The demolition of Cordaro’s Restaurant, long a part of our community, is just another wasteful example of the limited vision of Wayne County leadership and local entrepreneurs.

The facility could have become a valuable training center for the food service industry, a smaller-scale version of the Culinary Institute of America. This was in fact proposed by this writer long before there was no alternative for the future of a 70-year-old business, which had a diner, dining room, catering hall and sports bar. The building was not condemned. It could’ve been repurposed to the benefit of the community and the county.

The future of the Skinners Falls Bridge remains uncertain in part due to a lack of vision by local leadership and by forces that have nothing to do directly with the vitality of our community. The bridge  could become not just a rejuvenated one-lane crossing but a promoted destination for tourists. 

Let’s hope that the bold and entirely viable initiative just launched by Damascus Citizens for Sustainability to acquire ownership of the bridge and to stabilize and renovate its structure will move ahead past the seemingly crushing powers of PennDOT.

Last week, letters were delivered directly to PA Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office to inform him of this initiative for the bridge and to invite him to come and meet the bridge he signed into oblivion based on information from PennDOT.

It is often  said that PennDOT has more power than anything else in the state of Pennsylvania. We will see if that’s true. It has certainly consistently ignored all the efforts by our community for the preservation of our unique and historic bridge. Many of us are awaiting Gov. Shapiro’s response.

Cynthia Nash
Milanville , PA