Springfield Republicans File for Recount
Following a close election marked by unusual circumstances due to Tropical Storm Sandy, Springfield Republicans have asked the courts to once again go over the ballots. This week, Springfield Republicans filed paperwork with the Superior Court of New Jersey in Union County requesting a recount of the ballots cast for the four candidates for Township Committee. The Union County Board of Elections certified the results on November 26, 2012. David Barnett and Margaret Bandrowski were declared winners by a narrow margin, with Bandrowski has beating incumbent Jerry Fernandez by five votes.
Springfield Parent Protests Newly Implemented Teacher Gift Policy
In a letter to the Editor, an anonymous Springfield parent decried recently enacted changes to school district policy. This year, parents have been told not to collect gifts for teachers as they have in the past. The edict follows other school mandate considered by some parents to be draconian and against the natural state of youth and childhood, including the end of Halloween parties and rules surrounding treats at school.
Wake Me Up on January 2nd: Grief and the Holidays
What can you do when the holidays aren't happy? Patch blogger and grief councilor Lisa Athans offers advice for coping for holiday seasons that fall shortly after the loss of a loved one, reminding those who are grieving to be extra good to themselves at this time and to be gentle and take care of yourselves and those around you who also may be grieving during this holiday season.
During the course of 2012, the configuration of the board changed from an autonomous board, appointed by the township committee to a board comprised of the governing body and four health care professionals. The township committee, by adopting Ordinance 2012-17, which essentially amended the board configuration and provided flexibility in the BOH meeting schedule. The benefits of having the governing body on the board along with health care professionals proved to be a great combination. It is political spin such as this that creates distrust in elected officials. The autonomous board he referenced was comprised of health care professionals appointed by the governing body who had AT LEAST as much professional knowledge IF NOT MORE.. In order to replace the entire board, the Republican majority voted to disband the BOH (board of health) and change the structure so that the TC members were now BOH members along with newly appointed health care professionals. The past chairman of the BOH, who was replaced, had been appointed by Shehady, so he can't say that it was a political appointment. But since the BOH members felt their obligation was to the residents of Springfield and not to a political body, they were disbanded. Hopefully this issue helped swing the recent election and will allow level heads to return the BOH as it was. An autonomous board of healthcare professionals doesn't have a political agenda.
Really? Please share their credentials if you are going to make an statement like this.
By removing independent people who, I will repeat, all have some type of health care professional experience, and replace them with elected officials who DO NOT have health care experience, doesn't make sense. This was a political power play using a smoke screen of being in the best interest of Springfield. Terrible decision as it pertains to the best interest of Springfield--good decision if you're part of the group that wants to control every aspect of what happens in town. Apparently the residents, even if by the slimmest of margins, saw thru the smoke.
And if we go along with the suggestion that it was an innocent mistake of not understanding the rules, how did the TC members who appointed the new health care professionals feel the board would benefit from their appointments if they were not allowed to make statements or ask questions. It appears their presence was suppose to be simply window dressing while the TC members limited the information being disseminated to the public.