Spruced Up

 Ground level planters now adorn all four corners of downtown Amherst

Remember when you were a kid, and company was coming over, and Mom or Dad suddenly became frantic about tidying up the entire house?

Well, Amherst is in that final phase of preparation for a sudden tsunami of students descending on our fair town to patronize three institutes of higher education.  One in particular will attract over 4,600 new recruits unfamiliar with the culture of Amherst (the town, not the College). 

Large colorful pots of flowers just recently appeared on all four corners of the main intersection of the downtown, courtesy of Mina Lussier, owner of  Zanna.  

And since her iconic business is located on the outskirts of the downtown, out of sight of these artful additions, it's not like she's doing it to spruce up her own front yard.  

Let's hope they survive the onslaught over the next few weeks.

Northampton figured out how to protect plants from meddling

Bad Things come in 3's

 Amherst College Chapel Hill

Our b-i-g flag in town center is in a position of mourning today, as it was yesterday and will be tomorrow to honor three Massachusetts men serving in the armed forces who perished this month, all of them in country.

Yesterday Governor Patrick wished to honor Marine Cpl. Kevin Dabrowski of Webster and tomorrow U.S. Army SPC David A. Mulno of Tewksbury.  Both of whom succumbed in vehicular accidents.

Although U.S. Army MSG Gregory R. Trent, age 38, of Norton, who we honor today, died at Bethesda Naval Hospital a week after being wounded by small arms fire in Afghanistan.

That certainly demonstrates how swiftly the military recovers their wounded and gets them to highly skilled help. Unfortunately, in this case, not in time to preserve life.  So far this year we have lost 308 troops in Afghanistan, 245 of them to hostile action.

On 9/11 we lost 2,997 souls to hostile action, 98% of them civilians.  Or as Mayor Giuliani so eloquently stated, "more than we can bear."

Amherst Calling

Wi-Fi emitters dangle from a streetlight in Amherst town center


Work has commenced replacing the downtown WiFi emitters on our still somewhat rare free public Internet access, a joint project with two UMass professors six years ago who were doing a doomsday project for the Department of Defense.

All 14 or the original emitters will be replaced and another 8 access points will be added, bringing the total to 22. According to Information Technology Director Kris Pacunas the refreshed grid will be "faster, more reliable and will be able to handle many more simultaneous users."

Since the emitters are being replaced one at a time, at no point will the entire system be down and the work, costing $20,000, should be completed by mid-October.

The town also appropriated $85,000 to outfit Town Hall with a generator to allow the seat of government to become an Emergency Operation Center in the event of a major incident like the freak snowstorm last October 29, which knocked out all modes of communication including the public WiFi.

A Glowing Review ... But

Amherst Town Manager John Musante

So it comes as no surprise the Select Board gave Town Manager John Musante high marks (don't get any higher than 100%!) for fiscal management, working with the Select Board itself, and slightly lower but still very good marks at 83% for dealing with our tax exempt institutes of higher education.

What is troubling, however, is the lowest mark (75%) for dealing with staff.

Particularly troubling because this mirrors the low (er) marks his disgraced predecessor Larry Shaffer received a few years ago. Interestingly, yesterday the Michigan newspaper that covers Jackson where Shaffer briefly reigned as city manager published an expose on the "inside story" of Shaffer's sudden departure -- with $64K in tax money -- from that community that mirrored his sudden departure from ours, with $62K in tax money.

Another safe bet is the Select Board will give the town manager a 5% raise based on this performance evaluation.  And not because it brings his salary into line with surrounding communities, but simply because School Superintendent Maria Geryk -- who was also making exactly the same $140K last year -- recently received a 5% raise.

And we must have parity ... at least at the very top rungs of municipal employment.

But when your staff and lower on the totem pole employees only receive a 2 or 3% raise, that legitimately creates, umm, discontent. 

#####

Grade inflation?  If the Select Board had rewarded the town manager's above average fiscal management and communication with them with an 80% or a B, which most people consider a good solid score, then reducing that by the same 25% they did with his interaction with staff would have resulted in a 60% score ... or a D.

Party Houses of the Weekend

41 Hobart Lane, Amherst 

Yeah, already I can use the pleural of Party House.  Not a good sign.

According to the above-the-fold front page story in today's venerable Gazette, UMass is taking a "lighter approach" to controlling student party behavior, using cartoon characters to enlighten them to the pitfalls of over consumption of alcohol.

Umm yeah, almost as good as handing out oatmeal cookies.

My favorite nugget of wisdom they are passing down to freshman from more senior students who presumably learned from their bad experiences is this one:  "Just because you suddenly have access to alcohol doesn't mean you have to consume it all at once."

Take for instance a young woman at 41 Hobart Lane, who was taken into Protective Custody for being ETOH (beyond drunk).

According to APD logs:

"RP reports loud music, partying and drunken shouting 1:33 AM (early Saturday)"

"Young woman observed attempting to urinate in front of residence.  Unable to state which town she was in.  Was observed to have bloodshot, glassy eyes, slurred speech."

The tenant of record at 41 Hobart was cited for violation of the town's noise bylaw ($300 fine).

#####

285 Main Street, Amherst (directly across from Emily Dickinson Homestead/Museum
 

 10:50 PM Friday night

"Large loud party with many individuals identified as being minors in possession of alcohol. One tenant was identified on scene. Approximately 60-100 guests cleared from apartment."

Arrested for TBL noise violation:
Nicholas Abraham, 285 Main St #2, Amherst, MA, age 19
One other cited for marijuana, $100 fine

Atkins Corner: Getting There

First roundabout 

First Roundabout 11/20/11

West Street in front of Hampshire College now paved

Parking lot in front of Atkins graded

A Matter of Respect

Law would not apply to private flags, but Big Y and Amherst College usually follow state protocol

It only takes but a moment to bring an American flag down to half staff ... the solemn respect it demonstrates lasts an eternity.  And since it would be honoring and remembering someone who gave up their life in the performance of their sworn duty to protect and serve the general public, is that really too much to ask?

Massachusetts Senate bill 1573 would require American flags in the Commonwealth (under state control) fly at half staff to commemorate a police officer or firefighter killed in the line of duty.  Hardly controversial -- and sure to pass -- since Governor Patrick has been especially attentive over his tenure with ordering our flags to half staff to honor those brave first responders and military personnel. 

So could we just please fast track the bill to get it passed by 9/11?  No other event in our entire history better symbolizes the dedication, determination and self-sacrifice of first responders quite like that morning.

That awful, awful morning.

AFD 9/11/08