Subsrcibed Email List Archive

December 24, 2002
Happy Holidays to all!

This time of year often creates recycling challenges for Shutesbury families. Here are a few reminders on how to handle gift-related materials, in order to recycle all that we can, and avoid creating problems at the MRF - the Materials Recycling Facility.

First, a reminder that Christmas Day and New Years' Day fall on our normal Wednesday pickup day, so we will be delayed to Thursday pickups each of the next two weeks.

Although our schedule calls for can and bottle pickups on December 26th, and paper and cardboard on January 2nd, here are some tips for you, as you open gifts and sort your paper and cardboard products to be placed at curbside next Thursday.

Please do NOT try to recycle any gift wrap, ribbons, bows, or tinsel. Do not recycle any boxes with plastic windows or coatings. Do not recycle any packing peanuts or styrofoam. Gift wrap paper often has coatings which "gum up" the MRF machinery, so all wrapping paper is banned. Styrofoam blockshave no recycling system available, but if you have a bag of clean styrofoam
packing peanuts, Mail Boxes Etc will accept them for reuse. Otherwise, these items must go in your trash bags. Remember that bags must be tied shut or they will not be picked up. If you have large items, such as the styrofoam blocks, break them up so they fit completely inside the bags, or save them for the Spring Bulky Waste Day.

Here's holiday items that you CAN include in your recycling: Corrugated cardboard - but fold or cut large pieces so they are no larger than four feet square, so they'll fit in the truck opening. Cardboard gift boxes without plastic coatings or windows. Tissue paper, but remove it from the gifts boxes to speed sorting at the MRF, during this busiest time of the year for them.

Drop a note to Paul Vlach at recycling@shutesbury.org with any questions. And please remember your route driver - make sure throwaway boxes you load with cardboard and paper will support the weight of the contents, and keep your load dry for them. Make sure the materials are reachable from the plowed roadside. And if you put out a holiday 'thank you', be sure it's not hidden in your load, in danger of being tossed in the truck along with your
recyclables.

Thanks, and Happy Holidays to all.

Paul Vlach, Recycling Coordinator

October 24, 2002
Please Join Us

Everyone is cordially invited to a public hearing on November 12, 2002 at 7:00p.m. at the Town Hall to review the Town Hall accessibility project. The architect will be available to go over the project and answer questions. This will be your opportunity to learn about the project/make suggestions prior to the start of construction.

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An FYI from Paul Vlach:

This should be the last townwide emailing you receive under my name. Due to a recent change we were able to make through our ISP, the-spa, future mailings will likely show up as coming from announce@shutesbury.org .

As we further define the process, we'll find out if that will be a workable 'reply-to' address for the town to use, and where citizen requests for email notices will be best directed.

Paul

PS: Don't forget - Bulky Waste Day Saturday at the Highway Department, from 9am to 2pm. One free digital fever thermometer per family if you turn in one or more mercury-filled models, until our supply of 25 runs out.

October 18, 2002
The School Committee has asked that we notify you of the upcoming "Union 28
Superintendent Search Process". A search committe is being formed, and
there is information on this process, and how you can become involved, at
the Roadtown Community Newsline online, under the above title, at:
http://www.shutesburyschool.org/newsline.html

**************
Swap Week / Bulky Waste Day / Household Hazardous Waste event

Don't forget to put your reusable items out at the roadside all this week,
with a "free" sign. Goodies which aren't gobbled up by passersby can be
brought to the Fall Bulky Waste Day next Saturday, October 26th, from 9 am
to 2 pm at the Highway Department.

We will have the Amherst Survival Center on hand again to accept donated
items, including clothing, furniture, and household items. They would also
welcome any nonperishable food supplies to go out in their Thanksgiving meal
kits.

As noted in the Fall Newsletter, we're accepting those non-refillable 20 lb
BBQ propane tanks for free this time.

We also have a small supply of digital electronic fever thermometers
available in a swap program, running during the Bulky Waste event from
9am-2pm. This mercury-reduction program allows us to trade your old glass
tube mercury-filled thermometers for a non-toxic model. One per family,
please, but we will take multiple mercury thermometers in. The mercury in
the old style thermometers is very toxic if broken. Please remove the
hazard from your home, and package them in their case or a plastic baggie
for our protection, when you bring them to the Bulky Waste Day.

We're still looking for one volunteer to check in area residents at the
Household Hazardous Waste event, being held in Amherst the same day as
our Bulky Waste Day. With our Recycling and Solid Waste Committee
stretched thin by our own event, we need help at the joint HHW event,
a joint collection with Amherst, Pelham and Leverett.
You would not handle any materials... just check people in, from
8:45 am to noon.

If you have pesticides, chemicals, oil-based paints or other products to
dispose of, you need to pre-register several days prior to the October 26th
date of the event at the Amherst Landfill. Registration forms are available
from the www.shutesbury.org website, or by calling the Amherst Recycling
Coordinator at 256-4050. Please call Paul Vlach at 259-1543 if you can
donate 4-1/2 hours to the town wielding a clipboard in Amherst!

We are also accepting electronic items at Bulky Waste Day, as we have for
several years now. These are banned from the waste stream by State law, and
we only need to charge for TV's and computer monitors. All other components
are taken for free, subsidized by the town budget. Anything with a circuit
board - radios, computer systems, electronic phones or answering machines,
cell phones, etc - will be accepted for recycling of the toxic metals they
contain.

For the Town, Recycling and Solid Waste Committee, and the Web Committee,

Paul Vlach

September 30 2002
Just a couple of quick notices for you:

>From David Ames -

1 - Don't forget to mark the the Special Town Meeting on your calendars for
October 8th. It will be held at the Town Hall at 7pm, followed (about
7:30...) by a farewell event for State Rep. Ellen Story, and a welcoming of
our new Rep. Stephen Kulik.

>From the Recycling and Solid Waste Committee:

2 - The Fall Bulky Waste Day has been scheduled for Saturday October 26th,
from 9am to 2pm at the Highway Dept. There are links with info from
www.shutesbury.org but the only noteworthy change this time involves propane
tanks. Since this past April, your older (round knob) 20 lb propane tanks
could no
longer be refilled. The new ones have OPDs - Overflow Protection Devices,
and triangular knobs. We have arranged for free collection of those older
tanks. We prefer them empty, so fire up the grills between now and the 26th
to finish them off.

The Amherst Survival Center will again have people on hand at Bulky Waste
to collect reusable items. Perhaps during the coming month, as you go
through your
closets preparing for colder weather, you might find quality items to donate
to the Center. They would welcome non-perishable foods, as well, especially
Thanksgiving dinner supplies.

3 - The Fall Household Hazardous Waste collection day, a joint effort with
the Town of Amherst, will be the same day as our Bulky Waste Day here in
Town, October 26th. This collection is at the Amherst Landfill site on
Route 9. Pre-registration is required, and pooling of materials with your
neighbors is encouraged to reduce the traffic flow. There's an HHW
registration form at www.shutesbury.org which you can print out and send in
to the Amherst coordinator.

4 - Finally, a short request for volunteers... The Bulky Waste Day and the
coinciding Household Hazardous Waste collection straps the Recycling and
Solid Waste Committee. We could use a few extra hands here in Town, so if
you could donate a three hour block from 8:30am to 11:30am; or from 11:30am
to 2:30pm, we'd be happy to have you. We also need one person to work the
HHW in Amherst, from shortly before 9am, to shortly past noon. If you can
help us out, please reply to this email and let me know.
(Thanks...)

September 18, 2002
Important Roads Committee Meeting

Tonight, September 18th at 7:00 pm at the Town Hall,
the Shutesbury Roads Committee will conduct an open
discussion on the Leverett/Cooleyville/Prescott Road
project. There is some background info on this project
in the Fall Town Newsletter - available online at -
http://www.shutesbury.org/administrator/articles/2002_fall.htm

The Roads Committee extended an invitation to all in the
newsletter asking that you join them for this important
conversation about the main road in Shutesbury.

August 26, 2002
The Seasons of Shutesbury 2003 Calendar

The Shutesbury School PTO is putting together a calendar for a Fall
fundraiser featuring photographs of the town by local community members.
We are looking for photos of anything that represents the town of Shutesbury
including local landmarks, people and other scenes that might have a special
significance to you. If you would like to submit a photograph(s) please
send
it to the attention of:

Sharon Davenport
Shutesbury PTO
Shutesbury Elementary School
23 West Pelham Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072

Please include your name, address and phone number, and any information on
the photographer and/or photograph that you might want us to note. We will
need original photographs, so please include a self-addressed stamped
envelope if you would like them returned. The Shutesbury PTO can not be
responsible for any damage to or lost photographs. The deadline for
submissions is September 17, 2002. You will be notified if your photograph
is selected for the calendar. If you have any questions you can contact
Sharon Davenport at sharond@admin.umass.edu, or 259-2102. Thank you.

August 13, 2002
To Shutesbury Town Email List subscribers - There are currently 116
subscribers.

Item 1 --- Here's what's new at Shutesbury.org:

You can now search the town website from the search box on the homepage.

In the Community Section
(http://www.shutesbury.org/community.htm)
Shutesbury resident Dianne Dragon will be running a marathon to benefit the
American Stroke Association.

The M.N. Spear Library website has moved over to Shutesbury.org
(http://www.shutesbury.org/library).

There is a calendar of what's going on at the library
(http://www.brownbearsoftware.com/cgi-bin/trials/Shutesbury?CalendarName=Lib
rary)

Item 2 --- Recycling and Trash System Alert

Beginning September 11, 2002, our contracted hauler, Duseau Trucking, will
reverse their order of pickup.
Duseau will collect our scheduled recyclables on their first run, and trash
on their second run. They have asked that everyone observe the Town
regulations, and have both recycling AND trash at roadside by 7am. This
will allow them to consolidate their trash loads as they pick up
recyclables, lowering the number of stops on their second run. They noted
that this is espcially helpful on the small roads around Lake Wyola. The
route order should remain the same, but there may be further adjustments as
the system is refined, due to the recent switch from the Amherst Landfill to
the Resource Recovery facility in Agawam.

Item 3 --- Special Town Meeting

David Ames notes that a Special Town Meeting is scheduled for 7pm on October
8, 2002 at the Town Hall. The warrant listing the items to be discussed has
not been finalized yet. More info will follow as that occurs.

Item 4 --- Change in State Representatives

Following the Special Town Meeting on October 8, 2002, at approximately
7:30pm, the Select Board will host a farewell to Rep. Ellen Story; and a
welcome to our new Rep. Stephen Kulik. Residents are invited to stop by the
Town Hall to sign a "Thank You" certificate which will be framed for
presentation to Rep. Story on October 8th. Contact David Ames for more
info. Department/Board/Committee members with past involvement with Ellen
are especially encouraged to participate.

August 9 2002
Dear email list subscriber:

Privacy notice

As a result of continuing research and discussions by the town Web
Committee, Town Administrator David Ames has requested this advisory be
distributed to everyone subscribed to the town email notification list.

It is still the intent of the town to minimize the distribution of email
addresses of subscribers, as noted when you signed up for this list.
However, it has come to our attention that any email distributed by the town
is subject to provisions of the public records law. As such, any interested
party could request a list of recipients of the mailings. At that time,
your email address would need to be provided. This is the same requirement
which applies to any other written communications with a town office. This
does not represent a change in policy or law, but reflects our growing
awareness of their applicability to this type of electronic correspondence.
The information upon which this advisory is based is available on
the town website, www.shutesbury.org.

Although such requests have not been made, we wanted to advise you of
this possibility, and offer you an opportunity to remove your email address
from the town list.

Our goal remains to provide timely information on town-related topics,
advise you of updates to the town website, and so forth, while avoid the
'mining' of your email address by 'spammers'. That is why the mailings have
gone out under the BCC address line of our email systems. This will
continue to occur, so you will only see your own address, and that of the
sender - in this case, Paul Vlach of the Web Committee.

To summarize, the town will continue to minimize the distribution of
your email address, but would be required to provide it upon request to an
interested party, just as with any other type of correspondence with the
town.

In order to comply with the spirit of the public records laws, and to
provide the same information opportunities to residents without ready access
to computers, a printed copy of this, and future emailings, will be posted
at the Town Hall and Spear Library. Recipient addresses will not appear,

July 16, 2002
Time to check in at www.shutesbury.org again. You'll find several items of
interest on the site, including a look at the new recycled plastic picnic
table on the Town Hall lawn, offering shady respite for travelers and town
hall staff; as well as the new Universal Waste Shed used to store our
mercury-bearing items between pick-ups, such as computer monitors,
thermostats, thermometers and fluorescent lightbulbs. Both were purchased
with recycling grants from the State.

Such grants are in response to our effective recycling program. In fact,
our recycling rate passed 41 percent for the past year. This reflects great
work by all. Keep it up!! And remember to help close the loop, by shopping
for products with recycled content, giving our own recycled materials market
value. Buy recycled!

(Please read the Recycling Grants info from David Ames on the home page. He
explains that items must be placed in the locked Universal Waste Shed by
Town Hall staff to assure legal handling.)

More webpage additions include a list of summer events sponsored by the
Spear Memorial Library, and photos of the Fourth of July festivities at the
Fire Department.

For the Town,

Paul Vlach, Recycling Coordinator

June 26, 2002
Trash & Recycling Alert!

Due to transitions in the system, there have been some route changes. You
may now be picked up either earlier or later than in the past. Please be
sure to have everything at curbside by 7am as required, or you may not get
picked up. There will be no return trips.

At this time, the changes are affecting the west half of town. Trash is
still being collected before recycling, but compliance with the 7am
requirement will still assure that you receive service. Please advise your
neighbors, who may not have been home to notice the change this week.

Thanks, Paul Vlach and David Ames

May 25, 2002
Shutesbury resident Erik Hoffner has offered the following
message for those of us interested in helping to document
the flora and fauna of Shutesbury for the Mass. Executive
Office of Environmental Affairs.

Paul Vlach, Web Committee

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Come help discover our wild neighbors during...

Biodiversity Days 2002

May 31-June 2

This year there are 4 trips planned for Shutesbury and
Leverett. Last year, we added 400+ new species to this
yearly, citizen-powered biological inventory. Want to
learn about what lives here? Know what lives here and
want to help ID? Go to the programs's official website
at:

http://data.massgis.state.ma.us/Biodiversity/Search.htm

and plug in Shutesbury or Leverett and "all organism
search" and click on Search Trip.

See you there!

Erik Hoffner
ehoffner@yahoo.com

May 23, 2002
A message I'm forwarding along to the hundred or so who have signed up to receive Town info via email:

Town Administrator David Ames reports that -

On May 21, 2002 the Selectboard voted to accept the recommendation of the Recycling and Solid Waste Committee to begin hauling trash to the waste-to-energy facility known as eco/Springfield starting July 1, 2002. The Selectboard signed the 10 year contract after requesting feedback from the citizens of the Town of Shutesbury through a mailer.

The Recycling and Solid Waste Committee and a representative from eco/Springfield were at the May 21st meeting to answer any questions. They provided information that clearly showed the emissions from the facility were well below standards and that landfills emit more greenhouse gases than the facility.

-------
Further, I understand that the other primary topic for the May 21st meeting, whether to apply for a CopsFast grant, was discussed at length, and the decision was made to NOT apply for the new grant.

Paul Vlach, messenger

(Thanks for joining the list, and please pass the word along for people to sign up at www.shutesbury.org)

May 9, 2002
Greetings on behalf of the Town of Shutesbury.

You are one of 44 recipients of this email. You should not see any other
addresses, nor should they see yours. Please help to spread the word on
the email sign-up on the Town website at www.shutesbury.org and feel free
to forward this message on to others who may be interested in receiving
such info.

I am the Recycling Coordinator and Chair of the Recycling and Solid Waste
Committee. Some of you may have caught our committee report at Town
Meeting. The Selectboard has asked that we try to notify as many residents
as possible of a proposed change in our trash system, as described at Town
Meeting and in a memo included below. This is one means of getting the
word out to potentially interested residents. In addition, the following
notice was sent to the school newsletter, and local radio and newspaper
media outlets by Town Administrator David Ames.

"On May 21st at the Shutesbury Town Hall at 8:00 p.m. the Selectboard will
be considering a change from the Amherst Landfill to the Waste to Energy
plant in Agawam for all of its refuse. If any Shutesbury residents have
comments on this potential change, they are encouraged to attend the
meeting. Anyone who cannot attend can e-mail comments to
townadmin@shutesbury.org."

Below is the memo of recommendation sent from our committee to the
Selectboard on this topic. Although not mentioned in the memo, you should
know that this will result in no practical change for residents for our
recycling or bulky waste programs.

Thanks for your interest and involvement.
Paul Vlach
vlach@admin.umass.edu