LeRoy High School: No Photo!
Over the weekend, the LeRoy story about high school kids suddenly developing unexplained Tourettes-like symptons took a strange turn. Some of the families have retained the services of Erin Brockovich, who consults with personal injury / environmental tort law firm Weitz & Luxenburg, among others. (You may know Weitz & Luxenburg as being the firm for which Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver works).
The Brockovich team was on hand over the weekend to take soil and water samples from the general area around the high school, and brought the media along to watch & inquire. The school district, however, appears to be overreacting to this, playing hardball with respect to the small town media circus this is becoming. Howard Owens from the Batavian comments,
[Brockovich investigator Bob] Bowcock was told by [LeRoy Central School District rep Bill] Albert that he could walk the grounds, just like any other citizen in Le Roy, but could not take soil samples, and the media would not be allowed on the grounds. Albert said that while members of the media were citizens, they could not go on the property while acting in capacity as media, even though numerous Supreme Court cases have not drawn a distinction between a “person” and a “corporate entity” (most recently Citizens United) for the purpose of First Amendment rights.
School property is public property and public access cannot be denied so long as it does not disrupt the educational purpose of the campus.
The media was on site during non-school hours and there was no evidence of educational activity. To label the media presence as “criminal activity” is beyond ludicrous.
Ludicrous indeed. But not because of the distinction between a “person” and any other legal entity, but because if a person has the right to traverse the property, a person with a camera has the right to photograph them, and a person with a microphone has a right to question them. The school district’s reaction to all of this is likely guided by overprotective counsel, but is fast becoming comical. The environment at the school could quite possibly hold the key to this outbreak of an unknown malady, and the school should be welcoming additional investigators and scrutiny – not lobbing Soviet-era threats as if this is some military secret.
The LeRoy High School isn’t Area 51, and the families of kids who go there have a right to be 100% sure they’re not learning trigonometry and science on top of an environmental catastrophe.
Ever think they are just trying to keep the media hype disaster to a minimum? You know before the circus sets up the tents and then all is lost.
Careful, Alan. This is Genesee County we’re talking about here. Some elected official could perceive this as threatening.
“The Brockovich team was on hand over the weekend to take soil and water samples from the general area around the high school, and brought the media along to watch & inquire.”
Yeah, very professional, bring the media along. To what end?
Well said Alan!
Why bring along the media, you ask? Probably to document the heavy-handed treatment they received from the school.
If the media does not get involved all would be forgotten about! Town and village does not seem to care about the youths in the area,just worried about the bad rap the town may get!media is helpen this along to get more answers…..maybe more questions also!
I feel that much of this could have been avoided if the neurologist in Buffalo had just said the truth ; that although this could and may very well be conversion disorder, we are not 100 % sure and will have to wait and see how the girls do over time. Now it is quickly becoming a public relations disaster. I think the parents were upset because they feel the doctors and school are blaming the girls, when in fact , they just don’t know the answer. Also the hippa laws made the parents feel information was being kept from them. I guess it is always easy to Monday morning quarter back, but I still feel this was not handled well.
Yeah buffalo is getting some more well needed national attention from a whore mongering attorney! You f-morons do we really need this kind of investigation?
Let the local groups handle it, we are just being used by this bitch to promote herself, and you guys above praise it. Holy crap your dumb.
“Holy crap your dumb.”
When will people learn that you should use proper grammar and spelling before calling anyone “dumb”?
Yeah, the locals are doing a great job handling themselves. They brought this on by ascribing the childrens’ maladies to some sort of bogus-sounding mental affliction.
That being said, I still put it at 25-1 that this is a school prank that went way too far. I really hope that it is!
I am writing a book about a disorder called PANDAS, which results in tics, OCD and anxiety. My own son has been affected by it and there is a HUGE outbreak of this (as well as other) autoimmune disorders in the us right now. Visit the very informative website PANDAS Network.org and watch the You Tube movie The World According to Monsanto and put two and two together folks.
Sorry, US should be capitalized…:-)