The U.S. Senate passed a new tax bill in the dead of night on Friday evening into Saturday morning, creating the largest changes to the country’s tax code in three decades.
The bill is 479 pages long and was distributed to senators around 7 p.m. on Friday. It was passed with 51 votes just before 2 a.m. on Saturday, leaving little time for senators to rummage through the proposals in changes before the deadline. No democrats voted to pass the bill.
The major change with the new tax bill is the deduction of tax rates for businesses and corporations, which will go into effect in 2019. The tax rate for big businesses will drop from 35 to 20 percent, and those companies will also be able to write off most of their investments for the next five years.
Tax rates for millionaires will also see a decrease from 39.6 percent to 38.5 percent. Most Americans making between $500,000 to $1 million annually will enjoy the new bill, as 91 percent of that group will get a tax cut of at least $100 in 2019. However, only 46 percent of Americans who make between $20,000 and $30,000 a year will see such a cut.
Americans who may not like the bill changes could be students at Quinnipiac and beyond, as the House bill eliminates student debt write-offs. This forces graduate students whose tuition bills are waived due to working for professors or for their school to include that waived money as taxed income. In short, graduate student assistants will be taxed on their tuition money that is going directly to the school because of their services while seeking their advanced degrees. Universities fear these changes could deter students from seeking graduate study programs.
Among other effects of the bill is an increase in the American debt. The national debt of roughly $20 trillion will likely increase by another trillion due to the bill, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.
Quinnipiac University announced the availability of a new short summer school program in Warsaw, Poland last week. The 12-day program will run from July 9-21 at Kozminski University in Warsaw, and will include students from all around the world.
The program is called “Law and Business in the Globalizing World,” according to Kozminski’s academic website. It includes multiple business and law courses. There is also an official visit to three different Polish corporations, including Polsat, a commercial television station in Poland. Students are able to register for one or two courses, which will total as three credits and transfer back to Quinnipiac as a business elective.
Courses will be taught in English, and students are required to show proof of English proficiency upon submitting applications, which are due April 15. The cost of the program is 500 euros, or roughly $600. The price includes the actual program and the necessary course materials, daily lunches at the university, and social activities such as sightseeing tours and the company visits.
Travel and housing are not included in the overall price, however the university encourages prospective students to seek room and board with Polish families near the school. According to Kozminski’s website, a number of families in the area have housed students in the past for no charge. Living with a family offers an opportunity to learn and embrace the Polish culture at a greater degree.
Students with any questions regarding the program should contact Quinnipiac representative Hanna Hejmonski at the Quinnipiac Central European Institute.
On May 10, 2016, the life of Hamden resident Sue Higgins changed forever. She received news that she prayed would never come, but always lingered as a harsh possibility, like a dark cloud hovering over her suburban household. No one wants to believe a family member can be lost to drug addiction, but Higgins was faced with that devastating reality when her son Jack passed away at age 23 after a long fight with heroin addiction.
Jack Higgins passed away from an accidental overdose at age 23
Jack Higgins is one of many victims of accidental overdoses as a result of drug addiction, and is part of a number that is growing at an alarming rate in Hamden and other neighboring towns. However, thanks to his determined mother, Jack will never be confined to a statistic. His memory lives on with every bit of light that is shined on his story, now told through his healing parent. Sue Higgins refuses to hide her truth, because there is no shame to that truth. There is only the possibility to help other parents avoid her tragedy, and be spared the excruciating pain she endures every day.
“Shortly after Jack passed, I was seeing a doctor to help me grieve, the same doctor who Jack used to talk to,” Higgins remembered. “The day after Jack passed, he told me to turn my pain into passion, and turn it into something positive. That really stuck with me.”
Higgins’ passion is centered around a determination to get the word out to Hamden residents about the fatal nature of addiction, and how nobody is immune to its effects, regardless of how much they try to avoid it.
“The challenge is getting people to realize that it can happen to you,” Higgins explained. “But it’s everywhere, and kids are dropping like flies.”
The numbers support Higgins’ statement. Drug overdoses claimed just one Hamden resident from January to June of 2015. It has claimed seven in that window of time in 2017, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The rise of opioid abuse in Connecticut has led many addicts to heroin, a cheaper and more potent drug than what they can find in a prescription bottle. Heroin alone claimed 174 lives in the state of Connecticut in 2016. Based on the numbers so far this year, the projected number of deaths by year’s end is currently 516.
Despite the staggering numbers and reports, Higgins insists there is a deathly silence over Hamden, and a reluctance to spread the word. Why is such a serious and dangerous issue not being addressed more openly?
“People just think it will never happen to them,” Higgins responded.
It happened to Higgins, who faced a crossroads after burying her only son at far too young an age. She wanted no parent to have to feel that pain. So she took her doctor’s advice and decided to do something about it.
Higgins family, left to right. Jack, sister Courtney, Sue and her husband John
Higgins began leading panels and forums throughout Hamden to warn parents and family members of the dangers of addiction, taking meetings into places like Hamden Town Hall and Hamden Middle School. She has met multiple times with Hamden Mayor Curt Leng and Chief of Police Thomas Wydra to help spread the word to kids and their family members. Higgins believes awareness needs to be spread beyond just the suffering addicts.
“It’s a family disease,” Higgins said. “And it can take you down pretty quickly.”
Higgins has gotten to work quickly, picking up the pieces and putting panels together just a year after Jack’s death. Despite her painstaking efforts and honesty, many of her words are falling on deaf ears, or absent ones.
“I personally went and taped informational signs everywhere, and it was on the Facebook page for the town,” Higgins said about a panel she put together at Hamden Middle School. “I would say probably about 75 or 80 people showed up, half of whom were my friends there to support me, the other half were my partner Margerie’s friends. That’s it.”
Despite the disappointing attendance, Higgins organized another panel to speak at Hamden High School shortly after. Once again, she posted signs and sent out notices of the meeting in school progress reports and report cards. There would be a morning session to speak to the kids about the dangers of using, and an evening panel for the parents. Not one parent showed up.
“Getting the attention of other adults has proven to be very challenging,” Higgins said. “Everybody wants to read the paper and see it on the news, but how many people actually want to take the time and listen? I don’t know how else to get people’s attention. In my own experience, people say it’s a disease but don’t understand how easy it is to become addicted.”
Higgins isn’t alone in her fight to open the eyes of the public to what they are reluctant to look at. Hamden resident Maxine Wallace wrote a letter to the editor in the New Haven Register to try and spread the word about Nar-Anon, a private group designed for family members of addicts who are hurting due to the loss of a loved one or the damage caused by a using addict. Like Higgins, Wallace sees a resistance in coming to terms with the true nature of addiction.
“Nobody talks about it,” Wallace said. “It’s such a hidden secret. Nobody knows that your neighbor is going through the same crap that you’re going through. If only people would just talk about it instead of it being a stigma and thinking something is wrong with you.”
Nar-Anon is a private organization that offers help for family members affected by the destruction of addiction
Wallace uses Nar-Anon as a way to help family members achieve the same freedom she experiences in the program. Her husband and brother have both been sober for over a decade, but the freedom she experienced has been through opening up to others and acknowledging her truth. It is a relief that Higgins is able to share through accepting her situation and using it as a vessel to help others, as long as others are open to accepting it.
“I remember when Jack was alive and in school, going into Stop and Shop I wanted to wear a mustache and glasses,” Higgins remembered. “Now I don’t care. There is no stigma. I learned through this experience that every family has something in which they’re a little embarrassed, but some people don’t want to talk about it and others do.”
Higgins can relate to the hesitation for families to open up about their struggles. There has been a stigma of shame wrapped around addiction for years, and getting the conversation started is a difficult task. Higgins empathizes with the fear and embarrassment, but has broken through her own fearful restraints for the greater good.
“I am very open and honest about it,” Higgins said of her grieving journey. “It’s a disservice to Jack to lie about it.”
The strength of Higgins to use the most painful experience of her life for the benefit of others has captivated those around her, particularly those who watch her work tirelessly to do her part to end addiction in Hamden.
“She is a powerful vehicle to the message,” said Ana Gopoian, who is over two decades into sobriety herself and has spoken on two different panels with Higgins. “She lost Jack, and to keep his memory alive, you have to give it a purpose. He didn’t pass in vain.”
The duo of Higgins and Gopoian present multiple perspectives on the effects of addiction, from the pain of family members watching their loved one self-destruct to the addict themselves who can’t stop using, despite the best of intentions. Gopoian believes their struggle can help others avoid their own in the future.
“Experience is where we can change the stigma of addiction,” Gopoian said. “People with these experiences help create smarter people.”
Gopoian has joined Higgins on panels around Hamden, including their appearance at Hopkins school, while Higgins has joined Gopoian on her own program, “The Paraphernalia Project.” The movement is Gopoian’s effort to alert parents and family members of signs to look out for that may tip them off to drug use by their kids.
“The project is meant for adults, teachers and officers,” Gopoian explained. “When parents are knowledgeable of red flags, they can intervene.”
Higgins was eager to jump on board with Gopoian’s project, and echoes her statement on the importance of family knowledge.
“Parents need to be aware of the signs and red flags,” Higgins added. “They need to know what tiny pupils are, and things that are so obvious but you don’t want to see them.”
Hamden, Connecticut and cities throughout the United States are in the midst of a deadly epidemic when it comes to heroin and opioids, and concerned citizens like Higgins are fighting hard to make others aware of the warning signs of drug use before it’s too late. An added danger with heroin use has been the recent introduction of fentanyl, a powerful opioid that is normally used in a patch to apply to the body to manage pain. However, heroin is now being laced with fentanyl for added potency, and leading to deadly results.
According to the Connecticut Chief Medical Examiner, there was one overdose death in Connecticut in 2012 in which heroin and fentanyl was in the victim’s system. Given the current pace of related deaths this year, 2017 is projected to end with 354 deaths within Connecticut as a result of this lethal mixture.
Many parents who have lost children to overdoses due to laced heroin have been calling for heavier sentences for the dealers who distribute those drugs. Higgins wasn’t pleased with the outcome of the case that involved the loss of her son, but other factors interfered with Jack’s dealer getting a harsher sentence.
“The kid who sold the drugs to my son got 18 months in jail,” Higgins says. “Is that enough? No, but in this case my son had other drugs in his system and it couldn’t be proven which one killed him.”
It was reported that Jack Higgins had heroin, cocaine and Xanax (or alprazolam) in his system on the day of his untimely death. It’s hard to prove the other drugs were mixed in with whatever heroin he purchased, so his dealer was sentenced to a time in jail that seemed to be more of a slap in the wrist than a punishment fitting of the crime, according to Higgins.
“I feel like whoever is dealing drugs needs to have maybe a mandatory sentence,” Higgins said. “It’s too light. There was just something in the paper yesterday about a couple dealers in Hamden who were out on a $10,000 and $20,000 bond. Any drug dealer worth their weight in salt is going to have that much money under their bed.”
Helping Higgins through the court proceedings after Jack’s death was Ines Cenatiempo, victim-witness coordinator for the Connecticut Department of Justice. Cenatiempo has worked with countless families looking for justice in the past, but the Higgins family had a lasting impact on her.
“Ms. Higgins and her husband were wonderful to work with,” Cenatiempo said. “I wish I did not have to meet them under such tragic circumstances, but despite the loss of their son, they were both passionate about being involved in outreach and awareness concerning the opioid crisis. I admire them for the courage it takes to keep going, and to speak out about this epidemic.”
Cenatiempo runs panels of her own which seek to shine a light on the horrors that addiction wreaks on families, and has hosted one in Hamden. She asked Higgins to speak for her group, but it came at a time that Higgins was not ready to speak about her tragedy in public. Cenatiempo hosts such panels not just because it is part of her job description, but she also is a primary witness to the alarming trend that is happening around her.
“I have worked on almost every overdose case our office has prosecuted, which is over 100 cases,” Cenatiempo said. “The past two years have seen a dramatic increase in these types of cases.”
As the fatalities continue to rise, the battle in Hamden rages on for Higgins. Despite a lack of attendance at her previous panels, she still continues to hold these types of meetings . As she struggles to find a niche that will attract parents to learn about this fatal issue, she continues to work to give herself a sense of helpful purpose.
“I just don’t want it to be my identity,” Higgins says. “I don’t want to be seen as that woman who lost her son. I want to be the woman that lost her son and is fighting really hard to raise awareness and wake people up.”
Painting of Jack Higgins, which is displayed in the Higgins household to keep his memory alive
Jack’s memory is everywhere in the Higgins household. His friends still come to visit regularly and check on the family. His pictures are littered about the house, bringing a warm smile to Higgins’ face every time she walks by. She remembers the good times with her son, but is also reminded of his painful truth. She stumbled across 10 bags of heroin while retrieving something from Jack’s room just weeks ago, now almost a year and a half since his passing. The reminders are not a reason to be ashamed. For Higgins, it is a reason to emerge from the shadows of addiction and spread the word so it doesn’t have to devastate another Hamden family.
The Quinnipiac rugby team took down undefeated Dartmouth 29-20 in the 2017 National Intercollegiate Rugby Association Championship by scoring 24 unanswered points and capturing its third straight national title. The trio of national championships remain the only ones in school history.
The third title was anything but a sure thing. The Bobcats had lost to Dartmouth earlier in the season, and eventually surrendered their top-ranked position to the Big Green. The Bobcats fell behind 15-5 early in the championship game and needed a momentum spurt if they were to hoist the crown for the unprecedented third straight time.
Of course, they turned to senior Ilona Maher.
The eventual tournament MVP scored a big try to tie the match and send the Bobcats on their way. She would finish the game with two tries and two assists, and finished the season with a team-high 23 tries. The backbone of the most successful team in Quinnipiac history, Maher now rides into the shadows of Sleeping Giant with a resume that makes her the top candidate for the best athlete the school has ever seen.
The string of success was something even Maher could not have imagined when transferring from Norwich prior to her sophomore season.
“Sometimes it feels unreal,” Maher said. “To win three just shows all the work we put in throughout these years. I came here and winning a champ wasn’t really on my mind. I just wanted to keep playing rugby. Each year we got better and do what we said we were going to do. We completed our mission.”
Head coach Becky Carlson has witnessed Maher’s profound impact on the Bobcats since she courted Maher from Norwich three years ago, before altering the course of Quinnipiac rugby history.
“Her work ethic is magnetic,” Carlson said. “She’s the type of player that a lot of people look to as an example of what they want to achieve. Not just physically, but also in terms of being a good teammate and leading by example.”
If Maher’s personal mission was to win it all during all three of her seasons as a Bobcat, then she accomplished her goal with flying colors, while earning plenty of personal honors along the way. She took home the MA Sorensen Award last season for the best women’s rugby player in the country, and followed it up by leading the Bobcats to the pinnacle of college rugby once again.
Maher and the Bobcats have made a living off conquering obstacles during their remarkable three-year stretch. The team didn’t have a home pitch all last season. They were able to host the NIRA Tournament this season, but needed to take down a Dartmouth team that looked poised to take Quinnipiac’s spot on top of the rugby world. Maher believes their struggles against Big Green were exactly what the Bobcats needed, and reminded her group that resting on their laurels was a death sentence for a chance to repeat as champs.
“To have that first game against Dartmouth and to lose was kind of a wake-up call,” Maher said. “We realized these other teams were here to play. When we do get beaten, we know it’s not who we are and we’re much better than that.”
The Bobcats woke up from their brief early season snooze and rolled to their third championship, making Norwich the only team in the past four seasons to beat the Bobcats in their final game of the season. That was when Maher was playing for Norwich, before becoming a Bobcat and igniting a national powerhouse.
Maher leaves the new pitch in Hamden with an undeniable legacy of winning, and plans to carry that legacy to wherever she finds herself next. Wherever it is, she plans to have her rugby cleats on.
“I want to go on and play more rugby,” Maher said. “This isn’t the end for me. It’s just the beginning.”
For Maher, her Bobcats career ended the way it began: with a championship trophy.
Curt Leng can take a breath. After spending Tuesday afternoon wishing for an election score update that doesn’t exist, Leng found out he will remain Hamden’s mayor after beating republican candidate Salman Hamid.
Leng received 74 percent of the votes to earn another term in office. The re-elect is one of several democrats who enjoyed the election results on Tuesday night, as the democratic candidates swept all four major positions up for election, including a town clerk position that was unopposed and claimed by Vera Morrison.
Election Day is underway in Hamden, with polls just hours away from closing at 8 p.m. Hamden could have a new mayor by night’s end, unless democratic representative and current mayor Curt Leng wins today’s election to maintain his position. Leng, who was outside Hamden Public Library this afternoon greeting voters, is feeling confident about his chances to remain town mayor.
“I think we’ve had really good feedback from residents today,” Leng said. “The things they’ve said about the town and what we’re doing are really positive. But you don’t know until the end of the day.”
Leng’s confidence is high, but has noticed a smaller than usual crowd at the polls today.
“You can’t tell what that means until the totals are done,” Leng said.
A possible explanation for Leng is the lack of opposed positions in certain districts in Hamden. There are democratic representatives in every district for this election, but only two districts have republican representatives.
As for the residents who are casting their votes today, their expectations for whoever walks away victorious appear to be fairly straightforward.
“I want the candidate to be a real honest and good person,” Hamden resident Dennis Tucker explained, though he is keeping his vote private. “He’s got to be upstanding and know what he’s talking about. I don’t want a guy who has no idea what politics are all about.”
While residents know what they want in their candidate, the candidates themselves can feel the day’s stress in terms of not knowing.
“I wish they had a scoreboard up and updated it every hour,” Leng said. “Keep everyone’s confidentiality, but let us know how we’re doing. It’s tough because you don’t really know what is happening.”
Democratic voters are feeling confident in their candidate’s chances to repeat as mayor, whether Leng is stressing or not.
“I’m very satisfied with the current administration in Hamden, and they’re in line with my political views,” Hamden resident and democratic voter George Engelhardt said. “That pretty much determined who I was going to vote for.”
Leng and the rest of Hamden will find out the results of today’s election at roughly 9:30 tonight. Leng will be at Mickey’s Restaurant in Hamden after the results are tallied to either celebrate a victory or cope with a loss. The winner will either be Leng or republican candidate Salman Hamid.
Four different local Hamden positions are up for election on Tuesday, Nov. 7, including mayor. Polls will open bright and early at 6 a.m. and will close at 8 p.m.
Here are the candidates voters will find on the ballot and the positions they are running for:
Voters can head to any of the following locations within voting hours on Tuesday to submit their ballot:
This is the general layout of what the ballot will look like once voters go inside a voting booth (of course, candidate names will be different):
Results are expected to be available at roughly 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, according to the Elections and Registrars Department. Results can be seen shortly after they are recorded at the office of the Elections and Registrars Department at 2750 Dixwell Ave. People can also try calling 203-553-7534, though results may take longer to be available by phone.
As the debris and fallen tree branches are cleared off the local roads in Hamden, citizens will be preparing their costumes to celebrate Halloween on Tuesday evening.
Fortunately, for hopeful trick-or-treaters the rain is expected to be out of sight by Monday afternoon, and there is currently no chance of rain throughout Tuesday, according to local weather reports. However, for those planning on strolling the neighborhoods for candy, you may want to incorporate a jacket into your costume, as temperatures are expected to drop to 35 degrees during the evening hours.
Screenshot from Weather.com
For anyone laying off the sweets and looking for a Halloween scare, Creeperum Haunted House on Marne Street will be open for business and tickets are available on its website. The attraction is recommended for citizens over 13 years of age.
While local firefighters are working to extinguish a transformer fire on Whitney Avenue due to last night’s storm, they also recommend that citizens keep their Halloween decorations away from open flames and heaters, specifically cornstalk materials.
To keep trick-or-treaters safe, stores like Walgreens have helped put together a nutritional guide so parents know what candies to avoid if their children have specific allergies.
With sunset expected before 6p.m., a popular safety precaution for children has been glowing reflectors that can be worn to make trick-or-treaters more visible to local drivers. Many of these safety reflectors are Halloween-themed, and can be found at Party City in Hamden.
Alumni celebration at Quinnipiac kicks off this weekend
By Ryan Chichester
Quinnipiac University will be recognizing its past students and graduates this Friday and Saturday for Alumni Weekend across campus.
According to the Quinnipiac Alumni website, more than 1,000 former students and their families and friends attended last year’s festivities on campus. Festivities included alumni softball games, family block parties in the Alumni Gardens and a tailgate party at York Hill prior to the men’s ice hockey team’s game against Northeastern. The tailgate featured beer tasting, music and a photo booth to capture the memories.
This year, the tailgate will be held prior to the men’s hockey match against Colgate on Saturday night. The weekend is expected to attract both Braves and Bobcats, even those who just recently tossed their hats at graduation.
“I’m very excited for alumni weekend,” 2017 journalism graduate Gabbi Riggi said. ” Not only is it exciting as a recent graduate to come back and see the people that are still in school, but to see the growth that has already happened since I left.”
The university sent out postcards to members of the Alumni Association and advertised the event through multiple social media platforms.
On November 7 the residents of Hamden will head to the polls for the mayoral election. In the running is current mayor Curt Leng and underdog Republican candidate Salman Hamid. HQ Press sat down with Hamid, a public school teacher and Quinnipiac alum, to discuss his run for office and what motivated him to do it.
Why are you running for mayor?
I got up and I was like I’m going to run for Mayor one day, and it’s been a series of things over time. It’s not just one in particular but the focal point it got to, I was at a bank and the banker goes ‘so I heard you’re running.’ And this was someone before the word really got out so I’m like ‘okay.’ And she’s like ‘why are you doing it?’ and I was like ‘great question.’ People didn’t really ask me in the beginning what is it that you’re doing this for and I said I’m not in it for the glory or the fame, I’m a public school teacher. What I really am doing it for is my kids and future generations of Hamden so I need to leave behind. I can’t sit in the sidelines anymore. I need to leave behind a sustainable Hamden for my kids and future generations to come. So I’ve always been about the idea that life is about service…and it got to a point where I’m like the taxes are too high, there’s blight all around town, traffic congestion is out of control it’s ridiculous, and it’s all reactive now instead of being proactive. So someone’s got to come in from the outside and clean up. And if it’s going to be me, then so be it. I will be happy to do it.
What is your opinion of the town’s relationship to Quinnipiac?
This is a college town, and I get that, but there also has to be a relationship between the college entity and the town and the residents there. You probably heard over and over of residents complaining about Quinnipiac student housing and so on and so forth. And this is what I’m talking about. That situation wouldn’t have happened if taxes were sustainable in town, because people have either foreclosed on their property or they rent it out to students because there is no other option because they can’t sell their homes. Unfortunately people have gotten more and more negative interpretations because there’s always a few bad apples who are out partying on Fridays and Saturday nights, hanging out on their lawns, and people have kids and you know they don’t want any of that. It’s got to be a sustainable relationship. So with the incoming president I plan to meet with him or her and work with them to develop more of that housing moving forward. But I also plan on having events, town events, at Quinnipiac also. People have to understand it’s a two-way street and Quinnipiac is aware of that and ready to own up to their end.
What is the first thing you would do in office if you were elected mayor?
Reestablish communication. There has been a major lack of communication between the top entity in town, which is my opponent, and the residents. The communication only seems to happen when it’s an election season, but beyond that I hear constant complaints as I’m knocking on doors that the town has just stopped listening to our issues and concerns.
If you were to become mayor, what is the biggest thing you want to change over the next 4 years?
Can I say two?
Sure!
Well they go hand in hand. Refine the spending and bring commerce back into town. That will hopefully bring more people, more families back into town. I want to build a small business advisory council of existing shop owners here as well as ones that want to come in and do business as well because there are too many empty lots.
How do you deal with the racist comments directed towards you?
Being Muslim in a post-9/11 society has not been pleasant. Prior to that my race was rarely an issue, my religion was rarely an issue. Kids at my school would be like ‘fight me,’ and I was just like ‘why would I fight you, I don’t get it?’ and they would say ‘well your people blew up the twin towers,’ and it’s, oh my goodness. Yeah, there’s been a lot of stigma and that’s a lot of the reason I created American Muslims United. But at the end of the day I can’t get angry about this stuff. I love living in a country, as people don’t understand, I love living in a country where people can voice their opinions and not get killed over them. My family is from Pakistan and if you speak out against government you just go missing. I’m thankful to live in a country that people can voice their opinions. And I love it and if that’s what you have to say then say it. I appreciate your comment, thank you. But I also let people know that as an educator it is my job to inform people of what my faith is and how we act and interact in this community. And I mean, how many Muslim candidates have you seen run period? The state of Connecticut has probably had one Muslim mayor but beyond that, crickets. I’m also letting people know that Muslims are here, they’re active, and we’re part of the solution, not part of the problem. But I can’t get angry. As mayor I will represent everyone in town, even the people that write not so nice things, I will still represent them.
Why should the people of Hamden vote for you to be their Mayor?
I plan on committing and following through with the items that are spoken about on my platform, building an animal shelter, a business advisory council, getting a citizens council so we can hear their voices, reduce traffic issues and develop commerce back into town. I have never been part of the problem. I have not been in political office for 20 years. I have always been part of the solution in the background doing stuff. I’ve been given this opportunity to run and I plan on doing an effective job. I mean, I have to have morals and ethics. I’m a public school teacher, right? You know I have to teach future generations. My goal has always been to try and improve my community, and if this is the best way to do it, in this platform and this avenue by running for mayor on the republican ticket, then so be it.
