Pointing The Finger

Maria Geryk, ARPS School Superintendent makes a point at  the tumultuous 6/24 Regional School Comm Meeting

What if Amherst Pelham Regional School officials had reported to outside authorities the initial racial incident targeting teacher of color Carolyn Gardner back in October rather than deep-sixing it?

Carolyn Gardner, repeatedly targeted by racial notes and graffiti

What if School officials had reported to outside authorities the bullying and assault on Dylan Akalis by three black students the last week of January, rather than sweeping it under the rug? 

Perhaps if School officials had reported to outside authorities (and the general public who pays everybody's salary) the most recent assault on a white student by three minority students, Mr. Shabazz would not have felt compelled to mention what little he knew of the incident at the 6/18 Equity Task Force meeting.

Regardless of whether Mr. Shabazz "inappropriately" suggested the white youth was beaten because he was a "racist", the undeniable fact remains that a young student (who Shabazz did not identify) was assaulted by three other students, yet because of the collective color of their skin, the incident was purposely hushed up.

Even though it qualifies as a "hate crime," and should have been reported to the District Attorney.

According to the ARHS student code of conduct the protocol for dealing with a Physical Attack 1st offense is a "10 day external suspension, possible long-term suspension or expulsion, and referral to the Amherst Police Department."

But we know in the Dylan Akalis assault (witnessed by a teacher) the schools did not report it to Amherst police; and the main attacker, son of a white-collar school employee, did not receive a "10 day external suspension."

 Paula and Dylan Akalis

Since school authorities can't even follow their own internal regulations, no BIG surprise they can't follow state law either.

But of all sudden, in their haste to neutralize the only black member of the Amherst School Committee, they trot out FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) as a convenient excuse.  Clearly that federal law has exemptions which would apply in this case; and even more clearly, plenty could have been stated publicly short of divulging names.

Interesting that the School Committee was quick to issue a written apology to the parent of the white student because of the alleged remarks by Dr. Shabazz, but no Amherst Regional School official has apologized to Dylan Akalis or his parents over the past five months except for Amilcar Shabazz.

The Associated Press just picked up this recent assault story and did not even mention the purported disclosure by Mr. Shabazz, only that three minority students beat up a white kid simply because he was white.

School officials used "privacy" as an excuse not to release separation agreements with 13 former school employees totaling over $350,000 in public tax money.   Agreements the Public Records Division clearly told them to release.  A decision concept recently backed by a Superior Court Judge.

Unless you are building a Doomsday Device, protecting legitimate national interests, or invoking privacy over medical issues no good seems to come from Nixonian stonewalling combined with a CIA-like devotion to secrecy.

The Amherst Regional PUBLIC Schools are in the top 17% state wide for most expensive to operate with a per student cost 25% over state average.

Therefor all taxpayers in the region have a "paramount and prevailing right to know" -- especially parents with children in the system.

WWLP CH 22 covers the story (sort of)
MassLive (much) fuller report

Double Fault?

Amherst College: Half dozen courts near the bike path destined for demolition

Okay, okay so I'm probably just being maudlin.  After all, my first brush with tennis occurred there (or the adjacent courts) in the oppressively hot summer of 1964 during a subsidized recreation program run by Jack Leaman, before he became famous at UMass.

But I'm still willing to bet most anyone who has walked or biked past these courts over the past fifty years will miss them when they're gone.  Kind of like the chain link maze at the UMass football stadium. 

Amherst College, our largest landowner, goes before the Amherst Conservation Commission next week to give notice about the demolition/conversion of the tennis courts to a -- you guessed it -- parking lot.

Since the footprint will remain the same, probably not a big environmental impact to worry about.

And the larger adjacent courts complex remains, so the fair weather grunts and thunks of balls meeting racquets will not be completely silenced.  The sounds may even carry to the bike path.

But for those of us who grew up with the fenced in fun, a little piece of paradise -- like our youth -- will be lost.

 Courts a little farther north have already been converted to a parking

Patriotic Double Dose

 

BIG flag flies in Amherst  (MA) town center for first time in over a year

As you have probably heard by now -- since the town thought it important enough to use the reverse 911 emergency phone system alert -- the July 4th fireworks are postponed until tomorrow.  And since we don't have a July 4th Parade anymore, no rescheduling required.

Although Amherst, N.H. managed to have one this morning. 

Enjoying our first parade of the day in Amherst to celebrate the 4th of July! #nhpolitics pic.twitter.com/jb9DNTGOLG
— Scott P. Brown (@SenScottBrown) July 4, 2014

Mother Nature provided her own fireworks last night taking down trees and wires all around town.  A transformer fire near the Dunkin' Donuts took out the power to College Street, South East Street and Belchertown Road.

 Tree down on access road connecting beleaguered High School with embattled Middle School

Even the Cumberland Farms was without power briefly.  Yes, they were about the only operation in Amherst open the morning after the 2011 Halloween Nor'easter killed power to the entire town.  This time however their generator failed to kick in. 

Things could have been far, FAR worse.  Apparently a funnel cloud was spotted near Barnes Airport heading our way and there were reports of a microburst in nearby Sunderland.

U/D Sunderland, Ma, MEMA now reporting it could be the microburst people are reporting, not a tornado. Multiple trees down in that area
— Matthew Gregoire (@BreakngNewsPhtg) July 4, 2014

 
And now it looks like Hurricane Arthur will not wreak havoc on the Happy Valley.

So celebrate today the birthday of the greatest country the world has ever known.  And come tomorrow, celebrate it again.  And the next day, and the one after that, and ...

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.