In compliance with the Missouri Open Records (Sunshine) Law, the Mehlville Fire District has set the price for copies of records at ten cents. This is the highest amount allowed when the law was changed a few years ago. Prior to that, public entities were required to establish a rate based on their costs. The law's changes simplified this and gave them the ten cent ceiling. This probably doesn't get charged very often since the district may give copies away, and it does, in its best interest. This just passes the costs along to those who would be using these records for their own purposes. I've checked with a number of entities and they've all made this their policy. In fact I don't know one that doesn't have a ten cent rate. Now that the facts are before you, I must ask one question.
Where's the outrage?
The Call repeatedly blasted the Mehlville School District for its policy of charging ten cents. They complained about the district making a profit charging for records? It was one of the rallying cries by a Call sponsored candidate for the school board. This was a silly and self serving complaint as usual. The fact that the Call has not complained about the fire district's policy just shows their double standards.
9 comments:
Mike, I don't know about a "double standard" here. It seems to me they have only one, their's.
Tom Ford
Tom,
Welcome back. What's impressive is that have double standards when they have very few in the first place.
Mike
Mike, I received this from a friend, it seems the "paper" could use it.
A Dog's Purpose (from a 6-year-old)
Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish
Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little
boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle.
I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we
couldn't do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure
for the old dog in their home.
As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for
six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might
learn something from the experience.
The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family
surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time,
that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker
slipped peacefully away.
The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or
confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's Death, wondering aloud
about the sad fact that animal lives are Shorter than human lives. Shane, who
had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why."
Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd
never heard a more comforting explanation.
He said, "People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life - -
like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?" The Six-year-old
continued, "Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."
Live simply.
Love generously.
Care deeply.
Speak kindly.
Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:
When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
Take naps.
Stretch before rising.
Run, romp, and play daily.
Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.
On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
Be loyal.
If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
When someone is having a bad day, be silent , sit close by, and nuzzle them
gently.
ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY!
Tom Ford
Well, here you have a "fire district" sort of run amuck!
Just what Crestwood needs!
Tom Ford
Armed guard may be posted at Normandy meetings
By Elizabethe Holland
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
01/28/2008
NORMANDY — An armed guard soon may be a regular sight at board meetings of the Northeast Ambulance and Fire Protection District.
And for the next six months — if the board majority gets its way — dissident district resident Mike Britt won't be in sight at all at such gatherings.
The board changed the name of the district last week from the Normandy Fire Protection District, but the atmosphere at its meetings remains the same: tense and sometimes volatile.
Relations between the three-member board and several residents have grown increasingly contentious since a new board majority took over in April. The residents complain that too much public business is done behind closed doors and that the board and its attorney, Elbert Walton Jr., are rude and unresponsive to requests for information. Advertisement
The board, meanwhile, accuses some at the meeting of being disruptive and threatening, so it decided last week to hire an armed guard and to ban Britt, of Pasadena Hills, from the firehouse — where board meetings are held — for six months.
The board voted to ban Britt after he spoke out during a meeting Tuesday and then argued with a board member before slamming a door on the way out.
The next meeting is at 6 tonight at the firehouse. Britt says he'll be there.
"They can't ban me," Britt said. "It's a public meeting. I'm a taxpayer."
To that, Walton responded: "You don't have a right to go into public places. Public places are not public, they're private.
"The public can only go into a public place to do business and do business orderly and properly, and if you violate the good decorum of a public institution, the public institution can ban you from it."
Walton said the board intended to hire an off-duty St. Louis County police officer so the guard could make arrests if warranted. He said it wasn't unusual for governmental bodies such as school and municipal boards to hire security for meetings.
He said the board decided to hire its own armed guard in large part because the Normandy and St. Louis County police had not made arrests that he and board members had asked them to make.
In July, Normandy Police Chief Douglas Lebert refused Walton's demand that he arrest a resident. The board had just enacted an ordinance making disorderly behavior at meetings a misdemeanor punishable by jail and/or a fine.
"I had never seen this ordinance, nor did I believe the fire district could create an ordinance that attached arrest power to it," Lebert said. He added that he would make an arrest if a person engaged in illegal behavior.
'SUSPICIOUS PERSON'
On Jan. 8, a St. Louis County officer responded to a call from a district official about a "suspicious person" at a meeting.
County police deemed the matter personal in nature, and no arrest was made, a police spokeswoman said.
"We should be able to just call the St. Louis County police and have something done," Walton said. "Because we have unruly people who think they can assault people and threaten people and curse and slam doors and destroy property, we've decided that enough is enough. We're going to have security at the meetings from now on, and anybody who violates the law is going to be arrested and prosecuted."
Lebert said his department had not received any reports from district officials alleging assaults, threats, destruction of property or other such crimes.
The police chief added that the board might be in danger of breaking the law itself if it had residents who weren't truly disruptive removed from meetings.
"It's a public meeting," Lebert said. "And that building belongs to the taxpayers" of the fire district.
Board president Joe Washington refused an interview with the Post-Dispatch, and calls to board secretary-treasurer Robert Edwards were not returned.
The third member, Bob Lee, who frequently opposes the other directors' decisions, said he had voted against hiring an armed guard.
"No one has done anything that's physically threatening to any of the board members or the attorney, and to have a security guard there, armed or otherwise, seems like it could be intimidation," Lee said.
He also voted against banning Britt.
In August, a group of residents sued the board alleging violations of Missouri's open-meetings law. That suit has since gotten the support of the Missouri attorney general's office. Residents also have initiated an effort to recall Washington and Edwards. Likewise, Washington and Edwards have been working for months to oust Lee.
eholland@post-dispatch.com
314-340-8259
Crestwood Independent said...
"The bottom line is this meeting was for Crestwood residents, who are not in favor of contracting with Mehlville and have every right to believe that."(Truth Detector: We were surprised the the "Crestwood Incoherent" Tom Ford wasn't in attendance)
Gee whiz, did I miss something that the "secret shopper" from the Truth detector wanted me to see?
These people are a "hoot," (please notice that lame comment about this blog) First they say that "Mafia" people were there, then they say I wasn't!
Now which one was it?
Tom Ford
Tom,
I haven't read it. Have they put me in the Mafia too? If so, I'd like a cool nickname. Ignore the the Truth Defector. If you must learn more about him, Google James Stonebraker and then his wife Miriam Stonebraker. This will amaze you. She is the political director for John Hancock who is the spokesman for our baby Gov and the Missouri Republican Party. That should make you real proud of our state.That's why he tries to remain anonymous since his views are extremely embarassing for the party.
No they left you out. However if the ones they did say were "made Men" were in fact that, these people would be in "grave danger" so to speak.
As I said they are a "hoot," I love the fact that they now accuse you of trying to pass yourself off as a "journalist." I don't know about you, but I would rather be a piano player in a house of ill repute than a "journalist" at a "Mickey Mouse" local paper.
Tom Ford
Mike, do you think this quote may pertain to someone we know who runs a?
"I'm all in favor of keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of fools. Let's start with typewriters."
- Frank Lloyd Wright (1868-1959)
Tom Ford
Isn't it funny that the guys who toss their insults out while hiding their identity accuse me of being deceptive? Other than some of our larger business people who advertise and our elected officials, I must be one of the most recognizable people in S. County. From the beginning of our BLOG, I've identified myself. I've requested and been added to the fire department's media e-mail list. If someone wants to call me a journalist, fine. I've been called worse.
Mike Heins
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