Bee Heard

(Editor's note: Call The Bee at 632-0390 and record a one-minute comment on our Bee Heard line. It gives readers an opportunity to comment quickly and candidly on items of local or regional interest. Callers do not have to identify themselves and no callers' names will be used. In the interest of fairness and good taste, The Bee will not publish derogatory or insulting comments. All comments are by our readers and are subject to editing.

.I hope that a lot of people come out to vote for the Amherst Town Board. I'm glad to see new faces running, because I think the politicians, themselves, go from one step to the higher up, to the higher up, and really do nothing for the community. Our country is in bad shape because people didn't think and vote.

.I fully support the efforts of MADD, SADD and any other organization that works to remove intoxicated drivers from highways. I'll go a step further and include those drivers who have no regard for life when they blast through red lights and stop signs. The ratio of perpetrators and arrests are not encouraging, through no fault of the police force. Heavy penalties are needed but also surveillance cameras that would provide tough love to those who would put law-abiding citizens at risk. If you agree, support officials who are committed to making it happen ASAP.

.I would like to ask the Amherst Highway Department, on trash pickup day, to keep the lids closed, because when it rains, the water gets in the totes and they are too heavy to empty.

."No money for materials, seed, soil, trees." This is what I'm told by town employees. I see the familiar green pickup trucks with our town seal in white on their doors as they cruise our streets daily, often with a second person on board. Why? Where are they working? How productive are they? My proposal to our town board is to eliminate 25 percent of positions and vehicles and spend the money on material and productivity studies.

.Responsible homeowners in the Amherst area take care of the town property from the sidewalk to the street. I wish the same would be true of Main Street businesses (particularly in Williamsville), where there are weeds growing up through the cracks, weeds growing in the grass and areas very poorly maintained. I am very shocked.

.I think the workers leave the garbage totes open so you know they are empty. I'm handicapped, and we can't go out to check them.

.I'm reading about the theatres, restaurants and shops to be put on Maple Road. We have nice, quiet, safe streets here, and they'll use our streets for raceways. We have enough of all that (stores, theatres, hotels, etc.), more than people have money to spend in. I think it's terrible, and it will destroy our neighborhood.

.Concerning repair of cement sidewalks in the Town of Amherst, the way another city did it was to identify problem areas (most in older, but fine, neighborhoods) and list those; then, put them out on a bid basis to local cement contractors and let them bid on either whole or partial areas. I think you'll get a better price that way. This particular city put the cost on taxes the following year. I hope this will help save taxpayers a lot of money.

.To the caller who praised Bill Kindel for his efforts to preserve green space, you obviously haven't been following his record since he's been in office all these years. He let developers run rampant, allowing them to eat up green space until there's hardly any left. Now he's suddenly going to be the savior of our green space?

.I agree with the caller who complained about the garbage totes being left in the middle of the driveway. I think it's annoying to return home after a day's work and not be able to pull into your driveway because someone has left the garbage tote or recycling bin in the middle of the driveway. I don't think it's that difficult to put it somewhere outside the driveway. To the person who said people are whiners, no, it's just common courtesy.

.I, too, have gone to concerts at the wonderful Bassett Park; however, it's just like walking through a mine field with the goose droppings. They are all over the walks and bocce court; I see children running barefoot, and it seems like the most unsanitary of conditions. There must be something that can be done to either eliminate the geese or get rid of their droppings. I won't attend more concerts, because it's just too much of a hassle to avoid the droppings.

.I was disappointed to see in the Aug. 8 edition of The Bee a story concerning the Tonawanda Titans swim team. To see a story that covered a half page in The Amherst Bee causes me to wonder how that story is newsworthy for residents of Amherst. (Editor's note: the hometowns of each swimmer on this regional team were listed alongside their name. At least 10 members were from Amherst.)

.It's almost a year since the October storm, and we have just had an unprecedented hot summer. Did the village remove a tree and a stump between the street and the sidewalk in front of your house? Is it now an uneven weed bed, or do you have a neighbor who is unable to do yard work? Now is the time to start cleaning up the village. This area is the responsibility of the property owner, even though you don't own it. Let's take pride in our village; do your part.