police

By Rosalie Tirella

How lovely to be driving down Salisbury Street in Holden, Massachusetts, last night (10:30ish)! How lovely to have a car pull out of the Holden Recreation Area parking lot - tailgate me, tailgate me with headlights on strong, and then set sirens and lights blaring and blazing and then get of the car - yes, he was a police officer in a police cruiser - and look as if he is about to shoot me. In Holden! One of the sleepiest towns in Massachusetts.

He - Holden Police Officer Gregg Sculthorpe - tells me: you went over the yellow line (on the road).

And when I tell him: I went over the yellow line just a little because a car - yours - was on my ass with the headlights on strong! I told him my eyes were aching that day - I didn’t know why - and that I had made an appointment to see an opthamologist the next day (today). They really hurt that day! I also told him I just put my newspaper, InCity Times, to bed (sent it to press) and I was tired. I also told the police officer I have never had a chargeable accident, I am a good driver and citzen. Could I have a please have a warning instead of a ticket? Click to continue »

By Ron Chiras

Would anyone like to see what is still happening on College Hill, home to Holy Cross College?

Last weekend Boyden and Caro streets were blocked at 1 a.m., Sunday morning (April 24). This week-end is the BIG ONE!!?

Read this alert sent out to residents and join the “Hill” people in trying to figure out what the h— is going on!

Holy Cross Spring Weekend: an annual event that occurs on the Holy Cross campus this first weekend of May. There are activities on campus but, of course, Caro Street is the big attraction.

We suspect, as in the past, many hundreds [of students] will be on Boyden and Caro streets - drinking in overcrowded apartments, cellars, porches and yards - most of them underage with open containers of alcohol. Click to continue »

By Ron Chiras

Promises!!? - [Worcester] Housing Court: orders landlords to reduce numbers in apartments out of code. 10 Boyden by Dec. 31st - students still there. 125 College St. - since 2000 has been breaking the law- no permits to add attic apt. - ordered to reduce numbers - extra students still there. The same at 21, 23, 26 Caro St.- 11 and 13 Boyden. We know this will not stop the unruly parties in apartments and in the streets.

—–Worcester Police - keep their promises - will not arrest students. The poor kids (they are running the show). Keep the same non-working policy of the Holy Cross detail “patrolling” the Hill. BUT, they don’t seem to be working with the Holy Cross campus police, off-campus or responding to the neighborhood’s cry for help. They say students are not breaking the law in the streets, so they can’t arrest them. Can you believe it?

—–Holy Cross - no control of off-campus students - giving the college a very bad rep.
Supposed to enforce on-campus code of conduct, off-campus, (WE were encouraged) HOW? Holy Cross said the Campus police!

Beautify the neighborhood by tearing down houses that have been unoccupied for 10 years, then letting students park cars on that land. What gives? We realize landscaping won’t come till spring. But allowing more party parking!?

SO IT GOES - READ ON!

January 18, 2010 - Holy Cross students start returning to school for Spring semester. Four Holy Cross owned houses have been torn down over the Christmas break to help “beautify” the street. Students begin using the land to park their cars.

January 22, 2010 - Party weekend on Caro St. - as usual. Worcester Police Department and Holy Cross campus police were to work together. No way. WPD seen in cruiser, 20 feet away from unruly students who were shouting, drinking outside in freezing temps after midnight. No action taken. NO campus police seen anywhere off-campus.

January 29, 2010 - “Things” get worse. Reported – party at 3 City View St. - Holy Cross-owned. Saturday into Sunday morn. Noise heard at Kendig and Davenport streets. Also, partying in the street between 125 and 138 College St . Neighbor reports staggering drunks, shouting-swearing by dozens of students going between houses. Sound familiar? WPD seen going by the students two times and they did nothing. This was after midnight in freezing temperatures. No campus police seen anywhere off campus.

WHEN WILL IT END? WE NEED HELP! WHO IS RUNNING THE SHOW?!

By Ronald O’Clair

As some of you may know, I have written several items in regards to my experience with the infamous Worcester Police Department, I write them as I see them, and based upon eye-witnessed episodes in my own life. It has garnered me a reputation as a “Cop basher” in some circles, as a hero of the people in other circles, and, I hope, as a serious writer of some measure of talent.

I witnessed an incident involving a paid detail officer on the night of Halloween, that was not reported in the papers the next day, nor has a word of it made it into the press Click to continue »

A few letters from ICT readers that seemed especially appropriate, seeing all the Holy Cross kiddies have asked their friends and parents and their invisible pals (new identities with new email accounts, boys and gals???) to barrage us with lets to the editor.

But first a few thoughts: 1. My cousins and uncle attended “The Cross.” It was never filled with as many spoiled little pukes as it is today. 2. This state (hello, Deval and Tim Murray) needs to talk up UMass Amherst - tell the country what a great university it is! UMass is at the forefront of stem cell research, etc and has been given a wad of $ from our governor. Deval needs to make some great TV commercials, a la former prez Bulger. 3. The WPD needs to get tough with these kids - arrest and lock up! Click to continue »

By Rosalie Tirella

More rattling/interesting stuff re: the City of Worcester-Holy Cross slug-fest (better than a T-Day football game!):

1. Telegram and Gazette reporter Bronislaus Kush covers religion for the Telegram & Gazette and anything Holy Cross. Kush, a good ol’Vernon Hill boy, attended St. Mary’s (very Catholic/Polish) elementary and junior - senior high schools on Richland Street, in Worcester. That’s 12 years of Catholic school! I oughta know - I was sorta there with him - I attended catechism class at St. M’s every Monday night, after attending Worcester’s illustrious public schools! (I was at St. M’s from grade 1 all the way through Confirmation.)

The St. Mary’s experience has no doubt made Kush a softie when it comes to reporting the dirty deeds done by Holy Cross students and stafffers. After graudating from St. Mary’s High School, “Bronny” Kush went onto Boston University, but I’m guessing even the super secular BU couldn’t undo the damage done by St. M’s (did I mention the nuns were scary?).

2. Kush is married to Kathy Robertson, a spokesperson/big wig at Holy Cross college (she’s assistant to the president - Rev. McFarland). Why would Kush make his wife’s school look bad? Why would he jeopardize her job at Holy Cross? Simply put, he wouldn’t. Click to continue »

By Rosalie Tirella

I got a chance to catch last week’s Worcester City Council meeting. Appalling! To see all our city councilors get up to kiss Police Chief Gary Gemme’s ass - after he throws out his “you- should-thank-God-for-the-WPD crime” report. For without us, Police Chief Gemme was telling the council (not so blatantly, of course) this place would be Dodge City!! This place would be overrun with crime and criminals!” (truth: Worcester has a lower crime rate than Hartford, Springield, etc because Woercester has more upper income folks/families living in our city limits than cities like Hartford or Springfield do. And rich people don’t commit the kinds of crimes poor/desperate people do. Springfiled, Hartford - even Providence - have many more poor people - poor neighborhoods - than we do. In fact, Hartford is one of the poorest cities in New England and one of the poorest in the USA!). Click to continue »

By Rosalie Tirella

There is a God!

Finally, the State of Massachusetts is pulling the plug on the Quinn Bill - the millions and millions of dollars that may as well have been flushed down the crapper but instead were given as bon bons to Worcester (and all the other municipal) cops who took high-school-part-2 classes at Anna Maria College.  Why? So that this city can pretend we have an educated police force. Why again? So that police officers who already make a load of dough can make a shit load of dough, if they snooze through the Quinn Bill classes. The classes don’t do anything to make them more enlightened cops. A good brain, a heart and an in-shape body, along with knowledge and love of your community, make you a great cop. And a Catholic liberal arts school like Anna Maria needs to get out of the cop-training business. It’s just a way for them to make a ton of money easily.

Now the City of Worcester will have to pay Anna Maria millions of dollars, if we want our police officers to go through the Quinn program. We know that won’t happen. Hooray!

You want “educated” cops? How about a residency requirement for all Worcester cops? How about a few internships with the Rape Crisis Center or Friendly House or some other great social service agency in town?  How about a mini-course in customer service? There are so many dismissive, rude, red-faced, apopleptic, stressed-out, sloppy, slap-happy cops out there. How about giving them a Miss Manners handbook, to go along with their guns and night sticks?