Tennis Anyone?

 Amherst Regional Middle School tennis courts

The tennis courts adjacent to the Amherst Regional Middle School, like a lot of construction projects around town, is expected to be completed by October 1st.  The $225,000 capital improvement project was approved by Joint Capital Planning Committee and Town Meeting last spring.

DPW Chief Guilford Mooring says there's still a lot of work to be done, including "Fence post sleeves, top course of asphalt, painting, new fence and nets."

The Amherst DPW did the site work, Warner Brothers is doing the paving and Vermont Recreational Surface and Fencing handles the final detail work.

When Religion & Beer Compete

Triangle Street, Amherst

The current reconstruction of Triangle Street at the gateway to UMass is expected to be completed mid-to-late September.

But if the process followed the pattern of the original construction of the road back in 1820, it would take a l-o-t longer.  Amherst had its very own Civil War over the roadwork,  dubbed "The Triangle Street Fight" by Morehouse and Carpenter in their definitive "History of the town of Amherst, Massachusetts."

 

Amherst town center BoA: former home of "Boltwood Tavern"

Back then town center was known as the "West Village," and a prominent business -- the "Boltwood Tavern" --  was located where the ugly Bank of America now sits; while the "East Village" had a competing operation -- "Dickinson/Bagg's Tavern" -- located at the intersection of South East and Main Streets.

Since the Calvin Coolidge Bridge in Northampton was not yet built, travelers from the west had to cross over the Connecticut River in Sunderland and make their way south to Amherst where they would first encounter the tavern in town center, giving it a distinct advantage over  the one located a mile or so to the east.

 First Congregational Church, Main Street, Amherst

The First Congregational Church, founded 1739,  is also located on Main Street between the Dickinson Homestead and town center ("West Village") and it was in competition with the more recent 1782 break away Second Congregational Church.

The First Congregational Church was also more loyal to the British during the Revolutionary War, motivating the more patriotic parishioners to seek God elsewhere, as in the "East Village."  

East Village:  Former 2nd Congregational Church, now Jewish Community of Amherst

Thus Triangle Street became a more efficient route to points east but in so doing bypassed town center ... and the Boltwood Tavern and the First Congregational Church.  Town Meeting approved the road on December 4, 1820 but then ten days later that approval was overturned.

Main and Triangle Street intersection

Well the citizens of "East Village" did not take kindly to that and simply decided to build the road themselves.  The citizens in and around town center ("West Village") decided to enforce Town Meeting's vote to "discontinue" the road by sabotaging construction after workers went home for the night.

 

East Village: Dickinson-Bagg's Tavern South East/Main Street intersect, now legal offices

Former Dickinson-Bagg's Tavern

Road builders started stationing guards all along the new construction to keep watch overnight.  Frustrated workers on both sides would then come to blows.  Spectators from surrounding towns started showing up just to watch the nightly tussle.  

Anti-road activists took to building a fence across the road to block transit.  The pro-road builders destroyed the fence as quickly as it could be constructed. 

Finally, on May 17, 1821 Town Meeting voted to advise the Selectmen to "clear the encumbrances from the road and keep it clear."  The Selectmen, keepers of the public ways, dutifully agreed and the "Triangle Street Fight" concluded.

A clear victory for capitalism, God and country. 

 

Boltwood Tavern in town center became Amherst House in 1838, burned to the ground July 4, 1879

Lovell, John L., 1825-1903, "Amherst House before 1879," in Digital Amherst, Item #467, http://www.digitalamherst.org/items/show/467 (accessed August 13, 2013).

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