Congressman Jim Himes, right, was sworn in by Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi, left, in a ceremony Tuesday, with his wife and two daughters, center, by his side
Written by Ken Borsuk, Staff Reporter
A new year means the beginning of new jobs for three town residents who took the oath of office this week to become public servants.
On Tuesday afternoon, Cos Cob resident Jim Himes officially became a United States congressman when he was sworn in by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. His children, Emma, 9, and Linley, 6, his wife, Mary, and his mother, Judith, attended the ceremony. Mr. Himes defeated incumbent Republican Christopher Shays last November. The first-term Democrat was sworn in at the en masse ceremony for the entire 111th Congress and then later in the day individually in his office.
Stanwich School gets OK to expand campusWritten by Sara Poirier, Assistant Editor
It took 17 months, but founding headmistress Pat Young and her fellow Stanwich School supporters got what they wanted early Wednesday morning — an expanded campus on one 37-acre piece of land.
Waiting until the 11th hour of Tuesday night to begin discussion of the project, Planning and Zoning Commission members unanimously approved plans to add an upper school and expand the lower school footprint at the 11-year-old private institution, which currently teaches prekindergarten through 10th grade on three different campuses in town. They also approved adding a detached synagogue building for the Greenwich Reform Synagogue next door. The neighboring 11.5 acres, through a separate approved application, became combined with the school’s 25 acres.
All the additions, opponents contended, would contribute to what they called already hazardous traffic situations in the Stanwich/Cat Rock Road area. Creating what neighbor George Schiele called something the size of a “small college” would also destroy the natural environment, according to Mary Lou Lange, White Birch Lane resident and head of Greenwich Residents for Appropriate Land Use (GRALU).......
.....Stanwich attorney Bruce Cohen said the school would get all its funding to pay for the project before applying for building permits, addressing Ms. Lange’s concern about a “gaping hole” at the site should work stop because of lack of money.
“The school is invested wisely and has not suffered the same loss that other institutions have suffered,” Mr. Cohen said.
“This did not happen quickly,” he added, about the length of the application process, saying it’s been the longest live application he’s worked on.
“We have been mindful of the concerns we have to address,” Mr. Cohen said, adding that because of the “great size” of the property and a natural ridge that occurs along its border, the site is able to “accommodate this kind of development.”
In coming to a decision, commission member Paul Marchese said the group needed to look at the application holistically, taking into consideration that the school is a “major asset” to the town.
“This is a landmark for all of us,” Ms. Young told the Post following the commission’s decision, adding that she looks forward to getting things started.
Count Me In says PTAs will get duesWritten by Ken Borsuk, Staff Reporter
Claiming there was no theft, but rather poor business decisions, the chief executive officer of Count Me In Inc. is urging PTAs around the country, including the Greenwich PTA Council, not to go to court.
According to a company statement issued last Friday, Count Me In Inc. (CMI) owes 220 organizations across the country about $5 million. That includes a collective $75,000 to five Greenwich elementary schools for which the PTA Council late last month turned to state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal for assistance......
....the checks stopped coming to the schools once the clubs started up again in the fall.
Terry Drayton, founder and CEO of Count Me In Inc., said in a statement that the company was looking either for investors or an outright sale to be able to pay the money back. He insisted there was no theft or fraud and that the company can account for “every penny” in the shortfall,
claiming the money was used for operating costs for the Washington State-based company over the past eight years, such as salaries........
COMMENT:
I Believe This Is Called An Eight Year Old Ponzie Scheme
The Greenwich Post Article Continues.....
Mr. Blumenthal, a Greenwich resident, spoke to the Post on Tuesday and said that discussions with Count Me In Inc. are at a very early stage. He said the company has “committed to cooperate” but it remains to be seen if it will fulfill that pledge. Mr. Blumenthal said Connecticut was working with other interested states, particularly Washington and New Jersey, and they were exploring options to recover the money or get restitution.
COMMENT:
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal Should Quit Pussy Footing Around And Get An Arrest Warrant For Terry Drayton The founder of Count Me In. Then Mr. Blumenthal Should Seek His Extradition To Conneticut. Mr. Drayton Has Stolen From All Of These Greenwich Children And Should Be In Jail.
Plus Mr. Blumenthal Should Go After What's Left Of Count Me In Civilly And The Company Should Be Sold To Pay Back Families That Lost Money.
The Greenwich Post Article Continues......
The PTA Council has not gone to court over this, but other organizations have, and Mr. Drayton urged them to withdraw their claim. He said his only objective right now is to raise the money needed to pay back what the company owes and that he just needs time to be able to set things right without court action.
“I can understand our clients’ frustration and anger,” Mr. Drayton said. “We made a host of mistakes and have put them in a difficult situation. Now I’m just asking them for the time to fix it.”
He said recent action by three Alaskan sports clubs that he claimed would force the company into involuntary bankruptcy.....
COMMENT:
PTA Council President Julie Faryniarz should resign Immediately. She was aware that parents money was missing when the checks stopped coming last fall, but did not report the matter to the Greenwich Police Department or the Attorney Generals Office.
Ms. Faryniarz did not warn parents to contact their credit card companies to get the charges reveresed last year. Nor did she inform parents about the missing money or about the PTA's multiple email corspondences about the missing $75,000.
Faryniarz did not bother to tell parents that DAN "I AM THE MAN" KULLY was secretly flying out to Washington, in early December, in an ameturish effort investigate what happened to the missing money. Was DAN "I AM THE MAN" KULLY stupid enough to think that a deadbeat Ponzie scammer like Terry Drayton was going to put a $75,000 in his hands
Let The Record Show:
That Greenwich Roundup Was The First Connecticut News Outlet To Report That CMI was ripping off Greenwich School Parents.
Furthermore, one month ago today, we were asking why the Greenwich PTA's had not contacted Blumenthal office and criticized the PTA's for hiding the $75,000 loss and not advising them to call their credit card company immediately reverse the charges. We were even asking why the plug had not been pulled on greenwich's links to the Count Me In website.
But PTA Council President Julie Faryniarz did not listen to Greenwich Roundup and took three weeks before she got Blumenthal involved. Any lost monies to the Greenwich PTA's will be because Faryniarz failed to immediately contact authorities when the $75,000 came up missing early last fall.
When Greenwich Roundup Typed....
PTA Council President Julie Faryniarz Should Have Listened
And Taken Immediate Action.....
PLEASE SEE THIS OLD
GREENWICH ROUNDUP REPORT
FROM 30 DAYS AGO:
The PTA's Are Missing A Lot Of Money
Where Is The Parents $75,0000?
IS DAN KULLY AND HIS SISTER TRYING TO SWEEP THIS THEFT UNDER THE RUG ?????
SHOULDN'T PARENTS HAVE BEEN INFORMED BEFORE DAN KULLY HOPPED ON A PLANE TO WASHINGTON ?????
WHEN WERE GREENWICH PTA LEADERS GOING TO TELL THE PARENTS THAT THEY HAD BEEN RIPPED OFF ?????
SHOULDN'T SOMEONE CALL THE GREENWICH POLICE DEPARTMENT AND REPORT THIS MISSING $75,000 ?????
MAYBE SOMEONE SHOULD BE CALLING THE CONNECTICUT ATTORNEY GENERAL ?????
SHOULDN'T PTA LEADERS BE SENDING OUT A MASS EMAIL TELLING PARENTS TO DISPUTE THE CREDIT CARD CHARGES, SO THAT THEY WONT LOSE THEIR MONEY ?????
WHY HASN"T THE GREENWICH PTA'S PULLED THE PLUG ON THEIR COUNT ME IN WEBSITE, BEFORE MORE PARENTS LOOSE MONEY ?????
WHERE IS THE LEADERSHIP IN THE GREENWICH PTA"S ?????
KIROTV
BELLEVUE, Wash. -- Parents and PTA leaders on Tuesday banged on the door of a Bellevue company that's at the center of a nationwide controversy after a KIRO 7 Eyewitness News story revealed the firm hasn't paid back money it owes to youth sports teams.
Dan Kully was among those looking for answers at the offices of Count Me In....
BREAKING NEWS
WFSB-TV Hartford
Blumenthal: Count Out Count Me In
GREENWICH, Conn. -- Attorney General Richard Blumenthal issued an urgent warning Tuesday to parents and school groups against making payments to register their children for sports and other programs through Count Me In, a recently bankrupt company.
Groups owed $75,000 from Seattle-based company
Town urges radon checks, makes kits available at reduced priceWritten by Sara Poirier, Assistant Editor
Town health officials will make residential radon test kits available next week to first-time users at one-third of their regular price, thanks to a state Department of Public Health grant. The discount is the town’s response to January as Radon Action Month in Connecticut.
Police WatchMISCHIEFChristian Barr, 33, of Bronxville, N.Y. was arrested Dec. 31 and charged with third degree criminal mischief. Police responded to a report of a disorderly person at the Hyatt Regency. Investigators determined the hotel security had responded to a noise complaint involving Barr, who appeared intoxicated and became aggressive, damaging a closet door in one of the rooms. Barr was released on a promise to appear and is due in court Jan. 6.
LARCENYA 16-year-old Greenwich boy was arrested Jan. 1 and charged with conspiracy to commit third degree burglary, third degree larceny and second degree false statement. The boy reportedly turned himself in on a warrant stemming from the theft of laptop computers from a Glenville residence on July 10. The boy was released on a promise to appear and is due in court Jan. 7.
POSSESSIONA 17-year-old Fairfield boy and Jeffrey Smith, 18, of Norwalk were arrested Jan. 1 and charged with possession of liquor by a minor. Police responded to an accident on Zaccheus Mead Lane in which Smith was the passenger and the Fairfield boy was the driver. Officers said the two were taken to the hospital and left the vehicle at the scene. Police said investigators determined both of them had thrown out alcohol that they had in the car before the accident. The boys were released on promises to appear and due in court Jan. 16.
ASSAULTCarlos Aponte, 51, of Stamford was arrested Jan. 1 and charged with second degree assault, criminal attempt at second degree assault, breach of peace and first degree criminal trespass. Police had been sent to Sherman Avenue on the report of someone trying to run another person over with a vehicle. Police said officers were given a description of Aponte’s car and informed that he was last seen traveling north on Sherman Avenue. Police found the car, pulled it over and arrested him. Upon interviewing witnesses at the scene, police determined Aponte tried to run another person over with his car. H was held in lieu of a $250 cash bond and is due in court Jan. 8.
WEAPONSA 17-year-old Greenwich boy was arrested Jan. 2 and charged with having weapons at school and carrying dangerous weapons. The boy reportedly turned himself in on an outstanding warrant. He allegedly brought a knife to school and kept it in his jacket pocket. The boy was released on a promise to appear and is due in court Jan. 9.
ASSAULTA 44-year-old Ridgefield man was arrested Jan. 4 and charged with disorderly conduct, risk of injury, third degree assault and interfering with an emergency call. Police responded to a reported domestic incident. The man had allegedly assaulted his ex-girlfriend by twisting her wrist and then smashing the phone to the ground so she couldn’t call 911. The man was found at his home and taken into custody by the Ridgefield Police Department. The man was released on a $10,000 surety bond and was due in court Jan. 5.
DUIMichael Atkins, of 3 Sayles St., Cos Cob was arrested Jan. 4 and charged with driving under the influence, failure to obey a traffic control signal, having weapons in a motor vehicle, interfering with a police investigation and failure to be fingerprinted. Police were sent to Sound Beach Avenue to the scene of The Beach House Cafe on the report of a disorderly man. According to police, Atkins had tried to get into the restaurant but was denied entry because he was visibly intoxicated and then left the scene in a black pickup truck. Police saw Atkins’ car drive through a red light and, when he was pulled over, he began to verbally berate the officers while displaying signs of intoxication such as slurred speech, glassy, red eyes and a smell of alcohol. Atkins allegedly refused to take field sobriety tests and continually yelled obscenities at the officers. When police searched Atkins’ car, officers reportedly found numerous hunting knives and a compound hunting bow in the front passenger seat. Police claimed that Atkins refused to provide officers with any information and could not be fingerprinted. Atkins was held in lieu of a $5,000 cash bond and is due in court Jan. 12.
THREATENINGA 24-year-old Greenwich man was arrested Jan. 4 and charged with second degree criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and second degree threatening. Police had been sent to the scene of a reported domestic dispute between a boyfriend and girlfriend. The woman alleged that her boyfriend had said he was going to kill her and that she had gone to a neighbor’s for protection. She told police the man had thrown her to the ground, tearing the back of her coat and then took her shoes and threw them into the snow. When she tried to get up, she told officers that he grabbed her arm and threw her into the snow and then he took her keys and handbag and threw them into the woods. According to police reports the woman then found her keys and locked herself in her car and that the man then came up to her and told her to give him the house key or else he would kill her. The man allegedly ripped off her driver’s side mirror and windshield wipers. The man was held in lieu of a $1,000 cash bond and was due in court Jan. 5.
===============================================================
Please send your comments, newstips and press releases to
GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com
