Occupy the Trolley stop

Trolley Station on North Pleasant Street, built 1911

Those who fail to appreciate history are doomed to retweet it.

Last week I asked UMass director of campus planning Dennis Swinford about the current status of the quaint brick trolley waiting station (now recycled as a bus stop shelter) and received this ominous reply: "The Massachusetts Historical Commission issued a ruling that the structure can be demolished after photo documentation and measured drawings are prepared and submitted to the Mass Archive."

In other words, the bulldozers are already warming up.

Retired Professor Joseph Larson, a historical preservationist on a mission, recently pegged the cost to save the station at $75,000...down considerably from the original lone quote UMass received at $200,000.

Considering the Amherst flagship campus has witnessed an unprecedented construction boom over the past ten years, averaging over $100 million annually, that new quote to save a healthy piece of history comes to less than one-tenth of one percent--an even more startling statistic than the Occupy mantra centered on the 1%.

Original Trolley Barn Cowles Road North Amherst, built 1897. One year demolition delay expires 7/28/12

Second Trolley Barn, now Amherst DPW, built 1917

A brief history of the local Trolley by Jonathan Tucker

Busy Super Bowl weekend for AFD

Hobart Lane's much maligned dumpster

Not to confuse anyone with the headline, because the on-campus revelry did not seem to add much of a burden to the Amherst Fire Department above and beyond their "normal" hectic routine for weekends in a "college town."

The dumpster at Hobart Lane, scene of 30 previous fires before a perp was recently bagged red handed (currently no longer enrolled at UMass) was again the scene of wasteful, destructive fires late Friday and Sunday evenings. As Chief Nelson points out, when AFD responds to such a nuisance fire that ties up resources so they can't respond instantly to a "real" emergency.

And notice once again a cluster of ETOH (passed out drunk) calls late Friday early Saturday once again tied up ALL our on-duty resources, leaving the entire town (and regional towns who rely on our EMS) under the protection of the volunteer Student Force.

And in spite of their impressive capabilities, not a super situation.

Party House of the Weekend

96 Montague Road, North Amherst

In spite of issuing a $300 noise ticket to a party house at 144 Glendale Road, a classic middle class neighborhood in South Amherst and another one to an apartment dweller at 165A Boulders a classic early 1980s apartment complex also in South Amherst the winner this week is a party house that received only a written warning early Sunday morning (2:20 AM) and then a return visit by APD later that morning (11:10 AM) for a follow up verbal warning.

According to APD narrative: "Spoke with residents at #96 Montague Road regarding a large party they threw last night. Neighboring residents had beer cans and bottles strewn in lawns and mailboxes were knocked down or missing. Residents were advised of guests behavior after they had been served alcohol. Residents stated they understood."

Yeah, let's hope.

144 Glendale Road, South Amherst

I fought the law, and the law won

Chanting and cheering, a throng of UMass students confront police clad in riot uniforms Southwest 10:40 PM

It was then the police horses showed up

And the crowd quickly dispersed

Going up?

In case you wondered why Jones Library employees were greatly concerned over the new Personnel Procedures Manual that the Personal Board worked on for three years because it seemingly increases the day to day managerial powers of the Library Trustees (i.e. micromanaging), consider this:

Jones Library Trustees President Sarah McKee ordered the elevator closed until further notice after an elderly women became temporarily stuck, then pushed every button on the panel in frustration (except for the alarm button) which did not help the situation. After making a scene she managed to get out unscathed.

An elevator technician came the next day, tested the machine and deemed it fine. About two years ago Ms. McKee had the elevator shut down for months awaiting a new panel, even though a state inspector had deemed it fine.

The Jubilat/Jones Reading Series occurred this afternoon in the Trustees Room, 3rd floor. I guess poetry aficionados also got their exercise.

Rough week for Americana

Missing a few pickets

Traditional American symbols have taken a beating this week: Occupy Northampton abusing an American flag on Thursday, and drunken UMass students trashing a white picket fence on Summer Street.

Early this morning (12:26 AM) Amherst police responded to a call from North Amherst reporting "a group of subjects knocking down fences in the area." They were located on Cowles Road and the reporting party identified one ("highly intoxicated") as the individual who trashed the fence and a nearby mailbox. They were told to make contact with the victim and fix the broken items.

Like the flag incident, the misdeeds of the very few tarnish the image of the very many.

Occupy Sends the wrong signal

Don't like

My digital journalist buddy Mary Serreze, who covers Northampton like I cover Amherst, posted this photo on my Facebook wall after I commented about this obnoxious incident on hers, knowing it was an act of disrespect deserving of further mention.

And as she already pointed out, the Occupy Northampton folks also disrupted a Northampton City Council meeting last night, thus showing disrespect for our government at all levels.

The American flag belongs to all of us, all 100%! Men and women have died and will continue to die for the freedoms it represents, including the freedom to use it disrespectfully. Yes, flying the flag upside down is a legitimate way to signal distress, but dragging it on the ground is distressing to the vast majority of Americans from all socioeconomic backgrounds.

As the noisy crowd of perhaps 100 passed around us, my 10-year-old daughter took note of the American flag being used like a dust mop and said "Why are they doing that?" "Because they want to get our attention," I replied.

As my Chinese friends would say, "Be careful what you wish for."