"We have students reading history books that say Jimmy Carter is the president of the United States," Antonio Fernandes
Tony, Tony, Tony, really now! You may get away with that in Upton or Dedham but the swamp yankees in Mendon have heard that kind on spin for years. We cut our teeth on David Crisafulli. "The roof will fall in and crush students"
You can't have it both ways. A blue ribbon school that has a text book that has been in use for 30 years? What's the real story?
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Hats off to Lawney Tinio for a no vote on this absurd attempt at override number two. He just killed any chance of getting re-elected but he made a statement. Apparently Breen will have to be surgically removed from Cutler's apron strings later.
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The classic Joe Reed statement involving wolves and red meat was a hoot. Joe, you will not be invited to the school cocktail party this year. If they get in your face Joe, you know what to do.
30 comments:
DP oops, HG Why is it when public safety looks for money it's stating needs and when the schools look for money it is grubbing. It is only grubbing because the school committee gets attacked every time they have a need. I watched that meeting last night and although you can't hear everything it seems to me that the Fin Com, Tinio, Art Holmes, the worst moderator in the history of the town, and Joe Reed were behaving like a pack of wolves.
Why would you spin Crisafuli's name out there when Mr. Fernandes has only been here for 20 days. Heck give him a chance to show you what he can do before you start flinging sh*t at him (pack of wolves?).
HG, you may have not been paying attention when you were in school but teachers are the people at the front of the class who teach, books are used for reference when the teacher is not available, like when you are at home. Teachers have always been able to make the point that the reference material is outdated and hence another lesson is leared, things change.
With 30 kids in a class and no books it will be much harder.
Lawney Tinio's remarks I could hear loud and clear, look at all the sucessful people in this room who didn't go to college we don't need no stinking good schools to suceed. Well Lawney, not everyone has a daddy in construction to get them started or bail them out. Today's world is very different even from when you were in school and our children deserve to be able to compete in a global economy. Guess what? Parents vote for selectman and they will be reminded of your statements when it comes time to vote. Your statements at last nights meeting will not go away. Oh and Lawney, I know you didn't go to college but try to follow....The school committee did not know what the State Numbers were before the first overide vote so I am sure they will apologize to you for your frustration. Poor baby.
As for David Breen, what's a matter HG? Does anyone who thinks on his own get to be spewed at by you? What's wrong with letting the people decide? Are you saying that the BOS who you rag on daily should be making the decision. You can't have it both ways, big guy.
Joe Reed may be a hoot but I would not go so far as to say he knows alot about education and calling the school committee a pack of wolves was inexcusable. Let's just hope for the sake of the kids that they have tough skins. We need them.
Why did we have to vote on the override before the actual State figures were in? It seems much of this would have been avoided had we waited and realistic figures were presented to us.
That way the school commitee can complain that they didn't know the numbers yet. Even though people kept saying the numbers would be higher then they were saying. They continued to spin their tale of woe.
I believe the school committee is required by the state to certify a budget before town meeting. The state does not release it's figures until they are voted typically in July. It's a catch 22 and the school committee gets blamed if they underestimate or overestimate. It's a no win situation. For some reason in this town no matter how much value the school committee provides to the taxpayer's they are the target of some people. Have they not done a good job with your money?
If that is the case shouldn't we have our state reps working to change that law?
Anyone can do a good job when you continuously give them more money (except the Mass Turnpike Authority)
To SC... oops, Anonymous at 10:09AM:
You are a hopeless ass but here goes anyway. Riff Raff beats up on the public safety budget, no need for duplication here.
The Crisafulli/Fernandes comparison was to illustrate the stupid things the super will say to open the cash drawer.
Here's a challenge for you. Get your buddies at the school to produce the textbook, state what courses it is used in and how long it has been in use. I'll bet your re-election you can't do it.
PS: We liked you better as "Mendon Tao"; at least you wrote those posts after a night of cocktails. Lubrication becomes you.
HG
You really are Dale Pleau aren't you HG!! I didn't originally think so, but your true self comes out when you are challenged and then we know it's you. The old BOS meetings are all coming back to me now!
Is there anyone out there who doesn't think HG is Dale Pleau? All that swagger and bravado no wonder he wants to remain anonymous. When you read this blog consider the source. Dale Pleau never met a school system he didn't like.
I think you meant to say Dale Pleau never met a school system he liked. I have always thaught that HG was Dale. Come out come out wherever you are. Chicken!
Wrong again HG. S.C, is not Mendon Tao. I doubt either of you know what Tao is.
And wrong again thinking HG is Dale Pleau. And for anonymous at 11:22, it's not that they are not doing a good job with the money, people move here partly because of the school system. The bottom line issue with voters is that they are being bombarded with costly overrides from quite a few different sources and have to choose which needs are more urgent for the town as a whole. The school board presented their case and the voters turned it down. From observation and comments on the blogs, it seems that voters chose to wait for the state figures before voting them more money, and that they have repeatedly backed the school overrides, and feel that if they are going to be socked again with a tax override, it should be to address another of the urgent problems facing the town at this time, i.e. the public safety building situation. No one is anti-education. But in a time of increasing costs accross the board people are simply asking everyone to tighten their belts and make do, including the school board, as we all have to do in our personal lives.
You challenged us?? I believe we challenged you. One more time just so you get it:
"Here's a challenge for you. Get your buddies at the school to produce the textbook, state what courses it is used in and how long it has been in use. I'll bet your re-election you can't do it."
It's been a few days and you haven't produced. You see, unlike us you are a blow hard with no back up. We think our new super is your basic vanilla edu-hack who feels an inherent right to our money and will BS to get it. You say no... Then prove it. Lets see the Jimmy Carter textbook.
We don't care who you think we are. It's not on our radar screen. You have been here before claiming that Pleau is us or we are him. If that makes you feel good.. Your welcome. His (Pleau's) only contribution here has been the disclosure of the contamination cover-up on the Fino land and we were very grateful to get that information and tell the voters about it before they stepped into the trap. Your frantic reaction to that and this blog makes us wonder what part you had in that cover-up.
Again our question is: Where is the book?
HG
HG I am disappointed you let a former selectman get away with the kind of revisionism I am seeing on this blog. You were almost kissing his tush. There were two overrides passed when Dale was a selectman. Neither was supported by the BOS. The one for 250,000 that he mentioned and another for 317,000 in 2002. Since Peter Confrey was on the board in 2002 and he never saw a school override he didn't like, we have to conclude that Dale did not support either one. Also Dennis Shaheen and Dale were buddies in lockstep while both were on the BOS. Dennis supported Dale in his reelection bid and even had one of Dales signs on his front lawn. They did not become enemies untill after Dale lost. Third, his political demise had nothing to do with slander. It was due to the deplorable tactics used by the BOS to defeat the library proposal and the attempt to shove a police station down our throats by presenting it one week before the vote using incomplete and wrong information. The voters reaction to this speaks for itself. Two of those selectmen have since lost three elections and the third member decided to not run again. To answer his question I like our BOS now a lot better than the one we had three years ago.
"Kissing his tush"??? You really do need a medication adjustment.
Don't be chucking red herrings in here... our beef with you is THE BOOK...where is it?
You changing the subject just make us more sure that Fernandes was BSing and thinks the voters are dumb enough to buy that story.
The BOOK please..
HG
Dear, dear, dear, you really are a dolt. This following statement by you illustrates your convoluted reasoning and who is the revisionist.
"Since Peter Confrey was on the board in 2002 and he never saw a school override he didn't like, we have to conclude that Dale did not support either one."
What in hell does that mean??
The 2002 override was for operational funding for opening the new Clough School. The board felt that it made no sense to build a new school and not fund it's operation. We all supported it.
It is obvious that you are a library whiner and you’re still angry that it lost. That’s the way the cookie crumbles, brush the crumbs off your chin.
What were the "deplorable" tactics used to defeat the regional library? Be specific.
The police station was two years in the making. The building committee held over 30 public meetings during the design and contract stages. Did you miss them? It was the best-presented project in Mendon history. The “attempt to shove a police station down our throats by presenting it one week before the vote” rhetoric was an invention by Sharon Cutler in her race against me. She knew the library supporters would buy it, and they did. She is noted for lying with a straight face. That police station would be built now for less than 3 million and we could be concentrating on the fire department and town hall. Sour grapes don’t taste good do they?
You are correct about the lost elections. I am glad to hear that you just love the current selectmen. You must be the sole yes vote in the poll on this blog.
The current board has lost its way. I have met David Breen and I know Lawny Tinio. They are both good people and appear to be trying to do the right thing. It is very difficult to stand up and say no to something when you sit in that chair. It takes courage and a thick skin. In the end it’s really not worth dealing with vicious people like you.
Dale Pleau
How can anyone in their right mind say they like the BOS better now than the one we had 3 years ago. This board has absolutely no direction whatsoever. They have a vote of no confidence by the police union. The only thing that they have done is alienate the town employees. Sharon Cutler has ruined all relations with the employees of the town. These employees are the ones that keep Mendon going on a day to day basis. She has literally told each and every one of them that they are overpaid and not worth it. I'd like to see her do a better job. Instead of her wasting her time on this blog maybe she could spend the last few months of her term doing something construction. Put your money where your mouth is Sharon.
For once I agree with her. The town employees are overpaid for the level of service most of them provide the general public. The police union has no confidence? Who cares? Maybe they should call OSHA again.
They didn't call OSHA the first time. OSHA has never been called. The state Department of Labor, division of occupational safety (DOS) was called.
I will tell you how the BOS is better now. Tell me what did the old BOS do to encourage open talk of town business and make meeting minutes available? Nothing. They were more secrative. Case in point was the police station. They stacked the comm with town employees and people serving on other comms and gave out zip info on that untill a week before the vote. And that info turned out to be bogus. They did not even get the financial info right. That should have surprised no one considering the bold faced lies they spread on cable 8 and WMRC during the library issue. And who was it that had the new town website made capable to even post minutes? Not that old BOS but the new one. They even took all kinds of crap on these blogs about having a professional web designer make the new site. Now we are all ga ga about the ability of that site to give us info on the town comm meetings. That would have never happened under that old BOS.Two of those guys were even on WMRC in the spring continuing their tactics of lieing about issues when they were trying to convince people that the schools only had 15 kids per class. That was so far off it was funny. But it was indicative of the tactics of that board and the lengths that they went to to keep voters in the dark to get taxpayers to go along with whatever they wanted. By the way, it was basicly that board that created the CC also if that is your bitch with selectmen.
Dear frustrated Library Terrorist,
While your spewing crap please explain in detail your statements:
"They stacked the comm with town employees and people serving on other comms and gave out zip info on that untill a week before the vote."
"the bold faced lies they spread on cable 8 and WMRC during the library issue."
We never hear any DETAILS.
If you have it, show it, if not go away. We understand that you hate, and will lie openly but we would like to know why.
HG
Not a library terroist but I do recall Dale Pleau saying during town meeting that "this is not a democracy" and I am not a Lawyer but I work with them...as if that somehow made him a legal genius.
Dennis Shaheen is a pathological liar and Ken O'Brien thought he was Johnny Carson. The current board may not be better but they are certainly no worse.
What board got a vote of no confidence??
By the police union. Big deal. They are mad they might lose their overtime and not get a building too.
Anon 6:13- Where are you getting your facts? We voted a lack of confidence agaist the current board, and believe it or not it had nothing to do with overtime or a new building. If you have followed this board they are all over the place. This lack of confidence is not something that happened overnight it has been coming for sometime. As far as the overtime and the building is concerned as I have stated before, the people will vote on a building we have no control over that. As long as the cells remain as they are the overtime will happen weather you like it or not. Its the current price of doing business. On a personal note, and this is from me, not as the Union President. As a taxpayer I do have a problem paying overtime for something that needs to be fixed and will have to be eventually, again, weather you like it or not. So I take it you are one of those people that don't like the police or probably the fire department either. Do us all favor and channel all that hate for good not evil!
So tired of hearing the library issue revisited yet again. Firstly, both the proponents and opponents of the regional library got plenty of public play time to present their case. The protagonists proceeded to descend on the next BOS meeting, complete with signs, to DEMAND a public vote. And if you run the tape of that meeting, you will see that the "this is not a democracy" statement was made tongue in cheek and was a para-phrasing of a former member, Peter Confrey (who was a prime regional library supporter and one of the catalysts for the meeting mob)when he at a meeting at which he was chair, said it was his meeting and he would run it his way. Apparently, you were so intent on getting your own way, that the irony escaped you. This was all prompted by a proponent RUMOR that the board would block a public vote. Well you got your vote, which you would have regardless of that meeting, and the public voted. The library was defeated. So get over it, move on and address the current problems facing the town. I find it ironic that all of the prime movers behing the regional library have done nothing to enhance or improve the existing library situation. For them it was apparently all or nothing. And so we are left with nothing. Channel your energies toward something constructive.
So tired of hearing the library issue revisited yet again. Firstly, both the proponents and opponents of the regional library got plenty of public play time to present their case. The protagonists proceeded to descend on the next BOS meeting, complete with signs, to DEMAND a public vote. And if you run the tape of that meeting, you will see that the "this is not a democracy" statement was made tongue in cheek and was a para-phrasing of a former member, Peter Confrey (who was a prime regional library supporter and one of the catalysts for the meeting mob)when he at a meeting at which he was chair, said it was his meeting and he would run it his way. Apparently, you were so intent on getting your own way, that the irony escaped you. This was all prompted by a proponent RUMOR that the board would block a public vote. Well you got your vote, which you would have regardless of that meeting, and the public voted. The library was defeated. So get over it, move on and address the current problems facing the town. I find it ironic that all of the prime movers behing the regional library have done nothing to enhance or improve the existing library situation. For them it was apparently all or nothing. And so we are left with nothing. Channel your energies toward something constructive.
Brian Massey said...
Anon 6:13- Where are you getting your facts? We voted a lack of confidence agaist the current board, and believe it or not it had nothing to do with overtime or a new building. If you have followed this board they are all over the place. This lack of confidence is not something that happened overnight it has been coming for sometime. As far as the overtime and the building is concerned as I have stated before, the people will vote on a building we have no control over that. As long as the cells remain as they are the overtime will happen weather you like it or not. Its the current price of doing business. On a personal note, and this is from me, not as the Union President. As a taxpayer I do have a problem paying overtime for something that needs to be fixed and will have to be eventually, again, weather you like it or not. So I take it you are one of those people that don't like the police or probably the fire department either. Do us all favor and channel all that hate for good not evil!
July 31, 2006 10:35 PM
Brian , I have a hard time believing that this board had it comming to them. Breens been in office for what 2 months. If you want someone to blame, blame O'brien as he was the one who tried to push forward this last proposal without all the facts. Also you do have a lot of control as a police officer and union offical in this town. You should use it to your advantage such as mass mailings etc. I think that would work better than a publicty stunt to get you on the front page.
Do what you want but I wouldn't bite the hand that feeds me.
Eric- I am aware that Breens new to the board, and he now has the ability to make some changes. Once again this has been coming for awhile, and I had expressed the concern to the selectman in the past. The publicity stunt, as you refer to it, was done because they didn't appear to be listening.You say don't bite the hand that feeds it, well that maybe true, but I also believe that we have a right to stand up for ourselves. You should relate to that. When it comes to the Union issues I represent 11 other people and I don't do anything without thier say so. I asked and was appointed to the building commitee so I, personally am trying to get involved. I am sorry if we offended you, but we did what we felt we had to do, and it wasn't a personal attack.
Brian, You did not offened me . I know your doing what you think is right .I just think there was a better way to go about it ..especially in this town where they do get blood from a stone.
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