Dave Ridley continues his series of videos from the Keene School Board meeting last month. As usual, his ambush-style interviews capture more ridiculous, unaccountable behavior from the school board members and school staff.
In this video, one school board member refuses to agree to support ANY kind of budget cap. No amount of taxing is too much!
In this video, Ridley confronts school bureaucrats who do not want to answer questions about anything as well as another school board member who refuses to support a budget cap: (more…)
Despite having previously admitted to spending at least $20,000 of taxpayer money on legal fees in the first stage of the city’s ridiculous civil suit filed against Keene’s Robin Hooders, city manager John MacLean is now claiming he doesn’t know how much it’s all cost thus far. As you may recall, the suit is currently awaiting a ruling from the New Hampshire supreme court. Dave Ridley spotted MacLean at a recent council meeting and confronts him outside. MacLean, who is a very smooth operator, dodges and gives non-answers to Ridley’s legitimate inquiries, including those about MacLean’s salary. Here’s the video:
Nearly six years ago in downtown Keene I was shocked when Emergency Medical Services worker Ronald Leslie snatched my phone out of my hands (here’s another angle) as I was recording video of my friend Kurt Hoffman being loaded into an ambulance. Hoffman had allegedly been attacked by now-sheriff, then-KPD-officer Eli Rivera while in a secret court hearing at Keene District Court. Though I had forgiven Leslie shortly after the incident, others have not forgotten the assault and theft.
Indeed, now that Dave Ridley is back in town, he’s been cornering bureaucrats and politicians in various places. Recently he attended a Keene city council meeting where the very same Ronald Leslie was receiving an award prior to his retirement. Ridley confronted him about the theft and at first it almost looks like Leslie has changed for the better – he even tells a female companion to keep her hands off Ridley’s camera after she begins to assault him. Despite the golden opportunity Leslie has to apologize publicly for what he did or at least admit fault, he actually claims that he thought I was giving him my camera! My mouth just about hit the floor when I heard the ridiculous excuse for his unprofessional behavior. Here’s the video:
Last week, the principal of Monadnock Regional Middle/High School sent a letter to certain parents promoting Free Keene, and for that I thank them. However, the letter also told a big lie. The letter’s purpose was to stir up concern among parents that some people from Free Keene have been recording on campus, (here’s the video) and further claims falsely:
This is a violation of your child’s privacy and because it happened on school property, we want to make sure you are aware of this video.
This is a lie. It was not Derrick’s intention to record the students, and the principal’s letter does admit the students were filmed inadvertently. That said, even if it had been his intention to record the students, it would not have been a violation of their privacy, given they were all outdoors, on ostensibly public property. Beyond that, the school district has already informed parents their kids will be recorded, not just for their school security system, but for newspaper, radio, TV and web! Here’s the proof. According to the “student registration” form for the Monadnock Regional School District, which covers Monadnock Regional Middle/High School, parents agree to the following statement, in a lengthy four-page form (check the bottom of page 3 for this):
I agree to allow the student to be recorded or photographed for public use by newspaper, radio, TV and web
So, this is nothing more than a dishonest, fearmongering hit piece that is designed to make the school look like they are somehow protecting the students from us horrible bloggers by claiming they are consulting with law enforcement and have formulated plans to remove us from the premises next time. All the while, they are recording the students on their own security system on a daily basis, and have had all parents sign a waiver allowing any media to use their images!
When he first moved to New Hampshire, it was Keene that was Ridley’s destination. He’s since lived in multiple places across the Shire and is now back in the Keene area! Upon his return, Ridley’s first target for his trademark ambush interviews was the Keene school board meeting, after it was revealed by the Sentinel that an elementary librarian apparently assaulted a student. Dave wants answers and in this series of videos he corners multiple school bureaucrats and gets everything from people pretending he doesn’t exist to blow-offs to stonewalling to even more ridiculous, unaccountable behavior.
In the first video in the series, Dave is mostly ignored or blown off by various school board members and superintendent Wayne Wooldridge:
In the second video, Ridley catches up with Keene school district human resources director Tim Rohr, who refuses to give up any information. When Ridley asks Rohr if people should stop paying taxes since the school people won’t tell parents any details about the supposed punishment to the assaultive librarian, Rohr says:
“My guess is you’ll be motivated to pay your taxes if you try to stop.”
Rohr is referring to the fact that the government will threaten to steal your home if you decide you don’t want to support their awful school system anymore: (more…)
The author of the article, student Kellie Doc Gordon, excoriates the Keene Sentinel and journalist Meghan Foley, claiming Foley’s article on the pledge controversy was “biased” against the school. Of course the reality is that the only reason the article seemed one-sided was because the school bureaucrats basically refused to comment. They’re circling the wagons. All Foley got from them was the school superintendent saying they’ve dealt with the situation. No one else from the school, including the teacher in question, was willing to comment.
“The Pawprint Newsletter”, the school’s weekly propaganda rag, also included an editorial cartoon which suggests that the military is somehow risking their lives for your freedom of speech, which is demonstrably false. The military is fighting in foreign lands to uphold the commands of politicians, whose interests have nothing to do with preserving freedom and whose actions result in the further destruction of those freedoms. The military are merely the enforcers for the military industrial complex. Don’t believe me though, take it from a decorated Marine, Major General Smedley Butler, the author of, “War is Racket“.
