The LuLac Edition #3001, July 26th, 2015

AT LEAST HE’S A LITERATE DRUNK

This past week it was revealed that Wilkes Barre Area School Board member and former Educator Ned Evans was arrested for driving under the influence out in Dallas. Evans was out after 2AM and apparently the pensioned school teacher forgot the old axiom that nothing good ever happens after 2am. I’m not going to pile on here but I do want to make a couple of points. But before I do I’d like to make a plea to Mr. Evans.
If this incident was beyond the pale of your daily life, then think about this. Get help. During the 80s by unwise choices, I was around more alcoholics than I needed to be. It is a disease and you can stop if you want to. It won’t be easy but it can be done. The first way to help yourself will be to maybe stay home. The next step is to admit you have a problem. If you have any doubts about your behavior, read the newspaper accounts and what you Mr. Evans said to the police.
“You know I pay all your salaries,” he told officers. He later told one officer that he was “one of those mean cops you read about on Facebook.” (Citizen’s Voice). Every time a police officer has to put up with the antics of someone who is confrontational and clearly “caught”, that time is being taken away from a possibly more serious law being broken in the community they serve.
But the comment about paying the salaries of Police, well that’s rich coming from a guy whose salary I PAID when he was in the coaches club at the Wilkes Barre Area School District. He should be the last guy to tell the police that he pays their salaries. The Voice story also reported that he was babbling and could not find his Driver’s License when they stopped him. When he was running against the best Wilkes Barre Area School Board member never elected, Kathy Grinaway, Evans raised questions by his rambling on Sue Henry’s program during the campaign. But he was elected anyway.
Evans apologized to everyone in the newspaper. That’s a good thing.
In the article by Bill Whelock, Evans also said something interesting about his role on the School Board. He says he will serve out his term. Hell why wouldn’t he? The Wilkes Barre Area School Board had Frankie Pizzella as their President when the feds were looking at him. So Evans will remain as a member of the board. Yippee!
Finally though, Evans brought something new to a DUI. He at least classed his arrest up a bit. I spoke to a State Trooper, a retired Military Police officer and a current Police Sergeant about their experience with DUI arrests. My question was that in their combined service of more than 81 years, did any one being detained called them a ruffian and a bully in the same sentence? All three said yes at some point there were called a bully but for Christ sake never, ever a ruffian.
Evans, in his apology said that in the instance of his arrest he wasn’t a role model to the students of the district. Well partly. The use of the word ruffian was quite historic in the annals of local police. But it was so very sad and pathetic too.

WHY PEOPLE HATE UNIONS

I belong to a party that supports unions. My father and other family members benefited from being in a union. I have no grudge against unions. But sometimes they get it so wrong. And sometimes their members force them to do things that are just bad PR.
This week an employee of the Plains Department of Public Works was reinstated in his job. He was convicted of bilking a 97 year old woman out of more than $100,000 of her savings while she was recovering from a fall. Shamelessly, he fought back for his job and got it back because there was no specific policy for a non job related crime. Predictably the Plains Township supervisors were not happy. If I were a resident of Plains, I’d be unhappy too. Unions are there to protect employees from unfair labor practices (as if when you are a government employee!!!) and to give workers a fair wage. Here because of the lethargic and impotent Chamber of Commerce wages are way better in government than in businesses. But unions do not exist to protect slime balls who steal from the elderly.
In some quarters, not all, you’ll hear, “But hey, he’s in “da union” so he’s a brother! “We gots to support him”. Yeah, he’ll buy a round at Dominick’s with the money he took from the old lady and for some that will make it all right.

ROCK HUDSON @ 30

Rock Hudson thirty years ago yesterday at a news conference with Doris Day. (Photo: Wikipedia)

Thirty years ago this week, Rock Hudson died of AIDS. He was the first Hollywood star to die of the disease. He had been diagnosed a year before but kept it a secret. In early July he stood before news reporters with his friend Doris Day at his side promoting her new cable show. His gaunt appearance became the lead and speculation was rampant about his health. On July 25, 1985, Hudson's publicist, who was denying all along he had AIDS confirmed that Hudson did in fact have AIDS and had been diagnosed over a year earlier. He passed away on October of that year.