BOS and Weston Committee

A theme it has become to me regarding the outdated practice of Town Meeting or TM in a community of 23,000 and counting. As I have stated on many occasions TM represents the “Purest form of special interest.”

At the BOS weekly stroll into the bizarre, mundane, humorous and problematic came the Weston Town Forest Committee on the agenda. The purpose of which was to bring forth to one and all the latest “opinion” by Middleboro’s own William J. Fallon or by his more common moniker – “The Great Mouthpiece.” More on “Billy Flynn” later.

John Knowlton, apparently, is under the assumption that TM is the end all for local decision making – and he is not alone. As the discussed moved forward, backwards and sidewards the local television audience was blessed with the appearance of Neil Rosenthal, who is usually described as a local businessman and former Selectman.

Pomposity is certainly well embedded into the framework of Neil (and other "Town Father's) as his main objective of removing himself from his home was to get another 15 minutes of local fame by dope slapping Bumpkin and to a lesser extent the Chair of the WTF or Weston Town Forrest Committee. Mr. Rosenthal is one of the handful of locals that look forward to TM as I do for the discounted rib eye at the local supermarkets. Another exercise for demonstrating the mastery of the rules of order and stepping forward to sound out on what apparently is some ire at the Bumpkin. Yawn!

In this instance, both Knowlton and Rosenthal missed the point. Missed is a rather understated term since this was tantamount to me shooting at a target at the local Rod & Gun Club and having the bullet land in North Dakota.

Both gentleman (I wish someone would apply the term to me) failed to realize that at TM both supported the recently failed police station or militant preservationist proposal. How did it go at TM? Well, it was similar to Tom Brady and the Patriots offense facing the Sisters of The Poor for 60 minutes. But there is more to it. On step two the real hoi polloi of Middleboro showed up and firmly euthanasiaed this puppy – if there is such an exotic use of the term or the word.

What really frosts me is the attempt by Neil to “school” our Chair. Yes – I am a board member of the committee. This was 100% uncalled for since Mr. Rosenthal was examining through a prism without any understanding. Stick to Bumpkin since that is a very large and well deserved target.

But back to the outside looking in. Our Chair was left without direction. The previous Chair had vacated the committee thanks to some type of internal strife that I still do not quite have my gossipy little paws around. Paperwork was about as easy to locate as former IRS Director Lerner’s emails. The archives for the committee simply are spotty at best.

Thankfully, our Chair was able to respond in a matter so school was out on that issue with Mr. Rosenthal getting an F on research and another F on manners. And since I have no manners I recognize them when violated.

Dan Murray had a rather interesting was of traversing from point A to point B on his interpretation of the whole dust-up and subsequent review of just how the Weston Will should and could be viewed. I will give – as much as it troubles me – to give Bumpkin his props on that. Bumpkin pointed out the one item that Murray has mastered and that being that nothing is more consistent than inconsistency for Billy Flynn.

I do not speak for the committee since I am one voice among many. Our Chair is the conduit for what will be the more public and official face. I do have opinions and will question to just what extent will Murray’s decision will be used as a framework for what the WTF group?

Disc Golf is a leisurely game or a sport that is relatively low impact. Passive? I doubt that, but it is active. Is Weston going to be limited to passive recreation only? If so that means my occasional trail run will be verboten. And horseback riding – a true trail destroyer – may be in the same category.

In a recent Bumpkin column he alluded to me and to a tip of the iceberg of research I had done on this subject. Numerous park managers were contacted for their input on the ecology issues, wild life impacts, tree damage and on and on. There is minimal impact.

Murray’s latest “decision” will (hopefully) not stop any subsequent chances for being the first Middleboro resident appointed to the SCOTUS, but it needs some clarification and some parameters so that the WTF and our overseers – the BOS – do not get bogged down in the occasional poorly thought out decisions that can be made.

Casino and other stuff

The casino issue continues on - much like a feline with nine lives or a vampire that cannot be killed. The latest in this lengthy saga is that Taunton will finally get a Native American/Indian/Indigenous People casino that will be a remarkable 500M addition to a city that is essentially dead in the water.

The plan is to place it on route 140 and that is, no doubt, a former Indian/Native American/Indigenous People trail that has some type of historical significance.

Cedric Cromwell - not to be confused with Oliver Cromwell - is the tribal spokesperson or is it leader? I’m sure there is a term somewhere to describe his skill set among this faux tribe. Anyways, Cromwell spoke at a love fest in Taunton recently with assorted pols in attendance to describe the wonders of it all.

Cromwell dismissed or minimized any potential lawsuits that will certainly hover around this latest resurrected effort by the faux tribe. They have claimed ancestral home over just about any open space in North America in an attempt to cash in. I’m sure Cromwell would even claim the Wamps are a lost tribe of Israel to get the coin.

One item of contention is Brockton. The citizens of Brockton are in favor (barely) of a casino. This will be at the site of the Brockton-Middleborough Agricultural Fair - or Brockton Fair Grounds.

Brockton actually makes Taunton resemble Manchester By The Sea. If you need cash just swept up shell casings after a night of random havoc in the former Shoe City and the scrap will make a mortgage payment.

I for one will miss the fair. Where else can I witness obese women in spandex outfits accompanied by their toothless and well tattooed biker “significant others.” Just the thrill of watching the assorted grifters that come into Brockton for the festival will be missed. Once this fair was actually a splendid event with freak shows, Kelly the Candyman, strip shows and rides that in this day and age would not pass inspection even if GM and VW were involved.

The fairgrounds - like most of Brockton - is now a seedy dump and that is being insulting to dumps everywhere. The casino is supposed to negate the morass Brockton has embraced and that is a pipe (not peace type) dream. Just let the city die its death with a few remaining enclaves of normalcy while those with any fiscal resources and sanity take flight.

The solution to this quagmire is to simply have Taunton and Brockton have their destination casinos. Forget the saturation as that has already happened. Let both build and both fail - which they will - and have someplace besides downtown Middleboro will haVE a passel of empty storefronts

Meanwhile Middleboro will examine the possibility of extracting cash from the “tribe” for long ago agreements. Good luck with that as the “tribe” would have difficulty finding two wooden nickels to rub together.

The latest in a list of proposed expenditures is a new or renovated high school. The current one is a bit shy of what standards are supposed to be for such an edifice. Science labs are outdated and mechanical and structural issues exist. That is just the beginning of all the needed high school infrastructure and, of course, I am sure the committee that is investigating this will show all the necessary data that will link a new building to improved student performance.

The drama continues with the BOS taking various pot shots - both public and private - at each other.

The Middleboro ladder truck cost one million dollars and I propose that now be the new unit of cost measurement for the town. If a new school cots 40M then the cost is 40 ladder trucks

The Red Sox have finished a miserable season with back-to-back last places seasons. The additions of Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval clearly show it is not how much money you spent, but how you spend it.