Good for you John! Team rules are pretty simple if enforced (as you have done here) whether that player was the best on your team or not he should be as accountable as every other person on that team. I don't know the parent at all, but usually a person that will go to that extreme have a history of "chirping" and "coaching from the stands". He probably has aspirations of more atheltic success for their child in college etc... The saddest part is that this guy probably doesn't realize that accepting the consequences go a lot farther to shape his child as a player/person than actually getting away with it and being allowed to play anyways.... ...(full comment)

Superintendent Houle continues to demonstrate her lack of leadership by vetoing a sensible decision by her staff without offering any constructive alternative Of her own. Add this incident to her ignoring the mood of a roomful of concerned parents last year over the BB gun incident and it is very clear to me that Belchertown has a 'disconnected' school superintendent. It's time to let her go and find someone with more management experience. ...(full comment)

The school superintendent was very wrong. One only has to remember the referee at a youth soccer game that was hit once by a 17 yr old and died. The superintendent evidently does not feel that people need to account for their behavior, which is really sad. ...(full comment)

Seriously? This "man" should have his name and face plastered all over the news. And who will be paying the bill for all the attention he got from police, Baystate, etc.? Taxpayers? ...(full comment)

Texas is a far cry from MA. While nearly 1/4 Texans lack any health insurance, 31% of McLennan County are poor and uninsured. In TX, the counties pick up indigent health care costs with a limit of $30,000 per year. Gov. Perry has refused to expand Medicare in his state, to the detriment of its citizens. (Of course, what do you expect from a member of the Tea Party, which was actually started back in 2003 by the Koch brothers and big tobacco companies for their own company's interests). Many of the people in West are also now unemployed and with the liability insurance (a paltry 1 million $, also thanks to TX government), that sum will not go far. Sadly, the Boston Marathon Bombings overshadowed this tragedy in TX and continues to do so - there is more media coverage of where to bury one of the bombers than there is of the tragedy in West. ...(full comment)

With buses, and cars, I don't think the students will find The Retreat too far from campus. We want things to stay the same in town, but it's not our job to micromanage, or is our right. We have lives better than many others, and I see a distinct lack of gratitude on the part of many Amherst residents. The more we resist change, the worse problems with the students will become. As an example of change, I've lived in Amherst 51 years. The road I live on was a meandering back road with potholes. Over the years it has been steadily improved, so much so that it is now a major artery, and all day, and for at least part of the night I listen to traffic. I've found that it doesn't bother me that much. There was never a guarantee that I settled here things would stay the same. Things could be worse. We could live a bad part of Holyoke. Count your blessings. ...(full comment)

Why isn't the body cremated and the Uncle can have the ashes. Then nobody is stuck with the bill. And you don't have to look for a plot. ...(full comment)

Israel should learn to deal honestly and decently with the millions of refugees it has created over the last 65 years. The United States should not give one nickle of support to Israel until it does so. For 65 years Israel has been beating up the Palestinians for fear that they may try to get their homes and villages and land back. Why don't they drop that "Chosen People" stance and try abiding by international law for change. Israel is setting itself up for a huge and long overdue backlash. ...(full comment)

These are truly wise words. ...(full comment)

Your good old-fashioned neighborhood is designed explicitly to keep outsiders out of town. ...(full comment)