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| January 20, 2006 Barnstable Patriot |  |
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By Mary Richmond
columnist@bamstablepatriot.com
What a difference a week makes.
Last week we luxuriated in an old
fashioned January thaw and this
week we're back to, well, January.
It was so mild and lovely last
week I think many thoughts were
turning to spring even though the
daylight hours were still pitifully
short and the early morning and
late afternoon rays of the sun were
still mercilessly blinding. An early
morning walk along the beach was
downright pleasant and even the
birds seemed happy.
Song sparrows
were testing
their singing ^
voices and the
gulls were jab -
bering and yodeling
as they flew lazily overhead.
Out on the water a group of
buffleheads were swimming and
fishing. These perky little guys in
their tuxedo suits are fun to watch.
They dive so quickly and quietly it
is as if they simply pop under the
water then pop back up again.The
snow buntings that winter nearby
in the dunes suddenly lifted into
the air and as I scanned the sky
the cooper 's hawk that seems to
have claimed this beach as its own
turned and left empty handed, or
in this case, 'empty taloned'.
On a different day, not so long
afterthepreviouswaLk,southfacing
beaches like Kalmus and Craigville
were being so wind whipped that
sand was actually suspended in
the air, a foot or so high, spinning
and whipping relentlessly like air-
borne , deadly sandpaper across
the beach.
There were no gulls,no crows, no
birds of any kind braving this wild
weather.Not only was it windy but
it was bitter cold. The sun was out
but the ocean waves were actually
runningat right anglesto the shore,
covered with chop, adisconcerting
sight to say the least.
On this wild day the Centerville
River seemed devoid of birds until
I scanned the edges and found the
ducks, geese and gulls that had
taken refuge from the wind and cold
hidden in the reeds there. The more
I looked the more I saw,for
they were well camou-
flaged in their still-
* ness. There seemed
to be a flock of
tekfrv. Canada geese,
^ mallards, black
ducks, assorted
mergansers and all
three kinds of winter gulls
in the mix. It should be noted here
that thereisadredgingand replen-
ishment project going on in this
area so if you haven't been around
be prepared for a visual shock.
Alongthe roadside to Sandy Neck
the trees were filled with robins
and cedar waxwings foraging for
berries. These robust robins were
most likely Canadian cousins of
the robins that will return here to
nest inthe spring.Golden crowned
kinglets seem to be in abundance
in many areas right now as well. If
you'relucky,you may alsobe seeing
bluebirds.
This is a great time of year to
keep your eyes out for immature
bald eagles. They are seen on the
Cape quite regularlythese days and
especially at this time of year.It is
also the beginning of the owl mat-
ing season and you may hear both
great horned owls and screech owls
calling as evening sets in.
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-*
Airport has work to do
before expansion
Your article about the Airport termi-
nal was indeed premature not only on
design but also on priority. The Town of
Barnstable has to address the ground
water pollution at the Airport first before
any monies are appropriated for thister-
minal.Twoplumespollute the south side
ofthe Airport and thisisbeingmonitored
by the DEP Storm drains ordered sealed
by the DEP because of lead contamina-
tion must be replaced. The airport must
replace of the entire storm water runoff
system. The US Navy built this system
in the early '40s. There has been 60+
4
years of storm runoff going unabated
into Lewis Pond and Upper Gates Pond
on the North Side of the airport from the
storm water runoff system.
The ponds are polluted with lead
benzene just to name a couple of the
chemicals asreported in aEnvironmental
Report done at the request of the Mass.
Aeronautics Commission (MAC) by Bay-
state Environmentalof East Longmedow.
There are all types of metal in the ponds
including a leftover WWII Navy plane.
This area has been an illegal dump site
for all types of tires. Yet nothing is being
done to address this threat to the ground
water.The Town of Yarmouthhas a water
protection overlay district that extends
into the airportjust north of this site. The
airport sits on the same aquifer lens as
Otis and the MMR.
The same clean-up practices at the
MMR should be applied to the Airport .
The second area to be rectified is the
approaches to the airport. The ap-
proaches go over public and private land
in Barnstable and Yarmouth. This has
to be settled. The airport is land-taking
withoutjust compensation. No taxpayer
monies, either State or Federal, should
be given to this terminal project until
the pollution is cleaned up and the ap-
proaches are addressed.
Tom Sullivan
West Yarmouth
\ E
LETTERS
Limerick of the Week
BY MAUREEN CONNELLY
An annual parade to honor Saint Pat:
A first for the Cape, in Dennis it's at!
Grand Marshall OToole,
A Kathleen so cool
Wearing green with her Commissioner 's hat!
OP-ED
I
c=>
¦i i
ii
By Paul Gauvin j
Alleged fakery at airport ,
Main St. , taint town red
The
Barnstable Airport Commission mayhave
fallen on its own sword over alleged forgery
and favoritism involving the construction
of two hangars in a manner perceived as escaping
review by the Cape Cod Commission.
The allegations may likely give added impetus to
a long-simmering movement to abolish the board
in favor of blending airport operations into the
municipal fold with Town Manager John Klimm as
CEO and town councilors as directors.
The most serious issue for the moment iswhether
forgeries are involved in the twin-hangar project. No
less an exacting person than Town Attorney Robert
ah, em, uh Smith says he cannot remember signing
land leases for the hangars albeit his signature/ini-
tials are on them.
The mystery here is whether Mr. Smith'smemory
is vacationing in la-la-land or whether some shifty
culprit with beady eyes had the audacity to illegally
ape Mr. Smith'spenmanship on legal papers of some
import .
It is a given the allegations are just that, but they
do trigger the constitutional directive of innocence
until proven guilty. With that in mind, suspicion is
nonetheless difficult to avoid in this case because
the principals, brothers Floyd and Ronald Silvia of
Osterville, have been caught in the crossfire of a
similar shootout before.
In 2002, consultant Arlene Wilson, working for
the brothers, was indicted on charges of copyingan
engineer's stamp and placing it on four sets of docu-
ments involving a Silvia and Silvia Associates Inc,
project at 1284 Main St., in Osterville. Wilson was
unruffled and said she would be vindicated at trial.
A Silvia brother claimed to know nothing about the
forgery that allowed avoidance of certain building
requirements.
But rather than vindication , Wilson pleaded
guilty on Dec. 16, 2003. She was fined $2,000 and
went back to work. It was the second time she had
been indicted on forgery charges, the first in 1994
concerning building documents submitted to the
local conservation commission.
What isodd isthat the 2002 incident andthe current
alleged airport forgery complaint appear to have a
similar goal - circumvent building regulations.
The brothers each formed a separate entity, Sil-
via Aviation I and Silvia Aviation II -both hangars
measuring 9,990 square feet - or just 10 square feet
away from Cape Cod Commissionreview. The review
is an expensive and time-consuming process that
discourages all but the brave or shifty from pursuing
major projects on Cape Cod.
One could view the twin-hangar construction as
a transparent device to short-circuit the Cape Cod
Commission. However, in law, corporate entities are
persons that do not share the same fingerprint and
are therefore treated individually.
The Commission set the 10,000 square foot pa-
rameter, so it makes sense that anybody wanting
to avoid commission review would legallykeep their
buildings from meeting the threshold of 10,000 sq.
ft. So far, the Silvias are one up on the Commission
as far as review goes.
Forgery is another thing.
And none of this will stop the airplar .noise that
has so aggravated folks in the flight paths.
* * *
Speaking of forgeries, the practice seems to have
become fashionable along Hyannis Main Street
- one area of town that tries so hard to avoid a
black eye.
Owners of three stores last week were charged
with selling knock-offs of expensive fashions. The
story broke on Page 1 of the daily newspaper and
got some people to regretting they hadn't known
about the fashion fakes earlier -else they would have
purchased some before the roof caved in.
On the other hand, one consumer looking over her
latest gas bill shook her head noting that $50 for a
$700 pair of jeans was still too much money just to
cover one's fanny. Oh well, there's always K-Mart.
The two events serve as reminders that even
small-town businesses and government entities are
susceptible to infiltration by unprincipled scofflaws
who prey upon the good will and trust of a society
forged by agreement.
Mr. Smith has been rankled in the past by the
incessant howling of the hounds but at this point
even he must admit oversight by peculiar pundits,
blistering bloggers and wailingwatchdogs have des
raison d'etre - reasons for being.
Forgery is just one of them.
CORNER
By Michael Daley
columnist@barnstablepatnot.com
W
elcome to the new year. The early
indicators are that this year will
be rather robust from a political
junkie's perspective. In fact, there are an
enormous number of arenas offering large
quantities of political action available for
consumption this year. Some of the offerings
already on this menu of political delights
could become all-time greats.
For those who favor
their tasty political
morsels from local po-
litical waters, this early
season item offers the
latest fiasco involving
the rouge politicians
and staff at the airport.
This delectable little favorite has just come
up on the stove and is about to move from a
concept on the menu to a full-fledged chef's
special. This dish has all the proper ingredi-
ents to make it an award winner. As a side
dish, look for renewed efforts to fix the defect
in our charter that allowsthe rouges at the
airport to continue to exist.
Speaking of the charter, the year ahead
could be the start of a long run of charter-
based dishes on the local political menu.
Last year a group organized and initiated a
process to create an elected body to per-
form a review of our town government. The
ingredients of this political dish are many.
They include a petition process that is about
twenty percent completed. If the petition is
perfected there will be a campaign and an
election. If the community says yes to the
review there will be an elected body looking
under the local government's hood for a year
or more. Finally at the end of perhaps now a
couple of years, there will be another election
that could change the manner in which the
town does its business.
At this time two years ago who would
have thought that the search for a new
school leader would still be a main dish on
this year's menu. This seems to be the last
year for this political item. There are now
three finalists on the short list of candi-
dates. However, now is when this menu item
can develop into a sour taste. Many times
quality candidates for difficult political
executive positions change their role from
selling to buying. At this point they start
their due diligence. If these candidates are
good executives, they will carefully scout the
local scene. They also generally have more
than one pan on the stove. Frequently due a
quality job of checking out the elected school
leaders , the status of the organization and
other resources, they turn down the job offer.
This menu item could go to bittersweet if the
local school leaders' track record keeps it on
the menu deep into this year.
Another menu change with the ingredi-
ents to generate a chef's loud cry of "Bam"
is the leadership change in our town council.
Already we have seen local press reports of
a new council president with an extensive
menu of his own. Many items on this menu
could spice up a bunch of this year's Thurs-
day nights for the few of us not watching
the peacock network. Another recent press
report has already added a taste of tart-
ness to the leadership. This report indicates
that the vice president opposes much of the
president's menu. She indicated she was
elected by the councilors to provide balance.
Clearly the leadership brings a spicy twang
to our pallet this year. I for one will miss the
sweetness offered within the prior leadership
menu.
This year's menu is still in draft form. The
above is only a small sample of the dishes
available for us to savor together this year. In
addition , we still have the taste of national,
state and county elections to factor into the
eclectic mix that our 2006 menu offers. Bon
appetite!
Political
menu a
chef's delight
BySei.MOleiPf
With
yet another homeown-
ers'insurancecompany an-
nouncing its plans to stop
providing coverage on the Cape,the
spotlight is once again squarely on
the concept of homeowner's insur-
ance reform.
Overthe past year,autoinsurance
reform has dominatedthe insurance
debate on Beacon Hill. There is
no doubt that this is an important
issue; however, it is my firm belief
that the Legislature needs to fo-
cus our attention on the current
homeowner's insurance crisis as
well. This is not a situation where
we can afford to wait and react after
a devastating storm hits the New
England coastline.
Finding a long-term solution to
our property insurance crisisisone
of my highest priorities. The Com-
monwealth has a compelling inter-
est in maintaining a viable market
for property insurance, and to the
extent that the private sector isun-
able to maintain such amarket the
Legislature must take action.
The homeowner'sinsurance mar-
ket is not as well regulated as some
pf the other insurance markets in
the Commonwealth, resulting in
extreme fluctuations in pricing, es
peciallyinthe reinsurance
market. Just as individu-
als and businesses buy
insurance to protect their
assets, insurance compa-
nies buy reinsurance to
protect their bottom line.
The dramatic increase in
reinsurance rates, caused by specu-
lation about an eventual hurricane,
has resulted in many companies
raising their rates on the Cape and
others who have withdrawn cover-
age on the Cape altogether.
When a private insurance com-
pany does not renew coverage ,
homeowners are given the option
of purchasing insurance through
the Massachusetts Property Insur-
anceUnderwritingAssociation with
coverage known as the FAIR Plan.
The Massachusetts FAIR Plan was
established by the Commonwealth
in 1968 as an insurer of last resort
for urban areas, funded collectively
by insurers throughout the Com-
monwealth. As an insurer of last
resort, the FAIR Plan was meant
to serve as a temporary program
from homeowners. However, for
manyhomeowners on the Cape and
Islands the FAIR Plan has become
their only insurance option.
In order to address this situation,
I have filed a bill which would seek
to create the Massachusetts Cata-
strophic Event Fund. This would
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