Nearly 200 residents, many of them children, rallied in support of a Bethel High School renovation project Tuesday.
Strongly and loudly proclaiming "Yes, yes, BHS," the rally participants gathered late in the afternoon of a beautiful fall day on the lawn of Bethel Municipal Center and marched for about a mile down Greenwood Avenue to the high school to hear several speakers.
Despite the controversy over the cost of the high school project, the rally was a festive one. Many participants carried red and white balloons, and many children wore white and maroon face paint -- the high school's colors.
People carried homemade signs or wore T-shirts with handwritten messages that said "Save our school, save our community" or "Yes, fix BHS -- invest in our community."
As rally participants marched to the school, several motorists honked their horns in support or gave a thumbs-up signal. One man, however, shouted, "Hell, no."
The Bethel board of education has been under fire for being fiscally out of control for years. Unless you've been living in a cave for the last ten years, you've heard and read about the mess, the countless budgets and bonds which failed, and groups like the Bethel Action Committee attacking the BOE and the local government in the media.
Here's where I'm getting at. Is it right for children to be at a rally? Should children (who don't pay home property taxes) be allowed to dawn hard hats and march with supporters of this plan? Do they even fully understand what they are marching for?
Now, I remember when I was in High School and I remember that my entire world was flipped upside down the first day I walked through the doors of my dorm in college. In other words, kids in high school might not be exposed to all the facts surrounding this issue. In my opinion, it would have been better for the kids to stay at home/school and let the parents battle this issue out.
This is an issue for the people who pay taxes and are able to vote, not for students who might not have all the details surrounding this case.
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On September 26, 2007, ten plaintiffs filed suit in response to an arrest of aday laborers at a public park in Danbury, Connecticut. Plaintiffs amended their complaint on November 26, 2007.
The amended complaint states that plaintiffs sought to remedy the continued discriminatory and unauthorized enforcement of federal immigration laws against the Latino residents of the City of Danbury by Danbury's mayor and its police department.
Plaintiffs allege that the arrests violated their Fourth Amendment rights and the Connecticut Constitution because defendants conducted the arrests without valid warrants, in the absence of exigent circumstances, and without probable cause to believe that plaintiffs were engaged in unlawful activity. In addition, plaintiffs allege that defendants improperly stopped, detained, investigated, searched and arrested plaintiffs. Plaintiffs also allege that defendants violated their Fourteenth Amendment rights when they intentionally targeted plaintiffs, and arrested and detained them on the basis of their race, ethnicity and perceived national origin. Plaintiffs raise First Amendment, Due Process and tort claims.
Plaintiffs request declaratory relief, damages and attorneys fees.
On September 26, 2007, ten plaintiffs filed suit in response to an arrest of aday laborers at a public park in Danbury, Connecticut. Plaintiffs amended their complaint on November 26, 2007.
