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Methuen's
Chief Solomon Speaks Out
Defends Grant
Spending, Says Eagle~Tribune Attacks on
Him and Dept. Motivated by Racism Against
Arab-Americans
Tom Duggan
Methuen Police Chief Joe
Solomon said in an exclusive interview with The Valley
Patriot this week that federal grant money from the
Department of Justice for thecitys Weed
& Seed program was spent legally and in compliance
with federal regulations.
Solomon was reacting to an Eagle~Tribune report which
outlines how the chief and the Methuen Police Department
spent money on travel expenses at conferences around the
country which was paid for out of the Weed and Seed
federal grant program. Methuen received the Weed and Seed
five year grant from the Department of Justice in the
amount of over $1 million dollars. The Tribune focused on
the spending of a mere $27,000 in travel expenses,
something the chief took exception to.
In his discussion with The Valley Patriot Chief Solomon
said he wanted to correct the record about the travel
expenses and discuss the appropriation of over $1 million
from Weed and Seed to transform the Arlington
neighborhood from a crime infested area to a place where
families feel safe and where children in that
neighborhood are thriving in school thanks to the
Safe Haven facility Solomon established.
The Eagle~Tribune ran a front page story to
make it look like there was misspending with the Weed
& Seed money we get from the Department of Justice.
Any conferences we went on for Weed & Seed may not
have been mandatory, but it is highly effective to go and
network with other law enforcers because you get to
collaborate with people from other states. The people who
live in our neighborhoods in Methuen are having the same
problems as other cities around the country. Whats
plaguing us here in New England is also plaguing people
in Texas and California and Arizona. You can learn a lot
from some of the things they did or some of the mistakes
they made. Networking is very important.
Solomon said he contacted The Valley Patriot because the
Eagle~Tribune was painting a picture of
inappropriate spending of federal dollars, inferring that
an abuse of taxpayers money was taking place,
something that Solomon said was blatantly false.
If they want to say we did something illegal, they
should come up with some evidence, Solomon said.
There is nothing wrong with going to conferences
that are highly recommended by the Department of
Justice.
Asked if the grant money for Weed & Seed has been
misspent in any way, Solomon bristled and defended the
program, saying that all the bad publicity created
by the Eagle~Tribune was casting a bad light
on an exceptional program.
He continued, The majority
of Weed & Seed money is going directly into the
neighborhood. It went to fund the Safe Haven program. The
Safe Haven is located at One Broadway just across the
Lawrence line in Methuen. It is a facility run by Linda
Soucy and it is an after school facility equipped with
computers to help the children do their homework after
school.
Through the Weed & Seed grant we were
able to open the Safe Haven program at One Broadway at
the old water pumping station where we established a safe
place for neighborhood kids. We got the idea from Miami
where we learned that when they established little
centers to keep kids off the streets - instead of hanging
out with gang bangers - they actually saw results in the
neighborhoods.
The people we talked to in Miami established a
computer learning lab. We copied that idea here and it
has been very successful for the kids. This is so
valuable. The way we originally found out how valuable it
was to have a homework center and computer labs was from
networking with other municipalities at these
conferences. But, of course, they are all painted as
junkets.
Chief Solomon says that each day the center serves
between 70-100 children.
Solomon also pointed to the dramatic drop in crime in the
Arlington neighborhood.
The CBDG grant we spent in the Arlington
neighborhood mainly went towards revitalizing the
neighborhood. We went one street at a time. Once you
start doing one street and move to the next street, you
see neighborhoods starting to clean up more. It is kind
of the reverse of the broken windows theory. If you look
at the Arlington neighborhood now and compare it to ten
years ago, it is remarkably different.
The success cannot be overlooked in Methuens
Weed & Seed program. Anyone can find some small
expense in any government program and nit pick as to
whether it was appropriate, but I know this: you
dont find prostitutes and drugs and gang members in
the Arlington neighborhood now. Fifteen years ago you had
to send a two-man cruiser and a one-man cruiser for every
call. You had to send three cruisers to protect the fire
trucks and ambulances when they were responding to
emergency calls. Today you can go there at night and not
be in fear of being attacked. I think the quality of life
has increased a thousand percent for the people who live
there. Not only did we try to attack criminal problems in
that area, but we tackled the social aspect of having
citizens work with police to change the environment of a
criminal neighborhood.
Weve been able to provide overtime for cops
to be on specific patrols. We started with citizen
patrols. We initiated a summer walking program with two
cops, two cadets and two
residents. We literally walked the entire neighborhood in
a group with the neighbors. It made them feel good that
we had a relationship with the neighborhood people. We
got that idea at a conference, too, the chief
added. Once you give people an opportunity to help
you make their neighborhood better, they become your eyes
and ears. They trust the police more and are more willing
to help us in criminal investigations. I can tell you I
am a totally different police officer today because of
Weed & Seed than I was ten years ago. I think it has
changed the whole nature of policing. Chief
Solomon said he took exception to what he said was an
unfair attack on him and the police department by the
Eagle~Tribune.
They not only made it look as though we were doing
something wrong, but they didnt even have their
facts right, the chief charged. For one
thing, he added, they made it look as if we
each received $300 per day in meal expenses. There is no
way we spent $300 per day each; we spent about $50 per
day each. There were not six people on the trips; there
were four. And as for cab rides, it was a lot less
expensive than renting a car. I think we were very frugal
in the way we spent that money, we even took subways for
the majority of the time we were in L.A. and people kept
telling us we were crazy. We submitted all the receipts
from that trip, but, of course, the Tribune doesnt
want to print that.
You have to remember, he added, in
major cities Like L.A., D.C. or New York, a hamburger and
french fries in a restaurant cost, like, ten bucks. It
isnt like the prices around here. There were no
lavish expenses on these trips, believe me.
Asked why the Eagle~Tribune would purposely lead their
readers to think he and others in the department
misappropriated federal dollars, Chief Solomon said he
believed the attacks were political and
driven by an agenda at the newspaper because of his
ethnic background.
I personally feel this is a racial attack being
launched against me by the Eagle~Tribune. Every time they
run a picture of me they use an old picture with a
moustache and goatee because I am an Arab American. I
have received so much pressure on this goatee thing I
finally shaved it off. They have been after me since 911
personally because I am an Arab American police chief and
Im not going to be silent on this any longer.
Solomon further
postulated that, Tomorrow we could solve every
single crime in the city of Methuen and they (the
Eagle~Tribune) would still write a negative story.
Thats how they are once theyve decided for
whatever reason that they dont like you, you can do
no right by them no matter what.
Solomon says that his primary concern now that the
neighborhood programs he has set up as the result of
federal grant money will be able to continue when the
grants expire in a few months. We think there is a
real possibility that these programs may cease to exist
and I am not really confident that we are going to be
able to fund them. But we are hoping someone will step
forward and help us, either a private company or
non-profit organization that really cares about the
progress we have made with kids in the Arlington
area.
Asked about the prospect that any of the Weed & Seed
money may have been spent inappropriately, Solomon
emphatically denied the charge. We didnt
steal any money as the Trib likes to elude to. I am not
aware that anything has been done wrong at all and I have
personally looked at all the grant documents. We have
done an exceptional job at record keeping. We are always
checking and double checking issues like this to make
sure we are 100% in compliance with the federal
requirements. It is very surprising to see the kind of
political attacks coming out of all this. We strive to do
our best to service the people of Methuen.
Like with anything else, he concluded,
When you go out and do the right thing and
institute changes, you are going to make enemies. You are
going to be get attacked. I understand that. But the
truth is we did absolutely nothing wrong and the public
deserves to know the truth.
Asked what happens now, a humble Solomon said,
Im just going to go out there, keep doing my
job, and keep trying to make a positive difference in the
neighborhoods of Methuen.
*Send your questions comments to ValleyPatriot@aol.com
The February 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, Amesbury,
Lawrence, Dracut, Tewksbury, Hampton & Salisbury
Beach, and Lowell.
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