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It’s time to stand behind sports complex project at THS
To the Editor,
I think it’s time for this community to stand behind our new sports complex! We don’t have to like the way it was financed nor the other mistakes that have been made by Mr. McAran and his School Board but it is here and we can’t go back or stop construction now. Mr. Govros recall petition can deal with the board members and if recalled or not the field will still be standing! If you don’t attend sporting events and do not want to support the building of bathrooms and a concession stand that’s fine. For those of us who do attend these games (or graduation for that matter) we need to set our pride and anger down and ask ourselves “ Do we not want bathrooms and a concession stand?“ Do we honestly want to go to the Speedway gas station to use the bathroom ? For those who have little kids, do you honestly want to deal with the “I wants“ knowing they can’t even get a drink without a concession stand? I don’t even know if the complex can even open without bathrooms and for those kids who work hard and give up free time in order to play how is that fair? The Tecumseh Fan Club has made its donation, the seniors on the footbll team plan to buy a brick or bricks, and now it’s our turn to show our support by going out and buying our bricks! Time is limited so lets get off the fence and show our support. A wise man once told me “you can have both, you don’t have to choose one or the other .” The Recall will hold the board accountable and we can at least have a complete stadium it’s as close to a win-win situation as were gonna get !
Mike Bailey
Tecumseh
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Turn coat! I know, you know
Turn coat! I know, you know the meaning.
Turn Coat ???
What do you want to do ? Old field is condemed no going back ! Money has been spent and we cant get it back ! The Fan Club has to have a concession stand to do the work they do ! I dont like porta jons much and would like to see real restrooms ! Why not support PRIVATE FUNDING to atleast finish the stadium ? What do suggest American Force we do .
Start supporting something
Start supporting something that I voted down twice? Sorry Mike, I can't do that!!!
Sick Leave
I know and Im not happy with the situation but I cant see us trying to enjoy a game or graduation with a half done stadium ! I hope the Recall shows the Board and McAran why you dont ignore the communities vote but the field will still stand and still be used regardless so lets finish it so atleast we can try and enjoy it !
II voted against it and
II voted against it and didn't want it. I will stand by my vote.
No Way
I respect that and understand , you should know that our School Board has said we here in Tecumseh dont want to pay for what we want and we never can get a bond issue to pass ! I suppose if we can finish the stadium with private funds that will force the Board and McAran to face facts ! Maybe if the Board didnt play games with the language concerning " the all or nothing bond " we would have passed it !!!
We just can't...
Mike, if we start to support the stadium now..."they" win. It won't matter if they are recalled, they will still have what they wanted all along...a football stadium. I know you want your boy to play "here" but he will still play even if it is at EMU...or all away games. It can be stopped. I'm not sure how...but I do know of some prominant business owners in Tecumseh who think it can and want to rally to see that that happens. Tho turn coat is a bit harsh...I thought the same thing when I read your editorial...kind of blown away.
Cant ???
The field is built and that battle is over they won ! That does not mean they have won the war and the RECALL will be this communities chance to win the war !!! This is about supporting the Fan Club and those kids who use that stadium now that it is here and I have no other choice.
75% Complete -
NotMike - Have you been by the HS lately? Mike is correct, the field is almost complete. The asphalt for the track is down, most of the concrete for the Track & Field stations are complete, the footers for the stands are done, and the crushed gravel for the field looks pretty smooth and ready for the Turf. I do not see how it can be stopped at this point.
As for your prominent business folks who would like to see it fail? If they are so prominent, then they also need to become more vocal. Silence will never win in a fight such as this. If they truly wanted to stop it, they should have gone to a board meeting over a year ago and spoke out - when the chances of stopping it, before any bids were awarded, actually existed. If you tell me they're afraid to speak out publicly because of backlash to their business, perhaps you're right, but the public silence didn't help their cause. And just maybe, they told you they were "anti-stadium" for the same reason - to get your business.
I can see where you're coming from, Mike...
but I also have to disagree. And if I'm going to support something, I'd rather go to that fundraising dinner that TSO is having at the Masonic Lodge. They also "need" a new facility, but weren't lucky enough to get it handed to them by the district.
Yeah, TPS will look pretty stupid with porta-johns at the stadium. Since I don't attend any athletic events (no kids of that age in the district), though, I guess it's easier for me to say "too bad, so sad". Tecumseh is trying to "keep up with the Joneses", which is not only impossible (if the "Joneses" are Dexter, Chelsea, etc.) but stupid. Individuals who played this game a few years ago are the ones who really lost big when the housing bubble popped (oops so much for using one's house like an ATM!). The sooner we realize that and get our priorities straight, the better off we'll be and if we need to look a little stupid to make this happen, so be it. There's certainly no rush of kids to TPS using the current tactics.
Kristen
I understand, its to bad the Board tried to tell everyone this is about bringing new students here . Everyone knows we have a state championship girls softball program with a new field to play on yet we dont see the girls coming from all over the county to play here ! This is about REVENUE generated by ticket sales 4200 seats at $ 5.00 per seat its just that simple ! Had the Board said its our business model to spend money to make money we wouldnt have this mess. The TSO fundraiser sounds like a good idea and god knows everyone needs to start supporting this community before we lose the things that we take for granted.! J.F.K. once said " ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" it about time we started to figure it out as a community !!!
I understand.
Mike, I do understand where you stand, right in between a rock and a hard place. You have a Senior football player going into his final season and don't want to go to a 'half-a$$' abysmal pit of a stadium when we had a perfectly good venue, that could have been completely overhauled and been the best ever for a fraction of the cost, that is difficult. You want to put on a brave face and try to get a rally cry going. I just think that no matter how you cut it, if we all jump in and build it ourselves, it isn't going to change the damage that has been done to this district academically by McAran and his Cronies ( I shudder to even call them a 'school board'). I don't think whether you have to run to speedway for munchies and a bathroom is going to be the worst problem your son faces next year. If supporting the stadium could be separated from showing support for McAran, some people might give it more consideration, but you need to realize, Mike McAran has a contract until/through 2012. In 2012 the Headley or Headlee (I've seen it spelled both ways) Amendment comes up for a vote. Do you know what the possibility of that passing while McAran sits in his current position? Somewhere between No way and No how. That is 2.4 million that will go away. You have to see that if the community steps up to the plate, and cleans up this mess, the Cronies will thump their chests and pat themselves on the backs for what a great thing they did. Where will they squat next? and who's going to be behind them next time with the 'pooper scooper'?
Dave Govro
"Mr. Recall"
Dave
I think this is about perspective ? I see it as EVERYONE who goes to that stadium will see those bricks and know McAran and his Board only built half a stadium and the public had to finish it ! And because my brick can say what I want it just may point that out ? McAran in the year 2012 will have much more then this field to deal with dont you think considering that mans track record ? You know the SChOOL BOARD has the power to terminate McArans contract at any time and thats the angle I would like to see used ! If the man is fired in 2009 the Headlee issue in 2012 is now a mute point atleast as McAran is concerned !!! Your recall has the ability to effect real change and the Board knows this and they are worried and they should be !
Renovating would cost $3million. Get your facts straight.
Hey Dave why don't you do your homework. They couldn't just renovate the old football field for a "fraction" of the cost. That stadium is not up to today's codes. It would have cost over $3 million to renovate. And, that's with a grass field. For $1 million less, the school gets a turf field that multiple sports can play on and we get a middle school field. The school board couldn't just say "oh, let's just redo the stands." They would've loved to do that, but that's against new building codes.
Yes, the old field was in a great location, but it was much more expensive to renovate than it was to move the field. Get your facts straight for once. And for God's sake stop trying to make the board look like big thugs. You keep trying to win followers and push your own agenda so you be "the savior of Tecumseh." You're just a jerk. I'm not a McAran fan, but nor am I your fan.
COWARDLY!
I am always amazed at people who are willing to call out people and call them names in the newspaper....while they themselves are not willing to identify themselves. I admire Mr. Govro, and Mike Bailey, and many others who are willing to stand their position (whether I agree with them or not) simply because they stand behind what they say by signing their full name.
You, "MIKE", however, are acting cowardly by submitting such a strong worded response, yet not submitting your full name. I imagine you had your tongue sticking out, your hands on your hips, and were stomping your feet while you wrote that. It'll be okay little boy....go sit down and let the grown ups handle this.
Are you serious?
Hey Beyond Amazed, NICE NAME. My god what is the town's problem. All Gorvo is doing is demonizing the board because he may be laid off. Let the grown ups handle this? You're an idiot. It's called an investment for the future. So we spend $1 million to upgrade some computers and keep some teachers. What happens next year huh? We just put off the inevitable. Why don't you all go boycott the games too. McAran isn't building some castle for his dynasty. The school board is trying to turn this school around by doing something and not just sitting back. People like Gorvo will never understand. All you people have been doing as I said is demonize the board and call board supporters stupid or childish. You put these labels on people so you can gain more supporters because you're so righteous. The board's not from Hades; they're good people trying to do the right thing.
I respect people who disagree with the board and voice their opinion in non-hateful ways. But name-calling and metaphors to tear down people is ridiculous.
Call me out again if you want to. Call me a child. Call me stupid. Call me a crony. Call me a coward. Go for it. I don't respect Mr. Gorvo aka Mr. self-label Recall.
Take your swings people. Go right ahead.
sport field
Tecumseh Will do what tecumseh wants this town is run by crooks all cops take bribes get used to it or move
Whose school board is it?
I understand (to a limited degree) how Mike McAran gets lumped into the anti-school board rants we've seen here, but that's like blaming the president for signing a bill into law that both houses of Congress approved. It's my understanding that Mr. McAran is forced to react to the school board's decisions, and his position is in the hands of the school board. You're attacking the symptoms and not the cause.
"Mr. Recall"? Is that self-appointed title (by the way, giving youself a nickname is EXTREMELY lame) your attempt for your 15 minutes of fame in this town? Have you printed business cards with that listed? If so, I can't wait to see them when you (or your hyphenated wife) knock on my door with the recall petition. Expressing childish statements like "They just suck" and others you've listed in this forum probably won't sway as many people to your side as intelligent arguments with facts to back up your stance. I don't necessarily agree with some of the school board's decisions (and know one of the more controversial members of the board), but writing the rambling 1-paragraph rants we've seen here may not persuade those on the fence join your cause.
Call me!
Hey BKELHAM...call me...but only if you intend to identify yourself. (I have a hunch this was a "plant".) You obviously don't understand the workings of Boards of Education...and their superintendents, but I won't engage in infantile debate online. Jennifer ETHERTON-Govro 902-7505
Save the schools
Bkelham, good for you. We don't all agree with what the school board does, but they're not pushing their own agenda. They're not trying to look like a "savior" like Mr. self labeled Recall. Is it trying to be a martyr? Do people honestly think the school board is sleeping easy every night and telling themselves "haha we have all the power to control this town." They're people trying to save the Tecumseh school system. Maybe it may not work out, but THAT"S THEIR MOTIVE: to save the school.
I do apologize Mrs. Gorvo for Bkelham offending you. I don't mean to offend you or your family. I do however disagree with how your husband is handling this situation.
Be Strategic -Don't get distracted
Just a comment as I read this and other postings -
You will lose people's support for your cause (which I fully support)
by getting into the name calling game. That just plays right into
the boards hands (i.e distracts from your true message) .
Take the high road - keep the messaging professional and you will gain even
more support within the community and accomplish the goal of getting these
folks recalled. You have done a great job with getting this ball rolling....
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