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Jonathan Blitt June 18, 2013 at 07:22 pm
Karen,
You are mistaken. The summary above comes from Dr. Dolan not me, and yes I agree that there…Read More are MANY omissions.
Karen Egert June 18, 2013 at 07:55 pm
Jonathan -- My apologies . I redact my comment . I see that this was all Dr . Dolans report . She…Read More conveniently left out comments by Mitch Skater , Ann Cary and Mark Friedman who were clearly concerned with many things regarding the proposed SRO . I am very disappointed that Dr Dolan continues to spin this in her direction . Someone must have told the Westfield Leader that she will be announcing the reinstatement of the SRO which was so far from the truth and clearly an attempt to make it appear as if its a done deal so people wouldn't show up to the meeting . I think residents are just as angry with that as they are with the whole idea of the SRO .
alyssa stanek March 7, 2013 at 08:26 pm
cant wait for kidville-westfield to open! catharine will do an amazing job, what a great addition to…Read More this community!
Karen Egert June 18, 2013 at 05:18 pm
I am very pleased to see that Mitch Slater and Ann Cary are taking a steady rational approach to…Read More this and advocating for community input before Board members are pushed into voting. This is not an emergency. I agree 100% with hiring a Student Assistance Counselor (SAC ).That is what we need. Not a policeman. The SAC is trained specifically to work with teenagers and their issues. Isn't that what we want ? We should be aiming to really help students , not to turn them over to law enforcement.
It resolves alot of the issues that residents are uncomfortable with .The SAC will be under the jurisdiction of the school system ( not the Westfield police) , the students will feel more comfortable in confiding in an SAC as they won't be afraid that they will be arrested, and they won't be armed. I do understand that any SRO is on duty and for that reason they say he must carry his weapon, but that is exactly why we should be looking to hire a Student Assistance Counselor, not a policeman.
I sincerely hope the other members of the Board will read this letter and take these recommendations to slow down. Let's address these issues sensibly and with community support. It is clear that the majority of residents are opposed to having an armed SRO.
I am anxious to talk about the possibility of a Student Assistance Counselor at the next Board meeting. Thank you Mitch Slater and Ann Cary for your insight, reason and consideration of community sentiment.
Jonathan Blitt June 18, 2013 at 10:09 pm
Thank you Ms. Cary, and Mr. Slater for taking you duty to understand. Fully the things you are asked…Read More to vote on. I, for one, am proud to have you represent me hopefully the remaining members of the board will agree with the common sense approach of taking the time to better understand and communicate their objectives. A BOE that loses the mandate of its residents can very quickly result in the decline of its educational offerings.
Mitch Slater June 18, 2013 at 08:07 am
I am sorry to say that Mr. Blitt is accurate with his assessment here. As one of the Board Members…Read More who had questions and concerns I was surprised to see the omission of our comments and that of the public. I continue to urge Westfielders to let us know your thoughts, pro or con, by emailing us at: WBOE@westfieldnjk12.org
Diane Barabas June 18, 2013 at 01:33 pm
Gerry Glasser and Lee Hale were the last of a dynamic generation who respected one another and the…Read More public.
South Westfielder June 18, 2013 at 02:08 am
Thank you Mrs. Blitt for pointing this out- This kind of proves the point of the author of the…Read More story. Even after a meeting where it seemed every speaker was against the officer- the Board of Ed pretended like nothing bad happened? This is outrageous-one would call it deception or lying through their teeth. I hope Patch takes a clsoer look at this -
Westfield guy June 18, 2013 at 07:39 am
What is amazing to me is that these BOE members are so "head in the clouds" that they so…Read More not realize that once they rubber stamp this after the "official meeting" there is gonna be major negative publicity (e.g tv cameras in front of the high school) given the media will eat this up. It's like watching a car crash in slow motion. Unreal.
Karen Egert June 18, 2013 at 05:28 pm
Board members Mitch Slater and Ann Cary wrote a fantastic letter in the Patch addressing the need…Read More for more time to evaluate and advocating for an alternative --not an SRO . It is under "News" at the top and it's entitled " Why the Rush to Make SRO Decision Now ? BOE members Ask.
CowDung June 18, 2013 at 04:20 pm
I would have thought that with the steady stream of complaints about the new Patch redesign, they…Read More would have at least changed the wording a bit--I think the excitement level at Patch has nosedived since they started rolling out the redesigned Patch sites...
Be sure to use the 'Feedback' tab on the right side of the page and express your frustrations. It's the only way to bring back the usability of this site...
Mercedes Osorio Poyntz June 16, 2013 at 01:52 pm
The dog owner found us!!!! Thank you Liz for your prompt and kind response to our plea. Thanks to…Read More the efforts of this wonderful community we were able to quickly resolve this issue and truly enjoy today's holiday. We thank you and wish you the happiest Father's Day ever. It is for us!
Elizabeth Alterman (Editor) June 16, 2013 at 01:55 pm
Hi Mercedes, thank you so much for letting us know. Best, Liz
Bill June 16, 2013 at 01:42 pm
If you could go back in time 30 days before the Newtown tragedy, and you couldn't tip off the…Read More families, the school's administration, or the Mother of the guy who committed that horrendous crime, but the one thing you had power to do was decide if they should have a resource officer or not in that school. Would you deny them a resource officer?
karen egert June 16, 2013 at 02:10 pm
Susan , then what did she say ? And where is this video -- I'd like to see it .
Concerned Citizen 07090 June 16, 2013 at 09:52 pm
Hello.
Here is information found online regarding the DARE program aka Det. Allen aka the SRO…Read More proposed (with the BOE paying half of the current officers salary):
http://www.alcoholfacts.org/DARE.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1448384/
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/dope/dare/
http://www.stanford.edu/class/e297c/poverty_prejudice/ganginterv/criticallook.htm
http://dare.procon.org/#Background
Per these studies, DARE is ineffective; articles which I searched to rebuke these studies have missing links. Money could be better spent within the WHS.
Tim SiLVa June 18, 2013 at 10:24 am
At this point, this is typical NJ politics isnt it? I'm more and more ashamed to call this state my…Read More home. Stuff like this is more and more the reason why I've been seriously considering leaving everyone I know here and moving my family and business to Arizona.
karen egert June 14, 2013 at 03:01 pm
Apparently Mr. Common Sense you were not at the Board meeting because if you were you would know…Read More that it was clearly outlined that all decisions and reporting of this police officer will be from the police department -- not the school. So are you saying that Lucy Biegler is now the new spokeswoman ? You said she is calling out the position for what it REALLY is ? The discrepancy in outlined roles and the vagueness of this position is reason enough to question it. Ofcourse you have an opinion , but because our children will be directly affected I think our concerns should be heavily weighed . .
karen egert June 14, 2013 at 03:05 pm
Rob -- to answer your question , I was never crazy about the DARE program and yes , I was disturbed…Read More that the officer carrying a gun in school . I didn't like it . So I am being consistent. I was new to the school at the time .
A.John Blake June 19, 2013 at 06:22 am
I have no problem with a policeman in school. His ability to carry a gun is no different on school…Read More property than elsewhere. Let us make sure we all understand that the man is a policeman, not a counselor. I think the idea that the children will be safer is absurd. Cameras in every public area in every school, monitored by the police ,would probably provide better surveillance.
I object to any understanding between the Board and the Town which creates a hybrid officer who is required to act differently in school than he does on the street. In the past, the police have been hobbled by "arrangements" between the then BOE and the Town that the police would not enter the schools without permission. Investigations would not be conducted until the Board had finished its investigation. A "safe haven" had been created. This is wrong. In school, the children knew they didn't have to worry about police and acted accordingly. This is wrong.
If the people want a policeman in school, let him be a policeman. Let him act as he does on the street. He is not a trained counselor . Don't think he will solve children's problems.
At the moment, I don't think the entire picture has been given to us. I cannot believe there is not some writing between Dr.Dolan and the WPD which outlines the authority of each towards one another and over the SRO. I don't believe the BOE is about to allow the " fox into the hen house" without promises that restrict the policeman. I oppose any restriction of a policeman in the performance of his duty. I do not want to see the return of the "arrangements" of the past.
The BOE and the Town must provide us with the full agreement or we should dismiss the thought of a SRO.
Robert Yates June 18, 2013 at 09:56 am
"Doing the right thing makes a candidate unelectable. The voters are doing what the people are…Read More asking." "....the state of America is a bipartisan choice of unsustainable irresponsibility. There is no "responsible" party or "conservative" party. It's all bread and circuses." I could not have said it better myself; absolutely agree.
Re: this new format, the articles seem easier to access but the comment section is inferior. I second Mel's question: how do you reply? The green dot seems to indicate a reply as opposed to blue thing which may mean a new post, but how do you choose on over the other?
Mel Sharples June 18, 2013 at 11:26 am
Robert - I think there is more common ground than not. But people get caught up defending the flag…Read More along partisan lines - and I am certainly guilty of that at times.
woodbridge lifer June 17, 2013 at 08:55 pm
uh, how about memorial day?
seriously folks....everyone is making much ado about nothing....
Another Patriotic Liberal June 19, 2013 at 06:14 am
Well, Tuggy, my mommy let me go to Woodstock.
And Freebie? I've worked hard and paid taxes since I…Read More was 14. I've paid my way and not whined about it. I admit to getting a mortgage interest deduction for several years and will graciously and gratefully accept the Social Security checks toward which I've been contributing for almost 50 years.
Liberalism means we take care of our own. It's the American way. Conservatism means looking out for Number One. It's the oinker way.
Reality, boys. You ought to give it a try sometime. At least stop posting if you don't know what you're talking about.
'Cake Boss' Targets Sept. 1 Opening in Westfield
Comment Recommend Elizabeth Alterman (Editor)