I have been away on business, but I did receive a call from a few residents wanting to know if I would comment on a comment made on Councilor Tim White’s blog regarding people who are incarcerated.

Apparently a few days ago, there was a jailbreak. I happened not to be in town but a friend called me and told me that she noticed something was wrong on Monday. She said she saw a lot of local cops and state police and that prison officials had blocked off the entrances to the Cheshire Correctional Institution.

I told her it probably was a prison escape. Turns out it was and the escapee whose name escapes me now, was promptly recaptured. Apparently this person only had several more months on his prison sentence but needed some sexual healing right away.

It figures. A man’s entire existence revolves around his jewels–PERIOD. I swear our world has products that have been designed with this in mind. Case in point–”nuts”and bolts; the “male and female” ends of a hose attachment; “screws.” Just something to think about.

It reminds me of that stupid show I think it is on Spike TV, “Manswers.” This has got to be one of the most revolting shows on television, from a woman’s point of view. Ugh!! Women are just so much better than men, they work better, they act better. God knew what he was doing when he gave the duties of reproduction and birthing to women, because if he left it up to men, the human race would have died out 2000 years ago. Men are only interested in one thing–sex. So that is why this escapee could have had 20 minutes left on his sentence, but if he had the chance to do his man thing, believe me, he would do it.

BREAKING NEWS: AS I was writing this, I heard two loud cracks of thunder, saw white light surround my house, then heard sparks coming from my junction box downstairs, where I do all my work. My lights flickered then went back on. I have NEVER in my life seen lightening flashes like that. It came up so fast. One minute I was sitting writing on my laptop, and then the next minute, I heard and saw sparks coming from the junction box down in my basement. Thankfully, when the house was struck we think it traveled down that pipe that vents off of the furnace and through the junction box and was then grounded. It was horrible. It sounded like what happens when you try to jump start someones dead car battery. You know when they put the jumper cables to the post and it “crackles.” That is what it sounded like. Not once, but twice within a 30 second time frame. By the time I called 911 on my cell phone, and the fire department responded within minutes, the storm was over.

So again, thanks to our fire and police and a special thanks to our fire personnel that risked life and limb trying to climb up our messed up (or I should say my husbands) slobby messed up attic. My husband is the biggest pack rat going.  Whatever.

Now, as far as Mr. Intelligent, with his unintelligent comment that all people in prison are idiots. Well, as Forest Gump used to say: “Stupid is as Stupid Does.” First of all, not everyone in prison is a hardened criminal or is stupid or is even guilty for that matter.  Don’t get me wrong, most people in prison should be there. But I just saw a symposium on the criminal justice system a few days ago on that Connecticut Government channel and the speaker commented that 40 percent of all adults in  Connecticut’s prisons right now are in prison for marijuana possession.

“Oh I never do anything that would get me arrested. “

Boy either you are a descendant of Pope John the 23rd or you are bed ridden. BORING!!  And did Mr. Brains in his Behind, (I am assuming a man made that comment) ever think about the hundreds of people who have been wrongly accused of crimes they NEVER committed, because either they were a minority, or poor or BOTH.

So click here to read about this sad story.

Wrongfully imprisoned

Ok, I have to go now to  clean up the attic steps and yell at my husband for being a slob. He will NOT get rid of these papers!! I will touch on the Town Manager issue on Thursday.

People living in Cedar Hill Drive, Prospect, Connecticut, were awoken from their sleep in the early hours of Friday 22 July 1977, by the smell of smoke and the crackling of fire. Looking out, they saw the house occupied by the Beaudoin family was a blazing inferno. The fire brigade were called and doused the flames with their hoses, but despite their best efforts the house was gutted. When fire fighters entered the still smouldering ruins they found the charred remains of human corpses everywhere.

They came upon twenty-nine-year-old Mrs Cheryl Beaudoin dead on the kitchen floor, her clothes burned from her body. The bodies of three children were discovered in a bedroom to the right of the hall and two others in a bedroom to the left. Another child was dead in the master bedroom and two more in the bathroom. Investigators later noticed that Mrs Beaudoin and several of the children had their hands tied behind their backs and the two in the bathroom had their feet bound together; all the children appeared to have head wounds.

The victims, apart from Mrs-Beaudoin, were her own seven children Frederick (twelve), Aaron Lee (ten), Debra Ann (nine), Paul (eight), Roderick six), Holly Lyn (five) and Mary Lou (four). The ninth victim was Mrs Beaudoin’s niece Jennifer Santoro (six), who had been staying with the family.

Police immediately launched the largest murder investigation in Connecticut’s criminal history. Post-mortems established that Mrs Beaudoin died from head injuries and a stab wound in the chest. Paul also died from head injuries, while the others perished from a combination of head injuries and smoke inhalation. Within twenty-four hours detectives had interviewed more than a hundred potential witnesses, including the bereaved husband and his foster brother Lome J. Acquin, who turned out to have been at the house playing with the Beaudoin children on the night before the fire. A witness later confirmed that a man had been seen in the area sitting in his car on the day before the murders.

The police investigation now concentrated on twenty-seven-year-old Acquin, who, according to the criminal records had a previous conviction for burglary plus an additional sentence for an attempted jail break. On Saturday 23 July, Acquin was detained for questioning. On the Sunday morning, he agreed to make a statement in which he admitted attacking his sister-in-law with a tyre lever, after which he did the same to the children before spreading petrol round the house and setting it on fire. Later that day Lome Acquin was charged with nine counts of murder and one of arson.

Acquin eventually went on trial at Waterbury on Monday 16 July 1979, after jury selection had taken more than a month. The prosecution emphasised that in his confession, Acquin said he ‘might’ have sexually molested ten-year-old Sharon Beaudoin but that the post-mortem examinations had confirmed there were signs of sexual injury in her case.

On Friday 19 October 1979, after three days’ deliberation the jury convicted Acquin on all nine counts of murder and the charge of arson. He was subsequently sentenced to twenty-five years to life on each of the murder convictions and twenty for arson.

Taken in it’s entirety from “The Encyclopaedia of Mass Murder,” by Brian Lane and Wilfred Gregg.

I know you have all heard of “Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?” Well ARE YOU!!! Take the test and find out. Now you all know no-one including myself will be able to tell whether or not you actually got past the first question!!!

So click below to play: “Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader.”

Click here

For those of you who want an ever greater challenge: Let’s Play Jeopardy!!

Click here

Before I go back to my project, I just wanted to touch on an issue that really burns my big one. This Hartford Courant I-Town Blog thing that they have going. We all know my love newspapers are in big time financial trouble, the Courant not excluded.  So I think having these blogs are a good idea. But you know, Hartford Courant, can you tell the truth? I remember calling the Courant several months ago when I noticed they were having these blogs and inquired about writing some articles about Cheshire. I mean, I have lived here nearly 25 years so I think I know something about the town!!!

Well, to make a long story short, I got told “we don’t cover Cheshire.” So I am wondering what I see now under the I-Town Cheshire???

It probably doesn’t matter anyway because it seems all the Courant is doing is trashing Cheshire left and right. Now wait a minute!!! I don’t trash Cheshire ALL THE TIME.  I try to come up with positive solutions.

A lot of papers these days think that if they constantly find bad things to say about a community, it will sell more or attract more readership. I don’t know.

As we get closer to the Petit Home Invasion one year anniversary, I know the Courant will be raking the Cheshire Police Department over the coals. Look Hartford Courant, that is reserved for ME!!! One raker is bad enough, we can’t have TWO!!!

No, all kidding aside, when you  are not familiar with military or paramilitary tactics, then you cannot criticize. The Hawke family is entitled to their opinion, they were and still are affected by this tragedy. And we all can learn from them.

But Cheshire does not need the Hartford Courant bashing the response time of our police department when they should be taking a look at their own!!! The Cheshire Police department follows tactical procedures to the letter. Popular or not, they did their duty that day. When you are involved in a military organization, you MUST obey orders. If the CPD fouled up, believe me, it will come out in the wash. But, I don’t think you will find that was the case. I think we will be finding out some information on this case soon that we  will all find hard to believe.

Before I go: Want to watch some TV and/or movies? Sure you do, especially at work at night!!

Click here

Bye for now.

I am out of state for a several days, so I wasn’t going to post for a while but after I read the Cheshire Herald’s Police News this week I decided to go for it.

I have a question for the Town Government. What does ticketing an 81 year old woman for supposedly “traveling unreasonably fast” accomplish, will you tell me? Are we a safer town because of this?

To me, and I know a lot of you out there, this is complete waste of police time and taxpayer money. I could see if this woman was speeding, but “traveling unreasonably fast–come on!!

I can bet this elderly woman’s insurance will skyrocket through the roof and she will probably have to give up driving. Could she have gotten a warning? This is ridiculous.

Now onto the other happening–this scaffold collapse at the Cheshire Park this past Thursday right before the performance by the Cheshire Youth Theater was to take place. Four people were slightly injured, none seriously. That is good.

So what is the deal with not releasing the name of the scaffolding company? And what is this ‘investigation” the police are doing? Was the scaffolding tampered with? Who knows?

What struck me as odd is that a the Police Department said no inspection of the scaffolding was necessary. Why NOT!! I can bet they will be inspecting the scaffolding from now on.

And as far as this 10,000 gallons of gas that supposedly leaked into the ground at the BP station near Mountain Road, why weren’t the residents that lived within a certain distance of the station notified? I think they should have been.  And the Liberty Bank robbery–ever hear of a lockdown at the schools in the area?

Let’s see–the Norton Boiler, the Hawke Letter to the State and the Cheshire Police Department, the scaffolding collapse, the contaminated ground around the BP gas station–I think Mark E. Salamone and Morelli better set up a satellite office in town.

To change the mood a bit, now that I have totally infuriated the people who run this town, I have a link to the Petit Foundation Road Race that took place this past Sunday in Plainville.

Click here

I was in New Hampshire for a few days. It was so nice up in the mountains. Fresh air, temps in the mid-70’s. At Mt. Washington it was 54 degrees–NICE!! I’ll be honest, it is getting harder and harder to close the door to my house up there and come back here.

I dream of the day a few years from now when I won’t return to Cheshire or to Connecticut anymore. I know some of you wish it were sooner, but believe me, the time will pass quickly and your wish will come true.

I go there, no one knows who I am. I don’t care what goes on there, it is great. It is peaceful and quiet.

You can take a full breath of air into your lungs and feel refreshed. You can look up at the sky and see it loaded with stars. This is the way life should be at middle age or any age for that matter.

Speaking of middle age, a baby boomer friend sent me this cute e-mail and I thought I would share it with you.

Some of the artists of the 60's are revising their hits
> with new lyrics to
> accommodate aging baby boomers:
>
> They include:
>
> Herman's Hermits --- Mrs. Brown, You've Got a
> Lovely Walker
>
> Ringo Starr --- I Get By With a Little Help From Depends
>
> The Bee Gees --- How Can You Mend a Broken Hip?
>
> Bobby Darin --- Splish, Splash, I Was Havin' a Flash
>
> Roberta Flack --- The First Time Ever I Forgot Your Face
>
> Johnny Nash --- I Can't See Clearly Now!
>
> Paul Simon --- Fifty Ways to Lose Your Liver
>
> The Commodores --- Once, Twice, Three Times to the Bathroom
>
> Marvin Gaye --- Heard It Through the Grape Nuts
>
> Procol Harem --- A Whiter Shade of Hair
>
> Leo Sayer --- You Make Me Feel Like Napping
>
> The Temptations --- Papa's Got a Kidney Stone
>
> Abba --- Denture Queen
>
> Tony Orlando --- Knock 3 Times On The Ceiling If You Hear
> Me Fall
>
> Helen Reddy --- I Am Woman, Hear Me Snore
>
> Leslie Gore --- It's My Procedure, and I'll Cry If
> I Want Too!
>
>    Willie Nelson --- On the Commode Again

I have an e-subscription to the Cheshire Herald. So today, I logged on and went to the editorial page and started reading the Editorial entitled “Councilors Need to Focus”

OMG–Is the world going to come to an end soon?? The Herald is starting to sound like Underground Town Hall!!  I know people can’t wait to try to copy off me because they want to be like me. Can you blame them?

But, let’s face it, if the Herald is commenting on the Town Council behavior, especially this July 8th meeting, then it must be quite obvious that some peoples behavior on the Council has rattled a few nerves in town.

Honestly, when I read the editorial, what came to mind is the Republicans. Why? Because I believe the Herald is partly influenced by the GOP in this town. It is also obvious the Herald was referring to a Democrat Councilor. I mean, I could be wrong, but they did say “newly elected” and “she.” There are TWO women on the Council and  only one of them is “newly elected.”

You know what Cheshire Herald? The Republicans aren’t perfect either. This town got into the mess it is in because of some old stodgy GOP attitudes from years ago!

“No commercial development, it might attract the wrong people.” “Don’t widen Rt. 10, we don’t want to become another Queen Street.” “I never question the Police Department, I just give them what they want.”

Is your memory starting to return now????

I did get a kick when the editorial writer likened the recent actions of some of the Councilors to “Romper Room.”

Well, if the editor of the Herald wrote this editorial, I know she is much too young to remember the original Romper Room. I have one of the videos under “Featured Videos” from 1953. Now, even I was TOO young for that one. But I remember the Romper Room of the 60’s with Ms. Louise. Do you remember her??

OMG I used to get nightmares watching that show when Ms. Louise was on it. I thought she was mean. It seemed like she was always yelling at the kids and I swear some of the kids were afraid of her. My son said that if they had Romper Room today and Ms. Louise was the “teacher” the kids would have beat the crap out of her.

Probably–a sign of the times I guess.

As you watch that old Romper Room video, there is no sound and I guess someone dubbed in some music so it wouldn’t be two minutes of dead air, imagine you are at a Town Council meeting. In fact, some of the scenes could remind one of a Planning and Zoning meeting. I can see why the Editorial writer likened this last Town Council meeting to Romper Room. There is/was a lot of getting up out of ones seat and running around the room!!

And, if the Herald Editorial writer is upset that they eat “snacks” at the meeting. I am glad she never covered Woodbridge Board of Selectman and Amity Board of Education. They actually used to have a full catered buffet table at every meeting!! The Board of Selectman and Board of Education members would get up during the meeting, go over to the “buffet table” fill their plates full of food and go back to the meeting table and chow down right in front of the public!!

I never bothered saying or writing anything about the eating because like here, I knew I would hear–”oh we are volunteers, we give up all our free time to the town.”

But in Woodbridge, they at least had enough courtesy to put the buffet table out of view of the public down a hallway. At the Board of Education meetings, it was right out in the open for all to see but not to partake!!

I used to go down the hallway at Woodbridge Town Hall and sneak eat from the buffet so I didn’t care. I got a free meal.

Oh well,  now after all these years, I guess the cat is out of the bag!!