Above: The Burnett House at sunrise, one year ago this week. (Photo contributed by Allan Bezanson. To get a better look, click here.)
It’s time for another open thread. What’s on your mind this week, Southborough?
For those of you new to the blog, the open discussion thread is your place to ask questions, sound off on town issues, or share information with other readers. Here are some suggestions to get you started:
- Ask questions about programs in town or the town itself
- Post a note about things that you’re selling or giving away, or things that you want
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- Point out interesting or helpful resources
You can add comments to the thread throughout the week. Check back often to see new comments. (If you read the blog via email or RSS, you might want to check the site from time to time for new comments.)
To view past open discussion threads, click here.
In the likely event that you find yourself trying to be optimistic about the future of our country but having a hard time finding good reasons to support that optimistic outlook, you might be happy to discover that there is a movement in the colleges among bright young intelligent students who belong to one of two complimentary organizations which are growing rapidly.
One is called http://www.studentsforliberty.org which began in 2008 and now has close to sixty regional conferences in this country and around the world and is on over 1000 campuses. The other is called http://www.YALiberty.org or Young Americans For Liberty on over 600 campuses with over 250 thousand students.
Both are allied with many other pro individual freedom organizations and both are growing exponentially with the prospect of reaching into the millions at the rate they are growing.
They are reading books which enlighten them, discuss issues and ideas in the dorms which are not being taught by the professors in the colleges because of the liberal bias which prevail.
They are thrilled to be aware of the success of the movement and have reason to be optimistic about the outlook for their future.
You ought to explore their websites and consider a modest donation to help the cause.
So I saw someone post about a town that has a “Internet Purchase” meeting point in a space by the police station. There is a sign that says..”Internet Purchase Exchange Location. This area is under surveillance.” Think I should ask the police/town hall about doing this? Where should I start?
Southborough already has one!
The SPD announced the launching of a safe transaction zone this past summer. It is in their parking lot. Click here for the post.
For the last several weeks there have been two sandwich board signs at the entrance/exit of Town Center Plaza. It is very difficult to see oncoming traffic when exiting left (South on 85). There are also two other signs that are not directly at the exit but when combined with the sandwich boards signs make it dangerous.
I contacted the management company who said the Yama Fuji sign has been up since summer and they have not received any complaints. That is one of the signs further down. I again said it was really the sandwich board signs not the other two. They said they would have the property manager check it out and move them if he thought it was a problem. The signs have not moved! Any suggestions, short of moving them myself?
I would reach out to the Building Commissioner about the zoning for it. If it’s allowed, I don’t think there’s much you can do. If it isn’t allowed, I imagine it will be addressed.
Building/zoning department: http://www.southboroughtown.com/buildingzoning-department
Or perhaps it can be addressed right here in the Blog, if the owners of the Town Center Plaza are reading, they are now aware that drivers feel these signs are obstructing drivers’ views and a request has been made to remove them. If any future car accident or pedestrian harm occurs at this location due to their failure to remove these objects, perhaps they share in the liability.
This can also be said of the owners of the signs/advertisers. Mary, do not get out and remove them for your own safety please.
Mary
You were not real specific about where the signs are. The town owns a strip of land that is about 8 ft from the edge of the pavement. If the signs are in this area they are on town property and it would be perfectly reasonable to call Karen at the DPW and tell her that there is some stuff there that is obstructing the view and ask her to pick it up.
If it is further back then it is on private property. Your recourse is different. Next time you visit a merchant in that complex you might mention that you might not be coming back because of this hazard. Nothing gets results like an appeal to the pocket book.
Add me to the list of drivers that wants these signs moved 15ft further back from the road. You cannot see the oncoming traffic when trying to pull out. I think it was DD that was in my view last time.
In previous years, there has been an outdoor ice skating rink setup in front of the Woodward school, but it appears missing this year. What happened? Does anyone know of other outdoor (free) skating areas that are available in town? Has it even been cold enough for the ice to be usable (I’m not really complaining about that).
I checked in with the rec dept. They confirmed that uncooperative weather is the culprit this year. They hope they’ll be able to offer it again next winter.
As for skating this year, I was reminded that St. Mark’s School does offer some free skate times. Most are in the past, but there is one more session coming up 2/16-2/20. You can see the schedule here.