Wow. When the county commissioners announced a press conference after Wednesday's meeting, I was afraid it would be something boring.
Here's the story:
http://ydr.inyork.com/ci_13707394?source=most_viewed
Basically, two county parks have become hot spots for gay men making surreptitious hook-ups. County rangers have busted 81 of them in recent months, but it continues unabated.
Missed a day yesterday. Sorry. I'm still working my way through a post-vacation funk.
So we're still waiting on a state budget. It looks like York County commissioners are putting off the decision whether to borrow money or not for a little while, in light of the recent developments.
Personally, I think that's a good call. I was under the impression that the Sept. 15 deadline they originally cited was more of the self-imposed than the do-or-die variety.
In case any of you missed it, county commissioner Chris Reilly posted a reply where he discussed his experience with Lyme disease. I recently interviewed him at length, and that's going to be part of my upcoming Lyme disease project.
Here's Reilly's posting:
Beware the tick. I say that only slightly in jest. My recent health problems related to Lyme disease have given me a whole new perspective on the issue. Lyme is a significant public health problem that York County residents should take very seriously. I am amazed at how many York Countians have, or know someone who has been, affected by Lyme disease. Since I was diagnosed, I have received dozens calls and e-mails and heard numerous personal recollections from people with a first-hand knowledge of the devastating physical impact a bite from a deer tick can have. What struck me most about these stories was how the young and old seem to have been disproportionately affected by Lyme disease. Thirty or forty years ago Lyme was a much more obscure condition. The older folks recounted how, in many instances, they didn't seek immediate medical attention or felt their symptoms were misdiagnosed. Today many complain of subsequent chronic health problems they directly attribute to the initial infection. Children seem to be hard hit as well, particularly pre-teens, which makes sense given their high level of involvement in outdoor activities. The good news is, that while kids in many cases develop more acute symptoms, they are diagnosed accurately then treated and recover more quickly. I can't help but think this is because doctors by and large have "mainstreamed" the disease and view it as a serious medical condition. I applaud Tom Joyce for more closely analyzing the perception of and politics surrounding Lyme disease. I also hope my experience will make York Countians more aware of this public health specter which lurks as close as our own backyards.
Just for the record -- county commissioner Chris Reilly was back at work today.
To tell you the truth, I was a little surprised when I saw him at the county commisssioners' work session this morning. He said he intended to be back today, but I wasn't sure if he'd pull it off. Lyme disease can really kick your butt.
I spoke to him afterward. He said he's still feeling a little shaky, but much better than he was a week ago. A week ago, he couldn't even get out of bed.
Last week, county commissioner Chris Reilly announced that he's because he's being treated for Lyme disease. In doing so, he may have already unwittingly involved himself in a very controversial issue.
I think, and hope, that Reilly's going to be OK. He believes he sustained the tick bite that transmits Lyme disease while he was fishing in Codorus Creek. He got very sick soon afterward, and had a diagnosis within days. He is now being treated with antibiotics, and has every reason to expect a full and rapid recovery.
In that respect, thousands of people throughout the country would call him lucky. Those are the people who say they suffer from chronic Lyme disease, a debilitating affliction that they claim affects those who don't get an immediate diagnosis or treatment.
They've formed an increasingly vocal grassroots movement, pitting themselves against a medical establishment that claims chronic Lyme disease doesn't exist.
Boy did I get an earful at Wednesday's county commissioners meeting!
The county commissioners weren't very pleased with our paper's editorial stance on the likely closing of a couple of senior centers in York, and the way we depicted their role in it.
To tell you the truth, it's one of those issues I sometimes find a bit problematic to write about.
See, I really enjoy writing about the workings of government, because it's a topic I find inherently interesting. The problem is that I'm frequently obliged to condense a complicated issue into a smaller space than I'd like.
This becomes particualrly frustrating when the issue is controversial as well as complex, and I have to distill one or more arguments into the space alloted me. No matter how effciently I try to summarize, some nuances inevitably get lost.
