Opportunities to Get Involved!

There are currently many opportunities to get involved with town committees.  Check out the following vacancies:

Board of Assessors, 3yr term, 1 vacancy
Board of Health, 3yr term, 1 vacancy
Board of Health, 1yr term, 1 vacancy
Library Trustees, 3yr term, 2 vacancies
Town Moderator, 1yr term, 1 vacancy
Park Commission, 3yr term, 1 vacancy
Planning Board, 5yr term, 1 vacancy
Planning Board, 2yr term, 1 vacancy
School Committee, 3yr term, 2 vacancies
Selectmen, 3yr term, 1 vacancy
Elector Under Oliver Will Trust, 1yr term, 1 vacancy

These are all elected positions.  If you are interested in running, the last day to pick up nomination papers is Thursday, February 13, with a deadline of Tuesday, February 18, to submit nomination papers with Registrars for certification.  All nomination papers must be filed by Tuesday, March 4.

There are also openings in the following advisory committees:

TV-5 Advisory Committee
Council on Aging
Finance Committee (no official business can be conducted until at least one new member is appointed)
Future Uses of Hadley Town-Owned Buildings Committee (February 7 deadline; contact Select Board)
Zoning Board of Appeals
Historical Commission

For more information, visit the Town of Hadley Website, watch TV-5 Community Bulletin Board, or contact the Town.

The Hadley Town Election will be held Tuesday, April 8. 
The Town Meeting Warrant for the May 1 meeting is open until February 19 at 4pm.

Let's Talk

Coming in just over a week -- this conversation with local therapist about the emotional needs of our sons:

FROM ACTING OUT TO TUNING IN: Building Emotional Awareness in Your School-age Son.

Join therapist Harry Remer, LMHC, in discussing how parents can help sons recognize and express all of their feelings in healthy ways.
When  boys are comfortable with their own emotions, their behavior and mood stabilizes, they resist mental illness, and they grow into strong, compassionate men.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013 6:30 p.m.
Jones Library (Amherst), Amherst Room (2nd Floor)
• FREE • 

For more information: hremer@earthlink.net or 781-883-5675; see also his website.

Root for Your Radio

Make a pledge -- plant a tree.
NEPR has partnered with the Connecticut River Watershed Council and several area nurseries to distribute 2600 trees to local environmental organizations who are working to restore areas of the Connecticut River affected by the June tornadoes, the August storm and flooding, and the October nor'easter.

So, for every contribution made to support WFCR and WNNZ during the current fund drive (February 24 – March 3), a tree will be planted in our community -- a tree to replace one of the thousands of trees lost or severely damaged.
Curious?  Interested?  Want to know why we care about replacing those trees?  Find out more (and even make a contribution) at NEPR.

 

Small Business Saturday

Thanksgiving officially marks the beginning of shopping season.  It's sad that a holiday devoted to gratitude is overrun by advertising and marketing, and I hope that you thought of many things to be thankful for yesterday.  I waited an extra day to post this, just so that I could leave Thanksgiving for thankfulness.

But now it is post-holiday and time for thinking about presents and purchasing and who will get what and where you will get it.  Some of you may have already been at Target or WalMart during the wee small hours of the morning; I'm going to curb my comments on that....  However, Saturday is Small Business Saturday -- a day to be especially mindful of the small local businesses in our community.  We have many small businesses -- restaurants, shops, and more in Hadley, Amherst, Northampton, Deerfield, Greenfield, and all the other towns around.  Please get out on Saturday (or today -- and any other day, of course) and support our local small businesses.

I hope you're looking forward to a happy holiday season!

Scenes from the Cookoff and Fire Safety Demos

If you didn't make it out for the Chili/Golumpki Cookoff and Fire Prevention Week Open House on Saturday, this is some of what you missed (click on the images to enlarge):

1926 REO Speedwagon -- Hadley's first motorized pumper; put into commission after the flood of 1927 and retired in 1955.

Home sprinkler and firefighter demonstration (those were REAL flames).

Firefighting gear on display.

Hadley's firefighters.

Hadley's manifold hose truck.

Of course,there were animals and food and music and games and raffles and souvenirs there, too -- we pet the cow and the darling little goats, had some of those wonderful firefighter fries, and picked up an informational magnet.  We missed the fireworks that night, but we sure had a good time.

Pioneer Valley Local Greenie

Back in April I received a notice that this blog was chosen as one of the recommended blogs on the new Pioneer Valley Local Greenie website.
The PVLG is a subset of the Local Greenie sites, which focus on local and green products and businesses (the name pretty much says it all).  The site includes links for entertainment, jobs, shopping, food, hotels, and more; it also features local blogs and other informational sources.
Check it out -- you may discover something new & useful!

Library Joy

I discovered the greatest thing last week -- great, because I am a librarian and an avid library user and supporter, and because I've been waiting for this since we moved to Hadley.  Last week I discovered that the Hadley library, the Goodwin Memorial Library, has finally started circulating materials within the C/WMARS lending network.

I'm not even sure I can begin to explain how utterly wonderful this is.

I ashamedly admit that before last week I had not quite found the motivation to visit the library since moving to town.  I was keeping myself somewhat occupied and nearly content with using the Jones Library in Amherst, the Clapp Memorial Library in Belchertown, and the South Hadley Public Library.  However, what I really wanted was to take advantage of and support the Hadley library, my local public library, but I request so many books online that it just didn't seem entirely worthwhile, since they weren't completely networked yet.

Then last week, on a whim, I checked the system catalog to see if I could find and order a particular book.  And there it was, in the drop-down menu listing the options of library pickup locations -- Hadley!  I just about shouted for joy (and probably would have, had I not been in a library at the time).  Instead of shouting, I tried it with another book, just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating, and then I sent Mr Madley a highly enthusiastic email with my discovery.  Afterwards I searched around online to find out if there was any further information.  I found this on the library page:

Q. Is Hadley's library a member of the Central/Western Massachusetts Automated Resource Sharing network (C/WMARS)?

A. Yes. Hadley has been a member for many years. As of January 25, 2011, Hadley began officially circulating within the system. This major accomplishment allows patrons with C/WMARS cards to order items from the comfort of their homes and have them delivered to Hadley or other convenient libraries.

I got very very VERY excited.
That same afternoon, Mr Madley and I made our first outing to the Goodwin Memorial Library to scope the place out and meet the librarians -- and hopefully leave with a few books.

What a beautiful little library, stuffed full of books and magazines, videos, and computers.  The children's area upstairs had a great collection, as did the young adult area downstairs (those were the only two areas I really paid attention to -- I was having WAY too much fun -- but I did hear very positive comments about the video collection and today I enjoyed perusing the new books table).  The downstairs/basement reminded me of the library I used to visit when I was a kid, so I felt right at home and very comfortable.

Fireplace reading room.

Young adult collection/basement.

It's very exciting to have Hadley as part of the C/WMARS lending network -- it means you can order any book within the Western Mass Regional System from any computer with internet access and have it delivered to the Hadley library for you to pick up -- just think how much that virtually expands the size of the library!  All those books, right at your fingertips!
Don't forget the programs the library has, too -- chess and knitting and poetry and story hour and more.  They have fliers at the library and programs are also listed online.  Plus there is parking and it's conveniently located.

So without further ado, get thee to the library!
But not on Sunday or Monday -- that's when it's closed.



(If you live in Hadley, you probably received a page with your motor vehicle excise bill about how to become a friend of the library.  Becoming a friend is a great way to support the library, and it doesn't even have to cost very much.  Plus, it's a phenomenal value for the money.)

Inspections: Hadley Auto Service

If you're looking for somewhere in Hadley to go to get your car inspected, there are three locations along Rt 9 -- the Jiffy Lube, Country Nissan, and the Hadley Auto Service.  This morning, I set out to the Hadley Auto Service for my first local inspection.
Nothing much to report -- my car passed inspection.  Two things to be aware of: Hadley Auto Service only accepts cash for their inspection services ($29); and, it's located right beside Esselon, which is a lovely place to wait while your car is being inspected (grab a coffee, tea, muffin, cookie, snack, or meal and relax -- the auto shop doesn't have much of a waiting area).