WE HELPED? We read with interest that Travi Construction went bust in the middle of the construction contract for the new Plymouth County Registry of Deeds. After 28 years the company is going out of business and has to bail on the Registry job. What we didn’t see is the fact that Travi is the same company who built the Kingston Town Hall. For months now we have been reporting from time to time that Travi was desperately trying to get Kingston’s final payment for money they believed was owed them. Several lawsuits have been filed over the Kingston matter, one by Travi, and at least one by a sub-contractor that apparently Travi couldn’t pay because they weren’t paid. It’s a vicious circle and we wonder, if in the end, we played a role in Travi’s travails? As is the case with Plymouth, anything in dispute here in Kingston will probably have to be settled out by the company holding the performance bond.

PAUL’S BACK: Kingston Building Inspector Paul Armstrong has completed his short tenure with Plympton. Paul had agreed to help the little burg when they were in need of a certified building inspector. Well, our midget neighbor has finally solved their problem with a recent hiring. Fred Svenson now has help in Plympton and Paul can now begin the process of digging out from his homefront workload and hopefully moving toward an assistant to fill the shoes of his late assistant Jim Colman, who we continue to miss.

SLOW JUSTICE: It has been a year since Richard Cretinon and Brian Caseau were arrested within weeks of each other on child rape charges. With Cretinon, it was a young boy on a desolate North Plymouth beach. With Caseau it was an incident involving three young girls. Neither case appears to be heading toward a swift trial and each remain mired in details. In Cretinon’s case, his attorney Robert Galibois has petitioned the court to have access to certain medical records involving the alleged victim. Based on those records, Galibois may seek an interview with the boy. In Caseau’s case, attorney William Sullivan is claiming that the search warrant executed to gather evidence from the Caseau home was overly broad and should not have been granted. He seeks to strike certain items from the public record. In an ironic twist, both matters will be before the court on the same day.

ELECTION FALLOUT: Our callers and on-line message boards remain active with post-election commentary. One of our readers dropped by several sheets pointing out voting inconsistencies in Ohio. If this is something that interests you, log on at www.airamericaradio.com and also try www.blackboxvoting.org. We can’t even be sure what will happen in North Carolina. The bottom line is that, like it or not, Bush will be back for another term. The end of his tenure will either solidify the Republicans for another term, or fall apart and swing back four years from now with a Democratic sweep. This should be quite a ride in the meantime.

COMMITTEE CHOICES: You may recall that we were rather critical of the Kingston Elementary School Committee scheduling a meeting at the same time, date and building as the first night of our last Special Town Meeting on Monday, October 18, 2004. Other boards scheduled that night cancelled in deference to the wider importance of town business; not our School Committee. But, let’s try and be fair about this. Let’s pretend that their business consisted of something of great magnitude, or that it represented a wonderful opportunity to snag a quorum that it just had to happen. Let’s also suggest that when their business was done, they would join the great unwashed and enter the auditorium meeting room. After all, they had to pass it to leave. So here’s our question: How many of the five School Committee members attended the Special Town Meeting? First, we will look at the first meeting on the 18th of October. Of the five, only Paul Barry signed into the Town Meeting. Cheryl Guidoboni, Cynthia Lynch, Chris Mamakos, and Joe Chaves did not join us. Keep in mind however, that we didn’t finish the town’s business that night and adjourned to Wednesday evening. Not a one of the five attended that meeting. Pretty pathetic if you ask us. By the way, Joe Chaves is the new KES Committee chairman. For whatever reason, Guidoboni gave it up after many years.

CLERK KEVIN: We have rarely seen Town Administrator Kevin Donovan angry. That is until last week when several Selectmen were suggesting that deposed Chief candidate Ron Teachman come in for a face-to-face discussion of what went wrong during his ill fated contract negotiations with Kevin. Holding back an inner rage, Donovan told the boys that if they do that, they may as well eliminate the TA position and hire another clerk. He said it would effectively undermine his authority to negotiate contracts on any level and encourage others to do an end around and appeal to the Selectmen. He was correct and we don’t blame him for getting his back up. It showed a rare side to Donovan…one we liked seeing.

HEEE’S BACK: It has been years since Joe Palombo stepped inside the County Jail complex, not since Joe was fired four years ago by Sheriff Joe McDonough for supporting Charles Decas (which is what it was really all about). That event started a whole firestorm of activity, including a Federal trial over the dismissal of Joe P. et al. Joe is seemingly a part of the Joseph McDonald Transition Team and made an appearance at the jail last week with the Sheriff elect. One employee told us there was applause and the feeling was upbeat…for most. McDonough was on vacation at the time and not present for the event. For Palombo it had to be a moment of satisfaction (See editorial on page 5).

PRINCIPAL MATTER: No, there is no truth to the rumor that KES/KIS Principal Bill O’Brien is retiring early. Word was out that he was going to leave within a month or two after the new year. In actuality, O’Brien has announced to his faculty that he will in fact be retiring at the end of the school year in June, and that he would formalize that announcement in February. We bumped into Bill outside the High School and he told us that he wants to allow enough time for a replacement to be found through the traditional search process. Wonder where this leaves former KES Principal Lynn Christenson?

YARD WORK: We’ve mentioned that contracting yard that has cropped up between the side of Bill White’s little strip mall and the Exxon/Dunkin Donuts property. You may have caught a glimpse of the piles of dirt, storage containers, trucks, heavy equipment and large boat also dry-docked on the property. Well, if you don’t think it’s a good use of the land, there will be a Planning Board hearing on White’s request to legitimize the mess on November 22 at 7:15. If you want to check out the plan, it’s available in the office of the Town Clerk.

CHASING WINDMILLS: Months ago we sat through a presentation before the Selectmen proposing a windmill in Kingston out by the transfer station. We wonder whatever happened with those plans? Since we will probably hear about it again, we note some correspondence that came into our Ringside Chambers from the Army Corps of Engineers concerning a similar project in Nantucket. As a matter of fact, a Draft Environmental Impact Study (DEIS) was conducted which spanned 34 months, four volumes and over 4,000 pages. It pointed out all the pros and cons of this energy source and can be seen for yourself at this website: www.nae.usace.army.mil. Check it out!

MORE MAURO: Probably based on the strength of Janet Butler’s successful challenge to her removal from the Zoning Board of Appeals, deposed ZBA member Mauro Mazzilli is now talking about a similar lawsuit. In addition, he is talking of yet another run for public office. Word on the streets is that Mazzilli will be taking out papers for Selectman, making him the Ralph Nader of Kingston but without the finesse. If he follows through on the threat, it would mark the 10th time he has unsuccessfully sought public office via the election process. But alas, it is the campaign that spurs Mazzilli on; the newspaper coverage, candidate’s forums, yard signs and all the pomp that enables one to truly understand Andy Warhol’s 15 minutes of fame theory…many times over. We love that little Jersey boy and know that in the end, he will make a decision that we can put book on.

BUTLER SERVICE: Well, it is common knowledge at this point that ex-ZBA alternate Janet Butler will be re-joining that board shortly. But when? We popped over to the ZBA meeting on November 17 expecting to see her. Not the case. The pundit chatter is that the Selectmen have opted to have the judge make the order, whenever that proclamation comes down in writing. Apparently the Selectmen could carry out that piece of business, but prefer the order come from the bench. We can see both sides of that tact. The position would be good until June of 2005, as alternate seats are one year renewable. By the way, the entire Judge’s order is on the Observer website. Dial up www.kingstonobserver.com and you can link to it right off the front page.

BARN STALL: Saw Sharon Davis at Stop & Shop last week. As you may be aware, we never settled out with her concerning the land dispute and the subsequent torching of her barn at the end of Pottle Street. We came so close that it was even on the warrant last month for Special Town Meeting action. Essentially, we were going to acknowledge her land ownership, fix the portion that was bulldozed and seed it, and plant a visual barrier to allow some privacy from the ballfields. What croaked the deal is that Davis wouldn’t remove language that would give her the opportunity to hold the town accountable if it were ever determined who the arsonist was, if that individual(s) had an association with the town. Honestly, we can’t blame her. What it all means is that her attorney, Michael Pieroni of Plymouth is in the final stages of preparing his request for "discovery", which will include requests for documents, interrogatories, and the start of depositions. Now comes the expensive part of the action. It should be said that the chances of identifying an arsonist after this much time is unlikely. But, if by fluke, we ever did, and that person was connected to the town as an employee/office-holder, then maybe we should be responsible and should have negotiated a dollar limit to such action. That could have been more cost-effective then what we are about to embark upon.

XMAS BONUS: That little matter over those $500 unsubstantiated travel bonus checks enjoyed by Selectmen for years, is still sitting out there with no action to date. Town Treasurer John LaBrache has corresponded with Kevin Donovan over the matter and Kevin wrote back that he thinks the resolution should be on a case-by-case basis. LaBrache disagrees and suggests the matter be resolved soon because the "bonus" checks are traditionally given out within 4-5 weeks, just in time for holiday cheer. LaBrache’s position is that he needs to either 1099 those who simply take it, or treat it as "reimbursement" for those who document travel expenses by submitting a log. Whatever the decision, John needs to know how to disperse it since the $2,500 line item remains open, at least for this year’s budget. Who will step up to the plate on this one?

WHATTA DEAL: Hey, it’s good to see that friends are still helping friends in Kingston. When a couple of units needed painting down at the Schofield Road condos where Ed King holds court as tenant/manager, it was old pal Bob Kostka that was the lowest bidder for about $8,000. It’s nice to see that Friday night poker can still yield a perk or two. Between teaching and public service, it’s nice to see that Bob has the time for private practice. Give him a call for your next job. No charge for the plug.

HEARING AID: The Kingston Board of Health has recently voted that all requests for a variance on new construction, must comply with the public hearing process. What that means is that all abutters within 300' of the subject property be notified by certified mail with a return receipt, the hearing must be advertised in the newspaper, and that the groundrules of public hearings be followed the night of the hearing so far as format, such as public participation.

INSPECTIONAL SERVICES: Many months ago the Observer broke the story on how Planning Board Inspectional Service accounts had been languishing for decades. Once published, an audit was done and it was determined that a considerable amount of money should be paid back. In some instances money was due developers, and in others the money would be turned back to the general fund. Last month over $55,000 was turned over to the general fund. In addition, almost $16,000 was returned to 19 developers, with over 70% of that money determined by that long overdue audit. Development projects getting money were Wildwood Circle, Tremont Village, Forest Estates, Town & Country Estates, Burgundy Heights, Barabas Estates, Indian Pond Estates, Foxworth, Stonehous Estates, Bondik Realty Trust, Hall Estates, Mandaly Shores, Nelson Street, Newcombs Mill Estates, R&K Sealund, JPL Partnership, Old Kingston Realty, Ocean Hill Estates (Phase II), and Goodrich Lumber. Of the $55,282.26 turned back to the Town, $28,936.11 was from Selectmen accounts and $3,481.53 from Conservation Commission. The big kahuna still sitting out there is Summerhill Plaza (Stop & Shop). Back in July the project ownership sent a letter to the Planning Board with a copy to the Conservation Commission seeking the return of $62,005.28 plus interest. The matter is still in limbo, ostensibly being held up based on a letter by Pine DuBois stating that her recollections are that this is a permanent fund in order to fix any drainage problems that may emerge over the existence of the plaza. She wrote, "Do not return it under any circumstances." ConsCom reported that "Apparently, we don’t have anything on file for this project!!". It should be noted that DuBois holds no town office but appears to be very much involved in decisions that could result in litigation, even though she writes that "memory is a little vague." Go figure. One final word, Planner Tom Bott now keeps Inspectional accounts on a computerized spread sheet and it is he who sends the checks upstairs for deposit.

BOTT BASHING: The volume level got so high that office workers stuck their heads out to see what was going on. It was not a pleasant exchange between Town Planner Tom Bott and developer Brian Wallace. Wallace stopped by the Planning Board office to get a signoff for his Ryan’s Way Development that was to be signed by a majority of the PB at their last Monday night meeting. It only had two instead of the threerequired John Hancocks. Bott fired back that he couldn’t force them to sign. Wallace said it was certainly his obligation to get the three sigs since the plans were approved and delays are costly. "Incompetence" was a word frequently heard. Bott then tossed in the issue that additional money was needed in his Inspectional Service (here we go again) Accounts. All well and good, but Wallace told Ringside he has yet to see invoices verifying this. While we have no great love for developers in general, we cannot write our own rules and keep changing the height of the bar. Sometimes Bott gets bad advice from the wrong person(s).

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