JOHN CICCONE - South Boston Tribune

John Ciccone

The Information Center
Cops OT - So What!/Rod Stewart, Elton John and Brian Wallace

I was talking with a Boston Police officer the other day. He is a young guy, fairly new on the force and like most cops, loves his job and does it well. Serving the public is what they signed on for and they don’t mind being on the front lines, even when their lives are in danger.

But this guy had the same concern that many other police officers have also mentioned. He has been working a lot of overtime and making quite a bit of money; not a bad thing at all. Good luck to them. But he said he was getting really worried that soon, because he made so much money, his name might be listed in a certain Boston daily paper which seems to have a big problem when cops make so much cash. My response to him was “So What!!”

Let them list your name in the paper. You along with all the other police officers, be they Boston Police, State Troopers or Sheriff’s Department personnel have nothing to hide. You work the hours, so you earn the pay. Spend it, save it, invest it in good health.

This city is short handed as far as police numbers go. It’s a known fact. Mayor Menino, Police Commissioner Davis and others would like nothing better than to have enough cops on the street. They are working on getting that done. But until there are enough cops on the force, this city is lucky that there are enough men and women in uniform who are willing to work those extra overtime shifts and fill those gaps in the ranks. If not for those police working the details and all that overtime, the crime rate would be a heck of a lot higher than it is now.

So to all the police officers who read this column, and I know there are a lot of you just by the number of emails you send me, don’t let what suburb dwelling columnists write get to you and please, don’t ever let them convince you to stop working those extra shifts. This city needs as many of you on the streets as it can get. And know this, if your names do get listed in the paper for making what some writer thinks is too much money, it’s only that writer and a few jealous others who care. Most of the public is unfazed. Especially since they know you are putting your time in and providing protection for people in the neighborhoods. The taxpayers are getting their money’s worth.

And speaking of Mayor Menino, we just can’t say enough about the new “Grafitti Busters” squad he has put into action. They are coming down hard on the grafitti painters who create eye sores, which is something that has always bothered me and others. In addition, they send out a sort of rapid response team to remove the grafitti from buildings. Last week, it was mentioned in this column that some little cretins invaded sacred ground and sprayed grafitti on the South Boston World War II Memorial. The morning this column came out, I got a call early at home from Mayor Menino’s special assistant Joe Rull. Joe played a major role in helping get that memorial built. I think he was even more ticked off about the grafitti on it than I was. He said he would get a crew down to get it off the memorial right away. A sincere Thanks to The Mayor, Joe Rull and to “Grafitti Busters”.

A few weeks ago, mention was made here of the clever piece written on the very creative and entertaining website called South Boston OFF line. www.southbostonoffline.com The site is put up and maintained by life long resident Paul McCormack. With Paul’s permission we reprinted his “Guide to Walking Castle Island”. It was hilarious and we got a ton of approving responses to it by local people as well as many non locals who enjoy walking around Castle Island. Well, Paul is working on a new guide for the upcoming winter season. It will be called “Guide for Shoveling out your Parking Spots”. It’s not out yet, but it will be soon. We all know that shoveling your spot after a snow storm and the methods and objects used to hold that spot is an issue that takes front and center in this town every winter. We look forward to reading that one when Paul is ready to unveil it. It should be hilarious as well as providing some good tips and advice on the proper procedure. And when it is out, with Paul’s ok, you can read it here too as well as on his website.

We'll close this week with a reminder about a coming event to honor our State Representative Brian Wallace. Brian is a stand up guy and he has been working hard on behalf of South Boston for many years, long before he even became our State Rep.

Well, on Saturday, October 4th at 7:pm at the Boston Teacher’s Union Hall an event called “A Night Of Legends” will be held in Brian’s honor. This event is guaranteed to both rock and be hilarious at the same time. It will be MC’d by well known comedian Steve Sweeney. Now there alone, having Steve Sweeney in the house will have people splitting their sides laughing. But in addition to Steve, Rick Larrimore will be there. And those who have seen Larrimore’s show before know that you think you are being entertained by rock Star Rod Stewart himself. He looks like him, sounds like him and the music is great.

Not to be outdone will be Gerard Brann. What Rick Larrimore is to Rod Stewart, Gerard Brann is to Elton John. Again, you’ll think you are watching and listening to Elton John himself on stage. If you like to get out on a Saturday night and really be entertained, You don’t want to miss “A Night OF Legends” on October 4th at The BTU Hall. And by being there you’ll be honoring one of the good guys, Representative Brian Wallace. You can call 617-269-9266 for tickets or get them at the door that night.

Note: Talk back to John Ciccone by email at jcsbic@hotmail.com
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