>>Valley Patriot>>
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Tom
Duggan's Notebook
01/04/07
Torissi
Holds Meeting... Nobody Shows up
What happens when you call for a public meeting to
discuss changing your town charter and nobody shows up?
Just ask Rep. David (Where-IS-he) Torissi from North
Andover. Last month, Torissi called for a public forum
for members of the community to express their views and
ask questions about his efforts to be the town’s
first mayor by eliminating Town Meeting and revamping the
charter. But the only people who bothered to attend were
his “guest speakers,” Selectman Tom
Licciardello, Methuen Mayor Bill Manzi and a Franklin
Town Administrator (see pic. on page 16). I guess the
people of North Andover really don’t have much to
say about Torissi’s latest coup attempt. Rest
assured, however, if he tries to put it on the ballot, it
will be soundly defeated by the voters.
Useless Boddy?
 According to sources in Mayor
Mike Sullivan’s office, the whole controversy
surrounding why Assistant City Attorney Jim Bowers was
tasked with negotiating a buyout deal for Finance
Director John Griffin, instead of City Attorney Charles
Boddy, is not because of some secret conspiracy to hide
it from the council. “Charlie Boddy himself says he
purposely avoids this kind of work because it is too
contro-versial. Anytime Attorney Boddy is asked to render
a legal opinion on anything political such as this, he
breaks out into a cold sweat and then, poof, he is
suddenly out sick the rest of the week,” our source
said. “He is petrified of Council President
Blanchette,” the source added. Given the way
Blanchette has publicly treated former Finance Director
John Griffin and current Assistant City Attorney Jim
Bowers, it is no wonder Boddy is reluctant to do any work
on controversial matters at all. We do want to thank him,
however, for helping us get copies of Andrea
Traficante’s phone records (though it took six
months to get them - see The Valley Patriot next month).
But I still have to wonder, if a city attorney is afraid
to do his job, shouldn’t Lawrence find someone who
isn’t?
Looking Forward to Linda
Campbell Taking Office
Last July, The Valley Patriot interviewed (then
candidate) Linda Dean Campbell about her views on gay
marriage and the Legislature’s refusal to put the
issue on the ballot. Campbell said at the time that while
she favors gay marriage she also favors the will of the
people and would vote to place the item before voters if
it comes up during her term as a state representative.
The Valley Patriot hopes that Campbell can teach her
fellow legislators Dave Torissi, Barbara L’Italien
and Steve Baddour the meaning of the phrase “serving
the voters.”
The Diane Huster Bill ARE YOU
KIDDING ME???
While some state legislators file bills to get retirement
benefits for police and firefighters because they fell
through the cracks of the state retirement system, state Senator
Steve Baddour has filed a bill called the “Act
Relative to Essex Regional Retirement System and Diane
Huster” (1406). Huster, who was an elected member of
the North Andover School Committee, did not qualify for
retirement benefits because she did not apply for them in
time. But, thanks to Steve “where’s the
microphone” Baddour, Huster gets another bite at the
apple! Representatives Torissi and L’Italien have
also signed on to the corresponding House bill (H4773).
Even former Huster supporter Jack Watkins of the Finance
Committee has written a letter to his state legislators
protesting the more than $100,000 in free benefits Huster
could receive from the town if Baddour, Torissi and
L’Italien get their way.
Pulling Teeth in North
Andover
No … I’m not talking about dentistry here.
I’m talking about trying to get straight answers out
of the North Andover school department. At a recent
School Committee meeting, education advocate Ted Tripp
asked Chairman Al Perry for a copy of the school
department plan to meet the five-year academic
improvement goals that the committee had unanimously
adopted 2 ½ years ago. Mr. Perry turned the question
over to Superintendent O’Connor who went on at
length about how busy he was on audits, budgets, dealing
with teachers, addressing large class sizes and other
issues. After what seemed like an eternity, Perry
interrupted to say the issue was closed.
But O’Connor had never answered the question. So at
the next meeting, Tripp got up again and asked Perry if
he could assure the people watching the broadcast that
such a plan actually exists and copies could be made
available to the public. Having put him on the spot,
Perry had to admit that such a plan does not exist. When
pushed on the issue, neither Perry nor O’Connor
could or would say when such a plan would be put
together. This year the NA school department fell far
short of the committee’s second-year improvement
goals. This now comes as no surprise since the schools
apparently never had a plan to reach those goals.
It’s probably too late this academic year to develop
a plan to affect the third year results. Just expect to
be disappointed when this year’s test scores finally
come in.
And you wonder why the schools have no credibility?
Andover Principal
Pays for Hate Group From Slush Fund
You have to hand it to Peter Anderson, principal of
Andover High School. Anderson mastered the art of playing
both sides of an issue last month when he first agreed to
allow anti-Semitic hate group “Wheels of
Justice” to speak to his students about the evils
committed by Jews and Americans. Then, when The Valley
Patriot exposed the issue, he canceled the speaking
engagement, only to buckle again when the hate group
threatened to sue. Now The Valley Patriot has learned
that Principal Anderson is not only allowing Wheels of
Justice to come and indoctrinate (behind closed doors)
Andover’s school children with hate, he is paying
for it out of his own discretionary slush fund.
Isn’t it amazing that the principal of a high school
can privately collect money from members of the community
and then use that money to promote Jew hatred and
Anti-American venom in the classroom? I wonder where
Barry Finegold has been on this issue. Seems he has been
missing in action!
*Send your questions comments to ValleyPatriot@aol.com
The January 2007 Edition
of the Valley Patriot
The Valley Patriot is a Monthly
Publication.
All Contents (C) 2007, Valley Patriot, Inc.
We publish 10,000 newspapers and distribute in Andover,
North Andover,
Methuen, Haverhill, Chelmsford, Georgetown, Groveland,
Boxford,
Lawrence, Dracut, Tewksbury, Hampton & Salisbury
Beach, and Lowell.
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