Updated: Who Am I No. 9 Revealed

You might see me at Town Meeting

In the front all prim and proper.

Where I don’t need prepared speeches

Or Obama’s Teleprompter.

I graduated from B.C.

And am a double Eagle.

If you see me running down the street,

It’s not from something legal.

I am Kevin Clancy

HOAGIES A SUPER TREAT

Those who had the privilege of reading last week’s Patch, were clearly .

Those who heeded the advice of said Patch, would surely have purchased one or two of the sumptuous submarines prepared by the lads of . And those who partook of such delights, were naturally quite pleased with the double-fisted torpedoes of delight that certainly satisfied their cold cut cravings until well after kickoff.

Mine was great.

LIONS HAVE A SUPER BREAKFAST

Holliston Lions gathered at the Sunday morning for their annual Super Bowl Brunch. Attendees were treated to a wonderful meal of pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon and more. Raffles for a number of sports- and non-sports-related items donated by were also conducted.

Lion Ed Barron oversaw the event, which is a major club fundraiser. All monies raised by the Holliston Lions Club are used for charitable purposes.

sNOw OBLIGATION

Like the Panama Canal, its construction heralds the triumph of man over his environment. Like Stonehenge, its creation is cloaked in secrecy, the identity of its builders lost to time. Like the Great Pyramid of Giza, it symbolizes engineering excellence, its hard, cold exterior sheltering the promise of untold treasure contained within.

It, is the huge pile of snow located at the corner of Chamberlain St. and Andrew Ln. With coordinates of 42° 11.42 north latitude and 71° 27.83 west longitude, it rises to a majestic height of 332 feet above sea level, and is said in some circles, to be visible from space.

It is certainly visible from my home, where it regally sits on the northwest corner of our property where the sidewalks meet. What was once a simple accumulation of snow, has been transformed through weekly plowings into an imposing alpine abyss. I immodestly call this wintry white mass, Mount Shannahan.

I have no problem with Mount Shannahan, or with its volcanic-like rise during the recent snow storms. I also have no problem with the .  The snow has to go somewhere, and as a delta can serve as the depository of a river’s sediment, the plowing of snow into a huge pile at the corner of Chamberlain and Andrew seems natural and logical.

Where I do have a problem, is when courts or municipalities impose on individuals the obligation to remove snow from sidewalks that are adjacent to the individual’s property. Fortunately, Holliston is not such a community.

That is not to say I do not understand or appreciate the value in having sidewalks clear of snow. I, having never owned a snowblower, have been the grateful beneficiary of the efforts of a number of snow-blowing neighbors over the years. And when the snow has been light, I have often shoveled the sidewalks myself.

But I am all too sick of bullying municipalities imposing obligations where they have no right to do so. The City of Boston is one such place. In Boston, property owners are required to remove snow and ice from “their” (my italics) sidewalks within three hours of snowfall ending, or face the possibility of significant fines.

Where does Boston get the power to impose on their citizens the obligation to clear city sidewalks? Maybe it’s the same place that a Hopkinton group, ironically named beFree, is looking. Their hope is that Hopkinton adopts a bylaw by which teens caught smoking on town property, would be fined and subsequently obligated to perform community service and attend a mandatory smoking cessation course.

The Town of Swampscott also recently sought to impose on the parents of student-athletes the obligation to attend a drug/alcohol awareness meeting. Failure of the parent to attend the meeting would result in the student-athlete being prohibited from participating in their selected sport.

Fortunately, there is hope for those who believe, like William Pinkney, that “Oppression is just another name for irresponsible power.” Last Monday, a Federal Court in Florida determined that the national health plan commonly referred to as ObamaCare was unconstitutional, temporarily at least, giving hope to many who believe in individual liberties.

Just six months earlier, in a slip-and-fall case, Justice Ralph Gants wrote for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, as it abolished the distinction between natural and unnatural accumulations of snow and ice, applying the obligation of reasonable care for both to property owners. The practical effect of the ruling, say some, is to create an obligation for property owners to clear sidewalks adjacent to their property of snow.

Yet, in spite of the ruling, Mount Shannahan stands tall. Overlooking the valley where Paul Revere is believed to have sought refuge from 18^th-century British oppression, it represents the unburdened spirit that exists in a free citizenry. In its shadow, people of strong mind and weak back, might join with their shovels and say “no more” to those that would seek to obligate them.

And there it shall stay, until the day when the sun light shines upon its face, and the warm March winds whisper along its back, and Mount Shannahan is no more.