The old blame the blogosphere routine

So the Emperor hates it when anyone questions his flashy new clothes--especially as to why they do not resemble a hospital johnny.

But rather than deal with the issue of going AWOL for an entire week before filling out the mandated paperwork (Family Medical Leave Act), something that would get a teacher, janitor or bus driver fired the hot-under-the-collar Superintendent unloads on the evil Internet.

But he trains his fire not on the legitimate folks who used the interconnected instantaneous Web to expose and question (rather subtly at first) his extended absence, but focuses on those damn snarky Anons. Although strangely, he says he doesn't read blogs--but he attacks Anon comments made on blogs. Hmm...

Well Dr. Rodriguez, if you don't read the blogs then how do you know what the Cowardly Anon Nitwits are saying?

And next time you pretend not to look at those time-wasting, evil blogs maybe you should read a tad more closely. The issue was not the legitimacy of taking "sick" time in advance for a medical procedure, it was scheduling a fair amount of "sick" time in advance with no explanation whatsoever.

And even the memo/spreadsheet tossed to the Regional School Committee on 2/9 did not have all of last week on it. Not much "transparency" there, eh?

At the 3/1 School Committee discussion Regional Chair Farshid Hajir told the Super to submit an "updated/revised" memo to reflect the unannounced disappearance over the past week and an explanation for the sick leave absences scheduled in April as outlined in the sparse 2/9 memo.

I have been blogging for three years now with over 175,000 unique visitors and only one of them came from Miami, Florida--just last week as a matter of fact, coincidentally when the Super was AWOL in sunny Miami, Florida about a half-hour after an Anon posted comments questioning his whereabouts.

And isn't this the same cocky guy who bragged to the crusty Amherst Bulletin one year ago, "I'm going to be tested, and you guys will see that it's not about that," he said. "I have the mettle to take that fire."

Looks like his mettle came up short.

The Bully reports one year ago

The Bully reports today

Thank God Amherst School Committee member Irv Rhodes is black, otherwise Kathleen Anderson (sitting on his left) would have been all over his case for daring to defend the rights of the taxpaying public (admittedly overwhelmingly none minority in the People's Republic) to question the habits of the highest paid "public service" employee in town, who just happens to be Cuban American.

Selectboard's Top Ten list (not ready for prime time)

So you can tell illustrious Amherst Select Board Chair (Princess) Stephanie O'Keeffe's only work experience was as an auto industry PR flack.

Fifteen minutes of the official tax-funded March 1 public Select Board meeting was wasted honing a "top ten" list of reasons why overburdened taxpayers should support the March 23 $1.68 million tax override.

And then they spent time discussing when the best time would be for their propaganda to appear in the local bricks-and-mortar media. Let's hope the crusty Gazette/Bulletin plays it fair and balanced and allows the Amherst Taxpayers for Responsible Change equal time.

Here we go again.

So three years ago in one fell swoop almost 100 of the 250 'No More Overrides' signs disappeared over night.

One of the nitwit teen-aged perps dropped his cell phone and a pack of cigarettes next to the mangled metal stakes and Amherst PD tracked him down. He made good on court ordered restitution--although he never gave up his band of accomplices--and the signs were replaced.

This past weekend the only sign on display in the entire town was stolen. Since I live next to the DPW I figured with winter weather the sand/salt pile garners a lot of traffic. And yes it was very, very secure--nailed into a wooden stockade fence with four large nails. Next time I'll booby trap it with C-4.

This incident has been reported to the Amherst Police Department and is pending approval Amherst Police Department 111 Main Street Amherst, MA 01002 413-259-3000

General Information Incident Type Theft Temporary Report Number T10000031 Report Date 03/02/2010 09:55 AM

There they go again with rookies in command

UPDATE: 9:00 PM So obviously Kevin's guitar strings are strung a tad too tight. Now he's up to 1,000 signatures by March 8. Hmmm...He has only managed less than two-thirds that over the past two months on a internet petition sight with no barriers whatsoever to "signing" but he's going to get a 1,000 in under a week on real paper?

I'll bet him $1,000 that is not going to happen.
#######################################
March 2, 2010

Dear Amherst Town Meeting:

I have read that, "the Select Board has proposed a $1.67m override to deal with
yet another budget deficit which is the result of the Town living beyond its
means. We need greater accountability for what and how we spend." Forcing many
residents to sell their homes?

If this is true, why have we stood by while you, the Amherst Town Meeting,
engaged in this behavior? How is that Amherst Town Meeting, who are responsible
for oversight of our governing body, the Amherst Select Board, is not
accountable for our deficit spending, forcing many residents to sell their
homes? If our elected representatives, the Amherst Town Meeting, who are
responsible for oversight, is not accountable, they should be dismissed by
town-wide referendum at the next available election.

The deadline for Citizen Petitions is March 8 and I will have no trouble
getting a thousand signatures to put the item on the agenda at Town Meeting: “Why is
Amherst Town Meeting, who are responsible for oversight of our governing body,
the Amherst Select Board, not accountable for our deficit spending, forcing
many residents to sell their homes?". Amherst citizens MUST KNOW!

This is a question that MUST be answered: “Why is Amherst Town Meeting, who are
responsible for oversight of our governing body, the Amherst Select Board, not
accountable for our deficit spending, forcing many residents to sell their
homes?". I will file a petition today.

Thank you all for your effort and hard work making our town great.

Best, Kevin Collins

cc: Select Board of Amherst
Town Meeting members, attached

##################################################

UPDATE: Tuesday 3:45 PM Gotta love his naive enthusiasm!

From: kevin@redbarnmusic.com
To: amherstac@aol.com
Sent: Tue, Mar 2, 2010 1:24 pm
Subject: Re: Why is the Select Board forcing many residents to sell their homes?

Why, Larry! I didn't know you cared!

Really, that is very nice of you. Thanks.

Kevin


From: amherstac@aol.com
To: kevin@redbarnmusic.com
Sent: Tue, Mar 2, 2010 3:19 pm

Hey Kevin,
So I'm told by an ultra reliable source that you are a "really nice" guy--"idealistic" but nice. As I'm sure Ricky Boy Hood was three years ago when he was in W-A-Y over his head, as you are now. I really don't blame you or Mr. Hood as the old rule applies: "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."

The real fault here--now and then--is with Baer 'The Turk' Tierkel, the burly man behind the curtain. He would have made a great Pentagon general during the Viet Nam conflict.

Keep in mind I only fight when I know I"m right--and I then I fight to win; however, I always play by the rules--and I'm smart/experienced enough to actually study them. You should give it a try.

Larry

Sent: Tue, Mar 2, 2010 4:12 pm
Subject: Re: Why is the Select Board forcing many residents to sell their homes?

Hi, Lare
Please don't get me wrong, I only do this for fun.


From: amherstac@aol.com
To: kevin@redbarnmusic.com
Sent: Tue, Mar 2, 2010 4:47 pm
Subject: Re: Why is the Select Board forcing many residents to sell their homes?

Hey Kevin,
Yeah, it shows.
LK


#################################
ORIGINAL POST:

Three years ago the Amherst Center types let Ricky Boy Hood spearhead the campaign to pass the 'Amherst Plan' $2.5 million Override. He should have done them a final favor and fallen on that spear a month before he sent the campaign spiraling into the abyss.

Now it's equally naive, tenderfoot, Kevin Collins--who takes credit for starting the Blank Check Pro Override Online Petition two months ago still less than two-thirds to the target goal of 1,000.

Yet he threatens Stan Gawle with getting 600 signatures on a honest to goodness hard copy petition (a Hell of lot harder than getting folks to click a mouse at their convenience) in only a week.

Well gee there Kevin, if it took you six weeks to get 600 signatures (many of them out of state, too young to vote, or anonymous) how the Hell are you now going to do that in only a week where they all have to actually scribble their names on an official form and be of-age registered voters?

Of course if Mr. Collins was not such a tenderfoot he would know it only takes ten signatures to get on the ballot for Amherst Town Meeting. Yeah, I guess even he should be able to handle that.
###################################
From: kevin@redbarnmusic.comkevin@redbarnmusic.com>
Subject: Re: Why is the Select Board forcing many residents to sell their homes?
To: SelectBoard@amherstma.gov
Cc: townmeeting@amherstma.gov, moderator@amherstma.gov, gawles@verizon.net, ngrabbe@gazettenet.com
Date: Monday, March 1, 2010, 1:27 PM

Dear Select Board of Amherst:

I read that “Out of control spending coupled with wasteful and in-efficient use
of our tax dollars is forcing many residents to sell their homes.”?

http://www.nomoreoverrides.com/

If this is true, then what kind of people are we?

And if it is not true, why have we stood by for the last two years and watched
while a Town Meeting member preyed on the fears of the elderly and less
fortunate? What kind of people are we, then?

Stan Gawles has a point and we need to do something about it! I think the
entire Town Meeting should examine this question: why is the Select Board, our
governing body, forcing residents to sell their homes?

The deadline for Citizen Petitions is March 8 and I will have no trouble
getting 600 signatures to put the item on the agenda at Town Meeting: “Why is
the Select Board, our governing body, forcing many residents to sell their
homes?”. Amherst citizens MUST KNOW!

This is a question that must be answered: Why is the Select Board, our
governing body, forcing many residents to sell their homes? I will file a
petition today.

Thank you all for your effort and hard work making our town great.

Best,

Kevin Collins
Amherst

cc: Town Meeting members, attached Amherst Bulletin

#################################################
From: amherstac@aol.com
To: gawles@verizon.net; kevin@redbarnmusic.com; selectboard@amherstma.gov; townmeeting@amherstma.gov; moderator@amherstma.gov; ngrabbe@gazettenet.com
Sent: Mon, Mar 1, 2010 9:06 pm

Subject: Re: Why is the Select Board forcing many residents to sell their homes?

Can we keep a secret and not tell this tenderfoot you only need ten signatures--not 600--to get on the venerable annual TM warrant???
Larry K

Equal opportunity flag disparager

So at least His Lordship (about to become a mere Commoner) Gerry Weiss even has problems with a People's Republic of Amherst town flag, in addition to the 29 commemorative American flags that he likes to see as little as possible unfurled in town center.

And since those US flags only cost $40 each, safe to say a new flag of the same size with the town seal (or whatever a committee comes up with) will not be overly expensive.

Mr. Weiss loved to champion the subsidy of golf at Cherry Hill and considered $10,000 in tax monies nothing when applied to that pursuit, but God forbid we spend a couple hundred on a flag.

Gotta love the cocky, self centered body language at the very end.

What are town officials afraid of?

Click to enlarge/read

So when No More Overrides! gets back up and running (and I promise never to attempt tweaking ever again) you will note the salaries for town employees including the schools, as many of them are quite notable.

The town salaries are FY10 (the current year) and the School salaries are for upcoming FY11, so they do include the COLAs and step increases that may be reduced due to a teachers union giveback--although I'm betting the amount will be pretty token/negligible.

Curiously, MIA (somewhere in Miami) School Superintendent Dr. Rodriguez coughed up the requested salary information, but ignored the other part of the request for the additional cost per school employee for benefits package, which are typically about 30% more.

Stan Gawle has filed an appeal with the Supervisor of Public Records in Boston.

The taxpayers strike back!

No More Overrides! (click here to save your hard earned dollars)

UPDATE: 5:30 PM Where's Mr. Hood when you need him? So I was trying to add a sitemeter to the website and somehow managed to republish a draft version from a month ago. Yikes! Have contacted tech support and our other webmaster, so hopefully it will be restored to the version seen above soon.

UPDATE: Saturday morning: So Ricky Boy Hood, unfortunately a shoe in candidate for School Committee, is reporting over on Catherine Sanderson's blog that A-Rod is having a medical procedure done in Miami (which had originally been planned for mid-to-late April, when of course the weather in Amherst turns rather pleasant.)

Ricky Boy does not explain the sudden change in plans, or why the Superintendent did not think it important enough to let the Regional School Committee know or why officials did not post it on the ARPS website for all to see.

Hmm...so much for "transparency."

ORIGINAL POST:
Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning. Winston Churchill (no relation to Andy)