The Lord Jeff Inn had a commemorative flag at half staff
Dump Truck loaded with flags parked in front of Town Hall all day
A flag bearing all the names of casualties that day APD and AFD come to attention for the ringing of the bells
Town officials, Ellen Story, and just regular folks
Had to get a second angle, with town flag at half staff in background
Amazing Grace. Republican Photographer Michael Beswick did not start work officially till 4:00 PM, but came to cover 9:45 AM fire department ceremony
Caravan of trucks, jeeps, Harley Davidson's all with flags flying roared thru town repeatedly in the late afternoon, doing a circuit between downtown and UMass
Last year, on the 10th anniversary, another Springfield MassLive photographer, Greg Saulmon, came and took this photo
This morning, 9/12, the Lord Jeff went back to their pre-9/11 no flag status. To polarizing I guess
Fellow
Commemorative flag and state flag on Amherst Town Hall
Despite the Amherst Select Board ignoring my plea last night to allow the 25 remaining commemorative flags to fly today in the downtown, at least two of the original 29 flags that ended up returning to their perch eleven years ago on a brilliant day much like today, will indeed fly.
After a slew of negative publicity eleven years ago the town commandeered one of the flags and started flying it 24/7, 365 days a year (like the big flag on the town common and police and fire stations) attached to a turrent in Town Hall.
Last week that American flag was joined by a state flag.
And I will be standing in town center with one of the original commemorative flags given to me by the Veterans Agent eleven years ago, the one I flew over Ground Zero on December 1, 2001 and later had flown over the capital building in Boston and Capital Dome in Washington, DC -- one of the targets of the hijackers that awful morning.
However you grieve, grieve for the 2,977 innocent citizens slaughtered that horrible, horrible day.
Threats of a tornado on Saturday night with high winds, rain and generally darker cooler conditions predominating, combined with an urgent sounding "stay indoors" alert from the Amherst Health Department became a "cops best friend" to help somewhat mitigate riotous partying on prime time Saturday night.
Thank God!
It was sooooo quiet, at one point just before midnight, I had to check my scanner to make sure it was on.
Based on Friday night's activity, had Saturday presented the same fair weather party conditions this past weekend could have set a new record, perhaps even exceeding the debauchery of the "Blarney Blowout" weekend last spring.
Even so, the party house of the weekend goes to a late Saturday night "storm-be-damned" usual suspect at 186 College Street, scene of an infamous incident only last winter that resulted in the temporary condemning of the building for safety reasons.
According to Amherst Police logs (1:50 AM):
Loud techno music with lights coming from 186 College Street. Uncooperative party goers verbally abusive to officers.
Arrested for noise:
Newman Galati, 1 old main Rd, N Falmouth, MA, age 20
Alan Momprousse, 237 Cummings Hgw, Roslindale, MA, age 19
Hali Cataldo, 109 Fairmount Ave, Saugus, MA, age 20
Juan Charry-Steevens, 22 Dale St, Peabody, MA, age 21
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Sean Micheli, 21 Park St, Malden, MA, age 21 arrested for noise and resisting arrest
And yes folks, that makes five of them cited for noise. APD usually only cites residents of the household which means the town's unrelated housemates bylaw (limit of four) is also being violated.
On Friday night just before midnight in front of 175 College Street (busy route 9), traffic was brought to
a standstill as taxis unloaded students to join other "uninvited guests" by the hundreds crashing a
party, broken up by APD, who had to dodge thrown bottles and cans, soon after this photo was taken (wonder what's
in the backpack?).
According to Detective Dave Foster, who was on the scene, it required 11 cops a half hour to quell the disturbance. One of the tenants was issued noise and nuisance house tickets ($600 total).
The historic old North Amherst trolley barn, compatriot to my next door neighbor, the Amherst DPW and their beloved "barn", did not survive the attempt to offset a recent major tilt and came crashing down like the Flying Wallendas circus pyramid act gone wrong.
Distorted like a giant alien Halloween mask
Conspiracy theorist instantly set to wonder, however, since the owner, Cinda Jones, wished to demolish it a couple years ago but was prevented by a one year "demolition delay" order of the Amherst Historical Commission.
All that remains is the view
The public safety hazard it presented was the main reason she cited for the demolition, as it could suddenly fall and do collateral damage. Like this for instance:
That demolition order expired July 28th, thus Ms. Jones was free to demolish it that very day, kind of like what Amherst College did with an old fence around one of their historic houses on college street. Now it will cost even more to dispose of the remaining rubble.
Historic preservation is a worthy, noble endeavor that dates back almost to the founding of our great nation (plus fifty years of course). But property rights -- "A man's home is his castle"-- dates back to the very day of our founding.
Once the pile is cleared and the area zoning changed, a new mixed use development (commercial and residential), one with a great view, will rise like a Phoenix from the ashes of the old trolley barn. All aboard!
Original Trolley Barn Cowles Road North Amherst, built 1897. File Photo July, 2011
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.
And so it begins...Well actually last week at this time it began, so I guess it should read, "Here we go again."
Amherst Police Department arrested ten "college aged" youth for open container or underage drinking violations, all within a beer can throw of UMass. APD also shut down a usual suspect party house (managed by Kendrick Management) at 80 Belchertown Road (busy Route 9) last night between 10:41 PM and 11:28 PM that required three patrol units to quell.
Because of the nature of the noise, litter, and number of under aged youth present at the party, the responsible tenants were arrested for Noise and Nuisance House violations ($600 total in fines for each).
Sean Behrendt, 99 Valley View, Sparten, NJ, age 21 (UMass student) Kurt Boyd, 7 Buckboard Dr, Westford, MA, age 21 (UMass student) Michael Couillard, 460 Mammoth Rd, Dracut, MA, age 20 (UMass student) Zachery Tucker, 1 Bittern Rd, Quincy, MA, age 20 (the exception)
So the accusations are starting to fly faster than quail frantically fleeing the hunter's birdshot.
The venerable Amherst Bulletin in today's editorial has strongly suggested I am an "extremist" for wishing to fly commemorative flags in the downtown to remember, commemorate, honor the 2,997 citizens slaughtered that awful day.
Well I suppose if I'm in the same camp as the Amherst firefighters, who issued a strong statement of support for flying the flags every 9/11, that's okay with me.
And Select Board Chair Stephanie O'Keeffe borderline resorts to libel/slander in the same Amherst Bulletin front page article by strongly suggesting I purposely, willfully "exploited people's misunderstanding and oversimplification of this issue."
Interestingly the article closes with an exchange between O'Keeffe and an ardent flag supporter who thanked her for clarifying the complications, but even so, still thought the commemorative flags should fly on 9/11. Sounds pretty reasonable to me.
Last night around 10:30 PM WWLP Ch 22 News put up another flag flap story stating unequivocally that I "questioned the patriotism" of Amherst and town manager John Musante on my Fox & Friends live appearance on Sunday morning.
They even interviewed an Amherst resident who was aghast that I would dare to question their patriotism. Only thing is I never even remotely suggested that. The interviewee probably got it from the Gazette coverage where Ms. O'Keeffe is complaining about uninformed viewers questioning her patriotism.
Bu you would think the reporter could have at least watched the five-minute-30-second Fox interview, or maybe contacted me for comment/fact checking. She had been stalking me on Twitter for the past two weeks, so it's not like it would have been hard for her to reach me.
I notice this morning the story has been pulled from wwlp.com
Busy Snell Street reopened to normal traffic yesterday, after being closed since August 13 during business hours Monday through Friday for the Snell Street (bike path) Bridge replacement.
According to Victoria Sheehan, DOT program manager, "The project is on schedule with an anticipated completion date of October 12, 2012. The bridge is being raised from 10’-1” to 11’-1” (12 inches).
Reynolds Winslow, Chair of the Human Rights Commission, tried to slow down the Amherst Select Board's rush to veto flying 25 commemorative flags in the downtown to remember the 2,997 citizens denied their human rights that awful morning.
To no avail.
Town officials will now invoke the 'West Side Story' defense to avoid placing the issue on the upcoming Select Board meeting of September 10, the eleventh anniversary of the more infamous SB meeting of 9/10/01.
When the national media picked up the story of "West Side Story" under fire in Amherst (1999) by a vocal minority for alleged racial stereotyping and the debate decibels had risen to ear shattering proportions, school officials cancelled the play ...not because they agreed with the critics but because the strident debate had become to distracting.
Now this flying-the-25-commemorative-flags-on-9/11-once-every-five-years story has taken on a life of its own. And the real loser is the town.
Moving 12,500 students on to campus in a short amount of time is bound to create a snafu or two.
Take the parking/no parking screw up on Labor Day where, according to the Mass Daily Collegian, 180 automobiles were towed from a parking lot (at $100 a pop) they had a valid permit sticker but were not aware UMass enacted temporary restrictions to accommodate the massive move in.
Best spin of the month (although it's still very early in the month) goes to Eddie Hull, the executive director of Residential Life: “I think you will agree that we did a good job in putting students in a position to be successful and avoid this unhappy circumstance.”
Yeah, proper parking information is critical to putting folks "in a position to be successful."
Now if only UMass would put the more over-the-top rowdy students who besmirch the reputation of the flagship University in a "position to be successful" by expelling them, then maybe some of the party hardy types would take civility a little more seriously.
One of the more egregious Party House of the Weekend entries occured last November near the Amherst/Sunderland border, where 800-1,000 drunken party goers packed into a rental house assaulted heavily outnumbered members of the Amherst Police Department.
A serious line to cross.
But if you check with UMass people finder today, as I just did, three of the five are still listed as students (even one who was charged with "assault on an officer" and "resisting arrest"). Unacceptable.
A few months ago I asked UMass under Public Document Law for “an electronic copy of any and all internal written reports (made in hard copy or electronic) concerning discipline or suspension of any fraternity/sorority at UMass/Amherst since September 1, 2010.” Thus far they have stonewalled the request.
As former Chair of the Amherst Select Board Elisa Campbell pointed out on my Facebook page:
"I
think it is long past time for UMass to report to us - the citizens of
Amherst - the penalties they give out to students who act this way. I
recognize that they may not be able to list names - FERPA may apply -
although this is *not(* an academic
pursuit or record - but they can at least do press releases that say
"this weekend x number of students were expelled for bad conduct" or
whatever. As it is, they claim to have "consequences" for students who
behave really badly but we citizens never learn about it - why should we
believe it ?"
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.
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.
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.
The stately Camperdown Elm on Amherst College Campus released from Death Row
Amherst College has wisely decided that you can't really put a price on a majestic historic treasure like their almost one of kind (in Amherst anyway) Camperdown elm.
Yes, Amherst's largest landowner and second best liberal arts college in America will pay the $100,000 cost to safely relocate the Camperdown to a new spot on Pratt Field rather than simply cut it down and chalk it up to collateral damage in the $12.5 million renovation project.
Trees on both sides of the Camperdown will not survive realignment of track
Amherst College Director of Facilities Jim Brassord announced the stunning news last night to a group of concerned neighbors (concerned about the Camperdown, noise, traffic, etc) while giving them an update on plans for the major construction project impacting their neighborhood. The project starts after the football season finishes this fall.
Camperdown Elm will provide shade for generations of Amherst College students to come
Nobody knows for sure when the tree was planted, but just over a 120 years ago, when Pratt Field was first constructed is a pretty good bet. And yes they can easily live to be 200 or more years old.
Sure $100K is a lot of money, but less than 1% of the overall budget for the project.
Amherst Shade Tree Committee wrote to College President Biddy Martin pleading for Camperdown's salvation
All the Camperdowns in existence today emanate from a single tree created by grafting a mutant alien branch found on the forest floor to a Wych elm on the estate of the Earl of Camperdown in Dundee, Scotland circa 1835.
Combine that unique pedigree with the weeping nature of Camperdown canopy and it's no wonder it attracts an almost religious like following among tree lovers.
Commemorative flags went up this morning, but will come down on Tuesday
Yeah, for Labor Day.
Labor Day is not really a festive party-hardy kind of care free holiday, it is supposed to "commemorate" the struggle -- punctuated by violence -- to bring about safer working conditions for the tired, huddled masses of workers via unions. Strength in numbers.
How many employees trudged to work on that stunningly beautiful morning almost eleven years ago, reporting for duty to the Twin Towers or police and fire houses in New York City, or the Pentagon, or Logan International Airport, never to return?
A good crowd under perfect blue skies on the Amherst town common tonight
Amherst Regional Public Schools start tomorrow -- except, alas, kinder garden and preschool -- so tonight school officials threw a party for kids and their happy parents on the Amherst town common. Vehicular traffic was heavy as seemingly all roads lead to Amherst, the education capital of the Happy Valley.
State Representative Ellen Story was hard to miss in red skirt
Umass dorms open tomorrow and 4,560 freshmen -- er, I mean -- "first-year class", will descend on Amherst just in time for the Blue Moon on Friday night. The 46th Annual Community Breakfast was also held this morning with new Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy doing the staged schmooze routine.
Let's hope his act plays better than his predecessor, and he can bring some long-term stability as captain of the state's flagship of higher education.
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."
Okay so for those of you who say I never admit a mistake, pay attention. Last week I predicted Town Manager John Musante, previously tied for highest paid town employee, would get a 5% raise in order to keep up with School Superintendent Maria Geryk, who recently received a 5% bump from her then $140,000 salary.
The town just announced Musante will receive a 1.5% raise, about what all the lower echelon employees have received recently. Bully for him!
#####
Take teachers for example: According to the Daily Hampshire Gazette they
are currently in the second year of a two-year contract, with each year
providing 1.5% COLAs. The contract covering the previous three years
had annual COLAs of 2.5, 3.5 and 3%. About half the teachers also get
step increases of about 4% a year
#AmherstMa Select Board pocket vetoes flying flags on 9/11. Did not even take a vote. No commemorative flags in the downtown this 9/11.
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Tonight at 8:00 PM the Amherst Select Board, like a previous Select Board did almost 11 years ago, will decide the fate of 29 commemorative flags: to fly or not to fly, on the most depressing anniversary of my lifetime, 9/11.
Currently SB policy is to allow the commemorative flags, which do fly every Memorial Day and five other holidays, to fly on 9/11 once every five years or what SB Chair Stephanie O'Keeffe referred to as "milestone anniversaries."
On the night of September 10, 2001 about 12 hours before the first plane struck its intended target in New York City, I closed my brief presentation with a question: "Do you really want to be remembered as the politicians who voted against the flag?"
And tonight I will leave this Select Board with another simple question, "Do you honestly believe 9/11 is only worth commemorating once every five years?"
Amherst police responded to 179 Heatherstone Road twice within a half-hour late Friday night into early Saturday morning, the first time for a loud out-of-control party that generated a "nuisance house" ticket, and the second time for a report of a "missing laptop."
Thus, making for an expensive party. A $300 civil infraction fine for violating the town's bylaw crafted to protect the peace and quiet of residential neighborhoods, and a laptop computer that is l-o-n-g gone.
I guess it's fortunate the semester has not yet started so no valuable school work was lost with the laptop ... Yeah, sarcasm.
Welcome Students! Well the vast majority of you anyway
North Amherst Congregational Church (now under new management).
After narrow back-to-back victories sabotaging the attempted rezoning of North Amherst Village Center to encourage denser, smart growth through Form Based Zoning, the local NIMBYs -- who only need one third plus one of antiquated Town Meeting to agree with them to block such proposals -- have come up with a new scheme, yet another hurdle for town officials and local developers: Declare the area a "historic district."
A recent article in Preservation Nation portrays the merry band as selfless neighbors fighting valiantly to protect their heritage against "future threats," presumably the evils of corporate greed.
But they fail to mention the lead architect of this gambit, Louis Greenbaum, is a major rental property owner of less-than-upscale housing, who stands to benefit by preventing any mixed-use development that increases the supply of Amherst rental housing.
Oldest saying in capitalism: "When products compete, they get better." And God knows, with the squeaky tight housing market in our little college town, home to a very large flagship University, we could use new housing developments to compete with the current supply of aging, expensive units.
Historical preservation, when used correctly, is an admirable, worthy endeavor. Using it as a weapon against badly needed development is a travesty.
So my friends at the Springfield Sunday Republican have already benefited by the (gold) rush to place a gambling casino somewhere in Western Massachusetts, as evidenced by today's full page, multi- color, full press run ad prominently placed -- usually at a 20% premium placement charge -- on page three.
My guess is around $15,000 ... or pocket change compared to the non-refundable $400,000 MGM recently paid the state in order to be a player.
Thus, even if MGMdoes get the coveted license and Peter Picknelly does notbuy the newspaper's land for many, many millions of dollars, The Republican will still benefit by a resort casino in downtown Springfield via advertising revenue.
Providing of course MGM lavishly continues to put their advertising dollars into print as opposed to the Internet, radio, TV, direct mail, billboards, etc. Hey, maybe they will hire the homeless to hand out leaflets.
Of course you also have to also factor in the print ad revenue lost from local mom-and-pops driven out of business by the gambling Juggernaut. Bowling anyone?
It took almost exactly a month -- but probably their least profitable month of the year anyway -- to switch out the gas tanks and add diesel to the Hess Express, the busiest little convenience store in South Amherst and probably in the top two for all of little old Amherst.
No doubt they will be serving a slew of students and their parents over the next few weeks, only they will have to stick to gas, bread, milk, coffee and lottery tickets as our Select Board recently turned them down unanimously for a beer/wine permit.
Meanwhile the Snell Street Bridge replacement, the state project two miles up the road, seems to be moving along. The new replacement steel superstructure is now on site and certainly fits the motif of Amherst as a "green community."
Snell Street replacement bridge
And what would late August in Amherst be without turkeys?
Town Manager John Musante, Stephanie O'Keeffe Select Board Chair
Although I still think only God should receive a 100% score when being evaluated by mere mortals, figures released today by Comptroller Sonia Aldrich and Finance Director Sandy Pooler indicate why Town Manager John Musante earned a 100% score from his bosses, the elected Select Board, for all things budgetary.
For the fifth straight year the town has shown, on average, an end of the year budget surplus of just over $1 million; and in this year's case in particular, $1,110,254. On a total FY12 budget of $65.6 million coming within 1.7% of projections (to the good side).
In addition two large chunks of money were appropriated and never used for its intended purpose: $426,026 for storm clean up (October 29 Treemageddon) not needed because the state came through with emergency aid to cover that amount, and another $370,000 appropriated to repair Puffer's Pond but only if additional matching state aid came through, and it did not.
Thus an additional $796,026 reverted to Free Cash, bringing the grand total to almost $2 million.
AFD and Amherst College PD attend to fallen worker trapped in a manhole
Late this morning a contractor performing work at Amherst College fell down a manhole bringing a swift coordinated response from Amherst Fire Department, APD, Amherst College Police --including Chief John Carter and Director of Facilities Jim Brassord -- as well as a bevy of concerned fellow workers.
AFD called in their "technical team" (climbers who usually go in an upward direction) and the rescue took less than an hour. The rescuers were talking to the trapped man the entire time and it appeared at no time was the situation life threatening.
The hulk of a building that would have dominated this frame is gone
The big ugly modular building that cramped the side approach to Amherst Regional Middle School, "temporary" classrooms that were plunked down in 1994 to help absorb some of the displaced students due to the $22 million Amherst Regional High School renovation, is now absent (with permission).
After the High School renovation/expansion was completed circa 1996, the classrooms transformed into administrative office space, but they lacked basic amenities -- like bathrooms -- and required expensive overhead: $10,000 annually, mostly for electricity.
Employees have now retreated back into the main building.
Meanwhile our pristine never-actually-used-as-classrooms modular unit near the decommissioned Mark's Meadow Elementary School (now returned to UMass) sits unwanted behind the School of Education.
UMass always owned the Mark's Meadow building, but the town --at the exuberant urging of a pre Catherine Sanderson School Committee -- added the stand alone modular classrooms in 2007 at a cost of $220,000.
Mark's Meadow modular "classrooms" now abandoned but still owned by Amherst
The building consists of two class rooms, two rest rooms, two closets, a data closet and custodial closet and an independent heating and cooling systems allowing it to be a stand alone
building. But unfortunately, as such, would require a whopping investment to properly move and reassemble it elsewhere: A cost approaching what the town originally paid for it.
Maybe UMass would allow the building to stay where it is and become a homeless shelter? The current shelter at the Baptist Church, located at the edge of campus, is too small and needs separate facilities for women. The cost to renovate the modular where it is would be far cheaper than trying to move it.
"Homeless and Hungry" woman Amherst town center
The Amherst Community Development Block Grant committee just happens to have a spare $200,000 leftover from last year's appropriation they need to put to good use. And the CDBG advisory committee unanimously voted to address "Homeless and Sheltering" as their number one priority for this upcoming year.
Left: Nancy Gregg, Housing and Shelter Com Rep, Claude Tellier, Co-Chair CDBG Advisory Com
Plus it could be a good learning experience for UMass students to interact with those less fortunate souls down on their luck, who struggle with substance abuse. Unlike our weekend party hardy types, who think they have it all under control.
Ground level planters now adorn all four corners of downtown Amherst
Remember when you were a kid, and company was coming over, and Mom or Dad suddenly became frantic about tidying up the entire house?
Well, Amherst is in that final phase of preparation for a sudden tsunami of students descending on our fair town to patronize three institutes of higher education. One in particular will attract over 4,600 new recruits unfamiliar with the culture of Amherst (the town, not the College).
Large colorful pots of flowers just recently appeared on all four corners of the main intersection of the downtown, courtesy of Mina Lussier, owner of Zanna.
And since her iconic business is located on the outskirts of the downtown, out of sight of these artful additions, it's not like she's doing it to spruce up her own front yard.
Let's hope they survive the onslaught over the next few weeks.
Northampton figured out how to protect plants from meddling
Original Trolley Barn Cowles Road North Amherst, built 1897. File Photo July, 2011
Second Trolley Barn, now Amherst DPW, built 1917
The Republican, 1860 Main Street, Springfield 
