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Welcome to www.TheReminder.com archive for past articles!/Opinion/G. Michael Dobbs/Thanks for the concern, but we're fine
Thanks for the concern, but we're fineDate: 9/24/2012 By G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.com
There is a lot going on so, let's get into it.
First I just want to state again that this company, based in East Longmeadow and owned by the Buendo family since 1962 has no relationship with a company in Connecticut that shares a similar name.
We're OK. Thanks for the concern.
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Am I reading something into this? I'm Facebook "friends" with former East Longmeadow Selectman Jack Villamaino and I couldn't help but notice a curious movie theme he was presenting as his cover photos on his timeline. First it was the poster image from "Catch Me If You Can," then an image from the caper film "Ocean's Twelve," which was followed by a lobby card from the Cary Grant film "Charade."
The three films all involve plots with elaborate heists or crimes. Perhaps Jack just likes this kind of movie. I didn't know he was a film fan.
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I think we will be printing a flow chart to explain to our readers in Longmeadow just how the search for a new town manager is going – not well. Now after two rounds of candidates for the permanent position dropped off the cliff, The selectmen are now trying to fill the position with an interim town manager.
Wow.
This means that sometime in the near future, the search for a permanent person will gear up for another attempt.
I hope the selectmen will take this time to truly question their process and the job in order to determine why, in this economy, it's so difficult to find someone who wants this position.
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There is more fallout from the supposed conclusion of the forged petition case in Chicopee as now George Moreau, president of the City Council, has released a letter that Mayor Michael Bissonnette "owes the people of Chicopee an apology and an acknowledgment of these falsifications and a full explanation for those forged signatures."
After a seven-month investigation by the Attorney General's Office (AG), former state representative and mayoral aide Francis Lapointe was determined to be the person responsible for the forgeries. That answer was apparently not good enough for a number of people on the city council.
Bissonnette was not named by the AG as having anything to do with the crime, but that doesn't satisfy his critics.
If anyone in Chicopee has evidence that would implicate other people they should step forward now. Instead what I'm afraid will happen in the city is a return to the heated conflict between the mayor and the city council that can result in a paralysis in government.
Considering how much Chicopee has going for itself – good schools, reasonable taxes, low crime, a growing retail sector – one would hope its elected officials would move forward with the business of advancing the city.
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I read a lot of what my Facebook friends post and I have to admit that as we head closer to the finish line of this election year, I do get a bit discouraged.
I wrote the following recently: "I've read enough FB messages on politics this morning to thoroughly dishearten me and [I want] a day off from politics! Too many people in this country project their own desires onto a candidate. They don't look at a candidate's history or accomplishments. They take into consideration the context of events that shape what is happening. They are intent in believing that if their candidate is elected, 30 years of problems will be solved effortlessly. They cling to the belief that an elected leader is some sort of demigod above realistic assessment. Politicians are human. They are trying to achieve or keep an office and will say and do many things to reach that goal. While I have admired and continue to admire certain people who have served this nation, I don't have the kind of blind love and faith in them as others do. Instead of the discussion of issues there is just repetition of talking points, many of which are just short outbursts of hate. Yeeech."
Although I had hoped to engage some of the people who regularly pass along memes, they didn't respond. As I have learned in both religion and politics, few people want their faith to be challenged.
Agree? Disagree? Drop me a line at news@thereminder.com or at 280 N. Main St., East Longmeadow, MA 01028. As always, this column represents the opinion of its author and not the publishers or advertisers of this newspaper.
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