Monthly archives: January 2009

 

 

Mailbox Update

  • By: Cindy

THIS JUST IN: I HAVE POSTED THREE MORE  destroyed mailbox posts photos located under the “Broken Mailboxes” post below this post. Just scroll down the page until you can see the slideshow.

The photo of the white plastic mailbox post that has been completely sheared off is from a local resident, who states this is the second time in a few weeks that she has had her mailbox post completely destroyed.

THE UPDATED photos of her damaged mailbox post and two others I happened across are on the “Broken Mailbox” post below this. I am adding it to the photo gallery. The photos can also be found under “Featured Photos” located on the right hand side of the blog.

Now, I want to make one thing clear-I have total respect for our town employees and they know that, the plow drivers included. But we do have a situation occurring and it needs to be corrected. This may even include switching to another type of snowplow blade!! Possibly the V-shaped blade. You have to remember, wet heavy snow is like a projectile-it could damage property and even injure or kill-so possibly using the v-blade and going slower may eliminate excess snow being thrown. When people are telling me they have snow from the plow landing 10 to 12 feet into their property-umm Houston WE HAVE A PROBLEM!! And it may be the BLADE type!!

Also, I ran into the Town Manager, Michael Milone who is very concerned about the property damage. He is a man of his word and will do his best to correct the situation. But, Mr. Milone I have a word of advice-DO NOT EVER QUESTION GOD ALMIGHTY WHEN SHE WRITES ON HER BLOG!! NEVER!! Never question my intentions or my accuracy. NEVER!! I stand up for ALL people-I don’t care who they are, Town Employees included!!I

I try to weigh out all sides and balance out the issues, this is why I am including an excerpt from an article about snowplow blades, because that may be the major culprit-the shape of the blade not so much the driver.

Here is my suggestion to alleviate part of this problem:

Equipment

12.jpg

There are two different kinds of blades available for your snow plow, straight blade and multi-positional, or V-plows. Straight blades are the classic snow-plowing tools, able to angle either left or right. Multi-positional blades have added cylinders and hinges that enable them to form a V-shape when plowing, allowing the plow to move through deep snow more efficiently. Multi-positional blades can also operate in scoop mode, moving large piles of snow from point A to point B.

The photo at the top of the page is a  temporary replacement mailbox I received from the town of Cheshire today. They are going to replace my mailbox post which was cracked, in the spring. I thank the town, but my hope is that they are going to replace everyone’s mailbox and/or post that was destroyed, That was the purpose of the photos in the last post, to call attention to this dilemma,

I wonder if the town has a mailbox “graveyard” Where did they get this mailbox from?  Is it someones mailbox that got KOed from a previous storm? WHO KNOWS!! IS IT YOURS???  It is sort of creepy.

I have heard from many of you whose mailboxes were destroyed during Wednesday’s snowstorm. I am not going  to take any more photos because after driving around today for about an hour I noticed that most of the people whose mailboxes were destroyed on Wednesday, either bought a new mailbox or they rigged up their old boxes so they can get their mail.

As you know, the postal service will NOT deliver mail unless you provide them with a mailbox. When my mailbox was stolen a few years ago, I called the post office and they allowed me to pick up the mail in person.

You people have got to call the post office and then call the Town Hall and tell them to replace your mailbox. DON’T ASK!! TELL THEM-I EXPECT A NEW MAILBOX BY SPRING AND IN THE MEANTIME I EXPECT A TEMPORARY BOX TO BE PUT IN PLACE BY THE END OF THE DAY!!

I never ask anyone for anything-I TELL THEM WHAT I WANT!! It works 90 percent of the time. TRY IT!!

This is an election year in Cheshire. Call your Town Council representative and let them know what is going on!!

I wonder if anyone from the Town Council drove around to see if the mailboxes were damaged. I wonder if the TOWN MANAGER DROVE AROUND.

I have an idea-START!!

Get in that gas guzzler SUV the Mighty OZ drives around Town Manager and make it a priority after each snow storm to see if there has been any property damage-then take appropriate action!!

My mailbox had a plastic sheeting or covering that is placed over the wooden beam. I have heard the town may be banning these plastic mailbox posts. I don’t see how they can-what needs to be banned-is the speeding by SOME plow drivers-nothing will crack or bend or become detached if speed limits are being obeyed.

Around 12:45 p.m. on Thursday, I saw a plow going down Devonwood Drive plowing the edges of the street near the curb and the plow was going SLOW-and guess what? The snow was being removed just as efficiently. This plow driver was doing the speed limit.

The only way the mailboxes that you all saw in the last post were in the condition they were in was because of speeding!! No other reason. These boxes were just not bent-they were destroyed!!

“Oh there is a governor on the plows” THERE IS? WHAT IS IT SET AT-75???

Now today, I had to go for another test!! They think my body is producing (can you believe this one) too much calcium!! Is this every menopausal woman’s dream or what!!

Instead of worrying about osteoporosis I have to worry about my body producing too much bone which will interfere with tissue-it will start degrading soft tissue and cause arthritis. I may actually have to take medication to REDUCE my calcium levels. Can you believe it? It is too bad, if this is true, that medical science cannot figure out how to benefit from this situation and alleviate all these issues with bone loss.

Unfortunately, as we all know from weather, Mother Nature often goes overboard. We need rain, we get a HURRICANE. We need a little snow, WE GET A NOR’EASTER. This is what essentially is going on with me.

IN OTHER NEWS:

I know by now most of you read news about Milone and MacBroom releasing a report that basically states artificial turf is safe.

Look, get this into your brains right now-NOTHING ARTIFICIAL IS SAFE!! Nothing that does not come from nature is healthy!! I know it costs a lot to water real grass, mow it, and fertilize it. Organic fertilizers can and should be used. In fact, I put a natural fertilizer mixture on my lawn that I got from an old CPTV show on organic gardening.

Here is the recipe

I also have an article about artificial lawns that some people are installing so they will not have to mow or water-Sound good?

Read on

Lastly, I did catch a few minutes of that Energy Forum that Councilman Tim White sponsored. I applaud Tim for his energy saving conscience.

But, in all honesty, these utility companies are full of crap. Do they REALLY want consumers to cut back and reduce their energy usage?

Apparently not in the case of United Illuminating. You see, U.I. which services mostly Fairfield County, was requesting a second rate increase in a year’s time. Well, people were outraged and so many of them attended the Dept. of Public Utility Control meeting that the rate request was DENIED.

The reason U.I gave for the rate increase? Demand for electricity had DECREASED, so they needed a RATE INCREASE to make up the difference!!!

 

Broken Mailboxes NEW PHOTOS

  • By: Cindy

[slideshow=47]

These are just a FEW of the mailboxes in the north end of Cheshire that were completely destroyed by the snowplow during Wednesday’s storm.

When I heard about the damage from area residents, I decided to ask my friend Steve to go out and take some photos because I did not return home until 5:30 p.m. or so, and by that time, it was already dark.

The bottom line-the plows are going TOO FAST-ALL THESE MAILBOXES DESTROYED!! And I know from Steve that most of his photos came from two or three streets. I can imagine what the situation looks like ALL OVER TOWN!!

Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the work the plow drivers do, but SOME of them are obviously driving either too fast, or too close to the mailboxes. Hopefully, the Town Manager will enter into a discussion and attempt to correct this problem.

I did notice as I was returning home from the hospital, that the smaller pickup trucks with the town emblem on them were “cleaning up” the streets. Maybe that needs to be done all the time: use the smaller vehicles to reduce property damage.

Hopefully, I will be able to get out and take more photos, but I do appreciate my friend taking these photos right after the storm before people got a chance to repair their mailboxes.

P.S. MY mailbox got cracked and turned around.  This is unacceptable because I know my spouse put in a landscape tie BEAM for the post and slid a plastic covering over it.  He dug down as far as he could go, three and a half FEET!! without hitting the electrical conduit for God’s sake and still the post was damaged.

 

Blowing in the Wind

  • By: Cindy

Many of you have asked if I am running again as a write-in candidate for the Town Council.

My answer-NO.

I thought about it-in fact I still have the signs in my garage. I decided to sell them on E-Bay as a collector’s item. Well in all seriousness, as I have said time and time again, I am planning on leaving Cheshire the middle of next year, so that had a lot to do with it.

I did have fun campaigning  two years ago, but it WAS a lot of work and took up an immense amount of time.

The reason I am speaking about this issue tonight is because I received an e-mail from a resident who said they saw the Cheshire Republican Town Committee show: Cheshire Central where newly appointed Republican Town Committee Chairwoman Marilyn Bartoli was speaking about recruiting candidates to run on the Republican slate this coming year.

All well and good.

Marilyn and her husband are classy people.

But Cheshire, do some soul searching-WHOM do you want to run this town? People that question but avoid difficult subjects? People that will follow the status quo and not take an out of the box approach.

I do see a few of our Town Council people question-like Tim White who does have a blog and Jim Sima. Tom Ruocco questions and so does Tim Slocum-but what is happening on the other side of the table. SILENCE for the most part.

Don’t think this is just relative to the Democrats who are the power party right now, especially on the Town Council. This “sound of silence” attitude was adopted by the Republicans for MANY YEARS!!

Don’t question Public Safety-i.e. the Police Department. That is the biggest problem in this town-As was the Scarlet Letter years ago-IF you dare question this department-you face SCORN or even worse, patronization by the powers that be-hoping you will just get tired and go away.

Ask yourself this question-do you think that if what has been transpiring with the Southington Police Chief right now, would to happen here-do you, members of the public think you WOULD EVER HEAR ABOUT IT??

Have you ever heard anyone on the Town Council say:”maybe we should get a Police Commission” or “maybe we should have the Chief or a high ranking official from the P.D. be present at every Town Council meeting to go over the monthly reports and take questions. HAVE YOU?? WILL YOU??

Isn’t questioning ALL ISSUES AND ALL DEPARTMENTS not just the Board of Ed because “you know they are the biggest budget item” isn’t questioning EVERYTHING important??

Whether a budget is %40 million or $4 million, don’t the taxpayers have a right to know where and how their money is being spent?

OKfor SOME but NOT FOR OTHERS-That is the motto in this town.

I am sorry, but please Ms. Bartoli, don’t get on television and say we want people who are interested in Cheshire and making Cheshire the best it can be. Well, we CAN’T make Cheshire the best it can be or have the BEST INTERESTS of this town in mind when we decide some issues are OFF LIMITS or some DEPARTMENTS ARE OFF LIMITS and some aren’t. When we lambast some segments of town government and let others just ride.

When you question, honestly from your heart and you get asked “how dare you”? Like they are above all. No one dares question the MIGHTY OZ!! This is why I won’t be bothered anymore-because it is phony-Every time I go to the Town Council meeting, I feel as if I am attending an off broadway play.

SHH!! This isn’t the time to ask A NON REHEARSED QUESTION!! HURRY UP!! I HAVE TO GO HOME!! PUT IT (your question) IN WRITING!! And then when someone on the Town Council DID act like they had a pulse, all the phonies came out of the woodwork–”oh that is horrible-oh that meeting was out of control’!!

HELLO!! What oxygen tent did you just slip out of?? NO-THAT IS NORMAL!! Asking questions that are not rehearsed at a budget committee meeting-IS NORMAL in many municipalities. NOT THIS ONE!!

And they get away with it, because the majority of the people in this town DO NOT CARE!! “I came here for the schools and the sports, and when my kid graduates I am out.”

They don’t care until it PERSONALLY AFFECTS THEM-then you see them!! “Don’t build that development near MY HOME” “Why did my house value go up this year!!” “We need a sports field”

When I used to cover Amity in the mid nineties, every time I went to an Orange Board of Selectman meeting, the ROOM WOULD BE FILLED TO CAPACITY. Same with the Board of EDUCATION. EVERY MONTH!!

NOT HERE!!

A quote to ponder:

GIVING MONEY AND POWER TO GOVERNMENT IS LIKE GIVING WHISKEY AND CAR KEYS TO TEENAGE BOYS

P.I. O’Rourke

I did find out today that I will have to go into the hospital for my testing. So I will not be posting until the end of the week.

 

Pay As You Throw?

  • By: Cindy

I just found out on Sunday, that someone I went to Kansas State University with: Pete Souza, was named White House photoographer by Barack Obama. Pete was also White House Photographer for former Pres. Ronald Reagan.

I worked with Pete on the K-State Collegian-he was a student teacher and photog. What a great guy-congratulations are in order.

Here is his website

Pete Souza named White House Photographer-from NPPA

NOW I HAVE SEEN IT ALL CATEGORY

Can you believe it? First we had Chia Pet. Now we have-yep-CHIA OBAMA!!

click here for details

Chia Obama website

I know many of you are enjoying the old baby boomer commercials mostly from the 50′s and 60′s. Boy, sometimes I wish it was the 50′s again.

Things weren’t as technical and people weren’t as phony as they are now-you see them-talking on the cell phone like they are some VIP-they so important that they have to make sure YOU hear every word they are saying.

And as far as these commercials go, you can bet the younger generation may think they are corny but I CAN BET these kids today couldn’t sit still enough to even watch ONE of these commercials!! Half of them  fidget around like they have A.D.D. They don’t know how to play outside with other kids their age. They have to have scheduled play groups for God’s sake.

Then of course, if they sold some of these products today,  you would have all the pansies out there griping-”oh that toy is violent”!! “oh that food is bad for your health”!! Oh the little Lord Fauntleroy might get a CUT from that toy”!! “Oh my kid can’t eat that-he she has a food allergy-so I am suing if the school doesn’t ban that food”!!

Oh grow up you G.D pansy!!

We lived with NO seatbelts in cars, NO bicycle helmets, we played tackle football on the street!! and our teachers WHACKED us in school when we got out of line and THEN when we got home, OUR PARENTS WHACKED US AGAIN!!

Someday our society will realize the mistakes we have made with this younger generation.

Now, to switch gears, I did want to respond to a few comments I received on UTH For Members Only and no, YOU ARE NOT GETTING THE PASSWORD!! regarding this trash hauling tipping fee.

I am not getting into specifics because, number one-it is BORING and very few understand this, and number two-other people have touched on this topic quite frequently.

Let’s put up for discussion a possible solution for Cheshire-this idea is not new, it is being done in other communties. Some like it-some don’t. It is called: “Pay As You Throw”

Under this program, residents would be charged a small flat fee, (like maybe $1 a bag) to dispose of their trash. The municipality would provide the bags. Instead of a flat fee, like Cheshire has with the sewer usage, residents would only pay for usage.

This also would encourage more recycling. Now, I will try to provide pro and con articles, because many people do not like this idea. They claim that if people have to start paying to throw out their garbage, there could be an increase in illegal dumping.

I know when I first came to Cheshire in the mid 80′s I had to pay for trash pickup,. I received a coupon booklet and every month I would have to send in the fee to the trash hauler. This is also done in Gilford, New Hampshire, where you pay a flat fee.

But I don’t pay, I throw my trash in front of other peoples homes.

“Springfield Preps to Implement (PAYT)”

“All of that trash could go at a price”

“Should You Pay For Your Garbage”?

 

A Light (At the End of the Tunnel)

  • By: Cindy

My son was telling me the other day how much he missed living where he used to live. He talks about it all the time. I told him-nothing in life is worth living someplace you don’t like-There are situations that come up that force us to do things we don’t want to do and maybe to reside in places we really don’t like.

But, if you have a choice-above all-follow your heart and live in a place that makes you happy. That didn’t happen to me-I have lived here in Cheshire for nearly 25 years and I will be honest-I have not liked it.

When you live someplace you don’t like it does affect you-it affected me.

I can’t stand this phony tiny mind tit turd town. And next year I AM GONE!!! THANK GOD!!

I know there are people who are glad I will be leaving-believe me-not as happy as I will be. I have a teaching position at Kansas State University and I AM GOING THERE TO LIVE!!. My last child will be 18 by 2010 and out of high school-GOODBYE.

It is sort of sad in a way, because when I first moved here it was nice. Everybody seemed down to earth and friendly in our neighborhood. Then as the years passed, these people moved away and these stuff shirt I wants moved here and ruined everything with their demands.

When I first met my spouse he used to go out to Town Council meetings, Board of Ed, Planning and Zoning and get petitions and really get involved. That’s when I noticed things starting to change-he would come home-”oh I got a ticket for this” “or I got a ticket for that”

They even started on me.  Don’t tell me about Cheshire-I had this town pegged 10 minutes after I was here-the powers that be use the police department to quiet people down. They are too aggressive because there is TOO much pressure on the rank and file to make arrests and get their quota-that is the bottom line.

It IS starting to change-but it has taken years of pounding and pounding to get the authority in this town used to being criticized. IT HAS CHANGED-but then every once in a while, I see them slip back into their old habits.

This became a painful reminder to me this past week when I read about the arrests of a few people I have come to know in town over the years for “disorderly conduct”

My spouse and I know these people-I don’t know the circumstance of their “arrest” because the Herald REFUSES to print the STORY BEHIND THE STORY!! If you get charged with an arrestable offense, what led to these charges should be in the paper.

All I know is these people are NICE individuals. All they know how to do in this town is slap cuffs on people to keep them in their place, in plain English-that is it.

One day several years ago I saw that God Damn police gauntlet on Rt. 10 around the holidays and I BLEW A GASKET. I ain’t gonna drive in no boy’s town looking here looking there for the cops. I am NOT A TARGET-THAT IS A DEPARTMENT STORE!! This is THE REASON I started UTH. IT WAS REVENGE!! IT WAS TO EMBARASS AND ENRAGE THE AUTHORITY IN THIS TOWN!!

That is why I did the UTH shows on Cable that the powers in this town TRIED TO STOP from being put onto the air!! I can  tell you the best thing that ever happened especially for Cheshire was websites and blogs-this allows people to question the authority and have some leverage if they try to retaliate-like publicity!!

Well anyway-I usually don’t get involved with what other people are saying on their blogs, but I know a few of you wanted to know if I would comment on whether publicly airing on a website or over the media, someones voice mail message is considered “illegal”

I am not passing judgment here, but I did find an interesting article that does sort of address this issue.

click here

Next Post-my solution to the trash hauling problem.