Any topic

[Tom]

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-- Tom Glynn

[Unregistered]

any visions for the future of the town center...? ideas from the general population...

[Unregistered]

The downtown revitalization will commence when those in power decide to make it a priority. Why can't we have Selectmen who take the initiative in attracting business instead of waiting for something to fall on their lap?

The Kahana and especially the Liberty Village/Foundry area clearly need a facelift and new occupants. Why are people content with leaving as they are? Which is to say a vacany, empty, eye sore.

[Unregistered]

Selectmen set the tone for the rest of the town. We elect them as the chief agenda setters, policy makers, and leaders in our town. Serving on some Mickey Mouse committee appointed by the selectmen may qualify as "getting involved," however it does little to spur any meaningful change.

Of course, I know someone may be inclined to say "Well, who elected them? You get what you ask for." But, unfortunately it is not that simple. Our last Selectmen's race attracted barely 13% of the electorate. There were several candidates who ran unopposed for other offices that attracted several hundred more votes than any of the candidates for Selectmen! What does it mean when Assessors, Moderators, and School Committee members (in uncontested races) all attract more votes than the top vote getter for Selectmen?!

Our town is in need of some strong, truthful leadership. Someone who can say what they believe and stand by their principles, regardless of consequences. Some Selectmen have shown flashes of this but nothing sustainable. What we have now is a mini Cold War. In this case, it is several small factions who band together to prevent anything from happening instead of coming together and yes, maybe giving up a small piece of the pie.

--- We don't want overrides, but we also don't want any commercial development.

--- We want an override and more revenue for the schools, but let's not do anything to generate any commercial tax revenue.

--- No overrides, no new business! OR Gimme an override and toss in a 40B and another Wal-Mart while you're at it.

--- I'm all for commercial development, but why can't it happen on the other side of town?

--- We can't handle any more 40B's!!! Can't we just leave that land empty?

Have I just about summed it up here folks? Is this the "State of the Town?"

~ Publius

[Unregistered]

The Boston Globe is reporting that the Metco director surmises a mass removal of suburban towns from the program if they are no longer able to chose students by race.

I was completely uninformed about what this program was about, I thought it was a way to provide a superior education to inner city students, but I was wrong. It's simply a desegregation program, nothing more. I'm actually disappointed in this, because 40 years of a desegregation program has not actually done anything in the name of desegregation. I'd say that Metco is a failure for it's intended purpose.

That being said, it's my hope that Walpole continues it's Metco program, regardless of race, because I believe it provides inner city students a chance at a better education and the possibility of a way out of the inner city. If this was the Metco mandate, it would succeed. Race based programs of any kind are, by their very definition, racist and I hope Walpole will not support racist programs.



Metco fears for its future
Ruling may put desegregation effort at risk

By Tracy Jan, Globe Staff | July 26, 2007

Leaders of a 41-year-old state program created to integrate suburban schools with urban minority students are facing the possibility that they may have to allow white participants in the aftermath of a Supreme Court ruling last month.

Program leaders and others fear that including white students from the cities in the voluntary desegregation program, known as Metco, could lead to the program's demise. Admit white students, suburban superintendents say, and their communities may pull out because the program's purpose was to diversify their predominantly white schools.

The Supreme Court decision, which prohibited Seattle and Louisville, Ky., from using race in school assignments, has flung Metco and other desegregation efforts across the nation into uncertainty over whether their admissions policies could withstand legal challenges. Metco parents, students, and other community members plan to gather in Boston today to discuss the potential effects of the court decision, which struck down race as a primary tool for integration but left it open as a last resort.

"If the issue gets down to, 'You cannot assign students by race,' Metco could end," said Jean McGuire, executive director of Metco. "We have to figure out what might happen. The superintendents are worried that somebody's going to tell them they have to put white kids in Metco and their towns won't buy it."
Continue reading the full article here (http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/07/26/metco_fears_for_its_future/)

[Unregistered]

Heard around the coffee shops:

Walpole’s July 4 parade and fireworks get better every year. You go along the parade route and one thing is clear: Walpole knows how to party! It’s a lot of work for the WFD, so let’s hope the younger guys keep the energy going. What’s also amazing is you go down town at 8:00 a.m. on July 4 and you could never tell there were 10,000 + people there the night before. Way to go DPW.

Congratulations to the Legion baseball team for a fantastic season. Good luck in the playoffs.

Congratulations to the 12 year old baseball team for a fantastic run in the Williamsport Tourney. No matter how far you go, the town is proud of you.

While not directly involved in the above two teams, at some point Bill Tompkins, WHS varsity baseball coach for 30+ years should be named Walpole’s person-of-the-year. He deserves it for all the positive impact he has had on the young men of this town. (And young women for his days as girls varsity soccer coach, for which he was also named Globe Coach of the year). He demands only a few things: determination, preparation, fair play and respect for oneself, teammates, coaches and opponents. His positive and winning philosophies obviously trickle down throughout the whole Walpole baseball program.

Word has it that Ralph Knobel, a Walpole treasure, is ill. Let’s keep positive thoughts for Ralph’s speedy recovery.

As a field hockey fan, I anticate the Porkers having a strong season this year, but repeating as state champs will be tough. However, the underclasswomen just finished three grueling days of camp at Providence College and one thing is certain. The Porkers program will be as strong as ever for the next couple of years. The incoming sophomore class is loaded with talent that could rank with the best of them. You heard it here first. The Porkers have become to Walpole what the Permian Panthers football team was to Odessa, Texas in Friday Night Lights. “The expectations could not be any higher. We will win State. We will win state!”

When you get the intersection of East and Washington Street at Jimmies Pizzeria, it’s nice to be able to actually see toward Norwood without taking your life in your hands taking a left onto Washington Street.

A great town event is the Concerts on the Common. Glad to see Italian Ice for sale in addition to Mr. Taylor’s popcorn. Is there a local band for which Joe Donnelly does not play drums?

Speaking of Joe Donnelly, is the Walpole Rec Department great or what. This summer program at Bird Middle School is fabulous. There’s like a million Walpole kids up there having fun.

Has anyone else noticed that the Walpole Water Department has the nicest, newest and coolest vehicles in town? Are they printing money on Washington Street?

Has the Chair and Vice Chair of the BOS ever both been lawyers at the same time before? By the way, have we always had a vice-chair of the Board, and, do we really need one? Anyway, if nothing else, as professional advocates, Mr. DiNapoli and Mr. Timson should present a vigorous negotiating team on behalf of the town on any issues (contracts, etc.) that come before the Board of Selectmen. Let's hold them to a high standard of performance.

OK, there was lots of good progress on the 1A-Winter Street intersection, what caused the stall? It’s still a dangerous intersection.

Mr. Amirault's blog on Walpole Words is fascinating. I could not disagree more with his stance on the use of the Rebel as a mascot, but there's no denying the historical significance of his information. His information has kindled my interest in Andersonville Prison.

Walpole High School has a film festival each spring for the past couple of years. It is amazing the effort and creative energy the kids put into these short films. Most are hysterical. Teacher and admin participation show a true dedication to the students. Get the DVD, you'll love it.

Best regards,

Eye Opener to Go

[Unregistered]

the jelly sticks at Country Kitchen are the same size that they always have been. Its not your imagination when you realize that Dunkin Donuts has been slowly shrinking their jelly sticks....all in the name of a "fast buck"

support your LOCAL donut shop. Its worth the wait.


Jumbo To Go

[Unregistered]

its looking good over there at adams farm. sullivan did a great pour job. no better anywhere (other than at Tee-Tee's).

good job!

[Unregistered]

"Mr. Amaral's blog on Walpole Words is fascinating. I could not disagree more with his stance on the use of the Rebel as a mascot, but there's no denying the historical significance of his information. His information has kindled my interest in Andersonville Prison."

this guy is beating a dead horse. who cares about civil war soldiers anyway?

[Unregistered]

Does Walpole have either a Republican Town Committee/Club or a Democratic one? I've heard of the Norfolk County Republican club, but alas, when I googled it I could not seem to find a web site or anything with contact information.

It's greatly appreciated if you could help me out.

[Unregistered]

There are both Republican and Democrat town committees.
The chairman of the Republican Town committee is Ron Mariani you can look him up in the phone book. Not sure when the next meeting is.

[sdobar]

The Walpole Annual Town Report (available for no charge to all Walpole residents at the Town Clerk's office at Town Hall) has descriptions of both the Republican town committee and the Democratic town committee and how to contact the chairmen of each.
You can also probably simply contact the town clerk's office and find this information out quicker.

[Unregistered]

Bring back the Confederate flag to Walpole High. I've had enough of the politocal correctness. Confederate soldiers were Americans too. All parties involved n teh Civil War are long gone, and the past is the past.

Go Rebels!

[Unregistered]

http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=1016702

Williamsport, PA is a very sweet little town. Reminds me of the Walpole of long ago.

[Unregistered]

Has anyone been there? Is it better to go CT-NY-PA or NY-PA?

Yaaa Walpole Little League! Go team!

[Unregistered]

I have been to Williamsport.

More of a small (very small) city than a town. NOT a fancy place...VERY working class. If you like "not very fancy places that remind you of working-class New England towns (like Walpole once was), then get your a$$ down there.

NOW.

Diners, coffee shops, Italian-Americans, Czech-Americans, very "Deerhunter-ish" folks.

Nestled along a river.

Worth a visit if it is to see a Walpole team win the World Series of Little League.

I would definitely consider a trip down there if I had the time.

You can buy a little house there for about $45,000.


These kids are going to make history. Go Walpole Americans!

[Unregistered]

http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=1017073
comparison to Walpole Americans....

This group deserves a lot of praise. Those kids won an AAU tournament in Kentucky late last month after an undefeated season. The rules to play apparently are "study first, sports second". What did the mainstream media say about it? Practically nothing.

http://www.merrittingattention.org/

Unfortunately the good news from the inner city is not reported like it should be. Walpole was front page of the Globe. The Bengals....zilch.

I wonder why??

[Unregistered]

You imply some racist underpinnings to the reporting of the Walpole Americans and the Roxbury Bengals. Maybe it's just because its baseball season, not basketball. Baseball is at the forefront of our (greater Bostonians) collective consciousness this time of year, and we could not care less about basketball (except for the Kevin Garnett blip). AAU teams are a dime a dozen anyway, but a Massachusetts team going to the Little League world series is big news, worthy of the front page of the Globe. That's why.

[Unregistered]

Don't get me wrong: I am happy as heck to see that Walpole kid on the front page of the Boston Globe.

The main stream media did drop the ball on the Roxbury team, especially considering the organization that is behind it and its emphasis on education.

Walpole's win brought that story out, and that is good for both teams.

There is a good news from the inner city, that is the point I was trying to make, and the main stream media hardly knows how to report it because they react to police reports more than being proactive and finding the good news in the neighborhoods.

I think your comment about these AAU teams being a dime-a-dozen trivializes what they accomplished. Would you say the same thing if that basketball team was from Walpole? I have a sneaking suspicion the answer would be no.

[Unregistered]

So I suppose that the Globe, the herald, a dozen radio and tv station as well as ESPN on a national level are racist becuase they did not report on this obscure basketball program?

It's little league baseball for crying out loud. Most Americans played in this organization at some point in thier lives.

The same people complaining today that this basketball team did not get the recognition it deserved should themselves look in the mirror when pointing the blame as they did a lousy job of promoting the program. The other poster was right - if Walpole doesn't get to the World Series, none of us would have never heard of this baskteball team.

Complaining and whining publicly about a lack of attention and souring someone else's experience is a great lesson for those basketball players.
Typical "they're all out to get us" crap

[Unregistered]

The word "racist" was never used or implied in the original post.

It sounds like a few of these posters have a problem, and perhaps they need to vent about it somewhere else. Continued ranting about "racism" regarding this little thread implies to me, anyway, that they definitely have a problem with blacks.

[Unregistered]

SOURING SOMEONE ELSES EXPERIENCE?
Reading about this Roxbury team was a truly positive thing, and no kid on that Walpole little league team should consider it otherwise!

It seams to me that someone has a problem with inner city black kids, and that is really too bad.

[Unregistered]

#18: are you kidding me??? Isn't that nice that the Bengals won their basketball tournament! I am sure there are cities/towns throughout Massachusetts that have won (tournaments) baseball, hockey, softball, field hockey, etc. Our focus should be on our Walpole kids right now. Who in this town really cares about tounaments in other cities/towns? If you do, maybe you should be living there. This is Walpole Words, not Roxbury Words! This is our little leaguers time to shine - let them enjoy it!

[Unregistered]

The article mentioned Walpole, thats why the link was made. Blame the Boston Herald!

[Unregistered]

Walpole Schools want $166,000 of the Prison mitigation fund extra $250,000 to be uses as a payroll reserve.

After an override was defeated in the Spring because the voters saw it as a sham, the school department added 11 positions.

Now they want another $166,000 to pad the payroll.

If the BOS and Town Meeting approve this travesty there should be a recall election.

[Unregistered]

Bristol, CT
http://www.bristolpress.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18691527&BRD=1643&PAG=461&dept_id=464194&rfi=6

Cincinnati, Ohio
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070818/SPT/708180355/1062

Comment on Walpole Accent, Cincinnati:
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070818/SPT/708180353/1078/COL02

From Pennsylvania:
http://www.pennlive.com/sports/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/sports/1187403915159000.xml&coll=1

[Unregistered]

watch the video....

ESPN
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/llws07/news/story?id=2979648


Walpole CF won't let ball go....
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070818/SPT/708180355/-1/all

[Unregistered]

The Walpole TA correctly uses the money for capital projects as it may never be available year to year and should never be used for any payroll or ongoing budget expense...it is a windfall that has greatly helped us recover some of our desperately needed improvements to our infrastructure.

[Unregistered]

I think this Mike Rando is going to make the record for Walpole Athlete most on the front page of Boston Newspapers....ever! What a catch. Is he ever going to let go of that ball?? :) :)

[Unregistered]

Rockwood's and Obar's columns are most welcome here on Walpole News.

One thing I noticed: One referred to all of us as Walpolians, the other, as Walpolites.

Which is it? :) :) :) :)

[Unregistered]

Any news on when Verizon plans to roll out FIOS to us Walpolites? It seems like all surrounding towns have had FIOS for quite some time, but there hasn't been even a blip of information about plans for Walpole.

The quicker I can dump Comcast, the better :)

[Unregistered]

Hi Everyone,
My beloved cat, "Boots", has been missing for 2 weeks from High Street in Walpole. He was seen yesterday (Aug 30th) around the 200/300 block of High Street. I have tried everything I can think of to locate him, but so far no luck. He is black and white (tuxedo like with white legs), neutered male, yellow eyes, declawed when we adopted him, missing teeth from dental surgery and was wearing a pink collar with a bell.

We live in Norwood and my aunt was watching him for us when he was frightened by her cat and pushed his way through a screen to get out. He is not familiar with the area at all and is an indoor cat.

If you have seen "Boots" or if you can capture him, please call. My flyers are posted on High Street and surrounding area. There is a reward. We miss him terribly.
Thanks,
Michele Connor
781-762-8442 or
781-856-8442 or 508-668-0432

[Unregistered]

I made a drive up High Street myself. Thanks for reminding us all that we live in a small town!

I lost a cat once that looked like boots too. I want to find him.

[Unregistered]

"Mr. Amirault's blog on Walpole Words is fascinating. I could not disagree more with his stance on the use of the Rebel as a mascot, but there's no denying the historical significance of his information. His information has kindled my interest in Andersonville Prison."

Poster No. 7: I have only one comment:

"Ignorance in the Face of Enlightenment is Nothing To Be Proud Of..."

[Unregistered]

Is it just me or are others noticing the shrinking town common? More specifically, grass. Land was lost on the common years ago to make way for parking spaces, then memorials took away more grass.(not arguing the value of memorials) Now I notice that more grass has been removed to add lamps and..get this....to put a sidwalk around a tree in front of the bandstand. Who's idea was this and why can't the poor common be left alone? What's wrong with a grassy common?

[Unregistered]

Im am curious too, as to what is going on on the commons. The lights were a nice addition but poorly placed. One of them obstructs the view of the bandstand and glares in the eyes of the performers. The beech tree in the center of the common was a poor choice, though it is attractive these trees are low branched and hard to walk under hence the moving back of the sidewalk allready, and they get massive with age. The new sidewalk will become useless again in 10 years. The replanting of the bandstand a few years back, a volunteer effort by a local landscaper was the best thing to happen on the common in ages (remember the huge unkempt shrubs blocking the building?) Why not seek the advice and help of proffessionals like this instead of willy nilly projects with no forthought.

[Unregistered]

How do people feel about a power plant in town? The prospect of two 250 foot tall smoke stacks doesn't seem like a posetive addition to the town. Millions of gallons of oil and dangerous chemicals stored on out water source.
For some reason the selectmen seem to want it, perhaps for the money? But if you sell yourself for money there is a word to describe it. I don't want to see the selectman and Town adminstrator sell the town out for a couple of bucks.

[Unregistered]

The majority of the board of selectmen are so tied to schools that even 30 pcs of silver for a power plant looks good to them . We get what we vote.
I bet the people of the Audubon area have no clue what could happen to their neighborhood...just take a look at the 40 B mess on Oak street...the selectmen...Mr rockwood etc liked that one also

[Unregistered]

Its interesting you brought up the 40B mess on Oak Street. We have our Zoning and Conservation Departments to thank for that. Members of our Zoning Board did not want to impose any restrictions because they did not want a legal fight with the developer and Mass Housing. Our Town Administrator has been informed of this mess on many occasions but has done nothing but sweep the incompetence of the Conservation department under the rug. The Zoning Board lead the public to believe that they were actually concerned by questioning the developer throughout the proceedings, only to grant the developer his permits based on false information provided to the various town boards. Again, the Zoning Board did not want a legal battle with a two bit developer.

Now the shoe is on the other foot and it amazing how they are battling the Fairfield Development 40B project slated for Walpole WoodWorkers. They pulled a perfect John Kerry Flip-Flop with the Walpole WoodWorkers Site. Do you want to know the reason why?

Lets just say 2 member of the Zoning Board and at least one member of the Conservation Commission abutts the property or is in close proximity. Its seem rather ironic they want to spend taxpayers money to fight this 40B when they pretty much stuck it to the rest of this town including the people around the Oak Street 40B and the Baker Street 40B.

What goes around comes around I say. I know I am for the Walpole WoodWorkers 40B.

As for our Town Administrator caring about whats going on. I believe he is more concerned about his 40B document that for the people. The town wants to limit growth of 40B by having a plan. The plans calls for limiting 40B to somewhere around 20 - 40 units a year. This is a joke. This town failed to mentioned that there is a lifetime associated with 40B; say anywhere from 10 to 20 years. This means that Walpole will never reach its 40B limit and if they manage to limit growth, that would open the door for a lot more 40B like Oak and Baker Street that will destroy the neighborhoods of this town.

Here is another fact the town failed to mention. If the Walpole WoodWorker 40B is built and Walpole could get full credit for Sharon's 40B (provided they tie into the town water and sewer - this has been done in other towns), Walpole would be above the 10% needed to tell all the 40B developers to take a hike.

So which is better... 250 Rental Units plus Sharon's 40B within 1-2 years and future 40B's can take a hike or controlled building of 1600+ condo and NO END to 40B developers in Walpole.

[Unregistered]

Typical of Walpole, while the rest of the world is looking into 'green' energy sources, our EDC and selectmen are looking into 'smokestacks'.
I write this out on this site knowing very few care about what goes on in this town, and the developers know that to be true.

Very sad indeed.

[Unregistered]

Are they ever going to finish the roadwork and street light project at the intersection of Winter Street and Route 1A?
I mean the crew working on Route One in from of the stadium has managed to have that project nearly complete and they have been working on it for several months.
The project in Walpole, I don't even remember when that started.
Several years ago?

[Unregistered]

I gotta tell ya,

1.) If I see another Walpole cop talking on his/her cell phone while diriving
thier cruiser, or working a detail on 1A, I'm gonna blow a gasket.

2.) Why is Stone Field such a disgusting mess? Shouldn't this be a
centerpiece or something?

3.) How long is it gonna take for this town to wake up give commercial
businesses a chance? Let's put some pressure on the owners of the old Kahana
and Gulf station to do something with that property.

4.) Why is it I can go to Norwood center and do just about anything i need
to do? It's fun place. Sure there's headaches that come with that kind of
growth, but I'll bet it's worth it.

5.) Why are we supporting the Metco program in Walpole? all indication point
to it's not achieving it's desired results?

6.) Why are we not figuring out a way to make money off of Gillette's
activity?

7.) Did you know that - outside of organized athletics - there is nothing for a
kid aged 12 - 17 to do in this town?

8.) Do you agree that the schools are putting more and more kids into
the "special" category, and that they are allowed to do so because
single or uninvolved parents can't be bothered to be real parents, which
allows the schools to get "over involved in rasing your kid? did you also
know that I am paying for this?

9.) Why are rental units allowed to post signs supporting an over-ride?

10) With the exception of Bird Park, why does every other park, cemetery
and playground look like crap? And why does every highway or parks
employee look like exactly alike?

11.) When did it become OK for the schools to determine what our children
should and should'nt hear as far new is concerned? I'm speaking most
recently of the awful tragedy involving the young JMS student this past
week. Why did the elementary school find it nesseary to braodcast the
details over the school intercom? My wife and I had handled this in our
own way with our 2nd grader. This is not the first time. The same
school found it neccesary to inform out older child of thier teachers
miscarraige. How do you explain that to your child. This is a private
issue for the teacher.

Please. Just teach - that's all your paid to do. I know you have to deal
with some real problem kids (and parents) but I have to assume you
knew that end of it when you chose the profession.

Other than that I'm not bitter.

[Unregistered]

good post..

Norwood center has one other thing: if you want to cross the street, the traffic WILL stop to let you go. I always found that interesting.

Metco: a leftover from the 1960's. Still, it gives inner city kids a chance at a better atmosphere, because the one in the city is god-awful. I consider it charity, and good money spent.

Nothing for kids to do outside of sports: unfortunately, kids are either wired to cell-phones and internet websites, not other activities. Reading about kids urinating on Blackburn Hall bothers me...because that never happened "back in the day", even with the non-sports crowd.

special ed...you are right. Every kid with a little problem gets royal treatment..on our dime. Some of the kids that were really in trouble 40 years ago and didn't get special treatment at all (except to be put in what was then called "the special class") are now successful. Sink or Swim brought out the best in them. We are raising a bunch of pansies here on our dime.

are you bitter...I hate to say it, but a lot of us (including you) are bitter..


but still, I love my home town, 02081 USA :)

[Unregistered]

that adams farm building looks great..almost perfect. I drove by tonight at sunset, with the sun behind the place. It is going to prove to be a gathering spot for sure. Thanks to Mr. Knobel for all of his efforts. I know his vision had a lot to do with the building.

This property, owned by all of the citizens of Walpole, will be a focal point for a variety of purposes. Stop by, bring a chair, and sit in the pavillion. The concrete work is done by Sullivan Concrete, and I must say he did a great job.

It is a peaceful respite from the hectic lives we all live.

Its further use will be varied...its not just for fox hunts. Stay Tuned...You will see....

[Unregistered]

The schools aren't putting the kids in SPED, the parents are. The schools would rather spend the money on regular education and leave the special ed. for those who really need it. The schools fight with parents all the time to hold the sped services and their costs down, but when the schools say no, the parents sue.
The SPED program is getting out of hand. all these state and federal regs. with no money attached. It's forcing the school depart. to take the money from regular ed in order to fund the spec. ed. So, unles your kid is really smart or SPED, they get nuthin'. Take a look at the faculty lists in each school, the largest depart is SPED. Is that the way it should be? If things keep going the way they are without additional money to support these mandated programs from the state and fereal govt. our public schools will be just spec. ed and poor kids.

[Unregistered]

Stop by and sit in the pavillion? Adams Farm: It's not just for fox hunts anymore? Isn't there a better use for all that prime real estate? Something that could either raise town revenues or solve town problems? I'm all for "Walden Pond" moments, but it seems like a luxury enjoyed by a small percentage of townsfolk, open to all neighboring towns as well, that we paid for but derive little value from. Open space is great, but why not be able to use it?

[Unregistered]

Walpole Citizens Vote To Build Max Security Prison at Adams Farm

Walpole residents overwhelmingly voted to have a below-ground prison built at the Adams Farm property off of North St., Walpole. The building, a state-of-the art maximum security facility, will be built completely underground. The surface area above will contain one artificial turf field.

The water-run-off from the field will be used as black-water (toilet flushing, etc.) at the prison.

Methane gas generated by the sewage from the prison will be used to run a gas-powered turbine which will generate 50 MW of energy to the electrical grid.

Governor Patrick will preside over the opening day ceremonies at the new facility. His speech will focus on how the town of Walpole took advantage of its citizens experiences at maximum security prisons and Walpole's open space to come up with a tax-revenue generating solution. He will also announce the name of the new high school mascot: The Jailers.

The new Adams Farm Casino plans will also be unveiled at that time.. :)

[Unregistered]

how about a wind power "farm" at adams? 3 or 4 wind driven turbines could probably generate some revenue for the town. I don't think they look bad, either (but I'm not a Kennedy living in Hyanisport)

[Unregistered]

How about a 550 megawatt powerplant at Adams Farm?

[Unregistered]

i think we should put a dunkin donuts on adams farm. i mean we dont have enough as it is or anything...

[Unregistered]

That is a great idea. A wind farm!!!!

Apparently soccer and lacrosse fields are to upsetting. A golf course is just a plain eye sore. I think a wind farm would work, no traffic, no noise what more could you ask for.

But alas, the $8m of the tax payers money used to buy that land does not mean one has a say in what happens there.

[Unregistered]

folks don't want kids up in that neck of the woods - no soccer fields and no day care center.....town bought the playground of the rich and famous....

[Unregistered]

Adams Wind Farm! I like the idea of that..3 or 4 well-placed turbines. Green, productive, renewable energy source..and if we could harness the "hot air" from those who frequently bloviate on these screens, we could light Gillette Stadium!

[Unregistered]

Kids are only eligible for special education if they have a disability AND if that disability is effecting their ability to progress in regular education. Lazy parenting does not fall under one of the categories of disabilities. Walpole Public Schools routinely fights parents to deny children sped services...perhaps this was not the case in the past, but the sped parents of today are regularly fighting the schools to get the most basic of services for their disabled children.

The schools are also partially reimbursed by the State and Federal Government for the numbers of children in special education. A portion of this is from the Circuit Breaker state fund--check the extra money our new superintendent found this summer, over 300K of it is reimbursement from the state Circuit Breaker fund for services spent on high-needsped students. That money was slated to be used for staffing costs and payroll reserve.

FROM THIS SITE: "Lynch proposes to use the $166,000 as a payroll reserve. Wednesday, the committee voted to add a half-time guidance counselor to the high school, bringing to 11 the number of positions added since Lynch took over from retiring Supt. Kathleen Smith July 1. Funding for the new positions rests on using $344,000 in unexpended FY07 state special education circuit breaker reimbursement and counting on about the same amount extra this year. The reimbursements are based on the previous year, so this year's circuit breaker money can be estimated now. The circuit breaker reimburses school departments for part of the expense incurred for the highest-cost pupils."

Schools are also reimbursed by MassHealth for physical, occupational & speech therapies given to children with disabilities. Parents who have private insurance pay MassHealth secondary because children with disabilities qualify for secondary insurance coverage after paying a monthly premium. Those of us who pay this extra premium to cover one family member are helping out the schools as they can file for reimbursement for services given to these children.

Instead of whining about money spent on federally mandated special education services, people should be demanding to see the amount of $$ Walpole pays their attorney on a regular basis to fight off parents who are simply trying to educate their child. I spent over $7K in attorney fees to get what amounted to $1-2K in services. God knows how much Walpole spends to fight parents and how much they are rountinely ordered to reimburse parents for attorney fees when they (the schools) lose.

The Sped Department is out of control in this town, but not in the manner in which most people think.

[Unregistered]

I couldn't make the field day. Was it worth showing up? How is the new building for handling crowds? How many showed up??

The building looks great from the road.

[Unregistered]

From Walpole News front page:

"The town has an unusually hefty amount of free cash this year -- $4.7 million."


Remember the gloom/doom during the override question? The full-page ads, etc??

[Unregistered]

Oh yeah. Remember how we were killing the town? It's hilarious in retrospect.

[Unregistered]

That override vote was a classic example of a bunch of folks thinking that they were the majority, when in fact, they were only the noisiest. Not that I was a fan of his, but I do recall Nixon using the term "Silent Majority". I guess I am one of them (sort of) :)

That marketing style is going out with the housing bubble...don't fall for it ever again!

:) :)

[Unregistered]

59 Kind of mixing metaphors aren't you? You take a shot at the "Are You In" crowd, which is completely and utterly different than those seeking an override. One group has banded to raise private funds to improve the town's athletic facilities. The other was seeking a Prop 2.5 override to raise monies for schools. Evidently you are opposed to both the public and private raising of revenue. Perhaps we all should just consult with you before every town issue. You seem to think you have all the answers, but offer no solutions.

[Unregistered]

To 60: Yes, but #59 seems to be pretty handy with the emoticons! (This referencing numbers also shows why we should go back to using usernames.)

[Unregistered]

wALPOLE High School has three of the Top 5 Transcript Power rankings! This is a testament to our youth programs and coaches, High school coaching, parental dedication, tremendous athletes and overall community support. We should all take great pride in our REBEL sports teams, and PORKERS at number 1. Just think how much better we will get when we get on that new field next week.



5. Walpole football (3-1) – The first football team to catch the voters’ eye is still in the Herget driver’s seat, but there’s a lot of road left and the Rebels have already hit one speed bump.

4. Norwood girls soccer (8-1-1) – Still feels weird to type those numbers next to those words.

3. Dedham girls soccer (6-2-2) – Marauders might still be behind the Mustangs in the Herget standings, but there were Power Poll voters in the house at Father Mac’s on Tuesday.

2. Walpole boys soccer (6-2-2) – Rebels threatening to run away and hide in the Herget.

1. Walpole field hockey (8-0) – After outscoring opponents 45-0 in their first 475 minutes of play, the Porkers have now been outscored 1-0 in their last five. Somehow, I don’t think the rest of the league is sensing vulnerability.

Walpole High School sports kicks A$$

[Unregistered]

Are they serious in requesting an override to fund the building of a new library?
We couldn't afford a police station, which is an important improvement to the town.
The people that wanted the high school field refinished raised money and it was done.
The people that think a "new" library is needed should raise the money or be happy with the
one they now have.

[Unregistered]

Except for the fact that the old library is not up to code, the town will be kicked out of the borrowing consortium by the rest of the Old Colony Network, and the library is a public entity. There already is a massive private funding drive afoot, but it will also be necessary to raise public funds for a new library in order to qualify for state grants. Everyone is welcome to use the library. Everyone should use the library. Seeking public funds is the proper course.

[Unregistered]

Anyone feeling the effects of this housing market downturn?? It seems the news gets worse every day, and the number of homes for sale here in Walpole is seemingly at record levels. Any sense of where its all headed..? Up/Down? The bottom?

[Unregistered]

I would say local homes are over-priced by 10-20%. Local prices were inflated to due availability of "credit" to those un-worthy of that same level of credit. In short: the younger "smarter" generation is a bunch of fools, and they had a lot to do with this.

Any local institutions/mortgage brokers to blame for this? I am sure there are.

"Back in the day" a lending institution would never give a mortgage to a person who didn't have proof of employment, or who didn't have a down payment. Todays lenders, with all their fancy mortgage products (when did they start using that word "product"?) are to blame for this mess.

The sub-prime lending fiasco isn't over, and Walpole is going to pay the price. Lower home values, less buyers.

Current inventory is at least triple what one would consider "normal" ten years ago. It may even be more. Sellers are holding onto the unrealistic expectation that their home is going to sell for 2005 prices.

I honestly beleive that those days are over and over for a very very long time.

[Unregistered]

I recall years ago that if a person took out a second mortgage, it usually was due to some kind of hardship, and for some reason it seems most of those hardships were brought on because of gambling. Isn't that ironic?

Today we call them "home equity loans". In the old days, it was considered "a shame". My how times have changed!

[Unregistered]

The old law of supply and demand still holds true today. Prices for houses will continue to fall until they reach a level where buyers feel that the price is once again attractive enough to buy and they can afford to make the mortgage payments. Most likely we still have a way to go before prices bottom out. Every market needs to go through a price correction period and the housing market is going through that correction period right now. We better hope that this horrible power plant proposal does not go through or housing rices in Walpole will sink even further. Look out Symphony Park if the power plant comes to town.

[Unregistered]

Regarding Symphony Park prices going down due to a Power Plant, are people forgetting that we have 4 prisons behind us, yes 4. I am against the power plant but not surprised that it is being proposed to be built in the Industrial park. Again, not surprised that a Power Plant seems not to be having any issues. If we make 1A a fast track area lookout Power plant construction will begin extrememly quickly. Regarding housing prices going down there will be several factors, yes Power Plant will be the major reason, but our MCAS scores were poor. All other towns around us did so much better than we did, which is disturbing, with the exception of Norwood. Our downtown screams to me that we are going down. When I first moved to walpole the downtown area had a few vacancies, the Kahuna. Now there are several and another one to be added at the end of the year. I loved this town when I moved in but I keep asking myself why do we have 4 million on the side while we have a downtown falling apart and 1A looking like a Junk Yard. All I know is that I will never fill out another town survey again, that was a total waste of my time. 7 years later and the town looks worse not better. The town plan was incredible but someone just sat back and did nothing.

[Unregistered]

seems to me that walpole is getting what it asked for in the survey....affordable housing and business. We got a 40b coming to Walpole woodworkers and a power plant at Industrial road

[Unregistered]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YOzEGD5Vyo

I don't feel sorry for these types of people. Its going to get worse, people, its going to get worse!

[Unregistered]

Projecting a 10%-20% price drop in our area is not too far fetched.

I think we are heading for financial calamity. The lenders giving out money to even the organ-grinders monkey are to blame for this.

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/price_rent_ratios/

[Unregistered]

I remember in the early 80's when homes prices, like the early 2000's, sky rocketed and then they came down quite a bit in the late 80's and early 90's. People became extremely cautious and would not buy anything. But you know what these homes became affordable. I remember being out of college my first year and my father saying buy something you can afford it now. There was a 2 bedroom condo going for sale in 1992 for 50k in the Fenway Park area in Boston but I was nervous because of the housing market. The same thing happens in the stock market. The time to buy is not when everyone is buying that is actually the time to sell. If our schools would focus more on History, Economics and Math we would not have these issues. Basically, History repeats it self and Math if you can not afford it do not buy it and Economics-supply and demand. I remember when our builder was building homes in Symphony Park everyone told him he would never be able to sell the homes because of the prison. Every home he built sold. I do want to point out I am against the power plant but I do need more information especially from enviromentalist/Biologist. Because I just do not understand how someone can be for it.

[Unregistered]

who's for the power plant? the company - profit, the attorneys - profit, the landowner - profit, the labor unions - profit, the PR company - profit

[Unregistered]

It depends on which biologist you choose to believe. The biologist working for a company that wants to site something will say that there will be no problem. The biologist who is hired by the town or by residents will say there is a problem. That's how it goes.

[Unregistered]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ_qK4g6ntM

[Unregistered]

People think that the housing inventory is high because buyers are on the sidelines, waiting for prices to drop. Not true: There are people who would like to buy, but under the new scrutiny regarding ability to pay back, and down payment requirements, they are not able to play the buying game.

Sellers need to realize that the roaring housing market has died, and most likely will not come back for a very very long time. Once rules and laws are changed, they most likely will stay in place.

This downturn is NOT like the late 1980s: The inventory is much much higher.

[Unregistered]

The difference with the 80's and 2000's is there is probably the same amount of old existing homes for sale but new construction homes/condos are not being built like crazy like they were in the 80's. Talk to any existing builder and they will confirm that. If you price your house right it will sell. People are still dreaming of 2005 prices. I know several people are. Also, it is not that hard to get a loan for a home especially if you have good credit and the down payment. People need to buy what they can afford and not what they want. I see so many people on TV crying about their home about to be foreclosed. I wonder what Susie Ormond would say to them, I bet it would be what everyone is thinking. Maybe I am too cautious but the decline in the housing market will continue slowly and 15 years it will be back up. After all history does repeat itself. I also remember in 1991 unemployment was at 9% or 10%. So basically yes, I am now waiting for the stock market to crash, 7% in one week is not a crash, and for unemployment to increase from 5% to 10%. Solution, start saving your money and put it on the sidelines for the opportunistic day to come whether it is in the housing market or stock market.

[Unregistered]

People have gotten used to buying homes with no savings whatsoever. The perfect storm is at hand now. There may be wishful buyers out there, but banks are requiring down payments (and proof of employment).

Sad fact: Prices are coming down big-time, and this is going to affect tax revenues for Walpole. Aany one recall how that played out in the 1980's-early 1990's?

[Unregistered]

As a matter of fact yes, when home prices decrease I believe the town basically lowers the ass. value of the homes to reflect current market situation but your tax rate increases, net/net same dollars coming in. This has happened when home prices go up, the town lowers the tax rate so net you come out with the same tax dollars. I love math. I am so glad public schools decided to teach children differently in Math then the way we were taught. No wonder they are doing so well in the MCAS scores, I am being sarcastic. Have you seen the new teaching method for Math? I know 2 public school teachers, husband and wife, in Norwood, that send thier children to a private school, pretty funny.

[Unregistered]

What kind of heartless mean people are there walking this earth when a family cannot even place a comforting reminder of a family member that is deceased on a grave site and the reminder is stolen. I am referring to the creep that stole the cement bulldog from Billy Jone's grave site in South Walpole. I hope whoever did this has the guts to return it and
profusely apologize to the family. Otherwise, I hope the police find the person and arrest them.

[Unregistered]

267 Plimpton Street condos, the new duplex, just dropped their price by $70,000 to $429,900. They were originally listed somewhere substantially over $500k each. (Was it $540k...?)

These are new premium (granite counter tops included !) condos.

There goes the housing bubble....POP!

MLS 70672550

[Unregistered]

C'mon, just cuz they were overpriced at $540 and are now for sale at $470 means nothing. If someone wanted to live in a house that size w/ the same amenities for the same money, he could find a place in Walpole and be on more land and not share a wall w/ a neighbor. That is more an example of an overly optimistic realtor/developer than a sign of a housing bubble popping.

[Unregistered]

The housing bubble has already popped. Now its called a "credit crisis". The thing that bothers me: the federal govt. is now proposing a way to have adjustable rate mortgages be fixed for a longer period of time. How does that help out those who already foreclosed on their mortgages?


It seems to me no-one is responsible for anything anymore.

[Unregistered]

The town is panicking about a power plant. That is nothing!

Wait until this tidal wave (or rather iceberg) hits of Walpole!

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_50/b4062026774092.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_be st+of+bw

[Unregistered]

Nice, are you saying that people will lose their homes? Walpole will be a ghost town with tall smokestacks.

[Unregistered]

1. We see the statistics for views and number of posts. How many (rough percentage) posts do NOT make it to publication?

2. When Walpole News first came about, it was claiming that advertising revenue was going to support it. I see no ads, or am I missing something here?

reply:

Haven't kept count, but would guess one out of seven or eight posts don't get published.

reasons, more or less in order by frequency:

- known error -- what gets noticed by readers in any post is information that has not been provided before. when that information is wrong or seriously misleading, it distorts the discussion and damages its credibility. a rare subset: potential error -- an accusation or damaging assertion that cannot be verified in reasonable time.

- writing the worst -- in this one, a poster assumes a reprehensible motivation for someone's actions

- incivility -- invective or ill wishes

- repeated posting by same person on same subject without advancing the topic

all posts are anonymous -- and anonymous statements and accusations have to be looked at -- and treated with -- skepticism. to repeat an offer: the way to get feedback on why a post doesn't get published is to register.

on advertising: "claim' is not the right word; "hope" would be better. and still hoping -- walpolenews viewership has grown steadily and appears not to be fully dependent on hot topics like the power plant or override. the site is getting more than 500 unique daily visitors (in theory, nobody gets counted more than once a day no matter how often they check in). not sure how many unique visitors a week (analysis software gives an unrealistically high number.) but viewership is close to point where it would be fair to ask someone to pay to advertise.

-- tom glynn

[Unregistered]

Should the federal government get involved in a "bail-out" of holders of sub-prime mortgages?

I think the fed should not be involved. My reasons are:

-The persons taking these loans should have been prepared for the higher payments that they knew they were going to encounter after a few years

-what kind of society loans money to people who really can't afford the items they are buying...(houses), and then when payments increase, find a way to keep them in this item (the house) that they couldn't afford in the first place?

My opinion: let the chips fall as they may. Let the economy correct itself. Let reason and sanity rule our economy. Lets not encourage "ownership" when we are really encouraging a nasty form of usury.

old timer

[Unregistered]

The new plans for the Library, to me, do not fit with the towns look. Did anyone talk to these architects prior to them drawing it or did they just show us a picture of some other towns proposal and call it the Walpole Library. It should blend in with the town not look entirely different. Are these people out of their mind? I think we should hire different architects because these people obviously did not look over the town prior to coming up with this drawing. Also, I am for a new library but lets reduce the costs. It will never pass an override for 7-8 million dollars even thought the state is subsidizing 3-4 million. That is just my opinion.

[Unregistered]

My opinion, we are creating a system of Average children. The rest of the world is challenging their children to be exceptional. We are basically saying if you want to do more work here you go but it is not required. People please wake up. I worked hard all my life because I observed my father working hard. I went to a private school where we received quite a bit of homework. I also went to a public school where there was not that much homework and quite a bit of free periods. If we want to compete in this world lets challenge the kids mentally. We are babying these kids. We need to challenge the advanced students and actually every student. We should inform students that if you work and study hard this is what you can achieve. Trust me if a child does not have to do it, do you honestly think he or she will? I was an average student but I wanted to be in the above average classes. If you could not keep up in class, guess what you had to stay after school for help. What happened to those days? To me I think this is a way to spread the teacher student ratio. Look what is happening to the students in the lower level classes. Children are not being challenged which is constantly being mentioned at these school meetings. My recommendation is try this out in K-5 since there are no levels and see what happens.

[Unregistered]

If you look at the Daily Transcript today you will see the retraction about their incredibly misleading headline and article.

The idea of eliminating Honors Classes at the High School has not even been considered.

Another example of The Press going for the headline and not worrying about the truth.

[KingOfHearts]

I put on my Santa hat, and was passing out gifts.

What a rush, to feel the true feeling of Christianity,

TO GIVE TO OTHERS.

See y'all next year.

[Unregistered]

When I lived near the town center, I hated it. When I lived a mile away I loved it. Sad to see it go.....The echo-ed in chiming of the East Walpole horn, always a few milli-seconds behind the center horn will only be a memory.

[Unregistered]

A special thanks to Tom Glynn for allowing us all to "speak " via this NEW NEWSPAPER

[Unregistered]

For posting a lot of my comments.....and for NOT posting my idiotic inappropriate ones.

For a guy that (I think) does not live in Walpole, I believe you should be made an honorary citizen!


seasons greetings.....from 02081

[Unregistered]

My family and I went out to eat at Becketts Saturday Night and the place was empty. The bar section was loaded with people but the restaurant part was vacant, basically we were the only ones there. My husband and I had the steak tips for 10.95 and they were the best. They were tender and cooked perfectly, medium. We eat out at least once a week and yes we bring the children along. My husband was skeptical about going in there but once he tried the food, he mentioned he would definitely go back. We also had an appetizer, the chicken quesidila (sorry for the incorrect spelling) and it was different but very very good. All the ingredients were very fresh. My oldest daughter had the grilled cheese sandwich and she mentioned it was the best she ever had and it was even better than mommy's. I know people complain about losing businesses in downtown Walpole but I see why. We need to support out businesses, I know I do at least once and many times if the food is good. I know I will definitely go back to Becketts, probably 2 times a month.

[Unregistered]

Todd Collins, former Walpole High School QB, gets his 2nd NFL start after 10 years on the bench... and WINS!

http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/players/playerpage/1009

[Unregistered]

I find it really odd that Dunkin Donuts in South Norwood is closed. the building is vacant. Anyone have any clues as to why??

[Unregistered]

Benazir Bhutto was assasinated today. Pakistan, the home of Al-Qaeda, masterminds of Sept. 11th, is in turmoil.

Do women Walpole see the problem with turning our backs on the Middle East?

Women have come to power in the US. Its time they realize they need to step-up and back our involvement in the Middle East. Don't turning your back on our sisters living under Islam. It is a ROTTEN system.

Read Bhuttos message of hope and courage from a recent Boston Globe Op-Ed...October 2007:

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/10/18/journeying_to_democracy/

[Unregistered]

The current issue of the Daily Transcript states Walpole might be in line to receive 1.1 million in state aid. Doesn't it figure the School Committee are the first ones with their hands out?
If the people running the town have a clue, they should use that money to build a new police station, as well as a nice senior center like all the surrounding towns have.
That spare room in the town hall is sad. I am sure there are other improvements the town should look at and then, if there is anything left over, see what the School committee needs
and pay for that.

[Unregistered]

#99 Why is a "new senior center" as high on your priority list as a new police station? The seniors have a center. If they want a new one, why do nonsenior taxpayers have to subsidize it? It is an exclusionary, nonneccessary item, that as planned will take away vital playing fields from the town. The town is now paying a Foxboro outfit to come up w/ a master plan for town fields, and you want to cede Stone Field to the senior voting bloc because they stomp their feet? The town is planning a new library, that will have meeting rooms and plenty of space and amenities for seniors and "juniors" alike. That coupled with their existing center is a far more democratic use of any town funds.

[Unregistered]

Why do seniors have to pay for nonseniors (kids) education? Your post is divisive.

[Unregistered]

Poster #100 sounds like a "hostile parent" that thinks all our tax dollars should be spent on
"the children" and everything they want. The playing fields issue is a waste of taxpayers money. Incidentally, the town of Walpole is so poorly run as far as implementing all their "big ideas", it will be a mirical if there ever is a new police station, library or senior center in this century.

[Unregistered]

#99 wants to use the 1.1 million to build a fire station, then a senior center, then give the left over to the the school. OK, so in Walpole the fire station will be a 40 year old three bedroom cape with a one car garage on .25 acres. The senior center could be one of those nice outbuildings/sheds that Walpole Woodworker's make. With the $$ left over, Mr. Lincoln Lynch could guy that nice Bic pen he has been looking at.

Good idea, for 1930.

[Unregistered]

Here we go again - the "dire" financial picture for the schools in January and then Christmas in July two years in a row...schools found over $600,000 in 2006 and over $800,000 in 2007 during the summer. Can't wait to hear how world is coming to an end when the budget numbers are announced. Boring.

[Unregistered]

Sorry #101 All must pay for the town's kids because of govt. mandate for public schools. There is no such mandate for a new senior center. I never suggested we divert the money to the schools. I only suggested we not use it for a NEW senior center. That is a divisive use of public funds. How does the town justify giving a small exclusionary private entity public land for their center?

[Unregistered]

I don't read the Walpole Times anymore, but have we depleted the funds for snow removal in the town yet? I noticed surrounding towns have.

[Unregistered]

There's more seniors than there are children enrolled in the schools. One could argue that schools are exclusionary using your line of thought.

[Unregistered]

The schools and town officials need to get together and see where the money is needed the most. I agree we need a new senior center, a new police/fire station and a new library but I am not too sure this one time fund of 1.1 million dollars would be approved by the state for those areas. Regarding the fields, I am a parent and Stone field is disgusting. It is obvious that is not maintained at all just the lawn is cut. I am not too sure if we were to add new fields in this town who would maintain them. Mylod fields are maintained by the soccer team through their funds not the towns. I constantly drive by West street and there is a large strech of land that is capped. I believe that was from the big dig, can that be used? Unless someone or some group is willing to maintain these fields I see this as a waste a money.

[Unregistered]

I have to agree with #102. The senior center is never going to happen in this century and the children can continue to play on "goose dung field" in back of the town hall.

[Unregistered]

107 I doubt your premise is true, I don't have the census numbers to support it. You are saying there are more seniors, that is citizens of 65 or over in Walpole, than children, that is citizens under 18? I doubt that be the case, but in any event, townsfolks may rail against using their tax dollars to pay for schooling other peoples' children...think emptynesters here...but the fact remains that Federal, State, and local governments have long ago determined that the future of our country depends on having a well-educated populus, and funding public education is a legitimate purpose for our tax dollars, as is public safety, etc. I am not trying to debate this premise. My only contention is that surplus town funds should not be used to fund a new senior center that the high majority of tax payers do not want nor will ever use. It's as if the Italian-American center wanted local taxpayers to pay for a new Center for them. The Senior Center is not open to the public, it is exclusionary, and many Seniors do not use it. There are more legitimate ways to spend everyone's tax dollars.

[Unregistered]

2000 Census: age 60 and above - 4234

2006-2007 School enrollment including pre-k 3915

your argument fell flat

[Unregistered]

Not exactly! 60 is now senior age? You are citing a 2000 census vs. a 2007 census. Perhaps there has been a change in senior population over 7 years? Plus, the numbers are quite close. Furthermore, my argument is not dependent on a population majority on either end of the age spectrum. If the government didn't mandate that towns pay for public schooling, I can understand why some if not most would not want to pay for something that they only tangentially benefit from. Why do you seniors not understand that there is no government obligation to fund a new senior center, so why would I want to fund it if I don't have to? There is no compelling need for a NEW center, when one already exists. Maybe you don't agree..but the argument surely isn't flawed, or flat! You want a new center, raise the $$ independently.

[dalesd]

Messages can be posted here on any topic by unregistered users. All messages will be checked before being put on the site, and the usual rules of courtesy and accuracy apply. To post a message, click the "post reply" button.


-- Tom Glynn
Hi Tom.

Nice site you've got here. It's remarkably active for a town forum.

But there's something unfulfilling about all the posts from Unregistered users. I understand that's probably necessary to achieve the level of activity you have here. But, for example, in a 400+ post long thread about the powerplant, there's no way to know if that's 400 different people posting their opinion once, or 10 people posting 40 times each.

There's no sense of community. And there should be, because we really are a community.

I'm going to offer a suggestion. Change the unregistered user name from "Unregistered" to "Anonymous Coward (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_Coward)." Many blogs do this. It encourages commenters to register, and advises others to take their comments with a grain of salt.

More registered users will increase the sense of community, and increase fruitful participation and discussion. It will probably reduce the amount of moderating you'll have to do.

[Unregistered]

dalesd: "anonymous coward" huh? Is he a relative of "Androgynous First Name W/ 2 Initials Following" the intrepid hero of the web that boldly states his opinions as his own in an effort to "build community"??? This Forum, and its moderator throws out controversial topics to elicit responses. Take them all w/ a grain of salt. That is the medium. People spout out unfounded opinions, cite from Wikipedia, and refuse to acknowledge valid opposing arguments, instead niggling over extraneous details. What's the difference if the commentator is "Unregistered", "The Raven", "Bob Smith" or "Tom Jones"?? As a reader are you going to swoon and say "OMG that guy is wicked smahht, he must be right?" You want to build community, go Tee-T's and state your opinions at the bar!

[Unregistered]

It's a shame the government can not mandate a way that seniors, single people and couples without children do not have to pay for the schools. We would like to see our tax dollars spent on things that benefit us like public safety i.e police and firemen, DPW and town government.

FYI, Unregistered posters keep this site interesting. There's no need to put a name to someone's opinion of a situation being discussed.

Thank you

[Unregistered]

If seniors, couples w/o kids and singles don't help contribute to public education, then we will have to reduce costs. How about we only educate to 6th or 8th grade in public schools? This would get you off the hook. The wealthier families could send their kids to private schools to the 12th grade. I remember an expression, " if you think the price of education is expensive, try the price of ignorance".

[Unregistered]

This thread is becoming ridiculous! Everybody has to pay for schools, period. No discussion. I've never had a fire. Should I resent having to pay for a fire department? It's only another post or two before all the nonreaders start posting about how much they resent the library. I think someone might have been dipping into the cooking sherry this afternoon!

[Unregistered]

This is a really sad turn that this thread is taking. The very fabric of our sociaety is built on the premise that we all help one another along. Taxes do support schools to a very large degree, and yes that benfits the childrenof Walpole. It is our responsability to educate the next generation, just as the last generation educated us. What about health care? What about Social Security? With the amazing developements in the medical field over the past decades, we have been successful at extending life span very significantly. Our seniors are living longer, collecting social security for many more years, and spending billions more on health care and prescription medications. Do I resent this and say that our seniors should not be entitled to any more of my dollars for health care, social security, and shuttle service for doctor appointments? No I do not. I wish everyone a long and healthy life, and I am happy to pay far more than my share in this area, as that is the premise of "community". It all evens out over a lifetime.

Together we stand stronger, apart we struggle. Please all, lets not loose perspective that we are all a drain on the "system" somewhere along the way. Healthcare is a necessity, and everyone deserves access,.. no matter how much of a drain they are on the system. Social Security is a necessity, no matter that what is taken out is not your own contribution. Education is a necessity. The children of today need to be prepared for their future,... imagine what my social security and Medicare will cost!!! That is if either of these systems survive the strain they are now under.

I think we all know in our hearts what the necessities of life really are, and we all ought to contribute.

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This line of thinking started with Poster 100 who posted the following:

"Why is a "new senior center" as high on your priority list as a new police station? The seniors have a center. If they want a new one, why do nonsenior taxpayers have to subsidize it? It is an exclusionary, nonneccessary item, that as planned will take away vital playing fields from the town. The town is now paying a Foxboro outfit to come up w/ a master plan for town fields, and you want to cede Stone Field to the senior voting bloc because they stomp their feet? The town is planning a new library, that will have meeting rooms and plenty of space and amenities for seniors and "juniors" alike. That coupled with their existing center is a far more democratic use of any town funds."

It's posts like this that create division and hurt the cause of those who want more school funding.

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How so #119? That post doesn't mention school funding once. In fact it has nothing to do with school funding. It merely states that funding a new senior center should not be high on anyone's list of priorities for any budget surplus. Seems as though you are the one trying to create a controversy.

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What is going on the development? I have been searching but I can not find anything.

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Did anyone watch the Town of Walpole's Budget meeting the other night? The town is looking at lay offs and one position is Don Walsh's position. I do think this is a good idea but the alternative was to lay off a DPW worker or a teacher. If we lay this position off talking about losing more companies in this town. Towns that succeed in business have a full time Economic Developement officer. This is a vital position in my opinion and I agree with the selectman before we do this, what companies did he bring into Walpole since he has been here and what is he working on now. Also, did anyone hear Boynton's gas comment? He made a comment on how on gas being the cause of the deficit. Did I misunderstand him? I would like to give this guy the benefit of the doubt. He mentioned 200 million cars on the road at $800 a year "savings" would fuel our ecomony with trillion of dollars. Funny we finally made the 300 million mark in population in October 2006 and I do not think 2/3 thirds of our population has a car. I researched this comment and only came up with 62 million registered autos in the US. Granted the number is probably hire due to uninsured motorists but I do not see it bringing the number to 200 million. Also, Cathy Winston that night made a comment of "lets not increase rec Fees". I came from a city that had no City pool and we have 2. If we really wanted to reduce costs lets close one of the pools. What are the costs of maintaining both pools? Does the town make money on both pools? How many people go to South Walpole pool versus Center Pool? I personally like the Center pool but is there a need for 2 pools? Westwood has zero pools and Medfield has that small pond. I do not believe Foxboro has a pool either.

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The EDC officer position has brought in nothing. The Walpole Mall and Siemens were coming here anyway or were in the works. The position is a complete wasye of money. $35,000 for 18 hours. Hire a teacher with that money instead.

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The EDO budget cut is a good one...the person holding the office was brought to Walpole by Selectman DeNapoli...the link=CPV

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how was that "Taste of Walpole" thing last night?? Anyone go?

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The EDO budget cut is a good one...the person holding the office was brought to Walpole by Selectman DeNapoli...the link=CPV

wrong. but the EDO is taking the fall for the man who told him to work with them. give the guy a break he got the smart growth grant study done and NOBODY wants to do anything about it , and it could bring in taxes and clean up a junkyard with YEARS of pollutants in our water supply insted we will fight and complain about what might contaminate the water supply and can you tell me anyone would notice the smoke stack beyond the junkard and crumbling buildings. Im not pro powerplant but lets focus as much on cleaning up whats there and then the area might attract clean good looking business. maybe the small loud group that does nothing but fight and complain about noxious uses become proactive with growth and notice good plans/study and start pushing for "smart growth" or do you like being the marta?

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Good food, music (Clerici/Amaral Bros) and many people. They raised over $1800. Need more tables, more food next year.

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I had a great time at the "Taste', and was really impressed with the entertainment. Where are those guys from, anyway? For $5 entry, access to an excellent bar and food for free, it was a great bargain. I never saw such a mix of Walpole residents in one place: the range of age groups gave it the feeling of a family wedding...Excellent job all!

All in all, I would say Walpole has great taste!

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All those guys playing at the "Taste" are Walpole natives. 100%...

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http://www.wickedlocal.com/walpole/news/lifestyle/columnists/x1774383889

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I would like to know if any of you when driving into Walpole Center ever get sick of looking at the Kahana and that old bank which is falling down before your eyes?Well I am! Couldn't you get that landlord to please do something down there. It is a disgrace and a empty eyesore
gone on long enough! Norwood has done such a fine job in attracting restaurant businesses which I think we should be doing.Time to step up to the plate!{ps citizen of this town 63 yrs}

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I think I read in one of the threads in Walpole words that the person who owns the building is from NewYork and does not want the Kahuna rented. I am not too sure why someone would pay taxes and not receive any income. I could be wrong. Norwood has done a great job, I agree. I lived in Norwood for 5 years prior to moving to Walpole in 2000 and believe it or not Walpole's downtown at the time was better than Norwood. My how things have changed. I think it was the same time we received a new TA.

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Anonymous comment without editorial control has been eliminated from the Daily Transcript website, and I assume the Walpole Times will follow. All that anonymous comment without editorial control or the ability to register leads to is mayhem. Bravo to Gatehouse for picking up that ball and running with it!

Bravo to Tom Glynn at Walpole News for keeping the anonymous comment reasonable. I venture to say that you are the only one in New England (perhaps the US) that does so.

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Too bad Tom Glynn has done as much when the power plant proponents start name calling!

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I'm not aware that the Transcript ever had comments. Maybe they did. Maybe they didn't. It seems that the poster in favor of no comments is just in favor of shutting down comments unfavorable to one side. For background, read the comments about the vigil on the online WT. Someone was having a meltdown about comments! I'm not in favor of shutting down any public discourse. As for those who want everyone to be identified, I have questions. They do have motivations.

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I'm not aware that the Transcript ever had comments. Maybe they did. Maybe they didn't. It seems that the poster in favor of no comments is just in favor of shutting down comments unfavorable to one side. For background, read the comments about the vigil on the online WT. Someone was having a meltdown about comments! I'm not in favor of shutting down any public discourse. As for those who want everyone to be identified, I have questions. They do have motivations.

I am the poster who complained about the lack of editorial responsibility at the Daily Transcript/Walpole Times message boards. Libel was being allowed, and its can wreak havoc in a small community. Pros /Cons are welcome...Libel directed at persons (or businesses) from either side is rotten.

It seems a lot of the posts that are anti-CPV have a paranoid aspect to them. They rant and rail but obscure the whole debate in their smoke screens of panic.

I haven't made up my mind about the plant. I want to hear both sides....clearly!

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I am the poster who complained about the lack of editorial responsibility at the Daily Transcript/Walpole Times message boards. Libel was being allowed, and its can wreak havoc in a small community. Pros /Cons are welcome...Libel directed at persons (or businesses) from either side is rotten.

It seems a lot of the posts that are anti-CPV have a paranoid aspect to them. They rant and rail but obscure the whole debate in their smoke screens of panic.

I haven't made up my mind about the plant. I want to hear both sides....clearly!

What libel was there in those comments? I read them and I didn't see any.

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What libel was there in those comments? I read them and I didn't see any.

they deleted it..

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they deleted it..

Convenient for you.

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Any figures on the money raised on Saturday night, at the Rebel Boosters fundraiser??

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http://wbztv.com/local/massachusetts.state.prision.2.681161.html

Finally a reporter got it right..."Live, outside Walpole State Prison.."

I think we should dump the Cedar Junction thing. It was a soft-headed move by townfolk to try and turn Walpole into a new Wellesley.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8-Jai7i13A

Walpole Prison Blues......

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News reporters over the next several years unless we do something about it.
LIVE from Walpole State Prision
LIVE from the Walpole power plant
LIVE from the Walpole 200 apartment complex
LIVE from the Walpole 40R headquarters
LIVE from the Walpole junk yard complex
etc...etc...etc...

[Unregistered]

News reporters over the next several years unless we do something about it.
LIVE from Walpole State Prision
LIVE from the Walpole power plant
LIVE from the Walpole 200 apartment complex
LIVE from the Walpole 40R headquarters
LIVE from the Walpole junk yard complex
etc...etc...etc...


LIVE from Walpole....An angry group of citizens pitch-forked a new member of the board of selectmen today. He was accused of being "open minded".

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LIVE from Walpole....An angry group of citizens pitch-forked a new member of the board of selectmen today. He was accused of being "open minded".

Don'y confuse "open minded" with working against the will of the people using backroom politics and people with a vested personal interest.

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I notice the fear mongering has spread to another walpole words page by the CPV supporters. Your over use of the word "pitch fork" has left a trail and is getting old.

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Al DeNapoli, chair of the the Board of Selectmen, is drafting a letter asking for Jeff Szymanski to apologize to the Town Administrator for the letters he had in the Walpole Times. Should he apologize? If he doesn't what penality will they impose? Is there not a Bill of Rights?

One of his concerns is the cleanliness of the middle schools. Last fall the Johnson Middle School Parental Advisory Council was asked for funds to buy brooms and dustpans. The teachers were tired of dirty floors. The PAC did buy the brooms and dustpans and apparently they are being used since Ms. Winston found the school to be clean.

It would be nice if Free Cash could buy items such as brooms and dustpans for the schools and let the PACs spend their funds on enrichment activities.

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Mr. Syzmanski has every right to his opinion, and to write a letter, but he should sign it as a citizen and with his own home town. It was completely inappropriate for him to write using the insulting, hostile, and belligerent tone that he did, and then sign it as an employee of the town. He used his position as leverage to convey open disdain, inaccuracies, desention and infighting. If he worked for me, he would be fired! He doesn't live in Walpole or pay taxes in Walpole. He has a very vested interest, and it is his own salary! Shame on him!

On this one, I side definatively with the Board of Selectmen. No question about it!

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Mr. Syzmanski has every right to his opinion, and to write a letter, but he should sign it as a citizen and with his own home town. It was completely inappropriate for him to write using the insulting, hostile, and belligerent tone that he did, and then sign it as an employee of the town. He used his position as leverage to convey open disdain, inaccuracies, desention and infighting. If he worked for me, he would be fired! He doesn't live in Walpole or pay taxes in Walpole. He has a very vested interest, and it is his own salary! Shame on him!

On this one, I side definatively with the Board of Selectmen. No question about it!

He works for the town of Walpole...then he works for us. I say fire him. I would consider his letters a form of "swan song" as in "I've had it...fire me"

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He should have known better, after all he touts his Masters in Political Science.
He sounded like a petulent child!
Can you imagine doing to say to any of the people you work for?

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Has anyone heard about all the damage at the center pool? It is amazing that is happening down the street from the police station. I also heard that several tires in that area were also deflated. I hope they find the culprits who did the damage this past weekend. I am surprised it even happened at all and to happen twice that is amazing. I am also surprised that no one from the apartments across the street heard the steel bench land in the pool. It had to have been pretty loud when it landed in the empty cement pool. Also, if vandalism is happening now wait till summer when kids are allowed to stay out late. The town might as well put in cameras in both pools since I believe crimes will be on the rise this summer. Obviously the punishment that was given to the first group of kids was not that harsh. I think the parents should pay for the damage if the child is a minor. If the parents do not have the money, the child should be forced to clean it up with their parents. I know when I was growing up destruction to someone elses property was not tolerated. If I was ever caught in doing something like this I would have been safer in prison than facing my father.

[Unregistered]

Has anyone heard about all the damage at the center pool? It is amazing that is happening down the street from the police station. I also heard that several tires in that area were also deflated. I hope they find the culprits who did the damage this past weekend. I am surprised it even happened at all and to happen twice that is amazing. I am also surprised that no one from the apartments across the street heard the steel bench land in the pool. It had to have been pretty loud when it landed in the empty cement pool. Also, if vandalism is happening now wait till summer when kids are allowed to stay out late. The town might as well put in cameras in both pools since I believe crimes will be on the rise this summer. Obviously the punishment that was given to the first group of kids was not that harsh. I think the parents should pay for the damage if the child is a minor. If the parents do not have the money, the child should be forced to clean it up with their parents. I know when I was growing up destruction to someone elses property was not tolerated. If I was ever caught in doing something like this I would have been safer in prison than facing my father.

In my memory of over 60 years in Walpole, I have never heard of any kids trashing the town pool. Swimming in it after hours was the most I ever heard about. I think there is something wrong with todays parents: they are too afraid to discipline their kids.

[Unregistered]

Parents should discipline their children but some do not. It is a shame that vandalism is occurring especially in our backyard. Those children and parents should be responsible for the damage of the pool as well as deflating several peoples tires. I know, as a parent, I would be extremely upset and I would not tolerate it.

[Unregistered]

Has anyone tried the new DVD machines in the Dunkin Donuts?

[Unregistered]

Looks like the local shopping areas may not be the saviour that the towns were hoping ..

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/15/business/15retail.html?hp

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To #153 Yes, the machines work great..a buck a movie is hard to beat..just remember to return them.

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Has anyone out there ever dealt with an unregistered business operating without a special permit in an area of Walpole zoned for residential use? I'd love to hear some of your stories/advice.

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You should find the information you are seeking in the Building Inspector's office in the Town Hall on School Street

[Unregistered]

thanks for your reply. i would love to hear if anyone else has been through a similar experience and what the outcome was.

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I beleive the fine is quite substantial for operating a non-permitted business in a residencial zone. You need to check the zoning tables on the town website, and the zoning map for the area.

THe fines can run up to hundreds of $$ per day, I beleive.

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#156 the business owner you are relentlessly persecuting is a good neighbor and contributor to this town. He has filed for a special permit and meets the guidlines of the zoning board. You can voice your concerns at the hearing.

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Does anyone know when the Meat House will be opening. I am soooo glad to see a butcher Store opening in Walpole. Now we need a fish market.

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and a vegetable stand.

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and a vegetable stand.

Better yet why not a farmer market.

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You know with all the farm land Walpole had and the purchase of Adams Farm I am surprised we do not have a farmers market. How can we orgranize one to happen in Walpole. Stone field would be the perfect place to have one. I still think we still need a fish market as well.

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Leaving Walpole moving out of Industrial Park to Mansfield. Another business lost.

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Leaving Walpole moving out of Industrial Park to Mansfield. Another business lost.

What decent business wants to be located near a potential power plant site? This proposal has really been devestating to the town on so many levels. The pending change in Economic Developemnt Officer is much needed. Why do all those people on the Economic Developement Commission not see how mis-guided things have been for the past 2 years? We are really paying for it now. We need another major "spring cleaning" next year too. Some of these appointed boards have got to go. They are so busy making themselves feel important, that they do not realize they are killing the town.

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#166

Per the town website, the Economic Development Commission has two spots open. Why not apply to the selectmen (http://th.walpole.ma.us/ApplyCom.htm) and bring your economic development ideas and vision to the Economic Development Commission? I would think the Commission could use a passionate voice such as yours. It easy to be a critic. Now go get an application and be part of the solution.

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I agree with post 167. It is easy to say comments but once you are in the hot seat it is a totally different story and trust me no matter what you do you will get trashed. Also, no business wants to come into Walpole so we really, really need to sell the idea. If a large Bio company wanted to come into the Industrial park, trust me, it would not happen. Who ever receives one of these positions will need to work thier but off for no gratification just complaints. I know I complain all the time but do I do anything about it, no. My spouse was actually part of a committee when we lived in a condo and trust me there was no love. It is a tough job to be in office and I am grateful although I probably disagree with the person completely. I personally would like to see a vision of the town of what it could look like in 20 years. Everyone else has a vision. Norwood had no downtown several years back, I know I lived there, and now it is great. Dedham, same thing. Dedham is now adding, starting July 9th, a farmers market in there down town space, you bet I will be there. That is such a great idea and why don't we do it. Where are our planners on this topic? A farmers market in the middle of downtown (on the grass part ofcourse) would be great and it could generate dollars to other businesses in downtown.

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I hope Walpole continues it's trend of voting NO on overrides. Money for a new libarary is probably one of the worst ideas the powers to be want to stiff the taxpayers for.
Why don't they just use all the donations and grant money and fix up the old one?
Happy Fourth of July!

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The town of Walpole needs a new Library but why not scale down the project. 12 million is quite a bit then again, materials, labor and fuel have gone up as well. The project in the early 90's was slated to be 8 million dollars and now it went up by 50%. I like the "Green Idea" but can they scale it down a bit. Other towns in our area are hoping this library proposal fails because then they would be in line for the grant money. Did the building the library used to be in an old police station? It seems our town keeps on putting bandaids on things instead of fixing the problem. I do know I use the library a quite a bit more than I use Adams Farm.

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I would happily sell Adam's Farm for a new library and a senior center. I am very dis-satisfied with what appears to be a double standard in this town. North Walpole is a big part of the demand for "private school education" on the public's dime,... and they want every other area of town (except their own) to pay for and live with the reprecussions of that idealogy. Sell Adam's Farm. Zone Sunny Rock as commercial or industrial. North Walpole can carry the burden of their choices as well. Why don't we put the power plant up on Sunny Rock! Then we will see what our "friends" and town "fathers" really think. The TRUE NIMBYs will then be on display!

[Unregistered]

For a new Police & Fire Station. Centrally located. The old Library spot is perfect for at least the Police station.

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if its not big enough for the library you think its big enough for 24/7 police station with 40-50 policemen and all the police cars. yup that should work.

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the PEOPLE of north walpole are NOT THE ONES voteing down the overides/ plans to build things

[Unregistered]

the PEOPLE of north walpole are NOT THE ONES voteing down the overides/ plans to build things

I think the point being made is that they (folks in North Walpole) want everyone to pay more, financially and in their surroundings. They have no problems with over-rides for schools, even when they were embarassingly un-needed. They seem to lack the realization that many are on a fixed or limited income, and an extra $400 a year in taxes is more than many could tollerate.

If not an over-ride, then site any unsightly, outrageous buisness you can, and some of those $$ will filter their way to the schools. The nastier the better. It typically leads to more $$. What share of commercial tax base does North Walpole bear? None. But school proponents up in that area think a power plant is a suitable way to get their $$$. All this after we spent many millions to buy Adams farm and keep their view in tact.

It does seem a bit like a double standard. You cannot demand that everyone support someone else's singular agenda, and that all others bear the cost. North Walpole should quiet down about preserving the charm and character of their open space. Everyone else is fighting off 40Bs and power plants.

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Yeah, you voted overrides down. Precincts 7 and 8 did not vote for the last override in March 2007.

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I went to the Library today and they had information packet of what the cost will be and how we will be taxed. Basically the override will be for 20 years and an average home of 456,000 (about) will be taxed $80 each year. Also, each year after the amount will be reduced by $2 dollars. The grant from the State will be about 3.5 million and 1 million will be raised by fundraising. Now I would rather put the money into a new library then the CPA since the cost will be about the same and at least I will use it. I am for the CPA but I rather see a new Library pass then buy open land, improve historical buildings or affordable housing, none of which I use. I do use the library quite frequent since to me it is a cheap free place for me to go. I also borrow passes from the library when ever I have a chance and I have saved myself quite a bit of money this year. Now 20 years ago if the library override was on a ballot and approved it would have been 50% cheaper. Basically it is just going to cost us more in the long run. I do understand though with everything going up these days something has got to give.

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I'm with you. I would rather support the library than the CPA which will be used to buy more land maybe Sunny Rock Farm. We can all use the library. Very few have been able to use the open space we do have.

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$80/year? My family spends that on Blockbuster, Barnes and Nobles, and iTunes.

[Unregistered]

$80/year? My family spends that on Blockbuster, Barnes and Nobles, and iTunes.

But now you won't be able to, you'll have to spend it on the library. Some people spend that on heating oil, food, electricity, mortgage, car payments, medical bills, etc.

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The median family income in 2007 was $98,829 in Walpole but I'm sure we are going to hear all about how residents can't afford $80.

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Oh, I spend more than that on those things! And if I get to choose where my tax dollars go, then a lot of Mass Hacks might have to find new jobs for their spawn!

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But now you won't be able to, you'll have to spend it on the library. Some people spend that on heating oil, food, electricity, mortgage, car payments, medical bills, etc.

I'm assuming you mean spend '$80.00 a week on heating'. Even with the cost of oil dropping the cost of heating is going to be the most expensive thing a family has to deal with this winter.

The yearly cost to a resident for the library, with all it gives the town, will give the residents more for their money.

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The cost is about $80 a year for 20 years with $2 being reduced each year. Remember if the selectman 20 years ago agreed for the Library to be built then it would have been $40 every year and we would have been over in 5 years.

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the same people who are griping about what happened 20 years ago are the people who put those officials in office

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I love to attend the Concerts on the Common. However all of them this summer are attended by the Rockwood campaign committee who are actively looking for lawns to
put signs on and bumpers to put bumper stickers on. Nothing against Mr Rockwood but do they have to campaign at all the concerts? Can we have one or two that we can just relax at?

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I love to attend the Concerts on the Common. However all of them this summer are attended by the Rockwood campaign committee who are actively looking for lawns to
put signs on and bumpers to put bumper stickers on. Nothing against Mr Rockwood but do they have to campaign at all the concerts? Can we have one or two that we can just relax at?

I agree a town concert is not a place to be campaigning. These town concert are to allow the town residents to relax and enjoy the music not dodge campaign people, signs and and sign-up sheets. There should be a regulation to not allow this to occur!

[Unregistered]

I just tried the Meat House and it was excellent. The Bourbon Steak Tips were excellent and they had quite a bit of food one could sample. This is definitely something our Walpole Town needs. Boston Beef watch out.

[Unregistered]

Who is going to pay for the Adult Community Center? The organizers are probably hoping for CPV.

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As we write in this forum about the pros and cons of the power plant, the demise of the downtown, lack of industrial and commercial development vision, and other town issues, I see this as Walpole's greatest challenge: lack of civility.

Now, most people in town are terrific, decent, hard-working people that believe in the power of helping each other out as good neighbors and friends with an inherent drive to make our community better. We have made friends for life here. There is, however, a disturbing trend that we have seen in the last few years that has us concerned as taxpaying, neighborly people who believe in the power of a community. Skyrocketing crimes, including those who do harm to others and drug arrests. Drivers driving too fast and endangering others, no doubt a by product of one's own self-centeredness and high stress levels. Public town meetings in which elected officials and town residents have talked to each other in ugly or patronizing ways, therefore impeding productive discussions. People blessed with wealth speaking down to those who live "on the wrong side of the tracks" (it has happened to us a few times; the "I'm better than you" attitude makes us sad and is difficult to forget). Parents who let their kids do anything they want, which, in turn, allows the child to say "I'm going to do whatever I want, you can't tell me what to do," thus, making it unpleasant for other children as well as responsible parents trying to conduct youth group meetings, classes and events in a civil way. People who use this forum to zing others, and say nasty things instead of writing productively. You can see some high levels of hostility on this board.

While lack of civility has always been a negative community element through the years, we have seen a rise in this type of abberant behavior more so in the last few years, just enough to put us and others on edge. We used to regard Walpole as an almost vacation-like getaway (compared to where I grew up), given its friendly, laid-back people combined with a small-town look. Again, while most people are absolutely wonderful, there's enough rising crime and elements of bad, anti-social community behavior to have us concerned. It is a challenge to those who love our community. In regards to the rising crime issue, it is a problem to our hard-working, understaffed police force, who we believe is a tremendous group that, in general, always seem to go the extra mile to make out town safe.

Perhaps lack of civility is a microcosm of the rising stress levels in our society that yields negative social issues, but this general overall subtle but noticeable rise in lack of civility has us wondering if this is the direction our town is going. We see things on a daily basis that were never a problem in our town before -- just read the letters to the editor or the police log in the local paper for the details. Is it the bad economy, the egress of people with roots in Walpole giving way to elements from a more fluid population with less loyalty to our town, or is it other factors that have us a little more on edge than before?

A few months ago, I was at the corner of School and Common Sts. A driver signalled me to go first. I did not move my car in the first second, and he swore at me with the loudest voice with my kids in the car. So, even good notions become ugly in this town. This is not an isolated incident; we see various elements of hostility from people in town on a regular basis.

I guess the moral of this story is that we need to follow the lifestyle of the majority of great people in this town, and place others before yourself. When this is done, self-entitlement and self-centeredness take a back seat to respect for each other, thus making our town a better place with less crime and better relations. Through good and bad times, this type of civility will always be more important than whether we have a power plant, or a better downtown.

As T.S. Bogorad says in her book, "The Importance of Civility," "What we do not say does hurt us, and our polite interaction with others strengthens us and our community."

Now is the time to act positively. We all know those "once great towns" that we wouldn't even think of living in now. Let's not let Walpole head in that direction. Putting civility at the forefront of our daily lives is an important step in maintaining, or perhaps, even enhancing our inherently great community.

[Unregistered]

Great post. You are right that civility has gone down on some of these threads and in Walpole in general.

I don't know how to resolve this problem except to be especially careful with myself. This is how Walpole residents should be reacting all the time but it seems nobody takes being civil seriously anymore.

[Unregistered]

Post 190 I agree, your post was good and meant to encourage Walpole to think about what they say before writing or saying it.

I think you forgot one point though. We, as a society, get our civil behavior first at home, next from friends then the larger world. The larger world is the problem. The media, whether MTV, newspapers, TV news and talk shows and the radio all contribute to this decline.

If you listen to some talk shows (radio & TV - both liberal and conservative) there's an element of yelling one's points over the other persons.

Newspapers (not all) have become increasingly in need of headlines that scare, titillate or pander to the lowest common denominator.

Is it any wonder that society is becoming less civil?

Why should the 'sins' of the father/mother become those of the children? Why are young people being put on the front page of newspapers or the Internet just because they're pregnant or just had a parent that is a public figure?

All this does is lead to gossip, unsubstantiated rumor and finally a madding babble of voices.

The only good thing is with the internet today you can at least sort out the lies, half-lies, misleading info but only if you put in the time and effort to dig for the truth.

Most people don't want to bother and will read the headlines or take what suits their belief at the time.

Is it any wonder that we are becoming uncivil?

[Unregistered]

Civility begins with an understanding of the greater good.There is nothing civil about one part of town degrading another part of town with ugly land uses because the proposal might generate some tax revenue. Civility begins with equity meaning that all parts of town should be treated equally. Those who cherish Adams Farm should also cherish the quality of life of those who have been constatntly subjected to one ugly land use after the other. Civility in government begins with transparency and the true service to the residents of the town rather than favoritism towards the politically connected landowners. Try walking the walk, instead of talking the talk about civility. It only takes one small step.

[Unregistered]

If I see you at the supermarket I'll be sure to give you a smile or help you to reach the can of soup on the top shelf. If I see you trying to pull into traffic, I will let you cut in front of me with a friendly wave. If I pass you on the sidewalk, I'll be sure to say "hello." :)

But if you try to make a profit by degrading my community, with a briefcase full of self-serving, arrogant, patronizing lies, and NIMBY name-calling, I will protect my home tooth and nail. If you are one who would sell the health, safety, and security of my family to the highest bidder, then I will tar and feather you as I drive you out into the wilderness. It doesn't matter if you wear a fancy suit and a bleach-toothed smile, my pitchfork will skewer you all the same, and my torch will raze your estate as I erase your footprints from our soil. I will destroy you just like the early cave men destroyed any vile animal that threatened their tribe, and I will do it in the name of all that is good, with a smile on my face and with God in my heart. :)

Civility has its place, but you will not find it on the battleground. ;)

[Unregistered]

Any of you getting sick of all of this stuff? I say dump this guy as soon as possible. He represents us?


http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2008/09/house_majority_1.html




http://www.mass.gov/legis/member/jhr1.htm

[Unregistered]

http://www.politickerma.com/jeremyjacobs/1171/timilty-mailing-features-forged-patrick-endorsement


This is outrageous.

[Unregistered]

In Re: The last 2 posts. And anyone wonders why this state is a laughinstock across the country? Repeal the state income tax!

[Unregistered]

With the demise of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, IndyMac, Bear Stearns and now Lehman Brothers, we've been treated to the failure of more major financial firms than during any year since the Great Depression. The sight of rich bankers getting the boot might be lots of fun if it were just a spectator sport. Unfortunately, we are in the game with these clowns.

As a result of their incompetence, irresponsibility and greed, the housing bubble was allowed to grow to dangerous proportions. Its collapse threw the economy into recession, putting millions of people out of work and lowering the wages of those who still have their jobs. The plunge in house prices has destroyed much of the life savings for tens of millions of people nearing retirement.

Meanwhile, the bankers who messed up and destroyed the companies who hired them are still multimillionaires. Most of them are still in their old jobs getting multimillion-dollar pay packages. This is a sector that badly cries out for reform, and there is no better time than now to put it into place.

The first target for reform should be the outrageous salaries drawn by the top executives at financial firms. The crew that lost tens of billions at Citigroup, Merrill Lynch and the rest have received tens of millions, possibly even hundreds of millions, in compensation for their "work" over the last few years.

There is a general problem in corporate America of stockholders being unable to effectively organize to rein in top management. This problem is most serious in the financial industry.

Thankfully, the credit crisis gives us the tools we need to rein in executive pay. Currently, the major surviving investment banks (e.g. Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs) are operating on life support. They are drawing money at below-market interest rates from the Federal Reserve Board's discount window. This privilege (for which they pay nothing) can easily be worth billions of dollars a year.

These banks are also operating with an explicit guarantee from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke to their creditors that he will honor their loans in the event that an investment bank, like Bear Stearns, goes belly up. This guarantee is enormously valuable. Investors who make loans to Merrill Lynch or Morgan Stanley don't have to worry about the health of these companies because Bernanke has said that, if necessary, he will use public money to pay them back.

While we don't want a chain reaction of banking collapses on Wall Street, the public should get something in exchange for Bernanke's generosity. Specifically, he can demand a cap on executive compensation (all compensation) of $2 million a year, in exchange for getting bailed out. For any bank that is not on board, Bernanke could make an explicit promise to their creditors - if the bank goes under, you will get zero from the Fed.

This can be an effective way to restore sanity to the salaries paid on Wall Street. And, this can be a good example for setting executive pay more generally. Any time a company comes to the public for a handout, like tax breaks for oil companies or low-interest loans for auto companies, the $2 million cap on all compensation goes into effect.

This is important directly because much of the country's wealth has been steered into these folks' pockets, but also because the outrageous compensation packages on Wall Street distorted pay structures throughout the economy. Presidents of universities often get over $1 million a year, and even top executives at private charities can often earn near $1 million a year. These salaries seem low when compared to their counterparts in the corporate world, but they are outrageous when compared to the paychecks of typical workers.

Of course, we must go further in fixing the financial sector - most importantly by downsizing it. The financial sector accounted for more than 30 percent of corporate profits in 2004. Back in the 1950's and 1960's, the country's period of most rapid growth, the financial sector accounted for less than 10 percent of corporate profit.

The financial sector performs an incredibly important function in allocating savings to those who want to invest in businesses, buy homes or borrow money for other purposes. But shuffling money is not an end in itself. The explosion of the financial sector over the last three decades has led to a proliferation of complex financial instruments, many of which are not even understood by the companies who sell them, as we have painfully discovered.

The best way to bring the sector into line is with a modest financial-transactions tax. Such taxes have long existed in other countries. For example, the United Kingdom charges a tax of 0.25 percent on the purchase or sale of share of stock. This is not a big deal to someone who holds their shares for ten years, but it could be a considerable cost for the folks who buy stocks in the morning that they sell in the afternoon.

Comparable taxes on the transfer of all financial instruments (e.g. options, futures, credit default swaps, etc.) could go a long way in reducing speculation and the volume of trading in financial markets. Such a tax could also raise an enormous amount of money - easily more than $100 billion a year. This would go a long way toward funding national health care insurance or a major green infrastructure project.

And, this tax would be hugely progressive. Middle-income shareholders might take a small hit; but it would be comparable to raising the capital gains tax rate back to 20 percent, where it was before it was cut to 15 percent in 2003. The real hit would be on the big speculators and the Wall Street boys, the folks who gave us the housing crisis. Given what the Wall Street crew has done for us, this is change that we can believe in.

[Unregistered]

This state just keeps crankin' out the losers and we only have ourselves to blame. Notice how the problem with her using a 'copy' of Deval's signature is just sinking in the swamp out of view. That swamp going by the name of that local 'rag'...the Globe. Enough already with these professional lifer-politicians. Then Deval and Tommy Menino support Dianne Wilkerson. Utterly ridiculous in-your-face politics.

When Wilkerson lost, locals in Roxbury started to whine that 'now we have no one to represent us'. (Dummies....you DO. The winner! Chang-Diaz!).

If Obama gets in, you can kiss Deval goodbye. He'll come up with a 'holy reason' to leave MA governorship. "It's time". "Historic", etc. Ugh....

[Unregistered]

Going through the haystack near my barn I found the needle , I am still looking for an honest politician . SO VERY SAD !!

[Unregistered]

This state just keeps crankin' out the losers and we only have ourselves to blame. Notice how the problem with her using a 'copy' of Deval's signature is just sinking in the swamp out of view. That swamp going by the name of that local 'rag'...the Globe. Enough already with these professional lifer-politicians. Then Deval and Tommy Menino support Dianne Wilkerson. Utterly ridiculous in-your-face politics.

When Wilkerson lost, locals in Roxbury started to whine that 'now we have no one to represent us'. (Dummies....you DO. The winner! Chang-Diaz!).

If Obama gets in, you can kiss Deval goodbye. He'll come up with a 'holy reason' to leave MA governorship. "It's time". "Historic", etc. Ugh....


Patrick is mostl likely going to stay in Massachusetts. His wife almost had a nervous breakdown becoming 1st lady of Mass. Do you think she really wants to head to Washington? Highly doubtful.

If he gets rid of the toll-takers on the Mass Pike, and gets civilians to be flagmen on construction sites, I will consider him a hero.

I think he really likes massachusetts too much to leave it.


Regarding Ms. Timilty: Imagine this:

I go to my annual job performance review. I present a letter to my supervisor, that claims I am a great employee, and have it signed by the corporate CEO. Tell me now, what would happen if it was found out?????

[Unregistered]

"The best way to bring the sector into line is with a modest financial-transactions tax. Such taxes have long existed in other countries. For example, the United Kingdom charges a tax of 0.25 percent on the purchase or sale of share of stock. This is not a big deal to someone who holds their shares for ten years, but it could be a considerable cost for the folks who buy stocks in the morning that they sell in the afternoon."

How is this a good idea? How does this bring the financial markets in-line? Why is it more prudent to hold stocks for ten years? Was it prudent for shareholders of Enron? CMGI? Lehman Brothers? Bear Stearns? Short term holders provide the liquidity and lubrication for the Wall Street money machines gears. If some dopey institution is going to drive down a stock 5% on the open to sell millions of shares, why does the buyer at that time who later sells at a profit need to be overtaxed?

[Unregistered]

"The best way to bring the sector into line is with a modest financial-transactions tax. Such taxes have long existed in other countries. For example, the United Kingdom charges a tax of 0.25 percent on the purchase or sale of share of stock. This is not a big deal to someone who holds their shares for ten years, but it could be a considerable cost for the folks who buy stocks in the morning that they sell in the afternoon."

How is this a good idea? How does this bring the financial markets in-line? Why is it more prudent to hold stocks for ten years? Was it prudent for shareholders of Enron? CMGI? Lehman Brothers? Bear Stearns? Short term holders provide the liquidity and lubrication for the Wall Street money machines gears. If some dopey institution is going to drive down a stock 5% on the open to sell millions of shares, why does the buyer at that time who later sells at a profit need to be overtaxed?

Wall Street had some roller-coaster ups and downs this week. The downs were caused by failures of the likes of Lehman Bros. and AIG. The ups have been attributed to the ban on speculative short-selling of stocks.

So you see, by eliminating just one tiny area of short-term stock flipping for profit, the Fed managed to erase one of the worst weeks in Wall Street history. Just imagine what would happen if they imposed a small but permanent tax to discourage short-term investing of all kinds.

All the experts tell us that we should be buying stocks for "the long haul" and they warn us against the dangers of trying to time the market. Any policy that has the potential to repay the American Taxpayer for our generous bailouts while simultaneously encouraging stockholders to engage in fewer speculative stock sales is a good idea in my book.

[Unregistered]

You are right, it was those dreaded short sellers that drove the market down. Banning them caused an 800 point rally. It had nothing to do with the biliions and billions of dollars and extended credit lines the Fed injected into the system last week. We all would have been better off not listening to thaqt pesky short seller David Einhorn when he was very clear and adamant that LEH was overpriced at $40. Shouldn't of listened to him, but instead to their own CFO? What little you know about the mechanisms of Wall St. is dangerous. Please don't espouse theories on how to regulate what you don't understand.

[Unregistered]

You are right, it was those dreaded short sellers that drove the market down. Banning them caused an 800 point rally. It had nothing to do with the biliions and billions of dollars and extended credit lines the Fed injected into the system last week. We all would have been better off not listening to thaqt pesky short seller David Einhorn when he was very clear and adamant that LEH was overpriced at $40. Shouldn't of listened to him, but instead to their own CFO? What little you know about the mechanisms of Wall St. is dangerous. Please don't espouse theories on how to regulate what you don't understand.

I'd love to hear your vastly superior solution to the problem. The status quo certainly isn't working to regulate the wild speculation that has brought us to this point.

You say "billions and billions" but it is actually one-and-a-half TRILLION dollars of taxpayer money that the Fed is giving away.

Yes, that's right! The Fed wants to give YOUR MONEY to the massive financial institutions which got us into this mess in the first place. The bailouts proposed by the Bush Administration in the last week alone ammount to more than $5,000 for every man, woman, and child in the United States! I wonder where the Fed is going to come up with that kind of coin?

According to you, these bailouts should have no strings attached? According to you, we shouldn't demand any accountability from the executives who continue to pocket multi-million dollar salaries even as they preside over the greatest financial meltdown in the last 80 years? According to you, we shouldn't impose a very modest tax on stock transactions to make people think twice before flipping stocks, and possibly recoup some small portion of the taxpayer dollars that are being used to rescue these greedy firms?

No, according to you, we don't need a permanent solution to the problem. We just need to inject $1,500,000,000,000 into a handful of financial institutions whenever they screw up. Again, I ask where, exactly, you think the Fed is going to come up with that kind of coin?

I didn't just make up that solution to the problem, by the way. That article was written by none other than Dean Baker, the co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR). He is the author of "The Conservative Nanny State: How the Wealthy Use the Government to Stay Rich and Get Richer."

http://www.truthout.org/article/big-banks-go-bust-time-reform-wall-street

Call your Congressmen and Senators and tell them NO FREE BAILOUT! Ordinary Americans should not be asked to shoulder the burden of the risks that were taken by these greedy firms for their own profit motive without receiving something in return.

[Unregistered]

You are right, it was those dreaded short sellers that drove the market down. Banning them caused an 800 point rally. It had nothing to do with the biliions and billions of dollars and extended credit lines the Fed injected into the system last week. We all would have been better off not listening to thaqt pesky short seller David Einhorn when he was very clear and adamant that LEH was overpriced at $40. Shouldn't of listened to him, but instead to their own CFO? What little you know about the mechanisms of Wall St. is dangerous. Please don't espouse theories on how to regulate what you don't understand.

Wow, spoken like someone who clearly knows a lot about the stock market. Too bad your input into the discussion is limited to criticizing the ideas of others instead of offering a better solution.

What is a short seller? Someone who decides that a company's stock price is going to decline, so they borrow stock to sell today in the hopes that they will be able to buy replacement stock tomorrow at a lower price, thereby pocketing the difference. Such a person, with their superior insight into the mechanics of a company's financials, decides that the most constructive thing to do about the situation is to make a profit for themselves by selling stocks that they don't even own.

How is this good for America? Please do tell.

Your hero, David Einhorn, made highly publicized speeches to alert the entire world of this impending disaster - after he had already shorted Lehman Brothers, ensuring that he would make a tidy profit in the ensuing panic.

If you see a ship that is about to hit an unseen iceberg, would you:
A. Quietly alert the captain so he can avoid the disaster without triggering a panic, or
B. Snatch up all the life vests so you can sell them to the passengers who didn't see it coming?

I support the idea of a sales tax of sorts on stock transactions, with an exemption for those who hold onto the stock for at least 18 months. This would discourage the short-term speculation of those who hope to turn a quick buck by exploiting a momentary glitch in a stock's price. It would shift the purpose of stock ownership back where it belongs - toward investing in a company to support its growth.

I also support a complete ban on short selling. There is no reason society should tolerate or reward this crass profiteering at the expense of others.

[Unregistered]

Waiting for the other shoe to drop.....from a centipede. Prediction: we are in for a huge mess. Thanks to all local mortgage officers and brokers who loaned money to local morons.

http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1120900

[Unregistered]

Waiting for the other shoe to drop.....from a centipede. Prediction: we are in for a huge mess. Thanks to all local mortgage officers and brokers who loaned money to local morons.

http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1120900

The meltdown will definitely hurt local banks that hold large numbers of now worthless shares in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But don't confuse those shareholders, who purchased these shares because they were billed as low-risk securities, with the mortgage brokers who loaded up their portfolios with as many shaky loans as they could and then re-packaged these loans as high grade securities. The local banks with high exposure to the Fannie/Freddie meltdown were, for the most part, trying to earn interest on the deposits under their control by investing in what they were told were low risk, high yield investment instruments.

I believe that the mortgage brokers intentionally wrote consumer loans that they knew would have high rates of default, because they knew that they would re-sell the loans long before the you-know-what hit the fan. They pushed mortgages and home equity loans at consumers with little regard for the ability of those consumers to repay those loans.

Of course, the consumers who took these loans should have realized that they were living beyond their means. They are not without blame. But the consumer is not the financial expert in this picture, and many assumed that lenders would not approve loans unless the terms were realistic.

It's gonna get ugly, folks.

[Unregistered]

So for years it was OK for every guest commentator to come on TV and talk up their long positions, but Einhorn is bad because he discussed in great analytical detail LEH's pending financial doom? So if you owned it at 25 and sold it at 35 because you agreed with him, you are a great American, but if you borrowed (where you get charged to borrow the shares, fyi) in order to short those same shares, you are a profiteering louse? Someone was bidding for those shares. It takes two sides to make a trade! Short term stock traders are not the problem here. Look at Barney Frank and Chris Dodd, who forced banks to make loans to irresponsible people! There are many avenues to make long term investments in the future growth of companies. But once they tap the capital markets structure, those shares are free to trade, and what you call profiteering, I call taking advantage of pricing anomalies driven by fear and greed! Your call for taxing and preventing shortselling perhaps should be taken one step further. How about an 18 month lockup on all sales? Then the mkt can't go down anymore, and will have to lurch upwards.

[Unregistered]

http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view/2008_09_23_Lottery_sales_slump:_State_bets_on_new_ games/srvc=home&position=2

Lottery sales down.

Hold on folks, its going to get bumpy.

Now we get to see who is really affluent around here! :)

[Unregistered]

So for years it was OK for every guest commentator to come on TV and talk up their long positions, but Einhorn is bad because he discussed in great analytical detail LEH's pending financial doom? So if you owned it at 25 and sold it at 35 because you agreed with him, you are a great American, but if you borrowed (where you get charged to borrow the shares, fyi) in order to short those same shares, you are a profiteering louse? Someone was bidding for those shares. It takes two sides to make a trade! Short term stock traders are not the problem here. Look at Barney Frank and Chris Dodd, who forced banks to make loans to irresponsible people! There are many avenues to make long term investments in the future growth of companies. But once they tap the capital markets structure, those shares are free to trade, and what you call profiteering, I call taking advantage of pricing anomalies driven by fear and greed! Your call for taxing and preventing shortselling perhaps should be taken one step further. How about an 18 month lockup on all sales? Then the mkt can't go down anymore, and will have to lurch upwards.

Well now who is the one demonstrating a dangerous lack of knowledge about the stock market? Locking stock sales for 18 months would in no way guarantee that "the mkt can't go down." No, I'm still waiting for you to suggest a better solution to this crisis.

A short seller is trying to make a profit based on the fact that they haven't already invested in the company. They are trying to make money even as the asset they are trading in is losing value. In many cases, such as Einhorn's, they make public statements that are clearly designed to harm the stock price of the companies they have sold short so that they can make more money faster.

It is analogous to that guy selling life preservers, running around with a megaphone and telling everybody that they are going to die if they don't get one soon! Even if the ship ultimately avoids the iceberg, short sellers often profit by exploiting the roller-coaster ride of panic that they helped to set in motion.

Short selling is an aberration. It is a cancer on our financial system. It is the process by which a leech sucks the blood out of a host that has already fallen ill. A short seller is essentially taking money away from the people who invested in a company's stock by (1) selling shares that would not otherwise have been on the market - more supply leading to less demand, and then (2) snapping up those same shares again once the price has dropped.

It matters little that the short seller is paying interest on the shares they have borrowed. They are, on the whole, diverting money away from those who invested in a company out of optimism by taking the value out of their stocks before they realize what is happening. They are punishing the investors whose goal was to share in a company's growth. The market should not reward people for hoping that a company will fail. It places the interests of the negative shareholder at odds with the company's well-being. This is a perversion of what stock ownership is supposed to accomplish, and should be discouraged at all costs.

Pushing money around, hoping to line one's own pockets in the chaos does not in itself create any value for society. Buying a stock with the intention of holding onto it for only a few hours/days/weeks does not contribute anything lasting to the economy. It is the very definition of a Get Rich Quick mentality.

On the other hand, investing in a company that you believe will grow, and then giving that investment sufficient time to realize its potential is the way stock ownership is intended to work. It is exactly what the experts say investors should do.

But really, I am surprised to see someone who is so passionately opposed to a small tax on short term stock transfers. You sound like a day trader?

[Unregistered]

I am not a daytrader, but I am a capitalist, and I strongly object to taxing short term trading. Traders are already taxed for short term capital gains. Short sellers exist for any number of reasons. Perhaps they want to hedge a long option position, so they are actually hoping for the long term price appreciation but protecting against short term price swings? Once a company decides to "go public" then its shares, and derivatively its shareholders, are subject to all the mechanisms of the capital market system. No one is forcing these companies to go public, that is why private equity has boomed. There are financial instruments that allow people to get short exposure to the mkt without shorting a share of stock. If I buy a EMC put, is that a bad thing? Maybe I want some downside price protection. Not all shortsellers are successful, just like owners of CMGI and WCOM discovered. There is no such thing as "artificial" supply and demand. Shares don't have to be lent to short...the same Wall St. shops that pump up stocks also make a killing in "stock loan." If you want to invest seed money in start up American dream businesses, look to venture capital, not the NASDAQ.

[Unregistered]

Waiting for the other shoe to drop.....from a centipede. Prediction: we are in for a huge mess. Thanks to all local mortgage officers and brokers who loaned money to local morons.

http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1120900



I am expecting disorder in the streets from average american citizens. Most likely it will by done by people over 50 years old who are losing their retirement funds. Mark this post.

The national guard will be involved. (Oh wait, they are all in Iraq, correct??...rats!)

[Unregistered]

The whole bail out worries me because we have Paulson in charge of any package passed by Congress. We have a President who wants to rush this through. We have more than a few Congressmen (Barney Frank included) who originally wanted to rush this through.

Now we’re hearing that there are people who are concerned that there will be no over site of who controls this money, where it’s going to, who it will be helping (or not helping).

My thoughts are:

1. President Bush should have had a Presidential talk to the nation about this. He’s acting like a ‘senior in high school’ who thinks I’m on the way out of here.

2. On top of the Fannie Mae/Mac buyout, we seeing that these two companies put many millions aside for payouts to their top execs. Why isn’t this being addressed in the current bill (make them give it back)? The same should go for any company the US citizen is bailing out!

3. Barney Frank, who originally pushed through the no over site of big mult-national banks and Wall Street firms, now wants some kind of controls in place. Looks like closing the barn doors after horses have escaped.

4. Why are we having to bail out foreign banks too? If they bought sub-prime mortgages that’s their problem. By the way Paulson was the one who brought these banks (particularly Hong Kong and China’s national bank) into the US market by helping them refinance their problems in the first place.

http://michellemalkin.com/2008/09/22/why-henry-paulson-must-be-contained/

5. Why are we helping the bottom of the housing market? These are people who knew they couldn’t afford a house but with the help of the sub-prime makers (people who out right lied about income on loans apps) thought they could buy a house that the normal person would only aspire to after buying a starter home, selling it, buying up selling that and than, maybe, be qualified to buy the house of their dreams. Why are we supposed to bail out a foolish person, a greedy person, or someone with no common sense?

6. If the gov’t has $700,000,000.00+ to spare then they have WAY too much of our money.

7. I, for one, want someone, in fact a few people not just one, in charge of where this money is going. I don’t want it going to those at the top who already walked away with multi million dollar bonuses and paychecks Where’s the guarantee that this won’t happen if the current bill is passed?

[Unregistered]

Will someone please explain why a new senior center is needed? What will the new center offer that the present one does not provide? If the new center is going to be a public building owned by the town, how much is it going to cost? I think we all need a lot more specific information about the need and cost before anything further is done on the plan.

[Unregistered]

We'll be fighting in the streets
With our children at our feet
And the morals that we worshipped will be gone
And the men who spurred us on
Sit in judgement of all wrong
They decide and the shotgun sings the song

The change, it had to come
We knew it all along
We were liberated from the foe, that's all
And the world looks just the same
And history ain't changed
'Cause the banners, they're all flown in the next war

I'll move myself and my family aside
If we happen to be left half alive
I'll get all my papers and smile at the sky
For I know that the hypnotized never lie

There's nothing in the street
Looks any different to me
And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye
And the party on the left
Is now the party on the right
And the beards have all grown longer overnight

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again

[Unregistered]

I am not a daytrader, but I am a capitalist, and I strongly object to taxing short term trading. Traders are already taxed for short term capital gains. Short sellers exist for any number of reasons. Perhaps they want to hedge a long option position, so they are actually hoping for the long term price appreciation but protecting against short term price swings? Once a company decides to "go public" then its shares, and derivatively its shareholders, are subject to all the mechanisms of the capital market system. No one is forcing these companies to go public, that is why private equity has boomed. There are financial instruments that allow people to get short exposure to the mkt without shorting a share of stock. If I buy a EMC put, is that a bad thing? Maybe I want some downside price protection. Not all shortsellers are successful, just like owners of CMGI and WCOM discovered. There is no such thing as "artificial" supply and demand. Shares don't have to be lent to short...the same Wall St. shops that pump up stocks also make a killing in "stock loan." If you want to invest seed money in start up American dream businesses, look to venture capital, not the NASDAQ.

If you are a true capitalist, then I assume you are opposed to government bailouts of any kind? After all, these investment houses took financial risks in hopes of making huge profits, but they lost their bets fair and square. A bailout will only encourage more extreme risk taking in the future.

I also assume that you would strip the executives at these massive firms of their outrageous "golden parachute" severance clauses and tie their compensation directly to the financial results that they have (or have not) delivered?

Or if the Fed absolutely must step in to use taxpayer money to bail out these sinking firms, pure capitalism demands that we receive something in return, like an equity stake in these firms. As the new owners, we the people should demand the increased control (ie: regulatory oversight) that would accompany ownership in any private equity buyout.

Pure "survival of the fittest" capitalism demands that the decision makers feel the pain of their mistakes, does it not?

[Unregistered]

Yes, I agree with you and I am opposed to the bailout. Yes, I also agree with you that the town does not NEED a new senior center.

[Unregistered]

Our tax dollars are so mismanaged i.e an overide is the solution to every want want request,
why don't they just use the grant the received to renovate the existing library and forget about the 12 million dollar one they want? As for the senior center, Walpole is the worst town in the area to be a senior. My sympathy to that group of people. You will have to be content with your spare room in the town hall.

[Unregistered]

I can appreciate the upgrade on the monument on town common, opposite the library. But did they have to remove so much grass? So much paving? Where are the expansion joints on those sidewalks? Who is going to upkeep those sidewalks? I notice the ones on the flag-mast common are losing their color and surface finish. How long is that technique supposed to last??

[Unregistered]

Our tax dollars are so mismanaged i.e an overide is the solution to every want want request,
why don't they just use the grant the received to renovate the existing library and forget about the 12 million dollar one they want? As for the senior center, Walpole is the worst town in the area to be a senior. My sympathy to that group of people. You will have to be content with your spare room in the town hall.

As a senior myself (just reached the half-way mark to 70), I don't want a senior center. The people looking for a senior center are in my opinion self-centered. There are a number of seniors who feel this way.

Boston dosen't have a senior center (outside of the one in China town). Why can't these people be satistified with a civic center where there would be room for all? Why are seniors so important they have to have their own building? What about the young children who need after school care, what about someplace for younger teens to have a place for games, counseling (if needed), or just to relax with friends?

Bottom line, this is a community and as such everyone needs a space not one small group, within a large group their own age, of people who complain a lot.

As to renovating the existing library, the problems have been discussed over and again. Not enough parking, not enough space for books, not enough room for research, not enough room to sit and enjoy reading because of all the extra currilcular activities for kids. You do notice a theme here I hope? There's more than one group in need of space.

[Unregistered]

I also have questioned the need for a new senior center. The existing center in the Town Hall may have its problems, but they could be easily remedied for a lot less money than building a new center and possibly jeopardizing grant funding for the new library in the process.

Speaking of which, doesn't the plan for the new library include a community meeting room? Couldn't this space serve the needs of the COA just as well as a dedicated Senior Center? Wouldn't seniors benefit from interacting with Walpole citizens of all ages at our new library?

Barring that, perhaps the old library site could be renovated to create a new Senior Center? Or even the historic Town Hall / Police Station?

It seems to me that there are many possible solutions that have not been considered. It might be wise for the planners of the new Senior Center to suspend further discussion until the fate of the new library can be decided. If they expect the broad support of the community then they should work with the rest of the town instead of pushing their limited vision of a singe-purpose building at the expense of other projects that would benefit people of all ages.

[Unregistered]

I agree with your post but it does take two. The backers of the senior center are pushing their agenda forward with the backing of the board of selectmen. The plan would get nowhere if the selectmen didn't give the "group" the go ahead.

[Unregistered]

to 222- I agree with you. I'd like to add another perspective. Prior to the WWII generation becoming seniors, there was no such thing in most towns as a senior center let alone a multi-million dollar building restricted to senior citizens which is what every town seems to be clamoring for. I have no objection to a small clubhouse or part of a building where people can socialize, play cards, eat lunch etc. That is a good thing. However, in this increasingly fragile fiscal climate, we have to rein in our spending and that includes new senior centers. The COA likes to mention the demographics that whatever # are turning 60 every year as though once we hit that birthday, we'll be banging on the doors of the senior center. I don't think so; I think this idea may die a slow death with the baby boomers. I just hit the big 6-0; my husband is a little older. We will have to keep working not going off to play cards or golf every day. We don't have pensions just 401ks. I hope the COA will mention true statistics; i. e. how many people over 60 live here and how many are active (or even occasional) members of the COA. I bet it will be a tiny percentage.

[Unregistered]

Mansfield had a great solution. They combined the public library and the senior center under one roof. On the right side of the building is the senior center with reception, kitchen, two meeting rooms. On the left side is the library. In the middle area is a very large common room, that the library and seniors alternate using depending on need. Seems like the School Street/Stone Street area could accommodate such an arrangement.

[Unregistered]

It's not the Council on Aging who is promoting the senior center. They are a town board appointed by the board of selectmen.

It is Susan Maguire and the Friends of the Council of Aging who are promoting the senior center. They are a private group with a nonprofit corporation. They have been fundraising but have not told the selectmen how much money they have raised to pay for the senior center.

[Unregistered]

Sorry, my mistake. It is the Friends. They've been fundraising for 5 years, said they would raise all funds. My apologies to the COA.

[sdobar]

I was in Pittsfield, NY last summer, and walked into their public library and was surprised to find a very interesting solution: they rented out half of the building to a cafe, in this case Bruegger's Bagels. People could check out books and at the same time stop by the cafe. The cafe was open longer than the library, so people could still come in to the cafe without the library being open. Would this be a feasible solution for bringing in revenue in a town building (like senior center, library, or public safety building)?

[Unregistered]

I wonder if the Friends can raise all the funds.

[Unregistered]

I was in Pittsfield, NY last summer, and walked into their public library and was surprised to find a very interesting solution: they rented out half of the building to a cafe, in this case Bruegger's Bagels. People could check out books and at the same time stop by the cafe. The cafe was open longer than the library, so people could still come in to the cafe without the library being open. Would this be a feasible solution for bringing in revenue in a town building (like senior center, library, or public safety building)?

Great idea. I like this, especially because Walpole has only a few good coffee shops. Imagine being able to pick out a book, go and get a good cup of coffee, tea or whatever, and sitting down to start reading the book you picked up at the library. My idea of a good day!

[Unregistered]

Can someone tell me why our state and local goverment is in full attack againt the police?
the govener wants to take away details! And the "quinn bill"!
Walpole police top pay is 25.00 dollars an hour! If you look in the town report they must be working alot of hours to make 80+thousand a year. And the town makes money off the companies needing a detail. The quinn bill is a 5%-7% on top of base salary if they hold a degree. I dont know about you but I want the cop I tell my child to trust if they are lost or hurt to be educated. I want the cop who is answering a call to be educated and a critical thinker/ problem solver!
How are they going to support their families? most cop wives dont work because their husbands work so much. Do we want them to lose their homes, and increase their stress levels when we want them to help us!
Our town doesnt even want to give them a raise of 3% a year.
Our administator makes 100 thousand a year straight time.
We have a pretty big town and the paper says crime is on the rise, the country is headed into a resession. Isnt anyone worried about safety and keeping peace?
I dont think we should be nickle and dimeing them. We are all experiancing costs going up but the police are being told :
no raise
increase health care out of pocket cost
we dont give them short term disability
a cut to their pensions
Threat of loss of quinn bill
No option for details (ot at no cot to town)

And come on they work in a RUN DOWN DUMP
How low do we want them to feel?
we need to stick up for them call our selectman and administrator and let them Know we NEED to make them a priority!!!!!!!!!!!

[Unregistered]

Can someone tell me why our state and local goverment is in full attack againt the police?
the govener wants to take away details! And the "quinn bill"!
Walpole police top pay is 25.00 dollars an hour! If you look in the town report they must be working alot of hours to make 80+thousand a year. And the town makes money off the companies needing a detail. The quinn bill is a 5%-7% on top of base salary if they hold a degree. I dont know about you but I want the cop I tell my child to trust if they are lost or hurt to be educated. I want the cop who is answering a call to be educated and a critical thinker/ problem solver!
How are they going to support their families? most cop wives dont work because their husbands work so much. Do we want them to lose their homes, and increase their stress levels when we want them to help us!
Our town doesnt even want to give them a raise of 3% a year.
Our administator makes 100 thousand a year straight time.
We have a pretty big town and the paper says crime is on the rise, the country is headed into a resession. Isnt anyone worried about safety and keeping peace?
I dont think we should be nickle and dimeing them. We are all experiancing costs going up but the police are being told :
no raise
increase health care out of pocket cost
we dont give them short term disability
a cut to their pensions
Threat of loss of quinn bill
No option for details (ot at no cot to town)

And come on they work in a RUN DOWN DUMP
How low do we want them to feel?
we need to stick up for them call our selectman and administrator and let them Know we NEED to make them a priority!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree with almost of all of your post, especially about the wife’s not being able to work and the building the town calls a police station.

But, the Quinn bill only limits the use of signalmen if they are on a non-essential roads. like a cul-de-sac or a little traveled street. Yes, it might cut down on the number of dollars they make and it could make difference in their yearly salary, but everyone is having a hard time making sure they have enough at the end of the month to pay bills.

With the events of the past few months in the market and the fact that Walpole will need to raise money some how, we need to save ever dime, nickel, penny we can.

[Unregistered]

I think you have many good points about or police department. They do need to be a focus and need support.
And I heard the Sharon Credit Union was robbed at gun point today. I would say thats a big increase in violence which one of our neighbors, or Kids was in the bank doing small town banking at the time?

[Unregistered]

Whos great idea was it to put the police in that building?
It was the town hall right? Until when?
How did all our buildings get so bad?

[Unregistered]

YES.
We should take care of our Police!
Lets be Responsible
The Police NEED a headquarters.
From that tour I cant believe some agency hasnt closed it down from a public health point of view!
We WANT a new Library
We WANT a new senior center
But times are tough its not the time to expand/ upgrade
I Want a Plasma tv
But my kids NEED sneekers,food and clothes!
Lets start with what we need
And when people arent losing their homes/jobs we can think about expanding and upgrading things we WANT!

[Unregistered]

When They Stop Harassing People Maybe We Will Care About The Police Station

[Unregistered]

Everyone needs a friend, but come on. We cant afford all this stuff. But we shouldnt take their work away. Do all police make that (25 dollars an hour)?
I think we should pay them better to begin with.

[Unregistered]

http://www.boston.com/sports/schools/football/articles/2008/09/28/izzo_walpole_pour_it_on/

"Killer Instinct"? Is that what high school football has become?

Coach Villa needs to cool his jets. His trashing of the Rebels after the previous game was embarrassing. They won, and he trashed them? The coach needs to grow up.

[Unregistered]

I cant believe they are paid sooo poorly. They should be paid better and not need to count on overtime/details at 25 dollars an hour they only make 52thousand a year they dont even qualify for 40B they wouldnt make enough. never mind add 2 kids. if this is right its horrible we need to do something! Who sets their pay?

[Unregistered]

#238 Give me a break. "Killer instinct" is a common, cliched phrase. This isn't youth soccer run by the rec league. The kids on the football team have to learn to play to their maximum talent levels. If Coach Villa was going to be accused of being too serious, why did the team not score a point after half against Wellesly? They went out and dominated the first half, applying that darn "killer instinct" to put the game away in the first half and then rest their starters for a long season and get the younger kids some much needed game experience. If your son gets an A on a test, even though he didn't study but played XBox the entire weekend before, would you applaud him or tell him he got lucky but he better knuckle down and learn some study skills, show some academic discipline, and apply himself? Same deal with the football team...it's the greatest sport in the world because coaches like Villa don't make it easy and are demanding! Keep it up, Rebels!

[Unregistered]

#238 Give me a break. "Killer instinct" is a common, cliched phrase. This isn't youth soccer run by the rec league. The kids on the football team have to learn to play to their maximum talent levels. If Coach Villa was going to be accused of being too serious, why did the team not score a point after half against Wellesly? They went out and dominated the first half, applying that darn "killer instinct" to put the game away in the first half and then rest their starters for a long season and get the younger kids some much needed game experience. If your son gets an A on a test, even though he didn't study but played XBox the entire weekend before, would you applaud him or tell him he got lucky but he better knuckle down and learn some study skills, show some academic discipline, and apply himself? Same deal with the football team...it's the greatest sport in the world because coaches like Villa don't make it easy and are demanding! Keep it up, Rebels!

Another overzealous sports dad (or mom). Plain sickening. Coach Lee was tough, but he would have never knocked his team, especially in the newspapers.

[Unregistered]

#238 Give me a break. "Killer instinct" is a common, cliched phrase. This isn't youth soccer run by the rec league. The kids on the football team have to learn to play to their maximum talent levels. If Coach Villa was going to be accused of being too serious, why did the team not score a point after half against Wellesly? They went out and dominated the first half, applying that darn "killer instinct" to put the game away in the first half and then rest their starters for a long season and get the younger kids some much needed game experience. If your son gets an A on a test, even though he didn't study but played XBox the entire weekend before, would you applaud him or tell him he got lucky but he better knuckle down and learn some study skills, show some academic discipline, and apply himself? Same deal with the football team...it's the greatest sport in the world because coaches like Villa don't make it easy and are demanding! Keep it up, Rebels!

The greatest sport in the world? Are you kidding me? Do you call some of the the absolutely overweight players in pro-football (and even on the high school squad) "athletes"? To me they look like heart-attack candidates. Please: Give ME a break

[Unregistered]

Yes, I meant greatest sport in the world because of the demands that it makes, and the fact it is the ultimate team sport. The values that good coaches instill in their players can carry over for the rest of these youngsters lives. Values like discipline, work ethic, self-sacrifice, teamwork, hustle, the power of a positive attitude. I'm not talking about the NFL, i'm talking about high school football. These kids work hard at their sport and their successes can be directly attributed to the time and commitment they put into it. I am not an overzealous parent, I have no relatives on the team. Football coaches don't dumb down their curriculum to the weakest players, they demand excellence from all their players. You don't have to be blessed with Division One talent to succeed, you can do it with hard work, great hustle, dedication, perfection of technique, and great teamwork. Eleven players all working for the same goal can be a formidable opponent, and can outplay a team with just a few superstars. That's why it's the greatest sport in the world.

[Unregistered]

By the sounds of it THE ONLY thing we should B paying 4 is a new police station and it seems the longer we wait more it will cost!!!!!!!
Im in ill B a Friend of police

[Unregistered]

my family only has so much to give.
The only thing we will vote for is a police station.

[Unregistered]

COMBINE THEM?
USE THE OLD TOWN HALL?
come on that place is GROSS, DIRTY AND WASNT A GOOD IDEA THE FIRST TIME!
we need to suck it up and build a new one STOP retro fitting old buildings.
what about walpole woodworkers school street building or south street once its clean?
then when we have the money school street could become a campus setting with a library and a senior/civic center

[Unregistered]

last writer- you should run for office.
selectman please listen!
a senior center or library would be nice but its a police station we need!
you were elected to make tough decisions and if you cant.....move on!!!!!!!

[Unregistered]

I don't understand the comments based at the selectmen. Allowing something on the ballot is a reasoned democratic response. That is not being foolhardy. With that in mind, I think the town needs a new library. The town needs a new police station. For decades townsfolk have lived here and ignored the town infrastructure, passing it on to the next generation. It's time to invest in the town!

[Unregistered]

I don't know what they meant. But I agree, its our selectman responsiblity to be policy makers and lead the town to know the condition of the police station and how much of a priority it is to replace. Some of them claim to be supportive of police and one of them is a retired policeman. Why aren't they pushing it?

[Unregistered]

Good point. Time to be fiscally responsible. We must replace the police station first and go from there.