http://rutlandherald.com/article/20141105/NEWS02/711059906
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Emmons, Forguites easily outdistance Jokinen
http://rutlandherald.com/article/20141105/NEWS02/711059906
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That's too bad. Well, the voters have spoken so we get to continue with more of the same...lack of good representation. Sigh!!!
ReplyDeleteWhen hurricane Irene devastated the rest of Vermont, there was no damage to Springfield, because there is a flood control dam in North Springfield. When I asked Ms. Emmons and Mrs. Martin if they were going to lobby to relocate state offices to Park St. School, and the empty machine tool company office space in Springfield, they replied the state would not consider doing that. Could they have had (and have) a negative opinion of the town they represented? Perhaps they have good reasons.
ReplyDeleteThe Springfield School District has eliminated advanced college credited courses in English and Math, and the best Russian language course in the state. Yet the town can't figure out why well educated parents don't buy real estate in Springfield, and our best students are going to school at Green Mountain, for which the District must pay tuition.
Town Manager Forguites put not a penny for paving in a recent town budget, did not consult with Supervisor Harry Henderson before the budget was voted on, and when it was approved, asked Harry when he was going to repave upper Clinton St.! Don't expect anything to change because Forguites will be in the legislature. Our town is spiraling down our well engineered storm drains!
I am not certain why Hurricane Irene would prompt the State of VT to move their offices in town. I suspect that the parking lot down near the river was probably flooded, but a storm like that only comes once every 75 or so years. The State of VT is not going to spend a lot of money to rehab Park St School or the empty machine tool company office space when they already spent a lot of money to rehab the building they are in. That would be an incredible waste of my tax dollars.
DeleteA quick phone call to SHS told me that they offer AP English Lit,, AP Stats and AP Calculus along with AP Bio and AP Chemistry. Sadly, Russian was probably dropped because of low enrollments.However, SHS does offer French, Spanish and German. A quick phone call to Green Mountain told me that there are NO Springfield tuition students over at Green Mountain. Do your research.
Harry Henderson hasn't been the public works director for at least TWO years, so he wouldn't have been involved in the last or current budget. I didn't contact the town to determine if they put money into paving because that part of your argument was not factual.
You seem to make a lot of assumptions without any basis in fact.
Regarding flooding in Vermont. How many people remember the July 4th weekend flood in 1973, which in some towns exceeded the damages caused by the 1927 flood? Windsor county was devastated, but not Springfield, which had a flood control dam. The National Guard was called out to help with Windsor County repairs, many caused by the thousands of dead elm trees that fell into raging streams, and then formed massive debris dams on floodplains. Hundreds of miles of gravel roads were utterly destroyed in Windsor County by raging water. See:Google text and images.
DeleteNo storm in Vermont compared to the 1973 flood until 2011. In the early spring of that year, Montpelier and Waterbury were flooded, and some state offices were abandoned to rising water, such as those of the Vermont League of Cities and Towns. In 2011 Springfield was generally safe from flooding, except when the town's new water mains routinely failed, as in front of the police station, the town library, the town garage, Bibens store, under upper Park St., and under Route 11 above where Fairgrounds Rd. joins Route 11. But the spring flood damage in Montpelier and Waterbury, or anywhere else in the state, did not compare with the damage caused by Irene. State offices in Waterbury were wiped out, along with tons of vital paper documents and computers that were stored on first floors.
The opportunity to relocate state offices to Springfield, high and dry after Irene, should have been exploited in the fall of 2011, certainly not now. How then would people who have lived through several Vermont floods be able to say, "I told you so!"
It is fascinating that even Waterbury voters recognized how foolish it is to rebuild on a floodplain, and refused by Australian ballot to approve Waterbury's financial participation in the rebuilding project. People living in Waterbury know that flooding happens more frequently than every 75 years. Who knows when another flood will give Springfield an opportunity to present itself as a good location for more than state correctional facilities. Let us hope our representatives are not all wet, but alert, ready with significant information on available buildings and space, and willing to see Springfield as something other than a human compost heap.
More recently, in the flood of March 1992 there were more than $2 million in damages in Montpelier.
DeleteThank you for doing your homework and letting people know the truth. My children, recent graduates of springfield HS, currently attend good colleges or are just out of college and gainfully employed. There are some wonderful teachers at the high school and kids who work hard will do well. It's nice to read a comment on this blog that is accurate and not just uneducated opinion....
DeleteSince 1973, Vermont suffered 13 major floods; 6 of these were within the Winooski River Watershed. Few losses were suffered from flooding in Springfield.
DeleteRussian was not dropped because of enrolments. When they lay off, they look at seniority. If the teacher who is lowest on the totem pole happens to teach a highly regarded, but non required course then they lose. Unfortunately, middle class parents often look at what special non required programs are offered in picking a school system. If the school system only offers the standard required fare, then they are prone to look elsewhere.
DeleteUndoubtedly focused students can receive an excellent education in Springfield, which has a superb teaching staff. My three children were educated in Springfield, and went on to college, graduated with honors, and are now doing very well in their careers.
DeleteI have done my best to preserve the educational opportunities and standards in Springfield that my children benefited from, and have attended many school board meetings, especially during the budgeting process.
What should concern all parents is the Springfield School District's penchant for cutting teachers, paraprofessionals and programs to reduce the school budget, with no proportional reductions in administrative costs. The administrative costs of our school system are well over a million dollars a year, but there have been no cuts in administrative staffing over the last two years, during which over 30 teaching and teaching support positions have been eliminated, as well as two vital programs: Russian Language and the Precision Valley Program (PVP).
During the last budget process, the Russian instructor and her many students attended school board meetings, distributed very well written handouts, and spoke eloquently and passionately regarding the value of the Russian program. They emphasized that Russian is the key to attending colleges that have Russian programs and a Russian major in college assured well paid job opportunities upon college graduation. Though the Russian program had many students and the instructor's job was only a half time position, their efforts fell on deaf ears. Anyone who is informed about world events now knows how important Russian would be to our graduates. Perhaps SAPA still has videos of the school board meetings at which the Russian students and instructor spoke.
When the PVP was eliminated, three of its 10 students continued in Springfield High School. Two continued their schooling in Windsor. Four continued their studies in Vermont Adult Ed.. One left for Florida.
When Springfield voters approved the school budget, AP English and AP Math had been eliminated. It is wonderful to learn that several AP courses were added to the available curriculum after the school budget vote. Does anyone know where funding came from?
RE: My three children were educated in Springfield, and went on to college, graduated with honors, and are now doing very well in their careers.
DeletePerhaps so, but I'll be they're not pursuing their careers in Springfield. Thanks to a lethargic town government and pathetic legislative support, Springfield remains an economic abyss, offering little opportunity for professionals or highly skilled tradesmen.
The loss of the Russian program is unfortunate, but it bears little consequence on the ultimate fate of the town.
And while the elimination of PVP may have affected 10 students, many appear to have continued their studies nonetheless, so its loss was ultimately barely felt.
Choices had to be made. Choices were made. They will affect some, but by and large will not have "earth shattering" consequences.
Only strong economic growth will enable this town to recover and to afford the specialized school curricula that many would espouse (but few seem willing to personally pay extra for).
DON'T COUNT ON EMMONS OR FORGUITES TO HELP THE TOWN GROW ECONOMICALLY. NEITHER HAS A RECORD OF HAVING DONE SO AND BOTH WILL LIKELY DO LITTLE ELSE THAN JUST PARK THEIR ARSES IN CHAIRS IN MONTPELIER.
Education should be provided young people to enable them to pursue their own interests and dreams, not just prepare them for a life time of work in their own home town, as worthy a goal as that may be.
DeleteAs Springfield reduces its once remarkable educational opportunities, it embraces the same short sighted thinking that caused the town to put all its employment opportunities in one basket. Communities are a reflection of the values of the people within them. If you want economic growth, you must offer more than rhetoric about needing jobs. You need to create an atmosphere and community that will attract new businesses and entrepreneurs to town. Castrating the school system will discourage anyone with a bright school age child from moving to town.
Confucius say it might just be a wee bit hypocritical to condemn budget reductions when one utilizes obscure methods to avoid paying their full share of taxes and thus deprives a town of its full measure of revenue!
DeleteAmen!!! I have commented previously on just how unjust the taxation structure is in Vermont.
DeleteWell Said Anon 9:23 AM
ReplyDeleteI have said this many times. Springfield will get what it deserves and it will reap many times over what it sows. BAD BAD decision by the old timers. So glad I moved from there but feel sorry for the residents trapped in the muck known as springfield.
ReplyDeleteThe numbers I saw showed Jokinen getting about 8% of the vote. Pretty good for any "write in" candidate. My only suggestion would be: Get your name on the ballot! If someone can pull 8% as a write-in, they could have actually had a chance with their actual name on the ballot. Way too many offices on the ballot form were uncontested (vote for 2, and only 2 names, etc).
ReplyDeleteThat was Jokinen's biggest mistake, although not sure his ad invoking Ayn Rand was terribly astute. I agree there were too many uncontested positions on the ballot. Am surprised that Forguites got fewer votes that Emmons.
DeleteIll served is ill gotten. Emmons with an E and Forguites with an F, rest assured it will continue to be all EFed up!
ReplyDelete"“I don’t understand that, I thought Shumlin was unbeatable,” said Forguites."
ReplyDeleteJeeze Bob....