Compelled to Address Malicious, Yet Absurd, Accusations....

Dear Mr. Lombardi:

I thought I'd send this to you, in the eventuality that it doesn't get printed in the Local.

Thanks,
Stephanie S. Sturdivant

From: Sturdivant, Stephanie
Sent: Tue 2/21/2006 3:41 PM
To: carole@chestnuthilllocal.com
Subject: letter to the editor

Editor's Note: James Sturdivant made his own observations in comments on the post "The Smoking Gun..."

Dear Editor:

The following is a letter to include in your "From Our Readers" Section. Thank you in advance for printing it in the Local in a timely fashion.

Upon reading Pamela Waters' malicious indictment of Mr. Lawrence Walsh, I finally felt compelled to voice my opinion in the Local's pages. I have remained silent during the CHCA leadership's attacks on my husband, allowing his admirable professional reputation and body of public work to speak for themselves. Despite repeated attempts to slander, blame, and demoralize Jim, we, as a family, felt confident that the Chestnut Hill community need only review previous editions of the Local under Jim's leadership to illustrate the ridiculousness of his detractors' claims. Yet, Lawrence Walsh has no such public body of work to defend him. Rather, he must rely on his friends and colleagues to come to his aid.

I cannot comprehend how Ms. Waters can even begin to support her claims that Mr. Walsh is guilty of "sexual harrassment, verbal abuse, and physical threats." All of these assertions are absurd. It seems to me that Mr. Walsh's sole crimes were to support my husband and dare to stand up to the CHCA president and her followers. As for her assertion that Mr. Walsh advised Mike Mishak to resign, this lie is refuted by the very "letters from associates" Ms. Waters refers to in her opinion piece. Mike Mishak has stated in no uncertain terms, verbally and in print, that Mr. Walsh had nothing to do with his resignation. There is no need to review how a few key single-minded CHCA leaders created the insufferable working conditions, wholly unprofessional atmosphere, and culture of innuendo and mistrust that led to the resignations of Jim and Mike and the ultimate demise of the Local. Mr. Walsh did not contribute to any of this in any way.

The CHCA leadership is looking for a new scapegoat, since they've tired of using my husband as one. In their attempts to "mop up" their mess and create favorable propaganda, the CHCA leadership is only making themselves look more foolish and culpable. When your neighbors see fit to personally attack you in an attempt to bolster their already faltering public image, whole families are affected. I cannot sit silently while Pam Waters and other misguided and misinformed tools do the same thing to Mr. Walsh's family as they did to mine.

Sincerely,
Stephanie S. Sturdivant, Chestnut Hill

Stephanie S. Sturdivant
Graduation Project Coordinator/English Teacher
Radnor High School
130 King of Prussia Rd.
Radnor, PA 19087