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 am very disturbed that Councilman Weinstein would try to stifle public dissent. I think his rules of order are absolutely ridiculous. It's very difficult to speak for less than five minutes when you want to make a point. When someone has something important to say, they should have the right to attend a town board meeting and not have to wait until 11:30 p.m., just because it doesn't have to be on the agenda.

.Kudos to Wegmans for discontinuing tobacco sales. It bodes well for the future health of our community. The old saying holds true: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

.Isn't it time we changed the day we have elections? Less than 60 percent of the population voted in the last national election. Why don't we vote on a Sunday, when more people are home? It works in Europe, where 90 percent of the population takes a real interest in who their next leader is and votes. What's wrong with Americans who don't care enough about the importance of their vote but are the first to complain when the person elected does something they don't like? Wake up, Americans; voting affects your future. Take as much interest in your vote as you do spor ts.

.Thank you to the New York State Department of Transportation plows that keeps our streets well salted, well plowed and in excellent shape. I wish we could say the same for the other highway departments. It's disappointing when they only salt when the streets really need to be plowed.

.Another town board meeting, and another embarrassment for the Town of Amherst. I was there and I know. Supervisor Mohan and Councilmember Schratz were very rude and disrespectful to the director of senior services. It really is possible to be polite and respectful while asking questions, but neither of them knows how to do that. Neither should be re-elected.

.Could The Bee please publish in the Police Blotter the number for a locksmith, a plumber and a good electrician, because it seems everyone dialing 911 these days doesn't need the police, they need either common-sense or the Yellow Pages.

.This is not the time for the Town of Amherst to go into debt $10 million for a new Town Hall. We need a decrease in the water bill and taxes in Amherst, not adding new debt that eventually will raise our taxes. This is just not a good time the way the economy is going.

.The former Holiday Motel and house at the corner of Park Drive and Main Street were recently sold. This is a large prime parcel and will no doubt be developed to the max. If you do not want more congestion and traffic in our village spilling into Main Street, I urge you to contact the mayor now, before plans are set in conc rete.

.Supervisor Mohan wants developers to reuse existing buildings and not build new ones, yet he is talking about wasting more of our tax dollars on building a new town hall at the other end of town. I always thought Republicans were in favor of smaller government not bigger government. It's ironic that a Democrat (Dan Ward) is in favor of smaller government, while Dr. Mohan just wants to spend our money.

.When is something going to be done about the derelict piece on Hartford Road? We were told it was taken over by a car dealership. If so, why doesn't it have to be cleaned up and maintained? I think the Hartford Estates homeowners deserve better.

.Interaction, I believe, is the key word when considering whether to add a third floor to the existing town hall built in 1965 or building a new one at Audubon Parkway. The town hall should be a place of meeting and should be efficient for communications in town government. Amherst State Park is a place for the town residents to interact in a beautiful outdoor sanctuary. Please do not ruin this diamond in the rough. Town government needs to be user friendly to meet the needs of the people.

.I'm a town resident for 57 years. I guess the town highway department only salts the roads rather than plowing. It's a mystery to me. The town must get a special deal on salt.

.Why don't we try getting neighbors with junk around their houses and in their unused garages to use the poison bait boxes and limit feeding birds, etc.?

.Amherst Supervisor Satish Mohan delivered his usual shoot-from-the-hip town address. Without any detail, he indicated he wants to freeze the town budget for two years, which does not take into account the increase in health insurance costs for town employees, pensions, etc. which all the rest of us in the real world know will go up every year. Mohan just doesn't have a plan, doesn't do his homework and pulls numbers out of the air.