What Happened To The SFD Volunteer's Million Dollar Annuity Fund?

Millsie said...
I HAVE A QUESTION AND HOPE SOMEONE CAN ANSWER IT. IN THE PAST I KNOW A DONATION WAS LEFT TO THE CITY OF SALISBURY FIRE DEPARTMENT. A PRETTY BIG DONATION. EACH STATION USED TO GET MONEY EVERY YEAR FROM THE DONATION. CAN ANYONE TELL ME IF THEY STILL GET IT ANT WHAT IS THIS MONEY SPENT ON. IF MEMORY SERVES CORRECTLY IT WAS IN THE THOUSANDS THAT EACH DEPARTMENT RECEIVED.


The Lacy Fund is still in existence. It used to pay out directly to the Salisbury volunteer FD's every year the net profit from the annuity, and they could use the money at their discretion. The city took the fund over when they removed any power to make financial decisions from the volunteers years ago. The money goes directly to the city now. The city rips off the system and gets funding from the federal, city and state govt like it has 3 separate depts, but it really has one dept and 2 substations. They triple dip.

See & Gordy & Their Toys!

Ladies & Gentlemen, this Post is about REALITY. It's about financial irresponsibility. Last Spring the Volunteers purchased a brand new 4 door, extended bed pickup truck and paid it in full. Because the Mayor forced the Volunteers a few years ago to turn over their checkbook, Chiefy See & Deputy Chiefy Gordy FORCED the Volunteers to take back the pickup truck and return it to the Dealer. Even though it was paid for through DONATIONS, the Volunteers took a HUGE loss in returning the vehicle.

Now, get this! The City recently went out and purchased 3 brand new vehicles. 2 of them were Suburbans, LOADED with leather interior and the whole nine yards AND a brand new pickup truck to replace the one that was returned.

OK, if you thought that was bad, I'm now told those envelopes that are coming around this month for donations are in fact to PAY for these vehicles/toys! Again, when you get those envelopes, well, you know what to do with them.

I think our new logo should say, MORE TRUTH IN LESS TIME.

Wisconsin Teacher Arrested For Blog Comment

If you want to see the worst case of violation of first amendment rights in recent memory, click on the link below. Note that a Police Officer likens the comment made by the teacher to someone going into an Airport and claiming they have a bomb. It is apparent that one is nothing like the other.....unless you represent the government. and are trying to justify an illegal arrest. It reminds me of someone saying something that a dictator doesn't like and being arrested for it.

GO HERE to view the article.

Our Own Local Mob

Dings may seem quiet here in Smallsburry but if you dink it's because of our local law enforcement, you'z vrong. Da BOYS are taking back da streets Soprano style. Dats vright, dink about it. Yuz guyz neva had it so good. So da nex time yuz sees deze guys, dank em for me'z and tell em Butzo said hello. Fagetaboutit! Ahhhh, when I wuz in my yute, early 20'z, doze wuz da dayz. Da next tax increase will be picked up every other trash day collection, if yuz know what I mean? We'll be seein yuz den.

The Humane Society Needs A New Director

Dear Councilman Holloway,

Pursuant to our conversation on 12/7/07, I am writing this letter explaining the circumstances surrounding an extremely unpleasant experience our daughter and I had with members of the Wicomico County Humane Society. It's important that I first lay out the groundwork.

Several months ago, a female dog belonging to our daughter and her boyfriend, broke her chain and ran away from the home at which the dog stays in Pittsville with our daughter's boyfriend. She was apprehended by the Wicomico County Humane Society and returned to them. The dog was only chained outside long enough to go to the bathroom and was brought back inside after enough time had passed to facilitate the bathroom break.

About 2 months ago, the boyfriends grandmother moved into the house in Pittsville after losing her husband and selling her home. About 1 month ago, the grandmother opened the back door and accidentally let the dog out. The Humane Society once again apprehended the dog and contacted the boyfriend. Our daughter responded to the Humane Society to pick up the dog at which time she had to pay a $100.00 fine and was told to chain the dog outside and provide a dog house. The purchase of the dog house was a stipulation of the release of the dog from confinement.

Since that time, the boyfriends sister and her two young children moved into the house and, as fate would have it, two days ago, one of the kids let the dog out accidentally. The dog was once again apprehended by the Humane Society. This is where things go downhill.

Our daughter went to the Humane Society on Citation Dr. to redeem the dog. She met with Linda Lugo who advised her that she would not release the dog. Lugo advised her that the dog was in "protective custody" for a period of ten days and that the dog could only be released to her under the stipulation that the dog would not be permitted to stay at the Pittsville residence. According the County Code, ss133-8-c states "The owner shall be entitled to resume possession of any impounded dog, cat or ferret upon compliance with the vaccination and licensing provisions of this chapter and payment of such sum for board and care as the animal control authority shall determine reasonable". The dog IS licensed and IS vaccinated yet Lugo would not release the animal until the end of the "protective custody" period and then only under the condition she stipulated.

I contacted Gail Bartkovich to see if she could assist me in understanding how Lugo had the authority to issue such demands even though the County Code seemed clear on the rights and responsibilities of all parties. It says nothing about protective custody of a dog never having been abused. It says nothing of the Humane Society having the authority to determine who can care for a dog and who cannot. Ms. Bartkovich forwarded me to June Sergeant of Rick Pollits office who quickly referred me to Lugo.

I called the Humane Society and spoke to someone named Sandy. I announced myself and stated that I wanted to talk to Lugo. When Lugo picked up the line, she was extremely agitated and asked me "Can I help you?!?!" I responded - Yes you can, ma'am, but please stop posturing as if you want to argue - I called to discuss a matter with you. She stated that she already knew why I was calling and that our daughter already knew what she had to do. I told Lugo that our daughter was going to get a large crate so that the dog could be crated for the brief periods of time between either our daughter or her boyfriend could come home during the workday the make sure the dog got bathroom breaks, etc. Lugo repeated to me that the dog would not be released until our daughter could prove that the dog would be staying somewhere else. At this point I asked Lugo what gave her the authority to determine where a dog resides. She responded by stating that there was another pa rt of the code that stated that any release of an dog was at the discretion of the Animal Control Officer. She refused to address the part of the code that I quoted above.

When it became clear to me that lugo was unrelenting, I called our daughter who was still at the Humane Society trying to get her dog. I advised her that it would be best not to create a scene and to just come home. She was crying and she told me that there was something she had to do. I later learned that she had signed the dog over to the Humane Society. Our daughter told me that Sandy initially told her that there would not be a fine but that after I called and spoke to Lugo, she was told the fine would be $250.00. Lugo told our daughter that I had no business calling there starting trouble. Lugo also told our daughter that because the dog ran onto school property, the fine could be doubled. My daughter asked "doubled"? Lugo stated, "yea, didn't you see the signs on the road that say Fines Doubled in School Zone?" our daughter told Lugo that she thought that meant for speeding tickets. Lugo told her that it meant ALL fines. What kind of sensible adult would say that? Lugo the began to pressure our daughter by telling her that she could avoid the fine AND the boarding costs of $110.00 by signing the dog over to them. She felt that she had no other choice and she signed the dog over. What's this? Question Lugo - get a bigger fine?

My feelings are these:

Lugo doesn't get to make law as she goes. Nowhere in the code does it say that she has the right to impound a healthy dog that has never been abused and keep it from its rightful owners for any length of time she chooses.. Lugo cannot pick and choose from the code the sections that suit her and ignore those sections that don't. Lugo doesn't get to raise and lower fines as if she were a judge. I didn't see anything in the charter that gives Lugo the right to be the Judge, Jury, and Executioner. There is nothing in the charter that gives citizens a right to challenge the decision of Judge Lugo. The re is simply NO due process when dealing with the Humane Society. You can't even get it into court without paying a lawyer to file a lawsuit. The only way it would get into a court room would be if they issued you a citation and you contested it. That's precisely why they try to convince you to sign the dog over and not take the citation. I fully understand that the humane Society needs to take custody of dogs running at large, but they must follow the proceedures created by our local legislatures as the County Code. They must NOT be permitted to disregard it as if it doesn't exist. In other words, impound the dog, release the dog to the owner once it has been proven it's had it's shots and is licensed, and fine the owner pursuant to the code via a civil citation and let the owner pay it or go to court. Period.

I look forward to the meeting you mentioned with Rick Pollit in hopes of bringing the Humane Society back to the reality that the business of enforcing local laws is a protect and serve mission, not a seek and destroy mission.

Thank you,

Robert Harris