Something very rare in the world of governmental management occurred in Cranberry the evening of May 6. The continuing efforts of the township to formalize its "Cranberry Plan" included a meeting of the Citizen Advisory Panel, which resulted in numerous governmental bodies sitting elbow to elbow in the same room at the same time to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing Cranberry and how these various bodies can actually work in cooperation for the benefit of the township and its neighbors.

Those attending included a Butler County commissioner; a Cranberry supervisor; an aide to U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire, D-McCandless; an aide to state Sen. Jane Clare Orie, R-McCandless; representatives from the Seneca Valley School District; and a representative from the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission who is involved with transportation infrastructure.

For nearly two hours, the forum members shared their thoughts and the advisory panel members asked questions. The meeting was titled "Intergovernmental Cooperation" and turned out to be very informative.

Missing from the forum's attendees was a representative from the 12th District of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Cranberry is a very large part of the 12th District, and granted the Legislature was in session that day which prevented state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Cranberry, from being able to attend in person, but he made the decision not to even send an aide, but rather an "observer," who sat quietly in the back of the room.

Mr. Metcalfe's actions speak louder than words, and his decision to not send an aide, which is a commonly accepted practice, spoke volumes. His actions insulted the dozens of advisory panel members who collectively have invested more than 1,000 hours working hard to make Cranberry and the surrounding areas an even better place to live, work and play.

Cranberry deserves better than that from its elected representative for the 12th District.

J. VICTOR CONRAD

Cranberry

Mr. Conrad is a member of the Citizens Advisory Panel.