Steve's Babylon

[truthinwebsites]

I recently logged into Stevies Babylon Website. Stevie lists Tony Martinez as an elected official. I did not elect him, did you?

I do not know Mr. Martinez. He may be a decent guy. But I am a little upset that Steve Bellone can hand pick a council person without a vote.

[Unregisteredcoke]

GLENS FALLS - In a move that will separate Glens Falls from municipalities in the region, the city will begin random drug screenings of all city employees.

Current plans call to begin testing by mid-August, said Glens Falls Personnel Officer Melissa Sheehy.

Queensbury, Kingsbury, Moreau, South Glens Falls and the village and town of Lake George do not have similar testing policies.

Saratoga Springs administers drug tests to entry-level police officers and random screenings to municipal employees with commercial drivers' licenses, said Patsy Berrigan, secretary to the Civil Service Commission, but the city does not test clerical staff.

Federal law requires random testing for any state employee whose job requires a commercial driver's license. Workers in the Glens Falls Department of Public Works who operate heavy trucks already undergo drug testing.

The push for random screening in Glens Falls came from Mayor Roy Akins, who made employee drug testing a priority.

"Many of our staff interact with the public every day," said Mike Mender, assistant to the mayor. "He wants to make sure that they're doing so in a safe and responsible, courteous manner."

The new testing was negotiated with unions representing city employees and incorporated into new contracts signed in 2007 and 2008. Elected officials will not be included in the screenings, Sheehy said.

The tests should help employees feel more secure when working alongside co-workers, Sheehy said.

"It kind of gives them a sense of calm knowing the person they're with would not be under the influence of drugs or alcohol," she said. "We're not trying to catch anyone. We're hoping we don't have any positive results."

A small number of workers opposed testing, but a majority approved it.

"Those who expressed concern were doing so more in a philosophical, kind of civil libertarian mode," Mender said. "The idea that, perhaps, it was an invasion of privacy."

Convenient Medical on Bay Street in Glens Falls will test workers for marijuana, cocaine, opiates, phencyclidine, amphetamines and alcohol. Members of the police force and the Civil Service Employees Association union cannot have a blood alcohol level at or above 0.02 percent while on duty, and firefighters must test below 0.04 percent, according to contracts.

One employee is randomly selected by a computer program each month and required to undergo the screening.

The first offense will result in a suspension, which will last until the worker completes a counseling program through the employees assistance program. After a second offense, an employee is fired. The assistance program also provides counseling for anxiety, anger management, family problems and other issues. It was initiated in the new contracts to help employees who fail the screenings, Sheehy said, and will cost the city $6,000 per year.

"It really gives everyone an opportunity to get help before it comes to the point where thr job is in jeopardy," she said.

A raise for employees was included in the contracts as an incentive to agree to drug testing, Sheehy said.





town of babylon would have a lot of openings

[Unregisteredhfjasrteu]

I recently met this Martinez guy....nice guy, but really has no idea what is going on....unfortunate.

[Unregistered911]

...heard that Commissioner Carter-Davis is now responsible for two lawsuits...one for religious discrimination and one for racial discrimination. Seems if you are not of her liking, you are fired. Don't go to her church in the Town owned bullding you get fired. You are an American Indian or Eskimo and not black, you get fired.

And Stevie let's it all go down for the mother of a monster. What does she have on him?

[warren pookey]

In the private sector not a one of these minority idiots would be running anything. Dumb as dirt and no tact. Do you think people are unaware why
your there? It ain't the merits! Bellone like Petrone has to go!