Christmas at Camp David (the day after)

Well, the day after I shot the photo for the post below. What's wrong with this picture? Hint: No it's not a crop circle. At least the Christmas tree is still there (although the Town Mangler may impose a tax).

And the Walls...came tumbling down.

Even though today’s headline reads “Amherst Town Manager holds firm on Boy Scout tree sale policy,” let’s keeping blowing them horns folks as the Walls of Jericho are definitely starting to crack.

In the biggest understatement of his 1.5 year tenure the Town Mangler sagaciously observed to the Crusty Gazette: “It’s not been my most sterling moment in public relations.” Duh!

Christmas at Camp David (Keenan that is)

And I'm not even going to ask how a decorated illuminated Christmas tree managed to appear inside a condemned, sealed homestead.

Elves, perhaps?

The Grinch Gets (deservedly) Scrooged!

(6:10 am) So I guess this is what you call BUZZ (more like what the Brits called"Buzz Bombs"). Yikes! Remind me NEVER to do anything so stupid in public, private or even after I'm dead.

Of course the crusty Gazette was especially quick to publish these response Letters to Saturday's Front Page article, but you will still have to wait God knows how many hours to read them in the online edition (or you could click the photo to enlarge). UPDATE: the Gazette went cyber around 10:00 am.

Now the question of the day is will the Gazette do an editorial? At least we can tell whose side they're on.
UPDATE 9:42 pm (yeah, my bedtime). The cyber comments to the Letter section were also interesting: http://www.dailyhampshiregazette.com/storyComments.cfm?id_no=71575

Gremlin?

On Saturday folks who parked their cars next to Puffers Pond to watch church members jump into the icy water to protest Global Warming garnered a card under their wiper. On the back of his official Town Hall business card (who would have thought they get cards?) Select man Rob Kusner printed: "walk, bike, take the bus."

So when Kusner gets voted out of office this April 1'st (no foolin), does he have to turn in his remaining cards? And you have to wonder: were they printed on recycled cardstock?

Take that! (Sunday, 2:00 pm)

Forecast: Freezing Rain, Sleet, Snow, Locusts, Dead Fish and Frogs.

NO Green boxes distributed around town with sand/salt. NO sand left at the DPW. See what happens Amherst voters when you don't support the Override!

http://www.amherstbulletin.com/story/id/70863/

UPDATE 3:30 pm I'm not one of those who wish bad things to happen so you can say "I told you so", so I just called 911 to request they get ahold of SOMEBODY at the DPW to refill the sandpile. After all, if the forecast is correct they should have an army arriving about now.

UPDATE: 3:45 pm. Damn, that's what I love about our 911 emergency response professionals (and the DPW)! We now have a MOUNTAIN of sand available,so 'come on down' folks . Let is snow, let it snow, let it snow.


UPDATE: Monday 6:00 am. So I gave up counting after 100 the numbers of cars and trucks coming to get sand last night (my home/office overlooks the pile). Maybe the DPW should reconsider the ban on Green Sand Boxes around town?

A smile is just a frown turned upside down

So the bricks and mortar media gave the Town Manager’s Select board evaluation the old positive spin and missed the most interesting paragraph of the wordy two-page report card.

“Larry (Shaffer) has taken on the task of looking at the organization of every department and quickly made changes at Cherry Hill Golf Course, Town Counsel and the Veteran’s Services Department that have cut costs and improved services.”

Hmmm. So he “quickly made changes at Cherry Hill Golf course,” by
firing long-time superintendent Dan Engstrom (on St. Patty’s Day 2007, the day I started this Blog) for misusing a company credit card and taking up residence in the Clubhouse.

Yet seven months earlier on August 18, 2006 Shaffer wrote “The town is fortunate to have Dan Engstrom, Course Manager, to continue his expertise in maintaining of the of the highest quality public golf courses in Massachusetts.”

And his unfortunate firing of long-time, well-respected Town Council Alan Seewald sparked controversy; and now His Lordship Mr. Weiss seems to say our new advisor, Kopelman and Paige—the BIG BOX McDonald’s of the legal profession is “improved”?

If I were the former Town Attorney, I would suit for defamation of character.

Shaffer almost single handedly torpedoed the May 1’st tax Override by bluffing with Public Safety cuts he would never had implemented; and turning down the $30,000 per year offer to take the terminal Cherry Hill Golf Course off our hands.

And the current fiasco of charging a tax on every Christmas tree sold by Amherst/Pelham Boy Scouts is an astounding error demonstrating the Town Manager is clueless with culture.

Let’s hope the Select board gives him an appropriate Christmas bonus: a lump of coal.