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Editorial/Opinions P. 2 & 3Dr.Ormsby P. 3Haverhill P. 4, 5Notebook P. 6Lawrence P. 6-13North Andover P. 14Georgetown P. 15Kids & Education P. 18, 19Andover P. 20National Debate P. 21Business P. 22, 23Methuen P. 24-28Seniors & Vets P. 28-29Classified P. 30-31

InsideInside

City Council PresidentCalled “Dangerous”

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Volume 4, Issue 1 January - 2007 32 Pages

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Former HaverhillMayor

Jim Rurak

Methuen Councilor

DebbieQuinnPage 28

Page 5Lawrence Mayor

MikeSullivan

Page 10

Page 15

Georgetown Selectman

LonnieBrennan

Lawrence’s Assistant City Attorney, Jim Bowers Calls Patrick Blanchette “Dangerous”: SEE STORY PAGE 9!

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NORTH ANDOVER – Muriel Katschkerremembers well where she was onDecember 7, 1941. She was with herparents listening to the radio when theregular programming was interruptedby an announcer’s voice saying theJapanese had just attacked and bombedPearl Harbor. Instantly, the family knewthis meant the country was at war.

At the time, however, Muriel was ayoung lady and had no idea that yearslater she would end up with a lifelongcommitment to the Marine Corps.

Muriel Katschker was born and raisedin Boston. She attended the city’s publicschools and in high school became headcheerleader on the cheerleading squad.She was also active in the Girl Scoutswhere she eventually achieved the rankof Mariner. This gave her the delightfulopportunity to sail on the Charles River.

Lieutenant Colonel

Heroes InOur Midst

Muriel KatschkerMuriel Katschker

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Lawrence City Council President PatrickBlanchette has been on a mission for thelast few months. His mission: create afirestorm around Budget and FinanceDirector John Griffin so that he either quitsor gets fired, create a firestorm aroundCaroline Ganley (who has left) and PlanningDirector Mike Sweeney, so that they willeither quit or get fired. and most recentlycreate a firestorm around Assistant CityAttorney Jim Bowers until he either quitsor gets fired. In defending himself before

the council last week, Bowers calledBlanchette “dangerous!” Blanchette hasalso attacked John Griffin calling for him tobe fired for spending $10,000 on officerenovations while the City Council Officeswere getting a $16,000 makeover.

See Story Page 9

Andover Struggles with HateGroup - See Page 20

See All BlanchetteRelated Stories on

Pages 9 & 10

2 The Valley Patriot January - 2007

The Only Think Wrong WithHanging Saddam:

It Was Too Good For Him

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To the Editor,

In light of the recent discussions andheated debate locally regarding fiscalresponsibility and taxpayers’ obligation topull their own weight, would it not beappropriate for our foreign policy makersto apply the same arguments whendealing with our “good friends,” theHouse of Saud? For too long now, SaudiArabia has enjoyed the benefit of U.S.military protection and intervention in theMiddle East without the slightest hint ofthe quid pro quo (i.e., reduced/regulatedoil prices) it was assumed by many wouldfollow the U.S. liberation of Kuwait andremoval of the Iraqi military threat sixteenyears ago. Indeed, the United States’misguided beneficence has been seen bythe Saudis as weakness and “rewarded”by a massive increase in Saudi/Wahabistterror funding and record breaking oilprofits.

Ironically, today once again the UnitedStates finds itself picking up the tab (withthe lives of young Americans and yourtax dollars) and serving as Saudi Arabia’smilitary buffer against an enemy far moreinsidious and difficult to defend againstthan Saddam Hussein’s Iraq: Shiitefundamentalism in the form of Iran’sIslamo-Facist Jihadist world view. Foryears, the Sunni House of Saud has dealt

with internal secular and political dissentthrough brutally repressive means.

Now that Saddam has been removedand Iran has emerged as the preeminentexternal threat to Saudi interests, is it nottime for the Saudis to apply similar meanswhen dealing with the Iranians’ militaryand economic ambitions?

The U.S. must impress on the Saudisthe novel concept that, as a sovereignnation, they have a responsibility to fielda viable military force (absent currentlevels of U.S. support) able to deter anddiscourage outside interference fromregional threats. As constituted today, theSaudi military simply is not capable ofsuch action. Economically, an increasein Saudi oil production and correspondingdecrease in pricing would barely dentSaudi prosperity, while at the same timedealing a crippling blow to the Iranians’oil-funded nuclear weapons program andsecular terror wars by proxy inneighboring countries.

I am not suggesting abandoning an“ally” during this crucial and uncertaintime in global politics and secular strife. Isimply think that it’s time the Saudis paytheir fair share (in blood and dollars) asthe bills come due.

Mark McKallagatLawrence

The New York Times editorial staff, in what could only beexcused by a pre-New Years Eve drinking binge, complainedin its December 29th editorial that Saddam’s trial was “flawed”and that the Iraqi government didn’t punish him in a waythat “nurtured hope for a better future.”

The standard set by the N.Y. Times for the nascent Iraqigovernment, operating in the wake of centuries of tribalwarfare, decades of tyranny, and an erupting civil war flamedby a worldwide Muslim terrorist movement pouring suicidebombers into their country is that Iraq should have a“flawless” legal process!

After having inherited a substantial legal tradition fromthe British and with the benefit of another 200 years ofpractice in a placid environment, we still find “flawless”well beyond our reach.

But Iraq, with car bombs exploding outside the courthouseand judges and their families threatened with assassination,should be criticized for falling short of perfection. Whateverthey’re serving at those Manhattan cocktail parties shouldbe outlawed.

As for nurturing hope for a better future for the Iraqipeople, the N.Y. Times could contribute to the needednurturing by stopping its relentless support for anythingthat undercuts our troops and the Bush administration’sefforts to introduce democratic processes and the rule oflaw into the Middle East.

There may be some legitimate arguments against ourinvasion of Iraq — e.g., we should have invaded North Korea,Iran or Syria first. But to oppose our efforts to move Iraqfrom the 7th Century to the 21st century in just a few shortyears and then complain that the resulting governmentdoesn’t quite live up to the N.Y. Times’ standards fornurturing hope is, to say the least, preposterous.

Saddam is lucky that the Iraqi government didn’t ask hisvictims how he should have been put to death.

Those who were tortured or who had family membersmurdered by Saddam’s henchmen showed remarkablerestraint by not feeding him slowly into a wood chipper,feet first.

At least in this instance, Iraq’s oppressed have shownremarkable restraint and deserve our praise and support.Way to go!

January - 2007 The Valley Patriot 3

The Valley Patriot welcomes letters to the editor on any topic. We also welcome column/article submissions fromelected officials, neighborhood associations, community organizers, average citizens, and newsmakers. Though wemay not agree with the opinions expressed in submissions, our mission is to give readers the unique opportunity toreceive important information from those who are driving important public issues without the "creative editing" policyemployed by most newspapers. Submissions from guest columnists/writers in The Valley Patriot are publishedwithout the filtered agenda of an editorial board. If you would like to write a column, letter or article for The ValleyPatriot, please email us at: ValleyPatriot@aol.com

Our Voice is Your Voice!

Iranian President Has it All Wrong

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An Open Letter to IranianPresident Ahmadinejad

Thinking Outsidethe Box!

Continued on Page 24

Dr. Charles Ormsby, N.A. School Committee

In the name of God, the Compassionate,the Merciful …

I’m sorry my response to your letter of 29November has been delayed. I had to finishmy Christmas shopping and mail some carepackages to America’s brave troops whoare risking their lives to protect innocentIraqis and Afghanis from a slew of maniacalMuslim fanatics. Allahu Akbar!

Speaking of Christmas, I hope yours waspeaceful and you were not distracted byany nearby car bombings or the screams ofinnocent hostages being beheaded. AllahuAkbar!

You started your letter by speaking to theAmerican people directly since you hopeto divide us and separate us from ourgovernment with the long list of evils youcatalogued.

Mahmoud, you don’t know the half of it!I’ve been detailing the evils of ourgovernment here in The Valley Patriot forthree years now. Unfortunately, I haven’thad much luck changing things, so I’mbeginning to believe that I should enroll inone of your desert training camps. Hey, I’ma physicist, so maybe while I’m in Tehran, Ican help you with your “peaceful” nuclear

program. You know, the program that willhelp Iran “light up” the Middle East.

Later in your letter you outlined all thethings that the Iranian government has incommon with the American people. In caseyou’ve forgotten, here is a passage fromyour letter:

“Both our nations are God-fearing,truth-loving and justice-seeking, and bothseek dignity, respect and perfection.

Both greatly value and readily embracethe promotion of human ideals such ascompassion, empathy, respect for the rightsof human beings, securing justice andequity, and defending the innocent and theweak against oppressors and bullies.

We are all inclined towards the good,and towards extending a helping hand toone another, particularly to those in need.

We all deplore injustice, the tramplingof peoples’ rights and the intimidation andhumiliation of human beings.

We all detest darkness, deceit, lies anddistortion, and seek and admire salvation,enlightenment, sincerity and honesty.”

In a surprise action, on January 2nd theConstitutional Convention of theMassachusetts Legislature actually votedto move forward a citizen petition to amendthe state constitution on the definition ofmarriage. The constitution itself, in Article48, requires the ConCon legislators to voteup or down on a citizen initiative petition,but in the past our gutless pols had foundways to avoid a vote through proceduraldelays until time ran out and the petitiondied.

This year the legislators were poised toonce again flout the constitution and theiroath of office by denying a vote on twoinitiative petitions. One was on universalhealthcare and the other was on thedefinition of marriage. They did manage tokill the healthcare amendment - whichpassed the ConCon last year – by sendingit to a committee for further study. Themarriage petition, however, proved to bemore difficult to ignore because ofcontinuing public pressure and threatenedlawsuits.

The cowards on Beacon Hill postponedthe vote several times during the year,

People Finally Prevail Over

Cowardly Legislaturehoping the media and people would tire ofthe subject. But this time it didn’t work.Newspaper editorials from across the state– and even the Wall Street Journal –castigated the Legislature for trying to avoida vote. Citizens repeatedly called theirrepresentatives and senators. ThenGovernor Romney petitioned the SJC, tryingto force the Legislature to vote. Others filedlawsuits to sanction or disbar the 42legislators who are lawyers if they didn’tfulfill their obligations under theconstitution.

All this proved too much and on Jan. 2nd

Senate President Travaglini relented andcalled for a vote on the matter. The 100 pluscowardly legislators who had desperatelytried to kill the initiative all year had nowrun out of options. The vote went forwardand 62 respectful legislators finally voted“yea” to advance the petition and “let thepeople decide” on the definition of marriage.

The Valley Patriot salutes all those whoworked so hard to pressure our self-servingand arrogant politicians to show somerespect for the state’s constitution — andthe people.

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4 The Valley Patriot January - 2007

This month we report on our downtown urbanrenaissance zoning package. We were approved and areeligible for a $600,000 state bonus with more in the future.

We have some good news on your taxes. Haverhill single-family homeowners had their lowest tax increase in tenyears and the lowest increase of any city in the region.

The state audit of our public schoolsshows we are doing better, but there is along way to go. We’ll have more on that infuture editions.

I think the city looks beautiful atChristmas. There is a new pride in Haverhill,and it shows!

Mayor’s Rezoning Plan Wins Approval

This past week both the City Council (by a vote of 7- 2)and the state approved our plans to rezone Wingate Street,lower Washington Street, Locke Street and Locust Street(areas with abandoned shoe shops) as a “Chapter 40RSmart Growth Zoning Overlay District.” We have had amayoral task force working on this for over a year. Thisrezoning makes us a statewide leader in the redevelopmentof old factory buildings. (See article in Boston BusinessJournal, (click here. ) A Chapter 40R zoning overlay districtis a zoning district located within 1/4 mile of a transit stationand it is designed to encourage people to live in old factorybuildings. Housing in these districts is allowed as a matterof right. Retail is required on the first floor. There aredetailed architectural and design standards. The state paysa bonus if cities agree to adopt Chapter 40R. Haverhill willreceive an up-front cash bonus of $600,000 and anadditional $3,000 per unit for every residential unit built.Shortly, the Chapter 40R ordinance and design standardswill be on line on the city Web site.

Chapter 40R is a tool to help us gofrom this ...

To this...

State Rates Our Schools

The state audit of our schools shows that while ourMCAS scores are improving and there is improvement overthe report issued three years ago, we have a way to go.

* Haverhill is among the “moderate performing schooldistricts in the Commonwealth.”

* “Between 2002 and 2005, Haverhill MCAS performanceshowed some improvement overall in math, while the districthad little improvement in ELA.” [English Language Arts]

* “The district did not regularly engage in internal andexternal audits to inform of the effectiveness of its programsand services... .” [Dr. Buchanan has put forth a plan whichI support to fix this.]

* Some parents believe the School Committee is “boggeddown with dissension, embarrassing public squabbles andlocal political strife... .”

* City contributions to schools have gone upsignificantly over the past three years, but serious budgetproblems remain.

We need to do better! Our first step is to borrow themoney to bring our textbooks up to date. Our proposal todo that is before the City Council.

More Business Means LocalHomeowners Catch a Break

This year property values for businesses rose faster thanproperty values for residents. As a result, even though allthe local communities raised overall taxes by 2.5%, Haverhillsingle-family homeowners saw the lowest tax increase inten years, and the lowest increase of any city in the region.“Haverhill’s average bill this year will go up $70, the lowestincrease among local communities.” - Eagle Tribune,December 24, 2006.

Haverhill

Jim Fiorentini is the mayor of Haverhill and was justelected to his second term. Mayor Fiorentini is aDemocrat. No public money was used to produce ordistribute this newsletter. You can E-mail Jim Fiorentiniat: jimfior02@aol.com or call 978-374-2300

Updates & EventsParking Garage Update: We have scheduled a meeting

of our parking task force January 11th to review the results.Downtown Boardwalk Update: We are scheduling a meetingon January 23 to obtain public input on a downtownboardwalk.

REMINDER: January 07-- Registrationfor Riverside Bradford Little League, publiclibrary January 11th — 7-8 p.m. PublicMeeting of Parking garage task force, Room301, to review preliminary engineeringresults. January 11-13 12-9 — Book Sale,Public Library January 13 — 10-1—

Haverhill Little League registration, public library January23, 6 p.m., site to be determined, - public meeting ondowntown boardwalk to obtain public input on a proposedboardwalk downtown. January 27 Haverhill Little Leagueregistration, public library. More events, Merrimack ValleyArts and Cultural events.

Your Opinion Matters!

What is your opinion about the Chapter 40R rezoningnoted above?( ) From what I know, I agree with it;( ) From what I know, I do not agree with it;( ) I do not have enough information to base an opinion.

View of abandoned factory building onLocke street which Forest City

Enterprises would like to redevelop

Front entrance to Beacon project fromLocust Street

Haverhill Mayor Jim Fiorentini

Haverhill and Lawrence, Mass. – Imagine for a momentthat you or a loved one has just been diagnosed with aterminal illness. You’re overwhelmed, and you don’t knowwhat to do or which way to turn for help. Merrimack ValleyHospice is the place these families turn to for much neededsupport. Recently, a family from Haverhill shared their storyof how Merrimack Valley Hospice made a positive impacton an important time in their lives.

Jackie Dirsa of Haverhill found herself wondering whereto turn when she discovered last year that her belovedfather, Peter Stack, was dying of cancer. Jackie had heardabout Merrimack Valley Hospice, and with the help of itsspecialized team she was able to maintain her own strengthand preserve her father’s dignity during his final days.

For more than twenty years, Peter and his wife, Florence,lived with their daughter, Jackie, her husband and fourchildren. Florence died suddenly and unexpectedly in 2003,but with Jackie’s help Peter was able to cope with thisextraordinary loss. In 2005, the family was shocked to learnthat Peter had developed terminal lung cancer.

Over the next several months, Peter’s health rapidlydeclined. He lost weight and became weak. In January of2006, he decided to undergo a radiation treatment hopingto extend his life, but unfortunately the treatment wasunsuccessful. After admitting Peter to the hospital inFebruary, Jackie met with nursing staff to discuss optionsfor her father. At this point he weighed 87 pounds and wasunable to get out of bed. Their recommendation washospice care, and Jackie was relieved to learn that hospicecare was covered by her father’s insurance. Afterdiscussing the options with her father, Peter chose to returnto the home he knew and have Merrimack Valley Hospiceprovide his care.

“The nurse from Merrimack Valley Hospice followed ushome, and within hours she had our house all set up formaking my father’s last days as comfortable as possible,”said Jackie Dirsa. “I was impressed with the positive outlookof the hospice staff and their excellent communication skillswith my family.”

Jackie’s father was able to spend his last days comfortablein his own home, surrounded by his family and pain free.Jackie and her family had access to a team of compassionateand expertly trained medical directors, nurses, home healthaides, pastoral counselors, social workers, bereavementcounselors and volunteers – all available around the clock.

Jackie appreciated their openness and straightforwardapproach with her regarding her father’s health and mentalstatus.

“I felt that I could call the hospice team any time with anyquestions or concerns. They helped me fit the pieces ofthe puzzle together on how to handle my father’s impendingdeath,” recalls Jackie. “Their support made me feel like aheavy burden was lifted from my shoulders.”

Jackie’s father died peacefully in March of 2006. Shewas compelled to share her story with others in hopes thatthey would take advantage of hospice care when the timecame for them or a loved one.

There are literally hundreds of families like Jackie Dirsa’sthat are cared for each day by Merrimack Valley Hospice.The agency’s care doesn’t stop when the patient dies. Theycontinue to follow a family for more than a year after thedeath of their loved one, offering them bereavement supportservices. “One of the most important aspects of our hospicecare is caring for the family who are grieving the loss of theperson they loved so deeply. The sooner the family callsus, the sooner we can start helping them deal with what ishappening,” said Pam Saucier, Vice President of MerrimackValley Hospice. “We have so many families like the Dirsaand Stack family who’s loved one’s wish is to remain athome during the final days of their lives. We make that apossibility for them, providing support around the clockfor the patient and caregiver.”

Jackie Dirsa hopes that more families will seek out theassistance from Merrimack Valley Hospice.

“My father, Peter, was a humble man, but also a proudman. It was important for me to help him preserve his dignityuntil the end of his life,” said Jackie. “Merrimack ValleyHospice afforded me the opportunity to do that.”

Learn more about the agency onwww.merrimackvalleyhospice.org.

Local FamilyEncourages

Hospice Care

January - 2007 The Valley Patriot 5

Our Schools: How LeadershipMakes a Difference

What About Schedule A?Our Schools: How LeadershipMakes a Difference

Haverhill

Haverhill (NECC) ProfessorMark Palermo

Random ThoughtsHAVERHILL'S FUTURE!HAVERHILL'S FUTURE!Jim Rurak, Former Mayor of Haverhill

Mark Palermo is a professor atNorthern Essex Community College inHaverhill and is the past vice-president of the faculty union. You canemail him at markpalermo@lycos.com.

The good old days where I grew upweren’t always so good. In the late 1960’sLawrence earned a well-deserved reputation(along with Beverly and Springfield) forhaving the highest percentage of junkies inthe state. Junkies were so common inLawrence’s old neighborhoods, there evenexisted a certain “junkie chic.” Users had astyle of dress and behavior. Pushersstrutted around with pride and self-satisfaction, as if they were successfulentrepreneurs or rock stars. I knew beautifulgirls that were attracted to junkies andsought them out. It seems incredible nowthat this loathsome, diabolical habit wascool; but it was a statement ofdisenfranchised youth.

Thinking back to that time, a popularsong by Curtis Mayfield called “Freddie’sDead” resonated with me; it portrayed myown feelings about the everyday lives Iobserved and the dissolution of the innerlife of the old mill city.

This could be such a beautiful worldWith a wonderful girl...Why can’t we be brothers?Protect one another?No one’s serious,And it makes me furious,Another Freddie’s on the corner now...If you wanna be a junkie, why?Remember Freddie’s dead...

Why are drugs so seductive? Even thehappiest, most well-balanced person canfeel existential loneliness, even on thehappiest day of their life. What do I meanby existential loneliness? I have alwaysremembered an old “Star Trek” episode fromseveral years ago where, an alien in spiritform, came to the earth on some sort ofmission to satisfy his curiosity. He wantedto inhabit a human body to see what it waslike. Somebody on the Enterprise crew lethim enter their body. Once he found himselfinside, he started too weep uncontrollably.When he came back out of out the body, hewas overcome with sorrow for humanbeings: he had not been able to feel thebeauty, mystery and active participation inthe universe. Existential loneliness is thedefault ground of people’s being, the placethey live inside themselves which isdebased from their natural higher selves.

It doesn’t matter that this feeling ofseparateness and isolation from theuniverse itself is illusory. The philosopherAlan Watts says, “In the same way an appletree ‘apples,’ the universe ‘peoples’.” Weare indeed active participants and trulyconnected, we just can’t feel it. And hereinlies the problem.

Pain is the human condition. We mustall- sooner or later- face separation,

sickness, loss of friends and family, old age,and we all have to die. Philosopher and guruRam Dass once said that suffering existedeven inside the Playboy mansion- he hadstayed there. But suffering itself is notnearly as much of a problem as the lack ofmeaning that modern people experience intheir lives.

I used to ask some of my old doper friendswhat heroin feels like. The answer wasinevitably something to do with heaven.One guy actually told me he felt like “God’sson.” He had found something to fill hisexistential separateness, and he assured methat heroin does this very well- even betterthan sex. No wonder then that people stealfrom friends and family, sell their bodies anddestroy their lives for it.

If life is sad at times, if we are filled withdoubt, or paralyzed with fear, the way isforward. Viktor Frankyl addressed thequestion of meaning after he survived theHolocaust, during which he experienced themurder of his family. In his book, Man’sSearch for Meaning,” he used the Holocaustas an existential laboratory to examine thereactions of people under the mostwretched and brutal conditions imaginable.He told the world that even under theseconditions, some people were neverthelessable to find a sense of meaning .

The Bible tells us there is nothing newunder the sun. In the old days, heroin andmeth were the epedemic. In the 1980’s it wascoke. Now it’s heroin and cocaine, with methuse accelerating. But even the worst hard-core dopers I knew from the old days- peoplewhose whole life was getting high- had afearful respect for crystal meth. And withgood reason. It may be the worst drug ofall.

If you want to see what they saw. If youwant to impress upon your kids the dangersof this drug, go to a website called “faces ofmeth.” Here you can show kids what methis capable of. Here you can see unretouched“before and after” photos of beautiful,healthy girls turned into toothless, wastedhags. Young men in the prime of their livesthat look like starved refugees. When I gazeat these pictures, I hear Curtis Mayfield’slyrics, “If you want to be a junkie, why?”

We all must find our own way home. Andthere is much to be learned during our briefvisit on this planet. In the words of ViktorFrankyl, “The door to life opens outwards.”

The Depart-ment ofEducation (DOE)lambastes ourcity for the lack ofleadership in ourschools. TheSchool Com-mittee will

discuss the extensive report on January 4.But one real chance to prove the DOEwrong, and the one recent chance to showour teachers and students that we reallywant to promote better achievement, wascompletely botched by the mayor. The realproblem is that it was the kind of mistaketotally in keeping with his style of politics.

Here’s what happened. Over the past twoyears our students’ test scores have drop-ped dramatically. The DOE is, and every-body should be, deeply concerned. Thesuperintendent, the mayor and the membersof the School Committee rightly reasonedthat a majorcause of thisdecline is thatteachers are for-ced to use text-books which arewoefully out ofdate. Studentscannot “shine”on tests if the texts that are supposed toprepare them are a dull representation ofwhat they need to know. The neededtextbooks cost $450,000.00.

So, the committee, acting as a whole,requested that the mayor submit a loan orderfor $450,000.00 to the City Council so thatup-to-date books could be bought soon andthe teachers and students could begin touse them. The reason for the rush is two-fold. Our students need the books, and,unless scores improve, the DOE might takeover our system.

Everyone was all set to make a major andpositive step toward improving school cli-mate and showing our students and teach-ers that we’re solidly behind them. TheSchool Committee made the request for theneeded textbooks and it was prepared topay for them over time. Note the SchoolCommittee was not asking for the moneyfrom the city budget. It simply required thatthe mayor ask the City Council to authorizea loan which the School Committee wouldpay from its own budget over four years.The mayor is the bridge between the com-mittee and the council. Thus, it was up tohim carry the request from one branch tothe other.

Instead of leadership, we got politicalgamesmanship. First, the mayor issued apress release claiming full credit for the ideaand for bringing the loan request to the CityCouncil. Most insiders have gotten used tothat type of thing, but his next move was adisaster. Without consulting the superin-tendent or the School Committee, and whoknows for what reason, the mayor abruptlyaltered the deal. Instead of asking for a loanto cover the full cost of the books, he sub-mitted a loan order for only one-half the a-mount. The other half, a full $225,000.00,would have to come from the current schoolbudget, money which simply isn’t there. So,on his own, the mayor changed the dealand essentially wanted the schools to payone-half the loan up front.

This would have required the type of cutseveryone tried to avoid when putting thebudget together last spring. But because ithurt the schools without helping the city, it

Jim Rurak is a professor at BostonCollege and is the former mayor ofHaverhill. Email your comments orquestions to Jim Rurak at JARandKAS@comcast.net.

Ultimately, the mayor caved in, butonly because he must have calculatedthat there was more political capitalin doing what he had first promisedrather than in appearing to be anemperor without any clothes.

simply made no sense. It’s the kind ofmistake only an unseasoned opportunistwould make.

Look at it another way. You run a deliveryservice that requires a truck. Your truckwears out. Without another one, you’re outof business. You don’t have the free cashto replace it, so you go to the bank for aloan. The bank says of course you can havethe loan, your business can easily make thepayments over the next four years.

Then you get the paperwork back andyou discover that the bank changed the dealand now requires you to come up with onehalf the purchase price in advance. The factthat you don’t have that kind of free cash iswhy you went to the bank in the first place,so now you can’t buy the truck. You go outof business or make deliveries by foot (ourcurrent textbooks).

That limits your customers. While youtry to save up for the cash you need to quali-

fy for the loan,you lose goodcustomers, youdon’t make thesales you needto stay inbusiness. Yourb u s i n e s ssuffers, maybe

even fails, despite your best efforts. (Whatour students and teachers are now doingwithout the books they need.)

It seems the mayor likes to think of himselfas the bank in the above illustration. But agood bank doesn’t act that way. If yourcredit is good, you qualify often for a 100%loan. You pay it off from the business theloan keeps afloat. Unlike a good bank, themayor didn’t care whether the terms he dic-tated would seriously compromise theability of the school system to do its job.This is what everyone, including the super-intendent, seemed to be saying would hap-pen if the mayor got his way. The schoolsdo not have the discretionary capital to payfor one half of the loan up front.

Ultimately, the mayor caved in, but onlybecause he must have calculated that therewas more political capital in doing what hehad first promised rather than in appearingto be an emperor without any clothes. Hispower-play tactics had backfired one moretime. Remember the fiasco over repairs tothe Crowell School?

The real problem is the spectacle thiscreates for our students, parents and teach-ers. When we have a chance to show themwe care, that we’ll supply the texts that weknow that they need, the mayor drowns outthat positive message by political games.Perhaps that’s the leadership the DOE mostquestions. In any case, it’s a leadership stylethat needs to change if our students,teachers, parents and the general public areto have confidence in our schools. And it isthat confidence and sense of generalownership that is the true foundation ofstudent learning and achievement. The DOEwebsite lists, as one of the definingcharacteristics of a successful schooldistrict (and I would also say of a successfulcity), that it cultivates a culture of ownershipfor its challenges rather than a climate ofindividual praise and blame. Haverhill needsthat, and it needs it now.

6 The Valley Patriot January - 2007

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Footnotes from

Torissi Holds Meeting...Nobody Shows up

What happens when you callfor a public meeting to discusschanging your town charterand nobody shows up?Just ask Rep. David(Where-IS-he) Torissi fromNorth Andover. Lastmonth, Torissi called for a public forum formembers of the community to express theirviews and ask questions about his effortsto be the town’s first mayor by eliminatingTown Meeting and revamping the charter.But the only people who bothered to attendwere his “guest speakers,” Selectman TomLicciardello, Methuen Mayor Bill Manzi anda Franklin Town Administrator (see pic. onpage 16). I guess the people of NorthAndover really don’t have much to sayabout Torissi’s latest coup attempt. Restassured, however, if he tries to put it on theballot, it will be soundly defeated by thevoters.

Useless Boddy?

According to sources in Mayor MikeSullivan’s office, the whole controversysurrounding why Assistant City AttorneyJim Bowers was tasked with negotiating abuyout deal for Finance Director JohnGriffin, instead of City Attorney CharlesBoddy, is not because of some secretconspiracy to hide it from the council.“Charlie Boddy himself says he purposely

avoids this kind of workbecause it is too contro-versial. Anytime AttorneyBoddy is asked to render alegal opinion on anything

political such as this, hebreaks out into a coldsweat and then, poof,he is suddenly out

sick the rest of the week,” our source said.“He is petrified of Council PresidentBlanchette,” the source added. Given theway Blanchette has publicly treated formerFinance Director John Griffin and currentAssistant City Attorney Jim Bowers, it isno wonder Boddy is reluctant to do anywork on controversial matters at all. We dowant to thank him, however, for helping usget copies of Andrea Traficante’s phonerecords (though it took six months to getthem - see The Valley Patriot next month).But I still have to wonder, if a city attorneyis afraid to do his job, shouldn’t Lawrencefind someone who isn’t?

Looking Forward to LindaCampbell Taking Office

Last July, The Valley Patriot interviewed(then candidate) Linda Dean Campbellabout her views on gay marriage and theLegislature’s refusal to put the issue on theballot. Campbell said at the time that whileshe favors gay marriage she also favors thewill of the people and would vote to placethe item before voters if it comes up duringher term as a state representative. The ValleyPatriot hopes that Campbell can teach herfellow legislators Dave Torissi, BarbaraL’Italien and Steve Baddour the meaning ofthe phrase “serving the voters.”

The Diane Huster BillARE YOU KIDDING ME???

While some state legislators file bills toget retirement benefits for police andfirefighters because they fell through thecracks of the stateretirement system,state Senator SteveBaddour has filed a billcalled the “ActRelative to EssexRegional Retirement

System and Diane Huster” (1406). Huster,who was an elected member of the NorthAndover School Committee, did not qualifyfor retirement benefits because she did notapply for them in time. But, thanks to Steve“where’s the microphone” Baddour, Hustergets another bite at the apple!Representatives Torissi and L’Italien havealso signed on to the corresponding Housebill (H4773). Even former Huster supporterJack Watkins of the Finance Committee haswritten a letter to his state legislatorsprotesting the more than $100,000 in freebenefits Huster could receive from the townif Baddour, Torissi and L’Italien get theirway.

Pulling Teeth in North Andover

No … I’m not talking about dentistry here.I’m talking about trying to getstraight answers out of theNorth Andover schooldepartment. At a recentSchool Committee meeting,education advocate TedTripp asked ChairmanAl Perry for a copy ofthe school departmentplan to meet the five-year academicimprovement goals that the committee hadunanimously adopted 2 ½ years ago. Mr.Perry turned the question over toSuperintendent O’Connor who went on atlength about how busy he was on audits,budgets, dealing with teachers, addressinglarge class sizes and other issues. After whatseemed like an eternity, Perry interrupted tosay the issue was closed.

But O’Connor had never answered thequestion. So at the next meeting, Tripp gotup again and asked Perry if he could assurethe people watching the broadcast that

such a plan actually exists and copies couldbe made available to the public. Having puthim on the spot, Perry had to admit thatsuch a plan does not exist. When pushedon the issue, neither Perry nor O’Connorcould or would say when such a plan wouldbe put together. This year the NA schooldepartment fell far short of the committee’ssecond-year improvement goals. This nowcomes as no surprise since the schoolsapparently never had a plan to reach thosegoals. It’s probably too late this academicyear to develop a plan to affect the thirdyear results. Just expect to be disappointedwhen this year’s test scores finally come in.

And you wonder why the schools haveno credibility?

Andover Principal Pays for HateGroup From Slush Fund

You have to hand it to Peter Anderson,principal of Andover High School.Anderson mastered the art of playing bothsides of an issue last month when he firstagreed to allow anti-Semitic hate group“Wheels of Justice” to speak to his studentsabout the evils committed by Jews andAmericans. Then, when The Valley Patriotexposed the issue, he canceled the speakingengagement, only to buckle again when thehate group threatened to sue. Now TheValley Patriot has learned that PrincipalAnderson is not only allowing Wheels ofJustice to come and indoctrinate (behindclosed doors) Andover’s school childrenwith hate, he is paying for it out of his owndiscretionary slush fund. Isn’t it amazingthat the principal of a high school canprivately collect money from members of thecommunity and then use that money topromote Jew hatred and Anti-Americanvenom in the classroom? I wonder whereBarry Finegold has been on this issue.Seems he has been missing in action!

January - 2007 The Valley Patriot 7

Mary Lou Bergeron, Assistant Superintendent for Operations and Support ServicesGail D. Rosengard, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction