As of today, I’m closing The Ashfield Town Common to new posts and comments. I will not delete it from the internet, so the archives will still be available to anyone who wants to browse there.
I’ve very much enjoyed editing this blog. The diversity of voices that has popped into my mailbox has been a constant source of surprise and frequent joy. Each and every one of you who has contributed has my deepest thanks. You have informed, educated, and entertained all of us in Ashfield and beyond.
But I have health concerns that need addressing and the blog’s only reporter, my husband David King, needs to get back to his real job full time. And many of the functions of the blog can now pass to other sites.
When it is fully operational, Ashfield’s official town website, http://ashfield.org, will provide the meeting notices, agendas, and meeting minutes that were available here. For discussions on local concerns, http://ashfieldtalk.org will provide valuable forums. As Ashfield continues to find its internet feet, I’m sure other sites will appear.
And we are not dead, only sleeping. This blog was founded in the spirit of Thomas Jefferson’s words, “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” If that vigilance should once again require the voices of The Ashfield Town Common, we will be back.
Ruth Julian
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Town Hall Bulletin Board
Planning Board, Fri. 7/9 @ 8pm
Police Chief Search Committee, Fri. 7/9 @ 7pm
Police Chief Search Committee, Thu. 7/15 @ 7pm
Senior Citizen Task Force, Mon. 7/12 @ 7pm
Conservation Commission, Wed. 7/14 @ 7:30pm
Board of Health, Tue. 7/20 @ 7pm
Park Commission, Tue. 7/27 @ 9am
Belding Library Trustees, 8/23 @ 7:30pm
Police Chief Search Committee, Fri. 7/9 @ 7pm
Police Chief Search Committee, Thu. 7/15 @ 7pm
Senior Citizen Task Force, Mon. 7/12 @ 7pm
Conservation Commission, Wed. 7/14 @ 7:30pm
Board of Health, Tue. 7/20 @ 7pm
Park Commission, Tue. 7/27 @ 9am
Belding Library Trustees, 8/23 @ 7:30pm
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Important Notice to Town Appointees
To all FY2011 appointees: Tomorrow evening between the hours of 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m., the Buckland Town Clerk will be at the Ashfield Town Hall to administer the oath of office to all FY2011 appointments voted and approved by the Select Board during their June 30th meeting. If you are unable to appear tomorrow evening please let the Select Board know by sending an email to mailto:selectboard@ashfield.org.
R. Dave DeHerdt, Chair
Ashfield Select Board
R. Dave DeHerdt, Chair
Ashfield Select Board
Monday, July 5, 2010
Tuesday Noon Select Board Meeting
According to a notice posted on the bulletin board at Town Hall, the Select Board will meet at noon on Tuesday, July 6. The agenda is:
1. Reorganization of Town Hall.
2. The appointment of a temporary Town Clerk and temporary Town Administrator.
3. The appointment of the Street Light Commission.
4. Executive session for negotiation with non-union personnel and for pending litigation.
1. Reorganization of Town Hall.
2. The appointment of a temporary Town Clerk and temporary Town Administrator.
3. The appointment of the Street Light Commission.
4. Executive session for negotiation with non-union personnel and for pending litigation.
Free Computer Stuff
I'm in the process of replacing my computer system with a new Dell laptop and printer-scanner, and have a Hewlett-Packard DeskJet 672C color printer and a 3400C ScanJet scanner which are not compatible with the new system.
If anyone has an older Hewlett-Packard system and would like to have these items, give me a call at 628-3260. Both items are in working order (the printer needs a color cartridge) and have all the necessary cabling, software, and manuals.
Ray Cassidy
If anyone has an older Hewlett-Packard system and would like to have these items, give me a call at 628-3260. Both items are in working order (the printer needs a color cartridge) and have all the necessary cabling, software, and manuals.
Ray Cassidy
Saturday, July 3, 2010
A Happy Ending
Animal Control Officer Warren Kirkpatrick reports that the lost sheepdog (reported here on June 13) went to Sheepdog Rescue after spending some time in his kennel. He said the dog, who was found starving late one night in June, has since been adopted into a new home.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Some Things Never Change
Rumor goes flying
At once, through all the Libyan cities, Rumor
Than whom no other evil was ever swifter.
She thrives on motion and her own momentum;
Tiny at first in fear, she swells, colossal
In no time, walks on earth, but her head is hidden
Among the clouds. Her mother, Earth, was angry,
Once, at the gods, and out of spite produced her,
The Titans' youngest sister, swift of foot,
Deadly of wing, a huge and terrible monster,
With an eye below each feather on her body,
A tongue, a mouth, for every eye, and ears
Double that number; in the night she flies
Above the earth, below the sky, in shadow
Noisy and shrill; her eyes are never closed
In slumber; and by day she perches, watching
From tower or battlement, frightening great cities.
She heralds truth, and clings to lies and falsehood,
It is all the same to her...
Book IV, lines 169-186, Rolfe Humphries translation of
Virgil's Aeneid
Submitted by Marion Wheeler
At once, through all the Libyan cities, Rumor
Than whom no other evil was ever swifter.
She thrives on motion and her own momentum;
Tiny at first in fear, she swells, colossal
In no time, walks on earth, but her head is hidden
Among the clouds. Her mother, Earth, was angry,
Once, at the gods, and out of spite produced her,
The Titans' youngest sister, swift of foot,
Deadly of wing, a huge and terrible monster,
With an eye below each feather on her body,
A tongue, a mouth, for every eye, and ears
Double that number; in the night she flies
Above the earth, below the sky, in shadow
Noisy and shrill; her eyes are never closed
In slumber; and by day she perches, watching
From tower or battlement, frightening great cities.
She heralds truth, and clings to lies and falsehood,
It is all the same to her...
Book IV, lines 169-186, Rolfe Humphries translation of
Virgil's Aeneid
Submitted by Marion Wheeler
Public Thanks
At Wednesday’s Select Board meeting, member Doug Field read a letter from Laura Blakesley, publicly thanking the Highway Department for their work in cleaning up behind Town Hall and the firehouse.
Blakesley, the Town Collector, also thanked volunteers Paullette Leukhart, Ricki Carroll, and Karen Sullivan for helping her with the tax bill mailing.
David King
Blakesley, the Town Collector, also thanked volunteers Paullette Leukhart, Ricki Carroll, and Karen Sullivan for helping her with the tax bill mailing.
David King
Thursday, July 1, 2010
A Smooth Special Town Meeting
Under the guidance of temporary moderator Phil Pless, last night’s Special Town Meeting voted on all four warrant articles unanimously.
The only article that generated substantive discussion was Article Two, to fund the town street lights. In introducing the article, Select Board Chair Dave DeHerdt explained that the town had voted to turn the street lights off at Annual Town Meeting in May. Since then, the Select Board has heard from several residents who would like to see certain lights left on. Because it’s not yet certain how many lights will remain lit, DeHerdt proposed a successful amendment to return the street light funding to its FY 2010 level of $2,000.
When asked if the Select Board still had a commitment to turn off as many lights as possible, DeHerdt assured voters that it did. It simply wants to give the Street Light Committee, formed at last week’s Select Board meeting, an opportunity to make responsible decisions as to how to handle the street lights. DeHerdt said that the committee should have recommendations ready for the board by August.
The other three articles involved end-of-the-fiscal-year bookkeeping. The first appropriated funds to make the last payment for damage cleanup after the ice storm of December, 2008. The third, cleaning up an accounting glitch that came to light at May’s Annual Town Meeting, appropriated $6000 for the Belding Memorial Library from the Library Revolving Fund rather than free cash. The fourth article, referred to by Pless as “the last and least,” appropriated $74 to pay for repairs and inspection for the van operated by the Council on Aging.
David King
The only article that generated substantive discussion was Article Two, to fund the town street lights. In introducing the article, Select Board Chair Dave DeHerdt explained that the town had voted to turn the street lights off at Annual Town Meeting in May. Since then, the Select Board has heard from several residents who would like to see certain lights left on. Because it’s not yet certain how many lights will remain lit, DeHerdt proposed a successful amendment to return the street light funding to its FY 2010 level of $2,000.
When asked if the Select Board still had a commitment to turn off as many lights as possible, DeHerdt assured voters that it did. It simply wants to give the Street Light Committee, formed at last week’s Select Board meeting, an opportunity to make responsible decisions as to how to handle the street lights. DeHerdt said that the committee should have recommendations ready for the board by August.
The other three articles involved end-of-the-fiscal-year bookkeeping. The first appropriated funds to make the last payment for damage cleanup after the ice storm of December, 2008. The third, cleaning up an accounting glitch that came to light at May’s Annual Town Meeting, appropriated $6000 for the Belding Memorial Library from the Library Revolving Fund rather than free cash. The fourth article, referred to by Pless as “the last and least,” appropriated $74 to pay for repairs and inspection for the van operated by the Council on Aging.
David King
Appointments for FY 2011
In a break with past practice, the Select Board voted last night on all town appointments individually rather than by slate.
The list of reappointments is as follows:
Agricultural Commission (two-year terms): Joel Arsenault and Robyn Crowningshield
Agricultural Commission associate (one-year term): Nancy Garvin
Three-Year Terms:
Conservation Commission: Lester Garvin and Willis Thayer
Historical Commission: Molly Babize, Gerard McGovern, and Steve Gougeon
Youth Commission: Deborah Duchin
One-Year Terms:
Zoning Board of Appeals associate: Anne Yuryan
Highway Superintendant: Thomas Poissant
Highway mechanic: Curtis Pichette
Highway laborer/equipment operator: Jeff Clark, Richard Turner, Alan Taylor
Transfer Station Attendant: Phil Nolan III
Wastewater Treatment Superintendant: Elizabeth Nichols
Fire Chief: Del Haskins
Emergency Management Director: Doug Field
Police Officer: Jared Konopko
Auxiliary Officers: Betty Lesure, Walter Zalenski
Animal Control Officer: Warren Kirkpatrick
Town Administrator: Maryellen Cranston
Assistant Municipal Town Clerk: Nancy Dunne
Town Tax Collector: Laura Blakesley
Town Treasurer: Laura Blakesley
Assistant Town Treasurer: Maryellen Cranston
Assessor’s Assistant: Faye Witney-Lussier and Nancy Dunne
Registrar of Voters: Nancy Intres and Susan Gambino
Fence Viewer: Alden Gray
Field Driver: Roland Townsley and David King
Surveyor of Wood and Lumber: Raymond Sears
Frederick W. Wells Trustee: Molly Robinson
Carl Millman Scholarship Member: Sheila Graves
Except for the vote for Emergency Management Director, from which Select Board member Doug Field abstained, all votes were unanimous. Select Board Chair Dave DeHerdt reminded all appointees who require swearing in that they must make an appointment with the assistant town clerk to be sworn in again.
David King
The list of reappointments is as follows:
Agricultural Commission (two-year terms): Joel Arsenault and Robyn Crowningshield
Agricultural Commission associate (one-year term): Nancy Garvin
Three-Year Terms:
Conservation Commission: Lester Garvin and Willis Thayer
Historical Commission: Molly Babize, Gerard McGovern, and Steve Gougeon
Youth Commission: Deborah Duchin
One-Year Terms:
Zoning Board of Appeals associate: Anne Yuryan
Highway Superintendant: Thomas Poissant
Highway mechanic: Curtis Pichette
Highway laborer/equipment operator: Jeff Clark, Richard Turner, Alan Taylor
Transfer Station Attendant: Phil Nolan III
Wastewater Treatment Superintendant: Elizabeth Nichols
Fire Chief: Del Haskins
Emergency Management Director: Doug Field
Police Officer: Jared Konopko
Auxiliary Officers: Betty Lesure, Walter Zalenski
Animal Control Officer: Warren Kirkpatrick
Town Administrator: Maryellen Cranston
Assistant Municipal Town Clerk: Nancy Dunne
Town Tax Collector: Laura Blakesley
Town Treasurer: Laura Blakesley
Assistant Town Treasurer: Maryellen Cranston
Assessor’s Assistant: Faye Witney-Lussier and Nancy Dunne
Registrar of Voters: Nancy Intres and Susan Gambino
Fence Viewer: Alden Gray
Field Driver: Roland Townsley and David King
Surveyor of Wood and Lumber: Raymond Sears
Frederick W. Wells Trustee: Molly Robinson
Carl Millman Scholarship Member: Sheila Graves
Except for the vote for Emergency Management Director, from which Select Board member Doug Field abstained, all votes were unanimous. Select Board Chair Dave DeHerdt reminded all appointees who require swearing in that they must make an appointment with the assistant town clerk to be sworn in again.
David King
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