CUT BACK TO:
INT. SEAN'S OFFICE -- DAY
SEAN
(after a pause)
My dad used to make us walk down to
the park and collect the sticks he
was going to beat us with. Actually
the worst of the beatings were between
me and my brother. We would practice
on each other trying to find sticks
that would break.
WILL
He used to just put a belt, a stick
and a wrench on the kitchen table
and say "choose."
INT. WILL'S CHILDHOOD APARTMENT -- FLASHBACK
A large, callused hand sets down a wrench next to a stick.
CUT BACK TO:
INT. SEAN'S OFFICE -- DAY
SEAN
Gotta go with the belt there...
WILL
I used to go with the wrench.
SEAN
The wrench, why?
WILL
Cause **** him, that's why.
A long quiet moment.
WILL
Is that why me and Skylar broke up?
SEAN
I didn't know you had. Do you want
to talk about that?
(beat)
I don't know a lot, Will. But let me
tell you one thing. All this history,
this ****...
(indicates file)
Look here, son.
Will, who had been looking away, loos at Sean.
SEAN
This is not your fault.
WILL
(nonchalant)
Oh, I know.
SEAN
It's not your fault.
WILL
(smiles)
I know.
SEAN
It's not your fault.
WILL
I know.
SEAN
It's not your fault.
WILL
(dead serious)
I know.
SEAN
It's not your fault.
WILL
Don't **** with me.
SEAN
(comes around desk,
sits in front of
Will)
It's not your fault.
WILL
(tears start)
I know.
SEAN
It's not...
WILL
(crying hard)
I know, I know...
Sean takes Will in his arms and holds him like a child. Will
sobs like a baby. After a moment, he wraps his arms around
Sean and holds him, even tighter. We pull back from this
image. Two lonely souls being father and son together.
INT. RED LINE CAR -- DUSK
Will rides the Red Line, above ground. He looks out over the
landscape. Small back yards, laundry hangs from wire lines.
Chainlink fences, overgrown with weeds.
EXT. SOUTH BOSTON PARK -- DAY
Will walking through South Boston. He cuts through a park. A
senior citizen is spearing trach for the city.
INT. WILL'S APARTMENT -- NIGHT
Will at home. Not reading. Looks up at the ceiling.
EXT. TRI-TECH LABORATORIES -- DAY
Will walks up to a nondescript building, he walks through
the glass doors, into the lobby.
CUT TO:
INT. TRI-TECH LABORATORIES, RECEPTION -- CONTINUOUS
Will walks into the lobby. A SECURITY GUARD looks up.
SECURITY GUARD
Can I help you?
WILL
Yeah, my name is Will Hunting. I'm
here about a position.
SECURITY GUARD
One moment.
The guard reaches for the phone.
DISSOLVE TO BLACK.
FADE UP to the sound of laughter.
INT. L STREET BAR & GRILLE -- DAY
Chuckie is again regaling Will and the guys at their table.
CHUCKIE
Oh my God, I got the most ****ed up
thing I been meanin' to tell you.
MORGAN
Save it for your mother, funny guy.
We heard it before.
CHUCKIE
Oh, Morgan.
They both get up, in one another's face. This is a play fight.
"You gonna start?" "You gonna pay my hospital bills?"
WILL
Sorry to miss this.
INT. L STREET -- SAME
Will comes back from the bathroom.
WILL
(to Chuckie)
You and Morgan throw?
CHUCKIE
No, I had to talk him down.
WILL
Why didn't you yoke him?
CHUCKIE
Little Morgan's got a lot a scrap,
dude. I'd rather fight a big kid,
they never fight, everyone's scared
of 'em. You know how many people try
to whip Morgan's ass every week?
****in' kid won't back down.
MORGAN
(from across the table)
What'd you say about me?
CHUCKIE
Shut the **** up.
Billy walks in the door and give Chuckie a look. Chuckie
turns to Will.
CHUCKIE
(To Will)
Hey, *******. Happy Birthday.
MORGAN
You thought we forgot, didn't you? I
know I'm gettin' my licks in.
Laughter as the boys converge on Will. He goes willingly out
the door.
EXT. L STREET -- CONTINUOUS
As they come out the door, rather than beating Will
mercilessly, they stop. Morgan goes into his own, personal
rendition of "Danny Boy." No one joins in.
CHUCKIE
Shut up, Morgan.
(to Will)
Here's your present.
Chuckie indicates an old CHEVY NOVA, parked illegally in
front of the bar.
WILL
You're kiddin' me.
CHUCKIE
Yeah, I figured now that you got
your big job over in Cambridge, you
needed some way to get over there
and I knew I wasn't gonna drive you
every day...
Laughter.
CHUCKIE
Morgan wanted to get you a "T" pass.
MORGAN
No I didn't...
Will approaches the car to take a closer look.
CHUCKIE
But you're twenty-one now, so--
BILLY
Yeah, now that you can drink legally,
we thought the best thing to get you
was a car.
More laughter. Will inspects the Nova.
WILL
You're kiddin' me.
(a beat)
This is the ugliest ****in' car I
ever seen in my life.
Laughter, a beat.
WILL
(serious)
How the **** did you guys do this?
CHUCKIE
Me and Bill scraped together the
parts, worked on it. Morgan was out
panhandlin' every day.
MORGAN
**** you, I did the body work. Whose
****in' router you think sanded out
all that bondo?
CHUCKIE
Guy's been up my ass for two years
about a ****in' job. I had to let
him help with the car.
WILL
So, you finally got a job Morgan?
MORGAN
Had one, now I'm ****ed again.
WILL
(to Chuckie)
So what do you got, a ****in' Hyundai
engine under there? Can I make it
back to my house?
CHUCKIE
**** you. I re-built the engine
myself. That thing could make it to
Hawaii if you wanted it to.
Chuckie gives Will a look.
CHUCKIE
Happy 21, Will.
CUT TO:
INT. SEAN'S OFFICE -- DAY
Will sits across from Sean.
SEAN
Which one did you take, Will?
WILL
Over at Tri-tech. One of the jobs
Professor Lambeau set me up with. I
haven't told him yet, but I talked
to my new boss over there and he
seemed like a nice guy.
SEAN
That's what you want?
WILL
Yeah, I think so.
SEAN
Good for you. Congratulations.
WILL
Thanks you.
(a beat)
So, that's it? We're done?
SEAN
We're done. You did your time. You're
a free man.
A beat.
WILL
I just want you to know, Sean...
SEAN
You're Welcome, Will.
WILL
I'll keep in touch.
SEAN
I'm gonna travel a little bit, so I
don't know where I'll be.
Will smiles.
SEAN
I just... figured it's time I put my
money back on the table, see what
kind of cards I get.
Will smiles. Sean hands him a piece of paper.
SEAN
I'll be checking in with my machine
at the college. If you ever need
anything, just call.
Sean smiles.
SEAN
Do what's in your heart, son. You'll
be fine.
WILL
Thanks you, Sean.
They embrace.
SEAN
No. Thank you.
WILL
(re: embrace)
Does this violate the patient/doctor
relationship?
SEAN
Only if you grab my ass.
They laugh.
WILL
See ya.
SEAN
Good luck.
Both men smile.
CUT TO:
INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE SEAN'S OFFICE - MOMENTS LATER
Will comes out of Sean's office and sees Lambeau walking up.
LAMBEAU
(surprised)
Will.
WILL
Hey, how you doin'?
LAMBEAU
You know, you're no longer required
to come here.
WILL
I was just sayin' goodbye to Sean.
LAMBEAU
(a beat)
Sam called me. From Tri-tech. He
says you start working for them next
week.
Will nods.
LAMBEAU
Well, that's, I think that's terrific.
Congratulations.
WILL
Thank you.
LAMBEAU
I just want you to know... It's been
a pleasure.
WILL
Bull****.
They laugh.
LAMBEAU
This job... Do it if it's what you
really want.
WILL
I appreciate that.
A moment. Will starts to go, Lambeau watches him for a beat,
Will turns back around.
WILL
Hey, Gerry.
LAMBEAU
Yes.
WILL
Listen, I'll be nearby so, if you
need some help, or you get stuck
again, don't be afraid to give me a
call.
LAMBEAU
(has to smile)
Thank you, Will. I'll do that.
Will smiles, turns and walks away.
INT. SEAN'S OFFICE -- DAY
Sean is packing his office. Lambeau opens the door.
LAMBEAU
Hello, Sean.
SEAN
Come in.
LAMBEAU
Sean...
SEAN
(a beat)
Me too.
A moment.
LAMBEAU
So I hear you're taking some time.
SEAN
Yeah. Summer vacation. Thought I'd
travel some. Maybe write a little
bit.
LAMBEAU
Where're you going?
SEAN
I don't know. India maybe.
LAMBEAU
Why there?
SEAN
Never been.
Lambeau nods.
LAMBEAU
Do you know when you'll be back?
SEAN
(picks up a flyer
from his desk)
I got this mailer the other day.
Class of Sixty-five is having this
event in six months.
LAMBEAU
I got one of those too.
SEAN
You should come. I'll buy you a drink.
Lambeau smiles.
LAMBEAU
Sean...
A beat.
LAMBEAU
The drinks at those things are free.
Sean smiles.
SEAN
Hell, I know that.
Both men laugh.
LAMBEAU
How about one now?
SEAN
Sounds good.
They start to walk out.
SEAN
It's on you though, until eight
o'clock tonight when I win my money.
Sean pulls out his lottery ticket. They start out down the
hall.
CUT TO:
INT. HALLWAY -- CONTINUOUS
On their backs as they walk down the hall.
LAMBEAU
Sean, do you have any idea what the
odds are against winning the lottery?
SEAN
I don't know... Gotta be at least
four to one.
LAMBEAU
About thirty million to one.
SEAN
You're pretty quick with those
numbers. How about the odds of me
buying the first round?
LAMBEAU
About thirty million to one.
CUT TO:
EXT. BANK OF THE CHARLES RIVER -- AFTERNOON
Will sits alone, thinking. We hold on him for an extended
beat until he gets up and walks away.
OMITTED
EXT. SEAN'S APARTMENT -- EARLY EVENING
Begin final sequence.
A wide, establishing shot of Sean's apartment complex as the
sun is setting. The lights are on in one unit. A tighter
shot reveals Sean, in his apartment, packing his belongings
in cardboard boxes.
EXT. SEAN'S APARTMENT, STREET -- SAME
The camera cranes down from Sean's window and onto the street,
where we pan to reveal Will, sitting in his car and looking
up at Sean as he packs his things. Will's car is packed full
of clothes and books.
EXT. SOUTH BOSTON STREET -- SAME
Chuckie and the boys drive down the street in the Cadillac.
Morgan and Billy ride in the back, leaving the shotgun seat
open for Will.
EXT. SEAN'S APARTMENT -- SAME
Will holds an envelope which he slips in Sean's mailbox. He
puts the flag up and smiles as he looks up at Sean in his
apartment who is still unaware that Will is there.
EXT. WILL'S APARTMENT -- SAME
Chuckie pulls up in front of Will's house. He honks the horn,
waits a beat, then gets out and heads toward the house.
EXT. SEAN'S APARTMENT -- SAME
Will drives away from Sean's house. Sean hears the car pull
out and looks out the window. Sean sees Will's car pulling
away.
Curious, he investigates.
EXT. WILL'S APARTMENT -- SAME
Chuckie walks up Will's front steps.
EXT. SEAN'S APARTMENT -- SAME
Sean walks out to the sidewalk and looks around. Seeing the
mailbox flag has been raised, he walks over to it.
EXT. WILL'S APARTMENT -- SAME
Chuckie knocks on Will's front door. There is no answer. He
waits a beat, looks in the window. An incredulous smile slowly
starts to form.
EXT. SEAN'S APARTMENT -- SAME
Sean opens the card Will left for him. It reads:
WILL
(in writing)
Sean -- If the Professor calls about
that job, just tell him, "Sorry, I
had to go see about a girl."
EXT. WILL'S APARTMENT -- SAME
Chuckie walks back towards his car unable to contain the
broad smile. He knows Will is gone. He shrugs in explanation
to the guys. Morgan takes Will's seat as they pull away from
the curb.
EXT. SEAN'S APARTMENT -- SAME
We pan up from the letter to Sean. A broad smile comes over
him.
This is a look we haven't seen. Sean is truly happy.
EXT. MASSACHUSETTS TURNPIKE -- SUNSET
Will is on the road, driving away. As we pull back and credits
roll, the car disappears into the horizon.
THE END
FYI, the teacher leaving Melrose High School, Mr. Stevenson, is a known necrophiliac, and was "asked to resign." This change in faculty is very obviously for the better. [8-)]
Down with Dolan.
Good movie. Did you have a point?
Thinking before you speak or do something. It's about knowing that every day, the choices we make can and will affect our lives. It's about being accountable for our choices in life. We have the right to make our decisions every day, and every day is a new day. But will the school committee make good decisions and the superintendent Cyndy Taymore?
The school committee members feel they are shielded from responsibility.Not Responsible for anything to do with the superintendent.Melrose pub schools.We all should look back 2014 2015 2016.LOOK AT THE NEWS ABOUT SUPERINTENDENT Cyndi Taymore .Incredible indeed. Unfortunately there are two sets of meanings for that word. There's the way Dolan constantly uses it, but people forget that it also means unbelievable, beyond belief, hard to believe, unconvincing, far-fetched, implausible, improbable, highly unlikely, dubious, doubtful, inconceivable, unthinkable, unimaginable, impossible, hard to swallow, cock-and-bull, bull$hit. The last is the most apropos.
Chair Driscoll was discourteous to Gerry Mroz as she cut him off and did not let him finish his last thoughts - this is just the typical rudeness she displays to people that she dislikes. Why other members of the committee couldn't speak up and request more time for him to finish his remarks just shows how bullied they are by Driscoll - very sad to see such poor behavior by someone who portrays herself as being so open-minded and gracious to all!
So what is your point?? The entire City knows she is an A-hole to everybody, despises public participation and transparency in the operation of our school committee, and actually thinks it is in fact her own school committee, to the point where she actively decides what public records your chosen elected school committee members can have access to. It is so bad now that some school committee officials have had to go around her and make public records requests to the Secretary of the Commonwealth's Public Records Division to force her to give up routine documents she is sitting on. In short, she is everything that is wrong in Melrose local government and its our fault for electing her.
She is also up for the District's business director's job (125k) for being Dolan's lackey on school committee. You watch, she will get the job despite having exactly zero experience or qualifications. But then again, this is Melrose where sicko politicians with mental illness and no prospects for jobs in the private sector rule the city.[:-|]
Margaret Drsicoll will have not been on the school committee for one year she will have to leave.Be for she can be Business Manager .
The real question.How come staff is leaving?
No, the real question is... "Why are the good people leaving?"
It's amazing how things change
When people let you down.
Why the lack of transparency? Do they not want the public to know nothing.
On the so-called "IQM2 Citizen's Calendar" there is a posting for a meeting tonight about this important issue.
http://melrosecityma.iqm2.com/Citizens/Calendar.aspx
ORGANIZATION: Charter Review Committee
MEETING DATE: 4/19/17 TIME: 7:30 PM
MEETING LOCATION: Cassidy Conference Room, 2nd Floor City Hall
562 Main St., Melrose
REQUESTED BY: Mike Zwirko, mzwirko@cityofmelrose.org
AGENDA
1. Call to Order
2. Public Participation
3. Updates
4. Review of Charter Mark-Up
5. Next Steps
6. Adjourn
Naturally, being Melrose, that's all there is online. There are no minutes of previous meetings. There is no listing anywhere (try Google, nada) of even who the members of the committee are (who are they??? how many gave to Dolan's various campaigns?), other than Zwirko. Typical sloppy work here, presuming that none of us care.
Newsflash to "Charter Review Committee": Citizens do care! Many of us took great interest in the excellent piece in both the Melrose Free Press and Weekly News by former School Committee Member Ms. Kourkoumelis, whose points resonate clearly and sensibly. There should be a widespread community discussion about this, since it affects everything about how our city has been and will be managed.
How come there was such a big splash by the mayor et al., including a Mem Hall event, about the so-called "Master Plan" but nothing per se about this Charter Review process, which actually is much more critical and defining?
http://melrose.wickedlocal.com/news/20170417/5-facts-from-melrose-master-plan-section-housing
Is it because this "Master Plan" process is being driven by the mayor and his cronies (realtors, etc.), hence the officiousness and hype, and that this charter review is supposed to be just a pro-forma just-for-show process? Well, that's how it seems, and that is wrong.
This meeting tonight doesn't seem like it's going to be a defining moment, but it's unclear from what's posted when or if other meetings are supposed to be happening, let alone what has already transpired. Mrs. K did the work, as usual, to open the door for actual dialogue. Now it's time for the rest of us to step up! 7:30 tonight, City Hall, Conference Room, 2nd Floor!
http://melrose.wickedlocal.com/news/20170403/kourkoumelis-charter-changes-must-alter-mayor-sc-chair-roles
Kourkoumelis: Charter changes must alter mayor, SC chair roles
Posted Apr 3, 2017 at 10:55 AM By Carrie Kourkoumelis / For the Free Press
Editor’s note: The following statement was made by Carrie Kourkoumelis at the March 29 Melrose city charter meeting, and was directed at attorney David Lucas and the Melrose City Charter Revision Committee:
There are several key components of the Melrose City Charter that need to be changed if Melrose is to confront some of its most confounding problems.
1. First, the provision regarding qualifications of a winning mayoral candidate to give up any interest in any other professional commitments must be addressed if the city hopes to correct the obstruction that stands in the way for qualified candidates to run for this key position. The need to place the mayoral tasks as first priority is obvious, but this should not require professionals to give up a law or accounting practice, for example. This obstruction in the current charter has left Melrose with uncontested mayoral races for many years, something that is never healthy for any community.
2. The next change that should be made is for the placement of a Recall of Elected Officials provision for voters. This is a standard feature elsewhere and should be in Melrose as well. While it is hoped that this is never need for such a provision, this recourse should be present for the protection of the community.
3. Third, the mayor should be removed as a voting member of the School Committee. Regardless of who holds the office of mayor, the inclusion of the mayor on this body creates an imbalance of power. Even prior to this inclusion in the last charter change, the mayor had an inordinate amount of influence over hiring and budget decisions. Having the mayor on the School Committee has not worked well, despite the good intention of bringing the executive voice more directly into the school decisions; in effect the executive voice became the controlling voice. This must be changed in order to see a return to appropriate checks and balances among the three branches of Melrose governance.
As it stands now, even the legal representation of the School Committee has now lost any independence and instead is under the direction of the mayor’s political appointee, the city solicitor. While this may appear superficially to be a sensible cost-saving measure, in fact it is anything but. The significant findings of repeated violations of federal and state laws, with the OCR complaints as a key example, have revealed the chronic failures of executive branch control over the school district legal issues under the current structure. The School Committee needs independence from the executive branch in order to assert more appropriate oversight.
4. Along the same lines, the additional powers granted to the School Committee chair in our charter should be rescinded to those of the state law which afford only the statutory basics of organizing the agenda and running the meetings. Imbuing the School Committee chair with additional powers, such as choosing committee leadership, has led to chronic abuses and harms, further compounded by the Norms approved by the committee and city solicitor last year. In order for the School Committee to perform its appropriate oversight role, information needs to circulate freely to and from each duly elected member, not censored or controlled by the chair, mayor, city solicitor, or superintendent. There have been countless examples in the last few years of key information that the committee as a whole never saw, including the contents of the proposed teacher’s contracts (representing the largest portion of the city budget) prior to a legally required vote, or the details of legal settlements that reference the Committee by name, and yet were or are completely unknown to most of the members though their collective name was signed to the agreements.
The chair’s dictatorial control over the flow of information flies in the face of informed oversight by each duly elected member; the voters did not vote to place one member above all the others, and yet the current Charter has set the stage for this to occur. Centralizing authority towards a unitary executive, whether it is the mayor and/or the school committee chair has already caused great harm and runs counter to the notion of a democratic representational process.
The necessity of restoring checks and balances into the City Charter, with a meaningful firewall between branches of local governance, is key to correcting some of the imbalances in power the community has witnessed. By having appropriate checks and balances all processes become stronger and carry greater credibility with the voting public. This would not negate having close cooperation and collaboration among the branches, but in fact strengthens all processes.
5. Finally, correction of embarrassing spelling and grammar errors must happen. Whatever process that did not include a final check of these basics needs to be corrected this time around. Melrose citizens deserve a foundational document that is professional in its presentation and represents the best interests of the city in all regards.
Carrie Kourkoumelis, of Cargill Street, is a former member of the Melrose School Committee.
Why the lack of transparency? Do they not want the public to know nothing.
The truth hurts.We all have every right to be concerned.What's going on in Melrose?
The Problem - this means that nothing has changed in the running of the city!
The school committee members feel they are shielded from responsibility.Not Responsible for anything to do with the superintendent.Melrose pub schools.We all should look back 2014 2015 2016.LOOK AT THE NEWS ABOUT SUPERINTENDENT Cyndi Taymore .Incredible indeed. Unfortunately there are two sets of meanings for that word. There's the way Dolan constantly uses it, but people forget that it also means unbelievable, beyond belief, hard to believe, unconvincing, far-fetched, implausible, improbable, highly unlikely, dubious, doubtful, inconceivable, unthinkable, unimaginable, impossible, hard to swallow, cock-and-bull, bull$hit. The last is the most apropos.
These people have no shame! How can Taymore and Driscoll look people in the eyes and say that they are for educational excellence when they lack a basic understanding of transparency and honesty towards the residents of Melrose.
Respect The Rights Of Others. Treat others as you want to be treated.
So disgraceful. Anyone else would be in jail and fined much more heavily.
This guy was Doughboy's Chief of Staff (and nasty as all get-out, at that!) for more than a decade, and then Cemetery Superintendent, and Godfather! Who were the co-conspirators (since there clearly were some)???? What kind of wheeling and dealing did city employees do on his behalf? Did the late PJ S have anything to do with this? Were oil tanks buried/hidden in plots? Just exactly what were the disgusting facts of this case? The public absolutely has a right to know, as this was not only a city employee, but someone in charge, and the city cemetery and services were involved!
And just how exactly did they decide that the guy only has to pay back $74,900 when that was the value of what he stole? Why aren't there substantial fines as well? This creep took advantage of people during their most vulnerable times, and he gets to skate on this kind of easy deal???? How about if this guy had been one of those Rob labels as a "hater"? Would they have gotten off this easy???? Not bloody likely!
http://melrose.wickedlocal.com/news/20170420/melrose-cemetery-administrator-pleads-guilty-in-scheme-to-sell-burial-plots
Posted Apr 20, 2017 at 7:15 PM
Melrose cemetery administrator pleads guilty in scheme to sell burial plots
John Hughes, 71, of Revere, pled guilty Thursday in Middlesex Superior Court to five counts of larceny over $250 and receiving outside compensation by a municipal employee in connection with a scheme to sell unused cemetery burial plots, owned by the city of Melrose, to unsuspecting buyers.
Judge Peter Krupp sentenced the defendant to two years probation and ordered the defendant to spend the first 90 days of his probation in home detention. Judge Krupp also ordered the defendant to pay $74,900 in restitution to the city of Melrose during the two year probation period.
The defendant was appointed cemetery administrator of the Wyoming Cemetery in Melrose in 2007. Beginning in 2011 the defendant began telling individuals looking to buy burial plots for later use, that they could purchase previously sold burial plots within the cemetery at discounted rates.
The defendant sold 13 burial plots, thereby diverting funds from the City of Melrose, and netting approximately $75,000.
This case was investigated by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office and the Melrose Police Department with the cooperation of the city of Melrose.
Of course there were accomplices, those posing as the owners of the plots. But now it appears we'll never know who they were, which we should know!How can Hughes continue to receive his pension and healthcare for life paid for by Melrose taxpayers? How about the truth???????
MH should have all benefits from the city discontinued immediately and retroactively dating to the first known dates of illegal activities!
http://melrose.wickedlocal.com/news/20170426/update-melrose-retirement-board-to-move-on-hughes-pension-proceedings
jhinkle@wickedlocal.com
The Melrose Retirement Board voted unanimously on Wednesday to initiate proceedings that could result in the forfeiture of former Wyoming Cemetery Superintendent John Hughes’ retirement benefits.
The Board will now hold a hearing within 30 days, as outlined in Chapter 32, Section 15 of Massachusetts General Law. The Retirement Board’s outside counsel Michael Sacco will serve as hearing officer during those proceedings.
Sacco will issue a decision after the hearing and if he determines Hughes committed crimes directly connected to his position as a city official, the Board would likely accept the recommendation that Hughes forfeit his pension.
The Board also voted unanimously on Wednesday to suspend Hughes’ pension payment for May 2017. City Solicitor Rob VanCampen told the Free Press Hughes’ pension benefit is $1,481.69 per month.
“The reason I would suggest suspending the pension today is to ensure the amount of his annuity is reserved for purposes of restitution,” VanCampen told the Retirement Board.
Hughes, 71, pleaded guilty in Middlesex Superior Court last week to five counts of larceny over $250 and receiving outside compensation by a municipal employee for his role in a scheme to sell unused city cemetery burial plots to unsuspecting buyers.
Hughes was sentenced to two years of probation and the Revere resident was ordered to spend the first 90 days of his probation in home detention.
Judge Peter Krupp also ordered Hughes to pay $74,900 in restitution to the city of Melrose during the two-year probation period.
Hughes was appointed to the position of Wyoming Cemetery administrator in 2007. Beginning in 2011, he began telling individuals looking to buy burial plots for later use that they could purchase previously sold burial plots at Wyoming Cemetery at discounted rates.
Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan’s office reported Hughes sold 13 burial plots, thereby diverting approximately $75,000 in funds from the city of Melrose.
“It’s the first time in my 10 years as City Solicitor that we have to go through this process,” VanCampen said.
This is Melrose it is never going to change. Melrose residents work all over the city. Cemetary, city hall, DPW, local business's, schools, ect. Look at who gets the summer jobs.
The people from Melrose who work here are not the ones who are getting in trouble. Some depts. have not hired from Melrose in years skipping over excellent prospects.
MHS was not even rated in the U.S. News rankings for Massachusetts released this week.
Some elementary PTO moms have only constant praise for the school. Doesn't matter how bad something is. They're the first to jump to the defence of the district. Especially when another parent critcizes the school at a PTO meeting, they immediately praise it. Their kid gets to middle school, more of the same thing.
Principals routinely exploit those PTO moms. They take the easy way out. They act like one parent's praise simply cancels out another's criticism. Since there are people on both sides, it's just opinions, nothing more. They don't respond to the criticism. They don't fix the problem. The school doesn't improve.
There are two types of these PTO moms. One drinks the kool-aid all the way through. Because they're kid isn't dying, the school must be great. If nothing else, they're consistent in their selfishness.
The other type is the complete hypocrite. They kiss the principal's butt all the way through elementary and middle school. They say the superintendent is the best. The curriculum director is the best. The teachers are the best. Suddenly, after middle school they send their kid to Malden Catholic or Bishop Fenwick or some other place. I just heard of another kid of a PTO mom leaving the district. His mom was still kissing up to Conway last month. Hypocrite.
It's deja vu every year. There always another bunch.
I still smile whenever i think of that override getting flushed down the toilet by the realistic people in our city.
Very simply, there is a charter school that “serves” the Melrose community that is at its current capacity.
It's about being accountable..What has to happen for someone to read into this major problem in Melrose.
It is a virtual guarantee that this administration failed to comply, even with a state or federal order. And they'll get their incompetent and nefarious counsel to continue to misrepresent everything.
HERE WE GO AGAIN!!! WHAT IS GOING TO TAKE THESE A$$HOLES TO WAKE UP. THIS IS A VERY RUDE CITY. PARENTS I HOPE YOU WROTE LETTERS ON HOW RUDE THE SC WERE TO THE 5TH GRADE STUDENTS. THE PRINCIPAL WANTED NO PART OF SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF THE STUDENTS.[Angry]
Thinking before you speak or do something. It's about knowing that every day, the choices we make can and will affect our lives. It's about being accountable for our choices in life. We have the right to make our decisions every day, and every day is a new day.
Please wake up Melrose residents your schools are falling apart. This is thinking before you speak. One for all and all for one English or not!
The only ones ever "chosen" for the task forces, focus groups, and all the other members of the Administration/School Committee/Dolan Echo Chamber are those who go with the Party Line, rarely anyone with a differing, let alone controversial view. The processes are closed (even when the laws prohibit this) and just a charade to cover for the Preexisting Decisions that were made behind Closed Doors and heavily manipulated Pretend Meetings. Literally this administration/School Committee has been found in violation by the state on MULTIPLE occasions for having actual LOCKED DOORS, which are more than symbolic when it comes to this filthy bunch. This continues to cost hugely in more than just the cash to pay the incompetent lawyers defending their own indefensible actions. Good potential employees, particularly educators, refuse even to apply here now if they value their professional reputations, leaving only the bottom-rung types coming in replacing more and more of the qualified staff. But in Melrose that's just peachy because the only ones who pretend to care (other than handful that actually do) are the same simpering sycophants who are on the INSIDE cheering on those wonderful-wonderful (always effusively wonderful) decisions. It's sickening and disgusting, and It Is Melrose.
Until there is a Clean Sweep of the School Committee, most of the Board of Aldermen, and a new mayor of integrity, there really is no hope for anything in this equation to change. And that won't happen until Melrose citizens demonstrate more actual caring than they have for a long time, wake up, step up to run, and stand behind the decent candidates, and hold all processes fully accountable. If Melrose voters lose the elected officials of integrity like they did with CKK after six years of hard work fighting the idiots on behalf of everyone else's children, then they have only themselves to blame. If Melrose voters continue to diss the decent & smart candidates--like they did in the last election with LaRock or the one before that Mroz--in favor of the idiotic gushing sycophants, then really this is the government Melrose deserves in all its shame and silliness, in which case there is no legitimacy for complaining afterwards.
Melrose really has no basis for complaining about water bills that for too many are in the range of mortgage payments because citizens have sat back and let the idiotic BOA and mayor ram these rates down our throats and then stash away millions in Enterprise Funds and so-called "Free Cash," only to have bursts of money suddenly appear when the mayor needs to buy some more votes for his hack schemes and can't afford to deny the Birth-to-Fivers of their boutique ECC and playgrounds or programs. For decades taxpayers here will be paying for ill-conceived building projects that will have to be redone long before the bills for their construction are paid off, but that's okay because the idiots have already forgotten what the bonds were for in the first place and are only looking forward to the next disgusting ribbon-cuttings. All that shoddy work and mysteriously unaccountable expense gets forgotten, just like the raw sewage running down the outside walls of the "state of the art" middle school or the "historic" and "incredible" Science rooms of MHS where they "forgot" to put legally required drains in the floors or the "performing arts center" with no backstage, dressing rooms, or even electrical outlets for control boards where any vaguely competent team would have insisted on as basic components.
Look at the makeup of any of the current appointed committees or task forces and you will find only the Go Along to Get Along types, most of whom, by the by, are consistent Campaign Donors to the Predictable Offenders, making up the Machine that rolls over the apathetic (to the point of being comatose) Melrose citizens every single day. Elsewhere there are Walks and Rallies and noisy meetings of citizens hashing out the issues in a real way. Here there is the Iron Curtain of Apathy and Loud Constant Gushing during the charade so-called processes with the majority content to let the politicians and Chamber define their lives. The realtor-run Niche sites tell Melrosians that It's All Good, and that's what they choose to believe, even when their water rates and children's miserable schools tell them very boldly otherwise.
People didn't vote for the override because the greedy *******s wanted it to be permanent. Also, we were told that the money would be going to hire more police, school positions and city employee benefit costs. Nothing of it was earmarked for replacing pipes in the schools.
link: http://melrose.wickedlocal.com/article/20151005/NEWS/151009002
"In Melrose, Mayor Rob Dolan has proposed an override worth $2.25 million. Dolan has proposed putting the $2.25 million toward 12 1/2 school positions ($715,000); spending on school technology, curriculum resources and professional development ($350,000); school budget stabilization ($750,000); two police officers ($150,000); and employee benefit costs ($285,000)."
McAllister Grande and Dugan's seats are up for reelection. Unfortunately, we are stuck with the OML violating, Public records law violating, anti-transparency/anti-public participation promoting Margaret Driscoll until 2020 unless she gets the prized business administrator position with MPS she has been promised by Dolan for being his attack dog as SC chair.
Please wake up Melrose residents your schools are falling apart. This is thinking before you speak. One for all and all for one English or not!
Swell. Now this babbling fool is hijacking screen names to repeat the same post over and over. What's the matter with you?
The charter must be changed if Melrose citizens hope to nowrecapture whatever is left of a democratically managed city, which it most certainly is not currently. There are no existing checks and balances .
The following phrase in the city charter pushed by Dolan back in 2004 virtually assured his Kingship over Melrose for life if he so chooses. "Any voter shall be eligible to hold the office of mayor. The mayor shall devote full time to the office and shall not hold any other elective public office, nor shall the mayor be engaged in any other business, occupation or profession during the period of service as mayor. By preventing our best and brightest (our small business owners, lawyers and sole practitioners) from running by requiring them to give up their businesses they have nurtured for years, the mayor put up an undemocratic barrier in they way of what is a right of any Resident in Melrose, the right to be considered for executive office. I for one, do not like to be told by the sitting oligarchy who I can and cannot vote for.
It also goes without saying that having the Mayor on the school committee ( a change to the charter pushed by Dolan in 2004) has been an unmitigated disaster.
Lesson to be learned: Change the school superintendent and the school committee and the city charter short of this - nothing changes.
Until there is a Clean Sweep of the School Committee, most of the Board of Aldermen, and a new mayor of integrity, there really is no hope for anything in this equation to change. And that won't happen until Melrose citizens demonstrate more actual caring than they have for a long time, wake up, step up to run, and stand behind the decent candidates, and hold all processes fully accountable.