Mom claims daughter, 10, missing at pick-up time

By JOSEPH R. LaPLANTE, Valley Breeze & Observer Managing Editor

SCITUATE - The complaints from a mother about a lack of supervision and activities in the town's summer recreation program has prompted Recreation Committee member Carol Costa to call for an overhaul of the program and a resuscitation of a board that has not met in more than one year.

Linda Resnick, the mother of a 10-year-old girl who attended the town's summer program, complained to the Town Council on Thursday, Aug. 14 about the lack of supervision and activities provided by the summer program after she was unable to locate her daughter at the program one day two weeks ago.

She put her complaints in writing in a letter, dated Aug. 13, addressed to Town Clerk Margaret M. Long, which Long distributed to the council.

Resnick said she had gone to pick up her daughter but none of the summer counselors knew where the child was located.

"The thought that my daughter may have been abducted, because she could not be found, had to be the scariest thing that has ever happened in my life," she wrote. "Nobody could find her, and her councilor was nowhere to be found as usual."

A friend of her daughter checked the restroom to see if she was inside.

Resnick approached summer camp employees to ask the whereabouts of her daughter and none knew.

Then she spotted her daughter "along with a bunch of boys were walking out of the woods from behind a shed. At an innocent 10 years old, my daughter does not understand that it is not appropriate to be in the woods with boys, not what they can do to her."

Costa, who formerly worked as a correspondent for The Valley Breeze & Observer, learned about the incident and contacted the mother. Already harboring concerns about the committee and its direction of the recreation program, Costa said she wanted to review past committee actions related to the summer program.

Costa was miffed when she asked to review the recreation committee minutes for the past year and learned from Town Clerk Long that the last minutes filed for the committee were from a meeting in May 2005.

Costa is active in the town's Democratic Party and has run for office as a Democrat.

"It is my considered opinion that the program, its measly offerings and its operation are fractured and need a complete overhaul," Costa said.

Resnick wrote in her letter that "This program is a disgrace. The arts and crafts for the older kids consist of gimp, (a coarse thread, usually glazed, employed in lacemaking to outline designs.) "That is it.

"I was shocked when ceramics was offered for an additional $8 per child for these past couple of weeks. Unfortunately it was cancelled due to only 12 children signing up."

Resnick also criticized the manner in which the counselors, mostly local teenagers hired as summer help by the town, interact with the children and the parents.

"I have seen counselors snap at a child because the child asks a question of the counselor and the counselor was too busy playing cards with other counselors," she wrote.

She alleged that when she sought out the counselor responsible for her daughter, she found him "at a picnic table behind the basketball court with a bunch of other guys his own age. I'm not even sure if they were counselors. He had his back to the kids, facing the trees ... I asked him why (her daughter) was allowed to go into the woods with boys. He said the kids are allowed to go into the woods a little ways, as long as they can be seen. This is not acceptable to me, nor was (my daughter) visible to anyone."

Resnick's phone number is unlisted and she could not be reached for comment for this article by The Valley Breeze & Observer.

Resnick also complained in the letter about the demeanor of the counselors toward parents.

"I also find it appalling that (she names two female counselors) think it is OK to talk about people as they approach. It is very obvious as they stand at the cafeteria and watch people as they approach and speak to each other with their low voices," she wrote. "I have had other parents comment to me about how uncomfortable they feel, too, because they behave like this."

Costa told the newspaper she has attempted in the past to address concerns about the summer recreation program.

"My reason for wanting to review the minutes was that I have wanted a review and retool of the summer rec program," Costa said. "I have consistently asked to be part of hiring procedures and asked for a review of the fee schedules to no avail. I consider this incident to be one of grave importance to the people of the town. Whenever a child is entrusted to the care of individual or an organization, it goes without saying that that trust should be beyond reproach."

Recreation Commission Chairman Fred Ferri told The Valley Breeze & Observer on Saturday, Aug. 23, that he was unaware of the Resnick complaint and had not been presented with a copy of her letter to the town clerk. The newspaper offered to provide a copy to Ferri and faxed it to his office, which he said he would read on Monday, Aug. 25.

In an interview on Monday afternoon, Ferri said, "In all fairness, I want to talk to the supervisor first. It is definitely something that must be looked into further. As a father with two youngsters at home, I would not be happy at all if something like this happened to me."

Ferri, chairman for two years, confirmed that the committee, which is appointed by the Town Council, has not held a meeting in the last 12 months. He blamed the hiatus on the inability of members to find a common, available time to meet.

"We haven't met as a committee in I couldn't tell you how long," he said. "As for a quorum, we haven't had one in over a year."

He said that former Public Works Director Richard Iverson was also the director of the Recreation Department and had been responsible for keeping minutes of the meetings. Ferri said he has contacted Iverson to ask why the minutes of every meeting since 2005 are missing. He had yet to receive an explanation for the missing minutes by last weekend, he said.

Ferri said on Monday that he will call a meeting of the commission soon.

Costa said the problems in the town's recreation department must be addressed.

"The missing minutes are a symptom of a much greater problem," Costa said. "The systemic failure of the recreation program, the committee, of which I am a member, the director, the staff, combined with the lack of oversight and leadership, are a recipe for disaster.

"The time is now for every responsible person to step up to the plate and either fix this problem or resign," Costa continued. "The Town Council should not be absolved in this matter, either. As the committee understands and has been informed repeatedly - 'You are an advisory committee, all decisions are made by the Town Council.' So, where have they been?"

Council President Robert Budway on Monday night, Aug. 25, told the newspaper that he wants to learn "both sides" of the story.

"I am not saying that I don't believe Mrs. Resnick," Budway said. "In fairness to the other people involved, I want to get as much information as I can."

Budway questioned Costa's criticism about the council's role, insinuating her complaint is politically motivated.

"This is election season, you know," Budway said. "And Carol Costa has run for office before on the Democrats ticket. Sometimes people just throw things to see if something will stick."