Blarney: Overly Optimistic Update?

Today's Gazette (note Police Chiefs happy expression )

So the Gazette does pretty much a long form story on the Blarney Blowout prominently placed front page above the fold and forgets to mention the number one contributing factor to the mayhem over the past three years:  It's the WEATHER, stupid!

In 2012 when the event first caught everybody's attention (and probably was the first time "Blarney Blowout" was actually used as a title) there were no major riots but general mayhem all over town, the temperature was in the 40s.
  
In 2013 when there was a riot (6 arrested) the temperature was in the high 50s.

In 2014 when there was a major riot (58 arrested) the temperature was in the low 50s.  

So I take little consolation in the Gazette telling us how prepared everybody is this year.  After all last year two days before the most riotous Blarney in history they posed Town Manager John Musante in front of McMurphy's downtown bar telling us how prepared everybody was.

Gazette 3/6/2014 (two days before the Blarney to end all Blarney's

And we know how well that turned out.

The previous year, just after the major riot in North Amherst at Townhouse Apartments, they ran a headline about how great things went in the center of town. 

So here's the scoop.  If it's cold and miserable on March 7, 2015 then Blarney Blowout will be a thing of the past.  If it's sunny and warm -- God forbid hot -- then officials should consider mobilizing the National Guard.

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Today's Bulletin carried inside the Gazette

And since today is "pick on the Gazette day" the weekly Amherst Bulletin stuffed inside, once again shows how timely a weekly newspaper is (sarcasm)  with a banner headline about UMass banning Iranian grad students. 

As you probably heard by now (or can see on the front page of the Gazette above) UMass surrendered on that stupidity quicker than the 1940 French army.

Luck Of The Irish

Fire hydrant corner of Amity and South Prospect Street (Jones Library in background)

11 South Prospect Street

A couple of things that you certainly can't always count on worked to our advantage with the late night fire at 11 South Prospect Street:  first and foremost all 8 full-time professional firefighters were available to respond, although a few were enroute to a (false) box alarm on Pelham Road. 

Had two ambulances been on the road, which is all too common, that would have reduced by half the number of fire fighters available to respond.  And with a fire such as that the first few minutes are vitally important. 

Almost equally important the closest fire hydrant (on the corner of Amity and South Prospect Street) was totally cleared of snow and the extreme cold had not prevented it from functioning normally.

 Fire hydrant South Prospect Street: not overly accessible

The other nearby fire hydrant less than 50 yards south of the fire scene, which looks to be Amherst College responsibility, would certainly have been more problematic.

Revolving Door

Timothy Stahl appears before Judge Murphy, ADA Bob Opsitnik (rt)

Timothy Stahl was arrested yet again by Amherst police Tuesday on a warrant for "failure to appear" in Eastern Hampshire District Court Tuesday morning to be arraigned for his arrest over the weekend for "disturbing the peace."

Naturally he did not wish to go quietly so he was again charged with "disturbing the peace."  Only this time he was transported to District Court by APD after spending the night in lock up.

Assistant District Attorney Bob Opsitnik requested $500 bail (which if not paid would keep him behind bars) but Judge Murphy released him on $1,000 "personal surety," meaning if he doesn't show up to his next scheduled appearance March 18 he pays that amount. 

He was also assigned a public defender.

Election Fraud?

Complaint is addresses look like handiwork of same person

The Board of Registrars will meet on Friday morning to decide whether to take up discussion of a complaint filed by Vince O'Connor and Mary Wentworth regarding signatures collected on the nomination papers for School Committee candidate Phoebe Hazzard.

Ms Hazzard took out her papers only an hour-and-a-half before filing deadline, and then returned them 15 minutes before the drop dead deadline with 65 signatures.

The Town Clerk did disallow 7 of the signatures because the name did not match up with the address or were illegible, but did certify 58 which is 8 more than required for placement on the ballot.

The Board of Registrars met within 48 hours (February 12th) of the February 10th nomination  deadline to certify the results and choose the order of appearance for candidates on the official ballot.

Hand delivered to Board of Registrars 35 minutes past deadline

A challenge to any nomination irregularity is supposed to be filed within 48 hours.  Mr. O'Connor and Ms. Wentworth missed that deadline by 35 minutes, so the Town Clerk originally denied taking up the appeal with the Board of Registrars.

Mr. O'Connor did not take too kindly to that, so now the Town Clerk has called another meeting of the Board of Registrars, but their only decision on Friday will be whether to hear an appeal or not.

If they decide the 48 hour deadline does not apply then they will set another date to discuss the merits of the appeal.

Should enough signatures (9) be disqualified, Ms. Hazzard's name will not appear on the ballot for School Committee and that open seat will be filled by write ins.

There are two open Amherst School Committee seats and originally three candidates filed their papers by deadline.  Incumbent Lawrence O'Brien withdrew before the 48 hour time limit leaving Vira Douangmany as the only guaranteed winner at the moment.

DUI Dishonor Roll

The rate of drunk driving is highest among 21-25 year olds (23.4%)

In Eastern Hampshire District Court yesterday all three 21-year-olds arrested by Amherst police over the long weekend for Driving Under the Influence had pleas of "not guilty" entered in their behalf and their cases were continued: March 17th for Denis Topakov who will be hiring his own attorney, and April 7th for Andrew Giroux and Kyle Chumsea who were both assigned a Public Defender at a cost of $150.

Andrew Giroux stands before Judge Murphy

Kyle Chumsae stands before Judge Murphy

Denis Topakov stands before Judge Murphy

Fire & Ice

11 South Prospect Street, the morning after

Amherst fire fighters fought the elements almost as much as the fire that broke out late last night into the early morning at 11 South Prospect Street, a two family home adjacent to the American Legion pretty much dead in town center.  Fortunately nobody was injured.

Just before responding to this potentially devastating blaze another "box alarm" had come in from Pelham Road near the Amherst/Pelham town line with reports of "smoke in the structure."  But that call proved to be a false alarm.

Engine 2 was then diverted to the South Prospect Street fire to join with Engine 3 (Student Call Force), Engine 1, Ladder 1, and Rescue 1.  

The blaze was confined to the 2nd floor bedroom but this morning a bright sticker on the front door shows that the building is condemned until basic renovations take place.

Making A Buck Off Blarney

Fade:  cheap advertising anyway

So I can tell Max Kamin is a finance major at UMass.  Hey what the heck, Eric Suher started out selling t-shirts and look where he is now.  

Although the Anon poster on Fade has a point.  Why post your ad anonymously when the Facebook business link clearly reveals your personal Facebook page?

Max is probably figuring the 4,000 college aged youth who participated in the "debauchery" last year are quite a captive market for a pop up t-shirt business.  Especially when they are "official."

Of course Mr. Kamin probably did not read the $160,000 Davis Report which clearly told UMass and Amherst town officials to "end the Blarney Blowout."

 Yeah, that ought to solve it

And Mr. Davis also strongly suggested town and school officials keep a close eye on Social Media for any reference to Blarney Blowout.

As such, it will be interesting to see how long it takes for UMass officials to "blowout" this Nitwit business.

UPDATE Tuesday morning

And we have another contender.  Talk about a bad marriage:  Blarney Blowout and breast cancer.  Yikes!

Wrong Answer

APD on scene town center Wednesday 7:30 AM

If two murders occurred in Amherst last week not only would you have been instantly made aware, but you would probably still be whispering about it now.  Yet when death is self inflicted, the silence is as stunning as the desperate act itself.

Early Wednesday morning Amherst police responded to a rooming house in town center for a drug overdose victim who obviously changed his mind.  Because he used a cell phone to call 911, that cry for help went to a Northampton call center first and was then was transferred to Amherst Dispatch.

By the time a patrol officer arrived on scene it was an "unattended death."

According to the Mass Department of Public Health there were 624 "completed suicides" in 2012 and 6,729 Emergency Room visits for "self inflicted" wounds that did not result in death.

In 2011 suicides accounted for 588 deaths while Massachusetts had a total of 202 murders -- almost three times fewer than suicides -- many of which you probably saw reported by the mainstream media. 

Late Friday night, about an hour before the official start of Valentine's Day, police were called to a Mill Street apartment by a frightened Reporting Party stating she just discovered her roommate hanging.  Yet another "unattended death."

That makes two unfortunate incidents in less than 72 hours.

The national average for suicide in 2012 was 12.5/100,000 population, while Massachusetts's came in lower than average at 8.6 per 100,000.  Thus with Amherst's population of 38,000 we should see roughly three suicides per year.

If you know someone with all of the above, get them help.  Now.

The police department always refers questions to the District Attorney's office since the DA has jurisdiction over all "unattended deaths."  But when I asked about these two regrettable incidents I was told by Northwestern District Attorney Dave Sullivan's Communications Director Mary Carey, "We don't release information or comment on suicides."

If pushed I'm sure they would issue a vague official statement saying there is no cause for public alarm over the two deaths as they are not considered "suspicious."

But the preferred method seems to be for everybody to just keep completely silent so the public is never even aware these deaths happened in the first place, and therefor could not become alarmed.

Last year I was the first to publish Eric Sinacori's cause of death being "acute heroin intoxication," and caught a lot of grief for doing so:  Invasion of privacy, increasing trauma to the family,  and for raining on  UMass parade by publishing it on graduation day -- the same day I first acquired the death certificate from the Amherst Town Clerk.

Now of course that sad incident has led to a change in policy at UMass Amherst concerning the use of student informants by UMPD to investigate drug dealers higher up the ladder (a policy change  I do not agree with).

Over the past few years at least two UMass students used chemical car bombs to end their life, a method that endangers first responders or anyone who accidently comes into contact with the death vehicle.

The more people know about the warning signs of suicide the better.   And knowing that it can and does happen here in our bucolic little college town, may just make EVERYONE pay closer attention.

Amherst In A Storm

Amherst (Ghost) Town Center 9:00 AM

Wind whipped flag in front of AFD Central Station

DPW clearing crosswalks around noon

Amherst College clearing crosswalks town center

Town Hall steps being made safe

Main Street town center 12:20 PM

How bad is it out?

Town Center 12:15 pm (clock is still broken):  Even the anti-war protesters did not show up today

Sun at high noon

Big Y brought in their majestic flag

5:20 PM

Controlling A Killer

Cigarette smoking kills over 440,000 Americans annually

Amherst will soon join a growing list of Massachusetts municipalities that have raised the legal age for purchasing tobacco products from 18 to 21 and yes, that includes the increasingly popular electronic vapor variety (e-cigarettes).

In addition new Board of Health regulations will ban the sale of "blunts" outright, and place tighter restriction on cigars:  no sales of single cigars, with a minimum price of $5 on any package of 2 or more units.

Back in 1999 Amherst was the first community in the state to ban smoking in the workplace.  Being a college town Amherst has more than its share of (dive) bars, which are of course a "workplace".  Thus exploded the "Smoking Ban in Bars War", which raged for an entire year.

Bar owners are not the most genteel of the small business crowd, so they fought the ban with as much tenacity as the Viet Cong.  But once the Board of Health started fining the bars and the Select Board reluctantly agreed to pull liquor licenses, the battle ended.  

These days people forget it was even an issue.  Considering tobacco products kill five times as many Americans annually as alcohol it's about time the legal age was raised to that same standard.

The Board of Health voted at their Thursday meeting to move forward with the new draft regulations and scheduled a public hearing for April 9.  Let's hope it's far more civil than those of 15 years ago.

Probably not looking forward to new stricter regulations

   Board of Health tobacco Regs Draft

A Symbolic Salute To Black History

Flag to remember & honor black history now flies in front of Amherst Town Hall

About three dozen citizens -- including town officials, members of the Massachusetts 54th black infantry regiment and state representative Ellen Story -- braved the frigid weather to assemble under the vacant flagpole immediately in front of Town Hall for a flag raising to honor Black History month.

These days (and that term spans the past 50 years ) it's common to hear how Amherst would be nothing without the University of Massachusetts, our largest employer.

Crowd sings "Lift Every Voice And Sing"

But in a more historic sense Amherst would be nothing without the contributions of the hard working impoverished class who built this town with their bare hands, fought to preserve the Union, and continue the struggle to make Amherst a better place for all.

 Selectman Jim Wald reads the proclamation

In the past month the Amherst Select Board has issued proclamations to honor both Irish and Black history.

A nice salute indeed.