12/27/08 Greenwich Time News Links On Saturday. TOP STORY: Will Republican's Like Robert McKnight Kill The New Byram Swimming Pool?

Greenwich Insiders Robert J. McKnight Jr. Is Saying He Is Not Sure That Byram Pool Supporters Are Really "Swimming" In Money.

Will Byram Lose It's New Pool Because The Republican Byram RTM Chairman Is Trying To Hurt Democratic Selectwoman Lin Livery

McKnight Should Get Off His Ass And Start Helping Bing In Donations Instead Of Slamming The Good Donors Who Want To Improve Byram

Supporters continue effort to raise funds for Byram pool

Perceived to be treading water because of lean economic times, a proposal to build a new community swimming pool in Byram Park through a public-private partnership involving the town is still afloat, according to Selectman Lin Lavery.

Lavery said a group of volunteers is continuing to seek private donations for the estimated $6.5 million project, which it had initially hoped to break ground on next September.

The project's supporters, Lavery said, have no intention of abandoning the effort and already have spent an estimated $15,000 in privately raised funds on preliminary architectural and engineering plans for the new pool.

"God, no," Lavery, one of the people spearheading the effort, said of the perception that the project is dead in the water. "Full steam ahead in terms of trying to get people to support the project."

For the project to have any chance of making it, however, town officials said the lion's share of the pool's cost must be paid for privately, with taxpayers shouldering minimal expenses.

"Certainly, the availability of external funding plays into it. But the question is how much and when will we get it?" First Selectman Peter Tesei said.

Tesei said it would be difficult for him to see the town choose to do the pool over other projects with limited funds available for capital expenditures.

"If we have to choose between a fire station and a pool, public safety will take precedence," Tesei said.

Lavery would not disclose how much has been raised for the project in private donations, other than to say that the group was shoring up its base of people who made pledges to the project and seeking additional donations.

"Right now, we are in a new set of financial realities both for the town and our donors," Lavery said. "We're going back to our donors. We need more donors. Anyone who is in the fundraising business these days has to revisit their donors and make sure they're comfortable." ......

PLEASE SEE:

04/03/07 - Lin Lavery, said children who have to use the restroom have to get back in line after they’ve used the bathroom, and that was unacceptable

03/26/08 - "It's an embarrassment," Lavery said. "Children should be able to swim in the sunshine in a pool during the summer."

PLEASE ALSO SEE:

04/12/09 - The Byram RTM Chairman Has Major Problems With Lin Lavery's Pool Donation Proposal

MAYBE RTM CHAIRMAN ROBERT J. McKNIGHT DEMANDED THAT THE WABBA BROTHERS RESIGN FROM THE DISTRICT 4 RTM........ BECAUSE THE WABBA FAMILY HAS BEEN HEAVILY INVOLVED WITH PROVIDING MONEY FOR THE BYRAM POOL.

Robert McKnight has repeatedly said at public meetings that he did not see how a survey of the Byram Park pool could be started without having the Master Plan completed and properly analyzed by his district 4 RTM members.

McKnight repeatedly has said at public meetings that there could be unnecessary and costly delays if the two plans have conflicting visions.

How the Master Plan could conflict with an improved Byram Pool that is built with private funds is hard for long time Byram residents to understand.

This is causing some Byram political insiders to speculate that McKnight has sold out the working class village in an effort to help the Town Republicans torpedo the Democrat Selectwoman's pet project and it's innovative public -private partnership funding scheme.

There are rumors that the very popular Selectwoman is considering running for the First selectman's office in less than a year.

PLEASE SEE:

12/04/08 Byram Republican Trying To Force Developers Sons Off The Representative Town Meeting (RTM)

FOR THE RECORD:

The publisher of Greenwich Roundup requested the email communications that RTM Chairman Robert McKnight sent to the Wabba brothers forcing them to resign from the Byram District 4 RTM. The freedom of information was given to the Town Clerk, who forwarded the request to the Town attorney.

For 23 days the Greenwich Town Attorney has failed to respond to the Freedom Of Information request for RTM Chairman Robert McKnight's emails to the Wabbas. Even though these emails are public documents.

The Town Clerk has said at least one of the Wabbas who supported the new Byram Pool, has caved in to Robert McKnights pressure tactics and resigned form the Byram RTM.

There maybe a special election for Mr. Wabba's Byram RTM seat in a couple of weeks, but the RTM Chairman so far has refused to publish a notice in the Greenwich Time.

Many Byram residents have expressed an interest in the one and possibly two open Byram RTM seats, but they have not been able to get information on the Byram Special Election.

Byram resident Bill Clark who writes the very popular Greenwich Gossip blog has expressed an interest in being considered for an open District 4 RTM seats.

Robert McKnight Chairman has been dragging two of his cronies to the last two Byram RTM meetings in hopes of placing them in the Wabba's seats at the last minute.

But the Wabba's refused to resign and did not attend the meetings.

At the December District 4 Meeting Robert McKnight complained that he had gotten one of the Wabba's to send an email resignation, but that this Wabba brother sent the resignation email was sent to McKnight instead of the Town Clerk.

Town employee and district 4 RTM member Tom Grecco went the day of the December meeting trying to get permission to replace Wabba with one of McKights cronies, but was told that a special election could not be held because there was no notification in the Greenwich Time Newspaper.

Town Hall insiders have said that RTM Chairman McKnight has argued that he is not legally required to publish the special election. Apparently Mcknight's research has found that the RTM special elections are only published as a courtesy to taxpayers by the Greenwich Town Clerk.

Town Hall insiders have said that there have been heated discussions in the First Selectmans Offices, where Peter Tesei has told McKnight,"You have to publish the notice in the Greenwich Time as soon as you know that there is going to be a special election."

McKnight is still resisting publishing the notice that he says is not legally required. So look for the Byram special election notice for one or two Byram RTM seats just before the next meeting.

Shoppers' break: Stores trim prices for seasonal sales
Day-after-Christmas shopping was less than frenzied in Greenwich Friday, despite banners advertising new discounts in many storefronts.

Neighborly
The Christmas spirit is shining a bit brighter in Chickahominy this season. About 60 people in the working-class neighborhood will receive food vouchers to buy groceries through the town's Holiday Aid Program, courtesy of a donation by the Chickahominy Reunion Association, according to David D'Andrea, the organization's president.

Teen leads police through yards
A 15-year-old Norwalk boy led Greenwich and Port Chester police on a wild, two-state, Christmas day chase for several hours following a car crash, police said.

Greenwich police received several reports Thursday afternoon of a teenager fleeing through residents' backyards, jumping over fences and hopping over porches, according to Sgt. John Slusarz. The teen matched the description of a young male wanted in an earlier Port Chester car chase.

Port Chester authorities told Greenwich police that earlier in the day they were following a young male who was driving a car when he crashed near King Street on the state line and ran off with an adult passenger. Port Chester police caught the adult, but the juvenile escaped from authorities into Greenwich, police said.

Slusarz said the teen, whom police did not identify due to his age, evaded authorities when he swam across the Byram River.

"He was last seen in the Byram River swimming across. We were unable to pick him up when he got to the other side," Slusarz said.

An hour later, Officer Joseph Turcsanyi spotted a teen covered in mud on Brook Crossway back near the state line running through backyards, police said.

Police caught the teen a short distance later, at 100 Glenville St., where officers arrested him about 3:50 p.m., police said.

Greenwich police charged him with interfering with a police officer and second-degree criminal trespassing, police said.

After the teen was apprehended by Greenwich authorities, police learned he was wanted by Norwalk police for a disorderly conduct charge, at which point he was transferred there, police said.

Slusarz said the teen was referred to the juvenile division of state Superior Court in Stamford.
Port Chester police did not release any information about Thursday's incident.

Police blotter

Cabrera Zuniga, 22, of 16755 Sioux Lane, Gaithersburg, Md., was arrested Dec. 18 and charged with driving while under the influence and traveling too fast, police said.

Movie Clock Saturday, Dec. 27
BEDFORD, N.Y. Clearview's Bedford Playhouse, Route 22, (914) 234-7300 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: 12:45, 4:30, 8:15 BETHEL Bethel Cinema, 269 Greenwood Ave....

Green Earth partners with Techtronic
Two companies on the opposite sides of the globe have joined efforts to go green. Green Earth Technologies Inc

Looking beyond our depressing times
The dark threat of a full-scale depression hangs morbidly over the holiday season. White Christmases we all love, but this witch's brew of frigid cold and icy roads and sidewalks isn't exactly what we sentimentalists had in mind.

TODAY"S LOCAL HARD HITTING GREENWICH TIME EDITORIAL "Where did the bailout money go?"
Aside from the presidential election, perhaps nothing on the national scene has received as public attention as the ongoing rescues of a variety of ailing industries.

You would think that with all that attention, there should be no question about keeping track of where these billions of dollars given to the financial industry have gone - including what is being paid for and how decisions regarding use of the funds have been made.

Unfortunately, it hasn't worked out that way.

One bank after another has refused to discuss where the money, coming directly from U.S. taxpayers, has gone. Despite receiving billions of dollars in bailout funding, often as a result of their own poor decisions and bad ideas, these institutions have decided they don't need to account to anyone for where the money is going.

And there seems to be little anyone can do about it.

An effort to contact 21 banks that received a minimum of $1 billion each from the federal bailout resulted in nothing but dead ends. The Associated Press could not elicit specific answers from any institution during its investigation. ..... BLAH ..... BLAH ..... BLAH ..... BLAH ..... BLAH ..... BLAH ...... BLAH ...... BLAH ....... BLAH .......

NO GREENWICH TIME LETTERS WERE PUBLISHED ON LINE SATURDAY.

MAYBE NO ONE WROTE TO THE OUT OF TOUCH GREENWICH TIME EDITOR.

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