Last night we had the best attended, longest and most contentious Amherst July 4 Parade Committee meeting in our seven year existence.
And in the end we decided to continue doing as we have always done. Put on a July 4’th Parade in the grand tradition extending back over 200 years to celebrate the birth of the greatest nation on earth (warts and all)
So bring your children, bring your flags and bring your good cheer. And leave home the slogans about war, abortion, Tibet, immigration, marijuana, gay marriage, etc.
Whatever the Town Manager decides to do about allowing Amherst police and fire apparatus to participate in the Amherst July 4’th Parade is his decision and he will have to live with it.
UPDATE: 11:22 pm. Just read Stephanie O'Keeffe Select person blog (needed something to help me sleep) and I notice the Select Board agenda for Wednesday (Monday is a Holiday for some folks) has the following
9:05 Town Manager Report – Fourth of July Committee Mr. Shaffer
Good outcome. Good news. Good job.
ReplyDeleteIf Weiss&Shaffer decide to pull the fire trucks it'll affect only the small kids who love the firetrucks... plus the firemen... who will have to walk.
But I'm sure it'll be some kind of moral stance(one I have some difficulty understanding. Can someone, anyone explain it to me?)
If there is going to be a protest parade on the 3rd or the 5th, or even on the fourth, I'll definitely go to that one too. But if there is a second parade, will Weiss&Shaffer allow the firetruck in both?
Let's elect Shaffer and Weiss to be the Independence Day King and Prince. They can be driven in an open convertible and toss "Smarties" (you know the sour tasting candy I'm talking about) and doobies to the crowd. Not everybody like Smarties. I see it as a matter of personal preference.
Who knows, maybe that is what Larry Shaffer is going to announce during his "Town Manager Report" on Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteA July 4'th Protest Parade. Weiss could lead it with his bumper sticker mobile.
Interestingly 7/4 comes up as a "report" rather than public discussion (they must have gotten word that we were not coming to any more meetings)
Although...it uses the word "committee" rather than "Parade"?
So maybe the town is planning to form yet another committee to plan a take-over for next year (another threat Shaffer clearly made in the phone message to Kevin Joy I uploaded a few weeks back).
Mr. Morse had an interesting observation this morning:
ReplyDeleteTo: AmherstAC@aol.com
Sent: Sat, 19 Apr 2008 7:25 am
Subject: The Police and Fire
Isn't interesting that it's ok to underfund police and fire, but when Mr. Weiss and Ms. Awad want to make some kind of political statement, about racial profiling, illegal immigration, placards in an Independence Day parade, the police (or their equipment) are inevitably the vehicle of choice to make it?
RMorse
I'm just wondering if they would be paying off duty personell to march in an alternate or town run parade. They volunteer to drive or march in the parade we have now. Personally, I don't think many would want to show up for Shaffer with the way he is underfunding them now.
ReplyDelete