DUI Dishonor Roll

 

There but for the grace of God (and APD)

Although it was a relatively quiet weekend for rowdy off campus parties -- what appears to be a trend this fall -- the negative effects of too much alcohol still continues to reverberate around our little "college town."  Consider this just the first of a two part report.

Amherst police arrested two young men -- both age 20 -- within hours of each other late Saturday night/early Sunday morning for Driving Under the Influence.  The most egregious, Miguel T. Ellis, drew attention to himself by driving half the length of Triangle Street on the WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD.  And it was not all that late at night (11:58 PM).

Mr. Ellis's dangerous weapon  is escorted off Triangle Street by Ernie's Towing

#####

And then we have the wrath of David Kahn:

A Horse Is A Horse

 Unless of course that horse's name is Ms. Jada.  Central Fire Station 

With two fires in Amherst quickly stopped by AFD and an unstoppable one in Hadley over the weekend, along with an overflowing number of "college aged youth"  transported to the hospital for intoxication there was, refreshingly, at least one family oriented event that attracted a major crowd to Amherst town center early Sunday afternoon: the annual Halloween Fest.  

 Parade through town center down Kellogg Street to the Bangs Community Center

Even a downtown Bar got into the spirit

Twenty downtown businesses participated, giving out candy to the kids (and occasional parent).  Customers at busy locations like Rao's Coffee, Bart's Ice Cream or Antonio's Pizza seemed amused by the sudden influx of ghosts, goblins, robots, and my little horse. 

 

No fun Amherst event is complete without Representative Ellen Story

The Devastating Day After

Normally, I like rainbows

UPDATE Wednesday morning:  Relief efforts

Storefronts facing Rt 9

 

Mi Tierra Mexican restaurant a complete loss

State fire officials on scene

 

Red Cross on scene

Kung Fu school complete loss

 

Next door hotel and Stan's Drive In were okay 

Hotel was evacuated during the fire

Long closed Stan's Drive In survived just fine

12 Hours earlier ...

 

Town of Hadley Ladder truck rains water down

 

To no avail

The Beast of Hadley

 

Firefighters dig in at close quarters

At times the firefighters seemed completely swallowed by the dense acrid black smoke billowing out of the sides and top of the building only yards in front of them.  And at other times flames seemed to explode from the building making them easy to spot working diligently in harm's way.

 

The Beast's maw

 Wind whipped flames

As they maintained their precarious position directly in front of the The Beast and continued to pour water into the center of the firestorm, I was reminded of my karate days when you hit someone with your best shot ... and they just kept on coming.

Damn!

Hadley Fire Rt 9

 Two ladder trucks pour water down on the conflagration

A devastating fire consumed an entire block of businesses in the center of Hadley this evening.  Witnesses stated it started in the laundromat and spread quickly to Mi Tierra Mexican restaurant and then an entire block of businesses.

The truck was the only thing to survive from Mi Tierra restaurant

The stubborn fire seemed impervious to the pressurized streams of water firefighters poured on it for hours.  Fortunately there were no injuries.  Morning light would reveal just how thorough was The Beast.

 Like a fire breathing dragon

 

Laundromat: area of building where fire started

Venting flames

The beast refuses to die

Hadley's Ladder truck was soon joined by Northampton's, but still could not bring the beast under control 

Hell on earth 

Hampshire College Fire

 Fire started on front porch deck and climbed strait up

A brisk but peaceful New England Sunday suddenly became energetic when a box alarm alerted Amherst Fire Department to a structure fire at Greenwich Dorm,  Hampshire College around 4:13 PM.

 Smoke screen after water hit fire

First reports indicated furniture on the porch had ignited and spread to the building, but later, after the fire was extinguished, a student told Hampshire College Police he had dried a sweater in a microwave oven.

Engine 2, the Quint, arrives and starts extending her 75 foot ladder

The sweater caught fire, was doused with water and placed outside, thinking the fire was safely out.  It wasn't. 

 Quint extended ladder to second floor window

Firefighters ventilate above where the fire started

One police officer was transported to Cooley Dickinson Hospital by Northampton FD (mutual aid) as a precautionary measure after he suffered smoke inhalation going through the building to make sure everyone was safely out.  Give that man a medal.

And a warm thanks to the men and women of AFD ... just doing their public safety job:  keeping The Beast at bay.

 Students and staff of Hampshire College watch from a safe distance

Sorry, my iPhone doesn't do sound anymore

.

AFD reports

Fear & Loathing at Hampshire College

 

Fireworks light up the sky over Hampshire College Red Barn Friday night for Hampshire Halloween.  And now the fireworks have turned into a firestorm

UPDATE:  (Sunday later afternoon)

Hampshire College has posted yet another "official statement" on their website, only a slight tweaking from the one issued earlier this morning.  Of course anything short of an outright apology and admission of a major mistake isn't going to cut it.  

And this statement does neither.

They also use the "West Side Story" defense beleaguered Amherst school officials invoked after the nationwide firestorm erupted over the only cancellation of the award winning play in it's entire history.  

Officials said the fast brewing controversy had caused too much of an uproar, pitting (minority) students against (white) students, and it was interfering with a safe and healthy environment for education to take place.

The cancellation then had the effect of rolling a grenade into the middle of an ammunition dump. 

UPDATE:  (Sunday early afternoon):

UPDATE (Sunday morning):  Official Hampshire College response (Believe it or not.  Yikes!). "Reasonable conversation"?????

The student organizers of Hampshire Halloween contracted with a number of bands to play Friday night. Some members of our student community questioned the selection of one band, asking whether it was a predominantly white Afrobeat band, and expressing their concerns about cultural appropriation and the need to respect marginalized cultures. The students tried to be clear that they meant no disrespect to the members of the band in question, but wished to raise larger questions and deeper thought within our own community.

Unfortunately, voices unconnected to our campus and the planning for Hampshire Halloween drowned out a reasonable conversation about how to ensure that the entire student community could have a safe and happy evening. As can happen on social media, posts from off-campus individuals trivialized the concerns of our students and made them feel disrespected.

Late Thursday afternoon, the student organizers met with the concerned students. Following that discussion they chose to cancel the band’s appearance at Hampshire Halloween but to pay the band in full. Hampshire Halloween is student organized, paid for by Hampshire students in their student activity fees, and is designed to be a fun evening for our entire student community.

#####

ORIGINAL Post (Saturday morning):

So just when I thought nothing could match the "only in Amherst" moments brought to you by our local Regional High School -- cancelling a production of 'West Side Story' because it was "racist", but then five years later allowing young girls to publicly perform the R rated 'Vagina Monologues' -- another indigenous "education" institute reminds us why the term Only in Amherst still applies.

Hampshire College, that bastion of, um, liberal progressive something-or-other, suddenly cancelled the group Shokazoba, scheduled to perform at their infamous "Hampshire Halloween" celebration, because they were, for lack of a better term, too white.

Interestingly the (appropriately titled) "Hype" committee felt comfortable engaging in censorship on their official Facebook page.  Yeah, they have their priorities straight (sarcasm). 

Hampshire College canceled our set tonight because we are "too white" to play Afrobeat. Racist much? Please spread the word! Unacceptable!!!
— Shokazoba (@Shokazoba) October 26, 2013

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