By Nancy Johnson

Correspondent

Penn Township has a new supervisor, but Ken Bryson is hardly new to Penn.  Bryson, 49, has basically spent his whole life in Penn or the immediate vicinity of the township he calls home.

Bryson chuckles when asked how he came to run for the seat on Penn‘s Board of Supervisors.  He admits he never had any political ambitions himself, but over the years has helped out at elections and campaigned for Bill Finnen and Curtis Mason.  “My pop and Bill went way back,” he says with a smile remembering his grandfather (pop) who raised him.

“I was doing some excavating for a while and did a bit of work for the township. That also got me interested in learning more about what was going on around here,” he says.  “Penn is a great place to live and I want to see it stay that way.”

Both Finnen and Mason “have been bugging me for years to get more involved,” says Bryson. But he was always so busy running his business, Bryson Trucking that he just couldn’t devote the time. Recently, Bryson made some changes to his business that gives him a little more flexibility and he decided it was time to give back to his community.

“It’s all new to me, but I am really happy to be a part of this board,” Bryson says. “Just look at how efficient this township is – the supervisors are a great team. And I think one of things that lead to this success is that no one is on the Board for personal gain. Our goal is to do what is good for the people of Penn Township.” 

Although Bryson is coming in on the tail end of the sewer sale, he applauds his fellow Board members in their decision to sell the aging sewer system that would inevitably cost residents much more in sewer fees. “The big companies can run the sewer much better and cheaper than we can. The sale was a no-brainer and will lift a big burden from the township,” he insists.

Bryson hopes to get directly involved with the plans for the Red Rose Inn. “Some people don’t think we should have bought it, but I disagree. That intersection [Route 796 and Baltimore Pike] is the key to keeping traffic running smoothly in Penn,” he explains.

As far as ideas of his own for Penn, Bryson has one thought he would like to pursue. “I’d like to see something for the youth. Kids in this area need more to keep their minds active. Not that I have looked into it at all, but I would love to see something like an ice skating rink.”