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• http://pulse.yahoo.com/_DK2NSO2GYJSIRQOPYAXLKVEIA4 James

  He is lucky he is in the USA. If in Bahrain, he would be history.

• http://pulse.yahoo.com/_VI5WTVDOQEX4M6UAEVBC7GROOQ Kelly

  In my Bahrain, he should be history.

• Anonymous

  I actually am starting to think that more teachers have been arrested than priests for this kind of activity. Where and when will that scandal in education be covered by the press as extensively as this one?

• MyThoughts

  Hired under Gehrig Johnson’s watch!  No wonder he gets paid so much!

• Anonymous

  There would be less of a problem with repeat offenders. 

• Anonymous

  Ashland has had a number of high school teachers over the years who have “dated” their students. At least one got a student pregnant. Another ultimately married the student after graduation.  The community has had a habit of  ”looking the other way” with it’s educators. Of course the newspaper account does not indicate if a student was the “alleged” victim, but that is really beside my point.  

• MyThoughts

  The Superintendent shouldn’t be looking the other way.

• Anonymous

  The incidents I referred to did not happen under the current Superintendents watch.   However,  Johnson is a part-timer located in Presque Isle and gets paid a bundle for little effort on Ashland’s behalf. They like it that way…not too involved.

• Anonymous

  It’s always possible Stephen Wierzbowski is innocent.  Let’s keep that in mind.

• MyThoughts

  But this one has; and the citizens should say one too many.  The children need to be protected by their leaders, part time or not.   He had final say on this teacher and whether the victim was a student or not it was a terrible uninformed hiring.  If Paterno can be fired this guy should resign.

• Anonymous

  $500 bail and lots of conditions. I see that worked out well.

• waynorth1

  Superintendent was probably “busy.”  Surely there’s a rubber stamp somewhere around Ashland with his name on it.  Bet this victim turns out to be of the male gender after looking at that Facebook page. Ashland isn’t the place to be gropy/feely…note to self, teacher.

• Anonymous

  Geeez, just out on bail and already “violating ” conditions.
  This guy is out of control.
  Sorry Stephen , “You’re fired” !!

• Anonymous

  Ashland’s not the only town where teachers “date” students. 

• Anonymous

  Let’s see…anyone in Greenville have the courage to speak up?

• MyThoughts

  Obviously Johnson was too busy collecting multiple pay checks to thoroughly do his job.  He should resign but it is always someone else who is at fault; never him.   The Teflon superintendent, money before students.

• Anonymous

  What I don’t get is that immediately the people in Ashland start blaming the superintendent, yet when someone from Greenville blames the past administration for passing him on, it gets deleted.

• Anonymous

  why,  may I ask,  was my previous comment stating this is a witch hunt possibly  caused by a spurned teenager deleted? YOU at BDN apparently delete anything that doesn’t go along with your beliefs!

  If I had jumped on the board with the other witch hunters, presumed the man guilty even though people that KNOW him say he is not and made comments such as GUILTY (without a shred of proof, only accusations) you would have left my post alone!

  I am writing this again, and you may delete this again, but there are other message  boards at other news sites and I am not only going to defend a man I believe is innocent, but I am also going to be bashing you at the BDN!

• Anonymous

  If this guy had no previous accusations, there is no way anyone could have known he was a danger to anyone, if in fact he did assault someone. It is also common for disgruntle students to accuse teachers of wrong doing. I don’t know this teacher, nor am I taking up for him. Let him have his day in court.

• http://pulse.yahoo.com/_MK7PZXR57URSLEZTBS2KGK6KFM Toddlermom

  This is tragic… no matter how you look at it.  If these accusations are true, my heart goes out to the family of the person(s) affected and to the community that has to cope with this.  Yes, all of the community will have to cope as many people will be affected by this serious loss of trust.  If these allegations are false, this community looses as well, as they will have lost someone who’s goal was to teach our children.  Regardless of the outcome, this man’s career is over.  Regardless of the outcome, this  small, close-knit community has been awakened to the fact that “this can happen here”.   Keep your kids close, teach them to be safe.

• http://pulse.yahoo.com/_F7VMUU5NIDG3Y2AUPJUMBJY7B4 JEFF

   compared to other states why does Maine have such a disproportionate amount of kid diddlers ?

• Anonymous

  why should he resign if he is innocent? Remember, INNOCENT until PROVEN guilty.

• MyThoughts

  IF!!!!!!!!!

• MyThoughts

  Just look at Penn State.  Guilty or not, people who oversee people who supervise or work with children must be held to a higher standard no matter what.  Even rumors must be taken serious.  I would expect nothing less from our District’s leaders, especially those who profess to being examples for other leaders!

• Anonymous

  He needs to be accountable for his actions.  How many young girls has he violated without regret or remorse? It’s disgusting.

• Anonymous

  All I have to say is WOW…I can not believe that people would post comments such as these without knowing any of the facts or details in this case.  You are assuming and guessing rather than waiting for a trial.  And to top that, you are linking Stephen and “other Ashland Teachers” together, basically saying that this is common place for the area.  If it was true that “looking the other way” was common practice, then why is Stephen where he is today?  Seems to me that the Dr. Johnson and his administration should be commended for their actions up to this point.  There was an accusation and they dealt with it in a very professional, upstanding way….PERIOD, END OF STORY.  This is not a forum to bash this administration.  If you have concerns or issues with them, get up off your rumps and head into a school board meeting and voice them in person rather than hiding behind a false login name.  And why is it that Ashland and the surrounding areas have such a negative light shinning on them?  The post that spoke about the area basically said it is trashy…come here, meet us, take the time to see how we truly are.  Now on to the comment about violation of bail, unless you know specifically Stephen’s bail conditions (which should be his lawyer and the judge only) you can not make any determination here.  Lots of times a violation of bail can be a situation of interpreting a bail condition and almost reading between the line based on a police officers limited information at hand.  This would seem to be the case here where Stephen is being given the opportunity to be released on a pre-trial bail contract and a low amount of bail money.  Again, you don’t know the details…PERIOD, END OF STORY.  As far as the post that makes the ignorant (and the true definition of ignorant is “not knowing”) statement about the victim being male, you are crude and rude.  Posting something like this is disrespectful all around.  Give this community and school district a chance to grieve and heal…his students miss him and the wonderful learning environment that he provided them.  Students who were once unsuccessful were being given opportunities to shine academically.  Parents miss him.  Their concept of learning as being a difficult or tedious task for their children was changed by this man.  His fellow staff members miss his smile and laughter and the connection he brought to their building.  Allow the family of the victim(s) and the victim(s) to process the events and move forward in their daily lives. It is never an easy thing to deal with, especially in a small town.  Time and patience will allow the details to come forth, a trial to be held, and the truth to be enforced.  Please understand that I am in no way defending the actions of anyone who breaks the law, may it be a doctor, lawyer, teacher, cop, or hell even the WalMart door greeter.  No one is above the law…PERIOD, END OF STORY.  My final thought…my mother always told me that you should never assume anything, “When you assume, you make an ass out of you and me!”  Enough said!  

• Anonymous

  Moderator, please approve and post my second comment, the first did not contain all of the elements I wanted.  Thank you

• Anonymous

  The thing is that none of you people that have no shame in showing just how judgmental you are, don’t know the whole story and you don’t know the people involved. No one is going to condone his actions, but nobody but the people involved know the true story.

• Anonymous

  I know the true story and it’s nauseating. 

• Anonymous

  None of this is right but people are throwing out a lot of judgments and accusations.

• Anonymous

  Yes, we teach them to be wary of strangers, to be street smart.  But we also have to teach them to be friendly and trusting in safe locations.  That is why when a teacher, coach, or parent hurts our kids, it is so horrible for us all.  Who is ultimately responsible?  The coworkers who  hear whispers and get a feeling things aren’t quite right.  The admisistraters who need to go out on a limb.  The parents who get bits of information.  And the students who know what’s going on.  Like with anything evil going on, until we stand up to it, it will continue.  We all share the blame.

• Anonymous

  Again, don’t assume you know the situation unless you are directly involved….we still don’t know the complete details…how can we say he is guilty of the charge without a trial??

• Anonymous

  Just plain disrespectful! 

• Anonymous

  I truly like and respect the fact that you added “If these accusations are true”…thank you!

• Anonymous

  Very nice!!

• Anonymous

  Court is where this should be settled…and if there had been previous legal charges MSAD 32 would have known…thank you for your post!

• Anonymous

  Thank you!!  Ashland and every community around the world can have this happen…

• Anonymous

  If this is the way you feel, where are you during school board meetings???  Why are you not voicing these concerns in person??

• Anonymous

  Innocent until proven guilty…isn’t that the law??  Everyone wants the law upheld, but they are failing to uphold this part of it!!  Go figure!

• Anonymous

  Right, rumors are even looked into and investigated for teachers…so this may end up being just that, a RUMOR!

• Anonymous

  Really??  Have you asked the staff and employees of MSAD 32 if they like Dr. Johnson and his dual duties?  Or are you just assuming they would prefer not having a Superintendent who is hands on with their district???

• Anonymous

  He is not looking away, nor is the rest of the MSAD 32 staff…that is why Stephen is in jail…they dealt with it as needed!

• Anonymous

  Really??!!  So I am guessing that these kinds of things ONLY happen in Ashland right?  Apparently there is a gate on all roads that enter the town, and we check to make sure that the person has qualities that will lead to breaking the law, especially while being a teacher, and then let people in…yup, that’s it…good old Ashland…give me a break!!!!

• Anonymous

  Said it before, will say it again, get off your rump and go to a school board meeting and discuss your concerns in person…if change is what you want then you must act not post behind a false screen name!

• Anonymous

  Really?  So you are the alleged offender or the alleged victim??  In my opinion those are the only two people who truly know the story….

• Anonymous

  Hmmmm ya thats’s it…Maine is filled with them!!  Ever watch news other than local???

• Anonymous

  Mr. W has deceived his friends,students, and the community of Ashland. His inappropriate behavior does not deserve sympathy.  He is both a liar and a predator.  Would you trust him alone with your child in the classroom? 

• Anonymous

  He even admits he’s guilty. Why so protective?

• Anonymous

  He admits to having sexual relations with a minor. Only in a sick mind is this type of behavior deemed acceptable. 

• Anonymous

  How do you know he admits it, and how do you know what he has admitted to???  Are you one of the investigators???