THE VIEW FROM HERE
October 2010
Last month I urged members
and residents of Akron to contact the media and members of Akron City
Government and express their concerns about the decline in the safety of
greater Akron’s neighborhoods. Since
that time Akron and FOP negotiators have failed to reach an agreement on a new
contract.
Akron has attempted to
intimidate officers and members of the public in an effort to force acceptance
of an agreement that would only guarantee no layoffs for the next 9
months. Wisely the officers refused to
be duped into the proposed agreement that would have forced them in nine months
into the same situation they now face.
As a result Akron issued layoff notices to 40 officers and reduction in
rank notices to 8 police supervisors.
The city has issued several
statements that are misleading at best or outright lies. It is my belief that this is all in an effort
portray the police and the FOP leadership as the villains that have no
compassion for the community nor for their fellow officers that have suffered
layoffs and reduction in rank. The city
stated FOP members, in rejecting the concessions, sent the message that they
did not care about their fellow officers.
Akron officials have said
acceptance of the concessions would have cost each officer only $460.00 each.
They went on to say that the average officer makes $100,000.00 per year. Those statements were designed to portray officers
as greedy uncaring individuals. The
reality is that officers make far less (less than $50,000.00) and are the
lowest paid big city officers in Ohio.
There was a time when Akron was one of the top paid. Doing the math $460.00 times 400 officers
equals a savings to the city of less than $185,000.00! In effect the city is saying that the safety
of the community is not worth the expenditure of less than a couple of hundred
thousand dollars to help insure citizen safety.
This all leads me to ask why
Akron laid off 40 officers when by their own statement – if the FOP members
would have agreed to the concessions costing less than $500.00 there would have
been no layoffs! Unless Akron is using
some sort of fuzzy math I believe 500 dollars times 400 officers equals
$200,000.00! If the average pay were in
fact $100,000.00 only the layoff of two officers would result in a savings of
$200,000.00! Using the cities average pay
of $100,000.00 per officer – the laying off of 40 officers is going to save Akron
4 million dollars! Again the math is not
equal. There needs to be an accounting
provided to the taxpayers. One should
also remember taxpayers have been paying for an authorized strength of over 500
officers since the 1970s. There should
be an explanation of where that money was spent since Akron has failed to
maintain officer numbers anywhere that number.
Akron states the layoffs will
have no effect on community safety and they believe our streets are safe for
all. To that I respond with a challenge
to the Mayor or any of his cabinet members to walk the streets of Akron alone
after dark without being escorted by police or the media cameras. The same challenge is extended to City
Council members as well.
Akron officials must also be
mindful of the fact that after January of 2011 the first batch of DROP
participants will be facing mandatory separation. While I have no knowledge of the number of
Akron officers that must retire because of DROP participation There are over
900 officers throughout Ohio that must leave in January. The good thing is that it may open positions
statewide for those members now facing unemployment. The bad news is that I do not anticipate
Akron officials replacing any vacancies created by Akron officer
retirements. It is no secret that Mayor
Plusquellic wants Sheriff Drew Alexander to be Akron’s Police Chief. It is my belief that Sheriff Alexander would
be foolish to take the position. However,
if Plusquellic is successful in decimating the ranks of the police department
and, if a surge in violent crime takes place, he would be given an excuse to
ask the Sheriff for emergency assistance thus accomplishing his desires
regarding the future of the Akron Police Department.
Some may say that what I have
written here is a best a stretch but it is my fear that what I have said is an
all too accurate prediction of what the future holds for the citizens of Akron.
I have had several members
ask regarding the status of the suit against Akron, Medical Mutual, and
OP&F over violations of Ohio Law governing coordination of health insurance
benefits. A meeting was held on
September 11th and was attended by about 100. The meeting began with Tim Metcalf and me
giving honor to those officers and citizens that lost their lives on that day
nine years ago. This was followed by our
attorney, Larry Shenise providing an update on the status of the suit. The ruling from the superintendant of
insurance was in our favor and ordered Akron and the others to cease and desist
from violating Ohio Law and to give an accounting of what funds we were forced
to spend as a result of those violations.
This order has been appealed and all briefs and counter briefs must be
in the possession of the Franklin County judge hearing the appeal by
October. It is expected that the appeal
will be denied and we will again prevail.
It is also anticipated that our foes will appeal to the Ohio Supreme
Court just as they did regarding their effort to deny members the rite live where
they desired. This too will prove fruitless
to our oppressors and it is thought that all appeals will be exhausted by late
2011. We have authorized our attorney to
go forward with the suit previously staid in Summit County. This suit was for the payment of civil
penalties, legal fees, etc.
I wish to take this
opportunity to thank those of you that have offered your monetary support, your
blessings and your prayers on our behalf.
We ask that you continue to do so and for those of you that have not
offered support; I ask that you please consider doing so now. I am well aware that some thought we were
fighting a lost cause but we have prevailed and after 7 years victory is close
at hand. Some have said they will not
offer support because ours is a class action suit and all members will receive
the same benefit whether they support the cause or not.
I know some cannot donate
monetarily but I am amazed by the sacrifices some have made in order to support
our cause. At the September 11th
meeting I had a retired officer hand me a $100.00 bill. This officer has been retired for almost 30
years! I said you do not have to do
this. He replied that he wanted to
donate anyway. I said we do not want
your money. I know how small your
pension is and that is one of the reasons we are fighting for justice regarding
health care. He replied that he had been
saving for some time and the fight was worth the sacrifice. This served to renew my faith and
determination to continue our fight for justice. I pray that more members have that same
mindset and are determined to never give up on this effort for the benefit of
all those retired members.
I close with an urgent plea
that each reader continues to support our members of the Police and Fire
Departments, both active, retired, or those laid off. Urge your friends, relatives, and neighbors
to do the same and to help demand accountability of city leaders and the local
print media both for what they say and perhaps more important, for what they
fail to say. One must remember that even the weak become strong
when they are united. Our 28th
president, Woodrow Wilson said: “We
cannot be separated in interest or divided in purpose. We stand together until the end.”
Till next time – Stay Safe and be your brother’s keeper.
Dick
Reese
Email - wa8dbw@neo.rr.com
Phone - 330-329-8754
THE VIEW FROM HERE
September 2010
Charmaine, Daisy, Abner, Dawg
and I were gone for a good part of July and August Traveling in the motor
home. Sorry we missed attending the July
meeting. We visited Missouri, Illinois,
Indiana, Michigan, and of course Ohio.
It was great getting away from the normal routine. We put about 2500 miles on the odometer and
thus contributed to the oil companies profits!
We took two of our
grandchildren for a week and had a fantastic time. We had promised to take them camping prior to
school resuming. Max who is 16 wanted to
sleep in a tent. This was something he
had never done before. He and his 8 year
old sister Rockie had a great time while Char, the pets, and I slept in the
comfort of the air-conditioned motor home.
The swimming in the lake was
fun. The water was warm and all was
great until I suggested that the reason the water was so warm was because there
were a lot of fish that were peeing in the lake. Needless to say Rockie began to head to the
shore till Grandma Charmaine and Brother Max told her that I was joking! But really – don’t the fish go potty in the
lake?
We returned to the Akron area
for a few days to restock, do a mail pickup, and attend the August retiree
meeting. As usual the fellowship and
camaraderie was a great pleasure. It is
also an excellent time to catch up on news and gossip! I encourage all those that do not attend the
monthly meeting to mark your calendar for the second Wednesday of each month
and plan to attend the next meeting.
Upon arrival home, I was
quickly forced to return to reality of things in Akron. We heard on the news of shootings, robbery,
assaults, home invasions, etc and that mayor Plusquellic is again threatening
to lay off police officers. Akron
officials now claim that Akron only needs to have 350 officers! I find this perplexing in light of Akron’s
soaring crime rate.
While few can deny the
economy is in a crisis and Akron must, just as you and I have been forced to,
take steps to maintain a balanced budget.
What I fail to understand is how Akron came to the conclusion that the only
way to accomplish this is to reduce the police staff by 175 officers. I wonder if the citizens are aware that they
have been paying taxes based on there being 526 officers! This number was mandated by a charter
amendment back in the early 70s. Akron
now has about 440 officers.
I urge the residents of Akron
to contact the news media, their council members, the mayor, and then demand an
accounting of the city finances and priorities.
I remember growing up in Goodyear Heights and never having a key to the
house. The door was never locked! Today, out of thousands of US cities Akron
has managed to gain the distinction of being the 61st most dangerous
city in America. You are the judge –
would the loss of 175 officers make Akron a safer or a more dangerous city?
Perhaps Akron should
re-evaluate where it should reduce services and staff. They should remember that if residents do not
feel safe, and are afraid to sleep in their beds, it matters not whether their
city services are being maintained.
Till next time, if you live
in Akron, keep your doors locked and you may want to encourage your loved ones
to obtain a concealed carry permit, or move out of Akron. Come to think of it perhaps that is the
politicians plan. If enough people leave
Akron, perhaps 350 officers maybe all that are needed but that would also
justify a reduction in council members!
Hmmm. Just my view. What are yours?
Dick
Reese
Email -
wa8dbw@neo.rr.com
Phone - 330-329-8754
Police and fire
retirees got what they wanted
By Cheri B. Cunningham
Published on Wednesday, Jun 09, 2010
I
am writing to clear up any confusion following the May 8 Beacon Journal
article, headlined ''Akron takes hit in health coverage dispute,'' regarding
city of Akron fire and police retiree health-care benefits.
The
article failed to mention the fact that the taxpayers of the city of Akron
already paid the state-required percentage (7.75 percent) of each retiree's
earnings to the Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund for the retiree's primary
retirement health-care plan. The issue is a simple one: The OP&F fund made
poor investment decisions, but the taxpayers of Akron should not be forced to
pay a second time, having provided adequately for police and fire retirees once
before.
Some
background information concerning police and fire retiree health-care benefits
is necessary. The OP&F fund was established when police and fire lobbied
the state of Ohio for a separate retirement system so they could be in charge
of their own destiny. They wanted to break away from the Ohio Public Employees
Retirement System, elect their own officers and be in charge of their own
investments.
Prior
to the formation of the OP&F and continuing into the early years of its
existence, the city provided a health-care plan to its retirees at no cost to
retirees.
Eventually,
the retirement fund wanted to control more money and, again, successfully
lobbied state officials to require cities to divert taxpayer health-care
contributions to the OP&F fund to pay for the primary health-care plan that
OP&F chose.
The
state mandates that Akron taxpayers make significant contributions to
OP&F's health plan to help fund the retirees' primary health coverage. City
taxpayers contribute 24 percent of each firefighter's salary and 19.5 percent
of each police officer's salary to the fund, based upon the employees' total
earnings (including wages, overtime and paid vacation). These amounts are paid
by the city in addition to the police officer or firefighter's wages and other
earnings.
The
city makes these payments to OP&F for the entire working career of the
police officer or firefighter, which is typically 25 years or more. The
OP&F fund allocates approximately 7.75 percent of these contributions to
cover its health-care plan. The city's contribution for other city employees is
much less and does not approach the level for police and fire employees.
Prior
to 1992, OP&F members did not pay an insurance premium for the retirement
fund health coverage. Beginning in 1992, OP&F notified retirees that they
would have to start paying a premium. During the 1990s, because of concerns
raised by the unions that the OP&F might one day stop providing medical coverage,
the unions asked and the city agreed to provide primary benefits in the event
that OP&F stopped providing a health plan for retirees and if the state
reduced the city's payment to the fund. As of this date, the taxpayer's share
has not been reduced by the state.
In
2003, the OP&F fund announced that it was going to increase the premiums it
charged to its members. It then raised the premium for health-care coverage by
approximately 25 percent, effective January 2004. This meant that retirees who
previously paid little or no cost for their primary health coverage through the
OP&F saw a significant increase in their health-insurance premiums.
The
response of city police and fire retirees to the loss of investment funds by
OP&F was to file a lawsuit asking the court to require Akron taxpayers to
once again pay for a primary health-care plan that the city already has funded
through its state-mandated contributions. The management of OP&F made poor
investment decisions that resulted in the loss of contributions already made by
city taxpayers.
Both
the Summit County Common Pleas Court and the 9th Ohio District Court of Appeals
determined that the city had not breached any contractual promises to the
retirees. (The Ohio Supreme Court declined jurisdiction to hear the case.)
Retirees, their spouses and eligible dependents who are enrolled in OP&F
continue to be provided free supplemental health-care coverage by the city, in
addition to their dental and vision coverage.
After
losing the first lawsuit, two retirees filed a second lawsuit claiming that the
city is not coordinating its retiree health-care plan properly with other
medical benefits plans. That lawsuit has been stayed while the Ohio Department
of Insurance reviews the issue of whether the city is properly applying state
laws regarding medical benefits plans.
The
Beacon Journal article pointed out that a hearing officer for the Department of
Insurance, who is not trained as a judge, recently issued a report and recommendation
that the city is not properly coordinating benefits for the two retirees. Worth
emphasis is that this is merely a recommendation and that the city has filed
objections with the state insurance director, who will review the hearing
officer's report and recommendation and issue a decision. That decision will be
reviewed by a judge. The report is by no means a final decision.
The
city is in full compliance with state law and has fulfilled its obligations to
its retirees. Retirees who are enrolled in OP&F continue to have
supplemental health-care insurance from the city at no cost to the retirees.
Retirees and their eligible dependents continue to have dental and vision
coverage at no cost.
Akron
taxpayers have paid once for primary health-care benefits for fire and police
retirees. They should not have to pay twice merely because the OP&F
officials elected by police and fire retirees made poor choices.
Cunningham is the law director for the city of Akron.
I
am writing to clear up any confusion following the May 8 Beacon Journal
article, headlined ''Akron takes hit in health coverage dispute,'' regarding
city of Akron fire and police retiree health-care benefits.
The
article failed to mention the fact that the taxpayers of the city of Akron already
paid the state-required percentage (7.75 percent) of each retiree's earnings to
the Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund for the retiree's primary retirement
health-care plan. The issue is a simple one: The OP&F fund made poor
investment decisions, but the taxpayers of Akron should not be forced to pay a
second time, having provided adequately for police and fire retirees once before.
Some
background information concerning police and fire retiree health-care benefits
is necessary. The OP&F fund was established when police and fire lobbied the
state of Ohio for a separate retirement system so they could be in charge of
their own destiny. They wanted to break away from the Ohio Public Employees
Retirement System, elect their own officers and be in charge of their own
investments.
Prior
to the formation of the OP&F and continuing into the early years of its
existence, the city provided a health-care plan to its retirees at no cost to
retirees.
Eventually, the retirement fund wanted to control more money and,
again, successfully lobbied state officials to require cities to divert
taxpayer health-care contributions to the OP&F fund to pay for the primary
health-care plan that OP&F chose.
The
state mandates that Akron taxpayers make significant contributions to
OP&F's health plan to help fund the retirees' primary health coverage. City
taxpayers contribute 24 percent of each firefighter's salary and 19.5 percent
of each police officer's salary to the fund, based upon the employees' total
earnings (including wages, overtime and paid vacation). These amounts are paid
by the city in addition to the police officer or firefighter's wages and other
earnings.
The
city makes these payments to OP&F for the entire working career of the
police officer or firefighter, which is typically 25 years or more. The
OP&F fund allocates approximately 7.75 percent of these contributions to
cover its health-care plan. The city's contribution for other city employees is
much less and does not approach the level for police and fire employees.
Prior
to 1992, OP&F members did not pay an insurance premium for the retirement
fund health coverage. Beginning in 1992, OP&F notified retirees that they
would have to start paying a premium. During the 1990s, because of concerns
raised by the unions that the OP&F might one day stop providing medical
coverage, the unions asked and the city agreed to provide primary benefits in
the event that OP&F stopped providing a health plan for retirees and if the
state reduced the city's payment to the fund. As of this date, the taxpayer's
share has not been reduced by the state.
In
2003, the OP&F fund announced that it was going to increase the premiums it
charged to its members. It then raised the premium for health-care coverage by
approximately 25 percent, effective January 2004. This meant that retirees who
previously paid little or no cost for their primary health coverage through the
OP&F saw a significant increase in their health-insurance premiums.
The response of city police and fire retirees to the loss of
investment funds by OP&F was to file a lawsuit asking the court to require
Akron taxpayers to once again pay for a primary health-care plan that the city
already has funded through its state-mandated contributions. The management of
OP&F made poor investment decisions that resulted in the loss of
contributions already made by city taxpayers.
Both the Summit County Common Pleas Court and the 9th Ohio District
Court of Appeals determined that the city had not breached any contractual
promises to the retirees. (The Ohio Supreme Court declined jurisdiction to hear
the case.) Retirees, their spouses and eligible dependents who are enrolled in
OP&F continue to be provided free supplemental health-care coverage by the
city, in addition to their dental and vision coverage.
After
losing the first lawsuit, two retirees filed a second lawsuit claiming that the
city is not coordinating its retiree health-care plan properly with other
medical benefits plans. That lawsuit has been stayed while the Ohio Department
of Insurance reviews the issue of whether the city is properly applying state
laws regarding medical benefits plans.
The
Beacon Journal article pointed out that a hearing officer for the Department of
Insurance, who is not trained as a judge, recently issued a report and
recommendation that the city is not properly coordinating benefits for the two
retirees. Worth emphasis is that this is merely a recommendation and that the
city has filed objections with the state insurance director, who will review
the hearing officer's report and recommendation and issue a decision. That
decision will be reviewed by a judge. The report is by no means a final
decision.
The city is in full compliance with state law and has fulfilled its
obligations to its retirees. Retirees
who are enrolled in OP&F continue to have supplemental health-care
insurance from the city at no cost to the retirees. Retirees and their eligible
dependents continue to have dental and vision coverage at no cost.
Akron taxpayers have paid once for primary health-care benefits for
fire and police retirees. They should not have to pay twice merely because the
OP&F officials elected by police and fire retirees made poor choices.
Cunningham
is the law director for the city of Akron.
BREAKING
NEWS
August
2010
On July 20th Mary Jo Hudson, Superintendant
of Insurance for the State of Ohio issued a ruling in regards to our suit over
our health care. To summarize the ruling
orders the following:
It is ordered that the City of Akron, Medical Mutual
of Ohio, and Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund immediately cease and desist
from further violations of Ohio’s coordination of benefits law and that all
three parties coordinate of their members pursuant to the terms of their plans
consistent with Ohio law.
It is ordered that an accounting be made by the City
of Akron with the assistance of the complainants and MEDICAL Mutual of Ohio to
determine the amount of past healthcare claims subject to coordination.
It is ordered that this Order is directed to the
Summit County Court of Common Pleas for further application in the case of
Metcalf, et al. v. City of Akron, et al. case # 2005-11-6527.
Order is effective immediately and is entered into the
Journal of the Ohio Department of Insurance.
All parties have fifteen days to file an appeal. The executive board will be meeting next week
to determine the ramifications of this order and details will be
forthcoming. The complete
Superintendents ruling will be posted on the web at http://wa8dbw.ifip.com/Police&Fire-Retirees.htm
in the next 24 hours.
Take care and stay safe.
Dick Reese
THE VIEW FROM HERE
July 2010
Well here it is July again
and the temperature is well into the 80’s and above most days as we again look
forward to our joint meeting of the Akron Area Police and Fire Retirees. As in the past it will be held at the Wolter
Park home of FOP 7. Everyone is
encouraged to attend. There will be a
great lunch served again and an opportunity to share with fellow retirees. Perhaps your showing up just may make
someone’s day.
There will be a short meeting
of the Akron Area Police and Fire Retirees and Widows Association following the regular
retirees meeting. Every one, whether
member or not is encouraged to attend. In
addition to the regular association business there will be an update of the
status of the health care suit and our response to Cheri Cunningham’s pathetic
statements regarding the suit that appeared in the Beacon Journal.
Charmaine and I are looking forward
to seeing you at the meeting on July 14th. Everyone do your best to stay healthy and
try to make someone smile each day.
Till next time.
Dick
Reese
Email - wa8dbw@neo.rr.com
Phone - 330-329-8754
THE VIEW FROM HERE
Josh Miktarian
July 24, 2010
Judge
Elinor Marsh Stormer sentenced Ashford Thompson, 25, to death after his having
been convicted by a jury for the murder of Twinsburg Police Officer Josh
Miktarian during a traffic stop that took place almost two years ago on July 13th,
2008.
There
have been many comments voiced by area citizens regarding this homicide and
resulting trial and conviction of the perpetrator, Ashford Thompson. Some, including Thompson, members of his
family, and his defense attorneys have attempted to justify his having shot
Officer Miktarian with a claim of self defense.
After
the facts and statements made by Thompson and most important, his own admission
that he shot Officer Miktarian four times in the head it was reasonable to
expect the resulting guilty verdict of the court and the imposition of the
death penalty by Judge Stormer. I ask
you, the reader, to remember in addition to the admission of the shooting
Thompson never stated he was sorry but said if given the chance he would do the
same thing again. He and his defense
council attempted to use self defense as justification for his actions saying
Josh Miktarian was antagonistic!
I
had the honor of meeting Officer Miktarian on several occasions and observed
him and his dog at work in dealing with a verity of situations. He was always respectful and considerate of
others. If he had one fault, perhaps it
was that he had a tendency to be too nice when dealing with some members of the
community. Was this out of fear of being
accused of being biased towards minorities or was it just his nature? Only he could answer that but of course that
is no longer possible.
I
ask you to think with me for a moment; Thompson’s self defense effort was
faulty from the start. To shoot Officer
Miktarian once in the head is unjustifiable under the circumstances surrounding
the stop. For Thompson to say he was
“Disrespected” by Miktarian is immaterial.
Even if he was shown disrespect by officer Miktarian there can be no
justification to take the life of any person because of disrespect whether real
or perceived. Yet Thompson administered
one shot, most likely fatal and at the minimum disabling, to the forehead of
Josh Miktarian. He then stood over his
body and fired THREE additional shots into his head! There can be no defense for this action.
I am
a believer in our justice system.
However, I believe we give too much time, effort, and money to the
“Criminal Justice System” and not near enough to the “Victim Justice
System.” We all are painfully aware
that there have been instances where innocent people have been convicted of
crimes even including capitol offenses.
However when it is proven that an individual is guilty, not just beyond
a “Reasonable Doubt” but beyond
Our
system is such that if I were to rob the local bank branch and in the process
kill the teller and one of the responding officers, and all of this is recorded
on the video surveillance system and I admit to the offenses, I am still
afforded a trial and court appointed legal counsel all in an effort to either
justify my actions or prove that it was not really me that committed the
acts! Assuming I am found guilty and
sentenced to death it is expected that there will be numerous appeals over many
years and thousands of additional dollars spent on my behalf before I am ever
executed.
It
is my belief that I should be executed within ninety days and it should be
broadcast live on national television, but only after having a fifty-fifty
drawing for the privilege of being the executioner. The proceeds of the drawing could be divided
with half going to the winning ticket holder and the remainder used to pay for
the ridiculous legal expense associated with the trial and events leading up to
the execution. This would send a clear
message to everyone that this is what can be expected when one is convicted of
a capital offense when there is no question of guilt.
For those
that may think this letter is the ramblings of a far right white extremist, I
am a retired Black Police Sergeant in his sixties having retired from the Akron
Police Department in 1996. I consider
myself to be a Moderate Conservative “Independent” Republican and an active
member of the Catholic Church.
I realize some, including members of my
Church, may take issue with some of what I have stated in this letter. The fact remains that I see a downward
spiral of our society’s common sense and morality and find myself fearful of
what the future holds for us unless we take action in an attempt to gain some
semblance of an ordered society. Will
this be easy? No, I do not believe so,
however if the good and decent citizens begin to speak up and get involved, I
believe our communities and our country can return to the principals that
helped to make us a great nation.
I
extend my condolences to the family and loved ones of Josh Miktarian and to our
community. His death is a tragic loss
that should be felt by all. I ask that
God extend his grace each of us.
Richard
D. Reese
1081
Sterling Oaks Drive
Wadsworth,
Ohio 44281
330-329-8754
THE VIEW FROM HERE
“OUR
Last month I wrote a bit about the history of Mother’s Day and I
had several people say I should follow this month with an article about
Father’s Day. Well here it is but first
a bit about June 14th, Flag Day.
Some of you that know me well are aware of my great respect for
our flag and how for many of the years I resided in Norton I was proud to fly
the flag from atop the aluminum pole in the front yard on
Here is a bit of history on Flag Day that some of you may not have
known.
The History Of Flag Day
Everyone is familiar with the celebration of the Fourth of July and the display of our nation’s Flag but few know that June 14th is Flag Day.
The
idea of a day dedicated to celebrating the Flag originated in 1885 in Fredonia
Following
the suggestion of Colonel J Granville Leach, the then historian of the
Pennsylvania Society of the Sons of the Revolution, the Pennsylvania Society of
Colonial Dames of America on
In
1894, the governor of
In
1914 Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior, delivered a Flag Day address
in which he repeated words he said the flag had spoken to him that morning:
"I
am what you make me; nothing more. I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam
of color, a symbol of yourself."
Inspired
by these three decades of state and local celebrations, Flag Day - the
anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777 - was officially established by the
Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on
At a time when some believe it acceptable to burn our Flag as an expression of freedom, I urge each of you to honor and respect the Flag as the universally accepted symbol of freedom throughout much of the world.
FATHER’S
Mrs. John B. Dodd, of the State of
The
first Father's Day was observed on
In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge supported the idea of a national
Father's Day. Finally in 1966 President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential
proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as Father's Day.
Father's Day is a day of commemoration and celebration of Dad. It
is a day that not only honors your father, but all men who have acted as a
father figure in your life - whether as Stepfathers, Uncles, Grandfathers, or
Big Brothers etc.
Father's
Day is celebrated in
That’s
the View From Here. Till next time have
a great day.
Special thanks
to John Trippe for giving me the idea for the name of this month’s article.
Dick
Reese
VIEW FROM HERE
Mother’s Day 2010
Here in America many people are of the opinion that Mother’s
Day is part of a vast conspiracy on the part of greeting card providers such as
Hallmark whose goal is to capitalize on the special place in our hearts we all
have for our Mother’s. Well here is the
truth regarding Mother’s Day.
Early tributes to mothers can be traced back to the
ancient Greeks when they would have a festival in the spring dedicated to the
recognized mother of their gods Rhea.
The Romans also celebrated and made sacrifices to Cybele, the mother of
their gods. We also had the Christians
who celebrated in honor of Mary the mother of Jesus.
It was England that expanded the holiday to include
all mothers. It wasn’t until the mid 19th century that America began
to celebrate the day. It was the
brainchild of an Appalachian mother Anna Jarvis and she called it Mother’s Work
Day.
Later Julia Howe organized the day and encouraged
mothers to fight for peace because she held the belief that mothers suffered
more than anyone over the loss of an individual’s life. You may recognize the name Julia Howe not
from her role as a pacifist, but because she was the author of the song “Battle
Hymn of the Republic.”
The daughter of Anna Jarvis, also named Anna, began to
lobby for the formal creation of Mother’s Day to simply honor mothers in 1905
because there were many days honoring men but none honoring mothers. In 1908 there was a special service held to
honor the work at the West Virginia church of Anna Jarvis. Anna’s daughter handed out her mother’s
favorite flower, the white carnation. In
19113 the House of Representatives passed a resolution making Mothers Day a
national holiday calling for government officials to wear white
carnations.
People observed Mother's Day by attending
church, writing letters to their mothers, and eventually, by sending cards,
presents, and flowers. With the increasing gift-giving activity associated with
Mother's Day, Anna Jarvis became enraged. She believed that the day's sentiment
was being sacrificed at the expense of greed and profit. In 1923 she filed a lawsuit
to stop a Mother's Day festival, and was even arrested for disturbing the peace
at a convention selling carnations for a war mother's group. She died in 1948
and is said to have said that she regretted ever starting the mother's day
tradition because it had become so commercialized. The second Sunday in May, in spite of Anna’s
misgivings, continues to flourish and has arguably become the most popular day
of the year to dine out and cell phone providers report their highest service
usage as we Americans show appreciation and honor to our mothers.
Now you know a bit more about the day and if you are
fortunate to have your mother still living – honor her not just on this day but
always and even invest in a card from one of the greeting card companies but I
ask you not to mail it! I think mom
would like it even more if you were to surprise her and deliver the card in
person.
If she has
passed from this earth still remember her and hold her dear in your heart. To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, “All that I am
and all that I ever hope to be. I owe to
my dearest sweet Mother.”
The
View From There
03-12-2010
I received the below from my 42 year old son Richard Jr. He is the oldest of our six children and we
all at times have to wonder how we have influenced their lives. I am pleased that I appear to continue to
have a positive influence on him. I am
even more proud that he continues to influence me in a positive way. He has
great insight and compassion for others.
I am extremely proud of him. The
below and a Father’s Day letter (click here to read the letter
) I received from him in June of 2000 are just two of the many reasons why I
believe God has blessed me with the privilege of being his father.
-
THE
FOLLOWING IS THE EMAIL I RECEIVED FROM MY SON RICH on February 28th
2010
*******************************************************************************
The
words below were inspired by something my dad sent out recently entitled
"20 Random Thoughts for a Friday afternoon”, which I have attached if you
want to read it. Since I sometimes let myself do this kind of thing (like when
I want to sleep but can't), I decided to let you all in on what I am thinking
as a nod to my dad. With that said here are
10
Sunday Meandering Thoughts
Richard D. Reese Jr.
THE VIEW FROM HERE
May 03, 2010
I find it
interesting that there is such an outpouring of concern regarding the Arizona
Immigration law recently passed and signed by Governor Jan Brewer on April
27th.
The Arizona law is
notably the most comprehensive of any state law in the United States. In a
nut shell it permits Arizona officers
to inquire into the immigration status of any person
based upon reasonable
suspicion. There are threats of
constitutional challenges being filed and some say that all states should leave
immigration to the Federal Government.
I believe we need
reform that treats fairly those that are trying to get in our country legally
and at the same time secures our borders from illegal entry. It is because the Federal Government has
failed to act on these two issues that Arizona has implemented its new
law. It would serve well if California
would follow suit and implement a similar law.
I am certain that
Arizona legislators felt compelled to act out of frustration with the Federal
failure to act upon the universally admitted problem. One of the most vocal opponents of the
Arizona law is the Mexican government!
The US Attorney
General is looking into challenging the Arizona Law. I
believe their efforts would be
better served by implementing effective border security and
enforcement of laws
involving illegal immigration.
As of this writing
there has been a federal law suit filed from a Tucson police officer claiming
the Arizona law will hamper police investigations in Hispanic areas. The officer states he believes that this is
because illegals are often witness to crime committed by illegals and the law
will prevent them from cooperating with the police. The officer filing the complaint is Martin H. Escobar, a fifteen year veteran of the Tucson police department.
Perhaps the start
of the solution to the problem is the securing of our borders and removal of
the “automatic citizen” status granted to children born in America by illegal
or “undocumented persons. Doing so would
go a long way towards stemming the flow of undocumented people entering the
borders both North and South of America.
It is
unconscionable that the Federal Government continues to sit and do nothing to
solve this escalating problem.
That’s the view
from here. Till next time.
Dick Reese
THE VIEW FROM HERE
02/26/2010
I have had many ask me what I thought about Mayor Don
Plusquellic’s latest letter in which he forecast’s a reduction of additional
City Personnel including Police and Fire staff.
Some have asked that I reduce my thoughts to writing. I was
also asked why he did not reduce his number of cabinet members as well as other
less critical City employment positions.
While some have accused me of being against anything
related to Don Plusquellic, I wish to make it clear that is far from the truth.
Mayor Plusquellic has been at the helm of Akron longer than some of his most
vocal critics have been living!
Plusquellic, like you and I, has accomplished a mixture of good and bad
throughout our lives. I hope that we
each perform more good than bad. This is especially desired of those persons
that find themselves in positions of authority or great responsibility. Don Plusquellic, as the Mayor of Akron, is
the person with the greatest responsibility and the greatest potential to do
either good or harm for the City of Akron.
Since becoming Mayor of Akron in 1987 Don Plusquellic
has at times accomplished both. Some would argue that the good outnumbers the
bad and others just the opposite. It is (are you ready for this?) my belief
that the good is far greater than his bad accomplishments or attributes. That
having been said I will attempt to address some of the points of his letter of
February 19th.
The Mayors letter was addressed to The Members of City
Council. He said he wanted to let them know what he was doing in an effort to
maintain a balanced budget for 2010. The first notable thing was the letter was
only addressed to Members of Council. I believe it would have been better to
have sent it to all of the community or to have called a press conference but
that's just my thought. One can avoid addressing difficult questions by
avoiding a meeting with the press and the public.
I found it troubling that he began by saying that in
order to have a balanced budget it may require additional layoffs that could
occur as early as July. I was left with the impression that Plusquellic felt
that it was inevitable that there would be layoffs. I would hope that he
becomes a bit less cavalier about it. It is a terribly difficult thing to have
to deprive someone of their lively hood or their freedom.
The Mayor said he anticipates a continued downturn in
the economy nationwide. The reality is, it is on a worldwide level but most are
only concerned about that which helps or hinders themselves and their close
friends. My question to the Mayor as well as Members of Council is what
meaningful steps are they willing to take in an effort to help improve the
economy and quality of life in our community? I believe there needs to be an
adjustment in the priorities of our political leaders, the community's leaders,
and our citizens. They/we need to decide what is really necessary for our
community to function in a manner most conducive to the safety and wellbeing of
all residents.
It appears that plans are still underway to erect a
“jump proof fence” on the All American or “Y” bridge. Funding for the project
comes from Federal Stimulus Funds. Almost a year ago Akron received 21 million
dollars and 7.5 million was earmarked for the "Y" bridge fence and
decking. Some have argued that the money would be better directed toward job
creation or the provision of counseling to troubled persons contemplating
suicide. Only a small percentage of suicides are the result of jumping from
high bridges. It is a sad reality that unless one has a relative or close
friend that resorts to suicide, most persons never give thought or credence to
the need for suicide prevention.
One can argue the merits of the bridge renovation but
suffice it to say with Summit County having upwards of 11% unemployment;
perhaps the community should have some input as to whether the money could be
better used to help in the reduction of unemployment and crime, revitalize
neighborhoods ,and the community's economy. When the granting of Federal
Stimulus Money was announced, Mayor Plusquellic said it would create or help to
retain some 240 jobs. Perhaps now would be a good time to identify those jobs
either created or retained.
Mayor Plusquellic takes a bit more than a page touting
what other cities from Phoenix Arizona to Cleveland Ohio are doing as a result
of lost revenue. I find it noteworthy that those cities cited by Plusquellic
all involved significant reduction in police and fire staffing. It fails to
address the ratio of safety personnel to citizens in their respective
communities. Nor is there any correlation to either felony or misdemeanor crime
rates. Last year when police and fire layoffs were being considered, the
president of Akron City Council, Marco Summerville, made the statement that
they had to make a decision as to what was more important – sanitation workers
collecting trash or the retention of safety division employees. The mayor and
council made the determination that the maintaining of the collection of
garbage on schedule was what was most important to the community. Agree or
disagree?
It is possible, but doubtful, that all possible steps
have been taken to cause the sanitation as well as all other city departments
to operate as efficiently and economically as possible but to my knowledge this
and the measures used have never been communicated to the public. While I am
aware of some belt tightening on the part of the Safety Forces and the City in
general, I would think that there is still more that can be accomplished. The
bottom line is that I and I suspect the community believes it necessarily
prudent to attempt to blindly copy what the likes of Cleveland, Cincinnati,
Phoenix, Los Angeles, or Chicago may or may not be doing. With all of the
effort placed on attempting to justify reductions in Police and Fire personnel
I am forced to wonder if it is in any way related to the Police failure to
support and the Fire having remained neutral regarding the Mayoral recall of 2009?
Mayor Plusquellic then related how he has reduced
costs through the use of furloughs, voluntary separation, and the elimination
of all but mandatory overtime. He proudly relates how he has reduced Service
Department employees by over 40% yet still maintains satisfactory service to
the community. He also addresses the complaint that his cabinet is too large by
reporting he has eliminated 5 cabinet positions thus cutting it from 17 members
to 12. This implies that he laid off or fired 5 members of his cabinet. That is
not what happened.
The Mayor laments the fact that there has been no
reduction in Police and while he states his goal is to maintain staffing levels
in Police and Fire Divisions it appears to be simply the standard political
rhetoric where they say one thing even though they now the facts may be just
the opposite. Kind of like the Mayor’s
statements prior to the 2009 recall vote where he bragged about the stellar
condition of the City of Akron’s finances.
Then, when the election was over, he did a reversal and stated how The
City was in dire straits financially.
The Mayor goes on to outline some of the other measures he has
implemented to reduce cost and he said he has only made cuts in areas that have
a minimum effect on the community. It
would appear that the concern is not applicable to the Police and Fire
Departments.
Mayor Plusquellic then speaks about “Our Dedicated
Employees” and to this I must agree that Akron has a wealth of dedicated
individuals that are truly devoted to the welfare of the community. Sad to say most of those individuals are
not in positions of authority where they can have great influence on policy and
procedures. It is unfortunate that there
are far too many people in this world that appear to place their own wants and
desirers ahead of their fellow man. I,
and perhaps some of you, remember when it was common and customary for an
employee to routinely put their personal needs and wants on the back burner and
do what was best for the community and their fellow worker. We all are keenly aware that each of us must
cope with the troubled economy and its effects on our daily lives. It is my belief that the economy will get
much worse prior to getting better. Rest
assured things will get better. It is
only a question of how long it will be before there is a reversal and we can
begin our upward climb once again. I
believe we are looking at years rather than months.
There are real and meaningful sacrifices that will
have to be made on the part of most members of the community. The Mayor and City Administration are faced
with a daunting task that will not be resolved simply through the reduction in
safety force or any City Employees. Some
would argue that with the ever increasing crime statistics there should be an
increase rather than a reduction in Police and Fire staffing. While it may be difficult in these austere
times, it is not impossible provided, the administration and the workers are
willing to be creative in implementing new strategies and methods. Police and Fire personnel perhaps could
temporarily suspend certain contract provisions and the administration and
management perhaps could be more willing to put aside egos and dictatorial
thinking and management styles. Envision
both reverting back to doing what is best for the community rather than that
which is best for a select group of friends or associates! I find the possibilities to be most
exciting.
Mayor Plusquellic has said he welcomes suggestions
from residents, employees, bargaining units, and City Council on how the
challenges may be met. The solutions to
Akron’s problems and those of this great Country of ours will not be an easy
task. However, they are not impossible
to solve if all are willing to agree to do that which is best for the majority
of the community. Those persons not
willing to pledge to do so should resign, retire, or otherwise leave rather
than continue to impede those measures necessary to reverse our current
disturbing direction. Will it
happen? Well that’s like having the foot
of snow currently on the ground being present in July! Not likely to happen, but not beyond the
realm of possibility. This is
particularly true if all involved ask for God’s guidance or, if they were
simply mindful of one of my favorite reads, The 5th Chapter of The
Book of Matthew!
Just something to think about. That‘s today’s View From Here.
Dick Reese
Akron Police Sergeant
Retired 1996
THE VIEW FROM HERE
02/24/2010
The other day I was blessed with an altercation with two
of our area young people. While shopping
in one of our “Big Box” stores I happened to have the need to pass down an isle
that was blocked by two individuals in their late teens. These two youngsters had the audacity to
perceive themselves as young men worthy of respect or perhaps fear from
me. I remember being told long before I
was their age -- “you never get a second chance to make a first
impression.”
My first impression was influenced by the foul
language I heard them using before I came around the corner of the isle. Upon rounding the corner I suffered what some
may call a visual assault that confirmed the impression generated by the foul
language I had heard. Their appearance
was noteworthy in that they each had on jeans that appeared to be five or six
sizes too large and were total strangers to a washing machine. The pants were on the verge of falling to the
floor. Perhaps it was a good thing they
did not fall as they would certainly have dirtied the floor!
They both had on bright colored underwear that was
prominently displayed above the waist band of the jeans. The bottom hems of the jeans were wet from
the snow and slush. It was apparent that
this was not a onetime occurrence since the pants were not only wet but frayed
from being trampled underfoot for some time.
I noticed they both wore what appeared to be Nike LeBron Air Max
basketball shoes that retail for upwards of $150.00! This coupled with their jackets and the rest
of their clothing probably raised the cost of their apparel to the $500 to
$600.00 dollar range. That being said
they then opened their mouths in unison in reaction to my asking them to excuse
me so that I could pass by to check out an item for possible purchase.
The reply to my saying excuse me please was, “What chu
say man?” I again asked them to move to
which one of the fellows said “chu hear dis mother f*#%@+?” Resisting the urge to resort to my years of
law enforcement training, I explained to the two of them that all I wanted was
to pass by them. They said that they
were not expecting me to speak the way that I was. They said that I spoke like a “white man” and
did not sound “black.” I agreed that I
did not sound like the two of them. I
said I spoke English and that I was an American. I said I hoped I sounded kind of like my
parents, teachers, and the majority of my fellow citizens. They then made the mistake of asking what was
wrong with how they spoke.
I told them that there was nothing wrong with their
appearance, their obscene language, or their speech, if they wished to appear
to be vulgar, ignorant, uneducated persons that had no respect for themselves
or their fellow man. One responded that
he had two years of college and the other said he had one year. I asked where they worked and they both said
they were unable to find employment.
When asked if they had an idea as to why they remained unemployed they
stated that as a fellow black man I should know that it was because they were
black and they were being discriminated against. I replied that that may or may not be
true. I said that based upon their
appearance, the obscene language and the ghetto/gangsta/inner city hood talk I
would not be inclined to offer either of them employment. I said that I had worked for AT&T back
in the early 60’s and had retired in 1996 from the police department with 27
years of service. In both instances I
had worn a suit and tie when applying for employment. They stated that I was just like the “white
man” in that I was prejudging and discriminating against them. At this point I related to them the rule
regarding a first impression.
They replied that it was not fair to which I replied
that life was not always fair. Not just
to them but to all of society. I told
them that a prudent person would, especially when wanting consideration from
another, be wise to do whatever may be necessary to make that first impression
a favorable one. It only takes a couple
of seconds for a person to evaluate you when you meet for the first time. A person forms an opinion about you based on
your appearance, body language, demeanor, mannerisms, and how you are
dressed. This is before one even opens
ones mouth. A first impression is almost
impossible to undo. This is particularly
true when that first impression is bad.
It is for this reason the first impression is so important. What a person sees when first meeting you
will set the tone and when you speak you can either reinforce or bring into
question that first visual impression.
Did I make a difference in the future of the two young
men? I would like to think I at least
gave them something to think about and hopefully they will remember some part
of our chance meeting that may result in changing their lives for the better.
We all should be mindful, like it or not, people make
judgments based on appearances. We then
have the opportunity to refute or justify those judgments when we speak.
Till next time, that’s the view from here.
Dick Reese
The
View From There
03-12-2010
I received the below from my 42 year old son Richard Jr. He is the oldest of our six children and we
all at times have to wonder how we have influenced their lives. I am pleased that I appear to continue to
have a positive influence on him. I am
even more proud that he continues to influence me in a positive way. He has
great insight and compassion for others.
I am extremely proud of him. The
below and a Father’s Day letter (click here to read the
letter ) I received from him in June of 2000 are just two of the many
reasons why I believe God has blessed me with the privilege of being his
father.
-
THE
FOLLOWING IS THE EMAIL I RECEIVED FROM MY SON RICH on February 28th
2010
*******************************************************************************
The
words below were inspired by something my dad sent out recently entitled
"20 Random Thoughts for a Friday afternoon”, which I have attached if you
want to read it. Since I sometimes let myself do this kind of thing (like when
I want to sleep but can't), I decided to let you all in on what I am thinking
as a nod to my dad. With that said here are
10
Sunday Meandering Thoughts
Richard D. Reese Jr.
THE VIEW FROM HERE
02/26/2010
I have had many ask me what I thought about Mayor Don
Plusquellic’s latest letter in which he forecast’s a reduction of additional
City Personnel including Police and Fire staff.
Some have asked that I reduce my thoughts to writing. I was
also asked why he did not reduce his number of cabinet members as well as other
less critical City employment positions.
While some have accused me of being against anything
related to Don Plusquellic, I wish to make it clear that is far from the truth.
Mayor Plusquellic has been at the helm of Akron longer than some of his most
vocal critics have been living!
Plusquellic, like you and I, has accomplished a mixture of good and bad
throughout our lives. I hope that we
each perform more good than bad. This is especially desired of those persons
that find themselves in positions of authority or great responsibility. Don Plusquellic, as the Mayor of Akron, is
the person with the greatest responsibility and the greatest potential to do
either good or harm for the City of Akron.
Since becoming Mayor of Akron in 1987 Don Plusquellic
has at times accomplished both. Some would argue that the good outnumbers the
bad and others just the opposite. It is (are you ready for this?) my belief
that the good is far greater than his bad accomplishments or attributes. That
having been said I will attempt to address some of the points of his letter of
February 19th.
The Mayors letter was addressed to The Members of City
Council. He said he wanted to let them know what he was doing in an effort to
maintain a balanced budget for 2010. The first notable thing was the letter was
only addressed to Members of Council. I believe it would have been better to
have sent it to all of the community or to have called a press conference but
that's just my thought. One can avoid addressing difficult questions by
avoiding a meeting with the press and the public.
I found it troubling that he began by saying that in
order to have a balanced budget it may require additional layoffs that could
occur as early as July. I was left with the impression that Plusquellic felt
that it was inevitable that there would be layoffs. I would hope that he
becomes a bit less cavalier about it. It is a terribly difficult thing to have
to deprive someone of their lively hood or their freedom.
The Mayor said he anticipates a continued downturn in
the economy nationwide. The reality is, it is on a worldwide level but most are
only concerned about that which helps or hinders themselves and their close
friends. My question to the Mayor as well as Members of Council is what
meaningful steps are they willing to take in an effort to help improve the
economy and quality of life in our community? I believe there needs to be an
adjustment in the priorities of our political leaders, the community's leaders,
and our citizens. They/we need to decide what is really necessary for our
community to function in a manner most conducive to the safety and wellbeing of
all residents.
It appears that plans are still underway to erect a
“jump proof fence” on the All American or “Y” bridge. Funding for the project
comes from Federal Stimulus Funds. Almost a year ago Akron received 21 million
dollars and 7.5 million was earmarked for the "Y" bridge fence and
decking. Some have argued that the money would be better directed toward job
creation or the provision of counseling to troubled persons contemplating
suicide. Only a small percentage of suicides are the result of jumping from
high bridges. It is a sad reality that unless one has a relative or close
friend that resorts to suicide, most persons never give thought or credence to
the need for suicide prevention.
One can argue the merits of the bridge renovation but
suffice it to say with Summit County having upwards of 11% unemployment;
perhaps the community should have some input as to whether the money could be
better used to help in the reduction of unemployment and crime, revitalize
neighborhoods ,and the community's economy. When the granting of Federal
Stimulus Money was announced, Mayor Plusquellic said it would create or help to
retain some 240 jobs. Perhaps now would be a good time to identify those jobs
either created or retained.
Mayor Plusquellic takes a bit more than a page touting
what other cities from Phoenix Arizona to Cleveland Ohio are doing as a result
of lost revenue. I find it noteworthy that those cities cited by Plusquellic
all involved significant reduction in police and fire staffing. It fails to
address the ratio of safety personnel to citizens in their respective
communities. Nor is there any correlation to either felony or misdemeanor crime
rates. Last year when police and fire layoffs were being considered, the
president of Akron City Council, Marco Summerville, made the statement that
they had to make a decision as to what was more important – sanitation workers
collecting trash or the retention of safety division employees. The mayor and
council made the determination that the maintaining of the collection of
garbage on schedule was what was most important to the community. Agree or
disagree?
It is possible, but doubtful, that all possible steps
have been taken to cause the sanitation as well as all other city departments
to operate as efficiently and economically as possible but to my knowledge this
and the measures used have never been communicated to the public. While I am
aware of some belt tightening on the part of the Safety Forces and the City in
general, I would think that there is still more that can be accomplished. The
bottom line is that I and I suspect the community believes it necessarily
prudent to attempt to blindly copy what the likes of Cleveland, Cincinnati,
Phoenix, Los Angeles, or Chicago may or may not be doing. With all of the
effort placed on attempting to justify reductions in Police and Fire personnel
I am forced to wonder if it is in any way related to the Police failure to
support and the Fire having remained neutral regarding the Mayoral recall of
2009?
Mayor Plusquellic then related how he has reduced costs
through the use of furloughs, voluntary separation, and the elimination of all
but mandatory overtime. He proudly relates how he has reduced Service
Department employees by over 40% yet still maintains satisfactory service to
the community. He also addresses the complaint that his cabinet is too large by
reporting he has eliminated 5 cabinet positions thus cutting it from 17 members
to 12. This implies that he laid off or fired 5 members of his cabinet. That is
not what happened.
The Mayor laments the fact that there has been no
reduction in Police and while he states his goal is to maintain staffing levels
in Police and Fire Divisions it appears to be simply the standard political
rhetoric where they say one thing even though they now the facts may be just
the opposite. Kind of like the Mayor’s
statements prior to the 2009 recall vote where he bragged about the stellar
condition of the City of Akron’s finances.
Then, when the election was over, he did a reversal and stated how The
City was in dire straits financially.
The Mayor goes on to outline some of the other measures he has
implemented to reduce cost and he said he has only made cuts in areas that have
a minimum effect on the community. It
would appear that the concern is not applicable to the Police and Fire
Departments.
Mayor Plusquellic then speaks about “Our Dedicated
Employees” and to this I must agree that Akron has a wealth of dedicated
individuals that are truly devoted to the welfare of the community. Sad to say most of those individuals are
not in positions of authority where they can have great influence on policy and
procedures. It is unfortunate that there
are far too many people in this world that appear to place their own wants and
desirers ahead of their fellow man. I, and
perhaps some of you, remember when it was common and customary for an employee
to routinely put their personal needs and wants on the back burner and do what
was best for the community and their fellow worker. We all are keenly aware that each of us must
cope with the troubled economy and its effects on our daily lives. It is my belief that the economy will get
much worse prior to getting better. Rest
assured things will get better. It is
only a question of how long it will be before there is a reversal and we can
begin our upward climb once again. I
believe we are looking at years rather than months.
There are real and meaningful sacrifices that will
have to be made on the part of most members of the community. The Mayor and City Administration are faced
with a daunting task that will not be resolved simply through the reduction in
safety force or any City Employees. Some
would argue that with the ever increasing crime statistics there should be an
increase rather than a reduction in Police and Fire staffing. While it may be difficult in these austere
times, it is not impossible provided, the administration and the workers are
willing to be creative in implementing new strategies and methods. Police and Fire personnel perhaps could
temporarily suspend certain contract provisions and the administration and
management perhaps could be more willing to put aside egos and dictatorial
thinking and management styles. Envision
both reverting back to doing what is best for the community rather than that
which is best for a select group of friends or associates! I find the possibilities to be most
exciting.
Mayor Plusquellic has said he welcomes suggestions
from residents, employees, bargaining units, and City Council on how the
challenges may be met. The solutions to
Akron’s problems and those of this great Country of ours will not be an easy
task. However, they are not impossible
to solve if all are willing to agree to do that which is best for the majority
of the community. Those persons not willing
to pledge to do so should resign, retire, or otherwise leave rather than
continue to impede those measures necessary to reverse our current disturbing
direction. Will it happen? Well that’s like having the foot of snow
currently on the ground being present in July!
Not likely to happen, but not beyond the realm of possibility. This is particularly true if all involved ask
for God’s guidance or, if they were simply mindful of one of my favorite reads,
The 5th Chapter of The Book of Matthew!
Just something to think about. That‘s today’s View From Here
Dick Reese
Akron Police Sergeant
Retired 1996
THE VIEW FROM HERE
02/24/2010
The other day I was blessed with an altercation with
two of our area young people. While
shopping in one of our “Big Box” stores I happened to have the need to pass
down an isle that was blocked by two individuals in their late teens. These two youngsters had the audacity to
perceive themselves as young men worthy of respect or perhaps fear from me. I remember being told long before I was their
age -- “you never get a second chance to make a first impression.”
My first impression was influenced by the foul
language I heard them using before I came around the corner of the isle. Upon rounding the corner I suffered what some
may call a visual assault that confirmed the impression generated by the foul
language I had heard. Their appearance
was noteworthy in that they each had on jeans that appeared to be five or six
sizes too large and were total strangers to a washing machine. The pants were on the verge of falling to the
floor. Perhaps it was a good thing they
did not fall as they would certainly have dirtied the floor!
They both had on bright colored underwear that was
prominently displayed above the waist band of the jeans. The bottom hems of the jeans were wet from
the snow and slush. It was apparent that
this was not a onetime occurrence since the pants were not only wet but frayed
from being trampled underfoot for some time.
I noticed they both wore what appeared to be Nike LeBron Air Max
basketball shoes that retail for upwards of $150.00! This coupled with their jackets and the rest
of their clothing probably raised the cost of their apparel to the $500 to
$600.00 dollar range. That being said
they then opened their mouths in unison in reaction to my asking them to excuse
me so that I could pass by to check out an item for possible purchase.
The reply to my saying excuse me please was, “What chu
say man?” I again asked them to move to
which one of the fellows said “chu hear dis mother f*#%@+?” Resisting the urge to resort to my years of
law enforcement training, I explained to the two of them that all I wanted was
to pass by them. They said that they
were not expecting me to speak the way that I was. They said that I spoke like a “white man” and
did not sound “black.” I agreed that I
did not sound like the two of them. I
said I spoke English and that I was an American. I said I hoped I sounded kind of like my
parents, teachers, and the majority of my fellow citizens. They then made the mistake of asking what was
wrong with how they spoke.
I told them that there was nothing wrong with their
appearance, their obscene language, or their speech, if they wished to appear to
be vulgar, ignorant, uneducated persons that had no respect for themselves or
their fellow man. One responded that he
had two years of college and the other said he had one year. I asked where they worked and they both said
they were unable to find employment.
When asked if they had an idea as to why they remained unemployed they
stated that as a fellow black man I should know that it was because they were
black and they were being discriminated against. I replied that that may or may not be true. I said that based upon their appearance, the
obscene language and the ghetto/gangsta/inner city hood talk I would not be
inclined to offer either of them employment.
I said that I had worked for AT&T back in the early 60’s and had
retired in 1996 from the police department with 27 years of service. In both instances I had worn a suit and tie
when applying for employment. They
stated that I was just like the “white man” in that I was prejudging and
discriminating against them. At this
point I related to them the rule regarding a first impression.
They replied that it was not fair to which I replied
that life was not always fair. Not just
to them but to all of society. I told
them that a prudent person would, especially when wanting consideration from
another, be wise to do whatever may be necessary to make that first impression
a favorable one. It only takes a couple
of seconds for a person to evaluate you when you meet for the first time. A person forms an opinion about you based on
your appearance, body language, demeanor, mannerisms, and how you are
dressed. This is before one even opens
ones mouth. A first impression is almost
impossible to undo. This is particularly
true when that first impression is bad.
It is for this reason the first impression is so important. What a person sees when first meeting you
will set the tone and when you speak you can either reinforce or bring into
question that first visual impression.
Did I make a difference in the future of the two young
men? I would like to think I at least
gave them something to think about and hopefully they will remember some part
of our chance meeting that may result in changing their lives for the better.
We all should be mindful, like it or not, people make
judgments based on appearances. We then
have the opportunity to refute or justify those judgments when we speak.
Till next time, that’s the view from here.
Dick Reese
The View From Here
St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated each
year on March 17th. I think I’m safe in saying every adult has heard of St.
Patrick’s Day and know that it is considered a day of celebration by the Irish
and those of Irish decent throughout most of the world.
Many people celebrate the day but are
not aware that the day has been a religious feast day and the anniversary of
the death of Saint Patrick in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this
day as a religious holiday during the Christian season of Lent for over a
thousand years. Irish family’s would attend church in the morning and then
celebrate in the afternoon. As part of the Lenten tradition there were
prohibitions against the eating of meat. The prohibitions were waived for St.
Patrick’s Day and people would dance, drink, and party hardy on the traditional
meal of cabbage and Irish bacon.
I remember as a child growing up in
Goodyear Heights looking forward to St. Patrick’s Day and being razzed by some
because of my relishing the holiday. Some found it not only strange that I as a
Black person would celebrate the day, but sacrilegious that I was not Baptist
as well. It mattered not that there was Irish on my Father’s side of the family
and some of my best friends were Irish.
There were others that while it may be perhaps unusual; thought there was
nothing inherently wrong with my participation. There was one friend of German
decent that I met in high school that I could count on receiving a St.
Patrick’s Day card from every year. This continued until shortly before his
death in the 90’s. Oh well, I am straying from the subject.
Many communities, as part of the
celebration, have a parade and local clubs and bars serve green beer and the
traditional cabbage etc. Surprisingly the first parade took place not in
Ireland but in New York City on March 17, 1762. It was the brain child of Irish
soldiers serving in the English military. The parade was an effort to maintain
their Irish roots, promote their music, and promote fellowship with their
fellow Irishmen serving in the British army.
In the following years, Irish patriotism
among immigrants flourished, prompting the rise of Irish Aid societies, like
the Sons of Saint Patrick and the Hibernian Society. In the mid 1800’s many New
York Irish aid societies combined their parades to form one New York City St.
Patrick’s Day Parade. Today, that parade
is the largest and the oldest parade in the United States, with over 150,000
participants. Each year, nearly three million people line the one-and-a-half
mile parade route to watch the procession, which takes more than five hours.
Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, and, believe it or not, Savannah Georgia also
celebrates the day with parades including 10,000 to 20,000 participants.
Most Irish immigrants in America were
members of the Protestant middle class. When the Famine hit Ireland in 1845,
close to a million poor, uneducated, Catholic Irish began to pour into America
in an effort to escape starvation. They were despised for their Catholic
beliefs and funny accents
by the American Protestant majority.
These new Irish Catholic immigrants had trouble finding even menial jobs. When
Irish Americans in the country’s cities took to the streets on St. Patrick’s
Day to celebrate their heritage, most newspapers portrayed them in cartoons as
drunken, violent ignorant monkeys. Kind
of reminds one of the portrayals of other modern day minorities.
Any way, the Irish soon began to realize
that because of their large numbers they had power that they could use to their
advantage. They started to organize, and their voting block, known as the
“green machine,” became an important swing vote for political hopefuls.
Suddenly, annual St. Patrick’s Day parades became a show of strength for Irish
Americans, as well as a must-attend event for any serious political candidate.
The high-point was when President Truman attended New York City’s St. Patrick’s
Day parade in 1948. This is generally considered to be the turning point for
many Irish whose ancestors had to fight stereotypes and racial prejudice to
find acceptance in America.
In the United States today, St.
Patrick’s Day is celebrated by millions of people of all backgrounds as well as
in other locations far removed from Ireland. Some that come to mind are Japan,
Canada, Singapore, Australia, and Russia. In modern-day Ireland, St. Patrick’s
Day has traditionally been a religious celebration. Up until the 1970s, Irish
laws mandated that pubs be closed on March 17th. However in 1995 the Irish
government began a national campaign to use St. Patrick’s Day as an opportunity
to drive tourism generating revenue and showcase Ireland to the rest of the
world. Now, close to one million people took part in Ireland’s St. Patrick’s
Festival in Dublin and no longer have to sneak into the pubs. The celebration
last for several days and features parades, concerts, outdoor theater
productions, and fireworks shows and of course, lots of Irish food and of
course, beer.
Now you know perhaps a bit more about
the origin of St. Patrick’s Day. See you at the retirees meeting at the Lodge
on March 10th. Who knows, there may even be some traditional Irish food there
for lunch. (Hint to the kitchen crew!) It’s only a week prior to St. Patrick’s
Day.
I
close with an Irish saying that I remember from many years ago:
A
toast to your coffin.
May
it be made of 100 year old oak.
And
may we plant the tree together, tomorrow!
That’s the View
From Here.
Dick
Reese
02/16/2010
The View From Here
Estabrook
went on to say that Ohio House Bill 133 increased transparency of business
conducted by The Board. If that is the
case why was I and others told as late as mid November that no decision had
been made regarding the awarding of a health care contract. They reportedly were still investigating
providers. Suddenly on December 17th
I received an email in which OP&F stated The Board voted to
renew the contract with United Health care for 3 years. When I asked about the possibility of
receiving a copy of the contract and the rational for again selecting United
Health Care, I was informed that OP&F legal counsel had advised that the
contract was proprietary and would not be made available!
Mr. Estabrook closes by saying, “OP&F has continued to be
a reliable steward of your pensions and also managed to improve service to
you---.” Has your service
improved? And at what cost for that
service? Are you better now than you
were five years ago? You be the
judge!
I would like to see a copy of the contract awarded showing
actual contract cost and if the health care we receive is so great = perhaps
Estabrook and the other six members of the executive staff should receive the
same health care at the same cost as the retirees they are charged with
protecting. Perhaps they should be
required to give full disclosure of not only OP&F contracts but full
disclosure of their personal interests as well.
As always, thanks for putting up with me and stay healthy and
safe. Until next time That’s The View
From Here
Richard D. Reese
http://www.wa8dbw.ifip.com/Police&Fire-Retirees.htm
330-329-8754
Health
Update
This is
a response to several requests for information on my health status. Suffice it to say the rumors of my imminent
death are greatly exaggerated.
It has been almost
eight years since being forced to be participants in and unwelcome war.
Here is the latest report from the battlefield....
On Monday January 18th
Charmaine and I again conferred with our oncologist, Dr. Sandra
Hazra. We are pleased to say that she continues to be a miracle worker
and her predictions continue to be spot on. I think she is one of God's
angels. The tests that she ordered indicated cancer was in the pelvis and
left side. This is what she had said would be indicated after she had
looked and the original pathology report from 2002. She also
believed that together with God's help we would be able to prevent them from
taking over for years to come.
On December 23rd (a
Christmas present?) she started me on a daily pill designed (I think) to
prevent protein from binding with the cancer cells thus starving the little
invading critters to death. It appears that the pills are doing
their job very well in that after four weeks there has been a significant
reduction in the cancer. All of this makes me an avid supporter of this
chemical warfare that she (Dr. Hazra) is directing. She had added another
drug that is injected once every three months. It is her belief, and
that of Charmaine, that this combination will keep the raging war going in
our favor. It appears that these latest efforts have decimated the
invaders but there are still millions surviving. We are all hopeful that this
latest injection will be effective in helping to further reduce the number
of remaining invaders. I try and not think about past
battles (surgery in 2002 and radiation in 2004) where each time we were
elated at the appearance of our being victorious in this war to eradicate the
invader only to suffer a sneak attack aimed at demoralizing Charmaine and me.
Charmaine, God bless
her, has (unlike me) remained positive since this war began almost eight years
ago. She has repeatedly said that together we would win this and we would
have many many more years together. She has stayed positive even while I
was feeling at my worst and at times I know I made her life miserable when I
feared we would not be victorious in this fight. Even at that time
she said that she believed we had at least twenty more years together.
This was at a time when I honestly did not want to live twenty years feeling as
I did at that particular time!
As a result of this
cancer I have been forced to face my mortality and re-evaluate my
priorities. It may seem strange but I see this continuing ordeal as a
positive event in that it has served to make me more appreciative of that
which I, and perhaps some of you, take for granted.
I have used this
insidious disease to encourage other men to listen to their wives. When
your spouse says you need to get a checkup - please humor her and do
it. Hopefully she will go in the exam room with you because she will be
able to both tell the physician more accurately about your true health and she
will be able to better remember information provided by the doctor. My
personal angel, Charmaine, is always with me for my appointments.
I wish to take
this opportunity to thank all of you that have kept me in your thoughts and
prayers. I ask that you continue to do so for this war is ongoing
and its outcome is still uncertain. It is my sincere belief that with
the prayers of those that believe, the knowledge of medical
professionals like Dr. Sandra Hazra, the continued, never faltering love,
and support of Charmaine, and above all if it is God's will I will still be
here to sometimes agitate some of you, and most important cause all of you
to have good thoughts about your fellow man and have a great smile or laugh
each day, even if you are only laughing at me.
Again, my heartfelt
thanks and may God continue to bless us all.
Richard
330-329-8754
The View From Here
Random Thoughts From a Troubled Mind
On January 2nd
Char and I attended the wedding of our niece Allyson in Akron and it was a gala
affair held at the Greek Annunciation Hall on South Union Street. I took the opportunity to relate my thoughts
on responsibility to Rob, her husband of a couple of hours. He assured me that he would remember what I
had relayed to him. Time will tell if that
is truly the case.
In thinking about our
conversation it brought to mind thoughts of responsibility that many of us,
including me, often forget. My mother
passed away in 2007 at the age of 91. She
instilled in me, and my siblings, that we were to be Thankful for the Grace of
God to be living in This Country in These Times with all of its rights and
privileges. She told me that I should be
mindful of what Robert E. Lee had said when it came to ones responsibility. “Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more. You should never do less.” Many of you no doubt have heard this quote
but there was another she related to me when I was a youngster learning the
Apostles Creed. She said that there was
another creed just as important to remember.
It was The American’s Creed.
This was something that I had never learned in either school or
church. To this day I have yet to find
any student with knowledge of the existence of The American’s Creed.
Mom said that this particular
creed was the result of a 1917 national contest for the best synopsis of
American Political Faith. It was written
by William Page and judged by The United States House of Representatives to be
the best of several thousand entries nationwide. It was adopted as the American Creed in 1918
and while only two paragraphs long it does a memorable job of reminding us of
the relationship between our rights and our responsibilities. I believe I am safe in saying that few people
have ever heard of it much less having seen it in print.
The American’s Creed
I believe in the United States of America as a
Government of the people, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are
derived from the consent of the governed; a Democracy in a Republic; a
Sovereign Nation of many Sovereign States; a Perfect Union, one and
Inseparable; established upon those principals of Freedom, Equality, Justice,
and Humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes.
I therefore believe it is my duty to my
country to love it; to support its Constitution; to obey its laws; to respect
its flag, and to defend it against all enemies.
When Page was asked why he
chose the words used he replied: "It is the summary of the fundamental
principles of the American political faith as set forth in its greatest
documents, its worthiest traditions, and its greatest leaders."
I believe many of today’s so
called leaders would be wise to recall those words used in the Creed. As always thanks for putting up with me and May
God Bless you and this great country of ours.
Dick Reese
330-329-8754
wa8dbw@neo.rr.com
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THE VIEW FROM HERE
December 9, 2009
Our election is over and we have some new
officers and trustees that are in leadership positions of Akron FOP#7. I would like to congratulate each of you as
either returning officers or new recipients of positions of responsibility and
authority. As in any quest for elected
office there are winners and losers. I wish to encourage all Lodge members to
now cooperate and work with one another for the betterment of All members,
whether active or retired.
On its surface cooperation seems simple:
working together toward a common goal for the benefit of all involved. But amazingly it can be quite challenging,
even when we have so many successful examples all around us. Human society is based upon
the concept of cooperation, but finding a balance to ensure the good of all
members can be most difficult.
Nature shows us instances of constant
competition in which only the strongest survive. Given the choice, one would think most people
would choose the more peaceful path of cooperation. Our intellect should make it obvious that together
we can create something greater than what one could do alone, but cooperation still seems to be one of the
most difficult challenges we face.
We often disagree on how goals can be
reached. Our priorities may be
different, or our methods, but in the end, cooperation
offers the best chance for success.
So how can we learn to cooperate with each other? We can gain greater perspective by trying to
understand one another's point of view, perhaps even putting ourselves in the
others place. We can search for that
which we have in common as well as what may appear to be different, and look
for the good in different approaches.
There is always more than one way of doing things, and some methods are
better suited for certain situations than others. All this is easier when we let go of the
necessity to be right and to call others wrong.
More important, we must
believe that there is a solution that benefits all involved, not just one side.
I ask that each officer do what you feel in your heart to
be right. You will be criticized
anyway. Don’t mind criticism. If it is untrue, disregard it; if unfair, do
not permit it to irritate you; if it is ignorant, simply smile; if it is
justified then it is not criticism, you should learn from it and correct yourself. The only defense against criticism is to do
nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.
If you reach a point
where you believe you must speak ill of another board member, I implore you, do
not speak it, go out to Wolter Park and write it in the sand near the water’s
edge. But do this only if you believe
you must write it.
It is easy to fly into a
passion. Anyone can do that, but to be angry with the right person to
the right extent at the right time and in the right way…. That my friend can be
most difficult.
Many of us have had the
experience of facing the bully, and after taking him boldly by the beard, we
were often surprised to find that it comes off in our hand, and discovered that
it was only tied on to scare away those timid members of the general public.
The most glorious moments in your
life are not the so-called days of success, but rather those days when out of
dejection and despair you feel rise in you a challenge, a call to duty, and the
promise of future accomplishments for the betterment of your fellow man, even
when it may be in conflict with your personal self interest.
Duck Reese Sergeant retired July
1996
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The View From Here
Did you know?
On a hillside rising above the Potomac River and overlooking
Washington, D.C., stands a 19th-century mansion whose construction started
in1802 and took sixteen years to complete.
The estate was intended as a living memorial to George Washington. It was owned and constructed by the first
president's adopted grandson, George Washington Parke Custis, son of John Parke
Custis who himself was a child of Martha Washington by her first marriage and a
ward of George Washington.
Arlington won out as a name over Mount Washington, which is what George
Washington Parke Custis first intended calling the 1,100-acre tract of land
that he had inherited at the death of his father when he was three years
old. Arlington won out because it was
the name of the Custis family ancestral estate in the Virginia tidewater area.
George Washington Parke Custis and his wife, Mary Lee Fitzhugh (whom he
had married in 1804), lived in Arlington House until their deaths in 1857 and
1853, respectively. They were buried on the property and their graves remain
undisturbed for over 150 years. On June
30, 1831, Custis' only child, Mary Anna Custis married her childhood friend and
distant cousin, Robert E. Lee. Lee was the son of former three-term Virginia
Governor Henry Lee and was himself a graduate of West Point.
From 1841 and 1857, Robert E. Lee was away from Arlington House for
several extended periods. In 1846 he served in the Mexican war under Gen.
Winfield Scott, and in 1852 he was appointed superintendent of the U.S.
Military Academy at West Point, his alma mater. After his father-in-law died in
1857, Lee returned to Arlington to join his family and to serve as executor of
the estate.
Under the terms of her father's will, Mary Anna Custis Lee was given
the right to inhabit and control the house for the rest of her life. Custis'
will also stipulated that upon Mary Anna's death, full title would pass to her
eldest son, George Washington Custis Lee. Contrary to popular belief, Robert E.
Lee never owned the Arlington estate and only served as custodian of the
property.
Robert E. and Mary Anna Lee, his wife, lived at Arlington House until
1861, when Virginia seceded from the Union and joined the Confederacy. Lee was named a major general for the
Virginia military forces in April 1861.
Lee feared for his wife's safety and anticipated the loss of their
family inheritance because of his belief that war was inevitable.
Following the ratification of secession by Virginia, federal troops
crossed the Potomac and, took up positions around Arlington. Following the
occupation, military installations were erected at several locations around the
1,100-acre estate, including what is now Fort Myer and Fort McPherson.
Lee deeply regretted the loss of his home at Arlington. During the
early stages of the war, foreseeing the probable loss of his home and
belongings, Lee wrote to his wife saying:
"It is better to make up our minds to a loss. They cannot take
away the remembrance of the spot, and the memories of those that to us have
rendered it sacred. That will remain to us as long as life will last, and we
can preserve that."
Lee continued to feel responsible for the estate and earnestly hoped
that the slaves who were left behind would be educated and freed, according to
the provisions of George Washington Parke Custis' will.
The Federal Government confiscated the 1100 acre property when taxes
levied against Arlington estate were not paid in person by Mrs. Lee. The
property was offered for public sale Jan. 11, 1864, and was purchased by a tax
commissioner for "government use, for war, military, charitable and
educational purposes."
Arlington National Cemetery was created by General Montgomery C. Meigs,
who commanded the garrison at Arlington House, appropriated the grounds, and
converted 200 acres for use as a military cemetery. General Meigs ordered burials close to
Arlington house to make it uninhabitable after the war in the event the Lee
family ever returned. How many people
know that the property now known as Arlington National Cemetery was owned by
the family of Robert E. Lee commander of the Confederate Army?
The first soldier was buried in Arlington in May of 1864. By the end of the war there were over 16,000
graves on the estate close to Arlington House.
There was a stone burial vault in the rose garden, 20 feet wide and 10
feet deep, and containing the remains of 1,800 dead from the battle of Bull
Run, among the first monuments to Union dead erected under Meigs' orders. Meigs
himself was later buried within 100 yards of Arlington House with his wife,
father and his son.
The federal government dedicated a model community for freed slaves,
Freedman's Village, near the current Memorial Amphitheater, on Dec. 4, 1863.
More than 1,100 freed slaves were given land by the government, where they
farmed and lived during and after the Civil War.
Neither Robert E. Lee, nor his wife ever attempted to publicly recover
control of Arlington House. They were buried at Washington University (later
renamed Washington and Lee University) where Lee had served as president. The
couple never returned to the home George Washington Parke Custis had built and
treasured. After General Robert E. Lee's death in 1870, George Washington
Custis Lee brought an action for eviction in the Circuit Court of Alexandria
County, Va. Custis Lee, as eldest son of General and Mrs. Lee, claimed that the
land had been illegally confiscated and that, according to his grandfather's
will, he was the legal owner. In December 1882, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a
5-4 decision, returned the property to Custis Lee, stating that it had been
confiscated without due process in that it was improper to require Mary Anna
Lee to appear in person to pay the property tax.
After the Civil War, only the poor or unidentified were entombed at
Arlington. Today it is a burial site
particularly coveted by veterans and their families. Space for in-ground burials is restricted to those
who die on active duty, have had 20 years of service, or earned certain
military decorations, and their spouses and dependents. Any honorably
discharged veterans and their dependents may have their cremated remains
inurned in Arlington’s columbarium. Honors are rendered daily by military units
bearing a flag-draped coffin, firing a rifle volley and listening to a bugler
play taps.
Prominent Americans buried at Arlington include: Presidents John F.
Kennedy and William H. Taft; Supreme Court Justices Oliver Wendell Holmes,
Thurgood Marshall and Earl Warren; military commanders John J. Pershing, World
War I General of the Armies; Generals Omar Bradley and George C. Marshall and
Admiral William Leahy of World War II; and Generals Daniel “Chappie” James and
Maxwell Taylor of the Vietnam Conflict.
No surprise that these persons are buried there but – Did you know the
following?
There are 62 foreign nationals interred at Arlington National
Cemetery. They are composed of 24
British, 13 French, 9 South Vietnamese, 4 Canadian, 4 Italian (includes 2 POW),
2 Dutch, 1 Chinese, 1 Australian, 1 Greek, 1 South African, 1 German POW, 1
Unknown Origin.
Now you know a little about our first National Cemetery. That’s it for now. Stay healthy, protect one another, and be
safe.
Dick Reese
330-329-8754
wa8dbw@neo.rr.com
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The Akron Police & Fire Retirees and
Widows Association
Our Path to Justice
The hearing that was
scheduled for Oct. 29th with the Ohio Department of insurance was
cancelled last minute by request of the City of Akron. The purpose of that hearing was to determine
if the City of Akron was in violation of the Coordination of Benefits laws of
the State of Ohio. The insurance laws of
the State of Ohio require that an insurer that has insured you the longest has
to be the primary payer. Meaning that
for most of you the City of Akron must be the first payer of your medical
claims since they have insured you longer than OP&F or any other insurance
plan that you might have. Please keep in mind that there are exceptions to this
such as federal law requiring Medicare to be your primary carrier or a current
employer to be your primary carrier if they offer benefits. In those cases
Akron has refused to pay secondary as required by the coordination of benefits
laws and that is the end result that we are seeking in those special instances.
On April 28, 2009 the Hearing
Officer for the Ohio Department of Insurance ruled, “The City of Akron self-insured insurance fund provided for its
policemen and firemen retirees as operated by the City of Akron is insurance
provided within the state of Ohio and is subject to the insurance laws of this
state pursuant to Ohio Revised Code 3901.20.”
It has been established that
the Ohio Department of Insurance has jurisdiction over the City of Akron and
Akron must obey and follow the Ohio Revised Code in all insurance matters. Furthermore since the Ohio Attorney General
represents the Ohio Department of Insurance the Attorney General’s Office is
representing us in our case against the City of Akron. Our attorney, Larry Shenise, is working very
closely with the AG and is also pursuing claims against OP &F and Medical
Mutual on our behalf.
The hearing scheduled for
Oct. 29th was to determine if the City of Akron was indeed violating
the state law as it pertains to the coordination of benefits. The City’s attorney, Vince Tersigni, has in
numerous documents specifically stated that the city does not follow the
coordination of benefits law. So on Oct
28th Mr. Tersigni called the AG’s Office and told him that there was
no need for a hearing because Akron stipulates to the fact it does not follow
the Coordination of Benefits Law.
However, Mr. Tersigni on
behalf of the City is now arguing that the City of Akron does not have to
follow the Coordination of Benefits Law because the Police and Fire Collective
Bargaining Agreement gives the City the right to ignore the state law
pertaining to the Coordination of Benefits.
He asserts that the Collective Bargaining Agreement supersedes the State
Law.
The Hearing Officer for the
Ohio Department of Insurance is giving the City a chance to brief their case in
order to establish a total record for appeal purposes. This is to be taken as a positive. No hearing will be conducted. Instead of a hearing, exhibits, briefs and
reply briefs will be submitted to the Hearing Officer. From this evidence the Hearing Officer will
render his decision.
Time frame for this procedure
to take place is the following:
1. Attorneys will exchange exhibits by Nov. 13th
2. Attorneys will file exhibits and objections to
exhibits with the Hearing Officer by Dec. 4th.
3. Hearing Officer will make his decision on what
exhibits to allow or disallow the exhibits by the Dec. 18th.
4. Briefs must be filed with the Hearing Officer by Jan.
15th.
5. Counter Briefs must be filed with the Hearing Officer
by Jan 29th.
Now you ask: “What are the chances
for a favorable decision by the Hearing Officer?” First; the Hearing Officer
has already ruled that the City comes under the jurisdiction of ODI. Secondly; the Hearing Officer ruled that the
City must follow all state laws in the way that they administer their insurance
program. Third; nowhere in the
Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) does it state that OP&F would be the
primary insurer and the City of Akron would be secondary. Fourth; the CBA does
address conflicts with state law stating “Should any part of this Agreement be
invalidated by operation of law, or be declared invalid by any tribunal of
competent jurisdiction, or be in conflict with state law, such invalidation
shall not invalidate the remaining portions, and they shall remain in full
force and effect.” Fifth; State law
prohibits negotiations and agreements that are in conflict with state law. Such agreements are invalid.
It is hoped that the Hearing
Officer for ODI would make his ruling in our favor by March 1st. Hopefully at that time he should issue and
order that the City of Akron must immediately start providing us with primary
health care.
On March 12, 2008
the Superintendent of Insurance took jurisdiction of our complaint and in her
Notice of Opportunity for Hearing stated, “The Superintendent of Insurance
intends to take any and all actions including but not limited to, an order to
return disputed payments, civil penalties, and administrative costs”
Remember we also have a law
suit in Summit County Court against the City of Akron, Medical Mutual of Ohio
and the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund alleging that they had committed an
unfair and deceptive act by violating Ohio Revised Code 3902.13, Ohio’s
Coordination of Benefits Law.
The law is on your side. It has been a
long journey and we still have a ways to go.
Even though the Ohio Attorney General is our attorney of record with the
Department of Insurance we are still accumulating attorney fees because our
counsel is still spending hours and days on this case. Among other things he has made numerous trips
to Columbus to confer with the Ohio Department of Insurance and the Attorney
General to ensure that our position is properly represented.
If you have not paid your
dues ($25.00) for 2009 please pay them as soon as possible.
You can send a check made out
to APFRWA for $25.00 to our treasurer, Joe Forgach at 346 Keith Ave. Akron, OH
44313. If you have any questions on
what you might owe, please call Joe at 330-869-6232.
Payment
may also be made through any Akron Fire or Police Credit Union Office. Advise
the respective Credit Union to make the deposit to the APFRWA Legal Fund
account. Remember to have them place
your name on the receipt and keep a copy for your records. When done over the telephone the Credit Union
will mail a copy of the receipt to you if you request it.
If you have not previously
joined our organization please join us now.
We need your support. In 2004 we
asked for an initial $100.00 from everyone to get us up and running. A little over half of the retirees joined us
in our fight for justice. We know that
some of our retirees are on a very limited income and this would create a
hardship to pay anything. That’s OK. You can still help us by giving us your
moral support.
If you have any questions contact:
Tim Metcalfe 330-929-2750 or Dick
Reese 330-329-8754
tmetcalf@neo.rr.com wa8dbw@neo.rr.com
Tim Metcalfe Dick Reese
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THE VIEW FROM HERE
October 22, 2009
As I write this note I find myself in somewhat of a
quandary in that there are so many things going on that it is difficult to settle
on a suitable subject worthy of your taking the time to read it. The following is a partial list that perhaps
you the reader may desire to investigate or devote some thought to.
There is news that the City of Akron has reached an
agreement with the EPA over its sewer system polluting the environment. While there has been no final determination
of the cost to the public to satisfy EPA mandated fines and upgrades to the
system suffice it to say that the cost will be in the hundreds of millions of
dollars.
There is the news that the Police have for the time
being avoided layoffs of personnel. This
is due to the diligence of the staff and members of Akron’s FOP-7. Kudos to President Paul Hlynsky and his staff
for all their efforts. The fire department
has not been so fortunate.
Mayor Plusquellic is making accusations that some fire
and police personnel are conspiring to have him arrested for driving under the
influence. The Mayor reports that some
fire employees have placed a $1000.00 bounty on his arrest as well as that of
some of the police and fire department heads!
I find this prospect difficult to be leave as some officers would not
hesitate to arrest anyone for impaired driving so why waste money unnecessarily. One would think that unless he is in the
habit of operating under the influence, Mayor Plusquellic would not bother to
concern himself with such preposterous matters even if it were true!
Our nation’s legislators are still arguing over some
form of national health care. Your guess
is as good as mine as to what they will finally decide upon. One thought to keep in mind is that whatever
is decided it should be mandatory that those same legislators, that are so
willing to force it upon us citizens, also be forced to enroll in the same
program.
By the time many of you read this the hearing in
Columbus regarding our health care lawsuit will have taken place. It is my belief that we will prevail and the
City will be forced to adhere to Ohio State Law and be our primary provider. The City persists in its belief that they are
exempt from the laws of Ohio. Remember
this was the same flawed reasoning they maintained when refusing to follow Ohio
law regarding residency. May God bless
the Supreme Court in tossing out Akron’s forced residency requirement. Logic leads me to think we should receive a
declaratory judgment in our favor but as we all are aware our courts often
disregard logic.
I have had requests from some to create a web page
where people can go to view assorted writings, rants etc. I hope to have such a page functional by the
first week of November. Well that about
it for now. See you next month.
Dick
330-329-8754
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On Wednesday
August 12th Police and Fire Retirees of Ohio president Gary Monto
awarded the organizations first scholarship to one of Ohio’s future
leaders. The presentation took place at
the meeting of the greater Akron Area Police Retirees and Widows at FOP 7’s
Wolter Park located at 2610 Ley Drive in Akron.
The recipient of the award
was Josh Pastor. Josh is an extremely dedicated student,
worker, and volunteer. During his final year of high school, Josh was a member
of National Honor Society, Key Club, French Club, and Student Council, where he
served as an officer for his senior class.
Josh is the grandson of Donald
Whitesel, a former member of Akron PD, and an old partner of mine. Sad to say Don passed away in 1998.
Josh is currently attending Youngstown State University and is a member
of NEOUCOM's B.S. /M.D. class of 2015.
It is an honor to report that he posted a 4.0 grade point average for
his first semester of study. Josh is a congenital heart disease patient and
has had several open heart surgeries.
Josh plans on one day being a physician specializing in pediatric
cardiology. Having had the privilege of
meeting Josh and his mother, there is no doubt that with your help and God’s
blessings, he will attain his goal of becoming an accomplished cardiologist.
It is because of young people
like Josh that I know there is hope for the future of our country. I ask each of you to encourage your friends and associates to make a contribution to the
PRFO scholarship fund so that we may continue provide financial support to
Ohio’s future leaders. Remember the fund is a 501C3 organization and as
such contributions may be tax deductible.
Thank you for your continued support
and feel free to contact me at anytime for additional information.
Dick Reese
330-329-8754
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THE VIEW FROM HERE
July 15, 2009
I find it amazing how quickly Mayor Plusquellic can
change the economic status of the City of Akron. Prior to the recall election Plusquellic was
touting how great the city’s economic status was. He stated the City of Akron was in good
financial condition in spite of the fact that there was almost a billion
dollars of city debt; Plusquellic stated he was going to hire 21 officers to
reach 487 sworn personnel. While this
would be commendable it is still far short of the 60 officers needed to bring
the department to authorized strength.
I, and many others, took issue with the claimed
stellar condition of Akron finances.
This was primarily due to the near one billion dollar debt. One must also remember that Akron is also
still facing EPA fines far in excess of $100,000,000.00 related to sewer system
violations. And the amount continues to
increase on a daily basis.
Now Plusquellic in his arrogance and vindictiveness
reports that he will have to lay off Akron employees. What changed since the June recall
election? He now states that the first
to go will be police and fire sworn personnel.
Could it be that he is retaliating for the sworn police officers and the
retired fire and retired police personnel having appeared to support the voter
recall effort against the Mayor? Or
perhaps it is retaliation for safety forces being successful in spearheading
the elimination of the residency requirement recently ruled to be illegal by
the Supreme Court?
Plusquellic stated today that federal stimulus funds
may have to be used to pay wages of existing officers. Meanwhile there appears to be no effort to
divert other funds from Plusquellic’s pet projects or the plan to spend millions
on fencing the “Y” bridge.
Council President Marco Sommerville appears to be
trying to ride the fence in that he said having more police is good but ''if
the trash doesn't get picked up, that's another problem.'' I guess he is implying the there can either
be trash pickup or police service but not both?
Perhaps he forgets that there are many forms of trash and the police,
unfortunately, have a significant role in the removal of trash from the city’s
streets. It must be remembered that if
the Akron crime rate continues its present rate of increase, many more
residents will be looking at ways to leave the city.
I am appalled at the number of vacant properties,
violent crime, and blatant gang activity in the city. I was a resident for 31 years and an employee
for 27. I enjoyed both my residency and
my employment. I always felt safe and
more important; I felt my family was safe.
Sad to report, I no longer feel safe in many parts of Akron. I am thankful that I am both retired and no
longer a resident. I am concerned for
the future of my relatives and friends that reside in Akron. The crime in Akron has increased to the
extent that it is no longer considered the best of Ohio’s large cities in which
to live and work. Many people are
fearful of being out in public, even during the daylight hours.
The City of Akron and its police department were once
viewed as one of the best communities to live and work in the nation. This is no longer the case. One only has to look at the continued fall in
the city’s population or the number of applicants for police employment for
this to be evident. In the past when
Akron announced testing for police officers there typically would be applicants
in excess of 3000 persons and once hired few officers left the department for
employment elsewhere. Today, in spite of
the depressed job market, applications are nowhere near past numbers and far
too many officers leave Akron for better pay, benefits, and working conditions.
The police union
wants to see the department brought to authorized strength and rightly so. Doing so would enhance the safety of all
citizens and those that work in the city.
It goes without saying it would increase officer safety as well. Plusquellic complains that ''It's always the
police union's only answer: just hire more officers, hire more
officers,''. The mayor feels because the
police and fire departments are the largest portion of the city budget they
should compose the bulk of any employee layoffs. He appears to give no thought to a reduction
other less vital employees such as members of his 15 member cabinet with a
combined salary of several million dollars.
The Mayor
continues to expend huge sums of money with little regard to the real concerns
of those that live, work, and visit in the City of Akron. The city continues to average spending about
a half million dollars yearly in advertising in the Beacon Journal. The city has on retainer a public relations
firm as well. Why has Plusquellic
continued to hire outside law firms to defend his position in opposition to
providing labor contract agreed upon, and State law mandated, fire and police
retiree health benefits? The city has a
tremendous law department headed by Max Rothal who has been practicing law for
over 50 years. He and his staff are
exceedingly capable yet the city has gone through at least three outside law
firms in attempting to withhold health care to retirees. This has been ruled in direct violation of
Ohio law yet, Plusquellic persists in efforts to forestall the inevitable. The current law firm is headquartered in
Cleveland. How many officers salary
would this unnecessary cost pay?
I ask you the
reader to think with me for a moment, is it possible that the Akron City Law
Department told Plusquellic he was wrong in violating Ohio Law? Is it possible the two local law firms also
found Plusquellic’s denial of health care undefendable? The Mayor lost his battle to defy Ohio law regarding
residency when the Supreme Court ruled against him. Yet, in his arrogance, he still insists on
taking the position that he is above the law when it comes to providing health
care just as he was in his opposition to residency. He continues to authorize the expenditure of
large sums of money in payment to a Cleveland law firm that only serves to
delay the inevitable.
The police union
(FOP 7) has again proposed a levy for police services to be placed on the
ballot for voter approval. Both
Plusquellic and Summerville have expressed opposition to this in spite of two
years ago having supported a levy that was tied to an economic stimulus
package. But one must remember that levy
was different in that it would have permitted the diversion of tax revenue from
police to his pet projects. A tax
designated solely to benefit police would severely restrict the possibility of
Plusquellic doing something with generated revenue other than what the citizens
voted for. My investigative experience
tells me that perhaps there are possibly less than legal motives for the
Mayor’s refusal to comply with the wishes of the voters as well as his defiance
of Ohio law. Obviously I have no proof
of criminal activity or conspiracy or I would do all possible to see that
appropriate criminal charges were filed and the Mayor and others responsible prosecuted
to the full extent of the law. Perhaps
political corruption is not limited solely to Cuyahoga County.
Had Plusquellic been honest in June and stated his
plan to lay off police and fire employees and admitted the cities financial
distress, perhaps the recall outcome would have been different. Today Plusquellic said he is willing to look
at any proposals that would raise revenue or cut expenses. But, he said, a
police-tax levy does not appear to benefit the city, and he is not inclined to
support such a levy. Again I ask
WHY? I believe he is in opposition to
such an effort because he would lose some semblance of control or the ability
to threaten the police department if money had to be spent on the safety
forces. How in God’s name can he honestly
believe enhancing public safety and a reduction in community crime would not
benefit the entire city? Perhaps he is
not just a vindictive, arrogant, power hungry tyrant but also a person
suffering from some unfortunate mental problems as well. As distressing as that prospect may be, it is
perhaps preferable to the scandal that would result if corruption is found to
play a part in these ongoing travesties.
It would serve Plusquellic to review the words the police are taught to keep ever in
their thoughts when going about their daily lives and service to the
community. Those six words are Honesty, Integrity, Fairness, Competence,
Trust, and Respect.
I again implore the community to ask Plusquellic to be
the man of integrity he claims to be and do what is proper, not just for the
safety forces, but what is just and proper for all of Akron. Again Mr. Mayor I find it necessary to remind
you that there is a notable difference between being a man of character and simply
being known as a character.
Richard D. Reese Sergeant Retired Akron Police
Department
1081 Sterling Oaks Drive
Wadsworth, Ohio 44281-8528
Email -
richarddreese@neo.rr.com
Phone - 330-329-8754
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As I
write this months View I am in our motor home enjoying the peace and
tranquility of nature in Clermont County close to the Ohio River. I, Charmaine, and our dogs Daisy and Abner
decided to get away for a while. The
silence is occasionally interrupted by the soft hum of the sewing machine or a
soft growl from one of the dogs.
Charmaine is getting caught up on her sewing. Yes even though retired she still works
part-time as a seamstress. The beauty of
it is that she now sets her own schedule as well as mine! The dogs, usually Daisy, occasionally growl
as an animal invades our campsite.
Any way, when we
departed Wadsworth May 16th, the Akron Beacon Journal was again laden with
depressing stories dealing with crime and man’s inhumanity to man and the
alleged systematic abuse of the citizens of Akron at the hands of the
police. Least an avid supporter of the
Beacon accuse me of being biased towards them, due to their propensity of
refusing to print my letters, I note on the front page of the West Side Leader a story headlined “COUNCIL
MEMBERS PROMIS ISSUES HEARD” with the subtitle “Akron residents, coalition
continue to allege police use of improper force”. The article goes on to say that the
“Coalition” brought recommendations and concerns regarding the Akron Police to
the City Council Public Safety Committee.
The article went on to say that 6 spoke.
One man made accusations of being harassed because his brother was shot
by police almost a year ago. There was a
woman who said she was wronged because while being arrested her arm was
broken. Another lady said her daughter
was not properly treated when she went to the scene of the arrest of her
boyfriend near the University of Akron in January. She stated that before she was arrested,
“officers verbally assaulted her” used, racial slurs, then “electronically
raped” her by placing a taser “inches from her anal cavity” prior to placing
her in jail for the weekend.
The article went on
to say that the 25 year old (Black lady) was found not guilty of resisting,
obstruction, and disorderly conduct by a jury
of her pears in April. I find it of
interest that when guilty most persons will demand a trial by a jury of their
pears and when innocent, request a trial where the Judge makes a finding of
guilt or innocence. It is my belief that this is because a jury will always allow some
personal feeling or emotion to influence their findings whereas a Judge or
panel of Judges will only look at the facts of the case. I still recall a trial from the early 70’s
where I had arrested a person for similar charges and even though the jury
found him guilty of obstruction and disorderly they found him innocent of
resisting. This was in spite of his
having first assaulted me. After the
trial I saw the jury foreman outside the court room and thanking him for his
participation, asked if he would offer an explanation as to why the findings of
innocent on the resisting arrest.
The foreman stated
that there was no doubt that he resisted and in fact initiated the struggle. He
went on to say that the consensus of the jury was that it was to be expected that the perpetrator would
fight. This was especially so when
there was only one officer involved in the incident. If successful in the struggle, he would be
able to get away and thus avoid the arrest! This belief gives no thought
to what the ramifications of the officer loosing the fight may be. Fortunately in this case I prevailed on the
street and the person went to the hospital prior to going to jail and to
court.
The difference
between this incident of some 35 years ago and today is that there was no
public outcry, nor was their any complaint on the part of the arrested
person. The arrested (who happened to be
black, just as I am) in fact felt that he was fortunate and apologized to me,
as opposed to today’s climate of persons refusing to take any responsibility for
their lot on life. We now find ourselves
having to contend with the attitude that is never their fault. They are always the victim of injustice on
the part of the police. It is because
“the police had it in for me’; “they did it because I was too black, too white,
too male, too female, too old, or too young.
My hair was too long, too short, or simply of the wrong color!”
My apologies for the
trip into the past. Back to the article
cited near the beginning of this note. I
think it noteworthy that in the incident near the University, officers from
both Akron and the University police were involved. Also of note is that some of the officers
were Black. To my knowledge the papers
have failed to state that fact. They,
more often than not, have made certain to note the race of the alleged victims
of police brutality when all officers are white. The 25 year old Sharea Twymon said she did
not want to see another family have to go through the same agony she and others
have to face. The article offered no
explanation of the events leading to the arrest nor any explanation of why
officers found it necessary to use a taser on someone who simply came to
retrieve her keys and to say nothing as to how the officers could have “PLACED”
the taser inches from “her anal cavity”.
I eagerly await that explanation and can not imagine that act being
accomplished unless her anatomy is different from that of the rest of
humanity.
As far as others
having to suffer the same agony, I think it safe to say that the chance of any
citizen in compliance of an officers orders being tasered is somewhere between
slim and none. Another Akron resident, Dorothea Frazier told the committee her
arm was broken during an arrest (presumably her arrest). The paper did not say what events led to the
arrest or the breaking of her arm. I
guess readers are expected to assume the officers are at fault and the
complaining party is an innocent victim of police aggression. Frazier went on to say that she wanted to
complain that “Operation Spring Cleaning,” a joint law enforcement effort
involving Akron, Summit County, State and Federal officers, was “targeting
black neighborhoods.” To this I say, I
agree it appears to be aimed at black neighborhoods. This
is as it should be. The effort is
aimed at decreasing criminal activity in general and the rampant gang related
crime with its drug and gun related violence.
It is a sad but none the less true fact that much of it is concentrated
in the black neighborhoods of Akron. It
therefore appears reasonable that the effort should be focused more in those
areas. If it were not so, those law
abiding citizens of the neighborhoods would justified in complaining about the
lack of police action.
I am not saying that
there are no justifiable instances of an officer using excessive force. Those of us involved in law enforcement are
human also and therefore not infallible.
What I am saying is that, I find
it highly improbable that any group of officers in 2009 would, across the
board, condone or support these alleged gross abuses of a person, be they black
or white, having in mind the knowledge of today’s courts position on
discriminatory practices and the propensity of sending officers to jail. In the past officers have been disciplined
for violating policy and procedure and it is expected that this will remain a
fact of life in the future.
These instances have
been small in number and stand as a testament as to the quality of the officers
and the standards that officers must adhere to.
One must remember that each of the cited instances of alleged
mistreatment involved multiple officers, and some of those incidents involved
non white officers as well. It is a very
small percentage of the law enforcement community that is capable of wanton
premeditated abuse. It is also true that
the majority of citizens in any community are in support of the police. Some
of the print media would have you believe these six individuals speak for the
community. I wish to assure readers that
this is not the case. They are not
representative of the 210,000 citizens of Akron. They are .002857% of the Akron population!
This is a tiny fraction of the Akron population. The majority of the people are in support of
the police. This is evident in Akron by
simply looking at which areas of the community support the police when there is
an issue on the ballot for police.
Records will show that the black community and other
areas of Akron where criminal activity is most pervasive ALWAYS overwhelmingly
vote in support of the police. I believe that this
is because they have first hand knowledge of the need for more police
protection. I still recall the time when
the Fairlawn Hts. Area voted down the police levy because they saw no need for
additional police coverage of their neighborhoods. This I experienced first had when working car
9. One day and while parked in front of an expensive home on Stockbridge Road,
the home owner came out and walked up to my cruiser and asked if there was a
problem. I replied no and that I was
just catching up on my paper work. She
then apologetically asked if I could move to another street. This was because she had friends coming to
visit from out of town and did not want them to think she lived in a bad
area! This was in contrast to car 10
where citizens complained about not enough police presence and frequently told
me and other officers that they welcomed our visibility on their streets!
If one were to make the FALSE assumption that the
officers involved in the incidents of the six complaining persons were guilty
of abuse, that would be about 1.25% based on 480 officers. Again, this is a small percentage of the
total police department. One can argue
that in a utopian world that percent should be zero. One can also argue that there should be zero
false complaints against the police as well.
The reality of the situation is that we can never reach zero in either
case. Why? It is because we, in law enforcement, and
those citizens involved in criminal activity are alike in that we are both
human, and therefore, less than perfect.
I for one do not wish to be perfect.
Neither should the criminal. In
all of history there has only been one that was perfect and we all know what
happed to him after being falsely accused and taken to Golgotha! Remember also, he no appeals to delay
imposition of his sentence for 15 or 20 years!
Those of us in law
enforcement continually strive to reach that unattainable zero and we are
continually criticized by media and that tiny vocal portion of our communities
for not having accomplished that task. I
find it distressing that more often than not there is not an equally vocal
outcry, even from law enforcement, against that criminal element that is a
cancer on our society, consuming community resources far greater than that
which otherwise would be required.
One should be mindful of the fact that calls for police
service in Akron approaches 200,000 per year.
This results in over 19,000 arrests each year. You do the math. You will again find that these six are a tiny
percentage of those arrested. If one
were to make the false assumption that all six arrested individuals’ complaints
were valid, it would mean about three tenths of one percent of those arrested
persons suffered some kind of abuse.
Some may find fault in what I have said here
or with some of my references. To that I
say perhaps the delivery of my message could be better, but the message itself
is correct, the message is factual, and the message is one that not just the
readers of this newsletter or the residents of Akron need to hear. It is something citizens of all communities
nationwide should be mindful of.
In closing, to paraphrase the 109th Psalm;
O God, whom we praise, do not remain silent. Those wicked
and deceitful men have opened their mouths against us; they have spoken against
us with lying tongues. They confront us
with words of hatred and assail us without cause. In return for our love they denounce us even
as we offer up prayer for their safety.
They give us back evil in exchange for good. Hatred in place of our love and self
sacrifice and, even our own death for them.
Come to our aid O Lord our God.
When they curse, You will bless; when they attack, they will be put to
shame, and we, servants to You, and to them, will rejoice. Our accusers will be
clothed in disgrace, wrapped in their shame as in a cloak. We will thank the Lord and give praise to Him
before all the people. God stands at our
right hand to save us from our accusers who pass false judgment on us.
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My Quote of the
month:
“Do
your duty in all things. You cannot do
more. You should never do less.”
Robert E. Lee
Dick
Reese 330-329-8754