Open Mic Night!

Here is your chance to, well, say whatever you want.  Good, bad and even the ugly.  There is no topic, just tell us whatever is on your mind!  Use discretion in your wording and I don't want to know who is sleeping with whom. Have at it!

Comments

[Educator]

The high school principal is pushing through a new program called New Tech that will cost millions more than the figures being made public at present. Getting this flashy program implemented on his watch may look great on his personal resume, but how is this school district going to pay for the real cost?

Any one on the REAL cost of New Tech are and from where the REAL money is going to come? The school budget is one that will come under increasing scrutiny and soon.

[Words on a Screen]

Who is sleeping with whom might actually be pretty interesting, but I digress.
It seems like a lot of people have jumped on the bandwagon of knocking Huntington lately, and I don't think that's quite fair. Huntington is still a great town and here is why: we are our own unique cultural entity.
Does anyone else work outside of Huntington and spend a great deal of time out of Huntington? I do, and I have been observing the differences for years. Look at crime for instance. I work in Ft Wayne and murders have occurred within a couple of miles of my office. As for Huntington? The closest murders were the ones I just mentioned.
Our schools are mostly good, except for a few overly tenured teachers that need weeded out, and they are improving. We have a good hospital, good parks and all in all Huntington is a pretty good, safe place to raise a family.
Do we have problems? Yep.....we always have had. Everything from our 'pedestrian mall' debacle decades ago to the off camber roundabout north of town (Barton's Folly) to a few corrupt politicians and a Mayor that has hissy fits on TV.
That's OK though, because the strength of Huntington is in it's people. I can bet that every one of us knows at least one small business owner in Huntington and we know that many of them started the businesses on their own. Huntington is unique because the affluent and not so affluent can be found side by side.....without either party raising an eyebrow. There is more of a spirit of 'can' in Huntington than 'cannot'. I have employees from both Huntington and Fort Wayne and there is no greater barometer of the difference between the two than their attitudes. Even when you get to the lower end of the socioeconomic scale, Huntington people still understand 'right' from 'wrong' and even given their station in life, they aspire to do the right thing.
Sure....we have a lot of work to do, but Huntington is still a great place.

[Post Time]

Our schools are pathetic. Accepting mediocrity makes them "ok". (Although I blame a lot of this on state and fed regs, not local teachers) The discipline is out of control. I have a family member who works in the schools. The stories I hear would be comical if they were not so sad. Things that once got you expelled, now barely even get punished.

The schools also spent or are going to spend, I believe, 60 grand to do an energy conservtion study. Thousands of dollars to tell people to turn off lights and adjust the thermostat.

The Herald Press is even mroe of joke than it has been. A recent home school basketball game got an lead story on the sports page. No problem there. I don't mind that, at all.

The next day, the middle school finals got a press release, on the inside page, which was turned in by a parent, I'm guessing, since it was the exact same that was in the TAB. No team photos. Not even some old file photo they seem to be in love with printing. I had to practically get out a magnifying glass to find out who won those games. I just don't get it.

Just my daily rant.

[Still Waitin']

Well the Obama speech is over with and I see Mr Patrick has shown up here again, so how about answering those questions now? Kevin? Hello. Remember this posting?

"I wanted to get something out today. I will hopefully have more time and will respond to every issue as I can before the end of the day tomorrow. I have been so busy with work, this and the upcoming Obama Speech that I am behind. Let me say at least this. The board would never authorize ANY payment whatsoever to H.S. The insurance company will be paying these attorney fees to the ACLU which is required by law. Figure that out but that is for another day!!! For those folks who think that the ACLU is a not for profit that works on issues for free, well forget that! I understand that the school pays insurance premiums and all of that. Hopefully we will be in a position where rates will decrease. We were able to save over $100,000 last year on our insurance renewal by bidding it out. Let me finish by saying that I would have went to jail before I would have ever authorized any payments to H.S. I am very proud of this board. We have been and continue to be unified in this. We were willing to take this as far as it needed to go. We, however, respected the wishes of the Associated Churches who want to get their program going again. It appears that their program will begin sometime this fall and that it will be more viable and as visable as it always has. Again I apologize for delay in responding but I will try to get all of these questions answered before the end of the day tomorrow."

Posted by: Kevin Patrick | September 03, 2009 at 04:39 PM

[Trapped]

There have been way too many high profile cases of stupidity (plus a few high profile murders) now that have defined Huntington in a very negative way. The upcoming census may really bring a shock to us all if it tells the story many are expecting...that an exodus has occured of those trying to find a better life elsewhere.

The right people are here, but not in decision making positions. There is too much fear associated with taking a stand and bucking the status quo. The very tightly held power base is the problem. When this control is busted, we will all be free to improve our community.

[Peter Gibbons]

How about a good news post. Fogwell comes to Huntington and Huntington officials made it happen. Lets give credit where credit is due.

[Keep it real]

FOGWELL made it happen! Let's give credit where credit is due.

[for real?]

You mean Fogwell did it all themselves? you sure Wickersham isnt out there running around looking for pats on the back? If thats the case, we can strike this up as two who found us before we could find them.

[Ryder]

Words on a Screen, good post! You make several valid points. I have lived in Huntington nearly all of my adult life but have worked out of the county. I too travel alot too and I am with you, Huntington is a great place to live. I am always happy to return home. I have great friends and neighbors who know right from wrong. They are kind, generous and hardworking.

However the political situation we are facing leaves somthing to be desired.

I keep thinking of our Colts and the Super Bowl this weekend. Freeney is hurt as is Bob Sanders. It's going to be difficult to win without them on the field at 100%. However, coach Caldwell isn't demanding that the game be delayed until his players are healthy, nor is he asking that the Saints give the Colts points to even things out. As the saying goes "you play the hand that was dealt you". Coach will make a game plan with players that are available. They'll give their best effort and make no excuses. That's what we Hoosiers do. We don't need "edcucated" as to why we may lose, and all the complaining in the world won't change things.

It's unfortunate that our President and our Mayor aren't following coach Caldwell's example. Leaders lead. We elected you and you earn your salary for making the tough decisions, not just the easy ones. My old boss had a favorite saying, "with money and manpower anyone can get the job done. I pay you the big bucks to accomplish things with little of either".

My point is it's time for our elected officials to man up, grow a pair and to quit making excuses. Focusing on what we don't have will not fix our problems. Take advantage of what's availble to you and move forward. As Lee Iococca said, "lead, follow or get out of the way"!

[Peter Gibbons]

Keep it real
So I take it your philosophy is:
Do something wrong, I'll kick you in the balls
Do something right, I'll still kick you in the balls
You should be a motivational speaker