#15

Gaffney's Campaign for Mayor

Oh, what could have been.  With all the early momentum and deep concerns about crime and the condition of the schools, it was amazing to see the campaign of Gaffney go turtle and stop communicating. 

No press releases.

Website not updated.

No digital strategy.

No social media.

What happened?

#14

Gun Found in Locker at Worcester's Burncoat High

The concerns about violence at crime in Worcester Schools boiled over many times. This was an example of the lack of a strategy that created a major blunder at a Worcester High School.

As GoLocal reported:

A gun was found in a locker at Burncoat Senior High School in Worcester. According to an email from Worcester Public Schools to Mayor Joe Petty, Superintendent Melinda Boone, and the Worcester School Committee, a student was overheard by Burncoat staff about using a gun in the community.

The Worcester Police Department was called and the gun was found in the student's locker. 

Here is the email from Chief Academic Officer Marco Rodrigues in its entirety: 

Good afternoon,

Late this morning, a member of the Burncoat High staff overheard a student talking about using a gun in the community.  The administration was immediately informed and a search was conducted. A handgun was found in the student’s locker. The Worcester Public Schools’ Safety Liaison and the Worcester Police Department were contacted and responded immediately. The student, who is a minor, was arrested. At no point in time were any students, faculty or staff members under threat. Principal Foley met with his staff this afternoon and a connected message was sent to all Burncoat High families. 

Should you have any questions, please contact me.

Marco

#13

No Cameras Created Lots of Problems

Two Students Arrested, Still No Police Cameras at North High

As GoLocal reported:

A fight occurred on Wednesday at North High which resulted in two students being arrested. The fight involved two female students who were arrested by Worcester police officers on site at North.

GoLocal Worcester inquired on whether or not the school's cameras have been linked to the Worcester Police Department Real-Time Crime Center as was proposed by Superintendent Dr. Melinda Boone and Worcester's Mayor Joe Petty.

A response from Dr. Boone's office stated that the school department "was still working it out with legal council." 

According to sources, the WPD remains ready, but is still waiting for the okay from Dr. Boone to link the cameras. 

#12

Patriots and Controversies - 21 of Them (Not All Blunders)

We love the Patriots. We love the winning. We love the rings and the assertion that we are #1. But, make no mistake about it, the team has had its share of big time controversies. 

We love to claim it is all tied to haters hating our success, but these 21 examples can't all be blamed on the other guys.

Here Are 21 Controversies.

#11

Kelley Square

This year there was a tragic death of a young woman at Kelley Square and it was just one of dozens of examples of accidents and crashes tied to an intersection that is straight out of the developing world. 

It can't be considered one of the quirky things about Worcester. GoLocal explored the issue:

For as long as anyone can remember, Kelley Square has been an ongoing question of “what if?” Worcester residents drive through the city with bumper stickers that read “This Car Survived Kelley Square” as humorous, but cautioning suggestions that making it through the seven-way intersection without harm isn’t easy to do.

The Urban Dictionary even takes a playful, but unfortunate jab at Kelley Square: A large deathtrap in Worcester, MA consisting of two rotaries and several roads intersecting them. Only the bravest of the brave and/or the craziest of the crazy should even attempt to drive through it.

On Thursday evening, that inevitable “what if?” was answered and the worst possible set of circumstances collided that led to an awful tragedy.  24-year-old Sarah Ewing of Hudson was killed when she was pinned down by a tractor trailer. READ THE REST HERE

#10

Prescription of Pain Killers

One of the biggest plagues in the Commonwealth is the overdose deaths of tied to opioids -- and now we know more about just how many physicians are prescribing these addictive drugs.

Investigation: Top Massachusetts Doctors Prescribed Oxycodone 13,000+ Times

Twenty five physicians and health professionals in Massachusetts prescribed Oxycodone over 13,000 times in one year under Medicare -- including the leading prescriber whose license was suspended the following year in Rhode Island following patient deaths -- and was arrested in the Commonwealth the following year.

Fathala Mashali, who was was reported to have prescribed Oxycodone under Medicare over 2,500 times in 2012 -- twice the amount of the next doctor and three times the third - was found to have billed Medicare $3.4 million in 2012. READ THE REST OF THE STORY HERE

#9

North High Principal Sends Email to Staff Aligning Teacher with "Racist"

The Worcester Schools in 2015 were a collection of blunders and punch lines to far too many jokes. 

As GoLocal reported:

On Monday, North High principal Lisa Dyer sent the staff at North an email in response to a column in Worcester Magazine. The email, which was sent to GoLocal early Tuesday morning, accused North High English teacher and Worcester Magazine columnist Janice Harvey of aligning herself with a "racist blog," disrespecting Superintendent Dr. Melinda Boone and causing potential race relation problems at the school.

The email came with a warning to all teachers to not share this with local media. 

#8

The 40 Worcester School Cafeterias with the Most Health Code Violations

Most parents don't want their kids eating in a school cafeteria in which health inspectors find rodents, but in Worcester schools they are there.

As GoLocal unveiled:

A review of all 52 Worcester Public Schools cafeterias over the past four years (2011-2014) has found hundreds of health violations at the city’s public elementary and secondary schools.

Health code inspectors noted that some school cafeterias had evidence of rodent and insect infestation, stoves and refrigerators were not adequately cleaned, broken and hanging ceiling tiles in food prep areas and, at nearly all the schools, the temperature for the hot water at hand sinks was not at the regulated level of more than 110 degrees. READ THE REST OF THE STORY

#7

Worcester's Response to Heroin

One of the saddest chapters in recent Massachusetts' history has been the plague of opioid OD's -- and the blunder has been the ongoing failed effort by the Worcester Police Department to respond, as the city has been late to adopt best practices all during this crisis of public health.

Worcester, and specifically the Police Department, has been late in adopting response practices like including NARCAN. This blunder has cost lives -- this continues to be an ongoing editorial focus of GoLocal. READ MORE HERE.

#6

Worcester Public School Employee Arrested on Child Pornography Charges 

This happened not once, but twice. Not only did it happen, but the Worcester School Department functionally tried to cover it up.

This was another School Department blunder that led in part to Boone's departure.

READ MORE HERE

#5

Police Chief Gary Gemme

Enough said. Most every public move he makes creates a controversy.

He has running disputes with nearly all of the media. He is involved with an Ethics Complaint. The Worcester rate for violent crimes is among the highest in the Commonwealth.

#4

MEDIA Chaos: Massive Cuts at The Worcester Telegram - Top Staff Fired, and Radio in Free fall

It has been a tough couple of years for legacy media and the corporate pay and the debt is catching up with a lot of these companies. As GoLocal reported the Telegram's newsroom, revenue and circulation have all been dramatically cut.  READ MORE HERE

Now radio in the region - with the two largest radio groups in the country with tens of billions in debt they both face bankruptcy. Combined these two groups own most of the leading stations serving the Worcester-market. READ MORE HERE

#3

FBI Investigating Weapons Stolen From Worcester Army Reserve Center

Two blunders for the price of one.

At a time when the country's number one concern is terrorism - the National Guard might want to take greater steps to secure weapons so an amateur such as this could not steal so many weapons.  

The second blunder is if you have an ankle bracelet because you are already facing child rape charges - you might want to cut it off or not steal a cache of weapons from the Army.

Kudos to the FBI for capturing the three involved.

Nine Staff Members Assaulted, Four Students Arrested at North High in One Day

Sadly, the Worcester School Department populates nearly half of the annual Blunder List.

As GoLocal reported:

A total of nine staff members - four assistant principals and five teachers - were assaulted during two separate fights in one day at North High School last week.

Four students were arrested for the pair of altercations that took place on Wednesday, September 9. Two were arrested at the school, while the other two students were summoned to court for disruption of school assembly.

According to an administrative communication from Superintendent Dr. Melinda Boone, two female students were involved in a fight outside of North before the school day began. In an attempt to break the fight up, two assistant principals were assaulted. However, neither assistant principal was injured during the fight.

READ MORE HERE

#1

Worcester’s North High Welcomes Back 'Scolars'

Misspelling scholar might just be a fun irony (heck we all make spelling errors), but the totality of the comedy of errors in the Worcester Schools was blunder over blunder. 

The episodes ranged from fights between students and faculty, guns on campuses, and a breakdown of communications in the School Department. Did we mention the rat feces? Let's hope for a better School Department in 2016.