Slow Ride, Take It Easy

Corner of Rt 9 and South Pleasant Street opposite Town Common

When those ubiquitous white tents pop in town center like mushrooms on a moist summer morn you know the last of our institutes of higher education is jettisoning their graduates off to the real world,  while sending Amherst into summer mode.

 Boltwood Avenue, other side of Town Common

And since this is their 195th such occasion you know I can only be talking about Amherst College, our number one landowner, number one taxpayer, and an entity so enthralled with our little college (before we had any) town, they named themselves after us.

 Main quadrangle this morning

Lord Jeffery Inn, Boltwood Avenue

Of course they caved to pressure brought by rebellious students last winter, a movement that is now ABD (All But Dead), and announced they would be changing the name of the Lord Jeff to something that could not trigger a reaction, but they have yet to announce what that name will be.

Maybe someday I'll have to change the name of my blog.

 Only in Emilyville.

A Room For Miss Emily

Dickinson Homestead:  Centerpiece for the Dickinson Historic District

Throughout history -- from whale oil lamps to modern electric LEDs -- there's no greater power on earth than the bond between a parent and a child, a special luminescence that shines brightly generation in and generation out, regardless of what fancy name you give to each succeeding generation.

At the sacred Dickinson Homestead Museum a tangible display of that special relationship between a father and his gifted daughter will soon see the light of day after 100 years of storage, to allow exotic plants to grow in spite of winter's icy grasp.

A small glass enclosed conservatory that Edward Dickinson built for both Emily and Lavinia will be meticulously reconstructed in its original location jutting off the southeast portion of the beautiful brick building -- perhaps the first of its kind in Amherst.

 Click to enlarge/read

 Pretty safe bet this will gain a "Certificate of appropriateness"

Edward Dickinson also demonstrated his love of family by ensuring after being "called back" they would spend eternity, forever, together.

 Note worn spot in front of Miss Emily

 

Amherst Town Meeting just approved $190K (with Amherst College providing matching funds) for a sophisticated fire suppression system for The Evergreens next door

Support For Aisha Grows

Aisha Hiza (left), Vira Douangmany Cage (right)

Amherst School Committee member and candidate for Ellen Story's 3rd Hampshire District state legislature seat Vira Douangmany Cage has come out in full public support for Aisha Hiza, the single mom summarily banned from ALL Amherst Regional PUBLIC School property by Superintendent Maria Geryk for actively advocating on behalf of her bullied child.

 Click to enlarge/read

Ironically, and even more tellingly, Vira Douangmany Cage is Chair of the School Equity Task Force subcommittee.

And one thing for sure lacking in this deleterious debacle is "equity."

Unsung Heroes Week

Who ya gonna call?

DPW at Kendrick Park assisting with the undergrounding of electrical wiring 

When APD or AFD needs to get somewhere to assist a citizen in the middle of a raging snowstorm it's the DPW plow driver who provides an invaluable assist. Or sands the roads immediately after a structure fire where the water runoff has turned a street into glare ice.

When trees came crashing down in the midst of a late October snowstorm taking out power and blocking roads and driveways, the DPW tree division provided a priceless assist.

And if God forbid a man made or natural disaster should befall the heart of our downtown, in addition to police and fire personnel who speed towards the disaster you would also see those distinctive yellow trucks heading into the fray.

Which is why the Department of Homeland Security now designates DPW Departments as "First Responders", something a minority of us in the know folks have always considered them to be.

Yet I never knew there was a "National Public Works Week," but I'm digging it!

John Oliver salute to Infrastructure (scary as it is funny)

Grow Your Own

Mill Lane community gardens (yesterday)

Maybe once marijuana is decriminalized for recreational use the town garden plots will see an uptick in popularity.

The Conservation Department makes these Community Gardens available for a nominal fee, and for a town that prides itself on being green (both in clean energy and Irish senses) I'm surprised more people don't take advantage of the opportunity.

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UPDATE:  I'm now told the program is sold out, so I guess I will have to return for a reshoot in the next month or two.

 Amethyst Brook community gardens

Last year

Journey of a 1,000 Miles ...

AFD Central Station is too old and too cramped

The first real honest to goodness step in the right direction for a new South Fire Station was taken today, albeit a baby step.

 First meeting of DPW Fire Station Advisory  Committee in Town Hall today

The new 7-member DPW Fire Station Advisory Committee met for the first time this afternoon after being appointed by Temporary Town Manager Pete Hechenbleikner who initially chaired the meeting but then turned it over to elected Chair Lynn Griesemer, who also chaired the 2006 Fire Station Study Committee.

In his preamble Hechenbleikner told the Committee, "This work is incredible important.  You are the constituency, the advocates for these projects."

DPW Chief Guilford Morring said his new building is a little further along having already hired a designer who helped with a presentation to the Select Board a few months back for an 8.5 acre $37 million new facility.

 Some preliminary fire station work could start even before DPW moves out

The current DPW building has been identified as a location for the new Fire Station.

If the $65 million mega school is approved by two-thirds of Town Meeting in the Fall and a majority of the voters at the November election ballot that would free up Fort River School for the new DPW building.

The DPW Fire Station Advisory Committee will attempt to bring a funding request to the Fall town meeting to hire a designer and Owners Project Manager for the Fire Station to catch it up to the new DPW.

A Precious Thing

The Evergreens in October

While Town Meeting was somewhat unanimous in agreeing The Evergreens and First Congregational Church are priceless images that bring majesty (and foot traffic) to our Main Street Dickinson Historic District, there was still plenty of discussion about $390,000 in Community Preservation Act tax money for fire suppression systems.

Town Meeting approved $390K for First Congregation Church & The Evergreens 

The separation of church and state concerned some with the $200K request from the First Congregation Church, and even more were concerned that The Evergreens is owned by Amherst College, our #1 landowner who sits on a $2 billion endowment.

But supporters pointed out the College is matching the $190K request for The Evergreens and they contribute 15% of the annual operation costs to the Dickinson Museum complex.

Carol Gray in her usual acerbic way reminded Town Meeting that Amherst College was about to demolish the Little Red Schoolhouse to make way for a $200 million Science Center.

Little Red Schoolhouse facing west (Stone dorm in immediate background)

 Carol Gray locked and loaded

I voted "yes" simply because I worry that a No vote would have significantly delayed the installation of the sophisticated fire mitigation system, and I know all too well the devastating damage fire can unleash.

And it only takes minutes for the beast to grow unstoppable.

I did however abstain from the individual vote on First Congregational Church because I didn't want to mess too much (by voting no) with God.

 Town Hall had sprinkler system installed as part of $4 million renovation 20 years ago

Perhaps Town Meeting was a tad more civil last night (Carol Gray notwithstanding) because we started with cute kids from the Middle School presenting their warrant article to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day.

 Amherst Regional Middle Schoolers present to Town Meeting

As the town curmudgeon I usually vote "no" to these, but I figured there was no harm in showing empathy for wrongs committed a long, long time ago.  Besides, one of the petitioners is my daughter's BFF.

The article is only "advisory" so it has no real power to influence a Federal/State holiday, but it does send a symbolic message that Amherst is sensitive to the slaughter of innocent people.

The motion passed almost unanimously, to the great delight of spectators in the back of the room -- something not often seen or heard in sedate Town Meeting.

Yes, this is the same legislative body that voted down -- by two thirds vote no less -- my 2007 advisory article requesting the downtown commemorative flags fly every 9/11 for as long as the Republic stands to remember the innocents slaughtered on that unforgettable day. 

Maybe I should have had my daughter make the presentation.