Entries from Sam Obar 180 tagged with 'walpole'
Trash Limit Reversal was a Poor Decision
Editor's Note: In this post about the Rebel mascot, the word "annals" was used incorrectly. Like most humans, I make mistakes, and I had this word mixed up with another word. I know what "annals" are and that is not...
Contentious Town Meeting & Other Issues
I have A LOT of things to get off my chest.First of all, I welcome all WalpoleWords users to start their own blogs, put their names on them, and challenge anything I write rather than slamming me anonymously. That would...
Town Meeting 2010
Town Meeting last night, as usual, started more than 20 minutes late and will continue into a second night on Wednesday this week. Last night's meeting was by far the most dragged-out, controversial, and contentious town meeting in recent memory.Here...
More OBAR™ Awards
A standard of this blog is the issuing of OBAR™ awards to those in this town who do a remarkable job at something. For example, the Recreation Department got OBAR™ awards for their incredible work on BlackburnHall.com and WalpoleRec.com several...
What happened to Genzyme can happen to Siemens...
This past week we learned that Genzyme Corp., a biotechnology company based in biotech-rich Cambridge, with a plant in Allston, will be fined by the FDA for problems at its Allston facility.This accident at Genzyme is a reminder that anything...
A Strong Endorsement for Patrick Shield
A lot of you knew this was coming. This is a very proud occasion.Sam Obar 180 is endorsing Patrick Shield for Selectman for the second year in a row. Since there are two seats open on the Board, an additional...
Pay Freezes - Not in Walpole
Last year, in the midst of what has been called the largest economic depression this country has experienced since the Great Depression, state legislators were given customary pay raises as required by the Massachusetts Constitution. But our local state senator,...
Police Station Designs, etc.
The following pdf document has all the information you need to know, as provided by the Board of Selectmen, about the proposed police station on Robbins Road. It includes floor plans and information about potential other sites that were considered.Download...
Rebel Mascot and More
Here is a video recently produced by the staff of the Walpole Rebellion, the Walpole High School student newspaper. It tackles the Rebel mascot head-on. Do you think the resident next to Turco Field should display a Confederate Flag? Vote...
Have you been counted?
This is a public service announcement from Sam Obar 180, reminding all Walpole residents to fill out and return their 2010 census forms as soon as possible. If 100% of households across the country mailed back their forms promptly, taxpayers...
Trash Fees and Tax Increases Not the Answers to Budget Woes
The following is an unedited excerpt from an editorial I wrote that is to be published in The Rebellion, Walpole High School's newspaper: A common argument from local officials in favor of implementing some form of trash fees in Walpole is...
Walpole's Police Station Saga
For those in Walpole who insist that there is no way we can build a combined police and fire facility downtown, history would say otherwise. Not only did one whole committee unanimously recommend that a combined facility be built downtown...
Lynch offers exclusive commentary
Walpole High School is in a better position today with Stephen Imbusch's strengths than it was with Alan Bernstein's strengths, according to School Superintendent Lincoln Lynch. Even while rumors swirl that Bernstein, who resigned earlier this year from his post...
Revisiting a world record broken in Walpole
In June 1978, two young Walpole men played what was, for a short time, the longest continuous civilian tennis game ever. They played at the Walpole High School tennis courts. One of the men, Bill Nethercote, now living in Norfolk,...
I am not a passionate parent
Here is what an anonymous person wrote on WalpoleWords:I'm concerned by this statement:"School Layoffs will Destroy our Community" by Sam ObarThe fact that the schools repeatedly forecast a crisis each year has gotten really, really old. Their message is inflammatory...
School Layoffs will Destroy our Community
Update from the Superintendent's Office 3/19/10 8:00 PM: Today, March 19, the Walpole Public Schools teachers' union overwhelming voted (78% to 22%) in favor of wage and health care premium concessions. The employees have voluntarily made these sacrifices to save...
The Rebel's days are numbered...
Those who believe the Rebel mascot is fine the way it is, be warned. Your cause is on the decline. It seems that a real "rebellion" is occurring against the mascot even at Walpole High School. There is a rapidly...
Walpole High School keeps changing hands
First it was retired Athletic Director Jim Erker who took over as interim WHS Athletic Director last year. Then, it was semi-retired former WHS principal Frank Sambuceti who took over as interim WHS principal this year. Now, the third supposed-to-be-retired...
Robbins Road neighbors speak out about police station proposal
Residents of the area on Robbins Road where town officials have proposed putting a new police station continue to have concerns. Although there was a meeting for area residents in January, they wrote a follow-up letter recently that was sent...
Imbusch is the one
School Superintendent Lincoln Lynch announced the new principal of Walpole High School today in a letter to students, parents, and staff. I can't say I agree with his assessment of Mr. Imbusch, but as I have said before, I will...
Final comments on WHS principal candidates
I was fortunate to have had the honor of being a student representative on the committee that conducted site visits of both Walpole High School and Seekonk High School, the current workplaces of both candidates for principal at WHS. The...
Patrick Shield and Longevity Payments
On February 27, I had a great interview with Patrick Shield, candidate for Walpole selectman. Listen to the interview here, or play right here: One of the discussions Shield and I had was about longevity payments. See my previous blog...
Baker visits Walpole
Charlie Baker, who is running for governor as a Republican, visited the Westbury Farms Family Restaurant in downtown Walpole today. He met with a variety of local residents, answered questions, and gave a short speech. He then took a...
Gubernatorial visits to Walpole
It seems that Walpole is becoming a "battleground town", if there is such a thing, in the race for governor. A visit by Republican candidate for governor Charlie Baker is expected on Saturday, February 27, at 10:30 at Westbury Farms...
My thoughts on the WHS principal candidates
I had the opportunity to attend the open forums for both candidates for the open Walpole High School principal job on February 23. I was able to see both candidates present and discuss their so-called "education philosophies", and find out...
Longevity pay is money better used elsewhere
If you work as a Walpole police officer for at least 25 years, you automatically receive a hefty payment of $875 upon your 25th anniversary of service. Even if you work just 5 years, you get a posh bonus of...
Regionalization: What Will Work and What Will Not
My apologies for not posting on this blog as often as I should. Actually, I have a number of different articles I am writing for this blog all at once, but most of them involve extensive research in the town's...
Time Capsule Must be Found
Town Hall sources who are knowledgeable in town history have given Sam Obar 180 exclusive information. Apparently, many decades ago, a time capsule was buried under the old Stone School. Today, the school no longer exists, however, the land is...
Walpole Rail Trail Bike Path
On the list of 2008-2009 Goals and Objectives for the Board of Selectmen, the following is listed as a goal:"Explore the possibility of establishing rail trail bike paths."Indeed, Walpole has several areas of abandoned railroad beds, including some that cross...
A Response to Szymanski's Column
This week's Walpole Times featured an off-base and highly outrageous op-ed by Mr. Jeffrey Szymanski, the president of the Walpole Teachers Association, and a history and economics teacher at Walpole High School. Mr. Szymanski is also a Republican and lives...
Ideas for putting Walpole on the move
Once the economy picks up, and local aid starts flowing in like a fountain (which hopefully will happen one day), here is what I would propose if I were in a leadership capacity in Walpole:1. Stop renewing licenses of bad...
Snuffer becomes latest official to come on the radio
Walpole Selectman Cliff Snuffer came on to The Sam Obar Show on Jan. 23 to do an interview with me. We predominantly discussed the police station proposal he is pushing for, but we also discussed issues like zoning and Allied...
Letter Provokes Controversy About Rape Article
The following was an unsigned letter sent to me, WalpoleNews.com, and The Walpole Times, about an article that appeared in the Times regarding Martin Grealish raping his young daughter. Because it was unsigned, the Times declined to publish it.To the...
Good luck to Dick and Jane's
I visited the new Dick and Jane's General Store today and it was well worth the trip. The fudge is excellent, and the atmosphere is welcoming and fun. I had no idea that there were so many different colors of...
A local newspaper with a non-local website
As the decade draws to a close, we can look back at the way that the internet has changed the way we all live and work. We have seen news organizations struggle over the past ten years as a result...
A Look Back and a Look Forward from Sam Obar 180
Sam Obar 180 is exactly one year old today. I would like to thank everybody who has supported the blog and read all of my rants, problems, endorsements, opinions, suggestions, and more over the past year. It has been great...
Two new Downtown Businesses
Downtown Walpole is apparently on the upswing with the opening of two stores in Walpole.Within apparently a span of only a few weeks, a new franchise called Candy Bouquet has transformed a formerly-vacant storefront in downtown Walpole into what will...
6 Ways to Improve the Town of Walpole Website
1. Add Expanded Contact Information for Board of SelectmenBelieve it or not, the only shred of contact information on the existing Board of Selectmen webpage is the phone number for the Board's secretary. You won't find an email for the...
A Look Back at Former Downtown Businesses Now Gone
I keep hearing from local residents that they are supposedly really concerned about the lack of businesses in downtown Walpole. Some wonder why we can't have a downtown like Norwood.I'd like to know how many Walpole town officials and how...
How to contact our selectmen
Since the town website does not provide any of this, I think it might be nice if Walpole residents knew how to contact their elected officials by email.Here is a list of our Selectmen and their email addresses and home...
Conservation Commission, others suffer with vacancies
With one member going on an extended vacation, another not attending meetings and ignoring phone calls or emails, and an associate member being denied full membership for unknown reasons, the Conservation Commission will soon have only TWO voting members. The...
Recreation Department embraces technology age
While I was paying so much attention to the new library website, I was kindly informed by various sources that actually the Walpole Recreation Department was first in rapidly expanding their presence on the internet. The Rec. Dept. now maintains...
Walpole Library Website is up and running
The new Walpole Library website has been fully updated and looks great thanks to the efforts of Reference Librarian Warren Smith. There are a number of new features that make the site a great destination to find out all about...
Michael Boynton Response Part 2
Unfortunately, we received no phone calls during the show. That is unusual for The Sam Obar Show.I would have liked to have Walpole residents, and other area residents, call in, and I am sure Mr. Boynton would have appreciated hearing...
My Thoughts on the Boynton Interview Part 1
Here is the transcript of the Michael Boynton interview also downloadable in pdf here:...
Michael Boynton will be live on The Sam Obar Show
Walpole, Mass. Town Administrator Michael Boynton will be appearing live on The Sam Obar Show on Saturday, November 21 at 4:00 PM on WDIS AM 1170. Mr. Boynton will be taking a visit to the Sam Obar Center to do...
Police Station Proposal Disturbing
The Board of Selectmen is once again discussing the idea of building a new police station on Robbins Road, according to local news sources. Selectman Cliff Snuffer, my favorite Selectman, announced recently that a new building proposal might come very...
Parking Meters are Bad for Downtown
Update 11/11/09: Keith Ferguson at The Walpole Times has put up a parking meter poll here. Please vote no!Selectmen announced this week that they are openly considering installing parking meters downtown to prevent commuters from parking in Walpole Center during...
Update on Dick and Jane's & CB's
A new sign has been put up at the storefront that is apparently soon going to be the home of Dick and Jane's & C and B's. The Coming Soon sign with the enigmatic name was mysterious enough to the...
Update on Saltwater Paradise
The new Saltwater Paradise on Glenwood Ave. now has a presence on Google Maps, with an operating email address and phone number. One of the co-owners is apparently Paul C. Lynch, who told me that they are planning for a...
Good luck, Brockton
Check out a video from WGBH's Greater Boston with Emily Rooney discussing the two sides for and against the proposed Brockton power plant. It reminded me of the Walpole power plant controversy from a few years ago. It is very...
Observations from Town Meeting
On Monday I had the privilege of attending the Fall Annual Town Meeting at the High School. I attended in a press capacity, but I will leave the actual news coverage of the event to The Walpole Times and to...
A Pat on the Back to Senator Timilty
In 2008, Walpole was lucky in that both candidates for our state senate district were from our town, even though they hailed from opposing political parties. Both James Timilty, the incumbent Democrat who has served Walpole since 2004, and Jon...
Slowly but surely, Walpole Center is reviving itself
Here is what I learned from walking around Walpole Center today:There is an exotic fish and coral store that will be moving onto Glenwood Ave, in what was the old Walpole Press. There is a "Coming Soon" sign and a...
One overzealous Rebel fan makes us all look bad...
I attended the Walpole Rebel football game today, and saw only one Confederate flag, located on private property behind the stands. Walpole High School principal Alan Bernstein, who recently announced he was resigning at the end of the year, told...
The picture that has everybody talking
Photo above is a crop from Michael Amaral from a Greg Salvatore photo.Now that it has been established that people DO bring Confederate flags to Walpole High football games, as evidenced by legendary retired Rebel Coach John Lee, it appears...
Fascinating interview with Michael Boynton
Once again, my colleague at WDIS, Dan Collier, has interviewed Michael Boynton, Town Administrator of the Town of Walpole. Knowing that the interview was going to be occurring, I submitted a lengthy list of questions that I wanted Dan to...
Great interview with Keith Ferguson
Knowing that Walpole Times reporter Keith Ferguson reads this blog, I wish to extend my thanks to him for being such a great guest on my radio show in both August and this past weekend. Keith is a great reporter,...
Jimmy Taylor and The Walpole Times
It seems that my letter to the editor was not the only complaint The Walpole Times received this week. The new editor, Stephanie Southworth Geary, wrote a brief statement at the top of the opinion page, as well as a...
Uh-oh. Goodbye old Walpole Times
Update 9/13/09: In response to an inquiry from me, Keith Ferguson posted on his Twitter feed that the Times actually received no obituaries or letters to the editor this week.The Walpole Times got a new editor two weeks ago, and...
Renewable energy makes sense
The Recreation Department requested $17,000 in its FY 2009 budget for electricity for Morgan Field, Blackburn Hall, the Center Pool, and the Turners Pond Lodge. Can you say RENEWABLE ENERGY? This $17,000 cost is easily eliminated by purchasing solar panels...
Summer is ending in Walpole
News and Notes as the Summer Ends:The historic Walpole Train Station is apparently on its way out. The station is closing September 1, according to two signs posted on the station's window. The MBTA is apparently actively seeking tenants for...
How One Walpole Man Helped to Unravel the McCarthy Era
On June 9, 1954, a Walpole resident asked a question now considered one of the most famous inquiries of the 20th century: "Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?" The...
Economic Development: The Foundry
We all know about the old Fales Machine Company, known as the Foundry, at the corner of East Street and Elm Street that is currently occupied by a mere two or three businesses. At the time it was restored, during...
Progress on Board of Selectmen Goals
For your entertainment: Listen to an interview that my WDIS colleague Dan Collier did with Walpole Town Administrator Michael Boynton recently.Now on to the main point of this post:Walpole is lucky to have an absolutely exceptional Board of Selectmen, made...
A Look at the FY '10 Town Budget
While I am not a budget expert, nor do I pretend to be, I think it is important for all of us to know what is in our town's massive budget. That having been said, here are some of the...
Finally some common sense
WalpoleNews.com has reported that, finally, after lagging behind other towns already taking advantage of the power and resources the internet provides, the Walpole Board of Selectmen has approved a proposal to broadcast and archive all Board of Selectmen's meetings online.It's...
Commentary on The Walpole Times and the Walpole Public Library
After an interview with Walpole Times staff writer Keith Ferguson on my radio show, I decided to take back what I said about the Walpole Times below.Walpole Times seems to be headed in the wrong directionThe Walpole Times has definitely...
Recount affirms Yes vote
Thankfully, the recount of the library vote was affirmed last night in an extremely tedious and lengthy process. As someone who viewed the entire recount process from beginning to end, I can attest to its length, although it ended...
OOPS! Looks like the Walpole town website is (still) ugly!
Update 6/26/09: Earlier today, I had a very interesting and lengthy conversation with a Walpole Library staff member who works on part of the town website. It was indicated to me that parts of the website, especially the library page,...
Why I support a new library
With a movement afoot to get a recount for the very close library vote in the recent town election, I feel it is time for me to state my reasons why I support the new library.For those who may remember,...
My reactions to election results
Selectmen:All in all, it's okay. While I am lukewarm to the idea that Chris Timson won re-election, I am definitely accepting of the fact that Nancy Mackenzie won a seat. I am really irritated that Patrick Shield did not...
A slight change in opinion on Rebel issue
First, I want to express my great pleasure in seeing that Walpole Times reporter Keith Ferguson chose to ask all School Committee candidates whether they would favor discussing changing the Rebel name. Only one of the three candidates definitively...
Endorsements for town election
Updated on June 4, 2009 with an additional endorsement for Nancy MacKenzie for Selectwoman.Now, with a week to go before the 2009 Walpole Town Election, I am announcing my endorsements for some elected offices:1. Selectmen: Patrick Shield and Nancy Mackenzie...
The Rebel issue rolls on...
Please remember to check out my initial opinion about the Rebel mascot.More thoughts on the Rebel issue...Over the past few months, I have been observing the WalpoleWords forum and reading the various opinions about the Rebel mascot. While I...
Thoughts about the town election
It is now Walpole election season, and there is quite a bit of heavy competition among the various seats up for re-election this year. Seeking two different terms on the Walpole Board of Selectmen are FIVE different candidates, all from...
An Endorsement for Susan Brown
I was very pleased to learn that Susan Brown, a neighbor of mine, and mother of two kids whom I have gone to school with and known for a very long time, has decided to run for Precinct 4 Town...
Walpole Library Updates
The latest word from Town Administrator Michael Boynton is that the public library budget won't be cut as much as he had previously proposed. Tom Glynn at WalpoleNews.com reports that Mr. Boynton has stated that it's very possible that now,...
Rebel mascot and flag do not belong in Walpole
Time for some controversy! I'm ready to get people fired up about one very interesting local issue. Feel free to comment:This was edited on March 29, 2009.In January, America inaugurated its first African American president. For many people across America,...
Boynton and the Library
Note: This post was edited on Mar. 2 and Mar. 3, 2009.Walpole Town Administrator Michael Boynton proposed a few weeks ago a a 34% cut in the Walpole Public Library budget. While hard decisions about budget cuts certainly must be...
Thanks for the support
It appears the users of the WalpoleNews.com forums have noticed my blog. Here's what one person wrote recently at one forum thread:http://www.samobar.com/180/Sam Obar, a local kid with a lot of spunk and a goal to make a career in...
Walpole Rebel: A History of Its Confederate Connections
Part 1In late 1993, a little-known 1971 Walpole High School alumnus named Mike Amaral wrote a letter to The Walpole Times. In it, he expressed his concern over an issue that had "bothered" him since his high school years. "The...
Walpole's 2009-2010 School Year
The Walpole School Committee has approved the calendar for the 2009-2010 school year (pdf available here), and there are a number of noticeable differences with it than with previous school years.For one thing, students in grades 1-12 will have...
My television show...
A lot of people have asked me and wondered over the past few months what happened to my television show on Walpole Community Television. The truth is that it is no longer aired, as the last episode I did...
My Wishes for 2009
A new year is upon us, and I wanted to take this moment to discuss some basic things that I wish for this year:1. I wish for justice for Danny VillaFirst and foremost, I would like to see a speedy...
Feed Subscription
If you use an RSS reader, you can subscribe to a feed of all future entries tagged 'walpole'. [What is this?]
