They Had A Secret

Amherst Pelham Regional School Committee meeting last night

So I guess the way this works is the Regional School Committee and Union #26 directly oversees Superintendent Maria Geryk so that's why her salary/raise is an exact amount, and then they gave her a range for the new Assistant Superintendent, Mike Morris and the new Director of Finance Sean Mangano who she directly oversees.

Hey at least she didn't use the absolute top end with both those salaries. Although as I pointed out last month Mr. Morris @ $115, 000 gets a 15% raise and Mr. Mangano @ $95,000 a whopping 90% raise.  

Notice too there was no discussion whatsoever about job performance.  Like none.  Zero.

And since Tara Luce is an employee of the Public Schools that Maria Geryk oversees, she probably should have abstained. 

Interesting that rookie School Committee Chair Trevor Baptiste, who comes on like an opinionated bull in a dainty china closet, did abstain (for no apparent reason).

Click to enlarge/read

"Vetting Communities"

 Calvin Terrell dealing with unhappy customers

If you operate a service business and someone complains about your product you can either blame the customer and ignore the complaint, or think about what you may be doing wrong to ensure it doesn't happen again.

Smart businesses -- the ones that stay in business -- choose the latter.

Obviously Calvin Terrell, who sells racial harmony with a side order of anti-bullying, doesn't subscribe to that theory.  Perhaps why he worked at a Red Lobster rather than owning one.

Although he is smart enough not to bite the hand that feeds him, in this case Amherst College ($38,000 -- a lot of bread!).

But his way of dealing with the snowballing controversy over his graphic presentation to young children is to blame the Schools.  Which of course is -- like the anecdotes he uses in his presentations (Columbine, Lord Jeff's infected blankets) -- partially correct. 

Yes the Schools should have sent out the parental notifications warning parents about the graphic nature of Terrell's pitch.  But I'm also certain that if the Schools knew exactly how graphic that pitch was going to be they would never have allowed it in the first place.

To suggest that Amherst of all places is an atypical outlier and somehow overly sensitive about mature material is absurd.

If Terrell bothered to do his homework he would know that ARHS was the only high school in America to perform the decidedly R rated 'Vagina Monologues' in 2004, and five years before that created an international uproar by cancelling 'West Side Story' because of alleged "racism."

Both controversies brought on by overly empowered 17-year-old's.

The Schools have now gone into their usual mode of dealing with controversy.   Stick your head in the sand and wait till things blow over.

Worked well with the "Nut Ban" controversy.  Last night the Regional School Committee voted to set a policy that allows administration do pretty much what they want with nuts (insert joke here).

And a year from now that same diffident Regional School Committee will vote a policy allowing the administration to bring in any speaker they damn well please.

Well at least David Koresh is no longer available.

Public Comment?

Trevor Baptiste, the only minority member of Regional Agreement Working Group at 6/12 meeting

UPDATE 3:00 PM  School Superintendent Maria Geryk has kindly negotiated a live session between Mr. Terrell and concerned parents.  Next year.   And only now is he "developing an outline of his presentations"?!

#####

Tonight's 6:00 PM Amherst Pelham Regional School Committee meeting -- so soon after the Calvin Terrell disaster at the Regional Middle School -- should be nothing if not interesting.

In his first act as the new RSC Chair Trevor Baptiste proposed changing the restrictive "Public Comment" period to allow for more extemporaneous input after the disastrous June 24 meeting cost Lawrence O'Brien the chairmanship. 

The public comment period had become a hot bed of activity around racial issues -- and deservedly so.  The predominantly white committee (7 of 9) was having trouble concentrating on their routine agenda items.

At a June 18th meeting of the Equity Task Force, Chair Amilcar Shabazz purportedly talked about an unreported -- more like covered up -- violent racial incident where three black youths "aggressively and seriously assaulted" a white youth because he was the "greatest student racist they could find."

Unnamed members of the Equity Task Force seemed to think Shabazz violated the (FERPA) rights of all the youth involved, since insiders were well aware of the incident and the names of all concerned.  But us lowly outsiders -- who represent the vast majority -- had no idea the incident had even taken place.

Individual Chairs of the school committees that make up the Region, circumventing the Open Meeting Law, signed a sharply critical memo chastising Shabazz and apologized to the parents of the white child involved.

Lawrence O'Brien Chair (for a day) 6/24 RSC meeting

In response, RSC Vice-Chair Trevor Baptiste called a renegade Regional School Committee meeting without approval of then Chair Lawrence O'Brien to countermand the 7/15 memo pillorying Shabazz.  That single motion passed by unanimous vote of the five members (out of nine) who dared to show up. 

And at the next meeting of the full Committee (8/14) Baptiste was elected chair, trouncing O'Brien (5 votes to 3).

So how is Mr. Baptiste -- one of only two black members of the RSC -- going to handle this sad, sadistic episode where a well-paid black motivational speaker terrorized all too many 7th and 8th graders with violent images of loved ones being gunned down before their innocent eyes?

#####

No controversy is complete without an internet poll (not mine)

Poll Of The People

Calvin Terrell demonstrating the power-of-the-universe-in-a-phone routine to upset parents  at packed 10/3 Middle School Principal's Coffee Hour

Mass email to parents 10/3 (click to enlarge/read)

Amazing Maze (Mike's Of Course)

Maze is designed to be visible in proper orientation from nearby Mt. Sugarloaf

Today is a beautiful day to take in the scenic New England beauty provided by Mother Nature.  Or in the case of Mike's Maze in Sunderland, an all natural work of agrarian art crafted with a little help from a local farmer. 

"The School Messed Up"

Assistant Superintendent Mike Morris (far left) Calvin Terrell (multi-colored cap), none too happy parents (right) 10/3 meeting which Terrell thought was an "emergency meeting"

A friend and l-o-n-g time reader likens my school posts to, "distant underwater tremors that turn into 30 foot waves breaking on the beach."

Amherst Public Schools "Media Climate & Communications Specialist" Carol Ross

My boots on the ground coverage of last week's (10/3) "Coffee hour with the Principal" took a few days to catch fire, but as of now the Comments are fast approaching the limit allowed by Blogger, a barrier previously broken only once (school related of course) out of over 3,368 posts published.

 Today's Gazette editorial:  (go to Google News and search using the headline)

While it took the Gazette almost a week to catch up to the shocking story of race/anti-bullying "motivational" guru Calvin Terrell terrorizing our children, they now seem to be making up for lost time. 

Today for instance, in the highest circulating edition of the week, the venerable Daily Hampshire Gazette presents a very thorough editorial decrying the sorry affair.

Although in their typically diffident manner they fall short of demanding the schools exterminate their relationship with Terrell.

A glaring oversight. 

 Last year Terrell was paid $2,700 for one day gig

Springfield Sunday Republican Reports 

Opposes But With An Open Mind

Mainstream media this fine morning

Okay, which is it? Is UMass President Robert Caret going to keep an "open mind" even though he doesn't "like the feel" of the UMass Police Department informant program, or does he just flat out oppose the program as indicated by today's Gazette above-the-fold headline?

Of course keep in mind this is the same bureaucrat who just days after the Little Bighorn, err, Blarney Blowout, told the same media in regards to the response of overwhelmed police: "There looked to be some unprovoked overreaction." (emphasis mine)

Caret also went on to show how well he does his research (this from a higher-education leader) by questioning why town officials allowed bars to open early on the infamous day of the Blarney Blowout, which is just flat out not true.

UMass Chancellor Subbaswamy has named a "working group" of 11 -- as opposed to a "committee" which would be subject to Open Meeting Law -- to come back by the end of the semester with a recommendation concerning the use of informants by UMPD. 

Considering only one of the 11 is in law enforcement (and his paycheck is dependent on keeping President Caret happy), safe bet the program will be scuttled.

Public Relations taking priority over Public Safety.

In the particular case of Eric Sinacori the one question that really needs answering is did he go from an "informant", where his ID is protected, to a "witness", where his ID is not protected, and then go back to being an "informant".

Because under those conditions, even in the bucolic backwater of Amherst, his safety would have been compromised.

Don't Do The Crime ...

 

Looking southwest Amherst town center

As if being a small business in Amherst isn't already hard enough.  Apparently somebody is targeting them for the quick and dirty way to raise money:  by Breaking & Entering in the dead of night.

Captain Gundersen (note correct spelling) confirmed there have been four business break ins over the past two months, but three of those were just in the past 30 days.  And of course she would not divulge the names of the businesses, but did confirm two were dead in the center of town, one center/east and the other center/west.

Middle School Lockdown

APD & AFD on scene ARMS 10:45 AM

Okay parents set your stopwatches to see how long it takes school officials to let us know the Amherst Regional Middle School went into lockdown this morning for just about an hour.

Amherst police first responded to the school and then called for Amherst Fire Department to do a "psychological evaluation" on a young male student.

After about a half-hour on scene he was transported to Cooley Dickinson Hospital. Yes, having both police and fire personnel come through your front door to deal with a troubled student is certainly worth going into lockdown.

But it would be nice if all parents were notified, so rumors don't get started.

 AFD Engine 2 and NFD A1 on scene UMass Totman Gym 11:25 AM

Not long after that Northampton Fire Department had to send an ambulance our way -- the 2nd one of the morning to come to us via mutual aid -- because AFD was so swamped.

 AFD Engine 4 on scene Fort River School 1:40 PM

And then around 1:30 PM, AFD Engine 4 and Chief Nelson responded to a (false) fire alarm at Fort River School.

Three different school responses all within hours of each other.  No wonder we're known as an "educated community."

Too bad we don't show it by adequately staffing our beleaguered first responders.  

UPDATE:  4:30 PM email sent to parents

If It Sounds Good ...

Calvin Terrell (left), Middle School Principal Mendonsa  (rt) explaining themselves to large crowd of peeved  parents

In addition to screwing up the story of good old Lord Jeffery Amherst and his famously infected blankets, Mr. Terrell also had a fanciful spin on why police did not expeditiously move in at the 1999 Columbine massacre.

Naturally it was a race thing.

Although he is correct that the horrific high school mass murder was a watershed event, forever changing the way police react to such situations.



Just as 9/11 was a sea change for airline personnel who were originally trained to be compliant and go along with hijackers -- give them whatever they want.

After all, whoever heard of using commercial passenger airliners as guided missiles.

Click to enlarge/read

A Satisfied Customer

 Youth Adventure Academy at play July 25

Rather than the Amherst Regional Public Schools spending $38,000 to scare the Hell out of our kids, I wish they would put it to more wholesome team building activities like this Amherst & UMass Police Youth Adventure Academy, which my daughter obviously enjoyed.  Thoroughly.

The recent mandatory Middle School assembly with Calvin Terrell, not so much.

The Final Straw?

CPA Committee voted 7-0 (with 2 absent) to support Ballot Question #5

No surprise the Amherst Community Preservation Act Committee voted last night after little to no discussion to support the ballot question doubling the CPA tax, err, I mean "surcharge," from 1.5% to 3%.  Unanimously.

Which is kind of like the fox guarding the hen house requesting the farmer, "send more chickens!"

Amherst currently has the highest tax rate in the area ($20.97/$1,000 valuation with average tax bill of $6,712/) second only to Longmeadow (at $23.15 valuation with average tax bill of $7,558)  In fact, Longmeadow has the highest tax rate in the entire state.

And our public safety departments are stretched beyond the breaking point.  We badly need 5 additional police officers, five additional firefighters and a new $12 million fire station in South Amherst.

CPA money, however, can only be spent on open space/recreation, historic preservation and public housing.  All of which are admirable, but hardly a priority over public safety. 

In 2008 the attempt failed by only 172 votes out of 10,416 cast.

In the next coming weeks a series of dominoes will fall in support of this financial burden on already overburdened taxpayers including the Historical Commission, Conservation Commission, Leisure Services and Supplemental Education (Rec Dept), Housing & Sheltering Committee and of course our illustrious town "leaders", the Select Board.

Last night, moments before taking the vote, CPA committee Chair Peter Jessop said, "It's important this be a unanimous vote."  The Committee also voted unanimously to authorize Mr. Jessop to act as a PR flack to promote the measure with the mainstream media (what's left of it).

Area Tax Rates & Average Total Tax Bill:

Amherst $20.97/$1,000 total $6,712

Hadley $10.64/$1,000 total $3,278

Northampton $15.39/$1,000 total $4,597

Belchertown $17.72/$1,000 total $4,303

Sunderland $13.98/$1,000 total $3,850

So. Hadley $16.41/$1,000 total $3,682

 
In 2007 Amherst Town Meeting spent $268,000 ($128,000 of it CPA money) to "save" the privately owned Kimball House (brick building foreground) now dwarfed by home in rear

Property Tax Rates For The Entire State (knock yourself out)

DUI Dishonor Roll

 Anthony W Alicea being arraigned in Eastern Hampshire District Court

The spectacular alcohol induced crash in North Amherst early Sunday morning was not the only DUI arrest over the weekend.

 Click to enlarge/read

This one history will little note nor long remember.   Although with impaired drivers, the spectacular incidents are always just around the bend.

A Cop Has To Do What A Cop Has To Do

 

Justin Knolls being arraigned in Eastern Hampshire District Court

So it's not just Amherst PD and  UMass PD who sometimes  -- although very infrequently -- have to resort to the use of force that includes pepper spray to bring an out of control perp into compliance.

Especially when he's a danger to himself, a large group of party goers and responding police officers who like to return home to their family after work.  Even more so when he stands 6 foot 2 inches tall, and weighs 225 pounds.

AFD responding to APD sally port for a prisoner hit with pepper spray.
— Larry Kelley (@amherstac) October 5, 2014

Since Amherst College does not have their own holding cell they use Amherst Police Department's just around the corner at 111 Main Street.  When Justin Knolls was brought in Amherst Fire Department had to respond to the sally port to treat him for pepper spray. 

In Eastern Hampshire District Court on Monday Mr. Knolls was provided a public defender and his case (which includes a felony charge) was continued to next month.

Click to enlarge/read

"Showing Off"

Car vs tree (tree always wins)

At the scene of the accident that demolished his car and sent two passengers to Baystate Medical Center -- one still "critical" -- Sean M Foster admitted to police that had consumed alcohol and was "showing off" when he lost control of his vehicle in North Amherst and intersected with a tree.

You have to wonder if his lawyer will try to have his confession thrown out since he was legally drunk at the time with a Blood Alcohol Content reading of .20% (2.5 times over the legal limit).

 

Sean Foster, age 22, awaiting arraignment yesterday in Eastern Hampshire District Court

The Price of Fun?

 

Sean M Foster about to be arraigned in Eastern Hampshire District Court this morning

In District Court this morning with his mother, who posted $500 cash bail, Sean M. Foster had a plea of not guilty entered in his behalf and his case was continued to November 3 so he could hire his own attorney.

In addition to the $500 bail, Mr. Foster, age 22, will undergo random alcohol screening while on bail.

 

Demolished vehicle.  Note APD interviewing occupants

In a spectacular accident early Sunday morning, Sean Foster piloted his vehicle into a tree just off North East Street (yards before it becomes Henry Street) in North Amherst, where the posted speed limit is 35 MPH.

The impact demolished his car and sent two of his (four) passengers to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, one of whom is in critical condition.

1:45 AM ish

The Morning After:

 Tree seems to have survived impact

Retracing path of vehicle.  Note curve with Shutesbury Road, Flat Hills on right.  Distance to tree impact from there about 225 feet of straight road.

 Mailbox did not survive impact

View of road just before hitting tree on left

Photos/videos by Larry Kelley.  All rights reserved

Another Disturbing DUI

Car vs tree Henry Street (note engine block ripped away from frame)

Last night first responders rushed to the north end of town around 1:30 AM for reports of a high speed crash involving a car, tree, and most likely alcohol (the person calling for help from the scene sounded drunk).

 

2 AFD ambulances on scene

Initial reports from the scene indicated one person trapped and unconscious in the back seat.  But by the time the AFD Engines arrived all occupants (at least four "college aged youth") were out of the demolished vehicle.

Amherst police charged the 22-year-old driver with driving under the influence of alcohol but he's still in the hospital, so I probably will not see him tomorrow in Eastern Hampshire District Court.

The accident tied up two ambulances needed to transport two victims to Baystate Critical Care unit in Springfield.  Since Bay State is 25 miles or so from Amherst, versus 7 for Cooley Dickinson Hospital, those ambulances are out of service for two or three times longer.

Two engines responded to help clean up potentially hazardous fluids and three police cars to seal off the area and interview the occupants.  And even though it was 2:00 AM there were still service calls that had to be put on hold due to the strain on resources this one potentially deadly accident caused.

The Shadow knows ...

 The car was traveling north and crossed over the southbound lane into a tree

Last month another spectacular accident in the dead of night involving high speed and alcohol occurred on the opposite side of town, scenic South East Street.

Bumper was ripped off and thrown about 20 yards

All photos by Larry Kelley.  All rights reserved.

Timely Letter to Town Manager Musante concerning South East Street traffic

September Storm

 APD Chief Livingstone (left) UMPD Chief John Horvath (right)

The difference in number of arrests this past September between Amherst Police Department, with 45 sworn officers making 92 arrests, 45 of them UMass students , and the UMass Police Department with 62 sworn officers making 81 arrests, 55 of them UMass students is interesting but not overly startling.

Amherst police with a department 37% smaller than their UMass counterparts made 14% more arrests.   Of course the difference on the day of the infamous Blarney Blowout was far more dramatic with APD making 55 arrests to UMPD only 3. 

Last year in September, when students first flock back to Amherst, 5,500 of them freshmen leaving home for the first time, Amherst Police Department made 263 arrests or almost three times the number (92) made just this past September.  Now that is somewhat startling.

I asked APD Chief Scott Livingstone about that:

Click to enlarge/read

Since APD recently received "Department Of The Month" from Mothers Against Drunk Driving, obviously they have not slacked off on that vitally important function.

But now being down 5 officers, four of them due to on-duty injuries, the month of October -- when the weather is still conducive to outdoor socializing -- is going to be even more of a challenge.

Especially since Halloween falls on a Friday this year.  That alone is scary, even when the overworked department is at full strength.

Hate that awkward moment when your friend calls you and asks you for $240 to bail them out at UMPD. Happy Saturday
— ZooMass (@ZooMass) October 4, 2014