MORE RARE THAN THE FABLED CHUPACABRA

"Fall River School Committee plans special meeting
By Will Richmond
Herald Hews Staff Reporter
Posted Nov 17, 2009 @ 01:05 PM
FALL RIVER —
The School Committee will hold a special meeting on Monday, Nov. 23, to discuss recommendations for the position of interim recovery chief financial officer.The meeting is scheduled to take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Henry Lord Middle School, 151 Amity St. The position is required as part of the state mandated recovery plan to improve the school system.

The interim hire is expected to address issues identified in the district’s accountability and Massachusetts School Business Officials reviews and lead the recruitment and selection process for a permanent CFO. The interim person will also aid in the transition once a full-time employee is selected for the position. Raquel Pellerin has served as the school department’s interim CFO for about a year and half."

Ah yes, Ms Raquel Pellerin. Fall River native, graduate of UMASS/Dartmouth for both undergraduate and graduate degrees, MBA, and all around utility player for both the School Department and City Hall. Moves easily between the City Auditor's Office (accounting clerk) to the School Department (Grants administration) all the way up to the position of Director of OMBA, ol' Hamhocks Office of Management, Budget and Accountability, three terms I thought were mutually exclusive from ol' Hamhocks running of the Mayoral Office for the last two years.

Yes, I'm right. After a brief review of even briefer attempts by ol' Hamhocks' Administration to provide real management, meaningful , timely and transparent budgets, and most critically, not being able to be accountable for a damn thing , I must say they are most certainly mutually exclusive entities! And to top it off, Rocky Racoon Pellerin was not only hand picked by ol' Hamhocks to fill this position created for her, but she is the very same Manager under his control that keeps waffling on whether there is a deficit in this years (FY10) School Budget. Hence my moniker for her, the Schizophrenic School

CFO. (There's a deficit, there's no deficit, THERE'S A DEFFFFFIIICITTT, NO! THERE'SSSSS NNNNOOOoooooOOOOO DEFIIiiiiccciiittt) Just like Ed Muskie in Hunter S. Thompson's classic work "Fear and Loathing On the Campaign Trail", methinks Rocky would do well to obtain some of Ed's IGOBAINE and return to normal!

"Fall River Excellent" is the term that MUST be used to describe Rocky's ability to screw everything up that she touches. Her parents must have been faves of ol' Hamocks, that I can tell you. I'm still kinda curious about the aborted attempt at coming to terms with Freetown at the beginning of 2008 for that Town Accountant position. That's usually a sign that someone with these advanced degrees wants out of a bad work situation....Could that have been...with Dr. Fischer? Who knows, all I know is that Ms. All World financial genus wanted to work for that paragon of management excellence, the Town of Freetown, you know, that "impressive" little town next door with the "colorful" Freetown State Forest.

Maybe she wanted to search the State Forest for the elusive and legendary CHUPACABRA in order to make sense of the loss of life surrounding the forest in Freetown.

" The elusive creature known as the Chupacabra has been commonly reported in parts of Mexico and Latin American communities throughout the last 50 years. The name's translation is "goat sucker" as farmers would find their cows sucked dry of blood after witnessing a Chupacabra.
The way the creature in the above video is hunched over, suggests that this could in fact be the world's first video of a real life Chupacabra.
Notice the large slanted eyes and appearance similarities to the alien grey. Is a Chupacabra a primitive form of extraterrestrial on the loose ? We are keeping our eye on this one! "

Yes, a perfect explanation for all that job jumping. It's not banal favoritism, aggressive opportunism or even tasteless patronage going on here, it's the use of her advanced degree to do the hallowed work of sacred science, to search the primeval forests and nether regions of Southeastern Massachusetts for the elusive and dangerous CHUPACABRA! And what other municipality could be considered more primeval and nether on the Southcoast than Fall River! I have been far too harsh! She blinded me with science! (BEEP_BOO_BOOP)! I have it all wrong! Silly me indeed.

But wait...what could be more rare the the elusive CHUPACABRA, you ask? Could it be....yes, it just might be.......YES DEFINTELY...it's the fabled "Nationwide Search for Qualified Candidates" for the permanent CFO position, something not seen on the Southcoast, or Fall River, for decades. Long thought to be extinct, proof of it's existence will be tested in the next year or so by the Fall River School Committee and the very impartial and scientific Rocky Racoon Pellerin.

And if you really believe that the fix for that job hasn't already been made, that would be more rare than the fabled CHUPACABRA!

Economic Development or Political Hegemony ?

" In 1978, the City of Fall River established the private, nonprofit Fall River Office of Economic Development (FROED) as its "one-stop shop" for business and economic development. Incorporated as Jobs for Fall River, Inc., FROED's key objectives are job creation, job retention and the expansion of the city's tax base. The office maintains a professional staff that is organized into four main areas - finance, business development and marketing, business retention and project administration. "

(source: FROED website)

Let me start by asking a simple question. Why does the balding gentleman (above), whose name is Ken Fiola, always have his hands out? What is he looking to get from you and I? I always thought he was supposed to be giving back TO US! At least that's what we should expect from a patronage pick appointed to the job of Executive Director of the Fall River Office Of Economic Development (FROED) that carries with it a salary of over $160,000 a year! I wonder if he has a Masters Degree in Regional Economics or Regional Economic Planning? Because that is the type of degree you need to have, AT A MINIMUM, to adequately perform the duties of the position. If he holds any lesser of a degree his being in this critical job is a complete and utter joke. Combine that with ol' Hamhocks personal choice of a long time toadie and hack for the City CD office, and a worrisome picture is starting to develop during these last disgusting days of the terror filled petulant swine known as ol' Hamhocks.

As opposed to the statement of purpose, seen above in quotations, and which is the very first thing on the FROED website, new articles of incorporation were drawn up to change the purpose of FROED to include expansion into neighboring communities. One of ol' Hamhocks favorite puppets, Atty. Jay Clarkin, who also works for the City, hammered out the new articles to make the outlook of FROED more regional. The reason given is the fact that 35 acres of the future "Bio-World" 300 acres lies in Freetown. Somerset and Westport are also now to be hegemonized into the FROED sphere of influence.

What is also of worry is the fact that local financial institutions desire this expansion to give them more opportunities to loan to safe risk, er, opportunities, and leverage federal and state loan programs, and associated loan guarantees, in the immediate Fall River area. This is probably because there are no takers for business expansion here in good old Fall River. Seems old Ken "Hands Out" Fiola isn't very good at creating the conditions for small businesses creation and expansion here, and needs to "reach out" to contiguous municipalities, sort of like the Soviet Union did to Eastern European states after WWII!

Something just doesn't feel right, like most things in any way related to ol' Hamhocks. This guy Fiola hasn't exactly set the world on fire in developing jobs here in Fall River. I personally think something like the following is going on: The powers that be in Fall River's banking and business community want to put money out there to make money for their banks and develop new , associated businesses to strengthen the local economy first, and create jobs for Fall River, about TENTH! These other communities are not just going to let their vacant property be developed to create jobs and wealth for Fall River! Think about that for a minute. It just doesn't wash or make sense. But it does take care of these banks, and the large business owners who control them because, for ol' Hamhocks, it's take care of my gang time before he's out on his keester. It also paves the way to justify a bigger salary for Ken "Hands Out" Fiola due to having three new sucker communities in his bailiwick, as well as more jobs to be created within FROED as well. I'm sure there will be a nationwide search to fill those jobs...HAHAHAHAHA!

" This clarifies our mission to create jobs as a result of the loans we make,” Fiola said. The board corporation amended the bylaws to say its aim is to stimulate job creation in those towns, “encourage a large flow of private investment funds from banks, investments houses, insurance companies and other financial institutions. ” (source: FR Herald News)

No, this is a sham. All the old familiar names, Fiola, Clarkin, ol' Hamhocks, Amaral and Mederios are attached to this. And when you combine his trying to tie up the CD office with his old administrative assistant in the top CD job, and that office's control of additional federal funds and grants, ol' Hamhocks has just delivered the regions economic development and the safe loan interest payments backed by the federal government directly into the hands of the banking community of Fall River. N0 risk loans out, gaurenteed income to the banks for those paying back the loans that would not have been made otherwise. Nice squared circle here. And nobody knows if a single new job will be created as a result. And really, just exactly how many jobs has Hands Out Fiola created since he's been the Director of FROED?

Naw, this whole thing is kinda smelly. In fact, it stinks!

The Principle of the Six (6) P's

Bob King Pig meeting with various City Officials. Durfee principal (2nd to right of BKP) with hand on MMB's (Ms. Porkette) head.

"B" is for Bob

"K" is for King

"P" is for Pig

Bob King Pig

Well, it's time for a bit of wondering aloud. There are strange things happening in Fall River. For a City that has just elected a new Mayor, the old one seems to have put the petal to the metal, to turn an old phrase, not just put his stamp on everything he sees, but to scorch those things, and every institution in Fall River, with his personal branding iron. The smell of burning flesh is just plain ugly and unmistakable.

Case in point. The principal of Durfee High School claims to have sufficient saving from within his school's budget to afford new computers with which to more fully utilize the wireless system and other improvements to the computer system at Durfee. This improvement to the computer system was made possible by a grant, a grant which cannot be spent on new computers themselves. The amount of savings is approximately $200,000. We have been consistently told for over a year now that there exists a budget shortfall in the School Department budget due to the Teacher's Union refusal to accept an 8% pay cut and reduction in negotiated Health Benefits. Where did such savings come from?

" The school is projected to save approximately $200,000 in fiscal 2010. The bulk of the savings is due to teacher retirements and defections that occurred after the annual spending plan was established. The teachers who left Durfee were replaced by new hires at a lower pay rate.Marshall said additional savings is also expected through midyear retirements.Both Marshall and Superintendent Meg Mayo-Brown said those teachers will likely be replaced by long-term substitutes until the end of the school year.Marshall is asking for School Committee support to use those savings, and additional money saved on textbooks and supplies. "

Ok...so after the 9C cuts and the resulting FY10 budget, REAL teachers and department heads started leaving after seeing the handwriting on the wall, that Fall River talked a good game about teaching it's regular students and improving education system wide, but in reality, didn't give a damn about anyone but talented kids and took measures to work in the opposite direction. Yes, quite an interesting word "direction" is.

You see, I cannot help but think all of this was at the DIRECTION of the soon to be ex-mayor, ol' Hamhocks LaRue, but known across the City as "Bob King Pig (BKP)"! That's why the vast and overwhelming majority of voters kicked his porcine butt out of office, for making possible such personal intervention that results in these types of destructive "directions" . It worked something like this.

First, BKP decided his regal reign would last far beyond his requied two terms (Required for a sweet, feather bedded retirement). He therefore decided to make the world into his own image and likeness . He immediately became involved in the whorry business of patronage appointments (see last weekends Herald News article about "WIB"), including hiring a personal driver with your tax dollars, although he'll still tell you, as his knows grows, that she does other things for him ( I don't even want to know!) and a phalanx of talentless, overpaid attorneys. (I know the terms "overpaid' and "attorneys" are often redundant).

Second, then began the purges, "the night of the long knives and forks", of the Cd Office and most critically, the School Department. BKP had manufactured, at his personal "direction", the framing and prosecution of School Superintendent Fischer in a sham of an administrative trial that would make l'affaire Dreyfus look like an after school detention. And as any good puppet master would do, he made sure he found a willing supplicant to replace Fischer who would do his bidding and who shared his values...blind ambition and obsequious fawning by underlings. I have absolutely no doubt what-so-ever that BKP found his own personal "Porkette" in MMB well before he pulled the trigger on Fischer. That's usually how all despotic dictators handle their business. It's the original application of the " Principle of the Six (6) P's" . I'll explain that later!

The budget for FY10 was an outgrowth of the tsunami of pain which was the "9C' cut laden budget for FY 09. Like any scheming politician, BKP sought to use this situation to hegemonize his absolute rule of all he oversaw in his kingdom. With a state review of his School System underway, he demanded that the School Department come in with a budget less than that which was required by state law. He also reduced other manpower driven departments in City Fire and Police, laying off 150 or so Public Safety officers, along with scores of other City employees. This was the official start of his, and the school's efficacy, downfall.

The City's three biggest unions, the Teachers, Fire and Police, all had contracts to be negotiated. The FY 10 Budget was based on a set of ridiculous assumptions that all employees would take an 8% reduction in pay and a lesser health insurance plan, leaving the issue of final balancing until a later day. Immediately, conspiracy theories abounded centering on how this FY 10 budget , when combined with BKP's known tendency towards policy and manpower machinations, was some sort of way to manipulate a re-election scenario to favor BKP above all others, to paint him as "Saint ol' Hamhocks", restoring order out of chaos just prior to the November election.

Once the FY 10 budget was finalized, the exodus of long time subject matter-certified teachers and department heads at the School Department, but Durfee in particular, began in earnest. Then came the decision to replace these professional educators with much cheaper new hires and, most appallingly, long term substitute teachers. High priced administrators also ate up some of those monies made free by the loss of long time teachers, some due naturally from retirement, and department heads. Several administrators were known long time associates of MMB . MMB seemed to learn from her sponsor and certified teacher in despotism and patronage, BKP. The fact that the two are partners in crime can easily be seen any evening the School Committee meets. It is quite a performance indeed.

Look, I think it's great that AP courses and the program itself have been increased. (I am also just as sure that MMB's kids do not enroll in ANY classes taught by non-certified instructors!) But I would like to know how these so called professional educators deem it a good thing for the schools, and Durfee in particular, to go from November to June without subject-certified teachers in many, many courses? As a parent I would revolt and demand that my child, if they were in the middle of the pack academically, had the same resources to help them as do gifted students . Who makes this type of decision and on what basis? This one's got to be explained in detail, and in public.

I think it a great thing to save monies internally to buy new computers, but while the teachers pay is still not cut 8% for the year, and while contract negotiations are ongoing and, therefore, the current fiscal year School Department appropriation is being overspent, why not save this money to balance the budget. This entire argument to "get a three year lease right now before we loose this deal" is crap, utter and total BS! Who is kidding who Mr. Principal? I worked in better managed communities than Fall River, with much higher rated School Systems than Fall River's , and know this is a complete crock! Better come up with a much better explanation. I have grave doubts about this whole last minute stuff going on here. A more suspicious person might conclude that this is one of BKP's famous "final days in office" attempts to push a large lease contract to a friend of a friend. In fact, I AM that person! That makes you and MMB complicit in a termination level of malfeasance. Enjoy!

Of course, maybe it only looks like The School Committee, led by the firm porcine hand of BKP, and his supplicant MMB, don't care about educating ALL the children of Fall River. Maybe this replacing long term, higher paid and also subject certified teachers with lower paid newbies and substitutes at a low hourly wage rate is totally misunderstood by those outside the School Department. Maybe it's because Durfee is in its self-study year for accreditation by NEASC and next year the process starts in earnest. And maybe the fact that the School Department wants a " teacher evaluation tool", some sort of "improvement plan", which is not in the current Teachers Contract and is , we hear, the key sticking point in the Teacher Contract negotiations that these BKP-like bullying tactics are being played out. But the kids and parents are paying the REAL price here.

The state won't approve that School Recovery Plan unless the teachers settle with the city. And the settlement won't come about while BKP is still around, that I can tell you is a lead pipe cinch because the Teacher's Union hates his guts. Guess you know how they feel about MMB too, and anyone closely associated with her. So MMB will start to see BPK's support on the School Committee start to fall away, issue by issue. And so shall MMB's. Get the old resume' polished up MMB. Six weeks and your cover is completely GONE!!!!! The City's budget will NOT be balanced until next year. BKP will be in Florida snookered on the type of wine he was probably drinking at lunch the day he was behind the wheel that fateful "T-Bone" incident occurred. (You just know that had to be it for all the politicians in the car with him to act like they were 16 year olds on a Saturday night not wanting to call their parents from the Police Station for a discussion with the Sargent and a ride home.) So get your ducks in line now MMB. Be prepared. Oh yeah, the "Principle of the Six(6) P's"!

Well, you see, BKP was caught by fate and unwise decisions. He never got to exploit his over $200,000 campaign war chest, or City government full of hand picked appointments throughout the City who would run things for years while BKP mailed it in after getting voted in for his critical, money laden retirement making second term. No, he blew it. He screwed up by making the kind of heartless, stupid decisions that you are making right now as School Superintendent. You learned some lessons far too well. So don't screw this one up and get your resume' prepared, get your feelers out for new horizons. Don't do what BKP did when he lost the primary and has been acting like he matters ever since. He failed to live up to the Principle of the Six (6) P's, which my mentor and now, best friend, taught me on my first job in the business out of graduate school so very long ago. It goes like this:

1)Prior

2)Preparation

3)Prevents

4)Piss

5)Poor

6)Performance

It never fails !

PATRONAGE, QUID PRO QUO AND SINECURE : Fall River's Legacy of Shame

To understand the issue, we must first understand the words:

"DICTIONARY DEFINITIONS" of the following pertinent words -* Sinecure:
A position or office that requires little or no work but provides a salary. * Patronage:

Nepotism, bias, favouritism, preferential treatment, partiality a system based on corruption and political patronage.

* Quid pro quo:
Something for something; that which a party receives (or is promised) in return for something he/she does or gives or promises.

* 3-MBT:

The actual name is 3-methylbut-2-ene-1-thiol, or 3-MBT for short, or also known as "skunky thiol"

Second, we must review the issue.

Consider this set of circumstances. In a City long known for politicians using their influence and the power of their offices to either directly appoint, or indirectly use their influence to have appointed, people they favor who are hired for positions in and around City government as a matter of due course. Many times these individuals are qualified, by length of service within an office or department, or their ability, education and hands on training and experience to perform the duties required of a specific position. But in just as many instances, these politicians make appointments of unqualified individuals, or individuals that have served these politicians for years. As a result of these appointments to reward years of personal loyalty and service, usually resulting in considerably increased salaries related to "priming the retirement" pump, these individuals take the place of other more qualified and deserving candidates, especially those from within the specific department or operation involved, or preventing the consideration of more dynamic individuals from outside the department.

Oft times this situation becomes one of the awarding of one supervisory position, which the appointing politician legally controls, under a sub rosa (under-the-table) agreement that in exchange for that appointment from an inferior position to the one they are being appointed to, the new appointee will in turn hire a person the politician wants them to hire to replace them.

So in the parlance' of the three defined words, the act of a politician appointing, or having appointed by prior agreement, a long time, loyal employee to a better paying job, is patronage. If the job that person is appointed to does not require "heavy lifting" in terms of the expectations of that persons performance, the appointment can be seen as a sinecure for the appointee. And if the unqualified or patronage appointee is hired as a result of a prior agreement between the politician and the appointing authority controlled in some manner by the politician, say, by a promise of the top job itself, then you have the classic trade off or quid-pro-quo.

This sounds exactly like what has PROBABLY occurred between ol' Hamhocks Larue, out-going mayor, and his appointment of Alison Brett, a seemingly very qualified appointee, to replace the retiring City Clerk Ms. Carol Valcourt. By all appearances and accounts, Ms. Brett is very qualified to have the City Clerk position. That's where the situation gets murky.

Ol' Hamhocks longtime employee, Ms. Ines Leite, Hamhock’s director of communications and public information officer , has announced she is applying for the job. Complicating the situation is a letter by five (5) , and up to seven(7), City Councilors requesting that Ms. Brett consider Colleen Taylor, who works out of the City Clerk’s Office as City Council secretary, who is also seeking the job. " City Councilors Leo Pelletier and Pat Casey said they believe the 15-year City Council secretary will be unfairly passed over in favor of the Correia staff member. " (source:FRHN)

So, the stage is set for a typically needless City of Fall River Mayoral inspired passion play which will no doubt involve rumors of back room deals, the application of the three words, quid-pro-quo, patronage and sinecure, as well as possible framing of the race for Mayor in 2011. I honestly feel bad for two people...mayor-elect Will Flanagan and Ms. Brett.

You see, ol Hamhocks is such an anachronism, he is so entrenched in old fashioned politics (I mean mid 20th century politics!) that he can do nothing but be pecks bad boy breaking all the petty rules to irritate the City that voted NOT to retain him as their Mayor. I swear this guy will have to be removed from the 6th floor with pry bars and trained, deadly accurate firing skunks. It only stands to wonder whether all ol' Hamhock's patronage appointments, which actually go back two years upon him taking office, will be retained by the new administration.

A couple of crazy thoughts here. Why not let Ms. Brett make her own appointment? It's her office, and if it performs in one awful fashion after 2 years, fire her! Period, end of story. I mean, the Secretary of State publishes a very specific manual of the responsibilities of the City Clerks, with minute detail of procedures, forms, applicable state MGL's and statement of general philosophy. It is forms, requirements, licences and reporting deadlines for the records and documents the City Clerk is required to administer and keep. It is far from rocket science but requires persnickety attention to do well. So appoint her, if she's qualified, leave her alone, and be done with it. Frankly, this is one office that should, by agreement of all parties, be independent and separate from politics. Oh, that's right, this IS Fall River , after all.

The other suggestion that will surprise the tens of , er, ten that read this blog is.......... have Mayor-elect Flanagan repeat the taboo of his predecessor and request every one's resignation! At least this way, HE gets to make the critical appointments needed to help run the City. After all, he'll have every possible enemy down his neck for the next two years, why not let him appoint HIS people to critical positions as long as they are qualified. In my experience, good qualified people are recognized by those in power and those wanting to be in power....you find someone qualified who is doing a good job, you don't go around firing them just because you won an election. Only a foolish person would do that, and God only knows, there are plenty of problems requiring the new mayor's time and attention. "Get even" or patronage appointments are not one of them. Fire the one's who stink at what they do, regardless of who hired them.

Ok..let's see how this mess is resolved. I love drama, don't you?

Remembering Veterans on Veteran's Day

War. I grew up a little different than most kids. I always knew the cost of war was not always left on the battle field . How could it possibly be! Watching bullets or shrapnel ripping the flesh of your best friends and comrades, possibly blowing their limbs off, or head, or cutting you in half in less than a blink of an eye is not something a young man of 17 or 20 or 25 can witness without having THOSE dreams every night for the rest of their life. Those distant eyes. A person there, but not really there.

Survivors of the war suffer, in many ways, worse then those who died on the battlefield, for their suffering, however terrible it was, is over. But having those dreams, those ever present nightmares. Years of the same explosions and screams and pain. Horrific memories of the crying children and grown men yelling out for their mothers after bad wounds to the gut. The incredible indignities perpetrated upon survivors taken prisoner, and living the shame attached to that. The endless suffering and terror that echo forever within their very souls. Knowing today that the best they could ever hope for is not forgetting the experiences, only how to make it through another day alive and as peaceful as possible. Sometimes that was , and is, done any way possible. And so it was with my father.

My father was captured in the Battle of the Bulge. He spent the rest of WWII in a prison camp deep within Germany . He and many, many others suffered through cold, shoeless winters, potato peel soup as a daily ration, lice, typhus, and because of the lack of any fruit, Berri-Berri. When he was captured he weighed 172 pounds. At wars end he weighed 121 pounds. He, and his comrades we made to work at hard labor. He spent over a year stateside in a military hospital in San Diego trying to recover from his various illnesses obtained while in German captivity. He would only say this about it...if he had to do it over, he would have gladly died than being taken prisoner. I never doubted that what he said was the truth.

My father would not discuss the events that occurred during his time in uniform. On occasion, when we would play with our small plastic soldiers and tanks he would instruct us on "setting up fields of fire' and "defilades for cover" and "artillery support" and how useless bazookas really were in comparison to Tiger tanks. Little by slow the details would leak out. But as quickly as the words would be spoken, he would start to retract. You could see the pain etched across his face as if it were all happening again. The points were absolutely never followed up. It was Dad, after all...how at that young age could you think of saying something? But you could literally feel the agony of your own father. And somehow you knew the whole WAR thing was not as easy as you originally thought.

The Battle of the Bulge was not some romantic incident, it was abject, brutal terror inflicted upon mostly 17 and 18 year old kids who had their 90 days basic training and that's about it. It was a nightmare for everyone on both sides it touched. That movie with Henry Fonda was just that..a lousy story made up by Hollywood that can not possibly render the actual event or the actual feelings of the men who fought it. How could it?

The true irony of it all was the fact that our next door neighbor in Boston was an immigrant who came over from Germany after the war. My father was a private man, and did not know his neighbor of 7 years had served as a member of the Wehrmacht during WWII. The man was a German equivalent of a G.I.. He spent what seemed an entire afternoon at the fence side , talking to his neighbor. These two one-time opponents talked about something only they could discuss. A tiny, private world. They eventually parted, and I recall asking my father if he liked the man now. He shook his head and flatly said, "No, I hate him." I never saw my father ever acknowledge his existence again.

My father died an alcoholic. In many ways , growing up in that home was like reliving some of his worst wartime experiences, the anger, fear, terror, the shame. Looking back, being so young, it was not possible to divorce the drama I was living out with him from the experiences he himself had suffered that made our own lives hell. It was not possible to look back with any understanding of his hell, his terror, that would never, did never, go away. Only much, much later as an adult was I able to see what was really going on. What a terrible thing a War is. How ravaged each person who has experienced it must be, at least in some small way. I doubt it to be very small, actually.

Remember all our Veterans who served our country to keep us free. In many ways, those who served, always serve the rest of their lives. War is a forever experience and leaves you changed in the most profound ways. It creates those tiny, private worlds that are impenetrable to us all who have not witnessed it. Remember them always, regardless of when and where they served. May God bless them and keep them close.

American History MUST Be Taught !!!

I saw this comment posted in the HN today...it disturbed me greatly.

" mountainview76
1 day ago
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I hope school committee members will address MMB's shameful decision to remove American history from this city's middle schools. This is the second year now that thousands of middle school-aged students have not received ANY American history lessons. Shouldn't the study of our own country's history be one that is studied in all grades every year by the students in this city's public schools? Is any excuse acceptable? She will tell you that American history is not covered on any middle school MCAS exams. That is the reason she has moved the study of American history to the high school. It is part of the Grade 10 MCAS testing program. Because it is not on the MCAS test, the students will not learn anything in Grades 6, 7 and 8 about our own country. Ridiculous. Shameful. Un-American. Talk about teaching to the test...at a time when patriotism and pride in being American is being challenged in so many different areas. This issue is not about money...it is an issue that should be very easy to rectify. Show some pride,school committee members, and stand up for the thousands of kids in the middle schools who are being denied the opportunity to learn about the great country they live by MMB's ridiculous decision. No one wants to talk about this. No one wants to hold her accountable. Veterans' Day is right around the corner. What have middle school students learned about this day in schools where the teachers are not allowed to teach American history? Perhaps parents, guardians, veterans and other members of the Fall River community will attend the next School Committee meeting scheduled for Monday night, November 16, 6:30 PM, at the Henry Lord Middle School, to let MMB know this policy has to be changed. I wonder if any School Committee member will address this topic."

I am not some slave to fashion, or some apologist for any particular cause. But I am the son of a man who served in World War II and finished the war in a POW camp in Germany after his capture in the Battle of the Bulge. Prior to that he was in the Citizens Conservation Corps , the "CCC", during the Great Depression. I am a distant relative of John Adams as well as the great grandson of an Irish couple who landed in Boston and knew the discouragement of "Irish Need Not Apply" signs when they went to find work. I remember the day JFK was shot because I was in school that day and everything stopped as the nuns turned on television sets in the classrooms and we watched everything in horror and shock. I clearly remember the Cuban Missile Crisis, and also watching the Vietnam War on TV each night at dinner time. And I most certainly remember Woodstock, Bull Connor sicking dogs on Civil Rights protesters, and the takeover of Administration Buildings on the Harvard Campus by anti-war protesters. That was the history I've known, and the history I wish my children to know. And they did come to know it because their mother and I could conceive of no other possible way for them to go out into the world. To not know your country's history is to walk into the larger world blind and without the ability to speak.

The purpose of learning history is far more than the simple adage "those who are not aware of history are doomed to repeat it". It is our own identity, how we became what we are, why it happened, and the factors involved in getting there. It is the gateway to our future, because every time you look back, you understand where you are today and what the possibilities are for tomorrow. The past influences what we are able to see today, and our dreams of the future help us see things in the past differently, all in a continuous cycle that never stops. Learning history, if you are a thinking person, helps you analyze all you do and all you wish to do, not just what has already happened.

History only starts with dates, places and names. History, and your knowledge of history, reminds you of exactly who YOU are and what YOU are all about. It defines us all in the most important ways. It feeds our identities, our imaginations and can inspire us in incredibly intense and wonderful ways. And most importantly, it has the power to change lives!

So when I see the comments above, and I have other people tell me it's true, is it any wonder that in a City full of immigrant families and indigent families with little hope that teaching history is abandoned
with such ease in order to meet some arbitrary notion of what to teach the children in our community. MCAS is important, but why does learning history have to be disposed of so effortlessly? This is both a shame and an abomination. It's not as if all the rest of the day is actually being spent on teaching English and math so successfully! On the contrary, according to any measurement.

What we cannot have in the City of Fall River are three distinct de facto tracks - one for brilliant students with all AP classes, including history, one for poor students who can barely read and write OR speak acceptable English, and one huge track in the middle for everyone else to learn only English and ARITHMETIC (because "math" means "the calculus", which I am sure is only understood by track one students) in order to pass this terrible MCAS test. And you and I both know that this process starts in Middle School. Instead of "No child left behind", it's more like "No child left with a mind"

This cannot stand. You can not justify this, other than to say School Administration is only trying to build efficacy numbers and not minds. I tell you one thing, all my years of studying history tells me this is all about cowardice by the School Administration and nothing else. THERE IS NO REASON WHY AMERICAN HISTORY CANNOT BE TAUGHT WHILE PREPARING CHILDREN TO PASS THE MCAS TEST CHECKPOINTS AS THEY GROW OLDER. NONE. To make this argument is not leadership it is the complete abdication of responsibility and cowardice. Our students and our community deserve better. If our schools cannot accomplish teaching English, Arithmetic and American History at the same time, maybe it's time to rip it all down and start over. What a shameful set of affairs.

AN OPEN LETTER TO WILL FLANAGAN

His Honor Mayor Will Flanagan

Dear Mayor Flanagan:

I would like to congratulate you for your impressive win over the candidate I supported, City Councilor Cathy Ann Viveiros. She is a Fall River patriot, as I know you are, and is a fine and good person as well. She fought a hard and spirited campaign. Please do not hold against her the words or actions of some of her more zealous supporters. You yourself have quite a few hyper-spirited individuals in your coterie of supporters as well, and both sets are part and parcel of electoral politics. Their actions are predictable but must be forgivable as well. It is time to move forward together. It's time to work as one. Please be the leader I know you can be and first start by healing all the wounds of a hard fought campaign. Only you can do that.

I know you are starting your meetings with ol' Hamhocks Larue. I know you have no choice but to deal with him. It's all right by me if you smile and nod your head and agree to things, but when he's gone, break every agreement you reach with him, because you and I both know this thief of the public trust is probably lying to you about every commitment he's making about positions he plans to fill, for one, and everything else, in general. Why do I say this? It's been his track record since being in office, and such arrogance, hubris and rage in a person does not simply change in the span of several months. I know from personal experience. The loss will probably do him much more good than he can possibly see now. Letting go usually is a difficult process for one so much in control for so long. Don't believe a word he says because he's not near to letting go yet. Protect yourself. Keep all of your options open, even to those who helped you win.

You see, you are in charge now, and only YOU will be judged for the decisions you make. It will be an isolating experience. I do not envy you, although when I was younger I might have. I learned, and so shall you, that life has a way of tempering all you thought you believed in yourself and in others. So tread lightly, yet deliberately. Many depend on you now. You have been granted a grave responsibility. It may surprise you to hear that I think you can handle it. Take a few deep breaths and move forward.

Of all the issues being discussed right now concerning your transition, the one I have not yet heard mentioned is the only one that really counts - City finances. I hope this is because you are digging in, working on this area quickly and quietly, both you and your financial people, because this is the area that first must be reviewed to see just how many of your promises are now possible. Without this knowledge, without knowing realistic boundaries of your plans set by resource limitations, a bad situation can turn into an impossible one right away. So, for the benefit of the entire City, please, PLEASE, take this fact into consideration. I am making a serious request for you to check and double check, even triple check, every report you are given, every estimate you are given, every statement you are given, concerning the state of the City's financial situation. If you start out , and you get this wrong, even to a small degree, the after effects will be disastrous. And I don't have to remind you the guy you are sitting across from, and his workers and supporters, have no reason to help you look good. On the contrary, they want to make things look great now, as they are leaving, so when the truth is found out, it will be too late, and your administration will be in trouble before it has had a chance to begin. Then they will look great by comparison, and they will taunt you with cries of "We told you so!" Enough said about City finances, I'm sure you already understand what I am saying. What can I say, I'm a worrier by nature. It comes from a career in public service working for elected officials.

I hope you are the most successful mayor in the City's history. Fall River could use a whole bunch of good news. Maybe you could also start a few needed changes. I think your idea of City Charter change for removing the Mayor from the Chair of the School Committee, given all the troubles we have witnessed lately with ol' Hamhocks obvious control debacles, is understandable. But also remember that a strong City-side executive presence was allowed by the state to have a say on the single largest expense item in any community's budget, education. I'm sure you'll do what you feel is right after consideration of your own.

Also, maybe it's time to enact two other charter changes. First, it would appear to be necessary to ensure that all people are represented fairly on the City Council by finally creating specific wards within the City, for council electoral purposes, thereby making possible district representation. Maybe six districts with each electing their own City Councilor, with three at large Councillors elected by the entire City. This way candidates with lots of money to spend on campaigns will not have an advantage over qualified candidates who are simply not as wealthy as others. The current system gives an unfair advantage to incumbents and wealthy candidates. That is unfair and un-American. It should be changed. The terms of the Councilors could be increased to three years, yet staggered as well, so that different councilor districts and at-large councilors run on different three year timetables.

Also, the reality of a two year term for Mayor is that it is simply too short a period of time for the serving mayor to get real work accomplished in solving what appear to be intractable problems, like drug addiction related crime, business development and economic development, and unemployment. The current two year term means that the Mayor is constantly running for re-election without having the breathing room and time to deal with serious City problems or administrative improvements that require a longer frame of reference to produce positive change. The City budget nears the quarter billion dollar figure. The City needs a four year Mayoral term. It's time. These suggestions will require Charter changes. These things should rank high on your agenda, in my humble opinion. (Humble? Once again, I shock my ex-wife!)

Well Your Honor, that's all I can say right now. I truly want you to succeed. We need you to succeed. Not just for the City to run well, but to help the people of this City feel good about Fall River again. We need this as much as we need a balanced budget. Sick in finances and sick in spirit is not the way to live. Help us change both, be a great mayor Will Flanagan. I believe you can be. Good luck!