Yet More School Secrets

 

Amilcar Shabazz, Chair Equity Task Force

The least they could do is mention what the punishment was for the three kids of color who beat up the white "greatest student racist they could find."  And you could do that without divulging their identities. 

And you have to wonder if Mr. Shabazz had not mentioned it at that School Equity meeting, would school officials still be trying to keep the incident swept under a rug along with all the other racial incidents they buried over the past year?

   Another Racial Incident ARPS

Deaf, Dumb & Blind Justice

I have never yet sat through a morning session of court and not found at least one fascinating story that should be told.  Although I don't always get to tell them here because Eastern Hampshire District Court covers so many towns besides Amherst, and I try to keep the focus on Amherst.

But this sad story is hard to ignore; and since the whistleblower has her law practice in Amherst (and is smart enough to advertise here) that's close enough for me.

 Usual Monday morning crowd

One of many ironic things about this debt debacle is Mr. Okoroafor could not afford a lawyer.  Normally if a defendant is charged with a crime that could result in jail time and they can't afford an attorney, the court appoints a public defender with a fee of only $150.

And in some economic hardship cases the judge will even waive the "bar advocacy" fee entirely.

But since Mr. Okoroafor was brought to civil small claims court, theoretically there was no chance of jail time.   Unless you appear before an angry judge. 

Had Mr. Okoroafor failed to pay a $500 fine imposed by the courts and been carted off to jail, he would be credited $30/day until the total amount of the fine is paid off -- either by serving 17 days or coming up with the cash.

Kind of a rip off to defendants when the average cost of incarceration in Massachusetts is $47,102 per year or $129 per day.  Big difference between serving 17 days or only 4.

And it's not like the Massachusetts Department Of Corrections needs the business as last year their overcrowding rate was 132%.

On March 8th at the infamous Blarney Blowout, Amherst and UMass police made 58 arrests for dangerous unsocial hooliganism -- including throwing bottle and cans at police officers -- costing thousands of dollars in property damages and a few hundred thousand in remedial actions.

And as of today, not a single perp has been sentenced to as much as one day in jail.

But yes, by all means, lets send a 73-year-old retiree to jail for the crime of being poor in America.

Power of Positive Thinking

Amherst Town Hall:  Flying the UN flag for over 40 years

After the controversial year in the Amherst public schools, amplified by mishandling, it's obvious they could use some Public Relations input.  But I'm not so sure a traditional PR flack is the answer -- especially when it's only a part-time position.

What the town and schools really need is a PR savvy department-head-level position, filled by a person with common sense who can give recommendations to executive decision makers BEFORE they make a major faux pas.

Cancel "West Side Story" because it offends a 17-year-old Hispanic girl?  Condone the  only High School production of "Vagina Monologues" in the nation and allow teen aged girls to shout the "C-word" at the top of their lungs (what's next, the N-word?).

Not just "no," but "Are-out-of-your-fu@king-mind" kind of No.  A booming, resonating NO that gets the attention of a clueless PC Superintendent and prevents a public relations disaster played out on a national stage.

The Town also needs such a gatekeeper, perhaps even more so than the Schools.  At least the Schools have a mayor-like leader who pretty much does as she wishes and to Hell with diffident School Committees.  

In town government power is schizophrenically split between the part-time amateur elected overseers, the venerable 5 person Select Board, their appointed CEO the Town Manager and the doddering white clan of 254 do-gooders, Town Meeting.

Refuse to fly commemorative American flags on 9/11?  Well you might as well ban a July 4th Parade or place a tax on Boy Scouts selling Christmas trees. 

Monumental mistakes even a Madison Avenue flack would have trouble smoothing over.

We're Number 37!

 APD keeps the streets safe

Yes of course Amherst is a safe community -- probably more so than some of the other 36 Massachusetts cities and towns rated higher for safety. After all, we were one of the first to go "nuclear free" in the 1980s and just last May, "drone free".

If you can't trust a company that sells home security systems, who can you trust?

But I would feel a little more comfortable celebrating the distinction if they knew that Amherst was located in the western part of the state and not "central Massachusetts".

As a "college town" Amherst has the lowest median age population in the entire state, so our main problem seems to be a byproduct of alcohol (and other drugs) mixed with the exuberance of youth.

And they don't sell a home system to neutralize that.

DUI Dishonor Roll

 

In 2011, 114 of the 9,878 nationwide drunk driving fatalities occurred in Massachusetts

If you are drunk enough to get lost on a main thoroughfare (Rt. 116) in South Amherst, probably the last person you want to show up to give you directions is an Amherst police officer.  She was directed/escorted back to 111 Main Street, APD headquarters.

It would be almost humorous except for the fact Tameeka Zuvers-Crews, age 44, was attempting to pilot a potentially deadly weapon.

 #####

Also in the wee hours of Monday morning:

 

I Am What I Am

 ARPS Superintendent Maria Geryk, the town's highest paid employee

As part of the state mandated comprehensive evaluation of Amherst Regional Schools Superintendent Maria Geryk that played out last week at the circus-like Regional School Committee meeting the Superintendent had to present the committee with a "self evaluation".

Out of the five overall goals she considered two of them "met" and the other three showed "significant progress."  All in all, not too bad as self evaluations go. 

The Regional School Committee seemed to agree and 7 of the 11 gave her a sterling review with 2 abstaining (being only recently elected) and 2 seemed to disagree.

Pelham SC members: Tara Luce abstained, Trevor Baptiste voted "no" and will issue his own evaluation

No mention or discussion of the racial incidents that fractured decorum over this past school year or the unjust treatment of a white student bullied by three black students, or even the inept implementation of a ban on nuts.

There was some mention of the many "lockdowns" during the year and follow up meetings with police to "adjust procedures".  So let's hope that solves the problem.

And next year the High School and Middle School will have cameras installed in the hallways, although the problem with racist graffiti occurred in the bathrooms, where you can't very well install cameras.

   Maria Geryk Self Evaluation

DUI Double Trouble

 Blake Spencer, age 24, stands before Judge John Payne

This morning in Eastern Hampshire District Court Judge John Payne sentenced Blake A. Spencer, age 24, to ninety (90) days in the House of Correction, otherwise known as the "big house" ... but suspended the sentence for two years.

The Judge then admonished Mr. Spencer to stay for away from trouble in the meantime as any altercation with the law over the next two years will instantly trip the 90 day sentence.

Spencer was originally arrested by APD in mid-February, 2013 after he was seen stumbling to his car at Village Park Apartments while screaming obscenities. He was pulled over and arrested for DUI.

Since it was only his first offense the case was continued without a finding for a year. In April he was arrested in Belchertown after crashing into a guard rail and leaving the scene.

The officer noted the strong smell of alcohol, glassy eyes, and he seemed to have trouble understanding the simple verbal request for a license and registration.

Most telling of all, he took the Breathalyzer back at the station and blew a .12 (50% over the .08 threshold).

In addition to the two years probation with a 90 day jail sentence hanging over his head, Spencer will complete a 14 day in-house treatment program for his alcohol problem, pay $600 in standard fines, and lose his license for two years.