject
of their choice.
Although that might

The Morning Call of Allentown reported (http://

bit.ly/1teyEtf).
Ellen Granahan works
as a chief deputy attorney general and says her
$88,509 salary is 17 to 37
percent lower than what
male and female agency
lawyers with similar titles earn. She filed the
complaint Dec. 30 with
the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission.

The agency gave Kanes

administration until May
12 to respond. It wasnt
clear if that happened,
and neither Granahan nor
Kanes office would comment on it.
Granahan has worked
as a state prosecutor
since 2008. After Kane
was sworn in as attorney
general in 2013, Granahan was promoted to chief
deputy attorney general of

located at 150 E. High St.

and is right next to Borough
Hall. During the walking
tours, people will learn how
buildings and businesses
have evolved from the
1700s. Guides will be providing some pretty interesting facts such as where
in the borough George
Washington slept. The first
blocks of E. High Street are
filled with history so come
out to the 1-mile walk to
learn about the past.
For more information
about the official historical tour on June 16, contact
the historical society at 610970-7355 or call tour coor-

dinator Deb Penrod at 215840-9943.

Residents will get a second opportunity to walk
this week at Swamp Creek
Park in New Hanover. The
township is hosting an evening walk at the park that
will begin 6:30 p.m. today.
The address is 3179 Reifsnyder Road, Gilbertsville. Participants will walk along a
trail at the park and learn
more about the open space
area. Swamp Creek Park is
one of 12 throughout the
Tri-County Area that are
competing in a local recreational contest that begins
in July. Find out more at the

seem like a simple accommodation to a Supreme Court ruling that

many other school districts across the nation
have adopted, the matter
was complicated in Pottsgrove largely because of
the lengthy path the issue
took into the public view.
After last years invocation speaker referenced
Jesus Christ, board member Rick Rabinowitz sent
an angry email which
he has since apologized
for to Superintendent
Shellie Feola expressing
concern that the practice
of invocation and benediction could create a legal problem.
That email was shared
with the rest of the board
and although apparently
a lively email exchange

Why should
those who do
not believe in
God, be asked to
pray to him and
thank him for
their successful
graduation?
Jeananne Lockey, Pottsgrove
resident

ensued, it did not became public until late last

month. Thats when former school board President Justin Valentine
raised the issue on a Facebook discussion page that
Rabinowitz runs.
Rabinowitzs email was
subsequently leaked to
The Mercury and Rabi-

the offices child predator

section. Granahans promotion came with a 20
percent raise, the newspaper reported.
The state Ethics Commission investigated
Kanes promotion of her
sister, acting on a request
by state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Butler. It found
that Granahans hiring
broke no rules, according
to records obtained by

The Morning Call.

However, the Ethic
Commissions chairman,
John J. Bolger, wrote to
Kane in January 2014
and told her that Granahans selection created suspicion because Kanes office had not established
criteria to fill the vacancy.
Fo u r m ont h s a fter Granahans promotion, the state Supreme
Court threatened to sus-

pend Granahans law license unless she completed mandated education classes within 30
days, The Morning Call
reported. Granahan complied.
Kane, a Democrat who
is not running for re-election, faces an August trial
on charges that she leaked
secret grand jury material, allegations she denies.

Wednesdays
Mercury Mile
community walk
will preview
the Historical
Pottstown Walking
Tour set for June
18. Participants
will walk along High
Street and learn
about the evolution
of buildings and
businesses from
the 1700s.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

nowitz became the focus

of much of the argument,
particularly on social media.
And, as the Tuesday
meeting wound down,
several sources indicated
that board member Patricia Grimm called on Rabinowitz to resign.
So too did the last
public speaker, Danielle
Walsh, who said Rabinowitz had polarized the
community and failed to
bring it together.
Walsh and one other
speaker, Rebecca Fulmer,
were stopped by board
Vice President Matt Alexander for violating the
nights rules of abstaining
from personal attacks.
Other speakers called
on the person who leaked
the email to The Mercury

to resign, but no resignations were forthcoming.

For the most part, the
20-or-so people who spoke
during the forum stuck to
the matter at hand, many
arguing that the Constitution supported their point
of view, not the opposite.
Not all speech is government speech, said
Upper Pottsgrove resident France Krazalkovich, and private speech
is equally protected by the
Constitution.
The Constitution is
the law, court rulings are
not the law, said Edward
Clark.
Jeananne Lockey said
emotions should be set
aside and the Constitution followed.
Tradition is not policy
and not all tradition is

good, said Lockey. This

is not an attack on Christianity. Its about graduation, not religion.
Senior Caroline Remelius said while she was
annoyed when she first
heard there would be no
invocation or benediction that Pottsgrove can
start new traditions. We
star ted one yesterday
with the Senior Walk
through other schools in
cap and gown.
She suggested the proposal the board ultimately
adopted, that a neutral
speech be scheduled.
Remelius wa s a lso
among several speakers
who urged the board to
stay off social media.
Watching the community eat itself alive on the
Internet is sad, she said.