Posted on 10/04/2008 9:34:23 PM PDT by raccoonradio
Friday column ping
Oh snow! DPW big wants loot
By Howie Carr | Friday, October 10, 2008 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Columnists
Come on down, Walter Dont Call Me Freddy Fender, former superintendent of public works in the town of Marshfield.
At age 68, Walter is looking for a disability pension - $63,900 a year. And do you know what disabled him, among other things?
Snowfall. I kid you not. The town DPW boss was disabled by snow. It made him sad, very sad. But thats not all that left this extinguished public servant in such despair that he tried to take his own life. It wasnt just the snow, it was also the seaweed.
You cant make this stuff up. Every week theres a new poster boy for Question 1 - the referendum vote next month to abolish the state income tax.
This week its Walter Fender.
Its about more than snow and seaweed, Fenders lawyer, Vincent Murray, was saying yesterday. Another department employee died suddenly, his replacement tried to kill himself, and then another employee died of Legionnaires disease.
When I saw the headline in last weekends Patriot Ledger - Snow, seaweed triggered despair - I immediately suspected this was not a story from the Dreaded Private Sector.
Fenders career suffered a fender bender back in 2003 after his promotion to superintendent, which paid $88,750 a year.
First, it snowed - in January! Who could have ever predicted such an occurrence? In all, 51.3 inches fell, the paper reported, which made Wally anxious over whether the DPW could handle any more snow that season.
Then came the Attack of the Killer Seaweed.
Fender became stressed out over the high number of complaints related to a severe seaweed problem on town beaches.
As 2003 wore on, Fender maintained an onerous work schedule, and we all know how onerous working for a town DPW can be. Then, on Sept. 15, DPW employees threatened to walk out if a broken air conditioner in the highway garage wasnt fixed.
Fender filed for a disability pension - hey, wouldnt you, if you were suffering from Post-Traumatic Seaweed Syndrome. The county retirement board told him to get lost, but he appealed it to the very ethical Massachusetts judiciary.
It should be noted, Fenders lawyer said, that four impartial doctors all found he was totally and permanently disabled, work-related.
The appeals court kicked Fenders bid for 64 large to the Contributory Retirement Appeal Board. Theres only one way to put an end to this sort of thing, and thats to take $13 billion away from the hacks once and for all.
Vote Yes on Question 1.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1124614
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