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  1. #16
    Member literal's Avatar
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    The face and climate of Lackawanna has changed. [/QUOTE]

    This statement says it all. That is why I sold my home in the second ward and left NYS. I understand that not everyone can and will do what I did. I was lucky to have sold my home so quickly. I will never come back.

    This is NOT unique to just Lackawanna. Everywhere, life as people/communities have known it, is changing.

    Our governor here is a multi-millionaire and will not take one penny of his six figure income.....but, like Cuomo, he can afford not to!

    It is time to consolidate resources, down size government, schools etc. to share resources because SOMEONE should care about our kids and their future. That is a fight worth making a fuss over.

    Now Sunflower, you know from three years on the school board, things are NOT as easy as they look. Do you feel that YOU made a difference with the corruption?
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  2. #17
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    2011

    To answer your question, I will probably never know whether or not I made a difference as a School Board member, but I did try. As a homeowner and as a parent of a child in the Lackawanna School District, I felt it was my obligation to get involved in my community and the school district. Was it worth it? In many ways, yes. Would I do it again? No.

    Yes, Cuomo and Collins are multi-millionaires, but that's not the point...it's not whether or not they can "afford" to take a cut in pay, the point is that they chose to do so. Look at all those bank CEO's who got the bailouts..they continued to take their expensive vacations and give themselves bonuses. It left a sour taste in people's mouths. What would be even sweeter is if some of those ga-zillionaire sports heroes took a cut in pay!

  3. #18
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    As the stuper......how did you make a difference in the corruption??

  4. #19
    Member literal's Avatar
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    I did not support/endorse the corruption and that is why I left. I had to save my own soul and be smart enough to know that was not the place for me. As my life has played out since, that was the BEST decision I made. It has only helped my career over the years as, those watching behind the scenes in similar positions to mine, offered great support. I even got flowers after I left from another District Superintendent who said "Bravo."

    There is no shame or disgrace in moving aside from something you cannot be part of.....I could not make the recommendations I was asked to give, plain and simple. The board has a right to fire who they do not want and clearly I could never be part of that team. No hard feelings. Life has been very good to me. We make our own destiny....
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

  5. #20
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    I commend you! I am sure Sunflower feels the EXACT same way. I bet that is why is didn't run for another term! Lackawanna sure could use some whistleblowers though!!

  6. #21
    Member mikenold's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by literal View Post
    Even Jesus had to shake the dust from his feet and move on...that's all that I am saying.

    Also, WHO learns from the PAST? If it were that simple, the world would not be in the state that it is in!
    If we don't learn from the past we are doomed to repeat it! Just sayin'
    **free is a trademark of the current U.S. government.

  7. #22
    Member literal's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by gibbsgal View Post
    I commend you! I am sure Sunflower feels the EXACT same way. I bet that is why is didn't run for another term! Lackawanna sure could use some whistleblowers though!!
    Oh, make no mistake being a school board member is much harder than being the Superintendent. People have no idea what that position is all about.You have to be part of the team to get the votes so, it is ALL about the "DEALS!" They shut each other out and majority will have control. They run for office to stay in the majority or become the majority. So coming in thinking you are going to do the "right thing for kids?" makes all of us in education just laugh every year over candidate platforms. Reality soon sets in and you are on the board either playing the game or waiting to get out. It is hardly to be called a pleasant, positive experience!

    The position has NOTHING to do with EDUCATION and EVERYTHING to do with POLITICS. Just look around to see who the board appoints each year and who the players are...they are NOT there because they are the best or most competent at what they do. They are there simply because they choose to play the game (and they know it!) and have made a deal to get/stay where they are! PLAIN AND SIMPLE!

    So, when asked for advice, I tell the person to live the life they want. If you choose to keep trying to change what cannot be changed, enjoy the battle to nowhere. The system is too damaged to fix other than removing everyone and starting from scratch. In time, that school district will no longer exist because the economy will force them out. Taxpayers and the state will demand consolidation of schools and resources and technology will make coming to a school building needing teachers and books obsolete. We already have schools on-line. To those who say it will "never" happen...just watch! Just remember where you heard this.....
    Last edited by literal; January 7th, 2011 at 03:01 PM.
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  8. #23
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    Post Yupper!

    "There is no shame or disgrace in moving aside from something you cannot be part of....."


    Well said.

  9. #24
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    Post I came in with rose-colored glasses and left with two sucker-punched black eyes.

    "about.You have to be part of the team to get the votes so, it is ALL about the "DEALS!" They shut each other out and majority will have control. They run for office to stay in the majority or become the majority"


    Sad, But True.
    Junior High was easier than trying to work with my peers on the Lackawanna City Council! Lord knows how hard I tried to get issues resolved and work together for a brighter Lackawanna! They had a plan from the beginning to publicly humiliate me and politically destroy me before my constituents and all of Western NY in fact by putting me on TV constantly. The family and friends club are all about them and when I exposed their mis-management of public funds they violantly came after me, and spent thousands and thousands of tax dollars doing it. The money could have paved the mine zone in front of the Library and then some! South Park is full of holes, and be careful going down Ingham.

    All it did was further convict my fight for the City/Citizens of Lackawanna to remove the tyrants that have destroyed and held-back OUR community, and OUR kids futures from what they deserve!

    Thanks for the face/name recognition fellas!

  10. #25
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    2011

    I believe that one person can change the direction of anything. Even if that one person may seem to be a lone voice, I always think of that little piece of sand that gets inside the oyster shell. That one little tiny bit of sand irritates the heck out of that oyster and eventually becomes a pearl. Every person who stands up and says: "Enough!" makes a difference. Every person who stands up and says: "I will NOT retreat in the face of my enemy!" makes a difference. Every person who asks the question: "Why?" makes a difference.

    Make enough noise and eventually other people listen. As you can see, that One voice became two voices, became three, became four...

  11. #26
    Member literal's Avatar
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    I too am an idealist believing what you wrote Sunflower but, I am also a REALIST and there are NOT ENOUGH "ONE" makes a difference out there to effect the tide.
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  12. #27
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    2011

    Because I believe that one person can make a difference is not being an idealist. History has proved time and time again that one person can make a difference, can change things, can affect outcomes, can be a small voice in the wilderness that can change lives. Most non-profit organizations began with one person who saw a problem or saw a need and then stepped up to the plate to find a solution.
    Martin Luther King, Jr. was one man.
    Clara Baron was one woman.
    Mary Kay (Ash) was one woman (Mary Kay Cosmetics).
    Earl Tupper was one man (Tupperware)
    Thomas Edison, Helen Keller, Anne Frank, Sacajawea (Lewis & Clark), Elizabeth Cady Stanton (Women's Rights)...to name a few.

  13. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by literal View Post
    I too am an idealist believing what you wrote Sunflower but, I am also a REALIST and there are NOT ENOUGH "ONE" makes a difference out there to effect the tide.
    The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in one man's determination! Maybe you should try this sometime. Why question Sunflower? How about questioning people in power?

  14. #29
    Member literal's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by sunflower View Post
    Because I believe that one person can make a difference is not being an idealist. History has proved time and time again that one person can make a difference, can change things, can affect outcomes, can be a small voice in the wilderness that can change lives. Most non-profit organizations began with one person who saw a problem or saw a need and then stepped up to the plate to find a solution.
    Martin Luther King, Jr. was one man.
    Clara Baron was one woman.
    Mary Kay (Ash) was one woman (Mary Kay Cosmetics).
    Earl Tupper was one man (Tupperware)
    Thomas Edison, Helen Keller, Anne Frank, Sacajawea (Lewis & Clark), Elizabeth Cady Stanton (Women's Rights)...to name a few.
    Let's try to find someone in our day and age...............

    Ted Williams...homeless one day, a winner the next. Being in the right place at thr right time and SOMEONE finding use in his talent...........
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  15. #30
    Member literal's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mnb811 View Post
    The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in one man's determination! Maybe you should try this sometime. Why question Sunflower? How about questioning people in power?
    How many times do you want to question the same people only to get the same answers???????????

    I am missing your point here. I question sunflower because she is on the site and they are not!

    Sad to say, but we are living in a mediocre world, at best!
    Last edited by literal; January 9th, 2011 at 03:22 PM.
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