My partner and I found a chocolate labrador on Lakeview Road this evening 9/5/16) at 9:40PM. He was a large male, with no collar. We tried to approach him, but he was too skittish.
If anyone is missing a lab or knows of someone who is, the dog was walking fast towards the corner of Lakeview and Lockes village road.
We hope that someone finds him soon.
Seeking one person for a 2 bdrm house share in a unique and beautiful home. Looking for someone interested in participating and collaborating in making the household work. A great fit is a person who enjoys connecting and communicating, and who also loves cats! Please view my ad on Craigslist for all the details: https://westernmass..../roo/5610593844.html
My name is Devin Hickman. I am starting a small dairy selling 100% grass-fed organic raw cows milk here in Montague. I am trying to gauge community interest for raw milk being available in Montague by conducting a small survey
If you are interested in healthy, great tasting, raw milk from grass-fed pastured cows being available right here in Montague, please take this small survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MTGQSMM
The survey is short, you don't need to register to take the survey, its free, and no demographic or personal information is required. The information will help me to figure if there is a good market for raw milk here in Montague.
I've put together an herbal formula that I use for my patients during the spring/summer and fall. This formula is meant not to 100% prevent Lyme disease, but more to increase your immune system so if you are bitten by a disease carrying tick, your body will do a better job at fighting it off.
I would be more than happy to talk with anyone about the herbs.
I dispense an 8 ounce bottle per person, and dose it at 2 dropperrfuls per day. At that dose, an 8 ounce bottle should last through the summer/spring and fall (witha one month hiatus in July).
I alson have a tick-bite protocol on my website, valleynaturopathic.com.
It just walks you through the steps of taking off the tick, where to send it to, and what to do next.
Free weekly programs for families with young children (birth to age 5)!
MONDAYS: Shutesbury Story Hour at MN Spear Library from 10-11am
WEDNESDAYS:
Erving Playgroup at the Erving Elementary School, 10-11:30am
Leverett Story Hour at the Leverett Public Library, 10:30-11:30am
Wendell Playgroup at the Wendell Free Library, 10-11:30am
THURSDAYS: Tales and Tunes with Happy Dan at the New Salem Library, 10:30-11:30
FRIDAY: Shutesbury Playgroup at the Shutesbury Elementary School, 9-10:30am
YMCA Open Gym Time at the YMCA in Greenfield (for families with children birth
to third grade):
Certain Sundays from 2:15-3:15
Jan. 22, Feb. 26, March 11 and April 1
Coming soon: "Toileting Tips" parent workshop, "Happiest Baby on the Block"
parent workshop
If you would like more info or would like to be on our mailing list, please
contact Gillian Budine, program coordinator, at 978-544-5157.
Faith Deering of Historic Deerfield will bring colonial dress ups and children's games to the Farmer's and Artisan's Market this Saturday, Sept. 3 at the Shutesbury Town Hall from 10:30am-noon. Please bring a picnic lunch to enjoy afterwards! This program is sponsored by the Community Network for Children and the Shutesbury Cultural Council and supported by the 250th Anniversary Committee. Questions, be in touch with Gillian Budine, CNC Coordinator, at 978-544-5157.
I'm looking for a person who is interested in working in my naturopathic office, doing front desk reception. Responsibilities would include: answering the telephone, taking messages, calling back, booking appointments and doing some basic accounting and book keeping. Quickbook experience would be very desirable. An absolute "must" is the ability to be kind and receptive to patients.
Tuesdays only (and possibly Fridays): 9:30-3:30 or 4:00. Beginning August 2nd.
$13.00/hour
Please call Emily Maiella if interested: 413.230.4462
These are ash borer traps that are being put out around the county by the USDA. See "The Recorder" on page C3, June 13, 2011 for a complete article with photos.
Ann:
There are quite a few of these objects in the area -- one on West Pelham Road near Leonard, another on North Valley Road near the Robert Frost trail parking space and another on Rt 202 on New Salem just north is the Shutesbury line -- but I, foe one, have NO idea what they are :-( An art project??!?
Greg
At the corner of Leonard and West Pelham road is a purple metal triangle object. It is hanging from a tree (you must look up) and is anchored by a wire. Anyone know what this is. I understand there is one in Leverette, too.
Puppet Performance at the New Salem Library: 11am (after the Yoga Playdate) on Thursday, June 30. Nicol B. Wander of Wanderful Creations will present "The Frog Prince" and "Little Red Riding Hood." All the fairy tale characters are ingeniously created out of everyday household objects. Meet and greet with the puppets and puppeteer. This program is sponsored by the Community Network for Children Program and is funded by the CFCE Grant for the Massachusetts Dept. of Early Ed. and Care. For more information contact, Gillian, CNC Coordinator, at 978.544.5157.
There is a bill about to be introduced to the floor of the US Senate that many people are alarmed about. One aspect of it would outlaw the saving of seeds, and regulate home-grown food.
This website has a pretty heavy-handed and overstated view of the bill, but does bring to light some of the ramifications:
How to protest Senate Bill 510, "Food Safety Modernization Act"
Call your senators:
John Kerry: (202) 224-2742
Scott Brown: (202) 224-4543
Once connected ask to speak to the legislative staff person responsible for agriculture. If they are unavailable, leave a voice mail message. Be sure to include your name, town, and phone number.
Explain that you are a constituent of the senator and that you oppose the Food Safety Modernization Act, s510, in its entirety. It is a destructive law that will destroy the future of food in America. We may lose our right to grow our own food and save our own seeds if Senate Bill 510 passes.
This is a dangerous law that would criminalize many of the very people growing our food and turn food production into yet another corporate monopoly.
Please take the time right now to contact your U.S. Senator and voice your strong opposition to this bill. When you're done, post your experience here.
BTW, I just called both and spoke with someone who took my request. Apparently neither senator has formed an opinion on the bill yet, so your calls could have a strong impact.
Adorable 8-week old kittens ready for their new homes. Medium length haired Black & White females, one calico and one short-haired orange boy. Call 548-9394.
By BEN STORROW Staff Writer
Published on July 30, 2010
The number of Verizon customers in western Massachusetts reporting problems with their phone service is higher than anywhere else in the state except southeastern Massachusetts, according to the state attorney general's office.
And the number of complaints here is 60 percent higher than in the Boston area.
Those findings were filed by the attorney general's office as part of the state Department of Telecommunications and Cable's investigation into Verizon telephone service throughout the region. They also came several weeks before reports of widespread telephone and Internet service outages in Shutesbury, where 50 residences reported a loss of telephone service, Internet service or both over the first two weeks of July.
The incident attracted the attention of U.S. Sen. John Kerry, who wrote to Verizon's regional president urging the company to cooperate with the state investigation. The DTC is currently conducting a regional service investigation, which also includes looking into allegations of faulty phone service in the towns of Leverett, Hancock, Rowe and Egremont. Verizon is the sole provider of landline phone service in both Shutesbury and Leverett.
The attorney general's report says that the number of average monthly trouble reports per hundred lines, or RPHLs, is high in western Massachusetts. The Springfield district, which covers the four counties in western Massachusetts, had 257,750 Verizon phone lines and reported an average of 3,649 monthly trouble reports in 2009, giving the region an RPHL score of 1.4.
Boston, in comparison, had 360,445 Verizon phone lines and saw 3,121 monthly reports, receiving an RPHL score of 0.9, the lowest in the state. The Marlboro district had 444,321 lines, 5,432 monthly reports and an RPHL of 1.2, while the Southeast district had 405,426 lines, 6,321 reports and an RPHL of 1.6.
Yet those numbers do not tell the story of phone service in rural western Massachusetts, the Attorney General's report says. Urban areas like Springfield receive better phone service than rural areas, thus improving the region's average for number of monthly trouble reports. The Springfield region had far more wire centers witnessing RPHLs of 3.0 to 4.0 between January and August 2009 than any other region in the state, the report said.
The Amherst wire center had RPHL scores of 1.49 in February, 3.5 in July and 3.42 in October 2009.
"With an RPHL that is almost 60 percent higher than that experienced by their counterparts who reside in the Boston district, Western Massachusetts consumers clearly are not receiving reasonably comparable service," the report stated.
Corroded wires
Leverett Selectman Peter d'Errico says the phone service complaints in his town are similar to those reported in other communities. "Calls are dropped, dial tones are lost and the situation is exacerbated when there is any sort of dampness in the air."
D'Errico thinks the problem is due to holes in the telephone wires, which are known as "open plants."
"There were hundreds and hundreds of situations where Verizon had not done any fixing [of open plants]," d'Errico said in an interview this week. "Gradually over the years that has left the stuff unprotected and allowed corrosion to come in. The wires that had been exposed, and where the weather was getting in, are in bad shape. Now it is not just fixing the hole, there is damage inside."
According to the attorney general's report, Verizon has fixed 1,248 open plants in western Massachusetts and has plans to repair an additional 3,500 by the end of 2010. However, the company had completed only 16 percent of those repairs as of May, the attorney general's report said.
The DTC investigation will determine whether the state believes Verizon will fix the problems on its own, whether the threat of an investigation will be enough for the company to rectify the situation or whether there is a need for continuing state oversight, d'Errico said.
"The department is now carefully analyzing the evidence and briefs and will be issuing a decision within the next few months," DTC spokeswoman Kofi Jones said in an email to the Bulletin.
Rain's effect
Meanwhile, residents in rural towns anxiously await the state's ruling.
"If it rains you don't have any telephone service in Shutesbury," said Mary Anne Antonellis, a town resident and the local librarian. She said she was without phone service at her house while the M.N. Spear Memorial Library had only intermittent Internet service between July 1 and 15.
"It is a big joke up there. People will say, ‘It rained, that's why you didn't have a phone yesterday,' " Antonellis said.
Phil Santoro, Verizon spokesman, disputed the notion that his company provides substandard service to the region.
"The evidence that we have presented in the DTC's proceeding clearly demonstrates that Verizon provides excellent service quality throughout the region," Santoro wrote in an email to the Bulletin.
Regarding the recent outages in Shutesbury he said, "while we strive to restore service as quickly as possible for our customers, we regret that in this case, having performed several tests and dispatched technicians on several occasions, this was a particularly difficult problem to diagnose and resolve. We have restored customer service and apologize for the experience."
When Santoro was asked to specify what the problem had been and what the company was doing to fix it, his response was brief, repeating that diagnostic steps were taken.
Meanwhile, Shutesbury residents interviewed say that while their telephone and Internet service has been restored since the outages at the beginning of the month, they have not received an explanation from Verizon.
"We haven't heard anything from Verizon, no response," said resident Jody Brush, who reported losing service from July 8 to 12. During that time her 8-year-old daughter, Noelle, fell and broke her wrist. Brush said she was unable to call the pediatrician's office before taking her child to the hospital.
Then, she said, her family lost phone service a second time on July 16. "Our telephone service was restored on Monday and four days later there was a thunderstorm and we lost service again from 5 p.m. to 2 or 3 the next afternoon."
WesternMA Connect, Inc. July 2010 Broadband Update
MBI Application Successful!
On July 2, 2010, Governor Deval Patrick and members of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation announced that the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) had been awarded $45.4 million of federal ARRA funds. These funds will be used to construct over 1,100 miles of fiber-optic middle-mile infrastructure in western and north central Massachusetts. The award was formally announced at a ceremony held on July 8 at Greenfield Community College. Event attendees included U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, U.S. Senator John Kerry, Governor Patrick, and Congressmen Richard Neal and John Olver. Both Senator Kerry and Congressman Olver recognized Connect for its decade-long support for the creation of an advanced telecommunications landscape throughout the region. All speakers made reference to the many letters received in support of the application. Your compelling stories definitely impacted the application outcome. Thank you to everyone who submitted letters and congratulations to the MBI!
What Does This Mean For You?
In 2008, Governor Patrick and the Massachusetts Legislature established the MBI with the mission to extend affordable high-speed Internet access to ALL residential, commercial and public places across the Commonwealth. This new federal award will be combined with the $26 million of state funding already in place to make this a reality. Internet service providers have stated that once the MBI's network is complete, it will become more cost effective for them to bring high-speed Internet access to those who currently have none.
What's Next?
In the coming months, the MBI will continue to be very busy designing and engineering the network, negotiating access to state-owned assets, forming partnerships to support network deployment, and encouraging the telecommunications industry to be prepared to provide services and invest in the region. Meanwhile, the MBI has contracted with Connect to work collaboratively with regional planning agencies, local municipalities, and other organizations to ensure that this network is constructed as quickly, cost-effectively and efficiently as possible. Under the terms of the federal grant, two-thirds of the project must be built by 2012 and the network completed in 2013. This is a huge undertaking. Although you may not visually see progress right away, be assured that the MBI and many others are working diligently to meet the federal timeline and requirements set.
How Can You Help?
If you have not already done so, please visit http://www.massbroadband.org/mapping/survey.html and complete the online survey. Encourage your friends and neighbors to do the same. This information will assist the MBI in its effort to more accurately map where broadband does and does not exist. If you are an elected official or local department head, please respond to outreach conducted by the MBI and Connect. This network cannot succeed without your participation!
My sincere apologies for all the old emails some of you received yesterday. The Calendar reminder script wasn't working for a while, and when I finally fixed it yesterday morning it sent out all the back-logged reminders. 3,800 total emails were sent, and I got 135 of them.
Ah well. Programming has its funny sides sometimes. At least we now know the calendar reminders work.
Family photo booth, Mademoiselle Pixie Belle Face painting and balloons, cold potluck lunch, arts and crafts tables, musical entertainment by Ed Hines, Safe Kids car seat safety check point! On June 19th at Mill River Park in North Amherst on Route 63 from 10am-1pm. To be held rain or shine. Families with young children welcome! For more info contact Gillian Budine, CNC Coordinator, 413-423-3180.
I have two kittens born March 20, ready to go to their new homes. Black with white markings, one male and one female. Would like to see them adopted by the same home. They are adorable, playful and energetic! $25 each. Call 548-9394
Hello!
Just wanted to update families with young children and child care providers about some events happening in May.
~"Drumming Away the Blues of Winter and Welcoming the Sun!" Family Potluck and Interactive Entertainment with Craig Harris to be held on Friday, May 14 from 5:30-7:30 at Leverett Elementary School.
~REACH visits to Shutesbury (5/14/10 from 9-10:30am) and Erving (5/19/10 from 10-11:30am) playgroups. Preregister for a screening if you have questions about your child's development. Screenings for children under 3 years of age.
~"Could it be Autism?" discussion for parents with Sean O'Neill, Inclusion Specialist for Union #28. To be held at Erving Elementary School on Monday, May 17- pizza dinner served at 5:30, workshop begins at 6:00.
~"Is My Child Ready for School?" workshop for parents of children entering preschool or kindergarten. To be held Thursday, May 20 at Swift River School in New Salem. Pizza dinner served at 5:30, workshop begins at 6:00.
~"No, I Won't and You Can't Make Me! Secrets for Handling Children's Power Struggles with Success" with Bill Corbett of Cooperative Kids. To be held on Saturday, May 22 from 9:30-12:30 at Erving Elementary School.
If you need more information or to register please be in touch with Jessica or Gillian at 413.423.3180
Friday, April 23, 2010, the movie, "Fresh," will be shown at the new Wendell Free Library at 7:00 p.m. "Fresh" offer new thinking about what we are eating and encourages local food consumption. Come for a lively discussion. Sponsored by the Wendell Agricultural Commission.
- Tue, Mar 20, 2012, 9:50 A
