South Toms River - Karen Paden, the $90,000 a year Jail
Guard Sergeant and passer of $1292.42 in bad checks, has been sworn in
to a three year term as a member of the South Toms River council,
despite being designated as a health menace by the Ocean County Board
Of Health.
Paden’s $11,000 Delinquent Property Tax Bill
Councilwoman
Paden previously distinguished herself by running up and failing to
pay for years a delinquent property tax bill of over $11,000, a
contingency that was a factor in her defeat three years ago when she
served previously as a member of the South Toms River council.
Bad check charges amounting to a total of $1292.42, two checks to the
local Texaco Service Station, were pending against Karen Paden since
September 10, 2001, local court records show, and the matter had still
not been brought to a conclusion, more than two years later, at the
time of the November 2003 election.
Bad Check Charges Remained Unadjudicated After Two Years
There is no available record of the reason the local court allegedly
allowed the bad check matter to be continued for more than two years,
but there is considerable speculation that Paden may have been cut
some slack because of her status as a former elected official, and her
status as a $90,000 a year jail guard and Melvin Paden’s status as a
postal employee.
Records of the South Toms River Sewer Authority and the Ocean county
Board of Health reveal that Paden’s house at 94 South Main Street has
been condemned “as a public health nuisance” because Paden has not
paid the sewer bill which is now delinquent by more than $1353, an
amount which is almost three years of unpaid sewer bills.
Records show the sewers were plugged by the Sewer Authority after
Padens were warned repeatedly to pay the bill, but “have not made any
attempts to make payment to the authority,” officials said.
Service was terminated by the Authority until the “habitually
delinquent account is brought current,” a letter from the authority
says.
Melvin Paden Apparently Lied To The Ocean County Observer
Melvin Paden, Councilwoman Paden’s husband, told the Ocean County
Observer the matter was a “misunderstanding”, a result of a $3500
payment made by the Padens for repair of a broken sewer line.
Mr. Paden told the Observer the delinquent sewer bill was paid on December 29th,
but would not produce a receipt. According to sewer clerk Joni Fraas,
the Padens have not yet made a payment: “the service has not been
restored”, she told the Observer.
Not The First Sewer Bill Delinquency For The Padens
The Observer also noted in an article by Staff Writer Millie Guerrero
that this is not the first time the Padens have been delinquent on
their sewer bills. Sewer records from 2001 show a delinquency at that
time of $1375.68, an accumulated bill about three years overdue.
Padens Were Ordered Not To Occupy The House
Officials say the sewer problem predates the November election by more
than two months, and that the Padens were ordered not to occupy the
house until the sewer service was restored.
Councilwoman
Paden told some officials, apparently including court officers, that
she was living in Manitou Park at a relative’s home during the
election campaign because of the sewer shut-off, a condition which
could threaten the integrity of her election, since candidates for
local office here are required to be residents of South Toms River.
Residents of Manitou Park are residents of Berkeley Township.
Health officials reported in a letter to construction officials that
the Paden house was apparently “occupied without benefit of proper
sewage disposal.”
Buckets Of Human Excrement Inside And Outside Paden House
The same letter, signed by health official Donna Deter-Gillich,
reported “several five-gallon pails of human waste both inside and
outside” the Paden house.
Despite the best efforts of the Padens, there has been no outbreak of
cholera, bacillary dysentery or plague in the South Main Street
neighborhood or, for that matter, anywhere in South Toms River since
the buckets of raw untreated scheissen began appearing in and around
the Paden residence.
Metaphorical Scheissen Around Borough Hall A Different Story
|
Top Ten Guy
Abe Rodriquez |
The appearance of metaphorical scheissen in and around the South Toms
River municipal building is, of course, quite a different matter.
Mayor George Greitz said Paden was “a hard worker” as she was sworn
in, and noted he was “grateful to see the hardest working members back
up here on the council,” referring to Paden and Councilman Abraham
Rodriguez, designated last year by OceanCountyPolitics as a charter
member of the list of the Top Ten Worst Public Officials in Ocean
County.
Councilwoman
Paden said she was “happy to come back to serve the community” she has
disgraced so thoroughly.
And, with just the right combination of irony, irreverence and
disrespect for his own oath of office, Greitz appointed Paden as a
member of the Financial Committee and, we kid you not, a member of the
Sanitation and Police committees.
South Toms River is in the very best of hands.
No Indication That Paden Will Be Disciplined - No Indication
Paden’s Residency Will Be Questioned
There has been no indication so far that Paden will be disciplined by
county officials - or her residency questioned as a result of her
failure to obey the laws she has taken an oath to enforce, but we all
have a right to hope.
Coming soon: an analysis of the STR campaign, which will show how lies
of omission and commission by both Republican candidates, a failure to
campaign effectively by the two Democratic candidates, combined with a
pathetic ineptitude on the part of the Democratic county leadership,
led to the narrow victory by the $90,000 a year jail guard Sergeant
Paden and her equally productive running mate, OCP Top Ten
winner, Abe Rodriguez.
Article Prepared For Publication 1/4/04
