The current Schuylkill County Courthouse drama keeps unfolding like a story line from Seinfeld.
No, not the Summer of George episode, even though it is summer and it involves Schuylkill County Commissioner George Halcovage.
But there’s no frolf.
Instead, this is playing out like that storyline when George (Costanza) gets a job at Play Now, a leading manufacturer of playground equipment.
In the show, George gets the job because the boss thinks he’s handicapped. And his fellow employees treat him like he’s something special. He has co-workers carrying him around at work, much like the way the people carried Halcovage into office.
In the 2015 and 2019 elections, Halcovage got the most votes in the race for County Commissioner. He finished second in voting the first year he ran, back in 2011.
Eventually, Halcovage reaches the pinnacle of county politics. He’s picked as Commissioners chairman.
On Seinfeld, Costanza plays on this co-workers feelings and they give him even more. Play Now buys George a Jazzy motorized scooter to get around the office easier.
But it doesn’t take long for things to sour at work for both Georges.
At Play Now, the boss learns that George isn’t really handicapped. He tries to fire him but George has a 1-year contract to work at Play Now and he refuses to leave, despite others insisting he steps down.
Sound familiar?
Some people don’t think George Halcovage is the nice guy he portrays himself to be in front of the camera and around friends. So, they go after his character, launch an internal investigation and make life increasingly uncomfortable for him around the office. One person in the Courthouse claims he “prowls” the hallways there, looking for victims.
Several weeks later, the amount of people hounding Halcovage grows. More women claim they don’t feel safe at work with him in the building.
People inside the Courthouse step up the pressure as Halcovage digs in deeper at work. He still won’t quit, despite the allegations. And somehow, they’ve worked to confine him to his office, only letting him out for bathroom breaks.
Remember, if you’re familiar with this storyline, Costanza has his office door boarded up but he persists and enters through a vent shaft. He says he’s been reduced to some kind of bunker.
We don’t know if they’re keeping Halcovage in the basement at the Courthouse but they would if they could. We’re still not even sure how they’ve managed to confine the Commissioner to his office at this point. It’s truly bizarre.
Now, at this point on the show, Play Now starts to play some real hardball. The boss opens up Costanza’s private, handicapped bathroom to all employees.
We’re not sure what else the Courthouse can do to possibly contain Halcovage any more.
The show’s story comes to an end when George invites Kramer and his intern, Darren, down to his office to test their oil tanker bladder system. They want to do this by tossing a big rubber ball filled with oil out of a window.
Schuylkill County needs to settle this saga once and for all before a big rubber ball filled with oil hits us all in the head just like it did to Jerry’s girlfriend.
READ THE LATEST ON THE GEORGE HALCOVAGE DRAMA:
- Schuylkill County #MeToo
- Women Claiming to be Courthouse Employees Say They Don’t Feel Safe at Work
- “Maria, would you please sit down?” – Drama Over Agenda Order at Schuylkill Commissioners Meeting
- Halcovage Confined to Office, Bathroom Breaks at Schuylkill County Courthouse
- Halcovage Accusers Talk to TV Media Before Wednesday’s Commissioners Meeting
- 65% of Canary Readers Think Halcovage Should Resign as Commissioner