Special
Town Meeting October 23, 2013 Part 1
Special
Town Meeting October 23, 2013 Part 2
Dressing up town meeting talk
By George Barnes, TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
gbarnes@telegram.com
In town meetings these days, with every member of the public feeling empowered, a lot of the discussion is as endless and confusing as the sharp cries of a murder of crows.
And a bit annoying.
But there are some people — clever, witty people — who know how to catch the attention of the crowd.
I'm thinking of this the day after another in this year's long series of Templeton town meetings, or what I refer to as "Aaaaaaaaaa!!!!! and "Iieeeeeeeeeee!!!!!" and other things not fit for a family newspaper. Because of a great divide in the town, the meetings over the past year or so have been worrisome. Lately my survival strategy is to look for amusing anecdotes I can post on Facebook.
Wednesday night, I found a few Coup de Villes hiding in the bottom of the town meeting Cracker Jack box.
Going into the meeting, I was prepared to hear people endlessly making Red Sox references and jokes. I figured that would be the best I could get.
People always make jokes about sports teams that are playing during town meeting. But the meeting Wednesday night was strangely devoid of amusing Red Sox jokes, and I was afraid I would fall asleep and start snoring.
As a reporter, I love clever use of words. I hope someday to be as clever as some, but for now I just admire how they grab an audience with a quick turn of phrase. Fancy word play keeps a meeting moving and the audience engaged.
At the town meeting, voters were subjected to yet another round of rancor, this time involving a wrestling match over what building should serve as a town hall, a former brake factory at 252 Baldwinville Road or the former East Templeton Elementary School.
Dana Blais, a supporter of 252 Baldwinville Road, almost caused me to burst out laughing when he said fixing the elementary school was like putting a Brooks Brothers suit on Abraham Lincoln. Descriptive language like that often wins over voters. It didn't in Mr. Blais' case, but he tried.
Lincoln, for those not familiar with history, was a bit rumpled. He probably never wore a Brooks Brothers suit.
In making his case, Mr. Blais said the Baldwinville Road building made the most sense, but he and other supporters were butting heads against supporters of the elementary school.
"To me that place is a mold factory," Mr. Blais said of the elementary school.
The truth is every building in Templeton is a mold factory, someone noted. The town has a high water table in many areas, causing mold in cellars. Templeton should be called Moldeton, but the comment caught the attention of voters. Many still remember the town tearing down Otter River Elementary School because it was so infested with mold it couldn't be cleaned. There is nothing in Templeton that scares people more than mold, other than possibly seeing Abraham Lincoln wandering around town in a Brooks Brother suit.
What may have defeated Mr. Blais' side of things was Peter Farrell, an opponent of renovating the former factory. He was quick to counter the Blais turns of phrase by glibly saying that putting lipstick on the ugly former factory would not accomplish what is needed.
The meeting ended with the town no closer to a town hall. The Baldwinville Road project was not restarted, and the only decision on the elementary school was not to sell it. Really the two buildings are not exactly what people would imagine as a town hall. Lipstick would not do much for them, even if it were an interesting color. They are probably better than the pallet factory Templeton now occupies as a town hall, but I think they are both as ugly as Abraham Lincoln wearing a pinstripe shirt and a Yankees cap.
Contact George Barnes at george.barnes@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @georgebarnesTG.
Down hear on the lower forty we stopped reading the Worcester Telegram a few years ago because of all the disinformation and stories that lacked substance. Young George looks like he hit the nail on the head with this story and has us all laughing. Maybe its time to take a second look at that paper if we can get some real news thats got substance. Nice job Mr. Barnes!
ReplyDeleteGeorge is someone I consider a friend, but I have been disappointed with his lack of attention to what is taking place in the town he says he cares for. I had a good friend from Hubbardston who wrote for the Telegram years ago. He would not have ignored what was going on under his nose. One day I asked George if he read the blog. He said no. I told him that was why he did not know what was going on in his own town. The way I deal with it is if all he got out of that meeting was a couple of cute phases he felt comfortable commenting on, oh well. I think he has missed a great opportunity to report on the biggest con job of a small community, that just happened to go on under his nose, and that is really sad. Bev.
ReplyDeleteLower forty, sometimes you just boggle my mind !! Not writing the real story does no one any good. Jerry told people who attended that meeting it would only cost us poor saps 130,000 a year, but no one asked how many years !! Try another of his 30 year loans, or maybe 40 !! This is the reason we have no money to spend, plus the huge amount of interest we have dished out as well. If lower forty feels this is a way to do business, that is sad because we will continue to throw good money away. We do not have much to show for our tax dollars, and as long as we pay long term things will not change. How creditable are these people when they can carry on about "mold" in E.T., when the rooms tapes off at 252 were much worse?? Thankfully there are people who have the good sense to make good decisions, and will stand up for what is good for the town. Bev.
DeleteJust for the record, I did not say a word to Virginia at the STM. She was yelling at me. I guess she did not like it when I had said she needed to stop saying things that were not true about E.T. We had a mold problem, it is gone! E.T. will be mold free as long as it is taken care of.. This is a far cry from a uncontrollable problem Ms. Wilder wants everyone to think it is. I guess the moderator could not tell what was going on, so he was yelling also. I did not say a word. Bev.
DeleteOne error, Lincoln, was wearing a new Prince Albert coat, waistcoat, trousers and overcoat from Brooks Brothers when he was assassinated. The overcoat is displayed for six months each year at Fords Theatre.
ReplyDelete