DUI Dishonor Roll

 On average, one in three people will be involved in a drunk driving crash in their lifetime

Just to show there is a cultural connection between rowdy Party Houses, Blarney Blowouts, Hobart Hoedowns and drunk drivers, I give you Joseph J. Buckley, age 23, a UMass student from Billerica, Massachusetts.

 

Joe Buckley

Now Joe was arrested by APD at 2:00 AM, early Friday morning after quenching his "Thirsty Thursday" with too much alcohol and then getting behind the wheel of a car.  He was pulled over on Lincoln Avenue, near UMass.

At the May, 2010 Hobart Hoedown Joseph Buckley was arrested for assault on an officer after throwing beer bottles at police.  Obviously UMass was pretty lenient on him as he is still a student three years later, and still being arrested by Amherst police. 

Back To Work!

Big ol' excavator operated by skilled laborer at Amherst Middle School tennis courts project this morning

The strike is over and with that 100 or so skilled laborers from the International Union of Operating Engineers Local Union 98 are back on the job.  

And while Union 98 may not have gotten everything they asked for, they did manage to get a raise in pay over the next three years and the formation of a study group to keep entry level job positions that act as a feeder system for the higher paid, more skilled, positions.

As my favorite Journo professor once said on the floor of Amherst Town Meeting.  "A good compromise is one that makes neither side perfectly happy."

Strike Heats Up

Warner Brothers Construction (non striking) crew on Triangle Street 11:30 AM

BREAKING NEWS:  Strike has been settled.  Machine operators will be back on the job tomorrow morning.  (An early Christmas present).

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"Work" resumed on the town's Triangle Street road project, albeit s-l-o-w-l-y as the International Union of Operating Engineers Local Union 98 are still on strike, and they are pretty much the skilled heavy equipment operators.

Laborers from a different union doing basic manual labor on Triangle Street

Thus Warner Bros is trying to finish this job using less than optimal work procedures .  For instance using a non-union job foreman, in this case John Baronas, to run the roller.  

 

John Baronas in white helmet (obviously not a Hollywood Western thing)

Mr Baronas was not overly happy about having his picture taken, as he came over to me and said somewhat sternly, "If any of my men come to harm, I will hold you personally responsible."  

I of course pointed out the Amherst police officer within spitting distance of the work site.  And that we are standing on a public street and he is using public tax money to break a union, um, complete the project.

Party House of the Weekend

 

419 Old Farm Rd, Amherst.  (normally) a quiet neighborhood

Once again we have a "new" first time address for party citations but one that's owned by a "usual suspect," Onesta Properties LLC, aka Pipleline Properties, aka Chad O'Rourke and Daniel Feldman.

Although I'm starting to wonder if there's problems in paradise as far as the student rental market is concerned, since Onesta Properties LLC, aka Pipeline Properties, aka Chad O'Rourke and Daniel Feldman just flipped two rental properties (12 Sunset Court and 747 Main Street) for a cool $899,000 total.

Let's hope DNB Properties LLC is a tad more careful with tenant selection.

Amherst police responded to a neighbor's call for help to quiet a loud party around 1:00 AM early Sunday morning.  The throng of "college aged youth" was less than cooperative with police so on top of the $300 noise ticket, each resident of the house earned a bonus "nuisance" ticket, also for $300.

Yes, that's a total of $600 for each rowdy resident.

Arrested, hands cuffed behind their backs and taken to APD headquarters where they were locked up until paying a $40 processing fee to the Clerk of Courts:

Daniel J. DuBois, age 19, 44 Cogswell St, Haverhill, Robert S. O’Neil, age 20, 30 Holmes Lane, Milton, and Rui R. Pereira and Timothy J. Stoops both age 20, and both from 419 Old Farm Road 419 Old Farm Rd, Amherst.

All four of them, amazingly, UMass students.

Justice For Danny?

 Roadside memorial for Daniel Haley, age 24, Rt. 116 Amherst/Hadley border

Every time somebody tells me to just "wait until there's a tragedy" so town and state officials will get deadly serious and do something about the prevalence of alcohol induced mayhem in our Happy Valley, I cringe.  

In fact, I get downright angry. 

Because I know that tragedy has already occurred, snatching from friends and family a promising young life just starting to hit stride.

Daniel Haley, age 24,  was only weeks away from graduating UMass/Amherst, an endeavor he worked hard to accomplish -- covering both the study requirements of a chemical engineering major as well as working to cover the cost of higher education. 

He was killed by Brittini Benton of Sunderland, also age 24, who was driving the wrong way on Rt 116 in Hadley, while under the influence of alcohol.  A lot of it! (BAC of 0.179, more than twice the legal limit).

A second offense no less.

But Ms. Benton, unlike Daniel Haley, will continue to age.  Only now she will do it from the cramped confines of a prison cell.  For the next five to seven years.

I asked a family member, great uncle Mike Haley, if he was satisfied with the outcome of the trial and the punishment recently meted out to Ms. Benton by our justice system.

Mr. Haley said the sentencing had brought "some form of closure" but obviously it was a "very hard day for the family."  Mike Haley and  Daniel's cousin -- who was more like a sister -- read prepared statements and the assistant DA read the statement of Daniel Haley's heartbroken mother.

The sentencing had been delayed three months so Ms. Benton, who became pregnant after the accident, could have her child.

The "system" allowed her back on the road only seven month after the first DUI.  The system delayed sentencing for over three months so she could bring a child into the world.

And not all that many years from now, the system will allow Brittini Benton back into a our free society; and who knows, maybe even allow her to drive a car again.

 "I only wish Danny had that opportunity," said Mike Haley somberly.

And if Massachusetts made interlock ignition switches mandatory after the FIRST offense for DUI, that alone would have saved him.  

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Time to close the loopholes

Weekend Wrap (in a "College Town")

 Small herd of students Fearing Street Saturday night 11:25 PM

So it was neither the best of times -- although the weather on Saturday was pretty perfect -- or the worst of times -- considering how bad things have gotten before around this time of year.

Friday into early morning Saturday seemed once again to be the worst of times for Amherst Fire Department, as once again an ETOH (alcohol OD) incident occurred at a time when all five ambulances were out, many of them for ETOH students, and had to be handled by "mutual aid," courtesy of Belchertown FD.

As usual the ETOH calls came during the Third Watch, starting around midnight, with an ETOH male at UMass.  Dispatch called the ambulance en route to inform them there was another patient, also possible ETOH, who had fallen and hit his head while at the UMPD lock up. 

AFD transported one to Cooley Dickinson Hospital and UMPD kept the other in "protective custody."

At 1:15 AM an ambulance responded to the s curves in Shutesbury for a downed motorcyclist, and since that is at the farthest reaches of the AFD protection zone it would tie up an ambulance for well over an hour.

At 1:19 AM another ETOH UMass student fell and hit his head at Kennedy Dorm Southwest high rise.  As all our ambulances were tied up dispatch sent a firetruck with emergency first responders who stabilized the patient until Belchertown FD arrived to transport (A fire engine cannot transport patients).

Around 1:30 AM AFD responded to Gorman Dorm for a male student who had taken "liquid THC."  That too was initially handled by Engine 3 until an AFD ambulance could arrive to transport. 

Saturday was a very busy day in town with traffic backed up in the center for most of the morning and early afternoon.  In addition to the usual Farmers Market the town common was also hosting the Fall Apple Harvest Festival, and of course McMurphy's Uptown Tavern was attracting a hoard of college aged youth dressed in green and wearing tacky plastic Irish hats for the "Half Way To Blarney Blowout" non-event.

AFD responded to a "box alarm" (meaning smoke had been detected by an actual witness) to a UMass dorm around 1:30 PM.  The fire -- quickly extinguished by UMass Environmental Health & Safety -- was caused by a candle, and AFD engines stayed on scene to ventilate the building.

 Emerson Dorm, UMass 1:45 PM Saturday

Around 6:00 PM AFD responded to two potential Q-5 (suicide) incidents in different parts of town, one where young lady had cut her wrists.

As the gorgeous day became night the calls turned to the usual drugs/alcohol related:  Around 10:00 PM AFD responded to UMass for a female student who had "smoked something and now feels funny."  I'm guessing it was not a carcinogenic cigarette.

 AFD at 51 Phillips Street for ETOH female 11:15 PM

An hour or so later an ambulance (and APD) responded to 51 Phillips Street for an ETOH young female; and 15 minutes later another ambulance was needed at Townhouse Apartments for a young female "dazed and confused."

AFD on scene 50 Meadow Street 11:30 PM

By 1:00 AM AFD would respond two more times to UMass for ETOH students. Keep in mind the Red Sox playoff games have not even started, and it's not yet Halloween.

The (down) beat goes on ...

   AFD Sept End Runs by larry_kelley_1

Fog Of War

So when the fog lifts this morning homeowners along Pelham Road will have a sorry sight to behold

 Somebody left a trail of destruction, targeting innocent mailboxes as part of their drunken hijinks 

Mailbox down!

Meanwhile, not far from the scene of the crime, it looks like the boys at 807 Main Street had a party last night.  Hmm ...

807 Main Street (turns into Pelham Road)