I do not wish to be identified for a variety of reasons, but this needs to be addressed.
This is another mess coming from the Borough of Bangor which appears to have been and continues to be grossly mismanaged by the former mayor, John Brown, who proves his inexperience and incompetence on a regular basis and the equally inexperienced and incompetent Borough Council President, Cathy Allen who works for John Brown at the county.
I do not wish to read a future story of a child who drowned because the Borough of Bangor failed to provide qualified and responsible lifeguards. WFMZ should interview eyewitnesses who contradict the storyline reported by the television station.
Here is the online article:
Here are four comments from people who know:
4 Comments
Jacqui Cooper
I have never been so angry or disgusted reading a story in my life!!! Not a single life guard was in their stand when this happened and while my 10 year old daughter was swimming down towards her another lady (not a lifeguard) jumped in!!! They didn't come running to the deep end until the little girl was pulled out of the water!!! This story is soo far from the truth it isn't even funny!!! Maybe the mother should have been more careful yes but don't make those lifeguards the hero's not a single one was doing their job!!! All should be let go if you ask me!!! I've been going to this pool for years and this is by far the worst group of lifeguards they have EVER had and I said that since opening day! I can tell you that even if my daughter EVER wanted to go back it would not be until all life guards have been replaced!!!
Meghan Elizabeth Dougherty
The news will lie to make the borough look better since Bangor is going down the drain. They should have real lifeguards at the pool or they should just shut the pool down.
Kristine Frosten Stauffer
I just don't know how they can try and twist the story when there were so many of us there watching. I was there with my 2 1/2 year old in the pool and it is just like you said. Just glad to hear that the little girl is okay!!!
Jacqui Cooper
This is actually the second child in 3 days that has been pulled out of the water by someone NOT working there...
Ms. Allen was on the TV claiming the accounts of the people are wrong. She said she was on top of the situation. The weird thing is she had what looked like a direct dish TV antenna hanging from her ear. Weirdest ear piece phone I ever saw.
ReplyDeleteIf she is Mr. Browns go to person for the county, the county is screwed. She did not sound very good and seemed incapable of dealing with a lifeguard issue much less a county government.
Also she said she had been looking into to it all day. I thought she had a fulltime job as an administrator for the county, what gives?
I'll bet that the county taxpayers paid for that thing hanging out of her ear.
ReplyDeleteBut to be fair, lifeguards do rotate stations on a regular basis and should be monitoring the pool during their walk to the other chair. This scared the shit out of a lot of people and the swimmers and parents should have a great rest of the summer in spite of this isolated incident.
You can't put this one on John Brown. Not once have I seen any mention of a pool manager. Someone has to be running the daily activities of the pool and should be responsible for their lifeguards.
ReplyDeleteI don't see this as Brown's fault. He is not Mayor, and Mayors are just figureheads n borough government. The real power is vested in Borough Council. It is right, therefore, to demand answers from Allen, the Boro Council President.
ReplyDeleteBut she is not off during the day. You bust the controller all the time, why is this woman doing another job, and gettin paid by county? Did she respond to every possible drowning in Bethlehem or Easton also?
ReplyDeleteHey, I agree with you. But tell me where it says, in the WFMZ new account, that Allen spent the day responding to this crisis instead of doing her job at the courthouse? i did not see that. I agree that no county employee should serve as an elected official in another government. It creates too many opportunities for a conflict of interest. I noted this before. If you recall, i was pretty harsh with Allen when she was named director, and I do not consider her qualified to be deputy director, either.
ReplyDeleteBelieve me, I hate everybody.
Allen is a joke. If she wants to remain in Brown's administration she should resign from Bangor Council. There is an obvious conflict of interest. This incident proves that she cannot be trusted and will fabricate a story to hide her incompetence. Is that what we want in Norco government? I think not.
ReplyDeleteIt would have been better if Bangor simply said they are investigating what happened and are very happy that everyone is ok.
ReplyDeleteThat interview was a nightmare for Allen. It couldn't have gone much worse. Should have had the Borough Manager handle it.
This is Allen. This is her MO. She doesn't know whats going on, but pretends to. Talk about swimming in the deep end without her life vest on. God help Northampton county (and Bangor). It's gonna be a long 3 1/2 years! The Dems have time to find a good candidate, but McClueless or Dertinger? crappy!
ReplyDelete8:35 is absolutely right. Droopy Dog Allen should had deferred to the borough manager for the on-air interview. But she wanted face time in an attempt to show her "leadership" skills to those who question her credibility. Attempt failed.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget Barron and Werner are politicking for the executive job. After his loss maybe even Barney Rubble will go for it.
ReplyDelete"Should have had the Borough Manager handle it."
ReplyDeleteActing Manager Mellert? I doubt they would have pried anything out of her except her name and serial number.
Hope the Dem's can do better than that. If they are the choices I am with Brown.
ReplyDeleteI'm a little more concerned abiut the child who could have died, and the apparent lack of oversight by lifeguards, followed by what certainly seems to be a whitewash. Let's save the politics.
ReplyDeleteBut politics Bernie may have caused this. The JohnBrown/Cathy Allen/Marino saveri Tea Party movement cut costs in the town. But the cuts created safety hazards. they gutted the police dept by almost half. fired the chief and the sec who answered the phone.
ReplyDeleteThey fired the long time fire chief for false lies. Threatened to close Rescue fire co. Lied about supposed savings and caused several firefighters to quit.
They have made morale plummet to the lowest point in decades. And don't forget the contaiminated soil Saveri/John Molnar/Brown will be bringing into town.
Some lifeguards are fine. Some are not an provide a sense of false security. Parents should closely monitor beginner swimmer; regardless of the presence of lifeguards. Glad the kid is OK in any case.
ReplyDeleteTaking shots at the boro of Bangor is one thing. Taking shots at Allen is another. The current boro manager..Jane Mellert..hired the lifeguards after interviewing them and checking their credentials closely. I was not an eye witness so I must defer to those who were. A tragedy was averted and that is very good news. Who is to blame? Let's let this play out a bit and see what develops. I would be looking to the boro manager for a statement as soon as possible. The public needs to be reassured that the pool staff are capable and trained properly andaction taken if any of the lifeguards were remiss in their duties.
ReplyDeleteThe current acting borough manager. They are seeking to replace her.
ReplyDeleteWhy not criticize Allen's statement in the video? It doesn't seem to fully describe what witnesses say happened. She could have reserved comment, or, as you suggest deferred comment to Mellert.
No it isn't! But where was this child's mother or father? One never leaves a 5 year-old alone in the water!
ReplyDeleteThat's why lifeguards are hired. If you never lost track of your child for a few minutes while in your care, you achieved something no other parent in history has accomplished.
ReplyDeleteThe Cathy Allen-Brown stain will pollute the shorts of Bangor for years to come. They are a marriage made in hell.
ReplyDeleteThere is a rumor that the victim may be related to someone in Bangor government. I have no idea if that is true. I love a good rumor, but I hate it when others pass them. That is a hypocrite, but like Judy Garland sang "I don't care". Anyone else hear this one?
ReplyDeleteHippo
The young child is new to the area so your rumor is false. The family just moved here very recently. Attendance at the pool is back to normal as of Thursday. Is it safe? I am of the opinion that it is safe and I would not hesitate to take my grandchildren, who are younger than the girl at issue, to the town facility. Have a nice Summer..
ReplyDelete