| By Dianne Weaver
A second community meeting regarding opposition to the hiring of Dr. Gene Rizzo as principal at Arnoldsburg Elementary School has been scheduled at the Upper West Fork Park for 10 a.m. Tuesday, according to Brenda Holcomb, Arnoldsburg resident and grandmother of five children.
"We are going to decide what parents can do Friday," the first day of school, said Holcomb. Rizzo has officially been hired by the Calhoun Board of Education.
Holcomb said a petition has been started requesting Rizzo's removal or resignation.
Holcomb maintains she is concerned about Rizzo being sent to anger management and counseling, that the court ordered classes indicates Rizzo could have problems dealing with school children, although there is no information regarding Rizzo's personal problems affecting his work as an educator.
Rizzo told the Arnoldsburg group that anger management and counseling is part of a solution when people have problems, not the problem.
Angry outbursts dominated last Thursday's community meeting in Arnoldsburg, where former Calhoun educator and school board member Lee Evans asked Rizzo to "just move on."
After Holcomb said she did not want to crucify Rizzo, Evans said he "should be crucified."
Rizzo, an award-winning educator, discussed his personal problems at length following a school board meeting last Monday, answering questions from concerned parents.
Several parents who were concerned about his hiring, said they were satisfied with his answers, including his statement that if he could not do a good job by Christmas, he would resign.
Organizers of last Thursday's community event declined to identify a man who said he went to prison for murder and angrily told Dr. Rizzo "Mister, my son is going to that school next year, and you will not be there, do you understand that?"
Holcomb, who was asked to identify the man, said she did not know him, nor was she able to determine who he was by asking group members.
The man, when asked to state his name, answered "Don't have one."
He told Rizzo "It's a common fact that anybody who's been involved with the criminal system, as I was for 10 years ... starts out small, and continues just like I did. I went from little misdemeanor, minor, stuff because I had an anger management problem, until I killed somebody."
It was after his statements that Dr. Rizzo left the meeting and declined further comment.
Rizzo was told to go to anger management classes during his 2001 sentencing following his entering his girlfriend's house and was found guilty of 4th degree burglary charges, a charge not related to burglary, but more to trespassing.
"If you are not good enough for Pennsylvania and Maryland why do you think you are good enough for West Virginia and Arnoldsburg?" said Evans. "Dr. Rizzo, why don't you do us a favor and move on. This is the consensus opinion not only in Arnoldsburg, but of all of Calhoun County."
At the time, Calvert County officials and parents said Rizzo's dismissal was a harsh punishment for what amounts to a relationship squabble, but he was later sentenced to 30 days in jail.
"We are devastated," said Stephanie Tayman, a fifth-grade teacher at Calvert Elementary. "The school will suffer greatly."
Several teachers and parents sent letters to school officials supporting Rizzo, including the PTA.
"I really do think, in talking to other parents, that his personal life should not affect his career or the school," said Robin Strickler, PTA president and mother of two Calvert Elementary students.
Holcomb told the Herald she continues to place the blame for the controversy on Ron Blankenship, school superintendent, and school board members.
Blankenship said Dr. Rizzo has an exemplary record as an educator.
Read earlier Herald stories:
8/23 TV NEWS COVERING ARNOLDSBURG CONTROVERSY - "If He Can't Be Good To Women..."
8/19 Dr. Rizzo Leaves Meeting As Tempers Flare - Educator Asked To "Move On"
8/18 Holcomb Organizes Meeting Over Rizzo Hiring
8/17 Dr. Rizzo "Answered Our Questions With Brutal Truth"
8/16 Dr. Rizzo Bares Personal Life
8/15 Arnoldsburg Parents Want Answers
8/13 Arnoldsburg Parents Upset Over Principal's Hiring
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