Summer Sunday

War Memorial Pool 3:00 PM

After running into technical difficulties the War Memorial Pool missed the Saturday target date to open, but fortunately -- with the temperature in the 90s -- opened for business this morning.

And by 3:00 PM it was happily keeping a boatload of folks cool.

Meanwhile ...

Kendrick Park: Never too hot to hula hoop

 

Ziomek Field:  Ladies softball left, Men's baseball right

 

Amazing maze:  Amherst/Hadley border

Historic West Cemetery:  A road runs around it

 

South East Street  8:45 PM

That Which Survives

 Camperdown Elm: A priceless $100,000 shade tree

The majestic Amherst College owned  Camperdown Elm seems to have weathered the recent relocation just fine, knock on wood. 

Three months ago a bevy of trained workers gingerly moved the ancient but healthy shade tree a distance of 90 feet to avoid being run over by a running track.

Amherst College officials must be relieved, since the tree is irreplaceable ... and the lifesaving procedure is said to have cost $100,000 or just over $1,100 per foot.

 Pratt Field, Amherst

But then Amherst College is our #1 landowner.  Even though a tax-exempt institution the #2 liberal arts college in America is still the town's #1 taxpayer.   The Pratt Field renovation project was budgeted at $12.5 million, although rumor has it the cost of the project is over by half. 

But, like the Camperdown Elm, Pratt Field will be pretty stunning when completed. 

I wish I was in Dixie

 

Dixieland Band on the grounds of the First Congregational Church

A large somewhat older crowd gathered to enjoy Dixieland Band music, lemonade, and strawberry shortcake under the shade trees on the lush grounds of the First Congregational Church yesterday just across the street from the Dickinson Homestead.

Where's Rockwell when you need him?

Meanwhile, dead in the center of town, a lone guitarist tests the theory of the tree falling in the forest with no one around ...

DUI Dishonor Roll

 

Daniel Dodman's rolling weapon disarmed (note teenagers in close proximity)

Let me count the ways the ways this Bad Boy is an embarrassment to the human species -- that is supposedly differentiated from animals by, umm, sentient intelligence.

And Daniel S. Dodman is 21 -- old enough to die for his country -- so youth is not exactly an excuse.

The telephone pole won

Driving south (away from UMass) on Triangle Street around 6:15 PM Thursday, he sideswipes a WMECO utility pole with two large, potentially explosive transformers on top,  and completely loses control of his heavy duty Volvo.

He then crashes into a line of large landscaping boulders bordering Bertucci's Italian Restaurant, which was relatively busy at the time.

 Dodman ended up with "a piece of the Rock"

Meanwhile almost a dozen teenagers near the busy DB Mart are within 25 yards of the crash scene and provide eye witness testimony to the police.  Dodman abandons his destroyed vehicle, now leaking chemicals, and takes flight heading north.

 Dodman's vehicle hit hard enough for both airbags to deploy

Yes, the auto is registered to a Daniel Nicholas Dodman; and yes, that is the very first thing a police officer does when dealing with any sort of "motor vehicle stop."

Dodman did not get very far from accident scene

APD soon catches up with him on Chestnut Court and attempts to place him under arrest.  He resists.  They arrest him anyway and add "resisting arrest" to the complement of charges headlining with DUI, and leading with "open container of alcohol" in the vehicle.

In order to cut down on drunk drivers,  perhaps the Department of Motor Vehicles should institute an intelligence test for license requirements.  

Summer Secret Revealed

War Memorial Pool

Sunday morning update 11:00 AM:
Pool did not open yesterday due to high levels of chlorine but did open this morning.  Yeah.

Saturday morning update 10:20 AM:
War Memorial Pool did not open for 10:00 AM as chlorine levels spiked during the overnight.  Facility director Alan Snow is currently working his chemical magic and reports the pool should still open today.  Although that can't help with consumer confidence.  

#####

Original Post:
Pssst, don't tell anyone but the town's two main outdoors pools open for business today just in time for, well, summer.  As you may remember last year the War Memorial Pool, after a $200,000 makeover, missed the opening date by a week or so.

 

War Memorial Pool was filled Thursday

The Mill River Pool and wader opened last week for a school function so they are ahead of schedule.

 DPW worker paints the Groff Park Wading Pool

Neither of the stand alone wading pools will be ready to host children however.  I'm told Groff Park should be open Tuesday and War Memorial wading pool by Friday, but my source is none too optimistic about how long the 50+ year old facility will last.

 War Memorial Wading Pool this morning looking a tad forlorn

Two years ago Town Meeting appropriated $200,000 for the War Memorial Pool renovation but then a state grant rained down money from the heavens.  The funds has been sitting in an account collecting dust ever since.

Amherst formed a "Community Field Study Group" that seemed to like the idea of turning the War Memorial wading pool into a splash park, which is cheaper to operate (no lifeguards needed) and uses water a lot more efficiently.  But most of all is easy get up and running each season. 

And that $200,000 stashed away would more than cover the cost. 

Extinction

Classic Chevrolet, 40 Dickinson Street, Amherst RIP 

As of last week Amherst is down to its last video store and as of today, with the closing of Classic Chevrolet, we will no longer have a single car dealership left in town.

They say when thousands perish it's a "statistic" but when one dies it's a "tragedy."  Nationwide about 24,000 car dealerships service the American market, so perhaps one less dealership will not be missed, unless of course it's your hometown dealership.  The last of its kind.

The one that employed caring individuals skilled at what they do.

Sadly, 17 of our friends and neighbors will now have to find somewhere else to do it.

 A lot of history in that building

The automotive business, located at 40 Dickinson Street, just down the hill from the Dickinson Homestead,  transitioned from a horse drawn cab operation originally founded by the Paige brothers in 1883, three years before Miss Emily was "called back."

If you're a baby boomer who grew up in Amherst, at some point you came into contact with Paige's Chevrolet.  In fact I wore a Little League baseball uniform with their name stenciled across the back. The transition to Classic Chevrolet in 2002 was almost seamless.

Now, with the sale of the dealership to Burke Autos GMC in Northampton, the unbroken 130 years of service comes to a close.  Amherst trumpets the "shop local"  mantra at every opportunity.

Now that trumpet is playing "Taps."

The Republican reports

 (Sad) Sign of the times

Fireground: Mt. Tom Road, Northampton

 Highway Auto Salvage, 182 Mt Tom Road, Northampton

Amherst and Easthampton FD units assisted a bevy of Northampton emergency vehicles at the scene of a fire this morning at Highway Auto Salvage about a mile outside of city center.  An NFD ambulance transported one firefighter from the scene.

NFD ladder truck

Firefighter venting the roof

Firefighters prepare to transport one of their own

NFD ambulance leaving the scene

Lots of emergency equipment on scene

Power Up (And Down)

AFD  Assistant Chief McKay unloading power cot from A1

The Amherst Fire Department is testing a new medical device that may not be a lifesaver, but it will most certainly be a backsaver.  For them.

Assistant Chief Don McKay remembers back in the late 1990s on one particularly tying call, two full time professional EMTs  injured their backs simultaneously. He remembers it well since he was one of the responders injured, and as a result he was out of work for a few months.

About one quarter of all workman's compensation claims each year are due to back injuries.  Such mishaps are expensive for employers, reduce company morale and can break up experienced squads who rely on knowing their partners.

Stryker power cot

Yes like most "medical devices" the power cots are expensive, between $12,000 and $14,000 each depending on accessories, versus a non powered unit at $3,500. But they eliminate three or four lifts per average incident and that's three or four opportunities for a back injury eliminated as well.

 Non powered unit (Ferno 35A)

The extra heavy duty units weigh 125 pounds and are rated to carry 800 pounds.  While traditional non powered units, which weigh 75 pounds, max out at 350 pound loads.  And these days it is not all that uncommon to be confronted by an extra heavy-weight patient.

The test unit has been in use only since Monday;  so far the feedback has been all positive. Ideally the department would order five units, one for each ambulance.

 24 volt battery is good for twenty runs between charges

Town Meeting unanimously approved AFD's FY14 (starts July 1) $211,000 capital budget for new turnout gear, training dummies, command vehicle and five "Lucas" automatic CPR devices, one for each ambulance. 

Fortunately the state came through with a grant to cover 90% of the $70,000 cost of the Lucas devices.  And since both the Lucas devices and power cots are classified as "medical devices," Town Meeting would probably consider the redirection of the funds now to purchasing the power cots as falling "within the scope of the article".

For instance, last year Town Meeting appropriated monies for four new police cruisers and APD only ended up needing three, so the remaining money was redirected to buy a Harley Davidson motorcycle coming off lease and a used transport van.

Amherst prides itself on staying ahead of the curve.  These power cots are just another way of rolling firmly into the future.

Bad Hang Up

 The Volvo may have hit a utility pole before crashing into large rocks

Amherst Police are currently searching for the driver -- a college aged male -- who fled the scene of this one car motor vehicle accident on Triangle Street just on the outskirts of town center about an hour ago.

Witnesses say the driver was drunk.  The car is registered to a UMass student.

AFD responded to clean up leaking fluids

Dambusters

Yesterday town employees breached a beaver dam in South Amherst

While both cute and hard working, beavers can be a nightmare for property owners within proximity to their latest project.  Like this project on Plum Brook, running under West Street (Rt. 116) in South Amherst.

According to Assistant Town Manager (and still Director of Conservation) Dave Ziomek, "Beavers have dammed the Plum Brook in multiple places east of Rt. 116 and the backed up water (on both public and private land) is now causing some problems."

The current plan, approved by the Conservation Commission,  is to lower the water levels by breaching the dams over the next week.  In addition flow devices known as "beaver deceivers" may also be used.

Although Mr. Ziomek warned, "These situations are never easy."

This morning, finishing the job

Free At Last

 “A Start of Summer Block Party Celebrating Human Rights and the Juneteenth Holiday"

The "Juneteenth Holiday" commemorating the June 19, 1865 date the final Confederate state abolished slavery attracted a diverse crowd to the Amherst Town Common this evening.

 Reynolds Winslow, retired Chair Amherst Human Rights Commission

Reynolds Winslow, always a powerful speaker, accepted an award for his many years as Chair of the Amherst Human Rights Commission.

Although I was sad to hear him start his brief speech with the revelation that he has stepped down from the Commission, having recently moved to the city of Chicopee.  Amherst was fortunate to have his thoughtful input for as long as we did.

A Road Too Far

 

Farview Way, North Amherst

Longtime town resident Allan Carpenter went before the Pubic Works Committee two weeks ago to lobby in behalf of all the residents living on his street.

His modest single family home was built in 1914, four years after the town constructed Farview Way, and he and his wife purchased it in 1952.

This road has not a major renovation since LBJ was President.  For you non-history majors that was in 1964.

Currently, in addition to Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter 17 other single family homes are sprinkled all along Farview Way with a combined assessed value of a little over $5 million, generating $100,000 in property tax revenues paid to the Town annually.

The Public Works Committee was attentive and polite to Mr. Carpenter but offered no hope on the horizon for repaving Farview Way.

Sure the Governor recently cut in half Chapter 90 (road repair) monies,  sending many DPW chiefs into a paroxysm of disbelief.  Amherst was originally promised $1.2 million back when the weather was still cold; although fortunately, we only budgeted for $500,000.

Still, we will end up receiving $618,000.

And since President Obama declared Massachusetts a "disaster area" after the monster snow storm last February, the town should also be seeing an extra $100,000 or so in federal monies.  

Either way, not much consolation for residents of Farview Way. 

Growing Pains

 

Coming Soon:  Commonwealth College 1,500 beds

In his May 15 appearance before Amherst Town Meeting to pitch the joint town/gown study on coexisting in harmony, Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy proactively addressed the #1 criticism leveled at UMass/Amherst:  build more housing to keep students on campus.

The Chancellor clearly pointed out that this fall, when Commonwealth College Residential housing goes on line (1,500 beds), UMass/Amherst will be #3 in the nation for housing students on campus. 

The relatively recent construction of "North Residential" also added 800 beds.

North Residential housing complex

And when Commonwealth College dorms come on line they, like North Residential, will not pay property taxes, even though both will be protected by the Amherst Fire Department.

This year AFD cost taxpayers just over $4 million to fund yet they spend 23% of their time dealing with UMass.

Graph courtesy Amherst Firefighters Local 1764

Umass is scheduled to grow over a ten year period at only 300 students per year.  Had the Gateway Project not been scuttled by noisy NIMBYs that alone would handled a couple of years worth of growth.

And of course The Retreat, a taxpaying student development in northeast Amherst would also absorb a couple of years worth of UMass growth.  If it ever gets built. 

Or, if provincial Amherst Town Meeting had only approved Form Based Zoning in village centers last year we would already be seeing mixed use buildings going up in North Amherst to greatly stimulate both commercial and residential stock.  

Aftertaste

 West side of town common

The torrential rains that postponed the opening of the 22nd Annual Taste of Amherst last Thursday also primed conditions for that other byproduct of a successful public event on the town common:  turf damage.

Yes the town common is public space freely used by the general public.   But large events like the Taste of Amherst, Pot Rally and Town Fair do more than their share of damage, that has to be repaired at public expense.

 Northeast side of town common

The town should simply enact a fee for large events IF they end up causing damage, much like landlords collect a security deposit prior to leasing an apartment. 

Executive Session: Do Not Disturb

 11:05 AM, Town Manager's office: 4 of 5 Amherst SB members attended

Perhaps the reason the state calls it "Executive Session" is because it mimics a private boardroom meeting between a CEO and a corporation's Board of Directors.  In other words, by invite only.

Although in the case of a public body like the Amherst Select Board, they still have to convene in open session (hence allowing miscreants like me to take a photo) before retreating into private conversation.   Or in this case, evicting the general public. 

The meeting was posted to start at 11:00 AM and finish by 11:59 AM (somebody must have been worried about lunch).  Actual start time was 11:06, as SB member Alisa Brewer was her usual few minutes late.  And I'm told by SB Chair Stephanie O'Keeffe the meeting adjourned at 12:39 PM.

The reason for the secret meeting was a discussion of Cowls Cushman properties (154 acres) that are currently under a Purchase& Sale agreement with Landmark Properties for $6.5 million. 

The town can either invoke the "right of first refusal" and match any legitimate offer on the table for the property, or can simply take it by eminent domain via a simple majority vote of the Select Board. 

Although the draconian use of eminent domain also requires Town Meeting authorization for monetary backing. 

The town would then be liable to pay W.D.Cowls, Inc the "highest and best use" for the property, which obviously is not that of its current condition, a tree farm.

Bully For You!

Define "harassed"

So maybe school officials should go on a witch hunt to ferret out the other 20% who would not drop a dime on a harassment scenario and harass them into compliance. 

Do public officials really think these “social norms messages” suddenly turns outliers into conformists?  Or is it just something to do to make it appear they are doing something?

 And 28% of 27, 269 do not

Yes, I suppose they would argue it's not a sudden thing but a long term indoctrination starting as early in life as possible that makes the difference.

Kind of like the liberal mindset PC attitude that's so prevalent in the town of Amherst.

Government sponsored at every turn.