Celebrate, Celebrate, Dance To The Music

Southwest concourse last night just after Patriots stunning comeback victory

Perhaps this a good sign for looking forward to March and what town officials refer to as, "The event that shall not be named."  Yes, thousands of UMass students can gather in unbridled celebration without riot gear clad police and pepper spray being required for dispersal.

Of course I do have to wonder if the game had ended differently in those final mesmerizing minutes of play and a large angry crowd had formed instead of the jubilant crowd, what the outcome might have been.



But all's well that ends well.  No arrests, only a few medical calls and no bad press for our flagship University.  Let's hope the BLARNEY BLOWOUT goes equally as well.

Party Potential

Townehouse Apartments 2:30 PM

Townehouse Apartments 5:30 PM

In the span of just a few hours the crowd of college aged youth at the westernmost green space at Townhouse Apartments in North Amherst grew from a couple dozen to a couple thousand.  Fair enough, considering the beautiful spring weather and this being a l-o-n-g holiday weekend.

But when you mix that large a crowd in an enclosed area with copious amounts of alcohol, there's bound to be trouble.

Townehouse Apartments 6:30 PM: plenty of debris available

Around 6:30 PM a 911 call came in reporting a debris fire in the middle of the large crowd.  AFD responded and staged until APD, who had already put a mutual aid call to Hadley and Northampton, could secure the area.

 Townehouse Apartments 7:00 PM: clean up in aisle 5

And secure it they did, even though outnumbered hundreds to one.

 Sunday afternoon, the following day

At the 2013 Blarney Blowout, the year before the one that made national news but still compelling enough to be my "Story of the Year",  AFD had to respond to the middle of the crowd for an ETOH (alcohol poisoning) college aged female.

They were greeted with a hail of ice, cans and bottles (some of them full), thus APD was forced to wade in to break things up, resulting in six arrests.

The following year was even worse with 58 arrests resulting in enough national publicity to give the town and UMass a black eye and a renewed sense of purpose about killing the Blarney Blowout.

And in 2015 and 2016 with the assistance of 225 police officers, stern messaging from the University combined with a parking and overnight guest crackdown and a Mullins Center concert, the Blarney Blowout is no more.

But anytime there's nice weather late in the spring semester the potential for an (unnamed) blowout is pretty high.

Blarney Hangover

UMass Southwest area (often a hot spot for AFD ETOH runs)

Another sign that this year's Blarney Blowout was super successful from the town and University perspective is the relatively low number of AFD emergency medical ETOH (overly intoxicated) runs.

Although it would be nice if UMass could routinely get it under the 50% threshold for total EMS calls.

And even nicer if Hampshire College started teaching their students not to smoke indoors.

   AFD Blarney Blowout Runs

Blarney Blowover Epilogue

UMass Amherst:  A city unto itself (inside our little town)

Yes for the second consecutive year the combined efforts of town and UMass officials won the day, squashing any large scale uncivil gatherings of college aged groups clad in green before they could spin out of control.

Much in the same way they retired the Hobart Hoedown.

Mainly due to increased police presence directly at the flash point sites.  Since Hobart only involved one street and Blarney encompassed almost a dozen, APD called in their brother and sister officers from all over the area.

The thin blue line was as wide as it will ever get in our little college town.

Of course the problem is you can't rely on that sort of backup every weekend between now and graduation.  And as the weather warms, all it takes is one really nice Saturday combined with last second promotion on social media and a new -- yet to be named -- storm is unleashed.

 Or maybe the Saturday morning  peace marchers brought us good luck

Town & UMass declare victory

#####

Editor's note: While I'm honored to have Turtle Boy Sports trumpet to his purported massive readership that I single-handedly killed the Blarney Blowout, it does at least underscore the value of an unwavering light being shined on a particular pernicious problem.  

I can only hope that beacon outlasts the rowdy behavior it focuses on. 

Turtle Boy's previous attempt to "bury me."  (Notice he used the same photos borrowed from local media)

Blarney Blowout 2016

Morning briefing 7:15 AM  100+ police vehicles and AFD on scene

 #####

Parking ban prevented extra thousands from attending

8:25 AM:

Townhouse quads in North Amherst are quiet as police are blockading both entrances 

Police blocking entrance to Townhouse Apartments

Parking lots near Southwest still have plenty of room

 Ch 22 with their hard to miss camera

High Noon:

UMPD at Mullins Center concert:  "Still under 1,000 patrons and we have more leaving than coming." #blarneyblowout

— Larry Kelley (@amherstac) March 5, 2016

2:30 PM:

Townhouse quads quiet like a church mouse, although party activity in the front yards along Meadow Street

PD blockade was extremely effective 

PD blockade at Puffton Village, another usual flashpoint

 State Police Helicopter Air 1 flew lazy loops all morning into early afternoon 

 AFD responding for the 2nd time to 11 Phillips Street for a false fire alarm

APD K9 "Dash" assisted with party control on Shumway Street and College Street

Police broke up noisy gathering on Amity Street near town ctr

 
8:00 PM:  Good night Blarney:

6:30 AM The Morning After:

 Meadow Street

Phillips Street

 Fearing Street

Can You Hear Me Now?

Mass Emergency Management Agency communications repeater at APD HQ

When you're going to have dozens of different local and state police agencies descending on our little college town for tomorrow's Blarney Blowover, they need to be able to communicate with each other on their existing equipment.

Enter this high-tech MEMA communications gizmo, which will allow everybody to keep in close communications.

This repeater will patch a VHF tactical channel, a UHF tactical channel, and an 800MhZ tactical channel into one easily shared channel.

This enables everyone to hear transmissions on that main frequency but still have access to their own normal channels.

Not that there's going to be a heck of a lot to talk about.

Blarney Blowout Warm Up?

Townhouse Apartments, North Amherst 3:45 PM Saturday

Yes of course everyone both young and old should be able to enjoy a warm Saturday afternoon especially considering the Arctic like conditions we endured the previous weekend.  And nothing goes better with a warm day than a cold beer, or two.

But the problem lies in moderation, both in crowd size and number of beers.

The quad at Townhouse Apartments in North Amherst can  hold 1,0000 revelers.  On Saturday it never approached half that and Amherst police never received a complaint about the noise or activities of the crowd, so all ended well.

But all it takes is for one participant to throw a snowball which is answered by an empty beer can and some idiot throws a full can or bottle of beer.  Then it starts rained dangerous projectiles. Or someone in the middle of the crowd passes out from too much alcohol and AFD needs to get to them fast.

In 2013 AFD  needed to get to an overly intoxicated young woman in the center of the quad. The surly crowd responded by lobbing bottles, cans and chunks of ice.  APD made six arrests.  Of course the following year the weather was also nice and all Hell broke lose.  Police made 58 arrests.

Last year thanks to stern messaging from UMass, an expensive concert at the Mullins Center, and the presence of 225 police officers townwide, the Blarney Blowout was a non event.

So I expect this coming March 5th weekend to be the same.

But on any given weekend between now and graduation, when the weather is right, things can go south with the speed of a flying beer can.

A Blessed Building

St Brigid's Church, built 1924

For the second year in a row the Amherst Select Board has declared February 1st "Amherst Irish Day aka St. Brigid's Day" a celebration of all things Irish -- the hard working folks who helped build this town back when Miss Emily was hibernating in her upstairs room.

Yes, it specifically started only last year (even though the Irish have been here since 1840s) to counteract the idiotic "Blarney Blowout", a Frat Boy slander of the Irish with particular emphasis on highly profitable alcohol sales.

Fortunately, with the assist of 225 police officers, the Blarney Blowout last March was a blow over, and will be again this year.  While the Amherst Irish Association event was a resounding success.

When St. Brigid's was first built it dominated the downtown and was one of the largest buildings in Amherst.   Then in the mid-1960s UMass started to grow exponentially with those Southwest Towers reaching for the sky.

But St Brigid's is still -- and hopefully always will be -- a stirring symbol. 

Nothing To Ho Ho Ho About

What kind of message will SantaCon drunk Santas in the downtown send our children?

You would think after the downtown bar promotion that forever changed the way Amherst views St. Patrick's Day -- and dare I even breath its name? -- our illustrious downtown dens of debauchery would give up on pernicious promotions ... period!

But Nooooooo, and now they are after the most blessed holiday of all, Christmas. Where, Only In Amherst, is it celebrated with a Merry Maple tree on the town common.

Click to enlarge/read

Rather than coinciding with the last day before Spring Break for a Blowout this Christmas promotion coincides with the last day of classes, which is celebratory enough as it is.

Let's hope the Grinch has a chat with "Event Mavericks."  Soon.

UPDATE: Saturday morning
Now that the Gazette has, finally, caught up with this story it will be interesting to see if it actually happens or not. Especially since the promoter's own former place of employment -- Club Lit -- has pulled out.

District Court Déjà Vu

Eastern Hampshire District Court Monday 9:00 AM

I have not seen a Monday morning in Eastern Hampshire District Court this crowded since the one that followed the Blarney Blowout in 2014 when 58 college aged youth were arrested -- beleaguered APD accounting for 55 arrests and UMPD only 3.

Yesterday it was "only" 32 total arrests being arraigned, 28 for APD and 4 of them UMPD.  And like the ignominious Blarney Blowout, all of them were pretty much alcohol related.

 Eric Beal (seated) watching the proceedings

UMass Neighborhood Liaison Eric Beal, himself a civil attorney, attended Monday's crowded arraignment session for the first time and came away very impressed.  He told me the courtroom was run like "a tight ship", the "most efficient courtroom" he had ever seen.

Between the 9:00 AM start and 11:00 AM adjournment Judge Payne and the DA's office had disposed of all 32 arrests.

It helps of course that the Commonwealth has a "diversion" program that turns criminal complaints into civil ones with the payment of the town bylaw fine ($300), four months probation and a required alcohol education program sponsored by UMass, or the "brains at risk" program for non UMass students.

And the District Attorney's office is always cool, calm and professional when pitching these pleas that work well for everyone.

I counted at least 20 APD arrests who took the diversion program, most of them arrested for underage drinking and "open container on a public way."  Thus the town "benefits" by $6,000 in fines.

APD Chief Livingstone tells me that overtime costs for the all-hands-on-deck Halloween weekend came to $5,885 thus we, sort of, broke even.

That fine money however goes into the General Fund and not to the police budget, so in that sense a losing deal for APD.

Most of the Blarney Blowout cases settled this same way although my memory is Judge Payne required perps to write a letter of apology to the Amherst police department for their boorish behavior that day.

Amherst Fire Department had their extra "impact shift" of four firefighters on duty from 9:00 PM to 7:00 AM all weekend (bringing total to 13) but that is covered by UMass who pays the town $80,000 "extra" per year to staff more ambulances on weekends when school is in session.

Darn good thing, since AFD had 30 medical runs to UMass, 20 of them for alcohol abuse and 16 of those necessitating transport to Cooley Dickinson Hospital, a round trip that eats up a full hour of time per ambulance.

ETOH = alcohol OD

Public Safety Force Multiplier

225 police officers help keep the peace in Amherst on the day of Blarney Blowout (3/7/15)

On March 7th -- to ensure peace and tranquility in neighborhoods adjacent to UMass -- Amherst police benefited greatly by use of the Western Mass Mutual Aid agreement, a pact signed back in September between Amherst and 26 other local departments.

The main reason Blarney Blowout became riotous over the previous couple years was a lack of boots on the ground dressed in blue.

 North Pleasant Street 3/8/14

In 2014, the worst-of-the-worst year with 58 arrests, vastly outnumbered police had to rely on pepper balls and less gently methods of physical interaction with the alcohol fueled rowdy mobs.  But this past year was different as night-and-day, or drunk-and-sober as the case may be.

   West MA PD Mutual Aid Pact

Like traditional fire department mutual aid, which has been around forever, when a sudden emergency prompts a nearby city/town to call for police assistance, Amherst will simply respond with no expectation of reimbursement.

 AFD Engine 2 and an ambulance responded to Northampton Hotel fire on Tuesday

That of course works both ways, as someday that same department may respond to Amherst when the need arises.

Since Blarney Blowout was a "long standing incident or pre-planned event" APD (the "receiving party") was responsible for reimbursing responding departments, a $30,910 cost picked up by UMass. 

The 60 State Police officers used that day did not require reimbursement, and APD Chief Livingstone does not anticipate mutual aid will be required (other than normal paid traffic details) for UMass graduation next week.

Pumpkin Fest Goes PFFT

Keene State Pumpkin Fest riots October, 2014

The world -- or at least regionally -- famous Keene New Hampshire Pumpkin Festival will not live to see its 25th year.  Killed off by the international bad press generated by riots that broke out last year strikingly reminiscent of our own Blarney Blowout.

Although in our case BB was not attached to any particular Town or University sponsored event, as it was simply a juvenile promotion conjured up by downtown bars to stimulate business.  Ending up with a little more stimulation than they wished for.

But if Blarney had been associated with a legitimate event, the tragedy that just occurred in Keene's City Council chambers would be sort of like our Select Board pulling the permit for the Taste of Amherst or -- God forbid --  the celebratory pot festival, Extravaganja. 

According to the only Keene City Councilor (out of 14) who opposed denying the permit:  “We’ll be known as the city of the pumpkin festival riot. Keene State College will be remembered as the college that killed off the Pumpkin Festival.”

Yikes!  Can you imagine if UMass became known as the college that killed off Extravaganja?

Let this be a lesson boys and girls:  the misdeeds of the very few can significantly impact the reputations of the very many.

Hopefully our college aged youth will remember that over next four weekends leading up to graduations.  

I wonder if they will hire Mr. Davis to do a study

Blarney Blowout: Epilogue

Local and Mass State Police form a gauntlet at Townhouse Apartments North Amherst

The Monday morning quarterbacking over Blarney Blowout was indeed as different as beer and water this time around.  The main complaint seems to be the financial cost to UMass of squelching the dangerous, reputation besmirching rowdiness that garnered international attention last year.

A good thing of course, considering Amherst had 225 police officers -- 60 them Massachusetts State Police -- in town most of the day into the night to ensure peace and quiet.

And in a anti-authoritarian aging-Hippie town like Amherst, you would expect more comparisons to North Korea or some other despotic nation de jour.

Some amateur spinmeisters tried to save face by proclaiming the partying still occurred all over town only it was just not as noticeable as last year.  Well if that's the case then it only proves that it is possible to party without bothering the neighborhood. 

Memo to party boys:  that's the idea!

The Civil War was the most costly conflict in American history.  The turning point was a not so strategically located Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  It was the kind of battle neither side could afford to routinely engage in.

Yes the cost of killing the Blarney Blowout this year was high, but if you consider it a turning point in the war on rowdyism, a price worth paying.

Maybe next year we can get by with a few less police officers.

And yes, it's exceedingly stupid for the Gazette to include the $160,000 cost of last year's Davis Report in the above headline in order to artificially drive up the price of Saturday's successful operation. 

Since peace will be restored for the next 100 years, the Davis Report only cost $1,600 per year.

 Gotta be worth at least a $1 to have these party hardy boys gone

Blarney Blowout: The Biggest Loser

It has not been a good week for the mid-30ish cowardly Worcester blogger who likes to relive his carefree UMass glory days, almost as much as he likes to exude snark from under the protective cloak of anonymity.

First he gets outed by an actual professional journalist, and then his childish attempt at taking me down while championing the outlandish aspect of Blarney Blowout falls flat, like a drunken bozo staggering across a patch of ice.

And I was so anxiously awaiting a decent hatchet job.

No, Larry Kelley did not win.  The town, higher education in general, and in particular students who attend UMass/Amherst -- our proud flagship  -- won.  Resoundingly.

Crawl back to your swamp Turtle Boy you're drunk.

Even better, you're marginalized.