However, convictions for exactly this is what has happened this year, in at least 3 area school districts, including Canon McMillan, Keystone Oaks, and West Jefferson Hills.  Who knows how many other school districts have sex offenders who are going unnoticed?  Fox News reports, at least 181 K-12 educators were charged with child sex crimes in first half of 2022.

Despite the fact, that there are child protective services laws and child protective services workers, this existing system of safeguards is not working in our schools.  Therefore, in my opinion as a former PA Child Care Licensing Representative, where more child protection does exist with far less resources, it is the responsibility of all school boards, administrations and communities to exceed the existing mandatory minimum of these Child Protective Services Laws.

After all, the schools have been receiving large PA Commonwealth safety grants, large business donations, and increasing taxpayer monies to fulfill their missions for providing safe and secure facilities that facilitate learning.  The costs for a school to oversee and take over the responsibilities of all the necessary clearance requirements, would be minimal compared to the harm that is being caused to the children, families and communities in our Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 

This is not a political or a business matter, this is all of our children's safety that really matters.  This is not complicated or expensive.  All 3 required clearances can cost less than $60.00 per person and a sex offender will think twice before applying or will not apply at all, for any school position.
  
The PA DOE, DHS, CYS, PAOOR, PA Legislators and our schools, need to get their acts (Act 168, Right-To-Know Law, Child Protective Services Law, and Sunshine Act) together, right now.

Enough said, but not enough done.  You are what you do and not just what you say.

Dennis Smiddle - Founder and Executive Director of FANS 4 HELP.

Since the beginning of our learned existence, we have gathered outdoors and grown food for our necessary subsistence. Today, with the urgency of now, we got to get ourselves back to the garden for a better way of life.  We must restore our God-given clean air, clean water and healthy soil, which are the basic needs of life.
Since the pandemic of 2020, we were advised to get outdoors more, but we have done very little more for our great outdoors, in terms of a safer and more beneficial environment.
Since April of 2020, FANS 4 HELP (my new nonprofit, for Health, Environment, Learning and Play), has been designing, building and teaching about raised bed gardens and safety barriers, to anyone interested in our regional area.  I have written (3) LSA grant requests, (2) Remake Learning Grant requests, (1) Pittsburgh Foundation Grant requests and a proposal at the request of my hometown council for an American Rescue Act Plan grant.
However, none of my grant writing efforts were successfully approved, due to little interest or help from people in charge of chambers of commerce, political parties, larger nonprofits, local schools or councils.  Some of these questionable stewards of our children's futures, seem to be more interested in "pay for play" or their own personal and collective interests, with our taxpayer funds.
This I know to be true, from my extensive experience as a PA Child Care Health and Safety Inspector, US Certified Playground Safety Inspector, PA Playground Safety Trainer, Playground Safety Expert Witness, PA Recreation Therapist and PA Child Care Specialist.
Unfortunately, "it is not what you know, it's what you can prove."  Rest assured though, for I will not rest until we all have a safer, healthier, equitable, just and fair environment for more fun, learning and play and especially for our children's future.
This day will come.  Please join FANS 4 HELP (for free) at www.fansofplay.com  Just go to - Sign-Up & Join FANS 4 HELP.
Thank you, Dennis Smiddle - Founder and Executive Director of FANS 4 HELP

​A Tale of Two Open Public Meetings from FANS 4 HELP
On April 26, 2022, there were two open public meetings scheduled at the same times in Canonsburg PA.  These were a Canonsburg Council Workshop meeting at 6:30 PM and a rescheduled Canon McMillan School Board meeting at 7:00 PM.  As a wannabe engaged citizen, I wanted to attend both meetings, but I couldn't and I had to make a choice. 
The Canonsburg Council Workshop, was the 4th meeting in a series that started on Jan. 31, 2022 and was originally billed as a way to engage with the Canonsburg council for ideas or suggestions on how to spend the ($990,000) American Rescue Plan Act funding.  I attended three of the meetings and submitted a few written proposals to renovate a playground in the east end of town and to build my original raised bed garden/safety barrier designs around the town of Canonsburg, like at the Senior Center or in the parks.  So, I decided to attend this 4th and possibly last workshop meeting.
The earlier workshop meetings were announced and got a fairly good citizen turnout for concerns, mostly about parking problems and possible solutions in Canonsburg.  This last meeting wasn't publicly announced by the council and there were only two of us non-council citizens.  Also, invited guests of the council were Senator Bartolotta, her chief of staff, and the president of Penn Strategies, a grant writing firm from Harrisburg, contracted by the Canonsburg council.
Although the council office reported that no agenda or minutes were being done for the workshop meetings, they did produce a "summary of possible spending" and a "wish list for grant projects." 
 As the main speaker of the meeting, the Penn Strategies president did state that grants for playgrounds are very beneficial and have a great success rate for approval in all communities.  Senator Bartolotta suggested applying for a variety of grants and reported that her office receives many requests for park and community amenities such as, benches with dedication plaques. 
 My proposals were not on either of the Canonsburg council's lists, so I congratulated the Penn Strategies president, offered my extensive knowledge and experience as a former U.S. Certified Playground Safety Inspector and PA Child Care Health and Safety Inspector with over 2500 playground safety inspections, and then I left for the Canon McMillan School Board meeting.
I arrived at the school board meeting around 8 PM, just in time to hear some kind words of appreciation for a resigned school board member, Mike Caporizzo, and the introduction speeches of three excellent candidates offering to fill the vacant school board position. 
 Unfortunately, like the Canonsburg council meetings, there is little to share publicly, since there is little compliance with the intent or essence of the Sunshine Act.  The meetings are not videotaped by the council or the school district, for citizens who are unable to attend in-person.  The meeting minutes, if published at all, are difficult to access and usually void of any timely and meaningful content.  If a taxpayer-paid solicitor is present, they seem to be disengaged or engaged in limiting the citizen's time and opportunity to express their concerns.  Also, there seems to be a disengagement between the these important meetings and the reporting by the local Observer-Reporter newspaper.
Finally for now, and with the hopes for a more transparent, informed and engaging community, I would like to share a good definition of a community.  A community, is a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share a government, share needs and interests, and perceives itself as a district in some respect from the larger society within which it exists.
What's in your community?