Skating has officially opened in Newton Highlands at the rink in the Hyde Playground on Lincoln Street along with the rink in Lower Falls at Hamilton Field on Grove St.
John Rice encourages all to come skate but please consider leaving your hockey sticks at home.
The rink in the Highlands is sponsored but the Newton Highlands Area Council and Hyde Community Center. The Lower Falls rink is sponsored by the Lower Falls Community Development Corp.
UPDATED: Revised the photo to send the “right” message.
Groot, FWIIW you are sending a mixed message. You include John’s request to leave the hockey sticks home yet you include a picture with a young man holding a hockey stick. People who see the picture, read the headlines yet do not stop to read your message will be bringing hockey sticks to the rink.
@Patrick, you are correct. John sent me the first picture he had so it was “beggars can’t be choosers” 🙂 Now that people are warned feel free to shoo hockey players off the ice if you want some puck free skating time.
Groot, so John has created his own problem with hockey on the rink. And he made you the messenger. What is that old adage about do not shoot the messenger? I apologize. Maybe John can fix it.
Maybe the kid with the stick is standing there to shoo away anyone else who shows up with a stick.
Greg, your comment reminds me of another popular adage applicable in Newton politics: do as I say, not as I do.
Patrick: I was trying to think of a flip response but then thought about what you said and decided that I’m not sure I even agree with you.
I can’t think of examples where Newton politicians ask one thing of the public but do another. Can you? Can anybody?
Greg, given the picture for this thread has been changed, I would say at least one person, who works with you managing V14, agrees more with my initial comment than yours.
And since you asked for examples, we can start with the Zervas School Building Committee. While acting on behalf the School Committee and including both aldermen and SC members, they purported to ask for community input and concerns regarding the new Zervas, yet refused to even acknowledge and/or discuss the issue of the 490 student capacity / 24 classrooms design. That topic is at the core of the project from both what the SC is trying to accomplish and what is causing the most problems with a successful implementation within the neighborhood.
And I know you consider the small faux pas by our school superintendent and the SC this past summer to be anecdotal; however the TAB did award it the top Newton news story of 2014. So someone thought it was a big deal.
Plagiarism attacks the 4 stated values of NPS (Excellence, Innovation, Respect and Responsibility) on many levels. The SC places a lot of emphasis on the inappropriateness of plagiarism by our students. In the “Students’ Rights & Responsibilities Handbook 2014 – 2015” on page 8 (Section V – “RESPONSIBILITY FOR ACADEMIC HONESTY”) the NPS stipulates that “as early as second grade, teachers begin to explain to students the importance of using their own words when taking notes for a project, and the value of honesty in relaying information is reinforced at every level.”
So the primary NPS role model for our 12,503 students reluctantly acknowledges he committed plagiarism and receives a minor punishment. Why waste so much time, effort and money touting the evils of plagiarism if the SC does not hold an adult role model accountable?
That is two recent examples. Maybe as you request, others can offer examples.
@patrick: I was joking about the hockey stick, you knew that right?
As for your Zervas example I’m not seeing how that fits into “Do What I Say, Not What I Do.” Yeah, you wish they choose a different path. But it’s not like they built one school for themselves, and a different one for everybody else.
But the plagiarism thing? Absolutely. Perfect example.
Greg, sometimes I find it hard to tell if you are joking or being snarky. I guessed you were at least half-joking about the picture of the hockey player. My Newton politics reply was offered as half-joking and half-snarky. Then you asked for examples, and I got serious.
The ZSBC has made a big public show of soliciting input. They said they wanted input: in reality they would not accept any input on the most important factor of the project, its size. Their definition of accepting input is discussing topics that can mitigate the problems that will be caused by their unilateral decision to put an oversized 3 story building on a piece of property too small to handle it even with the additional 30,000 sq feet of eminent domain acquisitions. And before you say it was not eminent domain, the owners were given the choice of selling or being bought out by the city. I thought the SC was against bullying tactics around school property? Oh yeah, the student handbook regulations do not apply to adults.
The SC only cares about the educational aspect of the building. They do not care about the building’s impact on the community. To those of us who will not be using the educational programs within the building, the edifice equates to being a 3 story 80,000 sq ft apartment building (albeit with a different traffic problem). The level of their concern for the neighborhood can be demonstrated by the example that I was actually asked by a design team member what color the exterior should be. That was nice of him to ask given it will tower over the neighborhood. If you want a preview as to what is coming on Beethoven Ave. in 2016, check out the steel structure going up at Angier.
@Greg, An example of “Do What I Say, Not What I Do”: Clearing sidewalks of snow and ice. Here’s the sidewalk in front of NNHS on Jan. 7, 2013 — a couple of months after the snow ordinance went into effect. It looks like the rest of the sidewalks on Walnut were reasonably compliant with the clearing “36 inches or the width of the sidewalk.”
I teach at NNHS and am at a point in life where falling is to be avoided at all costs, per doctor’s orders. I’ve received assurances from the school that parking close to the entrance if snow/icy conditions make it unsafe to walk from a parking lot is an option. Thankfully, I’ve never had to request preferential parking because the walkways to the school are safe, even soon after a major storm.
It’s easy to find fault with any situation on a particular date and time, but over time, you grow to appreciate the efforts of others to make life a bit safer.
@Jane, while we have offered a ramp on to the rink for wheel chair access we have no parking provisions for skaters. Something we can think about for the future.
OK, me being snaky with off topic comments. Back to ice skating!
Bruce, over the almost 12 years I have been an alderman, the one constant has been complaints about the city not clearing its own sidewalks in front of public buildings, schools and other public facilities. A chronic, related problem is when the plows contracted by the city push snow into the handicapped access ramps at crosswalks.
The Fire Station in West Newton is a prime example. There is a bus stop at the intersection of Comm. Ave. and the sidewalk next to the fire station on Washington Street is inaccessible to pedestrian commuters every time it snows, sometimes for up to a week until it is cleared or the snow and ice melt. Pedestrians headed toward the Woodland Station on Washington Street are also forced to walk in the street in the right hand turn lane, which is particularly dangerous on the shortest days of the year when it is dark during the morning and evening rush hours. This is enough of a hardship for those who can walk, let alone for people who are mobility impaired or must use a wheelchair, walker or cane to get around.
Accessibility is a legal mandate under the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and any number of other federal, state and local laws. The city has been fined in the past for failure to comply with the ADA by not providing accessible sidewalks. Other municipalities have been fined or assessed damages for not clearing sidewalks so that they are accessible. Not clearing the sidewalks on city property unnecessarily exposes the city to liability to a civil money penalties and/or damages in a class action lawsuit.
The Ward 3 aldermen have been promised in the past that this situation would be rectified, so hopefully this winter those sidewalks will be cleared in a timely manner. Because, aside from the law, it is a serious, perhaps even a deadly accident just waiting to happen.
So Ted, you are agreeing with Bruce that at least up until now the city has said one thing with its snow ordinance and, in some public locations, has done something different? That was my point, which Greg questioned its validity by requesting examples. Based on your comment, the city has even incurred fines for not doing what it tells the residents to do with public walkways near our homes.
Patrick, to clarify, the city was fined for not having curb cuts and handicapped access ramps. However, the city is required by the ADA to remove snow from public walkways, with only isolated and temporary interruptions in accessibility. Here are meeting minutes of the Commission on Disability discussing the problems with snow removal.
Ted, thank you for the clarification regarding the fines. Your second paragraph does state ” the sidewalk next to the fire station on Washington Street is inaccessible to pedestrian commuters every time it snows, sometimes for up to a week until it is cleared or the snow and ice melt.” So my comment still appears to be valid.