An Open Public Forum*
Over the past year, many of
our officers in Camden, Newark and New Brunswick have retired. I
also understand that a few more are about to take this step in the
coming months. For this reason, I'm inserting a poem written by
Kim Pastva ( with the author's permission), for dad Joe. I know
you'll enjoy it as much as I have. Feel free to pass it on
.........
~
MY
ANGEL IN BLUE
~
It
saddens me to know many people think of cops as their foes,
But
my father is the greatest man you’ll ever know!
The
commitment to your family and job rings proud and true
You
are our protector; our angel in blue.
When
you come home at night your job doesn’t end
You
become a husband, father, and friend.
As
a police officers child stress was high,
You
could’ve been shot in a drive-by.
When
we witnessed God take a fellow officer to heavens gate
I
wondered what if you met a similar fate?
Someone
out there could been looking for you
Because
they didn’t know you’re a loving husband and great father of two.
You
are a hero in the truest sense of the word
Although
praise for your deeds are seldom heard.
No
more dealing with late night fights
You
can now relax and join the Silver Knights
When
your badge no longer sparkles in the sun
And
you no longer have your gun
Remember
that doesn’t change the fact that I love you
And
that you’ll forever be my Angel in Blue….
With
Love,
Kim
9/15/03
Thanks
for sharing your poem with us Kim
;-}
UPDATES
Schedule:
All
is said and finished on this issue. The testimony is done, and the
briefs have been submitted. Now the really hard part takes place
..... waiting for the arbitrator to render his decision. I believe
by law, the man has 90 days to do so. But then again, who would be
foolish enough to push this issue with PERC.
Holiday
pay: Arbitration
is now set for March of 2004. Not our
fault people. Seems that council for RU felt that the past three
months wasn't enough time to prepare their case. The FOP was ready
to go and they weren't. So ....... RU had to pick-up the few
hundred bucks that we would have paid if the show were to have gone on.
One point of
interest on this delayed issue. Rutgers was not ready, but they
said we could go ahead and present our case. Come on Beth, all the
money they pay you, ($240,000.00 last
time) and this is the best of your strategy? Why not just
ask me if you can come to our next union meeting so you can take
notes?
Contract:
Would
like to tell you something has changed on this but it hasn't. Had
a meeting w/Pres. McCormick where Tom R. and Joe P. spoke, as well as
others, but not to any avail. I guess the President had more
pressing concerns on his mind.
One
suggestion proffered by the Pres. (if one could read between the
proverbial lines) was that he wanted us to muster our troops for one of
those 60's type protest in Trenton? A "coalition" of
sorts. When asked what percentage would be going for pay
raises if our colorful placards were successful, the Pres. just
smiled. Needless to say, the meeting went south from here and the
remainder of the encounter produced enough grape material to put the
brother's Gallo out of business.
*
I
hear tell there's a rumor of a strike being sponsored by various
RU unions
NYC TEACHERS
The following are reported to be actual comments made by
NYC teachers on their report cards as part of their final narratives.
All teachers were reprimanded, but these are great!
1. Since my last
report, your child has hit rock bottom and has started to dig.
2. I would not allow
this student to breed.
3. Your child has
delusions of adequacy.
4. Your child is
depriving a village somewhere of an idiot.
5. Your son sets low
personal standards and then consistently fails to achieve them.
6. The student has a
"full six-pack" but lacks the plastic thingy to hold it all
together.
7. This child has been
working with glue too much.
8. When your
daughter's IQ reaches 50, she should sell.
9. The gates are
down, the lights are flashing, but the train isn't coming.
10. If this student
were any more stupid, he'd have to be watered twice a week.
11. It's impossible to
believe the sperm that created this child beat out 1,000,000
others.
A
THOUGHT TO PONDER
Some people are like Slinkies . . . not
really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you
see one tumble down the stairs.
Submitted by "Sparkey"
A SIGN YOU'LL NEVER SEE
