As Rod Serling would say, "Respectfully submitted for your perusal."
In this case, the reason why angry yellow jacket No More Overrides signs will not swarm in Amherst center over the final days of the campaign. Three years ago--a day or so before the May 1 Override vote--some Nitwit woman crashed her vehicle narrowly avoiding cyclists and pedestrians who would not have made out as well as the 4,000 pound auto she rear ended.
So in the interests of public safety--especially since our Police and Fire departments are understaffed--the Amherst Citizens for Responsible Change have decided not to stand around in town center and distract drivers.
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Original Post 4/29/07
As a passive aggressive sparky school supporter was driving thru the downtown around high-noon Saturday she rolled down the window and leaned out shouting while shaking her fist: “You should be ashamed of yourselves!”
A split second later she rear-ended the SUV in front of her. Stan Gawle, without missing a beat (after he stopped laughing) exclaimed, “God is on our side!”
You can read between the lines here folks and conclude that the white flag is being waved.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's what the marines thought the first few days of Iwo.
ReplyDeleteI was asked last week if I will be voting yes, and when I simply said no I got quite the berating lecture. I feel everyone is entitled to their opinion but nobody should be so rude.
ReplyDeleteTrue believers are the worst.
ReplyDeleteIt's over Larry. Face facts and climb on board while you can. It's not much more than the million you originally said you'd support. The firefighters are asking for our support and, frankly, that means a lot to me. We'll gain more than we'll lose this time around.
ReplyDeleteWe'll gain more than we lose? Speak for yourself. I can afford to lose services. I CAN'T afford to lose my house because of these damn taxes.
ReplyDeleteI think there are probably many others like myself who will quietly vote no.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I don't feel that I can risk the reactions that I would get being open about this in this community.
We are afraid to think and discuss openly in a free society in a University town. Isn't that institution in town suppose to be place of free thinking? Isn't that the rational for having tenure? If we are not to have free thinking maybe we should do away with tenure.
ReplyDeleteI'm beginning to think that the University is no longer about education and thought. It has become big business. It's about how much money can be brought in from grants and gifts. The justification for million dollar salaries for college basketball coaches is the fact that the college can bring in TV revenue. This may be true for some colleges but not for most. Some colleges pay high salaries for faculty that don't even exist on campus just so that they can be listed on the roster. Faculty that actually spend time teaching are not rewarded like those that bring in the bacon. This creates alot of resentment on campus. Ask any of the older faculty in town how they think the university has changed over the years. So now we are using taxpayer money for what is essential a business venture. We are paying for the farm teams for professional sports at great cost. This is pulling money from our secondary schools that are not business ventures.
ReplyDeleteI'm beginning to think that the University is no longer about education and thought. It has become big business.
ReplyDeleteIt is a Faustian choice that the radical left made a generation ago coming of age. It isn't the big money and corporate image as much as how the university itself died in the flames of their protest-based youth.
9:35pm " I CAN'T afford to lose my house because of these damn taxes." I can really relate. But I've been seeing the for sale signs in Amherst, and I'm beginning to think about not being able to to sell my house if and when that time comes... because our schools aren't good, our local services are reduced, and our town is a joke for not protecting our unique character.
ReplyDeleteThis morning, I'm leaning for the override... it may be my only hope to maintain the quality of Amherst and protect housing sales in our town... just as important to me as a homeowner. High property taxes without services seems like shooting myself in the foot. Prospective home buyers may be concerned about the taxes in Amherst, but we better have the services to back them up.
I'm glad the election isn't today. I need the extra time to think this through.
Undecided:
ReplyDeleteI appreciate how much thought you're putting in to this. I hadn't considered the issue from the viewpoint you're offering, so thanks.
"Prospective home buyers may be concerned about the taxes in Amherst, but we better have the services to back them up."
ReplyDeleteVery True
I'm especially concerned about the potential for increased response time for our emergency services. Our staffing is dangerously low at it is.
Also, if we lose the unique elective and arts offerings that distinguish our high school from others in the region, we'll also lose an edge in the housing market. If you want a strictly
3 Rs kind of education, you can get that along with a lower tax assessment in Hadley. What we offer currently is much richer and needs to remain so if we want to "sell" the community to potential home buyers.
The firefighters are asking for support because they've been getting the short end of the stick for too long and have been used as pawns in this game. The one dept. in town that isn't wasting our tax dollars and they have to fight to have enough employees! Highest injury rate in the state, thanks Mr. Shaffer!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeleteI was asked last week if I will be voting yes, and when I simply said no I got quite the berating lecture. I feel everyone is entitled to their opinion but nobody should be so rude.
Happened to me as well, I actually am starting to take pride in being stupid and driving a gas guzzling truck. these types of incidents should make us feel like James Dean. A rebel but with a cause.
Welcome to the ranks of the silent majority who are often labeld the minority in this town. Don't let them get to you and yes they often tend to have an err of superiority to them at times.
-Ryan Willey
Comment from Anonymous 7:32 a.m 3/21 in response to 7:53:
ReplyDeleteBut it's the folks with tenure who are my concern.
Not all of us in public sector jobs are eligible for tenure.
AND Not all folks granted tenure are altruistic truth seeking bastions of belief in political freedom unless one agrees with them.....
I've been in Amherst for over 30 years. I've seen that "liberal" here has a completely different meaning than the dictionary.
One of the ways to convince others that the override is the RIGHT way to do things is posts such as anonymous 8:05 .....
we're supposed to be convinced that by thinking about how much things cost we betray ourselves into "business" and not about the ideals of education and "the kids"
What 8:05 forgets is that it does take money to run our town schools, our universities, etc and that questioning people are ASKING that financial management be a PRIORITY of our elected leaders. You can't just keep increasing taxes to pay for waste.
So what if the University is looking at other revenue streams? Get outside the box a bit and look at all universities around the country, those that can offer a lot to their students do NOT depend solely upon tax revenue and tuition.
And, this isn't a new thing: same thing was being discussed in Chronicle of Higher Ed as long ago as the 70's re coming up with dual tenure tracks of teaching/ed and research/pub.
If the pro-override contingent is truly in favor of improving the quality of life in Amherst, they wouldn't form a mob waving signs in the middle of the biggest intersection in town at the peak of rush hour. I ran into them on the way home from work tonight around 5:45. This intersection is tricky enough. Add in sign-waving, horn honking, a news crew from WWLP and it's not a surprise that no accidents happened.
ReplyDeleteA good thing too, since I noticed that all of Amherst's finest fire fighters appeared to be attending some function at a local watering hole, dressed in their dress uniforms. What was that about? They seemed too cheerful to have been coming from a funeral.
All in all not a great impression if they want a pro-override vote from me. I'm not seeing a big need for more money.