As of a couple weekends ago, the damaged Verizon utility box alongside the parking lot at Patterson Mill Middle/High School still had not been fixed after more than 6 months, despite many requests from the community. Exposed wires protruded from the split-open casing which jutted from the ground in an area frequented by the public and children of all ages. In response to recent inquiries, school staff reported that they were still waiting for the contractor and/or Verizon to address the problem.
Last Monday, The Dagger called the toll free number for Verizon’s repair service out of frustration and concern that this safety hazard would go another 6 months and possibly cause harm that should have been prevented. Verizon issued a call for service for the following day and in less than 24 hours, the entire box was removed.
Cost of the phone call: $0 Time spent: 5 minutes Peace of mind: Priceless.
Also of interest, near the end of Monday night’s Board of Education meeting, Chief of Administration Joseph P. Licata discussed the conditions on school grounds at Patterson Mill Middle/High. Licata informed the board he was in ongoing conversations with parents at the school and working to resolve the issues parents had identified, along with some others that had come to his attention.
Last fall, when parent Joe Lafleur appeared before the board to raise some of these same concerns, there was no response from either the board or senior staff. That may be changing, thanks to Joe Licata and the persistence of concerned parents at Patterson Mill. The complete Board of Education meeting can be viewed Tuesday (June 10th) on Harford Cable Network on Comcast’s Channel 21 or Clearview Channel 7 at 8 p.m. and again at 11:30 p.m.
It never ceases to amaze me how one call can make a difference… from the media.
Mad props Dagger…
Go Dagger Staff! Doesn’t Central Office see the liability consequences of having unsafe and potentially dangerous situations that go unaddressed? Once again,
it is the taxpayers who will pay for the incompetence of the school administrative staff. We need an elected school board to ask questions, take names and follow through on accountability of school administrative employees. What has the currents school board done to see that the Patterson Mill issues are resolved. Soon this building will have been in use an entire year. Harford County School Board Members – GET TO WORK! MAKE THIS ADMINISTRATION ACCOUNTABLE!!!!