Tom Gentz will be celebrating Flag Day instead
By Will Collette
Monday, August 13, is an official state holiday, V-J Day, also known
as Victory Day. Rhode Island, alone among the states, still sets aside the
second Monday in August to commemorate the end of World War II with the
surrender of Japan.
State and local government offices in Rhode Island –
including Charlestown Town Hall – are closed, though federal offices remain
open.
So there will be no Town Council meeting on Monday, its
usual day, even though the Council held its routine agenda meeting on August 8.
Town Council President and CCA candidate Tom Gentz notified
the Planning Commission of the change in date for the Council meeting during
their August 2 meeting, explaining that August 13 was Flag Day.
Actually, Flag Day is June
14, but this is to be expected from Gentz who is, after all, a recent
transplant having spent most of his adult life as a health insurance executive
in Massachusetts.
Gentz worked for Central Mass Healthcare, CIGNA, Aetna and
Blue Cross-Blue Shield in Massachusetts. Presumably, that’s where he learned
his jolly manner, nimble logic and compassion for humanity – all necessary
qualities for an insurance executive[1].
Now if you asked Gentz about Patriot’s Day
(no, not the New England Patriots, but the original Revolutionary War ones), he
could probably tell you all about that. That’s held on the third Monday in
April.