City council meeting 124 and counting
Sadly I was not able to attend last nights city council meeting as business had me in other parts of St Louis county. I really regret missing the meeting as I have heard it was quit entertaining
I have heard that Suzy spoke eloquently and was able to give her prepared comments. I am reposting her comments here for everyone to read.
Please feel free to recap last night meeting and the fireworks afterwards.As one who was born in Overland, went to school in Overland and now owns a home in Overland, I must speak out against the mayor and her recent posting to her website.
Does Mayor Purzner realize the irony in stating that May, O'Connell, Corcoran and Schneider "do not seem to care about the conduction of City business or the bad publicity that has been generated in our community"? It is her illegal actions that have brought out the news cameras and reporters. It is her illegal actions that prompted the county prosecutor to act in the behalf of the interest of the citizens of Overland. It is her "contingency" that put a stop to more city business with Knode, Sellers and Owesnby refusing to show up to the April 10 and May 8 meetings, in addition to walking out of the April 24 meeting.
Mayor Purzner quotes Councilman Knode's appeal to "put our differences behind us and work for the benefit of the City and its residences". Yet, the mayor posts such a vitriol-filled statement she makes even more enemies. The mayor is supposed to be a leader and as such should set the example. Yet, she has proven time-and-time again that she doesn't have this important leadership skill.
Most importantly, the citizens of Overland will not stand for the disrespect of themselves or their laws. In regards to the protestors, Ann asks "are these people children" and likens their actions to the "mentality of a two year old". Perhaps the mayor would prefer a city of sycophants, similar to those in which she surrounds herself. Despite the mayor's ramblings, these are not the actions of two year olds, but actions that will be 230 years old this July 4. It is in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence that these people protest for an OPEN government that follows the checks-and-balances written into Overland law. These protestors are defending their rights, both explicit and implied, in the United States Constitution as well as Missouri statute and Overland ordinance. It is not only their right to do so, but their duty to protect democracy on the local level.
Purzner claims power through "a free and democratic election," yet chooses to not abide by the laws that are the key to such a "democratic" society. She ends her note by threatening to do "everything in your power to accomplish" campaign goals. Our problem is that Mayor Purzner has overstepped her powers and then stepped on the people she was elected to represent.
12:37 PM
I have heard that Suzy spoke eloquently and was able to give her prepared comments. I am reposting her comments here for everyone to read.
Please feel free to recap last night meeting and the fireworks afterwards.As one who was born in Overland, went to school in Overland and now owns a home in Overland, I must speak out against the mayor and her recent posting to her website.
Does Mayor Purzner realize the irony in stating that May, O'Connell, Corcoran and Schneider "do not seem to care about the conduction of City business or the bad publicity that has been generated in our community"? It is her illegal actions that have brought out the news cameras and reporters. It is her illegal actions that prompted the county prosecutor to act in the behalf of the interest of the citizens of Overland. It is her "contingency" that put a stop to more city business with Knode, Sellers and Owesnby refusing to show up to the April 10 and May 8 meetings, in addition to walking out of the April 24 meeting.
Mayor Purzner quotes Councilman Knode's appeal to "put our differences behind us and work for the benefit of the City and its residences". Yet, the mayor posts such a vitriol-filled statement she makes even more enemies. The mayor is supposed to be a leader and as such should set the example. Yet, she has proven time-and-time again that she doesn't have this important leadership skill.
Most importantly, the citizens of Overland will not stand for the disrespect of themselves or their laws. In regards to the protestors, Ann asks "are these people children" and likens their actions to the "mentality of a two year old". Perhaps the mayor would prefer a city of sycophants, similar to those in which she surrounds herself. Despite the mayor's ramblings, these are not the actions of two year olds, but actions that will be 230 years old this July 4. It is in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence that these people protest for an OPEN government that follows the checks-and-balances written into Overland law. These protestors are defending their rights, both explicit and implied, in the United States Constitution as well as Missouri statute and Overland ordinance. It is not only their right to do so, but their duty to protect democracy on the local level.
Purzner claims power through "a free and democratic election," yet chooses to not abide by the laws that are the key to such a "democratic" society. She ends her note by threatening to do "everything in your power to accomplish" campaign goals. Our problem is that Mayor Purzner has overstepped her powers and then stepped on the people she was elected to represent.
12:37 PM
posted by John Doe at 8:58 AM
46 Comments:
John,
I missed the meeting too, so did Suzyjax. Suzy's mother read the wonderful speech.
Will the Council meeting be televised tonight?
Oh yes--that's my mama. As much as I would love to take credit for actually going there and doing it, my mother read the comments. She changed a few things (like the born/reared/educated in Overland, since it wasn't applicable). She told me she started to get choked up on the Decl. of Independence/ Constitution stuff. I saw the last part on Channel 4 and she seemed to be well received.
More "Postcards from the Edge" from our Mayor found on her web-site.
I guess Mayor Con got the "go-ahead" to work on budget from Downstown Brown and Modus Tollens. Too bad she allocated her first hundred days to Downstown's personel decisions rather than on budgeting.
I would think someone skilled at supervising a staff of nurses would be more organized in managing the City.
I also heard a rumor that the police had to separate Ken Ownensby from the Wolverine that lives on his head, part-time of course.
The grammatical difficulties is a reflection of the Mayor's inattention to rules and details. Whether the rules be in the Council Chamber or in the English language, she doesn't really have time to bother. She does whatever pops into her head and leaves-it-up to others to determine whether she is within the law or not.
_______________________________________
"I would like to appoint councilman [Sic.] Rich Knode as the budget [Sic.] chairman [Sic.]. Councilmen Mike Schneider, Ken Owensby and Tom Sellers to serve with him and I want to urge every member of the council [Sic.] to attend these very important meetings.
Councilman Knode [Sic.] would you make sure all councilmen [Sic.] are informed and I want you (Who? Citizens or Dick Knode)to know it is my intent to attend all meetings.
(Is she writing letter to Knode or to the residents of Overland? Of course subject-verb agreement is important, but it is equally important to not switch the person or audience that is to receive your message within the body of the message.)
I am also directing the finance [Sic.] director [Sic.] [Sic.] Lisa Ridolfi to rearrange her schedule to work hand [Sic.] in [Sic.] hand [Sic.] with this committee [Sic.].
I request that this committee [Sic.] will have a final recommendation for the entire council by the next regularly scheduled council [Sic.] meeting [Sic.] of [Sic. June 26, 2006."
Word has it that Knode thought he would have a budget done by the first meeting this week. No surprise since the three stooges and Queen Purzner have been having closed door meetings--possibly to finalize such a budget.
Question to the class: What creative financing methods will Knode come up with this year to pay for trash?
It makes me very sad to be a resident when Ann smirks while residents are making their comments. That is very rude and disrespectful. I guess that is par for the course with her, though, huh?
Also, I find it interesting that on her site she says she welcomes resident comments. I wrote her over a month and half ago, and she has yet to respond.
Suzyjax - I'm so bummed that I didn't see channel 4 news last night!
Why do bad people always seem to make it to the top? It is so disappointing.
http://overland.forumsplace.com
Scoop and Guy.... please leave us out of this. It is obvious you are both cops or married to cops, either way, the debate is getting tedious. Running a police department is NOT like running a business. A police force is not a profit center nor should it be. The police are here to protect us and I thank them everyday.
Statistics are part of life. Meaningful statistics are what makes the world function. Irrelevant, biased or prejudiced statistics are what makes the world inefficient. Say for instance that you live in Overland and have only been to Bengoni's once for a carryout, that is a meaningful statistic. It means you are missing out on one hell of a salad. Say you have friends that claim to talk to people at Quizno's that aren't there..... well enough with my statistical analysis. You both make meaningful contributions to this site and I hate to see this sink to a water cooler debate about cop gossip. We have larger fish to fry. Gravy, please help here.
On Con's smirk, she is laughing at the voices in her head. I hear she spent too many of her early years at Marky's Quick Print back in the mimeograph days. Nothing smells better than the old purple blurred print on paper.
“I never keep a scorecard or the batting averages. I hate statistics. What I got to know, I keep in my head.” Dizzy Dean
The average human has one breast and one testicle. ~Des McHale
It is a mathematical fact that fifty percent of all doctors graduate in the bottom half of their class.
An engineer, a physicist, and a statistician were moose hunting in northern Canada. After a short walk through the marshes they spotted a HUGE moose 150 metres away. The engineer raised his gun and fired at the moose. A puff of dust showed that the bullet landed 3 metres to the right of the moose. The physicist, realizing that there was a substantial breeze that the engineer did not account for, aimed to the left of the moose and fired. The bullet landed 3 metres to the left of the moose. The statistician jumped up and down and screamed "We got him! We got him!"
All righty then.
The data is meaningless writ large and writ small.
Lets say you take ten neighborhoods or ten officers each with identical factor endowments, you pick.
The Dept. takes careful steps to collect and aggregate an annual data set containing various measures of reported crime and or officer behavior (writing tickets).
Each neighborhood or officer can then be compared to their contemporary neighborhood or fellow officers. Officers on the higher end of each variable's distribution get rewarded with promotion. Officers on the lower end of each variable's distribution get fired and replaced while those in middle are unchanged.
After a few years of running the system you begin to find that certain officers have been in top of their class each and every year. "The cream rises to the top." They are also compensated and promoted comensorate with their annual ranking. One particular officer has consistently ranked in the top year-in-year-out. He must be a highly respected and effective officer based on his stellar non-biased annual statistical performance ranking.
The community promotes the officer to SGT. At the end of the first year, the SGT performance ranking slipped all the way to the bottom of the list. Although he is working just as hard and not doing anything differently, he ranked dead last.
The community cannot understand how the top cop could fall so fast and he was fired.
The community was fooled by randomness. As it turns out, there was nothing different about the performance or abilities of any of the officers. The data set didn't help make the decision. Outcomes from the process were in fact randomly distributed.
If so, how could our individual officer always rank 1st for ten years and the data be random? You ask.
Collapse the problem to "heads/tails" coin toss. The odds of either head or tail is .50. The odds of two heads in a row would be .25, 3 in row .125, 4 .0625 etc.....
Now lets say I gambling with a friend by tossing coins.
The coin hits head 10 times in a row. I think it is because there is something special about the coin and bet everything I have on the next toss. You guessed it.....tails! I lose everything.
The coin tosses were always randomly distributed although the flips I observed were all heads. I was fooled into thinking the information from the data was telling me something about the coin. Although very improbable to toss ten consecutive heads, it is still possible under normal distribution.
Improbable does not mean impossible and it may actually be the case that our officer was ranked number simple by being lucky.
In closing let me say that regardless of the statistical analysis of ticket writing you can haul ass down the Dody Expressway as fast and as loud as you want without any fear of being disturbed by law enforcement. Use a stove pipe for a muffler and hit the gas!
And that is the straight dope EJ, Gravy has spoken.
Hey, Amuzing Goat,
Alberici Construction is not a social welfare program built to pay for your events and swimming pools.
You want a pool? Buy one!
You want fireworks? Molly Brown.
And they call me the gravy train.
I agree with Mommy's comments about Purzner smirking. In addition, my mama also said that Owensby was staring daggers through her!
Oh well, it just shows that these people claim to love Overland, but apparently hate Overlanders.
For the class: If not Overlanders, what exactly do you call the people who live in Overland? Points will be removed for anyone who says "Hoosiers". (You can think it, but you can't say it!)
Royal Subjects? Servants?
I'm sure Purzner "RN" would love it.
Crime Victims.
Tu Wong back in the news:
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/neighborhoods/stories.nsf/news/story/8C999ED9D3D34A118625718800763873?OpenDocument
I consider myself an official Overlandian
Although the Greater Overland Area includes all of St. Ann, Woodson Terrace, St. John and the collection of Parks and Terraces between Overland and University City, only those living in Overland proper can be known as Overlandians.
_____________________________
"If we're really all that worried about it, let's start putting cameras on every telephone pole and watch everybody's house too so we can catch burglars going in the house," Brown said.
(If Brownstown's cameras on top of every light pole can also automatically collar, book, charge and write report, we may want to look into such a system."
Brown brought up concerns with the revenue aspect and that there would be no allowance for the police officer's discretion in issuing the ticket.
(Without officer discretion, how can Brownstown extort the officer who are giving tickets to my friends and family. No good. But wait, he knows of something far worse.)
"But this is really worse. This is a disservice to the people. In essence, what you're trying to do is generate money by not having officers out there doing their jobs."
(hmmm, where do you start with such a classic Brownian quote. If generating money is a consequence of better traffic enforcement, bring on the money. I also do not see in the story that the automated system will be displacing current officers sitting at the same traffic signal writing tickets for 24 hours a day.)
According to the chat site, Boone either quit or was fired. I am sure it must be the latter, why would the news care if someone quits?
Guy....too late, I just mentioned Councilman Sellers in response to a post.....ooops. I'm bad.
Sellers himself said that his 30 year old step-son had been living with him until about a week ago. He was interviewed while the "budget meeting was taking place.
Oh SweatyPickle!
Discussing the pursuit of a murder suspect, allegedly, who is currently loose in Community does not constitute "talking about someone's family."
The fact that the suspect is the step-son of an Alderman is coincidental at this time but material to the case at this time. It is more of a current event type story than a gossip item.
Grab a cup of coffee and pull up the following article from the Post.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/88050AFB2CC3FDB38625718F0011F4C6?OpenDocument
(Or search on stltoday.com under Overland or recall)
Caution: you may end up spitting out your coffee over the last line which could be an electrical hazzard.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
To: The Readers of the Post-Dispatch
From: Norm Parrish
RE: Article correction
At the Post-Dispatch, we strive to bring you both timely and accurate news. Sometimes in our effort to expedite news delivery, accuracy is sacrificed.
Such was the case in my article, "Recall effort begins brewing in Overland." We erroneously quoted Mayor Ann Purzner as saying "I have always tried to do the best for the community. I am like an angel." The accurate quote was "I've always tried to do what was best for me and my friends (sic), despite the community. I'm no angel."
I apologize for any inconvenience this error may have caused.
DESPITE THE COMMUNITY? WTF? Purzner is an absolute idiot!!!!!
I apologize if I was not clear. The "Norm Parrish Memo" is a parody.
I am still laughing about the "I'm like an angel" comment that I had to satirize it.
During most recent storm, I was working on a new recipe for milk gravy when my solitude was interupted by a loud crashing noise. Seconds later, the electricity went down. I went to the window to witness a transformer exploding while live wires danced across the street posing a grave danger to motorists.
Being the responsible citizen that I am I frantically searched for my cellular phone in order to notify Overland's first responders.
I spoke to the Overland Police Dispatcher for a few seconds. The Dispatcher said he would call for an officer.
I put phone down and re-approach window. I looked out window and there he was. Before I could even finish the call a lone sentinal in a black cape was already on the scene. As the elements pounded down upon him he did not waiver in his committment to public safety. He stood tall and took commanded of the scene as he blocked off the hazard with his stunningly beautiful black Mercury Grand Marquis.
Response time: less than 10 seconds.
How could this be? How could this heroic caped cursader be on the scene protecting life and limb so quickly? It was late on a Saturday night as well?
I decided to get to the bottom of this. The gale force winds slammed my door open as I entered the elements. Fighting the driving rain that obscured my vision, I approached the figure; this lone Dark Night protecting my safety.
I pulled at his cape to get his attention.
"Batman? Is it really you,... Is it you Batman?" I froze as figure turned to speak. His cape flailing from the wind and shielding his face.
Then in a dark authoritative tone he said to me, "No son, I am not the Batman. My name is Police Chief Herron. And I advise you fine citizen to return to your house for your safety as well as mine."
By time I had returned to my house fire and police responded from all directions. The scene came under control and order had been restored. Electric service would be repaired by the next morning. The lone sentinal speed off in his black salon. Off, to protect others from the elements of wind, rain, and crime.
As I reflected upon the events over my morning coffee, a deep sense of gratitude overcame my thinking. "Thank you Chief Herron. Thank you for being there when citizens of Overland needed you. It was our finest hour."
Bob, that picture is hysterical !!
Now for the 5 point questions.....
hee hee
Question regarding the next council meeting: Will the people in angel wings outnumber the people in nurses uniforms?
By counting the number of participants on the Overland Chat site I have determined that are approximately eight computers in the City of Overland.
The Amuzing Goat sure gets her money's worth over there. Is there any topic the Amuzing Goat will not "chew" on. You know those goats will eat anything.
I wonder if Junior Sellers' flamed-out Caddy was still was missing the hub cap?
Gravy, I have been really mulling over your ideas about voter registration in the City. I don't know if you caught the below note in the Post the other day but this may very well provide the answer. Although the school may be reluctant to get involved with the actual recall effort, they may be willing to work on voter registration:
Iveland principal is
picked as top educator
Kids Voting USA named Iveland Elementary School Principal Charmaigne Scott as co-recipient of the national 2006 Educator of the Year award.
"Charmaigne Scott has been a tireless advocate for Kids Voting USA and the importance of civic learning," said Christopher E. Heller, president of Kids Voting USA. "She is committed to preparing students to put democracy in action."
Scott has ingrained the concepts of democracy in her students, who experience voting firsthand when they vote for a school T-shirt or for issues with direct connection to the school such as, "Should students be required to wear uniforms to school?"
Kids Voting USA is a nonprofit organization designed to prepare young people to be educated voters. For more information, visit www.kidsvotingusa.org.
In closing, I am very worried about both Ghost of Norman Meyers and John Doe. We have not seen posts from either of them in quite some time. Perhaps they are also part of this Sleeper Cell--ers and have had to go dark. Say it ain't so.
Capital idea E.J.....,
A Back to School Voter Registration Campaign could bring the gift of voting to so many of the disenfranchised. You always did understand grassroots best E.J.
Maybe the Amuzing Goat could spend a few moments away from the Overland Chat site to help with a registration drive.
The Amuzing Goat has proposed that names be drawn from a hat to fill the empty 3rd Ward seat.
Another fabulous idea from the Goat. Maybe one too many trips to the bingo parlor is coloring Amuzing Goat's understanding of representative democracy. If someone would throw in an early bird all-you-can buffet, we could charter a bus and make a weekend of it.
Some chance of appointing an ORT-ist shill is better than the current odds of no chance. I don't think a bag of nickels and "tug" on the ole' one-armed-bandit will solve this dispute.
Gravy, you forgot to mention how she was going to fund the swimming pool with her "hat trick".
Quote: "You could buy as many chances as you want or six for a hundred dollars. The money going to the swimming pool fund."
Will someone buy this woman a pool so she can stop?
Perhaps she could pull some floatie things for your arms out of the hat for the new pool. And the free bathing cap goes to Owensby to protect his dome piece.
Does anyone know how to get a link to a personal website posted on the home page of the City of Overland's official web-site?
I would like John Doe to have a link for his OVCC Blog. How it is that a link to Ann Purzner's personal website appears on Overland's Home Page?
E.J, this lady is just like school in the summer time, no class...you know what I'm saying?
http://www.overlandmo.org/
Dear Amuzing Goat,
I have never posted anything on OverlandChat.com; ever, fore-ever ever.
Sat·ire
1. A literary work in which human vice or folly is attacked through irony, derision, or wit.
2. Irony, sarcasm, or caustic wit used to attack or expose folly, vice, or stupidity.
I don't hate you Amuzing Goat. Anyone who knows me will attest that hate is not an ingredient in the Gravy Boat. I never called you dumb or used hateful language. There may be a few things to quibble about but I am not attacking you; I'm attacking your ideas!
On the other hand, there is rarely anything light-hearted about your posts. The passive-aggressive quality oozes through your every word.
Writing satirical essays in regard to Overland politics and its blog-o-shpere (or as you say making fun of someone) is not mutually exclusive with happiness. In fact if you could see my face and the speed in which my fingers are typing you would quickly arive at the conclusion that I truly enjoy the endeavor.
I am most often laughing quietly to myself while typing. Often the laughing interrupts my chain of thought and I will have to take a break for a few minutes.
What a hoot!
Oh, as far as being stupid, all things are relative so I won't make outright claim to not being stupid.
But trust me when I say that I have earned as many advanced degrees as there are members of the ORT Cloud. One for each actually. Real Sheepskins. Bound in attractive leather cases and ready for full inspection or photocopy reproduction.
Gravy:
"Truth is usually the best vindication against slander." --Abraham Lincoln
Do you think the Horse Latitudes' poem pushed her(MUSIC NOTE) over the edge? Now MUSIC NOTE...is agreeing with DANNYIFECTOUS. Scary!
Say it ain't so, John Doe!
Sorry but it is, but I won't be pulling the plug immediately, this is going to take several months to finalize and by then I will have changed the password and made it public, so at that point I will be away from Overland politics and I will not be running OVCC but it will live on...
I wish you the best of luck, John. I hope everything works out well.
Sheepskin Smackdown
Not on Pay-Per-View
Not on HBO
Live on Public Access
Undercard
Bob “I’ll put my law degree against yours” Herman
vs
Ann “Float like an angel, sting like a beyotch” Purzner
Main Event
Gravy “I’ll see your degree and raise you three” Crane
Vs
The ORT contingent
You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll cheer.
Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime event as one man puts the smackdown on the ORT
Not since Sampson took on the Philistines have we seen such a show of strength.
All proceeds benefit the MusicNote Municipal Pool Fund
!! Let’s Get Ready to Rumble !!
Thanks for the sentiments.
I would not shy away from such a match-up but am not sure if it would be fair.
Not many people know this, but Ken Ownesby's wig is extremely well educated. I don't know how many degrees he earned during his path to being a Rhoads Scholar. If not for the ugly fight with his tenure committee at MIT and subsequent nervous break-down, Ken Ownsby wouldn't have found the lonely piece at that rummage sale fatefull day. A broken wig, he now sits astride Ken's robust dome hopeing Ken doesn't errupt in another Beavis fit.
Last time I spoke with the wig he told me that he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold on.
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