Joe Fornoratto spent most of his life as a champion of veterans’ rights. The Veterans of Belleville and the Township did a great job honoring Mr. Fornoratto in this year’s Veteran’s Day Parade. Joe deserved this honor.
Sadly, Councilmembers Marie Strumolo-Burke and Joe Longo found this to be just another opportunity for self-promotion. We have confirmed that neither of them were on the parade program, nor were they scheduled to speak. Neither Longo or Strumolo-Burke spoke about or honored Mr. Fornoratto in their comments. We have learned that one of the Vets actually had to tell Longo to end his speech because he was delaying the parade. This makes sense because neither Longo or Strumolo-Burke treated Mr. Fornoratto with the respect he so deserved. The fact is Joe Longo was part of one of the most embarrassing moments in Belleville’s recent history. He and his friends attacked Mr. Fornoratto and the veterans at a public event for Medal of Honor Awardee Henry Svehla.
Although this type of grand standing is something we have come to expect from both Strumolo-Burke and Longo, it is still an embarrassment to Belleville. This was made perfectly clear when even the County and State Officials present at the parade did not stand on stage alongside Longo or Strumolo-Burke.
When will these two stop, and just go away?
Let us not forget Mr. Longo’s involvement in destroying the education of some 4600 Belleville students and our School District. He and his friends on the Board of Education have cost us almost 7 million dollars. This number continues to grow based on our state monitor Mr Egan’s comments at the last meeting. Please remember that Mr. Egan is the one trying to fix the problems. Longo and the current Board of Education created them.
On November 4th, Belleville’s residents sent a clear message to Longo and the current Board of Education. By electing Ralph Vellon and Patti Dolan as Board of Education trustees, things will change. These two residents stand apart as people who are not connected to nor controlled by the current Board of Education or any political party. They truly care about our children and our teachers.
It will take years to repair all the damage done to our children, but we are finally going in the right direction. The possibility of a total State takeover has been decreased. The people have spoken. Residents need to stay involved. They need to vote. We must continue to focus on repairing our School District and replacing our Board of Education trustees with people who genuinely care about our children.
They say actions speak louder than words. No matter what they say or how many biblical quotes one posts on Facebook, an individual’s actions and behavior shows the truth about their nature.
Poor Richard
Be the first to comment