Now that the Groff Park Comfort Station is, finally, done and all the potholes have been filled and the $8,000 Ski Jumps, errr, I mean Speed Cushions have been deployed on Lincoln Avenue...
can we get a Crosswalk, School Zone signs and maybe a flashing yellow light down here in South Amherst at the bustling intersection now home to three schools?
The Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School has to cross the street to get to their recreation/recess space (sometimes twice per day), and some parents also cross the same busy street on drop off or pick up.
I’ll be happy to paint the crosswalk myself but as you can see from yesterday’s upload, construction projects are not my forte.
Better not:
ReplyDeleteThe Republican,Friday, August 24, 2007
Holland crosswalk painter makes a court appearance
By LORI STABILE lstabile@repub.com
HOLLAND - A Lakeridge Drive man who police say painted an illegal crosswalk on Mashapaug Road was in Palmer District Court yesterday on charges including malicious destruction of property over $250 in connection with the incident earlier this month.
James P. LaMountain, 49, who has a history of problems with the town of Holland, appeared before Judge Patricia T. Poehler for a pretrial conference. LaMountain was arraigned Aug. 3, where he pleaded innocent to the charge, as well as resisting arrest and threat to commit a crime.
LaMountain, who returns to the Palmer court in November, said he is confident he will be found innocent, and wants the case to go to a jury trial.
LaMountain said he painted the crosswalk after town officials refused to do so. He also said he had to paint the crosswalk after officials barricaded the waterfront property, forcing his family to park across the street and cross the busy road. He said officials have an issue with him storing firewood near the water.
"There was no probable cause to arrest me . . . I look forward to sitting in front of a jury," LaMountain said.
According to court documents, Holland Police Chief Kevin P. Gleason was notified about the makeshift crosswalk painted fluorescent orange on Mashapaug Road on Aug. 2 by Officer Justin Davey.
Court documents stated that LaMountain was arrested the next day by Gleason and Davey, and that LaMountain allegedly told a town worker that his children were going to be at risk of death if the crosswalk was removed. The documents stated that LaMountain confessed to police during booking that he painted the crosswalk and that he "would do it again soon."
If found guilty of malicious destruction, the maximum LaMountain would serve is 10 years in state prison or 2 ½ years in jail, plus a fine not to exceed $3,000, or three times the value of the destroyed property.
Meanwhile, LaMountain is also facing another charge of threat to commit a crime stemming from a February incident when Davey and a conservation commissioner went to his home to serve him paperwork.
"Mr. LaMountain's behavior to begin with was unnecessary, and to threaten to release his dog ... was very irrational," wrote Davey, adding he fears for the safety of other officials and the public "who may need to deal with LaMountain in the future."
LaMountain's lawyer Robert R. Herrick said a jury trial has been requested on both cases, and plans to file a motion to dismiss the February one. LaMountain said his other lawyer has demanded the town remove the barricade.
"You can't go around and barricade people off their private property," LaMountain said. "They're actively harassing and discriminating against me big time."
©2007 The Republican
© 2007 MassLive.com All Rights Reserved.
So Holland town officials are concerned about storing firewood near the water? Well hey, if the firewood should spontaneously combust at least you could put the fire out quickly.
ReplyDeleteAnd he threatened to “release his dog” on a Conservation official (no doubt serving him papers about firewood near the water). Yeah, pit bulls fighting each other to the death strikes me as a tad barbaric, but a dog unleashed on a Conservation official…hmmm, that could be downright interesting.
But I digress. My construction skills--including line painting--are right up there with my ability to endure conservation officials.
So I’ll leave it up to the professionals. But could you tell them to hurry the Hell up! Because if the hair on a single child’s head is mussed by a vehicle at that intersection after the town received public notice…
Larry, I'd be thrilled if you could get the ball rolling on a crosswalk with lights there!
ReplyDeleteWould be glad to help you if needed.
Thanks Mary,
ReplyDeleteI'm on the Select board agenda for 9/17 to discuss this, so a little neighborly support could certainly help.
I tried to get on the 9/10 agenda but they did not want to go there...probably worried about dealing with me on the sixth anniversary of their embarrassing American flag decision.
Nice photo of the kids getting on the bus. Any idea when a good time for a reporter to drop by the school and do a feature is?
ReplyDeleteHey Mary (C not D),
ReplyDeleteActually they were simply crossing over the road to get back to school after the 10:30 a.m. half-hour recess. I specifically shot the photo from behind (with the bus in the background identifying the school as PVIC) but so that you could not identify any of the children or teachers, as they are a tad paranoid about privacy.
Although they do take the cute little bus over to Groff Park for the one-hour Physical Education period later in the day (when the weather is bad, they will use my aerobic room)
I'm still persona non grata with the Trustees over my blog’s location leak so you should just give Kathy Wang a call (or two...maybe three).
But they are starting to get the concept that transparency is a good thing--and if you have nothing to hide, and a GREAT concept, then there’s nothing to fear from a little exposure.