Devil In The Details

 Current tree with mirror (rt) is unstable.  New one will be near telephone pole

Flying the commemorative flags every 9/11 was not the only acrimonious issue on the Amherst Select Board's plate Monday night, as immediately before that embarrassing item they discussed the ongoing bitter battle over relocating a driveway at 666 South East Street, a public safety issue strongly endorsed by Assistant Fire Chief Don McKay.

After too long a discussion the Select Board, keepers of the public way, voted to allow Christopher Benfey and Mickey Rathbun to put up a mirror on the opposite side of their dangerous driveway to facilitate clear views of oncoming traffic up and over the hill.   But only after  "consultation" with the DPW.

Tech savvy member Aaron Hayden stated they should "be able to see all the way down to the South Amherst common" if the mirror is positioned correctly.

 Mickey Rathbun, Chris Benfey in the hot seat

The owners of 666 South East Street have decided not to move the driveway 60 feet to the north for economic reasons:   Tree Warden Alan Snow has not budged on the "replacement cost" for taking down seven trees, what amounts to a $6,000 fine.

This on top of an estimated $25,000 cost for a complicated driveway construction project.

At the Monday night SB meeting the DPW was disparaged as being "scornful" by Mr. Benfey and Mr. Snow was characterised as engaging in "unbelievable behavior."

Meanwhile yesterday the DPW removed a large old bush at the entryway to their driveway to "improve sight lines" for incoming traffic from busy Rt. 116. 

Tuesday: Bye bye big bush

Today

Select Board Rejects 9/11 Flag Question

 My view from the hot seat.  John Musante, Stephanie just-say-no O'Keeffe

UPDATE:  Tuesday 5:00 PM:

AP picks up the 9/11 flag flap story.  Again.

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The Amherst Select Board voted unanimously (5-0) tonight to reject a citizen voter petition reqesting they allow local voters to settle once and for all the nagging annual question of whether the commemorative American flags should fly in the downtown every 9/11 vs once every five years.

Yes, I said UNANIMOUSLY REJECTED.  Only in Amherst.

MassLive reports (as always, comments are the best)

9/11/14?

Amherst Town Center 9/11/11.  Commemorative flags will not fly again until 2016, unless

So I'm trying to anticipate the excuse the Amherst Select Board will conjure up this evening during the 7:15 PM flag discussion to reject placing on the local 3/25/14 election ballot the never ending question of flying the commemorative flags every 9/11, thus allowing the voters decide this issue once and for all.

Sure they will mention the shameful 2007 Amherst Town Meeting vote by a whopping 96-41 not to fly the flags annually.  And that advisory resolution had requested they fly at half staff, which completely negates the argument that the commemorative flags are  "too festive."

Kind of hard for the average person to misread the intentions of twenty nine 3' by 5' American flags at half staff.

And I'm sure one of them will argue that governance by referendum can be a dangerous thing.  Would slavery had ended 150 years ago if it were put up to a popular vote at the time?  Or would women have been given the right to vote in 1920 if it had been decided at the ballot box?

Of course the counter to that is we are Amherst, the only town (according to Tracy Kidder) with a "foreign policy." So sure, historically speaking the townspeople would have done the right thing.

As they will do on March 25 if the Select Board has the courage to allow this festering issue to come to a vote.

After all, they seem to love the tagline:  "Amherst, where only the h is silent."  Then why not let the people speak?

Standard Saturday? (In A College Town)

 

Bus stop N. Pleasant Street near Newman Center 11:00 PM last night

So for no apparent rhyme or reason last night was less rowdy than the previous two Saturdays  -- with a lot less foot traffic than usual -- although what passes for standard is still unacceptable:

The "liquor law violations" started a little later than usual as the first arrest seemed to occur at 11:00 PM, one hour later than the previous night.  Although the first call I heard for an AFD ambulance to cart a drunk female UMass student (ETOH) to the hospital came in at 10:45 PM.

APD also investigated a mysterious explosion on Rt 9 near the Hadley border called in by someone at Hawkins Meadow Apartment just after 11:00 PM.  I could also hear Hadley dispatch and patrol officers mention it as well.  Neither department found anything.

Over the next hour APD responded to loud parties at 18 Foxglove Lane, Sand Hill Road in North Amherst, South Whitney Street in East Amherst and they cleared a large crowd in front of 45 Phillips Street (contiguous with UMass) at the request of the tenants, who said the large crowd was not "invited."

Between midnight and 1:00 AM police responded to three more loud parties: two of them at apartment complexes and one large home based party at 15 Taylor Street which garnered the young female hostess a $300 noise ticket.

During that same one hour period AFD would respond to three separate intoxicated student incidents (ETOH) all of them requiring transport to Cooley Dickinson Hospital.

At 1:10 AM on South Pleasant Street, a stone's throw from town center, APD performed a Field Sobriety Test on a college aged driver (who was hopping on one foot and listing badly when I passed by) and based on the results placed him "under" for DUI.  AT 1:35 AM police responded to a fight in town center called in by an AFD vehicle returning to quarters.

Meanwhile in neighboring Hadley, at 1:40 AM,  police responded to reports of a young college aged female staggering down the middle of a main road.  At 1:45 AM UMass PD called in AFD to transport a young ETOH female who was vomiting.

Five minutes later, at 1:50 AM, AFD responded to Amherst Police Department headquarters at 111 Main Street to evaluate a young female who had been in a fight (and apparently did not fare all that well).

At 1:55 AM, Amherst College police requested two ambulances for two young female students, one ETOH and the other "having trouble breathing."  Both were located in the same men's bathroom.

And with that I called it a night, or I should say morning. APD and AFD did not.  

 

Lawn ornament vandalized last night at a house near UMass

Frisky Friday

 Resident of 31 Shumway Street arrested for "disorderly conduct"

As usual, the first shots fired in the skirmish on rowdyism last night started in earnest around 10:00 PM, with Amherst Police and UMPD making individual arrests among streaming crowds of college aged youths in and around the UMass periphery for alcohol related infractions.

A scenario that would play out nearly a dozen times over a four hour period.

 

Walk This Way crowd (with dog) midnight Labor Day Weekend  Fearing St

I did not see the "Walk This Way" crew out among the throng of students undulating up and down the Fearing Street neighborhood.  Not that they seem to do much good when they are at their stations.  Kind of like trying to redirect a tsunami using a child's toy plastic beach shovel.

Things kicked into high gear just after 1:00 AM with almost simultaneous noise complaints at 31 Shumway Street, 115 Grantwood Drive, and an apartment at the 24 North East Street complex, resulting in three arrests for noise/nuisance house violations, and one arrest for "disorderly conduct."

At 1:45 AM police were called to the North Pleasant/Kellogg Ave intersection in the downtown for an alcohol fueled disturbance, otherwise known as a fight.

Only minutes later a woman called from East Pleasant Street near Pine Street in North Amherst complaining about college aged youths urinating in her backyard.

According to Dispatch, "She was very upset."  Indeed.    

Let's Take A Vote

Shanksville Pennsylvania 10:04 AM 9/11/01

 As Flight 93 streaked toward Washington D.C. that fateful morning, passengers huddled in the back of the plane realized they had become unwilling conscripts in a suicide mission. So they decided to do something about it. 

But before they made their desperate, valiant attempt to retake the plane, they did something as American as apple pie: they took a vote.

Men and women from all walks of life decided -- in the most democratic manner possible -- to go to war defending their country.

Although they fell short of the objective that awful morning, their supreme sacrifice saved scores of fellow Americans and represented the first tactical victory in "the war on terror."

So I suppose it's fitting that the Amherst Select Board agenda for Monday night's meeting was finalized on Wednesday afternoon, the 12th anniversary of the most heinous attack on American soil in our entire history.

The Select Board will act on a voter petition I handed in two weeks ago with more than the requisite number of signatures, requesting they place the "only in Amherst" controversy of flying commemorative flags on 9/11 before the voters this March 25.

(Last year's annual town election had a 7% turnout.)

Whether you think the commemorative flags should fly annually on 9/11 -- as they do on Memorial Day -- or agree that once every five years is sufficient, surely we can all agree there's no harm in confirming that with "The People."

After all, isn't that one of the most cherished rights our flag represents?  

"We the People," cordially request ...

Who'll Stop The Rain

 

The center of the storm N. Pleasant Street 7:00 PM

The threatening skies unleashed a targeted downpour so sudden it made the crowd shriek, then sent them scurrying for cover: exhibitors tents, awnings of storefront businesses or below what's left of the urban tree cover in the downtown.

Block Party central to norther end of closed off roadway

Up until that time (6:55 PM) the crowd was starting to grow, as everyone seemed to enjoy walking amiably down the very center of what is normally a busy roadway through the heart of downtown Amherst.

 Block Party northern end near Kendrick Park

Still, the crowd seemed a little smaller than last year's gathering.  Perhaps the National Weather Bureau "Severe Thunderstorm Watch" earlier in the day covering the entire four hours of the party (6-10 PM) had something to do with it.

Although last year the maiden event had to contend with a mosquito borne illness alert over Eastern Equine Encephalitis where town officials -- including the Board of Health -- issued stern  warnings against outdoor activities between dusk and dawn.

Lady on stilts enthralls the kids ... well, except for the superhero on left

By 9:00 PM with the rains coming and going the crowds had thinned

Food concession stands not doing a very brisk business

So maybe it's a classic sophomore slump, or maybe people fear thunderstorms more than mosquitoes.

Either way, the concept of bringing together a broad spectrum of citizens young and old into a safe, secure brightly lit downtown for a night of food, fun and entertainment is a sound one.

Besides, third time is the charm.

 

AFD Engine 1 and Ambulance 1 were stationed at DPW one mile from Central  Station  to avoid congestion in town center