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Messages - DrewCrash
46
« on: January 29, 2010, 10:50:26 PM »
agreed. KMart got sloppy and it helped Wal-Mart gain massive amounts of market share in the retail industry. Caldor, Ann&Hope, Ames, Zayres, Service Merchandise, Circuit City, Lechmere, and Bradless all faltered in one way or another as national and regional chains. And in the end, the growing Wal-Mart out of Arkansas expanded and consumed market share. The revolt is that people want options which Wal-Mart took away as being so good. KMart cleaned up. They got much better and bought Sears for pete's sake. But their reputation was damaged with shoppers who didn't go back. Target saw the opening and I think they recognized that Wal-Mart was a little 'trashy, dirty, or sloppy' and they are present clean crisp stores with a nice 'atmosphere' to them. Their logo is even appealing. There must be certain people who get paid a lot of money to recognize shopper psychology. Ultimately I agree that they are the same stores, with one being cleaner and presented nicer inside. Shoppers fall for that, but that's what I like. Either way, still thankful for a Wal-Mart. And yes, supporting local is still good. I buy everything I possible can from J&L; Fairfax Pharmacy; haircut in town too; and I always make a point to fill my gas up at one of the three gas stations. And yes, my car is also exclusively worked on by Rainville's. But sometimes you just need something you can't get locally, like vacuum sealed bags, rubbermaid/tupperware, some new DVDs or video games, low cost/high quality infant formula made in Georgia, VT...
47
« on: January 29, 2010, 06:42:27 PM »
Chris: I'd love to talk more and I'd love to sit down and provide true statistical analysis, of which can not be completed without open book data from FCSD. I am a firm believer in statistics and it has a place in government and public policy. As much as we trust our FCSD, myself included, it doesn't make them immune from the citizens of Fairfax demanding improved service and holding them accountable for the improvement. and quite frankly, I don't think there is anyone who is going to take this initiative.
48
« on: January 29, 2010, 05:05:14 PM »
In regards to my green tea, keep your hands away from it!
49
« on: January 29, 2010, 04:23:47 PM »
Agreed.
50
« on: January 29, 2010, 04:15:32 PM »
great photos. thanks for sharing.
51
« on: January 29, 2010, 03:32:22 PM »
back on topic: the following was something I posted on a different thread Chris Santee and I were having regarding which yarn is best to use to make mittens out of. It belongs here and is very well on topic.
I believe a dedicated police department is not required and this is what I believe is the problem / opportunity for improvement:
I actually have a very specific ideas on this topic to double the coverage to not exceed 80 hours a week, and am confident that it could be well executed with minimum to no impact on the taxpayer. The plan would require a review of the current scheduling process of how and when the Sheriff's office is present in town and the end plan could very well be done with possible 60 hours.
I know there are solid solutions to navigate through this event by providing cost downs in our largest expense, the school department. I am not going to share my plan publicly on this message board, in order to be prevent confrontation and arguments to erupt. If you have noticed from my more recent posts, I am trying to bring humor to the boards in order to defuse emotional anger towards each others comments.
I will say this though, the mere mention of a cost down initiative from the school department is likely to spark enough debate. I believe we could easily find $80,000 to support doubling our patrol coverage. And before anyone attacks me for being anti-school let me state the following: I was an education major, my wife is a teacher, and I would even support an increased property tax rate for Fairfax to have a full-time preschool / kindergarten options.
What I truly believe is missing, is an acceptance to the fact that the Sheriff's office is a supplier to the town of Fairfax. As a supplier, there needs to be improved supplier management driven by continuous improvement processes that should be led by appointments from the town selectmyn to a community police board. As I am confident that the town is likely managing the Sheriff's department to an extent and likely has good communication with the department, it is not transparent enough to the citizens of Fairfax. I look at the Committee for the community center and my thoughts aside on this topic, they are doing an excellent job at communicating, opening themselves up to input by all, and running a truly transparent operation. I believe the school department and its programs as well do an excellent job at this too, as does our amazing volunteer fire department. The FCSD is completely absent when compared to the other two pillars (fire, school) that are critical to our town's success as a community.
I am, in no way, advocating for a full-time police department at this time. I truly believe increased patrols, improved communication between FCSD and increased accountability through a community police board will help drive improvement and eliminate the concerns that continue to be vocalized by the residents. We all know the FCSD is more than capable and able to meet our needs, but we should not ignore our rights to be able to hold this department accountable to the standards we require for our community.
I will ask this simple question, do residents of Fairfax believe that speeding is an issue throughout our community and we would like to see a reduction in this? I believe the answer is yes. In review of the Sheriff's web page, they publish the list of traffic violation citations per month. What the information does not share with you, is how many of these violations were generated from a single traffic stop. In addition, you can see that we go from months in which there were only 3 violations for the entire month to 26 violations the next month. Why such a large delta month to month? What statistical analysis is being done here? Officer on duty? Time of day? etc...
I see a statistical problem when you look at the standard deviation in the month to month # of tickets being issued. How do we have months of 3, 5, & 7 and then other months of 25 and 26? Are you telling me we only speed that much in July and October but not in May or June? The FCSD is issuing one citation every 12 hours. Once again, we all know we can get multiple citations on a single traffic stop. But still, one every 12 hours? Is our crime rate that bad in which the other 11 hours they are solving the great dilemmas of Fairfax? Speed traps can not solely be set up at the car wash!
I don't mean to focus on one single problem, but I am trying to highlight the need for accountability. It makes no sense we can a have a month with only 3 - THREE - traffic citations and another month with 26. This makes ABSOLUTELY no sense. That month, the FCSD issued a ticket every 57.77 hours. Are you kidding me? In that same month, there was 8 listed incidents and 2 arrests (one of which was excessive speed in which had to have been one of the 3 traffic citations.) What was the FCSD doing the entire month?
I just don't accept the notion that there job is to solely patrol. There needs to be more enforcement and if we don't think there aren't opportunities for improvement on 104, 104A, Buck Hollow Road, Carroll Hill Road, Fletcher Road (& others) then we are simply tossing our money away by not holding more accountability. This is not a knock against the individual staff members, nor is it a knock against their abilities, but merely an observation that there are discrepancies that should and need to be addressed.
52
« on: January 29, 2010, 03:29:37 PM »
@ Mummy: Will you please advise where I can find these instructions? I was not aware there were instructions. Please note, I am being serious. I like to follow instructions and was not aware of them.
53
« on: January 29, 2010, 03:24:26 PM »
I'm not quite sure banning alcohol is the solution here.
I am being sarcastic!
54
« on: January 29, 2010, 03:23:09 PM »
Chris - I actually have a very specific ideas on this topic to double the coverage to not exceed 80 hours a week, and am confident that it could be well executed with minimum to no impact on the taxpayer. The plan would require a review of the current scheduling process of how and when the Sheriff's office is present in town and the end plan could very well be done with possible 60 hours.
I know there are solid solutions to navigate through this event by providing cost downs in our largest expense, the school department. I am not going to share my plan publicly on this message board, in order to be prevent confrontation and arguments to erupt. If you have noticed from my more recent posts, I am trying to bring humor to the boards in order to defuse emotional anger towards each others comments.
I will say this though, the mere mention of a cost down initiative from the school department is likely to spark enough debate. I believe we could easily find $80,000 to support doubling our patrol coverage. And before anyone attacks me for being anti-school let me state the following: I was an education major, my wife is a teacher, and I would even support an increased property tax rate for Fairfax to have a full-time preschool / kindergarten options.
What I truly believe is missing, is an acceptance to the fact that the Sheriff's office is a supplier to the town of Fairfax. As a supplier, there needs to be improved supplier management driven by continuous improvement processes that should be led by appointments from the town selectmyn to a community police board. As I am confident that the town is likely managing the Sheriff's department to an extent and likely has good communication with the department, it is not transparent enough to the citizens of Fairfax. I look at the Committee for the community center and my thoughts aside on this topic, they are doing an excellent job at communicating, opening themselves up to input by all, and running a truly transparent operation. I believe the school department and its programs as well do an excellent job at this too, as does our amazing volunteer fire department. The FCSD is completely absent when compared to the other two pillars (fire, school) that are critical to our town's success as a community.
I am, in no way, advocating for a full-time police department at this time. I truly believe increased patrols, improved communication between FCSD and increased accountability through a community police board will help drive improvement and eliminate the concerns that continue to be vocalized by the residents. We all know the FCSD is more than capable and able to meet our needs, but we should not ignore our rights to be able to hold this department accountable to the standards we require for our community.
I will ask this simple question, do residents of Fairfax believe that speeding is an issue throughout our community and we would like to see a reduction in this? I believe the answer is yes. In review of the Sheriff's web page, they publish the list of traffic violation citations per month. What the information does not share with you, is how many of these violations were generated from a single traffic stop. In addition, you can see that we go from months in which there were only 3 violations for the entire month to 26 violations the next month. Why such a large delta month to month? What statistical analysis is being done here? Officer on duty? Time of day? etc...
I see a statistical problem when you look at the standard deviation in the month to month # of tickets being issued. How do we have months of 3, 5, & 7 and then other months of 25 and 26? Are you telling me we only speed that much in July and October but not in May or June? The FCSD is issuing one citation every 12 hours. Once again, we all know we can get multiple citations on a single traffic stop. But still, one every 12 hours? Is our crime rate that bad in which the other 11 hours they are solving the great dilemmas of Fairfax? Speed traps can not solely be set up at the car wash!
I don't mean to focus on one single problem, but I am trying to highlight the need for accountability. It makes no sense we can a have a month with only 3 - THREE - traffic citations and another month with 26. This makes ABSOLUTELY no sense. That month, the FCSD issued a ticket every 57.77 hours. Are you kidding me? In that same month, there was 8 listed incidents and 2 arrests (one of which was excessive speed in which had to have been one of the 3 traffic citations.) What was the FCSD doing the entire month?
I just don't accept the notion that there job is to solely patrol. There needs to be more enforcement and if we don't think there aren't opportunities for improvement on 104, 104A, Buck Hollow Road, Carroll Hill Road, Fletcher Road (& others) then we are simply tossing our money away by not holding more accountability. This is not a knock against the individual staff members, nor is it a knock against their abilities, but merely an observation that there are discrepancies that should and need to be addressed.
55
« on: January 29, 2010, 01:15:20 PM »
Please ignore the fact that there appears to be a beer in hand of my profile picture, and please ignore the fact that it appears I might be wearing a football jersey and could potentially be in the stands at a sporting event. I don't want to be seen as hypocritical to my fight against a sports bar. I am actually at the Dali Llama's speaking event at Gillette Stadium and I am wearing a traditional Tibetan robe drinking a nice ice cold green tea.
56
« on: January 29, 2010, 01:11:20 PM »
Wasnt necessarily looking for a "sports bar", that would be great and all but highly unexpected. Now the local restaurant having one TV over the bar, good neighbors and a few beers and cheers....not that out of reach in my opinion....just a thought and some curiosity thrown in there......NOW about a local sports bar??? ; )
Increased alcohol consumption within town boundaries could lead to increased drunk driving, increased events of serving to minors, and an increase in violence against others. With the lack of adequate law enforcement, I am proposing Fairfax adopts a new policy in which it forbids the sale of alcoholic beverages. Vermont can not sit back and allow its southern neighbor, Massachusetts, to become the new leader in the fight against these potential horrible crimes to occur. The following towns in Massachusetts are dry, as of 19-APRIL-2007: Alford, Aquinnah (formerly Gay Head), Chilmark, Dunstable, Gosnold, Hawley, Lincoln, Montgomery, Mt Washington, Tisbury, West Tisbury, and Westhampton. We need to be leaders of stupidity and stop business growth!!! Please join me in my courageous efforts to fight a local bar option at a house meeting on June 14, 2018 at my homestead. In addition to this fight, I will also be supporting the prevention of UPS and FedEx in using our roads. We can not allow people to shop online, thereby not supporting local businesses. I have a slew more of ideas that I am convinced we could have implemented, such as building a dome over the town to create a norther paradise.
57
« on: January 29, 2010, 01:02:09 PM »
thank you for the clarification. I thought Henry was further down the hill and had entered the 25 mph zone.
Although I think that a law enforcement officer has the right to provide citation to any motor vehicle violator and that there should never be a cost benefit analysis applied to such an event, there is certainly more prudent ways to use a law enforcers time.
58
« on: January 29, 2010, 12:45:48 PM »
I heard that there will not be extra security or police coverage. Wal-Mart is looking to eradicate the problems that have plagued there store, such as graffiti and shoplifting, through other methods. As a result of the governments efforts to remove only illegal aliens who are not from Earth, the Ghostbusters are currently unemployed. In an effort to continue to increase tax revenue base and lower unemployment, the Ghostbusters will be hired to enforce Wal-Mart's policies of both fighting crime within the store and its property, and to continue to support Wal-Mart's continued 'roll back' pricing efforts.
According to my sources within the Vermont technology community, the following revision changes to the Ghostbusters' equipment are under way.
1. Proton Packs are now being changed to reduce the amount of semi-controlled stream of protons that are fired from this device, thereby reducing the chance of the criminals from getting cancer, by the ultimate reduction of electromagnetic radiation the intended target receives. The device will also have the ability to alter the target's mind, shifting them from a life of illegal crime to one of legal crime (aka...politician).
2. The most exciting revision will be to their Pyscho Kinetic Energy (PKE) Meter. Once a powerful tool that was used to track ghosts and give reads of Pyscho Kinetic Energy. The new version, being developed by the controversial Institute for Capitalism will be renamed the Price Killing Efficiency Meter. The Ghostbusters will be using this meter to scan products throughout the store to determine if prices need to be rolled back, thereby providing the communities with cost efficient options to shop locally. Newly appointed Wal-Mart Chief of Security Egon Spengler believes this option will lead to the local community shopping locally, versus driving 30+ miles to shop. Mr. Spengler doesn't deny the side effects, as he believes gas service stations and restaurants around existing stores may suffer, as a result of shoppers remaining local and supporting local gas stations and supporting local restaurants.
Peter Venkman, Wal-Mart's new Chief Environmental Office, also reports that the reduced driving will reduce the wasteful consumption of gasoline and decrease the amount of fossil fuels an individual will burn in their attempt to efficiently spend their money.
Wal-Mart has also announced a local scholarship for the renaming of the Ghostbusters to all Franklin County students enrolled in grades 9-12.
...or so I have heard...
59
« on: January 29, 2010, 12:18:39 AM »
so you drive by a police officer going 72% above the speed limit in one of the most critical concerned traffic safety areas in Fairfax and the Sheriff didn't do their job?
Your honor, I rest my case.
60
« on: January 29, 2010, 12:14:25 AM »
Mummy is very defensive of her here thread...
So I was in Manhattan today for the first time in my life. They have cops on horses here. Maybe if we get a police department, we could buy them horses instead of cars. There is a cost savings opportunity. They also have a naked guitar player in Times Square who really isn't naked. But I bet if the 158 Main management knew of him and they were real Business Men, they could hire him for their Grand Opening. Just a thought.
In other news, a baby was born, a man cried in his apartment, and my daughter's 'bear' is still missing.
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