[klaatumail] Re: New discography info
- From: "Bradley, David" <David_Bradley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <klaatumail@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:25:34 -0500
> We've started receiving a new channel here
> called Headline News out of the US...it seems
> to be a rival to CNN but with less sensationalism
> -- just recaps of all the top stories from
> various parts of the USA. Guess the fire was
> deemed headline worthy.
CNN actually has two channels here in the U.S., one of which is called
Headline News. From your description of the recaps of top stories it
sounds like it may be that channel.
I'm still surprised this made that channel. It wasn't THAT large of a
fire. Must have been a slow news night. :-)
Abandoned factory building fires in Lawrence, Lowell, Haverhill, Methuen
are not really big news unless someone gets hurt. They happen far too
frequently. The local fire departments are now required to make
inspections of abandoned properties and then post a large red sign with
a white X through it indicating that the building is secured and empty.
When a fire breaks out in one of those buildings, the firemen generally
do NOT go in unless there are direct reports of someone being in the
building. This is because in Worcester, MA a few years back a homeless
couple living in an abandoned building in Worcester (I think it was a
warehouse, not a factory, but pretty much the same scenario) had started
a fire. People reported that there were homeless people living in the
building and firemen went in. 6 firemen died in that fire. There were
no homeless people in the building as they had left as soon as the fire
broke out.
Now, with the buildings clearly marked, unless someone knows for a fact
that someone was actually IN the building at that moment, the sign on
the building is your warning that the firemen will NOT be going in there
in the event of a fire. It's for their safety as well as for the safety
of the people who might chose to go in those buildings.
It shows a problem, though, with two very serious issues in this area of
the country.
#1, abandoned buildings. Fix them up and get them into use or tear them
down. Don't leave them abandoned and disappear into the woodwork. Too
many owners take off for parts unknown never to be seen again. The
buildings rack up huge back tax issues as well as other municipal liens.
(The one in Lawrence the other night is reported to have a $400,000.00
overdue water bill....) The properties are never again touched, but
because they are privately owned the cities can't do much with them
either.
#2, despite numerous homeless shelters in our area that can accommodate
the number of people on the streets in our area, a lot of the homeless
are unfortunately also dealing with mental illness and won't go stay at
a shelter because they are afraid of the motives behind the people
running such places. They also won't go stay in a shelter because that
is admitting that they are homeless and they feel it is an afront to
their dignity. A lot of times they don't realize that the general
grubbiness of their clothing and the odor that follows them around are
dead giveaways.
Our parish does a lot to reach out to people in our area that are in
that situation, but there's only so much you can do for them if they
won't even talk to someone. They hide, they throw rocks at anyone
approaching them, etc. Our parish takes an approach of "what can we do
to help you" rather than "let us take you out of your situation". That
preserves the dignity of the person dealing with their situation. They
can accept the help and make the decisions on their own so that they are
getting help by their choice and on their terms, instead of feeling as
if people are looking down on them and telling them what to do. It's
been a fairly well received approach and it's also working in other
parts of the country as well.
We also have a meal center where no ID is needed, no information is
needed, no income verification is done, etc. You show up and ask to be
fed, and you are. There are hot meals at breakfast time and dinner time.
The building looks like an upscale restaurant, and inside is clean and
well furnished. The people don't grab a tray and get in line, they are
shown to tables, their orders are taken and they are then served their
meals. The police do not visit the place unless they are called because
we don't want people to think they are being lured into a trap. This
isn't about tracking down people with warrants against them, it's about
feeding people who are hungry. There are issues with a lot of registered
sex offenders in our area, and we get regular updates on who they are,
complete with photos, so that children are kept away from them.
Generally, if a child is there without parents (and child is anyone up
to age 18) then they are seated at a table reserved just for kids, and
volunteers monitor the bathrooms so that adults are not in there when
children are. That way the children are kept safe while there, the
adults and children alike get the hot meal they need and a level of
trust is developed where they will feel safe coming to us for other
needs as well. Despite this, there's still an issue of hunger in our
area, but it's drastically reduced. Homelessness is still present, but
as I said, it's more the people dealing with mental illness that aren't
in a place where they can trust those offering help.
But the abandoned buildings, and the reasons that those buildings often
end up on fire, are things that are out of our control and unfortunately
the "do not enter" policy had to be adopted for everyone's safety.
That's why they post the signs, so that people going into the buildings
know that they won't be seeing rescuers coming in for them unless there
is an eyewitness who saw them go into the building and not come out.
Dave Bradley
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