Why are you standing here with a flag?

 

9/11/12 (Photo by Helen Thelen)

Today the provincial Amherst Select Board will hold a special meeting in the Town Manager's office at 3:00 PM to approve a one-day liquor license for Top Of The Campus, an upscale UMass bar; the Planning Board will meet in Town Hall at 7:00 PM to discuss medical marijuana zoning issues; and a "touring exhibit" about Guantanamo Bay, a prison for suspected terrorists, debuts at UMass .

Just another late summer day in the bucolic town of Amherst.

Well, except for the Fire Station ceremony at 9:45 AM at Central Station, in the heart of the downtown.  Unfortunately children will be in school and most of their parents will be at work.  Although town center will still be vibrant with college aged youth.

One of the blessings of being a "college town."

In other words, kind of like it was on THAT day 12 years ago.  Except for the ringing of the bells.  The constant clanging of the bells of St. Brigid's Church indicating something was terribly, terribly wrong. 

The main flag in town center will also be at half staff as ordered by Governor Patrick earlier today, even though President Bush made it a permanent day for the American flag to sink to a position of mourning.

And yes, as I have done since THAT day, anytime the town refuses to fly the 29 commemorative flags downtown I will stand in town center with an American flag starting at 8:46 AM for a two hour period to mark the time of the attack.

To remember the slaughter of over 3,000 Americans (if you count the workers who later died of diseases resulting from their rescue efforts at Ground Zero) murdered, simply because they were Americans.

The Select Board seems to think the commemorative flags are too "festive" even though we fly them on Memorial Day.  But if the commemorative flags were flown at half staff (as they did on the late morning of 9/11) it would be hard for anyone to misinterpret that.

Starting only a few years ago, without fail, a college aged youth would approach me curiously and ask why I was holding an American flag in the center of Amherst?  I would say, "Do you know what day this is?"  And they would respond with whatever day of the week it was.

"No, what is today's date?" After a brief pause, their facial expression would change as they would slowly nod their head up and down.

"Oh yeah ... 9/11."

Good News, Bad News

 

Large contingent of APD officer 53 Meadow Street 4:45 PM Saturday

So once again the marketing machine at UMass pays off handsomely (besides the "world record" fruit salad story) as today's print edition of the Springfield Republican carries the aging good news story about UMass donating $80,000 to the town of Amherst for extra ambulance coverage.

No mention of this past weekend where the "Blarney Blowout" almost reappeared, or that nine-out-of-17 ambulance runs to UMass were for ETOH students passed out drunk.

 

Note high number of ETOH calls

I was at Wildwood Elementary School playground just after 2:00 PM Saturday with my youngest daughter Jada when I first heard the cryptic scanner reports about a growing storm at Townhouse Apartments on Meadow Street.

So I drove the short distance (my youngest loves the sight of police officers) to check it out and of course immediately realized by the huge throng of students (1,000+) in the quad that there was going to be trouble.

My daughter then asked, "Where are all the police officers?"  Good question. I could only spot three.  Yikes!

 APD officers 2:30 PM Townhouse Apartments.  All for one and one for all

But I figured they were simply waiting for reinforcements --  as they did with the Blarney Blowout -- and would simply allow the kids to party for a few hours and then move in around 5:00 PM with the aid of State PD and UMPD officers all safely dressed in riot gear.

 

Townhouse quad 2:53 PM

I drove home to drop off Jada and jump on my mountain bike for better access to the scene.  I arrived back only a half hour later (3:00 PM) and was amazed to see the small contingent of uniformed officers had waded in and dispersed the h-u-g-e gathering at the quad.

 

Just outside the quad area 3:00 PM.  53 Meadow Street party house in background

Give those boys a medal.

Some people encourage the mayhem

But many of the partiers simply moved to an adjacent party house just across the street (53 Meadow Street) and filled the back yard with drunken revelry.

Although this group was only one-fourth the size (250+) of original crowd in the quad and the police presence was now three or four times greater than the previous incident it still took almost an hour to clear the scene.

53 Meadow Street backyard.  Much smaller than Townhouse Apartment quad

Why so long the second time?  Probably that extra hour so of partying and the effects of that much more alcohol in the system.  After all, this entire event was pretty much one BIG binge drinking affair.

Which leads me to believe that if a harrowing small number of police officers had not bravely moved in when they did early on (without riot gear) to break up the huge gathering in the Townhouse quad, only another hour or two would have been enough time for that army to turn ornery.

In other words, we got lucky.  This time.  

NIMBYs Never Say Die

Have land, will develop

North Amherst residents filed a petition article this morning just before deadline which places on the fall Town Meeting warrant another anti-development zoning proposal that would simply reverse the June 3rd passage of article #31 (by a whopping 119 to 56 vote) allowing 10 housing units per mixed use development "by right" before needing a "Special Permit".   The old standard was six units.

The problem with a "Special Permit" is that it requires a unanimous vote of the three-member Zoning Board, a rather high hurdle to clear.

This particular article is a bolt from a crossbow aimed directly at W.D. Cowls, Inc and its feisty President Cinda Jones.  Already under fire for selling 154 acre parcel in Northeast Amherst for a student housing development known as "The Retreat," Cowls is also anxious to develop their former saw mill that closed in 2009.

And mixed use buildings are the way to go.  But only with a decent density of housing units above the ground floor commercial space.

Amherst is in the midst of a severe housing crisis brought on by supply failing miserably to keep up with demand, mainly due to to NIMBY offensives directed at any project more ambitious than a tree house.

Since the NIMBY petition article is a zoning issue it will require a two-thirds vote to pass.  And since the make up of Town Meeting has not changed since June 3rd the likelihood of passage is, well, unlikely.  Very unlikely. 

   Nimby Zoning Petition by larry_kelley_1

Lost Weekend

Substance abuse comprises 17% of EMS calls to Amherst College so far this year

Let's hope Amherst College President Biddy Martin is a light sleeper, so the emergency flashing lights of the ambulance that came to that 175 South Pleasant street location (not the actual President's House) in the early Sunday morning hours for a young Amherst College ETOH student, awakened her.

   AFD Sept Busy Wknd by larry_kelley_1

Furthermore, let's hope she awakens to the problem of alcohol abuse that can lead to so many other serious problems, like sexual assault and suicide, something Amherst College should have been awakened to last year.

Better yet, let's hope all of our institutes of higher education start taking this problem more seriously.

 

Substance abuse comprises 23% EMS calls to UMass/Amherst

Substance abuse comprises 14% EMS calls to Hampshire College

On The Other Hand:

 

Substance abuse comprises 5% EMS calls for town of Amherst

Substance abuse comprises only 4% of EMS calls to the town of Hadley

EMS Reinforcements (Just In Time)

 

AFD Engine 1 Central Station:  Ready to Roll!

As if Amherst Fire Department -- the busiest in the state -- wasn't efficient enough already, a new state certification for Engine 1 allowing it to act similar to an ambulance will only make them more so.

And considering the way this semester has started, were going to need it!

 

EMS gear now on board Engine 1

Now in addition to five ambulances the front line fire engine will also be equipped to respond to medical emergencies in the event all our ambulances are tied up, such as the first September weekend dealing with ETOH (passed out drunk) students.

 

$30,000 Lifepack monitors heart and ventilation can also administer shock

Previously, with any serious call -- like a major car accident or structure fire -- an ambulance and Engine 1 would have responded anyway.

But now the engine has two shelves loaded with Emergency Life Support medical supplies, which would be immediately available to compliment the ambulance for multiple causalities, including the possibility of a fire fighter being injured during the call.

Now that the fire engine is certified by the state as an Emergency First Response vehicle it must stay within the confines of Amherst, so it will not transport patients to Cooley Dickinson or Baystate Hospitals.  

Over the next two months UMass will be financing the staffing of two extra ambulances, so the AFD weekend staffing will be at peak, 13.  Unfortunately minimum staffing the rest of the time remains at only seven, where it has been since the late 1970s.

And it's not like they are any less busy during the week:

Cick graph to enlarge/read. Graph by Tom Valle, Secretary Local 1764

State requires annual Emergency First Response inspection sticker ($200 cost each) per ambulance, although for Engine 1 the equipment is certified so it can be moved to another rig in an emergency

Were toward Eternity –

The original black wrought iron gate has returned 

After an almost two month absence, workers completed installation yesterday of the now completely refurbished 155-year-old wrought iron fence that encloses the burial plot of Emily Dickinson and her family in Amherst's historic West Cemetery.

The $52,300 project, using Community Preservation Act funds set aside for historic preservation, was overwhelmingly approved by Amherst Town Meeting -- like any project relating to Emily Dickinson.

Because my friends, as icons go, the "Belle of Amherst" is priceless.

Don't worry, it's a rubber mallet

 

The final glossy coat has a shine that would wake the dead

Took the "Dickinson kinsfolk" long enough ...

Trinkets adorn the top of Miss Emily's gravestone

 

Flowers and a new fence for Miss Emily (and Lavinia)

$omething To Moo About

The cash cow had its public unveiling yesterday at the Kendrick Park “A Night of Wonder: Carnival and Film Festival” and will soon be berthed in front of the Loose Goose Cafe just across the street.

All donations fed to the cow go toward helping finance "Craig's Doors" homeless shelter, located just on the outskirts of town center. 

Cow creators wisely decided to take up overnight sentry duty last night

The Cow Guard Night 1! pic.twitter.com/aXyxxynxxa
— TheCowIsComing (@TheCowIsComing) September 8, 2013

Mayhem on Meadow Street

 

Small number of police disperse large number of students 2:30 PM Townhouse quad

The crowd started to gather in the quad area of Townhouse Apartments -- scene of the infamous Blarney Blowout last March -- just after high noon and a constant stream of college aged youth carrying boxes of beer quickly brought the mob to full strength of perhaps 1,000.

North Amherst center 2:00 PM heading towards Townhouse Apartments

 

At times Meadow Street was a gridlock of cars and partiers

A small number of Amherst Police first moved in around 2:30 PM and pushed the unruly mob out of the quad area.

Many of the partygoers simply moved across the street to a party house on Meadow Street that had also been going strong since probably well before noon.

 Partiers start streaming from backyard towards Meadow Street.  UMPD officer on left

Crowd is pushed back toward Townhouse Apartments

Around 4:30 PM,  after reinforcements arrived, police again moved in to disperse the large crowd numbering in the hundreds packed into the backyard.

 Party hardy types left a bit of a mess in the backyard

The responsible tenants of 53 Meadow Street were given $300 tickets and at least one young lady was arrested for an alcohol related offense.

 Unhappy tenants holding their $300 tickets

Young lady arrested

And by 5:00 PM it was over.  The night, however, is still young ...

 

Yes, APD may see these two again, before the night is done

Well now... if you didn't know the students were back, you sure did today... esp. in N. Amherst! #zoomass #partyheartytheremarty
— Jorma Kansanen (@JKansanen) September 7, 2013

A 19-year-old UMass student was found dead in their Washington Tower dorm room early Saturday afternoon: http://t.co/mkF0j7zUZx
— Daily Collegian (@CollegianStaff) September 8, 2013

Frisky Friday (In a College Town)

APD makes alcohol related arrest after MV stop corner of Lincoln/Fearing last night 11:05 PM

Once again a major police presence and preemptive police footwork seemed to keep a lid on loud out of control parties last night as Amherst Police started the evening with courtesy calls ("community policing") to  some of the usual suspects on Alan Street, Phillips Street, and Nutting Avenue. 

Comfortable weather brings out the crowds, and it seems freshmen move in herds, but it also allows the APD bike patrol to operate at full efficiency.  They made a good number of "liquor law violation" arrests in and around the immediate neighboring streets to UMass starting at around 10:00 PM.

 APD bike patrol cruising down Fearing Street 11:45 PM

AFD was also kept busy with alcohol related runs.

A fight at the corner of Lincoln Avenue and Fearing Street around 11:00 PM resulted in a head injury for a college aged male.   And almost two hours later AFD responded to the UMass campus for an ETOH male who had fallen and hit his head.  Liquor, naturally, was involved. 

Last weekend the boisterous activity peaked on Sunday night into early Monday morning due to the Labor Day long weekend.  Tonight's weather is going to be a tad warmer than yesterday.

Neighbors are now holding their breath.

A Safer Place To Be

Gilreath Manor, Hobart Lane, Amherst

When the occupancy rate at Gilreath Manor went from zero to 100% last week, for the first time in perhaps a generation, the 14-unit apartment complex was completely up to code.  

Even the owners' expensive attorney admits to the Amherst Board of Health " ... the work was performed in the manner approved by the board and in a professional manner, leaving the units in a safer and better condition than before."

Amen.

Because on September 19th of last year, the main building pictured above could easily have become a death trap.  Too many occupants and not enough smoke detectors is bad enough, but throw in illegal basement bedrooms and a slow burning fuse to a potential powder keg has been ignited.

For a landlord in a college town like Amherst to lie to investigators and try to delay their inspections, and then try to place blame on tenants by pretending they did not know about extra roommates living in illegal basement bedrooms (when in fact they encouraged it) would be considered standard operating procedure for slumlords. 

But when it's a prominent second-generation family business empire and the individual at the helm is also the Amherst Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors President, let's just say the complicated case became a high profile affair.

And the Grandonicos lost.  No more flagrantly violating the (no more than) four unrelated housemates bylaw, having two bedrooms in the basements of Gilreath Manor (one per unit is now legal) or being less than attentive to safety codes with smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

Thus sending a loud and clear message that the town is truly serious about cracking down on sub par rental housing -- no matter who the owners are.

The outcome of this particular case was a major reason the controversial "Rental Permit Bylaw" passed Town Meeting so overwhelmingly last May.

Although there was a brief dust up in late June when the Board of Health thought the Grandonicos were being disrespectful, which is of course not a good idea when you require an official variance.

But as you can see from the public documents back story, all's well that ends well.

Thirsty Thursday

219 East Pleasant Street

So let's hope this is not a prelude of what's to come for what most of us consider the real weekend because last night APD and AFD were kept busy enough responding to rowdy activity, starting with 219 East Pleasant Street around 10:30 p.m.  for a reported bonfire in the backyard.

About an hour later APD responded to reports of a loud party a few houses down at 227 East Pleasant Street and issued a $300 noise ticket.  Both branches of our first responders also responded to "Club Lit" in town center around midnight after a bouncer "knocked out" a patron.

Back when I was working as a bouncer at "The Pub" we were trained to try to avoid such scenarios as it tends to cut down on repeat business from that particular customer. 

Another Tradition Gone?

Amherst DPW last fall

Like frost on the pumpkins or that eye popping kaleidoscopic color change in our tree canopy, another sure sign of winter's approach is the pile of sand that takes up a parking space at the Amherst DPW every fall and winter.

But like telephone booths, the sight may soon be a thing of the past.

DPW this morning

Yesterday the Water Supply Protection Committee voted to support the elimination of sand from the DPW arsenal used to combat Mother Nature.  Last winter the town used between 4,000 and 5,000 TONS of sand mixed in with between 1,000 and 1,500 tons of salt.

The town will continue to use salt, but will do so mixed in a liquid goo of magnesium chloride which can be applied to the roads even before the first snowflakes fall.  Massachusetts Department Of Transportation switched over to this formula years ago.

As an immediate neighbor to the DPW I'm going to miss all the "sand crabs" -- those cars and trucks that flock to the pile in the hours leading up to a winter storm. 

Defending The Indefensible

 One commemorative flag in downtown today (DPW forgot to take it down after Labor Day)

In her well timed guest column in the weekly Amherst Bulletin (the last one before 9/11), Amherst's top elected town official takes me to task for essentially being stubborn in the matter of not flying the 29 commemorative flags in the downtown every 9/11 as opposed to only once every five years.

When I was growing up in  Amherst, well before Ms. O'Keeffe was born, my Irish mother attributed that streak of stubbornness to my Irish heritage.

But I also learned early on from Martin Luther King, Jr. that it's okay for an individual (of any race, creed, color or national heritage) to break a law that their conscience tells them is "unjust."

And for Amherst to disallow flying the commemorative flags four-out-of-five 9/11s is simply wrong.  (Especially since we fly them every Memorial Day -- as we should!)

When I first started this campaign twelve years ago,  some critics considered the gesture a pro-Afghanistan war statement, and then a year or two later as a pro-Iraq war statement; and perhaps now some zealots would consider it a pro-Syria war statement.

It's not about politics, period.  It's about 3,000 Americans who got up on a gorgeous Tuesday morning to go about their daily routine, and over a two-hour period were ruthlessly murdered.

Select Board Chair Stephanie O'Keeffe also fails to mention that twice now in public meetings I have offered to abide by the will of the voters.

Yes, Town Meeting turned down my advisory request by a two-thirds vote and the Select Board by a 60/40 vote.  Interestingly Ms. O'Keeffe voted in the majority.

However back in May, 2007 after she voted YES as a Town Meeting member to flying the flags annually on 9/11 she wrote on her blog:

"I don’t need to have commemorative flags at half-staff downtown to mark my 9/11 remembrance, but it doesn’t hurt.

If you strip away all the overwrought Amherst stuff that becomes part and parcel of this article, it is really saying, “Should we fly flags downtown every year on 9/11?”

And to that, I say – “Sure! Why not?” To me, answers to “why not” were not compelling, but of course, I was in the minority." 

#####

"The People" have not been allowed to weigh in on this important matter, and the Select Board --who has twice now refused to place the item on the annual town election ballot -- seems to want to keep it that way.

What are they afraid of?

#AmherstMA Select Board @StephanieOK http://t.co/coHB16m8A5 vs citizen-journalist @amherstac http://t.co/JpsEZvyTdX on 9-11 flag display
— CitizenWald (@CitizenWald) September 6, 2013

Citizen Wald is Select Board member Jim Wald

Water, Water, Everywhere

UMass Water Tower, Orchard Hill, E. Pleasant Street, Amherst

The $1 million renovation of the UMass 1.5 million gallon (less than a dollar a gallon!) water tower is complete.  The tower is now back on line helping to provide adaquate water pressure throughout Amherst's water/sewer system.

And yes, in the event of a fire, you can bet the fire hydrant in front would provide a heck of a flow. 

DUI Dishonor Roll

 

What is 3.2 deaths per 100,000?  National average for alcohol related fatal accidents

So amazingly, with as much alcohol that flowed freely over the weekend, Amherst police only made one arrest for Driving Under the Influence.

Of course maybe they were so busy doing crowd control for the THOUSANDS of migrating students in and around UMass that they did not have the time to concentrate on those potential roadway scud missiles.

Early Sunday morning (1:18 AM) police arrested UMass student Michael J. Defazio, age 21, near the VFW on Main Street, only a stone's throw from Amherst town center (and the police station).

Hopefully they still teach "learning from your mistakes" in Sport Management.

Almost exactly 12 hours later on Twitter (tweet now deleted):

In need of a road bike
— Mike DeFazio (@mikeydefaz9) September 1, 2013

Drunken Revelry, Record Fruit Salad

 Breaking News:  UMass Food Fetish

So if you ever wondered why UMass schedules these goofy waste-of-food Guinness World Record events over the Labor Day weekend, I offer you today's edition of the Daily Hampshire Gazette.  Yikes!

While maybe not quite as bad as the "Blarney Blowout" screw up, it's still a sad state of journo affairs when the town of Amherst (Leverett, Pelham, Shutesbury and Hadley) can be essentially unprotected for emergency medical calls because all five ambulances are tied up, mostly with drunk students, and the only thing the newspaper publishes is a public relations puff piece. 

But yeah, that fruit salad must have been pretty epic.

   College Town Labor Day by larry_kelley_1

A Final (And Future) Request

"The People" wish to weigh in ...

Memo:  Amherst Select Board

Re:  Citizen Petition to fly the commemorative flags every 9/11

The Town Clerk informs me all the signatures required for requesting that you place the 9/11 commemorative flags advisory question before the voters on March 25, 2014 were certified.

I would ask that you take up official discussion of this at your next scheduled meeting Monday, September 16, while the awful anniversary is still fresh in our minds. 

As you know this petition now has to be acted on by you at least 90 days prior to March 25.  

I would also point out that you have until close of business tomorrow to call a Select Board meeting for Monday, September 9 ... in time for allowing the flags to fly this coming 9/11.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter.

Larry Kelley

Labor Day in a College Town

 

Town center 1:20 AM this morning

Last night into early this morning seemed to be the busiest time this Labor Day weekend for Amherst public safety personnel.  With all hands on deck APD managed to keep things under control, with no major disruptions -- aka Blarney Blowout -- to report.

 133 Fearing Street, Sunday morning

Around 10:00 PM the alcohol related arrests began -- open container, underage drinking (usually in combination) -- in and around the immediate neighboring streets to our UMass flagship:  Fearing, Phillips, Alan streets, Nutting and Lincoln Avenues, Hobart Lane, Meadow Street and with assist from UMass Police Department,  all along North Pleasant Street.

These early interventions send the message that law and order will be maintained.




Amherst Fire Department, on the other hand, was pushed to the breaking point.  Around midnight, just after dispatch issued a call for two off duty personnel to come in for station coverage.

Northampton Fire Department had to respond for a call to a high rise Southwest dorm for a female with a head injury.

At the time all five of our ambulances were tied up -- the majority of them dealing with passed out drunk students.  Late Sunday into early Monday morning AFD responded to UMass for a total of 11 emergency medical calls -- seven of them for ETOH students.



Over the course of the evening I passed by the scene of a young person down (usually female) with concerned friends trying to help them up at least a half-dozen times.  Particularly concerning because a young woman died last year after falling and hitting her head while staggering down Fearing Street with friends. 

The previous night APD and AFD responded to 45 Phillips Street for a young woman passed out in the yard.  She was only seventeen. 


127 E. Pleasant St. around midnight "First and last party of the semester."