MadleyHadley is no longer being updated. For similar posts by the author of MadleyHadley, visit Toad in the Garlic.

Sunday, April 24, 2016

The End

Dear Reader:

Mr. Madley and I moved to Hadley six years ago, and in the time that has passed, we have grown to love our little town.  We have discovered many wonderful places and people, and hope that you, through this blog, have, too.
Now, sadly, it is time to bid you adieu and close the Madley Hadley blog.  But fear not!  I have a new set of blogging adventures at Toad in the Garlic.  I hope to see you there!

~Emily

PS -- as a final piece of Hadley-related information, I encourage you to get to Town Meeting in May to vote to allow the library to apply for a construction grant and to vote for investigating new space for a senior center.  Both of these are important to the town, and the timing is as close to right as it can be.

The Town Meeting is on May 5.  (The warrant was posted in January, but the meeting has not made it onto the town's "upcoming meetings" calendar.)
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Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Looking for Writers!

Madley Hadley is looking for writers!  MH has been alive and kicking for nearly 6 years, has received more than 32,000 pageviews, and has played a part in disseminating important (and less important) information to residents and nonresidents; it has also been featured in The Daily Hampshire Gazette.  But unless it gets some new energy, it will continue to wither (as it has been doing for the last year) until it withers away.

This could be your opportunity to report news from around town, review local restaurants, share photos of the local beauty, write about the history, and generally talk up what's new and old and interesting in this place called Hadley.  The articles written for MadleyHadley focus on Hadley (obviously), but also expand out to the whole region of the Pioneer Valley.

This is a non-paying, no-perks, purely-because-you-love-Hadley position.  Please leave a comment if interested.
Writers must be Hadley residents.
Thank you!
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Sunday, March 20, 2016

New Library Building Updates

The Goodwin Memorial Library Planning & Design Committee and the Goodwin Memorial Library Trustees will host two public information sessions to explain the two Town Warrant articles, 20 & 21, that pertain to the library construction proposal.
Information Session #1:  April 21st, 2016 7:00P-8:30PM Town Hall Second Floor Meeting Room

Information Session #2:  April 27st, 2016 7:00P-8:30PM Goodwin Memorial Library

You can find the agendas for these meetings on the Goodwin Memorial Library blog here: https://goodwinmemoriallibrary.wordpress.com/2016/03/09/public-information-sessions/

If you can't make it to information sessions, there is an informative Q&A section here: https://goodwinmemoriallibrary.wordpress.com/2016/03/15/q-a-on-the-library-town-warrant-articles/
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Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Master Plan Meeting -- this week!

Here's an announcement, from the Town, regarding the updating of the Master Plan.
Thursday night, 6:30, Hadley Senior Center

Be there, and let your voice be heard!
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Saturday, November 21, 2015

Upcoming Events to Be Aware Of

It's the holiday season, as I'm sure you can tell by the amount of catalogs in your mailbox.  Here are some important dates to look forward to this season:

Nov. 23-24: Monte's March, benefiting the Western Massachusetts Food Bank

Dec. 3: Hadley Master Plan Forum, 6:30pm, Hadley Senior Center
Dec. 6: Amherst College Vespers and Smith College Vespers @4pm & 730pm
Dec.13: Mount Holyoke College Vespers @ 4pm & 730pm

I was saddened to learn that Valley Gives Day is on hiatus until 2016 -- I look forward to that every year!  Not that that means I won't be giving during this season of gratitude giving and remembering, but VGD made it just a little more fun.
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Friday, October 30, 2015

Nowhere Lovelier

As much as I do not look forward to the onslaught of winter weather, there is nowhere lovelier in October than Western Massachusetts.  If you can't make it out this way, or if you simply need to remember the beautiful places of the world, take a look at these photos:



 




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Saturday, October 24, 2015

Get Involved

It is SO easy to lament the state of the world, the nation, and even our little town sometimes (think even-more construction and demolition of wooded areas), but lamenting, on its own, will not make any changes.  If you want to effect change and don't know where to start, here are some ideas for you:

Go to Town Meeting -- and town meetings.
Town Meeting and Special Fall Town Meeting each happen once a year (total: 2 meetings), and allow residents to voice opinions and vote on important agenda items and on the town budget.
Other meetings through the year include informational meetings and town department meetings.  Just recently, there were meetings for the library (new building construction) and for MassDOT (expansion and improvement of Rt. 9) and for the Select Board.
You can find information about these meetings on the Town of Hadley website and the associated calendar.

Volunteer for the Town
Hadley often has vacancies on various boards and committees -- join one!  You can find out about these vacancies on the Select Board's page of the town website.
(I recently wrote my letter of interest to become a member of the Cemetery Committee!)

Volunteer Somewhere Else
There are many organizations that could use a helping hand.  A couple that come to mind are the Boys and Girls Club of Amherst and the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.
Find more opportunities at VolunteerMatch. or Volunteer.gov.
You can also join a choir, join a church, join a library (Friends).

Find a Campaign
It's political season and the perfect time to get involved in a political campaign.  Those running for office always need people on the ground and in the ranks.  Find the contact information of a candidate you like and make a request for information on how to help.

Write a Letter
If there is something that you think needs changed, write a letter to one of your elected representatives.  You can information on our United States senators and representatives here: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/MA, or you can check on the House of Representatives site here: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/, or on the Senate site here: http://www.senate.gov/index.htm

For state leaders, visit the MA Legislature site here: https://malegislature.gov/People/Search.


Donate
Don't have time to volunteer, join a committee, or otherwise get involved?  Mr. Madley and I try to make a small donation each month to an organization that we believe in.  Sometimes the organization is world- or nation-wide; sometimes (usually) it is much more local.  Find great places in need of help on the Valley Gives website (but don't just give on Valley Gives day!) or on Charity Navigator.


And there you have it -- ways to make a difference.  This list is not comprehensive, but it's a good jumping off place.  Go forth and make some positive change (and I don't mean in dimes and nickels!).  Good luck & have fun!
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