Crime in suburbia

From The Landmark (subscription required):
Editor's note: we were off the air for a couple of weeks. Crime in suburbia did continue in our absence, but we'll leave the nature of those crimes to your imagination. Meanwhile, here's the current report.

Holden

Monday, June 22

2:04 a.m. Mutual aid to Rutland PD for domestic in progress; disregard

10:50 a.m. Well being check on man sleeping in vehicle
5:58 p.m. 911 Caller irate that police disturbed residence and spoke with minor; dispatch promised to find out who went to residence
6:26 p.m. 911 Domestic disturbance on Towle Dr.; verbal argument only

Tuesday, June 23

7:45 a.m. Three kids reported hanging out in lot on Main St., caller would like them dispersed
7:53 a.m. 911 Mountain lion reported near Chaffins Recreation Association
8:04 a.m. Black bear reported on Anderson Ave.
8:40 a.m. 911 Report of black bear on Anderson Ave.;schools advised to use their discretion regarding students going outside

10:34 a.m. Mail box mowed down during the night on Quinapoxet St.
11:23 a.m. Young teen reported trying to buy tobacco products at Main Street business
1:30 a.m. Caller says teenage daughter reports police at door of residence on Highland St.; ok, investigation taking place
5:17 p.m. Elderly male reported hitchhiking
8:26 p.m. Teen opened door of vehicle in someone's driveway; said he was looking at cars for sale
9:10 p.m. Bear cub reported earlier in the day on Mason Rd.

Wednesday, June 24

10:33 a.m. Trees overhanging across from Jefferson Post Office
12:49 p.m. Water pump leaking on Reservoir St.
1:12 p.m. Numerous calls about traffic on Main St.
5:16 p.m. 911 Vehicle improperly passing on Main St.
6:05 p.m. Report of vehicles racing in area of Main St. and Hawthorne Rd.; no contact

9:03 p.m. 911 Caller reporting male passed out, then revived; passed out from watching scary movie

Thursday, June 25

7:00 a.m. Tree in road on Wyndhurst
5:30 p.m. Inquiry regarding a group of youths skateboarding in the street on Glenwood; youths advised to stay out of street
9:45 p.m. Caller reports someone possibly working construction at water tower making a lot of noise
10:38 p.m. Caller concerned about kids playing football in lot of restaurant on Main St.

Friday, June 26

9:15 a.m. Vehicle parked in church lot for days
10:54 a.m. 911 Caller says kids on cell phone almost hit her, she pulled them over and took phone; wants police officer
9:05 p.m. Report of pit bull on Putnam Rd.
10:35 p.m. Loud music on Dorothy Ave.
11:16 p.m. Loud music complaint on Dorothy Ave.; resident advised if another complaint is received, will be charged with disturbing the peace

Saturday, June 27

3:41 a.m. Group of individuals behind Papa Gino's; cutting through to Honey Farms

1:58 p.m. Youths riding bikes on Manning St.
2:21 p.m. Potential traffic issue on Wachusett St.
6:40 p.m. Multiple calls about power outage on Woodridge Rd.
8:10 p.m. Kids and mini-bike hindering traffic on Brentwood; parents spoken with, scooter parked for the night
9:04 p.m. Report of fireworks on Montana Dr.

Sunday, June 28

12:45 a.m. Report of barking dogs at residence on Shrewsbury St.
3:53 a.m. Individual walking in road on Shrewsbury St.
3:15 p.m. Elderly driver operating erratically near Gale Free Library
3:47 p.m. Uncontrollable teen on Wachusett St.
6:40 p.m. Loose Rotweiller on Fisher Rd.
6:42 p.m. Scooter lying in entrance of business on Main St.

Paxton

Monday, June 22

3:14 a.m. Repossession of vehicle, Grove St.
10:01 p.m. Two suspicious vehicles, Wildewood Dr.

Tuesday, June 23

7:32 a.m. Motorist struck deer, Turkey Hill Rd.
10:29 p.m. Golden retriever found, West St.

Wednesday, June 24

9:28 a.m. Request for assistance in shutting off water in home on Jefferson Dr.

Thursday, June 25

7:02 p.m. Report that child is missing. Later found hiding in the bushes, Pleasant St.
11:25 p.m. Complaint of loud music coming from car on Camp St.

Friday, June 26

4:40 p.m. Report of kids playing very close to road, Pleasant St./Lincoln Circle
9:17 p.m. Chipmunk in the bedroom, Burtenmar Cir.
11:55 p.m. Caller almost hit horse in the road, Grove St. Horse returned to owner

Saturday, June 27

11:36 a.m. Report of gunshots in area of Brigham Rd.
6:16 p.m. Person came to station with white Bichon found walking in area of Grove St. Owner notified

Sunday, June 28

7:36 p.m. Loose donkey in the roadway, Grove St.
8:16 p.m. Erratic operator all over the road, Pleasant St.

Princeton

Monday, June 22

6:04 a.m. Request for animal control officer, Allen Hill Rd.
2:17 p.m. Traffic safety hazard, Mountain Rd.
2:53 p.m. Traffic control duty, Sterling Rd.
3:01 p.m. Larceny, Lovers Lane
3:45 p.m. Public service, Main St.

Tuesday, June 23

8:10 a.m. Traffic safety hazard, Rte. 140 North
2:00 p.m. Assist other police department, Town Hall Dr.
4:30 p.m. Traffic safety hazard, Ball Hill Rd
5:21 p.m. Assist other police department, Matthews Lane
6:24 p.m. Assist fire department, Rhodes Rd.

Wednesday, June 24

10:17 a.m. Traffic safety hazard, Rte. 140 North
10:30 a.m. Traffic safety hazard, Main St./Leominster Rd.
11:33 a.m. Assist other police department, Town Hall Dr.
1:10 p.m. Assist other police department, Matthews Lane

Thursday, June 25

11:28 a.m. Assist other police department, Matthews Lane
12:38 p.m. Request for animal control officer, Mountain Rd.

Friday, June 26

10:14 a.m. Traffic safety hazard, Worcester Rd.
3:59 p.m. Traffic safety hazard, Brooks Station Rd.

Saturday, June 27

9:04 a.m. Fraud, Houghton Rd.
5:54 p.m. Disturbance, motor vehicle, Worcester Rd.

Sunday, June 28

7:38 a.m. Traffic safety hazard, Worcester Rd.

Rutland

Monday, June 22

1:20 p.m. Person into station to pick up license plates, Main St.
5:51 p.m. Person received suspicious e-mail requesting money, Main St.
5:52 p.m. Police make notification, Prescott St.

Tuesday, June 23

12:04 a.m. Loose cow on side of the road, Pommogussett Rd.
3:58 p.m. Person came to station to speak with officer about an incident at the park, Main St.
5:33 p.m. Person came to station to pick up license and plates, Main St.
9:50 p.m. Report of bear near swimming pool, Memorial Dr.

Wednesday, June 26

12:01 a.m. Complaint about neighbor making loud noise, Maple Ave.
12:42 a.m. Complaint about barking dog, Marjorie Lane
8:06 a.m. Cow in road, Pommogussett Rd.
1:06 p.m. Officer wanted to help deal with older person giving individual a hard time, Birchwood Rd.
9:36 p.m. Report of tree down, blocking road, Turkey Hill Rd.

Thursday, June 25

8:05 a.m. Report of no stop sign at intersection, Glenwood/ East Country Rd.

Friday, June 26

11:17 a.m. Bull in the road, Pommogussett Rd.
12:14 p.m. Report of large bear in neighborhood, Nancy Dr.

Saturday, June 27

3:08 p.m. Caller reporting tractor parts are missing, East County Rd.
9:15 p.m. Report of fireworks in area of Barre Paxton Rd.

Sunday, June 28

10:20 p.m. Caller wants to speak with officer about a letter found written on a napkin, Main St.

Sterling

Monday, June 22

5:38 a.m. Car hit a fox on Newell Hill Rd.
7:39 a.m. Caller reports hitting a deer, Clinton Rd.
9:41 a.m. Assist other agencies at town beach, Hall Ave.
10:15 a.m. Assist Holden Police, Legg Rd.

Tuesday, June 23

6:29 a.m. Suspicious person sitting on stone wall, Princeton Rd.
5:12 p.m. Caller wants to speak with officer regarding a car purchase, Leominster Rd.

Wednesday, June 24

9:48 p.m. Suspicious activity, large group of people gathered, Runaway Brook Rd.

Thursday, June 25

9:16 a.m. Disturbance, gun shots heard, Country Club Blvd.
10:20 a.m. Drug law violations, Roper Rd.
11:18 a.m. Raccoon in attic, Shady Lane
4:54 p.m. Two males selling magazine subscriptions, Maple St./Bird St.
5:00 p.m. Report of a cougar in back yard of home on Clinton Rd.
7:15 p.m. Caller reporting two men at her gate soliciting, School St.

9:29 p.m. Officer wanted to disperse individuals sitting in front of pizza restaurant, Main St.
10:17 p.m. Male pacing on side of street, Maple St.

Friday, June 26

8:55 a.m. Suspicious activity, Justice Hill Rd. Individuals from tree company
3:45 p.m. Caller looking for advice regarding a snapping turtle that lives in her yard, Meetinghouse Hill Rd.

Sunday, June 28

1:11 a.m. Loud party, Sandy Ridge Rd.
2:24 a.m. Loud party, Avery Lane

He's just sayin' ...

Limbaugh: Michael Jackson "flourished under Reagan," "languished under Clinton and Bush," "died under Obama" | Media Matters for America:

Via Fark.com

Where there was no darkness

[Tuesday 16 June-Wednesday, 17 June]
We flew out of Boston's Logan Airport at 9:30PM. Two or three hours later, somewhere over Greenland, I think, the sun came up. We didn't encounter darkness again until our ride home from Logan on Sunday, 28 June.
Particularly on cloudy days, this perpetual light is disorienting. Not only don't you know what time it is, you also don't know what direction you're facing. Throw in eight hours of air travel in coach and a seven-hour time difference and you have a couple of travelers expecting Dick Cheney to show up and administer advanced interrogation techniques.
Instead, we stood in Helsinki's Vantaa airport, waiting for a taxi driver who was supposed to meet us. Our trip through Customs was simple. There were two lines, one if we had anything to declare, the other if we had nothing to declare. We followed a steady stream of non-declarers out the door.
While waiting, we watched experienced travelers change SIM cards in their phones. Others just started making calls. This is the land of Nokia, the largest cell phone manufacturer in the world, so it's with no small amount of pride that Finns use their cell phones a lot. Texting seemed to be less common than in the States, but, given the challenges of the Finnish language, it's understandable. (More about language in other notes.)
I have often said that my wife really had to love me to grab a name such as mine. I went through the same school system for 12 years and still the principal mispronounced my name at graduation. So, it was a giddy delight to hear the name pronounced correctly at every turn. The Finnish pronunciation is Huck-a-rye-nen, with the accent on the first syllable and with a rolled r. Hence, my father's nickname (and mine through high school) was Huck. My uncle, who moved to St. Louis after the war, was known as Hakk.
We enjoyed the cab rides. We learned from one that his house had a geothermal system, giving him free heat for just 30€/month. We had the same driver on three other occasions in Helsinki and learned of his plans to visit Washington and New York this week. He had been scheduled to travel to New York in 2001, in September, but those travel plans had been, as it's said, overcome by events.
Finland uses the Euro. The currency is very sensible. The paper bills are in different sizes for each denomination so that you can tell without looking how much paper money you have. There are coins for 2€, 1€, and smaller. Because we were constantly trying to the conversion math in our heads (1€ = ~$1.47 while we were there), we'd get tired and just call them things. ("How much should we tip the driver?" "Five things seems about right."
We arrived at our hotel in downtown Helsinki at about 4PM, which was like 9AM, without sleep. We'd be staying in Helsinki until Thursday evening, when we'd be taking an overnight train ride to Rovaniemi.

Even though the hotel staff had no trouble with our name, the welcome screen on the TV thought that the name was too long.(Also note that the names of the languages are in English. If I only spoke Russian, I wouldn't know what the word Russian is; I'd only know Русский.)
Helsinki is just a bit smaller than Boston, with a metropolitan area over 1 million people. A short walk from the hotel is a large shopping and business complex, including restaurants with outdoor dining, department stores, little shops, the train and bus stations, and a whole lot of stuff going on. We needed something to eat and wandered about, uncertain of what we'd find or even what we were looking at. We were also very weary and finally just picked a quiet place in a mall. It was called Memphis Erottaja (It sounds a lot sexier than it is. The name means The Memphis Difference.). They served burgers and other American fare. We had dessert at a Ben and Jerry's kiosk in the mall and then went back to the hotel for the night.
The room was nice, a simple Nordic design, with comfortable bedding and good black-out curtains to block the ever-present light. The bathroom and shower fixtures were a bit strange to those used to American Standard, but we figured out how to do what we needed to do. Sleep came quickly and we didn't get up until the next morning.

Remember all those times you said, "Rain, Rain, Go Away..."

Welcome to that Another Day that you told the rain to come again to.

You know that you've cross over some line when you find it easier to look a web site with a weather radar map than to look out the window to see if it's still raining.

In case you're thinking that you'd like to meet someone in Dudley,

it's best to keep looking:

From a banner ad on the Classmates.com site (seen while on my way to cancel my account).

Nothing's so far away as where you come from

My wife and I just returned from a 12-day trip to Finland and Iceland. The trip took us to Helsinki, Oulu, Jyväskylä, back to Helsinki, and then a two-day visit to Grindavík and Reykavik in Iceland. We had a terrific time. We learned about customs and cultures of these strange and wondeful lands and learned or re-learned several important things about ourselves as individuals and as a couple.
Both sets of my grandparents emigrated from Finland in the early 20th century.  They brought Finnish culture with them and also left it behind. My mother's mother (Äiti) returned a couple of times, the others not at all. My mother went to the old country with her mother in 1938 and, separately, my parents visited in later years.
My grandparents left a country that was a duchy of czarist Russia; we visited a nation driven by Nokia and Marimekko.
I grew up learning bits of colloquial Finnish that helped me with pronunciation, but, basically, I had the vocabulary of a five-year-old. (More about the Finnish language in another note.) Fortunately, English is spoken often and well in Finland. On several occasions, when we'd enter a restaurant and greet the server, they'd hand us an English-language menu. Most public signs and train announcements would be in Finnish, Swedish (the country's other official language), and English.
Over the next few days, as I sort through my notes, clippings, and pictures, I'll have a number of posts about various topics. (That sound you hear is your brain groaning at the thought of a series of blog entries filled with someone else's holiday pictures. Don't worry. I'll be respectful of your bandwidth, electronic and mental.)
In the middle of the night (Eastern European Summer Time), news broke about Michael Jackson's death. As we were packing to leave, we watched all of the stations - Finnish, English, French, and German - had gone with wall-to-wall coverage. We left it on a Finnish station that was reading text messages from viewers.

This is not my grandmother's Finland.