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Health & Fitness

No Response From The Council Or Mr. Kamenetz On Armed Guards In Elementary Schools

WBAL TV story proves how deceptive they are and the lack of government transparency.

In Part One of my blog on this issue I took great efforts to be truthful, accurate and fair.   I even offered a chance for anyone in the county government to correct me if I was wrong in my information. What we the people received in the end was a complete lack of transparency and the responsibility of our elected officials and leaders to represent their constituents in a manner in which a true democracy demands.

After my blog was posted, I found this on WBAL TV and I believe it shows just how deceptive the county can be, or maybe we the people don’t count; just cameras and hype.  In plain words the more face time the more information, or the lack thereof.  They even pulled the wool over Channel 11.

Here is what I mean by being deceptive.  Read the following quotes from the article and see if you find the words – armed guards – anywhere. 

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“Most of the new security dollars will be spent in Baltimore County elementary and special education schools. The plan is to replace outdated cameras and visitor-video surveillance systems.

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The county will also equip school resource police officers with mobile tablets to monitor video throughout the district. This new technology will allow police to survey an entire campus by way of streaming video.”

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Now, do you see the word armed guards in there anywhere?  I thought not.

So my question is where is the accountability of government to inform us if the issue is important enough that the public should be involved in the process?  Look at the copy of the e-mail I sent and the responses I received and see if you can decipher what they are saying.

In addition, take a look at another e-mail sent by a taxpaying citizen and the response they received.  Does the word two-step come to mind or are they circling the wagons to avoid being forthright with their constituents?

I also found it curious that in the Channel 11 news account, there is no mention of armed guards just electronic equipment.  My question would be when this issue of armed security in our elementary schools was hatched, who was behind it?  The question even larger than that is — is this action necessary considering the safest place for our children to be is in school despite the recent tragedies?

Also since my last blog on this issue, I have spoken to other officers (nothing is secret in the police department) who said there is confusion among the leadership as how this whole issue is to be handled.  The standard who, what, the why and the where are all left in the wings so to speak.  Again the cart before the horse.

The next issue concerns transparency through open government and there appears to be none, at least on this topic or the sale of government property and closing of schools.  The people of Eastwood can speak to this issue.

After reading the e-mails that were sent and also the story on WBAL TV-11, you tell me if they are being truthful, transparent, or just plain arrogant.

I can explain the arrogant part this way.  A while back I received a phone call at home by a rather irate councilperson on a comment I made on Patch and no, it was  it was not from my district, and neither was it Councilman John Olszewski, Sr.

The comments directed at me had nothing to do with politics and the only reason I'm not revealing the name is because I gave my word so they could vent.  Now mind you I had the documents to back up my comment and actually forwarded them which ended the discussion.

What is troubling is this issue of armed guards, which seems to be shrouded in secrecy. Now keep that in mind in announcing the roll call of shame—what I'm calling the results of my requests for a response to this proposal.  I am listing the councilpersons and school board president and their respective responses I received after challenging them to respond or correct me in the previous blog post:

The roll call of shame:

Council Chairman Tom Quirk – Not!

Councilwoman Viki Almond – Not!

Councilman Todd Huff – Not!

Councilman David Marks – Not!

Councilwoman Cathy Bevins – Not!

Councilman John Olszewski, Sr. – Not!

Chief of Staff Don Mohler – Not!

School Board President Lawrence Schmidt – Not!

What is interesting is what we have seen recently coming from our school officials in the way of comments which none of them even mentions this important issue of safety in our schools, the economic impact, the liability, the training or anything that the public has a right to know.  Oh, I almost forgot the cost.

What happened to the word Democracy?  How do you have faith in our leadership when they refuse to lead?  The only thing I can think of is that we have gone from socialism to a monarchy, at least in Balitmore County.

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