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| December 29, 2006 Barnstable Patriot |  |
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Barnstable meetings
available on-line
Can't catch that zoning board
of appeals meeting live or on
rebroadcast? Not to worry;you can
get it on-line anytime.
For those with Internet access
(high-speed is better), the town's
entirerosterofrecorded meetingsis
available on demand with the click
of a mouse.
Files can be streamed, similarto
watchingtelevision,or downloaded
to your computer, similarto a DVD
or videotape.
Meetings available on-line can
be found by clicking the "Video on
Demand" link on the left-hand side
ofthe home page,town.barnstable.
ma.us
Tales of Cape Cod
defends charitable
exemption
Lou Cataldo entered the Olde
Colonial Court House carrying a
pitchfork.
"Where 's the revenuers?" he
asked.
Fortunately, Cataldo and the
board of Tales of Cape Cod didn't
have to resort to violence when the
town's assessor, Jeff Rudziak and
assistant assessor Jason Streebel,
metwiththenon-profit grouptotalk
about its tax status as a charitable
organization.
Tales of Cape Cod exists to
preserve the old court house and
one-time Baptist church west of
the county complex on Route 6A as
well as a Native American burying
ground on the Northside, among
other responsibilities.
Board members were quick to
point out that their operation
mirrors those of village historical
societies and similar Cape groups
that arerunonvolunteerpower,and
that donotkeeptheirbuildingsopen
year round or even daily.
Rudziaksaiditwasimportantthat
the organization not be run solely
for its members, and that he had
cometohearabout "what charitable
activitiesyou are engaged in."
Police census,
networking provide
homeless resources
A survey of the homeless
population of the town by the
Barnstable Police Department
may provide information on how
to ease the continuing struggle of
serving Hyannis resident, said Lt.
Paul MacDonald.
The census , begun by the
department Jan. 1, seeks to count
the number of homeless people
in Hyannis. When officers come in
contactwithsomeonetheybelieveto
be homeless,they askfor name,date
ofbirth,andtownoforigin.AsofMay
22, 160people had been counted.
Of those, only 22 had named
Barnstable as their town of origin,
said MacDonald.
Because of the large number of
Barnstable's homeless population
who come from other Cape
communities, the human services
committeehasbeenworkingtoward
networkingwith other towns.
As of the May 23 human services
committee meeting, the Town of
Barnstable had pledged $10,000,
Chathamand Eastham $1,500 each,
the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall
River$10,000andOurLadyofVictory
Church in Centerville $2,500, along
with donations from other sources.
Critics make hard
landing on airport plan
"We don't need a new terminal
that looks like something out of
Star Wars," longtime Barnstable
Municipal Airport critic Richard
HalletofHyannisdeclared at aCape
Cod Commissionhearingon airport
expansion plans. "This airport
cannot support any more noise,any
moretraffic.Just oneaccident could
jeopardizeouraquifer.Hyannisisno
place for an airport. It belongsup at
Otis (Air National Guard Base on
the Upper Cape)."
Art Kimber, chairman of the
Barnstable Municipal Airport
Commission,saidthemajorterminal
expansion and renovation request
as a Development of Regional
Impact could really be considered
a "Development of Regional
Improvement."
Vojin Vujosevic, an owner of Pain
D'Avignon,asked why hisbakeryon
Airport Road had to be sacrificed
for the new connector access from
Attucks Lane.
New chance for Chapter
40B alternative
Barnstable will give a proposed
Chapter 40B alternative another go
when it brings back the previously
defeatedAffordableHousingOverlay
District later this month.
The AHOD isintended as alocal,
faster alternativefor developers to
createmixedaffordable andmarket-
rate developments than the state's
Chapter 40B process,which can be
timely,costly and often adversarial.
Itisalsoanopportunityforthetown
to have more control over the size
and scale of projects.
The AHOD was defeated by one
vote inearlyDecember.The8-4vote
infavor failed to carrythe necessary
two-thirds majority needed for
zoning changes. Councilor Jim
Crocker absented himself from the
vote because of a conflict.
As the proposal went down to
defeat last year, planning board
members suggested that the town
try the 40 percent affordability
requirement.Membersarguedthatif
that percentage didn'tworkit could
always be changed, but the town
should aim high in expectation.
Councilors Rick Barry of Cotuit
and Greg Milne, Jim Munafo and
Harold Tobey,all of Hyannis,voted
against the proposal.
Principal named for
Hyannis East
A Cotuit resident who'sprincipal
of a New Bedford school noted for
its rising achievement test scores
has accepted the principalship of
Hyannis East Elementary.
Larabee said Hy East "is a school
very similarinits population to the
school where I'm principal here in
New Bedford. It's a wonderful mix
of students, and that was a real
attraction for me. I like working
in smaller schools. I think you can
really get a sense of family and
communitywith a smaller school."
It's hold on to your hats
as BHS graduates 405
Threatening skies may have
put it off for a day and the wind
made for a blustery event, but the
405 graduates of Barnstable High
School's Class of 2006 would not
be denied.
The program moved swiftly from
the inspired singingof the national
anthem by seniors Liz Donnelly,
Chantel Joseph and Ryan Tusko to
the valedictory address.
In introducing the class
valedictorian , Class President
Benjamin Erhard acknowledged
that the two had a personal bond.
"He has been my teammate,
my classmate, my co-worker, my
roommate, my other half and my
best friend for the past 18 years,"
Erhard said.
The valedictorian is his twin
brother , Brendan Erhard , who
honored another teacher in his
speech: his father, Osterville Bay
Elementary School third grade
teacher William Erhard.
Town looks to wire
intranet on Comcast's
dime
Barnstable is already wired for
cable, but with the activation of a
somewhatdormantprovisionwithin
the town's license agreement with
Comcast, it could also be wired for
data.
Afiber-opticintranetconnecting58
government and quasi-government
buildingsinBarnstable-municipal,
school, fire district, library, and
county - is envisioned, at no cost
to taxpayers.
The intranet provisions were
included in the town's last license
with Comcast, inked seven years
ago.
Overcrowding
ordinances approved
Residents looking for relief
from overcrowded homes in their
neighborhoodsfound somewithlast
week's approval of new occupancy
and rental ordinances by the town
council.
The comprehensive, occupancy
ordinance, which sets limits on the
numberofadultsandvehiclesallowed
for dwelling units, and a rental
registrationandinspectionordinance
are intended to provide regulatory
"teeth" for town staff to address
issues arising from overcrowded
homes and apartments.
"We now have bedroom police,"
saidCouncilorGregMilne,whovoted
against the occupancy ordinance
but removed himselffrom the rental
regulation discussion because he
ownsrentalproperty."Ican'tfathom
how you're going to enforce this on
everysinglefamilythatwantstojust
live in peace in their home town."
Assistant Town Manager Paul
Niedzwiecki said that there are
hypothetical and philosophical
concerns with the proposal, "but
the problem that we're dealingwith
is the destruction of single-family
neighborhoods. It is enforceable.
Give us a chance and we'll do it."
Cape Cod Academy
sends 40 on to
adulthood
The 40 members of Cape Cod
Academy's Class of 2006 took more
than iust diplomas awav from the
K
school's 30th commencement.
They also took umbrellas.
Graduationdaywasthelastin
aseeminglyBiblicalsuccession
of rainy days in Osterville, but
the umbrellas the graduates
received from Erin Johnson,
the humanities teacher they
chose astheir commencement
speaker, weren't going to help
againstthe showersthat forced
the ceremony indoors. These
were the three-inch paper
models that shelter a mai tai.
But they represented the one
item Johnson said she would
give the graduates to take
with them in their adult lives:
umbrellas "not made out of
cloth andmetalbut ofkindness
andlove,oftimespenttogether,
andthememoryandtreasuring
of those moments when you
are apart."
Town-ownedcable?
Withthe ever-increasingcost
of cable and the prospect of
lessmunicipalcontrol over the
industry, could a municipally-
run system be the competitive
answer for cost containment?
That' s a question that
Barnstable 's cable advisory
committee wanted the town
manager to explore. It voted
unanimouslytoseekhissupport
for an investigation into the
costs,pros and cons of offering
acompetitive alternativetothe
licensed company, Comcast.
School system called
'fully functioning'
"I think we found that
this is not a deeply troubled
system,"saidJerryWasserman,
a consultant from the
Massachusetts Association
of School Committees ,
echoing his colleague from
the state association of school
superintendents, Jim Walsh,
who said that, "While much
needs to be done, a consensus
is starting to develop on anew
visionfor Barnstableschools,"
onethatwillincludesite-based
management in the form of
charter and contract schools.
McDonald won't go
to Rhode Island
Interim schools Supt. Tom
McDonald came in second in
thevotefornewsuperintendent
of the East Providence public
schools, but he still feels like
a winner.
"Iwentintalkingabout really
changingthe system, bringing
inabusinessmodel,"he said."I
was askingthem to take arisk,
and that'snot aneasythingfor
a school committee to do."
McDonald, who was feted
at ajammed Sons of Italy Hall
in Cotuit , retired from the
Barnstable systemthismonth.
Among his new enterprises
are operating (with his son) a
franchisefortheReadersDigest
"Books are Fun"programthat
supplies books to schools in
several counties , including
Barnstable, and work with
former school committee
chairmanKevinHarrington'sBe
Safe school safety company.
All road fixes lead to
rotary
If $50 million fell out of
the sky and all of the road
improvement projects on the
books in and around Hyannis
were completed, the net effect
would be faster trips to the
Hyannis Rotary.
That was the assessment of
PaulNiedzwiecki,Barnstable's
assistanttownmanager,atthe
Hyannis Access Study Task
Force meeting.
"One of he most important
projects is the one that isn't
designed yet and that's the
airport rotary," Niedzwiecki
said.
The rotary sits at what's
increasingly referred to as the
choke point on the hourglass
of Hyannis's traffic system.
To stick with the analogy,
each grain of sand traveling
the main corridor through
Hyannismustpassthroughthe
naturally constricting narrow
of the rotary.
"If we don't fix the airport
rotary,then you're givingup on
half of Hyannis," Niedzwiecki
said.
Recalling her eight years as
the Hyannis Area Chamber
of Commerce 's executive
director, Cape Cod Chamber
CEO Wendy Northcross said
that the second question after,
"Where do the Kennedyslive?"
was about the rotary: "What
the hell is that?"
Schools struggle with
achievement gap
Barnstable has a problem,
and just because a lot of other
places have the same problem
doesn't mean that Barnstable
should give up on fixing it.
A report requested by
the school committee and
administrators notes that
achievement gapsbetweenthe
system's white and Hispanic
and white and black students
are significant.Only20 percent
of Hispanic 10lh graders have
reached proficiency in English
Language Arts as opposed
to 74 percent of whites. As
early as fourth grade, there's
an achievement gap of 19
percentage points between
CONTINUED ON PAGE 10
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KATHLEEEN S2MIT PHOTO
PROUDLY WAVING-Lena Horton , 3, of Sebring, Fta.. happily waves
one of the colorful flags in front of the JFK Hyannis Museum on
Main Street. Lena, was visiting Cape Cod with her parents, Karla
and Paul. For a complete schedule of Fourth of July parades,
fireworks and more.
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