tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post5550030018623366189..comments2023-10-17T22:56:42.784-04:00Comments on Only in The Republic of Amherst: I have been served (at taxpayer expense)Larry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comBlogger108125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-15323369693895416172009-01-13T15:23:00.000-05:002009-01-13T15:23:00.000-05:00Well, you seem to take it seriously enough to come...Well, you seem to take it seriously enough to come calling often enough.<BR/><BR/>OR: maybe you're one of my alter egos:<BR/>"I am he as you are he as you are me<BR/>And we are all together "Larry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-40450684267964161042009-01-13T15:15:00.000-05:002009-01-13T15:15:00.000-05:00There is only harm in this if anybody takes it ser...There is only harm in this if anybody takes it seriously, and other than the blogger and a couple of alter-egos of the blogger who are thrown in to show agreement with the blogger (O’Reilly?), almost nobody does.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Nice twist on the narrative. Socio-pathic yes, but an "A" for effort...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-88125050517167826432009-01-13T06:45:00.000-05:002009-01-13T06:45:00.000-05:00Yeah, Anon 2:18 PM:I just can't create enough alte...Yeah, Anon 2:18 PM:<BR/>I just can't create enough alter-egos to keep up with guys like you. Of course if you check my open-to-the public sitemeter you will see my numbers keep climbing and the IP's are all over the map (as apposed to just this little old Mac)Larry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-17681224182229114512009-01-13T06:37:00.000-05:002009-01-13T06:37:00.000-05:00Shhh! If you let the secret out we'll lose our fr...Shhh! If you let the secret out we'll lose our free source of entertainment. Then we'll have to go back to watching Dr. Phil.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-50019078093705054022009-01-12T14:18:00.000-05:002009-01-12T14:18:00.000-05:00Entertained? Definitely. It's a fascinating quirk ...Entertained? Definitely. It's a fascinating quirk of human nature that people are entertained by watching other people humiliate themselves (e.g., reality TV). So there's something in blogging for everybody. <BR/><BR/>The blogger gets to feel legitimized by the number of people who follow his blog. Nothing need be accurate on the blog. It really is fun to see how outrageous/self-righteous the blogger can get. People who point out mistakes/exaggerations/fabrications are ridiculed by the blogger (e.g., name calling, claims of not being "masculine" enough, even though the blogger has no idea if the anonymous writer is a man or woman, boy or girl). <BR/><BR/>And for the readers, at no charge at all, great theater. The blogger, who believes he is reporting news, becomes the brunt of jokes around town (Did you see what Kelley claimed this week??), and the blogger can dismiss the people that disagree with him as "nitwits" and on occasion threaten them. And like the watchers of reality TV, the readers have a good laugh. See! There's something in this for everybody.<BR/><BR/>There is only harm in this if anybody takes it seriously, and other than the blogger and a couple of alter-egos of the blogger who are thrown in to show agreement with the blogger (O’Reilly?), almost nobody does.<BR/><BR/>So entertaining? Definitely.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-46955426678440865822009-01-12T06:02:00.000-05:002009-01-12T06:02:00.000-05:00Well last three Anons, my blog sure seems to keep ...Well last three Anons, my blog sure seems to keep you entertained.Larry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-12936781071835189162009-01-11T22:21:00.000-05:002009-01-11T22:21:00.000-05:00Why don't you get your crayons out and draw a pres...Why don't you get your crayons out and draw a press badge so you can show it at the door?<BR/><BR/>After all, if you don't cover the lukewarm water issue who will?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-26667750836517101412009-01-11T22:05:00.000-05:002009-01-11T22:05:00.000-05:00"if Sprague has me arrested for trespass violation..."if Sprague has me arrested for trespass violation I will bring court action (against him personally)."<BR/><BR/>Ah, yes, the Dirty Harry of the Wildwood set. I can't wait to see this one get laughed out of court.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-56753935817979682852009-01-11T22:03:00.000-05:002009-01-11T22:03:00.000-05:00" a citizen journalist"Translation: I've got a blo..." a citizen journalist"<BR/><BR/>Translation: I've got a blog and so I'm a pretend journalist.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-91755643501176238092009-01-11T20:25:00.000-05:002009-01-11T20:25:00.000-05:00I'll probably go to the School Committee meeting T...I'll probably go to the School Committee meeting Tuesday night as I believe this Wildwood water issue may be on the agenda (and as a citizen journalist I do not feel like I should have to ask permission of anybody to cover public events in a public building)<BR/><BR/>So yeah, if Sprague has me arrested for trespass violation I will bring court action (against him personally).Larry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-80543946527019607782009-01-11T15:25:00.000-05:002009-01-11T15:25:00.000-05:00No Tresspass if challenged would stand up because ...No Tresspass if challenged would stand up because Larry does not pose a threat to people things or order... unless all residents are required to to obtain written permission in advance.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-36986991392666144052009-01-11T12:41:00.000-05:002009-01-11T12:41:00.000-05:00The No Trespass will stand up because Larry has no...The No Trespass will stand up because Larry has no legitimate business to conduct there and the schol officials have a right to determine who is allowed access to their facility. "I want to know" is not legitimate business. It's just being nosey. Now, if he had a child that went to school there it wuld be different. But in this case he's just a "concerned citizen?" and the school's mandate is to teach children not to provide access to everyone with a question or that wants to take a pee.<BR/><BR/>Signed,<BR/><BR/>Anon on Purpose (because I don't want to be stalked)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-56691271238621697722009-01-11T12:25:00.000-05:002009-01-11T12:25:00.000-05:00If he gives you a stiff arm, that is to say, if he...If he gives you a stiff arm, that is to say, if he is non-responsive to your requests for a meeting, write the school board and ask them if they will meet with you or whether the Super should be saying yes. <BR/><BR/><BR/>Make sure you give him time - 7 days? - to respond to your written request to attend town government meetings in the middle school. <BR/><BR/>If you miss meetings or any other school-located activity because he did not respond. write him and ask him to rescind the trespass order because it, and his lack of responsiveness, is keeping you from participating in town government (school athletic contests, theater - maybe Vagina Dialogues!, etc).O'Reillyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02298161341394034059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-45296913777783283592009-01-11T12:18:00.000-05:002009-01-11T12:18:00.000-05:00Larry, require authentication on your blog so we d...Larry, require authentication on your blog so we don't have so many socket pupppets. Its impossible to tell one poster from another. <BR/><BR/>Sprague thinks his job is too demanding without your meddling so he's decided to play his strongest card and hopes that keeps you out of his hair and out of "his" schools. <BR/><BR/>He thinks he can dismiss you as a nuisance, regardless of all of the reasons you might need access including school activities, town government, community activities and safety issues that his staff is neglecting. <BR/><BR/>He's not thinking ahead, he's trying to deal with his "problems" one at a time. The consequences of his solution are not something he considers because he regards you as a nuisance and is prepared to eliminate you as one of his problems. <BR/><BR/>Thing is, he could spend the an hour a week responding to your written requests for access for this reason or that reason and then worry about you being there, or he can have a conversation with you about hot water in Wildwood. In fact, that's the first letter I would write. Ask him for access so he can meet with you to discuss hot water in Wildwood. <BR/><BR/>His tresspas notice probably wouldn't stand up to a review if you challenge it because you are not a threat, you followed procedure at Wildwood, and so his response - denial of your right to access Amherst Schools without prior written approval - is excessive given the facts. <BR/><BR/>He will be given wide latitude to characterize his concerns about you but in the end, they did grant you access and nothing you did can be construed as a danger or threat. Once your purpose of being in Wildwood is clear, the only question is whether you handled your inquiry appropriately, rather than wether you pose a danger. That takes the whole trespass issue off the table. <BR/><BR/>After the letter requesting access for a meeting with him about hot water in Wildwood, I think I would take the approach of asking him to explain in writing what concern(s) he has, that brought him to engage the sherrif and restrict your access to schools in Amherst and why you are being treated with a different set of rules than other residents. This one I would not do in person but in writing.O'Reillyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02298161341394034059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-52064776904980398022009-01-11T12:17:00.000-05:002009-01-11T12:17:00.000-05:00BTW, if you are biking by and have to take a pee, ...BTW, if you are biking by and have to take a pee, go someplace else. Our schools are not a bus station.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-64417852337008666672009-01-11T12:15:00.000-05:002009-01-11T12:15:00.000-05:00You keep making up hypotheticals that show how thi...You keep making up hypotheticals that show how thin your argument is. You weren't biking by and it wasn't scalding hot.<BR/><BR/>How did you get involved in the case of the luke-warm water?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-50922502733559624462009-01-11T12:01:00.000-05:002009-01-11T12:01:00.000-05:00So once again Anon (whatever hell number we're up ...So once again Anon (whatever hell number we're up to): are you defending under 80 degree water at the tap, apparently that way (or worse) since September but possibly for the past 3 or 4 or even 10 years?<BR/><BR/>So if I was biking by Wildwood (which I do quite often), and had to stop in and take a pee and found the water temperature to be scalding hot (150) should I just shut the hell up?Larry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-8100919564131703862009-01-11T10:39:00.000-05:002009-01-11T10:39:00.000-05:00"Well if the buidling across the street from my Cl..."Well if the buidling across the street from my Club that formerly housed the Chinese Charter School and still houses a Montessori School we're to catch fire I should not pick up my phone and call the Fire Department?"<BR/><BR/>Nice try, and a completely innacurrate characterization of your actions.<BR/><BR/>This school was not across from your club, was not burning down, and you did not call the fired department.<BR/><BR/>More accurately, it was across town, not burning (tepid water temperature is not exactly the threat level of a fire), and you were playing "fireman" rather than calling the professionals.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-50016707532444432522009-01-11T10:27:00.000-05:002009-01-11T10:27:00.000-05:00"Sooooo...because my daughter does not attend Wild..."Sooooo...because my daughter does not attend Wildwood...I have no right to say anything about the operation?"<BR/><BR/>Yup. Ever heard the expression "None of your beeswax"?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-6628437718889498562009-01-11T10:17:00.000-05:002009-01-11T10:17:00.000-05:00Who ever first discovered this 80 degree water "cr...Who ever first discovered this 80 degree water "crisis", and it obviously wasn't Larry, could have simply talked to the School Board and the Board of Health. They could have written a letter to the editor t the Amherst Bulletin. <BR/><BR/>Getting Larry involved just turns this into another of Larry's comical antics that distracts from whatever the real problem is because it becomes all about Larry.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-32316742914167763962009-01-11T10:07:00.000-05:002009-01-11T10:07:00.000-05:00I've lived in this town for over 15 years, have th...I've lived in this town for over 15 years, have three children in the schools (elementary, middle and high school).<BR/>It has always been interesting to see just how defensive and illogically ignorant both town officials, school officials, bloggers, etc. become when issues are brought up. It doesn't seem to matter if it is a law violation or simple priciple of decency...for some reason a certain segments seem to feel that it is always the person(s) who found and stirred up the issues that is at fault. Quite the double standard. If there is an issue that is public related or concerns townspeople or their children...then dealing with why the issue was found in the first place and why it exists is more fundammental than the childlike attacks on those who find them.<BR/>Very disturbing and embarassing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-79138369603852473812009-01-11T10:05:00.000-05:002009-01-11T10:05:00.000-05:00It's part of the psychological disorder.It's part of the psychological disorder.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-82069215797918881522009-01-11T10:03:00.000-05:002009-01-11T10:03:00.000-05:00Anon Bob,Beautifully summarized. Larry actually s...Anon Bob,<BR/><BR/>Beautifully summarized. Larry actually seeks conflict and then plays it up as if he's some kind of victim.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-59153724824787610292009-01-11T09:58:00.000-05:002009-01-11T09:58:00.000-05:00Banned from the Town Meeting listserve.Served a No...Banned from the Town Meeting listserve.<BR/><BR/>Served a No Tresspass.<BR/><BR/>I see a trend.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-2916012588530196242009-01-11T09:52:00.000-05:002009-01-11T09:52:00.000-05:00If you all go back and read everything about this ...If you all go back and read everything about this topic posted here from Larry’s first post on 12/09/2008, you will see that it’s perfectly reasonable that Superintendent Sprague issued Larry a trespass notice.<BR/><BR/>First, Larry starts things out with this on his 12/09/08 post “Do as I say! (Not as I do)”:<BR/><BR/>“I decided to be that investigative journalist I always wanted to be and took a trip up to Wildwood this afternoon, figuring a formal Freedom of Information request could take weeks.”<BR/><BR/>Why doesn’t he just ask this question: “I hear there is no hot water, is that true and why?” You don’t need a Freedom of Information request to do that.<BR/><BR/>Then in his 12/11/2008 post "Houston, we have a problem" he decides to go back, this time with a thermometer and he decides he doesn’t need to follow the rules:<BR/><BR/>“Then he [Sprague] asked if I “signed in” to enter the building, which of course I did not.”<BR/><BR/>Why not? You’re supposed to – there is sign that says so. And again, now that you know there is no hot water from your previous visit why not just ask somebody why? <BR/><BR/>Finally, he decides to go back a third time, and tells us about that in his “Kill the messenger!” post of 1/8/09. In that he says:<BR/><BR/>“He [Principal Matt Behnke] then requested I return after school lets out.” <BR/><BR/>Larry refused, saying:<BR/><BR/>“I said I had to pee and I’m going to use the bathroom; he followed me in. He even looked around to make sure no children were present (because I said if so, I would leave immediately).”<BR/><BR/>He could have done this after school as requested. Then while in the bathroom:<BR/><BR/>“While the water was still running I whipped out my camera. He [Behnke] said, “Please do not take a picture”. I said “Why?” He said, “Because I was told not to let you take a picture”. I said “Not good enough” and I took the picture.”<BR/><BR/>When you’re in a school, really you’re supposed to do what the Principal asks you to. Then Sprague came by and they went to an office:<BR/><BR/>“He [Sprague] accused me of lying about “picking up the pieces” of the broken thermometer from my previous visit and he actually produced from a folded white business envelope the glass tubular part of the thermometer (completely intact with red dye that is NOT mercury still dutifully recording room temperature) and said a child found it.”<BR/><BR/>So apparently Larry had left pieces of his broken thermometer lying around. Yes the mercury thing is over blown, but pieces of broken glass that a child finds is not.<BR/><BR/>And amazingly, still no reporting of whether he ever asked the question about why there is no hot water.<BR/><BR/>Come on folks, if you were Sprague you would not do the same thing?<BR/><BR/>---<BR/><BR/>Now this is not at all excusing the school system at all for not giving the answer (if they haven’t); they should give an answer of course. But usually you have to ask a question if you want to get an answer. <BR/><BR/>Next time Larry, ask the question instead of pretending you are Bob Woodward. Even Bob tries that method first. <BR/><BR/>- Anon BobAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com