tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50359493550131135782024-03-05T04:59:06.112-05:00Only in The Republic of AmherstAmherst (Ma.): La La LandLarry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comBlogger4561125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-11174138880903264682017-02-17T11:53:00.002-05:002017-02-17T13:53:11.985-05:00Gimme Shelter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>UMass Student Union 10:45 AM</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Amherst Town Center 10:30 AM </i></span></div>
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While the state legislature ponders making us a <a href="http://www.fox25boston.com/news/bill-would-make-massachusetts-a-sanctuary-state/494556827"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>"sanctuary state"</b></span></a> and Amherst insists we're a "safe haven" and UMass kids walkout this morning to protest President Trumps immigration policy, the Amherst School Committee was a tad forthright about making our public centers of learning "sanctuary schools."<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>School Committee voted unanimously to support sanctuary resolution on Wednesday</i></span></div>
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How President Trump will react to all this is hard to predict since he has proven somewhat volatile over the past few days.<br />
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Although it's safe to say his rally tomorrow will bring out the huge adoring crowds he thrives on and will only serve to embolden his responses defending his policies. <br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Chief Scott Livingstone (rt) told the Finance Committee last night that APD has received significant federal grant money over the years </i></span><br />
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Larry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-30670229548303628672017-02-16T13:28:00.000-05:002017-02-16T14:07:18.949-05:00School Committee To OML: Drop Dead<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.arps.org/contact_us/amherst_school_committee_directory"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Amherst School Committee</i></span></b></span></a></div>
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The Amherst School Committee, as expected, voted 4-0-1 to fight my <b>O</b>pen <b>M</b>eeting <b>L</b>aw complaint stemming from their spirited private participation in an ill fated campaign to sell the $66.3 million Mega School to Town Meeting.<br />
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And yes, the three in particular -- Katherine Appy, Anastasia Ordonez and Phoebe Hazzard -- took the time to respond angrily and in an ad hominem manner.<br />
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Fair enough. After 30 years I'm used to it. But just for the record, over that time period the majority of my OML complaints have been affirmed by either the <b>D</b>istrict <b>A</b>ttorney or <b>A</b>ttorney <b>G</b>eneral.<br />
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Abstaining member Vira Douangmany Cage asked the three members to submit from their email inbox the original non-redacted emails so the Attorney General could ascertain how many other public officials and school employees took part.<br />
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That didn't go over very well. Then she tried to get Katherine Appy to abstain from the discussion/vote since she's been School Committee Chair for the past six years and obviously has a different idea of how public officials should behave.<br />
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That too went nowhere. Then she requested the meeting minutes from the most recent School Committee meeting held just one week after the Town Meeting rejection be included in the AG response since it clearly shows the SC acting officially on the Mega School question.<br />
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Today my Anonymous source who originally sent me the redacted documents (except for the three School Committee members private email addresses) resent me the same file, except this time it was unredacted.<br />
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Names now showing include prominent Town Meeting members, four Charter Commissioners (out of nine) and a bevy of school employees, all using their private email accounts.<br />
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But even if a quorum (five) of Charter Commissioners had been involved that clearly would not be a violation of Open Meeting Law since their duties as Commissioners have nothing to do with an expensive new school.<br />
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The School Committee, on the other hand, has <i>everything</i> to do with the $66.3 million Mega School. So for a quorum of them to participate in a behind the scenes shadow campaign to push that through Town Meeting is clearly unethical, immoral and downright illegal.<br />
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Especially when only one week later they officially vote not to withdraw the Mega School from the <b>M</b>ass <b>S</b>chool <b>B</b>uilding <b>A</b>uthority program thus delaying by a full year the opportunity to resubmit another Statement of Interest for a new and better building plan.<br />
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If the three cheating School Committee members went out for a beer after last night's contentious meeting and raised a glass to my ultimate demise, that would not be an OML violation. But if they discussed how they are going to handle my follow-up complaint to the AG, that clearly would be.<br />
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Public officials are held to a higher standard. As they should be!<br />
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<a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/338878139/Amherst-SC-OML-Violation#from_embed" nbsp="" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Amherst SC OML Violation on Scribd">Amherst SC OML Violation</a> by <a href="https://www.scribd.com/user/210182270/Larry-Kelley#from_embed" nbsp="" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Larry Kelley's profile on Scribd">Larry Kelley</a> on Scribd</div>
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<br />Larry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-58022033212204205942017-02-15T13:09:00.002-05:002017-02-15T13:17:45.728-05:00The 18% Solution?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Amherst Select Board voted unanimously to call Mega School "Special Election" 3/28</i></span></div>
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The Amherst <b>S</b>elect <b>B</b>oard became pretty flustered on Monday night when discussing the $66.3 million Mega School vote coming up for the 4th time at the March 28th election, with Chair Alisa Brewer blurting out she was "beyond frustrated" with a murky response from Town Counsel, KP Law.<br />
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The SB has unanimously supported the Mega School the previous three times and probably know how remote the odds are of it passing only days before the drop dead deadline from the <b>M</b>ass <b>S</b>chool <b>B</b>uilding <b>A</b>uthority.<br />
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Everyone agrees that in order for the Town Meeting recent rejection to be overturned the voters must support the ballot question by a two thirds margin, because that was the hurdle it required from Town Meeting.<br />
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The murky part is does the question <u>also </u>require 18% of the voters to agree (2,983 votes) to overturn ... or just an 18% total turnout? A previous town attorney, Alan Seewald, thought it was the former.<br />
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And what if someone takes a Referendum ballot and feeds it into the scanner blank, does that count towards the turnout?<br />
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But let's look at this backwards and the interpretation of previous Town Attorney actually makes a lot more sense.<br />
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Pretend Town Meeting on January 30 had <u>approved</u> the Mega School by the necessary two thirds vote and <b>S</b>ave <b>A</b>mherst's <b>S</b>mall <b>S</b>chools went out and got the necessary 5% of 16,569 "active" voters (829) to force a Referendum Town Meeting's approval.<br />
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Now remember the Referendum simply puts the question as previously presented to Town Meeting before the voters with the same quantum of vote required for passage (two thirds) or FAILURE (one third).<br />
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Thus at the March 28th Referendum SASS would only need one-third of the voters to vote "NO" to the question of whether the town should finance a $66.3 million Mega School.<br />
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Therefor it would be pretty easy to overturn ANY decision of Representative Town Meeting that requires a two thirds vote of support, which all zoning articles and any borrowing require: Get 5% of the voters to sign the Referendum petition and then only a 33% plus one vote at the ballot box.<br />
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I can't imagine that's what the Founding Mothers had in mind. <br />
<br />Larry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-5503070498709408322017-02-14T16:08:00.001-05:002017-02-14T16:20:11.099-05:00Don't Mess With God<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijSZ1xg5NiHV2uX_NwmfEEbp4ERUz7OuxOIO4X8VgvvGKWYFn-KwuPWsQIJ_rdemX81Mu0SDDKCDpW7RHlUyaGwOKFf_tzp2k8TyAMMfK5uwQRzxfo022Ee9gjy5EGhtaFrl0XGJi5ooUj/s1600/St+Brigid+CVS.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijSZ1xg5NiHV2uX_NwmfEEbp4ERUz7OuxOIO4X8VgvvGKWYFn-KwuPWsQIJ_rdemX81Mu0SDDKCDpW7RHlUyaGwOKFf_tzp2k8TyAMMfK5uwQRzxfo022Ee9gjy5EGhtaFrl0XGJi5ooUj/s400/St+Brigid+CVS.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>The parking lot has been used for over a generation for Church parking</i></span></div>
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Only in Amherst would town officials declare Feburary 1st (St Brigid's Day) a day to celebrate Irish heritage while simultaneously instituting a new overnight parking program that bans parking in the town owned lot immediatley adjacent to -- you guessed it -- St Brigid's Church.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>New parking policy started Feb 1st (No Parking 7-9 AM)</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJRiQ_RE2h7XiJOwaRdJ8bjR-7HmQligN0qTpGdOE58N_G_KUFKXEBqRY46OXsWpXADU3eyjBJ22UZglKiR3JGEmPoyJbPXJ1BCIBq6lfy7k0jiigX1SbpvPPo52kgd6ednyT26aP6_EW/s1600/Father+Smegal+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJRiQ_RE2h7XiJOwaRdJ8bjR-7HmQligN0qTpGdOE58N_G_KUFKXEBqRY46OXsWpXADU3eyjBJ22UZglKiR3JGEmPoyJbPXJ1BCIBq6lfy7k0jiigX1SbpvPPo52kgd6ednyT26aP6_EW/s400/Father+Smegal+%25281%2529.jpg" width="323" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i> </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Click to enlarge/read</i></span></div>
Larry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-18872778473073170722017-02-14T10:38:00.001-05:002017-02-14T11:03:54.200-05:00There They Go Again<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib-uIyNAjZQGO3byYhJ_-6AVKiMjsucF9TxS6vVl_9BBUfni-zZn4RklGzWRVqRIqeaRHh3RRLAdJu7t7aQjkLro_azEpAQ6FkvsT9GTvqKlyzQAnXPZxAnj8ykgfnJ8nXNKJbod3T29oN/s1600/26+Spring+St+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib-uIyNAjZQGO3byYhJ_-6AVKiMjsucF9TxS6vVl_9BBUfni-zZn4RklGzWRVqRIqeaRHh3RRLAdJu7t7aQjkLro_azEpAQ6FkvsT9GTvqKlyzQAnXPZxAnj8ykgfnJ8nXNKJbod3T29oN/s400/26+Spring+St+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><a href="http://gis.amherstma.gov/images/cards/4795.pdf"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>26 Spring Street</b></span></a> is currently an open lot</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU3t77WJzVXmcjDc-foXj4RYguR6SFoEdSfKVkcs1EbAAlgHM0FGQ3Nb-wUTSzol75cKP2zJ1J22eNnLlUS8q4F1ERrX-oiNKzzUjiar7ISvwPfsrTW0rB_Bj_S1qGiyaWJIL9gvx6If1m/s1600/26+Spring+south+rendering+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU3t77WJzVXmcjDc-foXj4RYguR6SFoEdSfKVkcs1EbAAlgHM0FGQ3Nb-wUTSzol75cKP2zJ1J22eNnLlUS8q4F1ERrX-oiNKzzUjiar7ISvwPfsrTW0rB_Bj_S1qGiyaWJIL9gvx6If1m/s400/26+Spring+south+rendering+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Archipelago Investments has invested greatly over the past few years filling in the Amherst skyline with five story mixed use buildings that are mostly residential: Boltwood Place, Kendrick Place and One East Pleasant which is now under construction.<br />
<br />
On March 1st they go before the Planning Board for yet another similar project at 26 Spring Street in the heart of downtown for a 38 unit five story building with 1,000 square feet of commercial on the ground floor.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVCuoE0Oa2Gtly4CvZMnc2_wO4Ddxa6l0O_atgLYEp-oW_ThD0UI_KuETHUjl8APtX58PNA6UdPLVIX50I14ZV1K_63gRdKe68RoQ-f1tD-t6O-1nD9Bv4ZEXRecrlH1FJqGW0vY6WDzrj/s1600/26+Spring+commercial+rendering+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVCuoE0Oa2Gtly4CvZMnc2_wO4Ddxa6l0O_atgLYEp-oW_ThD0UI_KuETHUjl8APtX58PNA6UdPLVIX50I14ZV1K_63gRdKe68RoQ-f1tD-t6O-1nD9Bv4ZEXRecrlH1FJqGW0vY6WDzrj/s400/26+Spring+commercial+rendering+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Commercial in yellow</i></span></div>
<br />
Although located in the Municipal Parking District and therefor exempt from the usual 2 parking spaces per unit bylaw they will be providing 17 parking spaces.<br />
<br />
And since the property is located in the (BG) General Business District they are only requesting two Special Permits from the Planning Board under Site Plan Review to increase lot coverage from 70% to 77% and a rear setback of 1' vs. 0 or 10'.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5k5Pl3ulVmEpIsNPQTS8hIHbDE4062tjldewFGZDBQxYytSlw5PiYjMFS0i5X_jiwPRFOiclgtu3W0j3hzmS0FfLmI4KcUunc2YgZ4QYfZ4cYI-B8Df1uiVVFOYKdvWQL_Vf6WfTd8CFF/s1600/Planning+Board+spring+st.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5k5Pl3ulVmEpIsNPQTS8hIHbDE4062tjldewFGZDBQxYytSlw5PiYjMFS0i5X_jiwPRFOiclgtu3W0j3hzmS0FfLmI4KcUunc2YgZ4QYfZ4cYI-B8Df1uiVVFOYKdvWQL_Vf6WfTd8CFF/s400/Planning+Board+spring+st.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
All in all very modest requests. Especially considering the significant property tax increase to town coffers and the increase in badly needed rental housing stock. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOtJAh9rgMJEwxSHhg3iusF9CuXVggO12GqGIkpp81vQdJo3CwPHmknV1BTQpTTl3MvYL3IUXXGZcfn_L4fFLQn7faIWWwCCqRRopzij0mLiwEVWKzOWFyifYTXpSYxMT__R08gImEbes-/s1600/26+Spring+long+way.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOtJAh9rgMJEwxSHhg3iusF9CuXVggO12GqGIkpp81vQdJo3CwPHmknV1BTQpTTl3MvYL3IUXXGZcfn_L4fFLQn7faIWWwCCqRRopzij0mLiwEVWKzOWFyifYTXpSYxMT__R08gImEbes-/s400/26+Spring+long+way.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Since the property is nestled among commercial buildings (Lord Jeff, Police Station, Grace Church) NIMBY noise should not be overly deafening</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFT3I_88da1x-bhiD2_niWdN5Sx5KgqLb_1XQa-EylzVkSD-2FL_mkCgqpc8SeXgsBNhiq0QA4s8jjKM5RRlAfW04ojDbZOKCqx_1iH5dydUYxnfKPMj7dtybu6SlDr2GtDasgbhMbs1wV/s1600/Southeast+corner+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFT3I_88da1x-bhiD2_niWdN5Sx5KgqLb_1XQa-EylzVkSD-2FL_mkCgqpc8SeXgsBNhiq0QA4s8jjKM5RRlAfW04ojDbZOKCqx_1iH5dydUYxnfKPMj7dtybu6SlDr2GtDasgbhMbs1wV/s400/Southeast+corner+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Larry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-2026267541757537332017-02-13T07:10:00.000-05:002017-02-13T20:26:18.680-05:00The Cost Of Unbridled Optimism<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSQPojj3GXoB5YSvKDquESt3OzjlcLJXbUa6L4zXfukAzBbhp6agIfVD6WeMXFa2PlHtirECWDH-Nz4X3JILZjd3-Kkw_vtJ8K13Ak8WMhZVRMuCLXGO6xc4nkEGAOZmCeD5eWWU3RDC-O/s1600/B3+amherst+at+night.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSQPojj3GXoB5YSvKDquESt3OzjlcLJXbUa6L4zXfukAzBbhp6agIfVD6WeMXFa2PlHtirECWDH-Nz4X3JILZjd3-Kkw_vtJ8K13Ak8WMhZVRMuCLXGO6xc4nkEGAOZmCeD5eWWU3RDC-O/s400/B3+amherst+at+night.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Amherst has 16,569 active voters so 18% is 2,983</i></span></div>
<br />
The venerable Amherst Select Board will place the $67 million Mega School on the ballot for the annual town election scheduled for March 28. This will make the 4th time it has been voted on by Town Meeting and The People. <br />
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Although, since it's a rare special "Referendum" election to overturn a Town Meeting action, it has to be decided in a "Special Town Election" separate from the annual town election. But it can still be held at the same time as the regular 3/28 election, so it will cost taxpayers "only" an extra $8,000 for poll workers and printing additional ballots.<br />
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In order for the Referendum to succeed a two-thirds super majority to overturn Town Meeting is required and the election must have a minimum 18% turnout. Over the past 30 years only three such Referendum votes have taken place and none of them have been successful overturning Town Meeting.<br />
<br />
In fact even the requirement for an 18% turnout will be hard to meet as Amherst local elections over the past ten years have averaged only a 15% turnout.<br />
<br />
Although a stand alone $2.5 million Override for the schools on May 1, 2007 attracted a 31.5% turnout and was defeated by a narrow margin. Interestingly the regular annual town election held four days earlier attracted a 21% turnout.<br />
<br />
And in 2003 and 2005 the annual local elections garnered over a 30% turnout due to the controversy sparked by the Charter question to change our current Select Board/Town Meeting government to a Mayor/Council/Manager.<br />
<br />
In 1998 the Parking Garage Referendum vote to overturn Town Meeting's hard won approval for the tiny $4 million Boltwood Parking Garage garnered a 22% turnout and failed by less than 1%.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHKdbvvyrNTlghzT35mQ_KoozIArA-vim9iUYkw0Q8xB4sY57HNm1wdCYILUeFpEfVp2lOcq3ROF_9bpTziw5GBjfAqWp2L9ZPXmgfbwsaOXz-U4iX3Z4LYv_85It4qf29JzxYQGTVzcP6/s1600/Garage+Refer+2%253A3%253A98.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="76" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHKdbvvyrNTlghzT35mQ_KoozIArA-vim9iUYkw0Q8xB4sY57HNm1wdCYILUeFpEfVp2lOcq3ROF_9bpTziw5GBjfAqWp2L9ZPXmgfbwsaOXz-U4iX3Z4LYv_85It4qf29JzxYQGTVzcP6/s400/Garage+Refer+2%253A3%253A98.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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At the time Town Attorney Alan Seewald had interpreted the law to say 18% of the voters had to vote to overturn in order for the question to count.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ePuMq4WAuom9iSDXlBOWj62HqrFsUM_17c9fFwQp83xKk7q585Jb3oAzlAJNKpk091hgxf0X3sdxDW9A7alB4FVjW4A5hQO5Qx5x-qbTu6NKJk1GHIV5DNgtPZBsdaNZGSZNvcFXcBOQ/s1600/18%2525+so+shall+vote.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="95" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ePuMq4WAuom9iSDXlBOWj62HqrFsUM_17c9fFwQp83xKk7q585Jb3oAzlAJNKpk091hgxf0X3sdxDW9A7alB4FVjW4A5hQO5Qx5x-qbTu6NKJk1GHIV5DNgtPZBsdaNZGSZNvcFXcBOQ/s400/18%2525+so+shall+vote.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Click to enlarge/read</i></span></div>
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As a result the pro-garage Town Meeting defenders did little campaigning, since getting 18% of the electorate in a local election to vote to overturn anything is all but impossible.<br />
<br />
But the Mega School issue has generated plenty of passion from both camps, so plenty of private money will be spent over the next six weeks targeting voters. Good money after bad.<br />
<br />Larry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-43641666803242578652017-02-09T10:17:00.000-05:002017-02-09T10:20:45.686-05:00A Clear & Egregious Violation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUFlRSougzqAvVB-KzV-PHHBsNIEXUJIWX6ToGwr0ldESKZZVbTRmQjOrEbVelI-exuFgHrDNQ6YnKpFWbS5XnHrCS7IiKgyddng8DeBLGJOYgEN7qnnyviBS6IO5UO-M8V-7XN4zEcli3/s1600/SC+.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUFlRSougzqAvVB-KzV-PHHBsNIEXUJIWX6ToGwr0ldESKZZVbTRmQjOrEbVelI-exuFgHrDNQ6YnKpFWbS5XnHrCS7IiKgyddng8DeBLGJOYgEN7qnnyviBS6IO5UO-M8V-7XN4zEcli3/s400/SC+.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><b><a href="http://www.arps.org/contact_us/amherst_school_committee_directory"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Amherst School Committee</i></span></a></b></span></div>
<br />
I've seen and complained about many an Open Meeting Violation over the past 25 years but this one takes the cake.<br />
<br />
For a quorum of School Committee members to not only deliberate but outright scheme to get their way is beyond the pale. Especially when their endgame will cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars for a concept they do not particularly like.<br />
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<div nbsp="" style="-x-system-font: none; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px auto;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><b> <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/338878139/Amherst-SC-OML-Violation#from_embed" nbsp="" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Amherst SC OML Violation on Scribd">Amherst SC OML Violation</a></b></span> by <a href="https://www.scribd.com/user/210182270/Larry-Kelley#from_embed" nbsp="" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Larry Kelley's profile on Scribd">Larry Kelley</a> on Scribd (reverse chronological order)</div>
<iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="0.7674616695059625" data-auto-height="false" frameborder="0" height="600" id="doc_56071" scrolling="no" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/338878139/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-z9TgQhumKgx75r8DW84a&show_recommendations=true" width="100%"></iframe> <br />
<br />
What kind of an example does that set for the children of Amherst when elected pubic officials flagrantly violate the law to win? Although, since they cheated and still lost, it does reaffirm my Irish mother's motto, "Cheaters never prosper."<br />
<br />
I hate to think what further violations are taking place now that the Mega School question will be voted on for a <i>fourth time</i> at the March 28th town election.<br />
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<div nbsp="" style="-x-system-font: none; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px auto;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><b> <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/338878424/Amherst-OML-Complaint#from_embed" nbsp="" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Amherst OML Complaint on Scribd">Amherst OML Complaint</a></b></span> by <a href="https://www.scribd.com/user/210182270/Larry-Kelley#from_embed" nbsp="" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Larry Kelley's profile on Scribd">Larry Kelley</a> on Scribd</div>
<iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="0.7729220222793488" data-auto-height="false" frameborder="0" height="600" id="doc_40652" scrolling="no" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/338878424/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-xIrODaD00VjcKjn86Eku&show_recommendations=true" width="100%"></iframe> Larry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.com54tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-34479624795322106922017-02-08T20:05:00.001-05:002017-02-08T20:07:00.661-05:00Mayor It Is!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZjaEL9F4ycKTekc0tmFEGQzTHr3JOuECalueCOxNuiEVdq_F2R_fhC7vI3C2vVMNgssk2qxPjJhgXqM5pg3q8pOSl_x_v3RHe9_JuZivc-Ub3slvJXXzh-1ElAHbOdTu5hyphenhyphen_U6j5X5EK/s1600/Mayor.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZjaEL9F4ycKTekc0tmFEGQzTHr3JOuECalueCOxNuiEVdq_F2R_fhC7vI3C2vVMNgssk2qxPjJhgXqM5pg3q8pOSl_x_v3RHe9_JuZivc-Ub3slvJXXzh-1ElAHbOdTu5hyphenhyphen_U6j5X5EK/s400/Mayor.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>All nine Amherst Charter Commissioners present (one by remote participation)</i></span></div>
<br />
After spending almost an hour discussing a compromise proposal made by Meg Gage to salvage Town Meeting -- <span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i> </i></span>although downsizing it from 240 to 60 -- the Amherst Charter Commission stuck to their guns about replacing Town Meeting with a 13 member Council and then after a brief discussion voted 6-3 to support a (strong) Mayor in place of an unelected Town Manager.<br />
<br />
In 2003 the Mayor/Council/Manager proposal to replace Select Board/Town Manager/Town Meeting failed by only 14 votes almost exclusively because the Mayor was a weak ceremonial figurehead.<br />
<br />
Two weeks ago the Charter Commission heard from Northampton Mayor Dave Narkewicz who assured them professional management comes from putting together a strong team of department heads under the direction of one leader, where the buck always stops.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNo8pTsyOj2pwhaXexnUUWAabMHCHLEmmGr14RRrj8oIQ4ppiNq8hX3EBJhEb_59ZsgTLv1JIa1-aR64f8sbls8flNUBFVdn5W8nu7DSCHQnVHkn4blaAeDjREzZFa-S6QEV2YARXsLF88/s1600/Charter+COmm+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNo8pTsyOj2pwhaXexnUUWAabMHCHLEmmGr14RRrj8oIQ4ppiNq8hX3EBJhEb_59ZsgTLv1JIa1-aR64f8sbls8flNUBFVdn5W8nu7DSCHQnVHkn4blaAeDjREzZFa-S6QEV2YARXsLF88/s400/Charter+COmm+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Mayor Dave Narkewicz (ctr), Mike Sullivan (rt)</i><i><br /></i></span></div>
<br />
<br />
When asked by Charter Chair Andy Churchill for any parting advice Mayor Narkewicz replied, "Make roles very clear. Don't come up with a diluted mish-mash. Know where the buck stops. Don't go with a fake Mayor."<br />
<br />
Tonight the Amherst Charter Commission took that advice to heart and made a huge step forward towards real genuine change, one that voters will embrace.<br />
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<br />Larry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-72598329880537177702017-02-08T15:40:00.002-05:002017-02-08T15:40:44.116-05:00DUI Dishonor Roll<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoj4F0SNfJgxpn1LOqA9j29WPNHROznGbinQUORCa2uo82ai11mR-hjGdBLnIWIBfgEIueeALpwmwUkFtE66lRWMxdGFHkysDClFU46ndkHb3SIH8sqGSo22GQiqUG_Xi4m8XEtrk1T0RC/s1600/DUI.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoj4F0SNfJgxpn1LOqA9j29WPNHROznGbinQUORCa2uo82ai11mR-hjGdBLnIWIBfgEIueeALpwmwUkFtE66lRWMxdGFHkysDClFU46ndkHb3SIH8sqGSo22GQiqUG_Xi4m8XEtrk1T0RC/s400/DUI.png" width="400" /></a> </div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>In 2014, three times as many males were arrested for drunk driving as females</i></span> </div>
<br />
Surprisingly Amherst PD did not make a single arrest for drunk driving last (Superbowl) weekend. <br />
<br />
Maybe everybody was too engrossed in the Superbowl drama to overindulge but you would have thought the celebrations from the stunning outcome would have resulted in a few folks making that major error in judgment.<br />
<br />
UMass Police, however, did make two arrests. <br />
<br />
And since both of the perps took the legally admissible Breathalyzer test the likelihood of them beating the charge is about the same as the Patriots 4th quarter comeback.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkLcDYk82F1YX0T0U9w11IbLYIGyCrKF6Lg8_D87ORZhitYSj3THEWpruNoGnhDNxs13V01w1Zd1uS0mL4OLgdOaOicODlxg9fAnQprEswHG_IYZBcFXyoFckGRFH3u5o6sNqps2rkP9Ci/s1600/Finn+McCool+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkLcDYk82F1YX0T0U9w11IbLYIGyCrKF6Lg8_D87ORZhitYSj3THEWpruNoGnhDNxs13V01w1Zd1uS0mL4OLgdOaOicODlxg9fAnQprEswHG_IYZBcFXyoFckGRFH3u5o6sNqps2rkP9Ci/s400/Finn+McCool+%25281%2529.jpg" width="167" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Finn McCool, age 21, stands before Judge Thomas Estes</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju2yHF8FWw-qY_tunE_WE2PPIIpWm-vTd6aWHa3_-C8ZwQlIqE8h-grVgVkpMah8K_o-ya-1CuurMJseQFH4vq4tsIuR_jrA_5baFcmwdqqhQr1wxOH-9nSyL2dYQi5PVZkmbbZewwnHKQ/s1600/McCool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju2yHF8FWw-qY_tunE_WE2PPIIpWm-vTd6aWHa3_-C8ZwQlIqE8h-grVgVkpMah8K_o-ya-1CuurMJseQFH4vq4tsIuR_jrA_5baFcmwdqqhQr1wxOH-9nSyL2dYQi5PVZkmbbZewwnHKQ/s400/McCool.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Click to enlarge/read</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTqcjLl2ZRjWfi2ZwAyf-ATOBVX6ikMFZPCmQJIGWd5ks12MdwO06DCf39anlzhK4qcbv_HsmBEjwUdSYQ6AKvTBQAwY7i5GsGkv2Z_Xx9VfHI-CLDx3bhTchkEKFdwHdCmAbjJTVtoR0K/s1600/Matthew+Pham+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTqcjLl2ZRjWfi2ZwAyf-ATOBVX6ikMFZPCmQJIGWd5ks12MdwO06DCf39anlzhK4qcbv_HsmBEjwUdSYQ6AKvTBQAwY7i5GsGkv2Z_Xx9VfHI-CLDx3bhTchkEKFdwHdCmAbjJTVtoR0K/s400/Matthew+Pham+%25281%2529.jpg" width="158" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i> Matthew Pham, age 20</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGZ12CsvzqoBQjc86OBnuAXlYnMbe_smlZV3ZqbSO-NPj1nLcjfjdSLQDVAUjxUSFF-agIa7mI2UNalgpac0oDS9dsMySNpN5n6UFWEN5Np12TrIZAgYFvNQFHw_Tdt2tbTxv078m5LdsI/s1600/PHam+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGZ12CsvzqoBQjc86OBnuAXlYnMbe_smlZV3ZqbSO-NPj1nLcjfjdSLQDVAUjxUSFF-agIa7mI2UNalgpac0oDS9dsMySNpN5n6UFWEN5Np12TrIZAgYFvNQFHw_Tdt2tbTxv078m5LdsI/s400/PHam+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Click to enlarge/read </i></span></div>
Larry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-16324415135023051132017-02-08T13:31:00.003-05:002017-02-08T15:12:39.914-05:00Ninjas Gone Bad<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-bWkLK9b0JeAEKw6ES18AcE1kP5sDrnvL3HINWCMaAHF2jU19o0yTzibt7pXwVfSx5D0USi7muD7xNaRwe0Mg5jSMQbFz08V49DbkYd9W7RwtXnwow6ZKBqNz2w4RQkXLVz9KN2VtQVpm/s1600/Stephanos+Georgiadis+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-bWkLK9b0JeAEKw6ES18AcE1kP5sDrnvL3HINWCMaAHF2jU19o0yTzibt7pXwVfSx5D0USi7muD7xNaRwe0Mg5jSMQbFz08V49DbkYd9W7RwtXnwow6ZKBqNz2w4RQkXLVz9KN2VtQVpm/s400/Stephanos+Georgiadis+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Stephanos Georgiadis appears before Judge O'Grady</i></span></div>
<br />
<br />
The judicial system is slowly but surely grinding its way to justice in the violent home invasion that somewhat shocked Amherst on October 30th last year.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkopbnLc0QDaU5-tXG24J8kRgnSuBCDf7sernpZ_bEZl9ucJRCoUEdaBvsG_s3nFz27ehILSPK9ocoxzQbFTHzBuhejcoZWILmvP8qM_84PRyeTtsJM5K21OVr6AyG3EhvOJdIauc-CuLF/s1600/Ninjas+gone+bad.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkopbnLc0QDaU5-tXG24J8kRgnSuBCDf7sernpZ_bEZl9ucJRCoUEdaBvsG_s3nFz27ehILSPK9ocoxzQbFTHzBuhejcoZWILmvP8qM_84PRyeTtsJM5K21OVr6AyG3EhvOJdIauc-CuLF/s400/Ninjas+gone+bad.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i> Click to enlarge/read</i></span></div>
<br />
I say "somewhat" because it came soon after an even more shocking incident, a handgun murder that occurred at Southpoint apartments on October 15th, which is not all that far from the house that was invaded on South East Street.<br />
<br />
Three of the perps have now been apprehended, so it's only a matter of time before the 4th is brought to justice. Score one for the l-o-n-g arm of the law.<br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Didn't have my external microphone so turn up your volume</i></span></div>
Larry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-38350316344281331822017-02-07T13:14:00.001-05:002017-02-07T13:14:54.452-05:00One Miracle Per Season<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiExsWBZF509tMvyOaEU027VgXv1PWMbr7NddaKmPJ6vz5XvHeLY3qVCOQET9jCxT8dU5CESEjNkv2sV1xVMgtxEscV0V-WwmtwUGWskFdXVD3mOntjDrFviwfiXvhxeDX5tdd4D-1uUPER/s1600/Wildwood+snowing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiExsWBZF509tMvyOaEU027VgXv1PWMbr7NddaKmPJ6vz5XvHeLY3qVCOQET9jCxT8dU5CESEjNkv2sV1xVMgtxEscV0V-WwmtwUGWskFdXVD3mOntjDrFviwfiXvhxeDX5tdd4D-1uUPER/s400/Wildwood+snowing.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>'Twill be a cold day in Hell when a Referendum vote overrides Town Meeting</i></span></div>
<br />
What are the odds of Amherst voters supporting a measure that would increase their already extraordinary high property taxes by another few hundred dollars per year on a controversial building project now needing a two-thirds super majority?<br />
<br />
About as likely as the Patriots last quarter comeback from a 28-3 deficit.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnbeGtLOOETKDnIuSUfWCfN7Tq2cu_Qna32osUZr3WOjvatjWnjxTH2NHUpUdQSk4T98cDDvjoWIpSWYaN4iTojuGYdkYOH81qe_hAvzZ-VzLdejnq_KIpi-nA6BjUhrA7l5mQ_YCmnFrP/s1600/Signatures.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnbeGtLOOETKDnIuSUfWCfN7Tq2cu_Qna32osUZr3WOjvatjWnjxTH2NHUpUdQSk4T98cDDvjoWIpSWYaN4iTojuGYdkYOH81qe_hAvzZ-VzLdejnq_KIpi-nA6BjUhrA7l5mQ_YCmnFrP/s400/Signatures.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i> About 1,700 signatures submitted to Town Clerk yesterday vs 7,000 who voted no on November 8th</i></span></div>
<br />
But Mega School supporters do not have a Tom Brady leading their team. In fact main wine-&-cheese cheerleader School Committee Chair Katherine Appy has already announced she will not be running for reelection.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq5GTNn_QV1OLxTXHt92YwS3Qd2YlVcftuOWAr8NR4TJ5KrqfIc-X_ZMrsSdE2WfV9LMpkfFghXl5vmuNDe9MgmXjNTJHokNs-dzQVPdPIQp3Tu1JBSDL1SkW0FmetFKI2DBkAF7-OY_-N/s1600/SC+last+night.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq5GTNn_QV1OLxTXHt92YwS3Qd2YlVcftuOWAr8NR4TJ5KrqfIc-X_ZMrsSdE2WfV9LMpkfFghXl5vmuNDe9MgmXjNTJHokNs-dzQVPdPIQp3Tu1JBSDL1SkW0FmetFKI2DBkAF7-OY_-N/s400/SC+last+night.JPG" width="400" /></a></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i> Crowd of about 50 (less than 1% of town voters) turned out last night for SC meeting </i></span></div>
<br />
Her going away present was getting the School Committee to vote last night 4-1 against withdrawing the Mega School project from the MSBA process which now kills the prospects of reapplying this year with a Statement Of Interest to get back in the pipeline for a new improved project with real majority support.<br />
<br />
The only thing that ever wins in Amherst by a two-thirds margin is a Democrat for President running against the Devil, err, Republican and perhaps a pot resolution. In fact no Override ballot question over the past 30 years has passed (and about half have failed) by a two-thirds margin.<br />
<br />
Now the rancor will continue until March 28th and in the end it will all be in vain. Town officials fiddle while Amherst burns.<br />
<br />
<br />Larry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.com66tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-65229606814100067442017-02-07T09:17:00.000-05:002017-02-07T13:30:18.576-05:00Amherst EMS: A New Normal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXwn0iMhnP0PFMXYpXns-Pq9w1GH2uzSV_0X7m2s8bWlmzDbOJSWEyiNOCjgYUU6K_oohS4i6Z7vkMko4fJPdj544Py9-M4_OXb73pTN4pejo8KK-W4fP3lkFH_jWf7Kzl5t_bNN-cskmj/s1600/AFD+at+Hampshire.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXwn0iMhnP0PFMXYpXns-Pq9w1GH2uzSV_0X7m2s8bWlmzDbOJSWEyiNOCjgYUU6K_oohS4i6Z7vkMko4fJPdj544Py9-M4_OXb73pTN4pejo8KK-W4fP3lkFH_jWf7Kzl5t_bNN-cskmj/s400/AFD+at+Hampshire.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>AFD provides ambulances to Amherst, Hadley, Leverett, Pelham & Shutesbury</i></span></div>
<br />
This past weekend was not nearly as <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/337950333/AFD-Swamped#from_embed"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>crazy as last weekend</b></span></a> when AFD had to rely on NINE outside ambulances via mutual aid but three outside ambulances were required. So still not acceptable.<br />
<br />
Interestingly the difference in total calls was only seven less going from 56 down to 49 but it was the timing of the calls, which is the problem with ETOH (overly drunk) incidents as they tend to come in clusters.<br />
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<a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/338662972/AFD-Superbowl-Weekend#from_embed" nbsp="" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View AFD Superbowl Weekend on Scribd">AFD Superbowl Weekend</a> by <a href="https://www.scribd.com/user/210182270/Larry-Kelley#from_embed" nbsp="" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Larry Kelley's profile on Scribd">Larry Kelley</a> on Scribd</div>
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<br />
And staffing last weekend was only 8 compared to 11 this weekend. Thus demonstrating proper staffing makes all the difference.<br />
<br />
<br />Larry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-7607274567439665422017-02-06T12:16:00.000-05:002017-02-07T08:21:34.054-05:00Celebrate, Celebrate, Dance To The Music<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx10yOCTTEvJd2kaqUznStxJy6guzwPobI1p8uYPqLMPEejf2xH3bobkogdkRQJi_I21c5GDjjPZpLp2n4NrnEOBWC10GXxRBnJ2eBe6EFCDsA7BPZWbwhOELa2y047J4TZqr_z5mBTA7l/s1600/SW+crowd+med+high+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx10yOCTTEvJd2kaqUznStxJy6guzwPobI1p8uYPqLMPEejf2xH3bobkogdkRQJi_I21c5GDjjPZpLp2n4NrnEOBWC10GXxRBnJ2eBe6EFCDsA7BPZWbwhOELa2y047J4TZqr_z5mBTA7l/s400/SW+crowd+med+high+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Southwest concourse last night just after Patriots stunning comeback victory</i></span></div>
<br />
Perhaps this a good sign for looking forward to March and what town officials refer to as, "The event that shall not be named." Yes, thousands of UMass students can gather in unbridled celebration without riot gear clad police and pepper spray being required for dispersal.<br />
<br />
Of course I do have to wonder if the game had ended differently in those final mesmerizing minutes of play and a large angry crowd had formed instead of the jubilant crowd, what the outcome might have been.<br />
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<br />
But all's well that ends well. No arrests, only a few medical calls and no bad press for our flagship University. Let's hope the BLARNEY BLOWOUT goes equally as well.<br />
<br />Larry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-17801360749016416812017-02-05T14:14:00.002-05:002017-02-05T14:14:19.354-05:00Fireground East Pleasant Street<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUC9BJ7bfpcET9_WLmMvgXq9ah4UpJxCL2lytsHae9rxBt0MhAo-uPnlLOVSwPECg812XhBGfq_3Dhgprf2YcSQ1yQuWaAG7_hf9xHJ0m41LF6yAlc3AzCOoanVlK81MxPm_Zmx3tv6App/s1600/Fire+E.+Pleasant+units+on+scene.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUC9BJ7bfpcET9_WLmMvgXq9ah4UpJxCL2lytsHae9rxBt0MhAo-uPnlLOVSwPECg812XhBGfq_3Dhgprf2YcSQ1yQuWaAG7_hf9xHJ0m41LF6yAlc3AzCOoanVlK81MxPm_Zmx3tv6App/s400/Fire+E.+Pleasant+units+on+scene.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Area units on scene with AFD Super Bowl Sunday morning</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-z2_zvult_DQHn2vnT9EJMIB873cdOij0v7Zm0EvPjfbbfrWHRzjxu3mViwdE6mycAETGt0-w1i3IzLmugOiD-Vdl_kczvTNz3dWit7jhR3F6Q-q3js0NxFsLDU5dcNjFIcRUeskAunXo/s1600/So+Hadley+E4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-z2_zvult_DQHn2vnT9EJMIB873cdOij0v7Zm0EvPjfbbfrWHRzjxu3mViwdE6mycAETGt0-w1i3IzLmugOiD-Vdl_kczvTNz3dWit7jhR3F6Q-q3js0NxFsLDU5dcNjFIcRUeskAunXo/s400/So+Hadley+E4.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>South Hadley E4 providing station coverage at Central Station this morning</i></span></div>
<br />
As is the case with any major structure fire AFD required a little help from their friends, specifically:
Northampton Fire Department,
Pelham Fire Department,
Hadley Fire Department,
South Hadley District 2 Fire Department,
Belchertown Ambulance, and
South County Ambulance.<br />
<br />
Fortunately this morning the smoke detectors did their job and all three residents home at the time made it to safety, although the structure's top floor sustained heavy damage and those below probably a fair amount of water damage.<br />
<br />
But what if this awful event had occurred a week -- minus a few hours -- earlier? AFD was so overwhelmed<a href="http://onlyintherepublicofamherst.blogspot.com/2017/01/on-wing-prayer.html"><span style="background-color: white;"><b> last weekend </b></span></a>by medical calls (mostly alcohol related at UMass) that NINE mutual aid ambulances from surrounding departments were required to cover the calamity!<br />
<br />
Since AFD is in ready mode for the Super Bowl we had 10 on duty and thus were able to muster a decent initial response, which can make a life or death difference.<br />
<br />
Either way area departments would have responded because the emergency response system state-wide for fire/EMS is always spread ultra thin. <br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="315" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Flarry.kelley.9828%2Fvideos%2F10210640259415547%2F&show_text=0&width=560" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" width="560"></iframe> <br />
<br />
And when the Beast comes calling it takes a combined effort of on-duty personnel area wide and our off-duty firefighters to meet the challenge.<br />
<br />
This time, we won. Larry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-12522055659016624202017-02-03T08:07:00.000-05:002017-02-04T16:17:37.030-05:00Sh*t Storm Indeed<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXb9jp2Jplhx-GBtv97E6qnWC0MeWoA4BEluLlKhfWnfRbcjZRY_LQw-hdDnf5w7kDk7hnp0cHKRrsJfy0gEVWfHAX2wHb1E0ow7FUzSxEovsjjCT_RKLaam_VCmIDl6Hq5e5Va1E0L-E/s1600/Wildwood2++mid+Jan+16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXb9jp2Jplhx-GBtv97E6qnWC0MeWoA4BEluLlKhfWnfRbcjZRY_LQw-hdDnf5w7kDk7hnp0cHKRrsJfy0gEVWfHAX2wHb1E0ow7FUzSxEovsjjCT_RKLaam_VCmIDl6Hq5e5Va1E0L-E/s400/Wildwood2++mid+Jan+16.jpg" width="400" /> </a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhOV9-CSgvdOaKCr8QrL6CPnyZLWz8aE_oqyEXU0F0sClT8bv9TEKJrdzFLy5n8ms3Z65vlc_Sn4tiR2yCiox8Vulsnmuh_VaQX9yygr0og97tGg0fXg7CpQ3_Cq0TzF2eqaKRkc7T0NU/s1600/Wildwood+schematic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhOV9-CSgvdOaKCr8QrL6CPnyZLWz8aE_oqyEXU0F0sClT8bv9TEKJrdzFLy5n8ms3Z65vlc_Sn4tiR2yCiox8Vulsnmuh_VaQX9yygr0og97tGg0fXg7CpQ3_Cq0TzF2eqaKRkc7T0NU/s400/Wildwood+schematic.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>$67 million Mega School</i></span></div>
<br />
Over the past 20 years only two Town Meeting actions have been challenged by referendum (and failed) where enough signatures have been collected within the short five day deadline to force it on the local election ballot.<br />
<br />
That alone is a major hurdle, requiring 5% of the registered voters to sign a petition. But the most challenging aspect of the crusade is the state requires "the people" to meet the same standard imposed on Representative Town Meeting, in this case two-thirds support.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">"A question put to the voters at large under the
provisions of this section shall be determined by a vote of the same proportion
of voters voting thereon as would have been required by law had the question
been finally determined at a representative town meeting."
</span></span></blockquote>
</div>
</div>
</div>
The other provision which sounds easy is the local election must garner a minimum turnout of 18% or the referendum vote is invalid. Now that may sound pretty easy but in overly politically active Amherst our local elections have garnered a pathetic average of 15% turnout over the past ten years.<br />
<br />
<div nbsp="" style="-x-system-font: none; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px auto;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><b> <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/338309041/Mega-School-Strike-3#from_embed" nbsp="" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Mega School Strike 3 on Scribd">Mega School Strike 3</a> </b></span>by <a href="https://www.scribd.com/user/210182270/Larry-Kelley#from_embed" nbsp="" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Larry Kelley's profile on Scribd">Larry Kelley</a> on Scribd</div>
<iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="0.7729220222793488" data-auto-height="false" frameborder="0" height="600" id="doc_40162" scrolling="no" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/338309041/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-Eiy06CvdUdrLqKIHsjTe&show_recommendations=true" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Behind the scenes email exchanges</i></span>, <span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>including elected officials </i></span></div>
<br />
The only local elections to attract over 18% turnout over the past generation involved Charter change (twice) -- aka replace Town Meeting/Select Board with Mayor/Council -- or pocketbook Override questions.<br />
<br />
And none of those outcomes were decided by much more than a 55/45% margin. And both of the referendum of Town Meeting attempts failed to pass after all the effort to get it on the ballot.<br />
<br />
In fact this Mega School question already went to the voters on the November 8th ballot and only barely won a simply majority and even then by less than 1%. <br />
<br />
It would be one thing if town officials were simply performing due diligence with no downside. But that is far from the case, because in order to take this foolhardy desperate last stand we will lose one full year gaining <b>M</b>ass <b>S</b>chool <b>B</b>uilding <b>A</b>uthority approval for a new and better plan.<br />
<br />
The bigger the risk the bigger the reward I suppose. Something I would expect from President Trump but not so much from our overly enlightened local government.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4n_TL_FkR0AdPlOtquL4lHSApeu-iSrxrmAI46JWYoKMtmUTgper_Sv5wrENtXuvxENKCXAEO8vlmv7VsskryqfUc-QCXUjADC54nLuzyBk-Al5tb_vU1p3y7iGCeGaWE6PAXojhus0L0/s1600/Signs.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4n_TL_FkR0AdPlOtquL4lHSApeu-iSrxrmAI46JWYoKMtmUTgper_Sv5wrENtXuvxENKCXAEO8vlmv7VsskryqfUc-QCXUjADC54nLuzyBk-Al5tb_vU1p3y7iGCeGaWE6PAXojhus0L0/s400/Signs.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>House on busy Rt 116
</i></span></div>
Larry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.com111tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-47020755070331336002017-02-02T08:01:00.002-05:002017-02-02T08:05:03.178-05:003rd Time The Charm?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilf5Z2DUxn2lvJGee5_pctwRTMivLPr6nsIxCLnS59yZaxudCsAhk42F2VHVeQAiitckSW65JceIQ1iZWq74NN_eBqG_orpoLZgmdUnDyvLcNjXUmQbjOtoCmQM6uF7Cb8D3vmwowPDAhR/s1600/two+schools.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilf5Z2DUxn2lvJGee5_pctwRTMivLPr6nsIxCLnS59yZaxudCsAhk42F2VHVeQAiitckSW65JceIQ1iZWq74NN_eBqG_orpoLZgmdUnDyvLcNjXUmQbjOtoCmQM6uF7Cb8D3vmwowPDAhR/s400/two+schools.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>The town can submit both schools for MSBA funding</i></span></div>
<br />
Kevin Collins, probably the most hated man in Town Meeting for his overzealous style, wants to collect 200 voter signatures to call yet another Special Town Meeting for yet another attempt at garnering a two-thirds vote needed for the new $67 million Mega School bond authorization.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5TBkPqZxTvqxLb1gCcePM9gEa5y8HGAbo4_o7aTQ_wc71fnilKi8oEMr1xRHGy08rj3dT8lBLmtB2IZOYL0ZDS7RMBB_scBQCRXkL6E41vZa2h9Xyho3O0VwTE9RwYYL18-7mW7PX1Ckc/s1600/Keven.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5TBkPqZxTvqxLb1gCcePM9gEa5y8HGAbo4_o7aTQ_wc71fnilKi8oEMr1xRHGy08rj3dT8lBLmtB2IZOYL0ZDS7RMBB_scBQCRXkL6E41vZa2h9Xyho3O0VwTE9RwYYL18-7mW7PX1Ckc/s400/Keven.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />
While there's still time for that desperate Hail Mary to occur before the April 1st deadline the MSBA gave town officials for getting the needed Town Meeting approval another, however, more important deadline would be missed:<br />
<br />
In order to get back in the MSBA pipeline immediately for funding on a new improved school plan, acting Superintendent Mike Morris <span style="background-color: white;"><b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0By0mz4P0v3bWMktWcVZNU3ZUdTA/view">must withdraw</a></b></span> the original failed Mega School project by Monday otherwise we lose <u>an entire year.</u><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFVPCNr_dsvkBWqKoRqkb0VbPHu1kk_c_CxnaYwyf5FNjIfNJsb6q28scUlg0JI20-rF3yW8CzL2KbdGkqqCFSeb6TFY5xODFhQbo_FvV74buONv-qh1SNPj9VqItRa42HbepH-TZnItkp/s1600/msba.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFVPCNr_dsvkBWqKoRqkb0VbPHu1kk_c_CxnaYwyf5FNjIfNJsb6q28scUlg0JI20-rF3yW8CzL2KbdGkqqCFSeb6TFY5xODFhQbo_FvV74buONv-qh1SNPj9VqItRa42HbepH-TZnItkp/s400/msba.png" width="400" /></a><u><br /></u>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Click to enlarge/read</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">If</span></span> the acting Superintendent wastes an entire year on this impossible dream gamble, an irresponsible lack of judgement, he should be fired.<br />
<br />
<br />Larry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.com45tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-4322737126700809862017-02-01T12:01:00.002-05:002017-02-01T12:01:55.674-05:00DUI Dishonor Roll<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHLjnGftygqSBo-klRccZd3xeEUjfNMFRyItCtEa-VtyxwEKfZKOcVX-jXq5I9Ea4DuXZxO1RN87ZC2zlaWEk30w4GJeHJDFHLh49fC7gf1VcZhfbjFLy2kmddZ_3xeYVO0yu8zdLAst55/s1600/DUI.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHLjnGftygqSBo-klRccZd3xeEUjfNMFRyItCtEa-VtyxwEKfZKOcVX-jXq5I9Ea4DuXZxO1RN87ZC2zlaWEk30w4GJeHJDFHLh49fC7gf1VcZhfbjFLy2kmddZ_3xeYVO0yu8zdLAst55/s400/DUI.png" width="400" /></a> </div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>In 2015, 10,265 people died in drunk driving crashes</i></span></div>
<br />
<br />
Once again Amherst had only one driver taken off the road over the weekend by APD for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol.<br />
<br />
Considering how <a href="http://onlyintherepublicofamherst.blogspot.com/2017/01/on-wing-prayer.html"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>completely overwhelmed</b></span></a> AFD (and other area departments who came to assist) was with drunk runs from UMass to Cooley Dickinson Hospital late Saturday night I'm pleasantly surprised.<br />
<br />
After all, there's a big difference between drinking too much in the privacy of your dorm room or at a party within walking distance and drinking too much and getting behind the wheel of a deadly weapon.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsIBMBtviyFoAU93sXrJ6da7FjCotsT5Wn7gLmYt5mcXaVm5tYsslP3-Qtj_Gk4oNCJ4_s5R28zL9SJ6DDvPJZlJ-FLm329meDRxmPBCpAlnkNj270wUZy5gIpgqkRCiMVWT5ThK-lh1GT/s1600/Dui+female+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsIBMBtviyFoAU93sXrJ6da7FjCotsT5Wn7gLmYt5mcXaVm5tYsslP3-Qtj_Gk4oNCJ4_s5R28zL9SJ6DDvPJZlJ-FLm329meDRxmPBCpAlnkNj270wUZy5gIpgqkRCiMVWT5ThK-lh1GT/s400/Dui+female+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i> Cassandra Lacoy stands before Judge Thomas Estes</i></span></div>
<br />
Since Ms. Lacoy's Breathalyzer is not all that far over the limit and since she seemed pretty determined before Judge Estes that she will fight this charge she is probably a candidate for the class action suit in the Supreme Judicial Court questioning the accuracy of the BT.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2PKi7yOdU2Ir-Jp4pYxDmmCdEMOmjAp7SjBt6Zb67veXE0zNMZkLcW-hy5LZsWYkaHBen1cv5Ssfp8Jvg7gjG5ClllvYjt92YsonReVcBeMwUhYggalKDly0g-pbvfAUkHYKq3D_cORF1/s1600/Casandra+Lacoy%252C+23JPG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2PKi7yOdU2Ir-Jp4pYxDmmCdEMOmjAp7SjBt6Zb67veXE0zNMZkLcW-hy5LZsWYkaHBen1cv5Ssfp8Jvg7gjG5ClllvYjt92YsonReVcBeMwUhYggalKDly0g-pbvfAUkHYKq3D_cORF1/s400/Casandra+Lacoy%252C+23JPG.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i> Click to enlarge/read</i></span></div>
<br />
Well over 500 DUI cases have been "consolidated" and await the decision of our highest Court. Of course if they find the Breathalyzer flawed and no longer usable by police departments for drunk driving enforcement, I'm giving up driving.<br />
<br />
Larry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-47043956152885720342017-01-31T15:54:00.002-05:002017-02-01T08:11:21.452-05:00All In A Name<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrOkahIDbP0hACdou5eYEI7L-N_cWxPrTsb-Vwboq9fWqRF9od2yQpZB5_j1x5_7K7ZspkKUNf77qmXnnjFRrPCcGIjAQHqNlJb0xINRI2CgPRYxb1pi3G6PDslmdUJIrT34ToA1IAhBEx/s1600/sunny+sun+over+amherst+feb.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrOkahIDbP0hACdou5eYEI7L-N_cWxPrTsb-Vwboq9fWqRF9od2yQpZB5_j1x5_7K7ZspkKUNf77qmXnnjFRrPCcGIjAQHqNlJb0xINRI2CgPRYxb1pi3G6PDslmdUJIrT34ToA1IAhBEx/s400/sunny+sun+over+amherst+feb.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Amherst: <a href="https://www.amherstma.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1832"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>"A Welcoming Community"</b></span></a></span></div>
<br />
Is Amherst a Sanctuary City? Well, err, sort of, kinda, maybe ... Depends who you ask.<br />
<br />
If you ask Town Manager Paul Bockelman, as the Finance Committee did recently, he would say "No"; but, it's "complicated."<br />
<br />
But if you ask Select Board Chair Alisa Brewer she would seem to indicate that we are but would avoid an outright yes or no answer.<br />
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<div nbsp="" style="-x-system-font: none; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px auto;">
<a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/338048992/Is-Amherst-A-Sanctuary-City#from_embed" nbsp="" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Is Amherst A Sanctuary City? on Scribd">Is Amherst A Sanctuary City?</a> by <a href="https://www.scribd.com/user/210182270/Larry-Kelley#from_embed" nbsp="" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Larry Kelley's profile on Scribd">Larry Kelley</a> on Scribd</div>
<iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="0.7729220222793488" data-auto-height="false" frameborder="0" height="600" id="doc_54812" scrolling="no" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/338048992/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-pKf0v1BDtJMObKHJfubU&show_recommendations=true" width="100%"></iframe> <br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Either way</span></span> a Town Meeting petition is now circulating to officially designate Amherst a "Sanctuary City" or town or community or whatever the case may be. Amherst also now shows up on <span style="background-color: white;"><b><a href="http://nepr.net/news/2016/11/17/trumps-pledge-cut-funding-mean-western-mass-sanctuary-cities/">internet articles</a></b></span> as being a Sanctuary City,<br />
<br />
Certainly the Town Meeting resolution passed in 2012 contains all the sentiments of a Sanctuary City but never actually strings together those two words.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifc3-psdgHycI9dO3ZKu0DhHrmiSgX8Xlq3Ilq0ZJdkW7uX7P7MZ5ulvm_PmNBMwmmhRGGMEV0VemhNnQ0T-HcsJjiozV7F8a1zN8ckFtYmf7pI16xqihsd82P1EMXxtZCFC3S1L7nioa0/s1600/Sancturary+city+2012+.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifc3-psdgHycI9dO3ZKu0DhHrmiSgX8Xlq3Ilq0ZJdkW7uX7P7MZ5ulvm_PmNBMwmmhRGGMEV0VemhNnQ0T-HcsJjiozV7F8a1zN8ckFtYmf7pI16xqihsd82P1EMXxtZCFC3S1L7nioa0/s400/Sancturary+city+2012+.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i> Click to enlarge/read</i></span></div>
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So if President Trump's executive order to cut off federal funding to Sanctuary cities and towns really gets enforced how much will it cost Amherst?<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzbbO1vhZJlVUH9IiJTuLYj4nyjdI6X28Gix-P3eGoUkoy85tf_4BbR3Pz9wKSpy81wv6AB21BKItkXvvsw7AWhq0W7Nl-QVUQNtJTqrRHq-NB4ZFcEOYvVQIawsieZsk4nqWVm4ed-hH1/s1600/CDBG+federal+grant.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzbbO1vhZJlVUH9IiJTuLYj4nyjdI6X28Gix-P3eGoUkoy85tf_4BbR3Pz9wKSpy81wv6AB21BKItkXvvsw7AWhq0W7Nl-QVUQNtJTqrRHq-NB4ZFcEOYvVQIawsieZsk4nqWVm4ed-hH1/s400/CDBG+federal+grant.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Town Manager Bockelman told the Finance Committee we currently get about $200,000 from Department of Justice Grants to APD for sexual violence and alcohol education programs.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i> Town Manager Paul Bockelman (left) at 1/26 Finance Committee meeting</i></span></div>
<br />
But APD has a pretty astute grant writer and they have received a number of federal grants over the past few years. <br />
<br />
And Amherst also gets upwards of $850,000 in <b>C</b>ommunity <b>D</b>evelopment <b> B</b>lock <b>G</b>rants, which is federal money distributed by the state.<br />
<br />
So I would not go poking the bear so to speak with an in your face Town Meeting warrant article directed at President Trump. This being Amherst we are already probably on his radar, if only for the recent embarrassing <span style="background-color: white;"><b><a href="http://onlyintherepublicofamherst.blogspot.com/search?q=Hampshire+College+flag+">flag incident at Hampshire College. </a></b></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Anti Trump pro Muslim Rally Amherst Town Common 1/19</i></span></div>
Larry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-54746161712026225962017-01-31T09:18:00.000-05:002017-01-31T18:52:40.873-05:00Fork In The Road<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz4tyaf0ALSTLeAntjVxgeGv-6nxEDDHCKIqJuWRbcqKYx1Q97BbZmVvkiJNHQh2gxnEn4yx3nYA5pAtaoeL3aflEC7ckSwzBVLCgT6C2mm3lZ1Nx_oYWT2MuA5oqm-tK6FrhiUYX8AuJO/s1600/Town+Meet+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz4tyaf0ALSTLeAntjVxgeGv-6nxEDDHCKIqJuWRbcqKYx1Q97BbZmVvkiJNHQh2gxnEn4yx3nYA5pAtaoeL3aflEC7ckSwzBVLCgT6C2mm3lZ1Nx_oYWT2MuA5oqm-tK6FrhiUYX8AuJO/s400/Town+Meet+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Vote was 123 yes, 92 no, 9 abstain (224 present)</i></span></div>
<br />
Yogi Berra had the right idea although he could have been a tad more specific about which path to choose. Perhaps he was suggesting how important experience and instinct are when making decisions, like that famous Supreme Court justice line about knowing porn when he sees it.<br />
<br />
For Amherst Town Meeting last night the same path was chosen for a second time even though sternly forewarned it's a dangerous road.<br />
<br />
In spite of unanimous approval of the Select Board, School Committee, Finance Committee (with one abstention) and a slew of vocal supporters the $67.2 million Mega School project failed to garner the two thirds votes necessary to pass a bond issue.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i> Supporters rally at entry to Middle School last night</i></span></div>
<br />
Perhaps the most devastating testimony came from member Russ Vernon Jones a retired long time Principal of Fort River School, which these days some folks try to portray as health hazard:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The education plan (2-6) does not match what works best. Grade configuration is BIG mistake. Neighborhood schools build community. This will dismantle K-6 for many years to come. Of course teachers want a new school! But previously they opposed it when other opportunities were available." </blockquote>
And Maria Kopicki was her usual professorially articulate self, presenting persuasive statistics showing the wait for state funds on a new plan is not necessarily a generation away.<br />
<br />
But the sooner Mega School supporters accept defeat and withdraw this project from the MSBA pipeline the sooner we can get started on a new and improved project that will attract widespread support.<br />
<br />
A much needed step to make Amherst great again. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i> Focus may shift from Wildwood (bottom) to Fort River School (top) </i></span></div>
<br />
(And with the new 100 year flood plain maps, which FEMA may approve in the next two years, showing dramatic reduction in the overlay around Fort River that school site could get more buildable, although it would require Town Meeting removing it from Flood Prone Conservancy overlay.) <br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Click to enlarge/read</i></span></div>
Larry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.com61tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-39882212989052001672017-01-30T16:15:00.001-05:002017-01-30T16:16:35.357-05:00On A Wing & A Prayer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i> Rolling Green fatal fire (photo by Stephanie Jernigan</i></span></div>
<br />
If a terrorist bomb detonates in downtown Amherst during peak traffic period you would expect AFD to require nine or more mutual aid ambulance runs from surrounding professional departments over a four hour period.<br />
<br />
In fact these days all professional departments practice for those unthinkable Mass Causality Incidents.<br />
<br />
But when a routine late Saturday night into early Sunday morning this early in the semester requires <u>nine mutual aid ambulances</u> (mostly for intoxicated college age youth at UMass) something is dramatically wrong.<br />
<br />
And the thought that keeps Chief Nelson awake at night is what happens if a major structure fire occurs in the middle of that EMS mayhem, such as we saw a few years ago at Rolling Green that left one UMass student dead?<br />
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<div nbsp="" style="-x-system-font: none; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px auto;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><b> <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/337950333/AFD-Swamped#from_embed" nbsp="" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View AFD Swamped on Scribd">AFD Swamped</a> </b></span>by <a href="https://www.scribd.com/user/210182270/Larry-Kelley#from_embed" nbsp="" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Larry Kelley's profile on Scribd">Larry Kelley</a> on Scribd</div>
<iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="0.7729220222793488" data-auto-height="false" frameborder="0" height="600" id="doc_73090" scrolling="no" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/337950333/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-Bram9g0BllNEDVpLg5Ko&show_recommendations=true" width="100%"></iframe> <br />
<br />
Holyoke has come under fire for having one engine on brown out that could have been helpful in that fatal fire on New Year's Day.<br />
<br />
But the staffing shortage at AFD is almost like an everyday brownout since Engines or ambulances can't drive themselves.<br />
<br />
Yes the UMass funded "impact shift" with four extra firefighters was not on duty because officials felt it too early in the semester to be necessary.<br />
<br />
But even with two extra potential ambulances Mutual Aid would still have been required during that troubling four hour period.<br />
<br />
You have to wonder how Northampton is going to feel when they send all their available ambulances to Amherst and one of their own citizens suddenly needs medical assistance?
Larry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-46256047886278822362017-01-30T06:08:00.001-05:002017-01-30T06:08:18.613-05:00Replacing Maria<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8kS-uQJVPmlQFhYLncuGJgB8qWtbi47HzNXGnYJ4xnTmQQNjj_u-e2ctbDfP9sOFdZd7HQIrm6rBkCayuXvaPtFuQEj5SxFY8OR8GAfHn97XwVAUPBfe0N70oEjdyF_12dYskgS_2Mz4/s1600/Maria+Mike+Sean.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8kS-uQJVPmlQFhYLncuGJgB8qWtbi47HzNXGnYJ4xnTmQQNjj_u-e2ctbDfP9sOFdZd7HQIrm6rBkCayuXvaPtFuQEj5SxFY8OR8GAfHn97XwVAUPBfe0N70oEjdyF_12dYskgS_2Mz4/s400/Maria+Mike+Sean.jpg" width="251" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Maria Geryk at 3/31 Finance Committee meeting with Mike Morris, Sean Mangano</i></span></div>
<br />
<br />
The search to replace former school Superintendent Maria Geryk is off to an inauspicious start. <span style="background-color: white;"><b><a href="http://www.arps.org/cms/One.aspx?portalId=926815&pageId=8754089">The survey</a></b></span> of qualities folks wish to see in her replacement has not gotten very wide circulation. And as surveys go that's not a great thing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNEJ08OsyEACiDS5DM48fv_21IyFjMLZpA5JJ7Yr6DCL8_rc8cBK1weK3yBq4id-NXz8Ftr6RJyQfbjL5ZzOZKVoGw2ueoRxJ3f9IREWM4As0xxoNLM7FkK4C5Sehs99NliBEiNPGnMvA/s1600/survey.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNEJ08OsyEACiDS5DM48fv_21IyFjMLZpA5JJ7Yr6DCL8_rc8cBK1weK3yBq4id-NXz8Ftr6RJyQfbjL5ZzOZKVoGw2ueoRxJ3f9IREWM4As0xxoNLM7FkK4C5Sehs99NliBEiNPGnMvA/s400/survey.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i> Click to enlarge/read</i></span></div>
<br />
One of the big criticisms of our public schools which we will hear again on the floor of Town Meeting tonight is a lack of transparency and outreach.<br />
<br />
The hiring of a "Media & Climate Communications Specialists" (which is not funded in the upcoming fiscal year) did nothing to change that. Obviously.<br />
<br />
Larry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.com38tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-59097527696692476952017-01-29T08:48:00.000-05:002017-01-29T09:18:13.305-05:00Tomorrow, & Tomorrow, & Tomorrow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB3f_rfpbpRtjA-dnLnt5MQi_fkWUceLyQOYKba_XZLa0G4OxPwS8k8pjf413yb91A11cEq6Sg_OLSRRc7YqMxBMSC0WUbQy7AGcwjaoW6LdmOTu-Bh9yWo0Sba-kIOtyiDF8G3g1MjAsv/s1600/Beacon+B3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB3f_rfpbpRtjA-dnLnt5MQi_fkWUceLyQOYKba_XZLa0G4OxPwS8k8pjf413yb91A11cEq6Sg_OLSRRc7YqMxBMSC0WUbQy7AGcwjaoW6LdmOTu-Bh9yWo0Sba-kIOtyiDF8G3g1MjAsv/s400/Beacon+B3.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Former industrial site near North Amherst center</i></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Proposed transformation </i></span></div>
<br />
On Thursday February 2nd the Amherst <b>Z</b>oning <b>B</b>oard of <b>A</b>ppeals will convene for the 6th and hopefully final time to support the Comprehensive Permit for Beacon Communities North Square mixed use development at the Mill District in North Amherst.<br />
<br />
Yes, academic Amherst once had industry. Old timers refer to that area of town as "the dirty hands district" because of those long gone industries. Today industrial land makes up less than 1% of the town tax base.<br />
<br />
The Beacon proposal will revive that former industrial site, which currently pays the towns less than $10,000 in property taxes, in a way that will stimulate all of North Amherst via the tenants and businesses it attracts while enhancing our town coffers with over $500,000 in annual property taxes.<br />
<br />
In order to offset the losses they will incur from having 26 subsidized housing units in the 130 unit proposal, Beacon will be seeking a temporary ten year property tax break on those units, legislation that was championed by late Town Manager John Musante.<br />
<br />
The state requires a town to contribute financially to a Comprehensive Permit project anyway and this method is far less painful since it does not take any money out of the treasury and simply forgoes collecting money over a ten year period.<br />
<br />
But how much exactly?<br />
<br />
When Beacon Communities came into town four years ago and saved our bacon by buying Rolling Green to keep all 204 units on the <b>S</b>ubsidized <b>H</b>ousing <b>I</b>ndex, the town contributed $1.25 million up front.<br />
<br />
Forever activist Vince O'Connor, a North Amherst resident, was circulating a sheet at the recent ZBA meeting showing the total tax breaks Beacon is seeking over ten years coming to almost $5 million. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Vince O'Connor low tech tax guestimate</i></span></div>
<br />
But the spreadsheet presented to the Select Board on January 23rd concludes it will be far less than that (although it is a tad complicated):<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiORIFL7sRCoLFdzAYeETCG9uMQP5YePMXWGPuurQOCECjkai8EuqUZvrLau7P7sGSYIbew2KHhEaFMHewL4pBKUKaiwXLlwLNu5QXiaZBMs2Zh2QRo3Ot7g7IloJPeA15YyaheD8Ltyb0-/s1600/beacon+proj+o+SB.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiORIFL7sRCoLFdzAYeETCG9uMQP5YePMXWGPuurQOCECjkai8EuqUZvrLau7P7sGSYIbew2KHhEaFMHewL4pBKUKaiwXLlwLNu5QXiaZBMs2Zh2QRo3Ot7g7IloJPeA15YyaheD8Ltyb0-/s400/beacon+proj+o+SB.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Click to enlarge/read</i></span></div>
<br />
According to Mollye Lockwood, Cowls VP of Real Estate and Community Development:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">It is a reasonable request for the town to contribute about $2 million in<br />tax relief (that is the approximate amount for the total 10 year period<br />and what I believe Vince was trying to calculate) to have not only the 26<br />affordable units but all of the other benefits related to economic<br />development, village center revitalization, smart growth, etc. (The town,<br />or anyone else, could not build 26 affordable units deed restricted into<br />perpetuity for very-low and extremely-low income households for $2<br />million.) </span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">This is a great value for the community and the opportunity cost<br />that will be lost by not doing it would cost the town exponentially more<br />in the long run. </span></span></blockquote>
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Amherst continuously pays lip service to the idea of subsidized housing. Now it's time for town officials to put their money where their mouth is. <br />
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<br />Larry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-49051296620808620252017-01-27T16:12:00.000-05:002017-01-27T16:14:06.438-05:00100%<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtVEQIqWrjpLlwMqqXud2nV4xSdvcGoHiO7B72G0y5VY8U-cggXUqFn02sFbC1kSftUD-3s3XEYq0QfzjxqdC6NOotUA_y_Dbu226EahkRfg9C4WUd3OIugYjylF_keimNHbwdejiNCKGS/s1600/Atkins+Jan+27.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtVEQIqWrjpLlwMqqXud2nV4xSdvcGoHiO7B72G0y5VY8U-cggXUqFn02sFbC1kSftUD-3s3XEYq0QfzjxqdC6NOotUA_y_Dbu226EahkRfg9C4WUd3OIugYjylF_keimNHbwdejiNCKGS/s400/Atkins+Jan+27.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Atkins Reservoir Friday, January 27: 100% capacity</i></span></div>
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Atkins Reservoir, which went back online a couple weeks ago, is currently at full 200 million gallon capacity.<br />
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A far cry from early this fall when it was down by two<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>-</i></span>thirds and had to be shut down early. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1LdPielQpuXFKXAVkU5yzY_k0DkHm7CYesOMksek9aV2Z0jS1FFgkvpU0rW5AygZ0SNOl3j44ixMVOyJxpQzwO6zgjeQrGN4FjvqN917yn4A7NHtHMi4GuOrbIjYLBjL2mcDD7KVHDsE9/s1600/Over+Atkins+10%253A7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1LdPielQpuXFKXAVkU5yzY_k0DkHm7CYesOMksek9aV2Z0jS1FFgkvpU0rW5AygZ0SNOl3j44ixMVOyJxpQzwO6zgjeQrGN4FjvqN917yn4A7NHtHMi4GuOrbIjYLBjL2mcDD7KVHDsE9/s400/Over+Atkins+10%253A7.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i> Atkins Reservoir October 7th, 2016: 34% of capacity</i></span></div>
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Amherst managed to survive an extended period using only the wells and the return of somewhat normal New England weather has now replenished our surface water supplies in Pelham and Atkins which is located in Shutesbury.<br />
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The town lifted the water ban that went into effect on August 19th back on December 19th and the consumption levels since then have remained below 3 million gallons per day.<br />
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Amherst is permitted by the DEP to draw 4.44 million gallons per day so in our current system there's still plenty of capacity left for new growth as long as Mother Nature does not throw a hot hissy fit.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV6jzJz2Pg5ql7UWGw03rdNhOUEkKaaV_lv-YJ-rowQfTfWtSWXHttMV8RSvDWymKZ-oLgCxXzgOowrLAYyzX6at-OkpvewNuPzfte81YzJrxbbdOfCtkAE3VNgXKDNLFk2B65VDM5fvmB/s1600/Max+output+for+wells.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV6jzJz2Pg5ql7UWGw03rdNhOUEkKaaV_lv-YJ-rowQfTfWtSWXHttMV8RSvDWymKZ-oLgCxXzgOowrLAYyzX6at-OkpvewNuPzfte81YzJrxbbdOfCtkAE3VNgXKDNLFk2B65VDM5fvmB/s400/Max+output+for+wells.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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<br />
NIMBYs have embraced the recent water woes as another weapon in their anti-development war using it to attack the proposed Beacon Communities 130 unit development at the Mill District in North Amherst. <br />
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Not the first time the usual knee jerk anti-development arguments have been all wet.<br />
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<br />Larry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-9338080174828965682017-01-26T08:11:00.001-05:002017-01-26T10:17:46.584-05:00Mayor Council Yes!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4_iKK3M7WIVRfTu9l08zw2DFTIjkT9hN0Y9Di_7OWd65VaKwkXk_IU94rT0gjTfbQPb8w1WO6N3A2Mz9qnbCw5cTJ9Of2FG7hQ0wO67Nb4oq0YKKcRtCe5mVKaHsFuKpn2NkrqQ3QDn3K/s1600/Charter+commisison+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4_iKK3M7WIVRfTu9l08zw2DFTIjkT9hN0Y9Di_7OWd65VaKwkXk_IU94rT0gjTfbQPb8w1WO6N3A2Mz9qnbCw5cTJ9Of2FG7hQ0wO67Nb4oq0YKKcRtCe5mVKaHsFuKpn2NkrqQ3QDn3K/s400/Charter+commisison+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Nine member <span style="background-color: white;"><b><a href="https://www.amherstma.gov/2248/Charter-Commission">Amherst Charter Commission</a></b></span></i></span><span style="background-color: white;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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After almost two hours of deliberation comparing a Mayor/Council to the current Town Meeting/Select Board the full Amherst Charter Commission -- with one member using remote participation -- decided <u>not </u>to change course on their 5-4 late December "straw vote " to ditch Town Meeting.<br />
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Although they did not take a formal (concrete) vote it was obvious none of the Commissioners had changed their minds and if anything are now only more firmly entrenched.<br />
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In fact Town Meeting loyalists Gerry Weiss and Julia Rueschemeyer threatened to write a "robust minority report" although colleague Diana Stein promised to work with the five to create the best Charter possible.<br />
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This was the second meeting in a row that stalled momentum although the first hour was particularly enlightening as the Commission heard from Northampton (strong) Mayor David Narkewicz and South Hadley Administrator Mike Sullivan.<br />
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Sullivan a former Mayor of Holyoke told the Commission mayor/councils are not a one size fits all because every community has a "different texture ... a different fabric -- but if you can adopt what Northampton has go for it because it works really well there."<br />
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Mayor Narkewicz pointed out he has a highly trained credentialed finance team in place to handle the complicated finances of a city and their charter -- which gives the mayor a four year term -- makes very clear distinctions between the legislative (Council) and executive (Mayor) branch.<br />
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Sullivan concurred adding, "Mayor/Council form expedites things."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNo8pTsyOj2pwhaXexnUUWAabMHCHLEmmGr14RRrj8oIQ4ppiNq8hX3EBJhEb_59ZsgTLv1JIa1-aR64f8sbls8flNUBFVdn5W8nu7DSCHQnVHkn4blaAeDjREzZFa-S6QEV2YARXsLF88/s1600/Charter+COmm+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNo8pTsyOj2pwhaXexnUUWAabMHCHLEmmGr14RRrj8oIQ4ppiNq8hX3EBJhEb_59ZsgTLv1JIa1-aR64f8sbls8flNUBFVdn5W8nu7DSCHQnVHkn4blaAeDjREzZFa-S6QEV2YARXsLF88/s400/Charter+COmm+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i> Mayor Dave Narkewicz (ctr), Mike Sullivan (rt)</i><i><br /></i></span></div>
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When asked about corruption Sullivan thought, "The only safeguard against corruption is individual honesty, no matter the system."<br />
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Mayor Narkewicz said Northampton passed an ordinance restricting political contributions to $500 even though the state allows $1,000 and he pointed out the Open Meeting Law keeps folks honest since anyone could access his campaign contribution report via the web.<br />
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Narkewicz acknowledged he was recently surprised to learn Representative Town Meeting members are exempt from state Conflict of Interest and Open Meeting Laws and he thought that, "was a recipe for problems."<br />
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Charter Chair Andy Churchill asked if they had any final suggestions for his Commission and Mayor Narkewicz told them "Make roles very clear. Don't come up with a diluted mish mash. Know where the buck stops. Don't go with a fake Mayor."<br />
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The Mayor/Council/Manager Charter proposal in 2003 lost by only 14 votes and one of the main reasons for failure was the (unelected) Manager had more power than the (fake) Mayor.<br />
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<br />Larry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-54476664891489765512017-01-25T16:41:00.000-05:002017-01-25T16:41:37.985-05:00DUI Dishonor Roll<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrI0ROXNnDiMXAt3svlHSUXcojFPrRgZLRtM8mYiIMzH7v8BkjaOUJnBFV_AYBcBCtfs-u5UWUgvYVU0reSnawQBOzsE7SRYr7YLDyoM3eiBzWTibXyYkTDfYr0TU1NgymDrYt0No4zhVj/s1600/DUI.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrI0ROXNnDiMXAt3svlHSUXcojFPrRgZLRtM8mYiIMzH7v8BkjaOUJnBFV_AYBcBCtfs-u5UWUgvYVU0reSnawQBOzsE7SRYr7YLDyoM3eiBzWTibXyYkTDfYr0TU1NgymDrYt0No4zhVj/s400/DUI.png" width="400" /></a> </div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Every two minutes, a person is injured in a drunk driving crash</i></span></div>
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Only two arrests over the weekend for impaired driving, which is a little surprising considering Amherst's population almost doubled with the return of our beloved college students.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEsYqxfRSF9jZt4C5pmZe4z_3hKlmPehklwsaBHJ4-TE2CDEOezsXoUzFjqmbt2UFKmv1qKfbVzWP3IZxsHv6rtV5nJak_JZY3de8FaMGKF1-34Zd1JbqpMVtKKlN_fLP9h7BZIbmiflRz/s1600/Eric+Barnes%252C+26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEsYqxfRSF9jZt4C5pmZe4z_3hKlmPehklwsaBHJ4-TE2CDEOezsXoUzFjqmbt2UFKmv1qKfbVzWP3IZxsHv6rtV5nJak_JZY3de8FaMGKF1-34Zd1JbqpMVtKKlN_fLP9h7BZIbmiflRz/s400/Eric+Barnes%252C+26.jpg" width="108" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Eric Barnes, age 26 stands before Judge Estes</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7jn75cBD1_c7_ST1i80zo8HLJuV2DtT6rcL9o8JMhSikA1e3t5wkwnYNPxyZn2VbmyqnwcfulTKg0JK93-vz2ka9WKTi836RX9mswZ1O6H4r2t64VWHWiJTrVTLNj2YCPCRlRPlkWXdMh/s1600/Barnes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="363" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7jn75cBD1_c7_ST1i80zo8HLJuV2DtT6rcL9o8JMhSikA1e3t5wkwnYNPxyZn2VbmyqnwcfulTKg0JK93-vz2ka9WKTi836RX9mswZ1O6H4r2t64VWHWiJTrVTLNj2YCPCRlRPlkWXdMh/s400/Barnes.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSMiUzSTcPHNyIOZJBYpm_vaHKu5TRymEsvB9HnHVXMADFP5jN7eaJ2Cb2PbEM7kSeex7v2JfeaD00CkYsGQq0VX1fHGtf526V8eqOz828QYn2S4EKd4b_Hvl8Ro-GW8H0BJqFTW9oDFHI/s1600/Barne2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSMiUzSTcPHNyIOZJBYpm_vaHKu5TRymEsvB9HnHVXMADFP5jN7eaJ2Cb2PbEM7kSeex7v2JfeaD00CkYsGQq0VX1fHGtf526V8eqOz828QYn2S4EKd4b_Hvl8Ro-GW8H0BJqFTW9oDFHI/s400/Barne2.jpg" width="400" /></a></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Click to enlarge/read </i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjKB2D6Z0TsM_zD3jbR24068otLoqA3u_jXS8WZZ42oUS-sx6itMzpUL5B6-kG-AEMieZnqj1qjjaWyt20fwiNgPWq6yRLUdDnZwaLzlMdrW91vNS4SD3LAO7HG55qSa_6kEbhnyaVKM7V/s1600/Daniel+Canon%252C+55.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjKB2D6Z0TsM_zD3jbR24068otLoqA3u_jXS8WZZ42oUS-sx6itMzpUL5B6-kG-AEMieZnqj1qjjaWyt20fwiNgPWq6yRLUdDnZwaLzlMdrW91vNS4SD3LAO7HG55qSa_6kEbhnyaVKM7V/s400/Daniel+Canon%252C+55.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Daniel Canon, age 65</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnTPQVOEWxv1sMJwI6VYaQxKYvfVU4Tr5QaOX1pnBWMFaN8zWOUjXWjYr-QUJhsQ-CWWBJUHBb8tHpQ-5K00WzlVioNSE8aDPvge_TNAwQjxHHswwTAVaVcYqmu-f-gG0fhjDQDt-Ax-uQ/s1600/Canon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnTPQVOEWxv1sMJwI6VYaQxKYvfVU4Tr5QaOX1pnBWMFaN8zWOUjXWjYr-QUJhsQ-CWWBJUHBb8tHpQ-5K00WzlVioNSE8aDPvge_TNAwQjxHHswwTAVaVcYqmu-f-gG0fhjDQDt-Ax-uQ/s400/Canon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjgvmPmwjvgs1WDyFIxCQ-eVlJCaHnJ4G1T-jsM3sf5cbaE5A-cwZCzfwJuZqSC4zjE5GaqMGCkHcpcy1EBYBg3j8wohCf9wi64lDc8VgiFz13EE1lipyvpO0i0_Q1U28pdaMYXTrGyhIR/s1600/Canon+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjgvmPmwjvgs1WDyFIxCQ-eVlJCaHnJ4G1T-jsM3sf5cbaE5A-cwZCzfwJuZqSC4zjE5GaqMGCkHcpcy1EBYBg3j8wohCf9wi64lDc8VgiFz13EE1lipyvpO0i0_Q1U28pdaMYXTrGyhIR/s400/Canon+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Larry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.com21