|
AIDING AND ABETTING?
Director Ed Herendeen acknowledges that West Virginia taxpayers help fund his Contemporary American Theater
Festival, which is why it is puzzling that he chose to stage "My Name Is Rachel Corrie ", a play written by
British citizens.
Contrary to a previous announment Oldunterrified will not be interviewing Herendeen on
this subject. In the editor's opinion, to share air time with anyone associated with this project is tatamount
to collusion with anti-Israel political fashionistas and with the International Solidarity Movement.
The latter advocates the use of violence against non-Palestinians and it counts Islamic jihaddist
terrorists among those who deserve support. It behooves WV taxpayers to examine
the allocation of their tax dollars.
The ed just sent the following e-mail to Town Hall,
Councilmen Ford and Wilson,
Might you share with my readers how would you have voted on the annexation of Rivendell?
Clara Castelar
Editor
shepherdstownteaparty group at Google
OLD UNTERRIFIED MISINFORMED ON NOISE ORDINANCE
MAYOR SETS HER STRAIGHT
Clara-- Please make an appt. to speak with me before you make your judgments. I believe there is some confusion
and misunderstanding. I have no designs on gutting our noise ordinance and I don't know why you would think so. I can be reached
through Amy at Town Hall. Please get in touch. Lance Dom
NOTE: THE MAYOR'S PERSONAL PHONE NUMBER HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM THE TEXT BY THE EDITOR.
OLD UNTERRIFIED'S RESPONSE TO THE MAYOR,
Lance,
My bad. I was unaware that the noise ordinance had been altered. When it was originally put in place,
there was debate about setting a time limit to loud noise. The consensus was that to allow it to occur at all would be to
penalize those who work night shifts and must sleep during the day, parents who tended a sick infant all night, sick people
whose diurnal rest is so necessary. My current info is that during the Wilson administration the ordinance was altered
to allow loud noises up to 9 P.M. In that case, I owe you an apology.
As for making an appointment with you, I would like
to remind you that I have addressed several questions to you and your colleagues by e-mail. None of them were answered. Tat
led me to conclude that you neither had the time nor the inclination to answer them. Furthermore, I hear that you have
allegedly attempted to intimidate women, verbally, in public meetings when the make comments and ask questions
you do not wish to hear. Should I meet with you I would request a taped interview to be conducted in the presence of witnesses.
Clara
Castelar
| 2008 Rolls Special Edition |
|
| Mine is bigger than yours. |
KNOW YOUR PUBLIC SERVANT
THIS, FROM THE NY TIMES, 6/1/2005,
"Tim Bryan builds illusions, designing million-dollar houses of at least 4,500 square feet. Mr. Bryan said
clients "want it to look like a house that's evolved over a century, to appear to have been lived in for 100 years or more,
with the look of having been added onto." To achieve the look, a Bryan house may have a section of brick and next to it one
of stone, then one of cedar shake.
With their price-pointed subdivisions, developers create pecking orders.
"We're all busy looking down on each other," said Neal Martineau,
74, a retired advertising man who last summer was getting ready to move from just outside Alpharetta to West Virginia. 'I'm better than you are and I'm going to show you.' It's a kind of bullying. It's architectural bullying. I'm
faking it here," Mr. Martineau said. "I have property that does not have enough meadow to feed a horse, but I call
it a horse farm."
"The car may be the most visible sign of status," he said. "My Mercedes is indicative
of who I am. I am also a bit of a fraud. I probably shouldn't have a Mercedes, but I'm happy to wear a Mercedes. It's
a way I have of making myself feel important, to have someone look at the best car on the road and know I'm in it."
DEATH OF A SMALL TOWN
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV 1738--2007
RIP
DEMOCRACY IS NOT FOR WIMPS
Last night, 10 April 2007, the Shepherdstown Town Council--with the exception
of Frank Salzano--once again demonstrated its intent to rule the community in a purely dictatorial fashion. Although seventy
five people, that is, approximately twenty five percent of those who voted in the previous municipal election signed
a petition requesting a referendum on the annexation Rivendell--the requirement is five percent. Three townspeople collected
these signatures on a cold Easter weekend when many residents were out town. How many would they have collected had
council members agreed to delay annexation? In an e-mail, newly appointed council member Neal Martineau claimed that "the
law (did) not allow a referendum in the Rivendell case." Which law? Marrtineau added that
"Make it like Old Shepherdstown," is his mantra for developers. One hopes he means a place with pretty houses,
but it might be helpful to remember that behind their facades much social injustice went on. Old Shepherdstown had some people
who affixed "White Pride" bumper stickers to their cars. Shepherdstown had a Men's Club women could not join; it
had a Fire Department that did not employ women; it had an all male, no minority police force;it had a bar where the barkeep
showed photos of a lynching to African-American Vietnam veterans who dared to think that since they fought for their
country they had the right to buy a drink at a local watering hole. It had some openly anti-Semitic folks. It was not
a peachy dream town in every aspect.
It was due to the efforts of good people--and there are still many of
them in Old Unterrified--there occurred some changes for the better. Now, a bunch of well-to-do newcomers apparently
wants to ram their misguided policies down the collective throat of the citizenry. They apparently want to create
a community where our children cannot afford to live. How many African Americans, elderly people on a fixed income, young
unemployed people will be able to hold on to their houses in face of the rising cost of services? How many African American
children who grew up in the East End will be able to live in Rivendell?
It seems that this municipal administration
intends to squeeze out the poor and the lower middle class, leaving only their elitist ilk in the historic district
and in their Smartcode neighborhoods. How will that that come about? Sewer and water bill is going up fifteen
percent, only months after the most recent hike. Watch what happens as the town tries to provide water and sewer
services to Rivendell. Again, how are the disadvantaged, the unemployed, the elderly on fixed incomes be able to pay for Town
Council's undemocratic excesses?
As for our townparents' regard for historic preservation and a sound ecology, watch
what happens as builders begin blasting at the Rivendell site. Shepherdstown, conveniently, has no limited
blasting ordinances. What will blasting for the sixty some houses at Rivendell affect existing residences? Will
possible damage increase housing value in the eastern section of town, which includes an important local landmark, theThomas
Shepherd Grist Mill? What will be the effect of sixty some cars pouring into already congested High Street? How will
fire trucks and ambulances access Mill Street at rush hour as Rivendell traffic blocks High Street? Will Mill Street
residents have helicopter services funded with the 50k Rivendell's developer offered Town Council, no questions asked?
I
challenge townspeople to speak out during public meetings, though we know that speaking out is to court public humiliation.
Ask our elected officials about poorly publicized meetings held at noon though the norm has ever been evening meetings. Ask
about abrupt cancellations and confusing last minute changes of venue. Ask about their Town Planning retreats, which
is a good way to circumvent Sunshine laws. Ask them who empowered them to suspend a noise ordinance put in place years
ago with the help of the EPA. Ask them what will they do next, suspend laws that make punching people on the nose
a criminal offense? Declare war on Liberia? Harbor ecoterrorists? Farfetched as these possibilities seem to be so was
annexation without representation farfetched.
I urge townsple not to abdicate their rights as a citizens regardless of what
town officials and developers label you. Organize, write letters, call the media, the ACLU,
the WV Ethics Commission, Amnesty International, the UN, mom, anyone who might join the good fight.
Let officials some folks are calling by unpretty names shout at you at meetings, call you selfish, bump you
off committees, say that they know better. Let them try to dismiss you as a crank. But refuse to be intimidated.
Roar back. Power belongs to the people, which, by the way, includes minority women.
For all their moaning about their unappreciated hard work they do for you, Town
Council members have chosen to be public servants. You pay their salaries. Take no nonsense about how little that
salary is. Many folks in town would count themselves lucky to have that much disposable income. Voice your dissent, question,
participate. Those are your sacred rights and obligations as American citizens. Remember, democracy is not for
wimps. "
Clara Castelar
Editor
www.oldunterrified.org
|
| Who needs laws? |
NOTE: PLEASE SEE ABOVE CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE MAYOR. ALLEGEDLY, IT WAS THE PETER WILSON
ADMINISTRATION THAT GUTTED THE NOISE ORDINANCE. STAY TUNED FOR DETAILS.
10 April 2007--Tonight, at a special meeting at the Entler Hotel, Town Council vited to accept the proposal
to annex the Hurney property. Approximately twentyfive percent of voters who participated in the most recent municipal
election had signed a a petition for referendum, but Town Council chose to ignore it. Council member Frank
Salzano cast the only dissenting vote. Friends of Shepherdstown vow to move on to Phase II of of the struggle for
representation.
|
| Plus ca change... |
WHO SAID THAT?
"You must know there are two ways of contesting, the one by the law, the other by force; the first method is proper to
men, the second to beasts; but because the first is frequently not sufficient, it is necessary to have recourse to the second.
Therefore it is necessary for a prince to understand how to avail himself of the beast and the
man. "
THAT SO?
"because fortune is a woman, and if you wish to keep her under it is necessary
to beat and ill-use her; and it is seen that she allows herself to be mastered by the adventurous rather than by those
who go to work more coldly. She is, therefore, always, woman-like, a lover of young men, because they are less cautious, more
violent, and with more audacity (bold, daring) command her. "
|
| Oh say, can you say "apparatchik?" |
Robespierre, our very naughty copy editor has been suitably chastised for inserting the
following item,
"'ORWELLIAN OR WHAT?
In effort to continue the dialogue with Town Hall, the ed followed the bread-and-butter
e-mail to Mr. Martineau with the following response,
"On second reading, brilliant piece of obfuscation. Kudos on the double-speak, no bouquets
for civism.
Raw land indeed, do these guys think townspeople are stupid?'"Clara
Castelar, editor accepts responsiblity for the post, but she wonders whether to send Robespierre to the gulag or straight
to the paredon.
|
| Robespierre, former samidzat journalist in disguise, on his way to the gulag. |
This also from Mr. Martineau, who is, by the way, a newly appointed Town Council member,
At 09:38 AM 4/10/2007, you wrote:
Dear Ms. Castelar,
Thank you for orienting me regarding your credentials
and your blog
and your long history as a citizen of my favorite town on earth.
I arrived here myself
only three years ago but have been coming to
Shepherdstown off and on for forty two years because my wife
was born
and raised in Hagerstown, and we had friends here. It is such a richly
beautiful town not only
architecturally but because of its diversity
of people that both my wife and I independently kept the idea
of
coming here in our late middle age to enjoy the rest of our days
embedded in the town.
We bought
a cranky old house on New St. and have spent three years
restoring her and her garden. I have poked my nose everywhere:
I am
doing a video for the music department of the college, my own video of
night club dancing at Tony's,
I go anywhere where two guitars are
making music, from the Mech to Men's Club to Train Station and now,
mike
nights at Blue Moon. I have friends all up and down the social
strata here, young and old, every possible national
origin. You, being
from South America, probably know Hope Maxwell Snyder and her mother,
who are not only
neighbors but friends. Hope is my favorite lady
poetess and has convinced me to write and read my own poetry on
Sundays at Sheherezade.
I have the time and now immerse myself in the fascinating job of
trying
to plan for the future of our town. I am not against having it
grow in a compact manner next to its current borders.
I am against
having it grow into a town with nothing but town houses in a
barrack-like ring around it.
My vision is to have any new
Shepherdstown designed and built to look very much like Historic Old
Shepherdstown,
with its web of walkable, narrow, tree lined streets
and its mix of diverse architecture and housing types, in including
a
mix of commercial spaces like German St. I believe if you Googled
SmartCode and Duany Platek Zyberg
and Seaside, you would see what I
mean. SmartCode towns are built to look like Shepherdstown, since old
"Main
St." towns all across our country were in fact models for the
first SmartCode towns.
My mantra to any new
developer in the future who applies for
annexation or for subdivision approval be told (not asked, but told)
to "Make It Look Like Old Historic Shepherdstown.:
I would be much obliged if you informed your blog audience of
this.
There are a number of my fellow citizens who share my belief.
Unfortunately,
the law does not permit a referendum in the casae of
the Rivendell application for annexation. But SmartCode
is built on
public input from Charettes held way before designing begins, which is
even better than a
referendum because it asks townspeople what they
want before design begins, and not just a yes or no vote on a design
that is already complete.
It is my educated guess right now that most townspeople are not
opposed
to Shepherdstown growing larger, but would insist that when it
does grow, it grows to "Look Like Old Shepherdstown."
If
you disagree with this vision, by all means do so. But when you do,
please be fair to the Like Old Shepherdstown
vision so we can have a
lively informed debate rather than hurling destructive half-truths
back and forth.
I
suspect I will meet you in person soon. Please come to our town
meeting at the Entler tonight at 6:30 and introduce
yourself.
Best regards,
Neal Martineau
The ed's response,
Mr. Martineau,
Thank you for your messages. I think that you will agree that there is much more involved in tonight's
meeting than a raw piece of land. According to the information I have, Town Council does not have to give townspeople a chance
to choose whether or not to annex this raw piece of land upon which a developer intends to place houses. However, the petition
seems to be a good indication of how townspeople feel. The media will report on on it and folks will wonder whether
Town Council intends to honor its mandate to represent the people or not.
It is not my intention to denigrate you or anyone
else. I do think that by referring to the Hurney proposal for annexation as you did, is to insult townspeople's intelligence.
If it is simply a matter of raw land, why are the developers so intent in having the town annex it? Why not leave as raw land?
Why offer Town council money to be used at its discretion? Have you considered, for example, the effect blasting will have
on nearby residences? Can those houses which will be built on Hurney land be built without blasting? Does smart code
compensate present homeowners for devaluation caused by the effects of blasting? Have you thought of the traffic pattern on
Mill and High Streets and how it will be changed once construction begins at Rivendell? If my comments seem caustic to you,
please consider how unresponsive and high handed Council has been to independent media, how sarcastic arrogant and overbearing
its attempts to gag anyone who questions its decisions--particularly women, particularly minority women. I think you
understand that townspeople are not obligated to accept your vision. Your debate is not with me alone. It is with the
entire town. If town officials treat those who put them in office with respect, that respect will be reciprocated. Shepherdstown
had a long history of good manners before the likes of Mayor Pete Wilson began the dictatorial strut toward a monolithic government.
If citizens are treated as idiots who have no right to speak in public meetings, they will protest--protest is a cherished
American tradition, do you not agree? You have taken the first step to open up a dialogue and I applaud you for it.
Respectfully,
Clara
Castelar
More from Mr. Martineau,
Ms. Castelar, please see the email I just wrote you. I do hope it
doesn't read as brilliant obfuscation. If anything, I believe I have a
clear vision for the town and have no trouble communicating it. In
fact, there are examples of my vision in over 30 cities and towns that
have been built the SmartCode way.
If your purpose is to write a blog to denigrate me, then our dialogue
will come to an abrupt end. But if you are ready to debate without
personal attacks, I will be happy to do so.
Respectfully,
Neal Martineau
This, just in from Town Hall-
|
From: "nmartineau@frontiernet.net" <nmartineau@frontiernet.net>
To: richtext@frontiernet.net Subject: |
Dear Richtext,
I am one of the Town Councilmen who receives forwarded messages sent
to town. Your questions are important to ask and it is specified in
our laws that we ask them and get professional answers. Any studies we
need will be paid for by the44e applicant.
Right now, we are dealing with the question of annexation of twenty
acres of raw land. We are not annexing 65 townhouses, not approving 65
townhouses, not even considering 65 townhouses. The newspapers have
made it appear that we are considering 65 townhouses. We are not
annexing any houses of any sort. We are annexing raw land. The 65
townhouses are only a rough sketch of roughly what the applicant
thinks our current zoning laws allow. This sketch will most likely be
entirely scrapped.
If this administration is successful in its ambitions, the town will
have a lot more to say about exactly what the twenty acres will look
like when buildings are built on them. Far more to say than our laws
now allow.
The applicant has already learned the Town Council is not in favor
of 65 townhouses. When a suitable plan for the twenty acres is agreed
upon between Town and applicant, it will be vetted by all the
measurements you are asking for and many you are not aware of, paid
for by the applicant.
I respectfully ask that your blog take a deep breath before you make
assumptions about fellow citizens who serve you and work for you on
your Town Council. We have no intention that I know of to buy any pigs
in any pokes anywhere any time soon.
Neal Martineau
This, from source with much experience in town government,
"Development of the type you are talking about succeeds partly because the developer can pass some of his costs
onto society at large. In this case, the costs of furnishing water and sewerage service to the new houses will be borne
mostly by everybody else who now is a subscriber to those services. In due time, theoretically the residents of the
new houses will make up that cost through paying their own regular utility bills, which also will be higher because of the
costs they, themselves, added to the system, but it takes a long time. Meanwhile, the developer pockets his profit and
is gone. The name of the game in development is: pass as many of your costs as possible to someone else.
In this case: 1. If the area was NOT annexed, how would sewerage service be provided?
2. What about sewerage service if it is annexed? 4. Same for water service. 5. Has the Town analyzed the
cost of providing those services? 6. Do the town sewer and water plants have the capacity to serve the new houses?
7. What would it cost to expand the sewer and water plants, if they do not have sufficient excess capacity to accommodate
the new houses? 8. How will the expansion be paid for? (Don't let them get by with vague statements about getting
a State grant or something. Ask them what provision they have ALREADY made for financing the expansion.) 9. What
about other services like police. Do we need to hire more officers if the town area expands? Who will pay? 10. Finally,
has the Town really analyzed this annexation so that it knows exactly what benefits it will bring to the town in terms
of additional tax revenue versus how much additional costs to the Town government and to the Townsfolk who are rate payers
for swer and water? For every dollar we get in new tax revenue, how many dollars will it cost? That is always
the bottom line. If they have no answer, they are not ready to annex. They are asking the townsfolk to accept
a pig in a poke. The townsfolk should at least have a right to express themselves through a plebiscite."
| Don't know #70? You a newcomer? |
|
| Kropotkin won more votes than the greyhound, #70. |
According to one of our sources,when questioned about implement projects before Town Council voted on them, Councilperson
Frank Salzano responded,
"Democracy is dead, " adding that he that he intends to vote with the party.
It behooves Salzano to tell the public which monolithic regime he has in mind as a replacement for the poor
old dead democratic system that put him in office.
Reportedly, Salzano recently organized a dinner--at thirty five bucks a plate--to show appreciation for Mayor
Lance Dom. His show of loyalty to the mayor raises the question of whom exactly does he represents--his
own interests, Dom's, or those of thevoters?
Another interesting question is that of Salzano's investment in a community that, as he said during his
campaign, he plans to leave once he graduates from college. Why should he fight to protect a place where he does not intend
to put down roots? Being the youngest council member in town adds glitz to his resume regardless of how much or how little
he does to adequately represent those who placed him in office. Oldunterrified sources report that Salzano likes to
boasts that he garnered the largest number of votes in the election though that honor actually goes Councilperson
Wanda Grantham-Smith. Does he feel that public has the right to know the truth? Clara Castelar
Oldunterrified just sent this e-mail to Council Person Frank Salzano,
Mr. Salzano,
I publish a web zine about Shepherdstown and in my capacity as editor, I have
directed several queries to Town Council on issues of interest to townspeople. Do you feel that you and your colleagues are
accountable to your constituents? You do respond to reporters from the commercial media. Do you care to let my readers
know why you do not respond to the questions I ask on their behalf?
Yours,
Clara Castelar
Editor
|
