Here We Go Again...

Ever notice that a little kid will whine about the same thing over, and over, and over again no matter how many times they are told the subject is closed?

And, ever notice that if the same kid still does not get their way they will haunt you with the same question,"Why can't I?" until you break down?

It's a natural kid thing to do.

When an adult does it it is not only annoying, but after awhile, pathological, and the original meaning is lost.

There is a solution. Cover your ears, and chant, "I can't hear you!! Lalalalalalalaalala!"

Lots to be said in favor of selective regression.

Lights, Cameras...Safety

I saw something yesterday that I rarely see here in town: a police cruiser lying in wait on Route 20.

The cruiser was in a place that was off the road, but gave a good view of the traffic coming from both east and west. It was a great deterrent.

Growing up in Medfield, we learned very young that if we ever had the opportunity to drive a car out of town that the Town of Sherborn had a serious issue with speeders and other offenders. For a small town, the police were everywhere, and they did stop anyone that had the slightest violation.

It was an industry for them. Sherborn had no industrial base, a few small stores, and one gas station. Tax money came from the landed gentry, and there were a lot of them. Horse farms, and large spreads filled the town coffers with tax dollars, but it was obvious that additional funding was garnered from the passing out of traffic tickets like cigars at a birth announcement.

As teens, we didn't like it. We tip toed through the town. Inspection sticker up to date, registration current, lights and turn signals functioning, and our speed at, or below the posted limit. This was imperative. A couple of tickets could cripple a teen for months. the police seldom lost a case in court, and those that were caught were wrong. Rarely a shady, or wrong call here.

The placing of electronic speed boards are an informative, passive way of enforcement, if they enforce at all, but the site of a cruiser on the side of the road with an officer holding a radar gun pointed right at you will give you pause. It's a memory like touching a hot stove--won't do that again.

It works.

If you sneak a cruiser of to the side of the road in some police like lair, that works, too, but you need to do it regularly, and pop up all over the place to make a difference. Yesterday was good.

Traffic control in most towns is pretty straight forward. As time goes on, the population increases, and the number of cars on the road grows, the needs of the town for increased safety change as well. All part of a growing, thriving community. I, like many don't like a lot of traffic lights, but there are place where they are needed.

The traffic lights in front of the town hall have been around since Rout 15 spilled out onto Route 131. They were needed there. The remainder of the lights in town came with the expansion of Route 20 twenty years ago. the traffic lights in front of Hobbs Brook came as a condition of building the plaza and the lights at the beginning of Route 148 and 49 are there because they are at the intersection of two state highways.

We need more.

1. New Boston road and Route 20.
2. Arnold Road and Route 20
3. Hall Road and Route 20, and at Route 131.

These are just the places that need lights immediately. There are several other places in town that yellow, flashing caution lights are needed on bad curves, and narrow roads as well.

We are very fortunate to have an excellent police department here in town. That with the fact we also have a State Police barracks as well give us all a level of protection that many towns do not have, but it takes more to make us safer. Things like traffic lights and proper speed limits, better, and more crosswalks, improved road signage, and more sidewalks for pedestrians. Traffic cameras are another thing, but more on that at a later time.

Next time the Board of Selectmen meet, call up and question them regarding the need for more lights. Write the local papers and express your concerns, and don't be afraid to chew the ears off a selectman when you run into them at WalMart.

Remember, any idea can be a decent thought, but unless there is support for it, things will stay the same.

We can't grow very well into the new century when our infrastructure is stuck in the 1970's.

Comments are now closed on this post.

Naw. Got Another Idea?

A "Producer Take Back" program. This is a program that would require manufacturers of some electronic goods to take back their products when the consumer is done with them. Old computers and television sets are the primary items because they contain cathode ray tubes inside. You know, the picture tube. These tubes need to be disposed of properly since they contain hazardous material.

There has been some talk about Sturbridge taking part in a program like this lately.

Not a good idea.

When the consumer buys a product, no matter what it is, they own it, and the manufacturer is out of the loop. Except for the warranty, and any safety issues that arise with the item after purchase, the manufacturer is no longer responsible to what happens to the item.

That's it.

If we start a program of having the producer of the product responsible for taking it back for proper disposable at the end of its usefulness to the consumer we will open the door to other products having to meet the same criteria.

It would start of innocently enough, but once the precedent is set, well, you know how these things go.

Think about it. Old cars that just don't run anymore. Cribs that our kids have out grown. The futon that never closes right. The jar of Helmans we left out on the counter overnight.

No. We bought it, and we own it. It is up to us to properly dispose of the items. For most items it is as simple as tossing them in the trash, or recycling them. Broken items go to the Big Dumpster in the sky, and hazardous material go to the Recycling Center where they will charge a fee to cover the disposal of items like car batteries, and cathode ray tube items. For other items there is always Craigslist.org.

It's a simple process, and it works. If the fee's charged don't cover the CRT's disposal, then charge what will cover it. Don't involve the manufacturer. If we do they will subsequently hike up the prices of the items they sell to help cover the old items disposal fee's, and it will just plain tick them off.

A few years ago when this program was talked about nationally it was all the rage, then folks thought about it more, and it went by the wayside. One doesn't have to wonder why.

If we want to make a difference, and be a little more "greener" than we currently are, then how about free mandatory household recycling? Or placing recycling bins around town? Or banning plastic shopping bags...wait, never mind.

Tried that one.

Comments are now closed on this post.

"Remember When..." Doo Wah

We do have a history after 1830.

History and Sturbridge go hand in hand. When one mentions they are from Sturbridge the response we usually hear is, "Oh, Old Sturbridge Village". Yes, that, too, but we are a village of our own as well.

When we think "history" we often drift to muskets, horse drawn carriages, butter churns, and candle light. We have more, much more.

Ever think what life was like in these parts in 1929? 1938? 1943, or 1957? Recent history, and our towns response to the world around them was not far off from the rest of the country in those times. The Depression brought New Deal workers to town that worked in Civilian Conservation Camps, and researched our old buildings. World War Two came and many of our young went overseas. Some did not come home. The Army took over the Publick House, and trained the State Guard in the tactics of what could now be called guerrilla warfare, and drilled on the Common.

In the 1950's, new cars, new music, and a new two term president were just a bit of what the town experienced with the rest of the country.

As the times changed, our culture changed. We experienced the same as Hoboken, DeMoines, and Seattle. We cruised the town in our Chevy's, hung out at the drive-in, and rocked to Chuck Berry, the Coasters, and Jerry Lee Lewis.

The photo above is a postcard of that era. Ovides restaurant was the place to go to back then. For a small town, it offered a lot, as the neon sign on the roof declares.

It's hard to think that the years in our life time as history. They are. I studied them in school, and children are studying my life time now. Learning history is important, and saving history for the future is just as important. Old photos, letters, and recollections are invaluable to us as a town. If you know someone that has lived in town for some time, talk to them, and learn about who we were. Better yet, turn on the video camera and record the stories for our children.

Recording our past is a wonderful thing, but we mustn't overlook the recent past. We may have lived it, but to our children, and theirs, it is as strange as the Depression is to me.

Next time your are rummaging around in the cellar, or up in the attic, look for little bits of Sturbridge, and if you find any, share them.

Besides having an "Old Village", we are also an old town, and preserving our past is not only our responsibility, but our children's heritage.

Maybe. Someday.

It's been two years. Two years since I sat down with Traffic Safety Committee, and expressed my concerns for the vehicle speeds on Route 148.

I didn't hear a word from the committee, or the Chief for one year. Then, I was contacted after I wrote about it. The radar speed detector was then placed on the road for a couple of weeks in each direction. I was told the information obtained was not the best (it was December, and snowy),and the radar board would be put out again in the spring of 2008. In mid June it was set up once again.

I wrote to the Chief about the data the speed board had obtained, and he asked for my telephone number so that he could review the data with me. It's been two months, and still no call.

I am a patient man. Too patient according to some, and I realize that things do get in the way. But, it's been two years.

I had originally asked that the first half mile to a mile of Route 148 be made a 30 MPH "Thickly Settled" zone, and I was told that they would have to go back into the old Mass Highway records to confirm the measurements between the houses. You see, in Massachusetts to be a Thickly Settled zone you have to have houses less than 200 feet apart for 1/4 mile.

To tell you the truth, I never did understand the rationale for going back into old Mass Highway records. I have a tape measure, and an odometer in my vehicle. I know the distance between the houses, and the mileage. It qualifies, but I could wait.

I had no choice.

Currently there are only yellow speed limit signs. According to the Mass General Laws, and the chief, yellow speed limit signs are merely suggestions, and unenforceable. A police officer can issue a ticket for driving at a speed that is not reasonable and proper for the road, or situation, but I have only seen a cruiser sitting on this section of Route 148 once. Once in two and a half years.

This past week alone I have witnessed vehicles traveling at greater than 60 MPH, especially heading north on Route 148. Some are going much faster. Much, much faster. Late yesterday afternoon, two motorcycles were coming up the road northbound when they began to accelerate. Suddenly, the lead bike popped a wheelie and held it past my house, the next house, and as far as I could follow him.

Great wheel stand. Inappropriate for the street, but nice. I listened for the engine to drift off in the distance. It did. There was no sudden loss of sound coming from that whining motorcycle. Thank God. If the sound had stopped it could only mean one thing. I've seen enough accidents.

I listen for that silence everyday on this road.

So, here's bottom line. I expressed my concern for the excessive speed some drive on the road to the Traffic and Safety Committee. The Chief took the ball. I spoke with my neighbors, and they all agree the speed limit needs to be set for a Thickly Settled zone, and more enforcement is needed. Whatever it takes, the Town needs to do it now. Not in two more years, or two more months.

Now.

There is going to be a tragedy on this road, and with school reopening, the chances that a newer driver will be involved will skyrocket.

I have written about this issue enough, and probally will again someday, but for now it is out of my hands. I have put it out there, here on this space, in person, and on the phone. The ball is now in the court of those in power to act, and they have not acted. Their choice, but it is on the record that they have been told. When something does happen on this road, and it will, I will not be an "I told you so".

They will already know.