As most of you know by now, more and more crime is being reported, most of it caused by rising energy costs.

I just received a report of a business in the New Haven County area that nearly had its fuel supply compromised by some very intelligent thiefs who managed to clone a key card that this business had used to “secure” its fuel supply. Well, apparently, the thiefs got the cloned card to actually fool the computer connected to the fuel pumps to get them to turn on.

Fortunately for the owner, a surveillance camera was activated and an alarm sounded, scaring the would be thiefs off.

This is why all the talk of making sure the Town of Cheshire’s fuel supplies are MONITORED and all fuel that is expended be ACCOUNTED FOR, is necessary NOW MORE THAN EVER.

Let’s not engage in the “HOT AIR” comment or the attitudes and get going with the list of all town owned vehicles and who is riding in what car NOW!! Not because we don’t trust our town employees, No, that is not it. It is some PEOPLE in the general public who are coming up with more inventive ways every day to compromise our trust and security.

 Speaking of security, I am linking you to an important article on a subject I mentioned several months ago, but because of security reasons, did not elaborate on. The subject is Bump Keys. This is very important because this method is used to break into homes leaving no sign of a forced entry.

Again I hope the Town Council will consider the hiring of at least one better yet TWO police officers because things are NOT going to get better!!

I am linking to the Wikipedia article which is safe and generic. I suggest you contact your local police for further details. Caution: a bump key is considered a burglary tool!!

Click here for article

I will resume posting in a few days. See you later!!

I received via e-mail, this photo of overgrown grass (on town property), on Marion Road near a relative’s house.
So what is the big deal? The deal is that it is adjacent to the relative’s driveway so when the relative tries to back out of its driveway, the relative can’t see the traffic on Marion Road which can be a problem especially during rush hour. To make the point, there is a car on the right hand side of the road. Can you see it?

So hopefully, as has been the practice in the past, our public works department will resolve this problem as soon as possible.

In other news: It looks like my information (from my husband) regarding Southington Town Councilors discussing the proposed Cheshire Lifestyle Center and its possible traffic and public safety impact and then sending a letter to the Cheshire Town Manager was RIGHT!! Someone sent me a copy of the exact story the Waterbury Republican American just wrote a few days ago on this exact issue.

What was interesting in the Rep-Am Article was that Jeff Curley of W/S Development is now stating that a site plan will not be submitted until sometime this fall.

I hope to be traveling to Kansas this Tuesday to view for myself the tornado damage to my home in Chapman and to Kansas State University and the city of Manhattan. I don’t know what will happen to the house, or what is left of it, but hopefully I will be able to get FEMA money in about 35 years, and rebuild.

Now I have received a few inquiries from you regarding the Featured Video of KansasStateCars.com Yes, this is an actual arrangement between Kansas State University and car dealerships in Manhattan, Kansas where the University receives a percentage of every car sold. The proceeds benefit K-State athletics and the K-State Alumni Association.

"Kansas State Cars" is not affiliated with Kansas State University. It is a private organization that fundraises for the University. They have made arrangements with local dealerships in the area and every time someone purchases a car, as was stated above, KSU Athletics and the KSU Alumni Association get a percentage.

I think something like this would be a great way to raise money for our school athletic program and even the Community Pool. I know some of you might think this is ridiculous, but apparently it works for K-State so why not for our town or any town for that matter. Maybe Cheshire could get a local car dealership to participate in its own program to raise money for the schools and the pool.

Please watch the "Featured Video" and go to www.KansasStateCars.com for more information.

As I stated in "THE Meeting" post, I will not disclose specific details of my meeting with the Police Chief. I publicly stated on this website that I would not, and I will not. As far as the other side, I cannot control that but I would hope it would remain private.

All I can say is that I am still amazed at what people in power will do to keep people from speaking out and that I had and have Undergroundtownhall. Because, without this outlet, I think the situation here in Cheshire would be a LOT different, especially as far as the power brokers are concerned.

TO my supporters: whatever they tried in the past did not work and will not work. I will only act to defend myself and my family. What I KNOW about this town will stay with me and a select few people unless I am FORCED to use this information.

ONTO OTHER SUBJECTS:

In light of the rising fuel prices, we are seeing a rise in criminal activity. If you all think it is bad now, wait until Winter when people will have to cope with $4, $5 and possibly $6 a gallon home heating oil. There will be more criminal activity, more burglaries and more home invasions,

What to do? The Cheshire Town Council should approve funding for at least one or possibly two additional police officers as soon as possible. I believe the way to fight crime is to have our law enforcement personnel become as visible as possible. No, I do not believe massive traffic stops accomplish this as I have stated before in the "Tornado" post. The traffic stops may deter criminals from coming into town, but it will also discourage good people from coming here and shopping here. We need to have VISIBILITY. This is what they have been doing in Bridgeport and let’s face it, that city’s crime rate has really dropped over the past several years.

Now, what do I mean by visibility? I don’t mean sitting on the side of the road like a gauntlet, waiting to pick on someone to pull over. What I mean is driving, biking, walking, using those small electric vehicles I highlighted in the "Tornado" post as they do in Montreal, to make the police as visible as possible. The Town Council should also consider adding several more "steps" to the Step Program for the police department that I spoke about a few months ago, This is being done at the Connecticut Department of Labor where my husband is employed as a Revenue Examiner. He will be glad to give the Town Council the specifics on this program. This boosts morale, rewards good service and fosters the fair use of the promotion system.

And as far as the Town Council is concerned: they are the governing body in this town and all decisions regarding the town, including personnel issues, must be decided by this governing body. I commend Town Councilor Ecke for reminding SOMEONE of this. I get a lot of comments about things, especially the Town Council. Mr. Ecke’s name has come up many times. I will NOT RUN comments that are STUPID, name calling or anything else I decide is not worthy to be published. That is all there is to it. If you don’t like it, go on the "anonymous" blog and have your fill. I put my REAL name on everything I write–EVERYTHING!!

Now Mr. Ecke to me, is a fine Councilor. He does care about Cheshire, I really believe that. He has the towns best interest in mind.

I don’t agree with everything he says, and I know he doesn’t like some of the comments I make regarding the Police Department but that is how it is. I have the well being of the town in mind and I don’t care what anyone else thinks.

I have lived here for nearly 25 years and this town IS my business and IS important to me. I don’t have to do this blog, and I know many of you wish I wouldn’t, I am not involved in politics here, I am just a citizen. But, I have always enjoyed getting involved with local government, that is why I was a reporter. This is my hobby. I want Cheshire to be the best it can be. I want Cheshire to be as open as possible. I want every town and city to be like that. This is what I believe in. "Don’t You Have Anything More Important To Do" ANSWER: NO!!! THIS is the most important thing to me besides my family: the operation of our local town. It always will be.

In light of the devastating floods and tornados that have damaged Kansas and Iowa, especially Manhattan, Kansas, Kansas State University and Chapman, Kansas, which is 85 percent destroyed, let us look at the beauty of this area around Kansas State University.

If you have never seen this, you have never lived. The beauty is mind-boggling to say the least.

Click here

 

Here are more photos of the damage to Kansas State University. Luckily, KSU just raised $529 million with the “Changing Lives” campaign. You see the Kansas State Cars program they have, this is how this school raises money!!  Learn from it!!

Click here for more tornado damage photos

For most of you that are regular visitors to my site, you know that today, Friday the 13th, was the day I was scheduled to meet with Police Chief Cruess. I went to the Police Station (to get my fair share of abuse) NO ONLY KIDDING!!!

I arrived around 10 a.m. and the Chief came out to greet me a few minutes later. We spoke for a little over an hour and touched on many subjects very openly and honestly. So, it was a good meeting, but to be honest, I felt very drained after I left.

I am not going to touch on specifics as promised. The meeting was PRIVATE and will stay that way for me.

The bottom line, there have been a lot of misunderstandings, I believe, on both sides regarding what both sides intentions were or are. I have been wrong on many occasions, MANY TIMES. I know some times I overreact and it is not right. But I believe the other side has misunderstood my intention with Underground Town Hall.

It is very upsetting for me to write these words because I REALLY in my heart never intended to cause discord in this town and especially with the Police Department. I feel bad because I don’t want these people to think I am out there following them around, trying to get them in a situation. I AM NOT.

When I was a reporter, I REPORTED NEWS. If some of it was bad or compromising I tried to get the FACTS. I will admit, I did try to get a photo of that Gas Guzzler SUV the Police Department has because I did not like the fact that it was being driven around. But when the Chief explained why, then I understood.

This is the reason why I initially wanted to attend the Citizen’s Police Academy–to find out what really goes on at the Police Department. NOT to snoop around and dig up things!! First of all, as the Chief said, I am pretty crummy at snooping or being silent–you know when I am around that is for sure. But you see, I felt the same thing was happening to me when I went to the first Citizens Police Academy class. I felt an air of mistrust. I felt they were WATCHING my every move. I stayed behind a bit in the dispatch center because I wanted to hear some of the calls. I was interested in it. Look, I am not perfect, please don’t believe all the HYPE I sometimes engage in about myself. I like to tease–I like to push things a bit. But in all honesty, I like to joke around. You know when I am serious believe me.

Then when i was scheduled for the ride along, I was looking forward to it. I wanted to see how everything out in the streets operated because as I stated before, I may have had misconceptions and may have thought wrongly. Unfortunately, that mishap with the ticket occurred, but I did remove the Post. And again, I really did not have bad intentions even with that. I was angry at a system that would allow someone in state employment, i.e. in the criminal justice system, to think they could show a “badge” and get away with driving an unregistered car. That is what really angered me.

My husband has a “badge” his car is registered!! He drives around for the state of Connecticut also using his OWN VEHICLE. He is afforded no special treatment, DOESN’T ASK FOR ANY and NEVER HAS. As I have stated in the past, my husband has been pulled over by Cheshire and other police departments for traffic issues and has not EVER ONCE asked for favoritism–EVER!!

But, on the other hand, I will watch–and I will say things I believe are wrong. Even if I am wrong, if I believe in my heart something isn’t right, I will say it because I firmly believe in open government and authority acting tough but with professionalism. I am not on a witch hunt and I never ever intended Underground Town Hall to be that and I still don’t. I believed several years ago, that I was not treated right in a motor vehicle incident and I also believed that the local papers were falling asleep at the wheel when it came to openly addressing issues in this town. That was the reason for UTH. It gave me a creative outlet.

Do I feel good about the Town Government all the time-NO!! But UTH gives me that outlet. As I have stated before, I always did not do the right thing and may have based actions on misconceptions, mistrust or emotions, but I have had to address these issues with myself and I am.

There are issues the Chief and I will probably not agree on and do not agree on to this day, but that is how life is and that is a good thing. One balances out the other. I always have said how I felt, and when I did, it was really how I felt and how I believed. So hopefully, the air has been cleared a little here.

I have to respect the other side, I hope they will do the same and we will learn from each other.

Now the question remains: Do Motor Vehicle Stops Cut Down on Crime?

Here are some thoughts

Some more thoughts

As most of you know, the midwest has been really getting socked with heavy rains and tornados. The tornado in Iowa that killed those boy scouts was really sad. When you see an event like this on TV, especially here on the East Coast which is so far away from it all, it sort of doesn’t hit home. But this last round of tornados did. A tornado touched down on my love school, Kansas State University and caused over $20 million in damage.

I have the links to the story and the video. It is so strange to see the buildings that I used to go in damaged. I feel really bad. But, what makes it worse is that my house in Chapman, which is 30 miles away from K-State and that I owned for over 20 years is GONE!!  Oh No!! I can’t believe it!!

Photos of tornado damage at K-State

Click here

Here is the link to the K-State tornado. This is a WEIRD Story!!

Click here

Click here for more K-State tornado damage

So I will have to leave this weekend to go out there.

Now a discussion came up about education: more specifically, are people entitled to an education? Is this an entitlement or a privilege? Let’s read some interesting links that I found on this very subject.

Click here for first article

Click here for second article

Click here for third article

P.S. I got a lot of feedback regarding the alledged Southington Town Council letter to the Cheshire Town Manager regarding their concerns about the proposed Lifestyle Center near the 691 interchange on practically on the Southington line.

It doesn’t matter whether you think I am a weirdo, strange or whatever, this issue has to be addressed because the bottom line is Cheshire is not prepared in that end of town in the event of an emergency, namely fire or medical. We should not have to rely on Southington to pick up the slack. We need to prepare now and allocate money to construct an emergency response system as soon as possible!!