Box Alarm Station Road

Chicken coop was a total loss

AFD responded to a chicken coop fire this afternoon up a very steep incline on Station Road, bordering on the town of Belchertown.

Originally the box alarm indicated the structure fully engulfed and threatening the nearly residence, but Chief Nelson arrived first on scene to report that it was relatively a safe 30 or 40 feet away.

Chief is not above helping with hose

Just as the hoses were being charged, another fire alarm came in from Amherst College and engaged Engines 2 and 4.  Thus at that moment four engines were engaged with pretty much the entire on duty staffing.

Engine 1 had primary

Engine 3 Student Call Force provided back up further down the hill

Once the water flowed the fire was quickly snuffed out

Too Secretive?

UMass Southwest Towers, built 1963

To no great surprise Chancellor Subbaswamy, head of the flagship of higher education in our education oriented state located in an education oriented town, has decided to end the "confidential informant program" overseen by UMass Police Department to get drug dealers off the streets.

Well, since UMass doesn't really have streets, off the pavement anyway.

Dumb decision.

As some of you may remember I first published the death certificate of Eric Sinacori last spring and caught a boatload of grief for doing so.

And no, I had no idea he was involved as a "witness" (according to the District Attorney's office) or "confidential informant" (according to the Boston Globe).  At the time I just thought people should know such a tragedy can happen in our little "college town."

Because when you cover up a student death by heroin here and a death where alcohol contributed  there, average people fail to get the true picture of the problem and fail to act to address it.

Now when a student dies from a drug overdose -- and they will! -- the University will have even more reason to cover it up.

Because people will rightfully say an informant may have given UMass police the vital information needed to take out the dealer prior to the victim injecting poison in their veins.

Once again UMass is putting their public image over public safety.
 

Click to enlarge/read

UMass Office of News & Media Relations reports

First Amendment Warrior

Calvin Terrell, Social Justice Warrior

Yes I did feel a bit like the school kid squealing to a higher authority about an altercation on the schoolyard that left you fuming, even a couple days later.

The Chair of the Regional School Committee, Trevor Baptiste, did not seem to initially understand my complaint with School Superintendent Maria Geryk.



Obviously she did not pay the woman to snatch my iPhone (last words, "no videotaping" is Maria Geryk) but she did give verbal commands -- before and after the incident -- declaring a ban on videotaping.

And the Superintendent did not seem overly concerned about the physical nature of the altercation brought on by her edict. 

To ban journalists from recording an event should always make you wonder:  what is it they don't want you to know?

Masslive reports (as usual Comments are the best) 

Flashback

The Four Bs

The Trolley Barn, 68 Cowls Road, North Amherst

Developer Cinda Jones, never at a loss for promotion, has come up with a novel pitch to fill the last remaining floor containing two four-bedroom apartment units in the newly opened Trolly Barn in North Amherst, dubbed "Three Bettys and a Bob."

Since women outlive men by about five years, it's not overly surprising that senior women outnumber senior men so why not target this demographic more directly?

Click to enlarge/read (and put your glasses on!)

Certainly is nice to see an Amherst developer targeting a demographic other than "college aged youth."  Although us aging Wilma fans will be disappointed with the choice of Betty.
 

Worth Tweeting About?

Amherst Regional Public School Twitter account

One of the sillier ideas floated at last night's Amherst Regional School Committee meeting is to rely on Twitter as an official "repository" for questions and information dissemination concerning the controversial Regionalization effort expanding the current 7th - 12th grade four-town Region all the way down to Pre-K through 6th grade.

Yes, in this digital age two-thirds of Americans use Social Media but only about 16% are on Twitter.  Facebook is still the king, with well over half of all Americans participating.

The Amherst Regional Public School Twitter account, with 261 followers, does not have a stellar following of parents/guardians considering the total enrollment at ARPS is 1,441 students -- over five times that.  (And presumable a fair number of students have two parents or guardians.)

Maria Geryk does not have a Twitter account, but there is a parody account

And unlike Facebook, with Twitter there's a 140 character limit per tweet, which kind of limits complicated discussions.  Although Twitter is absolutely awesome for breaking news.

Interestingly, one of the many complaints the Regional School Committee heard last night during "Public Comment" came from Janet McGowan concerning transparency and public outreach over this important, expensive endeavor, which one RSC hilltown member aptly described now as a "race to Town Meetings."

Regional School Committee Embraces Digital

Amherst Regional School Committee

The Amherst Regional School Committee voted unanimously this evening for the "alternate posting" option allowed under Open Meeting Law for regional entities to post legally required meeting notices on the ARPS regional website rather than individually in all four towns that make up the region.

The RSC has run afoul of the posting requirements having to cancel  meetings at the last minute because they were not properly posted in Pelham where the Town Clerk only works one day per week.

Member Katherine Appy wanted to delay tonight's vote until their next meeting because the Attorney General letter finding the RSC in violation of Open Meeting Law was not included in the packet for tonight's meeting, even though it had been distributed at their 12/8 meeting.

The AG found found in favor of a Open Meeting Law complaint filed by a former member, Tom Flittie, over the July 14 meeting called by then Vice Chair Trevor Babtiste.  The meeting was legally posted in all four towns but then Amherst pulled down the notice at the request of then RSC Chair Lawrence O'Brien.

Other members pointed out the AG finding the committee in violation due to posting protocol was all the more reason to vote in favor of it now so that the streamlining could begin immediately.

Appy reversed course and said she would vote in favor as long as the RSC took up discussion of the Attorney General's finding at their next meeting.

The Whole Story

Emerson Auvenshine (6' 2", 190 pounds) stands before Judge Shea

So here's yet another example of the state's new domestic violence law protecting the perpetrator from public scrutiny. 

You may have read in the bricks and mortar media that Emerson Auvenshine, age 24, a UMass senior, was arrested by APD on Sunday for Breaking & Entering and Malicious Destruction of property valued over $250.

As a result he was immediately suspended from the UMass Hockey team, but he was on crutches in Eastern Hampshire District Court on Monday due to recent ACL knee surgery, so his athletic career at UMass was over anyway.

Now what the other media outlets did not tell you, because they can't afford to send reporters to District Court, is that Mr Auvenshine was also charged with Domestic Assault & Battery on his former girlfriend.

Because of the law passed back in August police departments can no longer report domestic assault cases and have to purge them from the their daily logs.  So the only way to get that information is to hear it in open Court and then request the documents. 

Click to enlarge/read

Let The Contest Begin

Aaron Hayden (center in sweater) Chair of Amherst Select Board

Yes, the local political season has already begun -- even though nomination papers for the March 31st Annual Town Election are not due at the Town Clerk's office until February 10.  

Doug Slaughter, current Finance Committee and Town Meeting member, has taken out papers for the one lone seat on the 5-member Amherst Select Board.

Current Chair Aaron Hayden's seat is the only one up (next year two seats will be up) but he is about to pull a President Johnson and announce that will not seek nor accept the nomination for his seat in the upcoming election.  Not that Select Board candidates are nominated by a party.

Doug Slaughter as member of Finance Committee (standing)

So no, at the moment, even if Mr. Slaughter turned in his nomination papers with the 50 required signatures, we do not really have a "contest."  Not yet anyway.

Interestingly (at least to me anyway) Slaughter voted in favor of my 2007 Town Meeting petition to fly the commemorative American flags annually on 9/11 (that lost by a two-thirds vote), as did recently elected Select Board member Andy Steinberg.  

And the two current long-time Select Board members Alisa Brewer and Jim Wald have always voted "yes" when the Chair allowed the Select Board to come to a vote on it. 

Mr. Hayden always voted "no" and as Chair, last year, did not even allow the SB to vote on it. 

Modern Age Of Education

Textbook Annex:  Will continue to operate as gift shop under Follett Corp.

For generations students have dutifully lined up the first few days of school to get their expensive textbooks at the aptly named Textbook Annex.  As of this coming fall semester that quaint tradition, like using a payphone, goes the way of video rental stores.

UMass has cut a 5-year deal with Amazon, the largest Internet based retailer in the country, which will allow convenient free delivery of textbooks at an average savings of 31%.

Lower costs for quality higher education is the reason many students choose UMass/Amherst in the first place, so this deal will only enhance that attribute.

Fortunately for Amazon -- should they ever implement drone delivery -- the Amherst Town Meeting ban on drones was only advisory.  And few officials outside of Amherst listen to Town Meeting.

That's What I'm Talking About!

Today's issue of Charlie Hebdo:  "All is forgiven"

Popular American wall poster 1970s

And Justice For All?

Maria Geryk introduces Calvin Terrell to the crowd of about 100- 125 Middle School parents/guardians and a few hand picked students

No tears were shed, nobody puked and professional counselors were not required as "social justice" speaker extraordinaire Calvin Terrell paid a return visit to the Amherst Regional Middle School -- the scene of the crime -- to "reenact" his October 2nd routine that terrorized far too many impressionable young students.

This time around school officials told parents to keep their children at home, kind of like cops separating two partners in crime during questioning so they can't compare notes.

Although nine ARHS students, all members of IGET (Inter-Generational Equity Team), were trotted out to the front of the room to tell the crowd why they are "warriors".

ARPS Superintendent Maria Geryk, the highest paid public official in Amherst, announced at the outset that no video recording was allowed (while looking directly at me).

 Calvin Terrell displays a t-shirt from a racist group in his home state of Arizona

Over the course of the first two hours the affable Terrell put on a good show that was a cross between a pep rally and a religious tent revival meeting.

 Audience stands for one of many interactive exercises

But the last half hour became a bit more somber as he reenacted the "visualization" exercise that was the most traumatic aspect of his controversial October 2nd presentation.

He told the attentive audience that this would be the "exact same way I did this with your kids."

He asked us to close our eyes and envision heading into our school on a cool October night holding the soft hand of a five year old girl, with our most beloved adult accompanying us, walking on our left.

Suddenly people are running, shots are fired, and we're understandably scared and confused.

A man near us pulls a gun of his own and says he's going to end this, but he's cut down by the shooter who is yelling things indicating he had been bullied.  Another shot rings out, only this time it's the police doing the shooting and the perp is neutralized.

He then pauses ... and you can almost see the Hollywood-like cut to a new scene which he describes as a room in a funeral home with two coffins, one of them for a child.  It's a closed coffin because the child was shot in the face with the resulting damage too great for the mortician to repair.

We then take a brief break and he asks everyone to check on the persons sitting next to them to make sure they are emotionally okay.

But in the October 2nd version I heard from a half-dozen Middle School students (one of them my daughter)  there was a much closer more graphic visualization of the shooter killing the 5-year-old girl and your most beloved adult right in front of you while you helplessly watched in sheer horror.

No wonder they didn't want this talk recorded.

Terrell also made snide remarks about men who dress "in Brooks Brother suits and work in tall buildings" yet he claims the reason he doesn't want his talks recorded is to protect his intellectual property, which generates a decent income.

In this case $38,000 for ten visits to Amherst.  So even if tonight was "free," it was done to protect his $38,000 contract.  Kind of like a restaurant giving you a free meal because the one you paid for previously gave you salmonella.

 Calvin Terrell:  As photogenic as he is smooth talking

As I was taking video at the outset of the meeting (and no, I was not going to video the entire 2.5 hour presentation) a woman sitting behind me suddenly snatched my iPhone, reminding me that it was against the rules.

I was sitting in the front row seat of the PUBLIC Middle School auditorium, the same seat I have occupied over the past 24 years as an Amherst Town Meeting member.  It was well below freezing tonight so keeping the auditorium warm (and lit) cost the taxpayers a few dollars.

And this event was sponsored and promoted by the Amherst PUBLIC schools to try to atone for the October 2nd mishap that was widely covered in the local media.

Social Justice does not trump the First Amendment.




Editor's note: To her credit the woman who grabbed my Iphone did apologize to me; as did Calvin Terrell to the audience late in his reenactment for having upset some students at the original October 2nd presentation and badmouthing the town after the controversy erupted in the media. 

A New Age of Civility?

UMass/Amherst: the flagship of higher education

When I first started shining a spotlight on rowdy student behavior a few years ago, I never thought the day would dawn where a dramatic decrease in such bad behavior would become a "dog bites man" kind of news story.

But here we are, thankfully.

UMass released on Friday the box scores for this past fall's violations of the student code of conduct (now that it applies to off campus activities) and it was down a whopping 63%.

No surprise really since I published the Amherst Police Department noise/nuisance tickets and arrests back in late November showing they were down dramatically.  And the feeder system so to speak for the Dean of Students is APD, as every negative interaction is reported to their office.

But I still find some of the statistics interesting.  Out of the 107 students reported to the Dean's office only one was expelled, probably this guy.  (Assaulting and calling a black police officer the N-word will do that.)

Another not at all surprising, but still notable when you see it as a stark statistic:  80% of the 107 student offenders were males.  Why is that?  Is it a testosterone thing where men are more naturally inclined to bad behavior?

Of course the other statistic UMass doesn't show is the involvement of alcohol in all of these sordid situations, which if I had to guess approaches 100%.  Perhaps alcohol and testosterone make for a bad mix. 

Speaking of which, another notable statistic, one that UMass will not tell you about, is reported rapes plummeted from 22 in 2013 all the way down to six in 2014. 

In his inauguration speech on Wednesday, Northwestern District Attorney Dave Sullivan credited UMass with helping to develop materials now used nationwide to address sexual assaults on campus.



That too is something to widely acknowledge.

ARPS: Sinking Ship?

Amherst Regional High School dealing with a cold reality

If ever a chart starkly demonstrated the treacherous waters that lay ahead for an education organization, this would be it:

Click to enlarge/read

Now keep in mind when a student is stolen away from a pubic school via Charter or Vocational Schools it costs the District the full amount of their average cost per student, which in Amherst is extraordinarily high.  This current Fiscal Year ARPS broke the $20,000 barrier, compared to state average of $14,000.

Less costly are the students who leave via "choice" for another public school at only $5,000 per student. But add them all up and it comes to a whopping $540,000 carved out of the FY16 $30 million operation budget. Yikes!

 PVCICS Death Star addition

The Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School looms as the Death Star, expanding into a full high school with a gleaming new building to show for it. In just the past two years PVCIC has gone from 68 ARPS students up to 83 for the upcoming FY16 year. Double yikes!

Interestingly before the Chinese Charter School was founded the Amherst Schools had the opportunity to offer their Chinese language curriculum via the same founders who were rejected by public school officials, so they went off and opened their own Charter School.

Amherst Public School officials are now considering a major reorganization by "repurposing" the Middle School building, which currently houses 7th and 8th grade.

 Administration report to Regional School Committee

The Regional Assessment Working Group, who are recommending their own major reorganization by having the four-town Region expand all the way down to pre Kindergarten through 6th grade, spent a lot of time discussing the "repurposing" of a building.

 Amherst Regional Middle School ... mothballed?

The RAWG Final Report states:

"The law is not entirely clear about whether such decisions are matters of educational policy (School Committee domain) or administrative operations (Superintendent).  To the extent that decisions are within the purview of the superintendent, the RAWG recommends that there will be a lengthy and open process before the use of a school is changed." 


Either way let's hope school officials take to heart the concept of a "lengthy and open process," something the RAWG certainly has not demonstrated over their three year tenure. 

Downtown Dining Options Expand

27 South Pleasant Street

Two new restaurants will grace Amherst center next month, although both of them will do business in a space previously occupied by dining establishments.

Yes Metacomet Cafe, the restaurant with that cool retro sign that went up 1.5 years ago is, finally, going to open in the former home to Chez Albert before they moved to the north end of town.

Brothers Spencer and Trevor Hopton appeared before the Amherst Select Board back in July for a required Common Victualler License, saying they would be open by September.

Better late than never.

28 Amity Street

Almost directly behind the Metacomet Cafe in a spot formerly occupied by Arise Farm to Table Pub and Pizzeria, a new Italian restaurant, Osteria Vespa, will arise from their ashes, having purchased all the surplus restaurant equipment except for the liquor license.

On Monday night the Amherst Select Board unanimously approved a new all alcohol liquor license for the business, located adjacent to the Amherst Cinema.

 Jonathan Welch (left) Tom Schnapp appear before Amherst Select Board

Small business start ups, even in the best of years, fight an uphill battle.  About 1/4 fail in the initial year of opening and by 5th year about half have failed. 

The key of course is having a good product, providing good service, and -- for a business requiring foot traffic -- a good location.  And they don't come any better than downtown Amherst.

Inauguration Present

 DPW Chief Guilford Mooring: rare good news for Public Works Committee last night

Even though he lost Amherst by a landslide to ultimate choke artist Martha Coakley, Charlie Baker gave our town -- and all the others in the Commonwealth -- a nice inauguration gift in his first act as Governor: releasing $100 million of the original $300 million Chapter 90 money for roads and bridges repair.

For our little college town that translates to an extra $400,000 on top of the original $817,000 already received.  And it raises hope the town will get another $1.2 million in Chapter 90 money for the upcoming Fiscal Year.

Even though he inherited a budget gap of $500 million from his Democratic predecessor the new Republican Governor made good on a campaign promise to protect local aid, citing the spin off benefits of job creation and public safety.

Bumper stickers available at Cushman Market

As any North Amherst resident can attest, Pine Street is the BIG project yet to be completed, which still requires a finish coat this coming construction season.  The extra $400,000 will go a long way towards covering that.

Pleased to follow through on our commitment to local infrastructure by releasing $100 million in Ch. 90 funds today: http://t.co/vvze3OLSPO
— Charlie Baker (@MassGovernor) January 8, 2015

Shock Therapy Déjà Vu

Calvin Terrell Amherst Regional Middle School (among angry parents) 10/3/14

Okay parents be sure to bring a box of tissues to the presentation this Sunday when Calvin Terrell sneaks back to Amherst to "recreate" the presentation that traumatized so many of our children back in October.

Although adults are probably a lot less prone to his emotional manipulation.

 click to enlarge/read

Interesting that school officials do not want any children at the presentation this time around.  If parents had gotten an advance peek at his act back in September, the sorry episode could have been avoided.

By firing him.

Regional School Report Ready (Almost)

Regional Agreement Working Group 7:05 PM

After three l-o-n-g years of mostly under-the-radar meetings, the Regional Agreement Working Group voted unanimously last night (11-0 with 1 absent) to support the draft report to the Regional School Committee outlining the purported benefits of e-x-p-a-n-d-i-n-g the current four town Region (grades 7-12) all the way down to Pre-K through 6.

The 12-page sales pitch extols standardization of curriculum, time savings for the Superintendent who will no longer have to deal with three separate budgets & School Committees, and better efficiency in assigning students to schools without regard to town boundaries.

But cost savings is pretty far down on their list of reasons, citing only a 2% overall savings for the Region as a whole (And that is probably based on everything going perfectly, which things never do).

   RAWG Final Report Draft

A few minor tweaks were voted to this draft

The final report will be discussed at the upcoming January 13 Regional School Committee meeting as RAWG member Trevor Baptiste, who is also Chair of the RSC, said he has set aside 30 minutes on the RSC agenda for the presentation.

School Superintendent Maria Geryk handed out a draft "timeline" that shows the Regional School Committee voting on the matter at their March 10th meeting where it will require a two-thirds vote to pass.

Then it will be up to the four member towns -- Amherst, Pelham, Leverett, and Shutesbury -- to pass at their annual spring Town Meetings two questions:  Should the Regional Agreement be amended to allow for this new expanded Regional entity?  And if this new entity is allowed to form do we wish to join?

Interestingly enough, Amherst, who makes up the vast majority of the Region, will only vote the first question because in the body of the amendment it states that the new Region can only be formed if Amherst and one other town decide in favor.

But if even one of the other three towns votes No to the first question the issue is dead, because to amend the current 50+ year old Regional Agreement all four towns have to vote yes.

The only two Amherst residents in attendence last night both spoke about the lack of transparancy and outreach to the citizens of Amherst over the past three years, and another spectator, Dan Hayes from Shutesbury, complained, "I've had no information or input over the years, even though I requested it -- and I'm a school committee member!"

It is odd of course that this process has dragged on for over three years with little to no public relations efforts and yet now they want it voted up-or-down within the next four months.  

Regional Agreement Working Group 9:45 PM

Cowards die 1,000 deaths, Heroes But 1

Stephane Charbonnier:
"I'd rather die standing up than live on my knees."

A Good Day For Amherst

Amherst Town Manager John Musante, Governor Patrick, Stan Rosenberg 10/21/14

Today was a good day for local government: Dave Sullivan took his oath of office as Northwestern District Attorney, our "top cop" so to speak, and Amherst's own Stan Rosenberg ascended to President of the 189th Massachusetts Senate.

The Eastern centric State Legislature will have a hard time ignoring Western Massachusetts over the next few years.

And since Stan is a proud UMass graduate, good news for our flagship of higher education and the town they call home.

Unfortunately Stan's ceremony was marred by the collapse of his long time friend, well known UMass Journalism Professor Ralph Whitehead.

Fortunately staff on hand knew how to use a defibrillator and it sounds like they got him to Mass General Hospital in time.

Journey For Justice

Northwestern District Attorney Dave Sullivan kicks off his 5th year as DA

If Dave Sullivan had not pursued a career in the pubic sector legal system he would have made a formidable journalist.

Echoing the sacred mission of journalism to "give voice to the voiceless," Dave Sullivan noted his office gives voice to children who are victims of sexual abuse, and gives voice to all the other most vulnerable members of our community: elders, disabled, battered women and victims of violent crime.

 APD Chief Scott Livingstone (far left) in attendance

Taking note that the legal system must not just be one of punishment, Sullivan pointed out that we have to effectively deal with the "root cause of crime" -- poverty, racism, substance abuse, mental health issues and "just plain ignorance."

But by far his strongest criticism for crime contributors was directed squarely at drug companies like Perdue Pharmaceuticals (maker of OxyContin) who market pain medication like "M & Ms at the local convenience store."



Dave Sullivan was first elected Northwestern District Attorney four years ago, moving up from his position of Hampshire Register of Probate, where he was credited with increasing the efficiency and transparency of that office.

While he had no experience as a prosecutor his highly respected managerial style is to bring in the best and then let them do their jobs.

 Assistant District Attorneys sworn in

In a 15 minute post swearing in speech this morning at the Franklin County Courthouse in Greenfield Dave Sullivan exuded his passion for justice, crediting and thanking his deceased parents for instilling in him that family value.

And he also publicly thanked his wife, Catherine Hancock, humbly noting,"without that kind of support, you really can't be where you want to be in life."

Not often you get hugged by a Judge in Superior Court (let alone four of them)

Party House of the Weekend

Christian Rivera stands before Judge O'Grady

No matter how much you like "Stand By Me," if a police officer tells you to turn it down, you should probably turn it down.

 Click to enlarge/read

Mr. Rivera, age 21, did not -- and as a result was arrested by APD for violation of Amherst noise  bylaw.

In Eastern Hampshire District Court on Monday he took the standard "diversion" program, having the criminal matter diverted to a civil matter in exchange for paying the $300 noise ticket and promising to stay out of trouble in the near future.

Although, since he's a UMass student, Rivera will also have to answer to the UMass Dean of Students Office as all arrests and/or Noise & Nuisance tickets issued by APD automatically get referred to Enku Gelaye for review.

Had the violation occurred on campus UMPD probably would have issued Mr. Rivera one of the new tickets they are using to speed up the process of dealing with Student Code of Conduct violations.

Click to enlarge/read

 UMass violation ticket

Only in the past few years did UMass e-x-t-e-n-d the Code of Conduct to include off campus activities such as noise and nuisance complaints handled by the understaffed Amherst Police Department.