Feature ArticleBy Shawn on Jan 27, 2012 in Community, Politics | 0 Comments
All three declared candidates for the State Representative seat currently held by Colleen Garry were guests on 980 WCAP Saturday Morning Live last week for a segment each.
George Boag, who ran once last year, will be challenging Selectman Cathy Richardson in a Republican primary.
Democrat Representative Colleen Garry will take on the winner of that election.
I’ve included the audio clips from each of the three candidates here.
Tags: Boag, Garry, Richardson
Feature ArticleBy admin on Jan 27, 2012 in Community | 0 Comments
Town Manager Dennis Piendak announced at the Board of Selectman’s meeting this week the selection of a new Fire Chief for the town.
From a Lowell Sun story about the appointment:
For Town Manager Dennis Piendak — the man tasked with appointing the successor to current Chief Leo Gaudette — the choice to pick Capt. David Brouillette was easy.
“He finished number one in our assessment-center exam,” Piendak said yesterday. “He’s shown a history of great service in Dracut and I’ve never heard a single complaint.”
Brouillette will assume official chief duties March 1. Gaudette has served as the town’s fire chief since 2002.
Feature ArticleBy Shawn on Jan 26, 2012 in Community | 6 Comments
Well, it is finally happening.
Warren Shaw has informed me today that he is going forward with a lawsuit, being filed tomorrow, against Frank Zabierek of Nashua.
Zabierek is the moderator of the Voyager Infosystems Forum “Dracut after Dark”, utilized by himself and others to anonymously attack and harass the people of Dracut for a number of years now.
After being served a number of demand notices over the last few weeks, Zabierek failed to remove all the postings referring to Shaw and his family.
Shaw’s lawyer referred to Mass General Laws regarding Privacy, and other lawyers I have conferred with point to new harassment statutes that are being broken as well.
A number of years ago, Shaw had a similar suit against the operator of the Dracut Dispatch and won a significant award, ultimately forcing the paper to be sold.
After also having been a victim of the libel of that site, I can only applaud this move and have supported it actively (check out http://www.httrack.com sometime).
It is hoped that during the discovery phase, Zabierek and Voyager Infosystems will have to provide the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses for all the postings on that site. It will be interesting to see where those addresses lead.
Update: Chris Scott picks up the story as well in the Lowell Sun Blog: Reign of Terror
Update: And Gerry at Gerry Nutters Lowell
Update: Is that it? we’re sorry, forum 54926 does not exist.
Update: Lowell Sun breaking news
Feature ArticleBy Shawn on Jan 24, 2012 in Schools | 9 Comments
Heard this earlier today.
The Lowell Sun is reporting that Superintendent Stacy Scott is a finalist for the position of Superintendent in Framingham Mass… interesting happenings here.
Dracut’s Scott a finalist to be school chief in Framingham
By Jennifer Myers, jmyers@lowellsun.comUpdated: 01/24/2012 07:24:16 PM EST
DRACUT — Superintendent of Schools Stacy Scott is a finalist to be the next leader of the Framingham Public Schools.
The Superintendent Screening Committee presented the names of three finalists including Scott; William Hart, assistant superintendent of the Pentucket Regional Schools District; and Robert Tremblay, Superintendent of the Milford School District, to the Framingham School Committee Tuesday night.
Scott, previously the associate-superintendent of the Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland, was hired by the Dracut School Committee in May 2010.
It was within the last year that Tom Rose was a finalist in a town closer to Rhode Island. That position went to another candidate.
The information that Scott has been applying elsewhere will probably feed into the current intrigue within the Dracut School Committee.
Feature ArticleBy Shawn on Jan 24, 2012 in Community | 0 Comments
From NaturwalkswithMark.org, Fraser has a new film celebrating his capture of the American Bittern on film.
Check out this and his other vidoes at his youtube site.
Feature ArticleBy Shawn on Jan 22, 2012 in Community, DHA | 0 Comments
You know, I buy the Globe only about once every two years. Today was worth it.
There is a front page story highlighting the “alleged” illegal campaign activities, pressuring of employees to give and participate in candidate events for Lt Gov Murray, collecting cash donations without recording requirements being followed, working for candidates while on a federally funded job (violating the Hatch act)..
Its all exactly the type of old fashioned Democrat politics that we’ve been pointing out for years.
And the fun part about it is that everybody seems to be talking. Employees at Chelsea Housing and other housing authories are quoted all over this story, and to the FBI.
Rumor has it that McLaughlin’s “assistant” is working with the authorities as well.
And its all here in one article.
The story goes on to say that Murray’s car accident was actually the result of all of the pressure he was feeling from the McLaughlin press.
McLaughlin reveled in his proximity to power, say his former employees, and the help he could get from the lieutenant governor. Murray once angrily called former labor secretary Suzanne Bump when she fired one of McLaughlin’s old friends, John Zimini, according to someone who was briefed about the call. Murray later helped Zimini find a new job at a quasi-public state agency. In addition, Murray recommended people to housing authority boards on McLaughlin’s word, giving McLaughlin added clout.
It was this type of behavior that has gotten McLaughlin, and then Murray in such hot water. The article sums up the Dracut Housing Authority issues from August as well:
Ferson said most of Murray’s conversations with McLaughlin in October centered on the Dracut Housing Authority, to which Murray had recommended a board member at McLaughlin’s behest. Murray was uupset that the new appointee had immediately attempted to oust the executive director in a move widely seen as orchestrated by McLaughlin to create a vacancy for a friend.
Are we reading this clearly. Let me isolate and embellish a few of the facts from this one paragraph.
Murray appointed Brian Bond on McLaughlin’s behest. This means Rep Garry was used here.. because Bond was the preselected candidate.
The move to replace the executive director was planned (orchestrated) by McLaughlin, yet could only be implemented if he had three members on the board who would follow his lead. Those would be Ken Martin, Ken Cunha and Brian Bond, because Russ Taylor and Gerry Suprenant were both ardent supporters of the current director.
The position was being vacated for a “friend.” The Globe repeats what we were all hearing at the time.
Michael Goldman, the political commentator that has been recently picked up by the Lowell Sun (to provide some left-wing slant I guess) was shown in this article as well to be under the control of the Democratic political establishment.
He was asked by McLaughlin to write that puff piece that came out at the time of the original Globe investigative stories. His reputation has been diminished almost as much as Scott Harshbarger (who for some reason did not make it to this story).
Recent ArticlesBy Shawn on Jan 23, 2012 in Schools | 0 Comments
After a presentation by Dr Scott and Tom Rose Dr McNamara explained that he had visited DOE to discuss our budget, and invited a representative to come up. Mr Sullivan from the DOE said that he would be willing to come up to review the budget with Dr Scott, if Dr Scott invited him. He obviously has respect for Scott, and does not want to tread on Scott’s turf without being asked.
This would be instead of spending school choice funds on a full audit.
Members of the Board (Miles and Sheehan) were concerned that this request for the Superintendent to consider this was a vote of no confidence in the Superintendent.
Dr McNamara, and then Mr Mercier both repeatedly say that this is not a vote of no confidence.
The Superintendent seemed a little upset because he was being given an ultimatum to make a decision on the spot. (The motion was for the Superintedent to consider having Sullivan come in, but it was being made clear he had to consider it immediately).
The Superintendent asked a few days to consider it and the counsel reminded them that they cannot direct him to do so.
A vote of the board did not support the motion.
By Shawn on Jan 21, 2012 in Community, DHA | 0 Comments
Sean Murphy at the Boston Globe reports today that the state housing and community development has set up new rules limiting the pay of executive directors to $160,000.00.
This was the first of many outcomes resulting from the revelation that the Executive Director of the Chelsea Housing Authority was making $370,000.00.
Mike McLaughlin had been reporting a much lower amount to the state to avoid being noticed, but when his salary was drawn into the public during the events following the attempt to replace the executive director at the Dracut Housing authority.
Besides the cap, the state Department of Housing and Community Development will name a commission next week charged with coming up with recommendations for other improvements in how the 242 local housing authorities statewide operate. A 60-day deadline has been set for those recommendations.
State officials also will seek to eliminate pay to members of the local boards of directors that govern housing authorities, said Gornstein.
A return to accountability and transparency in the housing authorities can do nothing but good.
By Shawn on Jan 20, 2012 in Community, Politics | 0 Comments
Don Morowski and Tom Bomil seem to be leading the Dracut charge in support of Senator Scott Brown’s reelection campaign.
This morning, we were in Lowell at the Owl Diner where Senator Brown met with local supporters who came out to support his campaign kickoff.
Sen Scott Brown and Tom Bomil of Dracut
Morowski and Bomil tell me that they are working on arranging a Dracut visit for Senator Brown in the future, as well as campaign fundraisers on his behalf.
The town of Dracut and the Middlesex Valley came out strongly for Brown in his initial run for office.
He has not always voted the way I like, and he acknowledged that to the crowd, saying basically that its better to support someone who will agree with you 75% of the time than someone you will disagree with 100% of the time.
Read the rest
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