Voting In The Digital Age

Town Clerk Sandra Burgess, center 

The nail biting time for election candidates their supporters and the media -- usually starting as soon as the polls close at 8:00 PM -- could be reduced if Amherst Town Clerk Sandra Burgess gets her lone capital item wish.

Ms. Burgess made her obligatory appearance this morning before the Joint Capital Planning Committee, the initial gatekeepers for all capital items purchased across all town departments for Fiscal Year 2014, starting July 1st.

The JCPC simply makes recommendations to Town Meeting, who holds the ultimate granting authority,  but a negative recommendation is the kiss of death.

Ms. Burgess made a modest proposal, only $8,850 for a GEMS computerized voting tabulator system that includes a (Dell) laptop , software, licensing and comes with a two year warranty.

The system would speed up the 10 precinct tally on voting night thus speeding up the breaking news of who won what position.  Equally important, the new system would also improve accuracy.

The results would still be "unofficial," however, as write ins and provisional ballots are  counted by hand the next day. Each election would cost an additional $175 in programming.  Average election cost in Amherst is around $14,000.

JCPC is using a target of 7% of the overall town budget as a spending guide, but not necessarily in a uniform manner across all departments.

The Town Clerk's operation budget for FY14 is $190,153 so a 7% share would come to $13,310, thus this request is well under her theoretical ceiling. 

The Town Clerk closed her presentation saying this system represents "The final step ... It would bring it all together for us."

Ain't No Mountain High Enough

DPW digs away at large pile of snow in front of Town Hall today

What's in a name?

Town Manager Musante, SB Chair Stephanie O'Keeffe, Pat Kamins at yesterday's meeting

"Permit," "license," or "business certificate" -- call it what you will, but the success of the much needed rental housing bylaw coming out of the endless meetings of the 'Safe & Healthy Neighborhoods' working group comes down to that simple concept.

Rental registration and licensing go together like auto registration and licensing.  Can you imagine the problems if anyone, regardless of license, could drive a car simply because the vehicle was properly registered?

Member Pat Kamins (a mid-sized local landlord) sarcastically asks his fellow members to think about businesses in Amherst "that require licenses or permits that can be revoked if their customers act inappropriately."

Well first of all, think about all the businesses that are not in Amherst because their customers could act inappropriately:  Strip bars, porn shops, head shops, etc. 

In fact, the Board of Health crushed the 'Smoking Ban in Bars Revolt' (by the more rowdy bars) a dozen years ago by threatening to revoke food handling permits for not enforcing the smoking ban.  Since alcohol licenses are tied to food handling permits, the bars quickly caved.

The rest, as they say, is history.  And the town is immeasurably better for it.

 
Crowd of 20 showed up for last night's meeting Safe & Health Neighborhoods working group

U Drink & Drive? U Lose!

This lad drove his car onto active RR tracks, got stuck, and was then arrested

I thought about using the title "Law & Order" because this important public document shines a light on the seamless follow up to Amherst Police Department's all too numerous arrests for the dangerous crime -- people still don't take seriously enough -- of drinking too much and then sitting behind the wheel of a car.

But I figured the text lingo would get the attention of my pre-gray-hair target audience -- not that DUIs in Amherst are solely the province of college aged youth, or people with hair for that matter.

And I thought about using "Don't drink and drive in Amherst" as a lead; but then I would have to quickly add, "Don't drink and drive anywhere!"  So I'll just go with this delayed lead:

In 2011 Amherst police arrested a whopping 144 drivers for DUI.  In 2012 even more, 155!  (And yes, I seldom use exclamation points!)

Let's hope in the current year it starts to go down.  And one good reason for that is District Attorney Dave Sullivan.  He takes drunk driving very seriously.  I present exhibit A:

Amherst Drunk Driver Conviction Rate by Larry Kelley

This 87% conviction rate (for completed cases) is better than the overall state average of 77% found in a major study released in 2012 spanning 57,000 cases over 45 months.  But that study also uncovered a major problem: "When judges consider the merits of OUI cases in a bench trial, 86% were acquitted."  86%!

Jury trials were also problematic, as 58% were acquitted.

In this snapshot of Amherst DUI cases I can't help but question if the "2 not guilty" and "3 dismissed" would have turned out differently if the state changed the absurd rule making inadmissible as evidence in a trial the refusal to take a breathalyzer.

 #####

According to my legal advisor:  

 “Nolle pros” is shorthand for “nolle prosequi”, which is a filing by the Commonwealth (DA’s office or AG) indicating that the Commonwealth is not going forward with the case.  This is usually based on a decision by one or more prosecutors that there is not enough evidence in the case, or that the witnesses have disappeared. It does not rule out the future prosecution of the case, especially if filed prior to a trial date, but I must emphasize that is rare. It is a unilateral action by the Commonwealth which is not reviewable by the Court. The Court merely accepts the filing and tells the defendant he or she can go.

Out of Africa

 Africa we hardly knew ye

The last remaining vestige of former Select Board Czar Anne Awad was briefly on display last night as our current Select Board members discussed dissolving -- due to a lack of interest -- the Nyeri Sister City Committee, the single handed handiwork of Awad back when she was at the height of her ruinous reign.

Awad had breathlessly reported to her Select Board underlings (who unanimously approved the Sister City relationship recommendation to Town Meeting) that she received paparazzi-like reception at the Kenya airport.  Apparently at the time Ms. Awad had a daughter-in-law living in Nyeri and her ego was such that that alone was reason enough to tie Amherst into a Sister City relationship.

Amherst has two long standing, active, Sister City relationships, one with  La Paz Centro in Nicaragua and the other with Kanegasaki, Japan.

The Nyeri article passed Town Meeting but not without a fair amount of discussion (scroll down to article #14).

Awad came to power in 2000 as the "fusion candidate".  The turnout that year was higher than normal (20.4%) due to a non-binding referendum that demanded local police  "deprioritize" marijuana enforcement, which Awad strongly supported as did the voters.

As a result College students actually turned out to vote for a change.  Although they supported the wrong candidate.

Awad crushed her opponent incumbent Hill Boss 2189 to 1429 and she spent the next few years orchestrating a behind the scenes power grab which was finally realized on March 31, 2004.

She of course was the lone dissenting vote on the night of September 10, 2001 when the Select Board voted 4-1 to allow the commemorative American flags to fly only on six occasions in the downtown.  She only wanted the flags to fly but once, July 4th.  

I call Awad's reign "the dark days," and the minutes of that meeting where she was unanimously elected Czar, I mean "chair", perfectly illustrates my point.  That night the Select Board voted 3-1 with (Eva Schiffer voting No and disillusioned member Carl Seppala MIA) to cut $85, 270 from the budget for two police officers.

A few moments earlier they voted unanimously to "support Cherry Hill" even though the golf course was at that point in the middle of a multi-year $100,000 annual losing streak.  So yeah, lets cut $85K for two cops but continue to squander more than that on the expensive game of golf.  

Another fitting reason for the term "dark days" is because Awad was cited a number of times by the District Attorney, responding to my complaints, for violation of the Open Meeting Law, and using email to carry on discussions (attempting to sabotage the July 4th Parade) that should have been in the bright light of a pubic meeting.

Of course the ultimate symbol of her to-Hell-with-transparency attitude was the fact she was married to fellow Select Board member Robie Hubley for over a year (and obviously had been dating prior to tying the knot) before bothering to tell the voters.   

And let's never forget how she tried to cling to power even though purchasing and quickly moving into an expensive home in South Hadley, where today she lives in obscurity. 

Ah, the bad ol' days ...

DUI Dishonor Roll

Mass had 114 drunk driving deaths in 2011; and 122 in 2010 according to MADD 

One benefit from the Governor banning traffic during the major snowstorm is a major reduction in DUIs.  After all, no driving = no drunk driving.

But there was one potentially killer incident to report earlier in the week.  Worse yet, this is her second offense, on an early Wednesday morning no less.  Once again underscoring how lenient Massachusetts court system is with drunk drivers. 

At 1:12 AM early Wednesday Amherst Police stopped Ashley Anne Strickland, age 26, for an expired inspection sticker not far from town center.  Her good judgment was also expired as she failed the Field Sobriety Test and was  arrested for Driving Under the Influence. Strike two!

Let The Sun Shine!

 Amherst Old Belchertown Road:  Ye Old Landfill

I just love documents with the heading "Confidential:  Not a Public Document."   But yes, Amherst is the home of "Open Government To The Max" initiative, so they even release documents with such a secretive heading even before I get around to a public documents request.

About the only newsworthy thing in this litigation update (at the half-way point in the Fiscal Year) is entry # 3, the status of the lawsuit by ten NIMBYs opposing the solar array at the old landfill.  Looks like the lawsuit is deader than some of the things buried in the old landfill.

So let's hope construction of the solar array commences soon.  Too bad it cost Amherst taxpayers over $8,377 to clear this legal hurdle. 

Legal costs, however, have been fairly low this year -- as evidenced by this rather brief half-year update. The other PUBLIC document being discussed tonight at the Select Board meeting is the half-way point budget update.  Legal Services has only consumed $28,157 out of an annual budget of $110,000.

Although I'm now told that the actual amount as of today is $40, 536 ... still, pretty low at the almost half way point.  The law firm of Kopelman and Paige have a minimum retainer of $44,000 with the town, so it' s not like they are ever going to starve.

Attorney Joel Bard, the face of Kopelman and Paige, at a recent ZBA meeting

Scott Brown: A Lively Conversation

 Scott Brown at the podium, Amherst College Johnson Chapel

Private citizen Scott Brown's reception on a return visit to Amherst was a radical departure from his first visit 18 months ago as US Senator where a hoard of activists treated him rudely, some to the point of disrespect, and attempted to hound him all the way up Bare Mountain, although the vast majority could not match his brisk pace to the top.

Of course it was a "republican" group who had invited him to speak today, and about 75 mostly college aged youth answered the call.  The night-and-day difference was not lost on the former senator who pointed out this speech represented,  "The first time I have not had any protesters".

 Good crowd, mostly college aged youths, came to hear Scott Brown speak at Amherst College

Perhaps remembering that exact Amherst incident he continues, "I'm a moderate -- the most bipartisan senator in the senate and I'm being protested?!  But that's what makes our country so wonderful:   We have ability to have that free speech. We have that ability to question authority, to make a difference." 

Moderate indeed:  Brown touched on his socially liberal beliefs from campaign finance reform to supporting gays serving in the military,  and a woman's right to choose.

Which brought on perhaps his most exasperating moment, remembering the bitter campaign just ended, only his first loss in a dozen elections.  "I'm a pro-choice, moderate, bipartisan republican ... and I'm going to help take away women's rights?  Really!

He continues earnestly, "I'm from a house full of women.  I have three of the most hard charging, high powered women in my life and apparently I'm going to change -- just like that."

Scott Brown with his "hard charging, high powered" wife, Gail Huff

Brown repeated the word "bipartisan" over and over, saying that would be the key to his credibility now as a critic of the status quo.  We all need to "work together as Americans first."

He went on to poignantly remember the height of cooperation that made him "most proud" of the US Congress, when members from both sides of the isle stood together, some arm in arm, on the US Capitol steps and sang "God Bless America" on the late afternoon of 9/11.

But those days a l-o-n-g gone.

We have moved away from "tolerance and cooperation and the ability to work as Americans first ... We're in deep trouble.  What do I mean by that?  Economy is flat, unemployment is up, $16.5 trillion national debt.  When I went down there it was $11.95 trillion.  $16.5 trillion now!"

Turning to a post mortem on his recent senate loss he started with a forthright, "I wouldn't change a thing."   Because as a Republican he had an amazingly steep climb right out of the starting gate.

In a state where only 11% of voters are registered republicans, fighting a contest in a presidential election year with a peak turnout, competing for a seat that was formerly owned by a Kennedy, a family name in Massachusetts only one step down from God on the reverence scale.

Yet he lost by only 7.5%, while Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney -- a former Governor no less -- lost the state by a whopping 23%.

Scott Brown left the rapt audience with a challenge:  "Are you going to be a part of the go-along-to- get-along crowd or are you going to be a leader at the college.  Are you going to make a difference?"

Considering the obstacles he has overcome, Scott Brown provided them a timely role model.

Tony Melendez, who plays guitar with his feet, also provided an inspirational talk and musical demonstration of how the human spirit can overcome adversity.

Amherst College Johnson Chapel, under a majestic American flag, provided a bright cozy setting for uplifting talks

Mass Daily Collegian managed to muster a reporter (what say you Gazette, Republican, Ch 22, Ch 40?)

"Shelter In Place"

Amherst Town Hall closed at High Noon Friday, but the work had just begun for DPW, Police/Fire/Dispatch 

Town Hall after the storm. By the next morning about two feet of the white stuff had fallen

DPW parking lot the morning after. All hands on deck, all night long. A remarkable job done.

Amherst Police Department was not inundated with calls as everyone took the Governor's advice and stayed in although Dispatch fielded numerous calls concerning the driving ban.

Truck vs tree around 3:45 PM Friday

Amherst Fire Department Central Station: only sign of life in town center overnight or this morning.  Make sure you clear fire hydrants and vents near your house!

AFD Central around 11:00 PM last night with nearly white out conditions

Amherst Town Center 8:30 AM cleared but abandoned

Town Center looking North

Peoples Bank, American Legion, Town Center

Bank of America town center (closed)

Amherst Coffee closed

UMass Amherst closed

The Dickinson Homestead: the quiet helps Miss Emily work

Taylor Davis Landscaping crew helping to fight drifting snow in town center

Almost home. Car blocked Jeffrey Lane stuck in snow overnight

Buried by Nemo. These cars will take a while to dig out

East Pleasant near Kendrick Park looking south toward town center. Easy to share the road with no traffic

Bramble Hill Farm South Amherst 3:00 PM today. Dog says, "What, are you crazy?"

Exterior Makeover

 The Boulders, East Hadley Road, Amherst

The Boulders, circa 1975 when it was known as "Brittany Manor", one of the original large professionally managed apartment complexes in town, is getting a major exterior renovation, shedding the quaint but dated looking wood shingles in favor of a cleaner, tighter vinyl siding and new energy efficient windows. 

The project is estimated to cost $849,996 and has generated $8,700 to the town in building permit fees.  Although town assessor David Burgess confirms that current assessed value of $11,651,200 ($240,000 in property tax payment) will not go up as the renovation is "considered a reasonable expense to maintain the property."

Not a bad idea, as it gives landlords an incentive to do basic maintenance. Although we have a few in town that consider basic maintenance above and beyond their call of duty.

Tools of the Trade

Hobart Lane:  PTV in action

If ever a term described Amherst Police Department's capital equipment requests for next year it would be "the usual".  Well, almost. (No drones however).

Three front line cruisers, AKA patrol cars, i.e. "black-and-whites," at a total cost of $105,000.  These vital vehicles are on the go 24 hours a day, seven days a week and as a result only last two or three years.  The department is currently on a four year replacement cycle: replace three cruisers annually for three consecutive years and then four in the fourth year.

Since the iconic Crown Vics are no longer manufactured, the replacement vehicles will all be Ford Taurus Police Interceptors, which are crash rated to 75 MPH.  Thus the vehicles are safer, as well as roomier for extra comfort, and fiscally sound via better gas mileage.  

 A reliable response vehicle is required for first responders

Last year was a replace-four year but there is still money left over from that appropriation, so the department is putting $45,000 of it towards a new Personal Transport Vehicle or PTV.

Not to be confused with the racially insensitive term "paddy wagon."  Although I heard a number of college aged youth use that term as they were being loaded into the vehicle last fall.  The current van has over 136,000 miles on it.

Left over FY13 money ($12,000) will also be used to purchase a Harley Davidson motorcycle coming off lease (with only 1,492 miles on it).  A few years ago APD had a mounted horse division but that was put out to pasture due to budget constraints.

No horse patrol but we have (2) Harleys

Also requested is an in-cruiser wireless camera system for two cars ($10,500) that shoots digital audio and video and immediately downloads as the patrol car pulls into the station parking lot.  The raw video protects officers from liability (false claims of inappropriate conduct) and can be used in a court of law for evidence in drunk driving arrests.

The department requested these two camera systems last year but was delayed to save money.  That year the department had to upgrade its communication system at a cost of $125,000 to come into compliance with FCC "narrow band" regulations.

Captain Pronovost left, Chief Livingstone left center Kay Moran JCPC Chair right

Joint Capital Planning Committee's target goal is to spend 7% of total budget for capital items.
 
While a total police request of $172,500 ($57,000 already appropriated) may sound like a lot, considering the FY14 APD operation budget is, like the Amherst Fire Department, just over $4 million, a 7% slice for capital should come to $280,000.

Not a bad deal for safety.

Branded: A Public Slander

Edited to protect the innocent

About the only thing worse than losing all your possessions in a structure fire (besides your life of course) is to later have a lawyer publicly brand you as the culprit who caused the conflagration.

As another lawyer so famously asked of a bully on network TV, "Have you no sense of decency, sir?"

According to the Amherst Fire Department the cause of the 9/13/12 blaze at #28 Hobart Lane was "accidental" and "undetermined".

But according to Attorney Farber, hired gun for property owner Grandonico Properties, LLC, the blaze was caused by an occupant of a (illegal) basement bedroom. 

Oddly, he puts forth a scenario that is remarkably close to an another fire that occurred in South Amherst over a year before due to the Halloween Snowmageddon storm.  A young lady was drying her hair when the power went out, so she dropped the hairdryer on the bed and a few days later when the power finally returned, puff.

The fire department report clearly traces the fire origin to a bedside table, not the bed itself. Miss X also reports she does not own a "curling iron."

Yes the Hobart Lane basement area had one smoke detector but it was too badly damaged in the fire to determine if it was in proper working order.  Either way, with a basement illegally subdivided into two bedrooms, three smoke detectors are required and they need to be hardwired rather than battery operated.

Plus the entire basement area has only one window as a second means of egress, so the person with the bedroom that did not have a window could easily be trapped and turned into toast.

#28 Hobart Lane:  One basement window, two bedrooms

The other vital safety equipment missing that day was a carbon monoxide detector.  Attorney Farber even admits there were none, and that the Gilreath Manor complex uses gas water heaters located in -- you guessed it -- the basement.

In fact, a safety inspection immediately after the fire discovered one of the water heaters was not operating properly because it was covered by a blanket, a potential two-way death sentence by carbon monoxide poisoning, or a gas explosion.

Attorney Farber also admitted Miss X had concerns over unlabeled fire extinguishers.  Since there were no labels on them she would not have known they only contained water and therefore, should NOT be used on an electrical fire, which would have only made things worse.

Miss X also confirms she never tested any smoke detectors in the basement, only on the first floor, as she was unaware there was even one there.  The fire department inspector found one on the second floor was not working on the day of the fire and issued the Grandonicos a $100 fine.



ZBA Chair Eric Beal (also an attorney) was obviously upset by the written testimony put before his board, and he spent a fair amount of time "reading it into the public record".

Just as obvious on display -- via attorney Farber -- was the Grandonicos wish to place blame anywhere but where it belongs: on them.

As a result, a hard working young woman who -- through no fault of her own -- suffered the trauma of losing possessions to fire, gets thrown under a burning bus.

To quote that iconic theme song of the 60s, "What do you do when you're branded, will you fight for your name?"

The entire 2 hour meeting, brought to you by Amherst Media

A Little Awkward Indeed

Attorney Larry I've-got-a-secret Farber 1/31/13 ZBA Meeting

So yes, I was tempted to scream at this point in the meeting (or assume a lotus position and self immolate).  But I figured the sparsely attended meeting was being recorded by Amherst Media, so at some point the whole world could see -- and hear. 



Of course one thing the Grandonicos wish to keep secret is the provision that ties students into a 15 month lease (June 1 through August 31 the following year) that spans two summers. 

Thus the average UMass student, who does not live in Amherst year round, pays for 15 months but only gets 9 months worth of use.

Or they could spend $450 each to get out of the last three months.

Back story in emails

DUI Dishonor Roll

About 15 minutes before the new UMass "Sober Shuttle" picked up its first passenger in the heart of the downtown, Amherst Police took a potential killer off the road ... Belchertown Road (Rt 9) to be exact.

Stopped for "marked lanes violations" (i.e. all over the road) at 1:00 AM early Friday morning and then failing a Field Sobriety Test, police arrested Joshua D. Frank, 2 Birchwood Ave, Peabody, MA, age 23 for Marked Lanes Violation and Driving Under the Influence.

From now on let's hope Mr. Frank takes the Sober Shuttle.

#####

From the Salem News 2/5/11:

Police responded to an accident, with injuries, at Gardner Street at Seneca Road at midnight. A car driven by Joshua D. Frank of Peabody collided with a car driven by Jeana L. Bottari of Salem. Bottari was transported to the hospital.

Run Dan Run!

Representative Dan Winslow R-Norfolk (an Amherst native)

So if ever there was a compassionate conservative in the state of Massachusetts who could take the baton hand off from Scott Brown and set his own blistering pace it would be Dan Winslow.

Yes, amazingly enough, someone born in Amherst that's fiscally conservative, with a profound respect for bedrock family values -- including the American flag.

Back in the dark days of 2001 Dan, as council to Governor Romney, was sympathetically helpful to me in my crusade to get Amherst to allow the 29 commemorative flags to fly in the downtown; and just the past September Dan pushed in the state legislature for a bill that would require the state to fly the American flag at half staff to commemorate the in-the-line-of-duty death of a fire fighter or police officer.

And to further align him with ultra-liberal Amherst voters Dan supported the recently passed medical marijuana bill that Amherst  overwhelmingly supported in November by 83%.  Of course Amherst also supported President Obama by the same 83% margin.  Hmm ...

With Stan Rosenberg (D-Amherst) now State Senate Majority Leader, a win by Winslow for Senate will really put Amherst on a map no longer ignored by the Powers That Be in Boston.

####

Statement posted at 10:30 AM on his website:

  “Today I’m taking the necessary steps to form an exploratory committee to test the waters for the U.S. Senate. We need to fix a broken Washington where progress is being hampered by partisan gridlock. If we continue to elect the same Washington politicians, we can not expect different results.”

  “The people of Massachusetts and all Americans deserve solutions from their elected officials. Washington needs to focus on problem solving and implement ideas that will create jobs and grow our economy,” said Winslow

Amherst Peace Accords

Hobart Lane: The street with no name 

The war against rowdy rental units disturbing the peace and quiet of residential neighborhoods dates back a generation.  In fact, some of today's violators could very well be offspring of students who attended the University way back when it carried the ignoble moniker "ZooMass." 

A recent major skirmish, relatively short by municipal standards, came to a (sort of) successful close this past Thursday. The Amherst Zoning Board of Appeals allowed prominent local landord Grandonico Properties, LLC to withdraw their appeal of Building Commissioner Rob Morra's $100/day fine for violating the town bylaw forbidding more than four unrelated tenants per single-family household.

But not before paying $2,400 in fines and -- most important -- agreeing to change their lease language to clearly demonstrate they will abide by the town's zoning ordinance.

One down, a few more to go...

Grandonicos legally binding agreement with town

An Eerie Reminder

Rolling Green Apartments 

The Amherst Fire Department responded to Rolling Green Apartments -- scene of a devastating fatal fire two weeks ago -- early Friday night (7:00 PM) for a phoned in report of beeping smoke alarms. 

Only to discover the detectors from the burned out unit had been thrown into a nearby dumpster with the batteries still in them, and they continued to do their job long after the need for alarm had subsided.

   AFD runs Super Bowl weekend by   Larry Kelley

The call was noted as a "Good Intent Call," also a timely reminder that citizens should not hesitate to dial 911 if anything raises suspicion. 

Also note, ETOH (drunk) calls are still too numerous.

Cold Sundown

Score 1 For Transparency

 

Stan Rosenberg on a visit to Pioneer Vally Chinese Immersion Charter School in 2009

So it's hard to believe it has been two years but I notice by today's Sunday Republican "How They Voted" that our state legislature finally got around to fixing their website so that roll call votes can now be posted online rather than only being available by hard copy in a remote State House office. 

Bravo!  (Of course now I have to wonder why it took two years.) 

Choppy Surface

Puffer's Pond, noon today 

A combination of unseasonably warm weather, high winds and then back to normal deep freeze has produced an interesting mosaic at Amherst's favorite conservation area.

Tipsy Transit Take Two

 Sober Shuttle 1:15 AM Amherst Town Center

So, like last weekend, the regular Sunderland bus arrived at 1:13 AM and picked up two dozen or more college aged passengers at the downtown bus stop in front of the Amherst Post Office.  As that bus was leaving, almost full, the first ever Sober Shuttle arrives 1:15 AM, almost empty (except for a police officer), and then left six or seven minutes later with less than a dozen passengers.

Most of this crowd boarded the regular Sunderland bus

Sunderland bus leaves town center with standing room only crowd 1:15 AM

The 2:00 AM Sober Shuttle also arrived a few minutes early, but picked up only one passenger at the town center Post Office stop.

The Republican reports

Back story in emails