Straight from the Heart

As a candidate for the Seekonk School Committee I feel that I should explain an issue that took place with my 12-year-old son on Feb. 20. Normally this would be considered a personal matter, but I realize when you are running for a public office, your personal life, through fairness to the town's people, needs to be explained.

Many people have been wondering why I was unable to attend some of the debates for the upcoming election. The fact is that on Feb. 20 my 12-year-old son had open-heart surgery at Boston Children's Hospital to repair a valve in his heart that was becoming a life-threatening condition. Fortunately, his procedure was a success. However, my wife and I spent numerous hours with follow-up visits with his doctors and other professionals to make sure the follow-up care he received was done with total due diligence. Due to the fact he is Autistic, the normal procedures for his care needed to be handled at a different level.

We are happy and thankful he has just about fully recovered from such a major procedure.

We feel comfortable discussing this with our fellow neighbors. Seekonk is a small town. Neighbors look after each other and treat each other as extended family members. No, we don't always agree with each other, but we are able to set aside our differences when needed to come together as a unity of one when needed. That's what makes Seekonk a special place to live in.

Handling a school budget of $22 million (give or take) is no small task. As a Realtor for the past 10 years, I've needed to negotiate millions of dollars of real estate transactions. It has provided me with skills to be a competent School Committee Member.

I have lived in Seekonk for just about my whole life. I went through all the schools and graduated in 1987. There is a level of excellence and pride that exist in our schools dating back many years and is still evident when you walk into our schools today. We need to continue that.

You have many candidates to choose from for the April 1 election. Please choose wisely.

Sincerely,

Shane Halajko
508-399-5272
155 Bloomfield Street