Obligatory Super Bowl notes

• The best thing about the Super Bowl is reading yesterday morning's newspapers today.
  
  
  
  via One thing not up for debate: Colts will win - The Boston Globe
• It'll be interesting to learn if the on-side kick was a part of the plan going into the game.
• We had a good discussion early in the 4th quarter about who should be MVP. At that point, Garrett Hartley, Pierre Thomas, or Drew Brees could have credible candidate. At game's end, Brees was a good choice.
• Has a lineman, offense or defense, ever won an MVP for anything? Arguably, Peyton Manning would be just a very good quarterback if it wasn't for the Indianapolis front line (even if Jeff Saturday made some lousy snaps.)
  Wouldn't it be great for some 300lb. defensive tackle to be shouting out, "We're going to Disney World!"
• It was good Who.

Crime in suburbia

From The Landmark (subscription required):

[Editor's note: There were 10 suspicious items this week.]

Holden

Monday, January 25

10:56 a.m. DVD found at Dunkin’ Donuts
5:30 p.m. Caller lost wallet
7:02 p.m. Caller asking for nephew to be picked up until he can come get him

Tuesday, January 26

8:42 a.m. Motor vehicle struck by vehicle that didn’t stop, South Rd.
8:44 a.m. Worker on Timber Lane locked keys in vehicle
6:20 p.m. Party reporting disabled motor vehicle in Worcester; advised to call Worcester PD
11:30 p.m. Suspicious motor vehicle in lot, Shrewsbury St.

Wednesday, January 27

7:35 a.m. Driver believes may have hit cat; ran off
9:33 a.m. Caller doing walk-through at property; wanted police to know due to history with wife
11:15 a.m. Kayak with gear inside found on Quinapoxet River; belongs to party in West Boylston
1:39 p.m. Caller reports mailbox destroyed, Reservoir St.^[1]
1:56 p.m. Raccoon on Flagler Dr.
3:23 p.m. Vandalism/graffiti to electrical box in yard, Jennifer Dr.
6:13 p.m. Road rage incident started in Worcester, now on Brattle St.
7:18 p.m. 911 hang-up, Blair Dr.; woman concerned about computer virus

Thursday, January 28

8:03 p.m. 911 caller’s dog hit by car
10:01 p.m. Princeton PD calling about whether town had contact with individual; advised negative

Friday, January 29

12:30 a.m. Open door at Dawson School, clothes on ground, burglar alarm sounding
6:54 a.m. Pedestrian could not be located
10:25 a.m. Animal freezing or sick, Chapel St.; appears to be porcupine
12:44 p.m. West Boylston PD requests back-up, Woodland St.; later advises disregard
4:24 p.m. Cars parked on both sides of Laurelwood Rd.
4:27 p.m. Snow drifts on Reservoir St./South Rd.
7:57 p.m. Officer reports that fire department disobeyed road sign exiting plaza after fire call
10:18 p.m. Seven youths left Main St. headed down Holt Rd.
10:40 p.m. Flag stuck in light fixture outside home, Wachusett St.
10:55 p.m. Vehicle egged multiple times, mirror damaged, Rte. 122A

Saturday, January 30

12:06 a.m. Suspicious motor vehicle, Shrewsbury St.
7:24 a.m. Caller reports animal in attic; advised to contact Critter Control
8:00 a.m. No water at residence, Johnson St.
9:50 a.m. Suspicious motor vehicle, Main St.
8:30 p.m. Dog found on Sterling Rd.

Sunday, January 31

12:17 a.m. Suspicious motor vehicle in parking lot, Shrewsbury St.
12:59 a.m. Suspicious motor vehicle, Main St.
9:26 a.m. Coyote seen in yard, Cook St.; advised to keep animals and kids in. Second call reporting same
11:00 a.m. Railroad gate down with no train

Paxton

Tuesday, January 26

9:50 p.m. Report of ice in road near Camp St./ Rte. 122
10:07 p.m. Car carrier picking up vehicle, Pleasant St.

Thursday, January 28

9:51 a.m. Caller reporting she has no water, Marshall St.
5:11 p.m. 911 hang-up, child playing with phone, Nipmuck Rd.
6:06 p.m. Recycling bin in middle of Pleasant St., creating hazard

Saturday, January 30

10:47 a.m. 911 hang-up call, West St., at school. Child playing with phone
5:30 p.m. White poodle found, Maple Ave. Owner found

Sunday, January 31

5:12 p.m. Caller concerned about children on ice in Worcester. Worcester PD advised

Princeton

Monday, January 25

7:38 a.m. Police stand by while vehicle is pulled from snow bank, Rte. 140 N
8:12 a.m. Trash truck off road, Pheasant Hollow Run
3:45 p.m. Police assist motorist locked out of vehicle, Main St.
7:18 p.m. Dog found wandering in middle of Gregory Hill Rd., brought to police station. Owner found

Tuesday, January 26

8:21 a.m. Police transport person to Thomas Prince School from Houghton Rd.
4:34 p.m. Two suspicious males selling meat door to door from truck, Houghton Rd.
8:45 p.m. Westminster PD requests assist with transporting person to Pheasant Hollow Run

Wednesday, January 27

9:30 a.m. Police assist motorist with fixing flat tire after striking rock in road, Sterling Rd. Police remove rock

Friday, January 29

12:45 a.m. Police find gate open, Mountain Rd.
2:00 p.m. Police remove trash containers and recyclables from roadway, Boylston Ave.
7:46 p.m. Suspicious males in vehicle in driveway of home, Ball Hill Rd.

Saturday, January 30

8:15 a.m. Police remove large branch from roadway, Rte. 140 N
8:44 a.m. Police stand by with disabled motor vehicle until it is towed, Rte. 140 N
10:00 p.m. Caller reports deer walking in road appears to have been hit, Main St. Ran into woods

Sunday, January 31

11:42 a.m. Report of black Labrador wandering in Worcester Rd.
3:51 p.m. Westminster PD requests assistance, Worcester/Patricia Rds., Westminster

Rutland

Monday, January 25

4:25 p.m. Report that teen isn’t cooperating, Highland Park Rd.
5:55 p.m. Suspicious person standing at end of driveway, Birchwood Rd.

Tuesday, January 26

6:33 p.m. Community service, Main St.
11:17 p.m. Person reporting black ice, Barre Paxton Rd.

Wednesday, January 27

8:09 a.m. Report of missing old, blind, deaf Yorkie dog, East County Rd. Dog picked up on Rte. 68 and returned to owner
9:21 a.m. Police out at Rutland Plaza
2:00 p.m. Person rang doorbell and is in back yard of home, Carly Cir. Found to be assessor
2:06 p.m. Yellow dog in trash, Skyline Dr.
3:32 p.m. Person wants to speak with officer, Main St.
4:55 p.m. Person at station to speak with officer about juveniles throwing objects at car when she picks up passenger at bus stop, Hickory Dr.

Thursday, January 28

11:28 a.m. Suspicious vehicle in driveway, Juniper Ln.
11:28 a.m. Suspicious men walking around neighborhood, Wildbrook Dr.
1:32 p.m. Officer wanted, juvenile issue, Main St.
2:32 p.m. Person at station to speak with officer re: juvenile issue, Main St.
3:18 p.m. Complaints about person throwing snow from the road into woman’s flower garden, Birchwood Rd.; neighbor dispute, police had to return
3:40 p.m. Person at station to speak with officer, Main St.
5:24 p.m. Person complaining about car parked on corner near restaurant, Fairview Ave.

Friday, January 29

3:34 a.m. Person at station to speak with officer, Main St.
6:38 a.m. Caller locked keys out of small school bus, Wachusett St.
10:04 a.m. Person at station to speak with officer, Main St.
10:32 a.m. Person at station to speak with officer about ongoing issue, Main St.
1:10 p.m. Person at station to speak with officer about road rage incident, Intervale Rd.
1:51 p.m. Person wants to speak with officer about incident between her and her daughter, Main St.
3:20 p.m. Person at station to speak with officer, Main St.
5:24 p.m. Caller needs help getting out his dog stuck under the deck, Bushy Ln.

Saturday, January 30

12:05 p.m. Two dogs loose in yard, Hickory Dr./ Sumac Cir.
2:50 p.m. Complaint about two dogs on private property, Hickory Dr./Sumac Cir.
4:54 p.m. Stray poodle, Maple Ave.

Sunday, January 31

12:42 a.m. Disabled motor vehicle, police stand by while tire is fixed, Main St.
11:39 a.m. Person wants to speak with officer about bail, Main St.
10:06 p.m. Assist person locked out of vehicle, Miles Rd.

Sterling

Monday, January 25

12:30 a.m. Vehicle stuck diagonally across Colby Rd. due to ice
5:27 a.m. Deer struck and in roadway, North Row Rd.
3:51 p.m. Person at station to speak with officer, Leominster Rd.
4:05 p.m. Caller reports seeing bobcat, Legate Hill Rd.
5:10 p.m. Community policing, Meetinghouse Hill Rd.

Tuesday, January 26

11:07 a.m. Police assist Dept. of Conservation and Recreation personnel advising person not to post signs on Rail Trail

Wednesday, January 27

8:38 a.m. 911 hang-up, children playing with phone, Riverview Rd.
10:04 a.m. Civil complaint left in mailbox, Malvern Hill Rd.
1:09 p.m. Person at station about possible missing check, Leominster Rd.
2:10 p.m. Civil complaint put in mailbox, Patriots Way

Thursday, January 28

12:19 a.m. Caller reports some sort of animal beside roadway, Redemption Rock Trl./Crowley Rd.
11:19 p.m. Police respond to burglar alarm, Boutelle Rd. Likely caused by wind

Friday, January 29

1:45 p.m. Caller reports seeing wolf in area of Holden/Mason Rds.

Saturday, January 30

10:02 a.m. 911 hang-up, child playing with phone, Pine St.
12:30 p.m. Person at station to speak with officer about item given to his son, Leominster Rd.

Note to self:

A contractor friend of mine used to say that the best shortcut on any project is a trip out to the truck to get the right tool for the job.
In that spirit, I've learned that nail-clippers, even large ones, are a very poor substitute for needle-nose pliers. Needle-nose pliers can do two things - forcibly extract that widget from that place and pick out the pieces of broken plastic that resulted from forcibly removing the widget.
When it comes to extracting software, it's often the case that that there are pieces left over. Windows applications are supposed to obey a standard set of protocols for installation and uninstallation. Anything that is written to the Registry should be removed when the product is uninstalled. Files, including programs, configuration resources, and even data files, should be removed when you decide to remove a product.
Most programs, however, fall short of these best practices. As a result, after installing trial versions of programs and the like, it's easy to have a bloated Registry full of unused keys, your Program Files directory littered with stray entries, and your %APPDATA% directory cluttered with old data.
Enter one of my favorite programs and one of the first things that I install when I get a new Windows system -
Revo Uninstaller. It not only runs an application standard uninstallation script, but it also scrubs the registry and file system of detritis. The free version does a great job, while the paid version adds some extra system maintenance tools and gives you the satisfaction of paying for something that you find of value. (Feature comparison table is here.)
And, yes, there are other solutions - sandboxes, virtual machines, and the like - for installation and removing trial software. Having trashed system configurations beyond repair by editing the Windows Registry when trying to remove a badly configured installation, I know that Revo Uninstaller is the right tool when you need it. It's a lot better than trying to make your own tools.


see more There I Fixed It

Give me your tired, your poor

So, here's an idea. People want to come to America? Give 'em snow shovels and let them help to dig our nation's capital out of Snowmaggedon. That's what they're doing in Finland. Asylum seekers are clearing the snow from Helsinki streets.
As an increasing number of people seek safety from oppression and terror in Iraq and Somalia, they're settling in Finland and other European countries. Finland is trying to do the right thing by providing information to refugees and asylum seekers, even to the point of building new shelters, reception centres, they call them.
No word if the refugees were using the Pikku-Mikko LUK-45 (Little Mike) or other products from hakkarainen.com.

Uncle Sam wants you to have a healthy baby

Healthy babies are a good idea. Texting is cool. Lots of companies and organizations want to help you (or the woman you impregnated) have a healthy baby by sending you text messages. Welcome to maternity in the twenty-teens.
First, you go to a site called text4baby - http://text4baby.org/. 
Here you are able to sign up for weekly free text messages during your pregnancy. 
How do they know that you're pregnant? They ask and you tell.

You can even tell them when your last menstrual period will be in the future.

And, best of all, this is brought to you by the Department of Defense and MTV, among others.

via /. -  The New National Health Plan Is Texting

Uh, oh. He's thinking again.

If you make it to age 30, you've usually got a pretty good story about the rocks you had to climb over, cliffs that you fell down and survived, accidents you've witnessed. Few people live tidy lives along a path that's straight, narrow, and true. We've left behind a good bit of wreckage and watched others do the same.
And, as a result, we develop stories about heroes. People who have done great things or people who have survived great hardship in the quest of something very ordinary. Recently, I heard the story of a Maine lobsterman, nearly 90, who got his hand caught in the ropes and had the ends of four fingers cut off, but the old salt still managed to bring all of the traps.
We hear these stories and wonder why we can't be like that guy. We see Curt Schilling and an infamous bloody sock. The Japanese gymnast in the Olympics many years ago who broke his leg during one routine and still nailed the landing with barely a grimace.
Why can't we be like that guy? Because we're not and, pretty much, we ain't gonna be. We change, but not much. For every kid who rises out of nowhere to become great, there are a hundred or maybe a thousand who stay behind. And what becomes of those people who stay behind? They go work. They become mothers and fathers. They worry about caring for their parents and making their neighborhoods better. Quite a few will die before their time because of booze, drugs, or just too much of too much. In all of those cases, our heroes could do little for us because they've already got full-time jobs being our heroes.
Look, if you're in trouble, whatever it might be. Pick something. Who's going to show up and help you when you're scared and confused? Not Oprah. Not Dr. Oz. Not Scott Brown. Not President Obama or Curt Schilling or that lobsterman from Maine. Not Taylor Swift or Bruce or Sergey Brin. Nope.
It's gonna be one of your kids, one of your neighbors, a friend you just met a few weeks ago. They're doing a little better than you right now and they can help. Another day, you'll be doing a little better than them and you can help. You take turns carrying each other. Those are the heroes who are gonna get you, or at least me, through another day.
So, the theory which is mine is that we're going to learn a lot more about living better from people who are more like us than we from our heroes.

Cousins

Sandra's returning home today after visiting with her cousin, Beverly, in Arizona. Beverly's the eldest cousin of her generation of the Bradford clan.
Sandra reports in her Twitter feed:

A lovely sunny day to ride 'round town in my cousin's golf cart to exercise class and lunch. Then, we enjoyed old fam pics and diaries. Sigh

GroundYak Day

via Whirled of Kelly: YAK!

changing everything carefully

I happened to scroll down the page of my preferred weather site, wunderground.com, and saw this bit of hopeful news.in the Sports Weather section

We're still a few weeks away from the official start of spring, the day that the Red Sox equipment van leaves for Florida. Single-game tickets went on sale yesterday. (The first Yankee series is already sold out.)
And even though the lawns in this part of the country are hard-packed with snow and ice, we can start to think ahead to the verdant months ahead. In a short while, you'll be able to buy the type grass seed that's used at Fenway Park.(MLB, Scotts celebrate lure of real grass | MLB.com: News)

via bookofjoe: 'Field of Dreams' in your back yard

When science and espionage unite for the common good

The UK Register is reporting that an unnamed U.S. spy agency has funded the development of a silicone implant to generate electricity by way of natural body movements. The science comes from Princeton professor Michael McAlpine and funded by the U.S. Intelligence Community, cooperative of federal intelligence and national security agencies.
Spies who make electricity from silicone implants? I think that we have the plot for our next Austin Powers movie.

Crime in suburbia

From The Landmark (subscription required):

Editor's notes:
Extras

• District Attorney investigates Holden selectmen for possible Open Meeting violation 
• Landmark story, DA probes talks on Bullock contract (available to subscribers only)
• Telegram version -DA probes Open Meeting allegation 
• Llamas may have been on the lloose.
• There were 10 suspicious items this week.

Holden

Monday, January 18

12:36 a.m. Suspicious motor vehicle on Industrial Dr.; trucker taking a break
12:42 a.m. Vehicle lost rear wheels on Main St.
6:43 a.m. Campaign signs taken from residence lawn overnight on Holden St.
8:39 a.m. Neighbor complaining that neighbor put snow on his property on Bullard St.
10:32 a.m. 911 Stop sign at Main and Sunnyside Ave. knocked over
10:52 a.m. Caller reports town DPW too fast through neighborhood on Valley Hill Dr.
12:32 p.m. Failure to license dog on Nola Dr
4:13 p.m. Street sign on Sunnyside Ave. down
6:32 p.m. Snow embankment at Park Ave. and Main St. too high and needs to be removed
7:27 p.m. Caller reports daughter calling his cell leaving unbecoming messages
9:09 p.m. Neighbor reports someone blowing snow into the roadway on Main St.
11:09 p.m. Vehicle parked on Wachusett St. posing a hazard

Tuesday, January 19

12:42 a.m. Suspicious person going into closed dealership; truck driver attempting to sleep somewhere
4:36 a.m. Search area of Shrewsbury Street/Pinecroft for suspect in West Boylston robbery
4:41 a.m. Lookout issued by Worcester for robbery suspect
8:51 a.m. 911 Caller reports car on property for several days
9:48 a.m. Suspicious vehicle on High St.
9:48 a.m. Large pile of snow in the middle of Summer Lane
10:26 a.m. Failure to license dog on Main St.
1:29 p.m. Failure to license dog on Surrey Lane
7:49 p.m. Well-being check on house on Flagler Dr.; garage door open, no lights on; ok, owner is home
7:55 p.m. 911 misdial

Wednesday, January 20

2:16 a.m. Secondary road conditions getting slick
8:29 a.m. Vehicle out of gas on Shrewsbury St.
10:38 a.m. Failure to license animal on Main St.
1:29 p.m. Rutland advising of vehicle driving erratically on Rte. 68
2:01 p.m. Failure to license dog on Wachusett St.
2:37 p.m. Dog loose in road on Rte. 31

Thursday, January 21

6:02 a.m. Light out at Shrewsbury and Holden/Chapel St. intersection
8:27 a.m. Party dropping off found gun and ammunition to be destroyed
9:21 a.m. Failure to license dog on Mixter Rd.
10:14 a.m. Failure to license dog on Fisher Rd.
12:15 p.m. Vehicle rolling backwards in parking lot on Highland St.
12:53 p.m. Beef company soliciting on Harris St.
1:11 p.m. Broken down school bus reported on Brattle St.
1:15 p.m. Failure to license dog on Summit St.
1:45 p.m. Report of strange pickup truck backed into unoccupied house on Bullard St.
9:22 p.m. Caller reports sister locked herself in room and refused to come out; well-being check

Friday, January 22

9:15 a.m. Payment issue at restaurant
2:00 p.m. Wallet missing since before Christmas reported
11:24 p.m. Kids behind business on Main St.
11:46 p.m. 911 Two females reported walking on roadway on Main St.

Saturday, January 23

10:45 a.m. 911 abandoned; accidental dial
7:28 p.m. 911 accidental call from Nelson St.

Sunday, January 24

1:51 a.m. Lights at center functioning erratically
11:08 a.m. Open gas door and gas cap hanging on vehicle on Main St.
11:36 a.m. Ice on hill on Miles Ave.
6:35 p.m. 911 hang-up; no answer on callback
7:07 p.m. Well being check requested on friend not heard from for over a week; ok, no need for wellbeing check; she’s fine, just home sick
7:15 p.m. Suspicious white van on Greytstone Dr.
10:05 a.m. Bullard Street wet and icy

Paxton

Monday, January 18

2:00 a.m. Report of power outage after light department did repair, Pleasant St.
7:49 a.m. Caller reports front door of home open for long time, Pleasant St. All set
8:11 a.m. Caller’s vehicle stuck in driveway, sticking into travel lane, West St.

9:51 a.m. Caller had verbal altercation with another about snow plowing and trash barrel knocked over, Woodland Dr.

Tuesday, January 19

3:27 p.m. School bus stuck on Brigham Rd. Another bus sent to pick up students
4:36 p.m. Caller reports he slid off the road twice, Pond St.
5:20 p.m. Caller reports unknown motor vehicle at end of his driveway, Suomi St. Found to be neighbor who put it there while driveway was being plowed
6:01 p.m. Holden PD requests officer at Rte. 31 at town line to stop traffic until sander can pass through

Wednesday, January 20

1:44 p.m. 911 hang-up, child playing with phone, Richards Ave.
3:24 p.m. Report of “strange” male walking on Rte. 122 who swore at caller, made a funny face as she drove by, Pleasant St.

Thursday, January 21

12:30 p.m. Caller reports her water meter is making strange noises, Pleasant St.
12:40 p.m. Caller reports their meter is making strange noises, Martin/Crystal Sts.
3:10 p.m. Water main break, Cotter/Crystal Sts.
3:16 p.m. Alarm company received signal that phone line at library failed, Richards Ave.
3:30 p.m. Concern about large snow pile at Brooks Rd./Richards Ave.
6:13 p.m. Called reports no water, Crystal St. Told of water main break

Friday, January 22

1:50 a.m. Intoxicated female being removed from campus wants to speak with an officer regarding a past incident, Sunset Ln.
2:41 p.m. Police at E. Brookfield District Court

Saturday, January 23

6:36 p.m. Ice on road in front of highway dept., Holden Rd.

Sunday, January 24

12:14 p.m. Report of dangerous patch of ice, Crystal/Pleasant Sts. Vehicles sliding through stop sign

Princeton

Monday, January 18

9:33 a.m. Person complaining about snow plowed onto fence on private property, Ball Hill Rd.
4:29 p.m. Caller wants to speak with animal control officer about his own dog, Worcester Rd.

Tuesday, January 19

7:52 a.m. Two dogs running on Sterling Road almost got hit and may cause accident. Police unable to find dogs
1:13 p.m. Report of tractor trailer off the side of Mountain Rd. OK, delivering items
4:18 p.m. Report of person riding horse on Bullard Rd. during snowstorm, creating hazard; ongoing problem
4:48 p.m. Report of electric meter knocked off home, Brooks Station Rd. Light dept. will check
6:58 p.m. While assisting motorist stuck in snowbank, person became locked out of his vehicle, Pine Hill Rd.

Wednesday, January 20

2:11 a.m. Request for highway department, townwide
3:32 p.m. Police investigation, Esty Rd.

Thursday, January 21

7:55 p.m. Police transport person to Wachusett Mountain Ski Area, Mountain Rd.

Friday, January 22

12:50 p.m. Police assist property owner with flooded basement, Worcester Rd.
7:20 p.m. Assist with motor vehicle lockout, Mountain Rd. AAA called
10:05 p.m. Police conduct traffic control after speeding complaints, Merriam Rd.

Saturday, January 23

1:31 p.m. Police transport person to station to call for a ride, Town Hall Dr.
2:43 p.m. Caller complaining about dog, ongoing problem, Beaman Rd.
6:25 p.m. Suspicious motor vehicle at state reservation, Mountain Rd.
11:16 p.m. Police secure gate at state reservation, Mountain Rd.

Sunday, January 24

9:44 p.m. Report of icy conditions on Merriam Rd., Ball Hill and Hubbardston Rd.

Rutland

Monday, January 18

2:58 p.m. Complaint about loose dog, Sycamore Dr.
3:50 p.m. Small white dog with brown spots, no collar, loose on Maple Ave.

Tuesday, January 19

10:22 a.m. Two loose black dogs acting aggressively, Cool Sandy Beach
11:49 a.m. Suspicious vehicle parked in front of house, Orchard Hill Dr. Person using laptop computer
10:53 p.m. Caller wants to speak with officer, Wildbrook Dr.

Wednesday, January 20

3:12 a.m. Person wants to speak with officer regarding parking problem, Maple Ave.
5:09 a.m. Vehicle off the road, no one around, E. Hill Rd. Vehicle will be towed, not a hazard.
5:48 a.m. Police drop off paperwork, Miles Rd.
6:24 a.m. Caller’s car blocked in by another vehicle, Maple Ave.
8:49 a.m. Request for assistance, keys locked in vehicle that is running, Pleasantdale Rd.
8:56 a.m. Vehicle off the road into utility pole, East Hill Rd. Same vehicle reported earlier
4:09 p.m. Suspicious male walking on Campbell St. Transported to UMass

Thursday, January 21

12:33 a.m. Suspicious motor vehicle, Maple Ave.
3:09 p.m. 911 hang-up call, accidental, Miles Rd.
3:37 p.m. Person at station to speak with officer regarding fingerprints, Main St.

Friday, January 22

12:20 a.m. Caller locked out of apartment, Maple Ave.
8:08 a.m. Gold-colored dog loose in neighborhood, Central Tree Rd.
8:09 a.m. Report of workmen on premises, E. County Rd.
8:13 a.m. Records check, Main St.
3:34 p.m. Caller reports phone calls with no one talking, Glenwood Rd.
5:00 p.m. Large raccoon at front door of home, Glenwood Rd.
5:41 p.m. Suspicious phone call from distraught female, Blair Dr.
6:15 p.m. Request for police assistance for crowd control at home, Watson Ln.

Saturday, January 23

7:41 a.m. Report that llamas may be on the loose, Campbell St.
3:42 p.m. Complaint about snow plowed into Glenwood Rd., making it hard to see around corner
11:48 p.m. Police had people remove vehicle from Watson Ln.

Sunday, January 24

10:47 a.m. Report of person lying in snowbank, Pleasantdale Rd.
12:18 p.m. Person concerned about length of time of flashing light at intersection, Wachusett St.
3:19 p.m. Two dogs loose, Hickory Dr.
6:36 p.m. Person complaining about upstairs neighbor jumping on trampoline, Maple Ave.

Sterling

Tuesday, January 19

4:07 p.m. Three horses loose, Wilder/Beaman Rds. area
5:43 p.m. Group of youths on side of road throwing ice chunks at vehicles, Beaman Rd./Quail Roost Dr.
7:51 p.m. Disabled motor vehicle with flashers, out of gas, Leominster Rd.

Thursday, January 21

10:00 a.m. Caller tried to have large piece of equipment returned from person in town, Spratt Technology Way. Advised it is a civil matter
10:47 a.m. Suspicious male in pickup truck parked at Sandy Ridge intersection
6:13 p.m. Motorists reports flares in roadway on each side of Pratts Jct./Albright Rds.
6:16 p.m. Motorist reports large object in travel lane obstructing traffic, found to be mattress, I-190
8:04 p.m. Attempt to serve no-trespass notice, Redemption Rock Trl.

Friday, January 22

4:53 p.m. Medium-sized dog on median strip, Leominster/Laurelwood Rds.
8:43 p.m. Officer investigation, Wilder Rd.

Saturday, January 23

3:55 a.m. Complaint about barking dog, Ashton Ln.
6:24 p.m. Caller reports someone was trying to tow her vehicle, Leominster Rd.
6:29 p.m. Report of kids possibly throwing snow at passing vehicles, N. Row Rd.
7:41 p.m. Report of snowmobilers driving around on top of leach fields, Circle Ave.
8:16 p.m. Snowmobiles riding alongside train passing through area, Clinton Ave.
8:37 p.m. Male with rifle, dressed in black, walking up Maple St. by Kendall Hill.

Sunday, January 24

1:00 p.m. Caller wants to speak with animal control officer regarding loose dog “pooping” on hill where kids slide, Griffin Rd.
4:29 p.m. Two youths in black walking down School St. with BB gun, shooting at signs
8:21 p.m. Youths with firearms walking down Main St., shooting at signs. Police off with three youths with air soft gun

Civility in political discourse

via Monty Python - An Apology (1972)