Really?

County attorney responds to Dems

 Well it seems the Democrat caucus can look at the resumes for those who applied for the position of chief accountant... in an executive session or other confidential forum... aka we don't want the public to know what good candidates we passed over so we could hire someone with a matchbook college education and no municipal experience. County Attorney Dick "Tricky Dick" as many call him, sent a letter to Legislator Doug Malone letting him know his educated legal decision.

 In the past, the county has always provided resumes under the Freedom of Information Law- because they are just that- public information. The county can redact the name, address, and other personal info- but education and experience are fair game.

The public is getting a raw deal because they are paying for Robin McMillen's salary and they have the right to know her qualifications and that of those she competed with.

Readers have been commenting that McMillen was hired at the wish of Legislator Terry Wilbur.  That wouldn't surprise us any. 

Perhaps the Dems will take it to court. 

Oswego County Government's new chief accountant

Problems in paradise?

Do they turn a blind eye?

We thought this comment was worthy of its own post. You can see the original comment under the "What are they hiding" post.

What I don't understand is why the democrats haven't been raising hell about all this shit, phony time sheets, roads to nowhere in Hannibal, multiple problems in the County clerks office, unqualified individuals as Treasurer, chief accountant, and County executive, ad nauseum. Why don't they take their complaints to the state level where the dems have control? Is it possible that they are as corrupt and devious as the majority party in the legislature? After having worked for and retired from county government this wouldn't surprise me at all, bottom line is that they are all politicians, nuff said?

In response, we can assure this reader and all others that the Democrats have been, and continue to, take all these issues to the state level. Unfortunately, the wheels of justice turn slowly.

The Democrats have been vocal at meetings, to no avail. The Republicans refuse to listen to them. 

We suggest you stay tuned as we do expect something will happen. And the GPS records and mileage sheets are in the hands of the proper authorities. 

In the meantime, we heard rumblings that some tempers may flare in the Solid Waste Department tomorrow, so stay tuned.

What are they hiding?

Pall-Times denied treasurer resumes

 It's apparent that someone in Oswego County Government doesn't want the public to know the qualifications of the candidates who applied for the chief accountant position.

 Today's Pall-Times states that they too we denied the resumes.

 The Democrat Caucus members were denied access as well, despite county personnel director Carol Alnutt telling two caucus members that the Republicans had seen them.  Denying elected officials the opportunity to do their jobs and answer to their constituents is egregious. Do the Republicans think they are the only ones running the show? 

This is only more embarrassment for county GOP chairman Michael C. Backus.  The person hired is the treasurer for his party. Her qualifications are weak. She has an online degree and we are told she has no municipal experience whatsoever.

 Must be they passed over some certified public accountants so that they could dole out a patronage job at the expense of the taxpayers.

 We hope the Dems or the Pall-Times takes this one to court. The public deserves to know the qualifications of those passed over. We hear it is being turned into state officials as well, such as the Inspector General and the Department of State. 

 The denial can only be summarized as the Republicans have something to hide.

 Apparently, they are trying to avoid the proverbial egg-on-face.

 

 

 

Is it over?

Update on the Beckwith sand pit

 The county has surrendered its mining permit to mind sand from the Jack Beckwith property.

 As you may recall, Highway Superintendent Kurt Ospelt contracted with Jack Beckwith to mine sand on Beckwith's town of Hannibal property without permission from his jurisdictional committee.

 Ospelt further undertook the construction of a road on private property without the proper permits and again without committee approval.

When all of this came to surface, Legislature Chairman Kevin Gardner made light of it stating that the cost of the labor shouldn't be taken into consideration because they would have been working anyway.  Really? Perhaps they would have been working, but it would have been on a public project, not a private one. And it's $12,000 of wasted time. 

Missing persons

Where's Dean?

 As John O'Brien's investigative series on the Heidi Allen case is raising many questions and bringing much criticism to Sheriff Reuel Todd, we can only pray for the family of Heidi and that the truth will come out for the Thibodeau family. Both families deserve the truth. The prison interview with Gary Thibodeau is here. 

 There has been much publicity over the years about local missing persons, including Heidi Allen and Carol Wood.

One missing person that we hear nothing about is Dean Heagerty.

Heagerty has been missing since 1976, one year after he graduated from high school.

According to one witness, a former county employee, Heagerty had been in the Bunner Street mental health care facility and was visited by two priests, one said to be Father Furfaro. Not long after, Heagerty was never to be seen or heard from again.

We wonder why the police agencies don't report as extensively on Heagerty as they have all over missing persons. 

We pray that all of these families will someday learn the truth about their loved ones.

New evidence

Interesting story on the Heidi Allen case

Syracuse.com reported today that new evidence has surfaced in the Heidi Allen  case. 

This could mean the Oswego County Sheriff's Department has been wrong all these years. 

The story states, "Lisa Peebles, the federal public defender in Syracuse, intends to file a court case next week claiming Gary Thibodeau was wrongly convicted of the teen's abduction from a convenience store near Oswego on Easter morning 1994."

This will be a case worth watching, and hopefully the family of Heidi Allen can have some closure.

Family court race

And then there were four

 It appears that Ed Izyk and sue-the-town-and-county Norfleet have dropped out of the Family Court race.

 Left, from what we can tell, are three Republicans- Jim Eby, Sal Lanza, and Thom Benedetto. 

Jim Eby has probably represented three-quarters of the county at one time or another. He's the "go to" man for speeding tickets. As one legislator joked, "He's probably represented most of the Schroeppel committe."  The reference was, of course, to Carl Richardson who served prison time. 

Published on September 2, 1992, Syracuse Herald-Journal (NY) POLICE ARREST FOUR PEOPLE IN NATIONAL DRUG RING

Four Oswego County residents were arrested and charged today as part of a nationwide drug ring. The four are among 15 people charged with conspiracy to manufacture and sell methamphetamine, a drug similar to cocaine. Jeanette Jennings, 29, and James Scandura, 46, both of Oswego, and Phoenix residents Lee Noel, 45, and Carl Richardson, 34, were to be arraigned in U.S. District Court in Syracuse this afternoon.

And perhaps Rodney Trask who also had a little run in with the law when he worked for the Town of Schroeppel.

Sal Lanza is also well known, Thom Benedetto... not so much other than in the north country.

The Dems are running Lou Anne Coleman, who people either love or hate. 

It will be interesting to see how the GOP plays out.  And if voters are ready for another woman as Family Court judge.

Some have been critical of Eby because he can only serve five years- of course there are waivers that would allow him to stay on longer. Others think it's a good thing. Judge Seager is a good example of how people feel about being able to get rid of a judge after five years.