After I did some research I realized that I did know him, and had spoken with him a number of times over the years at his Sports Nutrition store over on Mammoth Road.

I stopped over this morning to pick up a few items (they carry the flax seed and fish oils my doctor recommends, plus I’m getting back on the diet now that the holidays are over).

We had a good chat about Dracut politics.. and I got to sort of size him up as a candidate. It was just a quick visit, and I’ll do a more formal interview at a later time (as we will on the radio program as well).

He is a very optimistic person and likes to talk about possibilities and opportunities. He sees running for office as an opportunity for him to give back to the community. He did not speak about running “against” anyone, but running “for” office. I liked that.

He has experience with finance and investment, as well as having been the owner and operator of at least two local businesses in town for over 15 years. He’s survived a couple of recessions.. not to mention power failures!

He has lived in Dracut for over 30 years, his family having a home over in Collinsville since WWII according to his resume.

I didn’t really get into any of the school issues with him yet. There will be more time to do that as the campaign starts up.

As anyone who watches elections knows, a single challenger against two incumbents has a significant chance here. We’re still watching to see who else steps up to the challenge.

I think Nutt brings a lot to the table in terms of business, budgeting and finance.. not to mention optimism. We’ll be keeping an eye on him.

The Sun’s Political gossip column this morning focuses on this as well, starting with the Martins:

EXPECT A concerted effort by certain political insiders in Dracut to pressure Greater Lowell Technical School Board member Brian Martin and his wife, Dracut School Committee member Mary Gail Martin, to step down from their elected offices before the May 4 election.

The Martins have not hidden the fact that their Dracut home is for sale and they are thinking about moving into the Tyngsboro home formally owned by Martin’s late mother.

“It would be the right thing to do,” said one observer, adding that in 2004, former Selectman Dennis Williams stepped down from the board more than two months before moving to Nashua.

On the School Committee, a decision by Mary Gail Martin to relinquish her office would open a third slot on the ballot, perhaps prompting more interest from challengers in the race. It would also eliminate the necessity of appointing someone to fill out the remainder of her term, which ends in 2010.

We joked little about the Martin’s during the show, and Brian took it in stride.. calling in a pledge to the Salvation Army as a was to letting us know he can take a ribbing.

We also discussed the school committee race, in that so far there are two incumbents: Ron Mercier and Nancy Gagnon.

Of course, all seem to agree that it would be best for the town that if the Martins are moving, for them to resign from their seats in time for the people to choose successors in the Spring election.. rather than have replacements appointed by other elected officials. All the rushing around that happened last year where people were trying to line up support for their candidate (Ken Martin/Mike McNamara) just doesn’t seem to be what local politics should be about. Lets leave that to the Kennedys and Clintons.

WITH THE new year come thoughts of nomination papers for the upcoming spring elections. Dracut Selectman Joe DiRocco has the benefit of being the lone member of his board on the ballot this year, meaning that anyone with thoughts of running against him has less chance than in other years, when two members of the board come up for re-election.

“It becomes more personal if you’re challenging a lone incumbent,” said one political observer last week. “When you’re running against two people, you can always say, ‘I’m just running for one of the seats.’ Running against a single incumbent means you have to come up with a host of reasons to vote for you and against that other person.”

Some of the early names circulating around town include Planning Board member Brian Bond, one of the driving forces behind the Canney Farm project, and Ted Kosiavelon, who ran an unsuccessful challenge against Selectmen Robert Cox and John Zimini last year.

Two people are up for re-election on the Dracut School Committee. Chairman Ron Mercier Jr. and Nancy Gagnon are both running for their third term. No challengers have yet emerged.

Of course, the real news would be that one candidate has already shown interest in the race for School Committee. Paul Nutt, a Dracut business owner with multiple academic degrees and long family ties to the town has been letting people know he will be running. I’ve heard of other candidates that may be interested, we’ll have to watch and see what comes up after the holidays.

It will be interesting to see what comes of this.. could it be that the ghost of Superintendent-Past actually ends up turning over the entire school committee in less than two years?

Two weeks, two storms.. power out, phone lines out… yet ultimately the tally shows about $77,000 raised during the Salvation Army Radiothon. Other funds will still come in from remote kettle locations and further donations.

It was a real team effort.. everyone was welcome to help, and everyone did. From collecting donations, mailing out fund requests, asking for donations from local merchants, families and friends; answering phones, managing the auction items and accounts and calling the winners… the thing that started out quietly in the summer just kept going of its own accord.

The ice storm last week held us back.. most of the audience had no power or phones. By letting us go forward to a second week, the owners of the radio station made it possible for us to continue the effort for one more week.. and it worked beyond belief.

The Salvation Army depends on these efforts to be able to do its job. And for this event to succeed, it needed the support of all of the people in the Greater Lowell area.. and everyone came through.

God Bless, and Merry Christmas to all

With Friday morning came the ice storm. Like many others in town, my power was knocked out. It didn’t really bother me. I was a scout; I’ve been out camping in worse… so I toughed it out.

OK, the fact is, I called a few hotels. No room at the inn, but I just decided to stay in rather than bother friends.

The day was busy with collecting items and setting up for the Salvation Army Radiothon for Saturday morning, and then Christmas shopping, so I wasn’t home much anyway.

As evening fell, I found myself low on gas, so I decided to stay in so that I would not have a problem in the morning.

I lit a fire in the fireplace, lit a couple candles so I could read, and settled in for a quiet evening.

Sitting there watching the fire for some reason made me think about those homeless people who were evicted from the tent city off of Rogers Street last month. I know it was meant to be for their own good, to encourage them to move inside somewhere for the winter, but I also know that most of them had not.

Major Henry from the Salvation Army had told me that many had moved into an alley across from the Army building in Lowell. I knew I might have been a bit chilled, but at least I was inside… with a fire and a warm drink. They had to be toughing it out in 20-degree weather behind a Dumpster.

The phone rang, and it was my oldest calling to see that I was all right.

When I told him I was nearly out of gas because all the stations around me were closed, he offered to bring over a couple gallons to tide me over.

Soon after, he arrived with the whole family!

Rather than be home in their nice warm apartment with television, food, and heat, he and his girlfriend came over with the two kids to spend a couple hours in my chilly home in front of the fireplace.

We chatted, watched the fire, talked about the upcoming holidays, and played with the kids. It was a memorable evening that we will all remember forever.

Even with the power out for almost another two days, I will still remember this storm because of that evening with the family.

However, I still keep thinking about those people out on Appleton Street trying to survive this storm under tarps and blankets. They won’t remember this storm as a happy time, but as another challenge to survive.

They do, however, at least get a hot meal from the Salvation Army, due to the generosity and benevolence of all of us.

This storm was an inconvenience to us, and it is groups like the Salvation Army who are there to make life a little more livable to those who don’t have the benefits that we do.

The Salvation Army Radiothon on 980 AM WCAP is being continued for another week because of the storm, and I once again ask you to listen in, bid on an item or just call in a donation.

Let’s help give the Salvation Army the resources it needs to make this time of year livable for the many of our community that are hardest hit.

Last year we raised about $68,000.00 and it looks like that same number doesn’t get the job done this year.

The money was spent well last year, and we had an impact.

Over 2000 Christmas clothing items, 1460 emergency food assistance, 166 emergency utility assistance, nearly 500 Christmas food baskets and lots more.

I keep hearing that the economy is bad and folks won’t be able to help as much this year. Maybe, but I have confidence.

I say ignore all of that negative stuff and be positive.

Here are my 2008 reasons to give to my Salvation Army Radiothon.

10.You didn’t get laid off in 2008.

A great reason to be generous. Chances are we’re at the bottom and you dodged the bullet.

9. You didn’t have any money in the stock market

Lets face it if you were not in the market in 08 you saved a bundle. Before you jump back in with all of that cash, give us a call.

8.You bought a new car in 08 and saved thousands.

The flip side of that is the big three are going broke because you squeezed them to hard. Your conscience tells you to give. Call 978 454-4980

7. You didn’t have a personal mortgage crisis in 08.

And maybe you even did a refi and hooked up with some lower interest money. Give baby give.

6. You went to Walmart on black Friday and weren’t run down by a herd of crazed red necks. This should be a message to you that your life has a new purpose.

5. You live in the best managed town in the Merrimac Valley, and want to give us some of the money a bad government would have squandered. Ok. A bit of a stretch, but I could make the argument….

4. Crude oil is about 30% of what is was a few months back and you’re saving lots of money on gasoline. You’re happy that less of your cash is going to the bad guys in the middle east and want to keep it local.

3. You know your home will be a lot warmer this winter, because heating oil is a lot cheaper. Here you can get another bite of the apple, you know the story, giving gives you a warm feeling.

2. You want to celebrate Dracut High’s big super bowl victory with a significant donation in their name. Hey, remember. Its for the kids, show your team spirit and all that.

1 And yes. what you’ve all been waiting for the number one reason to give to this years salvation army

You absolutely love the radio show, can’t wait to read my column every week and want to show me some “love”.

Remember 6am this Saturday morning 980 WCAP, we’ll stay on the air till the job is done.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The issue at hand, as discussed in Warren Shaw’s article last week in the Valley Dispatch, is the legality of anonymous libel and slander as has become common in many online forums. Sites like D.A.D, the Lowell Sun comments area, and countless other comment boards tend to fill regularly with such cruel and dangerous postings that the judicial system is starting to realize that it must get involved.

“But its Freedom of Speech” we hear, “I have the right to say anything I want.”

No, you don’t (”fire” in a crowded theater, etc). The right to freedom of speech is a right to “political” speech. It has broadened over time, but ultimately you can say almost anything about a public figure.. as long as it does not include known falsehoods. Or, if the intent is malicious. You see, if the talk is all hatred and lies, then the subject of that debate has an equal right: The right to redress of grievance.

Huh?

Ah, you forgot about that one didn’t you. When most people are asked what rights are protected by the first amendment (note that they are not “given,” but protected), they easily can list the freedom of speech, of press, of religion, and even assembly. Everyone tends to forget the right to redress grievances; the right to protect yourself from others.. be them individuals or the government.

If someone steals your property, you have the right to go to the court system for redress. If you are harmed by the actions of a bad doctor, or lied to by a drug company, you have the right to justice such as punishment for the offender or for you to receive damages. We see this happening every day.

Libel and slander, as well as harassment are also forms of harm.. and you have a right to fight them as well.

And to do so, you have the right to “discovery,” or to find out all the facts of the situation (as does the person you are challenging). Discovery includes identification.

Warren mentioned a court case where the harasment and lies made by one person was considered partially the cause of the death of a young girl. Identity was not an issue here, as the person who did it was easily identified.

In a more important case described in the Washington Post yesterday, we see the Supreme Court of Maryland is considering a case that is putting these two rights: “the freedom of speech” and the “freedom of redress” up against each other.

In a situation where on an anonymous blog someone wrote defamatory comments about another.. the one being attacked chose to defend himself.

Someone wrote about his “Dunkin Donuts” franchise that it was one “of the most dirty and unsanitary-looking food-service places I have seen.”

Now we’ve seen many more disgusting and defamatory statements made on D.A.D and other websites. Those making the posts often claim their “first amendment rights” in making them. For some reason, in their small minds, they think that because they hide behind anonymity, they can say whatever they want and nobody can “get” them. They are forgetting, however, the first amendment rights of the subjects of their writings.

Ultimately, if allowed to continue, these situations can only result in more harm. Property damage, damaged reputation, broken up families, impact on income, and even physical harm.. I’ve seen it all. With people starting to get hurt and sometimes die over this stuff, the courts are starting to look seriously at the issue of anonymity.

Where does the right of one person to speak end, when up against the right of another to redress of grievance?

This is the classic libertarian question. Government, by their definition, should exist to adjudicate the conflict of one individual’s rights over another’s, while taking into consideration the public good.

Recent laws now require service providers to save emails, postings and web server logs for years. With this information, posters can be identified (and the truth of the matter is that many of those “anonymous proxies” that people use to try to avoid identity are actually run by the governments).

We now see court cases getting to the level of state supreme courts over this issue. Precedents are being made.. and I would assume people will start looking back at some of what they have written and wonder what risk they may have put themselves in. Maybe they will wonder how it will look when their story makes the papers. The answers they will have to make to their families, their employers, (I would say their friends.. but that’s another subject).

So, I’m not going to go to the level of calling Frank and his friends “rats,” “thugs, ” or “losers.”

But the fact is that at least when Warren did so, he signed his name and took responsibility for what he said. Thus, he has a level of respect that those pathetic failures never will (oops).

I will continue to watch these court cases, knowing that the scales are now moving in the direction of justice… maybe

.

The Salvation Army wants YOU. And YOU. And YOU. Oh, and YOU.

Yes, YOU.

Don’t try to hide. They’ll find YOU. Fred Simon’s on the case.

And as the old kids’ game goes, what Simon says goes.

And his current cause is the Salvation Army.

“We’re looking for recruits for the Army,” Simon says. “We recognize that everybody is affected by the economy. But there are people who are doing OK, and they have to recognize that there are people who need not a handout, but a helping hand.”

Simon, a Tewksbury resident, is once again the go-to guy for this Saturday’s edition of the annual Warren Shaw radiothon for the Lowell Salvation Army on WCAP 980 AM.

Shaw’s name may be on the show, but Simon’s the one stirring the red kettle in the communities served by the Salvation Army.

“Fred Simon sets the bar, and the rest of us obey,” Shaw admits.

“The bar” this year, as Simon says, is $75,000. Last year, he set $65,000 as the target, and the radiothon raised $68,000.

“You don’t have to sell the Salvation Army,” Simon says. “It’s been around for 124 years. People trust the Salvation Army to deliver all the dough back to the community where it’s raised.”

So, want to know what last year’s 68 grand bought? OK, you asked: 18,521 lunches for seniors; 2,185 items of clothing; 1,519 toys for Christmas; 1,460 emergency food items; 473 Christmas food baskets; 221 Thanksgiving food baskets; and 166 instances of emergency utility assistance.

Every one of those 68,000 dollars benefited someone in need in either Lowell, Dracut, Chelmsford, Tewksbury, Billerica or Tyngsboro.

Look, you don’t need Fred Simon or Warren Shaw to tell you about the economy. And you certainly don’t need to tell the 300 new families that have asked the Salvation Army for help this year. That’s 300 more families than sought assistance last year, according to Major Everett Henry of the Salvation Army’s Lowell office.

“We’re grateful with any amount,” says Shaw, a former Dracut selectman who has hosted a radio show on Saturday mornings on WCAP for years. “But I hope everybody keeps in mind that we have double the job this year with 300 new families.”

Simon adds, “I really believe that as things get tougher, people of goodwill step up to the plate more. They might have to tighten their belt, but it’s about helping someone out who can’t afford one present, never mind multiple presents.”

The radiothon starts at 6 a.m., and organizers say it will run until the goal is reached.

Many items will be auctioned off to raise money, including Red Sox-Yankees tickets; Celtics, Bruins, Patriots, Spinners and UMass Lowell River Hawks tickets; an autographed Celtics basketball; a weekend at the Stonehurst Manor in North Conway, N.H.; and an oil-fired water burner donated by F.W. Webb of Methuen.

“There’s an auction item for anyone who wants to do their Christmas shopping,” Shaw says.

You can listen to the show and phone in, or you can visit one of eight remote locations: the Owl Diner in Lowell, M.L. Shaw’s restaurant in Dracut, Jesse’s Place in Chelmsford Center, the River Road Cafe on the Tewksbury-Lowell line, O’Connor Hardware in Billerica, Comet’s in Tyngsboro, the Dream Diner in Tyngsboro or Paul’s Diner in Westford.

And if all that doesn’t get you to donate, these guys are not above making threats.

“If you’re listening and you don’t call in with a donation, we’ll start singing,” Simon promises.

To donate to the Salvation Army through the radiothon, call Simon at (978) 851-9097, Shaw at (978) 957-3011 or the Salvation Army at (978) 458-3396, or listen to 980 AM on Saturday.

Dan Phelps’ e-mail address is dphelps@lowellsun.com.

I just left the rally at the School Complex where the people of Dracut joined together to celebrate the Dracut High School players and thier coaches as the left to play the Superbowl at Gillette Stadium.

Catch the game live on the radio on 980 WCAP radio, or I undestand that it will be played live on Channel 38 television out of Boston.