The Rats Are The First Ones To Flee The Ship!

With all the talk of rats and parking spaces, you can hardly see the state of education in Lynn through all the smoky haze of the back rooms. Not only is the vision of where we are going educationally, you have a hard time seeing the kids.

Currently there are 5 audits by the Dept. of Education going on at the schools around town. At the last LSC meeting it was assured these are just standard information collecting audits but with about as many civil lawsuits going on, can we be sure?

Are There Rats In City Hall?

Whenever a person is sick, they take medicine. That is what the doctor orders, so we do it. Education is the medicine for all our economy's ills. No one pays you for being dumb.


Consequently it boggles my mind why our local politicians can't see the forest for the trees. As evidence of their continuing vision problem I offer up this latest story:

http://www.itemlive.com/articles/2010/11/10/news/news03.txt

I personally have sat in on a meeting last spring where Mayor Kennedy shared her vision for he school department's  administration's offices to be under one roof. The Bennett St. location was to be that roof. Currently the special education department is across town, out from the direct supervision of Dr. Latham. I am not saying she is unaware of what the special ed, people are up to but they are not across the hall
either.

I have heard rumors that Dr. Latham is resistant to the relocation. Now they taught me in school not to put much store in rumors. The fact remains though, I've seen no U-haul trucks yet and Dr. Latham still gets her mail at the same place. Who is boss here?

This vision was the reason given why the Bennett St. location why the city was not a viable place for the placement of the KIPP School. Instead KIPP is allowed to build on possibly the most prime piece of real estate in the city. Maybe they wouldn't have wanted the Bennett St. site but an attractive package could have been put together.

Enter Lynn City Councilman Phelan and Seacrest, Foods. Now the rats in Lynn may have the opportunity to feast on gourmet foods. I guess that will solve the problems at the Ingalls garden. Why would rats want to eat vegetables when they can eat fancy food?

Aiming For The Wrong Target

Some of Lynn's  middle school students were fortunate enough to hear Louis Gossett, Jr.'s inspiring and educational lecture yesterday. It seems like there is nothing bad to say about this.

Mr. Gossett's sincerity is beyond reproach. The problem that I have is that we didn't get the maximum benefit out of this event. The target audience of middle school kids makes for good copy and better photo ops but unfortunately according to most research the majority of a kids personality and values are set by age 12.

Does that mean yesterday's program was a waste of time? Of course not. I am just saying that it should have been set up to have the kids it could have helped the most in the audience.

Elementary kids probably wouldn't have been much more ignorant about Mr. Gossett's incredible achievements than middle school children. I still remember his line from "An Officer And A Gentlemen", "Texas, The Only thing they raise in Texas is steers and ...".

I am sure he would remind us all that is an example of how not to act.

Can I Have Your Autograph?

My son is joining some TV news program at Pickering. I don't know much about it YET but I promise you I will, Anyway he is excited about it.

This sounds like a great thing. It will give the kids a chance to be a mini-celebrity. It Something should be in every middle school.

Drewiez Students Learn To Build A Better Mouse Trap

Volunteer engineers from GE help to make science more interesting by helping
 the kids gain some hands on experience. It's always better when you can see with your hands.

http://www.itemlive.com/articles/2010/11/05/news/news03.txt

The Last Rat Story - For A While

At the Buildings and Grounds subcommittee meeting that took place before the regular LSC meeting, there was so much testimony bout the rats that time constraints forced the normal open-mike period scheduled before the beginning of the meeting had to be cancelled.

Each side was given opportunity to have representatives appear before the committee to try and convince the committee to follow their line of reasoning. The magic of the Internet gives everyone the confidence to advocate as a self-proclaimed expert.

The anti-garden crowd trotted out heavy hitters, Councilmen Trahant and Cyr who expressed deep regret at now having reached the conclusion that even though they had initially supported the garden now they felt it had to go. I wonder since they were now so convinced it was the main source of the rat problem why did they ever support it in the first place. Didn't they do any research on rats and gardens before? I am sure their change of heart had more to do with phone calls than science.

Another neighbor gave a long winded soliloquy about the destructive activity of the local rat population. While it was short on actual scientific substance it did have a disturbing visual, a description of little pink rat babies - nasty.

The Food Project had their people testify too, but in the interest of wrapping the meeting up, one of the alumni who had actually worked in the garden didn't get to testify. Of course this led to claims from some of The Food Project crowd that they weren't given equal time. I don't know of any official count but I would say that they had the largest crowd.

Once the Buildings and Grounds subcommittee meeting was over most of the crowd went out in the hall to wait for the regular meeting. Being the politician that she is, Mayor Kennedy plunged into the crowd and came out with a compromise. The alumnus would be allowed to have his say before
the regular meeting

So, he did

Keeping A Head Of The Game

A big discussion on concussions as it relates to sports last Thur. night in the Athletic subcommittee held before the regular LSC meeting. The MIAA regs were read as they pertain to concussions. Basically if you lose consciousness you are banned from any activity until you have a doctor's clearance to play.

Every year the football helmets are sent back to the manufacturer for reconditioning. Usually about ten helmets are not returned because they are not able to meet the specs.

Speaking from personal experience, you can never be too cautious with a head injury. Small injuries can have big consequences. Your life can be altered in so many ways.

Rental Fees - Need To RegulateThe Irregularities

The rats in Lynn get to use the school facilities for free but everybody else has to rent the facilities. LSC member Donna Coppola was concerned because she had reports of some out of town groups getting a cheaper rate than our own local groups.

As it turned out this was only a one time mistake blamed on the overwhelming task of managing the administration of the rental schedule. In the past the job had a regular full time position to handle the job. Because of budget cuts the task has been shifted to a part time position to a person already with other duties.

To make matters worse there is no set standards to help insure that everything always remains the same. According to LSC Secretary Tom Iaribbino, in the past groups had just been charged enough to cover the janitors salary. Lately, a charge to cover the gas and electricity have been added.

Because we live in a litigious society, LSC member John Ford asked if there was some assurance that groups had adequate liability coverage. He was assured that the present online scheduling system prompts the user to provide proof of liability coverage.

Rick Starbard echoed the rest of the LSC's call for a set standard for all rental fees. It was agreed that one would be produced. We await further developments.

If Rats Could Read

The rats have been very, very good to me. LSW has been getting a lot of hits lately and the traffic can't all be from my mother.

One commenter to my blog has even given me undeserved credit for having contributed for Highlights magazine. I just wish he wouldn't lavish so much praise on me and instead put forth some of his accomplishments.

If the rats could read some of the garbage he and some of the misinformed readers of the Item spew out they would do a little rat dance and celebrate. Closing down the garden would guarantee  a new open place to serve as a depository for all kinds of new trash, providing an excellent dining atmosphere. The rats will have to wait in line to get a seat.

Maybe Councilmen Trahant and Cyr can get new jobs as waiters.

A Garden of Verses Or Was That Curses

Now a story about Lynn Public Schools' other garden, the rat-free one at Ford. David Gass, co-chair of The Highlands Coalition, Inc., was asked to appear before the LSC.

Gass was about to testify about the plan for the construction of a greenhouse at the garden. It seemed to me Gass was about to describe a major project with plastic everywhere. After hearing this LSC member Donna Coppola motioned that the matter be tabled until Dr. Crane was present.

I am sure David was disappointed about the delay in the decision but to be honest he overcomplicated the production. In fact the greenhouse appears to me that this proposed greenhouse is not much more than a series of umbrellas.

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors Or They Want Us To Believe

One of the proposals put forth by Mayor Kennedy to help alleviate the rat problem is the construction of a fence. After all, they don't have a rat problem at Ford and they have a fence. The fence they have at Ford is a wrought iron fence with spaces in between bars that would prevent only the fattest, most overweight rats.

Besides wasting the taxpayer's money, the fence not only would provide Mayor Kennedy some political cover it would allow Councilmen Cyr and Trahant to play both sides of  it, appeasing a wider range of their constituents.

Both councilmen are on record as having supported it in the past but now reluctantly, coming to the conclusion that it must be closed down. People should be allowed to change their opinions, even elected officials.

However are we to believe that these councilmen who portrayed themselves as champions of these poor homeowners who are victims of this vermin onslaught did not know that even if they could have forced a vote to end the lease that night he garden would have continued to exist for 90 more days. In 90 days there will probably be two feet of snow on the ground and the rat problem solved.

By then, a "new fence to nowhere" might have been constructed and Councilmen Trahant and Cyr could stand on both sides of it.

Athletics To Adopt Six Day Schedule

Well it's time to take a break from the rat story. It's not from lack of bait, it's just there was so much other important info that was covered at the LSC meeting.

One of those items was that there will no longer be any athletic activities scheduled on Sunday. It was the unanimous belief that we adhere to a six day schedule. LSC member Rick Starbard pointed out the body needs a day of rest to recover. John Ford agreed but pointed out the need to grandfather in previously scheduled events.

The final policy also allowed for the exception of when weather makes it necessary to add the day to schedule he event. This seems to be a rare exception and not the rule.

It was good to write about something other than rats. I admit, it was creeping me out.

Rats Can Be Model Citizens

We all could learn something from the supposed rats at Ingalls. According to self-proclaimed "gang-expert" and neighbor, Marguerite Pueleo these rats are willing to share their turf with "Bloods", "Crips", and other rival gangs.

I don't profess to have Ms. Pueleo's expertise on identifying patterns of gang behavior, after all I am just a poor old country boy from WV but I didn't know such rivals could peacefully co-exist with such harmony in one place. These rats sure are giving us an education. Thanks to Ms. Pueleo for pointing this out for us.

But I've Got The Papers To Prove It!

One of the arguments brought against the garden at Ingalls brought against the farm was that disreputable people were working in the fields and other illegalities were occurring. To prove this  papers were being waved around to try and convince  members of the LSC that their complaints were legitimate.

Unfortunately this proves nothing. I have learned you can say anything you want but it doesn't make it true. A lot of papers get produced in court but they don't really mean much unless a judge's signature is on the bottom of the page.

After all Kleenex tissues are somebody's paperwork.

Another Rat Story?

If you are reading this you took the bait. Actually I want to take a break from that disgustingg story to talk about "Innovative Schools". In the northeast here we are supposed to be on the cutting edge of education. Here is a story from my old hometown, Clarksburg, WV, population around 17,000.

http://www.cpubco.com/articles/2010/10/29/news/02.txt



For all the talk about the back woods culture, my old county is looking at two new Innovation School proposals.

Who's backward now?

Let's Solve Our Own Problems

Considering the fact that we had a log and contentious LSC meeting Thursday night with real concerns about rats, gangs, and gangs of rats at Ingalls School why is the Item choosing to run a story about another city and  whether or not certain relationships between teachers and students are appropriate? Is this a diversionary tactic? Is someone feeling heat

Halloween Comes Early!

I spent the morning scaring the kids at Ford School as the mad, zombie, “volunteer” librarian. But they were not as scare as I was at the LSC meeting last night.

The real scary thing was  Lynn City Councilmen Trahant and Cyr believe that the primary reason for the rat infestation in their neighborhoods was the garden at Ingalls School.

The thought that these men help run our city’s government is truly frightening. Refusing to use reasonable thought and scientific data in reaching their conclusions calls into question their judgment.

Luckily LSC member John Ford beat back hordes of vermin keeping them away from the garden at Ingalls, Armed with photographs and a report from Boston Inspectional Services showing the true cause of the rodent explosion, uncovered trash cans, litter, and just plain garbage.

Fortunately for the kids and all of the social benefits provided through The Food Project, the LSC
was not fooled by the faulty, inflammatory logic of the some of the adjoining neighbors.

In order to give these homeowners some degree of respect, LSC member Maria Carrasco did ask that more investigation be done. I hope this works but I will let you know something I have learned from my numerous appearances in probate court, “You can’t reason with unreasonable people”.

Christmas Comes Early

The Food Project will be out in force at tonight's LSC meeting. Actually the fireworks are scheduled to start before the regular meeting at the subcommittee meeting before the meeting. The FP wants to get their lease renewed for their garden at Ingalls School (Don't you just love that name, it makes me think of Santa Claus).

I Smell A Rat!

Rumor has it  that there is concern that part of the "rat" problem at Ingalls School is due to the location of a garden on the land leased to the Food Project. Since my daughter walks by Ingalls everyday on her way to Marshall, I called the school Monday to investigate. I asked for the principal who wasn't immediately available cause she as off doing principal stuff. I mentioned to the secretary the nature of the call was that I understood they had a rat problem. She vigorously denied it and demanded to know who told me. Not willing to answer her inquiries, I figured I'd let it die and address it if it came up in tomorrow night's LSC meeting.

I did try and warn David Gass, co-chair of the Highlands Coalition, Inc., since we have the International Garden at Ford School. David adamantly stressed that the problem was no rats at all but vandalism from the local youth. Then he proceeded to try and school me on how rats are not attracted to vegetables. I thanked him for the education but I reminded him that I grew up in WV. I had a little experience with gardens. I've even helped make haystacks but that's another story.

I was at a MBTA committee meeting in Boston this afternoon when I started getting a flood of e mails confirming my suspiscions. So I thought I would address this now instead of waiting for the LSC meeting.

In reality, David is right vegetables don't attract rats. Maybe if they had a bunny infestation at Ingalls they would have an argument We don't have his problem at Ford's garden. Part of the credit goes to the Highland Coalition's efforts to place white trash buckets affixed to the telephone poles all along Rockaway St. All of this confusion could have been avoided if Ingalls had a fully stocked and staff library. Then the kids could read E. B.White's classic, "Charlotte's Web" and see the the rat goes to the trash and not the garden.

Anyway I'll be at the meeting tomorrow.

Standing Room Only, Almost

Right next door to the library where I volunteer as Ford School's librarian sits a class of Special Ed kids  of 5 or 6 crammed into a room that in better days probably served as a storage room. Given the nature of any kid, let alone an individual who needs more individualized instruction, this is a recipe for disaster.

I feel guilty I have not wrote about it before but there is just so much. Luckily I got to see Jessica McLaughlin,the Supervisor of Special Ed., dropped by the class to observe.

We didn't talk about her plans for the class because I'm just a volunteer librarian, we talked about how well my son is doing at Pickering. Anyway I have to give credit to Jessica for being out in front o this issue. Let's just hope she and the rest of the professionals come up with a plan to help.