tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79593111543552114122024-03-24T18:32:02.516-05:00The Brass FileObservations of Waterbury, Connecticut, and Beyond......John Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330863409275028247noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959311154355211412.post-21646193883557553392011-03-12T18:00:00.002-05:002011-03-12T18:07:59.361-05:00Keeping On<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div style="font: 28.0px Bernhard Modern Std; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Bill and Jan Smolinski Continue To Fight For Legislation That Would Alter The Way Law Enforcement Officers Respond To The Report Of A Missing Adult. Slowly, and Against Strong Police Resistence, It Appears Progress Is Being Made</span></div><div style="font: 28.0px Bernhard Modern Std; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC2ulcw90omhv69AdDlKMzWgLnNaZRDO7INXjFk5ir6iaMVbw4drEELTjSwDL9ISFJgZnJwvnQUQO3NSZ96WHyR1P7z4FV_eHq22UZUFGuVGBnUKi3sEsFYGtjb27GaLoiKDGw0tXWMo__/s1600/Nardello+and+Smolinskis+BW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC2ulcw90omhv69AdDlKMzWgLnNaZRDO7INXjFk5ir6iaMVbw4drEELTjSwDL9ISFJgZnJwvnQUQO3NSZ96WHyR1P7z4FV_eHq22UZUFGuVGBnUKi3sEsFYGtjb27GaLoiKDGw0tXWMo__/s320/Nardello+and+Smolinskis+BW.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 28.0px Bernhard Modern Std; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Palatino; font-size: xx-small;"><b> State Rep. Vickie Nardello, left, talks with Jan and Bill Smolinski</b></span></span></div><div style="font: 28.0px Bernhard Modern Std; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 28.0px Bernhard Modern Std; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Jan and Bill Smolinski refuse to stop searching for the body of their son, Billy, who was murdered - and buried - in the lower Naugatuck Valley area six and half years ago. During their quest for truth the Smolinskis have clashed with local, state and federal police who have mishandled critical evidence and lost seven DNA samples in the case.</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Almost anything that could go wrong in an investigation, has gone wrong. The Smolinski’s experience with police has been a gauntlet of apathy, incompetence and rudeness. There have been a few caring officers who have tried to do the right thing, but the investigation is now too compromised to be easily solved. The main suspects are liars and drug addicts who view prison as a revoling door - they’re in, they’re out, they’re back in.</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> The Smolinskis have been so outspoken, and credible, that the case has drawn intense media coverage which has included an hour long special on the Discovery ID channel that has been aired around the world. There has been so much attention on the case that Jan and Bill Smolinski have used the botched investigation to trigger local, state and federal reform in the way police officers investigate and handle reports of missing adults. </span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> The Waterbury Police Department has changed the way it handles reports of missing adults, but the Police Chiefs Association in Connecticut has continued to oppose efforts by the Smolinskis to bring their training into the 21st Century.</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> The impact of Billy Smolinskis murder has rippled through the halls of Congress, and triggered Billy’s Law, which unanimously passed the House of Represntaives last year before stalling in the Senate. Efforts to re-introduce the bill are underway this year.</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> The following comments were made by Janice Smolinski during a public hearing at the state capital in mid-February. She was testifying before the Public Safety Committee.</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhzeTrecdIMNf2oCvuqH-S1gyGtd0j_Rtxhpib0Y9FOX0eFMwFgCjmgu_VRUeKqNStF8VDwTPb2j3yBt4znUd_nlU_xuxZoeYzfdg1Mc76zzGgFRsdAAtGvY4445Cu_5HHojdgVhVzEzXJ/s1600/Hartley.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhzeTrecdIMNf2oCvuqH-S1gyGtd0j_Rtxhpib0Y9FOX0eFMwFgCjmgu_VRUeKqNStF8VDwTPb2j3yBt4znUd_nlU_xuxZoeYzfdg1Mc76zzGgFRsdAAtGvY4445Cu_5HHojdgVhVzEzXJ/s320/Hartley.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;"><b> Joan Hartley, co-chair of the Public Safety Committee</b></span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 13.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Palatino;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Good Afternoon. </span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">My name is Janice Smolinski and I’m here to testify in full support of Bill #6113, an act concerning the investigations into missing persons.</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Our family’s private Hell began six and half years ago when my 31-year-old son, Billy, vanished from his life.</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> A sluggish response from the Waterbury Police Department – typical in the case of adult missing persons – started a domino affect that reverberates to this day. Impossibly strong leads were not followed, evidence was destroyed, seven DNA samples were lost, and basic information from Billy’s case was not entered into national data banks for three years.</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> At the time of his disappearance Billy was involved in an explosive love triangle. This case involves a gravedigger, a long distance trucking company, a school bus driver, a politician, and a violent group of drug addicts.</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> My son walked into a hornet’s nest.</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGW_hYSOLLmk8ENBDu6pEVa1T-xcD3AzdXlVZ0FmUCyWSzg5oP8KWcvNENVIDv5cAj7gecN9i8bNgJDkVMexlJjMxKNZlIPDFYbYHRnPo54LUQeIXgUxqj-cHw3OOnX73WL8b4vWeU7wjs/s1600/Billy+and+Harley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGW_hYSOLLmk8ENBDu6pEVa1T-xcD3AzdXlVZ0FmUCyWSzg5oP8KWcvNENVIDv5cAj7gecN9i8bNgJDkVMexlJjMxKNZlIPDFYbYHRnPo54LUQeIXgUxqj-cHw3OOnX73WL8b4vWeU7wjs/s320/Billy+and+Harley.jpg" width="272" /></a></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal;"><b> Billy Smolinski and his best pal, Harley</b></span></span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Law enforcement officers in the FBI, the Seymour Police Department, the Shelton Police Department and the Connecticut State Police have all told us Billy was murdered in August 2004, and buried somewhere in the lower Naugatuck Valley.</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Efforts to recover his body continue to this day.</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Despite overwhelming evidence of foul play, the Waterbury Police Department told a reporter that Billy was probably having a beer in Europe and would come home when he was ready. That comment was cruel and insensitive, and was uttered 18 months after Billy was murdered.</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Unable to get the Waterbury police to seriously investigate Billy’s disappearance, we hired private investigators, brought in private search dogs and began to piece the puzzle together ourselves. Our search for Billy brought us into the hornet’s nest in Woodbridge, where I was arrested for hanging a missing person poster of my son, and sued by Billy’s ex-girlfriend, Madeline Gleason.</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> But our search revealed more than political and police corruption, we stumbled blindly into the world of the missing and unidentified dead. We learned that 160,000 other Americans are missing, and that coroners and medical examiners hold the remains of 40,000 unidentified dead. This is a national disaster.</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> The president of the International Homicide Association, Bill Hagmaier, has publicly stated that a majority of the missing have been murdered, and are now the unidentified dead. The way to cross-reference these two groups is with DNA sampling. We live in a time when the most popular show in America is CSI, yet most of our local and state police lack basic working knowledge of DNA. They don’t know how to properly collect DNA or enter it into the proper databases, like NamUs.</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> This can only change through training.</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> There are hundreds of unsolved homicides in Connecticut and 700 missing persons, yet the police in Connecticut continue to oppose this legislation.</span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Why?</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Four years ago West Hartford Police Chief James Strillacci, the head of the Police Chief’s Association, testified that legislation was unnecessary because there was no problem. Yet weeks later a missing 15-year-old girl was discovered hidden beneath the stairs of a home in a West Hartford, Chief Strillacci’s town.</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Two years ago Chief Strillaci again opposed efforts to reform the way law enforcement officers respond to the report of a missing adult. Shockingly, Chief Strillacci told Channel 3 news that he “wasn’t going to risk live people to find a body.”</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Chief Strillacci’s statements are insensitive and outrageous, and provide further proof why the Connecticut State Legislature needs to take a bold stand to protect the safety of our citizens.</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> One hundred and fifty years ago the great black abolitionist Frederick Douglas said, “Power concedes nothing without a demand.”</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> The police in Connecticut have the power now, and despite irrefutable evidence; they refuse to acknowledge they have substandard training in DNA collection, the usage of national data banks, and how they respond to a report of a missing adult.</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Bill #6113 will change that.</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> We can no longer allow the police to obstruct efforts to improve their training. It is time for law enforcement to catch up to the remarkable advancements of science. Passing Bill #6113 will make Connecticut a safer place to live. Although this legislation will not help my son Billy, it will help the thousands of families that will experience the nightmare of a missing loved one in the decades to come.</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></i></div><div style="font: 10.5px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> And for them, and for the safety of all our citizens, the legislators of Connecticut must demand this change. </span></i></div><div><i><br />
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</div>John Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330863409275028247noreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959311154355211412.post-24657288500245268482011-03-12T16:45:00.000-05:002011-03-12T16:45:27.771-05:00The River<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> It was the best day the Naugtauck River has experienced in 100 years. The river received so much attention on February 24</span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">th</span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> that one could imagine her embarrassed, and blushing red for old time sake. This blush, however, was triggered by admirers gushing at her beauty, not from the red dyes that were pumped into her as industrial waste into a glorified toilet.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIixOP4fun9Po7vbiQCWDBkI8gspI_ibUMYjE2IwVM55R4QV445wegyhddbNt3Y8a_Ilb44mQkveG1_Aidvk0Eni-37ZTFZ6SIFUGeRffj2HixNqPpXlYr128rEpaTuYRcRT0dZUsgdxID/s1600/A+River+Ran+Wild+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIixOP4fun9Po7vbiQCWDBkI8gspI_ibUMYjE2IwVM55R4QV445wegyhddbNt3Y8a_Ilb44mQkveG1_Aidvk0Eni-37ZTFZ6SIFUGeRffj2HixNqPpXlYr128rEpaTuYRcRT0dZUsgdxID/s320/A+River+Ran+Wild+4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Times have changed, and two events on February 24</span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">th</span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> showcased the shift.</span><br />
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</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> First, a Naugatuck River Forum was staged inside the Mattatuck Museum that brought together developers, businessmen, political leaders, community activists, environmentalists and state and federal officials to discuss the future of the 39 mile long river.</span><br />
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</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> It was an historic gathering, and the enthusiasm in the room bodes well for a river that has been abused, neglected and poisoned. If the river were human, the communities up and down the Naugatuck River would be in prison for murder.</span><br />
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</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> This generation has a chance at redemption, and the gathering in the Mattatuck Museum signaled a collective will to seize that opportunity.</span><br />
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</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Hours after the river forum concluded, a small gathering took place inside the newly renovated Aldermanic chambers in downtown Waterbury that re enforced just how far the river has come. It was the monthly meeting of the Waterbury Greenway Committee and it was announced that a New York based company had been selected to design and oversee construction of the first phase of a 7.1 mile greenway project in the South End of Waterbury.</span><br />
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</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> The company, RBA, has successfully completed the Brooklyn Greenway, the Manhattan Waterfront project, and the Hudson River Greenway. They have a world class track record of designing greenways, and the news electrified members of the Waterbury committee. After years of planning and routing studies, the greenway in Waterbury is one step closer to reality.</span><br />
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</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Ann Burton started the day off by addressing the 150 attendees of the Naugatuck River Forum with a short and eloquent talk.</span><br />
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</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> “The Naugatuck River has made the valley what it is,” Burton said. “It has given life to settlements, farms and factories. The river has created great prosperity for us and for the whole country.”</span><br />
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</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Burton is a member of the steering committee that planned the forum, and is heavily involved in an environmental committee of the Connecticut Community Foundation, which co-hosted the event with Rivers Alliance of CT.</span><br />
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</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> “The Naugatuck River has given us life,” Burton said, “and we’ve drained the life from it.”</span><br />
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</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Burton went on to describe the efforts of environmentalists to restore vitality to the river and said there is now, “life and animals back in the river. We are in the early stages of recovery, and we are gathered here today to find ways to work together to restore the Naugatuck River.”</span><br />
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</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Congressman Chris Murphy called the gathering a “who’s who of the past, present and future of the Naugatuck River.” Murphy went on to describe the damage inflicted on the river “a testament to what man can do to a river with dyes and toxins”, and the forum was “a testament to what man can do to undo that damage.”</span><br />
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</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Before the forum considered development and environmental issues, Laura Wildman, of Princeton Hydro, gave a concise and devastating history of the river. She described the Naugatuck River as an industrial sewer that changed colors every day, and was so toxic at one point that “the river caught on fire.”</span><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> From that horror Wildman now sees a river that will support wildlife, fish, inner tubing and kayaking. ‘We turned our backs to the Naugatuck River for 200 years,” she said. “Now we are turning and facing towards it.”</span><br />
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</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> The recreational opportunities are exploding. An annual canoe and kayak race draws hundreds of thrill seekers to the river every Spring. Sport fisherman are catching brood stock salmon, and when a fish by-pass is completed this summer at the Tingue Dam in Seymour, ocean going fish like Striped Bass will return.</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE5xRWv0Eb1ty13ZkT4nGzrBxaLKBUh9sNodGbXpmVm_Zj4giJ49AyY64OaGdAyERfZBFOvGO0Uae924KdmeMnbLSwQABjsmhvtoTiseopvdaWIz6zEsrrY4G6iCmleHYTU7wJpnGKOG3V/s1600/River+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE5xRWv0Eb1ty13ZkT4nGzrBxaLKBUh9sNodGbXpmVm_Zj4giJ49AyY64OaGdAyERfZBFOvGO0Uae924KdmeMnbLSwQABjsmhvtoTiseopvdaWIz6zEsrrY4G6iCmleHYTU7wJpnGKOG3V/s320/River+7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"> B<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">ird watching is getting richer and more rewarding by the month. Three Bald Eagles spent a portion of the winter fishing along the Naugatuck-Waterbury town line, and Wood Ducks, Great Blue Heron and Egrets are now commonly spotted.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyEnNYmK45t4tyaXrQsEGfmqcNANfoGtzkk_Kh6ZtsO8EQcg2LRbJimKUPheDAZ1cP6ubgwoVFm1rMB4tQi30oamkYA5UCFU-wDmgXPxOeUPUf19Z-Kb6rauHpLvUudnrnEKyCv_P2w76O/s1600/Eagle+3+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyEnNYmK45t4tyaXrQsEGfmqcNANfoGtzkk_Kh6ZtsO8EQcg2LRbJimKUPheDAZ1cP6ubgwoVFm1rMB4tQi30oamkYA5UCFU-wDmgXPxOeUPUf19Z-Kb6rauHpLvUudnrnEKyCv_P2w76O/s320/Eagle+3+web.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> One of the most listened to speakers at the forum was Dan Esty, an environmental professor at Yale University, and Governor Dannel Malloy’s pick to head the newly formed Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Esty is also the co-author of Green to Gold, a book that explores the success modern companies can have by incorporating environmental thinking into their core business strategies.</span><br />
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</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Esty, who has not been confirmed yet for his state post, provided keen insight into the thinking of the new Malloy Administration. “Our mission is to help generate jobs,” Esty said. “We need innovation to do things different and better.”</span><br />
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</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Esty grew up in Watertown and said the success of the Naugatuck River “is personal” to him. Esty applauded the cooperative spirit at the forum and said collaboration is key to any project receiving funding. “It’s important to look at the issues with a holistic lens,” he said, “and partnerships are critically important.”</span><br />
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</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> The past thinking in Connecticut was that anything environmental was anti-business, and anything business was anti-environmental.</span><br />
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</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> “We need to change that thinking because business and the environment do not have to be mutually exclusive,” Esty said. “It is our job to change the spirit, and it begins with answering questions.”</span><br />
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</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Sustainable development along the river was explored during a panel discussion that included Alex Conroy, the mastermind behind the successful river development project in downtown Providence. The panel was led by Gary O’Connor, the chairman of the Waterbury Chamber of Commerce.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaN5ScfTnqo_3qAtVgbJWQSmDiYrfQdz05oAQco8aO0VNiXAhxm0b_PSST-5UH6xym14DJprkdIzz8sS5L6JspwkCX54RFN0FlKej_XLP4wC7YPbno1T-_DjOjDD12AxGVtgsqugvmtHKw/s1600/River+business.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaN5ScfTnqo_3qAtVgbJWQSmDiYrfQdz05oAQco8aO0VNiXAhxm0b_PSST-5UH6xym14DJprkdIzz8sS5L6JspwkCX54RFN0FlKej_XLP4wC7YPbno1T-_DjOjDD12AxGVtgsqugvmtHKw/s320/River+business.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">“Our ancestors failed to understand the need for economic balance with the environment,” O’Connor said. “Their efforts were not sustainable.”</span><br />
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</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> The goal of sustainable development now is to find a balance with the enhanced environment to generate economic growth. “Our political leaders need to think about the total watershed,” O’Connor said. “We can no longer think about borders and boundaries. Nature doesn’t work this way.”</span><br />
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</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> O’Connor’s comment touched on the most provactive theme of the Naugatuck River Forum - how do the diverse stakeholders along the river cobble together to view the river in a holistic way? How do we make regional decisons about the health and vitality of our most precious resource?</span><br />
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</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Ideas are being explored to create a Naugatuck River website, and to consider the formation of a regional council, or association, that might govern the river. There are obstacles and special interests to overcome, but the river itself may provide the answer. The greatest asset of the Naugatuck River is it’s power to erode the barriers that have fragmented the communities along its 39 mile stretch. Water can carve through rock, and if the Naugatuck River is to fulfill the astonishing promise that lays ahead, it’s clear, strong currents must erode the human barriers that divide us.</span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 13.0px; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 13.0px; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="font: 10.0px Palatino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 13.0px; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div></div>John Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330863409275028247noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959311154355211412.post-75855579741972405142011-01-22T17:56:00.001-05:002011-01-27T07:18:33.502-05:00The Triangle<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Marriages crash, couples fight, and the divorce rate in America remains at staggering heights. When the fog lifts there is usually an aggrieved ex-spouse harboring thoughts of vengeance. This is not news.<br />
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But the marriage of Ron and Cheryl Tompkins is not your typical love story gone south. It involves a cop and a federal lawsuit alleging an abuse of power by a prominent state prosecutor.<br />
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Ron and Cheryl were married for 18 years, had two children, and lived in a beautiful house in Wolcott. It’s impossible to determine the exact date the marriage began to unravel, but April 2008 was clearly significant - it was the time Cheryl asked Ron to move out of their house. She told him she wanted a divorce.<br />
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Ron, a Waterbury police officer, was stunned. He wasn’t going to pack his bags and leave. He wanted to talk about it, seek professional counselling, and see if they could save their marriage. But day after day, Ron said, Cheryl kept asking him to leave.<br />
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Stubborn, and with no where to go, Ron refused.<br />
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On May 22, 2008, Ron Tompkins said he woke up to find the Wolcott police knocking at his front door. Cheryl had reported that during an argument Ron had threatened her with a gun, a charge any police department in America would take very seriously. Ron said his wife fabricated the charges, but he was arrested for disorderly conduct and threatening. While in the Wolcott PD Tompkins said he clashed with the deputy police chief, Don Therkildsen, who slapped him with a $50,000 bond.<br />
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And just like that Ron was out of the house.<br />
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In addition to calling the Wolcott police, Cheryl sought and received a restraining order against Ron. He could have no contact with her. But after posting bond the first thing Ron did was call Cheryl’s workplace to make arrangements to pick up some clothes.<br />
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Bad move. And within hours Ron was re-arrested for violating the restraining order. Devastated, Ron’s world began to collapse.<br />
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With two criminal charges against him, Tompkins was brought into Waterbury Superior Court. While waiting for his hearing to begin Tompkins said he was approached by a fellow Waterbury policemen who was serving as a court liaison officer. According to Tompkins the officer had a message for him from state prosecutor Dave Gulick. Tompkins said he was told that he didn’t need a lawyer and that Gulick, who he coached little league baseball with in Wolcott, would see that the charges were dismissed.<br />
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It was the first good news Ron Tompkins had heard in months.<br />
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Weeks later Tompkins found out that the prosecutor assigned to the case was Don Therkildsen Jr., the son of the Wolcott deputy police chief he had clashed with during his arrest. Alarmed at the connection, Tompkins tried to use his clout as a Waterbury police officer to get a different prosecutor assigned to the case.<br />
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Tompkins also hired Atty. Pat Cooney to represent him in the criminal case against him. Then, according to Tompkins, he received a remarkable cell phone call from state prosecutor Dave Gulick. Tompkins said that Gulick advised him that everything would be okay and there was no need to hire a defense lawyer. Tompkins said Gulick assured him that the case would be handled by Don Therkildsen Jr., who was Gulick’s best friend.<br />
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“Dave Gulick told me not to hire a lawyer and that Therkildsen would get the charges against me dismissed,” Tompkins said. “I was thrilled and offered to buy him a beer.”<br />
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But when Tompkins went to court his lawyer, Pat Cooney, was privately advised by Therkildsen Jr. to not take the case. Cooney has stated that Therkildsen Jr. - a friend from law school - told him “not stick his neck out for Tompkins, he is a liar.”<br />
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And in court Therkildsen was anything but helpful. To Tompkins shock. the prosecution, with Dave Gulick sitting at the table, aggressively went after him.<br />
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“They were trying to put me in jail,” Tompkins said. “I had been set up by Dave Gulick, but I didn’t know why.”<br />
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Within months Tompkins would learn the shocking truth. Dave Gulick had been having an affair with Cheryl Tompkins. There is written documentation from a therapist’s notes that the romance had been going on for more than a year before Ron Tompkins was arrested.<br />
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Suddenly, the nightmare Ron Tompkins had been living made perfect sense to him. Dave Gulick and the Therkildsens were best friends, the “Three Amigoes”, and Tompkins believes they conspired with Cheryl to destroy him. There are two people, including the wife of Cheryl’s brother, who categorically state Cheryl Tompkins bragged about making up the criminal charges against Ron in order to get him out of the house.<br />
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Cheryl could place the call to Wolcott PD, Therkildsen Sr. could play hardball, and then Therkildsen Jr. could package Ron Tompkins off to prison.<br />
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“They wanted me out of the way so Dave and Cheryl could be together,” Tompkins said. “It was evil.”<br />
Tompkins first approached the Observer with his story in the autumn of 2009. After several interviews our investigation branched out to include Wolcott Police Chief Neil O’Leary, State’s Attorney John Connelly, Waterbury Police Chief Mike Gugliotti, the court liaison officer, Ron Tompkin’s divorce attorney, Chris Reeves, and an hour-long phone interview with Dave Gulick.<br />
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When Gulick was contacted he categorically denied the allegations made by Ron Tompkins. While stating he was in a relationship with Cheryl Tompkins, he said the romance hadn’t started until months after Ron Tompkins had been arrested. Gulick denied ever calling Ron Tompkins, and said Tompkins was angry about the divorce and was trying to cost Gulick his job.<br />
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“Ron Tompkins will make up anything to hurt me,” Gulick told the Observer last autumn. “His stories are complete nonsense. I did nothing wrong.”<br />
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Despite the strong allegations made by Ron Tompkins, it was impossible to prove his version of the story. Did Dave Gulick conspire with the Therkildsen’s to interfere with Ron Tompkin’s marriage? Did Dave Gulick make direct and illegal contact with Ron Tompkins via a cell phone advising him not to hire a lawyer, and stating that Therkildsen Jr. would get the charges dropped? Why was Dave Gulick in a courtroom he wasn’t assigned to on both days Ron Tompkins went to court?<br />
<br />
What it boiled down to was a “he said- he said” case, and the Observer was unable to obtain Gulick’s complete cell phone records to verify Tompkins version of events. Tompkins was able to obtain a partial record of Gulick’s cell phone records as part of a contentious custody battle, and it showed that Gulick had multiple conversations with Cheryl on the days Ron was in court.<br />
<br />
Tompkin’s lawyer filed a grievance last year against Dave Gulick with the State Bar Association, and a state investigation was launched into the sordid mess. Tompkins said he was told that the state would obtain Gulick’s complete cell phone records and do a thorough investigation. At that point the Observer decided to hold the story until the state completed its investigation.<br />
<br />
But, according to Tompkins, a new twist emerged while he talked with state investigators. Tompkins said the state was more interested in what he might divulge about John Connelly and his relationship with the Waterbury Police Department.<br />
<br />
“I had nothing to tell them and they lost interest in doing a thorough investigation,” Tompkins said. “They never talked with anybody and never got the cell phone records. It was a joke.”<br />
<br />
Unbroken, Ron Tompkins filed a federal lawsuit against Dave Gulick in August 2010. In the lawsuit Tompkins lays out all the allegations he has made against Gulick and charges him “with using his power as a public official to interfere” with the Tompkins marriage. Gulick is charged with “conduct that is shocking to the conscience” and depriving Ron Tompkins of the due process of law.<br />
<br />
Ironically, Tompkins lawyer is John Williams, the same high powered New Haven attorney who is suing The Waterbury Observer, and Janice Smolinski, for articles we published surrounding the bizarre disappearance of Billy Smolinski six years ago.<br />
<br />
So where and when does the Tompkins- Gulick saga end?<br />
<br />
It could be bogged down in the legal system for years.<br />
<br />
But if we freeze frame the story right now, here is an update:<br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The FBI is currently investigating the culture of business inside the Waterbury Superior Court. John Connelly and defense attorney Marty Minella have both been mentioned as possible targets of a grand jury probe. Is there a connection to this story? It’s too soon to know.</li>
<li>Ron and Cheryl are now divorced, and Ron has suffered extreme bouts of depression and was hospitalized 18 months ago. At the moment he appears to be doing much better. Time, and a federal lawsuit, have helped his healing.</li>
<li>And Dave Gulick? He currently lives with Cheryl and the two children in Ron’s old home in Wolcott.</li>
</ul><br />
<br />
<br />
</div>John Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330863409275028247noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959311154355211412.post-42705858428822959042011-01-22T17:28:00.002-05:002011-01-27T07:19:24.744-05:00The Search<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ba8BO1O_rUQvZJ0QMHjGBjkSi2sLbEx9P-n5WAZYTYZyOFHUqbWPcMkQOD8eZXgyuw8pL6zEu0iK8gz0r3kSDvy301wQ0Mpc4RLc4pqY7VKPMxVbkEL5mPReuxXwJLu9H0kdPqkUUrgt/s1600/Todd+digging+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ba8BO1O_rUQvZJ0QMHjGBjkSi2sLbEx9P-n5WAZYTYZyOFHUqbWPcMkQOD8eZXgyuw8pL6zEu0iK8gz0r3kSDvy301wQ0Mpc4RLc4pqY7VKPMxVbkEL5mPReuxXwJLu9H0kdPqkUUrgt/s640/Todd+digging+2.jpg" width="516" /></a></div><b><i><br />
</i></b><br />
<i><b>Billy Smolinski was murdered six years ago. The effort to crack the case involves local, state and federal police. The Smolinski Family is now working closely with private investigator Todd Lovejoy, pictured above, tracking down leads.</b></i><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><b>By John Murray</b></div><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Six years is a long time to hold your breath.<br />
<br />
But that’s exactly what Bill and Jan Smolinski have been doing since their 31-year-old son Billy vanished from his life on August 24th, 2004. When Billy disappeared from Waterbury the Smolinskis immediately knew something was wrong, they just didn’t know how horribly wrong until the days and weeks blurred into six years of hell. They quickly discovered that Billy was involved in an explosive love triangle at the time of his disappearance. And they now know that Billy is never coming home alive. Several suspects in the case have all confirmed that Billy was murdered that night and his body stashed beneath the rich farmlands and forests of the lower Naugatuck Valley.<br />
<br />
The big question now is where?<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
Tips have flowed in for years and they all point to the same group of young men in Seymour, and the same names keep popping up as either assisting with the murder, or helping to dispose of Billy’s body in the early morning hours of August 25th.<br />
<br />
The stumbling block for law enforcement now is that time and clues were lost by a sluggish investigation by the Waterbury Police Department back in the autumn of 2004. There were impossibly strong clues to follow, but the head of the Waterbury Detective Bureau had taken the attitude that “Billy was having a beer in Europe and would come home when he was ready.”<br />
<br />
Two years were lost to a bungled investigation and by the time the FBI took over the case in August 2006 the main suspect was dead of a heroin overdose, and several other suspects were in prison or had drifted away from the area.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8VnIIFfgZcKjlnCd23VBJlz0vyszwLHxE9bAoiyiy5hnOmOMrSftlRqjvDUgE7vHWPRtNIG5-O5FqnwcoZLmZND6C5t4ftdKd7kE4poGifHxdqRLLsxleQRHq4PE13PbT8Y92CjCyerBo/s1600/Smolinski+search%2528cropped%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8VnIIFfgZcKjlnCd23VBJlz0vyszwLHxE9bAoiyiy5hnOmOMrSftlRqjvDUgE7vHWPRtNIG5-O5FqnwcoZLmZND6C5t4ftdKd7kE4poGifHxdqRLLsxleQRHq4PE13PbT8Y92CjCyerBo/s640/Smolinski+search%2528cropped%2529.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Deb Monte, Todd Lovejoy and Murphy searching for Billy.</i></b></div><br />
The Smolinski’s relentless pursuit of truth has triggered wide spread media attention to the case and culminated with an hour special on Billy’s disappearance aired on the Discovery ID network.<br />
<br />
“Every time the media writes a story about the investigation, or airs a clip on state or national TV, we get tips called in,” Janice Smolinski said. “All the tips say the same thing - Billy is dead and he’s buried....in a field, in a quarry, beneath a driveway, somewhere in the Naugatuck Valley. One of the tips is going to lead us to Billy and we’ll bring him home.”<br />
<br />
In addition to ongoing efforts from the Waterbury Police Department, the FBI, the Seymour Police Department, the Shelton Police Department, and the Cold Case Unit of the Connecticut State Police, the Smolinskis have worked closely with private investigator Todd Lovejoy, a former Waterbury detective and now the owner of Spyglass Investigations.<br />
<br />
Lovejoy has worked tirelessly to close the information gaps between the various local, state and federal investigations, all of whom are reluctant to take the lead in the case. With a white-hot media spotlight aimed directly on a story that has triggered state and federal legislation, no police department or organization is motivated to pick up the “hot-potato” and say “it’s mine.”<br />
<br />
In an absence of leadership, oddly, bizarrely, the lead investigators into Billy’s murder are his mother and father and the relentless pressure they apply to various investigators and politicians.<br />
<br />
“We are not giving up until we bring Billy home,” Bill Smolinski said. “The police keep saying we are bashing them, but we’re not, we are just trying to find our son.”<br />
<br />
Every law enforcement organization that the Smolinskis have dealt with in the past six years has been extremely sensitive to observations about how they have handled the investigation. The cold hard fact is that the investigation into the disappearance of Billy Smolinski has been mangled for six straight years. The case has been marred by territorial disputes and ego.<br />
<br />
This is a fact. It’s not that Bill and Jan Smolinski are police bashing, it’s that the police have let them down over and over and over again. <br />
<br />
What Jan and Bill Smolinski have learned in the past six years could fill a set of encyclopedias from A to Z. They learned that local, state and federal police are sluggish to respond to the report of a missing adult. They learned that local, state and federal police are in desperate need of training that specifically deals with missing adults, the collection of DNA, the use of national DNA data banks, and the handling of unidentified human remains.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvKHvqM_KRwgW61KO6dStmaIt_Z9K1mxShXOZhohag50e-Hws1gbHaART3Uz0sBnoLllB0sNItE28C0IY8X1pJnHTyr38aLysOQd9hPzvSdE9WfqnBAjpJWy6KpUpOjlPkyNkDXeS_x4dy/s1600/Smolinski+weeds.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvKHvqM_KRwgW61KO6dStmaIt_Z9K1mxShXOZhohag50e-Hws1gbHaART3Uz0sBnoLllB0sNItE28C0IY8X1pJnHTyr38aLysOQd9hPzvSdE9WfqnBAjpJWy6KpUpOjlPkyNkDXeS_x4dy/s640/Smolinski+weeds.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Janice Smolinski followed behind the search and rescue team.</i></b></div><br />
“We believed that we lived in a society where every case is solved within sixty minutes just like on CSI every week,” Janice Smolinski said. “But what we’ve discovered, and what thousands of families are dealing with every day, is that training in police departments across the country has not kept pace with science.”<br />
<br />
Faced with more disconnects than a freshly opened jig-saw puzzle, the Smolinskis set out to improve the situation for the families yet to face the grim reality of a missing loved one. Their efforts led to new legislation about the way law enforcement respond to the case of a missing adult in Connecticut, and with an assist from Congressman Chris Murphy and Senator Joe Lieberman, there is a bill winding its way towards Barack Obama’s desk that would provide millions of dollars for specific training in the way law enforcement officers process missing persons and unidentified human remains.<br />
<br />
The Smolinski’s crusade to improve training in Waterbury, Connecticut, and across North America, isn’t going to help them find Billy, but it will ease the pain for shattered and grieving families in future missing persons cases in the years and decades to come.<br />
<br />
A vigil will be held for Billy Smolinski and the other 800 missing persons in Connecticut on August 22nd from 5 pm to 8 pm on the Naugatuck Green. Bring a lawn chair and learn about the silent crisis of the missing and the unidentified dead in this country.</div></div>John Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330863409275028247noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959311154355211412.post-92136784145274786202011-01-22T17:10:00.004-05:002011-01-27T07:26:40.793-05:00The Storyteller<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCxK1Z8IXscV8MjiUq6B4goPmY9Jay9YhS9QycBD0WBxaOpPqldE4JVSMKCu-Vya6HyNaJvj9z3JGiTwhURAhXw_dq43YSZFb8dDwr715semaMGJIck3QfiZjdGwSzQKhlXlY5eFZCtAW2/s1600/Dave+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCxK1Z8IXscV8MjiUq6B4goPmY9Jay9YhS9QycBD0WBxaOpPqldE4JVSMKCu-Vya6HyNaJvj9z3JGiTwhURAhXw_dq43YSZFb8dDwr715semaMGJIck3QfiZjdGwSzQKhlXlY5eFZCtAW2/s640/Dave+1.jpg" width="536" /></a></div> <b>Lost Rights author David Howard </b><br />
<br />
<br />
One day before Abraham Lincoln was murdered at the Ford Theater in Washington D.C., a soldier from the Union Army entered the statehouse in Raleigh, North Carolina, and swiped one of the 14 original copies of the Bill of Rights. Robert E. Lee had already surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox, but word traveled slow, and members of General Sherman’s army continued to plunder the South.<br />
<br />
At the end of the war the soldier returned to Ohio and sold the historic document for $5. The new owner was a young man, Charles Shotwell, from NYC, who eventually became a grain broker in Indianapolis.<br />
<br />
The document hung in his office for years before getting moved to his family home, where it remained for almost 100 years. When his daughter was moved to a nursing home the document followed her there, and upon her death, the third generation of the Shotwell family to possess the document decided to sell it.<br />
In the 1990s two of Charles Shotwell’s granddaughters tried to sell the document for several million dollars, and eventually relinquished the prize for $200,000 to Woodbury antique dealer Wayne Pratt, and former Waterbury developer Bob Matthews. When the two men tried to flip the Bill of Rights for $5 million, they were snagged in an FBI sting. The stolen document was seized and returned to North Carolina.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGJ3ZelInU8cXmh1-lQDJK5XPwLovjiCW_ZgwOlrRL_Nt3W-X1DJy_tWqnIJYp_ffssgiCznCpI2EizvOkV3320J7coiiUlKRjjPjHEX6n9W8Ou2ojtWNLM3oCWL_s1-uFfim3-orPJE5F/s1600/wayne_with_chests.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGJ3ZelInU8cXmh1-lQDJK5XPwLovjiCW_ZgwOlrRL_Nt3W-X1DJy_tWqnIJYp_ffssgiCznCpI2EizvOkV3320J7coiiUlKRjjPjHEX6n9W8Ou2ojtWNLM3oCWL_s1-uFfim3-orPJE5F/s320/wayne_with_chests.jpg" width="309" /></a></div> <b>Wayne Pratt</b><br />
<br />
The astonishing 140-year-journey of the document is captured in riveting detail in “Lost Rights”, a book written by David Howard. The book has been called a “great beach read” by the New York Times, and has received glittering praise in reviews across the country. The book was released on July 2nd and Howard has been traveling through Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and North Carolina on a book tour. He is sweeping through Connecticut and the Northeast in the weeks and months ahead.<br />
<br />
Lost Rights is a terrific read for anyone interested in American history, antiques and the murky world of historic documents. The book is a must read for the residents of North Carolina, and of keen interest to the hundreds of thousands of people whose lives were touched by Wayne Pratt and Bob Matthews.<br />
Pratt, now deceased, was one of the most influential antique dealers in America, and often appeared on TV as an appraiser on the Antique Road Show.<br />
<br />
Matthews was a brash, loud, name-dropping, social climber who lavished politicians with donations and made sure everybody in Waterbury knew who he was. He bought a lot of buildings, used a helicopter to arrive at an event at the Mattatuck Museum, and when the real estate market caved he slipped out of Waterbury leaving the banks holding the bag. Matthews reinvented himself in New Haven where he leveraged a state backed loan to purchase an office building for $2 million, and later flipped it for $20 million.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwi4Wt116QmTT12bBz1M1WIzE-eMuqYZMcc6Cm90D9V3l4SJizUwQa-Vl9Dyf-bxN-mIlmvxYZg1klHvT_WZ4O3e2bITECpw6n1seJj_ob27Wav0iNjYhDCxwip2KLGg6AmMKi1o4yCL3q/s1600/Matthews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwi4Wt116QmTT12bBz1M1WIzE-eMuqYZMcc6Cm90D9V3l4SJizUwQa-Vl9Dyf-bxN-mIlmvxYZg1klHvT_WZ4O3e2bITECpw6n1seJj_ob27Wav0iNjYhDCxwip2KLGg6AmMKi1o4yCL3q/s320/Matthews.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="213" /></a><br />
<b>Bob Matthews</b><br />
<br />
In the 1980s Matthews handed Waterbury Mayor Joe Santopietro $25,000 in cash in a brown paper bag, and ten years later was a central figure in the impeachment inquiry into Governor John Rowland. Pratt described Matthews as a Houdini for his ability to escape trouble. Matthews avoided legal consequences for his bribe to Santopietro, his monetary gifts to Rowland, and for his involvement in attempting to sell a stolen copy of the Bill of Rights. Matthews now lives in West Palm Beach, Florida, and appears to be in financial trouble again.<br />
<br />
Lost Rights is an absorbing read, but to me the most interesting character in the project isn’t Pratt or Matthews, it’s the writer, Dave Howard. I have known Dave for more than 20 years. I met Dave when we both worked at the Register-Citizen newspaper in Torrington, CT. Dave had just graduated from college and had a trial assignment to cover a lottery winner. An anonymous call to the newsroom informed us that a Torrington resident had just won a multi-million dollar jackpot, and our job was to confirm this, and bag an interview. Dave was the reporter and I was the photographer.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmdJuLSHgE6jeBt2Fa__L8T43-ImJmB7ljNhtynVe4YY2MA_DCx_2XiGZo2M88FVDJeGMC4dGniOAJKSthZVazkAhTELH4mUXG04Panyvzea7Bobi3Dw3I7Z3kNzt0hhyhMM_OQ0v4LYm5/s1600/Dave+writing+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmdJuLSHgE6jeBt2Fa__L8T43-ImJmB7ljNhtynVe4YY2MA_DCx_2XiGZo2M88FVDJeGMC4dGniOAJKSthZVazkAhTELH4mUXG04Panyvzea7Bobi3Dw3I7Z3kNzt0hhyhMM_OQ0v4LYm5/s400/Dave+writing+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b> Howard working on his book at 4:30 am</b><br />
<br />
The individual answered the door with a phone pressed to his ear saying, “I didn’t win. Why is everybody calling me?”. One of his “friends” had triggered the rumor as a goof, and the news had swept across Torrington in hours. I fired off a few pictures and Dave stayed behind to work an angle that would impress the editors. An hour later the phone rang in the darkroom, It was Dave. He hemmed and hawed and then blurted out that he had locked his keys inside his truck. Dave didn’t want the editors to know, and asked if I could help him, He eventually got a tow truck driver to open his door, wrote the story, and landed the job.<br />
<br />
The locked-keys-inside-the-car-routine became a standing joke between us. We both repeatedly found ourselves locking keys inside our cars, losing wallets and generally misplacing all our valuables. Dave eventually left the newspaper in 1992 to travel across the country, and I left to launch The Waterbury Observer in 1993 with Marty Begnal.<br />
<br />
While Marty and I were struggling to sell ads and produce our first issue, Dave pitched in and wrote our front page introduction to the community. In the second issue of the Observer Dave wrote an in-depth article about spending election day shadowing independent candidate for mayor, Andy Michaud.<br />
Dave then landed a paying job at the Torrington bureau of the Republican-American newspaper, and later transferred down to Waterbury where he covered the raucous 1995 mayoral battle between Mike Bergin, Philip Giordano and Jimmie Griffin. One year later Dave launched a freelance writing career and joined the Observer as an editor-at-large. He wrote one in-depth feature article per issue and cleaned up copy throughout the paper. This arrangement gave Dave the time needed to explore freelance assignments and he was soon writing for Connecticut Magazine and the New York Times.<br />
<br />
Dave’s stint at the Observer was extraordinary. We worked on massive projects documenting the history of the black community in Waterbury, explored the mysterious death of a homeless man and shared the story of Eileen Hosier and the 45 German Shepherd she housed inside her Lounsbury Street home. In “The Grip” we uncovered - big surprise - a direct link between politics and police in Waterbury.<br />
<br />
In 1997 we drove down to New Orleans to hurl ourselves into the riotous mix of Mardi Gras and Super Bowl, and nearly drummed the Observer out of business when I decided to run photographs of three topless women on Bourbon Street.<br />
<br />
But more significant than the stories and events we covered, Dave shared a farmhouse with me and my daughter Chelsea for almost two years. When you reduce life to it’s essence, what more powerful compliment can you give a man than to say your daughter and your dog love him.<br />
<br />
But soon a different kind of love swept into Dave’s life and he left the Observer to embark on a two month bike tour of Chile with his girlfriend, Ann. Afterwards, he followed his heart to NYC to live with Ann and continue his writing career. His first job was at Working Mother, followed by a stint at National Geographic Adventure Magazine. Dave continued to freelance and wrote a story for Travel and Leisure Magazine about an 80 mile hike we took through the jungles of Guatemala to interview archeologist Richard Hansen.<br />
<br />
In 2002 Dave and Ann were married in the Canadian Rockies and Chelsea and I traveled to Jasper, Alberta, to be the only witnesses of the ceremony. Two years later Dave and Ann had a beautiful baby boy and named him Vaughn. (He is the little red head sprinting in the picture above). Dave accepted a full-time position as an editor at Backpacker Magazine and the family settled in Emmaus, PA.<br />
<br />
Backpacker, Runner’s World, Bicycling and a host of other publications are owned by Rodale, and book publishing is one of the many components of the company. A former Rodale employee, Jeremy Katz, had left the company to become a literary agent and he was on the prowl for clients. Katz had read some of Dave’s articles and approached him to find out if he had any interest in writing a book. Of course he did, he said, but he wasn’t sure what the subject would be, or how to go about getting a book published. Jeremy brainstormed with Dave and they settled on the expansion of an article Dave had written for Connecticut Magazine about a stolen copy of the Bill of Rights.<br />
<br />
“Charlie Monagan, the editor at Connecticut Magazine, is the one who turned me on to the story,” Howard said. “I always knew there was a lot more to the subject, so with Jeremy’s help, I wrote a book proposal.”<br />
<br />
Katz took a few dozen copies of the proposal into NYC and delivered them to various publishing houses. Katz said if any of the editors wanted to meet Howard to discuss the book he would be in town for five days. Several editors brought Dave in for interviews and seven or eight publishing houses submitted a bid to publish Dave’s book. When the fog cleared, the winner of the book auction was Houghton-Mifflin, and Dave had one year to research and write the book.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4G4sxxUdv13ykRcwM3e66rrd-hdsNQxKDlif3nMHPIe-gn8l_T3-v_ptAS7OhSzBnQ1lh-XkcLg-FQ_BQJrMDU8mW1cCC_4IfE5HCmGoQMp8AjNVmqOyoPQltoXlpO-0TlX7rocctP5fQ/s1600/Dave+writing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4G4sxxUdv13ykRcwM3e66rrd-hdsNQxKDlif3nMHPIe-gn8l_T3-v_ptAS7OhSzBnQ1lh-XkcLg-FQ_BQJrMDU8mW1cCC_4IfE5HCmGoQMp8AjNVmqOyoPQltoXlpO-0TlX7rocctP5fQ/s400/Dave+writing.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
Dave used his journalism skills to investigate the story and travelled to North Carolina, Washington D.C., Ohio and Connecticut to probe for details. While in Waterbury Dave interviewed many of his old political contacts about their dealings with Bob Matthews, and sat down with Wayne Pratt several times in Woodbury to document his side of the story.<br />
<br />
The book was completed at about the same time the U.S. economy collapsed and the publication of Lost Rights was delayed for almost two years. Dave used the time wisely and re-worked the story several times to make the book tighter and cleaner. Now that it is out Lost Rights is making a splash. Dave was invited to address a gathering inside the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, and has been interviewed by Colin McEnroe on WNPR, the Martha Stewart Show, Larry Rifkin on WATR, and a talk he gave in Washington D.C. was filmed and will appear on CNN’s Booktalk in the next few weeks,<br />
<br />
I’ve known Dave for 20 years and we have wild, loose and creative conversations that can last for 12 hours straight. But through all our talks I never asked him about the actual mechanics of writing and how he mastered the nuances of the English language. When Dave was at the Observer he would write a 3000 word story without using spell check and not one word would be misspelled. Me? Without spell check I would be doing manual labor. So how did he do it? I called him up one night and asked him to share the story of how he developed as a writer.<br />
<br />
“I always loved books and my Mom would read to us every night. Where The Wild Things Are made a huge impression on me, as did Dr. Suess and Curious George. I used to wait for the baby sitters with a pile of books in my hand.”<br />
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Then in 3rd grade at Andover Elementary School Dave said a teacher, Dave Caron, made a colossal impact on his life. “I was always making up stories with the Story Starter program and Mr. Caron saw something special in what I was doing. He encouraged me to take out a book anytime I wanted and to write. A good teacher notices when a kid has a gift and they encourage them along. I was lucky to have had several great teachers along the way.”<br />
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In 10th grade another teacher intervened to push Dave even harder. “His name was Mr. Canny and he’d tell us over and over again that the first draft of anything was vomit on a page. He’d say there was material there to work with, but it needed to be cleaned up. Then he’d tell us to clean it up again, and again, and again. A teacher saying this to you at that age made a big impression on me.”<br />
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And obviously Dave Howard learned his writing lessons well.<br />
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The first draft of Lost Rights was vomit on a page, but he cut 35,000 words, re-organized the structure of the story and cleaned it up over and over again.<br />
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Just like Mr. Canny taught him. </div>John Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330863409275028247noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959311154355211412.post-89439922937670059972010-04-28T21:21:00.012-05:002011-01-22T15:49:03.545-05:00Vision Quest<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Steve Schrag and WCLEAN Have Green Ideas For Anamet Site<span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlKTIAyuWb2Y8tJ4T87gLSYIMtkbzNGnlvzmX8SDk9cGQcpJnFUAhu_wtHYtypb4VwXz0fmENGePweMymHpv39LhynaUhdRkCqwVq_SKFxDMZ4dvW6yuWi9YjJoTrCjcEziv6MpXmU3VJf/s1600/Steve+Schragg.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465382289553954322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlKTIAyuWb2Y8tJ4T87gLSYIMtkbzNGnlvzmX8SDk9cGQcpJnFUAhu_wtHYtypb4VwXz0fmENGePweMymHpv39LhynaUhdRkCqwVq_SKFxDMZ4dvW6yuWi9YjJoTrCjcEziv6MpXmU3VJf/s400/Steve+Schragg.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 266px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNsiuKwFhHIqcbwZwe9Tq9Fu8t6WSjm8puqWKgW97QMyEDW5JmLb-6wq6SQ_KmafzKvACHH5sDplsDBPsLt_qQVXYJi0GzOEXaGaFO6c3sSZMN1D_VGwcTH35fK7ni79wMSjTVWVulZnZY/s1600/Anamet+1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465380177550506274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNsiuKwFhHIqcbwZwe9Tq9Fu8t6WSjm8puqWKgW97QMyEDW5JmLb-6wq6SQ_KmafzKvACHH5sDplsDBPsLt_qQVXYJi0GzOEXaGaFO6c3sSZMN1D_VGwcTH35fK7ni79wMSjTVWVulZnZY/s400/Anamet+1.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 266px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs2_xaTQQ63iYr9BhHaAjdB70UK-qAQIK9_0pSwsrn30Sv8z3ZucV44hSqLzS92_EbmQ7LKzMvF_yLQqw19x1hHgploth4KR1uEapCqL3KRoOTl6WOtmGyEUuMC4sXSo_7nhuTaRe5YBm2/s1600/Anamet+3.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465380382579460322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs2_xaTQQ63iYr9BhHaAjdB70UK-qAQIK9_0pSwsrn30Sv8z3ZucV44hSqLzS92_EbmQ7LKzMvF_yLQqw19x1hHgploth4KR1uEapCqL3KRoOTl6WOtmGyEUuMC4sXSo_7nhuTaRe5YBm2/s400/Anamet+3.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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Steve Schrag has spent his life as an organizer and activist fighting for positive change in the work place. For the past 30 years in Waterbury, however, Schrag has repeatedly found himself in opposition to major development projects.<br />
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He was against EWR in the 1980s.<br />
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He was against a super mall.<br />
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He was against building a casino in the South End.<br />
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He was against First Light building a generator in the South End.<br />
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He was against Chestnut Hill BioEnergy building a trash to energy plant at the old Anamet site.<br />
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While spearheading the community uprising against Chestnut Hill BioEnergy this past summer Schrag was repeatedly asked what ideas he had for the 17-acre brownfield lying on the east bank of the Naugatuck River. If not a trash to energy plant, what?<br />
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The question haunted Schrag, and after the trash plant was defeated, he set out to find alternative solutions for the Anamet site. Schrag had a paradigm shift.<br />
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“I don’t want to be against everything,” Schrag said. “I decided I want to be for something.”<br />
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As a result he helped form WCLEAN, the Waterbury Clean Environment Action Network, and they are developing a proposal to transform the Anamet site into a green jobs training center with a neighborhood park and a large community garden.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb17l3BbpljpwnzcX2m5ibLZaEdlr_MN7XwrYkmfU7XnNeFoy1zBM0tR6lusoiA7buSpzt-QryV-v3BViTjT6ApCnjhO_GG75W-UU1RW4KkHDzTsEGx43vgUfdBgp4yP9J8_vgumH7SdH1/s1600/Building+1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465380659077783170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb17l3BbpljpwnzcX2m5ibLZaEdlr_MN7XwrYkmfU7XnNeFoy1zBM0tR6lusoiA7buSpzt-QryV-v3BViTjT6ApCnjhO_GG75W-UU1RW4KkHDzTsEGx43vgUfdBgp4yP9J8_vgumH7SdH1/s400/Building+1.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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After fierce and near unanimous community opposition forced Chestnut Hill BioEnergy to withdraw its plans to build an energy plant, Schrag and WCLEAN contacted the owner in California to see how receptive he was to alternative ideas.<br />
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“We had a conference call with the owner and he assured us he is open to exploring other ideas for his property,” Schrag said. “It was a good first step.”<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7FF6Dtaj-rWrbUt0axRbBFClOPYbL_vJt7dhacYaeNHpfcSUToAIBoISY1_cPeasllxjNxLh2mf5N1gCge7ldlYd5g1vVRJAftBYzk5p1r4njz_0rONKbbECrP-P8RT0YihOXNbIdXOu4/s1600/River+view+2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465381077119484578" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7FF6Dtaj-rWrbUt0axRbBFClOPYbL_vJt7dhacYaeNHpfcSUToAIBoISY1_cPeasllxjNxLh2mf5N1gCge7ldlYd5g1vVRJAftBYzk5p1r4njz_0rONKbbECrP-P8RT0YihOXNbIdXOu4/s400/River+view+2.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 266px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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The group then gathered information that might help transform the abandoned site into a 21st Century training center where workers can learn to install solar panels, maintain and operate fuel cell generators, become energy auditors, and learn about the lengthy process of brownfield remediation. Schrag said the center would be regional in scope and focus on unemployed and displaced workers.<br />
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“The #1 issue in the state isn’t our budget,” Schrag said, “it’s jobs. People aren’t working, so they’re not buying things and not paying taxes. We have to do something different, because what we’re doing isn’t effective.”<br />
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Schrag recently received the “Tony Mazzocchi” award from the Occupational Health Section of the American Public Health Association at the Association’s annual meeting in Philadelphia. The national recognition was based on his extensive and innovative work training health and safety educators and partnering with community and environmental groups, resulting in improved health through prevention. <br />
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The press release announcing Schrag’s award said, “A dedicated worker trainer, Schrag has conducted workshops, seminars and conferences for more than 11,000 workers since 1985. Formerly the Eastern Region health and safety coordinator for the Service Employees International Union, he now works with 1199-SEIU in New York, where he has developed a network of 75 worker trainers. He is currently developing a “green” jobs leadership training to ensure that health and safety is included in all aspects of the new green economy.” <br />
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WCLEAN’s work has been inspired by a Green Jobs Training Center in Philadelphia that transformed a Civil War uniform factory into a state of the art training center for green jobs. Part of WCLEAN’s concept revolves around the creation of a business incubator that will help launch small business in the region, and help transition the Naugatuck Valley into a sustainable green economy,<br />
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“Waterbury has 40 Brownfield sites,” Schrag said. “Why can’t Waterbury be the leader in cleaning up brownfields in this part of the state. We can be the leader in the valley by taking liabilities and making them assets.”<br />
The idea is to take an old brownfield and make it green.<br />
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“What a wonderful metaphor for a new Waterbury,” Schrag said. “Training is the key. We need to train people to do environmental remediation and solar installations. China is making most of the solar panels, but they have to be installed and repaired here. Who is going to perform those jobs?”<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6YAp8lTSQeh8XWoLYbniVotTSeaC2bkILnv4g1Y2VUgv5J0FBMZUQnCFzR4Q2VTy8-V_AQdX8wF4CwEZC1QnHYQ17RH3XQs1Gy0S8IetREpqNvBSJHGmN-6rHV0MgbvShldZCuov5HHFJ/s1600/Solar+panel+workers.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465388861352198354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6YAp8lTSQeh8XWoLYbniVotTSeaC2bkILnv4g1Y2VUgv5J0FBMZUQnCFzR4Q2VTy8-V_AQdX8wF4CwEZC1QnHYQ17RH3XQs1Gy0S8IetREpqNvBSJHGmN-6rHV0MgbvShldZCuov5HHFJ/s400/Solar+panel+workers.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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Another concept WCLEAN is exploring is the creation of an urban farm on a portion of the 17 acres that would allow residents in the South End to grow their own food in the summer. Additionally, there is money set aside from a settlement with First Light that is earmarked for the creation of a park in the South End.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSw1pIfpx2PwrB_fETSohSDC9Gbi0xMDVs5El9AYWj5s0Vto99SObq4ClPfmoG0TdBZkBH4dIKli9ZEl-fI8Sdp3r5HXUrJBz5Y-YiERVlyScE5z6WaTaNvpC4IsucCLDHgTyg3x5WOdUz/s1600/community-garden.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465388475886639426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSw1pIfpx2PwrB_fETSohSDC9Gbi0xMDVs5El9AYWj5s0Vto99SObq4ClPfmoG0TdBZkBH4dIKli9ZEl-fI8Sdp3r5HXUrJBz5Y-YiERVlyScE5z6WaTaNvpC4IsucCLDHgTyg3x5WOdUz/s400/community-garden.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 270px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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“Why not build a park next to the Greenway along the Naugatuck River?” Schrag said. “It could serve both the South End and Brooklyn neighborhoods.”<br />
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Schrag proposes to work with NVCC, Post College and UConn in a collaboration. He has contacted the Yale School of Forestry and he has spoken with Cathy Awwad at Workforce Connection. The idea has been endorsed by the Waterbury Neighborhood Council, and WCLEAN is trying to set up a meeting with the state delegation to pitch the idea to them.<br />
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“This is not a quick process,” Schrag said. “This may take a few years to get going, but we have to start. Everybody says this is a great idea, but they want to know where the money is.”<br />
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Ahh, the money, and to that there is no easy answer.<br />
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WCLEAN is looking into the possibility of a public-private partnership with Waterbury where the city purchases the property and WCLEAN will develop it, and transform it into a training center and business incubator. <br />
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“We are considering many options at this point,” Schrag said. “And we know the key is to have this project economically sustainable.”<br />
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Schrag has met with Hank Paine to discuss the possibility of launching the training center in the vacant 120,000 square foot Howland-Hughes Building. which would provide the project a toe-hold as the Anamet site gets cleaned up and developled.<br />
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Schrag has met with Craig Russell, the executive director of the Loyola Project in the South End. Loyola is trying to revitalize a several block square around St. Anne’s Church that is blighted and boarded up. Loyola has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in seed money from city taxapyers to launch it’s initiative, and Schrag said there might be possible collaboration opportunities bewteen WCLEAN and Loyola.<br />
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“It’s all part of the same puzzle,” Schrag said. “Drive up and down South Main Street and it looks like Berlin after WW II. If we can get this to work it would be a great project for the South End, and we would create jobs that people could walk to.”<br />
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Schrag believes the city can purchase the property for $1.4 million, and WCLEAN is cobbling together a detailed plan to seek brownfield funding. “This is not going to be easy,” Schrag said, “but nothing worthwhile ever is.”<br />
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Waterbury lost the brass industry 30 years ago, and for many in the city, we lost our direction. Schrag belives Waterbury must have a vision for its future, and it’s critical city leaders develop one quickly - because brass is not coming back.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWUnPiTHmd8Dz_hcO-uvClf-BbvsMPCncioPr8xV6-KMU-oI53ln29SSEPbx0UppOfUElVL8Yu7dkkT_2s8zVHqNfI7m7Mvm0CIl2rsPYNJObVaiAqJdgwWEAQlQ-bNjLds8yMXNLdSgHq/s1600/old+equipment.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465381335174521554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWUnPiTHmd8Dz_hcO-uvClf-BbvsMPCncioPr8xV6-KMU-oI53ln29SSEPbx0UppOfUElVL8Yu7dkkT_2s8zVHqNfI7m7Mvm0CIl2rsPYNJObVaiAqJdgwWEAQlQ-bNjLds8yMXNLdSgHq/s400/old+equipment.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 266px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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Schrag moved to Waterbury in 1980. “In the past 30 years Santopietro gave us a $100 million dollars in bricks along East Main Street, and the state invested $200 million in the Palace, UConn and the Magnet Arts School. This is not economic development,” Schrag said. “What did we buy with the $300 million? Where are the jobs? We still have the highest unemployment in the state.”<br />
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While seated inside the Barnes and Noble Cafe, Schrag admidted that the clean-up of Scovill’s and the construction of the Brass Mill Mall was significant, However, “when you look at the mall, how many good jobs are here? Maybe fifty. There are lots of service jobs that pay minimum wage, but where are the jobs that can give you dignity and let you move ahead in life?”<br />
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It’s the abscense of good jobs in Waterbury that drives Steve Schrag to pursue WCLEAN’s mission for a training center, and what better way to do it than have the community solve its own crisis.<br />
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“We can’t just put a worm on the hook and try to catch a big fish,” Schrag said. “Every community in the state is trying to catch that same fish. But if we scratch at the earth, plant and grow corn, we’ll be different. I would much rather farm than fish.”<br />
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And it’s a nod to our storied history that inspires Schrag.<br />
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“This is how the brass industry developed here,” he said. “We didn’t have an economic development agency back then. We don’t need some developer flying in here with some grand idea. Our answer should be organic, and should come from within. Brass happened in Waterbury from the ground up, why can’t this?”<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWVqcWAf-qlBKsnx71i2xb1xiMyhjVNP-P2GkgeD6Ech5tC41Qrbb_J-wQ5GH_zXJz4USOiVQQQEj3nmWJWUr1YXqFlkhEub0m_ncvWbO47mDtBauCpClqjFVF_sIKw-xzHcY2255NTazN/s1600/River+view.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465381985598707362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWVqcWAf-qlBKsnx71i2xb1xiMyhjVNP-P2GkgeD6Ech5tC41Qrbb_J-wQ5GH_zXJz4USOiVQQQEj3nmWJWUr1YXqFlkhEub0m_ncvWbO47mDtBauCpClqjFVF_sIKw-xzHcY2255NTazN/s400/River+view.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 260px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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Schrag’s son Aaron is graduating from UConn this Spring and is headed to NYC to accept an accounting job.<br />
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“I would love it if Aaron could find a great job here in Waterbury,” Schrag said, “but there are no incentives for college graduates to come home. For what?”<br />
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This reality drives Schrag to work even harder to change the landscape in Waterbury.<br />
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“Why should kids stay in school and graduate? They don’t see anything for them. They’ll end up in service jobs whether they drop out or graduate, so what’s the difference? We have to create different options for the youth of this city. We need to fight for good jobs. The most important issues facing Waterbury is the unemployment rate and the dropout rate. They are not unconnected. We have to provide high school students in Waterbury an incentive to stay in school and graduate. And the best way to do that is to create good jobs.”</div>John Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330863409275028247noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959311154355211412.post-60044160119227348602010-02-27T19:32:00.006-05:002011-01-22T15:49:48.478-05:00The Full Monti<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">{The following profile was published in December 2009 in the Long Island Business News. It is a profile of Don Monti, who is the CEO of Renaissance Downtowns, who is looking to set up shop in Waterbury)<br />
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The Full Monti<br />
by Ambrose Clancy<br />
Published: December 4, 2009<br />
Long Island Business News<br />
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Don Monti is in a hurry.<br />
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By his count, the development world has spent the last 60 years screwing things up, and now, somewhere north of 60 himself, he’s on a crusade to fix it all and fix it fast.<br />
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No more sprawling suburbs and the shopping meccas on which they feed. An end to the single-family, picket-fenced, ticky-tacky boxes in which post-war America boomed.<br />
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“That model isn’t broken, it’s shattered,” Monti said on the run, a favored form of communication. “We have to stop being afraid of the ‘u’ word and the ‘r’ word. Urban and rental. Get over it.”<br />
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The gospel according to Monti is smart growth – walkable, high-density downtowns with apartments above shops close to public transportation.<br />
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It means building up rather than horizontally, finding salvation by mixing the commercial with the residential. It also means encouraging galleries, boutiques and restaurants to set up shop; allowing spaces where culture can grow organically.<br />
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His passion and energy has won his company, Plainview’s Renaissance Downtowns, development deals in New Hampshire, Connecticut and here on the Island.<br />
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That same passion has won him admirers. An equal number can’t stand him.<br />
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Praised by economic development directors as a visionary and honored by planning groups, his passion has also sparked a police investigation over a death threat.<br />
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There are developers who dislike him simply because he’s beaten them on projects, while others believe his ideas are hyped-up hogwash and unworkable.<br />
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“Don Monti has good ideas, but I hope you live long enough to see the projects completed,” said developer Jerry Wolkoff, who is working on his own smart-growth project, redeveloping the former Pilgrim State psychiatric complex.<br />
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“It’s not that other developers throw rocks at Don,” said Eric Alexander, executive director of Vision Long Island, a leading smart-growth advocacy group. “It’s that they want to pull the rocks out from under him.”<br />
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The seeds of Monti’s discontent<br />
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To get a feel for what triggered Monti’s reformation, you need only take a quick spin around Long Island and peek at the family portfolio.<br />
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For 35 years, he had a center seat at the big table, serving as developer, contractor or consultant on more than 100 projects, many of them huge, car-centric developments that sprawled in all directions and emphasized private as opposed to public spaces.<br />
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“For 60 years developers made money, banks made money,” he said. “But we got it wrong.”<br />
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Monti was seven when his family moved from Brooklyn’s Cropsey Avenue out to Wantagh, a few stops east of Levittown, the buckle on suburbia’s belt.<br />
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Another wing of the family owns the fashionable Crest Hollow Country Club, but the Wantagh Montis were builders. So after lettering in baseball, basketball and football at Levittown High, Monti gave college a pass, impatient to get into the business.<br />
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It didn’t take him long to get started. Just a few years out of high school, he developed an indoor tennis center and travel agency in North Merrick, the first of a long string of projects that would include hotels, housing developments and two dozen shopping centers.<br />
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Back in the day, Long Island’s master builder was Robert Moses, a man who never saw a bag of cement he didn’t immediately fall in love with. As New York’s development czar, Moses spent billions facilitating the Manhattan migration, laying down roads in lieu of a modern rail transit system, etching the Island with an expressway and six parkways, then building massive interchanges to connect them all.<br />
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The young Monti saw the future clearly, and that was paving over scrub and sand, and letting steel, glass and concrete rise up next to all those thruways.<br />
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And for more than 30 years, it was all good. Good for Monti, good for Long Island, good for pretty much everyone.<br />
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It was the kind of development people wanted right up until the time they didn’t want it anymore.<br />
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Knocking heads in Glen Cove<br />
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For Monti, the “kick in the head” revelation of the future came in 2003. He’d jumped into the byzantine political process of revitalizing Glen Cove’s waterfront and selected a prominent New York City architectural firm to design – what else? – a high-end development full of sequestered Montmansions.<br />
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“They came back to me and said, ‘If you want a gatehouse and cul-de-sacs, we’re not going to do it,’” Monti said.<br />
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Public space was the future, his architects said. Developers had to think inclusion rather than seclusion. It was the right thing to do. And it was where the market was heading.<br />
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By 2006, Monti was back with a new plan to clean up the 50-acre Glen Cove site, a former munitions complex that was poster-child perfect for the term “brownfield.” There had been one other important change: Ralph Suozzi had taken over as Glen Cove’s mayor.<br />
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To say Monti and Suozzi were incompatible is a wild understatement. “They can’t stand each other,” said a reporter who covered the development meetings.<br />
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The mayor didn’t return several phone calls requesting an interview for this piece. But it’s no stretch to say he thought Monti and his team, including developer Michael Posillico, were stubborn, unqualified and in over their heads on reclaiming the contaminated parcel.<br />
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That September, Monti was up in front of Mayor Suozzi and the city council, pitching his new plan of open space and mixed use, a Mystic-style community that would include four 16-story towers with a hotel and condos.<br />
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The meeting was raucous. Civic organizations and the mayor opposed the height and density of the project. Some worried the hotel was a bait-and-switch hustle to make way for more residential units.<br />
According to one onlooker, the atmosphere was poisonous. Monti was visibly angry at all the opposition and everyone else was “rude and outrageous.”<br />
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Monti, in full pitch, was finally interrupted by Mayor Suozzi and informed that his time was up. At that point, according to a resident who later went to the police, Monti muttered, “He’s a dead man.”<br />
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Monti denies having said anything, and the police investigation went nowhere. The cops did guard the mayor’s house that night, however. The resident, police said, was a credible witness who was within a foot of Monti at the time of the alleged remark.<br />
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Suozzi said he didn’t hear anything during the commotion of the meeting. But, he noted, “When there’s a lot of money at stake, like in this project, you never know what could happen.”<br />
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So, the end of Monti’s dreams of redeveloping Glen Cove? Not exactly.<br />
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At the urging of Suozzi, developer Scott Rechler joined the Monti team, and the project recently cleared zoning approval. When Rechler and Monti met with Suozzi, Monti brought along an eraser, a symbol that he wanted to make peace.<br />
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Monti now describes his relationship with the mayor as cordial.<br />
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From villain to visionary<br />
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The target population for Monti’s new downtowns is a combination of millennials and boomers. Fifty percent of both generations express a desire to live in a walkable, downtown setting, according to the Long Island Index.<br />
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“This begins to solve Long Island’s brain drain,” Monti said. “There’s nothing for young people on Long Island today. Nothing.”<br />
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Statistics back him up: 65 percent of 18- to 34-year-old Long Islanders are likely to pull up stakes in the next five years, according to a recent Long Island Index survey.<br />
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With the region’s work force taking its talents elsewhere, economic disaster looms, Monti warns.<br />
Nashua, N.H., has green-lighted Monti’s vision, choosing Renaissance as a “designated preferred developer” over several local companies for a riverfront project.<br />
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Thomas Galligani, economic development director for Nashua, said Monti blew the competition out of the water when he came on the scene.<br />
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“Don’s a visionary, and he’s certainly a salesman, but that’s what our project needs,” Galligani said. “In this economy we need ambition and positive vision.”<br />
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Local developers had said they would buy property from the city but wanted to proceed cautiously because of the economy.<br />
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“They just wanted to sit on it,” Galligani said. “Don wants to develop it.”<br />
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Two Connecticut communities, Waterbury and Bristol, have also signed on for Monti-styled redevelopments.<br />
Monti’s 100-mile-an-hour, sole-man-in-charge style is an act of war for civic associations and officials who rely on visioning sessions and charettes, in which entire communities come together in the planning process.<br />
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“I don’t believe charette is a dirty word,” Monti said, “but have planners do what they’re trained to do and not what they’re told to do.”<br />
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Monti said he’s patient, but only to a point. When he presents his ideas he realizes Renaissance Downtowns is being closely, and often slowly, analyzed.<br />
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“But I grade municipalities too, and if you don’t have the political will to lead, well, let me just say I’m sought after all over the country.”<br />
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Robert Freudenberg, senior Long Island planner with the Regional Plan Association, has seen Monti’s pitch and gives it mixed grades.<br />
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“His act is good and he is saying a lot of what we agree with,” said Freudenberg, who also doesn’t disagree with Monti’s ambition to let professional planners lead rather than follow. “But you have to have a community approach to planning,” he said.<br />
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Hempstead Town Councilwoman Dorothy Goosby said Monti’s ideas about millennials and boomers living happily ever after in revitalized downtowns can exclude the African-American and Latino communities.<br />
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“They’ll make rents in these places so high many people can’t afford to live there,” Goosby said. “I don’t see it working on Long Island.”<br />
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Monti counters by saying his vision is for everyone. Well, everyone who decides to stay.<br />
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“Everyone is leaving Long Island, not just one group,” he said. “I’ve spent millions of dollars and will continue to spend millions until my message of change is heard.”<br />
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With that, Monti is on the run once more, fielding questions as he goes. How does he unwind, he’s asked. He doesn’t seem to understand the question at first, but then catches on. He says he has a boat berthed out in Greenport.<br />
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“I go out on it,” he said, “and I plan what I’m going to do next.”<br />
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(Editor's note - Leo Frank, the executive director of the Waterbury Development Corporation, e-mailed the Observer a copy of the following letter written by Glen Cove mayor Ralph Suozzi, in response to the article in the Long Island Business News)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsH7HpsNnVDdy3VkQS9nrnQtK78zWoWQn2UOs3zdqdADCkHB4xrTjdEIU5Tx9ccdmK_kU5h9XeRTlnTWHmOMDqmRwZlRzUFDwvPiWCC_Cwe7AOay-0EUUC41T9KCJbgLi4BoqZUY3kVs8v/s1600-h/Letter+from+mayor.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443759570570864274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsH7HpsNnVDdy3VkQS9nrnQtK78zWoWQn2UOs3zdqdADCkHB4xrTjdEIU5Tx9ccdmK_kU5h9XeRTlnTWHmOMDqmRwZlRzUFDwvPiWCC_Cwe7AOay-0EUUC41T9KCJbgLi4BoqZUY3kVs8v/s400/Letter+from+mayor.png" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 309px;" /></a></div>John Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330863409275028247noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959311154355211412.post-76455390579439385592010-02-14T08:01:00.024-05:002011-01-22T15:50:12.177-05:00The Fire<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-style: italic;"> Angry At A System They Trusted To Help Find Their Missing Son, Jan and Bill Smolinski Seek Federal Reform</span> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZtDcS3j1opHrhU9Dy9tfjSy2khBX565WmHVToy8vOEQYhGDr7MwVPgmzWwOobmNTsoH4R-XUonPTNGHPnsTj5r5BEbYeTWukcCmq7MK4SR0S6PvwIrHQTo4wut1r97qtWOOWrmpYZOsL/s1600-h/Jan+and+Bill+capitol+web.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438089026998877938" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZtDcS3j1opHrhU9Dy9tfjSy2khBX565WmHVToy8vOEQYhGDr7MwVPgmzWwOobmNTsoH4R-XUonPTNGHPnsTj5r5BEbYeTWukcCmq7MK4SR0S6PvwIrHQTo4wut1r97qtWOOWrmpYZOsL/s400/Jan+and+Bill+capitol+web.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 342px;" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Story and Photographs<br />
By John Murray</span><br />
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Fire makes steel.<br />
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For Jan and Bill Smolinski a fire of angst and pain engulfed their lives after their 31 year old son Billy vanished six years ago. The fire is so hot it could shatter friendships and destroy their marriage, Left alone, the fire would consume them.<br />
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The Smolinskis chose to redirect the fire - the energy - to use it as a tool to reform the tattered system that betrayed them during their desperate search to find their son. When Billy disappeared in August 2004 the Smolinskis believed the local police would work hard to find Billy.<br />
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They were wrong.<br />
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Billy was a vigorously fit 31 year old man, and like thousands of adult missing person cases across the country, the local police responded as if Billy had vanished by choice. It took nearly two years for the Smolinskis to convince the Waterbury Police Department that something terribly wrong had happened to Billy, and by that time clues were lost, DNA mishandled, and the man widely suspected of murdering their son was dead of a drug overdose.<br />
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A group of law enforcement officers from Seymour, Shelton and Waterbury are working with the FBI and the Connecticut State Police to crack the case, and leads continue to point towards Seymour as the place Billy was murdered, and buried. Divers have scoured along the banks of the Housatonic River, backhoes have clawed at the earth, and search dogs have canvassed miles of suspected terrain in an effort to find Billy Smolinski.<br />
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When the ground thaws there are new leads to follow in the spring, and both Jan and Bill Smolinski are committed to bringing their son home. “We are not giving up,” Jan said. “How could we?”<br />
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There are tens of thousands of families across America feeling the same pain, the same fire, that rages inside the Smolinskis. Right now there are 110,000 missing people in this country, many like Billy Smolinski, who have been murdered.<br />
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There are many remarkable things about Bill and Jan Smolinski, but perhaps the most remarkable thing has been their effort to reform the broken system that failed them. They have fought to have the laws changed in Connecticut, they helped reform missing person investigations inside the Waterbury Police Department, and in January they travelled to Washington D.C. to testify in front of Congress.<br />
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No reform will bring their son back to them - they accept that - what they refuse to accept is a system that treats missing adults as second class citizens, and national DNA data banks tangled in so much bureaucracy that they can’t communicate with one another.<br />
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The Smolinskis went to Congressman Chris Murphy and he crafted a bill that would address the gaping holes in the system, it is called Billy’s Law. Janice Smolinski testified at a hearing in front of Congress on January 21st, and Billy’s Law is expected to go to the floor of the House of Representitives for a vote in late February.<br />
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The following is a photo essay of the Smolinskis three day trip to Washington D.C.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjU1y5blaGRmq9ffJjbZG0z_zfcgP7WMLOQ8EB6XDoX3O3QUe5aa2I31DtTKd_fftbQ7KPQHRrg2iv6wmuc5Sg5TdWu0vc8tOqJ7kxVtq1AvQwGalAlh3z5nUcg2LlHxO8sbzEwYrrSDaJ/s1600-h/White+House+(bw)+web.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438089671916744114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjU1y5blaGRmq9ffJjbZG0z_zfcgP7WMLOQ8EB6XDoX3O3QUe5aa2I31DtTKd_fftbQ7KPQHRrg2iv6wmuc5Sg5TdWu0vc8tOqJ7kxVtq1AvQwGalAlh3z5nUcg2LlHxO8sbzEwYrrSDaJ/s400/White+House+(bw)+web.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Hours after arriving in Washington D.C., Jan and Bill Smolinski were thrilled to walk past the White House and take a late night hike along the National Mall.<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXxmZYwDP7VRngOkZl2X858JExFEkB8vJ4Ke79HJhBZ-JFZ-x2tHUk9PI-f5hOA_MLFUyWCQp2ksjd3_8kMt2Q24CYoF82tx5-wulTGDUga8ux6yA3wGfxPuAAGYjDNfg0sNzFfr_Pst1f/s1600-h/Bill+and+protester+(BW+web).jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438090169057684946" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXxmZYwDP7VRngOkZl2X858JExFEkB8vJ4Ke79HJhBZ-JFZ-x2tHUk9PI-f5hOA_MLFUyWCQp2ksjd3_8kMt2Q24CYoF82tx5-wulTGDUga8ux6yA3wGfxPuAAGYjDNfg0sNzFfr_Pst1f/s400/Bill+and+protester+(BW+web).jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 270px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">The Smolinskis were awed by an peace vigil across the street from the White House that has been continued around the clock (by just three individuals) for 29 straight years. Bill is pictured above making a donation.<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzJhy7YAEofQ7V2uUeIT0O5uHvWwVnnVenT9hHo6Ki9UWG_ZBYajoYQm47Uaw8Bb8pZS76whN9cioX3hCWC_Jwlavc9HOQbcPg2Rowmgrw5D26p_XVzX69sie8IYVr7pVlLylpcFjZtdx5/s1600-h/Bill+Supreme+Court+(bw)+web.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438090529109157906" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzJhy7YAEofQ7V2uUeIT0O5uHvWwVnnVenT9hHo6Ki9UWG_ZBYajoYQm47Uaw8Bb8pZS76whN9cioX3hCWC_Jwlavc9HOQbcPg2Rowmgrw5D26p_XVzX69sie8IYVr7pVlLylpcFjZtdx5/s400/Bill+Supreme+Court+(bw)+web.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 255px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 360px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">The Smolinskis had never been to Washington D.C. before, and Bill Smolinski worked his digital camera hard. Pictured above he is photographing the U.S. Supreme Court.<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7rFYeEI_yNs0xFhZYgALfvGD8Gs9X8y9RkbnI73U26swxyBR_Pk0kmWdDNx4QB5m7588gGmk4HzESbQY_fSo8LXm9UOQuVvyTHK6QuYSuEV9WzV2LwgO3bjJmytggDHaYeh8fVI_-aZY6/s1600-h/Linda+Forman+(bw)+web.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438090859762307698" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7rFYeEI_yNs0xFhZYgALfvGD8Gs9X8y9RkbnI73U26swxyBR_Pk0kmWdDNx4QB5m7588gGmk4HzESbQY_fSo8LXm9UOQuVvyTHK6QuYSuEV9WzV2LwgO3bjJmytggDHaYeh8fVI_-aZY6/s400/Linda+Forman+(bw)+web.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Linda Forman, a legislative aide to Congressman Chris Murphy, left, has been hammering out the details of “Billy’s Law” for the past year. Forman, and Murphy’s chief of staff, Francis Creighton, worked closely with Janice Smolinski to prepare her for her five minute testimony in front of the Homeland Security sub-committee. Pictured at the right is Kristen Bossi, who is Congressman Murphy’s deputy chief of staff, and media relations specialist.<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgE_iVSA3Q8lFq4uSQHoh7h6LutfhqlZgtCOAskcEruuBl4rsikCc3x7Ep9W9BK3XJzquuVokSEuwDR7TAQ8RMZWJXfFUCfNKiRflycF7mCsp9RuXSWQ5uPI5jYmc2MQ_8y9vpqJ84yUM-/s1600-h/Jan+and+Bill+Linda+BW+web.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438091281261207442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgE_iVSA3Q8lFq4uSQHoh7h6LutfhqlZgtCOAskcEruuBl4rsikCc3x7Ep9W9BK3XJzquuVokSEuwDR7TAQ8RMZWJXfFUCfNKiRflycF7mCsp9RuXSWQ5uPI5jYmc2MQ_8y9vpqJ84yUM-/s400/Jan+and+Bill+Linda+BW+web.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">The day before the hearing Linda Forman helped prep Janice for her testimony. The speech was read and timed five times. Words were cut out, new ones added, and Jan became so familiar with the text that she could have recited it in her sleep. Bill was the rock she leaned on, and when the testimony was over, he said “I’m really proud of her. She’s tough. She’s a fighter, and she’s never giving up.”<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcx2nQ1_WQgIZr5Luw_ATI3TkwNaOby2TH4GVZk2rz5Xg5lz3HSOdobDHxizFn3Q0wEHhjzLv54OkjUs2diD3LEHZaVJvMYN-tU-lQxv199GhE-NmkwxPYqTxd4D8g2GNpxz_BqY7crZoY/s1600-h/Testifying+overview+bw+web.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438091777827833922" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcx2nQ1_WQgIZr5Luw_ATI3TkwNaOby2TH4GVZk2rz5Xg5lz3HSOdobDHxizFn3Q0wEHhjzLv54OkjUs2diD3LEHZaVJvMYN-tU-lQxv199GhE-NmkwxPYqTxd4D8g2GNpxz_BqY7crZoY/s400/Testifying+overview+bw+web.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">During the hearing the Quilt of Hope was displayed in the front of the room. The quilt is comprised of individual panels made by families of missing people from around the country. Often the panels have photographs and clothing of the missing person incorporated into the square. The project was launched by Janice Smolinski two years ago.<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio9O1W-C9cAacpuGey2BAIb-KsQLv0EJOmtLXV9nyWTCOfjbtejN1lkLqtE735v558tB-XmIcYwxD9tqPTnrpLn1ZCmGFNBjuzBefYcCvlugagaCijSWIsL_hBNWKvLJW64g8jlPxeM2aJ/s1600-h/Murphy+and+Smolinskis(bw)+web.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438092099600450850" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio9O1W-C9cAacpuGey2BAIb-KsQLv0EJOmtLXV9nyWTCOfjbtejN1lkLqtE735v558tB-XmIcYwxD9tqPTnrpLn1ZCmGFNBjuzBefYcCvlugagaCijSWIsL_hBNWKvLJW64g8jlPxeM2aJ/s400/Murphy+and+Smolinskis(bw)+web.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Congressman Murphy, right, didn’t immediately grasp the enormity of the problem facing the country - 40,000 unidentified dead and 110,000 missing. But once it clicked in, he has championed the cause and led the fight for legislative reform.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0qUUx_Z7F6XmxsOg1G1hd4kB3ht-P6Esoso-vQ0LcldMWoiioo6Z0-LKO3qEyojZNFF6nTMpWy7fIHYTIuUeNRyiaOB7YIomp3KMESoSD18BngZtXmXgXphJKq6U-tajV7HfW9HmqqbMD/s1600-h/Halls+of+congress+bw+web.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438092402894111906" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0qUUx_Z7F6XmxsOg1G1hd4kB3ht-P6Esoso-vQ0LcldMWoiioo6Z0-LKO3qEyojZNFF6nTMpWy7fIHYTIuUeNRyiaOB7YIomp3KMESoSD18BngZtXmXgXphJKq6U-tajV7HfW9HmqqbMD/s400/Halls+of+congress+bw+web.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 360px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Cruising through the vast halls of Congress gave the Smolinskis a great workout. They are pictured above walking with Linda Forman through the Cannon Building, where Chris Murphy’s office is.<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0etYommqymXZJOUQCTUHJkIxqZii57ldxieISeDadgLu-DZTGhOJSEQxgjZUtmjVbKq_-h1QK7mMGzJLSR37selAPMgFyn1ShR4WHIEjmTaIH6KkykIq1Xp6bgaI4UFl020trSKKFqtTq/s1600-h/Murphy's+office+(bw)web.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438093396143383826" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0etYommqymXZJOUQCTUHJkIxqZii57ldxieISeDadgLu-DZTGhOJSEQxgjZUtmjVbKq_-h1QK7mMGzJLSR37selAPMgFyn1ShR4WHIEjmTaIH6KkykIq1Xp6bgaI4UFl020trSKKFqtTq/s400/Murphy's+office+(bw)web.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 286px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">After the hearing Congressman Murphy and Janice Smolinski talked with the media back in Connecticut on a conference call. Murphy is pumped up that Billy’s Law is flying through the House of Represntitives. “In six months this has moved very fast,” Murphy said. “Legislation around here usually takes years, We hope to have this on the President’s desk by the end of the year.” The bill would allot $60 million dollars in incentives for police training on DNA, science and technology, and fix the national data banks<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWB_kwIKKmNVW1kN3bABRSw5MqdAez_vfT6D69gScH-uUVIgODgApSeWTeVO-eHG7emk-RvfsDtdnxijW_JJMNvbcyopkORzjDXQA3qQUvQi6xnbqWDmP9kLM5iL26GcrX_aVVzL9y3UCr/s1600-h/jan+nbc+2+(bw)web.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438093737852838834" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWB_kwIKKmNVW1kN3bABRSw5MqdAez_vfT6D69gScH-uUVIgODgApSeWTeVO-eHG7emk-RvfsDtdnxijW_JJMNvbcyopkORzjDXQA3qQUvQi6xnbqWDmP9kLM5iL26GcrX_aVVzL9y3UCr/s400/jan+nbc+2+(bw)web.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Janice had to go over to NBC studios for an interview with the Connecticut affliate after the hearing was over. With the U.S, Capitol as a backdrop, Janice answered questions for five minutes until it was time to head back on the Metro to the hotel five miles away, and then the six hour drive back home.<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV7t-MTCZufywIP5iR-bP0ihvXWkMaEwaUJibrhObP3DNvKMHoiMQGytAR1te5lDbFenH1brKm-xWsfNuwZ0PIpYcdrsA13Yc1y-vZTN2OTzpDQtnug0XPPDSwJhmteaz3_40E_FC6Ng6Q/s1600-h/Murphy+and+Poe+shake+bw+web.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438094013401653890" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV7t-MTCZufywIP5iR-bP0ihvXWkMaEwaUJibrhObP3DNvKMHoiMQGytAR1te5lDbFenH1brKm-xWsfNuwZ0PIpYcdrsA13Yc1y-vZTN2OTzpDQtnug0XPPDSwJhmteaz3_40E_FC6Ng6Q/s400/Murphy+and+Poe+shake+bw+web.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Congressman Murphy shakes hands with Congressman Ted Poe of Texas moments after the hearing concluded. Murphy, a Democrat, and Poe, a Republican, co-sponsored “Billy’s Law.” Murphy said he and Poe rarely agree on any issue before Congress, but Billy’s Law was non-partisan, which bodes well for its eventually passage into law.<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6iiuWmI_xzVVFaaKR1jtIv6_a6E_o73InJdH7Wg1qkdzbeTiy1NycnPwLXY0nVUBIyZu2zmQz_I2JcSwd_KvqAts6_SFnYL0DM-wTrcKP1QajfbM9lI9aLzOtp5ONXfyDk5b6NANNfz3W/s1600-h/Jan+and+Howard+Dean+web.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438094277419650770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6iiuWmI_xzVVFaaKR1jtIv6_a6E_o73InJdH7Wg1qkdzbeTiy1NycnPwLXY0nVUBIyZu2zmQz_I2JcSwd_KvqAts6_SFnYL0DM-wTrcKP1QajfbM9lI9aLzOtp5ONXfyDk5b6NANNfz3W/s400/Jan+and+Howard+Dean+web.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">After wrapping up her interview at NBC studios, Jan switched into her sneakers to make the journey back to the hotel. While sitting in the Green Room a well dressed and uber confident man walked into the room and walked up to the Smolinskis and shook their hands. They introduced themselves and he never gave his name. After he walked away Jan asked who he was. It was Howard Dean, pictured in the rear of this photograph. Dean was the front runner for the Democratic nomination for president in 2004, but Jan, who hadn't paid much attention to politics before seeking reform, had never heard of him.<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><br />
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The following speech was submitted into the official Congressional record by Janice Smolinski. The actual speech she gave in front of the Homeland Security sub-committee was trimmed down due to time constraints.<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;"> Good afternoon and thank-you Congressman Murphy, and this committee, for having the courage to tackle the tragic disconnect in our country’s effort to find 160,000 missing Americans.<br />
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Numbers as large as 160,000 are hard for most of us to get our minds around, so I’m here to testify about the details of my son’s disappearance, five years ago from Waterbury, Connecticut, in the hope that our story can shed light on this national nightmare.<br />
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We are just one of the 160,000 families of the missing who deal with uncertainty every second of our lives. The Smolinski family is not special, or remarkable in any way. We have lived most of our lives on a small farm in Naugatuck, Connecticut, and are simple, hard-working people.<br />
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My husband Bill and I are uncomfortable in the spotlight, but events beyond our control have brought us to this day. The Help Find the Missing Act has been named “Billy’s Law” in honor of our son, and it is our fondest hope that these changes will help bring answers and peace to thousands of families wrestling with the horror that stains their lives.<br />
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Living on a farm we were independent and self-sufficient, but when our son vanished we found ourselves helpless, frightened, and dependent on a system with gaping holes large enough for a herd of elephants to run through.<br />
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The best way to illustrate the problem is to simply tell the committee our story, which began five years ago on August 24th, 2004, when our 31-year-old son vanished.<br />
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Our son’s name is William Smolinski Jr., and his whole life we called him Billy. He was funny, and a bit of a goof ball, always trying to surprise us with a joke or a trick.<br />
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Billy was a hard worker who was not particularly fond of schoolwork, or classrooms. He drove a tow truck, owned a small house in the South End of Waterbury, and loved his three-year-old German Shepard, Harley.<br />
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Our nightmare began with a phone call. A neighbor called to say that Billy had left his dog unfed and locked inside his house. Billy’s truck was parked oddly in the driveway, in a spot he had never used before. We are a very close family and immediately knew something extraordinary had happened. We called the police and they told us to wait three days to see if Billy showed up, and if he didn’t, to file a missing person report.<br />
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We waited three days, filed the report, and expected the police to launch an aggressive investigation. When the police did nothing we organized our own search with family and friends and scoured riverbanks, gravel pits and places we knew that Billy loved. As the days passed we knew something terrible had happened to our son. He never would have left his dog locked up and unfed.<br />
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Never.<br />
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Something terrible had happened – we knew it - but we couldn’t get the attention of the local police department. One of the biggest issues in the world of the missing is that police officers across the country are slow to respond to the report of a missing adult.<br />
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That has to change.<br />
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How can a police officer make the assumption that every missing adult has disappeared voluntarily? How can they believe all of the missing adults willingly walked off and deserted their family and their lives? It does happen, but police are too quick to label missing adults as low priority.<br />
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Every report of a missing adult needs to be evaluated. The police need to listen to the families and follow the proper protocol of gathering information and entering it into national data banks. The key is education and training. <br />
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If investigations are done properly at the beginning and all entries are made, families will have the peace of knowing law enforcement was their friend. If the proper protocol is followed the case will be easier to solve and the price tag on that investigation could be significantly lower.<br />
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If the local police had responded to our concerns immediately, we believe the case would have been solved five years ago. But after the investigation was botched it’s taken three police departments, the Connecticut State Police and the FBI to try and piece the puzzle back together.<br />
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The price tag for these mistakes will be hundreds of thousands of dollars more than if the police had simply responded to our initial concerns.<br />
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International homicide expert Bill Hagmaier, a great leader in fighting for reform, has publicly stated that a majority of the 160,000 missing Americans aren’t just missing, they have been murdered. The quicker police respond to a report of a missing adult the better the odds of solving these violent crimes.<br />
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Reports need to be sent promptly into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), and the information of a missing person needs to be shared with police departments, medical examiners and coroners. This is not happening right now, and in rural parts of the country unidentified remains are still being cremated without gathering DNA samples first.<br />
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After reports have been filed, if the missing individual is not found, the next step is to collect DNA. A quick mouth swab from a family member will gather the DNA material needed to send to a state or federal lab that can analyze and upload that information into a national data bank.<br />
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None of this happened in our case. It took four years for the proper information to be filed with the National Crime Information Center, and the collection of DNA was incompetent. Seven separate samples were misplaced or lost by our local police department, and no one inside a 300-man police force knew anything about CODIS.<br />
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It wasn’t until the FBI took over the investigation – two years after Billy vanished - that the proper reports and DNA samples were collected and filed.<br />
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When law enforcement doesn’t have the proper training to collect DNA and upload that information into national data banks, the notion that we are living in a CSI society is a television fantasy. Training has to catch up with science and Congressman Murphy’s act will ensure that it does.<br />
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When law enforcement does not properly investigate a missing person the only recourse is for the family to do it themselves. In our case we had to organize search parties, bring in search dogs, hire private investigators and spend thousands of hours looking for Billy ourselves.<br />
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Eventually we uncovered information that led us to believe Billy had been murdered in Woodbridge, CT, and buried in Seymour, CT. We discovered that Billy was involved in a love triangle between his girlfriend and a prominent politician in Woodbridge, CT.<br />
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The last phone call Billy made was to his male rival warning him to “watch his back”.<br />
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When we tried to hang missing person flyers on telephone poles in Woodbridge, the Woodbridge police arrested me. The charge was later dropped.<br />
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A local paper published an expose on the sloppy police investigation, the love triangle, and aired out details of a drug-addicted gravedigger who might have murdered my son. The response to the story was a lawsuit filed by Billy’s ex-girlfriend, who also happened to be the mother of the gravedigger.<br />
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I have been arrested, harassed and sued for trying to find my missing son. So far I am the only person who has been arrested in this case.<br />
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None of this would have happened if the police had responded quickly to our calls for help. Instead of help we received insensitivity and callousness. Two years after Billy disappeared a high-ranking police officer told a journalist “Billy was probably having a beer in Europe, and would come home when he was ready.”<br />
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Sensitivity training is important for law enforcement officers across this country. When a family is cloaked in grief and uncertainty, the last thing they need is a verbal punch in the face from the very person they are depending on to find their loved one.<br />
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Appalled at the sluggish investigation, we confronted the Waterbury Police Department, and former chief Neil O’Leary listened to our concerns, studied the issue, and ordered mandatory training for all his officers. Reform has begun in Waterbury and in many departments around Connecticut.<br />
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But it’s not enough.<br />
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In our effort to find our son anything that could go wrong - went wrong. The system we encountered was broken. We have tried to change the system so no family has to endure the anguish we have lived through these past five years.<br />
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A missing persons family goes through hell over and over again, like they are riding a roller coaster that never ends. Uncertainty is a cancer that crushes the spirit of loved ones left behind, destroys marriages and tears at the tissue of family bonds. Only those families that continually hound the police, knock on doors, make phone calls, visit the media - when they will listen to you - make fliers, create websites, network, speak up and check on information entered into databases to make sure it was created correctly, may get some answers.<br />
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Looking for your missing loved one becomes a full time job. Stress splits families, turns some to substance abuse, creates health problems and drives people into bankruptcy from a heartache that never goes away. <br />
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How is it that someone in our society evaluates who is important enough to search for, and who isn’t? We are all God’s children.<br />
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In our search to find our son we ran head first into Pandora’s Box, and when we opened it, we unleashed the nightmare plaguing the world of the missing and the unidentified dead.<br />
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We encountered police apathy.<br />
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We learned that police training across the country is lagging years behind the advances in science and technology.<br />
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We learned that coroners and medical examiners around this country are storing 40,000 unidentified human remains.<br />
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We talked to experts who told us the unidentified dead are the missing.<br />
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We learned that by using DNA samples we could cross reference the two groups, connect the missing to the unidentified dead and help provide answers to thousands of grieving families.<br />
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We learned that national data banks don’t’ talk to each other.<br />
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Congressman Murphy’s legislation will help connect the dots in this national nightmare.<br />
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America’s sense of well being was shattered on September 11th when we tragically lost 2974 in a terrorist attack. That horror unfolded in mere hours and was seen by billions around the world. After September 11th, the need to match the missing with the unidentified dead was magnified, and the seeds were planted to create NamUs.<br />
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This legislation will take those seeds and help them grow. Congressman Murphy’s effort to address this national nightmare is long overdue, and the missing community applauds his effort. This act is named after my son, but it’s not for him, or the Smolinski family.<br />
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This act is for every American, and is the ultimate act in Homeland Security. <br />
</span></div>John Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330863409275028247noreply@blogger.com63tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959311154355211412.post-58051080602535261732009-10-15T12:29:00.007-05:002011-01-22T15:51:36.042-05:00Q&A With John Theriault<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Education and Economic Development Key To Independent Party Candidate John Theriault's Campaign</span> <br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Interview By John Murray<br />
Photographs By Michael Asaro</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer</span>: John, you seem like a nice guy. Why are you doing this to yourself?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault</span>: I am a nice guy and have a lot of respect from the community. I’ve been a lifelong resident of Waterbury and I’ve worked in the town for 32 years as a teacher and a principal. I want to give back to the town and the community what they gave to me. They gave me a good living all these years. As you develop your skills and hone your talents I think it’s time to give back. There are things going on in the city that I don’t like.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> Like what? What’s the number one thing you don’t like?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault:</span> I see a mayor who is a full-time developer and a part-time mayor. I see some wheeling and dealing going on with NETCO/Synagro down in the sewer plant. I see the mayor building buildings outside the city and recruiting businesses out of Waterbury. This erodes our tax base.<br />
I see people in Waterbury struggling with their taxes and unemployment and there is no economic development plan in place.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer</span>: So you are frustrated?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault.</span> Yes. I want to be part of the solution to the problem, I don’t want to be the problem itself. I want to offer some initiatives. I want to expose the issues. I have no desire to ever attack the mayor on a personal or family basis. The mayor has a lot of issues regarding the operation of city government that have to be addressed.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> If we can back up for a moment and address the sewage treatment plant you mentioned. What specifically are you referring too?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault:</span> NETCO turned into Snagrow and they take the waste from the sewage plant…<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer</span>: Isn’t the sewage treatment plant owned by Waterbury?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault</span>: Yes, but Sinagrow takes the waste and we pay Sinagrow to burn it. Synagrow also takes a lot of liquid waste from other places and charges to process outside waste through our facility. Then they take the waste from that and burn it. The little bit of money that we get from the outside waste, then we have to pay Sinagrow to burn it. It’s a wash, but we need this to be a profit engine for the city. We don’t need to outsource this, we need to use this as part of our economic development plan.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer</span>: Is that an example of the mayor not paying attention to the process? From the way you brought the subject up a minute ago you were making it seem like there were some shennanigans going on there.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault:</span> Well, take a look at EWR, that has now turned into Phoenix Soil and the mayor has not addressed that situation for ten years. When the case finally got into court the judge admonished the mayor for not bringing the court case further, and then he gave Phoenix Soil an extension for three more years. It has been documented and proven that this is a source of a lot of pollution within the city and it’s no mistake that the incidence of cancer in Waterbury has increased 300%.<br />
The people of Waterbury are suffering and the mayor has increased the profits in his company year after year. His company bought the old Health Department Building and sold it a year later for a million dollar profit.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> During Q&A interviews with the mayor in the last eight years we have probed into the subject of his private development projects several times and he doesn’t seem to recognize or acknowledge that many people in Waterbury are troubled by his actions. It’s not that he is doing anything illegal, but people wonder who is he serving – the taxpayers, or his own bottom line?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault:</span> Right. This is a big problem for me. I think the mayor is involved in insider trading. He knows about the land that becomes available before anyone else does. Look at the property in the East End that Kohl’s is on. He knew about that before anyone else and he grabbed that quick with his LLCs. Mike Jarjura should have no involvement with any real estate development while he is the mayor.<br />
Let’s talk about things that look unfair to the public. Take the proposed land deal between the city and Norman Drubner. The mayor is a millionaire. Norman Drubner is a millionaire. Would there be a temptation to sell it to the city and then flip it back to the mayor’s LLC. I’m not saying that is going to be done, but it is possible when you have a mayor actively involved in real estate development in Waterbury.<br />
It’s all about perception.<br />
Norman Drubner is a millionaire and he started this forest designation for his land 25 or 30 years ago. He is not doing anything illegal, but when someone who has ¼ of an acre and a two-bedroom house in Waterbury is paying $6000 in taxes, and they see Drubner paying $700 in taxes on 133 acres, it becomes an issue of fairness. Norm did absolutely nothing wrong. He took advantage of a tax break. He is a sharp businessman, but at what point do we say that it’s time to re-evaluate the property. Maybe it should be reclassified when you put a shovel in the ground, or cut a tree.<br />
I really do think the city should buy that property and make it part of Western Hills and make it a park. Then we should protect it by making sure that it could only be sold by approval in a citywide referendum. That would ensure the sanctity of the place and protect open space.<br />
People all over Waterbury should be concerned about this property. It is one of the last big open space properties that we have left. We need to look at this property from the standpoint of not increasing the burden on our system of services – the schools, the fire and the police. We need to keep this land at bay, just like we needed to keep the condo development out of Town Plot. We have resurgence in condominium proposals in Waterbury and there is a profit motive here.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> Are there other perception problems?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault:</span> The mayor and his partners built an office building just over the line in Middlebury and recruited businesses out of Waterbury to fill its space. That’s taking away from our tax base and increasing the mayor’s profits. He is asking the tax payers of Waterbury to “Do as I say, not as I do.”<br />
We are struggling here in Waterbury. Our tax base is eroding and our industrial base is gone. What we have is places like Target and Bernie’s, which do provide some jobs, but we need something more substantial, and not like First Light.<br />
(Editor’s Note – First Light is a 96-megawatt electric generator built on a Brownfield site on Washington Avenue in the South End of Waterbury)<br />
First Light really angered me. I went up to the capitol for five days to participate in the hearings, and when I finally got a chance to speak I was asked, “Are you an expert in pollution?” and I said, “No, I was a principal and a teacher and know the kids and the community.”<br />
A lawyer for First Light asked me if I had written any books about pollution. I said no, that I was there because I felt passionate about the location of the proposed plant in the South End because of its proximity to 18 schools. I said I was concerned. They dismissed me as a nobody. They weren’t looking for the concerns of someone community oriented; they were looking for an expert witness.<br />
I am not an expert witness but I have compassion and concern for the people living here in this community.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> Why were you opposed to First Light?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault:</span> Because of the pollution. When you walk down there and you see how dangerously close the generator is to the sidewalk, and how dangerously close the electro magnetic waves are to Duggan School, Washington School and St. Francis School. There will also be large amounts of ammonium stored onsite, which I think is dangerous.<br />
We did convince them to burn more natural gas than low-sulfur diesel fuel.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> Let’s switch gears. In some of your marketing material you have listed “Jobs, jobs, jobs,” as one of your priorities. It’s easy to say jobs, jobs, jobs, but how do we specifically get jobs here?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault</span>: We need an economic development plan. This is a thing that the mayor has openly admitted he has not invested too much time and money into. He said during his Q & A with the Observer two years ago that he sent the resources into the Health Department and the Public Works Department. I will put some money into creating an economic development plan and use some muscle to getting it done.<br />
What the Waterbury Development Corporation (WDC) is doing right now is not enough. We need to get the partners together at the table, the community leaders and the state organizations of economic development and sit down as a task force and come up with a specific plan.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> In theory the task force is already in place. WDC already has the neighborhood groups and stakeholders sitting at the table.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault:</span> There is a disconnect between the mayor’s office and WDC. Economic development needs to be run out of the mayor’s office, not out of WDC. The people need to come to the mayor.<br />
We have to clean the Brownfields up and make them available for economic development. If you walk around and have cancer in your body you have to get rid of it so you can be healthy. The Brownfields are like tumors in the city.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer</span>: The Brownfield clean-up funds are exhausted and the state is broke. How do you do that?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault:</span> We need to do it. We need to find ways to do it, even if we do it piecemeal. We need a systematic plan to attack the Brownfields and we don’t have one now. We need a plan.<br />
Once the Brownfields are cleaned up we have to make it easier for business to come to Waterbury and stay here and achieve their business plan.<br />
We have to clean up the Brownfields without clobbering the taxpayers in Waterbury.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> How? That becomes the rub. Cleaning the Brownfields up is like putting a big worm on a hook to try and catch industry, but how do we catch the worm?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault:</span> That’s part of it. We need to clean up the Brownfields but we have big clean industrial parks now that are only half full. We have no aggressive effort right now to go out and recruit new business here. We have no marketing in national trade magazines or trade shows. There is no initiative to go out and convince business to come to Waterbury. We are a megalopolis at a crossroads that is halfway between New York City and Boston. This has to be palatable to a lot of business and industry but we have to go convince them to take a look at us.<br />
We need to make Waterbury friendly and affordable so business can meet their goals and we can expand our tax base. If we are successfull we could actually lower taxes here. There has not been a concerted effort by this mayor to recruit new business. As mayor, you have to try to expand the tax base and the only way to do this is to develop a good sound economic development plan.<br />
At the moment we have WDC and John Rowland at the helm, and I’m sure John is trying. It must be frustrating for John in this economy, but it’s just not enough. We need to be more aggressive and take our message out to industry and to national trade shows.<br />
We could have had Jay Lestorti making cabinets at the old Anamet site. But he was driven out for political reasons, and when he did go bankrupt the mayor swooped in and bought his business right up. And who knew about that closing first?<br />
The mayor.<br />
You can’t say there isn’t some inside trading going on because these are the sorts of deals that do take place in Waterbury with this mayor.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer</span>: When John Rowland was hired to be the economic czar in Waterbury he had a lot of ideas and plans and was gaining some traction, but when the global economy crashed he had to shift gears from recruiting business to retaining business in Waterbury…<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault:</span> It has been very difficult, but we can still do more. Businesses have a business plan, we don’t have a plan right now. Last year the mayor and John Rowland announced they would have a plan for downtown Waterbury within a month. It’s 18 months later and we still don’t have a plan. We need a focused plan to give us a road map of where we want to go and plan how to get there.<br />
The location of Waterbury is ideal. Sure this is a difficult market right now, but we aren’t doing enough to reach out and make something happen.<br />
Right now we are in reaction and there isn’t very much being done at all. That has to change.<br />
Maybe John Rowland is doing a good job keeping business here, but the mayor hasn’t done a very good job of that because he moved his own business outside the city.<br />
No more lip service and promises. We need to write down a plan on paper, get as many partners involved as possible and begin to move forward.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> Okay, take me through this scenario. You are elected mayor in November and sworn into office in December. John Theriault is now mayor, what do you do?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault:</span> You’d start off by getting all the people who were on stage at the Economic Summit last year, add a few extra people and make them partners in a task force on economic development. The task force would attempt a united effort to attract business and look for money for Brownfield clean up. We need to address the problems that businesses face in relocating here, and what are the problems with the businesses that are currently here. We need to try and look at these issues in an equitable and just way and help businesses relocate here and help businesses stay here.<br />
Then we go out and aggressively market the town. Marketing is key.<br />
We can explore tax incentives but they don’t have to go out seven and eight years like they do now. First Light has a tax abatement for seven years.<br />
I believe a highly specific economic development plan is necessary and achievable. We have a commodity here that is invaluable – water. We should be aggressively seeking out water-based industry whether it is bottled water, cosmetics or circuits. Industry needs water and we have lots of it.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> Are you comfortable with the players that are here now at WDC and John Rowland as economic czar?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault:</span> This has to be a bi-partisan effort. John Rowland is not the issue and I don’t want to make him an issue. He is in there trying to do the job and help Waterbury move forward. We have a lot of good people in place right now but we need more people and a broader based initiative. We need more work on the grass roots level, the smaller guys need to be invited to the table, not just the influential.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer</span>: That’s what was so fascinating to me about the Economic Summit last year. The people on the stage; WDC, the Chamber, Main Street and the Mayor, all have a guaranteed paycheck every Friday. The people in the audience were almost all small business entrepreneurs, risk takers, and none of them have any guarantee of a specific paycheck on Friday. The small business owner is edgy and aggressive and wants action right now. They are impatient and irritated with the people on the stage who get paid whether they create results or not. Small business owners in Waterbury are disillusioned with the promise of plans. They are disgusted. Do you have any ideas for downtown?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault:</span> There is way too much rhetoric that goes on about downtown. We need to form the task force, come up with ideas and move forward. We don’t need any more words or promises, we need a plan. After we get a plan then we need weekly and monthly progress reports to monitor how we are doing. We have none of that now. We have no accountability.<br />
Downtown has the potential to be a vibrant place. With UConn, the Palace and the Magnet Arts School we have a lot already in place. But the perception remains that downtown is not a safe place. That needs to be overcome right off the bat.<br />
Observer: How do you do that?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault</span>: A police presence downtown. There are plenty of police when there is a show at the Palace Theater, but there needs to be a police presence like that all the time. We need to take vagrants and undesirable people of the streets. I’m not talking about people who have a right to be there, but the people that are walking around downtown after 11 pm doing shady things should be removed from downtown. We should be able to walk through any area of downtown without any fear of being mugged or jumped. People coming into Waterbury from Woodbury, Middlebury and Thomaston are always looking over their shoulder as they walk down the street. We need to eliminate that.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> This goes back to the perception problem we have in Waterbury. The night the Palace opened five years ago Neil O’Leary had triple the number of necessary cops in and around the theater to make people feel safe. He said it was mostly show because downtown is safe. People’s fears are unjustified.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault:</span> But we need to address this through marketing and better lighting downtown. The whole downtown needs to be better lit. The area down by Diorio’s needs to be better lit and all the arteries leading off the Green. Lighting is a huge issue. And honestly we need to have cops on the beat again. Never mind the cops in the squad cars. We used to have cops walking from telephone pole to telephone pole checking in. Now they can do that by radio.<br />
A lot of people have a negative feeling about a beat cop but they really are now just neighborhood cops. Friendly with the neighborhood, friendly with the community. Knows the neighborhood. Knows the kids. He’ll know when people are down on their luck, not arresting everybody for every little thing. He could get people off the street and get them the help they need. There is a connection and that’s where I think we need to go.<br />
We should look into re-opening the precincts we had throughout the city and getting cops out on the beat. That’s what I would do.<br />
Cops on bicycles is quite frankly an outmoded idea. We should put them on a small scooter, something motorized. I hate to see a cop over there on Long Hill pumping the bike up that steep incline. What kind of a waste is that? Give them a motorized scooter so they can get around the town faster. What would that really cost?<br />
I’ve been at a few schools over the years as a principal where I was headed downtown and a bike cop asked if he could put their bike in my car and catch a ride downtown. They didn’t want to ride from Wallace Middle School.<br />
The Waterbury Police Department has done a yeoman’s job keeping crime down.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> What do you think of the firemen as first responders?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault:</span> At first I didn’t like the idea at all. Having big, huge firetrucks responding to every call seemed dangerous, but I spoke to a dispatcher who told me this is absolutely the best thing since night football. They get there right away. They are able to save lives. And now I think we should leave it alone. It’s a good thing.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer</span>: The big question is whether the firemen need to take the big apparatus out on the road to respond to every call. Maybe if they had a few Ford Explorers it might make it safer.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault:</span> I agree. The Fire Department should still be the first responder, but maybe they should downsize the vehicle to something more manageable on the roads. The huge fire truck is many tons and we know what can happen going through busy intersections. At first I thought the firemen might be bogged down with a heart attack victim while someone’s house was on fire. I was wrong about that. It seems to be working well but we should tweak it a bit to get the firemen smaller vehicles.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> Let’s switch gears to something near and dear to your heart – education. Can you briefly explain your background in education in Waterbury?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault:</span> I was educated as an industrial engineer. I worked for Pratt and Whitney a couple of years. Then I took the intensive program for college graduates, did my student teaching in New Haven. I started teaching in Washington School and was in eight schools over the course of my 32 years. I was kind of like Palladin going around doing problem solving.<br />
I went from Washington School to Carrington, where I did my third, fourth and fifth year of teaching. Then I took the civil service test and became a teaching vice-principal, then I went down to Maloney and became the principal. The man who had been at Maloney, Jack Bergin, died of a brain tumor. He was a wonderful man and taught me a lot about compassion and working with kids from the inner city.<br />
From Maloney I went to West Side Middle School where I filed a couple of court cases against the civil service system in Waterbury. It took eight years to resolve and then I went over to the Alternative School as acting principal. Then I went to Kennedy as a high school vice principal. Then I was principal at Hopeville for ten years, then to Gilmartin and then back to Washington.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer</span>: You were really around the block.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault:</span> Yeah. Actually when I went to the Alternative School it was Ron Brodeur who recruited me. Ron was on the board and he approached me and I said “Why me?”<br />
He told me that I had three things they were looking for. He said “you’re firm, you’re fair and you’re consistent.”<br />
And that’s what kids need in terms of discipline and academics.<br />
Observer: You were inside the Education Department for 32 years and for the past six years you’ve been on the Board of Education. How would you assess what is going on in the Waterbury school system right now?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault</span>: I really think we are really, really trying. Our central office administrators – Dr. Snead, Dr. Sequira, Ann Marie Cullinan, our department heads, our teachers and our administrators are working really hard developing initiatives that not only deal with No Child Left Behind, but with our own goals.<br />
The demographics of the city is changing. We have a large minority population in our school system and a large population of poor. The socio-economic brackets that many students fall in, with the breakdown of the family, has led to very difficult problems.<br />
People ask me all the time what is the #1 problem in education is. While many people might think the answer is test scores, I think it is family values. Family values are the fertilizer of what the plant is growing in. If you can achieve family values and encourage kids to stay in school, to go to school, to tell them that school is a medium and education will serve you well in your adult life, this is an important message to give to your kids.<br />
Parents need to tell their kids that getting an education is one of the most important things they will ever do in their life. Parents need to tell kids that they will help them achieve that goal, that they will be there to support them.<br />
I tell kids to go to their parents and ask them what one thing would they do differently if they had their lives to do over again. 99% of the kids come back and say that their mother or father would go back to school and get a trade or a college education.<br />
Without a trade or a college education you are dead in the water. What happens is that if these kids don’t get the right education they look for the short way out and look to drugs and crime and end up in jail. Many of them will get addicted to alcohol or drugs and end up dying a premature death in prison. That is the reality.<br />
On the other hand if you get a trade or a college education you have a key or a fishing pole and you can lose everything and you’ll be able to start all over again because you have an education. With an education you can go on vacations and have a nice style of living. You can have a house and you can take care of your family and you’ll be respected within your community.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> The number one issue that Paul Vance banged on in the Democrat Primary was Mayor Jarjura’s lack of engagement with Education Department and the Board of Education. You’ve sat on the board these past six years. What’s your take on the mayor’s involvement?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault:</span> You have to remember that the mayor is the ex-officio member of the board of education. He comes and he breaks ties. This mayor hardly ever comes to our meetings. He’s not engaged in the educational process of what’s going on. When I am mayor I plan to attend as many board of education meetings as I can. I will participate. I will give direction.<br />
I come from the perspective of a grass roots guy who has written with chalk dust on the board. I’ve been involved with kids in the classroom and in the lunchroom and with the bus duty.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> You’ve lived the issue.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault</span>: I have. You used to see me out there all the time at Hopeville standing side by side with the crossing guard. I would go out there with my heavy jacket and gloves and my umbrella. I would occasionally pull up my car and let the crossing guard sit in it and warm up until a kid came. I would relieve the crossing guard in the rain so he could go inside and get a cup of coffee.<br />
I did that because I respected the guy, but more so because I wanted to get out to that bus stop and I wanted to try and solve the problems before they came into the school. If there were problems on the bus I wanted to talk to the bus driver and the kids.<br />
I wanted the kids to see me. I wanted to be visible, and I was.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer</span>: Can the mayor and the board of education reach into a home and affect family values? How far can we reach and is this realistic?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault:</span> Definitely. We need to offer more programs that not only educate and encourage our kids, but also help parents with parenting skills. We have to get parents involved and motivated to come to the school.<br />
First we need to make the school a friendly place, an inviting place where people can come and not feel threatened. If they speak a foreign language, if they speak Spanish, or Lithuanian or Albanian we need to have people in the school that are friendly and can translate for them.<br />
PTAs need to be a place not for complaining but for building the school and strengthening the structure of the school. If you have a complaint about your child you should be able to go to the principal or the teacher and have a parent/teacher conference. When you go to the PTA you need to go there with a mission and a positive aim in mind.<br />
If these kids don’t get an education and basic skills they are doomed.<br />
Unfortunately we have many, many single parent families, but that in and of itself is not a death sentence. I’ve known many parents who have done an absolutely phenomenal job raising their kids by themselves. I did that myself. I got divorced and I was a single parent and so was my ex-wife. We did a great job raising our kids up and they are all college educated, Thank God.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer</span>: Congratulations.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault:</span> Thank you. It is important that we reach out and help parents and educate them what school is all about.<br />
During the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Truancy commissioner Stango and myself were named co-chairmen and through hard work by the group we were able to decrease the truancy rate by almost 30% in three years.<br />
We did this by adding more truant officers, attendance counselors and social workers. We were able to get these people into the streets, into the homes, knocking on doors, being facilitators and being helpers of parents. We didn’t say we were going to put the parents in jail if they didn’t send their kids to school, we wanted to identify the pathology of the problem and see how we could help the parents.<br />
We also initiated a program of parent liaisons in the schools. That’s one more helping hand at the school to help the parents.<br />
One of our principals over at Walsh School has reached out to involve the neighborhood and community and that needs to be done all over the city.<br />
We have a lot of ideas in place and we just need to intensify our efforts. I know parents know how important school is. I know that many of the parents did not have the opportunity, or luxury, of getting educated.<br />
My parents never owned their own home. My mother had seven children. We struggled. When I went to college I paid my own way, getting four hours of sleep a night and commuted back and forth to New Haven. It was a struggle but it was something that I really wanted to do.<br />
I was not a good student in grammar school or high school. I only woke up in my senior year because I had some teachers who patted me on the back and encouraged me. They told me I could do it. They told me I was smart. Then I looked around one day and decided that I was smart, and that I could do it.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer</span>: Someone stepped in and encouraged you.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault:</span> Yes. It was very important. Mr. Picaro, Mr. Damien, and other great educators took a liking to me. But by the time I woke up and I was really behind and I had to struggle through college. It was very hard, but I did manage to get four college degrees and took advanced studies in urban education.<br />
Once the importance of education kicks in you never really stop learning. The more I learn the more I realize how little I know. Education is a process and you learn something every day.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> A few years ago I was involved in helping create a youth newspaper and we had twenty inner city kids explore the problem of truancy from their perspective. I was surprised to hear horror stories from the kids about the dress code. They were being suspended for wearing certain colored hair ties and principals were taking out rulers and measuring skirt length. The kids said the dress code was breaking the spirit of many marginal students who would get suspended, and then give up on school. What’s your take on the dress code?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault:</span> I think the dress code is totally ridiculous. We are spinning our wheels over an issue that is inconsequential. Every kid should have to come to the school neat and clean. They shouldn’t come to school with torn or revealing clothing, but we need to use common sense here. They should come to school the way they would dress as a teenager going to work. There shouldn’t be t-shirts, or anything written on a t-shirt, and I can see insisting on a shirt with a collar. But I wouldn’t care if the shirt was black, purple or orange. I don’t really care about the color as long as it doesn’t have any writing on it.<br />
For instance we outlawed jeans, but we only outlawed blue jeans. So if you wore black jeans that was okay? That is ridiculous.<br />
Most of the teachers follow the dress code, but some do not. When the kids see that it’s a bad reflection on the teacher and then the kids can say ”look at what you’re wearing”.<br />
It’s a mixed message so we have sent out letters to our professional staff, our secretaries and our teachers, to obey a professional dress code.<br />
But getting back to the students; as long as the clothing is neat and clean I don’t really have any problem with what color the shirt and pants are. If you want to have a uniform code, okay, tell the kids they have to wear a blue dress or blue pair of pants and a white shirt. That’s a uniform code.<br />
Doing what they are doing now does cause frustration, and if we lose one student to that issue, if one student drops out, that’s one student too many.<br />
If the dress code is that much of an issue with the students I suggest we entertain the thought of having a student representative or two attend the board meetings. They won’t be a voting member, but let them come and let them participate. Let the students have a say in the way government is run.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> There is a huge disconnect between the city leaders and our youth right now. We need to get the kids involved.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault</span>: Years ago the Jaycees used to do a Youth Day in government and we had people from all over the city participate. Kids would be aldermen, the mayor, a sheriff, on the board of ed and so forth. We did this thing over the course of two or three days and at the end of the process one Holy Cross student came up to me and told me he loved the process and he had developed an interest in municipal government. He then told me he would be mayor of Waterbury one day. I said “Good luck, Joe.”<br />
And he did become mayor of Waterbury. His name was Joe Santopietro.<br />
These are some of the things we need to do. We need to get parents involved and we need to get the students involved. What’s the matter with having free spaghetti dinner once in a while? Inviting the whole family down for a free dinner. I used to do that at Hopeville using PTA money. It was never so crowded. It’s not a bribe, it creates an atmosphere where people can network and feel comfortable.<br />
At Hopeville I used to do a picnic every year. Myself and the crossing guard and some of the parents would cook 800 hotdogs. They had potato chips, watermelon and ice cream. They sat on blankets, they picked up after themselves, and the parents loved it.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> Where did you get the money for that?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault:</span> PTA funds. We used to sell wrapping paper and things like that. What little money I got in the principal’s advisory fund was used too. It was a huge success. We did a school dance at the end of every year. We used to have 200 kids come and a parent chaperone. Those kids were impeccably dressed. No sneakers, no jeans. We took a picture of each chaperone and their student. Sometime it was a grandmother, or a father, or a mother.<br />
These are the things we need to go back to. The old-fashioned grass roots initiatives involving the community and having people feel like the school is a neighborhood place. Parents should see positive reasons to go to the school, not just because they have to go down because their son is suspended. My mother was standing in front of the principal three or four times a year because of something I did as a kid. I used to tell the kids sitting across from me that I know what it feels like, because I was there many times.<br />
Until I was a senior in high school I saw no value in school. Nobody ever told me how important an education was, so every chance I get I tell the kids how important school is. Over and over and over. (Theriault pounded his fist on the table as he repeated) Over, and over and over.<br />
Now I have the opportunity as a board of education member to tweak the direction that the board is going to go in.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> If you are elected mayor are you going to be the “Education Mayor”?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault:</span> Certainly education is something I would focus on. I am compassionate and passionate about the issue. Education is 55% of the city budget and I believe there is still some fat to cut. The mayor recently cut the education budget by $3 million and we went into a backroom and we moved some things around and we found $3 million like that (Theriault snapped his fingers).<br />
We didn’t cut a job and we didn’t cut a program. That tells me there is some fat in the education budget. We need to surgically remove the programs that are not working, and fiscally support the ones that are. Surplus money should be put back into the General Fund so taxpayers can get some relief.<br />
We need to do a forensic audit of the board of education.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer: </span>What do you mean by that?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault:</span> A forensic audit goes into much greater detail than a regular audit. It looks at who is spending the money and how they are spending the money. It goes way beyond the electronic audit of sums and balances. It gets into the nitty gritty about the way money is spent. It’s like what we did in the grants department when millions and millions of dollars were missing. Unbeknownst to the public much of those records were just recently reconstructed and the results were fluffed over.<br />
We need a forensic audit every five years in every department in Waterbury. We need to look at Public Works, the fire, the police and everyone else. That’s the way it needs to be to give the taxpayers some relief. We need more accountability.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> Talking about fiscal responsibility, you were the lone dissenting vote against the Duggan School project several years ago. You forewarned that trying to save the existing structure would lead to huge cost overruns. You were right, but what do we do now? Knock it down and build new?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm_UQJEw3l5g_cVVcTdVx7Hb9izD8vCNQKfOugxuGU00oxzQTJUcqhHuieeh1mIyxdWHVfL2XmuA1iW-qrNnYzPDPV7mVAW_ZPcUTZZqlj9FJFC1LN9uheyrVEYxBgwHIhmxZFZLt1tMph/s1600-h/Duggan+School+web.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392889418547729426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm_UQJEw3l5g_cVVcTdVx7Hb9izD8vCNQKfOugxuGU00oxzQTJUcqhHuieeh1mIyxdWHVfL2XmuA1iW-qrNnYzPDPV7mVAW_ZPcUTZZqlj9FJFC1LN9uheyrVEYxBgwHIhmxZFZLt1tMph/s400/Duggan+School+web.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault:</span> I wasn’t the only one. Dr. Snead (Superintendent of Schools, David Snead) had extensive experience in Detroit and he cautioned and warned the board not to go ahead with the renovation but to build new. But some people were enamored with the old clock tower, and with the charter oak, and there were even some members of the Independent Party that were enamored with that.<br />
But all in all the independent Party stance was that we want a new school, whether it was renovated or new, we didn’t care as long as it was structurally safe.<br />
I had my suspicions about the school and I looked at it. I’m not a structural engineer, but we did pay $50,000 to a structural engineering company to do a feasibility study on Duggan. They did the study and they found out the foundation wasn’t deep enough, the retaining walls in the back were shot and falling down, the bricks on the clock tower were so worn and deteriorated that a third of the clock tower might have to be torn down and custom made bricks made for it – custom made.<br />
They came back a few weeks ago and said it was going to cost $6.5 million more to shore up the building, that it is no longer structurally sound. Well of course when you take the roof off and take the floors off and take the actual ribs off the building and the only thing standing is the walls, well, yeah, of course it’s not structurally sound.<br />
There was nothing so bad that we couldn’t have used the oak beams, but the real travesty is that most of the damage to that building happened in the past 20 years. Many of the problems within the building are huge. We were led to believe the base of the building was concrete, but it’s made out of fieldstone and mortar and it’s chalking and cracking and is not sound. The whole underpinning of the building has to be replaced four feet at a time.<br />
That is unconscionable to me. How could we be led down this rosy path that the building is structurally sound and capable of being renovated, when now they want an additional $6.5 million and they aren’t even telling us that is the bottom line. It could be more.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgel5JDSc6gdBDzt5gjmIo2zs9ZBijoFNFMG2RyzQ4l7nLyMLR6N8dppxBTYMRydOXbZVo3CP3cGjfYshzw5CAv_sHV8NK4cc44I1CaW3djJyqwNmra5UrLXQsKA73rNpF-38kuuk0CR1n/s1600-h/Duggan+School+2+web.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392889636775233794" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgel5JDSc6gdBDzt5gjmIo2zs9ZBijoFNFMG2RyzQ4l7nLyMLR6N8dppxBTYMRydOXbZVo3CP3cGjfYshzw5CAv_sHV8NK4cc44I1CaW3djJyqwNmra5UrLXQsKA73rNpF-38kuuk0CR1n/s400/Duggan+School+2+web.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> This isn’t George Washington’s birthplace. We can be emotional and sentimental about Duggan School, but at what cost, and what do we do now?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault:</span> You mentioned before about the mayor’s role in the board of education and maybe if he had attended a few more building committee and board of education meetings he would have been on top of this situation, because I certainly was.<br />
If I were the mayor right now and this were happening right now I would take responsibility. The buck stops at my door and I’m responsible for it. This mayor won’t do that. He just wants to open up the city checkbook and go to the state and ask for $10 million more. This is not leadership.<br />
Right now I don’t know what’s going to happen to Duggan – is it going to be a parking lot, are we going to tear it down and start over, are we going to get more money from the state to renovate it? I just don’t know.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> Have you been inside the building?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault:</span> Yes, I went in and videotaped and documented the conditions inside Duggan. It was deplorable. We had things fallen down all around us. I did it not to say look at me, I’m inside Duggan, but to share the information with the citizens of Waterbury. I videotaped Duggan just like I did all the building committee meetings. Occasionally I’ll have a committee member ask me to shut the camera off so they can speak freely. I tell them no, the people have the right to know what we are saying and doing in their name. I’ve filmed 450 board of education meetings, special meetings, committee meetings in the past six years. I’ve saved the city almost $200,000 by filming these meetings for free and putting them on cable access TV. I do this because I think the board should be out in the open. When anyone asks me to shut the camera off I take personal offense at that because I am the watchdog for the taxpayer.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> I have one final question for you…..<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault</span>: Before you get to that I want to address the issue of the mayor and his statements that he has balanced the city budget eight years in a row. He brags about these eight balanced budgets but it’s the State Oversight Board that balanced the first five, and I would say that the mayor has balanced none.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> None?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault</span>: None. It’s really the taxpayers in Waterbury that have balanced the budget, not the mayor. The mayor just puts in the numbers and balances the budget on the backs of the taxpayers. But it is the mayor who was instrumental in increasing the taxes on people by 200% to 300% during the last eight years.<br />
And while the people of Waterbury have been struggling to pay their taxes, struggling to keep their jobs and their property, the mayor has continued to increase his business and hasn’t suffered in any of the business ventures he’s been involved in.<br />
The people of Waterbury are suffering tremendously under this administration.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> You have one minute with the voter before they go into the booth to tell them why they should vote for John Theriault for mayor. What would you say?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Theriault:</span> You should vote for me because I have the talent, the ability, the education and the tenacity to make change happen.<br />
I have the expertise and the business background. I have run my own small photography and video businesses for the past 22 years. I know the struggle of the businessman. I know the struggle of the educator. I know the struggle of the common man; growing up poor, striving for an education.<br />
Why me? Because I’m going to be your full-time mayor ,not your full-time real estate developer and part-time mayor.<br />
Why me? Because I’m as honest as the day is long. I’m not saying the mayor isn’t honest, but I’m saying I have a better way, a better vision for the city of Waterbury to rebuild its economic and educational structure, making it a better place.</div>John Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330863409275028247noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959311154355211412.post-32869983394468544302009-10-15T11:59:00.009-05:002011-01-22T15:52:29.175-05:00Q&A With Michael Jarjura<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Strong Financial Practice Centerpiece Of Incumbent Mayor Mike Jarjura's Re-election Campaign. <br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Interview By John Murray<br />
Photographs By Michael Asaro<span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer</span>: Let’s start off with the primary. Only 19% of the voters showed up, what’s up with that?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> Well, you can look at it a couple of ways. Some people who wanted to be positive said the voters thought the mayor was doing a good job and basically stayed home because they were happy with the way things are going. The other way to look at it is general apathy. People are so involved in the economic crisis, the war in Afghanistan and the national debate about health care that they just aren’t focused in on local politics. Any way you look at it I think a 19% turnout is a disgrace.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer</span>: I agree. In the 16 years I’ve had the Observer there are less and less voters every election. Everyday you pick up the Republican-American and look at the obituaries you see the people we are losing who were involved in the process.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> We are not losing population but we are losing the involved community-minded people. We saw some districts in the primary where barely 5% of the voters showed up. One of the biggest voting districts by registration is at Maloney School and they had the smallest turnout.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer</span>: That’s largely Hispanic isn’t it?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura</span>: Yes, and we had a very poor turnout in the North End as well. The big turnout was Bunker Hill, Town Plot and the East End.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer</span>: Historically the minority community has not participated in the voting process as much as the other ethnic populations in the city.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura</span>: But they came out when they wanted. They came out for the Obama election so it shows they can come out if they want to.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> If they are motivated..<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura</span>: How do we motivate them? We ran ads, we put up signs, we did phone calls and we had Hispanic candidates and African-American candidates on the ticket. What else can you do?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer</span>: Out of the total registered Democrat voters you got 10% and Paul Vance got 9%. That’s too close for comfort. How were you feeling that night?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> I got the feeling during the day with the exceedingly low turnout that it was going to be a close election. You could feel it from the early morning when we were wondering “Where is everybody?” It was a gorgeous day and I was getting concerned. I knew we had to get my voters out because those who were against me were more motivated. I also knew that the Independent Party had a separate operation going. Many of the families of Independent Party members are still registered as Democrats.<br />
Don’t forget that most of the Independent Party started off in the Democratic Party. Not all, but most of them. They have a big cadre of relatives and they were calling them that day not to come out and vote for Mayor Jarjura, but to vote for the other side. So we had two operations going against us. When the votes came in and it was so very, very close, I wasn’t that surprised. When the first big one came in – Tinker School – we lost that significantly. But then when I saw St. Pete’s, where Vance and his mother and father were at almost all day, and we won by a clear 70 votes, which equalized Tinker.<br />
When the vote came in from Lady of Loretto in Bunker Hill we won there by 70 or 80 votes. We tied in a bunch of places and when the machine count showed I was up by six votes I felt pretty good because I usually have a tendency to do better with the elderly; they are the ones who use absentee ballots.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> How were you feeling during the back and forth during primary night?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> While it was very tight Paul Pernerewski (majority leader on the Board of Aldermen) came up to me and said, “You know Mayor this is your best showing ever in a primary.”<br />
And he was absolutely right. The first time we won by 14 votes in a three way primary. We lost some of our under ticket and that’s when we had DePillocrats and Jarjuracrats.<br />
In 2005 we had the primary or primaries between myself and Karen Mulcahy. With her negative ads she did a job of portraying me…<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer</span>: She defined you.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> She did define me to the voters. By the time we caught on to how bad it was it was too late to reverse and she beat me by about 300 votes. This time Paul did do a little of that, the distortions and the character assassinations, but nowhere to the degree of that of the Mulcahy camp.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer</span>: Vance wasn’t as angry as she was.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> She’s still an angry person. I bear the brunt of her anger even though I had little to do with her termination, but that’s all water under the dam.<br />
This one we did win by 168 votes. I feel good because I have a tendency to do extremely well in general elections. I do appeal to the center, which I think is the majority of voters whether you are a Democrat, a Republican, or consider yourself unaffiliated.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> If you had lost the primary would you still be on the ballot in November as the Republican candidate? (Editor’s note - the Waterbury GOP did not put up their own candidate and have endorsed Mayor Jarjura)<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> I publicly announced that I would offer that back to the Republican Party because they may not to have wanted to continue with just me on their row. So I would have offered that back to them if they wanted to choose someone else or thought there was a better opportunity for themselves.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> Suddenly there would be no shortage of Republican candidates for mayor.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> You’re right. But the honorable thing would be for me to offer that back to them, and I would have done that.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> Many people in Waterbury are gnashing their teeth about your cross endorsement and see it as a blatant attempt by the Democrats and Republicans to knock out the Independent Party. The Independents have been a thorn in your side for the past eight years.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> I don’t think it’s because they are a thorn in my side, it’s that they have consistently conducted themselves to bring down the image of the city to our surrounding neighbors and to the State of Connecticut. Their level of conversation is generally negative and does not portray Waterbury in a very positive light.<br />
If it was just the way they talked about me, that’s one thing. It’s more about the fact that they have not been good ambassadors for the city. They have not embraced any of the steps we have made from the Oversight Board and my own administration to advance the governing capability, to improve the financial practices of the city and to repair the infrastructure. They have been against just about everything we have been for. The differences between the Independent Party and myself these last eight years couldn’t be more pronounced.<br />
It started with the move to open the Palace Theater, to open the UConn branch in downtown, to the magnet school, to the infrastructure I put forward – the neighborhood schools.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer</span>: You feel they have opposed everything you have tried to implement?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura</span>: I don’t feel that way, it’s all documented. I could bring out the records and show you their statements, which are over, and over, and over again opposed to my proposals. They forced a referendum on the neighborhood schools, and they lost that. We tried to do a couple of new firehouses and they fought that. They brought City Hall construction to gridlock.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> What about the Republicans? If they were in the aldermanic seats instead of the Independents, wouldn’t they have been doing the same thing?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> No. The first year I was in we had five Republicans, five Jarjuracrats and five DePillocrats and it was a tremendously productive time. It was because we could work with the Republicans. They had people like Joe Pisani, Billy Pizzutto, Lisa Mason, Brian Monguluzzo and Debbie Lewis. The Republicans could have really jammed us up, but they operated from what was best for the city and it was a very productive time. It was a healing time for the city.<br />
Then the De Pillocrats created their own party for the 2003 election when they formed the Independent Party. At that point the Republicans got seriously wiped out. They didn’t have the strongest of mayoral candidates at that time.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> Mark Forte?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> Yes, it was Mark Forte. They were either left with one alderman, or none, I don’t remember. But they were seriously wiped out.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> You’re saying the Independents are opposing everything you do, but some people would say it’s good for democracy to have opposition, to have that proverbial pebble in the shoe. With the Republicans wounding most of your eight years one could make a case that the Independents are acting in a similar oppositional role to you that Republicans would have. With you now at the top of the Republican ticket it seems like you and they are gambling on using your influence to knock the Independents out.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> It’s a huge gamble on the Republicans part because you don’t really know how it’s all going to work out. Clearly the Independent Party runs a full slate and they are very formidable. John Theriault, no matter what you want to say about him, has a level of credibility. Unfortunately he has the eight-year track record of his party and his running mates that he can’t distance himself from. Clearly what they have stood for he now has to stand for. There is no way you can differentiate the two.<br />
The Republicans are gambling because they didn’t have an individual who was a dominate force that they could bring forward at this time, so they figured let’s at least attempt to get a foot hold and then build off of that. We’ll know if that works on November 3rd.<br />
I don’t oppose critical thought or debate, but anyone who has been an Observer of local government and some of these public access TV shows will see that the Independent Party makes it personal. The level of vitriol is so vile, so hate driven, that it is not productive or healthy.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer</span>: We just interviewed John Theriault and he took some swipes at you, but they were about issues. He did not attack you personally.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> John doesn’t represent the bulk of what he is running with. I have to judge on the track record of that party and the leadership of that party.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> You said to me years before becoming mayor that you never really saw yourself in local politics because of personal attacks, rumor and innuendo. Once in office you were highly sensitive to criticism. You said it bothered your mother and your father, but it seemed to hurt you too.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> Sure it did. I have a thick skin, but not that thick. I’ve gotten better at it now.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> You really have. Theriault called Waterbury politics a blood sport. If you’re going to give a punch you’ve got to be ready to take a punch.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> I don’t think John is used to it yet. I gave him just a little bit the other night and I’m sure he is still reeling from that. He’s been allowed to stay out of the foray. He’s been at the Board of Ed and once in a while he’ll put a toe in, and pull it out, but it’s at the leadership level – the Board of Alderman and their chairman and vice-chairmen, Larry De Pillo, Mike Telesca and some of their operatives who have really done the blood sport.<br />
John is in it now and I think he is going to really have a hard time struggling with his under ticket and where he philosophically is at.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer</span>: At some time in the future the odds are that the Republicans rebound and reclaim their minority status in Waterbury. They are a national party and have deeper historical roots in this city than the Independent Party. If and when that happens, do you see any good that has come out of Larry De Pillo and the Independent Party in Waterbury?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> No. I can’t point to one thing that has been positive regarding their participation to date.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> That’s quite a statement.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> I really can’t point to one thing.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> What about Larry De Pillo leading the fight against Chestnut Hill BioEnergy?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY-uEZCSPHmHQ0dzWQ1pIzZ3fkTWEdJdrJx7dnU-UQ41Dy0j28QZ2ynflciiJScOopuqOFFlM0WDcATgw22uC5j9rWXb-5lUjU-5G3JrcMzOxPGoB7QZpgpHl6TS-7BcWErr4YsqqYRcJR/s1600-h/Trash+march+2+web.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392879730892702418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY-uEZCSPHmHQ0dzWQ1pIzZ3fkTWEdJdrJx7dnU-UQ41Dy0j28QZ2ynflciiJScOopuqOFFlM0WDcATgw22uC5j9rWXb-5lUjU-5G3JrcMzOxPGoB7QZpgpHl6TS-7BcWErr4YsqqYRcJR/s400/Trash+march+2+web.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> Yeah, well there are a few things personally that he has worked on, but as an organization, or a group, their track record, their actual empirical record has been absolutely horrible.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> So you’d be happy if the Independent party vanished?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> It’s not a matter of me being happy or not, it’s a matter of bringing civility back to the process. I think Waterbury is ready for that. It’s time to get away from this blood sport and this continual, never ending attack. It’s always attack, attack, attack. The election no sooner ends and it’s still there. It’s always there. It’s time to get away from that for the good of the city. For the psyche of the city this has to end.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> What happened to electing a mayor to a four-year term?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> The Independent Party worked against that, but I also think it was too soon after the Giordano scandal, and the people voted it down.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> It seems like a four-year term would eliminate at least two years of the blood sport.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> And it would provide for a much more stable government. Constantly shifting gears is not good for a corporation. It does make sense if an organization is floundering to make a change, but change for the sake of change is not good and I think that has hurt Waterbury in the past. Look at Stamford with Mayor Dan Malloy, he’s been there 16 years now. Down in New Haven Mayor DeStefano has been there for 16 years. Longer terms gives a leader time for real critical decision making without having to look over your shoulder.<br />
Look at this last term. I wasn’t even in six months when J. Paul Vance announced he was challenging me. How crazy is that?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer</span>: You have a tremendous record balancing budgets and reorganizing the systemic workings of municipal government. A criticism that remains from inside and outside your party is that, yes you’ve done a yeoman’s job of building a sailboat, but you have no idea where to sail it. Where is the goal? Where is the leadership? You’ve held things together in a very difficult time, but where is the vision?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> That criticism is coming from people that can’t refute that the main responsibility of the mayor, of the CEO, is the financial and business management of the corporation. They know on the merits that they can’t come anywhere near my track record and the success that I have brought to the financial management of the city. So what my opponents try to do is divert attention by saying the mayor is not a visionary, the mayor doesn’t have a long-term plan. Nothing could be further from the truth. We do have a blueprint and we do have a vision. The vision is to continue to build and make Waterbury a quality, strong community and to portray that out to the world so that when economic opportunities do present themselves that people will look to Waterbury as a place they will feel comfortable to raise their families and that they feel comfortable to bring their business operations here. That’s the vision. All this other sort of lofty, very vague, we’re going to sit down with all these people and we’re going to talk about a vision…..haven’t we done that year after year after year and it sits on somebody’s shelf.<br />
My vision is to continue to keep Waterbury financially strong and to continue to improve the infrastructure. Let’s make the schools the best they can be and continue to work off our natural assets here, like the Naugatuck River. I brought forward that Greenway project, but obviously I’ve turned it over to key people like Cathy Smith, yourself, Ron Napoli, because I know you guys can run with that. The Greenway is going to be a great destination location.<br />
There is no silver bullet that is going to save us, we just have to continue to build on the things we have like the Palace Theater and UConn.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> Flash back 18 months to the Economic Summit that was held at the Waterbury Magnet School. All the key players were there; the Waterbury Development Corporation, Main Street Waterbury, the Chamber of Commerce and you, the mayor of Waterbury. There were a lot of bold statements made that night. You stated there was an individual who was going to invest $200 million in the city, and we were promised a detailed downtown revitalization plan within 30 days. Obviously the economy took a nosedive, but downtown business people are still waiting for the plan. What happened?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> I’m not one to make excuses, but a big proponent of making the plan was Steve Sasala, and he got sick. (Sasala was president and CEO of the Waterbury Chamber of Commerce and passed away from cancer earlier this year.) While Steve was sick Lynn Ward was filling in and John Rowland was pitching in, it was a difficult situation.<br />
You know who has a great story to tell – it’s Main Street Waterbury. They had an event just the other day that brought 2300 people from all over New England to their BrewFest in Library Park.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> They should do that every weekend.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> I know. (Big laugh) That would be great. When the festival ended you couldn’t get inside any restaurant or bar in downtown. Business was tremendous in downtown Waterbury.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> It was a unique group of people that flocked into downtown Waterbury for that event. They were young, educated and had money to spend. It goes to show that if we give people a reason to come downtown, they’ll come.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> The other thing I took away from that Economic Summit 18 months ago was that no matter how much we agree on everything a lot of our success, or potential for success, has to do with the state and federal government and the policies that are being imposed upon us. That’s where we have to start to look to influence policy. Look at the Pratt & Whitney situation. We were all working very hard behind the scenes to try and figure something out there. Seventy-five of those people who lost their job in Cheshire live here in Waterbury. These are good paying jobs. This loss doesn’t just affect Cheshire, it hurts us too. We have to look at this on a macro-level. People can come up with all these grandiose ideas, but until we get the state humming again you are not going to get the flow into Waterbury and Bridgeport.<br />
We are poised and ready for good things, and we are able to accommodate people, but right now they are going to Singapore. They are not going down the street.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> The history of the economy is a roller coaster. It’s going to come back. <br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> And when it does come back we have properties ready to be developed, we have skilled workers, we’ve got good institutions and we have good infrastructure. That’s why I say we are poised to really move forward when the economy rebounds.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> Waterbury has had an alarmingly high unemployment rate for the past nine years. I heard you on WATR radio one morning saying that it’s hard to compare Waterbury to Simsbury or West Hartford because the demographics and education levels are so different. But when you compare Waterbury to Bridgeport or New Haven…<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> We are on par with Hartford. It’s nothing to brag about. Part of the problem is that Waterbury has the highest rate of teenage, unwed pregnancies. It’s the highest rate of any municipality in the state. It’s staggering. Young babies having babies, they aren’t even out of high school yet. These girls aren’t going to be readily employable, quickly. This is adding to the unemployment numbers.<br />
Another problem is that many people in Waterbury have a less regard for education than people out in the suburbs. People are not staying and taking advantage of an excellent school system. Employment skills are absolutely necessary.<br />
There are opportunities for people to work but some of these jobs aren’t in the city, but in the region. The key is that you have to be able to do the job or they are going to hire someone else.<br />
We do need more jobs here, but we also need some people to take more responsibility for their life. They need to focus more on education and realize life isn’t about going out and having a good time every night and engaging in premature sexual activity. These kids have to realize that they have to take care of themselves one day.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> The truancy problem in the city was so bad that you formed a Blue Ribbon Commission to address the issue. Forty percent of the students entering 9th grade were not graduating four years later. The commission has been tackling this issue by reaching out into the community and trying to engage the parents.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> You have to. When we were growing up our parents took our education very seriously. They were on you, or here came the strap. Today you don’t see that same sort of seriousness about education and parents don’t fight for their kids to stay in school. This is absolutely the wrong attitude to have.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> The one issue that Paul Vance continued to pound on in the primary was that Mayor Jarjura was disengaged from the educational process in Waterbury. He said you seldom attended Board of Education meetings and that you paid little attention to education. What is your philosophy as mayor in dealing with the school system?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> My job is to secure the necessary resources so that our professionals either here at Central Office, or the ones running the schools; the principals, the vice-principals and the teachers have all the tools they need to take their training and deliver it to the students in their care.<br />
I don’t go to a lot of board meetings because the work I have to do isn’t at the board level where they are talking about curriculum and what teachers are going to be assigned where. My job is to work with the most senior staff; the superintendent and the assistant superintendents to deal with the larger issues of education - the mandates, the special education requirements, the physical facilities, the text books and to make sure we provide a safe and healthy environment.<br />
I work here with them at this level and if necessary – if requested – I will attend the board meeting and give my input if there is an issue they are struggling with.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> What’s your take on Duggan School?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> This is an issue John Theriault is trying to dump in my lap. There is now a problem with a tremendous amount of overruns because a decision was made by the Board of Education, by the school board building committee, in concert with the neighborhood groups over there, to try and save a portion of the original Duggan School building. I think these people did their best, they did due diligence in making that decision.<br />
Unfortunately when there was some selective demolition work done they found out there was a much bigger subterranean situation than they had thought. There may be a contractor or consultant held responsible for the mistake later down the road. We’d have to have the lawyers look at that.<br />
Now we have John Theriault trying to lay this issue at my feet. He has called it the $10 million albatross around my neck, but it was the Board of Education that approved the effort to renovate Duggan School. They choose to renovate instead of knocking it down and building new. They voted 9 to 1.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer</span>: And John Theriault was the one.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNRBCtQnJIQfu3_NeZsUi5OiecL4zDPI7QIz2dEAVRMETuf4xRX0Br6sU4sUU-29KNp6sq3-v33VHnf1iK4WrvnKV2m187oJLzMXUqw4GJ9KAy8i8CrhVHZMquu5FQmiYGeqSgY337VxOi/s1600-h/Duggan+School.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392878229933607474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNRBCtQnJIQfu3_NeZsUi5OiecL4zDPI7QIz2dEAVRMETuf4xRX0Br6sU4sUU-29KNp6sq3-v33VHnf1iK4WrvnKV2m187oJLzMXUqw4GJ9KAy8i8CrhVHZMquu5FQmiYGeqSgY337VxOi/s400/Duggan+School.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> Yes, he was. John voted against it, but it was the building committee that controlled the process from soup to nuts. I originally went out and got the bonding and fought for the three neighborhood schools. I got it through the Board of Aldermen with the necessary 10 votes. I worked with Laura Nesta, who at the time was the minority leader, and she was very vocal in wanting to keep the historical section of Duggan School. I needed her vote at the time to get it through the Board of Aldermen and we had to compromise and agreed on three pre-K through 8th grade neighborhood schools.<br />
The Independents then took it to referendum and tried to have the neighborhood school project defeated, but we won. After all that is said and done, it is the building committee and the Board of Education that chooses the sites, that chooses the team that manages the construction and chooses the architects and engineers. Unless there is something amiss that they need me for, they choose the colors, the window design…<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer</span>: Who decides what to do now?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> Now there is a problem. Now Central Office comes to see me because in order to solve the problem they need additional resources from the city, and additional resources from the state. The project is an 80-20 split between the state and Waterbury.<br />
So rather than get into the blame game, or see who is trying to use the school as political one-upsmanship, which John Theriault is trying to do, I’m going to wait and see which way the Board of Education wants to go on the issue and I’m willing to support either way. (Jarjura pounded his fist on the table and said), But at the end of the day I want to know that there aren’t going to be any more surprises. This is the Board of Education’s decision and ultimately they have to tell me do we spend $6.5 million and continue the project, saving the front portion of the school, or do we abandon that and spend $10 million and do everything brand new.<br />
If the board chooses to move forward with the renovation project then it is my job to go to the state with Dr. Snead (Superintendent of Schools) and Paul Guidone (Chief Financial Officer of Waterbury) and explain to them what happened. We would try and get their change order approval and then put my side of the money in so they can continue the construction and finish it. That’s my job.<br />
John Theriault is really playing up this issue, but what is he saying about his running mate Ann Sweeney, or his good friend Chuck Stango? He touts them as all good people, but they were all part of the decision too. And the Democrats were too. Larry De Pillo and Mike Telesca were running around saying we had to save Duggan School. We were all in on this, and to say otherwise is disingenuous.<br />
I am engaged in education but I understand the rules. This is why we have a superintendent and two assistant superintendents. That is their job to run education. Too often people want to have it both ways. If you go too much then you are criticized for being too involved in the details. They’ll say “Who does the mayor think he is to get involved and to interfere with our job running education?”, or the other is “Where is he? Why isn’t he here?”<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> If you are re-elected are you going to impanel a Charter Revision Commission?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> We’ve been trying, but we’ve been blocked by the Independent Party. You need ten votes to get a Charter Revision Commission and even a few of the Democrats who will no longer be on the board helped block the commission. We have not had one in five years. I put one forward every year I’ve been here but it keeps getting blocked.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer</span>: What do you want to tackle?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> There is a bunch of things. There is a bunch of stuff left undone when we did the major rewrite five years ago. Not everything will get passed, but we should at least be talking about it. We should delve into charter issues.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> Seniors are getting frustrated with the promised senior center at the site of the old Mattatuck Manufacturing. What’s going on out there?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> They have a right to be aggravated. We are all aggravated with how long this has taken. From my perspective now it really is in the final leg of the race. The site is 99% cleaned up. Then according to the plan we will turn the project over to the selected contractor and part of the agreement is that he builds a 7000 square foot facility for a community/senior center. That will be about another year or year and half until completion.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> Some of the seniors are asking what can we do now while we wait for the new senior center? Can’t the mayor…..<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> But there are a lot of things we are already doing. There are senior centers already operating and people are welcome to go there. They have nice activities. There is The Forever Young which operates out of the Mt. Carmel Church, we have the East End Senior Center that has a lot of activities all week long, we work closely with the Western Connecticut Area on Aging and they provide a lot of health pamphlets and assistance with the prescription programs and they are located right here in the East of Waterbury.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> So the one that is coming is a Waterbury senior center instead of the ones scattered around in the neighborhoods right now?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> Yes. It’s for anyone who wants to come. This will be available to the whole community and we’ll have to decide on its programmatic needs as we go along. It could be line dancing or a place for the community to gather. It’s located right on the bus line. We never said we were going to close the other centers. Grace Baptist has a big program, La Casa has a big one. Many of the seniors are not going to want to leave their individual centers.<br />
There is a lot going on right now. It’s not like anybody is being denied while we wait to get the new senior center open.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> The community response has been incredibly positive to the proposed Naugatuck River Greenway Project. The only opposition has come from a Republican-American editorial that said we are wasting money building the Greenway before the mixmaster construction is finished. What’s your take on that criticism?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> The people working on the Greenway project, Alta, have met with Department of Transportation people. Alta is fully aware of what the state’s plans are, and what their alternative plans are. All that has been adjusted accordingly. That’s my understanding. I don’t think we have to wait.<br />
If you read today’s paper there is an article about a state project to improve I-84. The project is supposed to have already begun and now there are reports it’s no where on the radar screen and could take another four years to begin. This is a simple project compared to rebuilding the entire mixmaster exchange. We can’t wait for the mixmaster. Whatever we do with the Greenway they will adjust around us, or we will adjust around them.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer</span>: Have you seen an issue or project that has elicited as much positive support as the Greenway?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> The Greenway has excited the community like nothing I have ever seen before. The only thing I can compare it to, and that was on a much smaller scale, was Kevin Zak and his river race. People that never get excited about anything came out to the river race and were really excited. The Greenway is on a much larger scale.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> That river race had a lot to do with launching the Greenway project. Many of the political people needed to support the Greenway – yourself included – paddled down the river and discovered what an amazing asset we had right under our noses.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAmGvtzLVIsLZrgk2kdDYEw2T8VclVdm5yCCRS-m73LOB0Bku7lDQCSUNvxwQurfStb84ZhfHRJhmiX4BW1yztb5_p5q3atXrO0iiW0rFKAjQXAsupa_tJYTkCANMD19qknOeLav1S3Ivt/s1600-h/River+Jarjura.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392877813968053010" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAmGvtzLVIsLZrgk2kdDYEw2T8VclVdm5yCCRS-m73LOB0Bku7lDQCSUNvxwQurfStb84ZhfHRJhmiX4BW1yztb5_p5q3atXrO0iiW0rFKAjQXAsupa_tJYTkCANMD19qknOeLav1S3Ivt/s400/River+Jarjura.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> The energy from that race was transferred over to the Greenway. It’s all been positive.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer</span>: Right now we have enough money to plan a route, design the Greenway and maybe put a few shovels in the ground. Where does the rest of the money come from?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> That’s my job. I’m out there banging the drums, lobbying, talking to Senator Dodd and Senator Lieberman. We just got another million, so we need another $10 million. That’s my job to find it.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> Speaking of Dodd, that’s who you were equated to in today’s editorial in the Republican-American…<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> In the last year they have blamed Dodd for everything wrong in the world. I think they even blamed him for the plane landing in the Hudson River. Anything that happens they blame Chris Dodd. The newspaper lost it’s credibility years ago, at least the editorial page has. They have gotten more bizarre than ever.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer:</span> Mike Asaro and I were talking on the way over here about the near universal opposition to the trash to energy plant proposed at the old Anamet site. Everybody was against it. The mayor, the board of alderman, the entire state delegation, the neighborhood groups, the Chamber of Commerce and Main Street Waterbury. Everybody was against it except the Republican-American newspaper who wrote a scathing editorial about Waterbury going bananas because we were turning away business. They were completely out of touch with the community they cover. How do you process editorials like that, or the one in today’s paper challenging your ethics and comparing you to Chris Dodd?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> The editorial today is so far divorced from reality and fact that I don’t know where to begin to talk about it. (Jarjura laughs) When you read the editorial I am confused. Do we live in the same world? What scandal are they talking about?<br />
The editorial states that the people of Waterbury deserve to know the full extent of the scandal. What are they talking about? There is no scandal.<br />
The issue is whether city employees can do private work for people who supervise them. We’ve been exploring the issue for months and we’re waiting for the Board of Alderman to address the situation. They are the ones that can legislate – I can’t.<br />
This issue brings out what is my biggest disagreement with John Theriault. John tends to engage in a sort of Joe McCarthyism (McCarthyism is used to describe reckless, and unsubstantiated accusations, as well as public attacks on the character or patriotism of political opponents. It was coined after Senator Joe McCarthy who smeared political opponents in the 1950s).<br />
John will attach himself to an issue and portray it as something nefarious (flagrantly wicked). When we look into it and peel the onion back we find out that there is nothing there. This is not good or healthy politics.<br />
John made a big deal about school janitors getting overtime while the schools were open for public use because the school board wants them open for theatrical events and sporting events. If those school buildings are open from early morning to late in the evening there has to be someone there to be responsible for the building. And that is the maintenance and janitorial staff.<br />
John takes great umbrage at someone challenging his integrity, but he has no problem calling people names who clean the toilets, wash the floors, wash the windows, rake the grass and he had no problem challenging their integrity. After the facts were revealed there was nothing there.<br />
There was nothing inappropriate going on under the laws, If John Theriault had a problem with the policy then he should have addressed it at the Board of Education. He’s been on the board for six years and the board sets the contracts. Why didn’t he try to fix the problem? But to make these people look like crooks, like they were doing something wrong, like they were stealing from the taxpayers without a scintilla (tiny particle) of evidence, this is what Joe McCarthy used to do back in the 1950s.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer: </span>You’ve called this time of year “silly season”.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> No, I call that dangerous. I call that the height of being irresponsible from someone who is supposed to be an enlightened man. I call it disgusting because these people can’t fight for themselves, but I can fight for them.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Observer</span>: You have one minute with a voter before they enter the booth, Tell them why they should vote for you.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarjura:</span> I’m very proud of the fact that while ot6her communities are srtruggling and have serious budget deficits that we have not had to lay anyone off and our tax rate has remained exactly the same as it was last year. There has been no tax increase. We have not curtailed city services one bit. The budget is balanced. We’ve had tremendous news with the bond rating upgrade to the A level. I don’t think people understand the importance of that. That’s huge. Not only did they upgrade our bonding to the A level, they gave us a rating from good to strong in terms of financial practices. There are only two municiapalities in the state that have a strong rating - us and West Hartford. There are so positive things happening here and let’s keep them going.</div>John Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330863409275028247noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959311154355211412.post-86161358852293221032009-09-26T16:47:00.012-05:002011-01-22T15:53:28.796-05:00Mind Of Steel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Derek Poundstone Uses Extraordinary Mental Toughness To Become Arguably The Strongest Man In The World. <span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span><br />
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Some might think that genetics and large muscles are the key to Derek Poundstone’s stunning rise to the title of America’s Strongest Man.<br />
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They would be wrong.<br />
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While having a body like a Rhinoceros is important, the secret to Poundstone’s success is the strength of his mind. Everyday in the gym he tortures himself by lifting more weights, more times, than anyone else on the planet.<br />
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“I obliterate myself in training,” Poundstone said. ‘The competition is not as difficult as my workouts.”<br />
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Poundstone is a huge fan of the late long distance runner Steve Prefontaine, who was feared across the globe for his punishing style of racing.<br />
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‘He wouldn’t try and outsprint someone at the end of a five mile race,” Poundstone said. “He would set a blistering pace on the first lap and dare anyone to try and keep up with him. I love that sense of front running, it came down to “if you beat me, I’ll make you bleed’, and that’s my mind-set.”<br />
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During a recent “easy” day of training at Waterbury Fitness at 1074 Wolcott Road, Waterbury, CT, Poundstone targeted his workout to tone his arms, and sharpen his mind. “We really don’t do a lot with arms in the strong man competitions,” Poundstone said. “The important part of my training today is to strengthen my mind.”<br />
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He began his workout seated on a slightly reclined bench and lifted a 45 pound bar overhead in a reverse curl. It was only a warm-up, but he lifted the bar 100 times.<br />
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Then he lifted 65 pounds 100 times, 105 pounds 55 times, and 135 pounds 20 times. The pain of the final repetitions was etched on his face as he struggled towards his goal of self imposed agony.<br />
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“Nobody does what I do,” Poundstone said. ‘I work my muscles beyond their capacity. I’m not trying to make my muscles bigger, that’s not the issue. I’m trying to see how far I can push my body. My capability is only limited by my mind.”<br />
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Mike Amici is a frequent training partner at Waterbury Fitness and said, “Derek’s strength and intensity is inward. Some guys yell and scream when they are working out, but not Derek, his motivation is all inside.”<br />
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Poundstone is incredibly approachable in the gym and will stop and pose for a photograph, or assist other lifters with their training. Brian Richard of Wolcott was a recent training partner while Poundstone completed a sequence aptly called “Triceps of Death”. Richard has been power lifting for four years and approached Poundstone for some strongman tips 10 weeks ago.<br />
“Derek is very knowledgeable about technique and he’s been an incredible help to me these past few months,” Richard said. “I equate it to going to Alex Rodriguez to learn how to hit a baseball.” <br />
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Although he is currently the #1 ranked strongman in the world, Poundstone takes nothing for granted. “Every day I push myself,” he said. “I’m training for the unknown guy in the mountains of West Virginia that no one knows about yet.”<br />
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Half way through each set of reverse curls Poundstone said his mind screamed at him to stop. “I’m working against human evolution,” he said. “Damaging muscles makes them grow back stronger, so I try to overwhelm my entire body with a pain I can’t express in words, but it’s a beautiful thing.”<br />
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It is the mental exercises that Poundstone endures that set him apart from other strongmen around the world. “It is the essence of my training,” he said. “The number one thing I focus on is strengthening my mind.”<br />
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It must be working, because during the last three years Derek Poundstone has exploded onto the international strongman scene and is arguably now the strongest man in the world.<br />
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Last year he came within inches of capturing the title of World’s Strongest Man, but with victory over the five-time world champion, Mariusz Pudzianowski, within his grasp, he made a shocking mistake in the final event when a 400 pound rock slipped from his hand, and he finished second.<br />
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“The loss has only increased my motivation,” Poundstone said. “I am in the best shape of my life right now.”<br />
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Poundstone is often asked whether he takes steroids to perform his amazing feats of strength, and the answer is no. He piles protein into his body like coal into a furnace. He also spends a lot of time being a goodwill ambassador for the strongman sport. Derek defines a strongman as the person “who can perform the most amount of work, in the most efficient way, in the least amount of time.”<br />
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Strongman competitions are nothing new and they have a rich and colorful history. In America, the roots of the sport can be traced back to a time when the main event of a travelling circus wasn’t the lions and elephants, it was the strongman.<br />
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“The circus freaks were really big guys who could lift big objects,” Poundstone said. “The circus was the heyday for strongmen in this country.”<br />
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While the sport has yet to gain mainstream traction in America, the strongman competitions have developed a huge following in Europe. “The strongmen in Sweden and Poland are treated like rock stars,” Poundstone said. ‘They make a really nice living just focused on being strongmen. I can’t do that in America, I have to work a full-time job to support myself.”<br />
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Iceland appears to be the historical epi-center of strongmen competitions, which were used by Vikings to determine who the strongest warrior was. “The Vikings did a lot of events with rocks,” Poundstone said. ‘Instead of throwing objects they would carry stones or press them over their heads. It’s typical guy stuff, and the common theme was - I’m stronger than you.”<br />
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Poundstone is a very large man, 6’1”, 320 pounds, but he’s considered small by strongman standards. He recently competed in a World’s Strongest Man qualifying event at the Mohegan Sun, in Uncasville, CT, and demolished the competition winning five of the six events, and placing second in the other event.<br />
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At the casino Poundstone trounced men 6’8”, 400 pounds, and some even heavier.<br />
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‘The cool thing about strongman is that you can take the biggest and strongest guy and put him under an 800 pound yoke and he can’t move it,” Poundstone said. “It’s not all about size.”<br />
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And for anyone who witnessed Derek Poundstone crush a field that had 14 of the top 16 strongmen in the world competing – one thing was crystal clear – Poundstone was the fittest man at the event.<br />
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Most strongmen are behemoths who would have trouble jogging down the driveway. Not Poundstone. “I have a unique combination of fast and slow twitch muscles,” he said. “That gives me both power and explosion. I can thank my parents for that. It’s the best of both worlds.” <br />
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Poundstone said he is not the biggest and strongest in most competitions, “but whoever is the most capable and most versatile athlete will win the title of World’s Strongest Man.”<br />
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At the competition and in almost every interview, Poundstone comes across as humble and soft spoken. He never says anything negative about an opponent because “I don’t want to give anyone extra motivation to beat me.”<br />
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At the Mohegan Sun his main competitor, Travis Ortmayer, of Texas, referred to him as Derek ‘Poundcake”. Derek smiled, said he would do his best, and then mopped the arena floor with Ortmayer. Poundstone was so dominating that he could have left the building before the final event and he still would have won.<br />
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“I get tons of motivation off other people’s comments,” he said. “ I play a psychological game. I’m not going to say I’m better than you. I’ll wear a bulky t-shirt before the competition and won’t let the other competitors see what I look like. I’m trying to change a fraction of one percent to take a little wind out of my opponents sail.”<br />
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This year Poundstone set an ambitious goal for himself. He had his eyes set on three specific competitions – like the major championships in golf and tennis. He won “The Arnold Strongman Classic” in March and was the lightest man ever to do so. He defeated 440 pound Mark Henry, a legendary American strongman, to take the title.<br />
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His next goal was the Fortissimus World Strength Challenge in Quebec on June 26th and 27th. ‘That is the most brutal competition in the world,” Poundstone said. “it’s twelve events spread out over two days and whoever wins earns the title of “Mightiest Man on the Planet.”<br />
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Days before the competition Poundstone fell ill, lost 15 pounds, and still led most of the way until finishing second to Zydrunas Savickas, a 6' 3". 385 pound strongman from Lithuania,<br />
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The final goal for 2009 is to win the World’s Strongest Man contest In Malta in early October.<br />
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“It’s almost impossible for one athlete to win all three events,” Poundstone said, “but that was my goal.”<br />
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It will be his goal again in 2010.<br />
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Poundstone lives in the Town Plot neighborhood. “Waterbury is a hard core place,” Poundstone said. “It’s extremely diverse and I love that I live in a place that had the nickname Sin City.”<br />
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Often when you are the best at anything, you become a marked man. Do people ever want to challenge the Strongest Man in America the way the quickest draw was always called out in the American West?<br />
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“The best thing is that I am a police officer,” Poundstone said. “Everyone is scared of cops.”<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-HgNfC0G0te4GcH-87qBZCXFxM1pNP_sjs4-frC0ZbEvj85ZLI34aPACHhM3iN9LYr_8obAe-OIdhHLgp0tBDbhzR-iCRnVKmhBdpvGzjGXLj9i8PDKL8DdMSMGb5NuzSK3iWPhdgw21T/s1600-h/Derek+cop+1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385907640954619906" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-HgNfC0G0te4GcH-87qBZCXFxM1pNP_sjs4-frC0ZbEvj85ZLI34aPACHhM3iN9LYr_8obAe-OIdhHLgp0tBDbhzR-iCRnVKmhBdpvGzjGXLj9i8PDKL8DdMSMGb5NuzSK3iWPhdgw21T/s400/Derek+cop+1.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq_WrXH53WA6RggrQKW5t6EPpkv2qt2w1-iqIAcdBMEUSiQWZDW1WqbZF8_Mkwqo2RQzRZWlqOYygSVp1n8psdMzKBU894d9TzjOMVwZJRhyEFF4BpI5WnpW0QwfjarpBFMVfjRWgmMcJK/s1600-h/Derek+cop+3.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385908368027850178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq_WrXH53WA6RggrQKW5t6EPpkv2qt2w1-iqIAcdBMEUSiQWZDW1WqbZF8_Mkwqo2RQzRZWlqOYygSVp1n8psdMzKBU894d9TzjOMVwZJRhyEFF4BpI5WnpW0QwfjarpBFMVfjRWgmMcJK/s400/Derek+cop+3.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYMuXLvoDyCpdXVh3eMISlX92A0n4ZO4laiESFm6_7Tebz0G2_l6qdOgn-S73kkVBCu8YY4oGImgHXLdpNdhFZ3D-OLWaGy1Vpq8W8ZCR-sRq2Cg0PIONj9nyZ0bRon0GEidVMHmZZfK8O/s1600-h/Derek+cop+5.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385908668329458050" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYMuXLvoDyCpdXVh3eMISlX92A0n4ZO4laiESFm6_7Tebz0G2_l6qdOgn-S73kkVBCu8YY4oGImgHXLdpNdhFZ3D-OLWaGy1Vpq8W8ZCR-sRq2Cg0PIONj9nyZ0bRon0GEidVMHmZZfK8O/s400/Derek+cop+5.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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Some guys challenge him to arm wrestling and Poundstone turns it into a joke. “I’ll laugh and say they’ll kick my ass,” he said. “I don’t need to prove myself to anyone, I do it in competition.”<br />
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Poundstone lives in a three family home he purchased several years ago. Derek said he doesn’t go out much, and often the extent of his fun is playing Guitar Hero at home. He lives with his girlfriend, Kristin Nelson, a physical education teacher in Branford.<br />
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Poundstone and Nelson met each other through mutual friends, both of whom were police officers. Kristin is uber organized and plays many roles in Derek’s life – girlfriend/nutritionist/coach and huge supporter.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3DwZ2tuKVaLN3aYDa4B1c74-KKUkPyAzRbk6C5YEQweNGDjJ7jAthYVD5HeMoawbJjteA4ulwYvuJm_1eWrhbPOgb_z21DGl-zVeRYbAEkZI-rb029F-UZwkfCrVDfshsi_5H11FfvaVB/s1600-h/Derek+and+Christina+(bw).jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385910605412309522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3DwZ2tuKVaLN3aYDa4B1c74-KKUkPyAzRbk6C5YEQweNGDjJ7jAthYVD5HeMoawbJjteA4ulwYvuJm_1eWrhbPOgb_z21DGl-zVeRYbAEkZI-rb029F-UZwkfCrVDfshsi_5H11FfvaVB/s400/Derek+and+Christina+(bw).jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 266px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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“I couldn’t do it without her,” Poundstone said, and a recent school trip Kristen went on bears this out. She was out of town for a week and Derek suddenly ran out of some of his nutritional supplements and found himself struggling to maintain the immense 6000 to 8000 caloric intake he needs a day to fuel his body.<br />
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During a recent visit to their home - after one of Derek’s absurdly challenging workouts – Kristin had a huge dinner prepared for him, and had boiled four chicken breasts prepared for the protein shakes Poundstone drinks while working at Naugatuck High School. While Derek answered questions during an Observer interview, Kristin opened a large shipment of nutritional supplements and tucked them away neatly in the cupboards.<br />
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Derek Poundstone may get all the media attention, but for anyone who understands human relations, Kristin Nelson embodies the statement “Behind every great man, there is a great woman.”<br />
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Poundstone’s childhood was scattered across the world. Derek’s father was in the Air Force and the Poundstone family spent the first ten years of Derek’s life living abroad in Spain and Italy. They returned to the U.S. when Derek was 10 years old and lived in South Dakota for six years. Derek’s parents divorced when he was 16, and when his parents moved apart, he was emotionally split in two.<br />
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Derek moved to Woodbury when he was 16 and eventually dropped out of high school to work full time, going on to manage a GNC Store in Southbury. Poundstone earned his high school diploma by attending Waterbury Adult Education in the evenings. Poundstone has competed in 30 amateur and professional strongman competitions, and at the age of 27, is entering his prime.<br />
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Some experts have speculated that the future of the sport rests on the massive shoulders of Derek Poundstone. But just a few short years ago it appeared his career was over. On October 26, 2006, two weeks before the World Championships, Derek severely injured his lumbar spine during training while attempting a 805 pound dead lift. Derek had a lumbar disc herniation and a massive spinal cord hemorrhage. Doctors told him that he would never lift again due to the severity of the injury.<br />
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Poundstone’s mental toughness drove him forward. “It still catches me sometimes when I twist,” Poundstone said. “And it really gets me when I sneeze.”<br />
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In the next few years there is a distinct possibility that Derek Poundstone will win his coveted Triple Crown, and be declared the World’s Strongest Man. It is within his grasp.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP53zmI3phShUmBZ_KUEloFUvy5z1-0xPE5qQ8_-GkQF7hE5ih7tEB-h9cAbn0iBbbWpNHI8fyMApHBC5Cs8st9Ds3zmGSAaxnP51qln0YfhBHqThWNo5qLZokHTvm_2qERR_r7Hns1fL7/s1600-h/Derek+Mohegan+Sun+1+1.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385931145837323570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP53zmI3phShUmBZ_KUEloFUvy5z1-0xPE5qQ8_-GkQF7hE5ih7tEB-h9cAbn0iBbbWpNHI8fyMApHBC5Cs8st9Ds3zmGSAaxnP51qln0YfhBHqThWNo5qLZokHTvm_2qERR_r7Hns1fL7/s400/Derek+Mohegan+Sun+1+1.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 280px;" /></a><br />
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“I don’t do this for money or women,” he said. “I do this because I enjoy lifting heavy stuff. I look forward to the next workout, to the next day in the gym. I love my sport. I love knowing that I am absurdly strong. It’s a cool feeling knowing that any room you walk into you are the strongest guy. I love that.”</div>John Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330863409275028247noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959311154355211412.post-30861022803525905702009-08-23T07:42:00.009-05:002011-01-22T15:55:27.178-05:00Billy's Law<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-style: italic;">In her tireless effort to find her missing son, Billy, Janice Smolinski uncovered systemic problems with the country’s national data banks, and the way law enforcement officers collect and process DNA samples. Congressman Chris Murphy is introducing federal legislation to correct the problem, and has named it “Billy’s Law”.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFQ6IWzJRwjQiq0nrx9SIEtpfzcbprYhh-tGVBl1aumPkxHmJN9tmgeIM31TCQ4sHrF_J3TUYC6GVju3aU-Z14-hvdniMN9jHamCAbL1zALptwxEUNNJGnBMVAGd0ca4s8h7YQgKPcGBUk/s1600-h/Murphy+press+conference+3+(web).jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373142091864651346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFQ6IWzJRwjQiq0nrx9SIEtpfzcbprYhh-tGVBl1aumPkxHmJN9tmgeIM31TCQ4sHrF_J3TUYC6GVju3aU-Z14-hvdniMN9jHamCAbL1zALptwxEUNNJGnBMVAGd0ca4s8h7YQgKPcGBUk/s400/Murphy+press+conference+3+(web).jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Janice Smolinski, center, watched Connecticut Congressman Chris Murphy unveil plans to upgrade the national system of the Missing and Unidentified Dead at a press conference in Hartford, CT. The legislation is being named "Billy's Law" after Smolinski's 31 year old son, Billy, who vanished five years ago.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span><br />
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The first time missing persons advocate Janice Smolinski met with Congressman Chris Murphy two years ago she had a difficult time reading him. They had originally agreed to meet at a coffee shop in Cheshire, but Murphy had to reschedule, and they ended up meeting inside his office in New Britain.<br />
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The meeting lasted 45 minutes and Smolinski said she did most of the talking. She told Murphy about the 40,000 unidentified human remains being stored around the country. She told him about the 160,000 missing persons in America, and the difficulty using national data bases to try and connect DNA samples from the missing to the unidentified dead.<br />
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“I threw a lot of information at him and he didn’t say too much,” Smolinski said. “When I left the office I didn’t have a good feeling. It didn’t seem like he had grasped the enormity of what I was saying to him.”<br />
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Murphy agreed.<br />
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“It was my first term in office and I wasn’t sure there was anything I could do to help her,” Murphy said. But he began to study the issue by researching news articles and getting his aides to gather information.<br />
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As Murphy digested the information, Smolinski continued to seek state and federal legislation to address the national crisis. She met with Senator Joe Lieberman’s staff and Senator Chris Dodd’s. They listened, but the issue didn’t seem to resonate loud enough to act upon. Smolinski also sought to change the way Connecticut law enforcement officers responded to the report of a missing adult.<br />
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The driving force behind Smolinski’s crusade was the disappearance five years ago of her 31-year-old son, Billy. When a sluggish investigation by the Waterbury Police Department resulted in lost DNA samples and an inadequate report to the National Crime Information Center, Smolinski took the search for her son onto the Internet.<br />
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“I was stunned at what I discovered,” Smolinski said. “What we experienced in Waterbury was happening every day all across the country. Police officers have not been properly trained to collect and process DNA samples, and very few police departments knew how to use the national DNA databanks. Training was years behind the science.”<br />
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Although the Smolinskis now believe that Billy was murdered in Woodbridge, and is buried in an unknown grave in Shelton, they could not turn away from the mess they uncovered while trying to unravel his mysterious disappearance. During the past legislative session in Hartford Smolinski fought to mandate DNA training for all law enforcement officers, but with the massive state budget deficit, the bill was sidetracked and never made its way to the floor of the house for a vote.<br />
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This spring Jan and Bill Smolinski’s phone rang and they received a heads up from a national expert that federal legislation was developing from a Connecticut politician as a direct result of Jan’s lobbying.<br />
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“They couldn’t tell us who was working on the legislation,” Janice said. “And we honestly had no clue.”<br />
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It was 5th District Congressman Chris Murphy, who unbeknownst to the Smolinskis, had quietly done the homework necessary to tackle the complex issue. The Smolinskis then received a call from Linda Forman at Congressman Murphy’s office asking for specifics they would like to see in the legislation.<br />
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“We were stunned,” Smolinski said. “We have been working hard to get someone to pay attention to this issue, and this came out of the blue. We were thrilled.”<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU-9Cb6jJW5Xa4ZLh_kzOil0-z4SgOdE2fdVI3QY90L458gOWuDlds4Hi2BoL_pQBmcfNv30ClyXXSzBA50aK-UtQzYC-UuNiHdSo5auZmQieU36u-2C7gHruSBelCT07Prnw4Jv18Vib7/s1600-h/Murphy+press+conference+4(web).jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373142608302526498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU-9Cb6jJW5Xa4ZLh_kzOil0-z4SgOdE2fdVI3QY90L458gOWuDlds4Hi2BoL_pQBmcfNv30ClyXXSzBA50aK-UtQzYC-UuNiHdSo5auZmQieU36u-2C7gHruSBelCT07Prnw4Jv18Vib7/s400/Murphy+press+conference+4(web).jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 267px;" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Congressman Murphy.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span></div><br />
On August 6th Congressman Murphy held a press conference in Hartford to announce the legislation he is calling Billy’s Law. And it was clear to anyone at the press conference that Murphy is knowledgeable and passionate about closing the gaps that exist between the missing, and the unidentified dead.<br />
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Murphy explained that the federal government has two main data bases that track the missing and the unidentified remains, one operated by the Department of Justice, and one by the FBI.<br />
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“The problem is that these two data bases don’t talk to each other and only one of them is available to the public,” Murphy said. “This legislation will give family members access to all information in this country relative to missing persons and unidentified remains.”<br />
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Murphy also announced that Billy’s Law would provide $2.5 million a year in funding to improve the data bases and to insure that local, state and federal law enforcement officers know how to collect and process DNA, and input the information into the data bases.<br />
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“Billy’s Law will give families the tools and resources they need to be part of the search for their loved one,” Murphy said.<br />
Murphy applauded the Smolinski’s efforts to find their son and said “I would not be introducing this federal legislation if it were not for the Smolinski family. They brought their case and their cause to me, and they educated me how difficult it was to sort through the disconnected data bases at the federal level.”<br />
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Congressman Murphy told the Smolinskis that he will introduce Billy’s Law when Congress reconvenes in September. The legislation has already been endorsed by the National Forensic Science Technology Center, the National Forensics Center, the Doe Network, and the Center For Hope.<br />
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“This is not a partisan issue,” Murphy said, “and we hope we can get it through Congress by the end of the year.”<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB2y1H6zn4PL66fYUCcwWfUV4PbknboCUSXxdS2HAIWVXyGzSuNYM9DrDvDuySxg734d85U7cOW3VIG_ZTPbEX1g5haZkquNk-UOR46g615DQ_AIGBJyVpAYFB6t87u5dbWIIT4XleJn6Z/s1600-h/Murphy+and+Smolinskis(web).jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373142363536023074" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB2y1H6zn4PL66fYUCcwWfUV4PbknboCUSXxdS2HAIWVXyGzSuNYM9DrDvDuySxg734d85U7cOW3VIG_ZTPbEX1g5haZkquNk-UOR46g615DQ_AIGBJyVpAYFB6t87u5dbWIIT4XleJn6Z/s400/Murphy+and+Smolinskis(web).jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Congressman Murphy speaks to the Smolinski family - Bill, Jan and Paula<span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">.</span></div><br />
Several other developments in the Smolinksi investigation are worth noting, A front page story published about the case in the New Haven Register has led to a hot tip being called in to the Smolinski family, and they have passed the information on to their FBI agent.<br />
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Also, The Waterbury Observer has won a legal victory in a lawsuit filed against it by Madeleine Gleason, Billy Smolinski’s former girlfriend. Gleason was involved in a love triangle with Billy Smolinski and a prominent Woodbridge politician at the time of Billy’s disappearance. When the Observer published an in-depth article revealing the love triangle, and printed a photograph of Gleason - in public - tearing down a missing person poster of Billy Smolinski, she sued Janice Smolinski, Paula Bell (Billy’s sister), and the Observer for invading her privacy.<br />
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Gleason hired prominent New Haven attorney John Williams to sue the Smolinskis and the Observer in July 2006. The Observer retained the services of Attorney Mark Lee of Waterbury and Attorney Kevin Greco of Stamford. Lee and Greco filed a motion to strike the six counts filed against the Observer, and on July 20th a Superior Court judge in New Haven ruled that the charges against the newspaper were “legally insufficient”, and removed the Observer from the lawsuit. Attorney Williams has filed a notice of intention to appeal.<br />
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The suit against Janice and her daughter remains.<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">The following comments were made by Janice Smolinski on August 6th during a press conference held by Congressman Chris Murphy to announce legislation to address the systemic problems in the world of the missing and the unidentified dead.<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCr15UMtjUI6s1RT5FD1fWJ3xam89WmumIzZv4t9hRd-yKdKrtQDo6Xtcvl6aFz2C1nfoFKrdXykuw7XVGpYck_qk2AMmnh10wbq2tMHbDAKxXguGCrvhYjepqQFmKU0epirWnGDyLs0YG/s1600-h/Jan+front(web).jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373143396597192178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCr15UMtjUI6s1RT5FD1fWJ3xam89WmumIzZv4t9hRd-yKdKrtQDo6Xtcvl6aFz2C1nfoFKrdXykuw7XVGpYck_qk2AMmnh10wbq2tMHbDAKxXguGCrvhYjepqQFmKU0epirWnGDyLs0YG/s400/Jan+front(web).jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 296px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">J</span></b><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">anice Smolinski addressed a press conference in early August flanked by her husband, Bill, and daughter, Paula Bell. In the back row is State Representative Selim Noujaim, Congressman Chris Murphy and State Representative Larry Butler.</span><br />
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Good afternoon and thank-you Congressman Murphy for having the courage to tackle the tragic disconnect in our country’s effort to find 160,000 missing people in America today. I have been asked to explain my family’s involvement in trying to reform a labyrinth of databases, police reports and DNA samples.<br />
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The answer is that my son Billy vanished five years ago, and in our efforts to find him we opened a Pandora’s Box of problems plaguing the world of the missing and the unidentified dead. Currently there are more than 40,000 unidentified human remains being stored by coroners and medical examiners around this country, and experts in the field believe many of the unidentified dead are the missing, By using DNA samples we can cross reference the two groups and connect the missing to the unidentified dead. We can name the unidentified and help bring closure to thousands of grieving families. Congressman Murphy’s legislation will help connect the dots in this national nightmare.<br />
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In our case just about anything that could go wrong in our effort to find our son went wrong. The system we encountered was broken. We have tried to change the system so no family has to endure the anguish we have lived through these past five years.<br />
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Uncertainty is a cancer that crushes the spirit of loved ones left behind, destroys marriages and tears at the tissue of family bonds. Each and every face on “THE QUILT OF HOPE” hanging behind me here today had a life and was loved. The faces you see on the quilt are missing from coast to coast, including Hawaii. I have spoken to every family member of the missing persons on the quilt and some of the squares are made from the actual clothing of the missing loved one which makes it personal to the families. Since the quilt was started a year ago, two of the missing on the quilt are now classified as a homicide, and an unsolved homicide. <br />
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Our story - and there are 160,000 other stories in America - began August 24th, 2004, when our son disappeared. The local police were slow to react to our call that something had happened to Billy. We are a very close family and immediately knew something extraordinary had occurred when Billy left his dog unfed and locked inside his house, with his truck parked oddly in the driveway. When our initial attempts to get the police to investigate Billy’s disappearance failed, we organized our own search with family and friends.<br />
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One of the many problems in this issue is that law enforcement officers across the country are slow to respond to the report of a missing adult.<br />
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That has to change.<br />
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International homicide expert Bill Hagmaier, a great leader in fighting for reform, has publicly stated that a majority of the 160,000 missing Americans aren’t just missing, they have been murdered. The quicker police respond to a report of a missing adult the better the odds of solving these violent crimes.<br />
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Reports need to be sent promptly into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), and the information of a missing person needs to be shared with medical examiners and coroners. This is not happening right now, and in rural parts of the country unidentified remains are still being cremated without gathering DNA samples first.<br />
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After reports have been filed, if the missing individual is not found, the next step is to collect DNA. A quick mouth swab from a family member will gather the DNA material needed to send to a state or federal lab that can analyze and upload that information into a national data bank.<br />
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None of this happened in our case. It took four years for the proper information to be filed with the National Crime Information Center, and the collection of DNA was incompetent. Seven separate samples were misplaced or lost by our local police department, and it wasn’t until the FBI took over the investigation that the proper reports and DNA samples were collected and filed.<br />
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When law enforcement doesn’t have the proper training to collect DNA and upload that information into national data banks the notion that we are living in a CSI society is nothing more than a television fantasy. Training has to catch up with science and technology and Congressman Murphy’s act will ensure that it does.<br />
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When law enforcement does not properly investigate a missing person the only recourse is for the family to do it themselves. In our case we had to organize search parties, bring in search dogs, hire private investigators and spend thousands of hours looking for Billy ourselves.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJFL9ouK5vrynGRI-2x8ChaBR7TzrqHRbA71m5dWCXoPuFN9_pnbp7Y5w_hm_-KJkyz3Kn6g9XWX05cZopCZh9-In0yR3PCQHetMbvCm3AentRdhSDxEPmYKe9Y6EujwFRv9kPClrSDQub/s1600-h/Billy(web).jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373146570239158226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJFL9ouK5vrynGRI-2x8ChaBR7TzrqHRbA71m5dWCXoPuFN9_pnbp7Y5w_hm_-KJkyz3Kn6g9XWX05cZopCZh9-In0yR3PCQHetMbvCm3AentRdhSDxEPmYKe9Y6EujwFRv9kPClrSDQub/s400/Billy(web).jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 353px;" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Billy Smolinski vanished in August 2004.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span></div><br />
Eventually we uncovered information that led us to believe Billy had been murdered in Woodbridge and buried in Shelton. We discovered that Billy was involved in a love triangle that included a prominent politician in Woodbridge, and a school bus driver in Woodbridge.<br />
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When we tried to hang missing person flyers on telephone poles in Woodbridge I was arrested by the Woodbridge Police, a charge that was quickly dismissed.<br />
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After a local paper tried to report on the crazy twist and turns in our sons disappearance, the reporter, and my daughter and I, were all sued by the mother of the man we believe murdered Billy.<br />
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None of this would have happened if the police had responded quickly to our calls for help. Instead of help we received insensitivity and callousness. Two years after Billy disappeared a high-ranking police officer told a journalist “Billy was probably having a beer in Europe and would come home when he was ready.”<br />
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Appalled, we confronted the Waterbury Police Department, and former chief Neil O’Leary listened to our concerns, studied the issue, and ordered mandatory training for all his officers. Reform has occurred in Waterbury and in many departments around Connecticut.<br />
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In 2007 the Department of Justice created a National Missing Persons and Unidentified Persons System called NamUs, which built a bridge between the data being collected from the missing and the data collected from the unidentified dead. A critical part of Congressman Murphy’s act authorizes more funding for NamUs, and also connects NamUs with the FBI’s crime information center. These are major breakthroughs.<br />
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On a personal note, my husband Bill and I are uncomfortable in the spotlight, but events beyond our control have brought us to this day. The Help Find the Missing Act has been named Billy’s Law in honor of our son and it is our fondest hope that these changes will help bring closure and peace to thousands of families wrestling with the horror that stains every second of their lives.<br />
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America’s sense of well-being was shattered on September 11th when we tragically lost 2974 in a terrorist attack. That horror unfolded in mere hours and was seen by billions around the world. After September 11th, the need to match the missing with the unidentified dead was magnified, and the seeds were planted to create NamUs.<br />
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Today changes everything. Congressman Murphy’s effort to address this national nightmare is long overdue, and the Missing Community applauds his effort. This act is named after my son, but it’s not for him, or the Smolinski family. This act is for every American, and is the ultimate act in Homeland Security.</div>John Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330863409275028247noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959311154355211412.post-25519519614493287312009-06-24T19:32:00.025-05:002011-01-22T15:57:01.338-05:00Into The Woods<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Billy Smolinski Vanished Five Years Ago. The Cops Believe His Body Is Buried in Shelton or Seymour. The Big Question Is Where?</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Dsp2MxHY93h1nM41avZsjHsLxEw6OOITqgZxD1NWwSrlbvUPLRiZi0Aj9iHhKPiKu-RATMFOektE4Ru2SkYXQuJnyuRcx8oi28OHwRyy5GqpMClEjIHPmS-NPJz0PbMuiOHAp-Wb5NxT/s1600-h/Jan+searching+(web).jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351058168450650082" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Dsp2MxHY93h1nM41avZsjHsLxEw6OOITqgZxD1NWwSrlbvUPLRiZi0Aj9iHhKPiKu-RATMFOektE4Ru2SkYXQuJnyuRcx8oi28OHwRyy5GqpMClEjIHPmS-NPJz0PbMuiOHAp-Wb5NxT/s400/Jan+searching+(web).jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Janice Smolinski watches as private investigator Todd Lovejoy searches through debris in a wooded area in Shelton.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span><br />
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Bands of electrical storms surged across Connecticut and heavy air hung oppressively across the lower Naugatuck Valley. It was a day to sit on the front porch and drink iced tea, not a day to stomp through the forest, scramble up embankments, and peer beneath rubbish looking for the body of your murdered son.<br />
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Welcome to the world of Janice and Bill Smolinski, which for the past five years has been a living nightmare as they relentlessly search for the remains of their 31-year-old son.<br />
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“We have to bring him home,” Janice Smolinski said. “We may never find out exactly what happened to him, but we aren’t going to give up until we find Billy.”<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3yf1-1csC8d8COj14Fuamgp2B_BckqPnUdmfypPXxiIq28y44fArsYc51eVrbMo7jhir_8LkWIusAp_WALaldNbJ8433b5dj4DI85PViPqtfcpaq0WC-JbidHfjwcpiv7-UcICJ3isG-L/s1600-h/Billy1+(web).jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351058376371121394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3yf1-1csC8d8COj14Fuamgp2B_BckqPnUdmfypPXxiIq28y44fArsYc51eVrbMo7jhir_8LkWIusAp_WALaldNbJ8433b5dj4DI85PViPqtfcpaq0WC-JbidHfjwcpiv7-UcICJ3isG-L/s400/Billy1+(web).jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 352px;" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Billy Smolinski vanished in August 2004.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span></div><br />
And the Smolinskis think they are getting close. They’ve been working with a private investigator, Todd Lovejoy, who has brought a sense of purpose to an investigation that has been more hot potato, than priority, to various law enforcement agencies involved since August 2004.<br />
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Lovejoy, a former sergeant in the Waterbury police department, left the force five years ago to launch his own business, Spyglass Investigations. Lovejoy stumbled into the case by accident two years ago while working on a separate investigation. While interviewing a witness he uncovered pertinent information that was linked to Billy’s disappearance.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL2a-a6WRe1hi3n79xn8yGPGRvmx9XHw-DYo4D6XjTt5QzMjuIDpnr15OuCWz0OKPVaw0UkYzal2EqeU6jUidHTiJ45n3JVm61HaAjhiYZUIyRnYuw2pVbEM-P-t86wf061jj2KHL-JfAc/s1600-h/Jan+and+Todd+2+(web).jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351058698182641698" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL2a-a6WRe1hi3n79xn8yGPGRvmx9XHw-DYo4D6XjTt5QzMjuIDpnr15OuCWz0OKPVaw0UkYzal2EqeU6jUidHTiJ45n3JVm61HaAjhiYZUIyRnYuw2pVbEM-P-t86wf061jj2KHL-JfAc/s400/Jan+and+Todd+2+(web).jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 347px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 399px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Despite five years of desperation and anxiety, Janice Smolinski remains confident her son’s body will be found and she and her husband, Bill, will have closure. She is pictured here with P.I. Todd Lovejoy.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span><br />
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On June 14th the Smolinskis met Lovejoy in a gravel parking lot in Shelton to scout a wooded area for Billy’s remains. Lovejoy had pieced together several clues and believed there was an outside chance that Billy was buried beneath construction debris on the edge of a densely wooded forest in Shelton.<br />
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Frustrated with the pace of the federal investigation, the Smolinskis and Lovejoy decided to take action. The night before the search Janice Smolinski was optimistic – even joyful – that the search for Billy was about to come to an end. She barely slept. She and Bill attended church in the morning and met Lovejoy at noon.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrU-VyHhTlf2NCY6IQDyIBkL5P7U_QF0Dxg7c3hS4RBjRBzNdCdWN44uSFWi0pD8Z2eqPILPGT7s0WYudYB7vXj-kXFSiY808FB1G5lwmidIRIhx1LCwGP7xFbW4FEEd6maKLbzEi-Ixl8/s1600-h/Jan+and+Todd+(web).jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351058981604724498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrU-VyHhTlf2NCY6IQDyIBkL5P7U_QF0Dxg7c3hS4RBjRBzNdCdWN44uSFWi0pD8Z2eqPILPGT7s0WYudYB7vXj-kXFSiY808FB1G5lwmidIRIhx1LCwGP7xFbW4FEEd6maKLbzEi-Ixl8/s400/Jan+and+Todd+(web).jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Todd Lovejoy of Spyglass Investigations reads the VIN # off an abandoned car in the area the Smolinskis believe their son is buried. Lovejoy, a former sergeant in the Waterbury Police Department, has refueled the Smolinskis hope they will find their son.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrhFPqdxsU6Nc5TrHu3b5-rpogGmO42492Iv1iGaB67JYzQ89NFQvRQvvioTsGTBycyXFcFUEzIOn6kTBb2bO_uzMA5IQgGmZ1NLsY6XiDbUuC9PUKtJF2dBGm_j1ZltGja5Pi7JHnHszd/s1600-h/Jan+and+Todd+heap+(web).jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351065183112080530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrhFPqdxsU6Nc5TrHu3b5-rpogGmO42492Iv1iGaB67JYzQ89NFQvRQvvioTsGTBycyXFcFUEzIOn6kTBb2bO_uzMA5IQgGmZ1NLsY6XiDbUuC9PUKtJF2dBGm_j1ZltGja5Pi7JHnHszd/s400/Jan+and+Todd+heap+(web).jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Janice Smolinski watches Todd Lovejoy search through debris for her son Billy.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span></div><br />
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They climbed hills, slid down steep embankments, walked along railroad tracks, poked through piles of industrial debris and peered into dark barrels.<br />
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Three hours later the search came to an end with no Billy. “I’m not disappointed,” Janice said, “I’m on a mission. I really feel like we are very close to finding him. This spot is so isolated. It’s a great place to get rid of a body if you don’t want anyone to see you.”<br />
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While the Smolinskis have no proof that Billy was murdered five years ago, several suspects have provided detailed information about what happened that fateful night – and though the stories contradict – the end result in all the versions is the same – Billy was murdered, and his body was buried.<br />
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One suspect went so far as to lead the police to an isolated meadow in Seymour and point to the exact spot where he said he had helped bury Billy’s body. That information was used by the FBI to launch a massive dig in Seymour last August. Backhoes from the town of Seymour tore up an entire meadow, but no Billy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7uqKaJ6ASIts5OKSocWW5gNEV-wIJKrExfBfal_6enfeOp8pgwoSEBUOxDR8mLC14wYhfOkhKKKC94gbJZYK2xecaKK6OhYB7g_tzXOed1bSRR_540P8WNDy4JMcRWMf1MiYVJXzvo9u1/s1600-h/Smolinski+dig+(web).jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351066393834275170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7uqKaJ6ASIts5OKSocWW5gNEV-wIJKrExfBfal_6enfeOp8pgwoSEBUOxDR8mLC14wYhfOkhKKKC94gbJZYK2xecaKK6OhYB7g_tzXOed1bSRR_540P8WNDy4JMcRWMf1MiYVJXzvo9u1/s400/Smolinski+dig+(web).jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 298px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">An overhead view of the massive dig for Billy Smolinski in August 2008.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span></div><br />
Other leads have pointed beneath a driveway and inside the foundation of a new house. One of the suspects was a former grave digger and there was speculation that Billy might have been buried in a cemetery in Seymour.<br />
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To date there has been more speculation than answers. No law enforcement agency is giving the Smolinskis any hope that Billy is still alive, they just don’t know where he’s buried. And all the suspects are either dead, in prison, or have a track record of substance abuse.<br />
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In the past five years the investigation has involved the Waterbury Police Department, the FBI, the Connecticut State Police, the Seymour police, and the Shelton police.<br />
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There is some confusion as to which organization is the lead investigator in the case. It started in Waterbury, was taken over by the FBI three years ago, and now involves the State Police, Seymour Police and the Shelton Police.<br />
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In a series of telephone calls the Observer tried to get an answer to the question of what law enforcement agency was in charge of the investigation.<br />
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An inquiry to the FBI resulted in an agency spokesperson leaving a message on the Observer voicemail stating that the FBI’s official policy is to not comment on ongoing investigations.<br />
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Detective Ben Trabka of the Shelton Police Department said the investigation was a multi-jurisdictional case and was very complicated. “The case has bounced around as the information has bounced around,” Trabka said. “No one agency wants to say they are the lead, but a lot of the leads point to a Shelton involvement.”<br />
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Trabka said that Waterbury was still actively involved in the case and that Waterbury police had processed a house in Seymour last autumn.<br />
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This was news to Waterbury police chief Neil O’Leary, who 90 minutes before he retired, told the Observer that he believed the FBI was the lead investigator.<br />
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“Technically we still have some standing in the case,” O’Leary said, “but if we got a tip today the first call we’d make is to the FBI. It’s their case now.”<br />
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The State Police refused the Smolinskis plea for help for two years telling the family that the case was under the jurisdiction of the Waterbury Police Department, and unless they were called in by Waterbury, they couldn’t help.<br />
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After the FBI took over the case in August 2006 it appears that the feds reached out to other police departments for assistance. Trabka said the FBI came to Shelton two years ago and that his department has been assisting ever since.<br />
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In addition, the Woodbridge Police Department is a key player in the story because they made the only arrest in the case when they pinched Janice Smolinski for hanging missing person flyers on a telephone poll too close to a public school.<br />
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It didn’t seem to matter to the Woodbridge cops that a Woodbridge school bus driver, Madeline Gleason, had been tearing down Billy’s missing person flyers for weeks. It didn’t seem to matter to the Woodbridge police, or the Waterbury police, that Madeline Gleason was Billy’s ex-girlfriend, and that the couple had split after Billy discovered Madeleine was having an affair with a prominent Woodbridge politician.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4x8CPVP5Zv8FWWTF37eWi-mZtPZ4K32dDJXkqizWH2OHuQ7tUckGQ3BoRlhkn9vonvKngOfySi41OhIgG_OSAXmYF8Mwk7OtbkZDQ_Lh0HA0sGd3e4k1PGPlZtZ2U_gXTt_PwBvuQxr8F/s1600-h/Madeleine(web).jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351064519333771458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4x8CPVP5Zv8FWWTF37eWi-mZtPZ4K32dDJXkqizWH2OHuQ7tUckGQ3BoRlhkn9vonvKngOfySi41OhIgG_OSAXmYF8Mwk7OtbkZDQ_Lh0HA0sGd3e4k1PGPlZtZ2U_gXTt_PwBvuQxr8F/s400/Madeleine(web).jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Madeline Gleason</span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span></div><br />
It didn’t seem to matter that Billy’s last telephone call was to the home of the Woodbridge politician telling him to “watch his back.”<br />
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Nearly two years after Billy disappeared the Deputy Assistant police chief in Waterbury told the Observer that “Billy was probably having a beer in Europe.”<br />
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The Waterbury police collected and lost five individual DNA samples from the Smolinski family, and despite impossibly strong leads, they repeatedly stated that they had nothing to investigate, that they had exhausted all leads in the investigation.<br />
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Private investigator Todd Lovejoy told the Observer that in the past five years no law enforcement organization has been to, or processed, the house he believes Billy Smolinski might have been murdered in.<br />
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It took almost five years before any police thoroughly processed Billy’s pick-up truck for forensic clues. The truck was recently combed over by the State Police Major Crime Squad, and Shelton Detective Ben Trabka said “they got some fingerprints out of the truck and they are trying to I.D. them now. They also got some DNA evidence, but they are not sure whose it is, and what significance it has.”<br />
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Trabka said that if any of the material links the suspects to the truck it will send off alarms. “There is no reason for any of the suspects to be in that truck,” Trabka said. “One theory is that after they buried him they drove his truck back home and parked it in the wrong place.”<br />
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The DNA and fingerprints can provide a direct link to the individuals who murdered and buried Billy Smolinski.<br />
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‘This case has had it’s ups and downs,” Trabka said, “but right now all the information points to this end of the valley.”</div>John Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330863409275028247noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959311154355211412.post-15128052367701416612009-05-14T08:51:00.020-05:002009-07-02T14:09:15.801-05:00Battle Lines<span style="font-weight:bold;">Plans To Transform Anamet To Clean BioFuel Generator Meets Public Resistence. Company Has Troublesome Past. <span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span> <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLLq9D67h9s4ctXFpIkyjtWDFZrjOyvdXUL8BNUn0PK60Zn64WF2B9NtDiOzfZFUDCAMhp-T2mx5GDZ1vPF3xND9Hh9arJilJ3j91iwuGDMzMlbokRoh5Fnz0alR8VNhyphenhyphenheHTr_VZn5I1B/s1600-h/Anamet+1+(bw+(web)).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLLq9D67h9s4ctXFpIkyjtWDFZrjOyvdXUL8BNUn0PK60Zn64WF2B9NtDiOzfZFUDCAMhp-T2mx5GDZ1vPF3xND9Hh9arJilJ3j91iwuGDMzMlbokRoh5Fnz0alR8VNhyphenhyphenheHTr_VZn5I1B/s400/Anamet+1+(bw+(web)).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335688943096940722" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Anamet site has been dormant for nearly a decade.<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7uvJV-51l9vq1P9lozKehyphenhyphen0FUwKin8lAtfXmUHvTd7zRjHC4t_GUWEHCYLhqCH2lj_hllZC1a2tFjE8xnc-UFWinzS5NCtmNRCCwff1er3pc736EJn-eubgIqT8zlBIbCTOhIB6MH-bjy/s1600-h/Italian+dude+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7uvJV-51l9vq1P9lozKehyphenhyphen0FUwKin8lAtfXmUHvTd7zRjHC4t_GUWEHCYLhqCH2lj_hllZC1a2tFjE8xnc-UFWinzS5NCtmNRCCwff1er3pc736EJn-eubgIqT8zlBIbCTOhIB6MH-bjy/s400/Italian+dude+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335685149013031186" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Saverio Romanelli of the Waterbury Environmental Control Commission questioned Chestnut Hill BioFuel during its March 2009 presentation.<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrr-icB_T8Zu_5WJ7Jf0cu-B2up0jYuyOqltByc4HwfigwZDgaV1LoIeTCzOTX7sfsbDbIWTWFwbSb5Ujo4xgCzlNQDHe0i7qjnlLolTZz8_IMde2b3w5gYDh_XMvZGISCqQEd5MGu_2om/s1600-h/old+equipment+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrr-icB_T8Zu_5WJ7Jf0cu-B2up0jYuyOqltByc4HwfigwZDgaV1LoIeTCzOTX7sfsbDbIWTWFwbSb5Ujo4xgCzlNQDHe0i7qjnlLolTZz8_IMde2b3w5gYDh_XMvZGISCqQEd5MGu_2om/s400/old+equipment+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335688280288307282" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Old equipment decaying inside Anamet<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> On the surface it sounds like a terrific idea.<br /> <br /> Chestnut Hill BioEnergy is proposing to purchase the Anamet property on South Main Street in Waterbury and transform the shuttered buildings, which have lay dormant for 9 years, into a clean energy project. The gist of the proposal is to take up to 54 truckloads of food waste a day and transform it into electricity.<br /><br /> The company will knock down an abandoned building along the Naugatuck River which used to generate steam and electric power for Anamet, a massive company that made metal hoses in the south end of Waterbury for 72 years, and turn a Brownfield into a taxable business that will put money in city coffers.<br /><br /> The plant would employ 40 to 50 people and tax revenue from the property would increase at least ten times. Sounds great, huh? Well, as usual, the devil is in the details. And upon closer inspection, some of the details don’t smell so good.<br /><br /> A few years ago David Goodemote – the man driving the proposal in Waterbury - was the president of Eastern Organic Resources which ran the Woodhue Composting Center in Springfield, New Jersey. The business took in 100 tons of wood chips, food waste, brush, and cardboard a day, and transformed the stew into compost they would resell to landscapers, garden centers and contractors.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigchWzTVWNNLpcUoxSColIz38Q19EcezU-oyUIy3i1C2ItSMnT6Z_jiTkTgoZ7DgUKCdnBIXyZRVkDAiPQ89JAtQsqXxfZWyOCjIEdlFhRx0Jg6YuhwGkgODgcuLn8h52b5xlxDq6dV4s5/s1600-h/David+Goodehouse+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigchWzTVWNNLpcUoxSColIz38Q19EcezU-oyUIy3i1C2ItSMnT6Z_jiTkTgoZ7DgUKCdnBIXyZRVkDAiPQ89JAtQsqXxfZWyOCjIEdlFhRx0Jg6YuhwGkgODgcuLn8h52b5xlxDq6dV4s5/s400/David+Goodehouse+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335684511518150082" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">David Goodemote<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNw6me33DW7gPEWQy4EI2VTHd5bAw02zWuwq049gzpPqRsoPO4NvVRCwfn68Mw679vUvBc-9uiBX8XRNYBscHIG0dwlYs9WmA_MrVtMYdQwywtsMJitznbpSYwkxkYc60d95H6TEBJbZzt/s1600-h/food+dumpster+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNw6me33DW7gPEWQy4EI2VTHd5bAw02zWuwq049gzpPqRsoPO4NvVRCwfn68Mw679vUvBc-9uiBX8XRNYBscHIG0dwlYs9WmA_MrVtMYdQwywtsMJitznbpSYwkxkYc60d95H6TEBJbZzt/s400/food+dumpster+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335687074210562434" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Food waste compacter behind a local Stop and Shop<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br /> Goodemote proclaimed his company to be environmentally friendly, but his neighbors had a different story – they called the composting center an obnoxious and destructive force in the neighborhood. The neighbors complained about a foul odor coming from the composting plant, and one neighbor, George Nicholson, worried that the foul air from Eastern Organic Resources caused respiratory infections among the racehorses on his farm.<br /><br /> In 2006 the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection hammered Eastern Organic with a $1.5 million fine for polluting the air and water, and committing administrative violations. Among the charges was that Eastern Organic had illegally discharged contaminated water into wetlands and a nearby brook. In an article in the August 6th, 2006 issue of the New York Times, David Goodemote said the accusations were unfair, and stated the company’s problems could be resolved by enclosing the facility and trapping the air and water inside.<br /><br /> Goodemote said New Jersey would not allow him the permits to do that. Frustrated, the composting plant was morphed into a solar energy farm and Goodemote set out to find a new home for his food recycling enterprise. After searching several states, and visiting sites around Connecticut, Goodemote zeroed in on the Anamet property, nestled between South Main Street and the Naugatuck River.<br /><br /> “New Jersey was not willing to work with us,” Goodemote said at a meeting in Waterbury recently, “but Connecticut and Massachusetts are.”<br /><br /> The key, according to Goodemote, is to obtain the proper permits to contain composting in an airtight process at the Anamet facility and trap all contaminated water and air inside. With the facility closed in, Goodemote said, there would be no odor problem in the South End, and no contaminated water seeping into the Naugatuck River. Mike Maynard, of Chestnut Hill BioEnergy, was also at the March meeting of the Waterbury Environmental Control Commission. Maynard said his company is not shy about talking about their “painful experience in New Jersey.”<br /><br /> “There are lessons learned,” he said. “We need to pay careful attention to odor control and the only way to do that is to close it in.”<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmUOyyTrdtocXgdynzK72dFYVGF-vRzwF9CT-2xCzeQhMvcI6wK_iMW28KF49nXO1R9lzDPurYlQl5fNYP2KJ-tQmAC9ZhxWWQXk0PrZDwA8o7nW1dkohCHhW0FALwKDWRwxf9cATGSlir/s1600-h/Mike+Maynard+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmUOyyTrdtocXgdynzK72dFYVGF-vRzwF9CT-2xCzeQhMvcI6wK_iMW28KF49nXO1R9lzDPurYlQl5fNYP2KJ-tQmAC9ZhxWWQXk0PrZDwA8o7nW1dkohCHhW0FALwKDWRwxf9cATGSlir/s400/Mike+Maynard+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335688514034668114" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Mike Maynard<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br /> Goodemote and Maynard said their problems in New Jersey arose from “political shifts” that thwarted their efforts to close in the facility. “The Connecticut DEP has been to our facility in New Jersey,” Goodemote said. “It is the largest composting facility on the East Coast. We know the key is to get our permit first.”<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Meeting<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /> On a drizzling night in late March, Chestnut Hill BioEnergy gave a power point presentation about their Anamet site proposal to the Waterbury Environmental Control Commission. The company has been making the rounds for months trying to drum up support for their project, and opposition is beginning to stir. Neighborhood groups are e-mailing each other to muster troops to oppose the project. Members of the Waterbury Greenway Advisory Committee are paying close attention to the proposal as they plan a 7 mile multi-use trail along the Naugatuck River. Images of a multi-million dollar Greenway next to a plant processing food waste – operated by a company with a history of air and water violations - has given members pause.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho35jBVrr7ExRe2nbh217gqNR9mmTnb_G1RFLTeV5e-sQ7YsGNZrFkjCjtPh-2I-2uLGaqnZJfgmawAY7bEmfJHHJ-CpBtyf9eSGQ01PWsvnrgJynq4y3_5z_pUu-WzriZSkUdYCOxJ0Q1/s1600-h/Odor+control+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho35jBVrr7ExRe2nbh217gqNR9mmTnb_G1RFLTeV5e-sQ7YsGNZrFkjCjtPh-2I-2uLGaqnZJfgmawAY7bEmfJHHJ-CpBtyf9eSGQ01PWsvnrgJynq4y3_5z_pUu-WzriZSkUdYCOxJ0Q1/s400/Odor+control+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335685679063147490" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-H0iqweNpQs13rW4PpWQOGL7zc7KQcEpL1e-u7kD1Osmd1XEgid6zT72Tnh_MT0aMJsBDyfqmk03x0IV8WicrkinksRFkQv3yGbeFK50qeVZs3VAJ2jw2zbJza6YknNKVvp30KYto4BrE/s1600-h/River+view+2+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-H0iqweNpQs13rW4PpWQOGL7zc7KQcEpL1e-u7kD1Osmd1XEgid6zT72Tnh_MT0aMJsBDyfqmk03x0IV8WicrkinksRFkQv3yGbeFK50qeVZs3VAJ2jw2zbJza6YknNKVvp30KYto4BrE/s400/River+view+2+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335686340906491986" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Anamet site is directly on the east bank of the Naugatuck River.<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2J-S8fdxK0c_wPU9Z6LjIjp81wztJui8c_0_hgpO0XyS1VSSJw_FukNoHq0IyXDZY_POoKJrh6sjg0bfZmEjxSO8zgd7G4RFO9rf1jBD2lQ4nNW3YpN2y4uSZ26hp6fOj9aTjd1MpT8Go/s1600-h/Ron+Napoli+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2J-S8fdxK0c_wPU9Z6LjIjp81wztJui8c_0_hgpO0XyS1VSSJw_FukNoHq0IyXDZY_POoKJrh6sjg0bfZmEjxSO8zgd7G4RFO9rf1jBD2lQ4nNW3YpN2y4uSZ26hp6fOj9aTjd1MpT8Go/s400/Ron+Napoli+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335685893216898738" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Greenway Advisory Committee Chairman Ron Napoli poses questions<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br /> After Chestnut Hill BioEnergy finished its presentation, Ron Napoli, the chairman of the Greenway Committee, rose to address the group. He said residents in the South End have had prior experience with serious odors from the city’s Waste Water Treatment Plant that had impacted their ability to enjoy their property. Napoli said that consultants studied the problem and said the odors had come from inside the plant. Napoli concluded by saying “odors could be the worst thing to happen to our Greenway project.”<br /><br /> Goodemote and Maynard assured Napoli that there would be no odors escaping from their composting process and that they would like to participate in the Greenway project. They would be happy to allow the Greenway a trail right through their property, they said.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG_Odrdr4hnTCxb0lABWJyrAZJgywZQ9_OX8gcyTfFOgntsnUrfI_ka3D59j-c-dvFMaDaUBA4UGDpyZ-OjfrK_E_N_D7wAKIikbpp36zvL4v6aq1GHAge2nVeO-IIRpVh_yhffp2AAKR2/s1600-h/Dick+Scappini+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG_Odrdr4hnTCxb0lABWJyrAZJgywZQ9_OX8gcyTfFOgntsnUrfI_ka3D59j-c-dvFMaDaUBA4UGDpyZ-OjfrK_E_N_D7wAKIikbpp36zvL4v6aq1GHAge2nVeO-IIRpVh_yhffp2AAKR2/s400/Dick+Scappini+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335684807601535746" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Dick Scappini<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br /> Dick Scappini asked the presenters what control they had over the dozens of trucks that would deliver food waste to the plant each day. Goodemote and Maynard said they didn’t own the trucks and they would rely on independent haulers.<br /><br /> “I can’t say there will never be a leak,” Goodemote said. “There will be leaks and there will be a consequence to the hauler.”<br /> The trucks will mostly haul compactors, not packers, greatly reducing spillage and leakage. Scappini wanted to know what happens when a leak occurs. Who cleans it up? What is the city’s recourse?<br /><br /> Goodemote said the haulers would be fined.<br /><br /> Close attention was paid to which route the trucks would use to get in and out of Waterbury. Goodemote said there would be no residential traffic, no impact on schools, no trucks on South Main Street, and that trucks could only operate from 6 am to 6 pm, and not at all on Sunday. The trucks would have a fairly easy entrance into the plant, but exiting proved more troublesome, with initial plans to route the trucks past the Brass Mill Mall.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmXWnBYitK5HhyphenhyphenR-dCRQneLK3fXd0M957RH6t04ypml3Tdvr8Npxt2NUUWehgKHUiRimnx24kfXvzqrbJMJIsosmOC07mnXixEiCF6m69oPWPVkP7rhCDOTNR4mAx_bLaiFu5sXszUU4Rt/s1600-h/St+Anne%27s+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmXWnBYitK5HhyphenhyphenR-dCRQneLK3fXd0M957RH6t04ypml3Tdvr8Npxt2NUUWehgKHUiRimnx24kfXvzqrbJMJIsosmOC07mnXixEiCF6m69oPWPVkP7rhCDOTNR4mAx_bLaiFu5sXszUU4Rt/s400/St+Anne%27s+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335687711213376290" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Anamet's close proximity to St. Anne's Church proposed Loyola Project has raised concern.<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br /> Environmental Control Commission member Art Denze wanted to know “Why Waterbury?”, and he was concerned about building a Greenway “next to a garbage disposal.”<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi0GSYMl4gZRXTgKekMqLzQEdlFPQnuCCkY1Q-32Nu7vsqk-N_sj61sHU62yfXdZJsD-dhJHOZ-fjfvIjPI-yQ-O22IlkQ-bENZEcHv4nA5EzF4h7jVOOk77fXl-QKxTIoGSUmMD3G9egj/s1600-h/Steve+Schragg+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi0GSYMl4gZRXTgKekMqLzQEdlFPQnuCCkY1Q-32Nu7vsqk-N_sj61sHU62yfXdZJsD-dhJHOZ-fjfvIjPI-yQ-O22IlkQ-bENZEcHv4nA5EzF4h7jVOOk77fXl-QKxTIoGSUmMD3G9egj/s400/Steve+Schragg+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335686754367414578" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Steve Schrag<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br /> Steve Schrag is the head of the commission and he also wanted to know how and why Waterbury was selected for the project. Goodemote and Maynard told him that a multi agency task force and the state Department of Economic and Community Development had given the company a list of communities to consider: Hartford, Waterbury, New Haven, Bridgeport and Meriden.<br /><br /> “We had to be along a highway,” Goodemote said. “And we needed to be centrally located in the state’s population density. When we looked at the Anamet site we fell in love with it. We couldn’t build a site like that for less than $500 a square foot. This was far and way the best site we found. The building is impregnable. We can easily make it airtight.”<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Watchdog<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /> Larry De Pillo has been a community activist in Waterbury for 30 years. He has been a mayoral candidate in Waterbury four times and was instrumental in forming the Independent Party in the city. To some people Larry De Pillo is an obstructionist, a man who stands up at almost every aldermanic meeting to rail against some proposal or another. To others, De Pillo is a man of integrity who challenges the political structure in Waterbury and keeps the powerful on their toes.<br /><br /> Whether he’s a pebble in the shoe, or a champion for the people - or both - it’s hard not to notice Larry De Pillo.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisZSUe-2ktCPucj12WY3mDIWNto7XnNdTfV89GIxb2tjzQEpYhRW8NAMpn7ed5f0IUkXuWiHR1KsWQRIHPv5F7FQE3-pVitxEjlW2vrUiK6F4v32JZGpzx-b4L2llPIcQY5sDYinxGNL4y/s1600-h/De+Pillo+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisZSUe-2ktCPucj12WY3mDIWNto7XnNdTfV89GIxb2tjzQEpYhRW8NAMpn7ed5f0IUkXuWiHR1KsWQRIHPv5F7FQE3-pVitxEjlW2vrUiK6F4v32JZGpzx-b4L2llPIcQY5sDYinxGNL4y/s400/De+Pillo+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335684138054299922" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Larry De Pillo<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br />De Pillo is strongly against the Chestnut Hill BioEnergy proposal for two reasons. “I don’t think this type of business belongs in a location where a lot of people live,” De Pillo told the Observer. “And #2, the people making this proposal are the same ones that experienced big problems in New Jersey.”<br /><br /> De Pillo said he called the DEP in New Jersey and was told “they had feet worth of files on the company, that they had conducted a horrendous operation and were shut down.”<br /><br /> When Chestnut Hill BioEnergy made an invitation only presentation to the Waterbury Board of Aldermen last year, De Pillo contacted Waterbury Mayor Mike Jarjura to see if he might gain access to the meeting. Jarjura told De Pillo he was unable to attend, and that De Pillo could go in his place. When the meeting started, Board of Education member John Theriault and Republican-American reporter Michael Puffer were denied access because they hadn’t been invited.<br /><br /> “That’s no way to treat an elected official and a member of the press,” De Pillo said.<br /><br /> As the meeting unfolded there was no mention of the company’s problems in New Jersey. De Pillo said he asked if they had any prior experience running an operation like they were proposing in Waterbury, and they said they had. De Pillo wrote the name of the operation down, and after the meeting he went home and entered the name in a Google search on the internet.<br /><br /> De Pillo was stunned.<br /><br /> He found articles in the New York Times that documented the company’s failures in New Jersey. De Pillo gathered information and produced a small booklet about the company’s only previous effort to run a food waste composting facility. Then he called Mayor Jarjura and requested a meeting.<br /><br /> “The Mayor was nice enough to give me his invitation so I wanted to tell him what I saw and heard,” De Pillo said. “When I showed him the booklet he was very surprised, and very concerned.”<br /><br /> De Pillo called the Connecticut DEP and “ripped them new backsides”, he said. “Then when I talked to the guy in charge of issuing permits he said he didn’t know who they were. Despite what the company officials say, the DEP is not onboard with their proposal.”<br /><br /> De Pillo accuses Chestnut Hill BioEnergy of misrepresenting Waterbury’s concerns when they are lobbying for the project in Hartford. “They are telling legislators that everyone in Waterbury is onboard with the concept,” De Pillo said. “This is a lie. Right now I don’t know anyone in Waterbury who is supporting this concept.”<br /><br /> And to De Pillo, this is already more than a concept. “They have a professional presentation they are taking around and it seems to be the same one they used in New Jersey to try and get their permit down there,” De Pillo said. “ New Jersey told them to go pound sand, and we should say the same thing.”<br /><br /> One of De PIllo’s greatest fears is that the project is never brought forward in Waterbury to gain city board approval. “This is all a horse and pony show to get approval from the Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC),” De Pillo said. “This company is trying to ram this through the DPUC and the Siting Council and then it won’t matter what the DEP and Waterbury have to say about it.”<br /><br /> De Pillo said he is not opposed to the concept of recycling food waste into energy, he just doesn’t think the Anamet site in the place to do it, or Chestnut Hill BioEnergy the company to run it.<br /><br /> The Observer asked De Pillo if he were the mayor, what would he do about this situation.<br /><br /> “I would request a meeting with top DPUC members, top siting council members, and top members from the Clean Energy Fund. I would want to know how Chestnut Hill BioEnergy has been representing Waterbury and where they are in the process,” De Pillo said. “It is time for Mayor jarjura and the Waterbury Development Corporation to intervene before it is too late.”<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">WDC<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /> The Waterbury Development Corporation (WDC) is the City of Waterbury’s official economic and community development agency, and Leo Frank is the executive director. Franks said WDC showed Chestnut Hill BioEnergy a few sites in Waterbury, but has not passed judgement on the project.<br /><br /> “We are a sales force showing people properties and trying to stimulate the local economy,” Frank said. “Just because we showed this company the Anamet site doesn’t mean we are a proponent for their plans. We are a proponent for Waterbury.”<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW22OtPxlbWE1IQwE_Geg7_go3eUl-fKoWiz_T02EEp-MBKu_1fGtMnsfmC_9DLNx4-qXTUiuTuJSVpKQ18R5i2RKIMJkvAiKpVvLNjGGj5zJH2_mujXj3f_dEKzWgAqzclwM2mah1lyBd/s1600-h/River+view.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 260px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW22OtPxlbWE1IQwE_Geg7_go3eUl-fKoWiz_T02EEp-MBKu_1fGtMnsfmC_9DLNx4-qXTUiuTuJSVpKQ18R5i2RKIMJkvAiKpVvLNjGGj5zJH2_mujXj3f_dEKzWgAqzclwM2mah1lyBd/s400/River+view.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335687426195091554" /></a><br /><br /> Frank met with the company 18 months ago and said Chestnut Hill BioEnergy explained the problems they had experienced in New Jersey. “ I told them you can expect a fierce battle in Waterbury,” Frank said. “ The South End has had problems with high traffic proposals in dense population areas before.”<br /><br /> Frank had addressed the Greenway Advisory Committee a month ago and told the group that Chestnut Hill BioEnergy had no traction and was no where on the radar screen. “When I said that I didn’t know they had received a $500,000 loan from the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund,” Frank said. “But right now WDC has no opinion about the proposal.”<br /><br /> Franks said WDC “doesn’t get too emotional. We try to stay neutral, but if the mayor wants us to get involved, we will.”John Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330863409275028247noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959311154355211412.post-17613430925099485432009-05-13T16:11:00.021-05:002009-05-13T19:33:11.819-05:00Let It Flow<span style="font-style:italic;">Ideas Flying For Greenway Project Along The Naugatuck River In Waterbury</span> <br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_9axZkwF6qJquhbCZ16Lgo-E_xzEqIAkmzohHzuhDdGTFGfu6r9v-UGNN4lN2hffKGLxqSOGg130UgDcQHEcnzbkjHU6vCku57lMeOdxjp3r2FtaDj_EUgdpWfCd3JY-XjiW0iL8g3Soo/s1600-h/River+1+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_9axZkwF6qJquhbCZ16Lgo-E_xzEqIAkmzohHzuhDdGTFGfu6r9v-UGNN4lN2hffKGLxqSOGg130UgDcQHEcnzbkjHU6vCku57lMeOdxjp3r2FtaDj_EUgdpWfCd3JY-XjiW0iL8g3Soo/s400/River+1+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335440242691338226" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Naugatuck River flows right through the center of Waterbury<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMYMMQR399rdoSBUFrOo9OS5i7EMqkwan7OUapJDZKiKZ-74i5th6X-WuO9ESxHEoyIwzZE_b3yjVSX3hjVrLj79WEQvag_jt2TtA-soxy9tDO6SBUKMcqq7PMn8n8A_49xqqxTs2lvR5y/s1600-h/Paddling+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 251px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMYMMQR399rdoSBUFrOo9OS5i7EMqkwan7OUapJDZKiKZ-74i5th6X-WuO9ESxHEoyIwzZE_b3yjVSX3hjVrLj79WEQvag_jt2TtA-soxy9tDO6SBUKMcqq7PMn8n8A_49xqqxTs2lvR5y/s400/Paddling+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335459105027006098" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Excitement during the 2nd Annual Naugatuck River Race<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_JhRB47dvzKgGzLx5zeVg95K6hDHJr2RPUgg-lrbwVJTL1w_3ASrg45k0KDTkpaHhF2yI2ZK0s5-KC6pyzNjtOgm7jaWrG30zrgdrREpcKuIGJpKus3bHNPgbHtknUjTj2O4K-uy4BQ7h/s1600-h/Greenway+summit+4+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_JhRB47dvzKgGzLx5zeVg95K6hDHJr2RPUgg-lrbwVJTL1w_3ASrg45k0KDTkpaHhF2yI2ZK0s5-KC6pyzNjtOgm7jaWrG30zrgdrREpcKuIGJpKus3bHNPgbHtknUjTj2O4K-uy4BQ7h/s400/Greenway+summit+4+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335436347744072194" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Hashing out plans during a greenway summit<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX6SotjPeg3tgdgnZ_TnOxxCSGNVSHkftwfgfOxsFOl0kapV-x62XRGYx8SpVmmyh5j69R8Joxb4XIqpmtaQXJANQ0dlgBnrpZwzuVlyPTP0VHDnxc0UzAolh3BWms5WxYa8BSP7hF2ELQ/s1600-h/Zak+speaking+to+crowd+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX6SotjPeg3tgdgnZ_TnOxxCSGNVSHkftwfgfOxsFOl0kapV-x62XRGYx8SpVmmyh5j69R8Joxb4XIqpmtaQXJANQ0dlgBnrpZwzuVlyPTP0VHDnxc0UzAolh3BWms5WxYa8BSP7hF2ELQ/s400/Zak+speaking+to+crowd+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335461177457555058" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">One of the organizers of the river race, Kevin Zak, of the Naugatuck River Revival Group, addresses a pre-race gathering May 9th<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw8owVOHZnC-IlZ_NUAbJNprYeX9YC1BGROFUkl9g0Y8qkPtv3ty1F5HmDtbzB_pucAArBg_vTPrNmqJLlBWSHPeDt4i5FbtQz004ivkf-z6zFSC2ja8JOQZW0cLYxn9i5uxg7o4pHgjrq/s1600-h/Greenway+summit+8+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw8owVOHZnC-IlZ_NUAbJNprYeX9YC1BGROFUkl9g0Y8qkPtv3ty1F5HmDtbzB_pucAArBg_vTPrNmqJLlBWSHPeDt4i5FbtQz004ivkf-z6zFSC2ja8JOQZW0cLYxn9i5uxg7o4pHgjrq/s400/Greenway+summit+8+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335456896980369650" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">An aerial map of the Naugatuck River generated lots of discussion on April 30th at Kennedy High School<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br /><br /> During the past 50 years the spirit of Waterbury has slowly dehydrated like a grape shrivelling into a raisin. The once blustering civic spirit that forged an industrial powerhouse out of a treeless meadow has waned with economic loss, political corruption and systemic arguing.<br /><br /> Enter the healing power of water.<br /><br /> Water has the power to cleanse and nourish our souls. It also has the power to hydrate a dried raisin and make it swollen and plump again.<br /><br /> It was the convergence of seven streams and rivers that led the settlers to build the Mattatuck Plantation here. It was the awesome power of those rivers and streams that fired the grist mills and fueled the brass industry as the city rose to worldwide prominence. Water was the city’s biggest asset, and our ancestors acknowledged that fact when they changed the name from Mattatuck, to Waterbury. The city owns a world class water system that winds through Litchfield County, and the Water Department is the only city department that posts a profit every year.<br /><br /> Somewhere along the way the community lost it’s reverence for our rivers and streams and they became little more than liquid conveyor belts to move our waste and garbage south further down the Naugatuck Valley. Many city residents remember the days when the Naugatuck River was stained orange and red from industrial dyes, and the Naugatuck is one of the only documented rivers in America to actually catch fire from all the debris and pollutants clogging its arteries.<br /><br /> Times have changed.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8duKBeABRGCIrygKsciJjR4zorguAodXUoZQNyWKD9M93OUQ__AZkCMsBWqkKAvDUmlMTTTnDu1DJWw6kkO304j9PdbX4S-RGiAQYGLsJ4eGAywMsLNEPKIKQZ-zQnL61EAnFZklX0ydx/s1600-h/River+10+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8duKBeABRGCIrygKsciJjR4zorguAodXUoZQNyWKD9M93OUQ__AZkCMsBWqkKAvDUmlMTTTnDu1DJWw6kkO304j9PdbX4S-RGiAQYGLsJ4eGAywMsLNEPKIKQZ-zQnL61EAnFZklX0ydx/s400/River+10+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335441585243125602" /></a><br /><br /> The river runs clear again. The dams that blocked it for nearly 200 years are almost entirely removed, and the natural wildlife has returned. As the river healed, many area residents began a slow awakening to the extraordinary asset we had mistreated and abused for 200 years. Individuals began to kayak and paddle through Waterbury. Fisherman no longer feared eating the catch they yanked from the river. Bird watchers could see Great Blue Herons, Green Herons, and a lucky few spotted a lone Bald Eagle down in the Platts Mills section of the river.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoBzrKjKIqt64YB5xKCMVHzjeZx8hzkA-FfEEdWHpyFO65iifj0BGO32aR6unAERXzH1F7T5iD1X2LW3_alG-mNoFTLgVIEJqyeNIgYyrKZzHBp5wk1sWvAELBokkpEEUe0tIIfMUAc2BF/s1600-h/River+6+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoBzrKjKIqt64YB5xKCMVHzjeZx8hzkA-FfEEdWHpyFO65iifj0BGO32aR6unAERXzH1F7T5iD1X2LW3_alG-mNoFTLgVIEJqyeNIgYyrKZzHBp5wk1sWvAELBokkpEEUe0tIIfMUAc2BF/s400/River+6+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335441247139487986" /></a><br /><br /><br /> Several years ago a small group of community minded activists sought to tap into the power of the river and build a greenway along its banks. A preliminary environmental study was completed, but the cash needed to implement the dream was shorter than a politician’s memory after election day.<br /><br /> The missing link was political will.<br /><br /> All that changed last Spring when the Naugatuck River Revival Group sponsored a six mile canoe and kayak race on the river, and had the brilliant idea to invite municipal leaders from up and down the river to compete.<br /><br /> What could have been a ho-hum race involving 20 experienced boaters was suddenly transformed into the event of the year when Waterbury Mayor Mike Jarjura promised to participate. State Senator Joan Hartley and aldermen Mike Telesca, Paul Pernerewski and Paul Noguira all braved the unknown to paddle from Platts Mills to Beacon Falls. Nobody knew what lay around the next bend and there was a sense of dread and excitement as 200 boats blasted off from Waterbury’s south end.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgehJL5obWSaHCC6z8IdWehVicXG7IC8Hysh1tq6QK-vTZ2BeiB7kYLAaLJx_GHxnfF4EcHhvZJJq5cbUHjJRcbt4OJKEPKlKa9ZdGdImqaNE8R-gPIVpyxTkSm2iqNKZddsyzhs3CXyJtA/s1600-h/River+Jarjura+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgehJL5obWSaHCC6z8IdWehVicXG7IC8Hysh1tq6QK-vTZ2BeiB7kYLAaLJx_GHxnfF4EcHhvZJJq5cbUHjJRcbt4OJKEPKlKa9ZdGdImqaNE8R-gPIVpyxTkSm2iqNKZddsyzhs3CXyJtA/s400/River+Jarjura+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335437247197543714" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Waterbury Mayor Michael Jarjura in 2008, and some of the 250 boaters in 2009<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsoz1hrxU5GwbkOXTVKjpJhrSluafdtAl791kCoQ6eIiKUB5bimnfD3imz4EQRJ-WiPAkhhryuk739hW9jjLw9QEBNou6jl1mI6RJi8tIkCYEzaF_OkqxmrPUNj_U8nsGcDngCgvWc-OU0/s1600-h/Waiting+for+race+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsoz1hrxU5GwbkOXTVKjpJhrSluafdtAl791kCoQ6eIiKUB5bimnfD3imz4EQRJ-WiPAkhhryuk739hW9jjLw9QEBNou6jl1mI6RJi8tIkCYEzaF_OkqxmrPUNj_U8nsGcDngCgvWc-OU0/s400/Waiting+for+race+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335461380777858466" /></a><br /><br /> The First Selectman of Beacon Falls, Susan Cables, participated, as did Chuck Frigon, the Town Manager in Watertown, and the mayors of Ansonia and Derby. An enormous amount of publicity was generated and photographs of a drenched Michael Jarjura crossing the finish line waving to the crowd seemed to epitomize the event. Jarjura’s canoe had flipped three times and he ruined his cell phone, but he had a blast. Other participants said the event was one of the most memorable of their life.<br /><br /> The importance of influential politicians in the event cannot be underestimated. The race was talked about for weeks, and then suddenly $4 million dollars was reallocated from a 2005 High Priority Federal Transportation Grant and directed towards creating a 7.1 mile greenway along the Naugatuck River.<br /><br /> Over the summer Mayor Jarjura formed a Greenway Advisory Committee and asked many influential community leaders to serve on it. Former mayoral candidate and long-time alderman, Ron Napoli, is the chairman of the committee. Kathleen McNamara, the community development coordinator for the Waterbury Development Corporation, is the vice-chairman. McNamara has been pushing for a greenway in the city for years and has been instrumental in nurturing the project from idea, to the cusp of reality.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoqnsRcicW9YdcVkNcjG0vRQ6SoE4H4dTTfdTUt6kp6p0ZmmO1-uSi7NASpHGIIUbeRr3cBljr_C1BdWj1g6OyLHLw3E0L8frTAgDAWZtxsZRQ9rZTQnFc-BdDIKSFz0taw4KBO8ThRRHs/s1600-h/Greenway+summit+6+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoqnsRcicW9YdcVkNcjG0vRQ6SoE4H4dTTfdTUt6kp6p0ZmmO1-uSi7NASpHGIIUbeRr3cBljr_C1BdWj1g6OyLHLw3E0L8frTAgDAWZtxsZRQ9rZTQnFc-BdDIKSFz0taw4KBO8ThRRHs/s400/Greenway+summit+6+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335456467777678210" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Kathleen McNamara<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br /> “This is a great project,” McNamara said. “We tried it several years ago but the timing wasn’t right. Now we have tremendous momentum and great public participation. In the past ten years this is the most excited I’ve been about any project in the city.”<br /><br /> And while other communities up and down the Naugatuck River try to get their own greenway projects launched, Waterbury seems to be way ahead of the curve. In addition to the $4 million that now sits in the Connecticut Department of Transportation coffers for the Waterbury greenway, the city just recently applied for an additional $11.3 million in federal funding to advance the project.<br /><br /> But what exactly is a greenway?<br /><br /> In his book Greenways For America, Charles E. Little gives several possible definitions for a greenway. First, he says it is a linear open space established along either a natural corridor, such as a riverfront, stream valley, ridgeline, or overland along a railroad right of way converted to recreational use, a canal, a scenic road, or other route.<br /><br /> Second, Little defines a greenway as any natural or landscaped course for pedestrian or bicycle passage. Third, an open-space connector linking parks, nature reserves, cultural features, or historic sites within populated areas.<br /><br /> Greenways have exploded upon the national consciousness in the past 25 years, but in his book, Little credits Frederick Law Olmstead for inventing the idea of greenways. Olmstead was born in Hartford in 1822 and designed Central Park in the heart of New York City, and ironically, it was Olmstead who also designed Fulton Park in Waterbury.<br /><br /> In the introduction to his book, Little states greenways are “wonderfully rich and diverse - as rich and diverse as human ingenuity and topographical opportunity can make them.”<br /><br /> And in Waterbury the gears of imagination are just beginning to grind.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvzRRNUivqu7GOxR5yvK4OU3sJIpGN4lXZndHpgcXySTvFfEv_WP2F6Ylz1zHiji1IJR3PbCkT8ycpHuYu0k1WF_YMazpFMucZRHrmdiEzuyEFN2HJXr2fdp3QFRXQuxZdu0nj0G4zgD-j/s1600-h/River+9+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvzRRNUivqu7GOxR5yvK4OU3sJIpGN4lXZndHpgcXySTvFfEv_WP2F6Ylz1zHiji1IJR3PbCkT8ycpHuYu0k1WF_YMazpFMucZRHrmdiEzuyEFN2HJXr2fdp3QFRXQuxZdu0nj0G4zgD-j/s400/River+9+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335457603095762978" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Naugatuck River hugs Route 8 for several miles in Waterbury<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br /> While still in it’s conceptual stage, the multi-use greenway in Waterbury is imagined to provide a place for bikers, rollerbladers, walkers, and parents pushing their baby strollers up and down the Naugatuck River corridor. The greenway should provide entrance and exit points for kayaks and canoes. It should have educational components to interpret history and nature. It should have places for the community to gather to enjoy theater and concerts, and shops and restaurants to buy an ice cream or a beer.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQyxHOS9G181-txEu0Y8jx6yzxLNUSOQUPM0-JM4dES6W6gGQy1mIHLJGh_8Xer_kFYd0YsT5lgiHEfesP4gODlV1GJpB-0jcIAVr8Nfw29lMUxSe-GD33oyDtNETOk5AWF0CEFNBziNmv/s1600-h/River+4+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQyxHOS9G181-txEu0Y8jx6yzxLNUSOQUPM0-JM4dES6W6gGQy1mIHLJGh_8Xer_kFYd0YsT5lgiHEfesP4gODlV1GJpB-0jcIAVr8Nfw29lMUxSe-GD33oyDtNETOk5AWF0CEFNBziNmv/s400/River+4+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335440380906997906" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Mixmaster intersection of Route 8 and I-84<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br /> The Greenway Advisory Committee selected Alta Planning + Design from Saratoga Springs, NY, to plan a route for the greenway. The company was hired this Spring and their first step into the project was to conduct a community wide kick-off and brain storming session on April 30th at Kennedy High School where nearly 150 city residents showed up to participate.<br /><br /> Mayor Jarjura was the first to address the gathering and spent a few minutes talking about his participation in the 2nd Annual Naugatuck River Race being held May 9th, assuring everyone he would wear a helmet this time. “This project has the potential to alter the city,” Jarjura said. “Water is gold. If you have a waterway you have to do something to enhance the community.”<br /><br /> Alta’s Jeff Olson is managing the project in Waterbury and he has extraordinary experience planning and deigning similar projects around the country. Olson addressed the gathering at Kennedy High School and said the first thing he was there to do was listen to the community.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwagv1NIt5dDMfAlH494ptJrixRmp8pbRlXzoEXcIgL_DGCV-_7pOrSX-Rd6JQLaLCDnjTZzBm6watP2bm9J0aXEvS00KO7uOxQqd0JAW4fwD8floB57vB5ueFrrfJa5kE6shcPEXtUExy/s1600-h/Greenway+summit+1+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwagv1NIt5dDMfAlH494ptJrixRmp8pbRlXzoEXcIgL_DGCV-_7pOrSX-Rd6JQLaLCDnjTZzBm6watP2bm9J0aXEvS00KO7uOxQqd0JAW4fwD8floB57vB5ueFrrfJa5kE6shcPEXtUExy/s400/Greenway+summit+1+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335440575117123554" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jeff Olson of Alta Planning and Design<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXveShs5ajhv3jtkwjuTJ2Kjjcof_gGrg6zRuPJVenGyg7H9H0uJvCsgVwzn620kmOvcnBhub30YrpwFcy78PzlA3ViVwEkINQj28XBhMCrfaquLedOicWH4_0Rx6_agdwTxetg1z6sUUj/s1600-h/River+18+(inside+spread(web)).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXveShs5ajhv3jtkwjuTJ2Kjjcof_gGrg6zRuPJVenGyg7H9H0uJvCsgVwzn620kmOvcnBhub30YrpwFcy78PzlA3ViVwEkINQj28XBhMCrfaquLedOicWH4_0Rx6_agdwTxetg1z6sUUj/s400/River+18+(inside+spread(web)).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335437041280209634" /></a><br /><br /> “We want to hear what ideas you have for the project,” Olson said, and then he broke the gathering into smaller splinter groups to work on various concepts and ideas. “I’ve done this all across the country and as you get started your community is way ahead of most communities,” Olson said. “You already have your mayor in a kayak and you have millions of dollars committed. This is fantastic.”<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik89cczZhPrCJpktB2LykKOLV-ThYNGx0ZqUKKksddnEtKSotvlNWLnhyphenhyphenBZvjFEXzUZ0zDi95hoKcTXcH-VmidklshSaM-bofWfYsa6dVgc2Yq6EOFACpINoxJd7cRWcyjVSKHwiSMcVMG/s1600-h/River+barbed+wire(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik89cczZhPrCJpktB2LykKOLV-ThYNGx0ZqUKKksddnEtKSotvlNWLnhyphenhyphenBZvjFEXzUZ0zDi95hoKcTXcH-VmidklshSaM-bofWfYsa6dVgc2Yq6EOFACpINoxJd7cRWcyjVSKHwiSMcVMG/s400/River+barbed+wire(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335437526689763218" /></a><br /><br /> Starting a project with excellent digital maps, environmental studies in place, and a committed city administration gives Waterbury a big head start. Olson asked the gathering if they knew the meaning of the word Naugatuck, and several people knew it was an ancient Algonquian word for “Lone tree by the fishing place.”<br /><br /> As he spoke briefly about the greenway, Olson said “the Naugatuck River can become the unifying theme of this community”, and getting residents out walking, biking running and paddling “can have tremendous benefits on people’s health”.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1VgeTjbo4CcHKYHyxmtzvXZLn3vWDs6JAOMmu-4IFVjqyk95IGOKxH5l0ZnS8Nh4dAtEncLMENye8QB_yjuilB6bT3_PfMDqMS9ccmcIpCWlwu_L4YLP6h7RD-HZv97pLX4Bbc0FFN0CP/s1600-h/Greenway+summit+2+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1VgeTjbo4CcHKYHyxmtzvXZLn3vWDs6JAOMmu-4IFVjqyk95IGOKxH5l0ZnS8Nh4dAtEncLMENye8QB_yjuilB6bT3_PfMDqMS9ccmcIpCWlwu_L4YLP6h7RD-HZv97pLX4Bbc0FFN0CP/s400/Greenway+summit+2+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335455934694144386" /></a><br /><br /> Olson told the gathering of the importance of including public art in the project and shared a story about how England committed itself to a massive greenway project that included a spectacular amount of public art. In Waterbury there might be ways to connect to public art already in existence - the statues and monuments in downtown Waterbury, the Mattatuck Museum and Timexpo. The greenway can have little fingers or tentacles that shoot off into the community and neighborhoods to connect the city.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipGTlxr2JWII5ilFQoYJo471igi2eWrC4iLbkCc0iSokjC93-xJGSnFDhNaalCm9X4ygk0nwTibCY9EqURUu7ij1Db7mZ3vIkhaOYGscesJcEOBMevHq6PxXCQpFS-E-EpP3KVEfsbQiDc/s1600-h/Greenway+summit+5+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipGTlxr2JWII5ilFQoYJo471igi2eWrC4iLbkCc0iSokjC93-xJGSnFDhNaalCm9X4ygk0nwTibCY9EqURUu7ij1Db7mZ3vIkhaOYGscesJcEOBMevHq6PxXCQpFS-E-EpP3KVEfsbQiDc/s400/Greenway+summit+5+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335456223992843234" /></a><br /><br /><br /> There was discussion during the night to try and link the greenway to the downtown UConn campus, to Municipal Stadium and to a proposed transportation center. Other ideas were to connect the greenway to Duggan School in Brooklyn, to the Huntington ballfields, to Fort Hill Cemetery, to neighborhood parks and special events. Another idea was to transform a car junk yard along the river into a park.<br /><br /> Designing a greenway from Waterbury city limits to Thomaston would be much easier than tackling the 7.1 mile stretch in Waterbury, through densely populated areas, factories, brownfields, abandoned bridges and beneath the mixmaster exchange where I-84 and Route 8 intersection. “If this were the Olympics,” Olson said. “The degree of difficulty with this project would be very high.”<br /><br /> From his experience, though, Olson said every greenway project is different. “Each one is an open book,” Olson said. “There are a lot of obstacles, but with innovation and creativity we can find solutions.”<br /><br /> There might be locations in Waterbury where the greenway will have to veer away from the river. There might be opportunities to build the greenway out over the river. In the end it will be Olson’s job to come back to the community and the Greenway Advisory Committee with options and estimated costs. “We’ll be looking for the best most workable solution,” Olson said. “Then it’s up to the community to decide what they want.”<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBtSyEgxe3y2CizUjyf8_wyHuSzCvm7gtjap0n-yJuyCBQLnn9kwTE91JiO0pqM22z1nVxPRyGNdgbWS6Tq3k75oE8tv_TwfwX6DLjn_TgnXGk4p7lQXBBGR6EXpkGHyvjtVF2KneY1G4x/s1600-h/Greenway+summit+7+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBtSyEgxe3y2CizUjyf8_wyHuSzCvm7gtjap0n-yJuyCBQLnn9kwTE91JiO0pqM22z1nVxPRyGNdgbWS6Tq3k75oE8tv_TwfwX6DLjn_TgnXGk4p7lQXBBGR6EXpkGHyvjtVF2KneY1G4x/s400/Greenway+summit+7+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335456688216233458" /></a><br /><br /> And during the kick-off night at Kennedy High School the community was brimming with ideas. Some of the ideas were a sculpture park on the seven acres being donated to the city in the south end by Mimi Niederman, and to provide security along the entire greenway. Another idea was to create programs to teach city youngsters to ride bikes and to swim. Olson was excited about the idea to get Waterbury kids off computers and outside exercising. “The number of kids across the country who don’t know how to ride bikes and swim is alarming,” he said.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUbxI8MY8ABIcl6YprHwPUPPxH0vmmnPfXjRfCpnjpw_epC4OI9EyIwaIIfqRuv0hXNAaGa0_DzDld_ZrwRhI10aD67g9qC5tlSkqDCObudB2OcL5noRavUwV6Ty9BzYfpHHeox6iuBr9f/s1600-h/River+11+(mimi%27s)(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUbxI8MY8ABIcl6YprHwPUPPxH0vmmnPfXjRfCpnjpw_epC4OI9EyIwaIIfqRuv0hXNAaGa0_DzDld_ZrwRhI10aD67g9qC5tlSkqDCObudB2OcL5noRavUwV6Ty9BzYfpHHeox6iuBr9f/s400/River+11+(mimi%27s)(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335441885257298930" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Mimi Niederman is donating seven acres of riverfront property in the South End of Waterbury<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE3Iz72wDlNClWQoY5oHyAOr-LfLa9k3jF-bBQGcftuUDEhr0itlgS7hjcA57V-BZhqGXaZDXEa5YVUf5mR6T7A7yhl-lewFeMZnqz7bIUkklJsNCiEqWBRmThkYTTwVvj2j51bpIc05dy/s1600-h/Mimi+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 273px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE3Iz72wDlNClWQoY5oHyAOr-LfLa9k3jF-bBQGcftuUDEhr0itlgS7hjcA57V-BZhqGXaZDXEa5YVUf5mR6T7A7yhl-lewFeMZnqz7bIUkklJsNCiEqWBRmThkYTTwVvj2j51bpIc05dy/s400/Mimi+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335457303823573458" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /> At the end of the evening Olson tried to summarize the event. “I was asked by the Waterbury Development Corporation to come and inspire the community. Instead it is me who has been inspired.” Olson said it is usually at the first meetings that individuals come up with pitch forks and rotten fruit to criticize the project, but in Waterbury there was absolutely no negativity.<br /><br /> “There are people out there opposed to this,” Olson said, “and we’ll hear from them.”<br /><br /> Or maybe not.<br /><br /> Waterbury has been so bogged down in bickering and a loss of civic pride, that maybe this project along the river will provide the healing this community so desperately needs. In Charles Little’s book about greenways he wrote “For a 100 years urban rivers have been relegated to the ugliest of urban functions - sewage disposal, heavy industrial sites and garbage disposal. Inevitably the river corridors became a kind of no man’s land, dividing cities, economically and socially - the poor on one side, the rich on the other.”<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ZCIN8opc4HjMhXn7UzrXmsXsrMRlWc5tS9ChUWiHd5LReZJ-W83N7A2Fw2XHrY-tukrz1W90dc5_4BRr9cd4617j2nlCzivnQo5ZTJqVeeJqui5NMr21uAVWuOLBsEFoZq9pYYb9l880/s1600-h/River+19+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ZCIN8opc4HjMhXn7UzrXmsXsrMRlWc5tS9ChUWiHd5LReZJ-W83N7A2Fw2XHrY-tukrz1W90dc5_4BRr9cd4617j2nlCzivnQo5ZTJqVeeJqui5NMr21uAVWuOLBsEFoZq9pYYb9l880/s400/River+19+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335457858646609586" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPGBwpUkz0mRwCweCzd29COC9I2_qAgRVume4O8iDfzf2lB1i8QDhFWLCzDl23mwF0V5MbqYNxnkKfda6Gs2_ZRAJAo7-fJhnz0X62A5_ACUl72wehitJPTq7MAQWRUh-kjdVpqx-UmGlv/s1600-h/Joy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 330px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPGBwpUkz0mRwCweCzd29COC9I2_qAgRVume4O8iDfzf2lB1i8QDhFWLCzDl23mwF0V5MbqYNxnkKfda6Gs2_ZRAJAo7-fJhnz0X62A5_ACUl72wehitJPTq7MAQWRUh-kjdVpqx-UmGlv/s400/Joy.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335460128849623938" /></a><br /><br /> But, Little writes, times have changed. “The ugly functions have been replaced and when cities discover this the impulse is strong to establish a greenway project along the river front. And then a miracle happens. The river begins to join the people of the city together, rather than separate them. What was once an open wound begins to heal itself, and the city along with it.”John Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330863409275028247noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959311154355211412.post-51144944656508469242009-03-15T07:55:00.033-05:002009-03-17T06:25:34.255-05:00Jim Calhoun Is Out Of Control<span style="font-style:italic;">Forget the press conference meltdown, the real issue with Jim Calhoun is not his salary, it's his courtside behavior. He swears at his players, kicks chairs, abuses referees and curses at fans. Is this the price of victory?</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbVXfuETz9xlnX0j_UFwzJpR5gxt86R8IJm6Du1-vJ278V9rxt6V0f5F0FhkcXVObfKZf5dPzRXaNzh8ASG5PyOY0L6UVHb4TJq6p5C8BXxFY9-mVPCoy67Ezp42QEE0ISNYuOG241_GEM/s1600-h/Calhoun+(drunken+ouemellee(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbVXfuETz9xlnX0j_UFwzJpR5gxt86R8IJm6Du1-vJ278V9rxt6V0f5F0FhkcXVObfKZf5dPzRXaNzh8ASG5PyOY0L6UVHb4TJq6p5C8BXxFY9-mVPCoy67Ezp42QEE0ISNYuOG241_GEM/s400/Calhoun+(drunken+ouemellee(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313400686523813890" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Photograph originally appeared in the New York Time</span>s</span><br /> <br /><br /><br /> It was a crisp autumn evening in 2006 and Hasheem Thabeet was about to begin his basketball career at the University of Connecticut. Thabeet spent the first 16 years of his life 7,600 miles from UConn, in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, where sultry air wafts into West Africa from the Indian Ocean and the average temperature in November is a toasty 86 degrees.<br /><br /> On this night, November 10th, Thabeet was making his debut at the Hartford Civic Center. Despite his massive size, 7’3” and 265 pounds, Thabeet was extraordinarily inexperienced and had been lightly recruited out of high school. He saw his first pick-up basketball game in Tanzania when he was 15 years old. The other players noticed his 6’8” frame and invited him to play. Thabeet had played soccer his entire childhood and was athletic, with nimble feet, a rarity for a man his size. Thabeet took to basketball quickly, and soon found himself playing high school ball in Kenya, where he began firing off unsolicited e-mails to U.S. colleges trying to get a scholarship. The Internet cold calls didn’t work, but Thabeet was “discovered” by an American businessman who was scouting African players for prep schools back in the States.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrkX7gv-9jhfhQ7wGMEVGz5CRBEQvvZst2cKlr1A_CLLopnGx1xBi83rntBeYgQOPLXfePNlm2v00XdgySwb16cKPgvpg8fiZuh1u2j7yBWgfDjb5tJMC6bhzDHkXwfRcTrJS3jCrXWgD2/s1600-h/Thabeet+Stretching+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrkX7gv-9jhfhQ7wGMEVGz5CRBEQvvZst2cKlr1A_CLLopnGx1xBi83rntBeYgQOPLXfePNlm2v00XdgySwb16cKPgvpg8fiZuh1u2j7yBWgfDjb5tJMC6bhzDHkXwfRcTrJS3jCrXWgD2/s400/Thabeet+Stretching+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313401593111338386" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">Hasheem Thabeet stretches before a recent game against South Florida. Photograph by John Murray</span></span><br /><br /> And in the blink of an eye, Hasheem Thabeet was sucked into the world of American basketball, a culture offering unfathomable wealth for those tough and talented enough to run the gauntlet. No player from Tanzania had ever played major college basketball in the United States before, and no Tanzanian had ever played in the NBA. Thabeet’s dream was longer than a long shot — kind of like trying to hit a 325-yard drive with your putter.<br /><br />High school in America was a whirlwind for Thabeet — he played at three schools in two years, moving from California, to Mississippi, to Texas. During his senior year in Houston he averaged 16 points and four blocks per game, but received scant interest from major college recruiters. Thabeet, though, was the type of player UConn coach Jim Calhoun loved to recruit — raw, with vast room for improvement. A player who Calhoun, with the intensity of a drill sergeant, could forge into a star.<br /><br /> When Thabeet walked out onto the court against Quinnipiac in 2006 he became the tallest basketball player in UConn history. Nobody quite knew what to expect from the raw freshman, but the game was predicted to be a coming-out party for the rest of UConn’s highly regarded freshman class, which included several prized recruits. It should have been a fun night for UConn players as they raced up and down the court like antelope, leaving an outgunned and forgettable Quinnipiac team gasping for air.<br /><br /> The players seemed relaxed and playful, but all that was about to change.<br /><br /> Seconds into the game, Jim Calhoun began stomping his feet on the court to get his players’ attention. He screamed, he bellowed, his face contorted with anger as he paced up and down the bench, spraying obscenities like bullets from a machine gun. With every errant pass or botched offensive play, Calhoun yanked the offending player from the game. Play became stilted as the players peeked over their shoulders to see what Calhoun was doing. At one point Calhoun grabbed Stanley Robinson’s jersey and physically pulled him towards the bench.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi2UPpox4KAB2EDPwQciL7vYFU2pSHtY2_6cslNnHPnbI0p7R1P_tBySSHIXfsUapCjyvVLXk6pNeb3pN70agKMZM8IwuXFhzZdA80NLy_6oOLZbTE-JYoNU8D1lZeOGvjKACsqpBr2WBS/s1600-h/Thabeet+rebounding+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 259px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi2UPpox4KAB2EDPwQciL7vYFU2pSHtY2_6cslNnHPnbI0p7R1P_tBySSHIXfsUapCjyvVLXk6pNeb3pN70agKMZM8IwuXFhzZdA80NLy_6oOLZbTE-JYoNU8D1lZeOGvjKACsqpBr2WBS/s400/Thabeet+rebounding+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313402635739285890" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">At 7'3", Hasheem Thabeet is the tallest player in UConn history. He is projected to be one the top picks in the upcoming NBA draft. Photograph by John Murray</span></span><br /><br /><br /> Quinnipiac was playing steady basketball and the game was surprisingly close. When one of the UConn guards missed an outside shot, Thabeet snagged the rebound and went back up with a shot from point-blank range. Instead of cramming the ball through the hoop with a monstrous dunk, Thabeet attempted to make a bank shot off the glass and awkwardly missed the basket by five feet.<br /><br /> The crowd groaned, Calhoun called a quick time out and raced onto the court to confront Thabeet. Calhoun, red faced and waving his hands, met Thabeet at the foul line and screamed, “Dunk the f**king ball.”<br /><br /> It was a strange sight to behold. Calhoun and Thabeet were the only two people on the court, and Calhoun looked like a rabid squirrel stomping his feet and waving his hands at the base of a massive tree. Thabeet, fluent in French and Swahili and still working on his English, was getting a postgraduate course in profanity from Calhoun.<br /><br /> But Calhoun wasn’t satisfied to just verbally abuse his players. Moments later, his wrath spilled into the stands.<br /><br /> A fan behind the UConn bench hollered out some benign comment about grabbing a rebound, and Calhoun spun around to a crowd of men, women and children, and screamed, “Shut the f**k up!”<br /><br /> The fan got the point, but just to be sure, Calhoun bellowed it again. UConn players on the bench looked at each other in stunned disbelief.<br /><br /> Sitting ten feet behind the UConn bench, I was stunned, too. I wondered how Calhoun could get away with this. Does coaching a championship basketball team give the man carte blanche to behave like a vulgar idiot? Calhoun’s antics continued all game long. He verbally abused players, he screamed, he stomped, and by the end of the game he was drenched in sweat, his tie dangling sideways from his neck, looking like he’d just lost a bar fight. <br /><br /> I had gone to Hartford to watch a basketball game, but two hours later I felt like I’d been mugged by Jim Calhoun. After the game, my friend Andy and I spent an hour talking about Calhoun and concluded that Connecticut is in an abusive relationship with the legendary coach. We let him abuse us, and his players, because he’s taken us, and them, to the promised land of NCAA championships. We trade dignity and grace for victory.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi57v7DI_9AN_6PMC03xL_v0X2gvKlCFfEgvjEl6ftjt1socQUxn1GEuadyeuhFe4mz7k1fXQQH5LJ_l24iRvYG6UuPbdNacrPABZYgpfl93zgj1krmdqqECLFIWJBHd7jrRxH0GSrdpFV-/s1600-h/Yelling+at+Doug+Wiggins+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 328px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi57v7DI_9AN_6PMC03xL_v0X2gvKlCFfEgvjEl6ftjt1socQUxn1GEuadyeuhFe4mz7k1fXQQH5LJ_l24iRvYG6UuPbdNacrPABZYgpfl93zgj1krmdqqECLFIWJBHd7jrRxH0GSrdpFV-/s400/Yelling+at+Doug+Wiggins+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313403338902315970" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">Calhoun rips into former UConn player Doug Wiggins. Photograph by Bob Childs of the Associated Press</span></span><br /><br /> It’s unfair to only paint Calhoun as an overbearing jerk. He is an intense and complicated man, an exceedingly generous man off the court, and one of the most successful coaches in college basketball history.<br /><br /> In a state that has no professional sports team, Calhoun is a living legend. A few years ago he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, largely for taking a second-tier program and driving it to glory. He’s snagged two national championships and groomed 16 NBA players. If he sticks around three or four more years, Calhoun might become the winningest basketball coach in college history.<br /><br /> Rival coach Jim Boeheim of Syracuse said, “Jim Calhoun has done as good a job as has ever been done in college basketball history. He has done something at Connecticut that I really don’t think has ever been done any place else.”<br /><br /> What he’s accomplished at UConn is unique. Calhoun hasn’t piled up wins at an established national powerhouse like Duke, UCLA or Kansas. Despite the school’s location in the woods of eastern Connecticut, Calhoun has built UConn’s program into one of the top three in America. Prior to Calhoun’s arrival, the school had never ended a season ranked in the top 25 in the country. Since then, Calhoun has often led the team to the upper tiers of the national polls. UConn has been ranked #1 in the country nine different times under Calhoun, and in all of Big East history only Georgetown and Pittsburgh have held down that top spot more than once (both teams achieved that ranking twice). In Calhoun’s 23 years at UConn, his teams have won 20 games 18 times. They have reached the 25-win plateau 11 times.<br /><br /> That’s rarefied air.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPe65fsq2UHU4zAPBAGxT3-3fW3AHiZkVEw90fSzvOA7fIP5f98sQF7AbTXDm89IZMjX5uin8xghamfAnbhz8gCFzHCYGgdRdxxJG_orYcX0-d7O8AXmBbBYrbTla3bJjryz0FhiviFi9O/s1600-h/National+Champs+web.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 360px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPe65fsq2UHU4zAPBAGxT3-3fW3AHiZkVEw90fSzvOA7fIP5f98sQF7AbTXDm89IZMjX5uin8xghamfAnbhz8gCFzHCYGgdRdxxJG_orYcX0-d7O8AXmBbBYrbTla3bJjryz0FhiviFi9O/s400/National+Champs+web.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313404057489861106" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">Calhoun has led UConn to two national championships. Photograph originally appeared in Sports Illustrated.<br /></span></span><br /><br /> And if you’re an elite high school basketball player dreaming of a career in the NBA, UConn is one of the schools that better be your radar screen. UConn has 13 players currently playing in the NBA, second only to Duke, with 14. UConn has twice as many players in the NBA as any other Big East team. The message to the players is clear: If you want to turn pro and make millions, go to UConn, because Jim Calhoun has a superb record of developing professional basketball players. That’s why he’s in the Hall of Fame. <br /><br /> Former Hartford Courant columnist Alan Greenberg once wrote that ”the hiring of Jim Calhoun in 1986 was the most important hire in the history of the State of Connecticut.”<br /><br /> Off the court, Calhoun and his wife, Pat, donated $125,000 to the Calhoun Cardiology Research Fund, and the Jim Calhoun Celebrity Golf Tournament has raised an additional $3 million to support the cause.<br /><br /> Calhoun has worked tireless hours raising public awareness of autism, diabetes and cancer. He is a generous man.<br /><br /> He is also abusive and vulgar.<br /><br /> The administration at the university — and the fans across Huskie Nation — have turned a blind eye to Calhoun’s repugnant behavior because he wins championships, makes us feel good about our little state, and, oh by the way, the program rakes in millions of dollars.<br /><br /> None of that excuses his boorish behavior. Winning 800 college basketball games does not give Jim Calhoun the right to act like an ass, or to verbally abuse players, fans and reporters.<br /><br /> Former UConn basketball coach Dee Rowe told the New York Times in 1995 that Calhoun “keeps himself on edge. You look at him, and you say he won’t allow himself to lose.”<br /><br /> Rowe also called Calhoun “Bobby Knight East, and I say that with respect.”<br /><br /> To say Calhoun is controlling is like saying the economy is struggling a little bit right now. In a New York Times interview he said, “I like to control the players’ environment. I like to control the atmosphere.”<br /><br /> In a national bestseller called “The Verbally Abusive Relationship,” Patricia Evans creates the profile of an abuser. There are certain characteristics, or traits, that many verbal abusers have in common. Consider these, and think about how many might apply to Jim Calhoun: irritable, angry, intense, controlling, competitive, quick with comebacks and put-downs, critical, manipulative, explosive and hostile.<br /><br /> Evans writes in her book that name-calling is “the most obvious form of verbal abuse, and that all name-calling is verbally abusive.”<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZCAD01hFzcRDARXZ9IT8HpSFGAThvNH_BzOfKOzlByduTwJAgs7uKb-WPhrRH6aJXN0jzePqWzvsJXdIU3JOgHQ3eEkfOYqOldhDakuLjtHaeu1sfdyzRoAocm3GE7h5ZfdlP4fDVruAU/s1600-h/Calhoun+furious+web.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 284px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZCAD01hFzcRDARXZ9IT8HpSFGAThvNH_BzOfKOzlByduTwJAgs7uKb-WPhrRH6aJXN0jzePqWzvsJXdIU3JOgHQ3eEkfOYqOldhDakuLjtHaeu1sfdyzRoAocm3GE7h5ZfdlP4fDVruAU/s400/Calhoun+furious+web.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313408262325357906" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">Calhoun explodes on forward Stanley Robinson. Photograph by John Woike of the Hartford Courant.</span></span><br /><br /> Writer Robert Fulghum wrote: “Yelling at living things does tend to kill the spirit in them. Sticks and stones may break our bones, but words will break our hearts.”<br /><br /> And not all UConn players have accepted Calhoun’s tirades. Toraino Walker cited verbal abuse as the reason he quit the team in 1992. Other players have transferred, and many recruits have picked other schools because they didn’t want to deal with Calhoun’s screaming. Inside UConn it is well known that families and friends of the players are not allowed to sit behind the team bench. Imagine hearing Calhoun call your son a f**king idiot in front of 16,000 fans?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzDI1Sd00Kv7w9xJBxfyFND89XEAFQU3IN-oZ7DfHG05-GCdP-AQkjhBflpZY2CJ5c-Q6tgbWJyG_82CXUUSk2fMqE7RVegwRyU8XAi5xgcZvNH6qVAV_rUBwbklGB7bwT9OKfrVkS04F5/s1600-h/Calhoun+pointing+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 360px; height: 237px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzDI1Sd00Kv7w9xJBxfyFND89XEAFQU3IN-oZ7DfHG05-GCdP-AQkjhBflpZY2CJ5c-Q6tgbWJyG_82CXUUSk2fMqE7RVegwRyU8XAi5xgcZvNH6qVAV_rUBwbklGB7bwT9OKfrVkS04F5/s400/Calhoun+pointing+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313573163804455010" /></a><br /><br /> One Calhoun story — which is difficult to verify — has Calhoun going bananas on the sidelines after a player made a foolish pass. Calhoun is alleged to have grabbed a player off the bench and told him to “Go in for that asshole.” The player dashed to the scorer’s table at mid-court to check in before entering the game. A moment later the player looked confused, and then called back to Calhoun, “Coach, which asshole?”<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Press Conference</span><br /> Jim Calhoun was recently in the center of a highly contentious exchange with journalist Ken Krayeske that landed them on YouTube, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and in columns all across the country.<br /><br /> I was at the press conference where the exchange took place, standing three feet away from Krayeske when he asked Calhoun if, considering the dire state of the economy, he might be willing to give some of his $1.6 million salary back. Calhoun said “not a dime back,” and when Krayeske asked how much Calhoun’s deal with Comcast was worth, Calhoun paused, and said “You’re not really that stupid are you?”. When Krayeske said that he was, Calhoun said “My best advice to you is to shut up” and then began screaming about how much money his program brought into the university.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp9wjZ5GuR1TgX_bTnl30N46hCdSOzTTDeJAWag8VhKbJ66CelAOPIb8lg6tBuGo_dUpDkKZdHLfjdgMjfHOwssHkUQ-FuvG11grQB-lwq7FSD3IiqPc8gRmi7wSqwQmxlOUV9_1i2_4Wa/s1600-h/Calhoun+press+conf+(bw)+web.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 260px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp9wjZ5GuR1TgX_bTnl30N46hCdSOzTTDeJAWag8VhKbJ66CelAOPIb8lg6tBuGo_dUpDkKZdHLfjdgMjfHOwssHkUQ-FuvG11grQB-lwq7FSD3IiqPc8gRmi7wSqwQmxlOUV9_1i2_4Wa/s400/Calhoun+press+conf+(bw)+web.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313571447217842722" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">This photograph of Jim Calhoun was taken seconds after Ken Krayeske (pictured below) interrupted Calhoun's monologue to ask the coach if he was willing to give any of his $1.6 million salary back. Photograph by John Murray</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-7qmX9hLMmfjbPFaAyd36FrRhlUbEIcZZCg2wPW8megeATgWEPTtSV5f0Y8pOAl1fNsiMP8RTDm2xRWSCMvOulIhyphenhyphennoVl-VMMi2FpFRSrZ_lMcNBQBsj6yhHjkQHsGoX7BN01hH5Yai_Y/s1600-h/Krayeske+web.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 175px; height: 194px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-7qmX9hLMmfjbPFaAyd36FrRhlUbEIcZZCg2wPW8megeATgWEPTtSV5f0Y8pOAl1fNsiMP8RTDm2xRWSCMvOulIhyphenhyphennoVl-VMMi2FpFRSrZ_lMcNBQBsj6yhHjkQHsGoX7BN01hH5Yai_Y/s400/Krayeske+web.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313782146810916194" /></a><br /><br /> When Krayeske walked out of the press conference, he was convinced no one would report about the incident. He was wrong. The incident was caught on video, and within hours it was an Internet sensation. Lines were drawn between the sports world and the realm of bigger, broader ideas.<br /><br /> Some thought Calhoun came off arrogant and insensitive to the struggle of millions of Americans out of work and struggling to pay their bills. State workers were being asked to take unpaid days off, and the highest paid state employee in Connecticut — Jim Calhoun — was glibly refusing to give one dime back.<br /><br /> Some people thought Krayeske was a punk for asking Calhoun a question about his salary during a press conference minutes after UConn defeated South Florida on Valentine’s Day. Many others thought the question was legitimate, but the press conference was neither the time or place to broach the subject. Krayeske came under national attack for his part in the drama, and UConn and many sports columnists were quick to claim Krayeske wasn’t even a journalist — he only had a photo pass, for God’s sake — and had no right to ask Calhoun a question.<br /><br /> That line of reasoning is absurd.<br /><br /> I’ve known Ken Krayeske for 15 years. He has worked at the Republican-American newspaper, the Register Citizen, and the Hartford Advocate. He helped the Waterbury Observer run two summer youth programs back in the 1990s. Krayeske has a degree in journalism from Syracuse University, ran a youth newspaper for two years in Hartford, and now writes a weekly column for the Hartford News. Krayeske is a journalist, and had every right to ask Calhoun a question during the press conference.<br /><br /> As for the photo pass, that’s what I had been issued for the game, too. When you are both a writer and a photographer — which very few journalists are — you have to pick one or the other to get your credential. UConn doesn’t allow photographers to sit in a chair along press row and take notes and game photographs at the same time. If you want photographs you have to sit on the floor underneath the baskets. That’s why both Krayeske and I had photo passes that day.<br /><br /> Krayeske is an excellent writer and photographer, and is every bit as complicated as Jim Calhoun. In addition to being a journalist for the past 15 years, Krayeske is a UConn law student and a political activist, and was the Green Party campaign manager during the 2006 governor’s race. Ken was arrested in a bizarre incident during Jodi Rell’s inauguration parade, primarily because the state and local police had his name on a watch list. His crime when he was arrested? He was standing on a street corner photographing Rell as she walked past. Krayeske filed a federal lawsuit against the police and stands an excellent chance of winning a settlement before the case goes to trial.<br /><br /> Krayeske is also a vocal proponent of legalizing marijuana and has traveled to Africa and Europe to write freelance articles for High Times Magazine. He has also pulled a few political stunts in his role as an activist, including disrupting a speech by Senator Joe Lieberman. And make no mistake about this fact: Ken Krayeske entered that UConn press conference seeking confrontation. While some people avoid confrontation at all costs, Krayeske moves towards it. Krayeske approached me at halftime of the game and asked if I was going to the press conference afterwards. “Make sure you stick around,” he said, “because I’m going to drop a bomb on Calhoun.”<br /><br /> After the game, Krayeske and I talked for ten minutes about his lawsuit and he again encouraged me to stay and watch him go after Calhoun. Was it a set-up? Certainly. Did Krayeske wave a red flag in front of a steamed bull? Absolutely. Was it a legitimate question to ask Calhoun? Yes. Did Calhoun handle the situation well? Certainly not. Calhoun yelled and told Krayeske to shut up. UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma said he feared what might have happened to Krayeske if he had dared to ask Calhoun that question 20 years ago. What does that mean? Would Calhoun have taken Krayeske out into the hall and roughed him up?<br /><br /> The widely circulated video clip of Calhoun shouting became a poltical hot potato. Governor Jodi Rell called the tirade “an embarrassment” and two state legislators wrote a letter to UConn asking that the coach be disciplined for his behavior.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiix2t_pHZwtmRzW0fwjVtD13ThUebUQDewTwl7Vv7l5JPfhKuhLiV-Bv2C_C-CsuRAU5HJ4Eu45GxNjSW58nzfoKrRhsrZyM8AMeDXhI9bFp48-liOxtOd84u7fUX8qNqKt8YTY6l8EgHr/s1600-h/Calhoun+complaining+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 297px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiix2t_pHZwtmRzW0fwjVtD13ThUebUQDewTwl7Vv7l5JPfhKuhLiV-Bv2C_C-CsuRAU5HJ4Eu45GxNjSW58nzfoKrRhsrZyM8AMeDXhI9bFp48-liOxtOd84u7fUX8qNqKt8YTY6l8EgHr/s400/Calhoun+complaining+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313573898104745090" /></a><br /><br /> But Calhoun being tripped up by Krayeske’s salary question is like a bank robber getting nailed for snatching chocolate chip cookies. For 23 years, Calhoun has bellowed at and intimidated his players. He is an old-school coach using old-school tactics that repeatedly crossed the line into abuse. Back in the 1990s, then-Governor John Rowland attended a UConn-Villanova game and witnessed Jim Calhoun up close and personal. Rowland was disturbed by Calhoun’s behavior, which he said at the time was “out of control.” Rowland said Calhoun’s behavior and language created a stark contrast to the Villanova bench, where a Catholic priest sat during every game.<br /><br /> A few days later, Rowland placed a call to UConn athletic director Lew Perkins and said UConn needed to do something about Calhoun’s behavior. Perkins agreed, and he began sitting in a chair close to the UConn bench, along press row, where he could keep a close eye and ear on Calhoun.<br /><br /> Whenever Calhoun began to grow agitated and begin to curse, Perkins would catch his attention and signal for him to tone it down. Rowland said this worked for a while, then Perkins accepted a position in Kansas.<br /><br /> Several people connected to UConn have implied that current UConn Athletic Director Jeffrey Hathaway is afraid of Calhoun, and is reluctant to take on the issue of his coach’s behavior.<br /><br /> But it really shouldn’t matter how many basketball games and championships Calhoun has won. He is a public figure, and as the most recognizable celebrity in Connecticut, he is a role model and should be held to high standards. Would we accept a math teacher screaming at students and calling them f**king idiots because they couldn’t master Pythagorean’s Theorem? That teacher would immediately be reprimanded, and if it happened again, he would be fired. It would be a moot point to defend the teacher’s behavior by saying they are forging better students. That behavior is unacceptable.<br /><br /> Would we accept Calhoun-like tirades from the coach of the women’s badminton team? Never. But in the world of sports and big business, anything goes as long as you win, and win big. A majority of avid UConn fans don’t care what Calhoun does as long as he keeps leading the basketball team to victory. Public opinion in the Calhoun-Krayeske dispute is clearly on the coach’s side. A recent Quinnipiac Poll found that 80% of the respondents didn’t think Calhoun should give any of his salary back. But the issue isn’t about money, it’s about behavior and verbal abuse that should not be tolerated.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Press</span><br /> Halfway through the Calhoun-Krayeske exchange Krayeske said, “I wouldn’t have to ask these questions if these guys in here did their job.” <br /><br /> After Krayeske punked all the sport writers in the room, Calhoun recoiled, and a collective groan came from the press corp. I’ve attended a dozen UConn press conferences over the years, and they are painful exercises. Sports writers often ask fawning, cloying, pompom-waving queries like, “Coach, how do you think Donyell played tonight?” or “Coach, what do you think your chances are against Pittsburgh on Saturday?”<br /><br /> In reality, the UConn press corps is a much less attractive version of the team’s cheerleaders. Instead of lithe, fit coeds doing back flips, the press corps is mostly comprised of middle-aged men firmly under the thumb of both UConn coaches — Jim Calhoun and Geno Auriemma.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitGeXbwBo7dI_KcaRxg0KGjY82cboqyQ__gY3MHRQw-v9-tyte5IE0AuEhZ1UlCEd1KVG5KkOVMDDlTeDhnTd5CGw_ZijD-craPNvJl2EqUiTIldPl17p0l1N1iXiUPvtdsWy81ETcJzHR/s1600-h/Thabeet+interview+web.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitGeXbwBo7dI_KcaRxg0KGjY82cboqyQ__gY3MHRQw-v9-tyte5IE0AuEhZ1UlCEd1KVG5KkOVMDDlTeDhnTd5CGw_ZijD-craPNvJl2EqUiTIldPl17p0l1N1iXiUPvtdsWy81ETcJzHR/s400/Thabeet+interview+web.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313405501565280290" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">Reporters gather around Hasheem Thabeet after the game against South Florida. Photograph by John Murray</span><br /></span><br /> Seldom does a journalist probe into the sensitive areas of the UConn men’s basketball program. The graduation rate is only 30%, and that number crashes to 17% when considering only black players.<br /><br /> In the past ten years, two journalists have taken on Calhoun: Jeff Jacobs of the Hartford Courant, and Ken Krayeske, who has persistently challenged Calhoun’s behavior, his program, his salary, and the exorbitant cost of running the program.<br /><br /> Jacobs questioned how UConn handled an incident involving two players who tried to pawn stolen laptop computers. One player, Marcus Williams, was the starting point guard on a team contending for a national championship. The other player, A.J. Price, was a back-up guard. When Calhoun and UConn announced that Price would be suspended for the season, yet Williams could return for the important stretch of games after January 1st, Jacobs wrote columns questioning the rationale. Was this just about winning basketball games?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZAhVW-oHNCs0qXFPbd_o3WzGKBPd1epvASdDdYT15p1AFCaQ6yiTAb1XtYy6iMgd7rj7LWnASAkclIFUiNxQLaToDU7os-d59g_3AlGDCR1O4HQIiEvakAdmGgA1F-pjRt-iyRaFPlgAC/s1600-h/A+J+Price+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 278px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZAhVW-oHNCs0qXFPbd_o3WzGKBPd1epvASdDdYT15p1AFCaQ6yiTAb1XtYy6iMgd7rj7LWnASAkclIFUiNxQLaToDU7os-d59g_3AlGDCR1O4HQIiEvakAdmGgA1F-pjRt-iyRaFPlgAC/s400/A+J+Price+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313568257198095938" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">A.J. Price was suspended two years ago for trying to pawn stolen laptop computers. In 2009 he is the star point guard and the player counted on to lead the team through the NCAA tournament. Photograph by John Murray</span></span><br /><br /><br /> Calhoun was furious and called Jacobs a racist, and implied to members of the UConn press corps that Jacobs was gay. Jacobs fired back, saying he would not be intimidated by Calhoun, and the showdown got plenty of airtime on WFAN sports radio in New York City.<br /><br /> Ten years ago, Krayeske wrote a column in the Hartford Advocate that brought up many of the same issues raised in this article — specifically, Calhoun’s courtside behavior.<br /><br /> “I was told by the sports information people at UConn that my column was not the way to cover UConn basketball,” Krayeske said. “And they cut off my access to the players.”<br /><br /> Krayeske rails against the “clubby atmosphere” that exists between the beat writers and the team they are supposed to cover. Before each home game, UConn lays out a buffet of food for the writers to eat. They are given salad, chicken tenders, lasagna, bread and butter, giant cookies, soda, coffee and bottled water. It’s all free, and before any game most of the writers and photographers sit around large wooden tables, gorging on state-subsidized food.<br /><br /> “If they feed you, you become part of the family,” Krayeske said. “The free food compromises a writer’s integrity and UConn expects you to write only positive stories about their program. The message is, don’t bite the hand that feeds you, and more importantly, why should state government be paying for the press to eat?”<br /><br /> Krayeske refuses to eat the free food.<br /><br /> One of the real ironies of the Calhoun-Krayeske blowout was that Krayeske has asked these questions before, and written extensively about the subject on his blog, The 40-Year Plan.<br /><br /> “I asked Calhoun in a telephone interview how much money he personally made off of an exclusive Nike deal with UConn,” Krayeske said. “His response was to ask me how much money I made at the Hartford Advocate. I told him, and then asked him the question again. He wouldn’t give me an answer.”<br /><br /> In the days after Krayeske punked the sports writers, numerous columns were written about him across the state of Connecticut, and they were mostly vicious. A columnist for the New London Day, Mike DiMauro, went way over the top and stated that Krayeske was a fraud and had no business in the room with real journalists. Ironically, moments after Calhoun blew his top at Krayeske, Calhoun singled out DiMauro and complimented him on the terrific column he had written about Hasheem Thabeet.<br /><br /> “That was a special column, Mike,” Calhoun said. “I told Hasheem he should save that one.”<br /><br /> After the Krayeske explosion, the lovefest resumed.<br /><br /> And seconds after the press conference ended, a journalist came up to Krayeske and confronted him. He said Krayeske had no right to confront Calhoun. Didn’t Krayeske know how important Calhoun was to Connecticut? Didn’t Krayeske know how many jobs had been created by the UConn men’s program? Then the reporter likened Krayeske to the Iraqi shoe-thrower for disrespecting Calhoun the way the Iraqi reporter had disrespected President George W. Bush.<br /><br /> In the days after the confrontation the Internet went wild about the story. Blogs attacked Krayeske as a “whining fruitcake” and a “stupid little hippie.”<br /><br /> Krayeske stopped reading the comments because they were so nasty, but he did admire the creativity of one: “This guy wrote that I looked like a homeless man with a dead squirrel nailed to my head. I thought that was pretty funny.”<br /><br /> Occasionally someone did spank Calhoun. Eric Fries of East Lyme wrote, “UConn coach Jim Calhoun has certainly proven that you can be a winner and a champion and still not have any class.”<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj67puNRK3pD89AaqNdeIdmLLf93QbNuyB4pipIH6VDbqWNJxDkpPDqGKbPNwLfbAkGHufRxKzU6EX6g-Yv_fruMysWu3dMlziBiaLRm5Uj-_p8FPkintm9sQGpiHswtzbnQPhTzDRCf6J7/s1600-h/Calhoun+angry+(cropped)+web.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 270px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj67puNRK3pD89AaqNdeIdmLLf93QbNuyB4pipIH6VDbqWNJxDkpPDqGKbPNwLfbAkGHufRxKzU6EX6g-Yv_fruMysWu3dMlziBiaLRm5Uj-_p8FPkintm9sQGpiHswtzbnQPhTzDRCf6J7/s400/Calhoun+angry+(cropped)+web.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313406779714302402" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">Jim Calhoun almost jumped out of his shoes in anger after freshman Kemba Walker made an errant pass against South Florida. Photograph by John Murray</span></span><br /><br /> A Sports Illustrated blogger wrote that “the coach is a public figure and he should to be asked tough questions like that. It comes with the territory.”<br /><br /> Many bloggers accused Calhoun of being a bully. If the coach had answered the question like he had answered Krayeske’s previous queries over the years, there would never have been a national controversy. The story became about Calhoun’s over-the-top response and was a perfect storm of arrogance, money, and the tanking economy. Calhoun might as well have said “let them eat cake,” like Marie Antoinette referring to the starving peasants in 1800 France.<br /><br /> So what, in the end, are we to make of our bullying superstar coach?<br /><br /> Jim Calhoun may be the biggest celebrity in Connecticut, but he is not untouchable. Referring back to Patricia Evan’s book about verbal abuse, the key to changing behavior is for the victim to point out the behavior, and ask for change. Somebody in authority needs to directly intervene and ask Jim Calhoun to stop swearing at his players. We need Governor Rell to step in like John Rowland did a decade ago. We need athletic director Jeff Hathaway to supervise Calhoun’s behavior, and reprimand public acts of vulgarity and verbal abuse.<br /><br /> This is not about winning national championships and multimillion dollar contracts. It should be about humanity. Calhoun went on WFAN recently and said, “Life is a motion picture, not a snapshot. There are always a few frames any of us would take back.”<br /><br /> But the longer Jim Calhoun is allowed to storm up and down the court, spewing profanities at players and fans, the snapshots become a movie about abuse, not championship glory.John Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330863409275028247noreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959311154355211412.post-88823198928295387582008-12-11T14:34:00.013-05:002008-12-11T20:38:57.037-05:00The Broken PromiseFour-Term Waterbury Mayor Michael Jarjura Faces Internal Party Challenges As He Seeks Re-election In 2009 <br />Story By John Murray<br /><br />Photographs By John Murray and Michael Asaro<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9WoBKqJa3x2e2Vlf7iHb_N_06x9HVoGX1OA_Witd-WhheRvObkGrdt13quGa3zwaJqJa3RrO09_L_FKHQiMgssn5_p9PzG0RblLVenlHjhuHULwochcD2Jme_eW_XshlUKi0paTZsZpJi/s1600-h/Jarjura+web1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9WoBKqJa3x2e2Vlf7iHb_N_06x9HVoGX1OA_Witd-WhheRvObkGrdt13quGa3zwaJqJa3RrO09_L_FKHQiMgssn5_p9PzG0RblLVenlHjhuHULwochcD2Jme_eW_XshlUKi0paTZsZpJi/s400/Jarjura+web1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278621891341385906" /></a><br />(Photograph of Mayor Michael Jarjura)<br /><br /><br /> In the world of politics broken promises are like weather changes in New England –predictably frequent. Americans have come to accept broken promises as part of our raucous political discourse. In order to secure our votes most candidates will tell us what we want to hear, and then after the election, they largely do whatever is in their own best interest.<br /><br /> Welcome to democracy in America.<br /><br /> Although broken promises litter the political landscape like cornstalks across Nebraska, two broken vows has triggered a political showdown between three democratic leaders in Waterbury. The story began to unfold in July 2005 when Waterbury Mayor Michael Jarjura approached Waterbury Police Chief Neil O’Leary at a funeral. Jarjura was plowing ahead with his campaign for a third term in office, and if successful, he had stated it would be his last.<br /><br /> O’Leary recalled the conversation. “The mayor told me he wasn’t running for another term and told me directly that I would be a good leader for the city. The mayor encouraged me in July 2005 to consider taking the next step into public office in 2007.”<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiS-dwlb81BRFin6QS4mEwjaLtK0PxoDLPcMDbpOx4O1ylG7-V7P7XLy5x9bHc8ZVkI2RNk66xXfnW_k6ilGZ1KSELSWs7vUELRO0prVsM1yYFo5P7fGBBA9m7MbTWj0WxgGl6x9qASkUe/s1600-h/Neil.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 354px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiS-dwlb81BRFin6QS4mEwjaLtK0PxoDLPcMDbpOx4O1ylG7-V7P7XLy5x9bHc8ZVkI2RNk66xXfnW_k6ilGZ1KSELSWs7vUELRO0prVsM1yYFo5P7fGBBA9m7MbTWj0WxgGl6x9qASkUe/s400/Neil.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278619765506572034" /></a><br />(Photograph of Neil O'Leary)<br /><br /> One month later Jarjura’s hopes for a third term were upended when Karen Mulcahy scored a stunning upset in the democratic primary, and it appeared Jarjura’s political career was toast. Devastated, Jarjura reached out to O’Leary and other influential democrats for support in an unprecedented write-in campaign that challenged Mulcahy and three other candidates in the November general election. O’Leary was instrumental in convincing political strategist Fran Sullivan to come down from Cape Cod and run Jarjura’s long shot campaign.<br /><br /> Two months later Jarjura made national news when he became just the fifth candidate in American history to win a major political election on a write-in ballot. After Jarjura’s victory he again re-iterated to O’Leary that he was serving his last term in office. Jarjura also met with aldermanic president J. Paul Vance Jr. and promised him that this was his last term as mayor.<br /><br /> Based on the direct word of Mike Jarjura, both Vance and O’Leary began to contemplate campaigns for an open mayor’s seat in the autumn of 2007. But in the spring of 2007 Jarjura changed his mind and decided to seek re-election to a fourth term.<br /><br /> “The mayor told me he wanted another term so he could prove that the write-in campaign wasn’t a fluke,” O’Leary said. “I promised to support him and he pointedly told me this was going to be it for him. One more term and he was out.”<br /><br /> Vance didn’t appreciate the mayor’s waffling around and decided to plow ahead with his own plans and primary Jarjura in September 2007.<br /><br /> Wanting to avoid a costly and divisive political showdown, Jarjura went to Vance’s kitchen table and assured him that a fourth term would unequivocally be his last. If Vance waited two more years, the coast would be clear.<br /><br /> “I did sit with Paul and his wife at their kitchen table,” Jarjura confirmed. “Paul told me he had been waiting in the wings and wanted to challenge me in a primary. I told him that I would hate to see that happen. I asked him to hold off and he could run in two years, I just wanted one more term.”<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg7y_mnRtFNxZA81mUfioJAek87FYPPMBWUZOtXSMECwRY2CiQAZi93qgnDHMx0S7P02JoTdNF0YcApGazj1CvKn5gGJ6Lg0tkNw06CEM8yzatznWwGCGj6JgsewlQ0tNuKXj1m6VANApC/s1600-h/J.+Paul.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg7y_mnRtFNxZA81mUfioJAek87FYPPMBWUZOtXSMECwRY2CiQAZi93qgnDHMx0S7P02JoTdNF0YcApGazj1CvKn5gGJ6Lg0tkNw06CEM8yzatznWwGCGj6JgsewlQ0tNuKXj1m6VANApC/s400/J.+Paul.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278640139873603954" /></a><br />(Photograph of J. Paul Vance Jr.)<br /><br /><br /> Vance and O’Leary holstered their ambitions and in November 2007 they both supported Jarjura as the mayor swept to a convincing fourth term in office. With Jarjura promising that this was his last term there was now an opportunity for any political aspirants to move forward with their own plans, and both Vance and O’Leary eyed mayoral campaigns in 2009. <br /><br /> Vance made the first move by filing papers in late May, just six months after the last municipal election, and 18 months before the electorate would decide Waterbury’s next leader. No one could recall a mayoral candidate declaring their intentions so early in the process, and the response from Mike Jarjura was shocking. During an interview with the Observer in early June, Mayor Jarjura announced he was strongly leaning towards seeking a fifth term in office, and that if he didn’t run, he thought Police Chief O’Leary would be an excellent choice to replace him.<br /><br /> Let the political sumo wrestling begin.<br /><br /> Vance no longer cared what Jarjura was or wasn’t going to do, and made his intentions official on July 11th, on his 34th birthday. “I’m in,” Vance said. “Several people have approached me and said I should just wait until Mike decides he’s through. Mike’s friends are concerned that he doesn’t have anything lined up, and he is unsure what he’d do afterwards. But really, what does that matter? Politics is not a career. Do a short time and get out.”<br /><br /> Vance admits he is frustrated by Jarjura’s broken promises. “I’ve been a hothead and said the wrong things before,” Vance said, “ but I’m not going to break my word. Mike has done that two times now. It doesn’t matter what he says anymore. I’d appreciate his support, but if I don’t get it, we’ll let the voters decide what they want.”<br /><br /> Despite Vance’s seven years of aldermanic experience, some political pundits believe O’Leary presents a more dangerous internal threat to a fifth Jarjura term. O’Leary is a forceful man who has modernized the police department, created one of the most successful PAL programs in the country, and has overseen a drop in the city’s crime rate for six straight years.<br /><br /> “Ever since the mayor approached me at the funeral in July 2005,” O’Leary told the Observer, “I have had an interest in running for mayor.”<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOmLitOVXY16umT9j7xtDalc2Qu5YAuUg53Fw7uDGNKiGM_NAIw6y5N7HrneK1NBEkEmVyy-MpeibbZ0RLjLlzwNgrZ-YiTl4F04QsBUYeb1CW4r6oUMdAK57xdcwq7yagjGybPzqClAff/s1600-h/Jarjura+and+O%27Leary.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOmLitOVXY16umT9j7xtDalc2Qu5YAuUg53Fw7uDGNKiGM_NAIw6y5N7HrneK1NBEkEmVyy-MpeibbZ0RLjLlzwNgrZ-YiTl4F04QsBUYeb1CW4r6oUMdAK57xdcwq7yagjGybPzqClAff/s400/Jarjura+and+O%27Leary.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278642442572129506" /></a><br />(Photograph of Neil O'Leary and Mayor Jarjura)<br /><br /> As O’Leary considers his options he is acutely aware of the Hatch Act, a federal law that prohibits local police officers from seeking “partisan” elected office. If O’Leary announced he was running for mayor - while still serving as Waterbury’s top cop - he would be in violation of the Hatch Act, could be fired by Mayor Jarjura, and find himself a target of a federal investigation.<br /> <br /> “I have to be very careful what I say,” O’Leary said, “ but I will tell you that a significant number of people have approached me and asked me to run for mayor. I am flattered that so me people think I might do a good job as mayor, but because of the federal law I’m going to take my time and mull over my options until early January and make my decision then.”<br /><br /> If O’Leary were to run for mayor he would have to step down as police chief. It is his understanding that he could resign and announce his candidacy in the same breath. But during a telephone interview on December 9th he clearly stated he hadn’t made up his mind yet, and will continue to gather input from the community as to whether he should mount a challenge to a Jarjura fifth term.<br /><br /> “Everybody should do what’s in their hearts to do,” Mayor Jarjura said. “Who knows? Maybe they can win.”<br /><br /> But is Jarjura really going to run? During a Fox-61 interview in November the mayor said he would be announcing after the holidays and that it was premature to think about the next election. “People want to enjoy Christmas and the New Year,” he said. “But I have every intention to continue my responsibilities here. I think I’ve earned it.”<br /><br /> But while he was publicly proclaiming that to Fox 61 news, Jarjura had privately agreed to a power meeting with O’Leary in January that would bring the party leadership together to hash things out. Jarjura and O’Leary agreed to hold off on any political announcements until after the meeting.<br /><br /> Many big name players in the local Democratic Party are treading lightly around the subject of a Jarjura-O’Leary match-up because it has the potential to splinter a united party. Vance has a legion of supporters as well, but not among the leadership and deep pocket donors.<br /><br /> “There would be a lot of strained relationships if Neil ran,” Jarjura said. “But with the Independents and Republicans weakened, we could survive a three way splinter.”<br /><br /> When the Observer sat down with Mayor Jarjura in his office on December 4th he unexpectedly announced that “I’m 100% running for mayor and I’m going to win.”<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF1l1moXXVWyCpC9NaF0_e3XYHqZir9t4njDEuLVg_5e6wK-QwwTPF8OdIqz9qjOtXtXuUtyea-2-W4sVKlzKQnyPffEkx3bmV6xOZ6OWoolpHt27xIHvP0VbnnhrjZOZJPIS-_sarw096/s1600-h/Jarjura+Murray.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF1l1moXXVWyCpC9NaF0_e3XYHqZir9t4njDEuLVg_5e6wK-QwwTPF8OdIqz9qjOtXtXuUtyea-2-W4sVKlzKQnyPffEkx3bmV6xOZ6OWoolpHt27xIHvP0VbnnhrjZOZJPIS-_sarw096/s400/Jarjura+Murray.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278633063321812978" /></a><br />(Photograph of John Murray interviewing Mayor Jarjura)<br /><br /><br /> When asked about a power meeting in January the mayor confirmed it was going to happen. “Unless someone can convince me why Mayor Jarjura shouldn’t seek re-election, I’m running,” he said. “I can’t think of any reason not to run other than to step aside to promote the political aspirations of other candidates.”<br /><br /> Is the mayor trying to have it both ways? He promises not to run, and then he runs. He openly calls on all candidates to follow their hearts and run if they want to, and then he and his minions indirectly threaten people supporting other candidates with lost board appointments and lost job opportunities. Several people have confirmed that Vance supporters and O’Leary supporters have received threats via the grapevine that they are in harms way if their candidate challenges Jarjura.<br /><br /> “There’s a lot of passive-aggressive stuff going on in Waterbury right now,” Vance said. “And I don’t like it.”<br /><br /> But to many insiders that’s just old school politics and the way the game is played in Waterbury.<br /><br /> Vance bristles at that notion. “We can be better than that,” he said. “Look at President-elect Obama and his team of rivals. Look at how Obama handled the nasty campaigning that came his way. When it got ugly he didn’t respond with the same tone. I won’t get personal with Mike Jarjura. I’ve run with him four times. I respect him, but I don’t like the game he is playing right now.”<br /><br /> Jarjura doesn’t believe he is playing any political games. He said he is too busy governing to be focused on others’ ambitions.<br /><br /> “The city is at an important juncture in its history and we need to have a steady hand on the wheel,” Jarjura said. “Continuity is very important and we need to be more progressive right now. We’ve been focused on reorganizing and I now want to focus on infrastructure and programs. Another term will give me the opportunity to do that.”<br /><br /> Vance said the mayor has a right to change his mind, but this is the right time for Paul Vance to step into the ring. He and his wife Michelle are expecting their first child in the spring and they’ve bought a house in Town Plot. “Most of our friends have moved out of Waterbury into the suburbs,” Vance said. “I don’t like where the city is right now. I see the big picture and believe being mayor is about more than flag raising ceremonies.”<br /><br /> Vance said he’s running “not because of Mike or Neil, I’m running because I think I can do a good job, and if the voters agree, they’ll hire me. If not, I’ll continue to practice law.”<br /><br /> So what’s going to happen? Vance and Jarjura are running, and O’Leary is pondering his future like a cougar eyeing his prey. After several years of relative calm in the city’s Democratic Party, expect all hell to break loose in 2009, and don’t be surprised if Democratic Party Chairman Ned Cullinan develops an ulcer.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRBY4LY38SAdSF_I-JvZA0jM8xXIvZa33lp8dX4q8qoMh3071w2tTAcrxKS9SEKd6JoIT_Ed1GWW4sgzf2yPOQzevZXYc2ToBxNQQgwEasU89vQmgdeGjM-4R_bnYnM8v_hKjk9Hvz_U3j/s1600-h/Ned+Cullinan.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 356px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRBY4LY38SAdSF_I-JvZA0jM8xXIvZa33lp8dX4q8qoMh3071w2tTAcrxKS9SEKd6JoIT_Ed1GWW4sgzf2yPOQzevZXYc2ToBxNQQgwEasU89vQmgdeGjM-4R_bnYnM8v_hKjk9Hvz_U3j/s400/Ned+Cullinan.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278633297817466226" /></a><br />(Photograph of Ned Cullinan while he's still smiling)<br /><br /> As Jarjura puts it, both Vance and O’Leary would take considerable risk in challenging a popular four-term mayor.<br /><br /> “Paul is risking his political future at a very young age and Neil would be losing his job as police chief,” Jarjura said.<br /><br /> Jarjura said he has no problem working with O’Leary and Vance in their official capacities as they try to move the city forward. “There won’t be anything that strains my friendship with Neil,” Jarjura said, “and I’ll try to be professional with Paul.”<br /><br /> Asked if he would try to broker a deal and promise Vance and O’Leary that this would be his last term in exchange for their support, the mayor rolled his eyes and said, “Oh no, I’m not saying that again. That keeps getting me in trouble. But I will say that I have ended up serving longer than I anticipated – by necessity - not by design.”John Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330863409275028247noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959311154355211412.post-27430699682269671782008-10-31T09:13:00.016-05:002008-12-11T16:14:36.157-05:00The Importance Of Ralph NaderThe public safety crusader brought his powerful anti-corporate message to Waterbury, Connecticut, in September 2008 <br /><br />Story and photographs by John Murray<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ybb0SY4X-ycFBfXqYoA2WkVZC2wJaReBqN3vfwp7Mo4q-DLupE1ytjBge-3cDNTZ0l4C1KGPs_kUFGb9OvdsW1hTQRPHgXMSuLrcYn9Y8Ltk-DbKsCqKGJvKFDNSuPekDvXIHp-qhCj4/s1600-h/Ralph+Nader+1(web).jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 357px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ybb0SY4X-ycFBfXqYoA2WkVZC2wJaReBqN3vfwp7Mo4q-DLupE1ytjBge-3cDNTZ0l4C1KGPs_kUFGb9OvdsW1hTQRPHgXMSuLrcYn9Y8Ltk-DbKsCqKGJvKFDNSuPekDvXIHp-qhCj4/s400/Ralph+Nader+1(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263321782700324514" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> If Ralph Nader were a consumer product this would be a lot easier. Nader, standing on familiar ground, would fight like a bulldog to get the public to understand the importance of bringing that product - which makes us all safer - into every home in America. The product, he would tell us, holds the key to crushing corporate power out of our political process, and would return democracy to the American people.<br /><br /> Who doesn’t want that?<br /><br /> But Ralph Nader is not a product, he’s a 74-year-old man wedded to the lifelong pursuit of making America safer. It was Nader’s tireless consumer advocacy in the 1960s and 1970s that brought us seat belts, air bags, food labels, clean water, clean air, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Nader’s work for public good is astonishing, and led to him being selected one of the 100 most influential men in American history.<br /><br /> But when Nader took his consumer advocacy crusade into the political arena and started running for President every four years - he got screwed. His idealism collided with modern American politics. Nader was caught in a vice between Republicans and Democrats, a two-party system he calls a “duopoly”, which was long ago hijacked by corporate money, lobbyists and greed.<br /><br /> Nader entered the political arena to try and pry corporate fingers off the steering wheel. Nader’s weapon was a brilliant mind and suitcase full of ideals. He two opponents , however, were armed with money, guns, knifes and pepper spray. Without a means to spread his message to the American people he didn’t have a chance.<br /><br /> The system is stacked against Nader and any other third party candidate who challenges the iron fisted rule of Republican and Democrat power. Many Americans don’t know that Nader is on the ballot in 45 states in 2008. Why? Because the mainstream media has effectively censored him. Nader said the New York Times and The Washington Post have told him they aren’t going to report about his campaign this year because of the negative impact they believed he had on the 2000 race. (Nader received 97,000 votes in Florida, a state won by George W. Bush by 543 votes)<br /><br /> The media should give the public the information and let the voters decide. An abundance of information should flow through a free country like blood through our veins. We need vigorous journalism to provide the public with more information, not a high minded few applying a tourniquet to the flow of news about Ralph Nader.<br /><br /> It’s un-American. And it’s wrong.<br /><br /> The rap about Nader costing Al Gore the 2000 election is also mis-guided and wrong. Consider the facts: 12% of Florida democrats (200,000) voted for Bush, and all the other third party candidates tallied above the Bush margin of victory – Reform Party (17,000), Libertarians (16,000), Worker’s World (1800) and the Socialists Workers (562).<br /><br /> Why isn’t their fault? Why pin the Bush victory on Ralph Nader? It makes no sense.<br /><br /> I was too young to fully appreciate Ralph Nader in his prime, but my mother was enthralled with him. She read about him in the daily newspapers, watched him on the Phil Donahue Show, bought his books, and went to see him when he visited New London, Connecticut, back in the 1970s. My mother was inspired by Ralph Nader and wrote hundreds of letters to corporations and businesses to complain about their products, and when she didn’t get the response she thought was warranted, she wrote more letters.<br /><br /> Nader reappeared on my radar screen in the early 1990s when he launched his first write-in campaign for the presidency. I was working at the Register-Citizen newspaper in Torrington at the time, and Nader, being from neighboring Winsted, was of intense local interest. One of our reporters, Jedd Gould, was given the assignment to cover Nader’s campaign in New Hampshire. Jedd was so inspired by Nader that he eventually left the daily newspaper to launch The Winsted Voice, which was entirely written by the citizens of Winsted, giving the people the chance to cover themselves.<br /><br /> I remember visiting Jedd in his apartment in Winsted after he published his first issue. The morning changed my life. As one of more than 100 employees at the Register-Citizen I believed you needed reporters, photographers, salespeople, a production department, a vast distribution network and a printing press to publish a newspaper.<br /><br /> But here was Jedd Gould sitting at one computer in his disheveled apartment with a frisky Labrador Retriever bounding between piles of dirty laundry. Jedd sold the ads, made the ads, laid out the newspaper in his computer and cut and pasted the contents together into one mechanical copy. Then Jedd would take the one copy of his newspaper to a printer where they would print thousands of Winsted Voices and drop them back off at his apartment the following day. Jedd would then personally deliver the papers at dozens of locations around town.<br /><br /> He was a one-man band, and his success became the blueprint for the Waterbury Observer. One year after Jedd launched The Winsted Voice, a fellow journalist at the Register-Citizen, Marty Begnal, approached me about an idea he had about starting a newspaper in Waterbury. My first move was to consult with Jedd to see exactly how he published The Winsted Voice - what equipment did he have, what software programs, how much money did he need to start the business, how did he figure out his ad rates, and was it hard to get businesses to distribute a free newspaper?<br /><br /> Ralph Nader inspired Jedd Gould to launch a community written free newspaper in Nader’s hometown of Winsted. Without Ralph Nader there wouldn’t have been a Winsted Voice, and without Jedd Gould there wouldn’t be a Waterbury Observer.<br /><br /> One of the last projects I worked on at the Register-Citizen was an investigative piece about the horrific impact industrial cleaning solutions were having on the workers at the Becton Dickinson (BD) plant in Canaan, Connecticut. The company manufactured hypodermic needles for the medical industry and used a variety of methods to sterilize the product, including radiation and ETO gas. I spent a year interviewing injured employees and reconstructing a nuclear accident that had occurred inside the plant. When it was time to publish the story the editors were terrified that a multi-billion dollar corporation would sue the family owned newspaper. It took months for the story to make the rounds through every editor, the publisher, and finally, the owner of the paper.<br /><br /> The article finally had the green light, but just days before publication, the Journal Register Company, an aggressive business corporation with a reputation for destroying a newspaper’s soul, purchased the Register-Citizen. Dozens of employees were let go and the story was killed.<br /><br /> Frustrated, I took the story to Jedd Gould, who was now publishing The Winsted Voice, and The Canaan Voice. Jedd immediately agreed to publish the story and every home in Canaan received a copy of The Canaan Voice with an eight page expose on the dangers inside Becton Dickinson, the largest business and employer in the region. There was some talk from BD officials about suing Jedd for publishing the story, but the specter of Ralph Nader looming ominously in the background might have squelched that idea.<br /><br /> A few months later, Agnes Mulroy, the BD employee who had risked her life to bring the story forward, was flown down to Washington D.C. to receive a Citizens Courage Award from Ralph Nader.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7UlubsUl23yoarrT2mx6WNkiwgc3NAkY2bfAZd8VVAXQZlQAnXOiqDmafp4TYQKsxYo5ohhHoeMZR1IgxuIIiWzw2OgQSHcoP-9Q0JLWU6gXOVYhJHSy5O_2WpkO5tMrmBPzbZEspYoFb/s1600-h/Ralph+Nader+3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7UlubsUl23yoarrT2mx6WNkiwgc3NAkY2bfAZd8VVAXQZlQAnXOiqDmafp4TYQKsxYo5ohhHoeMZR1IgxuIIiWzw2OgQSHcoP-9Q0JLWU6gXOVYhJHSy5O_2WpkO5tMrmBPzbZEspYoFb/s400/Ralph+Nader+3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263324689939748162" /></a><br /><br /><br /> Fast forward 15 years and I get a call from Silas Bronson librarian, Anita Bologna, telling me Ralph Nader was coming to Waterbury for a rally. Despite the indirect impact that Ralph Nader had on my life, I was uninspired to go out of my way to see him. Like many Americans, I had swallowed the propaganda, and saw Nader as a polarizing figure who helped deliver the White House to George W. Bush in 2000.<br /><br /> I was sluggish going to see Nader in downtown Waterbury in late September, but I went. Ralph was 30 minutes late and walked into the Independent Party headquarters and headed straight for the food buffet. He nibbled on some treats and was whisked into a back room for a private audience with journalists from the Hartford Courant, the Republican-American, the Observer, and a two film crews.<br /><br /> Nader’s posture was slouched and he looked straight at the floor as he uncorked a blistering attack on the $750 billion Wall Street bailout package just passed by Congress. Pulling no punches he called the package a bailout for the reckless and the greedy that contained little to nothing to help homeowners about to lose their homes.<br /><br /> “This is taxation without representation,” Nader said. “Congress is bailing out Wall Street with $750 billion without a single minute of a public hearing. This is the worst piece of legislation I have seen in 40 years.”<br /><br /> And for the next 30 minutes Ralph Nader stood in a cramped room with six journalists and delivered the keenest insights about democracy and the modern political process that I have ever heard. The words tumbling from his mouth were like notes from a Mozart tune - crisp and clear.<br /><br /> He didn’t lose Al Gore the 2000 election, he said, Al Gore lost when he couldn’t deliver his own home state of Tennessee, and despite all the focus on Florida and the recount, it wasn’t Florida that swung the election to Bush - it was the Supreme Court of the United States that swung the outcome when they voted along party lines to give the throne to “King George IV.”<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVQuRgLQmrt02SGbP6YcuR49g1MYn9AEwb4LkfV0D4QawIKxSEj4OuW0W0shirV3kjgH1pUd11Afue6kgr8jiIgSFfML3YZgtKFdo6hyul5uuqZnEssCXA4ssXorwwtOza6PCJvExZGQPi/s1600-h/Ralph+Nader+2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 298px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVQuRgLQmrt02SGbP6YcuR49g1MYn9AEwb4LkfV0D4QawIKxSEj4OuW0W0shirV3kjgH1pUd11Afue6kgr8jiIgSFfML3YZgtKFdo6hyul5uuqZnEssCXA4ssXorwwtOza6PCJvExZGQPi/s400/Ralph+Nader+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263324040494871570" /></a><br /><br /><br /> Nader’s message is as sharp as an ice pick, but he can’t effectively deliver it to the American people because he isn’t allowed to debate Barack Obama or John McCain. The Commission on Presidential Debates is a private corporation run by the former chairman of the Republican National Committee and the former chairman of the Democrat National Committee. They decide which candidates voters get to see, and despite 66% of the American public wanting Nader on stage with Gore and Bush in 2000, the commission not only froze him out, they threatened to arrest Nader if he entered the hall with a legitimate ticket to simply sit in the audience.<br /><br /> The justification for Nader’s exclusion was that polls indicated he didn’t have enough support to be a factor in the race, which makes no sense, because after the election he was blamed by millions of Americans for being the biggest factor in the race.<br /><br /> “Which is it,” Nader said. “You can’t have it both ways.”<br /><br /> Nader received almost three million votes in 2000, and snagged 10% of the vote in Alaska. Many national experts have stated that if Nader were allowed to debate his presidential opponents, his 3% in the polls would swell to 25% to 30%, not only making him a major factor, but also forcing the two political parties to adopt some of his platforms, which can be viewed at www.votenader.org<br /><br /> And it might be one of the planks in Nader’s platform that keeps the debate door slammed in his face. Nader has spent his life challenging corporate America to provide better and safer products to Americans, and one of his first moves as president would be to launch an aggressive crackdown on corporate crime and corporate welfare. The political process in America is now driven by corporate interests, so does anybody in their right mind believe that the major corporations in America have any interest in letting Ralph Nader expound his views of democracy and civic duty to the American public?<br /><br /> That’s why he’s barred from the debates - he’s too dangerous to corporate interests.<br /><br /> Amazingly, it is through the efforts of the local Independent Party in Waterbury that Nader is even on the ballot in Connecticut. Independent Party chairman, Mike Telesca, met Nader in New Hampshire in 2004 at a meeting of independent political candidates. The Independent Party was fresh off a major victory after they had swept local Republicans out of office in Waterbury, gaining 8 elected seats.<br /><br /> This eventually got Nader’s attention, and during a rally the following year in Hartford, Nader saw Telesca in the crowd and said “Mike is doing amazing things in Waterbury. Come up here and tell us how you did it.”<br /><br /> Nader then walked off the stage and gave it to Mike Telesca. Earlier this year a Nader coordinator called Telesca to ask if the Independent Party would be interested in working with Nader to try and get the 7500 signatures needed to get him on the Connecticut ballot.<br /><br /> “I was thrilled,” Telesca said. “ And I promised our support.”<br /><br /> Then Telesca and a group of highly motivated volunteers went out and gathered more than 15,000 signatures to insure Nader was on the ballot. Incredibly, Nader is running on the Independent Party ticket, and is using local party headquarters as his state headquarters. The Independent Party started in 2001 in Waterbury and now has candidates for office in Naugatuck, Winsted, Newtown, Norwalk and Milford. And now the Independent Party has Ralph Nader at the top of their ticket.<br /><br /> Although it’s clear that Ralph is never going to be invited to any presidential debate, his mere presence in the 2008 race is a benefit to all Americans. His tenacious pursuit of democracy is not only inspiring, it’s heroic. By hurling his body against the corporate wall of politics Ralph Nader has created a crack in the fortress, an opening for the rest of us - if we ever wake up - to march through and reclaim our democracy.John Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330863409275028247noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959311154355211412.post-31068784588425161292007-12-09T19:26:00.006-05:002011-05-20T20:09:16.902-05:00A Punch In The Face<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">In A Bizarre Twist, Billy Smolinski's ex-girlfriend, Madeline Gleason, sues the Smolinski family, and The Waterbury Observer<br />
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Column By John Murray<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaX6wZ_qSUJwjnMQ8so6aOBMtbf1kACtcJgw9Aw9lrK55UP3Qb6G52ljPxiSg8-rneA2YTfJH5-WsU5Et9YSWeeTG9FCYNryOT85phep6Uw17mb1_6Lx4Ba-CpldifEAfHeXnhiKVJIguf/s1600-h/Billy+and+Harley+(web).jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5142170682498283634" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaX6wZ_qSUJwjnMQ8so6aOBMtbf1kACtcJgw9Aw9lrK55UP3Qb6G52ljPxiSg8-rneA2YTfJH5-WsU5Et9YSWeeTG9FCYNryOT85phep6Uw17mb1_6Lx4Ba-CpldifEAfHeXnhiKVJIguf/s400/Billy+and+Harley+(web).jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><br />
(Photograph of Billy Smolinski and his dog Harley)<br />
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How much abuse can Janice and Bill Smolinski take?<br />
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The Waterbury Police Department failed them, the political process is messing with their heads, and now they find themselves trapped in a lawsuit filed by their son’s ex-girlfriend that amounts to legalized extortion. <br />
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This extraordinary story began three years ago when Janice and Bill’s 31-year-old son disappeared in Waterbury. The Smolinskis were unable to get local authorities to treat the situation seriously, and their own efforts to find Billy have been thwarted by sloppy police work, bungled science, and a national missing person network with holes large enough for a herd of elephants to stampede through.<br />
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Everywhere they turned for help they crashed into a wall of incompetence. Their faith in the system is shattered.<br />
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“ Everything that could go wrong in this case has gone wrong,” Janice Smolinski said. “Everything.”<br />
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The Smolinskis are convinced their son was murdered three years ago. At the time of his disappearance Billy Smolinski was involved in a love triangle with enough haunting circumstances to launch a Stephen King novel. Billy was dating an older woman, Madeline Gleason, who was 16 years his senior. After dating for more than a year, Billy discovered Madeline was also involved with a married Woodbridge politician named Chris Sorensen.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs9YAQrJiDzGr6viyhoryEvvdmtvLTgmL_PjFnewhXW59T-enw9wdfSU44rOPwMEZG_FZMZzKyz3G4uc4WrqdjgmpQ1vMK9DI2xqFD3WbUdqvcKMzz3SMn7nmGotBQHN8Zx_isMGU3epKv/s1600-h/Madeline+Billy+wedding+(web)(bw).jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5142179744879278274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs9YAQrJiDzGr6viyhoryEvvdmtvLTgmL_PjFnewhXW59T-enw9wdfSU44rOPwMEZG_FZMZzKyz3G4uc4WrqdjgmpQ1vMK9DI2xqFD3WbUdqvcKMzz3SMn7nmGotBQHN8Zx_isMGU3epKv/s400/Madeleine+Billy+wedding+(web)(bw).jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><br />
(Photograph of Madeline Gleason and Billy Smolinski at a wedding)<br />
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Billy and Madeline argued, and broke up. Billy left a threatening message on Sorensen’s answering machine telling him “to watch his back”, and a few hours later Billy vanished off the face of the earth.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGpUQC8kI6FNk14YvwueJScEtQ6tiw81OlK9gj8M6gPeRT99GHHzcvbUnTMryQkQUg9Y7t8Pd4hu2Ak40zx6XSjgL81hxpZlmVAIzbxE6GBpyKlGkEG98vUKBEfysogimIlH-XvVwt9yYM/s1600-h/Sorenson+(web).jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5142171120584947842" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGpUQC8kI6FNk14YvwueJScEtQ6tiw81OlK9gj8M6gPeRT99GHHzcvbUnTMryQkQUg9Y7t8Pd4hu2Ak40zx6XSjgL81hxpZlmVAIzbxE6GBpyKlGkEG98vUKBEfysogimIlH-XvVwt9yYM/s400/Sorenson+(web).jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><br />
(Photograph of Woodbridge politician Chris Sorensen)<br />
<br />
Janice and Bill Smolinski don’t know the details of what happened to their son on August 24th, 2004, but they believe he was murdered and his body buried somewhere in the lower Naugatuck Valley.<br />
<br />
A tip called into CrimeStoppers, and subsequently released by the Freedom of Information Commission, fingers Madeline Gleason’s son, Shaun Karpuik, as the murderer. The information given to CrimeStoppers was highly detailed and alleged that Karpuik, with help from at least one friend, strangled Billy inside Madeline’s apartment.<br />
<br />
Karpuik was a former grave digger in Seymour, and at the time of Billy’s disappearance Karpuik was working for a landscaping company and had ready access to heavy earth moving equipment.<br />
<br />
Three months after Billy Smolinski vanished, Shaun Karpuik died of a drug overdose in Waterbury. The FBI seized control of the investigation in August 2006, and earlier this year they excavated several sites in Shelton in an unsuccessful effort to unearth the remains of Billy Smolinski. The federal investigation is ongoing.<br />
<br />
<b>STRANGE BEHAVIOR</b><br />
Several days after Billy disappeared the Smolinski family, unable to get the attention of Waterbury police, launched their own search. They scoured the banks of the Naugatuck River and combed through all the spots they knew Billy loved.<br />
<br />
The Smolinskis hung missing person posters throughout western Connecticut, and followed up on every lead that came their way. A month later reports started filtering in from several towns that someone was tearing down Billy’s missing person posters. Janice and Bill drove around Ansonia, Seymour and Woodbridge, and discovered that dozens of posters had been removed.<br />
<br />
Eventually a witness in Amity caught a woman standing on the bumper of her car tearing down a poster and jotted down the license plate number. The vandal turned out to be Madeline Gleason, Billy’s ex-girlfriend.<br />
<br />
‘That’s when the chaos started.” Janice Smolinski said. “We brought the information to the Waterbury police department and the Woodbridge police department and they were both totally disinterested.”<br />
<br />
So the Smolinskis set up a surveillance operation and videotaped Madeline tearing down the posters. The family would hang them up, and at night Madeline and one of her friends would tear them down. In addition to ripping posters off telephone poles Gleason eventually began slashing Billy’s face on the poster and spray painting “Who cares?”.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhucmKqgLQeJQBFcA-17I66iyXfjz0r0ZTLlna_qTk_JDQp-_ECElIeM2EvvhoLJskPSe7pdkFmOSJTXsWHbTNasjzmIhtgWcx6m3vN4hJ56iBme-kFJBSYJfzFkFtm-Xlhtx6CAQbKrylo/s1600-h/Who+Cares+(web).jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5142171618801154194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhucmKqgLQeJQBFcA-17I66iyXfjz0r0ZTLlna_qTk_JDQp-_ECElIeM2EvvhoLJskPSe7pdkFmOSJTXsWHbTNasjzmIhtgWcx6m3vN4hJ56iBme-kFJBSYJfzFkFtm-Xlhtx6CAQbKrylo/s400/Who+Cares+(web).jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqliVAKzgdTmzsv-Nc93Kamdfgb7SOWpEcEv964iGGoklkxywpJrbV4k9YnQCJKIWNrGRm3aNVLLiWU6a2n3sIfZnZf12Jph8ndOtfdBjzMGP3i2Lyyla06IyGqT-mzfRclOSxg0Kt6c0O/s1600-h/poster+2+(web).jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5142174741242378418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqliVAKzgdTmzsv-Nc93Kamdfgb7SOWpEcEv964iGGoklkxywpJrbV4k9YnQCJKIWNrGRm3aNVLLiWU6a2n3sIfZnZf12Jph8ndOtfdBjzMGP3i2Lyyla06IyGqT-mzfRclOSxg0Kt6c0O/s400/poster+2+(web).jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><br />
<br />
“We couldn’t understand why she was doing this,” Janice Smolinski said. “Our son was missing and instead of helping us find him, she drove around slashing his photograph. Why would anybody do that?”<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7zkcTLpujllCzT85KEA-PgyJPvEAe4Sf6Ikn_JquMFBoMwpFrLiXMPASN_RfBGzilteMfUaETBEiE-BBM8fsgEi6CkQMVfoGk4JwdzUvy8xI3G5sA4UrDLdBe4HJCav1oii16y_CYopIF/s1600-h/Madeleine+poster-bus.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5142172009643178146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7zkcTLpujllCzT85KEA-PgyJPvEAe4Sf6Ikn_JquMFBoMwpFrLiXMPASN_RfBGzilteMfUaETBEiE-BBM8fsgEi6CkQMVfoGk4JwdzUvy8xI3G5sA4UrDLdBe4HJCav1oii16y_CYopIF/s400/Madeline+poster-bus.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><br />
(Photograph of Madeline Gleason running back to her school bus with a missing person poster of Billy Smolinski in hand)<br />
<br />
Unable to get any police assistance, the Smolinskis continued the cat and mouse game for months, convinced that Madeline knew something about Billy’s disappearance. The game grew so bold that Janice would hang a poster on a telephone pole and Madeline would walk up and rip it down right in Janice’s face.<br />
<br />
In a world turned upside down, the confrontation ended when Janice Smolinski was arrested by Woodbridge police for harassment. Gleason lived in Woodbridge and was a school bus driver in town. Sorensen, the other part of the love triangle, was an elected official in Woodbridge, and a prominent businessman involved in running a long distance trucking company. Janice had dared to enter the lion’s den in search of her son, and she was bitten. The charges against Janice were eventually dropped, but not before the soft-spoken woman was booked and fingerprinted. She was told to stay out of Woodbridge.<br />
<br />
In March 2006 the Observer published a five page investigative piece on the case entitled “Gone”, airing out explosive details of the love triangle, and exposing the inept police investigation into Billy’s disappearance. There were impossibly strong leads to follow in the case, yet Waterbury detectives said their investigation had stalled. Deputy Chief Jimmy Egan had the nerve to say that “Billy was probably having a beer somewhere in Europe.”<br />
<br />
Three months after the story was published Madeline Gleason and B and B Transportation (her employer) filed a lawsuit against Janice Smolinski, Paula Bell (Billy’s sister) and The Waterbury Observer for harassment and invasion of privacy. One month later the FBI took over the investigation into Billy’s disappearance and the lawsuit went silent for 14 months, until a few weeks ago.<br />
<br />
A judge called the lawyers together on November 15th in a move my lawyer, Atty. Mark Lee, said was a simple procedure to see where the lawsuit stood. Atty. Lee and the Smolinski’s lawyer both said we didn’t have to be present, and I went out of town on a previously scheduled trip to Ohio. I missed the unexpected fireworks.<br />
<br />
Despite our lawyers statements that we didn’t need to be present, Bill and Janice Smolinski, and their daughter, Paula Bell, went to Superior Court in New Haven to see what would happen. Madeline Gleason showed up with high powered lawyer John Williams, who decades earlier had built a reputation by challenging police corruption, and defending the Black Panthers in New Haven.<br />
<br />
As the proceedings began the judge unexpectedly tried to settle the case on the spot. Instead of dismissing an outrageous and baseless lawsuit, the judge asked Atty. Williams what his client needed to settle the case.<br />
<br />
The response was $115,000 from the Smolinskis, and $115,000 from the Observer. After some wrangling Atty. Williams set his clients final demand at $25,000 for Gleason and $5000 for B and B Transportation. The offer was quickly refused.<br />
<br />
The charges against Janice Smolinski and Paula Bell is a “he said - she said” story. Gleason accuses the two women of systematic harassment that led to emotional distress. She has no proof to back up her allegations and Janice and Paula state the charges are “total lies”.<br />
<br />
The charges against the Observer are more specific and easier to decipher. The paper is accused of invasion of privacy for publishing the sordid details of Gleason’s life - which are all true - and for publishing photographs of her tearing down missing person flyers in public.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU1MbVgs8CsvZ2iTxMx9o8zxbSEHeICmgJvNYIN9w7oMYvTP6q-HTbLj9DOxBNHsZ1BDlLIYpel8FFVkD95Eh5bo7TM9UkFPv9efSra3ArAG6GREpou7TsKBcEb3vERrTmV8xuZNosiSGa/s1600-h/Billy+and+Madeline+(web).jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5142137430861477954" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU1MbVgs8CsvZ2iTxMx9o8zxbSEHeICmgJvNYIN9w7oMYvTP6q-HTbLj9DOxBNHsZ1BDlLIYpel8FFVkD95Eh5bo7TM9UkFPv9efSra3ArAG6GREpou7TsKBcEb3vERrTmV8xuZNosiSGa/s400/Billy+and+Madeleine+(web).jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><br />
(Photograph of Billy Smolinski and Madeline Gleason)<br />
<br />
The charges are ludicrous. For nine months Madeline Gleason destroyed hundreds of missing person posters of Billy Smolinski in broad daylight - in public - having the nerve to tear them down in the face of a grieving and distraught mother. The Smolinskis have videotape of Gleason stopping her school bus to tear down flyers. A Woodbridge police report names Gleason as a suspect in the disappearance of Billy Smolinski. The report said she would remain a suspect until she took a polygraph test. She has never taken the test, so she remains a suspect. A document released by the FOI Commission alleges that Billy Smolinski was murdered in Madeline Gleason’s apartment.<br />
<br />
And Madeline Gleason is the one filing a lawsuit?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOsB417D3SJqvjgT1FU1vVY-_cJPVWBqPzUMHevYXhicyXSk-3zH7NWRRUJbF0x-t79fxH1ZiF8OszGW2pJd9Gc5q6Jc23ccmcgLP6BF1uBjbHF0IQ5MdMPN2wugZxCRBJD-QJd5Qq92Zu/s1600-h/Madeline+close-up(web).jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5142183481500825826" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOsB417D3SJqvjgT1FU1vVY-_cJPVWBqPzUMHevYXhicyXSk-3zH7NWRRUJbF0x-t79fxH1ZiF8OszGW2pJd9Gc5q6Jc23ccmcgLP6BF1uBjbHF0IQ5MdMPN2wugZxCRBJD-QJd5Qq92Zu/s400/Madeleine+close-up(web).jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><br />
(Photograph of Madeline Gleason)<br />
<br />
It reminds me of a case a lawyer friend had back in 1992. She had just been hired by a local firm that specialized in personal injury law and her first client was a real slug. Her client had been intoxicated, sped through a red light and crashed into another car. He claimed damages and wanted to file a lawsuit. My friend was shocked, but her boss told her to file the lawsuit. The insurance company eventually settled for $10,000 rather than pay expensive legal fees to fight the case. It made no sense to her, or to me.<br />
<br />
And that’s the situation the Smolinskis find themselves in now. There is no way Madeline Gleason could ever win her lawsuit against the Smolinskis, or the Observer, but that doesn’t matter.<br />
<br />
If we fight the ridiculous charges in a full blown trial we are going to spend tens of thousands of dollars on depositions and legal fees. Several lawyers estimate that a trial could cost the Smolinskis $50,000 to $100,000. No lawyer I’ve spoken to believes Madeline Gleason has a shot of winning a verdict at trial, but who has an extra $50,000 laying around to pay for that outcome?<br />
<br />
And that’s why I describe this process as legalized extortion. Fighting this absurd charge will cost you $100,000, but if you pay us $25,000 right now we’ll settle the lawsuit. Either way you lose. It doesn’t matter about being right or wrong, about printing the truth or publishing lies. The system forces people to accept a punch in the face to try and get out of the court system with their vital organs still intact.<br />
<br />
While the lawyers were in the judge’s chamber going over the case, four people sat quietly in a hallway; Bill Smolinski, Janice Smolinski, Paula Bell, and not far away – Madeline Gleason. And when their lawyer came out and told them they could settle the case for $115,000, Bill Smolinski said he wouldn’t give Madeline Gleason one dollar. Their lawyer advised them that if they went to trial they would spend tens of thousands in legal fees, and if they lost, they could lose their house and their life savings.<br />
<br />
“I was crushed,” Janice Smolinski said. “I always thought we could depend on the authorities and society to help us out. But the whole system completely failed us.”<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK7TsITKSISYx6HKCugMuYZWQUYKfSpRPA9dYw3vyZNV3eTFQeazOh6gdJMoRmFJAKB000sgbFzjw19QLLe-U-gNUeXptgajpYS3shfX4dCRAweXT1OxkDxGWq1R-uzh4Y-1ucjBf-Ofl8/s1600-h/Jan+Smolinski+(web)"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5142185186602842354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK7TsITKSISYx6HKCugMuYZWQUYKfSpRPA9dYw3vyZNV3eTFQeazOh6gdJMoRmFJAKB000sgbFzjw19QLLe-U-gNUeXptgajpYS3shfX4dCRAweXT1OxkDxGWq1R-uzh4Y-1ucjBf-Ofl8/s400/Jan+Smolinski+(web)" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><br />
(Photograph of Janice Smolinski)<br />
<br />
The Smolinskis have already shelled out more than $10,000 in legal fees, and now trapped in a legal vice, they eventually offered $2500 to settle the case. That offer was refused by Gleason and B and B Transportation. The Observer has shelled out $5000 in legal fees, offered $500 to settle, and that offer was also refused.<br />
<br />
Neither the Smolinskis or The Waterbury Observer will offer another dollar to settle the case. Let the chips fall where they may.<br />
<br />
“We are not going to give anyone a dime for false accusations,” Janice Smolinski said. “We were caught off guard that day in court, but we’ll go to trial if we have to.”<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPWmFDAgLxAYi5_OsWv1h9OwwHclng38VhHBrU0s68mmYRokV0pJ5XlNX31SMheJc5w6LzlmWhwKjB9ilvHAMk7k6afP-eZp4wVJ71D8tHBse1pNtPVRb4Jy_LKDhbHBFixsfiBB38t8X0/s1600-h/Smolinski+Family+(web).jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5142182893090306258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPWmFDAgLxAYi5_OsWv1h9OwwHclng38VhHBrU0s68mmYRokV0pJ5XlNX31SMheJc5w6LzlmWhwKjB9ilvHAMk7k6afP-eZp4wVJ71D8tHBse1pNtPVRb4Jy_LKDhbHBFixsfiBB38t8X0/s400/Smolinski+Family+(web).jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><br />
(Photograph of Paula Bell, Janice and Bill Smolinski)<br />
<br />
In the three years since Billy disappeared the Smolinskis belief in the system has crumbled around them. They not only lost a son, they have lost faith in the concept of justice in America. <br />
<br />
“If we weren’t going through this I wouldn’t believe that all this could happen,” Janice Smolinski said. “We used to believe that if someone got arrested it meant they had done something wrong. We used to believe that if somebody was sued they had done something wrong. Nothing makes sense anymore. I feel like we are in an episode of the Twilight Zone.”<br />
<br />
(For more informationon on the case check out www.waterburyobserver.org)</div>John Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330863409275028247noreply@blogger.com356tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959311154355211412.post-52663291680187775982007-10-14T21:39:00.000-05:002007-12-09T19:32:34.759-05:00October 2007 - Waterbury Mayoral Candidate Tony D'Amelio Q & A<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8AR2URJ8EDkrjcS7jvoeFkKrpExH38w-SJG3UdYBQnOtdn_LbGy5e1jyTEsI72-q6kwkMUgakNinuZryvjAc5w6xZTliCSyWn21J0O4qB18Nc5STTUGzM4koi1eBhpSOmm7LGXpBg5SuA/s1600-h/tony1(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8AR2URJ8EDkrjcS7jvoeFkKrpExH38w-SJG3UdYBQnOtdn_LbGy5e1jyTEsI72-q6kwkMUgakNinuZryvjAc5w6xZTliCSyWn21J0O4qB18Nc5STTUGzM4koi1eBhpSOmm7LGXpBg5SuA/s400/tony1(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121389136698268946" /></a><br /><br />Experienced State Representative, Intent On Cutting Red Tape<br /> <br /><br />(Observer publisher John Murray sat down with State Representative Tony D'Amelio inside the newspaper office on Bank Street in late September for a wide ranging interview on ethnic politics, the health of the Republican Party in Waterbury, and how the leader of the the city should spend more time lobbying up in Hartford. D'Amelio has served the 71st District for the past 12 years. Photographs by Michael Asaro)<br /><br /> <br /><br /><br />Observer: Your parents were both Italian immigrants and some people will look at Tony D’Amelio and say you are living the American Dream. Through hard work you started your own business, have been a community leader for 19 years, and now you are running for mayor in the 5th largest city in Connecticut? What has been the key to your success?<br /><br />D’Amelio: A lot of hard work. I got involved in public service for the right reason and that’s why I’ve managed to have longevity. It’s about what you can do for your constituents and not what you can do for yourself. I honestly live that. My father came here when he was 18, my mom when she was in her twenties…<br /><br />O: Were they from the same town?<br /><br />D: From the same region. The towns were next to each other. My cousins John and Joe own D’Amelio’s restaurant and their father and my father are brothers, and their mother and my mother are sisters, so we call each other brother-cousins. I hope they never need a liver or a kidney, because we might match. (big laugh)<br /> We are a tight knit family. I have aunts who are 10 to 12 years older than me and we all kind of grew up in the same house. My grandmother raised all of us because my parents went off to work. Being brought up in that culture affected my values. I watched my grandparents and parents helping each other out. If someone was sick or hospitalized they didn’t have to ask for help. Meals were prepared. Community values were instilled in me.<br /> It wasn’t always easy for me because my parents got divorced when I was young. That was devastating, especially because they were Italian immigrants. As a young guy when that happened your whole world is taken from under you. But I learned from that experience that you have to work hard because no one is going to hand you anything.<br /><br />O: How has politics changed in Waterbury since you were first elected to the board of education in 1989?<br /><br />D: Individuals that are elected now take things more personal. When I was first elected Joe Santopietro was the mayor and I served on the school board. There was always give and take with the other side of the aisle, but after the meetings everyone would sit down and have a beer together. I don’t see a lot of that going on now.<br /> Now people are often against a proposal because of who proposed it. They are against an individual and don’t see the bigger picture. Another difference is the confidence of the voters. Back then there was a lot of pride in Waterbury. I think people felt better about their elected officials. Don’t forget that since I was elected Joe went through his problems, Phil went through his problems, and then the Governor. There was pride when I was first elected and now it’s “what the hell do you want to serve for? Why are you running?” People looked at you back then with honor, and now when they look at you they don’t have the same amount of trust that they used to have.<br /><br />O: Former Governor John Rowland called politics in Waterbury a “contact sport”. How would you describe the political process in Waterbury right now?<br /><br />D: It’s still a contact sport, but I have always prided myself on sticking with the issues. I don’t hit on someone’s personality or someone’s character. But in Waterbury now it’s all about character assassination. If you’ve been in public service for a while you must be a crook. My opponent for the state rep race last election called me everything under the sun. He said I was a crook and that everything I’ve achieved in life is because of my political connections.<br /><br />O: How do you deal with that?<br /><br />D: I’m very grounded. I know who I am. I’m comfortable with who I am. It bothers my wife and family more than it bothers me. I know it’s politics and I’m just going to roll with the punches. If you are going to be in politics you have to have a thick skin. Especially in Waterbury. Your opponents are going to attack your character to try and show that you’re not the person you really are. It’s very difficult and that’s the reason it is so hard to get people who want to run. It is getting harder and harder to find people who want to serve.<br /><br />O: Tony, you’ve been on a short list of mayoral candidates for the past 12 years. There was talk of you taking on Mike Bergin in 1995 and of challenging Phil Giordano in 1999. Every municipal election in the past 12 years your name has been bandied about as a mayoral candidate. The Republican Party leadership has begged you to run before and you always said no. What’s different in 2007? Why did you say yes this time around?<br /><br />D: It’s very simple. I’m very much a family guy; my family comes first before anything else. I have two daughters in college now and I have a 12-year-old son. I wasn’t sure where my daughters were going to school and I wasn’t going to jump into a mayoral race. Both girls go to UConn so it’s affordable, but they could have chosen to go to Fordham or Yale. My wife and I are committed to giving our children an education and we don’t want them to have a huge debt. I never wanted to rely on politics for my livelihood because it’s so uncertain. So my family came first.<br /> Secondly, I had to consider my business. I’m self-employed. I started Three Of A Kind restaurant with my two partners in 1983 and then in 1997 I opened Paisanos. I made a huge investment in that new building so there was no way I could walk away from that. I now have a good management team in place, and a great staff, so I can run for mayor.<br /> On a personal note, the first time they wanted me to run in 1995 against Mike Bergin I wasn’t ready for it. I wasn’t ready to take on that type of position. Now I’ve been involved for 18 years. I’ve been a board of ed member, I’ve been an alderman, and I’ve been in the state house for 12 years so it’s a different day. I know exactly what this city needs.<br /><br />O: The Republican Party has a solid history of selecting young Italian males from Town Plot as its mayoral candidate. It hasn’t worked out all that well for Waterbury because the last two Republican candidates elected mayor went to prison. There is a very real fear in some quarters of this city from voters who look at Tony D’Amelio and say “Oh no, here we go again, another Italian male from Town Plot.” What would you say to those voters?<br /><br />D: It angers me that this was even brought out. When I first announced I was running the mayor went on TV talking about Phil Giordano and Joe Santopietro. The only similarity that we have is that we’re Italian Americans from a certain area. That’s where it ends. I think I have proven myself. I’ve been involved in public service for 18 years and there’s not a blemish behind my name. With all the scandal that’s gone on here in Waterbury there’s nothing been said about Tony D’Amelio.<br /> And this issue drives and motivates me. If I do become mayor I am going to do a fantastic job. The Italian community has been labeled because of Santopietro and Giordano, but that doesn’t mean that we’re all bad. I have daughters that are Italian-American and they shouldn’t be labeled because of what two individuals did. It is important to the Italian community to have me run and clear up this issue. They want this stereotype to go away. <br /> The mafia originated in the Italian community, we all know that, there’s a history of that, but we’re not all Mafioso, or a part of that. We’ve contributed a lot to Waterbury and America. We are good hard working people.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQmLaO-2sCgjF2_fSsp2roWmGkSoMsfF1FAWlgewDiDGoFZi7mmlQLuWp4o8miGzziCZDWKpNX3zyR0WU6eLYme-gH5ONOs7ldBclJ4Dqf-BrpT35Z5NlpRqr6E51MY9Lu0kiFxWLV2vm_/s1600-h/tony4(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQmLaO-2sCgjF2_fSsp2roWmGkSoMsfF1FAWlgewDiDGoFZi7mmlQLuWp4o8miGzziCZDWKpNX3zyR0WU6eLYme-gH5ONOs7ldBclJ4Dqf-BrpT35Z5NlpRqr6E51MY9Lu0kiFxWLV2vm_/s400/tony4(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121388483863239906" /></a><br /><br />O: I agree, but one of the challenges of your candidacy is to convincingly bring that point across. Voters around the city are concerned about this issue. Joe Santopietro was just arrested again this year for his effort to help the mob control trash hauling in western Connecticut. Giordano had links to the mob that were being investigated before he was arrested for pedophilia. This is not the Sopranos, this is Waterbury and the mafia has been right here in the city. Organized crime has been in the mayor’s office. This is a difficult issue for people to put on the table and ask you, but voters are talking about it all around you, behind your back. That’s why I wanted to ask you directly to your face and let you respond to the issue.<br /><br />D: I appreciate that. The Italian-American community has struggled with the corruption of Joe Santopietro and Phil Giordano and that’s why the Italian-American community is thrilled that someone like me is running for mayor. They know me. I have a strong record of public service for the past 19 years. I’m excited to show Waterbury that this problem isn’t about all Italian Americans, and I think they know that. A lot of the politicos want to make a case to discredit me, they use a whisper campaign….he’s Italian, he’s corrupt, and the campaign started off that way this year. They wanted to put fear in people’s minds that here’s another corrupt individual. The minute that article came out that quoted the mayor as saying I was backed by crooks and felons, the stereotype was being put forward.<br /> My daughter wrote a letter to the editor that expressed how she felt. It was very powerful. She didn’t tell me until after she sent it in. It brought tears to my eyes. My 19-year-old daughter wrote that her father had done nothing but serve the community, and opponents have no issues against him so they try and drag him through the mud by bringing in the Santopietro situation and the Giordano situation.<br /> She wrote that she was an Italian-America and asked if that made her bad. Her letter was very powerful and that whole issue died down.<br /><br />O: The one part that let’s people keep the issue alive a little bit is that you are very good friends with Jeff Santopietro. You don’t hide that, he doesn’t hide that. He’s in your headquarters picking up lawn signs. There is something radioactive about the name Santopietro, and suddenly he becomes the cunning fox pulling your strings. Is he?<br /><br />D: Not at all. When I first decided to run people told me to keep Jeffrey out of the picture, in the background. That’s not me. I don’t hide my stripes. I am who I am. Jeff has been a dear friend of mine for the past 20 years. I became really good friends with him when he was going through the situation that he had. It wasn’t easy for him. His brother was a very popular mayor and his whole world collapsed. He was a young man, I think he was 19, and it was a very tough time. He has always been there to help me and we’re good friends.<br /> If you look at Jeff today he is married, he is running a very successful business and he continues to give to the community in so many different ways. He is a great guy. If people are concerned about the Santopietro name, they shouldn’t be concerned with Jeff. He doesn’t control me in any way, shape or form. No one controls my decision-making. I have to do what’s right for me.<br /> <br />O: The last two Republican candidates for mayor, Mark Forte and Tom Tremaglio, both had innovative and refreshing ideas, yet both men said they were screwed over by the very Republican leadership that urged them to run. It’s been a tough time for Republicans in Waterbury. What’s your take on the health of the Grand Old Party in Waterbury?<br /><br />D: I’ve helped energize the party with my candidacy. The majority of the party feels we have a legitimate shot. I understand how Mark and Tom feel, after the Giordano mess our party was splintered. I applaud them for taking the helm, for actually putting their necks out there. And Dennis Odle in 2001.<br /> Even now, the party gives you the nomination and you hope for some help, but it all falls on your own back. Some members are great, and some members hand you the nomination and don’t volunteer or work hard. That’s in every political party.<br /> I am one of the few people who get along with everyone. I was good friends with Nick Augelli, I was good friends with Sam Caligiuri. There was a big split there from what Sam did to get the leadership of the board of aldermen from Nick. He did what he did, but I remained friends with him. Now we’re even better friends since he came to the Statehouse and we work together and we have really gotten to know one another. Nick I served with for years on the board of aldermen. When everything went down with Joe Santopietro it was Nick Augelli who was our leader. I was on the school board at the time but he was the figure that kept us all together. He said we can’t get discouraged, we have to stay together, and not long after that Giordano got elected. But Nick was the leader that held this party together and a lot of people forget that history. If you look at all the camps out there today there is little factions everywhere. Not everyone is happy with his or her party, and that’s just something you come to live with.<br /><br />O: 34% of all tax dollars in Waterbury go to unfunded pensions and retiree medical costs. Despite the unfunded $450 million pension nightmare. Some of your opponents have stated that the medical costs to retirees is likely an even larger liability to the taxpayers. How would you tackle the problem?<br /><br />D: That’s the next huge hurdle that Waterbury is going to face. We don’t know what that exact number is yet, but we have to find that out and deal with it the same way we are dealing with the pension fund, and that’s pay as you go. Some people may disagree with me, but when you have a debt of that magnitude, when the actuarial reports say we must pay $40 million a year, we have to do that. Waterbury is not out of the financial woods yet. We still have a huge debt. It’s no different than your home. You have $100,000 debt on credit cards and you borrow against your home and start making monthly payments. You think you’re out of the woods, but you still have that debt. Unless you sell your home that debt is not going to go away until you pay it off. It’s going to take us 18 years to get out of debt but we have to do this. When we find out what the health care costs are we are going to have to do the same thing.<br /><br />O: How do we figure out that number?<br /><br />D: That’s a good question. For years I don’t think anyone knew what they were doing in dealing with health care benefits. Now that we are addressing this issue I think it’s scaring a lot of people. Just imagine what the state of Connecticut is on the hook for. But whatever these numbers are we are going to have to deal with them head on. No smoke and mirrors. Whatever the debt is we’ll have to tackle it. Sam Caligiuri proposed legislation in Hartford that would have the state bond the money for the pension fund and then Waterbury borrow that money. But there is only $25 million in the bonding package before us right now and Waterbury needs $450 million. There are 78 communities out there right now that have a pension fund problem so it’s going to take a while to convince Hartford to actually bond that money. That would be the best scenario because we would bond that money at the state rate and pay that debt slowly.<br /> These issues bring to light our financial situation in Waterbury. We have a $7 million surplus this year. That’s nice to say that but we have a $460 million pension fund debt, and whatever that health care cost is going to be. We’re not sitting as pretty as we think we are.<br /><br />O: The Republican mantra is always to cut taxes, or to keep taxes as they are. Waterbury has the highest tax rate in Connecticut. People are drowning here. And another pig is about to drop on the table with the health care costs. The bad news isn’t over is it?<br /><br />D: No. The Oversight Board did yeoman’s work by reversing a lot of the sins that occurred in the past 30 years of mismanagement in Waterbury. The $40 million a year that we have to contribute every year is because of the mismanagement of city finances. We are paying for that. I would love to be able to say that I will cut your taxes but that’s not who I am. I can’t lie to people.<br /> There are things that can be done and I think economic development is the key to that. It’s no different than my business. I have fixed costs just like the city and those costs go up every year. Lights, fuel, payroll, health care benefits, they are not going to go down. Unless you bring in more revenue to cover that, the money has to come from somewhere. So what do you do?<br /> Can you go to the taxpayers? No, people are tapped out. Everybody is just barely surviving in this area. We are a blue-collar town.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTT3gS8br5wt6rYtdl9m494OdmtuC6mmFVLBMR797_W5z7zNgjs7vdkTqfpiuqzY9OwobkwRpmcDBny6jM3vXmtZOJgE2P68EzNO1a57GLdM7wqYGAX20Uc-_qE4z5_yJh1xKmRiWgturh/s1600-h/tony7(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTT3gS8br5wt6rYtdl9m494OdmtuC6mmFVLBMR797_W5z7zNgjs7vdkTqfpiuqzY9OwobkwRpmcDBny6jM3vXmtZOJgE2P68EzNO1a57GLdM7wqYGAX20Uc-_qE4z5_yJh1xKmRiWgturh/s400/tony7(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121388492453174514" /></a><br /><br />O: So how do we attract more businesses here?<br /><br />D: We need an aggressive economic development plan. First we need to encourage developers and businesses that Waterbury is a place they want to be. One thing I learned in Hartford is that there are 169 communities in this state and we’re all competing for the same factory, the same fuel cell business, everybody is in on this game. Years ago suburbia wasn’t in on this; they wanted to maintain their same small town character. But that’s changed. The small communities now understand the importance of economic development in keeping their taxes down and they’ve created industrial parks like the one in Watertown.<br /> I propose that we pre-permit sites in Waterbury. One of the things Waterbury is known for is that when a developer or new business comes here they get discouraged with red tape and bureaucracy. They decide its going to take them too long to get up and running and they go somewhere else. But if we pre-permit sites, we have so many Brownfields, and buildings falling in disrepair that are no longer viable, that we need to get them ready for change.<br /><br />O: How would you do that? Pick out a site and take us through the process.<br /><br />D: We are trying to do this with the Harper Leader property on South Main Street. We have applied for money to remediate that property. It was an old fuel company that fell into disrepair. We would take that property and apply for all the necessary permits on the state level.<br /><br />O: You’d take it by eminent domain?<br /><br />D: We can, but with this new Brownfield legislation it’s going to be a lot easier for the city to go in and take these properties. We could work it out with the existing owner who doesn’t have the funds to clean the site. We can do all the necessary legwork as a city to get this property ready to be permitted. They we can go out and market it. If we want we can apply for the money and clean the property and get it ready for a potential developer or factory owner. By doing this we can take all the leg work out of the project for any developer or business looking to move in. This will get rid of the stereotype Waterbury has that nobody moves fast enough and you’ll get tied up in red tape. If we pre-permit these sites we could get the Waterbury Development Corporation to remediate the property and then we could sell it to a developer. We would get back the money we spent cleaning the property up and we’d have a new addition to our tax base.<br /><br />O: It’s interesting that you talk about the feedback you get from businesses and developers about their frustration dealing with Waterbury’s red tape, and we just had the top two leaders at the Waterbury Development Corporation leave in frustration that the city is imposing red tape on them making it difficult to start projects.<br /><br />D: Alderman Paul Vance proposed to have everything go through the board of aldermen and that’s not what WDC was created for. It was a shoot off of the Naugatuck Valley Development Corporation and was supposed to get rid of all the red tape. If you look at all the projects NVDC did in downtown redevelopment like the Palace Theater, UConn and the magnet arts school, all that money went straight to NVDC. In Hartford we didn’t want that money going straight to the city because it would slow down the process. The most recent example is the money to fix the football field at Municipal Stadium. We earmarked the money to WDC because we wanted to avoid the nightmare of having the project bogged down in the city’s bureaucracy.<br /> I got a $150,000 to fix up Town Plot Park a year ago and nothing has been done. The money is to buy new playscapes, to fix the walking trail, to fix the sprinkler and other maintenance things.<br /><br />O: Is the money still in Hartford?<br /><br />D: No, the money was earmarked to the Park Board and it hasn’t gotten done yet. The city for some reason sits on its hands. There is no motivation to go out and do these projects. That’s what has to change. So I don’t blame Mike O’Connor (the former executive director of WDC) for being frustrated, and he started to air some of that frustration about the City Hall project. That project was adopted after a painful referendum on the issue. On May 30th of this year the aldermen adopted the $39 million project. It’s October 1st and we don’t even have a contract yet. That’s obscene. When there is a standard contract used throughout the industry, and it’s the same one Michael O’Connor used for the $300 million downtown development, we need to sign that and get the project started. It was good enough for the Palace and UConn, it’s not good enough for City Hall?<br /><br />O: The mayor just came firing back with an op-ed piece in the Republican-American newspaper saying that standard contract was set up to protect the contractors and not the city. He said a new contract would better protect the citizens.<br /><br />D: Maybe that’s his belief, but I’ve spoken to attorneys who deal with this issue all the time and they have told me that the contract doesn’t protect the developers. There is equal protection and that’s why it’s an industry standard. There was a 30 day grace period after the referendum in case someone challenged the results, but during that time the mayor could have had someone working on a contract. There is no excuse for the delay. So imagine you are a private business having to go through this, where every single day is costing you money, you couldn’t do it. That’s why the real money, the real businesses that we look to bring into the city don’t even look at Waterbury. They get frustrated and aggravated that everything takes too long. <br /><br />O: So how do you fix WDC?<br /><br />D: By having leadership. The mayor has to take a strong lead on these things. He has to be an ambassador for development in Waterbury. Whoever takes that seat has to dedicate a majority of their time to economic development. If that doesn’t happen we are in deep trouble. Because our costs are only going up. If you look at our tax bills from ten years ago and compare them to today’s, they have almost tripled. So how much more can you ask from a taxpayer? We can’t ask for anymore.<br /><br />O: So you have to take a pair of scissors and cut the red tape?<br /><br />D: Absolutely. Not create more of it like they are proposing to do now. The mayor is seeking more control over WDC and that’s not why they were created. WDC has an executive board, the neighborhood has some people, the chamber is on that board, and then there is a board of directors of 25 individuals. There is checks and balances with WDC. You want to take it out of government’s hands because any time the government gets involved it will take you forever. I see that on the state level. State projects take forever because you have to go through all that red tape.<br /><br />O: Downtown Watertown is fully occupied and flourishing, and Waterbury’s downtown isn’t. Why is that, and what can you do to specifically help downtown Waterbury?<br /><br />D: If you look at what Carl Rosa and Main Street are doing they have some great ideas. As a mayor you have to become a part of that, you have to become a real cheerleader for Main Street.<br /> I did a merchants walk and the number one concern from the merchants was parking. They complain that sometimes a customer will pull up and run in and get something quick and when they walk out there is a ticket on the windshield. We have sent the message that we won’t tolerate illegal parking, but we have to go beyond that and address the parking so businesses can survive downtown.<br /> Another issue is that property owners want to put money into their property but they will have to pay more taxes on the improvements and there is no guarantee they will get tenants. So we need to give tax breaks on property improvements to help get things going. These are ideas that the property owners have come up with. There are beautiful buildings down here with spaces that can turn into apartments so we can create more living space downtown. A lot of kids getting out of college would love to live downtown in a one of these apartments but we have to market that and have to give the landlords and property owners an incentive to rehab those apartments.<br /><br />O: Just so I’m clear, what would you do with the parking tickets? Would you stop issuing parking tickets?<br /><br />D: No. That’s another stream of revenue that the city has, but I think there needs to be some common sense applied. If you see someone pull up to Louie’s Pizza to run in and grab a grinder we shouldn’t be racing over to give that customer a ticket. If the car is sitting there for an hour, tag them. You don’t want to create the image that we’re giving away free parking, that’s not what I’m trying to say. We just need to use wiser judgment to make it more business friendly. I go to Tony’s Men’s Shop all the time, I buy the majority of my suits and clothes from Tony’s and I go to Fine Crafts because they are specialty shops. It’s a little harder to convince our wives because we have become a mall society. But we have great ramparages downtown and we need to do a better job marketing that they are clean and safe. Maybe we should offer free parking a few days out of the year to try and get more shoppers downtown. Once they are downtown they can see that we are safe. The image is that downtown is not safe. We have the buses on the Green, and the people that hang around the Green might be good people, but they make some people uncomfortable.<br /> We have a beautiful downtown and if we can get the transportation center going I envision parking all around the Green. Maybe we can open up some of those shops on West Main Street. Parking is the number one issue, and number two is giving incentives to property owners to rehab their buildings, and number three is to go out and actively recruit.<br /> We had the Information Technology Zone down here and that was extremely successful, but we didn’t reapply for that money. I don’t know why the city would let that money go. I was told that 23 applied for the ITZ and 15 are still here. That’s pretty successful.<br /> Carl Rosa and Main Street just put on the BeerFest in Library Park and 1000 people came into downtown. We need to do more of those types of events. I’ve talked to Carl about creating a restaurant zone in downtown Waterbury. The workers clear out of the insurance companies in Hartford after work, but people come back into Hartford to eat at Max’s Downtown, Hot Tomatoes and the Trumbull Street Grill. We can do that here in Waterbury. Look at City Hall Café and Diorio’s, we just need more places.<br /><br />O: Part of the difficulty is that when people walk out of the Palace Theater they run smack into a fortress of UConn. If you look to the left it’s dark and creepy, and people do one of two things – they head to the parking garage at UConn, or the one behind the theater. People aren’t wandering around downtown. There are tens of thousands of people coming downtown and we don’t have a really good way to capture them after a show.<br /><br />D: You’re right. But if we can turn that dark area into Max’s or a Hot Tomatoes people will come down even when the Palace isn’t open. Food attracts people from all over the place. I’m not talking about Subways or my place, but fine dining restaurants. Higher end restaurants. Carmen does a great job. Nobody thought he’d make it with a high end steak house on Chase Avenue, but he’s doing a great job. Diorio’s is doing a great job and attracts people from all over the state. That’s the kind of caliber restaurant I’m looking for. I talk to Carl about creating incentives for restaurants to come down here to liven up downtown after office hours. But we do have to clean up the image of downtown. We have to provide better lighting. Maybe create more off street parking along East Main Street, and create more parking around the Palace Theater. Maybe there’s streets we can totally block off and create outdoor dining. That’s what people want these days, and we have to give them what they want. The restaurants will help attract more speciality shops, places where you can’t go anywhere else to get the product.<br /><br />O: In December 1993 you were the sole alderman to vote against a plan by Mayor Bergin to purchase and renovate the Palace Theater for $4 million. You clearly stated that the city and its taxpayers should not own the theater. Ten years later the Palace Theater was renovated for $30 million and the city of Waterbury now owns the theater. What do you think now of this arrangement?<br /><br />D: Two different scenarios completely. Back in 1993 Mayor Bergin’s proposal was to have the city buy and renovate the Palace Theater. We couldn’t afford to do that. Being involved in government back then I saw that we couldn’t even run our Park Department in the right manner so what made us think we could own and operate a theater. The city has no business being in the theater business. The structure that they had in place was all wrong. We were going to create another layer of bureaucracy by creating another city department and hiring all kinds of people. Once we made that investment Waterbury was going to be married to that project for years and years and years and we weren’t going to get anything in return for it. So it was a bad idea, but it wasn’t an easy vote for me because the night of that vote it was the who’s who of Waterbury that came down and spoke in favor of it. But being in the restaurant business, and being with the average Waterburian who works hard every day, I knew that they didn’t like this idea, and I didn’t either. I voted my conscience. After the vote the who’s who belted me saying I didn’t know what I was doing and that I should be ashamed.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA-uOeeSC78hIfmmIw5LLny9OjfyPmdopwlUC551Tud4BHvnwfVH8yM733KygsLlNJpZ-UTZuCVrA0QZF-WbteZNuFoi_qe4-XrsysJuiPNcdXE70652QJyxiv2mttBohBgvq0_UGyWscX/s1600-h/tony3(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA-uOeeSC78hIfmmIw5LLny9OjfyPmdopwlUC551Tud4BHvnwfVH8yM733KygsLlNJpZ-UTZuCVrA0QZF-WbteZNuFoi_qe4-XrsysJuiPNcdXE70652QJyxiv2mttBohBgvq0_UGyWscX/s400/tony3(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121388483863239890" /></a><br /><br />O: Well the Republican-American loved you. They wrote an entire editorial praising your courage.<br /><br />D: But I didn’t know they were going to do that. Later we had a referendum on the project and my vote really stood out because I had the pulse of the people. I work with the people, it’s not a magic formula, when you work with the people every single day you know what they are feeling. This time around the Governor proposed doing the theater with state money. It was all state money that came in and we did it the right way. We created the Palace Theater Board, they are running it. They’ve done a great job and God Bless Jim Smith from Webster Bank for stepping up and pouring a lot of money into that endowment. So it’s not costing the city. We might own it, but the city’s involvement is not there. It was a completely different proposal that is not costing the taxpayers of Waterbury any money to run. You could argue that it’s still taxpayer dollars no matter how you look at it, but we have a tourist tax in Hartford that funds a portion of it and the delegation needs to keep fighting for funds to help run the theater. I think the way Steve is running the place he is doing a great job, I mean Frank, Frank Tavara.<br /><br />O: You’ll give Frank an identity crisis.<br /><br />D: (laughs) I don’t want to do that.<br /><br />O: Part of your economic plan is to capitalize on your contacts in Hartford to help secure more funding for development projects in Waterbury. Former Governor John Rowland pushed the Waterbury envelope for ten years. Isn’t Hartford a bit tired of Waterbury right now?<br /><br />D: Absolutely. Before John Rowland, Waterbury got nothing out of Hartford. We were like the state’s step child. But a lot of that falls on the leadership of the city. I’ve seen how communities present their ideas up in Hartford and how they get money. Bridgeport has a $1.6 billion proposal that Magic Johnson is involved in to develop a waterfront park. We need to get on the ball here and it has to come from the mayor’s office. Every year before our legislative session we sit with the mayor, it doesn’t matter who is the mayor, to come up with a legislative agenda for the city of Waterbury. We want to hear what the mayor is proposing that year and we bring those ideas up to Hartford. We create bills and try to convince our colleagues to support our ideas, but we have to remember there are 169 communities in Connecticut and they are all doing the same thing.<br /> The chamber of commerce has a legislative agenda and some of the items they are looking for mirror what the mayor is looking for, and some are separate. We look to help them achieve some of their goals. And then you have individual legislators who are looking for their own area. I’m looking for park money here, we’re looking to do municipal stadium, we’re looking to do Fairlawn Park. We get some of the funding because we have a great delegation that works well together. There is no politics when its comes to the seven of us working for Waterbury, but the problem we have and why we’re not really getting what we should is because other communities, their mayors, their first selectman, come to Hartford. And when they come to Hartford they come with their city planners, they come with their chamber members, they come with their business community, they come with 15 to 20 people as a team.<br />They come with blueprints and when they go into the Governor’s office their delegation is part of that, and then they convince the Governor what the project can mean to not only Waterbury, but greater Waterbury. This is what we need to do.<br /><br />O: Mike Jarjura isn’t doing that?<br /><br />D’Amelio: No. That’s never happened in my 12 years in Hartford. It doesn’t matter who is mayor they never come to the capitol with the chamber of commerce or as a team. Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim was a pain in John Rowland’s ass because he was up in Hartford all the time looking for money. Bridgeport came as a group, a team, it wasn’t just the mayor’s idea.<br /> We can get money to fix the stadium, but to get the real money the mayor has to work with the chamber of commerce and go to Hartford as a team. Our mayor needs to show real leadership in creating a vision for Waterbury and that isn’t happening now. That’s what I want to do, it’s the only way to do this. We have to sell Waterbury to Hartford. We have to sell the governor and the other legislators, we have to show them what this project can mean to Waterbury, and that’s not happening now. We need a united front. We shouldn’t have a mayor’s agenda and a completely separate chamber agenda, there are differences but they have to work more closely together. Government and business have to be on the same page on what we are going to do for Waterbury, and then we’ll get things done.<br /><br />O: Forty percent of students who enter 9th grade in Waterbury public school do not graduate four years later. The truancy and dropout rate is a full-fledged crisis in this community. Do you have any ideas how to address this nightmarish problem?<br /><br />D: I served a four year term on the board of education and I went to visit the schools. On a weekly basis I would go into a different school and it was an eye-opening experience. I had no idea about some of the hardships going on within the community. There are a lot of kids struggling. We want them to have higher test scores, but do we know what’s going on with them? Some kids are being brought up without any parents, or their parents are alcoholics or strung out on drugs. It’s hard to compare the test scores from Cheshire to Waterbury. I bet a majority of kids in Cheshire come from a two parent home, the family is making good money and not struggling like a lot of the families in the inner city of Waterbury. That’s why our test scores aren’t doing that well.<br /> What can we do about it? We have to listen to the educators that are on the front lines every day, and that is our teachers and administrators. If they are spending 80% of their time trying to calm one or two kids down it’s not fair to other kids who are there and want to learn.<br /><br />O: Some of this isn’t about test scores. Forty percent of the kids aren’t graduating on time or are dropping out of school. That is an outrageous number. What happens to these kids? Where do they go? Many of them end up in shitty jobs or in a dead end scene. That’s the future of Waterbury. What are we going to do about this?<br /><br />D: For Waterbury to succeeed we have to have a strong educational system. That’s why I favor the neighborhood school concept. The middle schools are what is driving middle class out of the city, or they are sending their kids to private schools. There is a lot of fear about what’s going on in our middle schools. I was in the second graduating class from Westside Middle School. Prior to that was Barnard School, which was my neighborhood school. My cousins, myself, we went to school together. Everyone in our neighborhood went to Barnard School. There was a sense of community. Everyone knew who your parents were, my parents knew the other parents and there was a lot more respect and a lot more pride in the neighborhood. If there was an activity you could walk to your school. Let’s not forget there is a lot of people in Waterbury that don’t drive and we are busing their kids half way across town. It doesn’t matter which ethnic group you belong to, everybody wants neighborhood schools. They work. The middle school concept has failed us.<br /> We have to look at the curriculum in high schools. Why are so many kids dropping out? Well maybe they know they aren’t college material and we aren’t given them a purpose to come to school. We aren’t training them for any type of job skills. We need to address that. We need to change that. When I went to Kennedy High School we had college prep, business, and industrial arts courses. If you were geared towards college you’d be in the college prep course, business you’d study business, and if you were in industrial arts you studied shop or auto mechanics so you felt like you were learning something useful to help you get a job. We have to go back to that concept and make sure the students not going on to college are prepared and trained for some type of job. Not every kid is going to college and when they get to a certain age they are bored and ask themselves “what am I doing this for?” God knows what these kids are going through at home. For a kid to drop out you have to wonder if the parents are actively involved with them. There are a lot of reasons why these kids are dropping out and we have to figure out why.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7jYuLhmSc3KjmzUcXkgWOVteuCFk6tAaQydicmWu23p9OgjBi0ZJ4iyudZcdEr7UIWGfngclt66RD4EkLRE6t9d-Zu3yAwPXqqwqTMklB4M5P-ScLsK-RO4jm4gDAugruy3WbV93_5q-d/s1600-h/tony5(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7jYuLhmSc3KjmzUcXkgWOVteuCFk6tAaQydicmWu23p9OgjBi0ZJ4iyudZcdEr7UIWGfngclt66RD4EkLRE6t9d-Zu3yAwPXqqwqTMklB4M5P-ScLsK-RO4jm4gDAugruy3WbV93_5q-d/s400/tony5(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121388496748141826" /></a><br /><br />O: The Observer was involved in helping to launch a youth newspaper this summer called Young Voices. We had 12 public school students sit down for two days to brainstorm all the reasons they believed their peers were getting discouraged and dropping out of school. After lengthy discussion they zeroed in on Waterbury’s strict dress code as the #1 reason kids were dropping out of school. Every one of the students had been suspended for being in violation of dress code. One student received in-house suspension for wearing the wrong colored hair tie to school. The students believe the teachers and administrators are spending too much time enforcing a bizarrely strict dress code. Last year for example there were more suspensions in 9th grade than there were students in 9th grade. The kids say they are suffocating under petty rules, get sick of the daily hassle and drop out? What do you think of the situation?<br /><br />D: These kids are faced with a lot. That’s why I think it is so important that the mayor gets involved with the education system. We need to listen to the teachers. The board of education is probably putting the pressure on the schools about the dress code.<br /><br />O: Dr. Snead (superintendent of schools) loves it. He absolutely loves the dress code. He said that the students know what the rules are and the should follow them or be held accountable.<br /><br />D: Maybe teachers can share with you. A teacher might step forward and say the situation is ridiculous, that this is a great a student and it doesn’t matter what color hair tie she has on today. Maybe our teachers are frustrated with the dress code too. We have to ask them and find out what’s really going on in the classrooms. One thing I learned by being on the school board is that we have great educators here in Waterbury. They are very caring and concerned, but we tie their hands in many respects. I wonder how many school board members actually go around and visit the schools. We grab these ideas like the dress code, which can be good in many ways, but maybe there’s problems too. The idea was that everybody looks the same now. I think it’s a healthier environment with a dress code.<br /><br />O: All the kids on Young Voices agree there should be a dress code. No one is saying there shouldn’t be a dress code. They are saying it’s too anal. They feel they are being choked for ridiculous things.<br /><br />D: My daughter got a demerit because one of her buttons was undone. Does the board of ed really understand what this policy is doing? That they are discouraging people from learning.<br /><br />O: The mayor has created a blue ribbon commission to address the truancy and dropout rate and there are 50 community leaders involved and there are hardly any kids involved in the process. There are some minorities represented on this commission, but it’s mostly middle aged white folks trying to figure out why blacks and Hispanics are dropping out of school. There is a total disconnect. These kids want to talk, they want to express themselves to the board and tell them what is really going on inside the schools. Students want to bring their ideas forward and if you are elected mayor would you be willing to hold a Youth Summit to allow the young people of this city to speak out?<br /><br />D: I think it’s important that we do that. We need to hear what their frustrations are. A lot of kids won’t participate, but the ones that do will give you a good insight. I have two daughters that recently graduated from high school. My wife and I take a strong interest in our kid’s education so we kind of knew what was going on in the schools as they were developing. But we really need to figure what is going on in those classrooms. Teacher bashing is the easiest thing. People say look at how much money they make and our test scores are down, but there are reasons and we need to look deeper into the situation. We also need to look at different teaching methods and how some principals are motivating their staff and students. The principal at Wendell Cross got his school engaged by offering to kiss a pig if they did good on their test scores. They did, and he kissed a pig. By looking at what is working, by studying success, we can find out how to spread this throughout the school system. Look at Rotella School, it was selected the best magnet arts school in America. How is that principal motivating her teachers? We need to study that and learn. How do we do that? By having a mayor who is willing to get into the schools and engage the teachers. I will do that.<br /> Some senior citizens aren’t concerned with the school system anymore. They raised their kids already so they aren’t worried so much about what is happening today, but its of great concern to the entire community because the school system determines what your real estate is worth. If you have a strong school system, where people want to come in, that will create more demand and the price of your home will go up.<br /><br />O: You are a former alderman so you experienced the stress of having to make big decisions with little information, or information given to you at the last minute. Do you think we should provide aldermen with a support staff so they can better handle the important issues coming before them?<br /><br />D: Absolutely. People have to realize there is virtually no pay involved in the job. You do get a stipend, I don’t even know what it is, $4000 maybe. The most frustrating part for me is that you have to seek out your own information. If you’re working full-time and trying to juggle your family and everything, it’s very time consuming to get into the meat of an issue. You won’t know where the issue came from or whether you were casting the right decision on this. Basically you are depending on the mayor’s office for whatever information you have. Corporation Counsel provides information, but they are pretty much run by the mayor. In Hartford I have a legislative aide that is shared by five legislators. We need to create some type of system like that here in Waterbury where an alderman can call up the aide and say there is an important issue going on in the south end of Waterbury and I don’t really understand it. Can you research it and provide all the data. This would give the alderman more of a comfort level on the issues before they cast a vote.<br /><br />O: Plus you’d get an independent assessment of what’s going on, something different than a partisan mayor’s point of view.<br /><br />D: That’s important. I would like to create a legislative aide that is bipartisan. Not one for Republicans and one for Democrats. We need a researcher. Whatever the pressing issue that we need research on they have to conduct it. And most likely when they do that research it’s going to be for the entire board. We do have staff that provides that, but it’s not a bipartisan staff. Let’s face it, when a mayor is in office, the corporation counsel and every department head will go along with the mayor. So it’s very difficult as an alderman and that’s why you see a lot of the votes going the way they do. It’s just so much easier to say no. Mike Bergin used to do something that Phil Giordano never did, he called individual aldermen in. He would say this is the issue and if you’re going to break my balls on it I want you to know why I think it’s important and this is how I came to my conclusion. That tactic worked. 90% of the time he was right, and it was very hard for me or the other alderman to go against him. John Rowland did that a lot in Hartford. Personal lobbying showing you facts. You had to doubt them, but if you don’t have someone doing that independent research it makes it very difficult to go against them.<br /><br />O: Mayor Jarjura has actively been involved in personal real estate development around the city. The mayor says he’s just investing in the city he loves, what’s your take on the issue?<br /><br />D: It’s easy to sit here and say that the mayor is lining his pockets as mayor, but you have to understand that Mike and I go back. I know Mike, I know him as a person. I don’t have a problem with Mike making money in real estate. He’s a good person. He’s an honorable guy, there is no question about that. The problem I have is that when you are mayor there is a fine line sometimes. When you have a million dollars invested in a piece of property and you need a city board to pass that development it can be very tempting to get involved. How can you keep your hands out of that?<br /><br />O: Especially when you have appointed members to the board that you are seeking approval from. And when the head of the Inland Wetlands Commission is appointed by you, and works at a city job, like Kathy McNamara does, it places her in an awkward spot.<br /><br />D: Exactly. Everything could be above board but it’s the public perception that will hurt you. Mike has to realize what Waterbury has gone through, not only with two mayors, but a governor. There is a lot of distrust out there, and now you have a mayor who is a developer and it makes people scared. I said in the beginning of the interview that I don’t ever want to rely on public service for my livelihood, I own a business and would continue to manage the restaurant from a distance if I was elected mayor. Mike was a developer before he was mayor and has continued to manage his developing from a distance. But when you are mayor and developer you open yourself up to criticism. He took some hits for his project in Middlebury when his office space lured doctors out of Waterbury and the city lost revenue. It was a good business deal for Mike Jarjura, but not so good for Waterbury. If Mike wants to continue developing then a fair amount of criticism will continue to come his way. He needs to understand that many people, myself included, don’t think you should be mayor and developer. It’s a bad image.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQwMN62e_J2d22h-4ihJU613KEWnNDrWEYqOVisr7JPTQ4RpOhrsyMqlxz2J_e2t9dccnnZncXjA0cMcTDhj76XZIctJWvkh_vi7DUA85UmVzxsS9Mr_8CjxMjt-DTkWYQNy7Z5z8IbQF/s1600-h/tony2(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQwMN62e_J2d22h-4ihJU613KEWnNDrWEYqOVisr7JPTQ4RpOhrsyMqlxz2J_e2t9dccnnZncXjA0cMcTDhj76XZIctJWvkh_vi7DUA85UmVzxsS9Mr_8CjxMjt-DTkWYQNy7Z5z8IbQF/s400/tony2(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121388479568272578" /></a><br /><br />O: There seemed to be several different ideas how to develop senior centers around the city, what are your ideas on this issue?<br /><br />D: I’ve been lobbying in Hartford for the past three years to expand the Chase Park house. Joe Savoie is the Town Plot neighborhood president and they came to me and said they wanted a senior center in the Town Plot area and I believe sooner or later we are going to be able to secure those funds. Chase Park is an existing structure and we want to add on to it to create a space for seniors to meet.<br /> Dennis Odle has an idea to create one big senior center for the entire city and build it out in the East End. It will be like the original Palace Theater proposal under Mike Bergin, it will create another department and more bureaucracy. We have five senior centers in the neighborhoods and we should continue to keep them in the neighborhoods. It’s where they belong. People are used to going down the street, they don’t want to be transported across town.<br /><br />O: If you had one minute alone with every voter just before they entered the voting booth, what would you say to convince them to vote for Tony D’Amelio?<br /><br />D: I am truly a public servant. If you look at my 20 years in politics I am not a headline grabber, or someone who wants to stand out in the limelight. I just truly want to serve. I am someone who truly cares. I’m not going to change. I haven’t changed. I love the constituent service I have provided to the people I represented in the 71st district. As a small business owner in Waterbury I know what has been lacking and that’s what has propelled me to do this. In order for Waterbury to survive we need to change our course. I can provide the leadership we need. I am the type of individual who will bring people together. I’m not stubborn and say I have all the answers. I am willing to listen and to create new ideas. I want the business community engaged. I want the neighborhood communities engaged. I hope Waterbury is ready for that type of leadership, because we haven’t had it for a long time.John Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330863409275028247noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959311154355211412.post-54062695295441867822007-10-14T21:28:00.000-05:002007-10-18T11:29:43.078-05:00October 2007 - Waterbury Mayoral Candidate Michael Jarjura Q&A<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQIyULe7AgCQ8qYGPecuUZshLvog0ouih97sP9nt9bOWsEZGcWwWF-_nCkoxL-V3p-NcZ4twhKgYtJm4ppTxo4AB0K06u1roge-aDbs9Z7AUHi1967Z6hoypQlUIPS70syLQV3VsOybVAj/s1600-h/Jarjuaweb5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQIyULe7AgCQ8qYGPecuUZshLvog0ouih97sP9nt9bOWsEZGcWwWF-_nCkoxL-V3p-NcZ4twhKgYtJm4ppTxo4AB0K06u1roge-aDbs9Z7AUHi1967Z6hoypQlUIPS70syLQV3VsOybVAj/s400/Jarjuaweb5.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121387478840892594" /></a><br /><br />Keep Momentum Moving Forward, Not Time To Change Leadership<br /> <br /> <br /><br />(Observer publisher John Murray sat down with Waterbury's three-term mayor, Michael Jarjura, in the mayor's office for a frank discussion about the city's financial health, politics, and the mayor's personal real estate dealings in the city. Photographs By Michael Asaro.)<br /><br /><br /><br />Observer: You’ve now served three terms as the mayor of Waterbury. What is the number one lesson you have learned that will guide you in governing the city through a 7th and 8th year in office?<br /><br />Jarjura: Patience. Realizing that government operations sometimes take a little longer because of systems of accountability and checks and balances. Patience helps keep frustration out of the process, because it’s important that there is a process in place to protect the taxpayers to make sure money is being used wisely and appropriately.<br /><br />O: You had patience when you came in. You’ve always been a patient man and a good listener, so you already had that skill set. Is there something else you picked up along the way these past six years?<br /><br />J: We spent a lot of time booting up procedures here and capacity here that didn’t exist. Now that it’s there, it has afforded us the opportunity to do some really neat and good things. Now that you have the Finance Department and the Human Resource Department all set, and the computers in place, now you spend more of your time looking at the city to see where it is, and where it needs to go in terms of quality of life and economic development.<br /><br />O: Being mayor of Waterbury was never your dream. It was party loyalty and a strong push by Governor Rowland that led you into a three way democratic primary on September 11th, 2001. What is motivating you now to try and serve another term?<br /><br />J: This is a very critical time in the city’s history. With the Oversight Board recently departing, this is the time to have a leader who has been doing the job. This is not the time to have a mayor who has not had the experience of serving on the Oversight Board. I bring stability. I bring the steady hand at the helm of the ship. That cannot in any way be minimized. I don’t believe this would be a very good time for us to be experimenting on untested individuals. While Waterbury has made a great renaissance it is still in a very fragile state and needs to continue to be managed closely. This is something we have proven we can do and that is why I am motivated to stay for a fourth term.<br /><br />O: How has the job changed in the past six years? In a way you are now reapplying for a job that has a completely different job description than the one when you began in 2001.<br /><br />J: The first couple of terms we were in a crisis management mode. When we first arrived the city was hemorrhaging. The city had trouble meeting its payroll and had trouble answering its financial commitments. There was decimation on so many levels and so many different areas that the city was responsible for. We spent the first couple of terms cleaning up a mountain of problems. The last term shows that now we have gotten through the crisis we can be proactive. Look at the area of litter and blight where we have taken a very aggressive stand. There have been some false stops and starts, but now that we have the time to concentrate on this you can see how successful we have been with the police, the public works and the health department all getting involved as one on this. The city has experienced great progress in this area.<br /><br />O: So you are satisfied right now at the way the city looks?<br /><br />J: I would say we are far ahead of where we were, and this work is not something that will ever end. This is going to be a constant battle that will exist for a long time. If you go back and look at some of the papers in the 1930s and you’ll see they had the same issue back then. Maybe not as visible, but they had some articles talking about it. Look at the archives. You can see now that we have resources that we are dedicating to milling and paving, fixing up some of the infrastructure. This is where we have shown that in the second half of our third term, now that we don’t have to spend as much time on the operation, we can concentrate more on the programmatic needs and the quality of life needs.<br /><br />O: So the first four years were more of systemic changes and concentrating on how government works. Once you get the boulders in place now you can fine tune things.<br /><br />J: Yeah. Once you build a solid foundation, and we now have one after we redid the entire charter for the city of Waterbury. That was a big step. Now they are redoing the land use laws. We were also able to bring modern technology to a $350 million corporation that was in desperate need of some technology. Even after we brought it here, there needs to be a comfort with the technology and we are constantly doing training and helping our employees get familiar with it. Another important piece of the foundation was the personnel. We lost a lot of people in the aftermath of Waterbury’s municipal corruption scandal which left us near bankruptcy. So it wasn’t the easiest thing to bring in high achievers and people that were going to bring value, and we’ve done that.<br /><br />O: You told me two years ago that you would gladly step aside if you saw someone you were confident could continue moving Waterbury forward. Are you running again because you don’t see any capable replacements yet?<br /><br />J: No I wouldn’t say that is completely accurate. I’m just not comfortable leaving the city at this time in it’s history. We have a tendency to be very short term in our thinking as Americans. Six years is a blink. A drop in the ocean. So I wanted another couple of years to really institutionalize the changes that we worked on in cooperation with the Oversight Board. These changes involve the way we do business, the ethics laws, purchasing and procurement laws. Everything that we are doing now I really want to let it settle in and become the norm. I was fearful if there was a change now in the leadership of the city that some of those hard fought battles would go by the wayside. People’s memories are short in nature and that we would find ourselves pulling back from some of the really tough battles that we’d won.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVnmbyspSDaPK7Fx7y2zTpgTbn0Xe6UmgXoO-VFLXHVx-ROy-biIj-dRDNIqaOSFbNQzedebiEPoU3cUCytIfJLYrNGrHk8GwDZYlPEyBMNkTteTa7Y3efbpmj1u77DQvOXJfzXWlj6r9T/s1600-h/Jarjuraweb4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVnmbyspSDaPK7Fx7y2zTpgTbn0Xe6UmgXoO-VFLXHVx-ROy-biIj-dRDNIqaOSFbNQzedebiEPoU3cUCytIfJLYrNGrHk8GwDZYlPEyBMNkTteTa7Y3efbpmj1u77DQvOXJfzXWlj6r9T/s400/Jarjuraweb4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121386765876321426" /></a><br /><br />O: So you find yourself sailing on ship with no land in sight for you to get off?<br /><br />J: (chuckles) No, I wouldn’t say that. It’s a very difficult thing to walk away from something you care so much about. Clearly I recognize there is going to come a point in time where my usefulness to the people of Waterbury will come to an end. There comes a time when you need a new set of eyes, new imagination. That time is not now. Waterbury has been through such a violent storm that a switch now will be a step backwards. But it is a very difficult thing for an individual to walk away from something they have invested so much of their psyche and emotion. But I will have to recognize when that time is, and just do it. Although I can’t tell you today when that time will be, either you know it, or the voters know it.<br /><br />O: Prices of homes are dropping, our school test scores are poor and we have the highest tax rate in Connecticut. Citizens are crying for help. Can you hear them?<br /><br />J: We do hear them. We listen very intently to people who live here and want to communicate with us. I have regular office hours, I have a call-in show on both cable and radio on a regular basis. I don’t shy away when people want to talk. I do think there are a lot of people who are optimistic who like what has been done here in Waterbury, so not everything is doom and gloom. We do recognize that we have challenges and when I talk about patience, these challenges can be overcome through a disciplined methodical approach, and we are following that approach. If there was a way to reduce taxes or the current budget don’t you think someone would have seen it and put it forward? We had an Oversight Board whose sole responsibility was do that.<br /><br />O: Just holding the line was a miracle.<br /><br />J: That absolutely was one of our crowning achievements. We have individuals currently running for this office who have never put forward an amendment or a proposal that made sense to reduce the budget, or to reduce taxes. In terms of home values the whole country is experiencing a cooling off. Waterbury is not cooling off as dramatically because we still have good value, we have always maintained a realistic value for homes. I think if you see what is going on around the country, Waterbury is still in pretty good shape in the residential real estate sector.<br /><br />O: What’s more difficult to solve – the $460 million pension deficit – or the perception that Waterbury is an unsafe city rocked by systemic political corruption?<br /><br />J: The perception because it is not based in reality or fact. It is something that people feed upon and it feeds upon itself. Dealing with a real number like a $465 million unfunded pension liability is a problem and you work up a matrix to solve the problem. Now there isn’t just one solution to the problem, there can be several. We are following a solution that is based on very conservative true blue Yankee principals, and that is, you’ve got this liability and you start paying it down while you continue to pay the people who are entitled to their pensions today. Over a period of time, working with your investment advisor and your money managers, and you are very disciplined, you will pay off that liability.<br /><br />O: How are we doing with that?<br /><br />J: We are doing very well. I know some of my opponents will tell you that the numbers have remained the same or gone up, but what they fail to tell you is that was anticipated. We knew there was going to be a series of retirements as the changes of the contracts were made (mass exodus of the police) and as people were able to retire and had enough years. So we knew that number would either remain the same or go up. And we worked that into our matrix for dealing with it. Clearly if you follow the spreadsheet it’s about ready now to crest. And hopefully you’ll start to see that number come down. More importantly it’s not the unfunded liability. The fact that when we got here there was probably less than five million in the trust fund and today it’s well over sixty million dollars in the trust fund in a short six years. So we can see that the trust fund is building up and will continue to build up if we follow this plan. That’s not to say we don’t consider other solutions if they make financial sense. People often talked about selling the pension obligation bonds. It’s something we’ve repeatedly looked at and it didn’t make sense according to our investment advisors and money managers at the time. There may come a point when Waterbury can borrow cheaper and receive a better return, but that point does not exist here now. <br /><br />O: You said the perception would be a more difficult challenge to tackle. How do you begin to tackle that? <br /><br />J: Well I think we have begun. The fact that you have not heard Waterbury and the word scandal mentioned together in the last six years is progress. As I travel across the state, when you get away from the political rhetoric that goes on here just about every day in certain quarters, when I travel across the state people say to me all the time “Mayor, we’re hearing all good things about Waterbury. What’s the secret?” And I hear that repeatedly. In all corners of the state. I think the perception is definitely changing. People have a very good feeling about what’s going on in Waterbury. And it’s sometimes harder for the people who live here to let go of these bad feelings as opposed to people from the outside. <br /><br />O: I have to correct you for a second. In those six years, John Rowland toppled in that time period. That was Waterbury…<br /><br />J: I was talking about the government in the City of Waterbury. <br /><br />O: It’s not just that. The perception is like a fog over the entire city and when John went down the perception was on steroids again. Just this last spring it was Joe Santopietro with mob connections with the trash authority. People were saying the mob is in Waterbury. I haven’t heard anything like that about you. Thank heavens. (Jarjura knocks on wood). But as you try to get Waterbury moving forward the governor crashes and Santopietro flares up again. Those are steps backwards.<br /><br />J: It’s part of our recent history of the city. You can’t dismiss it. So it’s there. All we can do is manage it when it comes up and not be crippled by it. And then move forward and say we recognize what happened here and guess what? We as a city took action. Decisive action. We have a lengthy ethics and conflict of interest ordinance that far exceeds anything in any other city in the state of Connecticut. We didn’t just talk about the problem, we walked the walk too. So what you tell people is that was yesteryear, and here we are today and we have six balanced budgets in a row. We are working on our infrastructure. We are building facilities for our children. We are working on the education infrastructure also. We have recently been featured in a documentary highlighting our contributions both on our battlefront and the home front by Ken Burns. These are the things that people are also looking at and saying “you know that city has a real lot to offer and they had some unscrupulous leaders that brought them dishonor and embarrassment, but they picked themselves and moved forward. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3yqIVaroT6WUpKNJGeeG8nyecublfe89r7k0cTDoJWrsGGF3W7dLH7BUSzucgY8MBoDQwXgzs-OzEJeAYROO9hzT8jtY7rGzKjeInSN6a3EiHRLMDze4F5WrCdP_VAKLr-XUSdOFn9dB5/s1600-h/Jarjuraweb2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3yqIVaroT6WUpKNJGeeG8nyecublfe89r7k0cTDoJWrsGGF3W7dLH7BUSzucgY8MBoDQwXgzs-OzEJeAYROO9hzT8jtY7rGzKjeInSN6a3EiHRLMDze4F5WrCdP_VAKLr-XUSdOFn9dB5/s400/Jarjuraweb2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121386761581354098" /></a><br /><br />O: That’s only part of the perception problem that I hear. Perhaps even more damaging than the political corruption is the perception that downtown Waterbury is unsafe. Suburbia is putting their big toe in the water but they haven’t embraced Waterbury yet. When the Palace Theater opened I talked with Police Chief Neil O’Leary and he said they had three or four times the number of police needed in downtown that day to try and tackle the perception from theater goers that downtown was unsafe. People are not feeling safe from Middlebury, Southbury, Woodbury, Litchfield and Cheshire. It’s important to get them in here and try and make them feel safe. How do we do that?<br /><br />J: Well I don’t know why we don’t feel safe because we have never had an incident as far as I know. We have the Downtown ambassadors who will actually walk people to their car. These are students and young adults that volunteer. Mainstreet has been a wonderful addition to our city’s marketing plan. They recently had their BeerFest and I think they doubled their number from last year. There are people willing to come in.<br /><br />O: For beer?<br /><br />J: Well that was an event and it brought people from many many areas. I tell you that on a theater night the Palace seems to be pretty packed from people from Middlebury and Roxbury. <br /><br />O: It does. I don’t disagree with that at all. But I think it’s when people walk out of the Palace, there’s this fortress of UConn. This intimidating wall that’s right there and you look to the left and it’s dark down the road. Nobody goes that way. If you stand there and look at people they are all turning to the right, going across the street, going to the parking garage, or looping around the corner to get out. They don’t wander. You see people wander in Hartford or New Haven. You don’t see people from the Palace Theater wandering. How do we deal with this perception so people can move around Downtown and feel safe?<br /><br />J: I personally see people walk up to the City Hall Café and they have trouble even getting a table or a seat. There are people making that short trek. Some people are turning the corner and going to Circa. Many people will not walk, but they will drive over to Diorio’s or Dreschers because that’s the nature of some folks. They would just rather have their car. It comes with patience and incremental progress. We aren’t going to become New York City in a short time. New York City didn’t just happen in one night or one year or even one decade. Over time, I think those people will become more comfortable and there are more offerings and more progress. You’ll start to see that flow of traffic. <br /><br />O: How can we specifically begin to address the ongoing public perception that Waterbury isn’t a good place to live or do business. We need more aggressive marketing and many people believe that begins with you. What have you done in the past six years to address this issue?<br /><br />J: We have invested some resources into the marketing. We created a program called “The Center of it All” and we had a contest where people would take t-shirts and pictures from wherever they may be around the globe. We put that into the business journals and trade journals. Some of it was on the radio. But to do marketing, if you really want to do marketing to the degree you would have to, your talking about a major investment in dollars. And quite frankly we were stretched for dollars, so we put our resources where we thought they would do the most good which was the public works and improving that. That’s not to say in the future we won’t be more aggressive and creative in the marketing program. When you play with one area you have to toughen the other. There has to be a balance. It’s interesting, the very same people that probably said there wasn’t enough marketing were probably the same people when the Mayor of Bridgeport, Joe Ganim, and John Rowland, were on TV every five minutes and that became a major controversial issue. You wonder what is the proper role of the CEO in the marketing campaign. And it may be to be out front or it may be.....<br /><br />O: You in a canoe paddling along?<br /><br />J: I doubt that (big laugh). But maybe where you work on a branding, like who’s better than the GEICO Gecko? Everybody looks for the Gecko. And so that may be the way to go. I’m not saying a Gecko, but something catchy like that. Where you start to do full fledged television ads and things like that. <br /><br />O: The very first response many people have to “The Center Of It All” is corruption. It is doom and gloom at the center of it all. What’s your response to that?<br /><br />J: Well that ad campaign was to show that we are the center of cultural activities, center of arts. Talk to Lynn Novack and Ken Burns, they said what we have here is a national treasure when they looked at what was offered at the Mattatuck Museum, Time Expo, the library and it’s archives. They were just blown away by the Palace Theatre. We said center of education, we’ve got our UConn branch, that has tripled since it moved there and is busting at the seems. We have the Higher Ed Center at Naugatuck Community College, Post University, so that’s one of the aspects that we were trying to promote. Financial center, we’ve got the world headquarters for Webster Bank and we have other financial institutions right here. So there were various aspects that we were trying to say and that’s how we came up with center of it all – financing, education, culture, restaurants, business activity.<br /><br />O: I understand where you’re coming from and I understand the idea of the campaign but I heard people chuckling about it, the center of what? They weren’t going through all the litany of the good things. People are still hurting around here and it’s still fresh. When you were first elected state rep and I was starting the Observer, the RUDAT team came in here with city planners from all over North America and they were flabbergasted at the infrastructure here – the churches, the buildings, the Green and yet as they went around and talked to people, the perception of Waterburians didn’t line up to what’s here. It’s not just suburbia beating us up, it’s us ourselves.<br /><br />J: We are our harshest critics. I am fiercely sensitive and defensive about the honor of this city. You can ask anybody when I was in Hartford, and if they said anything about Waterbury I would stand up and challenge them. I feel like some of our political aspirants feed into the criticisms, or self criticisms of Waterbury, and they really don’t stand up for our city. And that really bothers me because you better believe in the city. You better believe in the people of this city and the goodness of this city. I really feel like some of the aspirants do not have that deep love for the city of Waterbury.<br /><br />O: If you look across the country, and as deplorable as it is, it’s negative campaigns that seem to move the polls. They have to rip at you and that’s just the way it goes.<br /><br />J: Nothing new. It’s been done for the last I don’t know how many years.<br /><br />O: So your opponents can’t be cheerleading.<br /><br />J: No. But they don’t also have to misrepresent fact either.<br /><br />O: Dennis Odle, the independent candidate for Mayor, came out with this quote that said, “34% of all tax payer dollars go to unfunded pensions and retiree medical costs.” Is that accurate?<br /><br />J: Just about 13 of the 54 mills is exclusive just for the pension. So I would say that’s probably accurate. When you say unfunded, these were obligation that were made, they’re not mandates, these were obligations that were agreed to and entered into by the management of the city over a number of decades, and that have to be paid for.<br /><br />O: So we talked about the pension fund. But it seems like a year or so ago that you and Dennis were in agreement that even more challenging than the pension fund was the retiree medical benefits. What’s being done to address that? It seems like there’s no hard number. We know that $460 million is for this pension fund, but we don’t know what the retiree benefits are.<br /><br />J: Well I wouldn’t say that it’s more challenging. I would say that it’s an issue that exists that we should all be cognisant of. What is being done is that we have a firm that is working on the analysis of our medical obligations both now and into the future. They are extracting from that analysis a number, much like the pension number, that says over a period of time this is what the costs are going to be. Part of the difficulty with this one, unlike a pension where you have a set number calculated based on number of years of service by a multiplier, our challenge is to try to predict where medical costs, prescription costs, hospitalization is going to be not only today, but 10 years from today, and 20 years from today. That’s very, very difficult.<br /><br />O: Like reading tea leaves?<br /><br />J: (Laughs) That’s right. So, the firm has presented us with some preliminary data and they will present us with some other data. The difference in why I say it should not be as worrisome to the people of Waterbury is the cost of providing medical for the employees, to the retirees and their dependents is already a number in our base of our budget. That is something that we have paid for out of the operating budget for as long as I can remember. So it’s not going to be anything new. It won’t be a new burden. But what they are saying, the government accounting standards board is saying, we want you to show that on the balance sheet. Should your company go out of business, what would be a number you would have to come up with to pay for these folks and their dependents if you had to put it into a trust fund. So there is a lot of work being done on this. We have not in anyway hidden anything from the taxpayers or people of Waterbury. We have been very transparent about it. I’m not going to scare the people of Waterbury. The pension was different, they had not been putting in the required contributions. So when the rubber met the road and the state came in and they had to put the required contributions in you saw those forms say a 10 million dollar contribution up to a 30 million dollar contribution up to a 40 million dollar contribution today. That was a new number in the budget.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHik5aUjE9OkLGYnpFS3ZANixCpIXa18cjcEFZ7wFVfcztEPcvoCYHe4duuLRZkX1P3s19cz3xdf_tMvZhovwV0apuvHc7hxCgI0JZqnJjb2UHzJD9-_El7ZDTXaxN4_xB-2G93oxKPhFJ/s1600-h/jarjuraweb6.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHik5aUjE9OkLGYnpFS3ZANixCpIXa18cjcEFZ7wFVfcztEPcvoCYHe4duuLRZkX1P3s19cz3xdf_tMvZhovwV0apuvHc7hxCgI0JZqnJjb2UHzJD9-_El7ZDTXaxN4_xB-2G93oxKPhFJ/s400/jarjuraweb6.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121386765876321442" /></a><br /><br />O: So no sucker punch coming down?<br /><br />J: It won’t be a new number. And we’ve also already taken steps, even though we weren’t required to, to set up a trust fund to mitigate some of the future medical costs. I think our first year we put in 2 million dollars to start that trust fund.<br /><br />O: Almost everyone I talk to says that Mike Jarjura is a nice guy. Even your opponents, say you’re a nice guy.<br /><br />J: They may tell you that, but I don’t think they tell the people that.<br /><br />O: They say you’re a nice guy, but that you haven’t been out front on economic development. Which is the key of growing the grand list and lowering the mill rate. Some people describe you as reactive, instead of proactive. What economic development have you brought into this city and how have you been proactive?<br />J: Well I think they couldn’t be more mistaken in regard to economic development. We took office probably during one of the most challenging times in the history of this state and the history of this country. It was during a period of extended recession. In that period of time where we we’re seeing property values spiral downward, we were able to see property values stabilize and spiral upward. We have looked at where our niche is and we have been very successful in the service retail sector. We saw Wolcott Street and Lakewood Road, which were decimated, totally come back to life. You saw Walmart and Bobs and Panera Bakery and all that plaza come on line. Across the street we saw Price Chopper take over that plaza. Come around the corner and you see the old Bradley’s knocked down and Target built there. So we did have quite a bit of success in the retail service sector.<br /> We also had success in our industrial sector, not so much from the manufacturing stand point, but from a couple of big projects that came on line. One was the liquefied natural gas tank, which was a $110 million construction project that put people to work, and now its on the grand list. There is an abatement program but they are paying taxes which will ramp up over the next six years. So given the climate that Connecticut finds itself in, which is not a very business friendly climate, Waterbury has not only been able to maintain, but we have thrust forward.<br /><br />O: So you’re pleased with economic development under your watch?<br /><br />J: Would you want more? Sure. Everybody always wants more., but I wouldn’t say we were asleep at the wheel, or we were AWOL, we have worked with all the stake holders and created an agency called the Waterbury Development Corporation. A lot of people were complaining that they wanted a seat at the table, well we gave them a seat at the table. We gave the chamber so many seats, we gave the neighborhood folks so many seats, we gave government, all sides of the aisle, a seat at the table. We got the shakers and movers of the city involved in that project, Jim Smith and other industrialists.<br /><br />O: Are there too many cooks in the kitchen now?<br /><br />J: No, I don’t think so.<br /><br />O: What’s gong on with WDC now? With the top two leaders resigning it seems like a managerial crisis at the least.<br /><br />J: Some of the higher managerial guys have secured jobs in the private sector and you can’t stand in the way of someone’s career advancement, but they happened to come at a very awkward time just before an election, and both coming at the same time. In every challenge there is an opportunity and it allows us to sit back down with all the stakeholders and say what has been done right and wrong and what can we do differently as we move forward.<br /><br />O: It seemed like Michael O’Connor (former executive director of WDC) was particularly frustrated with all the red tape that was slowing down projects and development. Do you think what he said was accurate, and if so, what can we do about that?<br /><br />J: I think the conversion from Naugatuck Valley Development Corporation (NVDC) to the Waterbury Development Corporation (WDC) was a cultural shock for many people. NVDC had operated autonomously from the governmental process. While we are fortunate that nothing untold went on, there wasn’t a system of checks and balances, like there is today, from elected officials. What we tried to do in the creation of WDC was preserve that creativity and flexibility that they had, but also honor the edict that in the end we must have accountability for the people of Waterbury because we are spending government money. In creating WDC we attempted to balance the principals of flexibility, creativity and accountability. In the end we have to account for the money and say exactly how it was spent. We can make adjustments if there is bureaucracy standing in the way of economic development.<br /><br />O: Are the red tape items in place to ensure accountability?<br /><br />J: That’s exactly it. Maybe it’s because we added a few steps and people are reluctant to do the steps. But once you do them a few times they become old hat. Or have we been caught up in our historic malfeasance that we’ve put in too many hoops to go through. That is the question we will need to analyze going forward. WDC is in its infancy and it’s expected to have some growing pains, but I don’t think we throw the whole thing out because of a few growing pains. The bottom line is that we have to make sure government dollars are accounted for.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxABRMi9mryXeCGJjnbfY8fDf0B-hhzzFBCFjCOXm2yxzanQY5KBhZbQiuOWqD_EeR1Q0rUQsvTs678eqv_C9-eXI8vykZUD6F1MTCwxg9oHUkEYW08YOcrKy_PyARlHRXq5wntqL1Pfyv/s1600-h/jarjuraweb3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxABRMi9mryXeCGJjnbfY8fDf0B-hhzzFBCFjCOXm2yxzanQY5KBhZbQiuOWqD_EeR1Q0rUQsvTs678eqv_C9-eXI8vykZUD6F1MTCwxg9oHUkEYW08YOcrKy_PyARlHRXq5wntqL1Pfyv/s400/jarjuraweb3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121386761581354114" /></a><br /><br />O: Is that why you insisted on having a new contract drawn up for the City Hall project? You’ve taken some heat for not using a standard contract and the project has been delayed by several months. Is that red tape all about accountability?<br /><br />J: City Hall is a centerpiece project. We are spending $36 million of government money. I would rather take a little more time up front to make sure that all the precautions are in place. A perfect example is the I-84 project where we spent $60 million and now we have to spend another $30 million because they didn’t put the drains in. Because the City Hall project is such a historic project, we are working on a Cass Gilbert designed building in a Cass Gilbert district, I’m not going to go down to Staples and take some contract off the shelf. So we hired legal experts to draw up a new contract that better protects the citizens of Waterbury. All the contractors will know what the deliverables are up front and there will be an exact time line they have to follow. If there are problems the citizens of Waterbury will be able to collect damages. We don’t want that, because we want to hope for the best, but when you are in a management position you have to contract and prepare for the worst. This city is replete with terrible contracts that were left behind. Forget the $1 million dog pound and all that stuff. We were stuck with a 99 year contract on a parking garage over by the Marriott that we don’t get a plugged nickel for. I would hope that the people of Waterbury would want someone to make sure that the contracts are examined up front and are good.<br /><br />O: Downtown Watertown is fully occupied and flourishing and Waterbury’s downtown isn’t. Why is that, and what can you do to specifically help downtown Waterbury?<br /><br />J: Well Watertown is much smaller. If you blink you’re through downtown Watertown. (Big laugh). It is also fully occupied and flourishing because there is not that many commercial opportunities in downtown Watertown and they are adverse to expanding. Waterbury, we do pretty good during the day. We have a lot of people coming into downtown to do business during the day, but there is a tremendous exodus at night. We don’t have the kind of vibrancy that we would like to see.<br /> I continue to support Main Street financially and emotionally. I support the chamber and its downtown business group. We have had pockets of success like what Ede and Dan have done at the John Bale Book Company. Jim Whitney (from the NW Connecticut Convention and Visitors Bureau) has been working with Hank Paine (owner of The Connecticut Store) to create some flex space (at the Howland-Hughes Center on Bank Street). Maybe that will bring more people downtown. I think part of what some of the political aspirants want to do is run peoples business. I think it’s important that we run the government, and make sure that’s running as best you can, and not so much get involved in the marketplace or commerce, because that is naturally going to take care of itself.<br /> If you can make sure there’s fertile ground and people have a trust for their government. That their surroundings are clean, that there are activities going on that people can look to and see that there is some musical event, some cultural event, some restaurants and some other things. That to me is the role of the government of the city of Waterbury. It’s not so much to get involved in the marketplace or the stream of commerce. You can subsidize all you want, and after the subsidy is over, if they’re not going to be a success, they’re not going to be a success, and where have you gotten? Nowhere. But if something is a success in and of itself and a subsidy only helps them take off faster, that’s the way you want to go.<br /><br />O: You publicly stated this past Spring that Republican candidate Tony D’Amelio was being supported by crooks and felons when you referred to Joe and Jeff Santopietro. Can you explain that comment?<br /><br />J: Well sometimes you say things you regret later.<br /><br />O: Do you regret it?<br /><br />J: I’ve known Tony for a long time. Tony is a friend of mine. Tony is a very honorable gentleman. I was concerned at the time that individuals that were part of our not so pleasant history, not so proud history, were making a move to get their foot back into government operations. And I don’t want to see that happen. Not that I have any ill will towards these other gentlemen that I mentioned, but I just don’t want to see them re-emerge and feed into those perceptions that you’ve talked about, that we’ve tried so hard to overcome.<br /><br />O: You’ve been widely criticized for developing private real estate projects while you are mayor of Waterbury. Four years ago you said you were investing in the city you love and invited all the other candidates to do the same thing. Can you understand the concern many people have with you acting as both mayor and real estate developer?<br /><br />J: I understand the perception that has been created by my political enemies. I understand that. I understand that people rightfully deserve to know everything about their mayor, privately and publicly. And so, I have conducted myself as mayor in a very transparent way. My life is an open book.<br /><br />O: What would you call the book?<br /><br />Jarjura: I don’t know, what I’m trying to say is that it’s an open book. People who want to know something, we ‘re not living this…...well I guess we would call the book, “The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth”.<br /><br />O: By Mike Jarjura.<br /><br />J: (laugh) Yeah by Mike Jarjura. Because what we’ve had in the past is almost like dual lives going on from your municipal leader and I think quite frankly we were all caught off guard. Others probably had an earlier indication. We’ve almost had these camouflage lives going on. And ultimately when they did bubble up they were shocking to the people of Waterbury. And one was, well we all sort of know of the public facade of a family man, three children, lawyer, and then to find out that (other) portion. And others have obviously had the deals going on that have led to municipal corruption and things like that, that have been camouflaged and hidden.<br /><br />O: So you’re out in the open?<br /><br />J: I told everyone when I came into this job, you can’t just stop being who you were before you got here. Because guess what? In a very short order you’re going back there. If this was a 20 year job or career, you could say okay, I’m going to divest myself of everything else and not worry about your own financial future. But that’s not the case. This is a two-year commitment and if you want to re-up, you try to re-up every two years. So you have a two-year life span. So what you do is put your private life as best you can, in terms of your business of yours, into someone else’s hands. And I have done that. Whether it’s my interest in the wholesale company or my interest in the development company. And I am very fortunate that my partners have all risen to the occasion and have run things. They don’t bother me and on rare occasion I will check in just to make sure everything is okay. Everything I have done has not in any way involved the government of the city of Waterbury. We have not gotten a grant, we have not gotten an abatement. We have not sought or gotten anything involving the city of Waterbury. On a rare occasion, just like if you were going to build a deck on the back of your house or a swimming pool, we may need to apply for a permit. But that is handled through the normal governmental processes. <br /><br />O: The 24-acre property in the East End has gone to whole different level because it’s under the Wetlands Commission. The project is going before a commission of people you’ve appointed, and Kathy McNammara, the head of the commission also has a job at Waterbury Development Corporation. Now that’s a little bit awkward.<br /><br />J: What I would say to folks is that you have to have some faith that these individuals, even though they were appointed by the mayor, they in their own right are people of merit. They are people of integrity. Anyone who knows these people and you just mentioned one, Kathy McNammara, knows that nobody is going to tell her what to do. Whether it’s a job or whether it’s an appointment, nothing gets in the way of her integrity. I could see if it was a zoning change or if it was a variance that we were seeking, people could say ‘Oh, it’s political. But when you’re dealing with the wetlands, the wetlands are operated by a very detailed and complex set of laws from the state of Connecticut and the federal government. So the question is are you complying with the laws? And I think you’ve seen this Wetland Commission recognize their laws, which is that they have to make sure whatever you’re proposing is within the legal boundaries of what is established by the state and federal government when it affects wetlands. That’s all they’re doing. It does make it subject to the criticism, because you are before a board. But it’s not like you’re trying to seek a zoning change or a variance, you’re simply complying with the land use regulations of the municipality that the property happens to find itself. I have not in anyway talked to or contacted the commissioners about this, it is being handled by attorneys and engineers. Anybody is free to review the records and the laws. I think they’ll find that nothing is done differently than if it was ‘John Jones’. We say the same thing right across the street were Kohls is going to build get through the process in 30 days. They have taken their time. It has been over 120 days, and we tell them to take as much time as you want. <br /><br />O: The Republican-American newspaper wrote a very strong editorial on this issue entitled “Mayor of Builder, but not both”, in effect saying you have to decide which career you want to pursue. How do you respond to that editorial?<br /><br />J: When was that editorial?<br /><br />O: This past Spring. It was the lead editorial and the only one I ever recall that they wrote that aggressively poked you in the eye. You didn’t see that?<br /><br />J: (laughs) I probably did, but I just don’t remember it. I have tremendous respect for Mr. Pape at the newspaper but I don’t always agree with their stand on issues, or the way they have conducted their affairs during political processes. They have an opinion and they are free to have their opinion. Ultimately the opinion that matters is the voters and taxpayers in the city of Waterbury.<br /> I think they’ll say that Mike Jarjura has been mayor for six years. Mike Jarjura has faced tremendous odds and tremendous harassment since the day I got here from political aspirants. I think they’ll say that I’ve done a very, very, good job of being the steward of the city’s finances and of righting the ship.<br /> No one I take seriously has ever questioned my integrity or my ethics. It has been questioned by political operatives, and their attacks have been unrelenting. These people can’t criticize the operation of the city so they attack me personally. This is one area where they can probably get away with it because my business dealings are out there.<br /><br />O: Forty percent of students who enter 9th grade in Waterbury public school do not graduate four years later. The truancy and dropout rate is a full-fledged crisis in this community. You created a Blue Ribbon Commission to study this issue, how is that working?<br /><br />J: Very well. The group has broken down into various committees and been very diligent in their work. I believe they will very quickly be issuing a report and I expect that to come out shortly. I was asked to provide the resources and the clout to getting it going and I was happy to do that. We are living in a different era than the one you and I grew up in. We were fortunate that we had good families that provided us with structure. People ask me all the time what is the problem now in our schools, why aren’t we seeing the achievements we used to see. I think it’s because the family structure has so broken down these kids face a different challenge than we did. It’s not universal, but it is a big problem in this city. There is no problem with the teaching staff or with the curriculum, so what do we in government do to correct this problem? That is a very, very tall order. There is no simple solution to that problem.<br /><br />O: The Observer was involved in helping to launch a youth newspaper this summer called Young Voices. We had 12 public school students sit down for two days to brainstorm all the reasons they believed their peers were getting discouraged and dropping out of school. They talked about the family issue, but they didn’t think that was the biggest issue. After lengthy discussion they zeroed in on Waterbury’s strict dress code as the #1 reason kids were dropping out of school. We started to peel that back further because that had me scratching my head a bit. But a story began to emerge. Every one of the students had been suspended for being in violation of dress code. One student received in-house suspension for wearing the wrong colored hair tie to school. The students believe the teachers and administrators are spending too much time enforcing a bizarrely strict dress code. Last year for example there were more suspensions in 9th grade than there were students in 9th grade. The kids say they are suffocating under petty rules, get sick of the daily hassle and drop out? What do you think of that?<br /><br />J: If that plays out to be correct, that draconian dress code enforcement is breaking the spirit of marginal students, this is something the school board should be brought up to speed on and there should be some adjustments. But we must recognize that the concept of a dress code or some type of standards is important. Ultimately education is preparing you for life, to get out into the real world and be a good productive member of society. Most workplaces you have to go dressed for serious activity.<br /><br />O: These twelve kids produced an excellent newspaper wearing blue jeans and t-shirts. They were totally out of dress code, but nobody was coming to work in anything inappropriate. We worried more about what was going on in their heads and empowered them to go out and challenge the system. Six of the kids went and interviewed Dr. Snead about the dress code and he was unbending in his views and said the dress code is here to stay. The kids want to express their views and if you are re-elected mayor would you consider holding a Youth Summit to address this issue?<br /><br />J: I’m never one who draws a line in the sand. We have to be receptive and hear all aspects of an argument. The pro side, the negative side, and that’s how you make good informed decisions. You get all the facts. You get all of the arguments behind the policies, and then you make an informed decision. Clearly that would be the way to go. A youth summit seems like something exciting. It could be more than just the dress code. It could be a way for us to invigorate the spirit of learning.<br /><br />O: You’ve been very specific on several ideas to improve the school system, including neighborhood schools? What is your #1 priority?<br /><br />Jarjura: Obviously the physical structures of our buildings. We have made a tremendous investment and progress. You look around at every building now. We’ve put in windows where windows should have been a decade ago. Roofs were leaking and they’ve been replaced. Our buildings are equipped with state of the art security systems.<br /> You have to buzz doors to get into the building. Camera systems exist in certain buildings for security reasons. So we’ve taken steps to beef up security in the aftermath of some of the most tragic events at some of the schools across our country. We’re going on a building program.<br /> My job as Mayor is to provide the tools and the structure. I don’t get involved with the curriculum and I know I’ve been criticized for that from some people. We have 10 board of education people whose sole job, that’s why they run for that office, is to manage the department of education. They have a superintendent and two assistant superintendents, building facilities manager, operating officer, and all types of resources. If they need my help they aren’t going to be bashful to call for it.<br /> My role as mayor is to provide all of these tools and resources that they need to get their job done. It’s up to them to go do their job. Quite frankly that’s what they’re there for. That’s why you have 10 board of education members elected. My priority is to continue to support the board of education’s initiatives by going up to Hartford, by going to the federal government, by providing what resources we can so that they can effectively do their mission. Which is to educate as fully as you can the 18,000 students that we have in our public schools every year.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAPLF5dt988rggLu-wrnLmQVwhR8vak8nvAOpkBUhutolE-hiubukFtBOShoZ-1Yrs4OSdv84vaig7-WuUsFByhsWXmk4VDAclKK7gi8m3ZaIn8kCGQLiPSAMS8w4IgruJ_FRnncCNJ6Gz/s1600-h/Jarjuraweb1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAPLF5dt988rggLu-wrnLmQVwhR8vak8nvAOpkBUhutolE-hiubukFtBOShoZ-1Yrs4OSdv84vaig7-WuUsFByhsWXmk4VDAclKK7gi8m3ZaIn8kCGQLiPSAMS8w4IgruJ_FRnncCNJ6Gz/s400/Jarjuraweb1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121386757286386786" /></a><br /><br />O: Two years ago you lauded republican mayoral candidate Tom Tremaglio’s idea for providing a support staff to the board of alderman. Aldermen complain that they have to provide their own number 2 pencil and get a big stack of papers right before they have to vote. You said you would were willing to investigate that idea. What happened?<br /><br />J: We did talk about it during the budget process. Quite frankly it didn’t really receive wide spread support on the board level.<br /><br />O: Really? The aldermen themselves aren’t excited about a support staff?<br /><br />J: Well, they talked about it. But when it came to make final amendments to the mayor’s proposed budget it never flourished.<br /><br />O: It seemed liked it collided with the alderman by district proposal. It seemed like there was something else...<br /><br />J: Yeah, there’s something else there. There’s always something else. I think that our current staff has been very forthcoming in working with any board of aldermen at any time of the day or night. Mike Dalton has tremendously reached to all 15 aldermen. He is the city clerk, and as such he is the clerk of that board. Him and his staff will write letters, help them prepare letters or motions and things like that. The legal staff, any time they get a call from any of the 15 aldermen they invite them right in. They are able to see the budget director, the finance director any time of the day or night.<br /> So it’s not as if they don’t have access to a very highly qualified staff. Now do they have a set person or office? No, not yet. Part of where we are headed with the new city hall is that they will have offices. They will be able to go into their offices. Not individual offices, but collectively they will have one for each caucus. The offices will be well equipped with a computer modem, with phones, with desk and they can receive visitors in their section. They’ll get keys to their office.<br /><br />O: Speaking of aldermen, do you foresee any motion on your part to revisit the alderman by district? <br /><br />J: I would like to see a charter revision commission. There are some other things that we proposed that didn’t go through that we should take a second look at. And clearly when you do that, the way we elect our board of aldermen has been a topic that has been around for a number of years. It should be talked about and examined and analyzed. What the correct answer is I couldn’t tell you. I can’t sit here and tell you the way we’re doing it is bad or good, or that this new proposal is bad or good. I think we have to look at it.<br /><br />O: So you would put it on the table?<br /><br />J: Yeah, I think it definitely has to put it on the table, you can’t just ignore it. <br /><br />O: What has been the coolest moment for you these past six years?<br /><br />J: When say cool, what do you mean by cool?<br /><br />O: Cool, a moment when you just kicked back and said “Hot dam, that was something.”<br /><br />J: It would have to be when we won the write-in campaign. That was cool. That was great. When it actually happened you had to sit back and go whew. We were part of history.<br /><br />O: Met anyone that amazed and awed you?<br /><br />J: (long pause) Let’s see. I met him once before, and I was really amazed and awed by his rock star appeal, and that would be former President Bill Clinton. His ability to relate to people is amazing.<br /><br />O: If you had one minute alone with every voter just before they entered the voting booth, what would you say to convince them to vote for Mike Jarjura?<br /><br />J: Let’s keep Waterbury’s renaissance thrusting full steam ahead. We do that by keeping in the management team we have had for the past six years, which is headed up by me. It also involves all the terrific department heads in the city and my colleagues on the Board of Aldermen and the Board of Education, and our City Clerk, Town Clerk and City Sheriff. Let’s keep our momentum going forward, and we do that by keeping in the Jarjura administration.John Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330863409275028247noreply@blogger.com44tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959311154355211412.post-2467224992021562652007-10-14T20:55:00.000-05:002007-10-18T11:30:21.454-05:00October 2007 - Waterbury Mayoral Candidate Dennis Odle Q&A<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2xCUNuNxtXcXrniqDnhaHYKmAEgu7fCMEL3-bYUG3cvj0x9dE_Og5uT-I5SXDheZa_1Zt2G-GzGBShc1YMGR0HiscY8QQ5ZWfXDP7UFvM4RTzMFJ9ae2m9JmHfzhAG_irIdeDZqIg7xXz/s1600-h/Odleweb6.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2xCUNuNxtXcXrniqDnhaHYKmAEgu7fCMEL3-bYUG3cvj0x9dE_Og5uT-I5SXDheZa_1Zt2G-GzGBShc1YMGR0HiscY8QQ5ZWfXDP7UFvM4RTzMFJ9ae2m9JmHfzhAG_irIdeDZqIg7xXz/s400/Odleweb6.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121382775851703378" /></a><br /><br />City Needs Mayor With Financial Experience<br /> <br /><br />(Observer publisher John Murray interviewed alderman Dennis Odle in late September inside the newspaper's office on Bank Street. After an unsuccessful attempt to win the Republican nomination for mayor, Odle bolted the GOP this summer to accept the top of the Independent Party ticket in November's election. Odle has decades of financial experience in the private sector and worked at IBM for twenty years. Photographs were taken by Michael Asaro.)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Observer: You began your acceptance speech at the Independent Party convention in July saying that politics is one of the greatest issues facing Waterbury. You said politics is getting in the way of running the city. Can you can some examples to back up your statement?<br /><br />Odle: The latest one is the proposal I brought forward as an alderman and a mayoral candidate for a senior center. And what I had done is I had looked at senior services in Waterbury and I looked at the same services in surrounding towns and in other cities and noticed the gap. Waterbury is significantly behind everybody else. If you want to take a look at Prospect or Torrington or any of those and then develope a kind of a need statement and then we went out looking for a solution. So after rejecting many places and starting with Downtown, we couldn’t find anything. After rejecting a lot of different ideas, I found something that would actually be perfect and met the needs exactly. So it’s a cost effective solution that’s available very quickly. So my opponents instead of saying let me take a look at the idea, or we’ll consider it, or we’ll look through it, instead of doing any of that they said, “oh this is a terrible idea”. We don’t need this. We can’t do it. With never seeing the presentation, never seeing the space, never looking at what we have versus what other people have. It’s just it’s a bad idea. Well, gee guys, look at it. <br /> <br />O: How do you define politics? You ran for mayor in 2001 and have been on the board of aldermen these past two years, doesn’t that qualify you as a politician? <br /><br />Odle: It probably eliminated me from using my 2001 campaign slogan (“All Business, No Politics). If you’ve been an elected official for two years you can no longer use that despite the fact that that’s how I intend to manage the city. Does it qualify me? Yeah, I think it absolutely does. In 2001 I started from nowhere, got 7,000 votes, came reasonably close. But as an Alderman I gained a lot more knowledge on a lot of the subject matter I’ll be dealing with and perhaps more important is when I ran as an Alderman, I ran on a platform as an Alderman. That’s what I was going to do. You can look at the resolutions that I submitted. I think I submitted more than the rest of the board put together. And what I’ve done is when I got in office is to try and implement some of the things I had on my platform. Now obviously as a minority of a minority there are limitations to how much of this stuff you can get through. But people should understand that as Mayor, my platform will be done. <br /><br />O: Some of your opponents have called you politically naive, would you take that as an insult or a compliment?<br /><br />Odle: I take that as a compliment. And there are a lot of suggestions that I need to learn the ‘backroom ways’ and learn how to work with all the powers that be and all that stuff. And my approach is quite different than that. I am laying out what I think the problems are and what I will do. I’ll put it out in the open, with no hidden agenda. Nobody in the backroom. <br /><br />O: That really does makes you politically naive in this city. <br /><br />Odle: It does. It does. Is that an effective way to do things politically? It may or may not. But the one thing they are 100% right on if to be successful and be elected, I have to play the backroom politics that they stand on, then I don’t want the job.<br /><br />O: Independent Party founder Larry De Pillo called this year’s Independent slate “the most democratic ticket in city history”. You were the Republican candidate for mayor in 2001, Karen Mulcahy was the Democratic candidate for mayor in 2005, and Larry De Pillo was the Democratic candidate for mayor in 1999, and an Independent Party candidate for mayor in 2001, 2003 and 2005. That’s a lot of experience. How did all three of you end up on the same ticket?<br /><br />Odle: After a whole lot of discussion. The discussion did not start out political. It started off with what is it that we want to do? Could we be compatible managing the city? And we had to get over that before we could then move onto if it would make sense for us to get together. And so there were a lot of serious policy discussions along the way. How you deal with unions. How you deal with city hall. How you deal with streets. How you deal with financial issues that face the city. So we spent a lot of time on that over a period of two or three months. <br /><br />O: Who made the first overture?<br /><br />Odle: A little hard to say on that. The reason being that Cicero Booker and I got along extremely well on the Board of Alderman. And he’s part of the independent party and the minority leader. Cicero and I had been the closest of allies and we basically worked together on pretty much everything and had a tremendous amount of respect for each other. For a long time it made sense to both of us if we could get on a common ticket. And that was before anything else. It would be great if we could do this. I started talking to Independent Party chairman Mike Telesca to see if there was a way we could make this work. And we explored that. And it kind of got around to looking like well there is a way to make it work. <br /><br />O: What was the biggest obstacle to getting all three of you onboard the Independent slate?<br /><br />Odle: It was making sure we could have a coherent agenda that really says this is what we want to do. We had to make sure that all three of us could work together with a common message and keep everybody in the boat. I think that has worked well, understanding that I treat them as significant candidates with the experience that they do have. So this isn’t like I micromanage every aspect of this because I don’t.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-UOdeDT0NyrV_95rm6qFod6v7Lbju2kTYnadp25nksfXzh45y0YO8UnOzx3KzbtIVuNdtzDicYL8luS2BtcXmPE8Erc8180k8dwi07JmqmI_egYeyju-YF1ZJ9sroh1ursFckech49ozO/s1600-h/Odleweb4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-UOdeDT0NyrV_95rm6qFod6v7Lbju2kTYnadp25nksfXzh45y0YO8UnOzx3KzbtIVuNdtzDicYL8luS2BtcXmPE8Erc8180k8dwi07JmqmI_egYeyju-YF1ZJ9sroh1ursFckech49ozO/s400/Odleweb4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121382032822361122" /></a><br /><br />O: Larry and Karen are both strong characters with a history of being out front on issues. If you are elected mayor how will you make executive decisions? Will it be the three of you gathered around the mayor’s conference table? <br /><br />Odle: No, I’m the mayor, but I value the input of these folks. Traditionally you have kind of a kitchen cabine that’s kind of in the background providing advice and counsel. My kitchen cabinet is very much out front. So you want to see who my kitchen cabinet and who my advisors are well, they’re they are. <br /><br />O: It’d be the Town Clerk and City Clerk?<br /><br />Odle: And Matty Sevilla, who has been very out front. So Matty Sevilla, my wife (laughs), and Karen and Larry. That’s who my advisors would be. To that extent everybody acknowledges that the decisions are mine to make and I am willing to overrule the rest of my team if necessary. But part of the ability to build a well functioning organization here or anywhere else, is rarely will I arbitrarily overrule my team. What I will do, I will need to make the arguments and I need to bring them along and I need to show the group that I’m working with and this includes my Board, why it is we want to do a certain policy. So I’m not going to sit there and say guys you have to do this. I have to make the arguments and bring them along. And in that respect I probably have the most difficult job of any Mayor in a long time because I have a bunch of people running for the board as well as Larry and Karen that have very strong opinions about a lot of the stuff. So this isn’t that I’m going to say guys we’re going to do this and we’re going to make this policy. Occasionally I will overrule them, but rarely. <br /><br />O: Have you made any promises to Larry and Karen that voters should know about?<br /><br />Odle: No, there isn’t anything other than what you see. They are obviously going to be in the administration and they are going to be in that council. <br /><br />O: What was the thinking in having Larry and Karen run for town and city clerk? Wouldn’t they have had more impact if they were elected to the board of aldermen?<br /><br />Odle: Well the role of the city clerk and town clerk would be much different because obviously they are part of a policy council. So their role would be different. The idea to put them there was not mine. It was actually Larry’s. The logic was that since we’re obviously making this a team effort then you would see the team on the ballot as they go across....1,2,3. <br /><br />O: They’d also have fulltime city jobs in City Hall right down the hallway from you as well. So you’d have easy access to them and them to you. So that’s part of it probably as well, just the accessibility to each other. <br /><br />Odle: Yeah, and I think it will work because the roles will be different than their counterparts in the past, it may be more of a policy-making role. I kind of was talked into this as opposed to initiating it, so it’s something that I eventually came along with. This is one issue where I did take some political soundings to see if this made sense to other more seasoned people than myself. Ultimately it did to all of them. So I said okay. <br /><br />O: The last two Republicans elected mayor in Waterbury ended up in federal prison. The last two Republican candidates for mayor, Mark Forte and Tom Tremaglio, both had innovative and refreshing ideas, yet both men said they were screwed over by the very Republican leadership that urged them to run. What’s your take on the health of the Grand Old Party in Waterbury?<br /><br />Odle: It could be better. The Republican leadership at both the city and state level has not done much of anything towards party building in a long time. You think about the number of years we’ve had a Republican mayor and the fact that we had a Republican governor, yet during that time we have had a steady loss of party members. Obviously I tangled with the leadership of the Republican town committee and don’t get along with a fair chunk of those people at all. <br /><br />O: What was that about? It seemed some of it was out in the open but some of it was the backroom stuff that goes on. People are confused. You announced you were running to be the Republican candidate and you end up as the head of the Independent party slate. And people are scratching their heads and some of the vibes of the Republicans are ‘Dennis didn’t get his way; he’s just being a baby because he went off and he’s in another party.” Many Republicans believe you should have just accepted that you didn’t get the nomination and joined the under ticket as an alderman. <br /><br />Odle: It really comes down to there were a lot of discussions about how I can advance my political career and what I should be doing and what I could do later. And if I were interested in a political career that might be fine. I’m not. What I want to do is something to help Waterbury and I think it needs it now. And then I will do that and I will step aside. I don’t want to do anything else in politics. I think I can bring a lot to the table to help Waterbury. And that I am by far the best management choice to come in and repair this city. If I thought someone else could do that I would be perfectly happy to back another candidate. And in fact, when it looked like Selim Noujam was going to be running, I was very happy to back him. So this wasn’t an ego trip on my part. It was, “what is it that was needed in Waterbury?” I think I can provide that. <br /><br />O: That’s business sense.<br /><br />Odle: Exactly. And you have somebody like Selim who is a very accomplished businessman who knows what the manufacturing people in Waterbury need to succeed and what’s important to the city. He has worked hard on every good cause for the city. I looked at that and was very happy to back Selim and very public about it. I’ve been with the Republican party for a very long time. Going back to the middle of last year my position was: If Selim runs, I’ll back him. If he doesn’t run, I will run. Very simple. <br /><br />O: Do you think you got a fair shake at getting the Republican nomination?<br /><br />Odle: I think that it was a bizarre situation and one I have never seen elsewhere. <br /><br />O: Bizarre, how so?<br /><br />Odle: I was the first one out of the box to do any campaigning. My approach was go out and talk to voters. What is it they want? What can I offer? And what kind of strength do I have? The approach from the inside of the party was that I needed to wage an all out campaign to win over the Republican Town Committee. My thought was: okay, if I spend my time winning over the Town Committee, what exactly do I have? <br /><br />O: Maybe the nomination.<br /><br />Odle: Maybe the nomination. But then I realized maybe I win the nomination, but when I look at the returns from last time Larry had 5,000 votes. Karen had 6,000. Mike 8,000. Tom 2,000. So if I win the Republican nominiation, how many Republican votes am I going to get that I wouldn’t have anyway? Will the people that are backing Tony back me if I won the nomination? What other Republicans have they backed? So I looked at the party loyalty of that group and realized that if I won the nomination what would I actually get? <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0pBsyMJSpaWnJJmrvwwbASgLchIx9OMwpfP7c4-ja9gzyWgiCQJw2H7XT0-9tZBxyv7fygLjqvDuKrVsu-YSHcTPkiA0iW0qec45aRzneTSUBpg1RIGAI-KzlaekFZCI7BDFc9VlPqiKm/s1600-h/Odleweb5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0pBsyMJSpaWnJJmrvwwbASgLchIx9OMwpfP7c4-ja9gzyWgiCQJw2H7XT0-9tZBxyv7fygLjqvDuKrVsu-YSHcTPkiA0iW0qec45aRzneTSUBpg1RIGAI-KzlaekFZCI7BDFc9VlPqiKm/s400/Odleweb5.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121382037117328434" /></a><br /><br />O: The last two Republican candidates were really pissed off when the election was over. They were recruited and begged to stick their necks out there and then they were left hanging. Both of them were embarrassed by the whole process. They didn’t feel they had much support from the Republican Party. <br /><br />Odle: Right. And further, if you look at the electoral map.... say I won the Republican nomination then you had an Independent slate made up of Larry and Karen, in whichever order it happened to be. And then Mike. You really fracture the “we need a change vote” of which is huge this time between the two of us. Now with the coalition I’ve put together, I’m the logical change so most of that “we need a change vote” will come to our team. <br /><br />O: Mayor Jarjura has publicly stated that Republican candidate Tony D’Amelio was being supported by crooks and felons when he referred to Joe and Jeff Santopietro. What influence do you think those two men have on the Republican Party and its nominee?<br /><br />Odle: I would say Joe, very little, if any. I’m not really sure if there’s any or not because I haven’t seen it. Jeff has a lot. <br /><br />O: Does that concern you?<br /><br />Odle: It concerns me in that this is the kind of old Republican thought process and that does concern me. I certainly would not make the comment that the Mayor made. <br /><br />O: You have called your ticket a tri-partisan slate of Republicans, Democrats and Independents. Where is the common ground that holds the party together?<br /><br />Odle: The common ground is the platform and how we intend to manage the city. It’s what do we want to do and how do we want to treat people. How do we want to treat the voters? How do we want to treat the employees? That was the essential thing. So the people that were on board could have a look at it and say they were all right with it. As we get outside of the realm of our platform and an issue comes up obviously we will have to go through the discussion process. <br /><br />O: You have stated that 34% of all tax dollars in Waterbury go to unfunded pensions and retiree medical costs. Despite the unfunded $450 million pension nightmare you have stated the medical costs to retirees is likely an even larger liability to the taxpayers. How would you tackle the problem?<br /><br />Odle: I think the pension number now is either $466 or $468. The other part of the deficit, which is called other post employment benefits, is almost certainly going to be larger than what our deficit is in the pension plan. This administration is hiding it or ducking it, which is not unusual, Mike Jarjura ducks many problems. We were supposed to have a report out issued on other post employment benefits in February. Notice it’s September and it’s not in sight. So basically his attitude is to push this issue out past the election. And we are in trouble today because of the attitude of politicians in the past has been to push problems out past wherever. I don’t have to deal with it, it doesn’t matter. The comparison I give you is Harry Truman’s “the buck stops here” which is how I intend to handle things versus Sergeant Schultz’s “I know nothing”, which is how I contend the Jarjura administration is handling this.<br /><br />O: Mayor Jarjura is Schultzy?<br /><br />Odle: Yeah (laughs). I know nothing. It’s not a problem I have to face. Now, the first thing to do is to quantify this in excruciating detail. What’s driving the cost? How high are our benefits? Then you start comparing. Without the details of what it is we owe, we are completely helpless. We can’t do anything. There’s an old adage in finance, you manage what you measure. We don’t measure it, we don’t manage it. Simple enough. You understand it in detail and then you get for each group what the claims are and how much are we paying in claims each year. What’s the co-pay? How do our plans interact with other plans such as Medicare as an example? Medicare part D, the drugs benefit. What are the incentives for our employers and employees? If they retire are they incented to stay on our insurance forever? A lot of them are. We need to set all the incentives up to save costs all the way through, so if one of our people goes to work for Bridgeport we’ll get them to use Bridgeport’s insurance. The other thing is we have to factor these costs into every single decision we make. As an example, we’ve got fourteen policemen that are essentially being forced to retire early next year because of changes in the contract. When they retire, they’ve got pre-medical for life. Does it make sense for us to move them out? What would we be giving up if we found a way to transition those guys into a different benefit package and keep them? So I’m not 100% sure I can work it out, but boy I’d have the spreadsheet out and trying to figure out how does this really work. <br /><br />O: Three years ago 100 police officers retired so they could have free medical for the rest of their lives. They were retiring because they didn’t want co-pay. How do you assess the cost of that exodus to Waterbury taxpayers? <br /><br />Odle: In that case, I would say we absolutely knew. There are a number of things that we didn’t factor into the equation. The biggest thing was the retirement medical. I think we also didn’t factor in if all of these guys retire, will we in fact save money? You’re paying somebody for a job and now your paying the pension. But if you force them to retire earlier will it increase our unfunded pension liability. There’s another thing that this administration hasn’t dealt with. The last five years we’ve had 41 million dollars of negative actuary readjustments. Negative actuary adjustment is I balance my checkbook and I’m 1,000 dollars short. You don’t know why. Only with ours instead of being $1,000 it’s 41 million. This first came up shortly after I was an alderman, we got the actuarially report and we had a negative actuarial adjustment of 10 million dollars. Why is this? This is absolutely a screaming red flag. Coming from a finance background you never ever have an un-explained variant. Because when you have an unexplained variance all you know is you don’t know what’s going on.<br /><br />O: And how can you manage that? <br /><br />Odle: You don’t know whether it’s one thing that’s screwing you up, or fifteen. All you know is that your policy is based on garbage. We had another one this year. When I put my resolution and said we need to study this and we need to understand this in great detail. The answer back from the administration is no you don’t. It’s no big deal. Sometimes they’re negative, sometimes they’re positive. So I went back and looked. No, it’s negative. $41 million dollars over five years. So what you’ve got is conceptually the pension deficit is supposed to be funded by the mortgage. So your paying off the mortgage over 30 years so it should come down over time. So if you go back and look at the Oversight Boards plan which was from 2003, it shows debt is not going down, it’s gone up. It’s going the wrong way. Why? Don’t know. Then they said well it’s because we made all these guys retire early. That’s probably part of it, but then you think okay, if it’s because we made people retire early, was that smart?<br /><br />O: You actually wrote a letter to the editor in the Republican American talking about the dependent children of teachers that shouldn’t be on the city health plan and we’re getting $60,000 or $70,000 a month that they shouldn’t have. <br /><br />Odle: A couple hundred bucks a month per dependent times 300 dependents. <br /><br />O: It was a benefit we shouldn’t have been giving, but out it goes.<br /><br />Odle: There is a policy everywhere in the industry that you have to sign and affirmatively say that you have three dependents, this is their age, oh and by the way my ass will be fired if I lied to you. And at IBM you’re out the door the next day. No questions asked. You lie on that, your gone. So we don’t bother to do this. We got rid of penance and made out the check and said ‘okay how many do we really have?’<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ765i5A9zKX4UNKmWCubJ-7sxUKwbsMSbFoY868Y8YD-uVV9NEujvLgYH76KAqqlkSKvR-ImOC8jYhMkusoN9arLkw3LWieE2-omRGW5uhx5UQo2WRmRRyQFGY0og6EJyupx-dn41q15Z/s1600-h/Odleweb3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ765i5A9zKX4UNKmWCubJ-7sxUKwbsMSbFoY868Y8YD-uVV9NEujvLgYH76KAqqlkSKvR-ImOC8jYhMkusoN9arLkw3LWieE2-omRGW5uhx5UQo2WRmRRyQFGY0og6EJyupx-dn41q15Z/s400/Odleweb3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121382028527393810" /></a><br /><br />O: We were also sending double pension payments to retirees. How do you go about getting that money back?<br /><br />Odle: That’s in court now. It was absolutely millions of dollars. The point that I made was they said they couldn’t find it because they didn’t have computer systems that would reconcile these payments. The accounting profession is over 100 years old and in that entire time accountants have known how to reconcile various accounts. They’ve done it by hand for decades and decades. It can still be done.<br /> <br />O: You were involved in the process to revamp the Charter. You took this antiquated document and made lots of changes and you streamlined the thing. The mayor touts his greatest accomplishment is bringing better business practice to the city of Waterbury. For years he said bookkeeping was just appalling. He said he didn’t realize how bad it was until he was actually sitting in the mayor’s seat. There was a lack of accountability with money and systems. He said it was so bad that it’s his belief it had to be deliberate. If the books were in chaos it would be easier to move the money around to different areas. Now your saying the process is still antiquated and not up to snuff. You seem to be disagreeing that he’s brought all these practices to modern status. <br /><br />Odle: Yes I am, which is not to say there isn’t some truth in his statement because the big thing we did by charter is we had a lot of business processes hard wired in the charter. The one that comes to mind is paying the bill. It took 21 separate steps to find in the charter how to pay a bill. It had to go back and forth between departments many times. As a result we paid our bills in 9 months. So what happens if you pay your bills in 9 months? It means you spend too much time and money paying the bill, but more importantly a lot of people won’t do business with you at all. Just don’t want to have anything to do with you because it is not worth the aggravation to them. It screws up their receivables account and they aren’t sure what their cash flow is supposed to be. They can’t trust you. Those that do are going to charge you for it. You have that in accounts payable, you have the same problem in writing a purchase order and you have these problems with all the processes. Horrible. Now when we changed the Charter the accounts payable part is now two or three sentences and it’s Waterbury will adopt a very world-class accounts payable system hopefully looking at the following things for guidance. So you go to the government finance officers association or something and ask them what’s a good accounts payable system. Pick it up. Just go grab one. So from having more efficient business processes we’re in much better shape than we were in several of these areas. <br /><br />O: He hasn’t finished the process off?<br /><br />Odle: Not even close. <br /><br />O: You have a bachelor’s degree in accounting, a master’s degree in business administration, and 20 years of financial experience working at IBM. How can you leverage that experience to tackle the complex financial crisis of an unfunded $466 or 68-million pension fund?<br /><br />Odle: The first thing that you learn in a financial job is you have to accurately measure what you’re dealing with. In every job I’ve gone into I’ve made sure I could do that first. Because you can’t find solutions until you really know what the problem is. So you have to figure you where you are. The same story as the previous problem. Where am I? What’s causing the problem? What then are the solutions that can attack each aspect of the problem? And normally what you find in a big thing like this is there is not one thing that you do to help it there are ten, fifteen or twenty. Each of which will have a little bit of an impact and move things in the right direction. You then have to look and see if what I expected to happen, happened? Was I right? You have to measure. And the big issues, you’ve got that. On the day-to-day management of the city I would have a big impact too. And what I’m saying is I want to implement what’s in the Charter which is each organization should define what services they are producing for the city. We would put all the costs in the department against those services. We would then look and say how much does it cost to do roads? How much does it cost us to do trees? How much does it cost us to do recreational services? How much does it cost other people to do those? I am really big on studying success. When I look at a part of the city my tendency is to look at who does this best? Go look at them. How many people do you have? How do you manage it? How do you relate to other departments? Then I’ll say okay, are we doing better or worse than that? I’m always willing to copy.<br /><br />O: Whom would you copy for tackling this pension fund deficit? It seems to be a problem. The state has this problem. <br /><br />Odle: Greenwich. Greenwich in particular started addressing it ten years ago. They did kind of all the things that I’m talking about. They changed the incentives and the plans somewhat. They did advanced funding of it. All of that stuff. We’re fortunate that we are so far behind that there are examples of people out there that have tackled it. All of our problems people have tackled long before us.<br /><br />O: Why aren’t we doing that?<br /><br />Odle: I come back to Woodrow Wilson versus Sergeant Schultz. I know nothing. These are not simple problems and so are you going to upset some people when you start to deal with them? Probably. That’s part of politics getting in the way of doing things in Waterbury. Any policy idea you bring forward no matter how good will annoy some segment of the population. No matter what you bring forward you will lose some votes for doing it. So the traditional wisdom is don’t bring any forward. Don’t do anything. Stay neutral. <br /> We had illegal boarding houses creating a huge danger. They were completely against any zoning law, so I went to war on that. Did I lose votes? Yeah. Yeah I did. The folks that have all the illegal boarding houses are not happy with me because I forced them to obey the law and come up with a legal solution. Once there are rules, we enforce it uniformly. And I’ve come forward with the intent on much stricter zoning enforcement in general. And one of the resolutions I have set forward is an ordinance that would do that. The difference is right now if you are disobeying the zoning laws, I will come and say “John I’d like to stop that” and you’d say “sure sure”. I come back a second and third time and you are still doing the same thing. My philosophy is I come and say “John, I’d like you to quit doing that, by the way it’s 150 dollars a day for violation, so lets talk pretty soon because the meters running.” It completely changes the philosophy of enforcement and completely changes the mindset. <br /><br />O: So the oversight board was in control of the city finances for five years and now they are gone. What does that mean for the city of Waterbury and how can you transition us into a stable future?<br /><br />Odle: The oversight board was responsible for a number of improvements in the management of the city. Particularly the budget process, which they controlled extremely closely. But it was far more things than that. Our job is to understand what it was the oversight board did to improve the city, how they were able to make the improvements and perhaps most importantly what we can now do to continue the work the oversight board did. Among the things that the oversight board did is you had a very highly qualified professional that was in city government looking long rage. It was Cicchetti and Bakers. Very good finance guys. You pay them real money. They are real professional. They are looking at the management of the city now and they were looking at all the finance reports and looking out what do we need to do out in time. And you look at city government now and who’s looking at what we need to do out in time? Nobody. There are some things that the oversight board did that we can’t do. We don’t have the arbitration authority. But what we do need to do is be prepared so when we negotiate we have all the information necessary. That’s back to gathering data. The Yankee Institute (think tank) they did a study recently that compared wages, benefits, dollars and the whole bit, private sector versus public sector and city to city and the public sector. Of course Waterbury didn’t participate. We need to participate and understand all of those pay factors of us versus the rest of the world and we need to publish this stuff. So that everybody knows so when someone says they are underpaid and only making 48,000 dollars a year. Well if you were in the private sector you’d be making 25. So we need to get that out so people understand it. We also need to look at morale and what we are doing in recruiting and what it takes to recruit and how many people are leaving and why are they leaving? So we need to understand that whole package before we go in and negotiate with anybody. But if you understand all that and you get the information out then you’ve got a better chance of negotiating a more sensible contract and addressing real problems then if we walk in fat, dumb and happy like we normally do. I’m looking at changing the whole management of the city. The idea that you get this managed by a mayor who is both the chief executive officer and chief ceremonial officer (whatever that is) essentially no body else. We have Joe Geary the lawyer and who else in that office. But we don’t have any management talent in the city to make sure we are managing and implementing new programs to move the city forward. And I intend to bring in a different structure. <br /><br />O: How would your structure work? What would you do?<br /><br />Odle: It may well be a couple deputy mayors. But people you would look and say okay this is a guy that I should have running a substantial chunk of the business. And thinking of it as a business because this is someone that has actually that kind of management talent. <br /><br />O: So that’s not Larry and Karen as the deputy mayors?<br /><br />Odle: No. I’ve got to bring in somebody that people will say that’s out of the political process. And you don’t bring in somebody with that kind of talent and say I’m going to pay you the average of a teacher in our school system. So if you’re bringing somebody with the background ability, training and all that stuff. To perform these management tasks your going to have to pay them like a manager. You can look at what Stamford does. What Greenwich does as far as their structure and who they have and how they have a policy operation built in to their government. And that will give us much more intelligent policy over time and much better ability to analyze decisions as they come up. Ultimately good management is one of the best bargains you can buy. That’s coming. <br /><br />O: Your party’s platform states that the mayor’s #1 job should be economic development and you would dedicate one quarter to one third of your time on this one issue. What would you do with that time?<br /><br />Odle: First of all make sure that we have a coherent marketing program that we’re going to sell and that we have the right people involved. It also involves making sure that we have the right properties to bring to market. So when we look out at the demand we have for a variety of things, what do we have to supply that demand? Example of that is the South End development. You talk to the economic development professionals and they said there’s a tremendous need for industrial flex space. We have none. Naugatuck has none. So we have to get some. How do we do that? So I’ve worked on that kind of thing. I would also be very actively out there at trade shows and talking to people that might be interested and I would be actively selling Waterbury to them. First is developing the market plan. How do we market our programs? What do we need to overcome the objections of potential customers and that includes things like tax incentives, having an efficient permit process so when they come in they are confident that they can get their business up and running in a reasonable period of time. <br /><br />O: How would you describe what’s been going on with development in the last six years under Mayor Jarjura?<br /><br />Odle: Actually we’ve had a lot of going out and it’s been Waterbury businesses that have gone out and left the city. There’s an exodus that we have done little or nothing to stop. And you can’t always stop everything, but as an example, McDermott lost six hundred great jobs. That was the poster child for the good paying jobs. Did you see anything about the Waterbury administration holding meetings with state DEP trying to cut these guys a break? Explaining that we’re really screwing them over on some of the environmental issues. Getting the Governor involved and saying we have to bring these guys in and getting the delegation involved saying we’re going to have to fight to keep them. Before I lost to McDermott I would have spent hundreds of hours, I would have gone to every body in the state and the DEP’s office. Give them the love they deserve for providing six hundred good paying jobs and lots and lots of tax revenue. I love these guys. I’d like to keep them. And I would for all of these. We had Lescare. They wanted to expand in Waterbury. They couldn’t find a way to expand. I would have found them a way to expand. I would have been out there looking at buildings with them. I would have got it for them. It would have been my job to make sure that they got the facilities they needed at a reasonable price. It’s my job to help them succeed. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-drbA7BW-HzvP0gL39AjPn83S8ZcxQR8hIg2vDI4chbYWldLrsDn0ysnEYrUSKAd5HbgywxG3txtUFgpcD7yjY5_V1IghlPReX_eoPl7vbk9c1235DFFU4xoKfU78tXxjktnv6cZuf33g/s1600-h/Odleweb2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-drbA7BW-HzvP0gL39AjPn83S8ZcxQR8hIg2vDI4chbYWldLrsDn0ysnEYrUSKAd5HbgywxG3txtUFgpcD7yjY5_V1IghlPReX_eoPl7vbk9c1235DFFU4xoKfU78tXxjktnv6cZuf33g/s400/Odleweb2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121382028527393794" /></a><br /><br />O: Being busines friendly is a Republican mantra. One of the big complaints inside the Waterbury Development Corporation has been dealing with piles of red tape that bog down projects.<br /><br />Odle: That’s absolutely true, when you have this cumbersome, inefficient, excruciating process in the city, the answer is not to take WDC outside of it, the answer is solving the process. There’s nothing in our Charter that says ‘you will torture everybody that needs a purchase rack’. That is not a requirement. The answer is set up the best practice going. That’s what we are supposed to be doing. That’s what the Charter says we’re supposed to do. <br /><br />O: In 2001 your vision of Waterbury’s future involved robotic companies and high tech industry attracted to Waterbury for its affordable housing, it’s excellent school system and it’s lively downtown entertainment district. Do you still have that vision?<br /><br />Odle: Pretty much. I still absolutely intend to work on the entertainment district part of it. And the reason that I had back then and the reason I still have that is if we are going to turn around downtown, we have to turn it around because people are coming downtown. And you get people to come downtown two ways. One is you get jobs downtown. Second, you get things people want to go to. You have to do both. And I intend to do both. <br /><br />O: Downtown Watertown is fully occupied and flourishing and Waterbury’s downtown isn’t. Why is that, and what can you do to specifically help downtown Waterbury?<br /><br />Odle: It comes down to why are people not coming to Downtown Waterbury. The answer right now is a couple things. Three probably. One is the perception that it’s just a mess. The blight and beautification thing is a big part of our problem. If it looks like crap people from the burbs are not likely to come down. Second is the perception of safety, which I contend we are getting a bad rap on. I think that we can market and say downtown Waterbury isn’t a problem, so we have to get out and kind of explain why that isn’t a problem. Which is absolutely marketing. And third is you have to have the activities that people want to come in for. So one of the things that I’m working on now is a brownfield redevelopment project that would bring in a bunch of recreational services that are in a big demand in the surrounding areas. Like ice hockey, soccer, and those kinds of things. Right now you have people in the burbs going down and doing ridiculous things to get ice time. What if they could come into Waterbury? Bringing their kids into Waterbury three days a week? They aren’t far from downtown and aren’t far from the mall. So they get used to coming into Waterbury all the time. Then once you have them coming in as a matter of course then selling them to go to the mall or go to the downtown restaurants to get all these things is not going to be that much of a stretch. So you can do things like that. <br /><br />O: Your campaign literature says you promise to be a full time mayor and not a real estate developer. That is an obvious dig at Mayor Jarjura’s real estate transactions around the city. The mayor says he’s just investing in the city he loves, what’s wrong with that?<br /><br />Odle: A number of things. One is going back to my statement about that my number one job would be economic development. I have to know everything that’s going on. I have to know all of the folks that are potential customers that are coming into Waterbury for our space. To come in as employers and I have to know the developers that are here locally to take care of these guys. My job has to be to match these guys up and make them successful. And the minute that I use any of that information from either side for my own purpose then nobody is going to trust me ever again. No developer in his or her right mind would trust the mayor because he is out investing for his own book. This thing of putting a plaza out on East Main. Then a month later Oh Look A Water Park Is Going In Across The Street. Imagine That!!!! Back to Gomer Pile, “Shazam!” A Water Park! Who Would Thought? <br /><br />O: Gomer and Schultzy. I’m really starting to get an image here. Let’s move on. You’ve stated that one of your goals is to take the economic development function away from the Waterbury Development Corporation and return it to the mayor’s office. Why?<br /><br />Odle: The buck stops here. I would be responsible for it. I would manage it. It has not been effective under the WDC and for that matter what we’ve had in that organization has not been the type of people to do economic development. Yeah you have people that are used to running construction projects. That’s great. But that’s not the reason they were created at first. <br /><br />O: The Observer was involved in helping to launch a youth newspaper this summer called Young Voices. We had 12 public school students sit down for two days to brainstorm all the reasons they believed their peers were getting discouraged and dropping out of school. After lengthy discussion they zeroed in on Waterbury’s strict dress code as the #1 reason kids were dropping out of school. Every one of the students had been suspended for being in violation of dress code. One student received in-house suspension for wearing the wrong colored hair tie to school. The students believe the teachers and administrators are spending too much time enforcing a bizarrely strict dress code. Last year for example there were more suspensions in 9th grade than there were students in 9th grade. The kids say they are suffocating under petty rules, get sick of the daily hassle and drop out? What do you think of the situation?<br /><br />Odle: I think it very possibly has merit. And my feeling is we do need to have a dress code. But we need to be careful about setting up thousands of rules on every aspect of everything like having the wrong color hair tie. That strikes me as kind of a bizarre thing. Additionally, we need to periodically look at our policies and see exactly what it is that they are accomplishing. So if we are having more suspensions then we have kids in 9th grade, let’s look at those suspensions and see why we’re giving them and what the impact of doing that is. I think it’s fairly easy to over control and not focus on the bigger picture. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if the kids were right on target.<br /><br />O: The students interviewed Superintendent of Schools David Snead who told them he loved the dress code and it was here to stay. Kids want a dress code, but a more realistic one. They want to be part of the discussion. If you were elected mayor would you hold a Youth Summit to address the students concerns?<br /><br />Odle: Absolutely. I think this is a kind of similar to what I’m doing on the senior end. When I started to notice lack of facilities, I went out there to see what there were and what people thought of it. What seniors themselves thought was need. We should take that approach in all aspects of managing the city. Brainstorming. This goes to the customers of the city and also goes to the employees of the city. How often do we ask the employees what can be done to do a better job in your area? What do you like or not like about the job? It’s important to have good morale in the city as well as be cost effective. Which I don’t think we pay attention to either one. But not asking the customers, trying to develop a solution without asking the customers is the ultimate in folly. <br /><br />O: You’ve been very specific on several ideas to improve the school system, including neighborhood schools holding principals accountable for their buildings and creating a magnet school focused on health care and manufacturing? What is your #1 priority?<br /><br />Odle: Hmmmm....I guess the number one priority would be working with the principals to make sure they had the tools to be able to do their job. And helping them to be effective in making sure that they are doing what they can. I think the difference between a school with an inspired and effective principal and one that is not is huge. But if you are putting responsibility there you also have to work at giving them the tools because you can’t hold them accountable for something they can’t control. <br /><br />O: What could you give them?<br /><br />Odle: Certainly give them a lot more control over maintenance. I think you have to work at giving them more control over staffing and certainly have to give them more control over discipline. And you have to back them up on it. <br /><br />O: I sent my daughter to a private school for many years and had to transport her to and from the school. That was my responsibility. Why does Waterbury pay to transport students to private Catholic Schools? Do you think that’s a good use of taxpayer dollars?<br /><br />Odle: I do think that is a good use of taxpayer dollars. I think that if we had to absorb all of those Catholic school kids into the Waterbury school system we’d have a very impressive financial hit to the city. What we’ve got are the parents of those kids paying full taxes to the city and we’re basically providing a small portion of the services that they are paying for to help them accomplish their educational needs. I would move further in that direction in helping parents have more educational choices. And doing what we can to help them. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRqGTkWB0AL7ek-5E1bvwP-UeJPaYpHLP3VYrIv51O3EG-oAxBXnmgY5wosgRH93AcjDpVoLrwLxU21ixAHVDgLiELFJQrKqWgoXixljH3H6VWqef3fCZrE3Amt9fAmUfkGo721iYFJn79/s1600-h/odleweb1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRqGTkWB0AL7ek-5E1bvwP-UeJPaYpHLP3VYrIv51O3EG-oAxBXnmgY5wosgRH93AcjDpVoLrwLxU21ixAHVDgLiELFJQrKqWgoXixljH3H6VWqef3fCZrE3Amt9fAmUfkGo721iYFJn79/s400/odleweb1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121382019937459186" /></a><br /><br />O: You have floated some innovative ideas about restructuring the Board of Aldermen. You’d assign support staff to help aldermen with research and constituent issues and you’d institute a training program for aldermen. Why?<br /><br />Odle:: I think our Board of Aldermen is not effective. I think we’re doing almost no constituent service. The Board of Aldermen is not an equal branch of government here. The Charter says it is, but there has been essentially no policy ideas from the Board of Aldermen. The only ideas that the board deals with are those handed down from the Mayor and we basically rubber-stamp it. And I think we would be far better served if we had aldermen out working in the neighborhoods that they are responsible for and bringing back issues. I don’t think you could have the blight that we’ve had over time if we had an alderman assigned to that neighborhood. After the first 100 calls they get about a certain issue, they’d be beating down the doors of the department heads responsible and that’s part of the training program. How do we solve these problems? What is it that you do? <br /><br />O: Two years ago, Tom Tremagglio who had been an alderman for many years, one of his proposals was to get support staff for the Aldermen. He said it was appalling that he’d get these huge proposals ten minutes before the meeting and you’re supposed to vote on them. He said aldermen are just overwhelmed. Congressmen have support staffs, state reps, state senators and the governor, everybody has a staff. You think it would be a good thing to empower the aldermen?<br /><br />Odle: I think it would be a good thing. And it comes back to how I’m managing my ticket. I think it would be far better for the city. It comes back to, would I have more discussions, would I have more ideas coming in, would I have to sell more to people? Yeah I would. I’m not afraid of that. <br /><br />O: You’ve been on two charter revision commissions and have stated that if you were elected you would form a new commission to focus on aldermen by district. Six years ago you told me you weren’t inclined to use your political capital on pursuing alderman by district. What’s changed your mind?<br /><br />Odle: Mugged by reality. My experience as an alderman, I see what is done and I see how hard it is to give constituent service and how hard it is to research and how hard it is to advance policy ideas in the set up that we have. And I just believe we have to do a much much better job and we have to have it so people know who they are supposed to pick up and call. I absolutely have a different position than I did before I became an alderman. <br /><br />O: If you had one minute alone with every voter just before they entered the voting booth, what would you say to convince them to vote for Dennis Odle?<br /><br />Odle: I’ll bring the city professional management. I’ll be a full time Mayor and I won’t have conflicts of interest.John Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330863409275028247noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959311154355211412.post-13554733026799789712007-10-14T20:34:00.001-05:002007-10-18T11:31:00.651-05:00October 2007 - Waterbury Mayoral Candidate Joe Zdonczyk Q&A<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0lwyaPeC_l9GIEXS0aLY-dzQg8pdyiiUHaHoQWtKQMViIluXVdnni7VR1RgEdvf5h2teHe1juRJUXAsSwbXN59me9pXmRPuqJXj_ofkYagik3TpyEP2A7xGvGUK9aWZtdF1mGfAkPAbUj/s1600-h/joe7(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0lwyaPeC_l9GIEXS0aLY-dzQg8pdyiiUHaHoQWtKQMViIluXVdnni7VR1RgEdvf5h2teHe1juRJUXAsSwbXN59me9pXmRPuqJXj_ofkYagik3TpyEP2A7xGvGUK9aWZtdF1mGfAkPAbUj/s400/joe7(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121373163714894818" /></a><br /><br />Guided By Values, Determined To Live His Faith<br /> <br /> <br />(Observer publisher John Murray sat down with Joe Zdonczyk at the candidate's kitchen table in Wolcott for a free wheeling conversation about Waterbury, faith, and the values missing in the political process. Zdonczyk said if he is elected he will move to Waterbury to govern the city. Zdonczyk is running as a candidate from The Concerned Citizen's Party. Photographs by Michael Asaro.)<br /><br /><br />Observer: Joe you live in Wolcott and you are running for the mayor of Waterbury. Can you explain that to me?<br /><br />Zdonczyk: (big laugh) I knew that was the very first thing you were going to hit me with. Look, I make no apologies for my candidacy living in Wolcott and running in Waterbury. This is typical of The Concerned Citizens Party, we have been petitioning to get on the ballot for so many years and have had candidates for the highest office, including President.<br /><br />O: You’ve run for governor.<br /><br />Z: Yes, I’ve run for governor.<br /><br />O: How many times did you run for governor?<br /><br />Z: Two or three times, I don’t know, I lose track. I ran for congress, I ran for mayor of Wolcott…<br /><br />O: You ran for mayor of Wolcott?<br /><br />Z: Oh yeah, sure. I’ve run for many different positions. As a matter of fact when Howard Phillips was running for president with the United States Taxpayer’s Party I was a vice presidential candidate on the ballot in two states, Connecticut and Illinois. The reason he asked me to be on the ballot in Illinois is because Chicago is the second largest Polish city in the world, he thought my name would be good for a few votes. (big laugh)<br /><br />O: I hear people talk…<br /><br />Z: Let me get back to your first question about why I’m running for mayor of Waterbury while living in Wolcott. Critics try to make something wrong with my candidacy and there is nothing wrong with my candidacy. I have received a letter of approval from the secretary of the state. My petition was examined and approved. It’s legitimate.<br /><br />O: But why Waterbury?<br /><br />Z: I was born in Waterbury. I spent half my life in Waterbury. I went to school in Waterbury. I got my education in Waterbury. I enlisted in the army when I graduated from Leavenworth High School. After the army I came back to Waterbury and started a business. I paid my taxes, was a law abiding citizen. I lived in Waterbury for more than half my life and have always maintained an interest in Waterbury because it’s my hometown. I moved out to Wolcott but I am in Waterbury every day without fail. I attend mass at the Immaculate Conception church every day. I’ve been living in Wolcott but I have been watching what has been going on in Waterbury all these many years. It’s very depressing to see what the political process has wrought.<br /><br />O: What is it that you see?<br /><br />Z: I don’t think I need to go over the things that everybody is familiar with from Waterbury’s corrupt past, so let’s just look at the numbers that exist today. Waterbury has the highest unemployment numbers in the region, not for a month, but for six years running. Waterbury has the highest per capita bonded debt in the whole state. And Waterbury has the highest mil rate in the state making Waterbury citizens pay the highest taxes in Connecticut. You can’t expect Waterbury to pull itself up by it’s own initiatives, it can’t be done. Look at the politicians who have been running the city all these many years and they keep repeating the same rhetoric year, after year, after year.<br /> In the early years of Waterbury it was alive, it was energetic, it was full of new ideas and people who willing to go out and develop their talent to the fullest. For the past thirty years the population has been stagnant, the city has not been growing.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7NwFKWR3wkX1YXCIGS267mDHgOiPkmmUtXhj-kz0arhZfv7qJdD1-bnAqF7LVtqpI1V4t8YvWnEnD9Iyy7qUaKgjtx0mEaWGuN132XxoSy6boIULEnQtXTlIPil1QRpdr-18cRO3_WKSK/s1600-h/joe4(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7NwFKWR3wkX1YXCIGS267mDHgOiPkmmUtXhj-kz0arhZfv7qJdD1-bnAqF7LVtqpI1V4t8YvWnEnD9Iyy7qUaKgjtx0mEaWGuN132XxoSy6boIULEnQtXTlIPil1QRpdr-18cRO3_WKSK/s400/joe4(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121372549534571458" /></a><br /><br />O: One of the challenges is the massive unfunded $460 million pension debt. If you are elected mayor how would you deal with that?<br /><br />Z: My first order of business would be getting the mil rate down. It is a complex situation and everything is linked together. You’ve got high unemployment, you’ve got a high mil rate and hopefully you’ve got an initiative to try and draw new businesses into Waterbury.<br /><br />O: Do you think the mayor isn’t doing that?<br /><br />Z: They’re trying, but this is what you have to do. We have a $360 million dollar city budget and we need to require each and every department head to voluntarily reduce expenditures in their department. The police budget just came in with an extra $900,000 left over from their budget last year, so there is room to cut these numbers up front. Across the board reductions in the budget.<br /><br />O: You’d start off with a voluntary request?<br /><br />Z: Yes, expecting a voluntary tightening of budgetary expenditures on all levels.<br /><br />O: What if you don’t get that?<br /><br />Z: If department heads don’t go along then we have to get the board of alderman to seriously dig into the budget and start making reductions in expenditures in all of the departments. There is no budget and no department in this country where there isn’t excess fat. If we can reduce expenditures that should translate into a lower mil rate. When you do that then you can justify reaching out to businesses to come look at Waterbury. The most important thing a business will look at when deciding to move into a new area is “How much am I going to pay in taxes?’ If I’m going to set up a business in Waterbury am I going to be eaten up alive? This is critical. We have to assure businesses moving into Waterbury that they aren’t going to get hammered. Any business looking at the tax rate right now would be discouraged and look elsewhere. That’s why we need to start by lowing the mil rate.<br /><br />O: We are coming off a five year period where the state oversight board was in control of the budget process in Waterbury. We had a task force of experts doing battle with the union contracts. Many people thing they have already squeezed the fat out. What do you think about the job the oversight board did?<br /><br />Z: You have to give the oversight board their due. What they did in effect was run a tight financial ship and they did their job. But now they are no longer there. I made mention a moment ago about the police contract coming in under budget, that speaks for itself. So yes there is still room to cut expenses. Now with the oversight board gone it is critical that we have a conscientious mayor and board of aldermen to closely watch the budget. They are the people that are going to be held accountable. As the mayor it would be my job to say we need to have a closer look at all expenditures in the city. The next mayor needs to act as the oversight board did. There has to be a sharing of the pain. The taxpayers need relief and they are the very first people we need to focus on.<br /><br />O: So your very first move would be to cut taxes?<br /><br />Z: Exactly. Now that the oversight board is gone the taxpayers themselves are a target. Where else are you going to get money? I know how to get money….<br /><br />O: Where? How would Joe Zdonczyk get money into Waterbury without hitting up the taxpayers?<br /><br />Z: My proposal is on the state level and I’ve received approval from Mayor Chatfield in Prospect, Mayor San Angelo in Naugatuck, Mayor Jarjura in Waterbury and Mayor Dunn in Wolcott to investigate my proposal. I said to them that we can’t fix our problems on the strength of our own resources. We’ve been hammered into the ground and now we have look for resources outside our local base. The state of Connecticut only gets 65 cents for every tax dollar it sends to Washington D.C. That comes out to approximately $8 billion a year we lose, or half the state budget. We have to insist that Connecticut get it’s fair share of tax dollars back from Washington. Other states get 120% back, 140% back depending on the clout of their senators and congressman. I received tentative support from the four mayors and I haven’t followed through on it yet.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvbp9cT2dqeC91xw_bVT9Q_2zXK5sb8bk3_rgesZfHCfxr2UO-8wCCO_bz6GOoqJMmR9nx52Sgnq_YpK8IwDW1QL6YRNL-tgFrT0Qpf2MgclZxPnBDhDqbUG6WKBD57FNfhhatTSlhgOUM/s1600-h/joe3(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvbp9cT2dqeC91xw_bVT9Q_2zXK5sb8bk3_rgesZfHCfxr2UO-8wCCO_bz6GOoqJMmR9nx52Sgnq_YpK8IwDW1QL6YRNL-tgFrT0Qpf2MgclZxPnBDhDqbUG6WKBD57FNfhhatTSlhgOUM/s400/joe3(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121372549534571442" /></a><br /><br />O: Doesn’t it depend on need? Doesn’t Mississippi get more than Connecticut based on need?<br /><br />Z: Maybe, but when you look at the amount of money Connecticut has paid and not gotten back, it is mind blowing, it is 100’s of billions of dollars, or at least multiple billions of dollars that have vanished into that sink hole in Washington. What is necessary, if the governor had any backbone, is for the governor and legislature to say that we are not willing to send taxpayers dollars to Washington to be distributed all over the world when we ourselves our lacking. And until we get a fair share we are going to stop payment of taxpayer dollars going to Washington. We’re not going to stop paying our taxes, we are simply going to put that taxpayer money into escrow.<br /><br />O: How would you do that? If I’m paying my taxes to the federal government I don’t send my return through any state filter, it goes right to the IRS. How would your idea work?<br /><br />Z: We would have to have legislation in the state of Connecticut and take a stand to challenge the federal government.<br /><br />O: They’d pull the National Guard out of Iraq and send them to Hartford. (both laugh)<br /><br />Z: This isn’t something off the wall, all four mayors said it was a good idea to pursue. Our problem is we don’t think, we just don’t think. Instead we come up with little ideas like Mr. Odle and his senior center. To him that’s a big idea, but where does the money come from? Oh that doesn’t matter. Are we breaking the law? That doesn’t matter. Look at Mr. De Pillo’s big idea to bottle water in the city. When you examine all these big ideas they don’t fly. They are not thought out, they are simply election year rhetoric to get the people all excited that they are going to get something for nothing. But you can’t con the seniors, they know you can’t get something for nothing.<br /><br />O: It’s the seniors that go off to vote.<br /><br />Z: I know. But seniors know you get nothing for nothing. One way or another you are going to pay for it. Mr. Odle’s proposal to give a slice of the electorate something for nothing is not logical, and is not honest.<br /><br />O: Is is frustration at watching the Waterbury political process that brings you into battle?<br /><br />Z: More than that. My past is a part of me. I am what I am. I am a Catholic, not a practicing Catholic, but an observant one. They are two different things. John Kerry is practicing Catholic, Chris Dodd is a practicing catholic, I wish they were more observant. What we have is people explaining their Catholic credentials and they can be seen as spokesmen for our faith when that’s the furthest thing from the truth. I maintain that the most dangerous people in the world today are misguided Catholics in positions of authority. They have had a grounding in the faith and they understand the difference between right and wrong based on that foundation. My response is that if they are serious Catholics, then live your faith. It’s simple, live your faith. Let’s bring that down to my own level and what’s going on in Waterbury, what are we talking about. We are talking about people who are Catholic. Mr. De Pillo is a Catholic, Mr. Jarjura is a Catholic, Mr. Theriault is a Catholic, and many members on the board of aldermen are Catholic. I’m not trying to degrade them, but I talk to them and appeal to them to live their faith. Don’t pay us lip service, live your faith. Don’t be intimidated by the secular views that dominate in our society today.<br /> When it comes down to me I say that I am an observant Catholic and those things that are important to me are simply a reflection of what the Catholic Church teaches. We know all the issues confronting the Catholic Church. We hear their position of abortion, homosexual marriage, on stem cell research, privacy within the confessional, all these things that are a part of the Catholic Church are a part of me.<br /><br />O: Some people reading this would say great for you, these are important national issues and you should be running for congress, or the senate. What do these issues have to do with running for the mayor of Waterbury? What does your Catholic faith have to do with the pension fund, paving roads and balancing budgets?<br /><br />Z: Each and every elected official goes by some kind of standard, something within that person says this is the right thing to do, or this is not. Spending money on roads is the right thing to do, but, perhaps, spending money on schools is more important. Therefore I’ll have to make a decision about what I think is right is wrong. What is proper, what is more beneficial.<br /><br />O: So you’d be more of a values driven mayor than an issues oriented mayor?<br /><br />Z: They can’t be separated. People talk about the separation between church and state and that’s a fallacy. A person goes into elected office and he has values that he has acquired in his lifetime. These values are what determine what it is he does in office.<br /><br />O: In the past 30 or 40 years whenever a candidate says what you are saying about faith and religion they become radioactive. The media censures the message and labels the candidate a holy roller. How would you respond to that?<br /><br />Z: The whole idea that there is a separation between church and state is a myth, there is nothing in the constitution that even suggests that. The media uses that as a club to silence people who say, hey listen, examine your values. It doesn’t matter to me whether a person is a Hindu or a Buddhist, Muslim or Catholic, or whatever, it doesn’t matter to me, just live your faith. Values need to be stressed today. The moral issues should be dominant in our lives and we can’t simply dismiss them as being irrelevant.<br /><br />O: Let me ask you some specifics about how you would run Waterbury. Do you have an under ticket?<br /><br />Z: We have eight candidates running for the board of alderman.<br /><br />O: What if you are elected mayor and none of your ticket gets elected, you are forced to work with entrenched Democrats, Independents and Republicans. Wouldn’t that create a stalemate for your ideas and proposals? <br /><br />Z: You can’t underestimate the authority that is delegated to the mayor when he or she is elected to office. It is the people who place the mayor into office, he has the ultimate authority to guide the ship of state. Any elected official or activist who became an obstructionist would be risking their elected position in future elections. The mayor is expected to lay down his plan of action and the board of aldermen should give him some deference and support because he was elected by the people. Any mayor who encounters obstructionists should point them out to the people, and if those individuals persist, they will do so at their own peril. Some have called the Independents on the board obstructionists and given them the name of CAVE people, you know, Citizens Against Virtually Everything.<br /><br />O: How are you getting your message out? Are you being invited to any of the debates?<br /><br />Z: No.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgszQzqkvtYfp20dj90CrTaTFkgX-jKEQFmRSWoRd6iHdwVjOiCbtGOOzlJOQ84h7nARea2rTUT5aDH6ZM4KjOd6g_DnNZ5OOqNCghdu8G3IfSmrLUoTr8BztgljCF6p7eDnORk92DpKNuw/s1600-h/joe5(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgszQzqkvtYfp20dj90CrTaTFkgX-jKEQFmRSWoRd6iHdwVjOiCbtGOOzlJOQ84h7nARea2rTUT5aDH6ZM4KjOd6g_DnNZ5OOqNCghdu8G3IfSmrLUoTr8BztgljCF6p7eDnORk92DpKNuw/s400/joe5(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121372553829538770" /></a><br /><br />O: You’re not being invited to the Chamber debate?<br /><br />Z: No<br /><br />O:: How does that make sense? You were invited to a chamber debate when you ran for Congress, that’s crazy.<br /><br />Z: I don’t understand it. Listen to this one. The National Congress of Black Women is having a debate and they are inviting me. They represent a total minority and they are turning around and excluding a candidate from a minority party. It’s puzzling to me.<br /><br />O: Are you getting any attention?<br /><br />Z: Very little outside the couple of articles that announced I was running for mayor of Waterbury while living in Wolcott. We are making history here, this has never been done before. We are breaking new ground. We have done the same thing in Danbury with a candidate running for mayor while living in Bethel.<br /><br />O: You’re a real rabble rouser..<br /><br />Z: You would expect there would be an acknowledgement of a minor party making history. And the make-up of our under ticket is very important. Twenty-five percent of Waterbury is made up of Latinos, yet there is not one Latino on the Republican ticket, there is not one Latino on the Independent Party ticket, and there is only one Latino, Sandra Rameriz, on the Democrat ticket. We have four Latinos running on our ticket. The major parties in Waterbury have marginalized and dismissed one quarter of the city’s population. We are acknowledging that 25% of the population is not being represented and we are challenging the political parties to address this issue.<br /><br />O: So how can you get your message out? Are you using public access TV?<br /><br />Z: I don’t have any money, so I take my sign and walk around downtown and talk to people.<br /><br />O: What’s your sign say?<br /><br />Z: Catholic, choose life candidate for mayor, Row D, and then I have a little thing on the bottom that says when my public access show plays on Friday. I’ve talked to hundreds, maybe even thousands of people on the Green, where ever. I was at the car show on Freight Street, the BeerFest in Library Park, where ever I can find a substantial number of people.<br /><br />O: What do you say to them?<br /><br />Z: My simple introduction is “ I’m Joe Zdonczyk and I’m the Catholic, pro-life, pro-family, constitutionally oriented, tax payer sensitive, supporter of the second amendment, want to get the government off our backs and out of our pockets, Concerned Citizens Party candidate for mayor. (big laugh) Then I ask them if they would register with the Concerned Citizens Party. That’s how I get the message out.<br /><br />O: Having followed you for the past 15 years one of the most powerful aspects of your campaigns is speaking truth to power. You are an outsider and aren’t afraid to let it rip and challenge the political machinery. You live in Wolcott, nobody is giving you any attention, nobody thinks your going to win, so take a look at what’s going on in Waterbury and tell me what we’re doing wrong?<br /><br />Z: You bring out the fact that I am an outsider, and there is no question that I am, but my roots are in Waterbury. I always bring out the point that Waterbury has had three mayor and a governor spending time in jail, so the politicians there are afraid that I might come in and spoil things.<br /> People need to recognize that Waterbury is stagnant, growth is being stunted, new ideas have no way of taking root and the system itself is broken. That is the status quo we have in Waterbury. Change won’t come until you have an outsider who isn’t tainted, who doesn’t have his views corralled, is voted into office. If you have the idea that something can be improved, and you know it can be improved, you’re obliged to go ahead and try to get it done. I still have some hometown pride. There is a nightclub opening up in Waterbury called Sin City and there was some controversy about it and the Republican-American newspaper called up the mayoral candidates and asked them their views on the name of the club. The other three candidates were all quoted in the newspaper, but no one called me up and asked me my opinion. It goes to show you how exclusive the Waterbury newspaper is. Just out of courtesy they should call up and ask me my opinion. I have been unable to express my views this entire campaign in the daily newspaper.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP0gQBsunmRuamPkXsL8kb9YBlH9k2VxzMSHpz2Wb2JFfu45zPz_EKJPt_6bCZXTQ9-tGhUmX7VRzyEpinaHieYmZD15a4UzlMKGhNxQomX-kgu2gtY8BoalNlb1lJoBTinnkIjd8NK-xr/s1600-h/joe2(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP0gQBsunmRuamPkXsL8kb9YBlH9k2VxzMSHpz2Wb2JFfu45zPz_EKJPt_6bCZXTQ9-tGhUmX7VRzyEpinaHieYmZD15a4UzlMKGhNxQomX-kgu2gtY8BoalNlb1lJoBTinnkIjd8NK-xr/s400/joe2(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121372545239604130" /></a><br /><br />O: How do you feel about that?<br /><br />Z: I’ve come to accept it. Those people who would prevent a legitimate candidate from expressing his views, they do themselves more harm.<br /><br />O: I think it does the city harm. When we first started the Observer 14 years ago the mayoral race was between Mike Bergin, Steve Somma, and Andy Michaud. The Republican-American and the chamber excluded Michaud like he didn’t exist. We sat down with him in a Q & A session and asked him the same questions we asked the Democrat and Republican. We gave him equal space in the Observer. Two years later we gave Jimmy Griffin equal space, and later Larry De Pillo, Jimmy Ayash and now Dennis Odle. It’s not up to the daily newspaper, the radio, or the chamber, to decide who the candidates are. It’s up to the people. It is our belief that you have to get the information out to the voters so people can make an informed decision. But in Waterbury there are always games being played, it’s favored candidacies, and people are being excluded from the process by the daily paper and the chamber, who play God with the information. Quite frankly I find it disgusting. That’s not democracy. It’s not quite the land of the free that we think it is.<br /><br />Z: I couldn’t agree with you more. It should not be up to those little power centers to determine who it is that the people hear. That’s exactly what they are doing. They are acting as censures. The same thing happened on Channel 13 when they invited the mayoral candidates to a round table discussion. I called the producer, who I won’t name, and said I wanted to be a part of it, and he said no, you can’t do that, we’ve already made arrangements. The other forums have already made arrangements and probably said this guy is an outsider and doesn’t deserve to be heard.<br /><br />O: When I interviewed Odle, D’Amelio and Jarjura they were all interested in whether I was going to interview you and when I said I was, they all seemed happy about it. They all said that was good.<br /><br />Z: (big laugh) Oh brother. Last night I called a show that had Mrs. Odle on it because I wanted to ask Mrs. Odle a question. Laura Nesta’s husband answered the phone and then I was cut off. I called back and he told me they were kind of nervous because it was their first time on TV and they didn’t want to hear my rhetoric. I said I just wanted to ask a question. He asked me what the question was, and I said I wanted to ask Mrs. Odle whether her husband would support an abortion free zone in Waterbury. Mayor Jarjura has said he would support one if it passed through the Board of Aldermen, so I wanted to know how Mr. Odle feels about the issue. Well, Mr. Nesta said I couldn’t ask that question, and hung up on me. See. That one ounce of authority that is invested in Mr. Nesta had to be exercised to the fullest. Every one of these power centers is going to do their utmost to flex their authority to determine who might be elected.<br /><br />O: What do you think about Mayor Jarjura’s real estate developments in Waterbury? Do you thinks that’s dangerous?<br /><br />Z: No. Technically I don’t see it as a problem.<br /><br />O: Some of the projects are going before a board for approval that he appointed people to that board.<br /><br />Z: There might be a conflict there. Overall, you have to understand that a person doesn’t stop living when they are elected to an office. Mr. Jarjura is a business man and he has associates. I can’t make a judgement whether there is anything underhanded being done here, but he can’t stop what he has been doing simply because he is an elected official. If there are improprieties, if there is inside information being shared, or pressure being placed on boards and commissions, well that’s a serious matter.<br /><br />O: The problem he has now is a project going before the Inland Wetlands Commission and the chairperson, Kathy McNamara was appointed by the mayor and also has a full-time job working for WDC. No one is saying the mayor has done anything illegal, it’s more of a perception problem he has. With Waterbury’s rich history of corruption it not might be be such a good idea for him to be mayor and real estate developer at this time in Waterbury’s healing process.<br /><br />Z: You hit the word exactly. Perception is reality for many people. If people believe something unsavory is going on they react. Perhaps it’s above board, perhaps it’s not, we genuinely don’t know. We’ve had so many examples outside of Waterbury; the state rep in Bridgeport, the mayor of Bridgeport, the state treasurer, we’ve had so many proven examples where an office of power was being used inappropriately. So we need to be cautious. If what the mayor is doing is legal, they we have to respect that. Often times things are proclaimed and people are attacked and it’s simply out of some deep animosity one person has for another.<br /><br />O: Like what?<br /><br />Z: Okay, how about this sub-rosa suggestion that the mayor is anti-Italian. See, that’s the kid of thing that drives me crazy.<br /><br />O: But he came out said that Tony D’Amelio was being supported by crooks and felons..<br /><br />Z: All right, but that’s not generic.<br /><br />O: But it does roll back into some of this stuff that there is a link between Joe Santopietro and Phil Giordano and the trouble we’ve had electing young Italian males from Town Plot. We have a history of ethnic voting, just like you were on the ballot in Chicago to capture the Polish vote, there is a mantra inside the Republican Party if there’s not a vowel on the end of your name the party doesn’t want to put you up for election. I spent a considerable amount of time with Tony during his interview letting him address the rumor and innuendo that swirls around this subject. So when the mayor throws that out he is kind of throwing a pig on the table. But it is a very real fear some people have in Waterbury. Jarjura was playing politics with his comments and he has backed off, but it’s a bombshell issue in Waterbury.<br /><br />Z: It’s quite common for people to get caught off-guard during a campaign and make some comment that they regret.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi33HELFQuYWxBQiTv6OPiByoJ-IutDKUEfZqOPBwwccBa0gcLr4SWpvWjvrzajmbikhsw7eipgOJhW1cjhO2Kj4raYKm8n189B2zBo4XCaq7g_8-Jcre5ZjIm38XgWeqmOg7IlgO8k21iV/s1600-h/joe1(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi33HELFQuYWxBQiTv6OPiByoJ-IutDKUEfZqOPBwwccBa0gcLr4SWpvWjvrzajmbikhsw7eipgOJhW1cjhO2Kj4raYKm8n189B2zBo4XCaq7g_8-Jcre5ZjIm38XgWeqmOg7IlgO8k21iV/s400/joe1(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121372540944636818" /></a><br /><br />O: Okay, let’s switch gears. Forty percent of students in Waterbury public school that enter 9th grade are not graduating four years later. How would you address that issue?<br /><br />Z: You might think this is a bit of a stretch, but going back to my Catholic roots, I had an experience the other day in Walden Bookstore. I picked up this book about the most important activities of the past century and they had this section about names. They showed the ten most popular names in America and in the earlier century the name that was most popular was Mary. Then in the 50s and 60s Mary’s name dropped down. I would attribute that to the free radical movements of the 1960s, free love, marijuana, drug excess, anything goes and free sex. Names like John and Joseph were popular names a long time ago, they were biblically based. Now, all that has been swept away. Now let’s get down to our schools. Prayer has been taken out of our schools. There is not to be a mention of God in any of the classrooms. We’ve turned into a pagan, secular society. So what do we do? Our students are not going to school to seriously learn their subjects. They go into school and it’s play time. The moral standards have been declining for decades.<br /><br />O: So how do you deal with that? We can’t name all the kids Mary, Joseph and John and hope that that’s going to keep these kids in school. So how as mayor can you deal with this issue in Waterbury?<br /><br />Z: I would insist that we reinstate prayer in school in Waterbury. Prayer in school is essential because it provides an atmosphere, an aura, to the students and to the teachers, that we are here to do something serious. We’re not here to float airplanes through the air and later on during school take a pot break. We’re here to be serious students to learn the subjects we are supposed to be taught. The way to impart that aura is to offer prayer to guide the students and guide the teachers through that class day. I am certain that all the attendant problems, the truancy, the disrespect to the teachers, the pot smoking after school, all of those things would decline. That’s my view.<br /> I would also promote abstinence only sex education. Pat Hayes (bd of ed president) brought in a beauty queen who advocated abstinence. After Pat Hayes was elected he went completely out of sight. That’s what I keep saying. Pat Hayes is a Catholic. Live your faith. If you are a Catholic you have to be living by one kind of standard, or are you going to be living by the secular standards and embrace that system that you see is destroying us on so many different levels. It’s destroying us on the student level, it’s destroying us on the adult level, destroying us with politics. The only way you can address the problems with students is to impress upon them the need for seriousness and we can do that be reinstating prayer in school.<br /> If we continue down the path we’re going…God only know what lies ahead. But we can look back and see how things were, and make a valid comparison. We are lacking a focus on the human element.<br /><br />O: You have one minute alone with every voter in Waterbury just before they enter the voting booth, what would you say to them to get them to support Joe Zdonczyk for mayor?<br /><br />Z: Plain and simple. It’s what I say to people when I first meet them; My name is Joe Zdonczyk and I am a Catholic, pro-life, pro-family, constitutionally oriented, tax payer sensitive, protector of the Second Amendment right to bear arms and I want to be your mayor and get the government off your back and out of your pockets. That’s where I’m coming from. If you care to support me, great, I need your vote.John Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330863409275028247noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959311154355211412.post-37439884605481087332007-09-11T14:18:00.001-05:002007-12-14T10:16:20.215-05:00September 2007 - Why Tibet MattersThe Entire Planet Has A Stake In Preserving Tibetan Culture - It Holds The Key To A Peaceful Future On Earth <br /><br /><br /><br />Story and Photographs By John Murray<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi48jVDJFxOMEEJOxSrtwnIZ-5tgewBBlqJ5bI-QK7cMzIu135PZykUYpgvCcCOdVNWk8FB89_liZRWUiv9D6EdZq6rN6QavcIOKODsU2Pmz3MpP-FoFQRcJDtbXdVzSzcr7nxIf0Wsm2Gd/s1600-h/The+Dalai+Lama+head+shot+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi48jVDJFxOMEEJOxSrtwnIZ-5tgewBBlqJ5bI-QK7cMzIu135PZykUYpgvCcCOdVNWk8FB89_liZRWUiv9D6EdZq6rN6QavcIOKODsU2Pmz3MpP-FoFQRcJDtbXdVzSzcr7nxIf0Wsm2Gd/s400/The+Dalai+Lama+head+shot+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112720282082204322" /></a><br />(Photograph of the Dalai Lama in Mungod, India, 2003)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUspJO5d7dVWBQnv8mQIeEHnOEPV47dMWFyJEQhH-sfav4AGdaBDFajjjx15UJg6vV2hfNLVthCrF_RaX01KTueNuOyQAFGly6tXxwjD0ws3o80fmOo3VALsN3qMbcuBYnhqCIIfUxdKaX/s1600-h/Loten+1+(web)"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUspJO5d7dVWBQnv8mQIeEHnOEPV47dMWFyJEQhH-sfav4AGdaBDFajjjx15UJg6vV2hfNLVthCrF_RaX01KTueNuOyQAFGly6tXxwjD0ws3o80fmOo3VALsN3qMbcuBYnhqCIIfUxdKaX/s400/Loten+1+(web)" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109029658583492290" /></a><br />(Photograph of Loten performing at TibetFest II in Litchfield, Connecticut, USA, 2006)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6_xnatgk9yeAgJsO_0ZWCLZkOHLgWueaisG5SZHQZ792ZIPF78kRrBar1x-fc3ZJYfzK6w-OlT3814AWYcR3R4oWnXZswz3PyTZ0xLbqYM62Bq2LWZAu5xhd08SxtCgt_PA__JPrD2tuJ/s1600-h/Zoksang+%232(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6_xnatgk9yeAgJsO_0ZWCLZkOHLgWueaisG5SZHQZ792ZIPF78kRrBar1x-fc3ZJYfzK6w-OlT3814AWYcR3R4oWnXZswz3PyTZ0xLbqYM62Bq2LWZAu5xhd08SxtCgt_PA__JPrD2tuJ/s400/Zoksang+%232(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112687670395525746" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br /></span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIgEwy4FER-D02pdeM7GWbA1qM2NowMKbP6YvPm13CFjEqblkAQhVA1ZQczeXHDWQoHbo7z5CjiEcOEXI2wH4Q2gk8Pm4S8jmvxumTTsyrM07GVQgJZWDZegJSF80ZMYonsUbmibNP-vxT/s1600-h/Penpa+%2310+Best(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIgEwy4FER-D02pdeM7GWbA1qM2NowMKbP6YvPm13CFjEqblkAQhVA1ZQczeXHDWQoHbo7z5CjiEcOEXI2wH4Q2gk8Pm4S8jmvxumTTsyrM07GVQgJZWDZegJSF80ZMYonsUbmibNP-vxT/s400/Penpa+%2310+Best(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112678522115185154" /></a><br />(Photograph of Penpa Tsering at TibetFest II)<br /><br />Penpa Tsering sings Tibetan songs with great joy as he fights to keep his endangered culture alive. Penpa, pictured below, is one of 200,000 Tibetan refugees scattered around the world, and thoughts of his homeland are never far from his mind. Growing up in Tibet was difficult for Penpa - can a seven year old boy ever forget the horror of seeing the naked body of his murdered father?<br /><br /> In 1949 the Communist Chinese Army invaded Tibet using the historically inaccurate excuse that Tibet was a region of China. Using the trumped up excuse of reconciliation with the homeland, Chinese officials had a more practical reason for invading Tibet - they wanted to harvest Tibet’s rich natural resources, and they wanted to seize control of the highest plateau in the world for strategic domination of Asia.<br /><br /> China’s army overwhelmed Tibet like a tiger tearing into a rabbit, and for the past 58 years the Chinese have tried to crush all Tibetan resistance to this illegal occupation. For thousands of years Tibetan culture evolved in the isolation of the Himalayan Mountains, the highest region in the world. The culture revolved entirely around spiritual practice and the hub of life and education was based in the Buddhist monasteries dotting the rocky, barren landscape.<br /><br /> After the invasion the Chinese methodically tried to eliminate Tibetan culture by destroying 6000 monasteries and murdering the monks and nuns. During the past 58 years more than 1.2 million Tibetans have died as a direct result of the Chinese occupation.<br /><br /> Tibet’s spiritual and political leader in exile, the Dalai Lama, escaped from Chinese soldiers in the 1950s and has been living as a refugee in northern India for five decades.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBiaR_acBfMNcX1tFAGz8rhSeoXzMSjd6B3-9MXO11yfpN-KVAzBdjWkNzox3QDS2b9-VQvD0psgchyphenhyphen8neSUFd5U040kj8_6ZAarmN6aBFto3XUjyYhX0jPf_UzVd7jQR3Lv00UlDgoH54/s1600-h/Dalai+Lama+Throne+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBiaR_acBfMNcX1tFAGz8rhSeoXzMSjd6B3-9MXO11yfpN-KVAzBdjWkNzox3QDS2b9-VQvD0psgchyphenhyphen8neSUFd5U040kj8_6ZAarmN6aBFto3XUjyYhX0jPf_UzVd7jQR3Lv00UlDgoH54/s400/Dalai+Lama+Throne+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112720144643250834" /></a><br />(Photograph of the Dalai Lama at the Drepung Gomang Monastery in Mungod, India, 2003)<br /><br /> The Dalai Lama - who has sought a peaceful resolution to the conflict for 50 years - is now one of the most respected leaders on earth. He travels the world as an ambassador of peace to raise awareness to the Tibetan plight. For his non-violent approach to resolving the conflict the Dalai Lama received the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, in 1989.<br /><br /> So far we have a sad story with an incomplete ending. So why should we care? There are millions of Africans dying of genocide, famine, malaria and AIDS. Central America is suffocating from poverty, sickness and undrinkable water. And what about here in America? We have millions of our fellow countrymen living Third World lives in the richest most powerful country in the history of the world. Why should Tibetans bask in an international spotlight with Hollywood celebrities and high powered politicians taking up their cause? Why is the Observer writing about Tibet?<br /><br /> It’s their peaceful and non-violent response that sets them apart. Imagine if the Palestinians tried something other than terrorism and suicide bombers in their struggle against Israel. Imagine if the Irish Republican Army used strikes against the British instead of car bombs? Imagine if George W. Bush used diplomacy instead of the U.S. Army in Iraq?<br /><br /> In the last 100 years the most astounding revolutions were non-violent. It was Gandhi and civil disobedience that drove the British from India. It was Dr. Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement that altered human rights abuses in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s. It was Nelson Mandella and non-violence that toppled aparteid in South Africa.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWQm1iJuFsInQ_b0P4jMjY3n96vL0pNOeuDX8419_0sAHvNHX0biQpKvynQRGaxyBVxqTFjg-UP5X6keFJmOMrFPy4kzUnkvExc6rVdFNyQP_LFh5_RTlbLxgaEyoPj21bX5gdotG8FOaj/s1600-h/Dalai+Lama+birds+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWQm1iJuFsInQ_b0P4jMjY3n96vL0pNOeuDX8419_0sAHvNHX0biQpKvynQRGaxyBVxqTFjg-UP5X6keFJmOMrFPy4kzUnkvExc6rVdFNyQP_LFh5_RTlbLxgaEyoPj21bX5gdotG8FOaj/s400/Dalai+Lama+birds+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112720024384166530" /></a><br />(Photograph of the Dalai Lama during a press conference at the Drepung Gomang Monastery)<br /><br /> Although the Dalai Lama’s non-violent struggle will never liberate Tibet from Chinese clutches, his efforts now are to save the rich Tibetan culture from extinction, and to create an autonomous zone in Tibet where Tibetans are free to speak their native tongue and openly practice their religion.<br /><br /> Tibetan culture is remarkable. The world has much to admire in how Tibetans have responded to the Chinese oppression.<br /><br /> Consider the story of Penpa Tsering. Penpa’s father, Kam, worked for a high ranking Buddhist priest which made him a direct target of Chinese aggression. When Penpa was seven years old his father was dragged away from the family and imprisoned for nothing more than being an educated and influential man. Several months later Penpa turned a corner in his town and saw his father, naked, hanging from a rope around his neck, dead.<br /><br /> “I touched his foot, it was cold,” Penpa said. “I tried to get him down but I couldn’t reach.”<br /><br /> Shocked and stunned, Penpa began to pray.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7h9NsnovzBQmAV8augyiKE1zE8_4c55dCiumCCkEzpOQITCd1XBunvAmBIMpa1wvnb-b_ExsMicqr-fVLGeCoWtd39QMQ553oJSkjCNWtGt7F1Ay3tn3oSF8LsvAX3f5ltCK2LoGN94l1/s1600-h/Penpa+%232+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7h9NsnovzBQmAV8augyiKE1zE8_4c55dCiumCCkEzpOQITCd1XBunvAmBIMpa1wvnb-b_ExsMicqr-fVLGeCoWtd39QMQ553oJSkjCNWtGt7F1Ay3tn3oSF8LsvAX3f5ltCK2LoGN94l1/s400/Penpa+%232+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112680201447397906" /></a><br />(Photograph of Penpa Tsering at TibetFest II)<br /><br /> “I prayed that I not get angry,” Penpa said. “We lost my father’s body, but not his spirit.” Penpa asked a neighbor to cut his father down and clothe him. Then he made a prayer for his father’s murderers. “I pray for them not to kill another,” he said.<br /><br /> Penpa Tsering’s response to his father’s brutal murder is mind-bending to most western cultures. We seek revenge, an eye for an eye. Yet it is Penpa’s non-violent response that holds out the best hope for humanity. Violence creates more violence and leads humanity down a path towards ultimate destruction. There has to be a better way to live on this planet.<br /><br /> And it is in this spirit that a non-profit event, TibetFest, was created in northwest Connecticut to assist refugee Tibetans in their struggle to preserve their endangered culture. For past two years TibetFest was held in White’s Woods in Litchfield, and Tibetan musicians came from San Francisco, Boston, Boulder, New York City and Switzerland to perform on a makeshift stage surrounded by hundreds of acres of trees and wetlands in a gorgeous nature preserve. <br /><br /> Traditional dance troupes, Tibetan handicrafts, Tibetan restaurants (with momos and chai tea), and refugee Tibetan monks from Drepung Gomang Monastery in southern India, and from the Namgyal Monastery in Dharmsala, India, created elaborate sand mandalas.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB_NsPYrkJs4-r8qPyne7d1YK-mdZBtyJ881NSgCVtEoKjmW5jJNDb-riGYFbIBf_guZdhq_RerI505DhFMS4NKO6EyPDmA1wTFJeWgpV_X57xHIUVfNi3vGaROfIMoAoNo_0nyyBGdX2y/s1600-h/Dancers+%235(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB_NsPYrkJs4-r8qPyne7d1YK-mdZBtyJ881NSgCVtEoKjmW5jJNDb-riGYFbIBf_guZdhq_RerI505DhFMS4NKO6EyPDmA1wTFJeWgpV_X57xHIUVfNi3vGaROfIMoAoNo_0nyyBGdX2y/s400/Dancers+%235(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112687421287422546" /></a><br /><br /> This year TibetFest III will be staged at the Goshen Fairgrounds on Route 63 on September 29th and 30th. The event will run from 10 to 5 pm. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students. Children under five are free. Overnight camping is allowed on site.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCnAFDv7AJbrMe0-eQy_1VwZxRybiyx8ntx6ED1BO0YOEYrhs3sEa8MMhCe_U4rgdJc2kg7XLjHmgOPpKLB3wSBUa7tpJ-OjPSUlmpw24eDWGkcQ-sK3N1brPT-bWG6YHpxpDA38ubkF7J/s1600-h/Girls+dancing(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCnAFDv7AJbrMe0-eQy_1VwZxRybiyx8ntx6ED1BO0YOEYrhs3sEa8MMhCe_U4rgdJc2kg7XLjHmgOPpKLB3wSBUa7tpJ-OjPSUlmpw24eDWGkcQ-sK3N1brPT-bWG6YHpxpDA38ubkF7J/s400/Girls+dancing(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112687554431408738" /></a><br /><br /> Volunteers are needed and can contact Michelle Weik at 860-567-0086, or e-mail her at michelleweik@optonline.net For more information contact The Northwest Connecticut Convention and Visitors Bureau at 860-567-4506, or 888-588-7880.<br /><br /> One of the performers during the past two festivals, Techung, pictured below, from San Francisco, said the power of gathering refugee Tibetans in one place is enormous.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitMtjYImy-wVwWtB-Ty2vrv4xfFXffLBopMiZ_7nfr3umxJdBzjuP7VdM1ICNLVUR6s9JMoFbuUoCL9YoYnNnWkRq574rB1VV7Hwuq03FNtSYs4z9uTT8a9M9zy0ZIBUqtxHs51lsBNAm0/s1600-h/Techung+%232+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitMtjYImy-wVwWtB-Ty2vrv4xfFXffLBopMiZ_7nfr3umxJdBzjuP7VdM1ICNLVUR6s9JMoFbuUoCL9YoYnNnWkRq574rB1VV7Hwuq03FNtSYs4z9uTT8a9M9zy0ZIBUqtxHs51lsBNAm0/s400/Techung+%232+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112683040420780578" /></a><br />(Photograph of Techung at TibetFest II)<br /><br /> “This is so important,” he said. “It keeps us connected to our past through music and dance.”<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4sV3TmJqzu0zuOtWXXRgfdYviCud32C0A9yzlHZAHnzn5-Q2z_apfaIRg5tF2g4vDXwzvGWiPQm_jHXKmHWW45S2HBOq2D_I1T8MyuYmwjPuDGoZ2fl3G9n7dNLLMgOTprpFZUE3M0_5N/s1600-h/Techung+%235+(web).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4sV3TmJqzu0zuOtWXXRgfdYviCud32C0A9yzlHZAHnzn5-Q2z_apfaIRg5tF2g4vDXwzvGWiPQm_jHXKmHWW45S2HBOq2D_I1T8MyuYmwjPuDGoZ2fl3G9n7dNLLMgOTprpFZUE3M0_5N/s400/Techung+%235+(web).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112683177859734066" /></a><br />(Photograph of Techung at TibetFest II)<br /><br /> Techung, who leads a Tibetan Circle Dance at the end of each day, said he is frustrated “when the attention of the world is on war and globalization. My community in Tibet and in India are inspired when the global community supports our cause. We understand that there are many worthwhile causes in the world, but our non-violent struggle to free Tibet from China is one that can be a stepping stone to future conflicts in the world.”<br /><br /><br /> Non-violence is our only chance.John Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330863409275028247noreply@blogger.com40