The Sage Allen clock in better days
Empty sidewalk where the "Sage Allen" clock used to stand
According to Hartford's Fire Chief and Acting DPW Director Reggie Freeman, the base of the cast iron clock was rotted and was not actually hit by the loader but the pile of snow being pushed snapped the clock from its base.
Chief Freeman says the City will cover the expense of repairing and replacing the clock on the sidewalk, where it has stood since 1889.
From Wikipedia: The store was known for the free-standing 'Sage-Allen' sidewalk clock, a local landmark built in 1899, that was located on the Main Street sidewalk in front of the store until the clock was damaged in a windstorm in 1992. The clock was later repaired and erected on another sidewalk in the city. Its importance as a Main Street landmark was known to the re-developers of the Sage-Allen building, and a deal was struck to return the clock to its traditional place. A clock specialist was called upon to restart the clock after its return to Main Street in the summer of 2007.
37 comments:
I bet the operator of the pay loader has “ NO WORRY” of being drug tested after this mishap since his boss is DANGEROUSLY performing double duty and too busy/overwhelmed/inundated to pay attention/address important periferal issues like knocking over one of Hartford’s cherished landmarks with a piece of heavy equipment ( good thing it wasn’t an old lady on the other side of that “pushed snow pile “) If Chief Freeman has no intentions of drug testing firefighters, I assure you that testing public works employees is of NO CONCERN TO HIM! I know Reggie is heavily certified related to fire service BUT I am confused and disappointed that he never either, “bought into” or “took a class” in the importance of SPAN OF CONTROL !!! If he did , he would never attempt to supervise this many subordinates between TWO DEPARTMENTS, especially when one of the departments is a crucial piece of public safety,,,THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ! And Kev please spare me the verbal false faith Reggie and you have in the REVOLVING DOOR OF RETIRED FIREFIGHTERS BECOMING “ASSISTANT CHIEFS “ What a joke that has become. When is someone going to expose that to the taxpayers?
Yeah right, a pile of snow pushed over the clock. May I ask what the hell is anybody pushing a pile of snow at an antique landmark.The operator hit it, that’s all there is to it. Check those cameras!
NOTHING UNUSUAL IN THIS OLD CLOCK STORY. NO RESPECT FOR ANYTHING. THIS IS HARTFORD.
The base of the clock was rotted and will be fixed......how will we fix the rot in city hall?
Why did Angel Morales give Bronin a political contribution for Governor ?
I was looking at a recent Google maps that clearly show that Sage Allen Clock. I didn't see even 1/10 of an inch of rust. It looks tall, beautiful and in perfect condition.
7:27pm
They really want us to believe that a "pile of snow" hit the clock.
Yeah, right.
Angel Morales always finds a Savior. He certainly has never hurt for a job. He is part of the nasty political establishment. Giving Luke Bronin a contribution for Governor gets him a home run. Morales is a pillar in Hartford. Characters like Morales is one of many factors Hartford will never survive.
The clock will never be replaced. Bronin will claim there is no money in the budgeyywhile he poses for his next photo.
Why did Cynthia Jennings and Ken Kennedy donate to the Ganim For Governor campaign?
Kevin can you check if Angel Morales paid the $19K in SEEC fine before he paid Bronin? Didnt he steal that 19K from public campaign funds? Maybe the Bronin donation came from his phony MDC job
Reggie Freeman got the biggest return on a $100 investment in the entire history of the Hartford Fire Department . He donated $100 to Luke Bronin’s campaign fund ,,,Luke’s payback? Reggie gets THOUSANDS more per year from Bronin’s generous raise AND stipend for “ACTING” /“INTERIM” Director of Public Works ( HOW LONG IS THAT GIG GONNA LAST? ARE THEY DOING A NATIONAL SEARCH FOR A EXPERT GARBAGE COLLECTOR?) . And the most unethical and in my opinion CRIMINAL aspect to all this ? LUKE GAVE REGGIE BACK THE HUNDRED BUCKS! Kev,Stay out of the casino, your not good at picking winners. Hey Luke, THANKS FOR BEING SO TRANSPARENT AND EXPOSING HOW LARGE OF A WEASEL YOU REALLY ARE!
I hope someone will get to the bottom of this Sage-Allen clock removal. We have the right to know the truth.
9:07 PM: WELL, IS REGGIE FREEMAN TRUTHFUL OR A LIAR? CAN HE PROVIDE US WITH THE NAME OF DPW EMPLOYEE INVOLVED?
I am not sure what the drivers name would prove, but I am sure an incident or accident report would have been done, that report should b available if you request it if the drivers name is that important to you
Hartford's Sage Allen clock located in downtown is a historic landmark. Hopefully. the repairs will be done soon. If not there are plenty of Hartford residents who have lived in Hartford their entire life will protest.
8:32 In the meantime let's find out how it was damaged, if it was a pile of you know what
If it really matters how it happened, Check those cameras before they’re formatted if it isn’t too late already. Nonetheless, that must’ve been one gigantic of a pile snow and there had to have been a better place to push it. Smells like stupid to me.
I agree. We should know how the clock got knocked down.
3:11PM
The police videos are saved for a whole month, and, yes, it matters!
Anonymous @ 3:11 : Smells like there're more liars working at city hall.
Mr. Brookman: Indeed, time flew. With lies.
Maybe we could ask the new assistant fire chiefs to kick in some money to help pay for repairs seeing that they are collecting their full pensions plus 120,000.00 a year. So much for no more double dipping.
Kev or anyone else,,, Just a thought , WHY DOES’NT REGGIE ASSIGN ONE OF HIS ASSISTANT CHIEFS AS INTERIM DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS ???? This way he can devote 100 % of his time/ accreditation/expertise/morale to the fire department . Not for nothing but the bulk of his salary is to perform the duties of a fire chief and nothing else. After the praise he bestowed on the “new” / “old” Hartford Fire CAPTAINS when promoting them to chiefs I firmly believe they can easily lead a army of garbage collectors. What say you????
Amen to that, Assistant Trash Chief Dan Reilly! I'm sure he could squeeze a few more dollars out of the city from the public works budget to pad his bank account.
OK. So, I've moved from Hartford and lost touch with my crews over the years and I have a sincere question: What's the problem with Danny? I came on the job with him and he was sent to L6 and I went to E1, same shift, group 1 back then. Reilly was always studying and learning his streets; always had rope handy to practice knots (remember those?), and always up for a good, friendly prank...just like Billy. I haven't spoken to him in over 10 years, but always seemed a relatively smart, sensible guy. Is this not the case anymore? If so, in what way? Just because a guy wants some extra cash for retirement doesn't make him bad. Hell, that's the whole point of working! What's really going on here? And I'm asking you, 4:25, not the idiot who posted above yours. He's the kind of firefighter that helps me not miss the job
The other day an engine was parked on the ramp of the firehouse and the doors were left open. The Ladder truck that is quatered in the same house was pulling out to make the all important lunch and credit union run with an inexperienced driver behind the wheel. As the truck took a left the bucket swung right and hit the engine's door that was left open. I ask you, is Freeman the only one from the fire department working at public works or is it possible that the guy who hit the clock and the guy driving the ladder are one in the same?
The truth must come out. The sooner the better.
I agree with "Anonymous", March 26, 2018 at 8:03 AM. BUT >> Good guy or Not, how can you take only "ONE" test in your career for Lieutenant, then just have a Gimme to Captain, and another Big Gimme to Assistant Chief ? Where will the Liability Fall when things go bad, as in the Past ? Look out City of Hartford. Not to mention the lovely pay he is receiving
And don’t forget to give him kudos for urgently facilitating proper retirement paperwork for all of his competition for that AC position. HeHe . Freeman had HFD’s version of HPD’s Buyak and let him go without consideration or an offer . Too bad and this guy was right under the Chief’s nose as this captain was assigned to his office already.
Oh. So he didn't test for the Captains position and then was made AC, just like that, huh? OK. I can see how that would piss off the rank and file. I wasn't aware of this. Thanks for the update.
Who was the legit captain that got passed? I'm wondering if I know him, too
There were no legitimate captains passed over because captains do not hold the qualifications or experience to be A/C. Let us not forget that the fire dept. is a paramilitary organization with a rank structure. This rank structure exits to ensure that qualified candidates will gain the proper experience to promote to the next level over a certain amount of time in grade. Historically in the city and on the HFD in particularly any open position would be announced with a job posting. If you met the minimum qualifications you could test for that position. I'm sure anybody that has spent more then 3 years on the job is familiar with this procedure. Over the last 25 years the A/C position has been filled by this process, a process that Freeman should be familiar with because that is the process he participated in when he was hired as A/C. If you ever read the job announcement for the A/C position you would notice that it is considered a classified position. Under the city charter a classified position is defined as a position that must be filled by an open competitive exam administered by and under HR rules. That is until recent when Freeman was told by Bronin he could hire whomever he wanted as long as they were city residents. Reilly has reportedly moved back to the city and Barco conveniently resides on Freemans Street. So the improprieties are as follows: Reilly and Barco were offered the jobs before they retired, They retired from the job and kept their medical benefits and started collecting their pensions, they were brought back as A/C's with salaries above 120,000 and still get their pensions which also breaks another section of the city charter. This was all done without the job announcement or an open competitive exam. When questioned about this situation Freeman and Bronin had similar responses, who are they to question what I do
Wow. OK. That's pretty f@#ked up. Things have certainly changed in the 10+ years I've been off the job. No wonder morale seems so low. My heart is with you, brothers. So disappointing to see our once nationally renowned department become such a shit show. Chin up and fight the good fight. You'll know you did your best and earned what you get on merit, not favoritism.
The whole HFD administration is just collecting money.Just like the last group.All people who never showed any real leadership when on the line, now supposed leaders and saviors!
10:43 AM ,I’ll try to fill you in on what you missed the last 10 years but I’m certain I will fall short. So soon after you left we were saddled with incompetent leadership that bought into the destructive/ineffective/morale killing model of “ MICROMANAGING”. The best examples of why micromanaging fails were Huertes and Brady,,Do you remember him? The Local 760 rep who gladly sat in the chair ,behind the desk,in his private office ,in the rented space,with conference room and all the amenities including credit card for things like food,beverage,hotel rooms etc. that you,i and the rest of the membership paid for. Well after he was done with that money grab representing all the shitbags that none of us wanted to work with, he got to be interim Assistant Chief in his retirement only to bust the balls of the firefighters we want to work with. You missed out on buying cocaine ,meth,weed ,ecstasy and mushrooms ( not portabello’s) in Engine 8’s firehouse, You missed lots of gun play ,off duty firefighters purposely shooting their sisters boyfriend,accidentally shooting their friends in the face after a night of drinking,Getting shot while meeting a friend in an industrial park after hours and lastly threatening people with a 38 on Babcock st. You missed out on working with known mentally ill firefighters , Brothers and Sisters walking around talking to themselves,germaphobes wearing latex gloves at all times and we even had a homeless firefighter sleeping in a rv in the parking lot who barely communicated with anyone. I think you were around for two suicides and I’m sad to inform you of a third Brother who took his life. Another devastating blow was a line of duty death that has too many f#%ked up pieces to put together for an explanation. A once great department has been brought to its knees by the very people who should be uplifting it. Screw Mayor Bronin and all the others who facilitated this destruction. I’ll stop now ,this is plenty sad enough. Good Luck to you whoever you are,,Godspeed.Brother or Sister
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