Why are you standing here with a flag?

 

9/11/12 (Photo by Helen Thelen)

Today the provincial Amherst Select Board will hold a special meeting in the Town Manager's office at 3:00 PM to approve a one-day liquor license for Top Of The Campus, an upscale UMass bar; the Planning Board will meet in Town Hall at 7:00 PM to discuss medical marijuana zoning issues; and a "touring exhibit" about Guantanamo Bay, a prison for suspected terrorists, debuts at UMass .

Just another late summer day in the bucolic town of Amherst.

Well, except for the Fire Station ceremony at 9:45 AM at Central Station, in the heart of the downtown.  Unfortunately children will be in school and most of their parents will be at work.  Although town center will still be vibrant with college aged youth.

One of the blessings of being a "college town."

In other words, kind of like it was on THAT day 12 years ago.  Except for the ringing of the bells.  The constant clanging of the bells of St. Brigid's Church indicating something was terribly, terribly wrong. 

The main flag in town center will also be at half staff as ordered by Governor Patrick earlier today, even though President Bush made it a permanent day for the American flag to sink to a position of mourning.

And yes, as I have done since THAT day, anytime the town refuses to fly the 29 commemorative flags downtown I will stand in town center with an American flag starting at 8:46 AM for a two hour period to mark the time of the attack.

To remember the slaughter of over 3,000 Americans (if you count the workers who later died of diseases resulting from their rescue efforts at Ground Zero) murdered, simply because they were Americans.

The Select Board seems to think the commemorative flags are too "festive" even though we fly them on Memorial Day.  But if the commemorative flags were flown at half staff (as they did on the late morning of 9/11) it would be hard for anyone to misinterpret that.

Starting only a few years ago, without fail, a college aged youth would approach me curiously and ask why I was holding an American flag in the center of Amherst?  I would say, "Do you know what day this is?"  And they would respond with whatever day of the week it was.

"No, what is today's date?" After a brief pause, their facial expression would change as they would slowly nod their head up and down.

"Oh yeah ... 9/11."

Good News, Bad News

 

Large contingent of APD officer 53 Meadow Street 4:45 PM Saturday

So once again the marketing machine at UMass pays off handsomely (besides the "world record" fruit salad story) as today's print edition of the Springfield Republican carries the aging good news story about UMass donating $80,000 to the town of Amherst for extra ambulance coverage.

No mention of this past weekend where the "Blarney Blowout" almost reappeared, or that nine-out-of-17 ambulance runs to UMass were for ETOH students passed out drunk.

 

Note high number of ETOH calls

I was at Wildwood Elementary School playground just after 2:00 PM Saturday with my youngest daughter Jada when I first heard the cryptic scanner reports about a growing storm at Townhouse Apartments on Meadow Street.

So I drove the short distance (my youngest loves the sight of police officers) to check it out and of course immediately realized by the huge throng of students (1,000+) in the quad that there was going to be trouble.

My daughter then asked, "Where are all the police officers?"  Good question. I could only spot three.  Yikes!

 APD officers 2:30 PM Townhouse Apartments.  All for one and one for all

But I figured they were simply waiting for reinforcements --  as they did with the Blarney Blowout -- and would simply allow the kids to party for a few hours and then move in around 5:00 PM with the aid of State PD and UMPD officers all safely dressed in riot gear.

 

Townhouse quad 2:53 PM

I drove home to drop off Jada and jump on my mountain bike for better access to the scene.  I arrived back only a half hour later (3:00 PM) and was amazed to see the small contingent of uniformed officers had waded in and dispersed the h-u-g-e gathering at the quad.

 

Just outside the quad area 3:00 PM.  53 Meadow Street party house in background

Give those boys a medal.

Some people encourage the mayhem

But many of the partiers simply moved to an adjacent party house just across the street (53 Meadow Street) and filled the back yard with drunken revelry.

Although this group was only one-fourth the size (250+) of original crowd in the quad and the police presence was now three or four times greater than the previous incident it still took almost an hour to clear the scene.

53 Meadow Street backyard.  Much smaller than Townhouse Apartment quad

Why so long the second time?  Probably that extra hour so of partying and the effects of that much more alcohol in the system.  After all, this entire event was pretty much one BIG binge drinking affair.

Which leads me to believe that if a harrowing small number of police officers had not bravely moved in when they did early on (without riot gear) to break up the huge gathering in the Townhouse quad, only another hour or two would have been enough time for that army to turn ornery.

In other words, we got lucky.  This time.  

NIMBYs Never Say Die

Have land, will develop

North Amherst residents filed a petition article this morning just before deadline which places on the fall Town Meeting warrant another anti-development zoning proposal that would simply reverse the June 3rd passage of article #31 (by a whopping 119 to 56 vote) allowing 10 housing units per mixed use development "by right" before needing a "Special Permit".   The old standard was six units.

The problem with a "Special Permit" is that it requires a unanimous vote of the three-member Zoning Board, a rather high hurdle to clear.

This particular article is a bolt from a crossbow aimed directly at W.D. Cowls, Inc and its feisty President Cinda Jones.  Already under fire for selling 154 acre parcel in Northeast Amherst for a student housing development known as "The Retreat," Cowls is also anxious to develop their former saw mill that closed in 2009.

And mixed use buildings are the way to go.  But only with a decent density of housing units above the ground floor commercial space.

Amherst is in the midst of a severe housing crisis brought on by supply failing miserably to keep up with demand, mainly due to to NIMBY offensives directed at any project more ambitious than a tree house.

Since the NIMBY petition article is a zoning issue it will require a two-thirds vote to pass.  And since the make up of Town Meeting has not changed since June 3rd the likelihood of passage is, well, unlikely.  Very unlikely. 

   Nimby Zoning Petition by larry_kelley_1

Lost Weekend

Substance abuse comprises 17% of EMS calls to Amherst College so far this year

Let's hope Amherst College President Biddy Martin is a light sleeper, so the emergency flashing lights of the ambulance that came to that 175 South Pleasant street location (not the actual President's House) in the early Sunday morning hours for a young Amherst College ETOH student, awakened her.

   AFD Sept Busy Wknd by larry_kelley_1

Furthermore, let's hope she awakens to the problem of alcohol abuse that can lead to so many other serious problems, like sexual assault and suicide, something Amherst College should have been awakened to last year.

Better yet, let's hope all of our institutes of higher education start taking this problem more seriously.

 

Substance abuse comprises 23% EMS calls to UMass/Amherst

Substance abuse comprises 14% EMS calls to Hampshire College

On The Other Hand:

 

Substance abuse comprises 5% EMS calls for town of Amherst

Substance abuse comprises only 4% of EMS calls to the town of Hadley

EMS Reinforcements (Just In Time)

 

AFD Engine 1 Central Station:  Ready to Roll!

As if Amherst Fire Department -- the busiest in the state -- wasn't efficient enough already, a new state certification for Engine 1 allowing it to act similar to an ambulance will only make them more so.

And considering the way this semester has started, were going to need it!

 

EMS gear now on board Engine 1

Now in addition to five ambulances the front line fire engine will also be equipped to respond to medical emergencies in the event all our ambulances are tied up, such as the first September weekend dealing with ETOH (passed out drunk) students.

 

$30,000 Lifepack monitors heart and ventilation can also administer shock

Previously, with any serious call -- like a major car accident or structure fire -- an ambulance and Engine 1 would have responded anyway.

But now the engine has two shelves loaded with Emergency Life Support medical supplies, which would be immediately available to compliment the ambulance for multiple causalities, including the possibility of a fire fighter being injured during the call.

Now that the fire engine is certified by the state as an Emergency First Response vehicle it must stay within the confines of Amherst, so it will not transport patients to Cooley Dickinson or Baystate Hospitals.  

Over the next two months UMass will be financing the staffing of two extra ambulances, so the AFD weekend staffing will be at peak, 13.  Unfortunately minimum staffing the rest of the time remains at only seven, where it has been since the late 1970s.

And it's not like they are any less busy during the week:

Cick graph to enlarge/read. Graph by Tom Valle, Secretary Local 1764

State requires annual Emergency First Response inspection sticker ($200 cost each) per ambulance, although for Engine 1 the equipment is certified so it can be moved to another rig in an emergency

Were toward Eternity –

The original black wrought iron gate has returned 

After an almost two month absence, workers completed installation yesterday of the now completely refurbished 155-year-old wrought iron fence that encloses the burial plot of Emily Dickinson and her family in Amherst's historic West Cemetery.

The $52,300 project, using Community Preservation Act funds set aside for historic preservation, was overwhelmingly approved by Amherst Town Meeting -- like any project relating to Emily Dickinson.

Because my friends, as icons go, the "Belle of Amherst" is priceless.

Don't worry, it's a rubber mallet

 

The final glossy coat has a shine that would wake the dead

Took the "Dickinson kinsfolk" long enough ...

Trinkets adorn the top of Miss Emily's gravestone

 

Flowers and a new fence for Miss Emily (and Lavinia)

$omething To Moo About

The cash cow had its public unveiling yesterday at the Kendrick Park “A Night of Wonder: Carnival and Film Festival” and will soon be berthed in front of the Loose Goose Cafe just across the street.

All donations fed to the cow go toward helping finance "Craig's Doors" homeless shelter, located just on the outskirts of town center. 

Cow creators wisely decided to take up overnight sentry duty last night

The Cow Guard Night 1! pic.twitter.com/aXyxxynxxa
— TheCowIsComing (@TheCowIsComing) September 8, 2013