RECENT PHOTOS
Above photo: A young woman was arrested on a warrant in the parking lot of the Americas Best Value Inn on Main street in Hyannis yesterday afternoon. The warrant was reportedly related to charges involving a Class A substance. (Heroin is one example of a Class A substance…)
The majority of photos taken by HN are never published. There are many reasons for this, ranging from lack of time to other bigger stories taking precedence…
Here are a few photos from the past several days that were not published, until now. Due to time constraints, no further information on these photos is available at this time, but the photos hopefully provide some value in terms of interest and perspective on what were considered potential news leads.
Above photo: Young children and teachers got some fresh air and an unexpected break from classes when a “cooking incident” set off fire alarms, forcing an evacuation of the Centerville Elementary School yesterday. Firefighters ventilated the building and all students were back on task in the classrooms within about 15 to 20 minutes after the alarm sounded. (I don’t know about you, but when I was that age, I lived for any excuse to be outside and out of class…)
Above photo: Firefighters had to quickly respond to a permitted burn in the area of West Main Street in Hyannis this past Saturday. The burn had grown out of control and became a brush fire. A COMM ambulance crew and a Barnstable Patrolman were first on scene after observing heavy smoke. The fire was quickly extinguished and the residents were reminded of the permit regulations which ensure safe burns. NOTE: According to Hyannis FD, this coming Friday is the last day of the burn season.
Above photo: Barnstable Patrol Officers check on the well-being of a homeless man who was said to be in and out of a wooded area in the area of West Main Street. Police routinely take time to check up on the homeless. They try to learn names and maintain friendly interactions. They do this not only to prevent potential crimes, but more so to look after these individuals who are often down on their luck and in some degree of crisis. For the most part, the homeless seem to appreciate their interactions with our local police. Many of the homeless are themselves often the victims of violent crimes or medical emergencies, and the police (along with firefighters) are often the only real “friends” these individuals have. Police also give advice, as was the case in the above photo, to help the homeless avoid situations where they may cause alarm or draw the attention to themselves. It’s a tough balancing act keeping everyone happy. Police had received a call on the above individual because someone thought he was behaving in suspicious manner…
Above photo: A Hyannis dad took a moment to give his child a stern talking to while walking near to a busy intersection. At first I thought, as the ever-protective advocate for children, “Hey, is this a necessary scolding?” But then I took a closer look and noticed the child appeared well cared for. The parents appeared to be neat and well supplied. It was the weekend and they appeared to be carrying everything this child needed. Then I thought about the recent riots and the apparent of lack of parental control of the children throwing rocks at police… and then I remembered how my little girl use to take advantage of times out in public to act like a major league little brat… and then I remembered how impossible it must seem for young families trying to raise healthy well-behaved children in today’s world… and then I thought of the Massachusetts Department of “Children and Families” (a misnomer if there ever was one… due to past corruption and some past questionable practices… more on that subject some other time…) constantly monitoring so many local young parents… I thought of all the potential ramifications for disciplining your child in public… many of these ramifications being open to subjective interpretation by others in the system, like teachers, etc… Then I thought about that mother in Baltimore confronting her son, hitting him in a desperate attempt to reach him and protect him from the consequences of his actions… Then I thought how fortunate I was never to have to spank my child, although I came close once or twice and understand why some parents feel they need to do it… The above photo opened up a litany of questions and considerations as I tried to decide whether or not to publish it. I didn’t want to call these parents out in any way which could be interpreted as negative, which is why the image is obscured. But after recent events, especially images of young teens hurling rocks at police, I decided to show this photo because my gut tells me these parents are doing what’s right for their child. We need real heroes in today’s out of control society… and all parents are in a position to be those much needed heroes… I have come to believe that responsible and tough love parenting is what is truly necessary in our current culture. HN wishes all local young families the best of luck raising their children in these difficult and often confusing times. Bottom line: you can definitely tell when a disciplinary action toward a child is done out of love and concern when you take the time to look closer.
4/29/2015
Robert Bastille,
P.S. – Today’s HyTown Vignette is brought to you by Sly & The Family Stone… [It definitely wouldn’t hurt to crank up and meditate on this 1970s classic… press play…]
