Declaration of Independence!

Mr. Laurence Shaffer, Amherst Town Manager
$ Boltwood Ave
Amherst, Ma 01002
April 15, 2008

Dear Mr. Shaffer:

For the past 6 years a loyal, devoted and diverse group of Amherst residents have worked tirelessly on a volunteer basis to conduct the Amherst 4’th of July Parade.

The Parade Committee has raised all the funds (thousand of dollars per year) to bring this event to Amherst citizens while dealing with swords in our side. The Parade Committee never anticipated that such a small but politically vocal group could influence the major policy board of our town in regards to our parade that was initially reborn in 2002 to honor veterans, active duty military, fire, police and other public safety personnel who worked tirelessly in the wake of 9/11.

In good faith, the Parade Committee has held 3 open forums for people to vent their concerns regarding any issues with the parade. In addition we’ve had 3 sit down meeting with you regarding inclusiveness in the parade.

We’ve always been inclusive to all who have wanted to celebrate the birth of our nation. What we never anticipated or wanted was offensive signage that would not be appropriate to be viewed by children or not in the festive spirit of the parade. I’ve said numerous times to Parade Committee members and the media that this is a parade and not a protest.

For the past 2 years the Parade Committee has been held hostage with the threat of pulling police and fire apparatus form our town parade. We the Parade Committee have done a great job and I’m proud to serve with this group of people who have successfully run this event for the town. We fell at this time that we’ve exhausted all resources for conversation and dialogue.

If you wish to pull public safety apparatus out of the parade, that is your prerogative. We have already been notified by public safety personnel for our town that they would march as a union if denied their apparatus.

In addition the Parade Committee has received calls from as far away as New York City that public safety personnel would not be allowed to march that they would augment any public safety contingents.

For all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, “It might have been.”

Respectfully Yours,


Kevin P. Joy
Amherst July 4’th Parade Committee Chair
Cc: Amherst Select Board

Colors of Spring

Shhhh...You'll awaken Miss Emily!

So about the only thing louder than the chainsaw used to unsnag the house as it tried to squeeze by the Dickinson Homestead was the collective sigh of the Shade Tree Commission.

UPDATE: 1:00 pm The Dinosaur has landed.
Almost there (another 50 yards or so)

Protecting the gold

Amherst Taxpayers for Responsible Change have a warrant article calling for Town Meeting to consolidate all the reserves (about $4 million) into the Stabilization Fund by transferring the vast majority money from the Free Cash Account.

Town Meeting can spend (and we know they love to spend) from Free Cash with a simply majority vote; but spending from Stabilization Fund takes a two-thirds vote.

Of course some of the dumber things this esteemed body has done (like spend $2.2 million in 1982 dollars for a Golf Course they could have had for free) has been done with over a two-thirds vote.

The Finance Committee will still have their own little 100-K slush fund for “emergencies” (like last year’s cost overrun at Cherry Hill Golf Course or the extra moving expenses for the Town Manager).
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WOLF IN THE FOLD:
Last night the Select Board voted to appoint chief spokesperson for the Amherst Taxpayers for Responsible Change Stan Gawle to the Budget Coordinating Group’s (BCG’s) 'citizen facilitation team' (God, I hope he can hum "Kumbia")

Pissed off Pubbies...Oh My!

So even though I too used the comparison of 9/11 and gay rights (see video) and agreed that explicit how-to sex posters (straight or gay) should not be posted publicly at the Campus Center, I’m not with the Young Republicans on this one.

The Stonewall Center is an official Umass RSO group and as such should have access to the listserve.

Yes, Ralph Hexter is President of Hampshire College but he’s acting as the keynote speaker for an official Umass event. But I’m sure the Stonewall Center will love all the extra press this angry release generates.

And of course, now Mr. Hexter has got me wondering, “What if the President were Queer?”

UMASS-Amherst campus leadership:

Regarding the below message:

Why is the enormous (1000+ student) UMASS Signature Responsibility email list AGAIN being used for these ridiculous purposes???

Let me state for the record that the UMass Republican Club finds these emails being sent on the UMass server a *criminal and incomprehensible waste of valuable taxpayer-funded IT resources and unconditionally absurd*.

I have cc'd 14 state elected representatives - 8 state reps and 6 state senators - for their perspective on this matter.

I don't care about a "queer graduation invite" and if these gay rights activists at Hampshire College have access to the entire school SR email list here at *UMASS*, then why don't I – a fee-paying and taxpaying UMass student and citizen of the Commonwealth, and leader of one of the largest and most well-funded groups on this campus – have this same access ???

Dean of Students Joanne Vanin has consistently denied me access to this list for matters of disseminating information of patriotic 9/11 Veterans Day Flag Displays and legitimate UMass events, yet gay rights activists at A DIFFERENT SCHOOL are allowed use of this huge email list to promote an obviously exclusionary event at Hampshire???

UMass campus leadership continues to let nonsense like this go and then cries to the state legislature about being under-funded and ignored - something has to give.

Someone in Whitmore must have granted the approval to send this extremely unnecessary email: can someone inform me who that person was?

This is an obvious misuse of power and boggles my mind.

We, as a campus community, need to do better and be more aware than this, or else I strongly urge the elected officials of this state’s General Court to continue to cut our funding as a campus.

With administrators like the ones we have in charge apparently asleep at the switch yet again, we clearly don’t deserve any more funding from the hard-working taxpayers of this state.

For efficient tax-dollar and resource use,

Brad DeFlumeri

President, UMass Republican Club
Petty Officer, United States Naval Reserve

-----Original Message-----
From: rso-information-bounces@stuaf.umass.edu [mailto:rso-information-bounces@stuaf.umass.edu] On Behalf Of Brett-Genny Janiczek Beemyn
Sent: Friday, April 11, 2008 11:27 AM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: [Rso-information] Queer Graduation invite

The Stonewall Center cordially invites you to The 10th Annual Queer Graduation & Awards Ceremony

Monday, May 12, 2008
Memorial Hall Lounge
6:30pm: reception, 7pm: ceremony

Keynote Speaker:
Ralph Hexter, “What If the President Were Queer?”
Ralph Hexter is the president of Hampshire College and one of the first openly gay college leaders.
Please RSVP to the Stonewall Center:
stonewall@stuaf.umass.edu, 545-4824

Amherst's Heartland

About 100 good folks converged on the VFW last night for a night of fun, food, dancing and prises with all proceeds going towards the July 4'th Parade. Former Umass Police chief Gerry O'Neil won the large screen flat panel TV, and I won a $25 gift certificate to 'Crazy Noodles' in town center (We're going to walk uptown tonight and use it).

No, not a single anti-war protester showed up.

An Expensive View

Last year Town Meeting spent $287,000 tax dollars to preserve the view of the Kimball House in North Amherst. Not to purchase the land leading from the road to the front door but a complicated buy out with the state of APR designation for the land out back.

Umm yeah, I guess you can still see the Kimball House.

Kimball-&-Bits