Amherst Bank robbery!

Northampton Cooperative Bank, 390 College Street, Amherst

More Recent Update Springfield Republican (you will recognize the photo)

2: 25 PM UPDATE: My friends at the Springfield Republican are reporting that Belchertown Police nabbed the perps.
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Another unarmed robbery. This time it's Northampton Cooperative Bank on lower College Street, around noonish. All schools went into lockdown for 35 minutes or so (code name "hurricane"). Police are on the scene. Lieutenant Ronald A. Young described this one, however, as "different" from the previous heist in town center five months ago by a young couple with a drug problem.

Lieutenant Young (back to camera)

Message from the Superintendent:

All district schools were placed in "lockdown" status effective 12:00 p.m. today, September 20, 2011. This action was a result of a robbery which occurred at a commercial building in the vicinity of Fort River School. Lockdown status means that all windows and doors are locked and no one is permitted to enter or leave the building for any reason. Instruction continued as normal until 12:35 when we received clearance from the Amherst Police Department to come out of lockdown status after the robbery suspects were apprehended in Belchertown. Principals report that staff and students did an outstanding job of following all district safety protocols throughout the lockdown process. As with all such instances, the district will use today's lockdown as an opportunity to assess our processes and procedures to determine if there are areas for improvement. If children, or parents, have questions or concerns about today's lockdown or safety in general, please contact your Principal or your school's guidance counselor.

Party House of the Weekend

55 South Prospect Street, Amherst. Valuation $408,300

So if you have a warrant out for your arrest, don't party hardy at 2:30 AM in Amherst town center!

Amherst police broke up a party at 55 South Prospect Street because of loud voices and music at 2:00 AM early Saturday morning, arresting five residents for violation of the town's noise ordinance, bringing fines of $300 each, and another co-conspirator, Maurice Edwards, 30 Gatehouse Road, Amherst, arrested "On a warrant initiated by other agency."

Property owner card for 55 South Prospect Street

Getting High in Hadley

Two balloons descend before dark

An Escalation of Violence

167 College Street, Amherst

A female friend rushed two male UMass students to Cooley Dickinson Hospital around 2:30 AM Sunday morning with "apparent stab wounds" and another college-aged student was transported by Amherst Fire Department to Bay State Medical Center in Springfield with possible head injuries, all the result of "a lot of people and fighting going on outside listed location".

Although the damages are not considered "life threatening," the inner-city gang-like violence underscores the other major problem associated with student party houses: Not just loud noise, vandalism, public urination and the like, but the real potential for a violent, painful, permanent death.

For which it stands

Over 150 citizens gathered to remember the Civil War service of 5 black Amherst residents

For the second late summer Sunday in a row Amherst hosted a rare solemn ceremony to remember war, something the outspoken town does rather routinely, but usually from only one perspective: anti war.

Last week we honored, remembered and cried for 3,000 Americans slaughtered ten years earlier in a two-hour killing spree unprecedented in our history--especially since civilians comprised over 90% of the casualties.

Today we gathered to remember and honor five black soldiers from Amherst who fought in the Civil War, another unprecedented event in our history--the costliest conflict ever when measured in American casualties.

The five veterans are all buried in West Cemetery, where its most famous occupant, Emily Dickinson, tends to overshadow all the other deserving souls buried there. Not today however.

Raymond Brooks, a Native American, and great-great grandson of Christopher Thompson

Bob Romer, Veterans Agent Steven Connor, Reynolds Winslow, Dave Ziomek

Charles Thompson: upstanding citizen of Amherst and the USA

Amherst's "Sacred Dead Tablets" in storage

Saturday night's alright for...

Burning the midnight oil. APD 11:30 PM

Popular PVTA bus stop North Pleasant Street

Sunday morning 7:15 AM

Let the clean up begin. But not by those responsible. This gent only picks up returnable cans & bottles

Hobart Lane

North Pleasant Street

Phillips Street

Allen Street

Basketball Jones

Coach Kellogg sets with Jada, then passes off

This morning my daughters got to meet the UMass basketball team and Coach Derek Kellogg at the Big E. What a great bunch of ambassadors they are for the game of basketball and our flagship University.

Jada's first slam dunk

Tonight UMass football takes on Rhode Island in their first home game here in Amherst, and the weather is rather pleasant. Let's hope the fans remember that they too are ambassadors for the University.

Kira getting the team's autographs

2 points!