Please come to Amherst for...

Yesterday's clearing skies brought out those housebound folks to Amherst center for the "Apple Harvest Festival." And what would Amherst center be without other folks taking advantage of the crowds by occupying the town common soapbox?

Western Mass 9/12 Project, a subgroup of The Tea Party

Apple Harvest Festival (non political)

Yes, apparently the John Birch Society is still active. Somebody must have told them that Amherst is one of those rare American communities that flies the UN flag.

UN Flag (near and dear to Amherst Town Hall)

Interfaith groups would certainly agree

"I'm nobody! Who are you?"

Dickinson Homestead

Miss Emily's poetic title reminds me of a line from one of the greatest speeches of all time: "The world will little note nor long remember what we say here." But we do remember--and history took tremendous note of Abraham Lincoln and those ten sentences delivered on the battlefield of Gettysburg that November afternoon.

Just as the world has long remembered Emily Dickinson, "The Belle of Amherst."

Marathon room 4:15 PM First Congregation Church

Early this morning volunteers commenced reading aloud her entire portfolio of known poems, all 1,789. When I stopped by the First Congregational Church around 4:15 PM they had just hit 900, a little over half done. Marathon indeed! I think they could use a few more Irish servants.

And into the night

They complete the task (although I'm sure most of the readers would not use the word task) at 10:01 PM.

Oops!

Fortunately nobody was driving on Pine Street--or walking on the sidewalk--when somebody on East Pleasant Street blew through the stop sign and over another sign.

Monday morning police report confirms it was a hit and run late Friday night/early Saturday morning

Noisy Marines, noisy students

Retired but still active Dick Stein (in red)


The Amherst Select Board actually received two letters of complaint last week--one about the noise and riotous behavior of UMass students in North Amherst, and another about the helicopter practicing take offs and landings on the playing fields next to newish co-generation power plant (the one that works.)

But while he had the Select Board's and Chancellor Holub's attention Mr. Stein also mentions the impertinent student behavior in North Amherst.

Mr Stein's diatribe And yes, as a 60 years resident, he has the right by God!

9/16/11

Big Story indeed

So today's Gazette and Amherst Bulletin carry the big story about rowdy student parties over the past couple weekends. They even assigned both a reporter and photographer to traipse about after midnight in the problem areas. Let's hope UMass students and officials take note. And the Gazette continues to assign staff to cover the war zone.


Letter of complaint to Select Board

Party Boys Return

Aspiring DJ Peter Clark, 41 Davis Neck Road, East Falmouth, Mass, age 21, and his sidekick Emerson Rutkowski, 36 Puritan Park, Swampscott, MA, age 20, were arrested last Friday for violating the town noise bylaw. Again.

Apparently they made like the Israelites bringing down the walls of Jericho, only this time with amplified music at their large apartment complex in North Amherst, situated only a beer can throw from the riot that occurred last weekend at 121 Meadow Street.

Both boys you may remember from last winter/spring when they unabashedly partied at 23 Tracy Circle in South Amherst, garnering repeated noise citations. In fact the boys were so upset with Amherst Police response to neighbors complaints by enforcing Town Meeting approved fines, that they founded a feeble Facebook group--now gone underground--called "F_ck the Fines."


Since UMass just recently extended the "Code of Conduct" to cover off-campus behavior, perhaps Peter Clark and Emerson Rutkowski can become the Poster Boys for how UMass can effectively deal with this scourge upon our town: Expulsion.

A bad apple here and a rotten apple there, stinks up the whole bunch.

#25 Town House Condos

According to Amherst Police Department narrative:

"Upon arrival I could hear very loud music throughout the complex. Upon entering the east quad, I observed approximately 150 college students, many underage drinking. The music was extremely loud and I observed girls dancing on tables. Upon seeing APD most parties fled. There were massive speakers and DJ equipment on the patio. The residents of #25, where the people were centered and the DJ equipment was located, were ID'd and placed under arrest for violating the noise bylaw."

Amherst Bank robbery!

Northampton Cooperative Bank, 390 College Street, Amherst

More Recent Update Springfield Republican (you will recognize the photo)

2: 25 PM UPDATE: My friends at the Springfield Republican are reporting that Belchertown Police nabbed the perps.
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Another unarmed robbery. This time it's Northampton Cooperative Bank on lower College Street, around noonish. All schools went into lockdown for 35 minutes or so (code name "hurricane"). Police are on the scene. Lieutenant Ronald A. Young described this one, however, as "different" from the previous heist in town center five months ago by a young couple with a drug problem.

Lieutenant Young (back to camera)

Message from the Superintendent:

All district schools were placed in "lockdown" status effective 12:00 p.m. today, September 20, 2011. This action was a result of a robbery which occurred at a commercial building in the vicinity of Fort River School. Lockdown status means that all windows and doors are locked and no one is permitted to enter or leave the building for any reason. Instruction continued as normal until 12:35 when we received clearance from the Amherst Police Department to come out of lockdown status after the robbery suspects were apprehended in Belchertown. Principals report that staff and students did an outstanding job of following all district safety protocols throughout the lockdown process. As with all such instances, the district will use today's lockdown as an opportunity to assess our processes and procedures to determine if there are areas for improvement. If children, or parents, have questions or concerns about today's lockdown or safety in general, please contact your Principal or your school's guidance counselor.

Party House of the Weekend

55 South Prospect Street, Amherst. Valuation $408,300

So if you have a warrant out for your arrest, don't party hardy at 2:30 AM in Amherst town center!

Amherst police broke up a party at 55 South Prospect Street because of loud voices and music at 2:00 AM early Saturday morning, arresting five residents for violation of the town's noise ordinance, bringing fines of $300 each, and another co-conspirator, Maurice Edwards, 30 Gatehouse Road, Amherst, arrested "On a warrant initiated by other agency."

Property owner card for 55 South Prospect Street

Getting High in Hadley

Two balloons descend before dark

An Escalation of Violence

167 College Street, Amherst

A female friend rushed two male UMass students to Cooley Dickinson Hospital around 2:30 AM Sunday morning with "apparent stab wounds" and another college-aged student was transported by Amherst Fire Department to Bay State Medical Center in Springfield with possible head injuries, all the result of "a lot of people and fighting going on outside listed location".

Although the damages are not considered "life threatening," the inner-city gang-like violence underscores the other major problem associated with student party houses: Not just loud noise, vandalism, public urination and the like, but the real potential for a violent, painful, permanent death.

For which it stands

Over 150 citizens gathered to remember the Civil War service of 5 black Amherst residents

For the second late summer Sunday in a row Amherst hosted a rare solemn ceremony to remember war, something the outspoken town does rather routinely, but usually from only one perspective: anti war.

Last week we honored, remembered and cried for 3,000 Americans slaughtered ten years earlier in a two-hour killing spree unprecedented in our history--especially since civilians comprised over 90% of the casualties.

Today we gathered to remember and honor five black soldiers from Amherst who fought in the Civil War, another unprecedented event in our history--the costliest conflict ever when measured in American casualties.

The five veterans are all buried in West Cemetery, where its most famous occupant, Emily Dickinson, tends to overshadow all the other deserving souls buried there. Not today however.

Raymond Brooks, a Native American, and great-great grandson of Christopher Thompson

Bob Romer, Veterans Agent Steven Connor, Reynolds Winslow, Dave Ziomek

Charles Thompson: upstanding citizen of Amherst and the USA

Amherst's "Sacred Dead Tablets" in storage

Saturday night's alright for...

Burning the midnight oil. APD 11:30 PM

Popular PVTA bus stop North Pleasant Street

Sunday morning 7:15 AM

Let the clean up begin. But not by those responsible. This gent only picks up returnable cans & bottles

Hobart Lane

North Pleasant Street

Phillips Street

Allen Street

Basketball Jones

Coach Kellogg sets with Jada, then passes off

This morning my daughters got to meet the UMass basketball team and Coach Derek Kellogg at the Big E. What a great bunch of ambassadors they are for the game of basketball and our flagship University.

Jada's first slam dunk

Tonight UMass football takes on Rhode Island in their first home game here in Amherst, and the weather is rather pleasant. Let's hope the fans remember that they too are ambassadors for the University.

Kira getting the team's autographs

2 points!

Getting High @ UMass

With a sub headline: "The proper way."

U.S. Marine Officer Selection Office practiced take offs and landings today to generate interest in prospective candidates. Semper Fi.

The Importance of Spelling

Okay so maybe I'm being overly picky or my usual micromanaging self, but when I get an official letter, note or newsletter--even if in digital form--I expect perfect spelling. Especially when coming from, you know, a school.

The brief "note from our Superintendent," however, was quite folksy and readable--although one too many exclamation points.

Since it is their first issue, maiden voyage and all that--and the error was only in the email title--I'll forgive it...this time. But they better shape up by next month's edition, or the copy editor gets detention!

Send a stern message

Amherst Police Department, 111 Main Street

Maybe this Friday night the "Have a Heart" coalition of concerned UMass higher ups should play "good cop bad cop" with the hoards of zombie like students traipsing about nearby neighborhoods looking to party.

As the good cop they can hand out oatmeal raisin cookies while requesting restrained civility for the rest of the night while Amherst Police Department can don their riot gear and do whatever it takes to prevent a recurrence of last Friday's riot at 121 Meadow Street.

And perhaps large electronic message signs should be placed at north and south main gateways to campus blinking the stern message: "Get rowdy? Get arrested!" Either that, or spike the cookies with Thorazine.

Termination

Atkins Corner trees on West Street

Two of the least surprising official decisions to emanate from Amherst Town Hall so far this week are--in chronological order--the Select Board's unanimous vote on Monday night to kill the Committee on Homelessness, age four, and this afternoon's decision by the tree warden to allow termination of 15 more trees around Atkins Corner, some of them age 40-something.

Although in this case the Shade Tree Committee voted unanimously not to vote on the permit application because they considered the process a charade. In a previous round their unanimous vote to deny the permit was overruled.

Hwei-Ling Greeney Committee on Homelessness Chair

Since Atkins Corner construction is a state project the town and its committees have no power. So why even bother voting?

Shade Tree Committee. Alan Snow, 2nd from left, Tree Warden

Ah, if only passion was the paramount factor in deciding these controversial cases--a stay of execution would be guaranteed.

Out with the old

Clark House 8/24/11

Clark House 8/29/11

On August 23 last year the Amherst Historical Commission hit Amherst College, the number one property owner in a town half owned by tax exempts, with a one year "demolition delay," the maximum extent of protection they can offer to all things historical--public or privately owned in Amherst.

The Daily Hampshire Gazette demonized the decision saying it "tested the boundaries of common sense." Coming from the Gazette, the Commission probably took that as a good sign.

Town Mgr Musante released from hospital

9/11 turned out to be an auspicious day for Town Manager John Musante. According to the breaking news wing of the Amherst town website:

(September 12, 2011) Town Manager John Musante is now recuperating at home, following injuries received in a fall on September 6th. He was released from Baystate Medical Center in Springfield on Sunday, September 11th.

“It is wonderful that John is now home and that his recovery continues to progress so well,” said David Ziomek, Acting Town Manager. “All members of the Town staff are sending him good thoughts and best wishes, and we look forward to when he is well enough to be back here with us. In the meantime, we have the Town’s business well in hand, so that he can focus all his energy on feeling better.”

Select Board Chair Stephanie O’Keeffe concurred and said “There is an incredible team here, and the community is very fortunate to have the service of such a tremendous staff. And, we are also all fortunate to serve in such a caring community. The outpouring of concern and thoughtfulness for John has been amazing.”

A statement issued last week by Musante’s wife, Marlene, indicated that his recuperation will require considerable rest, that his phone calls and visits will be limited and that visits can’t be accepted without prior arrangement. At that time, she said “We are optimistic that he may be able to return to work in several weeks.”

Meadow Street Marauders

121 Meadow Street. Directly across street from Townhouse Apartments 

While top ranked UMass and town officials and Northwestern District Attorney Dave Sullivan staked out the south side of campus Friday night intercepting throngs of students traveling by foot through residential neighbors to discuss civility, respect and politeness all while handing out raisin oatmeal cookies, the north end of campus became party central, culminating in a riot at 121 Meadow Street. According to police narrative (11:57 PM):

1000+ party guests were cleared out. While doing so, bottles were thrown at officers who had to retreat and don riot helmets for protection. It took approximately 45 minutes to clear the party out. All party guests were moved east bound down Meadow Street and toward North Pleasant Street. The resident of 121 Meadow Street was issued a TBL (town bylaw) Nuisance House violation.

Summons issued:
XXX
18 Pond Street Stoneham, MA
age 21

Issuing a $300 Nuisance House ticket sets the groundwork for holding the owner of the house responsible, because after the second offense the town can fine the landlord $300 for not controlling their irresponsible tenants.

Property card for 121 Meadow Street