Natural High

Extravaganja 5:45 PM 

UPDATE Sunday afternoon:


According to APD Chief Scott Livingstone there were only three arrests directly related to Extravaganja on the Amherst town common, and then another NINE later in the day/overnight due to the usual college town rowdiness, where alcohol played the dominant role.

#####

 And So It Ends, peacefully.  

Organizer Terry Franklin took to the microphone at 5:45 p.m. and announced the close of the 23rd annual Extravaganja, requesting each participant take out whatever trash they may have brought in or created while on the town common.

 

APD kept a perimeter around the town common

Arrests, there were a few.  Very few.  But more medical transports than arrests, with some of them particularly disconcerting because they involved under aged females.

 AFD ambulance en route for a 14-year-old girl who passed out on the town common

But all in all, a successful event.  

Of course with nightfall the emphasis switches from pot to alcohol, so all bets are off for a peaceful ending to this gorgeous weekend.

#####

Mid Afternoon Update

3:00 p.m. Town Common has hit full capacity

 APD arrests two, female driver for OUI drugs, 2:45 p.m. Rt 9 heading to town center

AFD ambulance A2 transporting two patients from downtown Amherst, one of them a 14 year old girl.
— Larry Kelley (@amherstac) April 12, 2014

 NOON update: 

Extravaganja high noon 

 AFD Central Station 11:55 a.m.

Extravaganja food carts will be doing a brisk business

 Original post: early this morning

 

Amherst Town Common 8:30 a.m.

Well it looks as though the weather is going to be nothing if not perfect for an outdoor event.  Thank goodness we're talking Extravaganja rather than Blarney Blowout!

But throw in Spring Concert at UMass and rumors of a Hobart Hoedown today or tomorrow and you have a recipe for disaster.  Maybe Ed Davis should have scheduled his visit to UMass/Amherst for a couple days earlier ...

  Noon yesterday 

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Standing In The Way Of Progress

Sugar Maple @ 57 East Pleasant Street

So this big old sugar maple is no doubt kindling in the making even though the Amherst Shade Tree Committee voted to save it.

It stands in the way of both a town approved 5-story mixed use development by local developers Archipelago Investments, and in the kill zone for a proposed roundabout at the Triangle Street/ East Pleasant Street intersection.

Since the tree is not yet looking splendid in full bloom, probably not much of a public backlash will ensue.  And the developers have proposed planting 11 trees along Triangle and East Pleasant streets.

More controversial however will be the other rumored mega-development a hundred yards or so south of the intersection, where the same developers are warming up the bulldozers to demolish the Carriage Shops.

 Rear of the Carriage Shops facing historic West Cemetery

Because the rear of the doomed building faces and abuts historic West Cemetery (Emily Dickinson's final resting place), artist David Fichter painted a colorful lengthy mural, displaying iconic images from Amherst's past.

The $35,000 project was paid for with private money and completed in 2005.

But the local businesses who funded the endeavor probably thought they were going to get more than 10 years out of the project.

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Shelter In A BIG Place

Springfield tornado 6/1/11

If a tornado ever does drop in on downtown Amherst as one did with Springfield almost three years ago, it's nice to know the Mullins Center is close by -- within walking distance for many of us.  

And after today's practice run involving 350 participants (and a bevy of dogs) that will be my destination point should my house fall prey to the destructive power of a funnel cloud, or any other form of catastrophe.

 UMPD Incident Command vehicle

The sheltering drill brought together all manner of emergency services -- UMPD, AFD, UMass Environmental & Safety, UMass EMS, Red Cross, all under the direction of UMass Medical Reserve Corps and UMass Office of Emergency Management.

 Check in started at 2:00 p.m.

 About 100 cots set up on the main floor

All participants were tracked by electronic bracelets keeping a data base of who checked in or out so authorities would have an accurate measure of the shelter's population.  And if loved ones called to find a missing person the data base would instantly indicate if that individual was on site.  

During the 2011 October Halloween snowstorm,  that knocked out power in Amherst for up to a week, the nearest emergency shelter was in Northampton. 

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Force Multipliers

CERT uniform and tools (sparkless wrench for shutting of leaking gas)

If a zombie apocalypse should ever descend upon Amherst, our first responders could use all the help they can get.  Or  a volcanic eruption, tsunami, or mud slide ... none of which are likely to occur.

But the 2011 October Halloween storm stretched our public safety personnel to the breaking point.  And for the 22 citizen volunteers taking the 7 week Community Emergency Response Team training course that started this evening, that storm is an all too recent reminder disaster can visit our bucolic little town.

 Citizens from all walks of life, ages 13 to retired

The Springfield tornado of 2011 could just have easily decimated Amherst.

 Springfield tornado June 1, 2011

After hearing everyone in the room introduce themselves, AFD Chief Tim Nelson responded, "Everyone here brings something to the dance.  We will all learn together ... It will be cool."  This group will be much needed additional eyes and ears for public safety, or what the Chief twice referred to as "force multipliers."

Chief Tim Nelson (left) course instructor Michael Williamson

FEMA put together the CERT program so everyday citizens can help themselves and their neighbors while waiting for the professional first responders to arrive, including light search and rescue, small fire suppression and basic medical care.




In response to a major event the group would come together at a prearranged staging area, after first making sure their own house and family are in order, to do damage assessment and inventory and assist those with injuries. 

By the end of the 7 week program all participants will be certified in CPR and how to use an AED.  But more importantly they will learn to think under pressure and put into practice basic skills that could save lives.

Because in the event of a major disaster, a little training goes a long way.

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All participants get a fully stocked "go bag," in this case a backpack

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

Extravaganja 2013 attracted around 6,000 fans to the Amherst Town Common

The largest public venue in the little college town of Amherst -- the quaint town green -- will once again play host to Extravaganja, a celebration of all things pot.  And these days, with the herb now practically legal, there's plenty for them to celebrate.

Interestingly, the loss of that cachet that comes with doing something illegal seems not to have hurt attendance any, as last year they had about the same peak attendance (the entire common being shoulder to shoulder) as at any time over the past 23 years.

UMass Cannabis Reform Coalition Treasurer Delany Ratner tells me the budget for this year's event is around $7,500 (renting stage and sound system, port-a-potties, garbage dumpster, printing t-shirts) so they get a lot of bang for their buck.

One thing they don't spend money on is advertising simply because there's no need.  Word of mouth and social media seem to to the trick.

While Amherst Police will be out in force on Saturday as they always are for an event that attracts such a large crowd, there really is little to no disruptive behavior.  Unlike the Blarney Blowout, which attracts somewhat less of a crowd but requires police dressed in riot gear to bring under control.

Rumor has it the "Hobart Hoedown" 2014 has been scheduled for Saturday as well, probably on purpose to coincide with Extravaganja, figuring the police will be preoccupied in town center so they can raise all sorts of hell in far flung North Amherst.

At the height of the Blarney Blowout last year (nowhere near as bad as this year) nitwits at Townhouse apartments made false 911 emergency calls claiming assaults with weapons were taking place in South Amherst to try to distract police away from their pernicious party.

It didn't work.

A major variable impacting attendance (at either event) is weather, and Saturday is suppose to be somewhat rainy.   So that could put a damper on things. 

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Standing Against Racism

Crowd on the North Common standing against racism

About 150 people showed up on the North Town Common this evening (the part of the common in front of Town Hall) to show support for Carolyn Gardner, a teacher of color who was targeted by racist graffiti left in Amherst Regional High School rest rooms.

 

Sonji Johnson-Anderson (Carol Gardner's sister) speaks to the crowd 

It was a good showing of a broad cross section of Amherst: young, old, white, black, Asian, Hispanic, men and woman (and a few dogs).  Although the perp who left the messages probably was not in the crowd.

Ms Gardner did return to teaching today for the first time in two weeks, so hopefully the schools have figured out how to prevent a recurrence of the disturbing cowardly behavior.

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I'll Be (Another) Roundabout

Intersection Triangle Street/East Pleasant Street and a main Gateway to UMass

Amherst Town Meeting under article #32 will vote on acquiring easements around Triangle and East Pleasant Streets for yet another roundabout, after the success of the double roundabouts at Atkins Corner and the original one at UMass, North Pleasant street/Eastman Lane.

All sorts of major developments are proposed for the neglected north end of town center, including the Archipelago Investments already approved five story,  mixed use --36 units of residential and ground floor retail --  Kendrick Place, which butts up against the proposed roundabout.

Archipelago Investments has also made a $4.6 million offer to buy the Carriage Shops a few hundred yards from the intersection and they will nuke the aging complex to make way for a humongous new mixed-use development.

All of which dramatically stimulates traffic -- both foot and vehicle -- to and through that end of town.

Of course you can't make them drunk driver proof

Do I hear $6 million?

ARHS for sale, but apparently not for rent

Well that's one way to solve all the problems Amherst Regional High School has been having of late with lockdowns and racial incidents.

The kids are kind of undervaluing their home however, as taxpayers put $22 million into renovating/expanding the facility back in 1996.

Senior prank from Friday: bologna used to spell out graduation year (non vegetarian students):

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Double Vision

 West Street/Country Corners Road X 2

So yes, this is what you get when two expensive state road projects butt up against each other:  the current $3.1 million road straightening project for The Notch and the $6 million dollar Atkins Corner roundabout project from last year where West Street and Country Corners Road seemed to be a point of overlap.

Well at least residents of Country Corners Road will have no problem finding their street.
  

Thirsty Thursday Party House

 473 Pine Street, North Amherst

Apparently the B52 carpet bombed topography of Pine Street did not stop 400 or more "college aged youth" from descending on 473 Pine Street, located in the "historic village of Cushman," for a party that got out of hand.

So much so that two of the bad boy tenants, Brian T Viscariello and Harris B Stone, both age 20 and both UMass students, were arrested.

Meanwhile, in a nearby college town:   Storrs, CT Riot

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Suddenly On A Sunday

AFD at Blarney Blowout trying to get to a patient on Fearing Street

Not that I needed a graphic reminder or anything, but the compassionate professional and timely manner in which the Emergency Medical Services responded to my 12-year-old daughter yesterday underscores why I'm such a BIG fan of public safety.

When my wife called to say Kira had been thrown from a horse at a farm just over the town line in Hadley I instantly said, "Call 911!".  She already had.

Hadley FD (Rescue 1) arrived quickly and when I was en route at speeds a tad greater than the speed limit I heard them over the scanner hand her over to AFD for transport to Cooley Dickinson Hospital.

That alone was calming, knowing she was in good hands and that they were heading to CDH rather than Baystate Medical Trauma unit in Springfield.

I got there in time to be with her for a few moments in the back of the ambulance and my wife went along for the ride to CDH.  Amazingly it was her first trip in an ambulance, as it was for my daughter. They both thought the speed, sirens, flashing lights and occasional honking of the horn was "pretty cool."

Fortunately she was wearing a well fitted helmet and hit the somewhat soft earth rather than the wooden fence.  And hospital x-rays showed no damage.  A happy ending indeed.

This attention getting incident served to remind me of how vital our first responders are, and how easy that is to take for granted.  I just wish AFD had the staffing level to provide this kind of quality service 24/7, seven days a week.

Because had my daughter been in need of an AFD ambulance at other times of the day or night, she may have had to wait for a mutual aid ambulance to arrive from a surrounding town.

As both a parent and a taxpayer, I find that unacceptable.

Meanwhile, over the weekend, half the EMS calls to UMass were for drunk students.

   AFD Runs April 4-7

My daughter fell off a horse.  Thanks Hadley FD and AFD for being there (quickly) for her.
— Larry Kelley (@amherstac) April 6, 2014

A safe way for Kira to ride

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Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

One of the really nice noisy events hosted in the college town of Amherst -- one that underscores how responsible a bar can be -- happens today, Sunday, at Rafters Sports Bar on University Drive, where over 250 participants shed their hair for a great cause.

The St. Baldrick's foundation event raises money for research grants targeting childhood cancers.  This local annual endeavor has a target goal of $75,000 and already has raised $55,000.

Local first responders have adopted this important event, so if you want to see off duty police and fire personnel go the way of Telly Savalas, stop in this Sunday (after church of course).

And bring your checkbook!

 

"Who loves ya baby?"  And who doesn't love kids!

Expensive Renovation Plans

Wildwood Elementary School, Amherst

Considering the school disarray just over the past two months -- black on white racial bullying, endless "lockdowns," and racist graffiti left in rest rooms -- it's probably not the best of times for Amherst Town Meeting to discuss a BIG ticket item like elementary school renovation/expansion.

Occasionally Town Meeting can put aside emotion, but it still may be a tough sell considering the declining school age population in Amherst, where high property tax rates and recent problems in the schools could be causing a bit of an exodus of families with school aged children.

 APD @ ARHS school lockdown April 2nd

Article #17, although it doesn't give a dollar amount, would authorize the expenditure of $1 million for a Wildwood "school feasibility study"-- 60% of which would be covered by a state grant courtesy of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (who gets their funding via 1% of the state sales tax).

The comprehensive study will analyze the costs for a major renovation of the aging, circa 1970,  school -- but could also conclude demolition is in order.  The study would also look at whether Amherst will even need three elementary schools in the future.

The $400,000 town portion of the project is already funded so to speak.  Last year Town Meeting approved that amount via borrowing to replace the original boilers at Wildwood, which have had a hard time producing hot water.  The boilers have not yet been replaced but if the school is to be renovated at mostly state expense it makes sense to roll that replacement into the major renovation. 

Article #18 would redirect that previous $400,000 appropriation to funding the feasibility study.

 East Street School.  Just front ramp to entryway will cost $100K

Town Meeting will also vote under article #16 to spend $700,000 to rehab the East Street School which has been abandoned for a few years.  Facilities Director Ron Bohonowitcz told the Joint Capital Planning Committee that just to make it handicapped accessible will cost $100,000.

The plan is to move Leisure Services and Supplemental Education (Rec Dept) out of the Bangs Community Center into the newly renovated brick building, although LSSE does not seem overly enthused about the idea.


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Brushfire

AFD Engine 2 on scene Leverett

AFD assisted Leverett FD with a brush fire two miles over the Amherst town line just off Rt 63 this morning.  Today was a class three fire day, meaning it's fairly easy for brush fires to occur.

 Leverett FD on scene

In fact while Engine 2 was assisting Leverett FD,  Engine 1 was called to Shays Street for a small brush fire they quickly extinguished.

 

AFD and Leverett FD snuffing out hot spots

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A Magic Bullet?

Naloxone aka Narcan

Hollywood movies and television aside, the chances of full recovery for a patient who suddenly drops due to heart failure and receives CPR from a bystander are pretty low.

But the chances of an individual who stops breathing due to heroin reaction fully recovering after a bystander administers Narcan is astonishingly high.

CPR is a skill that must be learned and practiced so therefore is more prone to misapplication due to situational stage fright, or just being rusty from a lack of practice. Narcan is easy to administer, just a simply squirt up the nostrils, and takes effect immediately.

Because of the "opiate epidemic" in our state Governor Patrick recently declared a "state of emergency" directing the Department of Public Health to make Narcan more widely available to all first responders and friends and family members of drug abusers.

In Amherst, since AFD professional firefighters are all either Paramedics or intermediate EMTs, Narcan has been available for a very long time.

Although Assistant Chief Don McKay points out the price has almost doubled in the past year, and drug companies are having a hard time keeping up with demand.

A 4 milligram bottle (providing two doses) now costs $171.  And of course that was before the Governor's order, which will dramatically increase demand.

The main impact of loosening the restrictions to get Narcan in the hands of first responders could be felt at 111 Main Street, the Amherst Police Department.  Since police are constantly on patrol they are almost always the first to arrive to emergency situations.  So equipping them with this vital life saver is only common sense.

Unfortunately Governor Patrick has been vague about providing money for training and stocking a supply of the expensive drug.

According to Amherst police Captain Jennifer Gundersen:

"We are currently discussing this internally and how we would pay for both the training and NARCAN, both being expensive.Given that both our FY14 and FY15 budgets are already set, without either state or an additional appropriation of local funding, we would not be able to do this in the near future given fiscal constraints."

In New York every state and local law enforcement officer will have access to Narcan via a new $5 million program funded by assets seized from drug dealers. Talk about justice!

And while Amherst is somewhat insulated from life's realities, the nightmare of drug abuse death does happen.

Twenty years ago 17-year-old Ozzy Klate, a promising ARHS senior, succumbed to a heroin overdose.

FDA approves new injector system

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Lockdown!

Amherst Regional High School 3:00 p.m.

Amherst Regional High School went into lockdown just after 2:30 p.m. this afternoon as students were preparing to leave at the end of the school day.

A heavy police presence at the moment but no fire department ambulances, so that's a good sign.

#####

Apparently visiting coaches coming to the school to recruit candidates signed in, put on ID badges and went about their business, left,  but then reentered the school without resigning in ... and could not be instantly found.

Hence the panic button.

UPDATE 3:30 p.m.

#####

So lost in all the confusion of today's yet another lockdown was the news that Michele Tesauro, yet another school principal, is resigning -- this time from Crocker Farm Elementary School after less than a year on the job.

Two months ago (on a Friday naturally) the schools announced Betsy Dinger was resigning as Middle School Principal and Monical Hall from Fort River Elementary School, although she is staying in the ARPS system in the black hole known as Central Office.

Principals' offices in the ARPS system should come with a revolving door:

In December of 2012 Michael Hayes suddenly resigned as principal of the Middle School, Ray Sharick resigned from Fort River in 2011, Matthew Behnke quit as Wildwood principal in 2010 and Glenda Cresto quit the Middle School in 2009.

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Summer Survival Skills

Demonstrating they work well together both on the streets and in the woods, Amherst and UMass Police Departments are teaming up once again to jointly sponsor a Police Youth Adventure Academy this summer.

The versatile program provides 20 children the golden opportunity to learn police procedures in the morning and then spend afternoons negotiating a ropes course.

And best of all, the entire one week program is free!  So hurry up parents, enrollments are limited.

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Inevitable end?

A life turned upside down by heroin and crime came to a sudden end for 31-year-old Christopher Desjardin, a Vermont native who made his presence known here in Amherst by stealing laptops from unsuspecting UMass students last year.

When the obit reads "passed away suddenly," that's usually code for either a drug overdose or suicide.  Or, maybe, both.  Because using a drug like heroin is a fairly easy way to kill yourself. 

The Vermonter who gave me the heads up, a father who set up a successful sting to get back his son's stolen laptop resulting in the arrest of Desjardin, feels badly for his family but not so much for Mr. Desjardin.

When crime has touched you or a family member, it's hard to be forgiving.  Especially when the perp is a repeat offender.

Massachusetts just declared a "public health emergency" to address the rising tide of opiate abuse.  One of the recommendations is to spend more money to increase treatment and recovery services -- especially in state prisons and county jails.

When Eastern Hampshire District Court Judge Poelher handed down a sentence (11/15/13) for Christopher Desjardin on 13 counts of stolen property, the six months jail time was to include "mandatory drug treatment."  That was only 4.5 months ago.

But even if Christopher Desjardin stayed in the system until May 15, the call of the needle would someday, perhaps, prove too strong.



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DUI Dishonor Roll

Hunter Caggiano reads police report while in Eastern Hampshire District Court yesterday.  His case was continued to 4/24

Click to enlarge/read

Since 1994, roughly 1/3 of all motor vehicle fatalities have involved alcohol-impaired driving. #NoAprilFools
— NTSB (@NTSB) April 1, 2014

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