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.

.As a town and state taxpayer who has contributed to paying the salary of Supervisor Mohan through the university system and now the Town of Amherst, I would like to know is this government employee willing to work at the 2006 Western New York average per capita rate he is suggesting Amherst town employees should work for regardless of their job or educational level?

.With all the improvements to the Clearfield Library, I feel one of the most important has not been done: the parking lot. The entrance from Plaza Drive is too narrow; the lot itself is too narrow; the natural space between the library and rec center does nothing but attract mice; and the parking spaces haven't been marked in a long time. Did the town run out of yellow paint?

.I want to thank the Deerwood Park neighbor who on the evening of Friday, July 18, notified the police when a group of teens were in the park and the neighbor heard the sound of broken glass. These underage teens were given alcohol by some 20-year-old guys who were wandering the park. When the police arrived, my son was face down on the concrete gazebo and non-responsive. He was rushed to ECMC by ambulance and today I am counting my blessings that he is OK. I want to thank that dear Amherst neighbor; also thank you to Amherst Police, first responders and ECMC. You are the best; you saved my son's life.

.To the person who complained there are no right-turn signals at Mill and Sheridan, I suggest you look up at the signal and you will notice that it is explicitly spelled out when you can make right-hand turns.

.I see the supervisor is planning to publish all town employees' salaries and benefits. I can only hope he is going to publish his own, not only as town supervisor, but also his job as professor at UB with all his benefits and perks. Fair is fair. (Editor's note: According to UB, Dr. Mohan is not drawing any salary or benefits from the university at this time.)

.I am an Amherst employee. Town board members receive $23,500 a year for their part-time job and receive free health care for life after two terms in office. Nobody but Tier 1 in the town receives health care after they retire.

.Regarding the reunion for the Class of 1958 from Williamsville North. There is no class from 1958; they must mean Williamsville South.

.Is it too much to ask that the village and town highway personnel get together to decide who should cut the grass and weeds by the area east of Glenwood up to Union Road? This area is the entrance to Williamsville and should be better maintained. Also the Tree City USA sign could be straightened out as well.

.When are we going to learn that Dan Ward is nothing more than a self-serving politician who cares about himself and not the town and not the interests of residents? He is by far the most unbelievable politician. He should look to the words of Abraham Lincoln where he said, government is for the people and by the people, not by Mr. Ward's belief.

.I am a retired town highway worker, and I am totally appalled by Satish Mohan. He has someone calling retired employees asking us if we are still alive and still collecting health benefits. It's ridiculous he is doing this. Obviously, they would know if they would just check with Independent Health, which we all agreed to contract with to save the town millions of dollars.

.I just read the review of town employee salary and benefits; it's quite obvious why taxes cannot come down when people make well above the average. Instead of being civil servants, they seem to be collecting very large salaries with all kinds of benefits. The other reason why taxes in this area will never go down are the school boards. Why haven't any of the superintendents come forward to take a stand to consolidate school boards? I'd like to know their salaries, too. Unless we take a stand and make changes, there's no incentive for residents to stay in this area. The only hope for downsizing for your taxes is to move.

.Well, it seems Satish Mohan is playing the blame game again. This time regarding the flooding in the Fruitwood Terrace area. Mohan says it's all the fault of maintenance and he is going after the highway department to figure it all out. Wasn't it Mohan who said he was going to fix all the flooding problems in Amherst? So far he has done absolutely nothing, but he's willing to blame the highway department. Didn't he just slash their budget quite a bit? Now he's expecting every little thing to be taken care of. Frankly, it probably isn't a maintenance problem. We 've had storms like seldom seen before; if you have storm sewers and drains that aren't big enough to handle this type of water, there will be problems.

.I agree with Kevin Gaughan's proposal and the recent poll to abolish the Village of Williamsville. The mayor and four trustees are silent on many issues; they have no power and zero political influence. Major improvements languish because grant money becomes even more nonexistent. Village streets and roads have become thoroughfares and bypasses for frustrated drivers who can't wait for the dysfunctional NYS Thruway Authority and NYS DOT to provide adequate highways and reduce the traffic volume on Main Street.

.I'm very disturbed about the appearance of some yards on Klein Road between Cottonwood and Hopkins. I don't know what is happening to this neighborhood but, it appears no one is living in these homes.

.Once again, Supervisor Mohan is using inaccurate, outdated information regarding town employee salaries and is making apples to oranges comparisons.