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.

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:

 

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!

Library Building Forum

I probably should have come up with a catchy title for this blog post, but catchy isn't coming to me this evening, so I'll have to settle for practical.

The library is looking ahead to the future!  A forum to discuss building plans is coming to a Town Hall near you -- the Hadley Town Hall is hosting a library planning and building design forum on Monday, September 28, at 7pm, sponsored by the library trustees and the library design committee.  This is an opportunity for residents ask questions, voice opinions, and hear the pros and cons of various site options for a new library.

The voice of the community is a necessary part of the library building project -- add your voice to the others' and let it be heard!

Circulation is increasing, patronage is increasing, general usage is increasing -- and town population is increasing! -- but the library has not been able to increase in proportion.  For more information about the building program and why it's important, read (or skim) the Goodwin Memorial Library Building Program.  In it you will find community comparisons, space usage, collection information, public input from surveys and forums, and more!  (It's a large file, so it might take a minute or two to load into your browser.)

Click on the picture below for a few of the important statistics.

In the Sun

The Madley Report

I often enjoy reading The Lehrer Report in the weekly paper; it's a great little old-timey column with short comments on gardens, weather, and local people and places.  In response, here is The Madley Report for the month thus far:

The tomato plants are heavy with green tomatoes.  With a little luck and sunshine, they will soon start to ripen.  Some of the Cherokee White Eagle corn is presenting two ears on one stalk; this corn will make beautiful blue cornbread in the winter.  The summer squash are producing predominately male blossoms, which causes a fruiting problem.

The apple tree in the front yard needs pruning, despite its abundant load of summer apples.  With a taller ladder, I could harvest more for dehydrating.

A hummingbird flew by my window this week; it was attracted to the large purple butterfly bush and new crocosmia.

Last week I walked up Huntington Street to see that the entire wooded area at the top has been leveled for "luxury" homes. The road has been renamed "Heartbreak Hill." 

Hadley Residents: Important Input on Master Plan

UPDATE (Aug 15): Surveys must be completed by August 28.  Survey results will be presented in a town meeting in the autumn, when residents will have the opportunity to make comments.
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Perhaps this week you received your water bill, and enclosed in that bill was a yellow slip of paper advertising a Hadley community survey.  This survey is asking residents of Hadley to share opinions about what the town should be focused on for the next 10-20 years; these opinions will be taken into account as the town's Master Plan gets updated.

You can find the survey online here, and paper copies can be found at the Town Clerk's and Collector's offices, the Senior Center, and the library.

Please, please make sure to take a few minutes to fill out the survey and share your thoughts -- on schools, the library, historic buildings, development, communities, housing, open space, recreation opportunities, preservation, and so on....

Hadley's Master Plan Survey