Here is something that always irks me. You’re outside and a honeybee flies around. Almost every time this has happened there is  someone who panics. They wave their arms around, try to retreat to someplace “safe.” I could understand it if it was a child expressing an ignorant fear, but almost always it’s some adult who should know better.

Full disclosure: I thought seriously about being an entomology major at UMass all those many decades ago. I took a beekeeping class. Guess what? No one was stung. We didn’t even wear gloves. If I could have a hive today I would.

Honeybees are not our enemies, even if you have an allergic reaction to their stings. Honeybees are making what we eat possible.

This is why the upcoming legislation that will be asking Longmeadow residents to only allow the cultivation of honeybees in agricultural parts of the town is inconceivable to me, especially at the time when the existence of the honeybee has been well documented to be in peril.

Okay, I can understand that people are afraid of bees, but when was the last time a honeybee, essentially as domesticated as a chicken, stung you? A hive does not pose a danger to anyone unless they actively try to damage it.

Honeybees don’t make noise. They don’t generate manure. They don’t smell. The hives structures are not large. They are almost invisible.

Now consider what is really important: honey isn’t the main benefit we get from bees. At best, it’s pleasant byproduct.

According to the National Honey Board, bees are responsible for 80 percent of the pollination necessary for the production of fruits, vegetables, legumes and nuts such as almonds that make up one-third of the human diet.

So, take away the honeybee and you’ll take away the ability for people to cultivate many of the food items we take for granted.

While I understand that Longmeadow residents zealously take steps to preserve their lifestyle and town culture, I can’t believe that restricting a handful of beekeepers from having hives in town is important to that goal.

What is important is the support of those who are actively working to keeping honeybees alive and well and doing what they were put on this planet to do.

Not only do I hope this measure is rejected by voters at the Longmeadow Town Meeting, I also hope this kind of anti-bee sentiment doesn’t extend to other suburban communities.

We need honeybees. Now, wasps and hornets are another matter.

What is the state waiting for?

I was the only reporter at a meeting at the Gerena School recently at which members of the Sarno administration met with neighborhood residents and members of the City Council.

The subject was the on-going water leaks through the roof the tunnel that is under the German Gerena Community School.

The reason the tunnel exists is to provide an access from one part of the city’s North End to the other side that was cut off by I-91.

In theory it’s a great idea, but in practice the water coming through the roof of the tunnel has greatly alarmed residents for years.

It’s time for the legislative delegation to put some pressure on the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to do what needs to be done: repair the roof membrane and stop the leaks.

The state is working on the viaduct right now. This is the time to undertake this vital repair.

Residents are rightly concerned about the long-term impact on the ceiling of the tunnel that is used by school children every day as well as others.

Do you think such a situation would be tolerated in Boston? Ah, no.

If you need an example of how state government has not been responsive to a health and safety issue here in Western Massachusetts, this is it.

As usually these are my opinions alone. Don’t blame the publishers or advertisers. Your reactions are always welcomed. Mail them to news@thereminder.com.

Correction –
    Due to editing oversights, the following information appeared incorrectly in the story: “Rolling the dice – State bets GameSense program will stem problem gambling,” which appeared in the March 30 issue of The Reminder:
    The number of Mass State Lottery retailers is 7,600.
    Mark VanderLinden previously worked for the Iowa Department of Public Health.
    The Mass Council on Compulsive Gambling was incorrectly referred to as the Mass. Commission on Problem Gambling in the closing story reference.
    The Reminder regrets any inconvenience these errors may have caused.