Why Does the WCBOE Protect Criminals?

Harken back to the days of the great landfill scandal.  After Sheriff Mike Lewis caught the criminals and States Attorney Davis Ruark sent them to jail it was discovered that the miscreants would be collecting full county pensions.  Shame on us.

By law, nothing could be done about the problem at hand.  However, Wicomico’s county council did take steps to make sure that such an event wouldn’t occur in the future.  If a county employee was found guilty of defrauding or otherwise stealing from the taxpayers they would forfeit the county’s contribution to their pension.

Last year it was discovered that a Wicomico County Board of Education (WCBOE) employee was defrauding the taxpayers (or if you are a lefty – “stealing form the children”).  I’m sure it wasn’t the first time; nor the last.  Assuming that this woman is convicted and sentence to jail, she will be eligible to receive her full pension.  Shame on us again?

Maybe.  The WCBOE bureaucrats read the paper.  Hell, thanks to their “special relationship” they practically run it.  But, I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt as to why they didn’t pass a resolution similar to the county’s soon after the county passed their new pension rules.  However, in early December of last year the Wicomico County Council sent a letter to superintendent John Fredericksen asking that they adopt a similar resolution.  Almost four months have passed.  NOTHING.

If the WCBOE doesn’t act, then the next time an employee is discovered stealing from the taxpayer, the fault will lie squarely on Fredericksen and the board.  Perhaps Fredericksen, et al, will argue that their collective bargaining agreements wouldn’t allow them to pass such legislation.  But wait, I thought that it was all “FOR THE CHILDREN”.

Tomorrow – Part I of The Big Field Trip, our expose of waste, fraud, and abuse in the WCBOE Travel Budget

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Delaware to Suspend Doctor’s License

The Delaware Board of Medical Practice will hold an emergency meeting today to vote on the emergency suspension of Dr. Earl Bradley’s license to practice medicine.  Bradley, a Lewes pediatrician, has been charged with the rape of 9 children and is suspected of molesting at least 100 children over the last decade.

Bradley is being held in the Delaware state prison in Smyrna in lieu of $2.9 cash bail.  Because Bradley is considered an “imminent danger to the public”, the Board chose to undertake an “expedited investigation” and hold today’s hearing.

"Even though someone is incarcerated, tomorrow they might not be incarcerated," said James L. Collins of the Delaware Division of Professional Regulation.

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If You Spend Enough Money You Can Reduce Crime? …

… or poverty … or just about any other social ill.

That was the mantra of the ‘60’s and ‘70’s – at least among the liberal elite.  Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) surely ranks as one of those.  That must be why he’s pushing a bill to coddle gang members rather incarcerate them.

From the Daily Press:

Scott said calls for tougher sentencing do not address the continuing cycle of gang crime. "The research is absolutely clear. … Mandatory minimums are a waste of taxpayer money," said Scott, who contends that the public wants the attention shifted to prevention.

Scott’s Youth PROMISE Act — Prison Reduction through Opportunity, Mentoring, Intervention, Support and Education — involves steering federal grants to local agencies or groups that can demonstrate they use proven methods to prevent young people from joining gangs or turning to crime.

Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA) has withdrawn his support of Scott’s legislation precisely because Scott refuses to include tougher sentencing guidelines in the bill.

When will the left learn.  Citizens want more police, not more social workers.

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Speak Out Against Crime in Salisbury

Attend this evening’s Salisbury City Council meeting.  During public comment ask this simple question:

Will you continue to support the rising crime rate or will you take action against crime, starting now?

Let the Barrie Comegys bloc – Gary Comegys, Louise Smith, and Shanie Shields – know that you want change!  This means letting Police Chief Allan Webster go and putting someone in the job that is more concerned about fighting crime than attacking Mayor Jim Ireton and Councilwoman Debbie Campbell.

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Jim Ireton’s Answer to Salisbury’s Crime Problem

  When Jim Ireton was running to be Salisbury’s mayor there was no question that crime was a TOP concern of voters.  Things don’t seem to have gotten much better since his election.  At Tuesday’s meeting of the Salisbury Crime Taskforce Ireton provided some hint as to his solution for the crime problems – GRANTS.

While Jim’s FRIENDS – Frank Kratovil, Barbara Mikulski, Ben Cardin, and Barack Obama – may be doling out taxpayer dollars by the bucket full, at some point in time Ireton is going to have to DO SOMETHING about fixing the problems facing Salisbury.  That means Ireton needs to understand that crime is one of, if not THE BIGGEST problem facing his once fair city.

At Tuesday’s meeting a member of the taskforce asked Ireton what was the status of a grant Salisbury applied for to replicate a highly successful crime initiative in Annapolis.  Ireton’s reply was a song an dance about how “competitive” the application process was and how applicants were being “scored”.

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The Joke That Is Salisbury’s Tapegate

On days like this I am reminded of a comment made by my friend and Red Maryland colleague Brian Griffiths.  It was something to the effect that more things appear to be written about Salisbury town government than most cities 10 times its size.  He’s right.  I’m one of many culprits; but at least I can be thankful that I’m not in the idiot pen with the Tilghman Times and the Barrie Comegys crowd.  Case in point – TAPEGATE.

The Story -

It all began in early July.  Salisbury police chief Allan Webster thought that the town’s new mayor, Jim Ireton, might send him packing.  Fair assumption given Webster’s record and the city’s less than stellar crime statistics.  Ireton had made both an issue during the recent mayoral campaign and Webster attacked Ireton in the Tilghman Times on multiple occasions.

To save his job, and reportedly to pad his pension, Webster went on the offensive by publicly attacking Ireton’s two allies on council – Debbie Campbell and Terry Cohen.  Unfortunately, Ireton’s bungling of the matter appeared to make Webster and his cronies even more brazen.

To date, Webster has asserted (on several occasions in collusion with the Tilghman Times) that his rights were violated, that city personnel policy was circumvented, that the Salisbury taxpayers should foot all of his potential legal bills, … and that he was was somehow being persecuted as a “whistleblower”.  What makes this so amusing is that it was either Webster or someone acting on his behalf that provided copies of the documents (which Webster claims are damaging to his reputation) to both the Tilghman Times and to the house blog of the Barrie Comegys party.

Webster’s claim of “whistleblower” status is based (if one can call it that) on a purported investigation of Councilwoman Campbell.  Webster claims that Campbell has possession of police surveillance footage supposedly taped about 12 years ago when Mrs. Campbell was the founding Executive Director of Salisbury Neighborhood Housing Service.  TAPEGATE!

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Why Do Terrorists Have More Rights Than Inmates?

It’s ironic that Democrats believe that foreign terrorists should receive all of the rights and consideration of a US citizen while many of these same people don’t blink at the mistreatment of US citizens housed in our correctional facilities.  No, I’m not soft on crime.  I don’t even think these people deserve to have TV and other recreational activities  I also don’t believe that they should be abused by the very same people charged with guarding them.

The Caesar Rodney Institute has just released a new report, Rogue Force, outlining more abuses at Delaware’s own little version of Attica circa 1971.  Abuses at the Sussex Correctional Institution are well documented.  They are currently under a federal consent decree to straighten out their act.  Evidently they aren’t doing too well at accomplishing that goal.

Who’s been in charge of the Delaware prison system for almost 20 years?  Democrat administrations.  But wait!  I thought it was us evil Republicans who were brutal, fascist thugs.  Isn’t that why the Obama administration wants to give all of these rights to terrorists?

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McDonnell Unveils Public Safety Plan

Calling for tougher sentences on drug dealers and tougher sex offender registration laws, former Virginia AG Bob McDonnell unveiled his plan for public safety.  We can expect Democrat opponent Creigh “Me Too” Deeds to present his plan as soon as his Xerox machine warms up.

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Report Shows O’Malley’s Disdain for Both Taxpayers and the Poor

We all know that Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley thinks that taxpayers exist merely to be squeezed to pay for more wasteful spending.  But what about St. Marty, the champion of the poor and the oppressed?  Of course that must be true.  He is a Democrat after all.

We need to remember that O’Malley is a politician, first and foremost.  He’d probably sell his kids for the right number of votes, so kicking poor people out of their homes is a walk in the park if you want to be governor.

That’s what happened in Baltimore under Mayor O’Malley.  Using federal tax dollars to dismantle public housing, rather than improve it, O’Malley forced poor city dwellers out of their homes in an attempt to reduce crime.  Then O’Malley pretended shock when courts forced the counties to pick up the slack.

Now O’Malley is the guardian of over $44 million in new federal housing money.  Let’s see what he does now.

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Daily Times – Shoddy Reporting or Political Intimidation?

It’s doubtful that Salisbury’s Daily Times will win a Pulitzer anytime soon.  That said, they seem to be sinking to lows that may exceed their own dismal record.  The question is whether the staff of the Daily Times is lazy, incompetent, or attempting to influence local government through intimidation.

This morning’s article about a mysterious “report” on Salisbury police chief Allan Webster not only fails to meet any standard of truth, it doesn’t even meet a standard of accuracy.  The article even admits that it is based on “rumor”.  Given that the reporter, Laura D’Alessandro, was unable to confirm any of these rumors, I am shocked that any newspaper would run such a story anywhere, much less on the front page above the fold.

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