Firefighters ordered to remove Merry christmas sign, Made by firefighters 50 years ago

Bah! Humbug!: Town outlaws Merry Christmas sign Made by firefighters 50 years ago

By Crystal Bozek
cbozek@eagletribune.com

NORTH ANDOVER — First it was the menorah on the town common. Now it's the Merry Christmas sign on the fire station.

The town has put an end to a longtime holiday tradition ordering firefighters to take down their homemade Merry Christmas sign from outside the fire station after people complained. The sign had been up for a week before it was taken down Friday.

Fire Chief William Martineau said the sign was made by firefighters some 50 years ago and was never an issue before.

"I think Christmas is officially a religious holiday. But to all of us, it has always been a holiday for the kids," Martineau said. "It just seems sad."

The sign is now sitting in the basement and there's only one decoration hanging from the station — a Happy New Year sign.

This is the second holiday controversy in two weeks for the town.

Andover Rabbi Asher Bronstein has threatened a lawsuit against North Andover after the selectmen would not let him place a menorah on the town common for all eight days of Hanukkah.

Selectmen voted on Nov. 23 to allow the menorah for one day. They argue that their new town common policy only allows displays to stay up for one day, no matter what they are. That way all groups have equal time and there is no discrimination.

Attorneys for the town and the rabbi are in talks.

Town officials said yesterday that the menorah fight is what caused Merry Christmas to be outlawed at the fire station for the first time in five decades.

"This is political correctness run amok," selectmen's Chairman Tracy Watson said. "It's really an unfortunate turn of events. ... This has become all about religion, and from the start it has had nothing to do with religion. We were enforcing a policy."

Selectmen's phones are ringing off the hook with calls from all sides. The town is divided into people who believe the menorah should get its eight days and those who think the selectmen's policy is fair. Some do not want to see any religious displays on the common, saying even a day is too much.

Watson said she expects taking down the Merry Christmas sign is only going to rile people up more.

"It's going to make a lot of people angry," she said.

Town Manager Mark Rees said the fight over the menorah brought a "heightened sensitivity to these kind of issues."

"Well, it is a public building and Merry Christmas certainly is a Christian reference," Rees said. "A public building should not be displaying things specific to a particular religion."

Rees said he hopes to work with the Fire Department to put up a more appropriate sign.

"Maybe a more generic 'Happy Holidays,'" he said. "Something more inclusive."

The town has wreaths with red bows hanging on poles throughout downtown and has decorated the trees in the town common with white lights every year. Those are allowed because they are called secular decorations.

Attorney Robert Meltzer of Framingham, who represents Bronstein on the menorah issue, said it was unfortunate that the sign was taken down from the fire station.

"I'm sorry they felt the need to do that," Meltzer said. "I don't like to see those things intertwined. ... It has not been part of any of our conversations with the town."

Meltzer said he is trying to work with North Andover town counsel to resolve the menorah issue without a lawsuit. North Andover selectmen meet in executive session Friday to discuss what to do — whether to take on the rabbi or make concessions.

"We haven't made any decisions yet," Watson said.

Source: Article link http://www.eagletribune.com/punews/local_story_335011205.html

Kern County Fire Department is accepting applications for Seasonal Firefighters for 2010 Fire Season.

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — The Kern County Fire Department is accepting applications for Seasonal Firefighters for the 2010 Fire Season. The department is planning to staff up to six wildland firefighting handcrews in the mountainous areas of the county with the first crew starting in February.

Staggered hiring will continue until May when all crews will be in place and available for fire response.

When the crews are not on fires, they are actively involved in various brush removal projects around the county which include constructing roadside firebreaks, firebreaks around mountain communities and assisting homeowners with brush disposal on organized “chipper days”.

The position is very physically demanding as crew members are often required to work in steep, mountainous, rocky terrain with ambient temperatures often exceeding 100 degrees.

Appointments for these extra-help positions will not exceed nine months in duration.

Interested individuals must complete an on-line application with the Kern County Employment Department.

Seasonal Fire Supervisor	15.14/Hr		Apply Online
Seasonal Firefighter I	10.82/Hr		Apply Online
Seasonal Firefighter II	12.14/Hr		Apply Online
Seasonal Firefighter III	13.58/Hr		Apply Online

All new applicants must complete this application.

If you have any questions, please contact the Fire Crew Coordinator at (661) 391-7079.
More information:

USFS Considers Night Flying to Attack Wildfires

Firefighting Helicopter drops water in a canyon on the Jesusita fire

The U.S. Forest Service is considering allowing its helicopters to attack wildfires at night, a practice the agency has long discouraged because of risks to pilots, a senior official said Monday.

The change would be a major shift for an agency with more than 10,000 firefighters that manages 200 million acres of public land.

Forest Service Fire and Aviation Management Director Tom Harbour said the current policy was being reviewed.

"We are in the process ... of one more time taking a look at night-flying operations. But we will have to make sure that those operations, before we change our policy, are worth the benefits," Harbour told The Associated Press.

"Night flying is a risky operation," he added.

Last week, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors pushed for broader use of night flying after a wildfire in Angeles National Forest last summer burned more than 250 square miles, destroyed 89 homes and led to the deaths of two firefighters.

Harbour said the Forest Service experimented with night flying against wildfires in the 1970s and early 1980s but abandoned it after a helicopter collision.

The Forest Service has been criticized by some local officials for the way it managed the blaze in Angeles National Forest, which became the largest fire in Los Angeles County history.

The county Fire Department concluded in a report that experienced county helicopter pilots could have made water drops on the first night of the fire - although it conceded that it was not known if that would have made a difference.

In addition, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich has said the Forest Service erred by not calling in more aircraft to drop water and fire retardant in the early hours of the blaze.

The Forest Service can allow pilots from local agencies to fly on its land at night in some cases, Harbour said. But a federal review this month found the Angeles Forest wildfire raged out of control because it jumped into inaccessible terrain, not because the Forest Service failed to deploy enough firefighters and aircraft.

Harbour said there were scant cases where aircraft alone extinguish fires, since embers, brush and grasses on the forest floor can continue to burn even after a water or retardant drop.

"We've got to get boots on the ground to be effective. And there were places on that (Los Angeles County) fire ... where we simply couldn't get boots on the ground" because of the steep slopes, he said.

"It's a red herring to keep talking about helicopters and air tankers," Harbour said, referring to the same blaze.

"Aircraft serve a useful purpose in assisting the folks on the ground. ... Firefighters on the ground put out fire," he said.

Los Angeles County Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman said he supported the federal review. He believes pilots qualified to fly at night should be able to do so, if the possible gain outweighs risks - regardless of whether they are from local or U.S. agencies.

County pilots can fly at night on Forest Service land, but only when structures are threatened and within a two-mile wide zone along the park boundary.

Source: (AP) cbsnews.com- Article link
Photo credit: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2009/may/07/natural-disasters-usa?picture=347092478