Marking Our History

Christopher Thompson had temporary marker at town's 2011 commemoration ceremony

The Amherst Historical Commission on Monday night voted unanimously to approve placing a request before the Community Preservation Act Committee for $5,000 to purchase a granite marker to remember Christopher Thompson who is buried in sacred West Cemetery.

Although it is not known exactly where he is buried the marker would probably be placed next to his son Charles Thompson.  Both father and son served in the 5th cavalry, a black regiment, during the Civil War, the bloodiest conflict in our entire history.

The funding request came via the newest member to the Historical Commission, retired Amherst College professor Bob Romer.

In September, 2011 Mr. Romer was instrumental in motivating the town to host a ceremony at West Cemetery to commemorate the five black soldiers buried there who fought in the Civil War, including Christopher Thompson and his son Charles.

Bob Romer, Veterans Agent Steven Connor, Reynolds Winslow, Dave Ziomek 9/18/11

Likely image of Christopher Thompson

Thanksgiving Over Amherst

7:20 AM, 400 feet up looking east

Around same time looking north

Downtown 3:30 PM looking south

Downtown 3:30 PM looking north

Bramble Hill Farm 4:10 PM 175 feet up

 Bramble Hill Farm 4:20 PM 400 feet up

DUI Dishonor Roll

Kaitlyn Vahey, age 19, stands before Judge William O'Grady

As usual I'll let the public court documents speak for themselves but would again point out that a rear end collision caused by driving with a blood alcohol concentration almost twice that of the legal limit, on Main Street at 4:12 PM, in the busy college town of Amherst, could easily have resulted in the death of a pedestrian or cyclist.

Click to enlarge/read

Patrick Homyak, age 26, arraigned before Judge O'Grady

Interestingly enough, a police Statement of Facts cuts both ways.

Safe bet Leandro Celadilla's attorney will point out the BAC showed .06 which is a tad under the legal limit of .08. But the Commonwealth does not exclusively rely on the Breath Test results, although one over the limit pretty much makes prosecution a slam dunk.

 Mr. Celadilla was in lock up so no photo available

And since Mr. Celadilla was also charged in the same incident with domestic abuse (but that Court document is impounded) the state will still have plenty to bargain with when his case comes up for pre trial next month.

Don't Feed The Trolls

Page seems to have been active only since November 22. Already removed UMass logo

A raging fire requires two things:  fuel and a source of ignition.  In other words if you enter a dark building and smell the strong stench of gasoline, don't use your cigarette lighter to illuminate the immediate area.

Anyone who has spent more than a day on the Internet should realize the new "UMass Amherst Area White Students Union" is a parody account.  And their sole reason for being is to incite a response -- especially a negative one.

So the rules of engagement are pretty simple:  ignore them.  Unlike this morning's Daily Hampshire Gazette which splashed them across the front page, above the fold no less.  Suckers.

Dog bites man story:   Internet trolls are a pain in the ass 

Terrorists unleash the most horrendous public act possible in order to attract media attention.  And I don't agree that names of mass murderers should be withheld in order not to give them the notoriety they seek.  Usually, before the presses run, they are already dead.

Because they are a billion dollar corporation who, like all mega corporations, is averse to negative publicity, chances are Facebook will pull the account.  

And since they are not the government they can ban whatever content they wish without regards to the First Amendment.

Just as Smith College or Amherst College, as private entities, can ban reporters from covering an event on their campus even if it is blatantly newsworthy.  It's just kind of stupid to do so.

But again, if you've spent more than a day on the Internet, you know all about stupid.

Party House of the Weekend

219 East Pleasant Street

Considering how nice the weather was on Saturday, and the fact that booze first started flowing at the UMass football tailgate at 9:00 Saturday morning, I'm surprised there were not a few more Party Houses for me to illuminate.

But the fewer the better as far as I'm concerned -- and they are becoming far fewer over the past year or two.

Although with the Patriots now 10-0 the town and UMass should already be planning for a Superbowl eruption should the Patriots win it ... or lose.

Click to enlarge/read

Patel and Parikh both accepted the standard plea deal offered by the state:  pay one of the $300 tickets and stay out of trouble for the next 4 months.  Charges were dropped before arraignment for Bahnam because his name was not on the lease

The hard to miss little yellow house at 219 East Pleasant Street, just barely outside town center, is certainly a frequent flyer when it comes to attracting a police response.

The town's Noise and Nuisance bylaws do allow for fining the landlord $300 after the 3rd offense, but to date the town has not done that.

Little Red Schoolhouse: Status Quo

Little Red Schoolhouse:  Worth $1 million to move?

After an hour of one-sided overly enthusiastic discussion the Amherst Historical Commission decided not to take any action on the one year demo delay (which expires in May) currently in effect for the Amherst College owned Little Red Schoolhouse.

While that may sound like a victory for breathless zealot Carol Gray, it fell far short of what she repeatedly asked the Commission to do: mainly go on a public relations warpath against Amherst College, and try to force a meeting with President Biddy Martin.

Commissioners expressed exasperation with Ms. Gray who simply refused to answer simple questions with a yes or no.  Like whether she has raised a single dime towards the preservation effort over these past six months?  Well, no (after 10 minutes worth of other ideas that will never pan out).

Or whether she secured property off the Amherst College campus for the building to go?  Umm, no.

Amherst College representative Tom Davies said the College wants the building gone but will not put money into moving it, and their estimates are more like $1 million vs Ms. Gray's overly optimistic $150,000 (which did not include relocation site work).

He also pointed out, when he could get a word in edgewise, the College takes historical preservation very seriously and has won awards for doing so. 

Little Red Schoolhouse is currently standing in the way of the new $214 million Science Center which the College hopes to break ground on next year.

 Amherst Historical Commission:  Carol Gray 2nd from rt, Tom Davies rear center

As Sad Anniversaries Go

Town flag at half staff to honor the Paris terrorism victims

It is now the middle of three tragically defining moments in American history where none of us who were over the age of 6 will ever forget, right down to the tiniest mundane details.

The stunning sneak attack on Pearl Harbor forever branded December 7th as a "date which will live in infamy."

Just as 9/11 will forever be remembered as the most shocking, sad and frightening event in over a generation.

Fifty two years ago on a most typical Friday in late November, as the Kennedy motorcade ambled through Dealey Plaza, shots were fired.  Two of them found their mark.

The world, or maybe just our little part of it, stopped. 

Overpowering sadness descended from sea to shining sea.  As a naive 8-year-old I wondered when that gloom would lift.

Today, 52 years later, I still wonder.