12/31/08 Greenwich Post News Links

Just as she was 25 years ago, Helen Itin-O’Malley will be at the Round Hill Community Church this Sunday when it begins marking its silver anniversary with a series of events reflecting on the past and looking forward. — Ken Borsuk photo

Church marks 25 years of open minds, hearts

Written by Ken Borsuk, Staff Reporter

Twenty-five years ago the congregants of the Round Hill Community Church celebrated the opening of its new location by marching from the Round Hill Community House into the sanctuary as a bagpiper played and worshipers were welcomed in.

This Sunday, that momentous event will be marked with a special church service at 10 a.m. that will begin a 25th anniversary celebration that will last through the first half of the year. Once again, congregants will be greeted by a bagpiper, and the Rev. Robert Culp will deliver a sermon hearkening back to the one delivered in the first service 25 years ago by then minister Walter Wagoner. One of the congregants who was there 25 years ago, and will be again this Sunday, is Helen Itin-O’Malley, a member of the church’s board of trustees as well as the chairwoman of the 25th Celebration Committee.

“It’s been wonderful to see the new families that have come in over the years and allowed the church to grow,” Ms. O’Malley told the Post Monday. “Those of us who have been here for 25 years remember the original spirit when we started this church. We went through so much to get here and everyone worked extremely hard to make it happen. I’ve seen many families come and see children grow from babies into young adults. It’s a real slice of life, and we have such a wonderful community here.”......

PTA, attorney general seek missing money

Written by Ken Borsuk, Staff Reporter

Claiming that the Washington state-based firm owes five elementary schools a collective $75,000, the Greenwich PTA Council is seeking action against Count Me In, Inc.

The Bellevue, Wash., company, a subsidiary of Arena Group, Inc., had been used by Parkway, Old Greenwich, North Mianus, Cos Cob and North Street schools to process registration for after-school clubs and activities sponsored by the PTAs.

Julie Faryniarz, president of the PTA Council, told the Post on Monday that the company offered parents the chance to register online for these after-school activities and also pay by credit card, which many parents preferred because it meant not having to send their kids to school with checks and not having to rely on them to remember to make the payment. The service was also used to register PTA members.

The company was then supposed to give the money to the schools running the clubs, while retaining a small processing fee, usually in the neighborhood of $3 per transaction. Ms. Faryniarz said the schools, with the exception of North Street, which started using Count Me In, Inc., this year, had been involved with the company for close to two years without any previous problems, but this year, when the after-school clubs started up again in September, the checks stopped coming

Now the PTA Council wants the schools’ money back and it has officially filed complaints with the Federal Trade Commission and the office of Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. .....

......Mr. Blumenthal, a Greenwich resident, told the Post on Monday that his office would seek a “full and fair” reimbursement as quickly as possible. He said he had not been able to contact the company either and that if it had indeed filed for bankruptcy, that would be the main obstacle to getting the money back.

“We are investigating right now what happened to this money and how to get these PTAs what they are owed,” Mr. Blumenthal said. “We’re investigating to find out what my office can do to help them recover that money.”......

.....Alison Burns, co-president of the Parkway School PTA, said while no one had found any indication there was “foul play,” none of the parents are sure what happened and are eager for answers. She wondered if the company was simply a “victim of the bad economy.”

“Obviously everyone close to the situation is very upset about it,” Ms. Burns told the Post. “We’ve all been working together with PTA Council to try and recover our money. We’ve left no stone unturned.” ......

....However, no course of action has been set.

“Right now we’re just trying to figure out the best way to proceed,” Ms. Faryniarz said. “Hopefully, we will be able to find an attorney in Washington to do this for us pro bono, but that’s something we’ve only just begun to do. We’re looking at all the options right now to get our money back.”

PLEASE SEE:

12/30/08 Here Is Another Greenwich School News Report That Greenwich Time Cub Reporter Colin Gustafson. Blumenthal Did Not Send Colin A Press Release?

BREAKING NEWS

PTAs Urged To Stop Payments To CMI

Blumenthal: Count Out Count Me In
WFSB-TV Hartford

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.

Count Me In, a Washington state-based company recently forced into Chapter 7 bankruptcy, has allegedly failed to transfer tens of thousands of dollars, and possibly more, to several Parent-Teacher Associations in Connecticut and organizations elsewhere, he said.

Blumenthal said he began an investigation after complaints from five PTAs in Greenwich that they were denied $75,000 collected in their name. They and other organizations contracted with CMI to administer registration for sports and other programs, police said.

Let The Record Show:

That Greenwich Roundup Was The First Connecticut News Outlet To Report That CMI was ripping off Greenwich School Parents.

Furthermore, weeks ago 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.

PLEASE SEE THIS REPORT

FROM 21 DAYS AGO:

12/10/08 You Wont Read This In The Greenwich Time: GREENWICH PTA"S HAD UP TO $75,000.00 STOLEN FROM THEM !!!!!

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 ?????

Parents Enraged At Bellevue-Based 'Count Me In'

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, a company that helps thousands of youth sports teams to help collect registration dues and donations.

"Seventy-five thousand dollars really hurts," Kully told KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reporter Gary Horcher. "And the last people that anyone should be taking advantage of are kids."

Kully's sister runs a PTA for 15 schools in Greenwich, Conn., that hired Count Me In to supply a Web site and process credit card donations. He said the PTAs discovered Count Me In appeared to be keeping all the parents' money -- $75,000.

Police Watch, Dec. 31

LARCENY

Melissa Greco, 28, of Stamford was arrested Dec. 30 and charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit fifth degree larceny, two counts of fifth degree larceny, credit card theft, illegal use of a credit card, receipt of goods from a credit card, third degree identity theft and criminal impersonation. According to police, Greco and Annie Curtis, 26, of Darien conspired to steal $300 in cash and a credit card from an unattended purse in Greenwich Library’s lost and found. They allegedly divided the money and used the credit cards at two local businesses. Curtis was arrested on Dec. 18. Greco was released on a promise to appear and is due in court Jan. 6.

RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT

Danny Alvarado, 36, of Port Chester, N.Y. was arrested Dec. 30 and charged with reckless operation of a motor vehicle, operating a motor vehicle with a weight greater than 9,999 pounds, two counts of operating a vehicle with unsafe tires, unregistered towing and insurance card violation. Police responded to an accident on Halstead Avenue where a car hit a tree. Investigators determined Alvarado was driving a commercial vehicle with defective equipment. He was released on a $250 cash bond and is due in court Jan. 15.

DISORDERLY

A 51-year-old Riverside woman was arrested Dec. 30 and charged with disorderly conduct. Police responded to a reported domestic incident. Police said the woman told officers she had scratched her husband’s neck during an argument. The man received a small cut to the back of his neck. The woman was released on a $1,000 cash bond and is due in court Dec. 31.

POSSESSION

Enrique Goyburu, 21, of Port Chester, N.Y. was arrested possession of less than four ounces of marijuana and intent to sell under one kilogram of marijuana. Police on DUI patrol said they saw a Goyburu driving a car with one headlight out. Officers said when his car was pulled over, Goyburu smelled of burnt marijuana and when he was asked to step out of the car offices saw, in plain view, a plastic bag lying between in the driver’s side seat and the interior driver’s side door. Upon inspection, police found six clear plastic bags containing marijuana inside the plastic bag. Police searched the car and found a plastic zip bag containing 91 small, clear plastic bags in the trunk. Officers believed this was for sale, not use. The total weight of the marijuana was found to be 4.1 grams and police seized $76 in his possession. Goyburu was also cited for not having a license and driving without a headlight. He was released on a $1,000 cash bond and is due in court Jan. 6.

DISORDERLY

A 21-year-old Greenwich man was arrested Dec. 31 and charged with disorderly conduct and second degree criminal mischief. Police responded to a reported fight and determined the man had pushed two women and damaged two of the home’s doors. He was released on a $500 cash bond and is due in court Dec. 31.

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