Edition No. 261L | March 22, 2007

Actually it is old news. I bring it back up again because it maps out a continuing pattern, and Methuen seems to be stuck in a rut.

This one was for Brownsfields money, and if you all remember I told you about it years ago; as the monies were being pilfered by queenie herself, with the assistance of Bill ‘Baby’ Buckley riding in the director of community development chair.

I believe it started at the proposed, now defunct Methuen Assisted Suicide Living Complex down under on 4 Gleason Street. Again, I own the documents… all the documents; it has cost a few of us thousands of dollars to compile.

I do wish I would be called to testify at the Grant Jury, I could back up every thing I have ever said and am still ranting about! Loyal readers, I do grow weary!

It looks like we are going to do it again. Steal the money from its intended use, and tell the stupid citizens that we cannot use the money for its intended use, because we need to do MORE TESTING!

Let me tell you about testing. We have tested properties over and over… miraculously, coming with more favorable results the second or was that the third time around?

We have tested private properties, and the owners did not know about it. Actually, now that I think about it, we could have just lied in the official documents and say we tested those properties and we really did not.

It was about getting the grant money, not about the safety and well being of the citizens. It was political payoffs.

We tested properties and put other properties addresses on the test results. We lost test results. Or so they thought!

All this rhetoric about more testing is bunk, BS; the testing documents I have in my possession paint a detailed picture of the Appleyard Property, it’s bad, very bad, and very extensive.

In fact, the State Public Health Department along with the DEP and EPA tried to tell a group of us citizens that the major cause for the 4 Gleason Street contamination was coming from the toxic sites up river.

You’d think that perhaps we could use this money to clean up the site, because our town officials already know how dangerous this toxic site is. Why aren’t we applying for those grants?

Nope, instead, Billy is paying off one of his campaign promises and giving the money to Linda Soucy so the Arlington District clubhouse can be built.

It would be a shame if the cops did not have a place to go, show a presence and get paid from the Weed and Seed grant. Bigger clubhouse… MORE COPS!

You know Billy, this is a double-edged sword. If you don’t make Soucy happy, she could feasibly spill the beans on the goings on in her neighborhood. There is of course, the upcoming election and, didn’t Soucy deliver the neighborhood to you?

On the other hand, Ray DiFiore’s daughter lives on the edge of that glowing Appleyard toxic site. I hear there have been reports of cancer in that neighborhood. Besides, you are going to need Ray to cover your ass on the diverting of $450,000 in mitigation money from the Archstone/Summit Hill Project.

Old shar as mayor, you Billy as Chairman of the Council (The administration), decided that Public Work employees would do the roadwork as a result of diverting the $450,000. As of this printing no roadwork has been done by the town workers.

Also, isn’t it illegal to use slated grant money for another purpose? I know that probably it does not matter. After all, it didn’t matter to old shar, and even today you are nothing more than her puppet remaining mum on all the behind the scenes pilfering the big girl did. I can understand your dilemma, you were chairman of the council for the longest time, and purportedly knew the most, so it is now almost virtually impossible for you to extricate yourself without incriminating yourself!

YIKES! Looks like you are perfecting the PUNT!

Back to the money for the clubhouse, I say Linda Soucy should fire up her oven and start baking those cakes, cookies and pies. Show us what a real fundraiser she really is!

To funnel grant money, that is, more and more and more grant money down to the Arlington District would be folly.

I remember Blake Varney editor/owner of The Methuen Journal years ago stating time and time and time again how much money was being poured into the Arlington District.

First, before we allocate one more dime, we must have an audit and see if all the money already spent has been for the benefit of those families in the Arlington neighborhood, or as I have surmised for the longest time, for the benefit of a few politically connected fringe feeders at the trough, AND THE COPS.

Just so you readers at home know, this appears not to be the only grant money to be funneled down to the Arlington District: As advertised in the daily record of advertisement, Death, Dear Abby and horoscope on Tuesday, March 13, 2007 at One Broadway, at 6:00 pm, a meeting to discuss the additional funneling of CDGB FY05 Program/Income Plan, the city is looking to: 1) Insert a project to construct a Methuen Arlington Neighborhood Center at 141 Tenney Street, and 2) to revise Public Social Service programmatic goals.

Under both FY05 and FY06, the city is looking to revise programmatic goals for the code enforcement activity and update the management plans. MORE COPS!

I want to know if this is on top of diverting the money for the park on Lowell Street, the old Appleyard site.

When Billy pays off, WOW it is big! Too bad is it the people’s money and not to be redundant but this project only benefits a miniscule portion of our population in Methuen.

Reminds me of a bridge, a 1.5+++ million dollar footbridge that connects 97 units of Section 8 housing to the back door of a liquor store - BILLY’S LIQUOR STORE! Soon to be christened the Billy Bridge.

Well, it will be a little while, because again Methuen citizens you have to cough up the difference in making the footbridge handicap accessible, because the plans drawn and paid by the City of Methuen for do not include this Federally and State mandated feature.

You think they would have known. I remember asking them at the very beginning when the Billy Bridge was just a scheme in somebody’s head… “Will it be handicap accessible?”

You see folks, I can’t see coming off the bridge and going up the side of Billy the Bridge’s liquor store in a wheel chair or on crutches, (forgive me Billy for not spelling liquor like you do on the front of your liquor store, for all your bucks break down, spin the wheel and buy some letters WILL YOU!), without becoming somebody’s hood ornament.

UPDATE
I spoke with the Massachusetts Housing and Community Development and was informed that this money has been frozen, and will remain so until the public hearing is re-advertised and citizens get an opportunity to speak their piece.

I was also informed that Methuen had made a mistake in that legal notice. I informed the Housing Community Development that we seem to have made this same mistake in the past. When we continue to make the same mistakes over and over, then it doesn’t look like a mistake at all, it smacks of cover-up all over.

I did express my interest in having an audit of all these funds that have made their way to Methuen over the years.

Wasn’t Vice Chair Kathi R. just quoted in the daily record of advertising, death, Dear Abby and horoscope saying that what chief yahoo has done is just a big mistake?

We all know that Kathi and Debbi are supporting chief yahoo because he is Lebanese. They have made that very clear.

So Methuenites, when the election rolls around you citizens need to rethink your representatives.

In the private sector, a high paid employee would be marched out the door for this many supposedly mistakes.