Homeland Security Comes To Amherst

 

Amherst DPW 1:00 PM Monday

The Amherst DPW, my immediate neighbor, became a staging area yesterday afternoon for a federal Homeland Security investigation bringing four cars with Feds, two APD cruisers and a AFD ambulance to their already busy parking lot located only one mile south of Amherst center. 

My first reaction was somebody was going to detonate something bad in town center.   The only immediate information I could glean was that it was "not terrorism related," so that kind of ruled out my initial fear; furthermore, it was not a safety concern for my family here in South Amherst.

Whew!

According to APD Chief Livingstone:

"We were assisting only the Dept of Homeland Security on a non emergency issue. Any statements would come from the department of Homeland Security…"

Anyone know someone at Homeland Security?

A Good Light

Torch Run line up APD

Friday's morose monsoons gave way to crisp clear skies with just enough of a breeze to bolster a body at work, ideal New England weather for a three mile jaunt through Amherst to UMass, as men and women of the Amherst Police Department  co-hosted the Law Enforcement Torch Run, a special benefit for a special event:  the Massachusetts Special Olympics.

 Torch Run hits Amherst town center

Hampden County Sheriff's Department and UMPD also helped co-sponsor the heart warming event.

 Torch Run greeted by AFD at Central Station

About 35 participants gathered at APD headquarters, 111 Main Street, and when the gun sounded at 7:00 PM  they set a comfortable pace up the hill into town center behind a fleet of escort  vehicles.

 Torch Run passes UMass Commonwealth Honors College new dorms

Near the end of the run the pack was joined by a horde of UMass athletes from the basketball, football and soccer programs for the final sprint into Berkshire Dining Commons where the (electronic) torch was illuminated before a packed standing room only crowd.

 Final few yards, torch in hand

In 2012 the statewide events raised $220,000 in total to benefit the athletes of Special Olympics.  Pretty special indeed.

 Torch all fired up

Out With The Old

Hillcrest Place water/sewer reconstruction: in house DPW job

Running water is kind of like electricity -- easy to take for granted until an October Snowmageddon knocks out the power for a week, although fortunately the water continued to flow.

Folks on Hillcrest Place have been having "issues" with their water for years.  Mainly low pressure and discoloration -- is in yucky brown and yellow.

Not Mother Nature's fault unless you consider old age to be her handy work, as the Hillcrest Place line is one of the oldest water mains in town, consisting of a cast iron 4" pipe.

 A fire hydrant temporarily provides water to the street

The project is about half done and DPW Chief Guilford Mooring hopes it will be completed by the end of the month.  And the new water line, made of Ductile Iron, should last over 50 years.

 

New pipes await installation on a rainy day

Residents on Hillcrest Place will raise a glass (of water) to that.

#2 times 2

 Amherst College (named after the town, not the General)

Amherst College is rated #2 for top liberal arts college in American behind arch rival Williams College.  And now they are rated #2 in the state for "safest school."

One logical reason is of course Amherst, the town, is pretty safe.  And the Amherst Police Department does a great job of keeping it that way.

Amherst College also has a fine professional police department made up of 7 full-time patrol officers, 3 sergeants, a deputy chief and highly regarded Chief, John Carter.

Back in December of 2011 Amherst Police had their hands full with a student party house on College Street just off Amherst College campus (none of them AC students) that had spiraled out of control, with a major fight that resulted in a stabbing.

UMass police were too busy on their campus to provide mutual aid.   But Amherst College police were a big help, arriving quickly on the scene to help control vehicular traffic and party goers cascading out of the house.

I emailed a brief thank you note to Amherst College President Biddy Martin and received this reply:

I am glad to hear that the Amherst College police were helpful to you on Saturday. Having worked closely with university police at Cornell and at UW-Madison, I count on campus police to be well-trained and highly competent. I agree. The assumption that campus police are "mall cops" is totally misplaced. Responsibility for thousands of young people and unique facilities requires that every campus have police or safety departments that can handle any kind of emergency, often in cooperation with colleagues off campus. It is a relief to know from you that our campus police have a good relationship with your department. 

Another contributing factor keeping Amherst College safe and sound is the full time protection provided by the Amherst Fire Department. Amherst College donates $90,000 annually to the town in lieu of taxes for ambulance/fire protection.

AFD responses in 2013 thus far by location

 

Graph courtesy of Amherst Firefighters Local 1764 

A scenic campus, well maintained buildings and a low student teacher ratio are all important factors in choosing a school. But it's hard to learn if you don't feel safe.

There He Goes Again!

So everybody's favorite downtown character -- well, maybe most peoples' -- Bill Elsasser made the news for his quirky style of maintenance.  This time it was pruning the trees on the town common.

 

Town officials inspect rogue pruning last week to downtown trees 

Bill can be seen most days patrolling the downtown on foot picking up cigarett butts -- sometimes on hands and knees -- and any other litter he comes across.  He also donated some of the flowers in the downtown.

 Bill Elsassar on patrol

Just one of the many attractions of downtown Amherst (Bill and the flowers).

Bill appears before venerable Amherst Select Board

"From These Honored Dead ..."

 Area behind car will become final resting place for six Civil War tablets

The ground in front of Amherst Town Hall will go from simply historic to hallowed as a Request For Proposals has been issued to display the six "Sacred Dead" Civil War tablets commemorating all 300 or so Amherst men who served in that decimating conflict.

The Grand Army of the Republic donated the tablets to Amherst in 1893.

List of 57 Amherst men who died to preserve the Union

For many years they were displayed in Town Hall but then in the early 1960s during a renovation project they were placed in storage and forgotten until just before 9/11.

As with so many things in life it took the efforts of one concernced citizen, Dudley Bridges, a proud, black, WW2 veteran, to spark a movement to restore the tablets to a place of honor.  Unfortunatley Mr. Bridges died in 2004 at age 80 and is now buried in historic West Cemetary.

According to Planning Director Jonathan Tucker:

 "The RFP asks the Consultant chosen to work with the Town to: 1) create designs for the site, the display enclosures, signs and interpretive materials, and lighting, 2) take the designs to bid specifications, 3) develop a method for safely transporting and installing the tablets, and 4) develop cost estimates for the whole shebang." 

Town Manager John Musante had envisioned them being installed in the Town Room, our seat of government, where the Select Board and other important committees meet. But the tablets are too heavy for the floor and would require expensive reinforement.

The location outside the building gives the tablets much greater visibility at all hours of day, 365 days a year. Even more fitting, that ground was once the location of a WW2 "Roll Of Honor" structure erected during that tumultious time in our history. 

Roll of Honor outside Amherst Town Hall 1942 Lincoln Barnes photo

I'm sure Dudley James Bridges would approve.  Hoo-Ah!

A patriotic Town Hall, September 1942

Buzz Off!

The town will issue an "Eastern Equine Encephalitis" alert later today; as a result the Hot Summer Nights outdoor showing of The Muppets this evening has been cancelled.

A 2nd dead horse in Belchertown tested positive this afternoon for EEE and one died last week from the mosquito borne disease.

The Muppets are certainly awesome, but not to die for.