DUI Dishonor Roll

Kaitlyn Vahey, age 19, stands before Judge William O'Grady

As usual I'll let the public court documents speak for themselves but would again point out that a rear end collision caused by driving with a blood alcohol concentration almost twice that of the legal limit, on Main Street at 4:12 PM, in the busy college town of Amherst, could easily have resulted in the death of a pedestrian or cyclist.

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Patrick Homyak, age 26, arraigned before Judge O'Grady

Interestingly enough, a police Statement of Facts cuts both ways.

Safe bet Leandro Celadilla's attorney will point out the BAC showed .06 which is a tad under the legal limit of .08. But the Commonwealth does not exclusively rely on the Breath Test results, although one over the limit pretty much makes prosecution a slam dunk.

 Mr. Celadilla was in lock up so no photo available

And since Mr. Celadilla was also charged in the same incident with domestic abuse (but that Court document is impounded) the state will still have plenty to bargain with when his case comes up for pre trial next month.

Don't Feed The Trolls

Page seems to have been active only since November 22. Already removed UMass logo

A raging fire requires two things:  fuel and a source of ignition.  In other words if you enter a dark building and smell the strong stench of gasoline, don't use your cigarette lighter to illuminate the immediate area.

Anyone who has spent more than a day on the Internet should realize the new "UMass Amherst Area White Students Union" is a parody account.  And their sole reason for being is to incite a response -- especially a negative one.

So the rules of engagement are pretty simple:  ignore them.  Unlike this morning's Daily Hampshire Gazette which splashed them across the front page, above the fold no less.  Suckers.

Dog bites man story:   Internet trolls are a pain in the ass 

Terrorists unleash the most horrendous public act possible in order to attract media attention.  And I don't agree that names of mass murderers should be withheld in order not to give them the notoriety they seek.  Usually, before the presses run, they are already dead.

Because they are a billion dollar corporation who, like all mega corporations, is averse to negative publicity, chances are Facebook will pull the account.  

And since they are not the government they can ban whatever content they wish without regards to the First Amendment.

Just as Smith College or Amherst College, as private entities, can ban reporters from covering an event on their campus even if it is blatantly newsworthy.  It's just kind of stupid to do so.

But again, if you've spent more than a day on the Internet, you know all about stupid.

Party House of the Weekend

219 East Pleasant Street

Considering how nice the weather was on Saturday, and the fact that booze first started flowing at the UMass football tailgate at 9:00 Saturday morning, I'm surprised there were not a few more Party Houses for me to illuminate.

But the fewer the better as far as I'm concerned -- and they are becoming far fewer over the past year or two.

Although with the Patriots now 10-0 the town and UMass should already be planning for a Superbowl eruption should the Patriots win it ... or lose.

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Patel and Parikh both accepted the standard plea deal offered by the state:  pay one of the $300 tickets and stay out of trouble for the next 4 months.  Charges were dropped before arraignment for Bahnam because his name was not on the lease

The hard to miss little yellow house at 219 East Pleasant Street, just barely outside town center, is certainly a frequent flyer when it comes to attracting a police response.

The town's Noise and Nuisance bylaws do allow for fining the landlord $300 after the 3rd offense, but to date the town has not done that.

Little Red Schoolhouse: Status Quo

Little Red Schoolhouse:  Worth $1 million to move?

After an hour of one-sided overly enthusiastic discussion the Amherst Historical Commission decided not to take any action on the one year demo delay (which expires in May) currently in effect for the Amherst College owned Little Red Schoolhouse.

While that may sound like a victory for breathless zealot Carol Gray, it fell far short of what she repeatedly asked the Commission to do: mainly go on a public relations warpath against Amherst College, and try to force a meeting with President Biddy Martin.

Commissioners expressed exasperation with Ms. Gray who simply refused to answer simple questions with a yes or no.  Like whether she has raised a single dime towards the preservation effort over these past six months?  Well, no (after 10 minutes worth of other ideas that will never pan out).

Or whether she secured property off the Amherst College campus for the building to go?  Umm, no.

Amherst College representative Tom Davies said the College wants the building gone but will not put money into moving it, and their estimates are more like $1 million vs Ms. Gray's overly optimistic $150,000 (which did not include relocation site work).

He also pointed out, when he could get a word in edgewise, the College takes historical preservation very seriously and has won awards for doing so. 

Little Red Schoolhouse is currently standing in the way of the new $214 million Science Center which the College hopes to break ground on next year.

 Amherst Historical Commission:  Carol Gray 2nd from rt, Tom Davies rear center

As Sad Anniversaries Go

Town flag at half staff to honor the Paris terrorism victims

It is now the middle of three tragically defining moments in American history where none of us who were over the age of 6 will ever forget, right down to the tiniest mundane details.

The stunning sneak attack on Pearl Harbor forever branded December 7th as a "date which will live in infamy."

Just as 9/11 will forever be remembered as the most shocking, sad and frightening event in over a generation.

Fifty two years ago on a most typical Friday in late November, as the Kennedy motorcade ambled through Dealey Plaza, shots were fired.  Two of them found their mark.

The world, or maybe just our little part of it, stopped. 

Overpowering sadness descended from sea to shining sea.  As a naive 8-year-old I wondered when that gloom would lift.

Today, 52 years later, I still wonder.

Where All The Lights Are Bright, Downtown

Work stringing lights on the Merry Maple continues for the 3rd day

The art project at base of Merry Maple is scheduled for removal December 1

Kendrick Park tree had been the better of the two for the past few years

Light pole docorations look better than last year
 

Amherst College new mascot?  The Golden Domes

Intersection Of Alternatives

Intersection of Sunderland and Montague Roads just before North Amherst Library

Option D

So it looks like Option D will be the chosen one out of four possible proposals for the funky intersection of Sunderland and Montague Roads less than a field goal kick from the intersection of Pine/Meadow/North Pleasant Streets in the heart of North Amherst center.

Last night the Public Works Committee joined the Planning Board and Transportation Task Force in signaling their "preponderance of approval" for Option D, which terminates the final length of Sunderland Road running past the North Amherst Library and turns it into green space contiguous with the town owned playing field.

Montague Road, which is a state road, and Sunderland Road will both remain two way and the intersection behind the library may get a traffic signal or could simply become a four way stop. 

The three influential committees did not take a formal vote as they all wish to wait for more public input at the December 8th public hearing which is a follow up to the June 24th well attended hearing.

DPW Chief Guilford Mooring also told the Public Works Committee last night the $500,000 renovation of the traffic control signals at Pine/Meadow/North Pleasant was turned down by the state for a MassWorks grant so they are coming up with a make due method costing around $200,000 which could happen next year.

Sign, Sign Everywhere A Sign

New design for "wayfinding" signs highlights the town's terrific name front and center

Let's hope the Amherst College students calling for the termination of Lord Jeff as their unofficial mascot don't come picket the Amherst Select Board Monday night where they will be receiving a report about the new improved "wayfinding" signs for the downtown.

 Amherst Planning Board

Jonathan Tucker told the Planning Board last night "The brand itself is the name of the town, and not a historic building or image." 

Although in the background is the unmistakable outline of historic Town Hall and the Holyoke Mountain Range, which of course does not tower over Main Street.

Amherst College is wicked quick to point out they are named after the town rather than Lord Jeff, although the Lord Jeff Inn -- owned by Amherst College -- is kind of another story.

 Lord Jeffery Inn, name after you know who

And yes there has been talk -- more like muttering -- about changing the name of our town because Lord Jeff may have been a tad too zealous trying to exterminate the enemy who was trying to exterminate his people. 

'Twas hard to do the business of war in the pre Geneva Convention era.

The Planning Board signalled their unanimous approval for the design when all five raised their hands (two positions on the board are currently unfilled and two members were absent) although Chair David Webber did not call it a formal vote.

I guess the only thing I would change is to add a strike through to the H in AMHERST.  Or put a blanket over it.

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.

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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.

Get Your Goat

#goatsofthemilldistrict

It's not all necessarily bad stuff Amherst police have to deal with on a day-to-day basis.

Although it does provide for comic relief, the freedom loving herd of goats out on Sunderland Road in North Amherst do tend to pull a Houdini a tad too often.  Like around noon today for instance:

 Police officer and farmer chase the goats back home

And since they always seem to  head for the green pasture adjacent to busy Rt 116, it will be a sad day in Amherst should they ever get hit by a car.

Aerial drone video of our freedom loving goats

Meanwhile Hadley police late this afternoon managed to capture and return an escaped horse to his barn after a scary run down Middle Street (Rt 47) headed towards ultra busy Rt 9.

Lunch Time Warriors

Marching students pause to pose in front of Student Union

Why is it protests at UMass always seem to start at high noon an end pretty much by 2:00 PM?

At least the one at Amherst College went on for a few days and actually occupied a building (Frost Library) with students of color pulling a good old fashioned sit in. Of course that ended recently and a month from now pretty much everyone will forget what it was over in the first place.

The UMass protest this afternoon was well organized, although the followers could have used enunciation lessons as they marched to the Student Union, as it was hard to understand what they were chanting.

And then when they did get to Whitmore Administration building the chanting was more understandable but did not really give a clue about what they were protesting.

 Protesters form a circle at entrance to Whitmore Administration Building

So whatever they were protesting, the assistant Chancellor promised to get back to them by Friday with an emailed response.

Polite Whitmore employee holding the door open for protesters

Otherwise the black lady with a bull horn said she'd be back.

Forest For The Trees

 36-38 South East Street (Fort River School behind)

The Amherst Planning Board and Tree Warden Alan Snow will hold a joint "Scenic Roads" hearing tonight to decide the fate of four trees on South East Street, which is of course a "scenic road."

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The owners of the rental property at 36-38 South East Street need to reconfigure their parking lot to keep within the Rental Permit Bylaw regulations and there's pretty much nowhere to go with the pavement other than that piece of paradise.

Three of the four trees are nothing to write home about, but one of them is healthy and scenic and therefor worth saving.

And the rule is if you can't save the tree worth saving then you will most likely have to pay the town a replacement cost of $90 per inch. Which adds up with mature trees. In this case 18 inches or $1,620.

Obviously the canopy and shade created by one mature 18" tree is probably greater than that provided by nine immature 2" trees (which the town will use to replace it).

Back in July, 2013 the Planning Board overruled the Tree Warden and voted to allow the owners of a house on the other end of South East Street,  #666,  to remove ten trees for a new driveway entrance.

But because Mr. Snow did not back down on the "replacement costs" totaling $6,000 the owners decided not to go the clear cut route and today the trees are still part of the scenic byway.

Our Other Problem

Those who chase the dragon get burned

Last week the Amherst Select Board, acting as liquor commissioners, spent two hours in heated public discussion weighing the problems caused by alcohol in our little college town.

They were trying to decide if a well run small business on the outskirts of downtown should have one of many beer/wine permits still available.

 Amherst Center Store located across street from Kendrick Place near UMass

Neighbors were nothing if not united in opposition citing student rowdiness, and the closeness of Amherst Center Store to both the UMass campus and of course the new controversial Kendrick Place apartments which they claim is overly populated by students.

The Select Board narrowly approved the liquor license by a 3-2 vote.

Heroin is of course an illegal drug, and unlike marijuana it will always stay that way.  For good reason.  It is killing our citizens -- especially our youth -- at an unprecedented rate.  More than 1,000 heroin/opioid deaths last year in the progressive state of Massachusetts.

AFD Runs Mid November

I hope the three heroin overdoses over a very short period of time AFD and APD had to deal with Sunday night serve as a wake up call.

Before it's too late.   

Close The Barn Door

Colorful barn at 332 West Street, South Amherst front view

Side view

Even though Amherst Town Meeting approved $75,000 in Community Preservation Act funds almost two years ago for rehabilitation of the historic barn that's hard to miss on West Street (Rt. 116) in South Amherst, the barn may not survive much longer.

The town tax money was never spent and the property just changed hands at the beginning of this month.

And the barn today looks sadder than it did two years ago when the CPA committee was told the owners insurance company wanted it removed immediately because it was a liability/safety issue.

Interim Town Manager Dave Ziomek will give the Community Preservation Act Committee an update next month as town officials are trying to talk the new owner into saving the landmark.

I asked town assessor David Burgess if renovating the structure would increase the valuation of the property hence increasing the tax burden on the homeowner:

If the barn is restored then the value would probably go up and, in anticipation of your next question, no not by $75,000.  I imagine if that much money was set aside it would be to replicate what how the building was originally, i.e. historical materials, whereas assessments are based on replacement costs in today’s materials for the same use.  

The assessor was more concerned about why the property just sold for well under his current assessed value.

DUI Dishonor Roll

Just to show how extraordinary three cases of heroin OD over a 1.5 hour period Sunday night was, Amherst Police arrested only one impaired driver over the entire weekend.  Hadley PD also bagged one. 

AFD & APD responding to a North Amherst Apartment complex for yet another heroin overdose, 3rd separate one this evening.

— Larry Kelley (@amherstac) November 16, 2015

 Thornton Benjamin, age 20, arraigned before Judge Payne

Both had a plea of not guilty entered in their behalf, and will return to Eastern Hampshire District Court on December 10th with their private attorneys.

Rachasima Tran, age 22, arraigned before Judge Payne

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A Queen Falls Hard

Holly Holm threw 8 kicks total and they all landed 

You know an athlete has reached the tipping point for media saturation when their choice of a presidential candidate makes national coverage, even if it is Bernie Sanders.

No one has done more for the sport of Mixed Martial Arts than Ronda Rousey.  She became a revered symbol -- a unique combination of brains, beauty and bravado -- in a sport where bloody violence sometimes turns off mainstream viewers.

Going into her latest title defense with Holly Holm she was the overwhelming favorite, and obviously she believed the hype.

But this is America, and we love the underdog.  Thus her stunning loss via knockout -- a head kick no less -- was widely celebrated.

Football aficionados use the term "On any given day" to promote parity in that other sport that can also be a tad violent.

If outcomes were all but guaranteed it kind of spoils the thrill of watching.  And paying for those rights to spectate.

As John F Kennedy once said, "Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan."

I hope Ronda takes her loss to heart, trains harder, and comes back with a renewed respectful attitude we can all be proud of.