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The
May Ringside Observer
COMPANY NOT LIABLE:
The State Appeals Court ruled recently that a Kingston sign company
was not liable for the 1992 murder of 24 year old Debra Lavangie of
Plymouth. Michael Kelley was convicted of her death and is serving a life
sentence. Titus and Bean Graphics hired Kelley to run their screenprinting
operation out of a Cordage Park warehouse. It was there he lured Levangie
to the shop under the guise of a possible job offer. The Court conceded
the events constituted a terrible tragedy, but ruled that the company
could not have foreseen the events that occurred. Kelley, you may recall,
also murdered Colleen Coughlin, also of Plymouth during the same period of
time.
COLLABORATIVE TEACHER ACCUSED:
Amid all that has been covered relative to child molestation of late, the
area was shocked to read of accusations against a 50 year old teacher with
the Plymouth Area Collaborative. Patricia A. Sites of Pembroke was
arraigned recently amid charges of raping one student and improperly
touching another. The story hit the daily papers on the same day and has
been hidden away ever since. Ringside sources tell us that there may have
been a rush to judgement here. They say there are some contradictions,
inconsistencies, and vagaries by the accusers. Further, we are told that
an e-mail allegedly sent by Sites to one of the boys had spelling errors
inconsistent to what would be expected from an educated person. Why Sites
would incriminate herself with an e-mail has not been determined.
Additional information suggests that the boys are hazy as to the location
of the incidents and other details necessary to prosecute. The Sites
Family has been a well known and respected presence in Pembroke.
POWELL BOWS OUT: Audit Committee Chairman
Jerry Powell resigned his position effective the date of his letter on
April 22. After serving some 30 months, Powell gracefully signed off .
Word was that Ted Alexiades was ushered into the position to cause that
very action. It sure didn’t take long. The Selectmen can now stack that
little deck with an appointment of a friendly face…never more to worry
about the kinds of questions Mr. Powell was always asking. Jerry may have
been a bit verbose, but he has always been a decent and honest man. After
all, who really wants an independent audit team anyway.
 NEW
RESTAURANT COMING? Possibly, if the applicant
clears all the relevant boards. John Cataldi of Brook Street is hoping to
site a restaurant at the old railroad station. John’s and his family are
no strangers to the area. You may have heard of Cataldi’s, Café Nanina
and Café Christina. All are or were products of the family. John moved to
Kingston in 1988 when he bought his Brook Street home at age 20. He and
his wife Holly love the town and are anxious to add another restaurant to
a community which hosts many excellent eating spots. John says there would
be about 75 seats and the fare would be " a modern American approach.
Classics done in a new way." That was the only tease we received but
we were promised more as the project develops.
MORE AUDIT STUFF: In addition to the Audit
Committee which is (or should be) our own local audit check and balance,
we have an outside Independent Auditor. Their report, according to the
Selectmen’s Office, was delivered to the town on April 16. According to
informed sources, "a half-a-dozen or more copies of the Independent
Auditor’s Report and their Management Letter were delivered on or about
January 25 to the Board of Selectmen. Why the concealment from the Audit
Committee, Town Clerk and from the public?" Our guess is that this
will be denied but nobody will step forward and answer the question, true
or not.
ENFORCEMENT MATTERS: Providing the
Conservation Commission with a new Enforcement Officer will have to wait a
bit. Two finalists were interviewed and the vote was 2-2 (Olly DeMacedo
was not present). One candidate, a professor at the Quincy Campus of
Quincy College, received a couple votes, while the second candidate,
enrolled in law school, also earned a deuce. Keep in mind, this job
carries with it a $35,000-45,000 salary. We just don’t get the feeling
that either of these choices would really stick around for long. Quincy
College pays a pittance, so our fear is that this fellow will simply
juggle the two assignments and we won’t get someone on the scene when we
need them the most. The gal in law school is probably looking for some
help in paying tuition. She says she’s not going to be a lawyer, just
wants to know the law. Seems like quite a costly experiment. Well Olly, go
out there and break the tie…but grill them both so we have half a chance
of keeping someone for more than a year.
SPLIT PRECINCT THOUGHT: We wonder if the
town has grown to the point that we should split polling places. As you
realize by now, Precincts 1,2 and 3 voted at the Elementary School, while
Precinct 4 voted at the Route 27 Fire Station. There is no question that
the Clerk’s Office does its job splendidly; with dignity and
professionalism, but for convenience sake we think the school provides
ample space for the entire process to be conducted under one roof. We know
the candidates will agree; easier to campaign at only one location. We
could also get the results faster.
HEY TOM O’BRIEN! Tom, could you please tell
us why you voted for the $1.00 increase for a pack of cigarettes but voted
against raising the price of cigars and rolling papers? We have had
several inquiries in this regard and we know our State Representative will
inform us in a way that would make good reading.
TOWN HOUSE SECURITY: Hopefully the security
system has been made operational again. Plenty of folk out there knew it
wasn’t working and no moves were made to fix it. Budgetary constraints
can’t be that bad. So, if it ain’t fixed, everybody now knows about it…reason
enough to treat it as a priority.
 NO
SIGN-OFF? Remember Kenny’s and Cretinon’s song
and dance routine concerning "sign pollution"? They wanted keep
the Kingston landscape free from campaign clutter (and opponent’s
signs). Well, Marge didn’t buy-in and, as the campaign progressed, the
duo decided visibility was the better part of valor. A few days before
Election Day, signs for Kenny and Cretinon sprouted. Not only were they
larger than the by-law allowed – they were installed without benefit of
permit. Why bother signing-up for a permit from the zoning enforcement
officer when he is employed at your pleasure. Paul knows who signs his
pay-check and gave the two a pass on this one. It should be noted that
Mazzilli followed the example of his political mentors and likewise
decided to forgo the formality of applying for a sign permit.
GOOD MEN BOTH: We were impressed big time to see
both the Democratic and Republican candidates for District Attorney spend
so much time at the polls Saturday. There is no question that Kingston is
fast becoming a political hotbed and both candidates must sense this
ultimate truth. Our Ringside Observers spoke with them both at length.
Kudos to Tim Cruz (Republican) and Tim White (Democrat) for realizing that
Kingston matters.
CLASS RANK COMPLAINT: You would think these
educators, in their infinite wisdom, would have at least started their
class rank abandonment process with an incoming freshman class instead of
disrupting the system midstream. Bad enough we are capitulating to the new
call for mass mediocrity, but we’re pulling the rug out on kids who
lived by the ranking standard for up to three years in high school. Just
not fair!
 WELL,
EXCUSE ME: A few eyes were raised earlier this
month when somebody started rearranging the lettering on this signboard.
The group Midnight Express was the featured act in the lounge, apparently
the letter choices proved enticing for some poor soul. It evoked quite a
few laughs until it was noticed and corrected. (Photo, courtesy of Al
Wright who couldn’t resist blocking traffic to get a picture).
CONDEMNING THE CONDEMNATION:
Interesting to hear Richard Cretinon and Mauro Mazzilli at the Senior
Citizen Candidates’ Luncheon comment that the Health Board put a elderly
woman out on the streets when it condemned a house on Riverview Avenue
some time back. How smarmy can you get? Our understanding is that Kingston’s
seniors are too smart to have swallowed that one. Many knew the woman
involved and believed that the action was necessary. In fact, it was the
police who removed the woman and we applaud their act of kindness and
concern. Bottom line? The woman is getting the care she needs and the
health hazard is gone.
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