A Tragic Reminder

Tip of the North Tower, after the fall

Memo: Amherst Select Board
Re: Annual Request to remember/honor 3,000 murdered Americans

Since the Select Board will not have a "Public Comment/Question" period on Monday, August 19 and since the SB only meets one more time prior to that stunningly sad anniversary, please consider this a formal request to place on the August 26 agenda for public discussion the unresolved issue of allowing the 29 commemorative flags to fly in the downtown on 9/11/13, the 12th anniversary of the most heinous attack on American soil in our entire history.

Furthermore I would request 9/11 be added to current list of six days the commemorative flags fly annually.

I would also point out that one of those approved occasions is Memorial Day, not exactly "celebratory" -- but a national day of mourning and remembrance for those who perished protecting our most cherished freedoms.  

One of which is to "petition the government for a redress of grievances."

Thank you,

Larry Kelley

#####

From: Stephanie O'Keeffe
To: Larry Kelley
Cc: Select Board ; John Musante ; David Ziomek
Sent: Sat, Aug 17, 2013 2:07 pm
Subject: Re: 9/11
Larry --

If any Select Board member supports the request that this be put on the 8/26 agenda, I will schedule it and let you know.

Take care.

Stephanie

#####

From: Larry Kelley
To: stephanie
Cc: selectboard ; MusanteJ ; ZiomekD
Sent: Mon, Aug 19, 2013 7:41 am
Subject: Re: 9/11

Stephanie,

Since I am now getting numerous inquiries could you please announce at tonight's SB meeting one way or the other whether flying the flags on 9/11 will be placed on the 8/26 agenda? I know tonight's meeting is only a single issue affair concerning the Town Manager's evaluation but I did note the item "Calendar Preview:Upcoming Meeting Plans" on the agenda.And 9/11 is upcoming.
Thanks, Larry

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 Somewhat stunning reaction on Facebook, ghost of Jennie Traschen

MassLive reported last year's fiasco

9/10/01

9/10/12

Coming Soon, To A Basement Near You

Well I guess it's official:  I really am somebody now.  I have a band named after me.  (Not that I play an instrument.)

Gotta love the advertisement that oozed up on Reddit earlier today.  How very patriotic.  Or should I say pathetic?

Didn't Lil Wayne run into some trouble not long ago for accidentally walking on an American flag?

Hey at least the upside down cross is not soaking in a jar of urine.  

Meanwhile Amherst police paid my young friends at 621 East Pleasant Street, aka "Babe Town," a visit around 9:00 PM this evening.  I heard Dispatch tell the officers it was for loud music in the back yard, which sounded like a band, and that this was the third or fourth noise complaint in the past week.

Hmm ...

This One's For You

One of the 29 commemorative flags commemorates Flag Day

Yes, the college town that allows its commemorative flags to fly only once every five years to commemorate the most horrendous attack on American soil in our entire 237 year history proudly flies them annually for Flag Day. And Labor Day.

Flag Day reminds me of the hack writer who thinks leading with the word "interestingly" will make the follow up material more interesting. If something is truly interesting the readers will figure that out quick enough if you simply let the story speak for itself.

In other words, every day should be Flag Day.

Who Ya Gonna Call?

 AFD Ladder 1 to the rescue

AFD assists the DPW replacing main cord to town flagpole this morning.  Big flag was blown down in the thunderstorm two nights ago.  Cord was 15 years old and due for replacement.  Flag will go back up later today, in plenty of time for Memorial Day observance on Monday.

 Saturday morning

Lonely At The Top

 

And our flag was no longer there

Last night's thunderstorm took out our really BIG town center flag, which was recovered down by the Police Station.  Disadvantage of large size is strong wind has more to work with. Alan Snow is hoping to have it back up and flapping by the weekend.

Mullins Center Command

 Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave ...

Once again local fire departments successfully came together in mutual aid to work as a team, only this time fire or carnage of any kind was not involved.

Using Ladder 1 from AFD, a really big flag from NFD  and a lot of coordination from UMass Campus Safety and Fire Prevention Department, Old Glory was proudly raised high above the Mullins Center for the fantastic benefit show, Ice Stars for Wounded Warriors, held this past weekend.

Giving good reason for crowds to cheer -- even before getting into the venue.

Photos courtesy Ed Mientka

No Words

 

Amherst Town Center

UMass 

Amherst College

Big Y

Long May She Wave

American flag, Town flag, UN flag

Yes the town that refuses to fly commemorative American flags in the downtown (well, four out of every five years anyway) to commemorate and remember the slaughter of 9/11 now has a flag of their own, which presumably will fly from the Town Hall turret this coming 9/11. 

Although I'm a tad concerned about security.  

This One's For You

Amherst Town Flags at half staff for former Town Manager Allen Torrey

Perhaps one of the reasons Amherst still has a Town Meeting/Select Board/Town Manager form of government is because our very first Town Manager -- Allen Torrey -- was such a good one.  

According to current Town Manager John Musante:  "Consistent with the Town's policy and past practice of lowering Town flags to half mast upon the death of a current/former Select Board member or current Town employee, Town flags were lowered in his honor."

More Unintended Consequences

One of the (many) downsides of having an internationally lousy reputation with American flag related protocol is that people are quick to believe the worst.  So yes, last week the Amherst Select Board refused the people of Amherst the right to vote on whether commemorative flags could fly in the downtown on 9/11.

And as far as I'm concerned the only thing more unAmerican than not flying the commemorative flags on 9/11 is not allowing The People to exercise their most basic American right to VOTE on it.

However:  NO, No, no -- a thousand times NO!  The town of Amherst did not lower its flag to half staff to honor Hugo Chavez, even if Howie Carr (sort of) said so:

“…It was a sad day for the moonbat community. The People’s Republics of Cambridge and Amherst rushed to lower their flags to half staff first. A spontaneous candlelight vigil erupted in Muddy River. Funeral dirges played endlessly on the NPR stations, like Radio Moscow when Uncle Joe passed. Someone dimmed the lights at the Globe, causing an immediate panic in the newsroom, where the fops assumed the newspaper was finally being shut down….”

 UMPD

Yes UMass flags are currently at half staff, but that is to honor and remember the passing of former Chancellor Randolph Bromery.  Although someone should tell the Chancellor Subbaswamy that only the governor can order state flags to half staff.

##### 

UPDATE:  As I have said all too many times, sarcasm requires its own special font (even for Howie)

Although, one major corporation is lowering the American flag for Chavez.  

What Are They Afraid Of?

The infallible Amherst Select Board

The Amherst Select Board this evening by a 3-2 "consensus" declined to place an advisory question before town voters to get their opinion on the merits of flying the commemorative flags in the downtown annually on 9/11, rather than the once-every-five-years plan currently in place.

Chair Stephanie O'Keeffe was, as usual, the deciding vote -- although she did not have the courage to actually let the board take a formal vote.

And now they have denied the people of Amherst the right to vote on this (Only In Amherst) volatile issue.

A Stirring Symbol

What so proudly we hailed ...

Two paramount things the American flag represents -- which I hope we ALL agree on -- is the right of the People to vote on matters both great and small, and the right to petition our government for a redress of grievances.

Tonight both those qualities come in to play, as I go before the Amherst Select Board to request they place the question of flying 29 commemorative flags in the downtown every 9/11 on the upcoming April 9 town election ballot.  That way citizens can finally decide this ongoing issue, which annually brings notoriety to the town.

On the night of September 10, 2001 while a pernicious plot against our country was just starting to unfold, the Amherst Select Board voted to allow 29 commemorative flags to fly on only six occasions, some sad, some celebratory.  

Six weeks after 9/11 I asked that Select Board to add 9/11 to the permanent days the commemorative flags could fly.  They refused, but allowed them up on the first anniversary and again in 2003.

But a change in leadership ushered in a Dark Ages and the flags did not fly again until 2009 under a "compromise" that said they could fly once every three years.

That ridiculous compromise was based on a shameful May16, 2007 two-thirds Town Meeting vote  (96-41) against flying the flags on 9/11 -- ever!  In 2010 SB Chair Stephanie O'keeffe hatched yet another compromise to allow them to fly every 5th year on "milestone anniversaries". 

Tonight the Select Board will take up discussion of a proposal/promise I made to them on September 10, 2012.  I'm not a betting man, but I firmly believe they will do the right thing.

Amherst Firefighters support the flying of the flags

The infamous Fox News Report

Celebrate & Mourn

 Odd juxtaposition: Commemorative flag, Christmas decoration, main flag at half staff

No, the seldom seen 20 some-odd commemorative American flags are not up in town center to commemorative Martin Luther King Day.  They are flying to herald Inauguration Day.

On the night of September 10, 2001 -- The Eve of Destruction -- the Amherst Select Board voted 4-1 to allow 29 commemorative flags to fly on six "holidays" and once every four years for Inauguration Day (and yes, amazingly, they even flew for President Bush's two terms).

9/11 has become a seventh infrequent occasion for the commemorative flags to fly, only once every five years.  As some of you may remember, this past 9/11 the town received international notoriety for not flying the flags to remember the most historic day of our lifetime.

The main flag is currently at half-staff to mourn the passing of Pfc. Antonio Syrakos of Lynn, who died January 10, 2013 in an off base accident near Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Governor Patrick routinely lowers the flag for any state resident in the military who dies, be it in combat on foreign soil, or an accident back here in America.

Another even more sobering statistic of the casualties caused by war:  This past year Army suicides outpaced military combat casualties in Afghanistan.

Patriotic Pavers

Gallagher Asphalt applies Recycled Hot Emulsified Asphalt Treatment to University Drive

A Most Fitting Tribute

 Post Office Amherst Center

On Monday September the 10th, Massachusetts House of Representatives will vote on a bill to automatically require the American and state flag be flown at half staff to commemorate a police officer or firefighter killed in the line of duty.  The measure has already passed the state Senate.

On the day before 9/11, the anniversary of first responders great triumph and greater tragedy, I can't imagine it will have any problem passing.  My only question is can someone get to the Governor for his signature by the morning of 9/11?

I can't think of a more fitting gesture to remember and honor those 343 firefighters, 60 police officers and 13 EMTs who gave so unselfishly to save thousands, setting  a proud example for generations to come.

State Rep Dan Winslow (former Amherst resident) pushes for the bill 

A Symbol of Hope

Editors Note: Amherst does fly the American flag on the Town Common and Police/Fire stations 24/7 365 days a year.

The town purchased "commemorative flags" (currently numbering 25) in the summer of 2001 using tax money assigned to the veterans department commemoration fund, and on the night of September 10, 2001 created a policy restricted them to only six occasions per year, one of which is Memorial Day.

The commemorative flags were allowed to fly on 9/11 on the first anniversary in 2002 and again in 2003 but not in 2004 thru 2009.  Amherst Town Meeting in 2007 turned down my "advisory" article  to the Select Board (as only the Select Board has authority over the public ways, so it's their call) by an astonishing two-thirds vote.

Under public pressure the Select Board in 2009 came up with a "compromise" based on the Town Meeting vote, saying that since one-third of Town Meeting supported the flags they can go up once every three years. So they flew in 2009.

Then in 2010 Select Board Chair Stephanie O'Keeffe (who voted in favor of the flags flying annually when she was a town meeting member) turned down my annual request and came up with another compromise only allowing the commemorative flags up every five years or what she called "milestone anniversaries".

Thus the commemorative flags flew in 2011 on the tenth anniversary and are currently not scheduled to fly again until 2016.

"A groundswell of people"

On the night of September 10, 2001 during a two hour discussion about everything both good and bad our flag represents, the most over-the-top statement came from a UMass professor and town meeting member who sacrilegiously branded our flag "a symbol of terrorism and death and fear and destruction and repression."

As she returned to her seat, a grandmotherly flag supporter said sternly, "Shame on you!"

On the night of August 27, 2012 Select Board Chair Stephanie O'Keeffe did not even vote on my request to fly those flags on 9/11, instead opting to pocket veto the idea. And as part of the excuse Ms. O'Keeffe seems to suggest that nobody in town cares whether the flags fly this year or not.

Shame!

Because I think she's wrong, and so does the media and every person I've encountered on the street over the past few days.

Just since Monday this sad story has been published with prominent placement in The Daily Hampshire Gazette, The Amherst Bulletin, Springfield Republican (note 100+ comments), WGGB Ch 40 and WWLP Ch 22 local TV, FoxNews national website and tomorrow morning on their national TV show, Fox and Friends.

And most sadly, one of the articles was picked up and published on the September 11th Families' Association website.

The Amherst Select Board routinely meets again on September 10, the eleventh anniversary of that infamous Eve of Destruction meeting. Let's hope they come to their senses and allow the commemorative flags to send a signal that in Amherst, like everywhere else in this great country of ours, we do care.

Deeply.

Amherst Firefighters Union supports flying the flags!

Mourning Overload?

 Amherst Town Center, this morning

Yes the town flag is once again at half staff by Governor's orders, this time for U.S. Army Major Steven Brothers of Arlington, Massachusetts who died on May 30 from leukemia .  This now makes the 5th time in a week, all for military personnel, 80% of whom died by non-military related causes.

Makes you wonder if folks by now are starting to get desensitized to Old Glory in that position of mourning?

The federal government only recognizes four annual occasions for the flag to fly at half staff:  Pearl Harbor Day (December 7 for you young'uns), Peace Officers Day (5/15), Memorial Day and most recently 9/11.  Of course special occasions do occur like the death of a former high ranking political figure, or to mourn mass murders like Virginia Tech and the most recent Colorado theatre shootings.

A timely example is President Obama noting the passing of astronaut Neil Armstrong with just such a well deserved honor this coming Friday.

On Monday night the Amherst Select Board mentioned a number of times as their predecessors have done over the past ten years, that the town does recognize and mourn 9/11 by flying the town flag (that does fly 24/7 all year) at half staff.

I particularly remember Selectman Robie Hubley (secretly married to SB chair Anne Awad at the time) seven years ago saying he brought the flag down to half staff in town center "with my own bare hands".  Of course once the photo op was finished Mr. Hubley forgot to return the next day to bring the flag back up to full staff and it stayed down for the next two or three days.

And my fear this year is that the Governor will have the flag down on 9/8, 9/9, 9/10 for state reasons, and by 9/11 it will be a little less noticeable. Combine that with the recent decision of the Select Board not to fly the 29 commemorative flags in town center on 9/11, and you are heading down a dangerous path:

 "Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it."

Bad Things come in 3's

 Amherst College Chapel Hill

Our b-i-g flag in town center is in a position of mourning today, as it was yesterday and will be tomorrow to honor three Massachusetts men serving in the armed forces who perished this month, all of them in country.

Yesterday Governor Patrick wished to honor Marine Cpl. Kevin Dabrowski of Webster and tomorrow U.S. Army SPC David A. Mulno of Tewksbury.  Both of whom succumbed in vehicular accidents.

Although U.S. Army MSG Gregory R. Trent, age 38, of Norton, who we honor today, died at Bethesda Naval Hospital a week after being wounded by small arms fire in Afghanistan.

That certainly demonstrates how swiftly the military recovers their wounded and gets them to highly skilled help. Unfortunately, in this case, not in time to preserve life.  So far this year we have lost 308 troops in Afghanistan, 245 of them to hostile action.

On 9/11 we lost 2,997 souls to hostile action, 98% of them civilians.  Or as Mayor Giuliani so eloquently stated, "more than we can bear."

All American Tweet

 Everything about Big Y is BIG, including their flag

One of the great things about Twitter is how seriously practitioners usually take it.  And now that more and more institutions are embracing Twitter as a 21st century two-way suggestion box, customer service can greatly benefit.

 Big Y Amherst 8/14/12

Now if you live in the Happy Valley you know first hand that Big Y Supermarkets proudly trumpets its "all American" image as a "family owned" business since 1936.  The quintessential American success story.  In fact, if Senator Scott Brown needed a poster business for the "I built this" campaign, he could not do any better than Big Y World Class Market.

Obviously they have embraced social media and use it well.  Within 5 minutes of my original tweet I had a response and within two hours the problem was solved.  God bless America (and free enterprise).