Tempers flare at Charleroi council meeting
Council President Kristin Hopkins-Calcek and Councilman Larry Celaschi got into a heated argument.
Tempers reached a boiling point for two Charleroi borough council members.
As rumors, allegations and misinformation continues to spread about the immigrant population in Charleroi following remarks made last month by former President Donald Trump at a rally in Arizona, tensions have been high in the borough.
Wednesday’s agenda meeting was moved from council chambers to the adjacent community room to accommodate nearly 50 residents who attended, though only three people signed up to speak and only two of those speakers wanted to discuss the immigrants who have moved to their neighborhoods.
Immigration wasn’t the tipping point of Wednesday’s shouting match, but rather one item placed on the agenda by Councilman Larry Celaschi concerning statements released by the Mon Valley Alliance and President Kristin Hopkins-Calcek following Trump’s remarks.
The statement’s issued separately were similar in their content and spoke about the community, history, immigrant population, potential closure of the Corelle Brands plant in Charleroi and shared opinions on how to move forward as a community.
Since those remarks were made public, Celaschi has condemned Hopkins-Calcek for making a statement without informing the rest of council and criticized specific information included in the statement regarding the site of the Corelle Brands plant.
Since her statement was released, Hopkins-Calcek maintains she was within her right as council president to make a statement and did not need to consult with council. She has also not backed down from the opinions shared.
Wednesday’s meeting made it clear Celaschi was not ready to let either of his gripes with those statements go, after putting it on the agenda to be discussed publicly.
He said he was most concerned with the statement that read: “There is a significant 50-acre riverfront opportunity with prime access to rail on Interstate 70 and PA Turnpike 43. This is a viable, desirable property for investors to build anew in Charleroi.”
Celaschi asked when the property became available to be marketed, and Hopkins-Calcek explained she felt the statement was forward facing, adding that there were no negotiations happening concerning the plant when Anchor Hocking announced it’s impending closure at the end of the year.
That led to a back and forth debate between Celaschi and Hopkins-Calcek about the current state of the plant and its workers.
Hopkins-Calcek got irritated by Celaschi’s remarks, saying he was misconstruing the facts of the statement and asked if he was finished so she could speak, but he made it clear he wasn’t as he yelled over her about the MVA board resignations that have happened since the public statement was released.
“I don’t know why we are discussing the Mon Valley Alliance,” she said.
“Well, I figured you would do your best to duck and weave on this,” Celaschi said.
She again asked if he was finished, but he continued to talk over her about the Corelle Brands plant and circled back again to the reason she released her statement aligning the borough with the MVA.
“This is wasting everyone’s time, Larry,” she said. “…You have said it five times now.”
They continued to bicker back and forth, speaking over top of each other for several minutes when members of the audience members started to get involved in the debate. It didn’t seem to stop either of them as the shouting between Celaschi and Hopkins-Calcek only got louder and she banged her gavel on the table.
“It’s done, you’re finished now,” she shouted.
“No, I’m not done,” he said. “We’re going to argue all day long. You can gavel that thing until the cows come home. I am not done.”
She banged the gavel again and told Celaschi to stop before she had him removed and was given the opportunity to address the audience directly to defend herself and solidify her stance.
Hopkins-Calcek first addressed an email between them in January concerning statements being made to the media.
“I’d like to know when your stance has changed,” she said, and went on to explain what the exchange pertained to when Celaschi yelled to interrupt her, which led to another screaming match.
“I am going to interrupt you like you interrupted me,” he yelled.
“I am speaking,” she shouted back. “Can you let me finish?”
“No,” he said before they again began to yell over each other.
“Larry, you do not have the floor,” she shouted and then read directly from the email chain in which Celaschi told her he felt that any member of council should be able to speak with the press at their discretion as long as it did not involve any confidential matters.
“Maybe you meant that you were only able to contact media on your own, that you can speak to and say whatever you want but I cannot,” she said.
Hopkins-Calcek then referenced statements Celaschi has released and comments he has made on social media accusing her and the MVA of lying.
“I really wish you would cite what lies you are referring to, but I guess everything seems to be spun as a lie if it doesn’t agree with Mr. Celaschi’s opinions,” she said. She said her statement was clear and intentional.
“My main goal was to change the conversation, to bring assistance and resources to our town while we have a platform to be heard,” she said. “To change the conversation from hate and division to getting our lawmakers to step in and offer help to keep our Corning plant here, or if that is not possible, to bring in more industry and jobs, to address the real issues in our community.
“It was a call to action for legislators at the county, state and federal level to step up to the plate, to send assistance to our community to keep and bring new investment here in Charleroi and it is working.”
She spoke briefly about different lawmakers who have been involved in conversations about the plant at all levels, and what has transpired in the past few weeks concerning ongoing negotiations and new developments.
While she had the floor, she took time to make one thing clear – she is tired of seeing the borough’s citizens and workers used as “political talking points.”
“It’s unacceptable,” she said. “I don’t care who is saying it, no one has a right to stoke the fire of hatred here with words that are unfairly scapegoating our residents. This leads me to the hate and division that is being perpetuated by media sources that are not telling our real story but instead spinning a narrative that is detrimental to all of our residents.”
She called out Celaschi for dealing with media outlets that she feels are misrepresenting the borough.
“The real truth of the situation is this, we understand there are growing pains with any big change,” she said. “In response to our fast growth in population, the borough, the school district and our service organizations have done an excellent job navigating our situation without much help until now. We have population growth, storefronts filling, and we have a diverse workforce and have been living in peace here. Our crime is not up, accidents are not up, although that’s what you hear, but it’s (not) true. “Those who have been referred to as our new neighbors are legally law-abiding, hardworking, taxpaying individuals. They bring us the opportunity to get money for our schools, services for our citizens and economic growth for our town. Does Charleroi look different? Well, sure. Do we have challenges? Well, sure. Are we broke? Absolutely not. Could we use assistance? Yes and we are working on that.”
She called for patience, and most of all kindness, from all members of the community.
“I am asking our borough citizens and those in our neighboring communities to be kind, tolerant and patient,” she said. “I urge everyone to stop the hate. We are putting in work and fighting for our town’s survival, but we will not survive with the continued vitriol on social media and division that has been falling on us.”
She continued for several minutes uninterrupted as the audience intently listened.
“We owe each other kindness and tolerance and grace,” she said. “I feel the opposite of what was said to be true, Charleroi and its people are so beautiful now and always have been, just like our name.”
Her speech was met with applause from the crowd, but the meeting did not end on a high note.
Celaschi began to respond to her remarks, but it took only a few seconds for the arguing (concerning the Corelle Brands plant) to kickback into high gear as the two shouted again over each other.
Other council members sporadically interjected and members of the audience began to yell at Celaschi before Hopkins-Calcek banged her gavel a final time after five continuous minutes of fighting in order to move on with the agenda.
Hopkins-Calcek
Celaschi