Friday, September 21, 2007

Weekend Update

I received a voice mail earlier this week from a woman who said that Norristown State Hospital was closing, and that Building 51, where they house criminals with some sort of social disorder, was going to be privatized.
What I've found out so far is that about half of that is true, or at least could be. The state is looking for a private company to take over Building 51, but the part about the rest of the hospital closing down doesn't seem to be true. I spoke with a local state Senator who said he was assured by the head of the Department of Welfare, which oversees all state hospitals, that simply was not going to happen. Apparently privitization has been happening at other locations around the state.

We're still pushing for the code enforcement department report. We've been told it is still in draft form and that we will get a copy when it is complete. Once again, that simply doesn't make sense.

And completely from left field, or at least the end zone. What was Donovan McNabb thinking when he said black quarterbacks in the NFL are held to a higher standard? Dude, you flubbed a pass that my mother could have completed. No, not the one to end the drive at the end of the game, the one right before it where the guy was unbelievably wide open and the ball was thrown about 10 feet away from him. Your timing was about as good with that pass as was your statement. I know it was made well before the game, but why did you have to make it at all? You blew it, McNabb, just say so and move on to the next game.

You want a racial issue to sink your teeth into Donovan, do a little reading on the Jena 6.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

The code enforcement report was handed in weeks ago in its final form. It should be released in its original entire form - not doctored to protect administration from embarassment.

Anonymous said...

A consultant was paid 19K to provide a complete report, not an incomplete "draft". Unless the orignal contract said that they requested a "draft?" There is no way that Mr. Forrest paid 19K and accepted a "draft" report from the consultant, Bonberger. It is time to check with the company that completed the report and inquire if they submitted a "draft" report to the borough. Forrest is the "same old, same old" crap that this borough embraces and must have to cover their questionable actions. Sad, but here we go again. Release the report and quit protecting the incompetence that you love Council.

Anonymous said...

Could the Jena 6 happen in Montgomery County? Absolutely. We have all the players, an underlying racism, gender stereotypes, and nepotism, angry young men, a DA with an uncontrollable ego, and no standard of professional conduct. Many of Montgomery County's crimes are tried on the street. Evidence is suppressed or exagerated based on nepotism or whether the officer feels like doing his job that day. Our community deserves better. We should have psychological screening for police recruits, an enforced ethical code of conduct, accountability, on-going training to maintain professional standards, and administrators who are not afraid to toss out the rotten apples. No society should have to sacrifice it's children for grand standing, racism, nepotism, and laziness by those in authority.

Anonymous said...

Not sure I understand the entire Jena 6 story... but didn't those guys beat a person almost to death. Why should they be exempt from getting arrested and charged? Because they are black, I don't think so.

Anonymous said...

Nice job on the 'Incident in Jena' article. We all agree that, by adult standards, what ALL of these young men did was wrong. As any parent of any teenager knows, the human brain is not fully formed until the mid-twenties. Incomplete frontal lobe development impairs higher level problem solving, good decision making, and impulse control. It is up to adults to protect children. In Jena, the adults failed to address concerns of the students who were threatened by the noose; they failed to stop the on-going racial tensions; and they failed to provide fair, effective consequences. The issues are not so much about who did what, as increased awareness that current methods are highly ineffective and often reflect stereotypes within society. Suspension(AKA a vacation day) rewards behavior. Isolation teaches children to segregate people who are different. Harsh punishment teaches children that anger, hatred, anbd violence are how adults solve problems. Incarceration increases risk of depression, drug use, sexual abuse, physical abuse, and promotes life long criminality. Monitoring sends the message, 'you are not trustworthy.' Lessons go beyond breaking racial barriers. Adults need to acknowledge and support youth until they are physiologically capable of making sound decisions. Effective methods include mentoring, academics, life skills, the arts, sports, support for parents, and role modeling by adults. We need to start investing in a solution and stop investing in the problem.

Anonymous said...

The real story here is not the code enforcement report itself but the censorship that Municipal officials are apparently trying to enforce.

Anonymous said...

RE:Privitazation of the forensic Unit at NSH.
Stan, get real, you know politians lie. Don't beleive responses from DPW officials. Of course they don't want the community to know what's going on because they don't want an up-roar. By history, privately run prisons are costly, and I don't mean finianchially. Most inmate escapes are from private prisons. Recent riots,due to cost cutting, money saving measures, lead to inmate unrest. This story runs deeper than DDPW wants you to know. What about the large number of employees that are being forced out of a job. Most of those people choose that danderous profession with every intention of being in a position to retire at age 50. By DPW forcing these employee to move somewhere else in state job, they have to work an additional 10 years to receive benifits. This is just wrong. Working in Forensic /Mental health is a very stressful job. I don't think it is fair to ask employees to change life plans just to acheive lower cost. Has there ever been an escape from the Forensic unit? Is this cmmunity willing to take that chance just so the State can save money? Personally , I'm not. If the system needs repair, DPW should take responsibility and fix it, but not at the cost of two hundred careers. Most of the employees are dedicated civil servants who have devoted most of their adult life to this profession. Marie.

Anonymous said...

RE:privitazation of NSH Forensic Unit.
I would not believe everthing DPW says. They are only interested in saving money. There are more than 200 civil servants who have dedicated most of their adult lives to serving the clients in Bld. 51. Inmate dissatisfaction, riots escapes, and bad press are some of the results of Forensic privitazation. Is this community ready for that. I'm not.

Anonymous said...

Stan: Today, Saturday,October 20th, I tried to read the entire Norristown Municipal Counsel Report that was adopted - Ordinance No. 07-14. Mr. Forrest and any person working on this report deserve much praise. It is not a piece of cake running a borough of this size and with so many areas that need to be fixed with limited funds, it is a wonder anyone would want to undertake such a position. Very broad shoulders are truly needed. Also... the staff at the Times Herald are to be commended on the layout of Notices such as the above. Nerves of steel are needed. Thank You!