« November 2020 »
S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30
You are not logged in. Log in
Entries by Topic
All topics  «
ART NEWS
COMMUNITY INTEREST
DUFFY Media Publications
FASHION NEWS
REEALY?
Welcome to the Blog
Blog Tools
Edit your Blog
Build a Blog
RSS Feed
View Profile

DUFFY'S CULTURAL COUTURE
Sunday, 22 December 2019
See Something Say Something
Topic: COMMUNITY INTEREST

DUFFY’S CULTURAL COUTURE (DCC)  REPORTS

 

A simple walk for a Hamilton resident in Veteran’s park turns into a heroic moment

 

photo by Andrea Michele Herrick

 

 

See Something Say Something……the Hamilton residents since the epic shenanigans of the outgoing administration are on shenanigan alert. The residents do not want another administration that ignores public health and the environment.  But there are times that things may turn out to be ok, but the public was not made aware of what was going on and that my friends is just as bad. 

 

Government needs to be open, honest and forthright with their residents, the people they work for. They need to make residents aware when possible unique testing is being done so they do not alert residents.

 

A Hamilton resident posted some photos yesterday of Veteran’s park.  These were the photos that Andrea Michele Herrick took while she was walking through the park.  These photos sparked the environmentalists and activists in Hamilton is wing into gear.  There were calls made to the DEP, emails sent to DEP, Tweets sent to DEP, text messages sent to Dave Kenny: Business Administrator for Hamilton and other modes of communication to alert authorities on what was observed in Veteran’s Park.  The residents got zero response. They had no idea what the real answer was. This article is being posted at 11:15am on Dec 22, 2019 and there is still no response from anyone in a position of leadership.

 

                                      photo by Andrea Michele Herrick

 

 

DCC sent up an OPRA request to the township, but it will take 7 days to get a response. Here is what they requested. So, we ask that others in the township do not send up another request to clog the system. We really want to get a response to the residents in a swift and timely manner.

 

OPRA REQUEST….

 

“We are requesting copies of all work orders, contracts, for work to be performed and was performed in Veterans Park on the following dates for the calendar year of 2019. Please also include all documents that refer to investigative work on Dam Site #8 in Veteran's Park as well.

Friday Dec 20

Saturday Dec 21

Monday Dec 22

Tues Dec 23

 

On Sunday at 7AM, DCC editor, Tammy Duffy went to the park to validate the photo’s and speak to daily walkers in the park. As she parked her car, she ran into a Hamilton resident. A resident who was walking their dog. She warned them of the “green” water and to be careful walking their dog.  When Duffy asked if they knew anything about the green water the resident then said, “Yes, the Hamilton workers/hired contractor in the park yesterday poured antifreeze into the holes they dug. They were doing what looked like core sampling. To ensure the holes did not freeze over they poured antifreeze into them but as they poured the antifreeze it leaked out of the holes, they poured more to “freeze” it and the situation got worse. “The “green antifreeze” as seen in the photos obtained by Hamilton resident Andrea Michele Herrick.

 

However, as we began digging further, there is a question as to whether this is antifreeze or not. As many know during St Patrick’s day in Chicago, they turn the Chicago river green.  It’s a harmless dye that they use.

 

There are also other materials out there that are used for lake testing.  Here is a link to one such company and what their materials are used for.

http://www.keycolour.net/product-inquiry/tracing-dyes/

 

As DCC dug further they learned that the township has been lowering the level of the lake to do investigative work evidently on Dam #8 in Veteran’s park. If this is indeed the case and why residents saw the shamrock water, why did they not post signs on every entrance of the park to alert residents? That would have been very easy to do. This was not the case.  There was zero signage up in the park alerting residents of any such testing of Dam #8.

 

So, did the administration create a situation and alarmed residents for no reason? The OPRA response and any response from the township administration will optimize the confusion. DCC also learned that this coming week there will be boats in the lake to sample the lakes water quality, etc.  An eyewitness’s assessment was that antifreeze was being poured into the lake may not be correct, or is it? If no one responds, it leaves everything open to ones own interpretation.

 

If the green water is just a representation of a water tracer dye, that is completely safe and non-toxic to the environment. These tracers are used to determine the direction and rate of water flow in a system. The tracer dissolves in the water, producing a vivid Chicago River like appearance on St has Patty’s day. This is used to test the diffusion and dispersion patterns. The way the dispersion of these products work does not appear to be in line with what is being seen in the Veterans Park lake. A simple response from the township could clear all of this up.  Signage being put up in the park prior to the injection of a possible testing product could have also alleviate concern by residents.  When there is military testing being done at Joint Base, they always send out a public notice a few days before that you are going to hear extra booms, see extra planes, etc. They care about their impact on a community and do not want to alert any resident unnecessarily.  Hamilton could possibly learn a thing or two from the military, if indeed this is the case with the mystery green water.

 

In the event, it is not from any type of investigative work on Dam #8, then, Houston….we have a problem and it needs to cleaned up pronto.  Antifreeze can pollute groundwater, surface water, and drinking water supplies if dumped, spilled or leaked, and is harmful to marine and aquatic life. While in an engine, antifreeze can become contaminated with lead or fuel to the point where it must be managed as a hazardous waste.

 

Here is a link to photos the the editor of DCC took today, Dec 22, 2019 at 7am. These were taken in the space spot as those by Andrea Michele Herrick yesterday.  The green definately has dispersed through the lake. Is it ok, or not, we await a response from the Hamilton officials and the OPRA request.  

 

https://www.facebook.com/Duffyculturalcourture/posts/1546677865494778?__xts__[0]=68.ARAu_PIINrFVS-qPEkNQpb6Ht7hax1Gy_PxMu99Nbau10Ye5_nL9qfyzHis2lrhf9T4-nm8Ix-hhk3opUPEy-5of8O0JUEYSk2Uhv4HIDDpwoTWPukcFeMJ6m1uydirab6KRi-oUON5mMgAzBQyH41WoQE1q13VnAGv5BL0RllBeezBVnSIcrFcJiQhnHXq6b_XXQ0sjAcMPbk5O6Pq9fbjsaSdoJtXDpj2k7TgT_ssk65NvueUh4lvsEi75aQCBo0EZENHt-w8t3Sx-BOhbBZBCrfJc9-qatgpbzfTXQeNZSl72rq3ymxNAR6f0IlD8R9Ci2PColuYtPfYqgIvwzpOjUA&__tn__=-R

 

 

 

 

Antifreeze is made of either ethylene glycol or propylene glycol. They are similar chemicals, but propylene glycol is significantly less toxic. Antifreeze spills should be cleaned up as fast as possible. Though propylene glycol is less toxic, ingestion of a small amount of antifreeze can damage the central nervous system, even causing death in some cases. Its bright green color and sweet taste can be deceptively attractive to those who don't know it is poisonous, like animals and small children. An estimated 10,000 cats and dogs are accidentally poisoned by antifreeze annually through ingestion. Antifreeze spills on lawns will kill the grass if not cleaned up immediately. Ethylene glycol antifreeze doesn't evaporate. Ethylene glycol in air will break down in about 10 days. Water and soil: ethylene glycol in water and in soil breaks will breakdown within several days to a few weeks. 

 

Over time, antifreeze will break down and form acids that corrode the inside of the automobile's cooling system. In doing this, the antifreeze becomes contaminated with heavy metals, fuel and other grit from the engine. These include lead, tin, copper, zinc, iron and benzene -- some toxic. These substances, carried and deposited by antifreeze, can contaminate soil and water, poisoning organisms and damaging habitat.  The heavy metals and other contaminants still pose a serious environmental risk. If antifreeze leaks out of engines or storage containers or spills on grass, it is often toxic and can hinder lawn and plant growth or kill plants outright.

 

Antifreeze may cause the water to change color, for example—there are secondary effects. Anything that gets into water undergoes a degradation process. This degradation depletes oxygen levels in the lake, leaving less for the aquatic life. It would be frightening if antifreeze was used in a project yesterday. 

 

The potential Environmental Impacts from antifreeze are quite large. It can pollute groundwater, surface water, and drinking water supplies if dumped, spilled or leaked, and is harmful to marine and aquatic life. While in an engine, antifreeze can become contaminated with lead or fuel to the point where it must be managed as a hazardous waste.

 

So, Hamilton leadership…….do we have a problem or not?  Please respond to residents. In the event there is not an issue, please put up signage in the future to alert those in the park that they will see this and not to be alarmed. There is an amazing sign shop that residents pay for in Hamilton, they could have made amazing signs for this. There are numerous ways residents can get communication if indeed this is a simple testing issue. The township webpage, an email, signage, use your tools. 


Posted by tammyduffy at 11:19 AM EST
Updated: Sunday, 22 December 2019 11:23 AM EST
Sunday, 15 December 2019
Why More and More People Are Buying Online

 

 

 

Why More and More People Are Buying Online

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When digital marketing first started in the mid 1990’s many, including myself ignored it. We could not dream of not going to the mall, outlet stores and the like to make our purchases.  During the past two days I spent time beating the path in the retail world, which is a very rare occurrence for me. I have zero time to shop and Amazon is my go-to retailer. Today, purchasing online is accepted by many, but if you look across categories of purchase, there are some sectors where there is still reluctance to buy online, so online retailers still need to work on their tactics to encourage online conversion and multichannel tactics to encourage offline purchase in-store.

 

As I ended my weekend of visiting the brick and mortar……I quickly realized….. I am an online shopping gal. I can find all the odd stuff I use for hiking, electronics, etc. online with ease vs going to store to store to be disappointed with the lack out outcome.  Let me share a few of the experiences I had this weekend.

 

I visited the Jackson outlet mall in New Jersey to possible do some holiday shopping. The plan was to walk from one end to the other, hitting every store, starting at Nike ending at Carters. What I found in every store, were unhappy salespeople (except for the gals in the Van Heusen store), rude parents and kids completely out of control. The biggest frustration I have going into any brick and mortar establishment is staff’s inability to count change. You make a purchase, and they stare in terror at the register as it pops open. Many cannot do the arithmetic that 2 nickels are equal 10 cents.  This is no exaggeration; this is the norm vs. the exception. 

 

Upon entering one of name brand clothing stores, I was immediately ram rodded by a young male, approximate age 18 years. He was going through the entire store ramming into people with full force. My first reaction was that of startlement and I thought, the child may have a deficiency that is causing him to act in this manner.  Yet, as I watched the child move swiftly through the entire store, doing the same thing to all women he encountered. I started to hear laughter from a corner of the store. This laughter was coming from the child’s father.  He stood there laughing at what his kid was doing in the store. Even if the child has an issue, I cannot imagine a person who would call themselves a parent would laugh about what was occuring in the store.  I left the store as quickly as I entered buying nothing.

 

Another store I went into sold high end crystals and their store is jampacked. The aisles are very tiny, only large enough for one person be in at a time. I was looking at a possible gift for my mother and all the sudden I felt a large shove to my lower legs. A mother with her baby carriage rammed her baby carriage into my lower legs and then had the audacity to yell at me to move out of her way. She could have easily turned her carriage down another aisle but felt the need to ram be like a couch and she was the vacuum.  Who does that? I looked at her and said, “Are you kidding me with the battery ramming of my legs with your carriage?  Her response, “Get out of my way NOW!”  she said this in a tone that resembled Regan from the Exorcist. This person was obviously out of their mind, so I just moved out of the way and left that store buying nothing.

 

In the Coach store, I listened to millennials who were shopping there ask, “How much will this cost with 25% off?” The millennial clerk responded with, “I am not sure, they will ring it up at the register.”  The quality of the bags, wallets, etc. in the store were nothing like when Coach first came to market.  The poor quality of the customer experience equaled the poor quality of the merchandise. However, the prices, did not reflect all this poorness.  I left that store buying nothing.

 

The children that were left to run through stores unsupervised also turned off my shopping experience. How is it that parents today allow this level of disgraceful behavior of their kids in public?  I never would have done that as a kid, my parents would have knocked my block off and I would have deserved it.  Those stores with the wild child’s running amok, I bought nothing in them either.

 

The only store I did buy anything in was a Christmas Craft shop. Each little stand was manned by the owners of the little shops. They all took pride in their product, could count change and had smiles on their faces that were like a Cheshire cat. There is something to be said for buying local…….forget the retailers……the customer experience does not drive you to be a customer.

 

The final stop of the day was at Costco. It was a complete zoo with hundreds of people with huge carts ram ridding each other in the aisles. Many were grossly discourteous and could care less about anyone but themselves. The kids in this store were better behaved than the adults.  I could not wait to get the hell out of there. At least the check out clerks there are always so nice and helpful, which closes the purchases you made on a positive note. Once you leave the store at night, its quite busy in the lot and a gal in her care sideswiped my cart with her car. She was traveling at a high rate of speed in the lot. She and her daughter had the nerve to scream obscenities at me, like it was my fault. They sped off into the night. I was happy I had the cart, or it would have been my body that got hit.

 

I came home and purchased a few things online to finalize my needs for holiday gifts.  Sunday I was on a quest for garland, after hitting 5 stores and coming up empty handed. I came home and hit my go to online shop and got what I needed.  The free shipping online entities offer makes it very tolerable to purchase online.  So off to Amazon I go……I do not have to deal with anyone who cannot count change, any rude people ramming me with their baby strollers, any deficient parents condoning their kids bad behaviors….I just get what I need, put it in my cart, pay and rest.  This is why Amazon does so well…….because so much of the brick and mortar out there are just like these experiences I shared.

 


Posted by tammyduffy at 4:14 PM EST
Three New Exhibitions to Open in January at Hunterdon Art Museum
Topic: ART NEWS

 

 

 

Three New Exhibitions to Open in January at Hunterdon Art Museum

 

 

 

 

CLINTON, NJ (Dec. 13, 2019) – The Hunterdon Art Museum ushers in 2020 with three exhibitions on Sunday, Jan. 12. An opening reception will be celebrated on Sunday, Jan. 12 from 2 to 4 p.m. that’s free and open to all. Refreshments will be served.

 

Explorations in Felt

Discover some of the most innovative and beautiful works created with felt in a new exhibition at the Hunterdon Art Museum.

Explorations in Felt features 29 diverse works created by 25 artists from around the world. The exhibition had unique origins. The Fiber Art Network and Fiber Art Now magazine approached the Hunterdon Art Museum about hosting an exhibition as a companion to their print exhibition Felt: Fiber Transformed.

Artists with work in the HAM exhibition also include: Jacobo Alonso, Ellen Bakker, Kim Buchheit, Eva Camacho-Sanchez, Chantal Cardinal, Kristin Colombano, Heike Fink, Anna Goransson, Sugandha Gupta, Linda Hirschman, Shelley Jones, Hyunsoo Kim, Ryan Lytle, Pamela MacGregor, Katherine McClelland, Margaret-Ann Miller, Rachel Montroy, Kim Paxson, Kimberly Pulli, Teresa Shields, Becky Stevens, Karen Thurman, Cathy Vigor, Dawn Waters and Cynthia Zyzda.

 

Gloria Ortiz Hernàndez & Lorraine Kisly: Art + Design

Art + Design explores the drawings of Gloria Ortiz-Hernández, the ceramics of Lorraine Kisly, and the furniture designs that emerge from their collaborative vision.

Ortiz-Hernández works with a variety of materials including pencil, colored pencil and charcoal. Her drawings on paper in the exhibition and her steel sculptures all have clear references in the design work.

Kisly works in high-fire stoneware, using both the wheel and hand-building techniques, and her work explores themes of openness, receptivity, containment and compression.

The two artists began collaborating on furniture design when a specific need arose in a studio/living space in Bogota, Colombia. Creating the first piece ignited both artists’ creativity, and other works quickly followed. Their furniture, while uncompromisingly functional, reflects the same aesthetic concerns that inform their art.

 

Emily Squires Levine: Embracing Color/Polymer Clay

Small colorful boxes and bowls have attracted artist Emily Squires Levine for as long as she can remember.

One of her first memories is of a colorful embroidered fabric oval box, a gift from an aunt who traveled to the sunny shores of the Algarve in Portugal. She has kept this precious memento her entire life. Other fond recollections include a mother-of-pearl box and a small bowl from Turkey which held tiny seashells.

This lifelong love for colorful vessels has deeply influenced her art. Levine works with polymer clay, creating bowls, vases and other items that entice the eye with their vibrant colors and diverse patterns.

Explorations in Felt and Gloria Ortiz Hernàndez & Lorraine Kisly: Art + Design run until April 19. Emily Squires Levine: Embracing Color/Polymer Clay closes on March 1.

GENERAL INFORMATION FOR THE PUBLIC

The Museum is at 7 Lower Center St. in Clinton, New Jersey, 08809. Our website is www.hunterdonartmuseum.org and our telephone number is 908-735-8415. Hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 11 am – 5 pm. Admission is $7 for adults, $5 for seniors and students; children under 12 is free.

ABOUT THE HUNTERDON ART MUSEUM

The Hunterdon Art Museum presents changing exhibitions of contemporary art, craft and design in a 19th century stone mill that is on the National Register of Historic Places.  Founded in 1952, the Museum is a landmark regional art center showcasing works by established and emerging contemporary artists. It also offers a dynamic schedule of art classes and workshops for children and adults.

Programs are made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and by funds from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Hunterdon County Cultural & Heritage Commission, Investors Foundation, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, The Large Foundation, Unity Bank, and corporations, foundations, and individuals. The Hunterdon Art Museum is a wheelchair accessible space. Publications are available in large print. Patrons who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired may contact the Museum through the New Jersey Relay Service at (TTY) 1 (800) 852-7899.


Posted by tammyduffy at 2:58 PM EST
Sunday, 10 November 2019
A New Hamilton
Topic: COMMUNITY INTEREST

 


Photo by T. Duffy Corner of Sandalwood and Sweetbriar after Yaede political sign is removed

 
 
 

It’s over…..the animals and residents have spoken in Mercer County and the election is complete. Incumbents were removed from office and a new team will take their place in January 2020. The new teams have a lot to do, clean up, course correct and prove their dedication to the residents they have signed up to serve.

 

A very wise man just said………..John Edward Barrett, CFO of Hamilton township.

 

“This has been a crazy week. I hope your candidate won. We hear the story of the worker who was entrusted with the boss’s affairs. As the story goes, he was not responsible for the master’s well-being. When confronted by the boss, he starts to scramble around to cover up for his misdeeds. One can only imagine what was going through his head, realizing that he was caught. As the story goes, he starts to cover up his crimes to hide the financial impact of his actions. Many of us remember the story of Martha Stewart and the sale of her Inclone stock.  Martha went to jail, not for the sale of the stock, but the coverup of the stock. She probably would have never spent a day in jail, if she would have admitted to what she did. When a man is confronted, instead of coming clean with his loss, he makes it worse by trying to hide the magnitude of his misdeeds. We have seen this too many times. Is doing the right thing a choice? I do not believe it is not a choice. Each of us may at some time be faced with an issue and we know the right thing to do. It’s clear, it’s a no brainer. When we are in a position, when no one else is looking are we willing to compromise our integrity or do the right thing? Doing the right thing is not a choice. Rather, doing the opposite is a choice.  Our reputation and integrity must come first. “

 

The residents cannot wait for him to come back to fix the mess that has been made since his removal by the mayor. However, this past week during the election was not without shenanigans.  In one township in Mercer County, there was a record number of provisional ballots, almost 500. In one polling place, a couple came in to vote. In the book it demonstrated they had done a mail in ballot; their claim was they had not. During the process of finalizing their provisional ballots the husband said to the wife, “How did ______ (they stated the name of a mayor in a town in mercer county) know who we wanted to vote for?”  The wife responded with…  “Shhhhh.”  They handed in their provisional ballots and off they went.  The incident was reported to the master board workers and the board of elections. The board of elections does a honorable job trying to weed out the cheaters. But the cheaters will always cheat.

 

Another candidate in Mercer County;  felt compelled to put their signs up in a neighborhood illegally. They attached them to stop signs, arrow signs, dog waste signs (which we found rather poetic) and numerous other illegal places. There were 37 illegal signs put up in a neighborhood where a 24-year-old youth was recently killed on his bike.  Traffic signage and lights in this neighborhood are very poor. It was a great tragedy that this young man died. The residents in that sector of the township have been asking for optimization to street signage, to date, no signage has been installed to correct the unsafe area.  They had a supporter, Thorazine, who's "words of wisdom"  for "her honor" have been flushed down the toilet along with the landslide loss. 

 

So, one must wonder, who in their right mind would purposely install double the amount of signage illegally in a neighborhood where a youth just died? Did the candidate feel they were above the law to do this?  Did this candidate lack a moral compass that drives them to want to deliberately hurt the residents they are supposed to be serving? When residents brought attention to the administration about this issue with the illegal signs, the candidate’s response was to more than double the signage that was put up. How would you view this, especially knowing the person who did it, is the public safety director for the town? Is this the act of a leader? The residents are saying no. Their comments have been…….” This is this the act of an immature, spiteful, childish, self-indulgent, lack of concern for public safety being” . Additional comments included, “ All the signs in the world were not going to get this candidate elected, they are as corrupt as Al Capone”. More comments, “ The toxic culture they created in the town will be removed in January and the residents are singing, “Hallelujah, rejoice the king!” 

Another resident sent a text message. ONE OF THE WIVES of Hamilton (we believe there is a HULU series in the works on this story)of Hamilton

 

 

 

During the election, in Hamilton, there was a letter that came from the Republican Chairman to the Mercer County Chairperson. The letter was a cry for help as it pertained to financial support for the chair’s choice of candidate. The response by the county chair was spot on. There was a statement made that focused on the candidate ability to help Lisa Wu with the distribution of signs.  There appeared to be a nope….we are not helping her attitude. Well, that did not end after the election. A resident who was outside mowing their lawn personally witnessed the removal of a Yaede campaign sign. This sign was placed on the corner of Sandalwood and Sweetbriar Ave. The gentleman who came to remove it had dickens of a time getting it out of the ground. It took him a good 8 minutes to get the sign out of the ground.  Adjacent to the Team Yaede sign were two other female candidate signs. The Yaede sign remover did not take the Lisa Wu signs down. The resident mowing their lawn said, “OMG, can you be pettier? It took that muscular guy 8 minutes to remove the Yaede sign (they know that for they had mowed half of their lawn) and he could not lift the other two out of the ground. Which he could have done with one finger because they are just wired signs. What asshole would direct their people to do that, well we know who did that? We also guess the next time the township chair goes crying to the county chair for support, she will remember this as well as all the other shenanigans by the candidate who lost the election by a landslide. Let’s talk about the animal shelter……that was just criminal.”

 

It’s time for Hamilton to heal. For the residents to embrace the new leadership, whether they are Dems or Reps. We owe it to the residents to make it work to make the new leadership accountable and work for the residents, not just their own family and close inner circle. 

 

IF.....and only IF....... she would have just spoke to the residents and admitted her team failed, she probably would have won the election even with everything going on. It’s the lying that the residents could not tolerate anymore.

 

 

 


Posted by tammyduffy at 11:30 AM EST
Updated: Sunday, 10 November 2019 11:36 AM EST
Sunday, 27 October 2019
WHEN REALITY HITS……. When A Town Has A Broken Moral Compass
Topic: COMMUNITY INTEREST

WHEN REALITY HITS…….

 

When A Town Has A Broken Moral Compass

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s look at the public health issues that have resulted in unnecessary deaths in Hamilton, Mercer County. At a recent forum, candidates were asked how they would be proactive in running the township. After reading these issues below, ask yourself this question. Is the current administration focused on public health, safety and performing their roles in a proactive nature?

 

1.  2014: EVD68, Eli, a 4-year-old Hamilton resident dies from the disease.  The Public, health director and entire administrative staff, reported at a town hall that they were  unaware of a Nationwide epidemic going on. The team of politicians stood up town halls and openly admitted to the fact they had no idea what the disease was. There is video content on YouTube, supporting this.  An OPRA request also demonstrated that prior to the death of a 4-year-old, no SOP's existing in the schools in Hamilton to manage dealing with outbreaks. This was demonstrated from an OPRA request. It was not until there was a death in town that they learned about the epidemic that the administration, addressed the public demonstrating they had no idea what the disease was. One might question if they misled the public by stating they were rewriting the SOP's. The SOP's at that time never existed. 

2.  In 2019, Legionnaires cases and a death in Hamilton. To date, there has been no information shared on the township website. Other municipalities in NJ, that have had this unfortunate event as well, all have been forthcoming with residents.  The administration of Hamilton, Mercer County, stated that the state is responsible for telling residents.  The township Health department never let the BOH know this was happening.

3.  Director of Health department gets indicted for numerous issues. DOH states they are in process of revoking his license. No public announcement from the Public Safety Director on this issue. When she was approached by residents, she ignored all of them as well as councils’ requests for a town hall. 

4. For 7 years, residents in the Cornell Heights area have contacted the current Mayor on traffic issues. They have been ignored for 7 years by the Mayor, even though she claims she has an opened door policy.  In July 2019, a 24-year-old boy was killed on the corner of Sandalwood and Carlisle  Ave. while riding his bike. The township officials the next day had an emergency meeting to finally approve signage to stop the use of trucks on the streets. Again, it takes another death before the leadership responded.

5. Currently there is a Hepatitis A outbreak in NJ. This is a disease that is very contagious. There are 361 cases on record, 19 of which are in Mercer County. Yet, again there is zero information of focus on community education on this issue from the Public Safety Director: Mayor Yaede or anyone on her staff. They again are obtusely unaware of this epidemic.  The Director of Public Health for Hamilton who is also the Mayor, must be waiting for a death or two to happen before alerting the residents of this epidemic. 

6.  Youth Suicide Epidemic. Statistics show that Mercer, Warren, and Ocean counties have the three highest rates of suicide attempts and self-inflicted injuries in the Garden State, which has 21 counties overall.

7. Animal Shelter Issues. Authorities said they found that between Jan. 1, 2016, and Oct. 1, 2018, about 236 cats and 93 dogs were illegally euthanized at the shelter before holding the animals or offering them for adoption for the seven days required by state law. These animals were euthanized without sedation utilizing cardiac sticks. A DOH report exposed the following…..

 

Among the more than two dozen deficiencies  at the animal shelter, the DOH uncovered in their investigations:

— Staff administering euthanasia were not certified by a licensed veterinarian. Plunkett on Wednesday said the animal control officers have received the proper training since the inspection report.

— Animals were not being weighed, and there was no scale, in order to determine the correct dosage for euthanasia. The inspectors found evidence of numerous possible miscalculations. For example, an owner surrendered a dog reported to be 120 pounds, but the euthanasia log says it was 80 pounds. The dog was given 10 mL of euthanasia solution rather than the minimum of 12 mL required for a 120-pound dog.

— Euthanasia records do not match. A cat was recorded euthanized but then reclaimed. Another cat was recorded as euthanized and then adopted. Another cat was reportedly euthanized twice – once on May 9 and again Aug. 24, 2017.

— About 67 mL of euthanasia solution was unaccounted for. Was never found.

— There were no prescription labels, instructions, dosage calculations for the euthanizing drugs, which were not stored in refrigerator or dated.

— Cat vomit was on several surfaces.

— The kitten isolation room was not ventilated or air conditioned during a 90-degree day.

— Food and water bowls were not being disinfected daily.

— Small animal cages were not being cleaned and disinfected regularly. Staff did not know the last time they had been cleaned.

— Dog food was spilled on the floor.

— The shelter had no veterinarian-written or supervised disease control and health care program.

— There were no medical records, treatment orders, or medication logs. Treatment documents were not available for killed animals.

— Some medication had expired five years ago.

— Prescribed medication had not been administered.

— Medicine was lying around with no labels or instructions.

— There was no isolation room for sick dogs.

— An isolation room for cats was connected to the central air system.

— Animals are supposed to be scanned for ID chip three times – when they are captured by an officer, during intake and again upon release or euthanasia. The state said the shelter only scanned animals’ intake.

-Animals that were terminally ill were never seen by a vet.

-Volunteers were intimidated to remain quite or fired if they asked questions.

-Animals were euthanized by untrained staff using expired drugs and unapproved methods. This was exposed in two different investigations.

-Strays and surrendered animals were euthanized swiftly and did not wait the required 7 days. The administration received an order by the State to stop this behavior immediately once it was officially discovered by the authorities.

-The shelter expansion cost taxpayers over $1.4 million and during testimonies none of the directors took ownership on the issues at the shelter.

-No grooming area was apparent or a larger medical area

-The state inspection exposed the real conditions and required renovations. The costs were never shared on the optimization

-The amount of euthanasia increased after the expansion. The purpose of the expansion was to decrease the number of euthanasia.

-Under oath the Dir of the Shelter testified that they had never in their 40-year career on the job, ever inspected the shelter and SOP’s did not exist.

Two of the employees have been charged with animal cruelty at the shelter.  In a Trentonian article, …https://www.trentonian.com/news/newly-released-hamilton-animal-shelter-report-exposes-troubled-facility-s/article_7a847364-7113-11e9-9eb3-53550fe57a2c.html additional information was reported as well.

 

 

“The response by the mayor and her administration was initially to deny the findings, attack the credibility of the state inspectors and to attack the credibility of the members of council who voiced concerns on this matter on behalf of the members of the public,” the report said.  As it pertained to the animal shelter inspections.

 

Is there a trend to pivot blame, attack the credibility of authorities, residents, CFO’s etc. in Hamilton? Would a true leader not take ownership of the issues? Do residents feel that the current administration has done so?   Residents need to ask themselves who are the leaders in Hamilton right now. Is it the current administration or the competition that proclaims promise of change?  m so sorry this horrid woman did what she did to you guys. We pray she goes away after Nov

So, what is the current administration doing about these atrocities that occurred to the animal residents of Hamilton?  Have they had the time to address these animal atrocities or have they been distracted by other entities over the years?

 

Let’s pivot……

 

E.L. James is out of business. For those who do not know, she was the infamous author of the Fifty Shades of Grey series. There is prose out there written by a politician that warrants a cold shower and time in the red room.  

 

It has been exposed that more than one man in the township has been pursued by the acting administration. For example, there is evidence of 39 Facetimes in one day, text messaging went on for years at all hours of the night and day.  In one month for example, there were 418 text messages sent between the two parties, another month 648 were sent. During a 24-hour period one day, 24 text messages were sent. One day, from 7pm to 9AM 38 text messages were sent.  From 2:47pm to 12:23am, 24 text messages were sent on top of the facetimes between the politician and the husbands of interest.  This cannot be denied, it’s plain as day in the phone records that have gone public. We are not showing them to protect the people involved from further harassment by the politician.

 

 

This article is not about the text messages. However, the time of day that they occurred is a concern. As a journalist, we do not care about the sex part of these text messages, Facetimes, etc. What we want to educate the residents on is the appearance of a possible abuse of power that is represented by these text messages. When a politician uses their seat in public office to abuse the residents, gross intimidation of residents by using the power of office, that is a large problem. When this is occuring, resident can instill change during elections, or impeachments.  

 

What any politician does during work hours, and their days never ends. It is important to the general public. Unfortunately for them, everything they do matters. They must withhold a high level of integrity, behavior, and mannerisms in order to uphold the public’s trust. This amount of time being spent by any politician text messaging an interest, distracts them from their public duties. When the distraction is so great, that they become unable to perform their duties, it’s time for change. One man we interviewed said, “I do not think men see married women as “more” attractive”.  

 

It's called Vag-power. “They want to prove that they can get anything they want, especially another women’s man, because they have  Vag-power! But they don’t want anything long term, just want to prove they can!  Some may even say that they would never be second to any man and that is all these adulteresses are, used seconds.”

 

Imagine you are one of the women whose husband is pursued by a politician. They learn of it and instantly go into save my family mode.  The disruption to the family unit is never the same and the women involved are forever scarred. The kids are affected and that must matter. The families want to move on and try to rebuild their family unit. The pursuer has not a care in the world as to the effect they have on that unit.

 

 

On Feb 16,1999, NJ Transit opened a new station in Hamilton, NJ. It’s rather poetic that NJ transit-built a train station in Hamilton, they never knew the town would become a train wreck on Dec 10, 2013 when a new administration was sworn in by Senator Jennifer Beck. An exercise that residents are sure that the dear Senator regrets;  that Judge Alito regrets. We sent them messages in the past on this topic and await their response.  

 

 

There is a lot of tension in Hamilton township, Mercer County.  The issues are massive; the suspension of the CFO, the large illegal issues at the animal shelter, the sewer issues with Robbinsville, a health director indicted, an ACO indicted, the list goes on and on. The leadership refuses to meet with the public to discuss the issues; even though they have been contacted by residents, by council and concerned friends. Their unified silence is deafening.  The leadership has failed its residents.  What is next for Hamilton? Only a select few; who have been performing an extensive investigation of the town, know the real answer to that question.

 

History will expose why this leadership has done what they have done and the motivations behind their decisions and behaviors. It also appears from the conversations on the street, instant retirements, the end is near for the shenanigans and a cure for the residents. There have been numerous interviews of both township employees, residents and the like over what has transpired over the last 18 months. Many were done under oath by different agencies.  It’s a trying time for the town and its residents.  The residents are looking forward to healing. They will Vote on Nov 5th for the next phase of Hamilton.

 

When an administration’s strategy is to point the finger and take zero accountability, that is a problem for a town.  In Hamilton, the mayor of the town, being the first female mayor has missed the opportunity of a lifetime. She has done zero to help the female population in the town, as it pertains to inspiring them, holding them up when they needed assistance, and driving positivity with the youth.  Some of her supporters have posted photos of the mayor with other women. A photo does not represent any program, any focus to put other women on a permanent pedestal in Hamilton. Photos do not represent permanent programs that have been executed, sustained to achieve a difference for the female population of a town.  They are just photos. It is our understanding the person posting these photos has been promised a job to be an executive assistant to the administration. 

When any politician choses to put themselves first, the residents are an afterthought at best.  In the event, a Public Safety Director, has zero interest in the safety of the public,  and only in themselves, the residents suffer. These types of politicians lack the resilience that is needed in leaders to drive teams to success; in the face of unforeseen circumstances.  When this happens, residents have one choice, they can VOTE FOR CHANGE or accept the status quo.  

In  a recent released audio, from a GALRE class,  the Mayor of Hamilton stated if the students listened to other GALRE presentations, they would have learned more. Yet, a tweet by another student below demonstrates how they felt after a presentation early in the same year. In March of this year, the mayor visited one of the schools (7th and 8th graders) in the township. The Mayor started the conversation with the students, “I am here to talk about how the fact that I am so pretty and how that affects my ability to be mayor.”  She went on to say to the students that people told her that she was too pretty to ever achieve anything.  Did the mayor miss the memo on how to motivate children and do public speaking? The school system has now implemented a new policy on how these interactions can happen with the students after the released audio.  

 

 

Below is the audio from the GALRE Class at Hamilton West presentation

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gvla1dNg3oc&t=45s

 

 

 

 

 

 

The council special committee to date still has not been able to get an update from the shelter on optimization. The administration refuses to come and talk even though they have been given subpoenas. Residents have given donations to the shelter and the shelter still to this day gives no receipt of the donation.   The administration claims the animal shelter is world class. If that is indeed the case, those evaluating this issue would think they would want to toot their flugelhorns like Chuck Mangione to share the world class process and procedures they have implemented.

 

During a recent political forum a politician was asked this…..: you have years of time on the job with years on the school board, council and now mayor, there is an audio clip floating around town on social media and around town of a 37 minute speech that was delivered to a group of students at Hamilton West High School. The moderator of the forum said, “I personally listened to the clip and you spent a considerable amount of time discussing your Republican primary opponent, who you already defeated, Mr. Martin and others that were personal attacks and inappropriate to say in front of a group of high school students. Do you believe your presentation was representative of an educational experience for the children present? Do you feel it demonstrated a mature, seasoned community leader like your resume reflects?......”

 

The politician’s response….”In going into the GALRE classes, I found it amazing that one person recorded one of the sessions. It is unfortunate because if they would have listened to the several others they would have heard where I have been called names. My family has been also been called names and harassed. Those questions were asked in the prior class and that is what I thought of that. The ugliest of politics has come to Hamilton.  People expect me to be the Mayor, but they also expect me, when I must defend myself, that will happen. People want a leader that will defend themselves.  In that, my conversations have not changed since day one with the GALRE classes."

 

Below is the excerpt from the forum

 

https://www.facebook.com/steve.clegg.7773/videos/vb.100000402647220/2646780558678673/?type=2&theater

 

Did the Mayor answer the moderator? Did they take ownership for what they did at the GALRE class? 

 

Residents are feeling frustrated. One stated, “ I have never seen public officials or the taxpayer salaried individuals, like those in Hamilton right now, who behave in such a demeaning, sarcastic and offensive manner towards the residents they serve.  Maybe they believe they are Pappa Roy, from the hit show, Succession and just want to tell us all to Fuck off.”

 

 

 

 

But where are the residents of Hamilton getting their strength and stamina from, each other. Through all this they have developed a strong team spirit and sense of community. The residents do not want their leadership calling them racist or other names. They want the leadership to lead and not abuse their power to intimidate and harrass residents. One resident said,” We want our leadership in Hamilton to stop engaging in policies that negatively impact communities of color and/or stop ignoring the needs of the neighborhoods west of Quakerbridge, it’s not that hard.” Another said,” Stop threatening us.”

 

You cannot empower or inspire anyone when your main goal in life is to rub everyone’s nose in your title. When politicians lack the fortitude to have a diverse administration, everyone loses. One politician was heard saying one day during a meeting, ” I do not care what their qualifications are, I need a woman.” Leaders who hire beating hearts and not the right qualified person have nowhere to go but down.

 

We wanted to take this story a bit further as it pertains to missteps in politics in the USA.  There are many examples.  We reached out to numerous men and women throughout the United States, to better understand why they think women pursue married men. Why do they feel the need to destroy families with their behavior? The women and men I asked were from all stretches of society, throughout the world, different educational backgrounds, type of work they did and socioeconomic status. You will see their comments throughout this article, all their comments are in italics. They also shared their personal experiences with politicians in the past, those interactions and episodes are shared as well.

 

The truth of the matter is, any flavor of cheating relationships destroys families. Sometimes they heal, or appear to be healed, but the underlying distrust does not go away. It’s imbedded in the souls of the those involved forever.  “When a predator sees a man with a wife and family, and they do not have the same in their lives, they feel that others should not have the happiness they have. Destroying a family by seducing a husband is the thrill of the games. Once the game is dead, they then move onto another man.”  This comment is very interesting due to the fact there are other examples that were shared from another interviewee about specific behavior of a politician. They align.

 

 

Here is that example of the alignment….

 

“A politician was in the wedding of a friend, a friend that worked in their administration. But the nanosecond this employee had a baby they were demoted to secretary because the politician was jealous.  Other people’s happiness bought vindictive behavior to the highest level by this politician. “

 

More comments made by those we interviewed. 

 

"They hid behind a cloak of commitment. It is easier to be with someone who is already taken. It is not a relationship built on truth; it may be exciting for a little bit. But reality will always hit. "

 

There are scientific studies out there that focus on this behavior and why it happens. The science states that this is a biological process that exists across species. That females are more attracted to males based on the endorsement of a third party; they call it mate-choice copying.

 

A man on his first marriage is much more attractive to an adulteress than a man on his fifth marriage.  The study went on to say that younger and less experienced women are more likely attracted to married men. They view married men as “safe”. However, the study also demonstrated that mature women never go after married men. This is due to the fact they have more sophisticated ways of assessing potential mates. The ultimate irony of mate-choice copying, the moment you cash in on the boost and cheat, you instantly become less safe and less attractive. So, the post-marital attention is what it is, a small confidence boost to your Dad bod, Nothing more.” 

 

Some women chase married men habitually because they are looking for financial security. Especially, if the married man is successful. However, men do it because at a certain age, they too go through menopause or some type of age crisis. If their personal romantic situation, in their own minds, they feel their wife is not taking care of them, they cheat to fill that void.”

 

“They’re trying to take something from another woman. I guess first, there’s that adrenaline rush and thrill of doing something bad. It’s also a controlled relationship. Very private and secret, and time together is limited, like dating. So, its is almost like everyone is looking their best and on their best behavior, none of the drudgery.”

 

"It's like buying a car. But you do not have to test drive it, someone else already has. Plus it feels good to know you are good enough to temp or take a man away from another woman."

 

"Some women love the challenge of a married man, it gives them the opportunity to possibly show they are better, they are intrigued by married men." 

 

“Some women can be wicked. They want to prove that they can get anything they want, especially another women’s man, because they have the, excuse my French, Vag-power! But they don’t want anything long term, just want to prove they can!  Some may even say that they would never be second to any man and that is all these adulteresses are, used seconds.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We all remember the story of Anthony Weiner who in May of this year was released from prison due to his text messages. During the interview when he was released this is what he said,” I am feeling relieved to be getting back to my family, to be able to live a life of integrity and service. I am glad this chapter of my life is behind me.”  He and his wife live on the same floor in a NYC apartment building, but not together as they continue to heal as a family.

 

So, what drives someone to these behaviors, whether they are a politician or a non-politician? One of our interviewees said, “ I do not think single women go after married men. I think men lie to women and women get caught up in a relationship thinking that it’s a good and equitable relationship only to find out later its not. I believe at that point, the women are put in a difficult position, or throw away something they enjoy and built or weighing the pain she has caused another woman and/or family while continuing the relationship. These women are not innocent and nor are the men. Why do people cheat? That is another question.

 

 

So, the age-old question, why do politicians lie? They lie to exploit the ignorance of the public and to facilitate deals. Why do people make such poor decisions in politics? Why are they so often distracted by lies, irrelevant alternatives and specious arguments?

In politics, hypocrisy and doublespeak are tools. They can be used nefariously, illegally or for personal gain, as when President Richard M. Nixon denied Watergate complicity, but they can also be used for legitimate public purposes, such as trying to prevent a civil war, as in Lincoln’s case, or trying to protect American prestige and security, as when President Dwight D. Eisenhower denied that the Soviet Union had shot down a United States spy plane, or when a Mayor says crime is down by 17% but the State Police crime data does not support that…. They are betting the public won’t fact check them.

 

Politicians use and abuse statistics and fabricate when it suits their purposes. Nobel Laureate Herbert Simon  said it best.  He said, “Politicians use something called “bounded rationality.” “Bounded rationality” is about being influenced by emotions, preconceived notions and things I may think I know but really don’t. “

What’s more, political figures can get away with saying things that don’t square with the facts, because it would take too much effort for the average person to fact-check everything for accuracy. People with lesser abilities tend to overstate their level of knowledge and understanding. If I see a bad call by a football referee, my first reaction might be to say that I could have gotten that call right, but I’m totally not trained as a referee and wouldn’t have a clue about what call to make on most plays.

This perception of illusory superiority comes from people not being equipped to realize that they don’t know what they don’t know. That in turn makes it more difficult to separate out “fake news” from reality. The residents of towns live in the reality. The reality that they need change.

The interviewees also shared stories of interactions with politicians throughout the United States. Some of the stories were quite incredible. We share those as well below. 

 

There was an episode, prior to being elected that an interviewee shared, “ Where a politician was found sucking their thumb, rocking back and forth in a chair in a catatonic state. This was due to the fact they were concerned about a new role they took were they felt they were not the center of attention. It was not the pedestal that they thought it would be.”

 

This was a very sad story, for mental illness is a large issue in America. We can only hope this politician gets the help they desperately need. Do you feel that people who do this are capable of being in public office? Should there be a required mental health test done of elected officials to ensure they have what it takes to do the job. This ensures the safety of a community and themselves. In the USA, we do this for driver licenses in many states to ensure as we all age, we are still acute enough to deal with the difficulties of the roads we drive on.

 

Another story focused on the fear of a suicide attempt of a politician. It was shared, “When this politician does not get their way, and the personal pedestal they have placed themselves on the collapse; they crash. The family of this politican is always very worried when their political child crashes.  A job transition occurred for this politician in the past where they thought they were going to be the face of  an institution and turned out that did not happen. Extremely sadness took over this politician and a member of the family called another friend to ask if they should remove the guns from the home in fear that something bad would happen.

 

 This is a very sad state of affairs as well. We repeat what we said above.  We can only hope this politician gets the help they desperately need. Do you feel that people who do this are capable of being in public office? Should there be required mental health tests done of elected officials to ensure they have what it takes to do the job. This ensures the safety of a community and themselves. In the USA we do this for driver licenses in many states to ensure as we all age, we are still acute enough to deal with the difficulties of the roads we drive on.

 

 

“Some politicians are obsessed with titles. As a leader they will show they drive all the rules and do not dare try to interrupt that. If you do, look out.  Maybe a dead deer or religious propaganda  or high levels of intimidation will end up on your doorstep to show you who is boss. You cannot ask questions; they won’t get answered. They only can direct the questions, even if you ask. Even if you were to ask some politicians, what color shirt are you wearing, they won’t answer the question. They must direct all questions.

 

A politician that will never answer residents or council because they are demanding a response will also do this.  No one can demand anything from them.  Residents beware.”

 

Another political story shared focused on stalking. “Why would someone have such an obsession with stalking? That they are being followed? It is because they believe everyone wants them. That they believe they are so popular that they feel they are being hunted. But this is not the case. They believe that  they cannot get through a day because everyone wants them and won’t leave them alone.  They believe in their own fantasy that the paparazzi want them 24/7. But it is just that, a complete fantasy.  The paparazzi has no interest in focusing their lenses on them. In this story a politician said that a stalker left flowers on their car. The politician kept the flowers in a vase in their bedroom.  When this politician got a new lover and the threw the flowers away, the politician went ballistic and screamed, “They are evidence.”  This politician kept the flowers in their bedroom as if they were a prize.”  

 

Another political story shared…. The interviewee stated, “The politician would go to Florida every year to unwind after a hard election. The politician would brag about how they would go out at night picking up potential suitors at bars. Together they would go back to the politician’s home they were staying in and the bar pick up could never perform. The reason they could not perform according to the politician was because they were appealing, and the bar pick up had never seen anyone that appealing.”

 

 

 

 

 

We will end this article here, to allow you to digest all the information and make an informed decision about politics in the USA. Not all politicians act in this manner. There are some amazing people in politics doing amazing things for their constituents. When residents vote, they get what they asked for.  If you vote, you play an important part in the process. If you are informed during the process, an even bigger part. If you choose to not vote, you gave those the right to stack up against you. Vote for what is best for you and your family. Corruption is not what Hamilton is all about. Don’t help the rest of the world believe that we are.

 

 

 

 


Posted by tammyduffy at 1:41 PM EDT
Updated: Monday, 28 October 2019 7:58 AM EDT
Sunday, 13 October 2019
1:59:40 A Marathon Record is Broken
Topic: COMMUNITY INTEREST

 
 1:59:40 A Marathon Record is Broken
 


Getty images 

 
 

On Oct 12 in the early morning, in a misty park in Vienna, Eliud Kipchoge ran a marathon in less than two hours. His time, 1:59:40, is the fastest any runner has ever covered 26.2 miles.

Eliud, a four-time London marathon winner, was accompanied by 41 pacemakers, which included the world’s top athletes. However, the unofficial  marathon attempt will not be recognized by the IAAF due to the various controls that were utilized to hit the record time.  These 41 men helped push Eluid, shield him from the elements and follow a green laser that always kept them aware of 20 seconds below 2 hours.

The pacemakers ran in a formation to protect Kipochoge from the elements. A green laser also was projected onto the ground to alert the team where 20 seconds below the 2 hour time was indicated.

Kipohoge’s level of motivation, mental and physical discipline and consistency is unrivalled. Under the long-term guidance of coach, mentor and friend Patrick Sang, Eliud first burst on the senior international scene as a teenager defeating track icons Hicham El Guerrouj and Kenenisa Bekele to 5000m gold at the 2003 World Championships.

Eluid then went on to enjoy a distinguished track career, winning 5000m bronze and silver medals at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games, respectively. He also won World 5000m silver in 2007 and his 5000m PB of 12:46.53 sits number six on the all-time lists.

After missing out on qualification for the London 2012 Olympics on the track, Eliud and his coach, Patrick Sang, opted to switch to the marathon – it has been an inspired decision.

During an unmatched marathon career, Eliud has claimed victory in ten out of 11 marathons, racking up an unprecedented nine successive victories over the 42.2km distance. Besides taking the Olympic marathon title in 2016, the Kenyan’s ground-breaking performance as part of the Nike Breaking 2 project – when running 2:00:25 - suggests he is on the verge of the history-defining achievement. 

Following Breaking2 and after also memorably destroying the world marathon record in Berlin last year by 78 seconds - courtesy of his stunning 2:01:39 mark – and running the second fastest marathon time in London this year, Eliud believes the time was right for him to prove no human is limited but also inspire future generations.

Born the youngest of four siblings in Kapsisiywa in the Nandi District of the Kenyan Highlands, Eliud’s father died when he was a young boy and he was raised by his mother, a kindergarten teacher.

Inspired to run by his neighbor, the former World and Olympic steeplechase silver medalist Patrick Sang, the then teenage Eliud approached Patrick – who had started life as a coach – for a training program. 

The gregarious and generous coach agreed and so began a hugely successful 18-year coach-athlete relationship in which Patrick has handed down his principles of hard-work, patience and discipline to his protégé.

A loyal and devoted family man, married to Grace and with three children, Lynne, Griffin and Jordon, Eliud acknowledges the inspirational role his family play in his life terming them affectionately as his “ignition key.”

Naturally curious in nature and possessing a clear, analytical mind – Eliud has a thirst for knowledge and is a voracious reader of self-help books.

Known as “The Philosopher” for his carefully considered quotes he is always willing to share his wisdom to all those at his training base in Kaptagat where he is termed the “boss man” for his inspirational role as the de-facto camp leader.

Humble and caring he currently serves as an ambassador of WildAid and recently became a Daily Mile Ambassador, an initiative supported by INEOS aimed at improving the health and well-being of children.

Possessing exemplary principles and a moral code for living which inspires, Eliud is not only a very special athlete but also a very special human being. 

Great moments in history are never achieved alone and this event was no exception. There were 41 amazing athletes that ran with Eluid. They allowed him to cross the finish line at a time that no man has ever done. Watching the video of the finish one sees how these incredible men push aside to allow Eluid to cross the finish as a solo runner, a solo record breaker. 

The 41 amazing men who were the pacemakers were: Thomas Ayeko of Uganda, Joel Ayeko of Uganda, Selemon Barega of Ethiopia, Emmanuel Bett of Kenya, Hillary Bor of USA, Mande Bushendich of Uganda, Matthew Centrowitz of USA (MD), Paul Cheimo of USA (U.S. Army under its World Class Athlete Program), Augistine Choge of Kenya, Victor Chumo of Kenya, Filip Ingebrigtsen of Norway, Henrik Ingenbrigtsen of Norway, Jacob Ingebrigtsen of Norway, Philemon Kacheran of Kenya, Stanely Kebenei of USA(Arkansas)  Justus Kimutai of Kenya, Shadrack Kipchirchir of USA, Noah Kipemboi of Kenya, Gideon Kipketer of Kenya, Jacob Kipilmo of Uganda, Marius Kipserem of Kenya, Eric Kiptanui of Kenya, Moses Koech of Kenya, Shadrack Koech of Kazakhstan, Micah Kogo of Kenya, Alex Korio of Kenya, Jonathan Korir of Kenya, Ronald Kwemoi of Kenya, Bernard Lagat of USA (WA), Lopez Lomong of USA (Arizona, Abdallah Mande of Uganda, Stewart Mcsweun of Australia, Kota Murayama of Japan, Ronald Musagala of Uganda, Kaan Kigen Ozbilen of Turkey, Jack Rayner of Australia, Chala Regasa of Ethiopia, Brett Robinson or Australia, Nicholas Rotich of Kenya, Patrick Tiernan of Australia, Timothy Toroitich of Uganda, Julien Wander of Switzerland.

Interesting enough, there were a set of 3 brothers who ran, they’re running out of words to describe the youngest of the three Ingebrigtsen brothers – who at just 18 has already won what no other man, woman or boy could win in the long history of European distance running.  Jakob came to Berlin off the back of a demanding schedule at the World Under-20 Championships in Tampere, Finland where he picked up a silver medal in the 1,500m and bronze in the 5,000m. “It’s quite ridiculous that he’s won, he’s only 17 years old, that’s madness,” the father did admit. Henrik’s personal record is unique too: 1,500m gold in 2012, silver in 2014, bronze in 2016, and now a fourth place.

 

 

 

 

The two older Ingebrigtsen brothers (Henrik, now 28, and Filip, now 26) played soccer and competed in cross-country skiing as youngsters. They didn’t focus on running until about 17. At that point, they gradually increased their training to 90- to 100-miles per week, all under the watchful eye of their father, Gert. In particular, he monitored the heart rate of all training sessions, and the blood lactate accumulation of interval workouts on the track.

 

Jakob (now 19) joined a track club at 7, participating in sprints, hurdles, and jumps. At 10, he ran an 8.2K cross-country course at sub-6:00/mile. He also skied competitively until he was 12, but quit the sport much earlier than his brothers. They were more sport generalists for many years, while Jakob became a specialist in his early teens. He saw his brothers success in distance running, and decided he wanted to follow in their footsteps.

 

The Ingebrightsen brothers appear to do one type of training in a manner different from many other runners. They don’t do continuous tempo runs on their own. Rather, they run track intervals of 2000- to 3000-meters with their father taking lactate levels. This may prevent them from going too hard in such workouts—a trap that’s easy to fall into.

 

The Ingebrigtsen’s do a relatively high percent of their weekly miles (23- to 25-percent) running these long repeats at a slowest interval pace, about 82- to 92-percent of their maximal heart rate. With Dad nearby and measuring everything, they don’t overcook the long intervals.

Dad isn’t the only important parent. Their mother has always been an extremely important part of the family team. She always had food ready when we came home from training, and she has washed thousands of kilos of sweaty training clothes.  She is also a runner.

 

“There are no limits for the 3 brothers.  They have another brother who is turning five years old, and soon can join the team. In two years’, time, we will be back to win four medals, not just three.   Indeed, all three brothers have now each won the European 1,500m title, helping to prove as well that the old blue-ribbon event still hasn’t lost all of its luster. Better. Smarter. More dedicated. The Ingebrigtsen mantra might be relentless, but it is propelling this family to greatness. Great teams can achieve what no human alone could ever achieve. 


Posted by tammyduffy at 7:27 PM EDT
Friday, 27 September 2019
Mayor visits Hamilton West GALRE Class
Topic: COMMUNITY INTEREST

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Mayor visits Hamilton West GALRE Class:

A Political Roast 

 

click on the link below to listen to the entire presentation to the GALRE Students

 

https://youtu.be/Gvla1dNg3oc 

 

 

Yet another missed opportunity brought to you by the Public Safety Director of Hamilton

 

Take a read........ 

 

 

 

The Public Safety Director/Mayor started her interaction with the students talking about the windows in the schools. She did not know how a student could get out in case of emergency. She actually said, “I did not know that”, when the teacher explained how the windows worked in the classroom. The teacher also stated, “We do not have much faith in them.”

“Wow”, said the public safety director of Hamilton. She had no idea how the windows worked or what advice to give to the students in the event of an emergency.  That is not good. 

The Mayor was introduced as a lifelong resident who has been employed by the township for 13 years.  She started the talk with, “I am the first female mayor in the township and up for re-election.”  She shared she is the first Mayor with a Mayor-mobile.  It was interesting she took this approach, vs, wanting to learn about the students and what is important to them.  The Mayor is a graduate of Nottingham and stated she attended Stockton State College.

The Mayor went on to say she has been asked if she lives in the municipal building, does she have a jet, or a butler. Well, the butler part we may disagree with. The staff of the Mayor has been photographed, carrying her water, umbrellas, picking up dog poo from her animal in her car, having to dress up in drag, act as her backup dancers, etc.  She does not have a jet, but she has a fully outfitted Mayor-mobile.

As the Public Safety Director she stated she wants to get a feel for every school in the township. She stated that she is the first mayor to ever go into every school. We guess that the schools lack signage, see something say something.  One might ask how she missed the mushrooms and mold growing at the schools, which pose a public health threat to the students.  The Mayor went on to state that after the shooting in Newtown she wanted a feel for every school and how they are focused on safety. Yet, when residents OPRA’d the SOPS for the schools as it pertained to safety and cleanliness, they were told none exist. In the absence of SOP’s how are the children being kept safe by the Public Safety Director and the administrative staff of Hamilton? There are 17 elementary, 4 high schools and 3 middle schools in Hamilton. Where are the policies as it pertains to student safety?

She stated that she works hand in hand with DeRocco to ensure the schools are running and performing smoothly. Yet, on her calendar we could not find scheduled meetings that represented this level of dedication she shared with the GALRE students.

The Mayor went on to share that the town pays $6,000 a year to tell us the temperature of our bridges and crosswalks, that the township is solely responsible for the student’s safety to and from school. Yet, the crosswalks have not been painted in years at the schools.  So, we guess the Public Safety Director forgot to budget paint for her team. 

 

After attending college she ran for the Board of Education, she sat as VP on HBOE.  She also took full credit for a grant that the township received for the school systems. The mayor then said she has never thrown another politician under the bus. Maybe that is true, she has thrown them under a row of busses, not just one.  Maybe that is what she needs the Mayor-mobile for, to try and jump the buses like Evil Knievel over the residents and politicians she ostracizes. 

She went on to say, “Can you guess who said this to me?”

-Hamilton will never elect a woman

-You are too young

-You need to tone down the pretty (here we go again, why is this a topic at every GALRE talk)

 

“ELECTED OFFICIALS, she shouted.”  She then said, "This made me work harder and she told the officials I will either go around you, go over you or get under you.  You will not stop me.”  If you speak to some wives in Hamilton, they will concur that she certaintly did get under some men. So this was a 100% true statement. She feels she has made a difference in Hamilton.  She has, for herself and her inner circle, which is a true statement. She actually jumped right in to talk about her nephews who are 12 and 10. Her first thought and statement had nothing to do with the residents of Hamilton.   She went on to say that she ran for office so she can make a difference for her family who she wants close to her. It is inconceivable that the Mayor went to this GALRE class and spoke nothing about government policy or things that would represent positivity to the residents of Hamilton, but she did.

The Mayor went on to speak about how she is attacked on social media. She stated she sleeps like a baby at night even though she is attacked every day. Her job every day is the make the town better. Yet, today, when residents called HAMSTAT to find out about the issue with their water, that they had to boil it, the township 5 hours into the water issue, had not contacted residents, done any robo-calls, contacted council, etc. When HAMSTAT was asked why the township not done robo-calls their response was,” that is something we are entertaining.”  One might ask, where is the emergency response system SOP in Hamilton? 

The mayor stated she automated all the processes in the township to include dog licenses. She shared how she pioneered the use of Twitter, FB and other social media to increase awareness of the township. Yet, recently the township performed a shred fest of paper documents for the food inspections and animal shelter that included 72 cubic feet of paper shredded.  During the councils committee investigation of the animal shelter it was discovered that there was zero digital documentation occurring.  

During the conversation, the mayor also shared that she has launched the most comprehensive neighborhood improvement programs.  There are over 700 homes that are vacant in Hamilton, many of which right now have Yaede for Mayor signage on them. Signs cannot vote and it is puzzling how the strategy was to bring further attention to the abandoned properties in the town.  However, the signage possibly does represent, THE MAYOR TAKES FULL OWNERSHIP OF THIS MESS YOU SEE BEHIND MY SIGN.

The Mayor then went on to negative speak her opponent for Mayor in Hamilton. Yet, 10 minutes prior she stated how she never says a negative word against a politician.  She stated that disgusting politics has not role in Hamilton. Yet, the attack ads, attacks to residents have all been orchestrated by herself and her team.  

 

Q & A section of the discussion

When asked what she would do if she does not win the election, the mayor responded with, “I can technically retire.”

When asked what she thought Hamilton’s biggest issue is, she responded with, ”Safety.”  She felt her appointment being focused on fixing the abandoned buildings was an incorrect strategy to take. But, the Mayor fails to realize that the number of abandoned buildings drives crime and poverty in a town. So, it’s not the crazy strategy as she stated in her discussion with the GALRE students.

One of the students asked her a question about the scandal around the animal shelter. Her response was, “There was a deal cut to give the shelter to an outside group and the deal was done between Mr. Martin and the shelter. That is where it all started. She went on to say, “If a resident could not afford to put their dog down, for $100 the township would do that for residents.”  One of the council members called her to put their dog down so they did it. They were not holding the dogs for 7 days and they put them all down.  They had a sign up with the offering to residents she stated. Governor Murphy hand-picked Mr. Martin to run for Mayor creating these issues.  The council put together a committee on the shelter and according to the mayor refused to interview the Supervising ACO or the vet who worked at the shelter. The township paid the vet $70,000 a year to work at the shelter.”

Yet, this was done so they could get information from all involved to make it a complete investigation. The ACO has been charged with animal cruelty and the vet was questioned more than once by the MCPO’s office.  

 

 

 This is what the water looked like Jan 2018. The Mayor was contacted, she never responded. 

 

When asked about why the restaurants were not inspected her response was, “Governor Murphy sent a letter out saying that they have to be inspected every year.”  It was a political hit job according to the Mayor as to why the restaurants were not inspected.

She closed with, once she no longer is effective; she will leave Hamilton.  The residents will have to break out their effective meters and do some measurements to calculate the date of departure for the current mayor.  Last night, the residents water smelled like sewage in Hamilton. Today, they got a message in the early afternoon to boil it.  This is not what a leader should be doing. When a resident called HAMSTAT at 8:30am thi morning, and ask them when they would be doing robo calls, they responsed with, " We are entertaining that idea."  Today, the mayor stated she was proud numerous times, the Mayor cannot be proud of these epic failures.


Posted by tammyduffy at 7:49 PM EDT
Updated: Saturday, 28 September 2019 7:28 AM EDT
Sunday, 22 September 2019
When Leaders Ignore Their Residents
Topic: COMMUNITY INTEREST

 


 When Leaders Ignore Residents

 

For over 7 years Cornell Height residents have been trying to get the attention of the leadership to remove the truck traffic off the Cornell Heights roads. The open door policy they tout is as open as a door with five padlocks on it.  In the course of those years, residents have had issues with gas trucks driving through the neighborhood, trucks driving at high rates of speeds, tractor trailers that are too high and ripped down utility lines, children almost getting hit as they get onto buses etc. 

 

This summer, a 24 year old boy was killed at the corner of Sandalwood and Carlise as he rode his bike. The mother of this child has placed a memorial at the pole near where her child was hit. The day after this child was hit, council met to finally approve the signage to remove the truck traffic of the roads. Its too late. They waited too long. The Director of Public Safety would not listen. The directors were unresponsive, would close HAMSTAT requests without responding, etc. 

 

The residents of Cornell Heights have been working agressively with the current council to change this issue.  But, the relief cannot come soon enough. The damage the truck traffic has done is significant to residents and the roads.

 

This weekend, the road near the water outlet on Sandalwood completely collapsed causing severe damage to the water main below the street. The residents called TWW and they immediately came out. Their engineer said," This happened for one reason, the truck traffic. The road was not made to support all of the trucks that come through the neighborhood."  This has also happened numerous times on Sweetbriar Ave as well. The County has had to redo that outlet numerous times. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The remedy for this issue is going to cost Hamilton township alot of money. This could have all been avoided if the Director of Public Safety would have listened to residents over 7 years ago. They adamantly refused to listen or even respond to residents.  There is also another water outlet on Sweetbriar that also is signifcantly damaged. Every winter it creates an ice skating rink on Sweetbriar ave for drivers and is now causing collapse to a residents driveway.  Again, this could have been avoided if the economic development in the township was done by qualified individuals who actually understand the ramifications for their poor decisions. But, as residents have seen, its all about them and to hell with the residents. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But, one may ask, how did this happen? It happened because the administration is grossly incompetent, and allows corrupt business practices to take presidence vs ensuring resident safety is on the forefront.   

 

When the American Metro Way Project went into full swing, there were many issues, lack of followup and accountability by the township and ignorance by the leadership then and now to understand the issues.  These behaviors still run rampant in the current administration.

 

Let's start from the beginning of this project.  There were questions asked as to why the improvements to the roads were being given to a particular contractor. There was a large disparity between the two project estimates. One of the bids were unreasonably high, and that was the bid the township went with. Below are letters that we obtained from an OPRA request.  There were questions asked on how could the township expend public funds on a construction contract that has not been handled as a Public bid?  There was over a $400,000 difference between the project estimates from two contractors.

 

Well, guess what the contractor who got the bid gave thousands of dollars to the Yaede campaigns...look it up you will see the amounts. So, it would appear they were given "special" treatment.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

One step in the process of this project was to do a traffic study. Oh, but that was riddled with shenanigans as well. I am sure you are surprised. The company Maser conducted the traffic calming measures for Cornell Heights for the project.  They put together 3 different alternatives. Each alternative included calming measures, ie. speed bumps. The speed bumps were never installed, nor were the speed limit 15 MPH signs. Wait....this gets better, they also closed Princeton Ave from Sloan Rd. As you see that was not part of the project. However, the contractor that was awarded the contract lived on the road at that time. Residents came home one day and saw the road closed. The emergency services also were not sent notification of the road closure.  One week after the Princeton Ave was closed a home on the corner of Princeton and Sweetbriar caught on fire.  When the fire teams arrived, they stated they had no idea that the road was closed off. They arrived later than they would have because they had to figure out how to get to the home. The home burned beyond recognition and all the pet cats were killed in the fire. After the fire, the home had to be leveled and replaced with a prefab home. This decision by the administration to allow this to happen had a large negative effect. 

 

At the top of this article, you see the types of signage and speed bumps that were supposed to be installed through out Cornell heights. These were never installed. When residents for the past 7 years asked the administration, why this occurred they would never respond. Where there invoices sent to the contractor to do these and were they paid for them, but never installed them? Would you like to know the answer to that?  OPRA that....

 

Let me continue....  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When the traffic calming study was done, it was not done to include the closure of Princeton Ave. So the results are grossly flawed.  Below you can see what was included, clearly Princeton Ave was. The effect on the results of the study with the closure of the study are great.   The study also did not address parking and internal site circulation. It also did not address roadway conditions, sight distance calculations, traffic calming measures for the Cornell Heights region. (See below OPRA document). They knew that closing Princeton Ave would increase the traffic on Sandalwood, but they did it anyway. It was required as part of the project that the calming measures be installed. They never were.

 

So, think about this for a minute. When this all occurred, residents were left out of the loop. There were concerns that the project at that time abused the redevelopment laws in the township. These concerns were ignored. 

 

Let's focus on the site calculation part of the study that was not done. Of utmost importance in road design is the arrangement of the geometric elements so that there is adequate sight distance for safe and efficient traffic patterns. It also focuses on adequate light, atmospheric conditions and drivers visual acuity, stop sight distance, intersection sight distance, and decision sight distance. So, none of this gets done in Cornell Heights nor at American Metro Way. If this would have been done, could it have stopped the accidents and deaths in Cornell Heights that have happened over the years. You bet!  So, the mother who just lost her 24 year old son in July at the intersection of Carlise and Sandalwood, could have a very strong case against the township.  The lighting at that corner is abysmal at best. There are less than adequate white road lines there and at night the stop signs are impossible to see.   The white paint in the intersection remind everyone of this yound man's needless death. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was more important to keep the contractor who was a large donor to the current administration campaign coffers. (See memo outling what happened). This project did not follow the bid process and was awarded to a contractor with  $361,000 delta over the over contractor.  In the contract, there was not verbiage that addressed future construction, although statements were made on the record in meetings that they would.   

 

Let's not forget the cancer concrete they brought in. Due to numerous residents complaints an immediate air monitoring was done, but the damage to the residents was already done. There were levels of PCB's  that were airbourne and could pose a health risk to residents. The construction workers were given devices to help deal with this, the residents....keep your windows shut. Who is responsible for all of these pitfalls with projects? There is never accountability in the township. Current projects also follow this same process.  There is never a series of checks and balances.  At a recent council meeting a resident showed the council photos of the tennis courts in Cornell Heights. The township just paid a lot of money to have them redone. They were all shocked with the photos. However, the township employees cut the lawns near the courts. Why did none of them bring the tennis court issue to council or anyone else? They would have to see it when they are mowing the lawns at the park.  The culture from the top drives these suboptimal behaviors. No one cares, and this is buring taxpayers dollars frivilously.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This project was riddled with issues. Cancer Concrete, PCB dust spewing into the neighborhood.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What happened on Sandalwood this weekend could have been 100% avoided. As you can see from the above OPRA documents, there were means to ensure that calming measures were supposed to be installed, but they were not. Who did the inspection of the site to allow that to happen?  It will be very interesting to see how much it will cost to fix the water outlet issue. It is not in the budget, this is a Hamilton road so they now have to go an get permits from the township to address this issue. The employee who was on site this weekend said it could take days or weeks to get the permits.  In the mean time.....bring your boat for Sandalwood Ave. Take this into consideration as you make your decision in November, which candidate will not allow things like this to happen? That is the one I want for our leader. 

 

 

 


Posted by tammyduffy at 5:57 PM EDT
Updated: Sunday, 22 September 2019 6:05 PM EDT
Saturday, 21 September 2019
Public Trust is Shredded
Topic: COMMUNITY INTEREST

 
 
 

Public Trust in Hamilton Has Been Shredded

 

 

 

 

The Public Safety Director in Hamilton has lost the trust of the residents of Hamilton and they do not care. Trust in your government is essential to the sustainability of the government.  This lack of trust has decreased the effectiveness and efficiency in the Hamilton government operations. The continued blatant disregard for the public's safety by the administration in a word is.....terrifying

 

The residents of Hamilton are properly appalled at the abuses that have occurred during what we will call, Textgate. Textgate,  represents the bankruptcy of the American political system.  It also represents a series of illegal acts and bad judgements by a number of individuals. It was the system and courageous people that brought the facts to light.   It will in the end bring those that are guilty to justice.  A system that in the end could include a determined jury,  an honest prosecutor, a courageous judge, and a vigorous free press.  With their help the residents of Hamilton will heal and rebuild trust in their government. It will rebuild Hamilton. 

 

It is essential now that we place our faith in that system, especially in the judicial system.  It is essential that we let the judicial process move forward.  We must respect the safeguards to convict the guilty.  It is essential in reacting to the excesses of others, that others do not fall into excesses themselves.  It is also essential that we are not distracted by events of yesterday, that  we neglect the vital work before us.  Before this town at a time of critical importance to this town. 

 

Public trust of the leadership is lost in Hamilton.  The leadership owes it to the residents to speak to us on the critical issues. We are into day 61 of their refusal to do so. Yesterday, statements were made about vindication. There was no vindication, if there were, there would not have been charges in the first place. There would not be text messages and supporting documentation that proved what occurred, occurred. The Public Safety Director did not pay a fine yesterday, but they will forever pay a fine to the residents of Hamilton.  The lost of public trust with all the failures in the administration, 2 other directors charged, the removal of the CFO to ensure a budget that would not have gotten approved, slipped thru,   the issues at the animal shelter, failed economic development, failed inspections of food establishments, the failure list goes on and on. The administrations failures are extensive and costing the town millions of taxpayers dollars. 

 

There will be continued distrust by the residents of the Public Safety Officer in Hamilton and the administration. The current scandals and those yet to be disclosed,  will forever cast a shadow on the town.  The permanent public distrust towards the leadership in  the government will permanently leave a scar on every person in Hamilton. These scandals have made such an impression, that it’s suffix “-gate” has been used to name other scandals that have occurred around the world in the past decades. Textgate, Animalsheltergate, CFOgate, gate, gate, gate gate…..

 

God bless the MCPO, the free press and every resident who is fighting to make a better Hamilton. To safeguard our future and help rebuild public trust. Everyone must continue to fight for what is right. 

 

The government has failed its residents and lost the public trust in Hamilton, that is not vindication in any rational persons world.  But, we are not talking about rational people here.  The only time the current Public Safety Director and administration will be vindicated, is when they finally admit guilt, that they made huge mistakes, and will speak to the residents about all the issues. Until then, there is ZERO vindication. 

 

Hamiltonians for a better Hamilton, must join forces to continue to hold those accountable, accountable. The deception runs deep, and the residents are not a care in their world.  The abuse of authority and defiance of subpoenas by the administration is terrifying for residents. The acts of defiance and ignorance to public safety is just radically delinquent. 

 

What’s next, will the administration feel that have a legal right to disclose all the medical history of anyone who ever walked into the health office, of the employees at the township? They already are on that path. At a recent council meeting the Environmental Safety Officer disclosed private health information of an employee at a council meeting. This was a large HIPAA violation that was reported by residents to the proper authorties.    

 

There is nothing frivolous about these behaviors in the administration. The habitual refusal to meet with the public by the Public Safety Director proves that they have something to hide. The habitual refusal to properly react to subpoenas, proves they have something to hide.  What are they hiding that the residents have yet to disclose? That is the scary question residents ask themselves every day in Hamilton. Residents can only hope the removal of computers in a raid by the MCPO will disclose what they are hiding. 

 

The safety of residents is in jeopardy in so many aspects. An elderly resident brought to the attention of the Public Safety Director an issue on their street. The issue focuses on the fact that emergency vehicles, trash trucks etc cannot get around their court due to the numerous cars that park on the court. The township engineers this week told them, there is nothing the township can do.  That it is up to the police to correct the issue. The police will say, it’s not their issue.  This consistent passing of the buck endangers residents’ lives. Emergency vehicles cannot get to these homes, and the Public Safety director takes zero ownership on this issue. So the residents who live in on this court could die from the lack of a fire truck getting to their homes. They could die do to the fact an ambulance cannot get to them. The Public Safety Director is allowing this to happen. They will own the tragic outcome, if God forbid something ever happens to residents on that court and emergency services cannot get to them.  

 

The Public Safety Director is not been vindicated.  The PSD is not focused on public health, the proper running of the animal shelter,  the proper leadership behaviors needed to ensure public safety.  The Neighborhood Watch groups are taking on additional responsibilities, fighting the crime in the administration as well as local crime in their neighborhoods.  They are tired of the sleepness nights they have due to the lack of concern by the local leadership. 

 

The public is not the only thing in danger in Hamilton. The data in the township is also in danger.  We wrote an article on a recent large shredfest that occurred in Hamilton. In addition, the employees are using Dropboxes to back up their data from their computers. A free service not encrypted; it is not a secure cloud service. How does that make you feel? The director of IT, the Public Safety director and Clerks office in Hamilton, has a legal and ethical responsibility to safeguard the government data. 

 

They have failed the residents. When residents OPRA  emails, they always get the response, sorry the data does not exist. How is that possible?  Yet, they claim they are an open government. The only thing open is their own hands to feed themselves and their inner circle.  Their hands are definately in the cookie jar. 



Posted by tammyduffy at 10:18 AM EDT
Updated: Saturday, 21 September 2019 1:35 PM EDT
Saturday, 14 September 2019
Mayor Abandons Ship
Topic: COMMUNITY INTEREST

 
 


 

 
 
 

Mayor Abandons Ship

 

 

I am a member of the Republican Party and I am embarrassed by the goings on in Hamilton. This is not a politically motivated article, just the facts.

 

“That was no raid”, said the BA of Hamilton this week after his place of employment was raided by the MCPO.  Who in their right mind would make such a statement? Maybe, one can conclude, that the level of criminal activity occuring in Hamilton is so high, a raid is viewed as a flower delivery.  What will the comments be like when the charges of those indicted in the town, are finalized with judge sentencing?  See, it was just a traffic ticket, see it was just 300 dogs killed illegally?” The comments by those leading the town are so far-fetched, but are they?  Not in their eyes, as they focus on one thing, their pensions.

 

The leadership is avoiding the public. We are at day 57 that the Mayor refuses to answer council to do a town hall. Residents have also made this request, crickets in the garden are all they hear. No response from leadership.

 

This week as well, the Trentonian did numerous articles on the hanky panky in Hamilton. In the link below, there is an audio of the Mayor. Listen to it, carefully. This is not a good situation for the residents.  This audio demonstrates pure panic in the voice of the leader of Hamilton.

 

https://www.trentonian.com/news/mayor-yaede-claims-she-has-emergency-avoids-questions-about-hamilton/article_244786c8-d66f-11e9-bf7c-4bdd0dba9065.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=user-share&fbclid=IwAR3zwOp-yZKv935_PjmR2JrF3S3l5Md8UeuuZgEeU4cvSH5e-nFmAoVNlII

 

During the raid by the MCPO this week, the Mayor chose to leave the building as this was going on.  The excuse, she had an appointment. NOPE!!! Hogwash alert! Even if that is true, a true leader would have cancelled whatever magic make believe appointment they had to stand with their team. If she has no guilt, she would not have done an Irish goodbye and slipped out stage right swiftly.

 

The captain goes down with the ship" is a maritime tradition that a sea captain holds ultimate responsibility for both his ship, and everyone embarked on it, and that in an emergency, he will either save them or die trying. You do not exit the building when shit is going down. That is a true sign of a coward.

 

There have been real captains that abandoned their ships and that did not go over so well, ask Yiannis Avranas, captain of the Greek luxury liner Oceanos, which sank off the coast of South Africa in 1991.  When he ordered abandon ship, he felt it did not matter what time he left. He felt abandon is for everybody.  His logic was, if some people like to stay, they can stay. These  words were spoken by Avranas and he was charged with misconduct after it was discovered that he and numerous crew members left the ship while the passengers remained behind.  The ships entertainment crew had to take over the rescue efforts.

 

Why can’t the Mayor of Hamilton be charged with misconduct for leaving her ship?  Where is the band to help the employees of Hamilton? The administration is comparing this legal scrutiny to the scrutiny given to the song, Louie Louie in the 60’s by the FBI.  Nothing obscene here….says the administration of Hamilton. We are as clean as Mr. Clean.  

 

Let’s share one more example of a captain who abandoned ship.  What was supposed to be a routine trip from Norway to Denmark, became one of Europe’s worst ferry disasters after an arsonist set ablaze the Scandinavian Star late one evening. As the fire raged out of control, most passengers were sound asleep in their cabins unaware of their imminent doom.

 

Those fortunate enough to escape the smoke of their rooms were left dumbfounded and powerless, pondering how to acquire life vests, let alone, survive the sinking ship. The poorly trained crew, many of whom could not speak a common language, only added to the confusion and panic aboard the burning vessel that contained faulty fire alarms, smoke detectors, and fire extinguishers. Only adding to the mayhem was the absence of the captain who jumped ship long before any of the passengers. When asked his reasoning for abandoning helpless women and children, Captain Hugo Larsen replied, “Did you want me to drown?”  Did the Mayor of Hamilton leave because she felt she is the most important person in the building and town?  Or was it done in shear panic?  We think her voice in the audio above spells that out.

 

Captain Hugo was subsequently tried by a Danish court, where he was found guilty of being responsible for inadequate security aboard the Scandinavian Star that claimed the lives of 158 passengers. Hugo was sentenced to 60 days in jail, while two of his crew, a Danish ship-owner and the shipping line director, both received 40-day sentences.  A captain cannot leave the ship.

 

The Mayor made the choice to leave the building/ship. She also made the choice not to return to the building (if indeed an imaginary friend appointment was occuring that made her leave the building)  These were very bad choices for the employees and residents. When times get tough, real leaders roll up their leaves and make sure their underlings are taken care of, not abandon them. These raids can have a negative influence on the employees. What was done to help them? The BA said, “That was not much of a raid.”

 

There are many leadership lessons  that can be learned from the Costa Concordia disaster. There are questions of preparation as well as how to handle a crisis in a calm, composed and coordinated fashion. But the biggest lesson in leadership is the most obvious one; that a captain—in this case Captain Francesco Schettino—should never abandon his ship.

 

What crisis management SOP’s exist in the township?  There is no “dawn raid” SOP? Does the SOP for dawn raids say, Mayor run!

 

While it is obvious that the examples, we shared are from  cruise ships, the same thing is true of leaders of any organization. You don’t abandon your ship. You don’t turn your back on the people who depend on you for their safety and well-being—whether we are talking your employees or your most valued stakeholders.

 

Great leaders don’t panic. They have a sense of calm, even in the most dangerous and perilous situation. We saw it during 9/11 with the crew and passengers of Flight 93 that crashed into a field in rural Pennsylvania. We saw it with Chesley Sullenberger, known as “Sully,” the pilot of the US Airways plane that landed in the Hudson River . A leader’s calm demeanor has a direct impact on the demeanor of others around him. Conversely, when a leader panics, it is obvious that he or she induces panic in others.

 

CALM down Madame Mayor, talk to the people of Hamilton and stop hiding.  It's time to have courage.  She cannot win  the election this way.  However, she can win if by some stroke of luck she gets through all of this without a handcuff and demonstrates strength beyond belief.  That;s the person residents want for mayor, a leader in the face of a Category 5 huirricane.  There have been mayors in jail in the USA that still got elected while they were in jail. So, no one can underestimate the outcome of the election in Hamilton.

 

This is going to be interesting to watch.  

 


Posted by tammyduffy at 7:37 AM EDT
Updated: Saturday, 14 September 2019 7:44 AM EDT

Newer | Latest | Older