Something Wicked This Way Comes

 

Rolling Green Apartments fire 1/21/13. Photo AFD Local 1764

A year after the tragic fire at Rolling Green Apartments two key questions remain unanswered:  What caused the fire; and did the victim -- UMass student Jake Hoffman -- originally escape the killer conflagration only to go back inside to retrieve something?

That rumor has persisted since even before the embers cooled.  And since the State Fire Marshall has not issued an official finding one way or the other, nobody wants to talk about it.

Twenty six years ago my Amherst apartment almost burned to the ground during a major structure fire.  After calling 911 and banging on doors of neighbors I went back in looking for my wife's favorite cat.  Repeatedly.

If not for a ranking member of AFD telling me up close, in no uncertain terms, to "Get the f-ck out now and stay out!" I may not have survived the deafening flashover less than 10 minutes later that shook the entire building and blew out windows in all four apartments.




Considering the chronic staffing problem at AFD we are fortunate fatal fires are far and few between.

But like that joke about helping God out by actually purchasing a lottery ticket to facilitate making the improbable happen, the one thing everybody needs to remember:  once you leave a burning building, stay the f_ck out!

 

A Storm Approaches

Amherst DPW sand/salt pile 4:00 PM

I can always tell when a storm is approaching as there's a run on the free sand salt pile in front of the DPW building, kind of like that run on milk and bread at the local grocery store.  

Amherst stopped using sand this season but the town continues to provide it to homeowners (at least until the supply runs out).  

And yes, I've been wondering if the high number of accidents on Saturday (23) could have been somewhat lessened if the town still used sand instead of switching to magnesium chloride.

Snowsquall

Car slid sideways into tree trapping driver on Bay Road, South Amherst. Photo courtesy AFD Local 1764

The DPW seemed surprised at the severity of today's snowstorm, as crews hit the street in force after reports flowed in from all over town (and the Valley) of the havoc wreaked by the, otherwise, pretty white stuff.

In particular a single car crash on Bay Road in South Amherst around 3:40 PM tied up Engine 1, Engine 2, Rescue 1 and an ambulance, as the entire crew (8) of on-duty fire fighters used two sets of Jaws of Life to extricate the driver and transport her to Cooley Dickinson Hospital.

Proper equipment wielded by properly trained professionals makes all the difference as crews managed to safely extricate the woman in 33 minutes flat.

Firefighters removed the roof, door and half the steering wheel to extricate lone occupant.
Photo courtesy AFD Local 1764

Dispatch had to tone out for extra off duty-firefighters to report in for station coverage at Central Station in town center as well as Engine 3 and Engine 4, staffed by Call Force, at North Station.

Between 3:45 PM and 5:30 PM emergency dispatch received 23 reports of motor vehicle accidents, just in Amherst.  Hadley PD was also swamped with calls for cars off the road and into trees or telephone poles.

The ambulance that was transporting the woman from the Bay Road accident to the Cooley Dickinson Hospital called back to Dispatch to report two cars off the road on the Amherst/Hadley border.

APD calling for DPW to come sand in South Amherst.  Snow seems to have caught #AmherstMA by surprise.
— Larry Kelley (@amherstac) January 18, 2014

Amherst PD Sgt advising Dispatch to let callers know that any crashes w/out injury will not have a police response for the time being.
— Kyle (@NEIACAR7) January 18, 2014

Major School Shake Up

UPDATE Sunday afternoon:  School Superintendent Maria Geryk responds with info

Original Post Friday evening

Not one but TWO Amherst Regional Public School principals announced their resignations late this afternoon in separate letters to parents.

Amherst Regional Middle School Principal Betsy Dinger and Fort River Elementary School Principal Monica Hall both announced they were stepping down from their leadership positions at the end of this school year.

But the district website contains no mention of this major development. 

I guess if you're going to clean house, the late afternoon gloomy Friday of a l-o-n-g weekend is as good a time as any.

Ms. Dinger stated she would be "returning to the classroom" (although she does not say where) and Ms. Hall is staying within the Amherst School bureaucracy,  taking a job in Central Office.

Last year Crocker Farm Principal Mike Morris stepped down as principal to move into a training position out of Central Office.

The position of Principal in Amherst schools has been somewhat the revolving door over the past few years, with Fort River having four in the last six years and the Regional Middle School closer to a half dozen.

With the current administration pushing for expanded (from 7-12) regionalization down to the pre-Kindergarten level, you have to wonder how the three other towns (Leverett, Pelham, Shutesbury) will view this continuous lack of stability?

From the "It-could-be-worse" file:

(Published in Daily Hampshire Gazette print: Saturday, January 5, 2013)

Michael Hayes’ Dec. 17 resignation as principal of the Regional Middle School means that Amherst has lost principals in each of the last four years.

Ray Sharick resigned as principal of Fort River School in March 2011, while Matthew Behnke resigned from the same job at Wildwood School in April 2010. Glenda Cresto resigned as principal of the middle school in September 2009, just before classes started.

The job of principal of an Amherst school is a demanding one and has taken a grave toll on at least one occasion. In June 1993, John “Jack” Heffley, principal of Amherst Regional High School, had a heart attack and died at 56 while engaged in a heated argument with a parent.

— NICK GRABBE

 

The high cost of "administration" in Amherst Schools 

What If They Gave An Election ...

I've been told I left out an important point in my most recent report on expanded school regionalization where I bemoan the h-u-g-e disparity between Amherst school committee members (probably 5) for a total vote strength of 55.5%, compared to Pelham and Leverett (probably two each) considering Amherst makes up 88% of the Region.

I say "probably" because the governance issue is all kinds of hypothetical at the moment and besides, Shutesbury could still come around and join the party.

If that happens, then the (proposed but never officially voted on) plan is for each of the three hilltowns to have two members and Amherst will have 7, giving Amherst 53.8% of the vote.

Now the counter to all this and what makes it legal from a Constitutional (one man -- err -- person, one vote) perspective is all 9 members of the new super committee (or 13 if Shutesbury joins the party), will be elected in a regionwide election.

In other words, Amherst voters will help choose the Leverett and Pelham representatives thus giving Amherst voters 100% say in the make up of the new super committee.  Likewise, Leverett and Pelham voters get to help choose the Amherst representatives.

Which is all well and good if you have energetically contested elections, which we rarely do.  Hard enough now to get Amherst voters excited about their own candidates; safe bet Leverett and Pelham candidates will have zero name recognition.

Besides, what if Amherst only fields 5 candidates for the five available seats and Leverett and Pelham each manage to field only two candidates for each of the two seats?  Not much "selection" going on there.

Hometown ties run deep.  Will a Leverett or Pelham representative be less likely to support closing down their elementary school for the good of the Region? 

No Public Safety Staff Increase

Town Manager John Musante right, Sandy Pooler, Finance Director, to his right

About the most interesting thing in Amherst Town Manager John Musante's  proposed FY15 Budget is what it doesn't contain -- an increase in staffing for either police or fire personnel.  Although if extra monies materialize he does support the hiring of one additional police officer for a downtown beat.

Interestingly in his Letter of Transmittal to his bosses, the Select Board, he does freely admit that UMass has increased enrollment 16% over the past ten years but town police strength has decreased by 10% (five officers) since 2007.

And while he champions the "sector based patrol system" no mention is made of joint patrols with UMass Police Department, recently jeopardized by a union grievance filed by one of their officers.

In calendar year 2013 Amherst Fire Department responded to 5,690 emergencies, a 3.6% increase over the previous year.  Because of the extra $80,000 per year kicked in by UMass for 2 extra ambulances on weekends, and an increase in ambulance rates the budget does call for an increase in minimum on duty staffing from 7 to 8 during the academic year.

But the Town Manager made it pretty clear he does not think an increase in staffing is warranted:  " ... and no increase in authorized staffing is necessary or recommended."

A picture is worth 1,000 words

 

Meanwhile Leisure Services (aka, recreation empire) is "level funded" at $529,299. But last year they were also pretty much level funded and still managed to lose over $300,000. 

The $20,947, 926 municipal budget is supported by $600,000 in "new growth" property taxes which indicates the local economy is on the move.  Amherst Town Meeting has final approval over the budget and will take up discussion in the spring. 

Expanded Amherst Regional School Update

The Amherst Pelham Regional School Committee voted on Tuesday to continue the mission of the Regional School District Planning Board by agreeing to explore amending the 50+ year old Regional Agreement to allow the current 7-12 Region to extend all the way down to pre-Kindergarten, with only three of the current four towns aboard (Amherst, Leverett and Pelham).

That new agreement, however, would leave open the possibility of Shutesbury joining at the elementary level sometime in the future.

The state recently agreed that such a "hybrid" Region would be acceptable.  

The Regional School Committee also appointed all 12 members of the RSDPB to act as their sub-committee to formulate the necessary change in the Regional Agreement.  If that draft document is then supported by a two-thirds vote of the Regional School Committee the agreement would go to all four Town Meetings in the fall for approval, but would require unanimous support of all four towns.

The major stumbling block for approval in Amherst will be the touchy "governance" issue.  Amherst makes up 88% of the Region yet the new 9 member Regional School Committee will, apparently, consist of 2 members each from Leverett and Pelham and 5 from Amherst.

That barely gives Amherst a majority stake at 55.5% of the vote.

Or what you might call, "fuzzy math."

Current Populations of Four Town Region