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God bless these courageous women.

EXT. - A PAYPHONE, SOMEWHERE OUT EAST George Hopkins [in a high-pitched, Paul Giamatti-like voice]: "... Hello!? .... Fred?! ... Fred Morrison?! ... It's George, please don't hang up! You're the only one who can help me! Listen ... you're a big 'second chances' type of guy, right?! I also hear you got connections ... ... You ever watch 'Breaking Bad' ...? I'm looking for an extractor, kinda like that guy played by Robert Forester ... You know: someone that can give me a new identity and a new place to live! Maybe I can be a bold visionary lumberjack in Montana, or a bold visionary fisherman in Mexico! ... ... LISTEN TO ME: IT'S GETTING BAD OUT HERE MAN! I'M LIVING IN MY CAR AND SURVIVING ON STOLEN FUNDRAISER CANDY BARS! YOU GOTTA HELP ME ... hello?"

It brings up a problem I pointed out in another thread: a couple that marches together, but is separated by a year, and then the age-out comes back to tech with the corps the following season ... it seems that no one wants to break up what is clearly a consensual, and adult, relationship. Nevertheless, if I were running the corps, I'd have to say "It really sucks, and I'm sorry, but you need to go tech for a different corps this season, until your significant other ages out; I can't have staff and members in relationships".

The real issue is the current Chairman of the BoD of DCI decided to place a higher value on the redemption of one, over the safety of many. Is this the person to be in charge in today's climate?

I liked them better when Neil Young was in the group.

This week we have been discussing regretable " a second chance " situations. In this future scenario you are presenting to us, you are essentially asking us do we think that George Hopkins might actually get a " second chance " to perhaps damage the Cadets Corps/ YEA beyond what he has already done. Keep in mind that any future " found innocent at trial " would have been in a prosecution criminal trial that developed under the guidelines of the Pennsylvania Statute of Limitations ( 12 years ) to bring a prosecutable alleged rape trial before a jury at trial... in a Criminal Court. if in the scenario you are asking us, should Hopkins be found innocent should a future criminal case trial take place, would he then perhaps afterwards sue the YEA Board for " wrongful termination " in a Civil Trial Court. Not in a million years, imo. Why? Because if Hopkins then sued YEA, he would then open himself up to have every one of the 10 or more alleged victims to then testify at a Civil Court Trial to what he allegedly did to them. Such a civil lawsuit defense by YEA in your scenario would be under no Statute of Limitations requirements to not bring in their sworn testimony to justify YEA's termination of George Hopkins at YEA by the new YEA Board there. So would GH want to go down that road and sue YEA, and open himself up to THAT in a Civil Court lawsuit trial ? Not a chance. So no, no matter what happens moving forward, George Hopkins is not ever going to get a " second chance " to destroy YEA, nor the Cadets. nor Cadets2. So you can put that imagination scenario aside. 'Not Happenin'.

No one in drum corps is irreplaceable, IMO.

Orange is the new black.

Well, let's look at it this way. If Mr. Morrison decided in 2012 that he was aware of all the facts and made his decision to stick by Moody because giving him a second chance trumped the actions of 2010, then why was Moody let go on May 1 (assuming that even happened as claimed)? The ONLY thing that has changed is that more people are now aware of the situation, thanks to the Philly Inquirer [the two allegations in the article did not claim specific acts between Morrison and members at the time they were members]. So if Morrison still believes that his decision was the correct one, and no new facts have arisen which changed that situation, then Morrison should not have let Moody go simply because more people became aware of the situation. Or are we really looking at a situation where Morrison only stood by his decision as long as it could be kept secret from the public eye? Because he knows that his customers would not have approved the decision had they known?

From cell phones, to cell blocks. This I Believe.

No.. that guy will be busy in an industry that designs automobile license plates. Hope he's ok with the traditional uniforms they wear there.

In the optics of today, yes it does. Sorry but a combination of bad decisions on Morrison's part to bring this person onto his staff, a failure on Morrison's part to communicate to the MMs and parents about his hiring of a guy who has obvious "boundary problems", and the swirling GH storm lead me to conclude Morrison should step down for the good of the activity.

And therein perhaps, is an instructive insight as to why DCI is in the position that it finds itself in at the moment with this issue of sexual misconduct found within its ranks. Joel Moody did not resign at the Crossmen because of the actions of Fred Morrison seeking his resignation, nor by Joel Moody himself.... not anyone at DCI HQ either. The Philadelphia Inquirer investigatory reporting to the public ALONE made this resignation occur. As they have for all the other recent resignations within the ranks of DCI too that are in some manner connected to this issue. DCI is up to close to a dozen resignations so far on this issue. Some known predators, others apparent enablers, others just irresponsible people in positions of authority that exercised little to no oversight responsibilities/ abilities in their positions. No doubt, more resignations to follow in the coming days, weeks, months, one would have to believe. Its a shame that this is how DCI apparently does things, ie wait until outsiders arrive on the scene to make them do the right thing.

Word has it that Fred Morrison has resigned as chairman of the board of DCI.

Ask them how many professional sports events they have watched/attended/supported in the last year ... hopefully they can discern between bad actors and an entire activity.

Well, I think most of us have marched behind the horses in various parades ...

That post made me think of Paul Giamatti, listening to "Mexican Radio" in the film Duets

The first full corps rehearsal of spring training is being held today by the Bluecoats. Let the process of putting it all together begin!

It MAY have been, and this is total speculation as with most of those posting, that once the original story broke Morrison himself rethought his initial position and came to the internal conclusion that it was just not a good idea to have Moody on staff any longer. People can learn and adjust their own viewpoints as they learn and process more and more about various situations. He may have thought that a quiet parting of the ways would be the best solution for both the Xmen and Joel (oops). Again...total speculation as are just about all of the posts here.

To me the big issue was it was not openly communicated to parents and kids. Especially in light of the accusations brought forth. If I found out in July my kid was on tour with someone who lost their teaching license.....after months of my kid being in the corps and getting 4/5 grand, if I wasn’t on a plane to find them there’d #### well be a not pleasant phone call wanting to know why it wasn’t made public from day 1.

i'm betting the lawyers

Today's latest story from Trisha Nadolny http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/cadets-sexual-assault-george-hopkins-20180517.html?amphtml=y

I am pretty sure you are right. They are not about to back off now.

Now when I think back on all my experiences in Cadets, the good and bad, and seeing him all the time, hearing him talk 3-5 times a day...all I can think of now is "did he rape anyone that day?" Anyway I hope he gets his rewards and the victims are able to heal.

Bloo is pretty tight lipped about what they’re doing. I have a feeling their show will be mind blowing.

DCI put out NEW code of conduct and ethics guidelines yesterday..I think THAT nips this particular side discussion in the bud...see page 8 for quote...Will there be any teeth in the bite or consequences to the corps?...it remains to be seen... "...DCI strictly prohibits and expects that each organization has policies in place that prohibits consensual romantic or sexual relationships and sexual activity of any nature between the staff and staff volunteers of any participating organizations and the organization's participants, regardless of their ages. This prohibition extents through the full tenure of a participants' involvement in DCI-related activities." https://www.dci.org/news/dci-board-of-directors-updates-sweeping-code-of-conduct-ethics-guidelines

To my eye (on this monitor) PA DOC uniforms have a distinctly maroon hue. You can't make this stuff up http://www.post-gazette.com/news/state/2015/01/06/Pennsylvania-prison-system-develops-separate-housing-for-mentally-ill-inmates/stories/201501060042

The division 2 corps my son was with was much the same. Hand me down drums, school buses...a shoestring and a prayer. The big boys are running in the million dollar club. The open class corps are performing miracles and many times, with a lot more imaginative shows.

i have heard stuff has already been sent to the PA Dept of Labor

Karma is a [BLEEP].

The Troopers have confirmed their 2018 show, still titled "The New Road West." A number of changes have been made to the repertoire: OUT: "On the Road Again" and "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" IN: "Toward the Splendid City" by Richard Danielpour, "Canyon Echoes" by Robert W. Smith, "Both Sides Now" by Joni Mitchell and an additional original composition by Smith "Welcome to the Black Parade" will still be in the program as the opener. https://www.troopersdrumcorps.org/single-post/The-New-Road-West

.....and/or a simple google search.

DUN - DUN

So, we shrug our shoulders and dejectedly say, "they all do it". There's nothing to be done? I don't buy that.

I said in the very first hours after the initial story broke that this would wind up getting investigated at the criminal level. When I saw certain comments NOT being eliminated from Hopkins FB wall I knew he was under Attorneys orders NOT to delete anything as it would be viewed as a sign of obstruction of justice . You could basically go over to GH wall right now and say naa naa naa boo boo to him and it will stick.

do what ya gotta do. the guy willingly withheld this information from parents and kids for 6 years.

I rented a ZipCar to move stuff to my new place this week and was BLASTING shows with the stereo on the way. Got some classic looks at stoplights when people were "what on earth is he listening to?"

now Ponzo isn't THAT old

Rumored show titles I've heard include Croatoan, A Blank Slate, The Void, and 4'33" Times Three. Of course, those rumors have come to me via disembodied whispers I've heard in my sleep. I don't know if they can be trusted.

I tired to ignore this but I can't. It haunts me. wrong wrong wrong this is why we are here this is how these things continued for so long this attitude has to stop this time is over and if the xmen didn't have a chat with everyone and their parents that attended a camp, paid their fees, toured or went to audition about this staffer, then shame of them for taking that choice away from others

Thank you for sharing that. It is distressing to me that in this new age of awareness, that people can still behave this way. It is a privilege and honor to teach these young people. I wish some people would treat it as such.

.......featuring, Little Geoffrey as 'The Stool Pigeon'

It was one of those rare shows that you couldn’t take your eyes off of. The GE was just off the charts and it was moment after moment, big horn moment, then a crazy drum scatter and come back together then the guard etc. It was clearly an exhausting show to march but even the audience was run thru the ringer with just watching it. GE monster.

They do. I know from working as a volunteer at Camp Hill for a couple of years.

I think this was a necessary development. Now the allegations will be investigated and the accusations can be proven or disproved. I think lots of people didn't like GH and almost everyone agrees it was time for him to go. What happens if the prosecutors decide that there isn't enough there to warrant spending taxpayer funds to take this to trial. Or what if it goes to trial and they fail to get a conviction? I think the prosecutors will have a tough time with this case . If it goes through and into trial this will keep YEA in the news for a long time. I have no clue what the effect would be on YEA if GH were found innocent or gets a hung jury in a trial. Could he go after the board for wrongful termination since they undid his resignation? If the accusations can be proven then the law will punish the perpetrator. Basically I am saying this is just a preamble to a long probably painful process for all involved.

I hate to go there, but I'll go. 24 seasons and three Finalist appearances at DCA including one Class A appearance. I note that the other groups Lighthouse Brigade et al have some marked successes to claim for themselves, and that makes things a lot better for recruiting purposes. With Cincinnati Tradition winning 2 A titles, they've retained and obviously recruited to move to Open. Same with White Sabres, same with Fusion Core. Unfortunately, one can only make the claims for so long that winning and placement isn't everything, there are more important values at play with the organization. You have to have SOME demonstrable success somehow in terms of making finals, placement, whatever. If that sounds harsh.... that's part of the reality of things and part of societal makeup now.

No way in hell i'd take a baby to a show.

The thought of a 'Breaking Bad' show bears some merit. So does a show.called 'Sunday in the Yard with George'

We do not know about any new facts. What we do know is that sometime after the first story came out (April 5?) and the end of April something happened to lead them to make the change with Moody. It was before the article of this week. So we do not know. Maybe something was reported to Mr. Morrison following the April story that led hm to take some action... maybe not. But there is far more here than we know right now.

The article said he was 31 when he sent those texts to an 18 year old. If that statement of age is correct, then anyone who claims "he was young and made a mistake" has their head up their @$$ . [Edit - and since he got his BME in 2001, and the incident occured in 2010, that age seems correct].