Glenn Girls Basketball Team To Be Honored By Town & County

[Originally transmitted on Elwood Community Network on 5/1]

With gratitude for the fact that this can't possibly be snowed out (as Glenn's Football and Volleyball teams experienced earlier this year, twice), you should pencil into your personal calendars two dates, and times, and locations, at which the John Glenn Girls Basketball Team will be honored for winning the Suffolk County Championship in their Class:

Suffolk County Legislature, Hauppauge May 10th, 9 AM

Town Board, Town Hall, Huntington June 6th, 7 PM

Our fine young ladies deserve every honor for their wonderful achievement and it would be nice to have community representation as support for them. Congratulations to the team and their coaches.

Elwood Quiz, In Connection With the May 17th Election

[Originally transmitted on Elwood Community Network on 4/29]

Question:


What are the names of (1) the former Elwood Board of Education Trustee, who was endorsed by Elwood's teachers union for his/her only contested election to the BOE, and (2) the former Elwood Principal, who was known to be active in other union matters in Elwood, who were reported today to have met, on Thursday night, at a home in the Old Chester Hills section of Elwood, with a very young and very inexperienced candidate for the May 17th election for the Elwood Board of Education?


Contest Guidelines and Rules:

You have twenty-four hours to consider the question, and to propose your answer; both names must be correct.

The first correct answer will receive 20 Belgian Francs, and the second correct answer will receive two Nathan's Franks.

Frankly speaking, given the conversion of most European nations (including Belgium) to the Euro, the second prize is worth much more than the first prize.

There are no penalties, other than sheer bemusement on the part of the writer, for wrong answers.

Only one entry is permitted per household. Void where prohibited by law. Caveat Emptor. Sic Transit Gloria Mundi. New York City Transit when I dated Gloria DiSalvio during college.

The Flowers (and Signs) That Bloom in the Spring, Tra-La

[Originally transmitted on Elwood Community Network on 4/28]

Yes, it is that time of the year when not only the daffodils and the tulips pop up everywhere, but BOE election signs also begin to "pop up" and spread.

As part of our First Amendment rights, subject to laws relating to property and obstructing driver vision and so on, we are entitled to post signs on our properties supporting candidates for any public office, including school board.

But, please remember the commandments relating to this right.


For every citizen:

XI Thou shalt not steal or deface the signs of candidates, even those whom you believe do not deserve to be elected, unless someone has placed a sign on your own private property without your permission. (*)


For the five candidates, or their campaign workers:

XII Thou shalt not place campaign signs on private property unless you have already obtained the consent of the owner of that property. (*)

XIII Thou shalt not place campaign signs on public property, including recharge basins (sumps), or adjacent to intersections which are not on private property. (#)

With regard to the two notes above:

* = While most of us would find it hard to believe that someone would actually do this, a few years ago Elwood did have a candidate for BOE who placed signs on some lawns without the consent of the owner.

# = First-time candidates often may not realize that Town codes, and County codes, prohibit placement of campaign signs, or any form of commercial advertising, on publicly-owned land. As I discovered in the one time I ran, in 2002, either the Town or the County will remove such signs and usually dispose of them. Since these signs are not cheap, do yourself -- and everyone else -- a favor by keeping your signs away from public property.

But to all, a Happy Spring (finally).

Jerry Hannon

Should We Be Surprised that LIPA Was Not Looking Out For Us?

[Originally transmitted on Elwood Community Network on 4/27]

While listening to the Morning Edition news program on the WSUF (105.7 MHz) affiliate of WSHU, which is the NPR station which covers Southern Connecticut and Suffolk County NY, I heard a terrific -- shocking, but terrific -- investigative journalism story which they did regarding overcharges and highly questionable charges billed to LIPA by its contractors, and simply passed along by LIPA for payment by its ratepayers, you and me, in the electricity rates.

Here, from the WSHU website (http://www.wshu.org/news/story.php?ID=8715) is the base introduction for this story:
.......................................................

"LIPA struggles to provide oversight of storm costs

A receipt from Hooters. One of thousands of receipts submitted by National Grid to LIPA for Hurricane Earl

Charles Lane
Suffolk, NY April 27, 2011

Starting in January WSHU began investigating the Long Island Power Authority's response to storms. Specifically we looked at a non-storm, Hurricane Earl which grazed Long Island last September. WSHU examined four thousand pages of receipts and invoices and found reckless overspending that went unnoticed by LIPA until we began asking questions.

Documents

WSHU has posted all of the invoices National Grid has so far submitted to LIPA for Hurricane Earl. You can search and browse them on DocumentCloud or crunch through a downloadable spreadsheet.

Looking for something specific? like just the crew guide receipts, or examples of high priced meals (like here, here , and here), or luxury transport , or clothing , or alcohol, or GPS devices, or all the charges so far disputed for 2010 (plus Earl).

If you see something interesting (or know of things we missed), email charles@wshu.org"
.......................................

This is another demonstration of the value of good investigative journalism, based on facts, and based on excellent analysis, and free of any bias or partisan political fantasies, or hopes, or trumped-up (pun intended) charges.

Usually we find good investigative journalism done by the better newspapers in our country, as the recent Pulitzer Prize awards attest, but it is great to see WSHU and NPR tackling a major issue, such as abuses of ratepayers by LIPA, and it is only puzzling that Newsday failed to uncover this abuse.

Jerry Hannon

Supplement Regarding Some of the Candidates for BOE Trustee

[Originally transmitted on Elwood Community Network on 4/20]

With regard to yesterday's community commentary, "School District Received Nominating Petitions for Board Trustee Positions," I now have some information about the other two candidates whom I did not know.

I also have been made aware of two minor corrections, and I will quickly cover those first:

(1) Mr. Gutekunst's first name is William, and not "Walter", as I had typed.

(2) James Tomeo graduated from John Glenn HS in 2008, and not 2007, as I had imagined.

Now, for the information about William Gutekunst and Michael LaMena, which I have learned from reliable friends:

William Gutekunst - Bill and his wife live in the East Northport section of Elwood, and they have children in Elwood schools. According to the internet site Linked In, Bill is a Vice President of Medical Solutions Group Inc., which has a regional office located in East Northport. He was one of the organizers of the Elwood Youth/John Glenn HS Wrestling Golf Outing last October, and he serves on the Executive Board of Elwood Youth Wrestling Club. I don't know of any service by Bill on district committees, but Bill's business management experience could be useful for the district.

Michael LaMena - Mike is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, and spent one year teaching at Mount Saint Michael Academy in the Bronx. He spent fourteen years as an executive at Morgan Stanley before joining HighTower Advisors, where he serves as Chief Operating Officer. Mike and his wife live in the Huntington section of Elwood, and they have three young children; one friend believes that the one child of school age is at Harley. I don't know of any service by Mike on district committees, but Mike's experience with financial activities and hands-on executive experience in operations management could also be useful for the district.

Undoubtedly over the next few weeks we will all hear from each of the five candidates, one of whom we clearly know well and favorably already.

Jerry Hannon

School District Received Nominating Petitions for Board Trustee Positions

[Originally transmitted on Elwood Community Network on 4/18]

I have learned, as many of you have probably already heard through the Elwood grapevine, that qualified nominating petitions, for each of the two seats, have been received by today's 5 PM deadline. I am listing the names alphabetically, but actual position on the ballot is determined by lot.

For the seat presently held by Mike Kaszubski:

1. Walter Gutekunst

2. James Tomeo


For the seat presently held by Patty Matos:

1. Michael LaMena

2. Patty Matos

3. Jack Schwartz


Frankly, I have never met, much less spoken with, either Mr. Gutekunst or Mr. LaMena. Undoubtedly information will develop on both of these individuals, and I will offer comments after that has occurred.

The job of Board of Education Trustee is a grueling one, demanding not only a major investment of time, but also an investment of emotional energy. The fact that this is a totally unpaid and uncompensated position means that we have to respect the dedication of anyone who does this job, and even admire those who are willing to make the commitment to the community and school district, should they be elected.

Since I do know three of the five candidates, I will pass along my own experience with them.

Listing the three alphabeticallly:

Patty Matos - Frankly, I am delightfully surprised that Patty is apparently going to run for re-election; I had been afraid that she would not, despite the fact that I don't think there are even a handful of potential candidates in this community who could hold a candle to her accomplishments, much less defeat her in an election. Patty probably has more friends in Elwood than you or I have in the entire Northeast United States, and those few who don't like her -- well, they simply don't really know her or want to know her.

Patty is the quintessential devoted member of our community, and has been active in the school district for well over twenty years. That includes serving as President of most (if not indeed all) of the PTA units, and she was my immediate predecessor as Elwood PTA Council President.

In addition, Patty has actively served on several committees of this school district, both prior to her 2008 election to the BOE, as well as subsequently. Selfless devotion to the district, and dedication to the entire K though 12 spectrum, as well as continuous and consistent active involvement and volunteer work for the students and the entire school community, are important elements for anyone asking for our trust and support.

Jack Schwartz - Jack, if I recall correctly, is a patent attorney. He was active in the group that was focused, in 2008 and 2009, upon pushing the school district to establish Full Day Kindergarten. As I was a member of only six district committees over the past few years (dropping back to four committees this year, due to so many other demands for my time), I don't know if he served on more than the two where I occasionally but infrequently saw him, the Citizens Finance/Budget Advisory Committee (CFBAC) and the Facilities Committee. He has not actively participated in the CFBAC during the 2010/11 school year.

James Tomeo - I served with James on the Shared Decision-making Committee of John Glenn HS a few years ago, when I was a Parent Member and he was a Student Representative. James graduated from John Glenn in 2007, I think, but I don't know what he has done since that time. I do know that he is a genuinely nice person, and my records also show that he was an unsuccessful candidate for Board Trustee in 2008. What I do find somewhat surprising is that James has apparently not served on any district committees subsequent to his unsuccessful run for the Board of Education, and if someone cared enough about the district to run for the BOE, then I feel that person should have been willing to give it a commitment of active and consistent support in a meaningful way.

Good luck to all of the candidates, and after I am able to develop information about Mr. Gutekunst and Mr. LaMena, I will comment at that time.

Jerry Hannon

District Has Posted Reply to 2nd Variation of Contingent Offer from Teachers Union

[Originally transmitted on Elwood Community Network on 4/16]

For those who have not gone to the District website today, you will find a link to the reply from the Board of Education to a revised offer from the teachers union, Elwood Teachers Alliance.

You will find that letter by going to the Home Page, http://www.elwood.k12.ny.us/, and following the first item under "Headlines", titled "Board of Education response to the Elwood Teachers Alliance offer New!"

It is obvious that the union continues to offer a financial concession but only, repeat, only if the District will agree to a contract extension plus a commitment to future increases.

You will find the BOE's financial analysis in the body of the letter referenced above. The verbal summary of the Board is found in the following three sentences:

"The request to extend your contract for two years, through June 2016, in light of diminishing state aid, and a looming tax cap with no specific guarantee of mandate relief, leaves us unable to extend a further financial commitment to your unit members. Simply put, we are unable to write you a check now without knowing if we will be able cover the expense. If we were to make such a commitment, the future increase of salary expense you proposed will put us above the tax cap and our only recourse would be to eliminate jobs and/or valuable programs."

I don't know how you react to this scenario, but to me the concept of sacrifice, which is what all of us are being asked to do, is just that. Sacrifice. It should not be a negotiation to get "x" benefit in the future by giving up "y" today.

The students are not going to get any carve-back, or future benefit, for what they have to give up in 2011/12 in terms of reductions in either programs or after-school activities.

The taxpayers are not going to get any carve-back, or future benefit, for what they are being asked to do in terms of significant tax increases for 2011/12.

The benefit to the teachers union is that they would be able to preserve the jobs of many of their colleagues, the younger teachers, the future of our schools and our society, providing that the more-senior teachers (since we are still faced with the last hired-first fired system imposed on us by Albany) simply give up a scheduled increase in 2011/12.

That's right, they are not being asked to take an actual CUT in salary; they are simply asked to not take a scheduled INCREASE in salary for 2011/12.

I remain hopeful that wiser, and calmer, and more compassionate minds and hearts among the teachers union's Executive Board will prevail.

But the clock is ticking ever more loudly, and time is flying by ever so swiftly.

Jerry Hannon