According to the Eyewitness News broadcast this evening, Zumbro House will not open in Centerville after all.
"After protests from Centerville residents, the owner of a company that runs foster care homes for teens with serious behavioral and sexual issues says he won't open a facility in the northeast Metro suburb."
The Citizen 8/19/2008 Here
Editor's Viewpoint Here
KSTP TV - Minneapolis and St. Paul - Controversial Foster Home Pulls Out of Centerville
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10 comments:
WAY TO GO RESIDENTS!! Way to organize and come together!!
Zumbro now claims they are not moving here - obvious problem - they still own a house here. Let's put the squeeze on the city council to pass ordinances that protect us from this happening again.
KSTP news (as well as Zumbro) of course likes to report that we oppose "developmentally disabled" people. We oppose a home here for those with sexual deviant & serious behavioral problems. Zumbro's willingness to "compromise" indicates their obvious intent to have had such persons in our neighborhoods - those with serious & sexual deviant behavior. Compromise?Yeah, right! We all know one can say anything to 'get in' and then simply 'change the rules'. WE are not willing to take that chance! And THAT is what KSTP should have reported - the plain TRUTH!!
This is good news for Centerville. However, I do have a couple of questions and points to make about this whole issue. My first question is since this is a private company would this or both properties, if allowed to purchase a second one, have been considered and charged for nonhomestead taxes on these properties? If so, that could have added up to be a rather tidy sum for the County and the City. My second question that comes to mind is that a private company bought this house. Private companies operate under the premise that they will make a profit. Is there a profit to be made on fostering children with developmental needs and how much? Is this how such a nice home could have been purchased? I find this all rather disturbing that a private company can be in charge of our children once they are in the system? In a set up like this could some government workers be rewarded financially and thus find any excuse to take a child from their home because they could get paid on the side to bring kids into a system that would make money for them and a private company? It has been known to happen in other states. What kind of care are these kids really getting if there is a profit margin involved? Who is really paying for this? Our taxes? In exchange for Jim Ramstad's yes vote on the October, 2008 bailout, the Feds passed his bill on mental health for Minnesota. I think Minnesota got about 2 billion dollars for this. Is this another cash cow for the private sector through our tax dollars? Also, schools have been known to get extra money for special needs children and for helping to get kids on behavioral medicines through Big Pharma. Are private foster home companies also receiving dollars from Big Pharma to keep those kids on behavorial drugs? These children may not be moving into our neighborhood but I think we all have a very real and new concern for not only our children but ALL children. Who represents them once they are in a private system? There are more and more nightmare stories of kids being taken from homes for no real good reason. In these volatile financial times when local government or schools are scrambling for money we better wake up and start asking some serious questions about where some of their money is coming from. Always follow the money! Question everything they tell you. It's for the children! It's your right!
The residents of Centerville are wonderful, caring and giving people. The way this story is being presented in some press is sad.
The simple fact that Zumbro House scrubbed all the information on their website regarding their consumers behavior is alarming. They did so with frightening speed!
Why, unless to portray itself as the victim of the evil Centerville residents?
On Wednesday afternoon their clients were
"Sexual offending
Self-abusive
Physically aggressive
Destructive
(had)Anger management problems
Compulsive &
Defiant/oppositional"
By Wednesday evening they became teenagers with developmental disabilities.
Why doesn't anyone in the press ask Mr.Christopher Onken about that?
Further, they are teenagers until the commit a horrific crime. Then they become charged as adults in a court of law. Some as young as 14 without the developmental disabilities.
The situation was handled poorly by everyone. Anoka County, Centerville officials and most especially the Zumbro House owners.
Unfortunate, but Centerville residents have NOTHING to apologize for.
Christopher Onken should restore the company website to what it was two days ago before participating in anymore interviews.
The press should do a better job reporting BOTH sides of the story and do a little more investigative work. Lazy and sloppy work!
Ad placed in Career Builder for an accountant:
"Zumbro House, Inc. is a progressive and innovative leader in the development of community-based residential services for individuals with high behavioral needs. Zumbro House, Inc. caters to the small handful of individuals that, despite numerous attempts at community support services, are unable to maintain behavior that does not threaten their ability to function adequately in the community. We also serve those in need of a step down from a more restrictive setting, such as inpatient hospitalization, long-term residential treatment, or crisis placement."
Developmentally disabled by butt! Way to go Centerville residents!!
Copy and paste link
http://www.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobDetails.aspx?IPath=JRM&sc_cmp1=JS_JR_ViewJob&ff=21&APath=2.21.0.0.0&job_did=J7X4TR7329SJ5QNCDTH
There goes the neighborhood!
http://www.startribune.com/local/east/53261462.html
What happened to Matthew Sheppard Hate Crime Bill comment?
According to the Matthew Sheppard Hate Crime Bill that was attached to the Defense Spending Bill, because it could not stand on its own and is waiting for the President's signature, may not stop you next time from this happening in our neighborhoods. One of the things this bill does is protect over 500 different philia-type people including pedophiles from hurtful language. You can be charged with a felony if you verbally hurt their feelings. Therefore, I would think publicly objecting to them being in your neighborhood would fall under this federal bill. This bill would provide protection to all of the people that Zumbro House provides services to. If they don't sell the house and the President signs this bill, I would think they could come back and you won't have anything to say about it or you would be hurting their feelings. Governor Pawlenty rejected a hate crime bill that was introduced in our state legislature earlier this year that was similar to this federal bill and he said we already have hate crime laws. He was right. However, I guess the federal government feels differently. I sent a letter a long time ago to Senator Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken objecting to this and they blew me off. Fax a letter now to the President at the White House objecting to this bill or go to The National Prayer Network website to learn more about this. We don't have much time!
Matthew Sheppard,
Stop writing such long posts. You look like the August 14, 2009 9:13 PM blogger. Nobody wants to read a novel... Ever heard of Twitter? They have a limit on the number of words.
You most certainly could make your point with fewer words.
No offense.
Your information is much appreciated!
Anonymous-Matthew Sheppard,
Granted I can be long-winded, however, wasn't this site created to keep Centerville citizens informed and to air their views on City matters? I have seen other lengthy comments that have not been criticized.
I was just trying to educate the masses that want to learn something. This is what happens when people take their liberties for granted or claim they are too busy to seek out alternative media for the real news because they want to believe in mainstream media and their propaganda that everything is okay when it's not.
Webster's dictionary does not give a certain number of words for a comment and many websites allow rather lengthy comments. If it's too much reading, no one is forcing you to read it. It's not like we have a line of people waiting to make comments and only so much space.
You are starting to sound like the City Council meetings. Two minutes to make your point and that's it! Isn't that called limiting free speech?
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