Congratulations to the "Crestwood Political", and the Crestwood Independent!
Today we received the greatest complement possible from the Suncrest Call! What could that be you say? Well the latest edition of the Call has a editorial by Mr. Burke Wasson who states he has reviewed both blog's, and views them as "reminiscent of a witch hunt"!
He asks the question "are they really worth mentioning as a public comment during a BOA meeting"? He further states that we should "lighten up, their just blog's.
Why is this of interest to us? Well, can it be that Messrs. Wasson, Et Al feel marginalised by the fact that the "blog's" are daily, and they are weekly? Why else would they feel the need to tell people to"take Robinson's advice, and stop reading them"?
Burke, if you really want to know what's going on in Crestwood, call me, or Tim Trueblood, and we will do our best to bring you up to speed. Thank you for your kind remarks about the Crestwood Independent, and remember, "Most of the news, with none of the paper", the rest I leave up to you.
Tom Ford
No.147
He asks the question "are they really worth mentioning as a public comment during a BOA meeting"? He further states that we should "lighten up, their just blog's.
Why is this of interest to us? Well, can it be that Messrs. Wasson, Et Al feel marginalised by the fact that the "blog's" are daily, and they are weekly? Why else would they feel the need to tell people to"take Robinson's advice, and stop reading them"?
Burke, if you really want to know what's going on in Crestwood, call me, or Tim Trueblood, and we will do our best to bring you up to speed. Thank you for your kind remarks about the Crestwood Independent, and remember, "Most of the news, with none of the paper", the rest I leave up to you.
Tom Ford
No.147
posted by Crestwood Independent at 20:05
22 Comments:
So Mr. Wasson suggests we not pay any attention to the blog? How interesting is this? A large number of people in Crestwood have had the Call stopped from being delivered to their homes because they felt the paper is too slanted! I like being able to check the blog each morning before work so I know what the latest is and I always verify what it says and have had no trouble with its validity. Did Ms. Clark speak at the public comment time? I don't think this is correct. I think she raised her hand near the end of the meeting for permission to answer Alderman Kelleher's acquisition that she and her husband laughed at him. If anyone say what happened, please fill me in.
Actually, THE MAYOR said not to pay attention to the blog.
I guess the first poster just doesn't like the direction of the Call's slant...this blog is so slanted it is hysterical.
There was something else in this weeks call that I found more interesting than the blog write-up. Did anyone else read the article about the appointment of our new Police Chief? It seems that Mr. Meyer's made the selection of who to RECOMMEND to the BOA for appointment. From what the paper said he made his recommendation after listening to all of the officers in the department voice their opinions and concerns on which way the department should be heading. It sounds like they had a lot of influence on this RECOMMENDATION. Another interesting point in this article was how the vote by the BOA played out. I was very pleasantly surprised to see Mr. Pickel vote the way he did. It makes me think that he can stand on his own and not neccesarily vote whatever way Duwe, Kelleher, and Bland do all the time. That was the reason I voted for Tom Ford. Maybe I misjudged Chris Pickel! Also, correct me if I am wrong, but didn't the BOA make Mike Pallou the Chief? They could of voted him down, right? So obviously if they as a majority didn't want him in there then they would have selected one of the other choices or gone outside the city for a candidate. Am I right in assuming this? Please correct me if I am wrong. It seems to me that the Mayor didn't have much say in the whole thing. Sure, he may have made his choice known (maybe, maybe not), but the BOA still had to vote on it. As far as being upset because a lower "rank" got the promotion, we don't work there with these people everyday. The rank and file of the department does and apparently they spoke up whether they know it or not. It saddens me to learn that there is a morale issue in the department. I hope that doesn't effect there work. I can understand how morale would be low seeing how the city has been hurting for so long, but everybody needs to keep there chin up and stay positive because things are changing for the better.
Yes the BOA actually approves the hire of a police chief. They can vote down anyone Meyers or Robinson recomends. I find it interesting also that the Call story says Meyers wants to restructure the police dept. I know he also says that doesn't mean firing people, but you still have to wonder. We should watch closely. Here's hoping the officers get behind their new chief Pailou!Looks like Meyers did a good job.
In regards to the blog writeup,I don't think Mr. Wasson was saying don't read the blog. I think he was saying don't read it IF IT BOTHERS YOU. If it bothered me, I wouldn't read it either but I do. I think the Call could be a little more fair sometimes, but we could be too. He has a point. Even Mr. Trueblood thinks so, check out his blog.
As an employee of the department, I can say that this appointment did nothing to increase morale of the department, in fact, it confirmed what has been shoved down our throats since the mayor took office.
We were told that the new 'chiefs' friendship with the mayor would get him this job, and it sure did. We were told this before Meyers got there, we told Meyers what we had been told, and it sure happened.
The rumor that morale was bad before didn't hold true for the majority of us. We knew there were money problems, and we have been sticking it out. That should tell you morale wasn't that bad. Now it seems politics have reared their ugly head, and that does make morale bad.
It isn't about Mike Paillou, it's about politics and an assignment that wasn't made the right way. There was a more qualified candidate for the job. The board had no way of knowing these people directly or who they should vote for. The blame should go to those that made the recommendations and mislead the board.
Go work somewhere else then. It is as simple as that. Or have you burned to many bridges? HMMMMMMM?
Post 8:43 a.m.
How small minded of you. You must be a member of the fire fighters union to have posted such a thing.
Shame on you.
Perhaps the police department needs their own union...one that protects them from politics and doesn't support political candidates.
To the 10:43 blogger,
NO I am not a member of the firefighters union or any other union for that matter. I am a citizen who is fed up with some of these people in this city who want to whine and cry about morale. I've been laid off before. Try that for bad morale! They should be happy that they have a job. If they don't like the new Chief then I have a simple way to fix that, make Jerry Lee the Chief. Anybody know who that is? Thats right, the Cheif of the the St. Louis County Police Department! It may not even save us any money, but I am tired of all the complaining by disgruntled employees (whatever department there in). BE GLAD YOU ALL HAVE JOBS! If you're not one that is complaining about morale or whatever then I apologize to you. I hope this isn't widespread throughout the city workforce.
One thing is true, moral has improved since Mr. Greer 'retired'.
Should anyone in this town take the Call seriously? Think about it.
I was in the hall, got a copy of the Call, talked to my friend Paul, and distracted, walked into a wall! Doesn't that beat all? I'm just glad I didn't fall!
Was it Wasson or Wesson that was a cooking oil? I remember Florence Henderson, Mrs. Brady, used to do commercials for it.
An open letter to Mr. Burke Wasson:
Poor soul! You were progressing so well, writing unbiased articles and winning over some of the Call's skeptics, including me!
Unfortunately, it looks like too many slow afternoons at the office allowed Mr. Anthony and Mr. Milligan to infect you with their warped and biased views of Crestwood politics.
Your editorial revealed you have much more to learn about properly expressing your thoughts.
Firstly, you conveniently neglected to report that Mrs. Clark’s comments about the blog were included as part of her response to Alderman Kelleher’s accusation that she and her husband were laughing at him. Had you been paying attention, you would have noticed and reported that the Clarks were not the only ones who found Mr. Brophy’s suggestion laughable. Mrs. Clark’s comments, therefore, were relevant to the meeting. When has the Call criticized any other resident, such as the babbling Mr. Brophy PhD., for expressing their thoughts (relevant or not) in front of the board?
Secondly, what do you mean when you say "a tiny contingent of Crestwood citizens"? Is this contingent Mrs. Clark and the mouse in her pocket? Or is it anyone who blogs? Or is it anyone who was or ever has been a member of CCFR or for that matter, the Crestwood Smart Growth Alliance (witch hunt?)? Or is it anyone who expresses their opinion at a BOA meeting?
By the way, www.crestwoodindendent.com has had over 15,000 hits (hardly tiny) from its inception not too long ago. I wonder how many hits the Call's website has had in that same time frame? Maybe Mr. Ford should start selling advertising.
If you are going to use your newspaper to attack someone, why don’t you apply your journalism skills to those who are making the decisions: our elected and appointed officials. You are wasting your time and eroding any credibility you have when you take cheap potshots at citizens whose only interest is to make sure their representatives are doing their job. I’m not sure if Mr. Milligan reviewed your newspaper’s statement of purpose when you were hired, so here it is:
"We dedicate ourselves to the public, holding its welfare in the highest regard and standing firmly in opposition to any who would oppose it." This is something Mr. Anthony forgot a long time ago.
Hopefully for you Mr. Wasson, people won't start taking your articles with a grain of salt and say (like many do for Mr. Anthony's):
"Lighten up, it's only the Call".
I guess now Mr. Burke Wasson is your new target! I guess they are all wrong and you are right. Unbelievable!
Wasson is being schooled in the style of Anthony and Milligan. They lauded and lavished praise on Robertson for a cause he did little about, and after he left, endorsed Fagan. What more do you need to know?
Mr. Wasson, get out while the getting's good! Go work for the National Enquirer - save yourself!
Hey guy's and gal's, let up on Burke Wasson, he's doing a darn good job of being fair and un-biased in his reporting so far.
I spoke to him the other night, and he is a plesant out-going person who seem's to want to do it right.
I say give him a chance to do it right, and if he goes the other way, well I will be first in line to bash him. but for heavens sake give him a chance to make a mistake first.
After talking to him, I don't think he was out to bash the Clark's, the CCFFR, this blog, Tim's blog, or whatever. I think he was just saying "it's only a blog", so don't get your shorts in a knot!
In the imortal words of that great statesman and fine gentleman, Rodney King, "can't we all just get along"?
Tom Ford
Yes Tom, Mr. Wasson has been fair and unbiased in his reporting so far, it's his opinion that was way off base. The opinion topics should be relevant to the stated mission of the newspaper, this one wasn't.
Further, these blogs about Crestwood, it's politics and citizens are much more informative than the Call will ever be. They've helped the bloggers and readers understand the different positions, thoughts and feelings of Crestwood citizens (and non-citizens), for better or worse, be it fact or fiction.
The Call did the right thing by (largely) removing Mr. Anthony from Crestwood political reporting. I just hope Mr. Wasson does not consider Mr. Anthony his mentor. I look forward to Mr. Wasson's next opinion and hopefully it will follow the the Call's statement of purpose.
Tom, you should defend the blogs from the statement "It's only a blog". This is like saying, it's only the opinion of a Crestwood citizen. We've heard that way too many times from our Aldermen. If that's all it is to you, then Mr. Wasson is right, you are wasting your time and so are others (15,xxx times over). But I don't believe you think the blogs are unimportant as he suggests and neither do I.
As Jim White says..."have any kind of weekend you want". I'm going to go out and enjoy this beautiful weather!
Gee, I thought I did a fairly good job of defending the "Blog's" in my main statement.
I agree the blogs are much more "where it's at", if you will, as these remarks are by Crestwood resident's, and reflect the local feelings, and opinions. Still, I don't mind an OBJECTIVE outlook from the Call. I do hope Mr. Wasson remains true to his ideals, and dosen't "drink the cool aid"!
If he pulls it off, we all win!
Tom Ford
Tomorrow we will all remember today and what we did right or wrong. If this day was our last on earth and we knew it, making fun of the fire department or the Call Newspaper or any other issues on this blog, would be the last thing we would care about. Why don't we all use every day like it is our last. Once this day is gone, you can never go back and fix any wrong that is done. So why not use it constructively and state our feelings without getting evil or sarcastic? I too have fallen in the trap, and I too have been guilty of getting angry but let's all state the facts as we know them and know that we all make mistakes and remember opinions are just opinions. Usually, people don't change them so leave them be. But remember everybody doesn't have to agree with us. If you have got a gripe about someone or something, be civil in your remarks and I will do the same.
To the 2:33, 5/29 blogger.
AMEN! I just returned from a viewing in North County. A friend, and co-worker (see memorial,) passed away on Thursday morning at the age of 54. He left a loving family, and he will be missed by all who knew him.
Your post brings many things into prospective, not the least of which is our tendency to become angry when someone does not agree with us (and why should they.) I too have been more than guilty of not letting go, no matter what, but I am going to work to stop that.
Please, if I become too passionate about anything on this blog, remind me about the Memorial day I visited a friend for the last time, and that these things too shall pass.
I pray that this memorial day finds you all safe and enjoying your families, and please look at the advise given us by a fellow blogger, it just makes sense!
Tom Ford
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