Ralph Orr stated on April 15, 2013 that “I don’t have a computer and I never got a hard copy of any memo. The (police) chief and I knew nothing about it,”in reference to pay advances for police officers. See Daily Times article (paragraph 2).
Last night, Dan Arrison tried to question the Mayor, saying that not only was there a proposal of pay advances offered to police officers, but the idea actually originated from Borough officials. He produced a letter written in 2009 by then solicitor Jack Whelan. Not coincidentally, the“agreed upon procedure” Dale Kerns talked about, calling it an audit by mistake for several months and now pushing the Borough toward being sued, also started with payroll from 2009.
Arrison tried to ask Orr about this, but Orr refused to answer and John Pappas shut down the conversation, referring Arrison to the Borough Solicitor because of impending litigation. There were copies of the letter provided to every person asking for one. The letter detailed the changes in the pay system, the anticipated challenges the police officers would have, and a suggested solution to the problem.
In 2009, Whelan wrote, “A suggested solution to this problem would be for the borough to advance for example a sum of money equal to one week’s pay and over a six month period, the borough could payroll deduct a small sum until the advanced money is paid back to the borough.”
So, here’s what I can surmise. The Mayor refused to answer a resident's question last night, and the reason given was because of impending litigation. To say that another way, the Borough may be sued, most likely as a result of the agreed upon procedure flaps created first by Dale Kerns when he called the report an audit, then accused people of stealing from the Borough, and finally followed up by Ralph Orr who called the newspaper and stated he had no knowledge of these advances and that he called the District Attorney and asked for an investigation..
After the meeting, Orr shouted at Arrison and accused him of having “all political motives” for bringing this material to light. I had to laugh as Orr ranted and raved after the meeting after refusing to talk during it. Here is a Mayor up for re-election, and he accuses a guy who has never run for office of having a “political motive” when he asks a question.
Here’s a shot out of a cannon for you….
How could a private citizen get a copy of a letter clearly showing that advances were not only given but suggested by the Borough, and the Mayor with all of his resources did not see the letter or could not find it? It was copied to him, according to Jack Whalen. Before Ralph Orr called the paper in April, he wants us to believe that: not only did he not see the letter Whelan sent to him, but Bill Conner also did not see it (the letter was copied to him, too). As if that is not enough to swallow, he also wants us to also believe that the District Attorney (Jack Whelan), the same guy who wrote the 2009 letter, forgot he wrote it. Then Orr also wants us to believe that not only did Jack Whalen forget about it, but he also did not discover it during his investigation of the alleged “theft” of Borough money.
In order to believe Orr’s story, I also would have to believe that Jack Whelan did not do his job. According to Orr, Whelan did not get him the 2009 letter and did not bring it up during the investigation Orr allegedly requested. I just have a hard time believing that, in this situation, Orr is the competent one and Whelan is the inept one. Actually, I have a hard time imagining that Orr would be competent when Whelan would not be in any situation, but that is for another day....
It’s just an awful lot of strange coincidences that Ralph Orr wants us to believe, isn’t it? Orr didn’t see it. Conner didn’t see it. The District Attorney forgot about it. AND the D.A. did not discover it during an investigation.
All lies stink. No matter how deep they get buried, their stench eventually rises to the surface.
Here’s what I think really happened. Orr called the paper and deliberately“forgot” about the letter in the hopes that no one would be able to call his bluff. He hoped to gain a political edge by deflecting the attention away from Dale Kerns’ colossal mistakes with regard to the agreed upon procedure. It’s not a coincidence that Orr called the paper after Kerns’ three-month audit misstep, and the two of them are running together. Orr bet that no one would call him on his lie.
Which brings me back to last night. I have watched other residents yell and scream for what seems like an eternity about their issues. Orr and Pappas cut Arrison off within 30 seconds of him trying to ask a question. And Kerns, the Defender of the Constitution, the man who believes in the Bill of Rights, what did he do to protect this private citizen’s right to ask a question of his elected officials?
Nothing. He just sat there like a puppy dog and did not speak up for his alleged free speech convictions..
All lies stink. Kerns tried for months to exaggerate an agreed upon procedure and make it into an issue for political gain. Orr tried desperately to “forget” key information in an attempt to help Kerns when he called the papers two weeks ago.
Exaggeration and forgetfulness are forms of intentional lying. It misrepresents infomation and assumes voters cannot figure out the truth. I have no desire to be led by liars who treat me like I am stupid. Do you?
Hmmmm……