WHAT ARE THE EASTON TOWN OFFICIALS THINKING

ANOTHER CLOSED EXECUTIVE MEETING BY THE TOWN OFFICIALS THE SAME RESULTS. WHAT A BAD MESSAGE TO SEND TO CHILDREN WHO COME FORWARD.
Rename Toth Park

Editorial Board
October 07, 2004

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Although the Easton Board of Selectmen and the Parks and Recreation Commission have heard testimony from three men and received affidavits from two others stating that the late Stephen P. "Skipper" Toth molested them, they have chosen not to change the name of Toth Park.
The matter came up at a recent joint meeting between the selectmen and the parks commission, which took place in executive session, away from the public. Because of that, no one except those in attendance know exactly what was said or the reason why the two boards decided to deny the request from the five individuals, two of whom chose to step forward publicly, to change the park's name.
The only reason that was given was that the people who decided to honor Toth by renaming Easton Park to Toth Park 20 years ago did not know that Toth allegedly had a "darker side."We can understand why Easton officials chose to name the park after Toth when he died. At the time, people thought he was a good man who deserved the recognition. After all, Toth volunteered many hours with the Boy Scouts, Little League, Notre Dame Catholic Church and the Parks and Recreation Commission.However, Florida resident Michael Powel thinks otherwise. He started this issue in 2000 when he first reported his allegations of molestation to Easton police. Since he stepped forward, four other people, including retired Easton Police Lt. Les Eckert, have backed Powel's allegations and stated Toth also molested them.There's promise in the fact that Easton officials have chosen to leave the issue open. This leads us to think that maybe they believe the allegations against Toth could be true, but since the man is long dead and can no longer defend himself, they want to wait for more evidence.Yet we have to ask, how much more evidence do Easton officials need? At this point, too many people have made claims against Toth to discount them. Because of these allegations, the name Toth Park is forever tainted and all the good works that Toth did for Easton will not outweigh the multiple allegations against him. Easton officials should change the name of the park.
©Easton Courier 2008
Reader Opinions:
Mary Poltrtack
Oct, 12 2004

In my opinion, the fact five(5)individuals have come forward, with no reason to place themselves in a public forum ;than to seek justice for other persons who suffered at the hands of Toth took brave courage and should be evidence enought for the board to take action.