“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in...

By Peter Spotts

H i l l t o w n C o m m u n i t y Development Corporation is planning a multi-million dollar renovation for the Chester Commons in the coming years.

P a u l L i s c h e t t i a n d D av e Christopolis met with the Board of Selectmen on Monday, Jan. 13, to let them know about their agreement

CDC plans Chester Commonsrenovation

By Mary Kronholm

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s draft report for the I-90 Interchange Study is avail-able on the study website for public review. The draft report can be found in the I-90 Interchange Study doc-uments section of the study’s home page: mass.gov/massdot/i90study .

Comments abou t the d ra f t report may be submitted by email to [email protected] through Monday, Feb. 3.

All summaries from prior meet-ings and presentations are also avail-

STUDY, page 6

RENOVATION, page 3

I-90 study open for comments

BLANDFORD

CHESTER

By Shelby Macri

Two parties have expressed interest in potential retail stores for marijuana in town and the Board of Selectmen and Town Administrator Charlene Nardi are developing the pro-cedures for how the process will work.

This is the second time that the board has discussed the process that they should follow for developing a

Town fine tunes marijuana process for retail interest

By Peter Spotts

Safety for students and staff is higher than ever at Hampshire Regional High School as 2019 ended with a complete installation for the front doors to ensure visitors can’t bypass the main office when entering the school with the addition of a window inside the vestibule.

Principal Kristen Smidy said the upgrade had been recommended by the state and local police depart-ments before she arrived at the school seven years ago, which has finally been imple-mented. Today, visitors can

now be checked in by a staff member after passing through the first set of doors and don’t have to enter the build-ing through the second set of doors unless necessary.

“In multiple sources of school safety research, one of the main deterrents to intrud-ers is the first contact with staff being a direct visual line to assess if the intruder is a safety concern,” Smidy said. “The most effective video camera cannot see all angles, so this window is a way to make that connec-tion in a friendly way while also increasing the likeli-hood of identifying issues in

the moment. Additionally, the school’s front entrance is structured so once the front door was unlocked by office staff, a visitor did not have to report to the main office. The visitor could bypass the office and access the building with-out checking in.”

Smidy said that they never had any major security issues with the old setup — where visitors were buzzed through the second door, but could bypass the main office — there were instances of staff having to chase down guests who forgot to check in.

Hampshire Regional High School completes security upgrade

MARIJUANA, page 11

By Geoffrey Oldmixon

Hundreds of used auto tires have been il legal-ly dumped off Woronoco Road near the water pump-ing station. According to Russell Police Chief Kevin Hennessey, the act could result in very stiff penalties — $5,000 or more in crim-inal fines not to mention additional Department of Environmental Protection fines.

“The DEP can level fines, too,” Hennessey said.

At this week’s Russell S e l e c t B o a r d m e e t -ing on Tuesday, Jan. 14, Hennessey went further, telling the Select Board that MassDEP is “hot to trot on this [case],” and that his police force is working closely with state officials.

Hennessey said it was “disrespectful to the com-munity for someone to come in here and blatantly dump hazardous materials, especially near water.”

The dumped tires were discovered and reported to police by Russell Highway

TIRE, page 7

SECURITY, page 9

Top photo, Alyssa Edwards, 11, and Molly Wildman, 12, of Troop 124 from Westfield fly kites at Woronoco Heights Outdoor Adventures at Moses Scout Reservation in Russell on Saturday, Jan. 11. Above, Aiden Riha, 12, Sean Stetson, 16, and Theo Parker, 13, of Troop 608 out of Hamden, Connecticut fold a flag. More photos on page 16. Photos by Adrianne Johnson

School staff and administrators can greet school visitors before they enter the school with the new window installed in the main entrance vestibule. Submitted Photo by Kristen Smidy

Police, DEPinvestigate tire dump

WILLIAMSBURG

Becket ............................8Blandford ........................6Business Directory ........11Chester ...........................3Classifieds ...............14,15

Hilltowns ........................2Huntington ......................2Middlefield ....................11Montgomery ...................6Obituary ........................13

Opinion ...........................4Plainfield ........................3Public Notices ...............13Puzzle Page ..................12Russell............................7

Schools & Youth ..............9Williamsburg .................11

SCHOOLS AND YOUTH

PAGE 8

RUSSELL

A TURLEY PUBLICATION ❙ www.turley.com

January 16, 2020 ❙ Vol. 41, No. 38 ❙ 75¢ www.countryjournal.turley.com

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Devoted to the Needs of the HilltownsCountry Journal

Becket, Blandford, Chester, Chesterfield, Cummington, Goshen, Huntington, Middlefield, Montgomery, Otis, Plainfield, Russell, Sandisfield, Westhampton, Williamsburg, Worthington

Country Journal • Thursday, January 16, 2020

HILLTOWNS

M o n t g o m e r y a n d Russel l ’s s ta te senator, Donald Humason Jr., left the Massachusetts State Senate this week with a perfect voting record.

Humason, a Westfield Republican, was sworn into the state Senate on Nov. 20, 2013, and never missed a roll call vote throughout the six years he served.

“I have taken my job as state Senator very seriously and I feel

a tremendous honor and priv-ilege to have represented the 11 cities and towns of the 2nd Hampden and Hampshire dis-trict,” said Humason. “I did my best to make sure those on Beacon Hill did not forget about us folks out in Western Massachusetts, and even with my long drives on the Pike, I am proud to say that I never missed a roll call vote.”

Formal legislative sessions concluded Wednesday, Nov. 20. Humason

officially resigned from the Senate on Jan. 6 to take his new job, mayor of Westfield.

“Sen. Don Humason is a pragmatic and effective leader on Beacon Hill and his perfect voting record in the Senate over his years of service reflects his com-mitment to the constituents that he rep-resents as well as to the state Senate and the commonwealth,” said Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr. “I’m thankful to Sen. Humason for his service, his significant achievements, and his integrity in public office.”

A special election to fill the state

Senate seat will be held March 31, with primary elections to choose party nom-inees on March 3, the same day as the presidential primary election. The district stretches from Tolland in the Berkshires east to four precincts in Chicopee, and several hilltowns including Montgomery and Russell.

Though Humason has resigned, his staff will keep the senator’s district and Beacon Hill offices open to provide con-stituent service. Anyone requiring help from the senator’s office can call 617-722-1415.

Senator Don Humason leaves perfect voting record

COBBLE COMRADERY

John Defeo and half a dozen hikers, along with a couple furry friends, took a trip up Cobble Mountain this past weekend. Submitted Photos by John Defeo

Don Humason

Library open and operational for patrons

HUNTINGTON —After three weeks of working around damage caused by burst pipes in the bathroom, the Huntington Library is officially open for business once again.

Following the unexpected acci-dent on Dec. 23, the library has had to operate in limited capacity to try and serve its patrons while the build-ing was officially closed for repairs. It officially reopened on Saturday, Jan. 11 and internet operations were restored this week.

HUNTINGTON

The funding source for poten-tial additions to the Huntington Library was misreported in the Jan. 9 edition of the Country Journal (“Burst pipe closes

library doors,” page 1). The funds for any future new shelves or equipment purchas-es will come from the Huntington Public Library Foundation, Inc.

HUNTINGTON — A gardening workshop presented by Adrianne Kunz will be held from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Feb. 29, at Stanton Hall.

Topics will include veggies, annu-als, perennials, trees, and shrubs; when to start seeds indoors; seed start-ing indoors vs. outdoors; seed starting supplies; getting the beds ready; prop-

er soils and fertilizers; and watering.To reserve a space, call 413-512-

5205 by Wednesday, Feb. 26. All ages are welcome. In case of snow, the event will be rescheduled to Saturday, March 7. The event is sponsored by the Huntington Council on Aging. Stanton Hall is located at 26 Russell Road.

Cultivate knowledge for growing season

Huntington Evangelical Church invites all to worship God on Sunday mornings at 9:30 a.m. at 17 Russell Road in downtown Huntington. Pastor Cinelli will present the second of two messages

on the subject of “Being Renewed.” This Sunday’s message is from Philippians 1 on

“Possessing a Renewed Mind.” Children will meet downstairs during the service.

The “open” flag for the Huntington Library is flying again after the building has been closed since Dec. 23 due to burst pipes.

Submitted Photo by Chad Pelley

NORWICH HILLThe First Congregational Church,

UCC, welcomes everyone wherever they are on their journey of faith, seek-ers, believers, and wonderers alike, to join Sunday worship at 10 a.m. and share in open table communion fol-lowed by refreshments and fellowship.

This week the message from John 1.29-42 invites us to wonder what it is

we do when we have found the thing we have been looking for. This morning members of the congregation will lead the service.

The Church is located at 6 Searle Road. For more information, call the church at 413-667-3935 or 860-798-7771 or [email protected].

EVANGELICAL CHURCH

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CORRECTION

Country Journal • Thursday, January 16, 2020 page 3

CHESTER

Brenda Mackie of Becket takes in the view of the arch.

ARCH ADVENTURES

to purchase the property, plans going forward, and make sure the town sup-ports their vision to ensure a smooth-er grant application process with the Department of Housing and Community Development.

“In order to have a successful appli-cation to DHCD, we would need the support of the town,” Lischetti said. “If we didn’t have that, we’d pull out of our option agreement before purchasing the building.”

The board said they have no issues with the current plans and are excit-ed about the potential development. Lischetti said the renovations are esti-mated to cost between $4 million and $5 million, with funding from DHCD critical to making the project come to fruition.

“We’ll have a mortgage on it,” Christopolis said. “Most of it will be grant subsidized money or what they call deferred payment loans.”

The Chester Commons currently provides 15 apartment units for low-in-come and seniors. Hilltown CDC is looking to keep the use similar, but bring key issues up to current standards including a new roof, heating system, elevator, and other critical systems.

“We’re not going to gut it, but it’s going to be pretty substantial,” said Christopolis.

“It’s one-bedroom apartments. There are people who have the [housing choice vouchers] now that are living there. We’re not going to displace peo-ple,” Lischetti said.

They added that Hilltown CDC

operates a similar apartment structure in Chesterfield that operates with some non-senior restrictions, but more than half of the single bed apartments there are occupied by seniors. Christopolis said he believes the senior housing in Chester is for 55 and over, but that they’d check the age limit.

Board of Selectmen Chairman John Baldasaro informed the CDC represen-tatives that the current property owes the town between $30,000 and $40,000 in daily accruing fines that has been stacking since October and the town wants the issues addressed. He recom-mended that Lischetti and Christopolis talk with Building Inspector Jason Forgue to get more details on what needs to be addressed at the property.

“We’re not interested in making

money on fines. We’re just interested in getting those compliance issues dealt with,” Baldasaro said.

He also checked with them to make sure that they’re fine with the current agreement to have the Chester Library on the property, which is working on a new building but may need to spend several more years at its current loca-tion.

“We want to have that agreement formalized a little bit, but for now we’re assuming that’s going to be there,” Christopolis said.

For a timeline, Christopolis and Lischetti said they anticipate the pur-chase of the property being closed with-in the next five or six months with the acquisition of funds to do the work tak-ing about two years.

RENOVATION from page 1

Hikers carefully traverse the snow-covered Keystone Arch Bridges Trail in Chester during a hike this past weekend. It was one of four hikes the Hilltown Hikers led over two days.

Pat Osbourne of Feeding Hills and Agawam’s Colleen Riley get a close-up view of the 70-foot arch from the quarry.

Liz Massa and Dave Pierce pause for a moment on the Old Pontoosic Turnpike section of the trail. Colleen Riley hikes along the trail.

Submitted Photos

PLAINFIELD

PLAINFIELD —A four-event lecture series, including presentations by local experts about how yards and gardens can enhance biodiversity and combat climate change, will start at the end of this month and continue through April.

The first lecture will start at 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 27. Amy Pulley and Patrick Williamson will moderate the discussion of the book “Bringing Nature Home,” by Doug Tallamy. Discuss the links between native plant and insect diversity, as well as practical and achievable recommendations for choos-

ing native plants to contribute towards sustaining biodiversity. Books are avail-able at local hilltown libraries.

“ H i l l t ow n s R e s p o n d i n g t o Environmental Crises: A Practical Approach,” is open to the public and held at the Plainfield Public Safety Complex located at 38 N. Central Street. This program is funded in part by the Plainfield Cultural Council.

Upcoming events:Monday, Feb. 17: Our Landscape

and Global Climate Change, 7 p.m. Brittany Laginhas from UMass Amherst

will discuss how climate change affects the local landscape and biodiversity, with tips on how to respond.

Monday March 16: Gardening for Wildlife, 7 p.m. Desiree Narango from the City University of New York will discuss how to manage property in ways that make positive impacts on wildlife.

Monday April 20: Creating and Support ing Biodiversi ty in Your Landscape, 7 p.m. Larri Cochran will discuss how to dramatically transform a landscape to support pollinators in stress from loss of habitat and food sources.

Lecture series tackle climate change, biodiversity


Cookies offer girls a taste of responsibilityThey’re back! Those devilishly deli-

cious delights in their rainbow col-ored boxes have now been delivered

to area girls. If a family member hasn’t already harassed you for sales, consider yourself warned: it’s Girl Scout Cookie sea-son. From the iconic Thin Mints to Do-si-dos, Tagalongs, Samoas and Trefoils, thou-sands of cookies have hit the streets for neighborhood distribution.

While many adults will start running and hiding from their daughters, friends, family members and co-workers, this annual tradition is for many young girls their first taste of responsibility and entrepreneurship. From hitting the ground and going door-to-door, calling their family members and getting creative with their individual troops, selling cookies does more than raise money for Girl Scouts. These cookie saleswom-en learn necessary skills for their future, from dealing with rejection to marketing, which will pay dividends as they grow into college-seeking high school graduates and young professionals.

According to Dana Carnegie, commu-nity relations manager with the Girl Scouts, “57 percent of Girl Scout alumnae in busi-ness say the program was key in the devel-opment of their skills today.”

The first known cookie sales of Girl Scouts took place in 1917, which Carnegie said happened in Muskogee, Oklahoma, where Scouts baked cookies in their homes and sold them. Now, this annual tradition occurs in communities across the nation, with consumers having an assortment of mass-produced confections to choose from.

Interestingly, while sales have taken place since 1917, it wasn’t until 1937 that they spanned the nation, according to a timeline on girlscouts.org. And during World War II, in 1944 calendars were sold instead of cookies. These cookies have been sent to troops serving overseas, into outer space and have even helped fight for racial inclusion.

For those who do give in to temptation, proceeds from sales support various local causes. Cookie sales have helped purchase a bulletproof vest for a female police officer, care packages for a local children’s cancer center, and numerous worthwhile endeavors. Nationwide, girls use their revenue to help fund beneficial projects for their individual troops and their home communities.

Additionally, girls of all levels are eli-gible to receive annual “Cookie Activity” pins for their efforts and upon displaying proficiency in skills ranging from money management to business planning, they are eligible for a badge.

While the cookies may be an added treat for the pantry and the money is an added bonus for Girl Scouts, the experience dishes out a taste of real world responsi-bility. Next time a smiling face asks you to purchase a box of cookies, remember your response teaches her a valuable life lesson, even if it’s the courage to do it again.

What do you think? Send your letter to the editor to [email protected].

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

The proposed Turnpike Interchange in Blandford is like a tick carrying Lyme disease. It may look like it causes just a little local disturbance, but eventu-ally it would spread out to negatively affect every community in the Eastern Berkshires, down to every street and eventually every household, much as Lyme ultimately reaches every one of the body’s cells, carrying opportunistic co-infections along with it.

The only way to prevent this intru-sion is to stop it before it starts. All of us in Blandford and the Eastern Berkshires need to say “NO EXIT” loud and clear,

and we need to say it NOW, before Feb. 3, the final date for comment on the DOT Interchange Study. Please contact:

• Rep. Smitty Pignatelli: [email protected], 617-722-2210 or 413-637-0631

• Sen. Adam Hinds: [email protected], 617-722-1625 or 413-344-4561

• DOT Project Manager: [email protected], 857-368-8852

As well as [email protected].

Jane PinsleyBlandford

Blandford Turnpike proposal is a disease

It has been in the news, that the Governor of our state has proposed a 17-cent gas tax. This is a direct attack on rural communities. Looks like the east is trying to get us to foot the bill for rehab of the roads and infrastructure of the east side of the state. Also, in the news, Natalie Blais sounded she is for the tax as long as communities in the west get their fair share. So much for her. Smitty Pignatelli on the other hand is a party line voter.

We need to contact our representa-

tives and senators and voice our opinions against this tax. I know in a lot of people in rural towns like myself, have to trav-el at least 15 miles one way just to food shop. That’s not counting other errands we need to do.

Please join me in contacting our rep-resentatives and senators, and give our displeasure against this bill.

Ted CousineauBlandford

Rural residents must oppose gas tax

Corrections policyIf you notice a factual error in our

pages, please let us know, so that we can set the record straight. Email information to [email protected], or call us at 413-283-8393.

Corrections will be printed in the same section where the error originally occurred.

EDITORIAL

OPINION

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ISSN NO. 0747-2471

By Deborah Daniels

From the moment you notice the huge grout (waste) pile of granite and then see the first vintage truck circa 1930s,

located on the quarry trail, you know you are in for a rare historical treat. That would be the Chester-Hudson Quarry, an open-air museum on local granite mining in Becket. This quarry cut “Chester Blue” granite from the hillside from the 1870s to its closure in 1947. The granite was transported first by ox cart, then later by a branch of the Boston and Albany Railroad to Chester, a distance of 3.5 miles. There it was cut, polished and re-shipped to Hudson, N.Y. and points beyond. The fine-grained granite was prized for its ability to take a high polish, suitable for monuments, memorials and tombstones. This was an era when monuments mattered, particularly to commemorate war heroes who did not return home to their families. There are monuments made of Chester gran-ite in all of the New England and eastern seaboard states, including many midwest-ern states. The Massachusetts Regiment that fought at the battle of Gettysburg is com-memorated with Chester granite according to Allen Williams, owner of the Chester

Granite Company in Blandford. He esti-mates there were as many as 20 quarries operating in the area, back in the day, now down to two, his company and the Williams Stone Company in East Otis. Mr. Williams’ Company specializes in architectural res-toration. He reports the granite is removed from the Blandford quarry using channeling and thermal fracking methods now. Look to Amelia Park in Westfield, the steps and wall at St. Paul’s Church in Stockbridge and the monument in front of the Lee public library to see some splendid samples of the Company’s work. Respect for Granite shines through these projects.

Returning to the historic Chester Hudson quarry, it is loaded with abandoned quarrying equipment. Notice the “headache ball” and Sullivan drill located in the park-ing area to the quarry. Be prepared for more personal contact with quarrying equipment! It is all there and, yes, you may touch it. There is a reconstructed mast of a stiff-armed derrick that looms over the quarry at the top of the hill. You will get a feel for the enormity of the task of cutting granite from the Earth at this quarry. That derrick was

Chester Rocks

HILLTOWN HISTORY

ROCKS, page 5


The Chester-Hudson Quarry in Becket.

A giant water-cooled circular saw, which used for cutting granite blocks in Chester.

Submitted Photos by Deborah Daniels

PoetryCorner••

Better days are comingBy Fred Caron

He tried to gather wealth as tycoons dobut not a luck.

He tried to gather many friends as actors do

But no such luck.Life ran amok.

He tried to be himself. What else to do?A carefree fellow.

He tried each day some good to do.The sun grew yellow.

Things now were mellow.

ROCKS from page 4

capable of lifting 40 tons of granite, but eight- to nine-ton blocks were what was usually maneuvered out. The derrick winch was initially steam powered, then powered by compressed air and final-ly by diesel engines. Note the size of the circular saw that was located in the Chester cutting shed. This is located in the town of Chester, not at the Quarry. It was located outside in open sheds to reduce the workers exposure to the stone dust. Hazards were managed as best as they could be for the time.

Who were these master stone cutters, who used black powder, chisel and ham-mer to free the granite? Some of the early quarry men were immigrants, with stone cutting skills from Finland and Italy. John Hakola, a Finnish stone cutter who lived in Chester from 1907 to 1927, tells of moving to Chester after selling his shares in a granite company in Quincy. He relo-cated to Chester to set up his own monu-ment business with several Finnish gran-ite craftsmen who had already moved to Chester from Quincy. They did success-fully set up a cooperative business after persevering through many odds, lack of money and a fire that destroyed the work-shop as profiled in an issue of Stone Walls

magazine, 1976 vol. 2 issue 4. Many a Chester residence was equipped with a sauna to keep the 44 Finnish families liv-ing in town in 1914 happy, or should I say clean! The Chester Granite Company mentioned above was founded by Finns.

Investigating the Quincy connec-tion, it turns out that Quincy had quar-ries producing granite from the 1820s to 1963. The building of the Bunker Hill Monument (1827, commemorating the first major battle of the American Revolution) in Charlestown was the impe-tus to find a nearby quarry to provide stone. Lo and behold the first railroad built in America was built in 1826 to move the granite blocks from the Quincy quarry to Milton, where the blocks were then loaded on to boats and carried to Charlestown. For those readers wanting details on the quarry and railroad, thom-ascranelibrary.org/legacy/railway narrates the full history.

Now before you leap to the Chester-Quincy; granite-train parallel, you should know that all the stone used to build the Keystone Arch Railroad Bridges was quarried right there beside the tracks in Chester, not at the Chester-Hudson Quarry. Also, the stone used to build those

bridges is not all granite.Allow me one more detour in com-

parative quarries. There was also a quar-ry in Monson. The W.N. Flynt Granite Company, that opened in 1809 to supply the granite needed to build the Springfield Armory. It went on to supply the granite to build the Boston and Albany Railroad depots in Springfield, Palmer and Boston as well as the Hampden County Courthouse in Springfield among many other prominent buildings. The Company diversified and mastered crushing granite to produce trap rock which was used to build roads and railroad beds. It closed in 1935.

We certainly have to thank the people of Becket and the Becket Land Trust, who had the foresight to preserve the quarry and the rich history it reveals of the gran-ite industry. Hike the Quarry trail, you will be awed and mystified by what you see, and it will beckon you back again and again.

Do you have a memory or historical curiosity from the Hilltowns that you’d like to share with your neighbors? Send your story and photos to [email protected].

The reconstructed mast of the stiff-armed derrick at the Chester-Hudson Quarry in Becket.

OPINION

As I write i t is 64 degrees and sunny out-side. Unseasonable as

this is for early-January, tem-peratures like these are good for the spirits; they remind us that the growing season is just around the corner. Although we are excited to get our hands dirty, it is still too early to start most seeds. It is, however, the perfect time to research the cultural requirements of your favorite plants as well as gather the nec-essary props to make your indoor seed starting efforts successful.

With seed catalogs arriving in the mail almost daily, it is tempting to recycle

some of them before giving them a first glance. Don’t do it! Many of them are loaded with useful information. Three of my favorites are Stokes (stokeseeds.com) for bed-ding plants, Johnny’s Selected Seeds (johnnyseeds.com) for veggies and cut flowers, and Fedco (fedcoseeds.com) for all of the above as well as a good dose of plant trivia.

For example, look up ageratum in the Stoke’s catalog and you will discover that its seeds need light in order to germinate and that it takes 10 to 12 weeks to produce garden-ready plants. Johnny’s had similar advice. They also

warn of starting tomato plants too early: only five to six weeks are necessary for small transplants; seven to eight weeks for larger ones. And according to Fedco, the optimum temperature for starting tomato seeds is 77 degrees; they’ll poke through the soil in a mere six days at that temp.

All of the information you glean from catalogs can be put to good use when it comes time to start your seeds. How elaborate you want to get with your record-keeping is entirely up to you. At home, I have a three-ring binder that holds the last 20 years of my seed-starting experiences on loose-leaf paper.

Each year I mark down the varieties I sowed, when they germinated and when they were transplanted. I also make note of the seed source and the age of the seed. If the plants I produced were too large (or too small) I’ll make note of that as well and adjust my sowing dates accordingly the next time I sow that variety. Arriving at a particular sowing date for the first time is quite simple: I take the recom-mendations of the catalogs and count backward from Memorial Day, the first frost-free date for our area. For example, if Johnny’s recommends starting tomatoes eight weeks prior to setting them outside, I’ll plan on sowing their seeds the first week in April.

My record-keeping at OSV was a bit more sophisticated. There I made up a spreadsheet of sorts that allows a column each for things such as variety name, seed source, number to be grown, sow date, transplant date and comments. Last year I grew some absolutely beautiful coleus from seed and they were timed just per-

fectly. If I should grow them again some time in the future, I’ll refer back to that sheet, knowing that a Feb. 8 sowing pro-duced good-sized plants. I’ll also recall from the comments section that the cata-logs recommend using lukewarm H2O to water (coleus is finicky temperature-wise and cool water chills the soil enough that it has a hard time warming up again.) Sheets like these become quite an asset after a few years. Lord know I’ve looked back time and time again to check on one thing or another.

Go one step further and make your record-keeping complete by taking notes all season long. Our memory is quick to forget the particular squash variety that bore only two fruit when the catalog is singing the praises of its beauty. Write down how poorly it performed and I guar-antee you’ll remember it and won’t order it again.

Stay tuned next week for informa-tion on the props necessary to start seeds indoors.

Roberta McQuaid graduated from the Stockbridge School of Agriculture at the University of Massachusetts. For the last 28 years, she has held the position of staff horticulturalist at Old Sturbridge Village. She enjoys growing food as well as flowers. Have a question for her? Email it to [email protected] with “Gardening Question” in the subject line.

Roberta McQuaid

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Seed catalogs offer plenty of useful advice


BLANDFORD

MONTGOMERY

BLADNFORD — On Friday, Jan. 17, at 1:30 p.m., the monthly movie will be shown at the Council on Aging. This month’s selection, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” is based on an adaptation of a story by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

The film is essentially a fantasy about Benjamin Button, played by Brad Pitt. Imagine if life begins back-wards. Benjamin Button is born as an old man just before the first World War in New Orleans. He grows up as an abandoned kid in a nursing home, looking up to kind old Queenie, played by Taraji P. Henson, as his momma. Benjamin not only grows younger, but also manages to find love and have a family with his childhood friend, played by Cate Blanchett as Daisy, who was at the same stage of life for a few years. Then, Daisy grows older while Benjamin progresses towards infancy. This is a “truly curious” film. The movie will be shown in the

COA room at Blandford Town Hall, 1 Russell Stage Road, and there is no charge. Popcorn and drinks will be served.

On Friday, Jan. 24, at 10 a.m., the monthly breakfast will highlight cas-seroles and fruit with coffee and juice. The cost of the breakfast is $5.

The Center for Active Adults’ “Need a Ride “program is going very well. The SUV, donated by resident Juliana Mueller, has taken many seniors to Baystate Noble Hospital in Westfield for various tests, the Big Y, Stop and Shop, CVS, and Price Rite, as well as to other doctor appointments. Volunteers are bringing Seniors to our events, as well. Volunteers are willing to transport seniors who are no lon-ger driving or seniors who are tempo-rarily not driving due to recuperating from surgery. If Seniors have questions about a situation or where help may be needed, call Blandford Town Hall at 413-848-4279, ext. 400.

Council on Aging hosts movie afternoon Friday, Jan. 17

By Mary Kronholm

B L A N D F O R D – S e l e c t m e n approved a payment in lieu of taxes agree-ment with Syncarpha, the solar energy firm established on Chester Road, for $12,500 per megawatt, escalating 1 per-cent annually to $15,099 after 20 years.

The board also voted to accept a price from Northern Tree Service Inc. for post ice-storm debris management not to exceed $98,650 based on 352 hours of work at $280 an hour. Selectman Eric McVey said he wanted to know, “What does $280 an hour on Monday, Jan. 13.visually look like?” or how many workers and pieces of equipment does the cost cover. The price includes Watson Park, but the park’s trust funds will cover those costs.

Northern Tree will remove debris from either side of the public roadway and hangers over the roads.

The board tabled action on par-ticipating in a purchasing agreement with Franklin Regional Council of Governments. FRCOG would bid on the town’s behalf for services for fire alarm testing, sprinkler testing and smoke detec-tor cleaning. There would be a cost to the town to participate in the bidding agree-ment, taking part in the collective pro-curement process and then the cost of the actual inspections comes upon successful bid award. FRCOG needs a response by Jan. 24.

Selectman Eric McVey said, “I want to know if the money makes sense. This is an inspection award, not a maintenance award.” He continued, and said, “I want

to balance the value of it. If we’re only talking a couple of hundred dollars, and spend $200 to $300 to eligible to be in a thing that will power that [original] cou-ple of hundred by maybe a hundred, then it doesn’t make sense.”

The board wants to see more data before a final decision is made.

The board approved accep-tance of grant award of $15,360 from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Administration and Finance to streamline permitting, a grant for the Council on Aging of $6,000, and an additional grant for the Fire Department for $360 for turn-out gear.

The Selectmen also made a final review of the warrant for the special Town Meeting on Feb. 3. At least one article will have to be amended on the floor of

the meeting regarding moving funds from the police salary line item to expenses in order to cover the shared cost with Chester.

The board discussed a revision to the proposed increases in the building fees, and will continue this with Jason Forgue next week.

Town Administrator Joshua A. Garcia told the board that an environmental offi-cer would be necessary to proceed with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission proposal for the grant for senior hous-ing rehab work. McVey thought the posi-tion would best be suited to the Board of Health. Garcia will speak with Board of Health member Jennifer Girard.

Selectman Tom Ackley said such an environmental review would “have to consider asbestos and lead paint.”

Selectboard accepts solar payment agreement

BLANDFORD – It’s going to be a busy, fun-filled day at the Porter Memorial Library on Saturday, Feb 1.

The Valentine’s Day program is set for 11 a.m. to noon. There will be an opportunity for young patrons to dec-orate heart-shaped cookies, write Valentine’s Day messages, and snack.

Later on, the library’s Cookbook Book Club will dine well at 1 p.m. with

a winter soup event. Recipes from “Soup Night: Recipes for Creating Community Around a Pot of Soup” by Maggie Stucky, a cookbook featuring soups of all sorts, will be on the menu. The cook-book is available at the Porter Memorial Library for cooks’ review and recipe selection.

Choice of recipes should be made and the library notified by Jan. 25.

Library brings hearts, flowers, books and bites

able on that website. Any questions related to the

study should be directed to Cassandra Gascon Bligh, MassDOT Project Manager at Cassandra/[email protected] or at 857-368-8852.

Bligh was the presenter at the most recent meeting in Blandford on Oct. 10.

The 195-page document concludes saying that the possible sites that remain are both in Blandford, one at the service plaza area and the other at the MassDOT Maintenance Center.

The service area concept would require taking two parcels, one with a residence, 242 feet from the site, while the other location would require taking four parcels, two having resi-dences.

There are 15 residents within a quarter-mile of the service areas and 18 residents within a quarter-mile of the Maintenance Center.

According to the report , the two Blandford sites are “more via-ble options” and that the Otis site on Algerie Road should be “dismissed from further consideration.

The report encourages “local and regional stakeholders” and considers this input essential.

The report also notes that “advo-cacy of residents, state legislators, local officials and planning depart-ments, as well as the two Metropolitan Planning Organizations serving the study area, will be critical to gathering support and securing funding for the project’s advancement.

STUDY from page 1

SUBSCRIBE TO THE COUNTRY JOURNAL ONLINE AT: COUNTRYJOURNAL.TURLEY.COM

COMMUNITY CHURCH

Montgomery Community Church is a nondenominational church body that has Jesus Christ as head of the church. It teaches from the Bible and trusts God in all things. All are invited to learn more about the church and enjoy fel-lowship.

Sunday services start at 9 a.m. This Sunday, the message will come from Acts 22:1-11. We are called to be a witness to people around us about what Christ has done in our lives. If we are a Christian Christ works in our life to help us to become more like Him each and every day. Is Christ active in you enough to convict you of being a Christian? Speak of the evidence.

This is a time of sharing one’s life with others in the congregation on a personal basis. All are welcome to con-nect with others in spiritual and emo-tional support.

Women’s study meets at 10 a.m. on Tuesdays, with Sandra Noe leading the study. Men’s study is Tuesday mornings at 9 a.m. Call 413-862-3284 for loca-tion. The church is located across from the Town Hall at 161 Main Road.

Left, Liz Massa peeks inside the opening during a hike of English Grass Cave in Montgomery last weekend. Right, Hikers take turns entering the cave. Submitted Photos

INTO THE CAVE


RUSSELL

RUSSELL — Mother Nature threw a curve ball for this past Saturday’s Woronoco Heights Outdoor Adventures at Moses Scout Reservation in Russell.

Although WHOA prepped every-one with its theme of “button up that overcoat,” the expected January cold turned out to be t-shirt wearing 60-degree weather. The unexpected warmth forced the cancellation of the ice fishing and snow shelter building events.

Undaunted by the change up with the weather, a different and popular “springtime and summertime” event

was substituted, kite building and fly-ing! Given the opportunity to fly a kite in the unlikely month of January, WHOA participants dotted the sky around Moses Scout Reservation with color. Guests from Dalton to Wilbraham enjoyed over a dozen out-door and indoor activities such as geocaching, the patriotic puzzle hike, disc golf, the blacksmith shop, escape rooms, welding and even the amateur (HAM) radio station.

For more information about WHOA and upcoming events, visit www.wmascouting.org/.

Mother Nature tells WHOA to go fly a kite

RUSSELL —The Council on Aging’s new senior exercise class con-tinues on Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m., at the Russell Senior Center. The hour-long class is led by Senior Fitness Specialist George DePina, covering range of motion, easy aerobics, and core and strength training. The three classes held in January will be free of charge for seniors to try the class. Starting Tuesday, Feb. 4, the class will start at 10 a.m. and cost $5 per person. Call 413-862-6217 to register or ask questions.

Lunch is served at the Senior Center each Tuesday at noon. Lunch is provid-ed by Highland Valley Elder Services. There is no fee for lunch, but a $3.00 donation is suggested by Highland Valley. Menus are available at the Senior Center, or online at HighlandValley.org. Reservations and meal choice can be submitted by leaving a message at 413-862-6205, by the Sunday before.

Join friends and neighbors for

Holiday Yoga at the Russell Senior Center Mondays at 6 p.m. All are wel-come to attend. An eight-class series is $50, or a $10 drop-in fee per class, with instructors from Westfield Yoga Center. For more information call 413-862-6205.

The Senior Center also has a fitness room equipped with a recumbent exer-cise bicycle, treadmill, and other exercise tools. The fitness room is open to Seniors in Russell and the surrounding communi-ties. Interested Seniors can call the COA to schedule an initial appointment.

A weekly Tai Chi class meets Wednesdays at 6 p.m. at the Senior Center. This gentle form of exercise can help maintain strength, flexibility, and balance. The class is taught by a certi-fied Tai Chi instructor from the Westfield YMCA. It is open to adults of any age and physical ability and can be done seated. The fee is $5 per class. For more information or questions, call the Russell Council on Aging at 413-862-6205.

Exercise class continues free in January

RUSSELL — The Russell Council on Aging hosts a monthly hearing clinic the first Tuesday of the month from 10 a.m. to noon at the Russell Senior Center.

Gary Winn, a licensed hearing instrument specialist, and owner of New Ears, Affordable Hearing Care, will conduct a free hearing clinic. He will check ears for wax build-up, perform hearing screenings, and council people about hearing loss. Hearing aids will be cleaned and adjusted if possible.

The Russell COA invites residents from Russell and surrounding towns to benefit from this service. Appointments are at half hour intervals. The next clinic is Tuesday, Feb. 4. Call 413-862-6205 and leave a message by the Sunday Feb. 2, as to a preferred appointment time. Please note, if no appointments are made, the hearing clinic will be can-celled until the following month. The Russell Senior Center is located at 65 Main Street.

Free hearing clinic returns Tuesday, Feb. 4

Kite flying replaced ice fishing and snow shelter building as January weather surprised the Woronoco Heights Outdoor Adventures with 60-degree weather on Saturday, Jan. 11. Submitted Photo

RUSSELL — Come in and cel-ebrate the new year with the library on Saturday, Jan. 18, from 11 a.m. to noon. Create some special memories

by being together for a read-aloud, craft time, and customize a snack at the “do-it-yourself” snack bar. The library is located at 162 Main Street.

Story Hour meets Saturday, Jan. 18 at library

TIRE from page 1

Department Foreman John Hoppe. Police responded and Sgt. Andrew Hawley and Patrolman Sean Shattuck are heading up the investigation.

According to Hennessey, the dump included hundreds of various brand-name tires, each with “pretty unique” product numbers. The num-bers are being catalogued by Officer Shattuck for the purposes of tracking ownership — where the products were made and who they were sold to.

Hennessey said the tires will be removed once his department has “exhausted all efforts.” Meanwhile, he says, anyone with information can contact the station at 413-862-6209 and remain confidential.

The tires, while representing the

largest illegal dumping in Russell in recent history, are by no means the only case of it. Just last month, Hoppe discovered and reported to police two different stacks of home waste in trash bags along Woronoco Road.

Upon fu r the r inves t iga t ion of those trash bag stacks, police obtained the names of individu-als originally in possession of the trash. Two suspects from Chester and another from Russell were served complaints.

“If all goes well,” Hennessey adds, “we will seek restitution for cleanup costs.”

He says the stiff penalties will go to show, “If you dump, you’re going to pay.”

Liz Massa snaps a shot of the hiking group that ascended Shatterack Mountain in Russell last weekend. Submitted Photos

ASCENT FOR A VIEW

Hikers make the final push to the summit.

A signature hilltowns view from the top of Shatterack Mountain on a beautiful day.Hundreds of used auto tires were discovered to have been illegally dumped off Woronoco Road in Russell. Submitted Photo by the Town of Russell


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BECKET

BECKET — Town community members, stakeholders and neighbor-ing communities gathered to begin the process of planning for climate change resiliency on Saturday, Jan. 11.

The all-day planning session, guid-ed by Dodson and Flinker of Florence, was an extremely valuable first step. This was made possible thanks to a grant from the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs through their Municipal Vulnerabilities Preparedness program (MVP).

The state awards communities with funding to complete vulnerability assessments and develop action-orient-ed resiliency plans. Communities who complete the MVP program become certified as an MVP community and are eligible for MVP Action grant funding and other opportunities.

As the point person for the town of Becket, Meredyth Babcock is learn-ing a tremendous amount through this process. Babcock is learning about the potential savings of nature-based solu-tions and the importance of community involvement. The MVP staff has devel-oped a step by step planning process, training vendors to work with towns and making resources and information available on the MVP website.

The unique hilltowns have an opportunity for thoughtful, strategic planning and development, with an emphasis on maintaining the remark-

able wild and scenic nature of this cor-ner of the world. This will make the area far more resilient in a changing climate.

For more information or ques-tions, contact Western Mass. MVP Coordinator Carrieanne Petrik at [email protected].

Planning session positive first step for slimate preparation

BECKET — Make-ready work to install new telephone poles and move existing electric and telephone wires to accommodate the new fiber cables has begun around town and communi-ty input is needed for the next step.

Becket Broadband has a survey online to gather resident feedback on which areas of town should be con-nected to the network first and the subsequent order of connections. The survey is available at www.becket-broadband.org.

Residents that contract for service during the early sign-up campaign will have a subsidy available to cover some, if not all, of the costs to connect to the network. Residents will have the opportunity to review how the home connection has been designed and learn about available options and esti-mated costs.

For more information or ques-tions, contact Bob Gross at 413-623-8934, ext. 100 or [email protected].

Broadband survey open for resident input on connections

Alison Dixon presents her action priorities during a planning session to prepare for climate change resiliency at the Becket Town Hall on Saturday, Jan. 11.

Submitted Photos by Meredyth Babcock

Attendees broke up into small groups to identify the strengths and vulnerabilities of Becket.

One of the groups uses maps and local knowledge to plan for the changing climate.

Send us your engagement, wedding, baby,anniversary and graduation news and photos.

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SCHOOLS & YOUTH

By Shelby Macri

The search for the Gateway R e g i o n a l S c h o o l D i s t r i c t Superintendent will be conducted in-house by a sub-committee that han-dles the specific aspects of how the search will go, be advertised, the inter-view process and more.

The committee was looking into the technical and personal services that the Massachusetts Association of School Committees has to offer, but there is a limited amount of services offered that are free to the school. After the limit, there is a fee for the help they provide. The current superintendent, David Hopson, presented information he gathered at the committee meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 8.

“I called them to see what the nor-mal cost is, they haven’t gotten back to me,” Hopson said. “So really what the committee needs to decide is if you’re going to do the search yourself with the technical systems from MASC, or whether you want to hire the corpora-tion for their help, then you’d have to budget for that.”

Committee members had a few

questions after Hopson explained his research. Russell representative Lyndsey Papillon asked, “What do they advertise in order to sell these services? What are they saying they can do better, that we can’t do ourselves?”

Hopson said what kinds of benefits they’ll receive before they are billed for services.

“They’ll take all the effort off of you. Any search firm, if you engage and pay them, will do your screen-ing and come up with the job descrip-tion.” Hopson said. “If you go to the MASC website you’ll see the searches that they’ve done, searches that they’re doing, and other searches that they’re not doing, but are listed under the web-site so that if anyone is interested in finding out, they can.”

Furthermore, the school has paid the MASC through to the spring and the school will be featured, including its criteria and the search that’s being held. Another service that the MASC offers is sending out pamphlets to present and previous superintendents who might be interested in taking the next profession-al step.

School Commit tee Chai rman

Michele Crane from Blandford said, “The pamphlet is also something we talked about, that we might be able to make one in-house. We discussed that there was some sort of pamphlet that we wanted to use in our community.”

There are numerous superinten-dent positions opening up in the com-ing school year, so there will be many searches going on in districts across the state.

“I think there’s enough interest in those positions, realistically, you’re in a good position right now.” Hopson said. “I mean there are 40 something search-es going on, but there probably won’t be that many searches going on while you’re doing your search.”

With this vote of confidence, the committee made a motion to support the recommendation for the sub-com-mittee to do a search themselves and not hire an outside firm for help. When the floor was open for discussion a few people had some questions.

“Did we have a conversation at all about who would be in charge of, or how we would actually do the inter-view?” said Melissa Nazzaro, a rep-resentative on the committee from

Huntington. “The search part, being one part of it but then there’s the por-tion of actually setting up the interview and whether or not it’s more than just a question and answer interview.”

She added that she has experience in human recourses and has experience with interviewing and what to look for.

“How many people from the com-mittee have the experience in the realm of interviewing, reviewing, and such? I’m just curious from that HR perspec-tive of hiring people. Do we have a good enough group of people who have some work experience in that area?” Nazzaro said.

Nazzaro also pointed out the com-mittee won’t necessarily know who will be on the search committee yet because town elections are coming up. A sub-committee should be recognized by the school committee in July or August in order to conduct the search. It was a unanimous vote to allow the school committee to make a sub-committee in charge of hiring the superintendent.

“The school committee conduct-ed the last couple of searches, and the searches the committee did themselves worked out well,” Hopson said.

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“Thankfully there were no alarming security issues that occurred, but often-times I would see the Office Manager at the time jumping up from her seat and chasing down the visitor to ensure that they signed in and took a visitor’s badge,” she said. “Typically, it would be family members heading to the nurse’s office or counseling office on routine business, but the set up was extremely problematic and this new upgrade will remedy that issue.”

The project cost about $63,000 to complete. The majority of the cost, $59,034, is covered by a competitive school safety grant received from the Office of Public Safety and Security in July. The remaining cost will be covered by district funds.

“That was a big win for us,” Smidy said.

The school is planning another improvement as well. Blue safety lights will be installed outside the building and at points around the interior of the

school for about $12,000. These lights flash to alert students, faculty, and staff if there is a safety drill or incident in progress. Lights outside indicate to peo-ple not to enter and the interior lights indicate if the building needs to go into lockdown.

Smidy added the importance of the lights is it provides another form of communication as some places in the building — notably the cafeteria, gym, music rooms, auditorium, and bathrooms — have difficulties hearing the public announcement system.

“The safety light is a fairly sim-ple fix to this issue that state police are recommending,” Smidy said. “Other schools like South Hadley completed this project a while ago, and it’s time for HRHS to be fully prepared for emer-gency drills and incidents. Concerned student leaders like Abigail Thibodeaux brought this to school committee last year, and it’s one of the last major proj-ects to be addressed.”

SECURITY from page 1

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L O C A L

STAFF WRITERPOSITION

Turley Publications is seeking an energetic person to fill the position of staff writer for two of its weekly publications: the Ware River News, which covers Ware, Hardwick and Warren, and the Quaboag Current, which covers the Brookfields, Sturbridge and New Braintree.This full-time position is based in our Ware office at 80 Main St. The successful candidate will have strong community journalism skills or the enthusiasm to develop them.

The staff writer will cover municipal meetings, features and general news; essentially everything that unfolds in small towns. Assignments will be for both newspapers as well as other companywide publications.

Qualifications should include: •Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience•Own camera and photography experience preferred•Enthusiasm for community journalism•Ability to write clean copy in a fast-paced environment

Please email resume and three writing samples directly toEileen Kennedy Managing Editor at [email protected].

I S K N O C K I N G

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EDITOR POSITION

L O C A L

I S K N O C K I N G

www.turley.com

Turley Publications is seeking an energetic person to fill the position of editor for two of its weekly publications, the Journal Register, which covers Palmer and surrounding towns, and the Ludlow Register. This full-time position is based in our Palmer office at 24 Water St.

The successful candidate will have strong community journalism skills. They must also be able to manage a staff writer, including copy editing and guiding coverage. The editor is also expected to gather news and write stories for the two papers as well as for other companywide publications.

This is a job for a self-starter who has a vision for growing and connecting with our valued readers, and who enjoys community journalism.

Qualifications should include: •Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience•Willingness to mentor a staff writer and correspondents•Own camera and photography experience preferred•Editing experience and ability to write clean copy in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment•Proficiency in Associated Press style•Management experience and/or experience managing content for a print publication.

Please email resume and three writing samples directly toEileen Kennedy Managing Editor at [email protected].

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Country Journal

REGION

SPRINGFIELD–“Blood is the most precious gift that anyone can give to another person – the gift of life. A deci-sion to donate your blood can save a life, or even several if your blood is separated into its components – red cells, platelets and plasma.”

Those are the words of the World Health Organization, who along with Baystate Health and other organizations the world over are celebrating National Blood Donor Month in January.

“The bad weather along with a myriad of illnesses during the winter months makes collecting enough blood a challenge to meet the critical needs of patients. Held every January since 1970, Blood Donor Month serves as a remind-er of the constant need for blood with the goal of increasing blood and platelet donations during one of the most difficult times of the year,” said Amy Osgood, Baystate Health’s blood donor recruiter.

“And at this moment we have an especially high need for platelet dona-tions,” she added.

According to the Baystate blood recruiter, each year at Baystate Health, more than 6,300 patients receive more than 19,000 transfusions of blood prod-ucts.

“At Baystate Health, 100 percent of

all blood and platelet donations made to our Blood Donor Program are used local-ly in western Massachusetts,” Osgood said.

Additional “blood facts” include:·Although approx. 38 percent of the

U.S. population is eligible to donate, less than 10 percent actually do.

·Every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood.

·Nearly 7,000 units of platelets and 10,000 units of plasma are needed daily in the U.S.

·An average adult has about 10 pints of blood in their body. About 1 pint is given during a donation and the average red cell transfusion is approx. 3 pints.

·Over 1 million people will be diag-nosed with cancer this year. Many will need blood, sometimes daily, during their chemotherapy.

·Blood donors have two options to donate blood at Baystate Health.

Although the American Red Cross recently suspended their local bloodmo-bile operations, Baystate continues to serve the blood needs of the community with its traveling bloodmobile.

Blood donations can also be made at Baystate’s Blood Donor Center locat-ed on the first floor of the hospital’s Daly Building in Springfield. Hours are

Monday from 8 a.m. to noon; Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from noon to 8 p.m.; Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Sunday from 8 a.m. to noon.

An average blood donation takes less than 10 to12 minutes. The entire process, from the time you arrive to the time you leave, takes less than an hour. Donors must be at least age 17, weigh at least 110 pounds, and be in good health. New donors will be asked to provide a photo ID. Whole blood donors are able to give blood every 8 weeks.

Platelets are important in the control of bleeding and are generally used in patients with leukemia and other forms of cancer, open heart surgery patients, transplant patients, and some trauma patients. Since they must be used with-in five days, maintaining an adequate supply is always a challenge. Baystate’s Blood Donor Center has state-of-the-art plateletpheresis machines called Trimas that are faster, provide a better end prod-uct, and use only one needle.

Whole blood can be donated every 56 days and up to six times each year. Platelet donors, who take part in aphere-sis, can donate as frequently as every two weeks, or 24 times per year.

Donors must complete a pre-dona-tion questionnaire each time they donate

blood. This is required by the FDA to help ensure that you are safe to donate. Donors may complete their questionnaire on their smart phone or computer prior to visiting the donor center or bloodmo-bile. The questionnaire, however, must be completed on the same day that the donor intends to donate. Access to the pre-donation questionnaire is available at https://bmcdhq.bhs.org/DDAdv.

To thank donors after giving blood or platelets, they can choose from a vari-ety of gifts throughout the year, such as tickets to Six Flags New England, Dunkin’ gift cards, Big Y gift cards or tickets to The Big E.

Also, if donors do not know their blood type, about four weeks after their first donation to Baystate Health, their blood type will be recorded and shared with them in person during your their donation.

Any organization or business look-ing to host the Baystate Health Blood Donor Mobile can call Amy Osgood at 413-322-4125. To make an appointment at the Blood Donor Center, call 413-794-4600.

For more information, and to see where the bloodmobile will be through-out western Massachusetts, visit bay-statehealth.org/services/blood-donor.

Baystate Health has blood donation options

By Russell Gloor Guest columnist

Dear Rusty: My question is about the “restricted application for spousal ben-efits only” I saw referenced in an arti-cle. I will turn 66 in February and have applied for my “full retirement benefit” and will continue to work full-time. My husband turned 66 this month and has not yet applied for his benefits. According to the Social Security paperwork sent to us, I will receive about $1,900 a month and my husband, who is self-employed, would only receive $500 to $600. If my husband claimed “spousal benefits only” using the restricted application, would I still receive my $1,900 and he would receive 50 percent of that for an estimated total of $2,850? Doesn’t seem to make sense to me! As you can see, we must be in denial of our age and are not knowledgeable about Social Security. Signed: Inquisitive Senior

Dear Inquisitive: Based on the

amounts you quoted in your email (which I assume were recent estimates from the Social Security Administration), your husband should claim his own benefits this month and then claim his normal spousal benefit in February when your benefits start. Since your husband has already reached his full retirement age of 66, his spousal benefit will be the full 50 percent of the benefit you are entitled to when you reach your full retirement age in February.

Although your husband qualifies for and can submit a “restricted application for spousal benefits only” (as described in the article you read), there is little reason for him to do so because his own benefit, even if he delays claiming it until he is 70, will be less than his spousal benefit from your record. Instead, since his spou-sal benefit from you will be the highest amount he will ever be eligible for, he can just claim his own benefit first and then claim his regular spousal benefit to begin when your Social Security retire-

ment benefit starts. Here’s why: If your husband’s cur-

rent benefit at his full retirement age (FRA) would be $600 and he’s not yet collecting, he could earn delayed retire-ment credits (DRCs) at a rate of 0.667 per month of delay (8 percent per year of delay). That will mean his own benefit would be 32 percent more at age 70 then he is now eligible for at his FRA, which means his maximum benefit on his own earnings record will be $792/month ($600 plus 32 percent).

The only reason to file the restrict-ed application (for which he is eligible only because he was born before Jan. 2, 1954) is to let his own benefit grow while he collects a spousal benefit, so he can switch to his own higher benefit later. But since his spousal benefit from you will be about $950, more than the maximum benefit he can get from his own record at age 70, his most prudent choice would be to simply claim his own benefit now and apply for his normal spousal benefit

to start when your Social Security benefit starts in February. No need for him to file the restricted application because his own benefit will never be higher than his spousal benefit. And just for complete clarity, your husband collecting his spou-sal benefit from you will not affect your own Social Security retirement benefit in any way.

This article is intended for informa-tion purposes only and does not represent legal or financial guidance. It presents the opinions and interpretations of the AMAC Foundation’s staff, trained and accredited by the National Social Security Association. NSSA and the AMAC Foundation and its staff are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other governmen-tal entity. To submit a question, visit our website (amacfoundation.org/programs/social-security-advisory) or email us at [email protected].

Russell Gloor is a Social Security advisor for AMAC.

Social Security Matters: Can my husband use the “restricted application?”


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MIDDLEFIELDMIDDLEFIELD SENIOR CENTER

Lunch is served at the Senior Center, 169 Skyline Trail, Middlefield, each Wednesday at noon.

A $3 donation is suggested. Reservations should be made, and meal choice stated, by calling and leaving a message at 413-623-9990 the Monday before.

The menu on Wednesday, Jan. 22, is a choice of grilled cheese or baked pollock Florentine, cream of broccoli soup, steamed brown rice, pumpernickel bread, and lemon pudding with whipped topping. Birthday cake and ice cream will be served at 12:30 p.m. for January birthdays.

WILLIAMSBURG

host community agreement. The board authorized Nardi to work with town counsel in order to establish a process for the reviews of retail marijuana busi-ness who want to open up shop in town.

“We have been contacted by two different people representing two differ-ent companies, as I understand it,” Nardi said. “The individuals have not shared the business names. We are in the midst of setting up a process of initiating and negotiating a host community agree-ment.”

The process of the host community agreement is conducted by the select-men and Nardi hopes to present a draft process to the board at its meeting on Jan. 30 for review, edits, and approval. The process will then be in place for interested parties who want to pursue a business opportunity in town.

“At this point it is just folks putting out questions and feelers. If folks move forward, there is a requirement by the state to have a community forum, which will be publicized.” Nardi said.

Nardi said approving and building a marijuana retail business to be open in town will take at least six to nine months after establishing the process. It will be some time before any potential marijua-na retail business could actually be open to the public.

The business would need to get approvals from the selectmen, a per-mit from the Zoning Board of Appeals,

and would register with the Cannabis Control Commission.

“It needs to get many approvals and a permit,” Nardi said. “Maybe, assuming anyone moves forward, it [a business] would be open in the fall.”

The amended zoning bylaw, from June 3, explains in section 9.25 the gen-eral information about registered mari-juana dispensaries. The purpose of the bylaw is to provide an orderly placement of registers marijuana businesses and dispensaries. This includes all locations for cultivation, processing, and dispens-ing of marijuana and marijuana products as in accordance of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The bylaw can be revised, replaced, or amended from time to time when a facility of this sort is inconsistent with the neighbor-hood’s character.

There are more processes to be worked out by the town and the town’s attorney before the beginning of mari-juana retail shops in Williamsburg, but there are clear steps being taken for-ward.

The zoning bylaw states in the next section 9.26, “the purpose of this bylaw is to: a. Allow state-licensed marijuana establishments to exist in the Town of Williamsburg in accordance with appli-cable state laws and regulations issued by the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (“Commission”) including but not limited to M.G.L. Chapter 94G.”

MARIJUANA from page 1

News, photo publication policyAs a community newspaper our focus has always been local news.

While we try very hard to run upcoming events as a public service whenever space allows, space does not allow us to run an upcoming event repeatedly. Our policy is to limit publication of upcoming events to one article in advance of the event and, space permitting, a second brief reminder article the week prior to an event, and to run those articles in only one section of the paper, and not in multiple sections simultaneously.

All such public service announcements and photos are subject to space limitations and deadlines, therefore publication cannot be guaranteed. Whenever copy for the week exceeds allotted space, news copy will take priority, and public service copy is the first area to be cut. We also reserve the right to edit for style and space, and are under no obligation to print lists of sponsorships, or articles that arrive after deadline, unless time and space allows.

Deadline is Monday at NOON, on holidays it is Friday at 2 p.m.

Grow Your BusinessWith Local Advertising!

Call John at 413-667-3211for advertising rates

and informationwww.turley.com


CLUES ACROSS 1. Recurring TV show 7. Throws out13. Iberian Peninsula

microstate14. Gossip16. Atomic #2017. Ivy League institution19. Of I20. “He Is __!”: Scripture

excerpt22. Musical genre23. Heavy cavalry sword25. Ancient Olympic Site26. Satisfies28. Popular flower29. Shared services center30. Drain31. A way to attack33. Urban Transit Authority34. Spiritual leader36. Postponed38. N. American plant with

edible purple-black berries

40. Gazes unpleasantly

41. Gets up43. Capital of Ukraine44. Returned material

authorization (abbr.)45. Golf score47. Superhigh frequency48. Swiss river51. Felons53. Succulent plants55. Soluble ribonucleic acid56. Deliberately setting

fire to58. Infamous singer Zadora59. Anwar __, Egyptian

statesman60. Influential sports mag61. Aromatic Mediterranean

plant64. Sixth note of a major

scale65. Unit of explosive power67. Large watertight

chamber69. Popular street70. A way of watering

CLUES DOWN 1. Mollusks 2. -__, denotes past 3. Anchor ropes 4. Large Middle Eastern

country 5. To make a mistake 6. Ancient governor 7. Extents 8. Chinese surname 9. NYC subway “residents”10. Essential oil used as

perfume11. A way to treat injuries

(abbr.)12. Session13. Units of land areas15. Goes over once more18. Where wrestlers work21. Italian islanders24. Avenue26. __ Adams, U.S.

President27. Rest with legs bent30. Type of flour32. The Golden State (abbr.)

35. More (Spanish)37. Stinging, winged insect38. The use of irony to

mock39. Arsenals42. Pouch43. 22nd letter of the Greek

alphabet46. Violent seizure of

property47. Restrict49. Something comparable

to another50. Punishment device

made from stems52. Soul and calypso songs54. Formerly OSS55. Athabaskan language57. __ bene: observe

carefully59. Six (Spanish)62. Read-only memory63. Chinese philosophical

principle66. American conglomerate68. Tin

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ARIES Mar 21/Apr 20The stars pull you deeper into the cocoon of your mind, Aries. This may help you as you work on a project or work through thoughts and emotions.

TAURUSApr 21/May 21This is a week to take in-ventory of any goals that you may have put on a shelf, Taurus. Dust them off and create a plan of action because the time to pursue them is now.

GEMINI May 22/Jun 21Gemini, an ambitious week is on the horizon. Your professional house is booming, and you are ready to perhaps move your career to the next level.

CANCERJun 22/Jul 22This week will get off to a social start, Cancer. Expect friends to bring other friends along if you are hosting a party. This is an exciting opportunity to expand your network.

LEO Jul 23/Aug 23Put all of your cards on the table and begin discussions with oth-ers who are influencers in your life. Only then can you come up with a strategy to get things done.

VIRGO Aug 24/Sept 22Make a point of being direct if you are upset. Others need to know if they have stepped on your toes, even if it was accidental so they can make things right.

LIBRA Sept 23/Oct 23Now is a key time to boost your bottom line, Libra. If you don’t already have a job, it’s time to get one. If you’re employed, you may need to seek out new rev-enue streams.

SCORPIO Oct 24/Nov 22Various ideas are swirl-ing around in your head, Scorpio. You’re not sure which ones you want to see the light of day just yet. Partner up on a trial project first.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23/Dec 21Sagittarius, if stress has been ruling your uni-verse, it might be time to step back and reeval-uate your priorities. Find out which tasks you can shed from your daily list.

CAPRICORN Dec 22/Jan 20Deep soul-searching and a sharing of hidden emotions might be on the docket. It is brave to own up to your feel-ings. You’ll find support in friends.

AQUARIUSJan 21/Feb 18A deep cleaning or de-cluttering is in order, Aquarius. Start with one room in the house and then work your way onward as time permits. Decluttering can be liberating.

PISCESFeb 19/Mar 20You may soon encounter some awkward moments with some people you interact with regularly, Pisces. This will blow over quite quickly.


LEGAL NOTICE MORTGAGEE’S SALE OF

REAL ESTATE By virtue of and in execu-

tion of the Power of Sale con-tained in a certain mortgage given by Ronald E. Dudrick to Mor tgage E lec t ron ic Registration Systems, Inc., as mortgagee, acting sole-ly as a nominee for Aegis Funding Corporation, dated September 26, 2005 and recorded in Hampsh i re County Registry of Deeds in Book 8465, Page 337 (the “Mortgage”) of which mort-gage U.S. Bank National Associat ion, as Trustee for the Registered Holders o f Aeg is Asset Backed Securities Trust, Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2005-5 is the pres-ent holder by Assignment from Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. acting solely as nominee for Aegis Funding Corporation to Wachovia Bank, N.A., as Trustee for the Registered Holders of Aegis Asset Backed Securit ies Trust, Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2005-5 dated April 14, 2008 and recorded at said Registry of Deeds in Book 9466, Page 105, and Assignment from Wachovia Bank NA as Trustee for the Registered

Holders of Aegis Asset Backed Securit ies Trust, Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2005-5 to U.S. Bank National Associat ion, as Trustee for the Registered Holders o f Aeg is Asset Backed Securities Trust, Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2005-5 dated October 29, 2009 and recorded at said Registry of Deeds in Book 10022, Page 105, for breach of conditions of said mortgage and for the pur-pose of foreclosing the same, the mortgaged premises located at 29 Russell Road, Huntington, MA 01050 will be sold at a Public Auction at 12:00 PM on February 7, 2020, at the mortgaged premises, more part icu-larly described below, all and singular the premises described in said mortgage, to wit: That certain par-cel of land, with the build-ings thereon, in Huntington, C o u n t y o f H a m p s h i r e and Commonwea l t h o f Massachusetts, bounded and described as follows: Beginning at a stake and stones on the west side of the highway leading from Huntington to Westfield; and running thence Westerly on land now or lately of Joseph LaFleur, two hundred six

(206) feet to a stake and stones; thence Southeasterly on land now or lately of one Porter, one hundred thirty-eight (138) feet to land now or lately of E. D. Greenwood; thence Easterly on last named land, seven-ty-eight (78) feet to the high-way; and thence Northerly on said highway, one hun-dred seven and one-half (107 1/2) feet to the point of beginning. EXCEPTING from the above described prem-ises so much as was taken by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts under instru-ment recorded in Hampshire County Registry of Deeds in Book 852, Page 463. SUBJECT TO a right of way and water and sewer pipe rights as set forth in instru-ment dated October 19, 1920 and recorded as aforesaid in Book 762, Page 533, inso-far as the same may now be in force and applicable. SUBJECT TO restrictions of record if any are now in force and applicable. For title ref-erence, see deed recorded with said Registry of Deeds in Book 4925, Page 55. For mortgagor’s title see deed recorded with the Hampshire County Registry of Deeds in Book 4925, Page 55. The premises will be sold subject to any and all unpaid taxes

and other municipal assess-ments and liens, and sub-ject to prior liens or other enforceable encumbrances of record entitled to prece-dence over this mortgage, and subject to and with the benefit of all easements, restrictions, reservations and conditions of record and sub-ject to all tenancies and/or rights of parties in posses-sion.

Terms of the Sale: Cash, cashier’s or certified check in the sum of $5,000.00 as a deposit must be shown at the time and place of the sale in order to qualify as a bid-der (the mortgage holder and its designee(s) are exempt f rom th is requ i rement) ; high bidder to sign written Memorandum of Sale upon acceptance of bid; balance of purchase price payable in cash or by certified check in thirty (30) days from the date of the sale at the offic-es of mortgagee’s attorney, Korde & Associates, P.C., 900 Chelmsford Street, Suite 3102, Lowell, MA 01851 or such other time as may be designated by mortgagee.

The description for the premises contained in said mortgage shall control in the event of a typographical error in this publication.

Other te rms to be

announced at the sale. U . S . B a n k N a t i o n a l

Associat ion, as Trustee for the Registered Holders o f Aeg is Asset Backed Securities Trust, Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2005-5

Korde & Associates, P.C. 900 Chelmsford Street

Suite 3102 Lowell, MA 01851

(978) 256-1500 Dudrick, Ronald E.,

10-002007 1/09, 1/16, 1/23/2020

LEGAL NOTICETOWN OF HUNTINGTON

Public HearingWednesday,

February 5, 20206:00 PM • Town Hall

24 Russell Road, Huntington

FY 2020 CDBG ApplicationThe Huntington Board

of Selectmen will conduct a Public Hearing on February 5, 2020 at 6:00 PM at Huntington Town Hall, 24 Russell Road, Huntington. In the event of a weath-er cancelation, the meeting will occur on Wednesday, February 19, 2020 at the same time and location.

The public is encouraged to attend this hearing to dis-cuss the Town’s FY20 appli-cation to the Massachusetts

Department of Housing and Community Development for up to $654,248 in available Community Development Block Grant Funds. All per-sons wi th quest ions or comments regarding the grant application will have an opportunity to be heard. Those unable to attend can send wr i t ten comments to the Huntington Board of Selectmen, 24 Russell Road, PO Box 430, Huntington, MA 01050, Attn: Helen Speckles.

The Town is encouraging input on community needs and projects which would benefit from grant funding. Projects currently being con-sider include the construc-tion of a new entrance ramp at the Town Hall and design engineering services for Crescent Street. Additional projects may be discussed and may be included in the grant application.

The Huntington Select-board’s Meeting Room is handicapped accessible. Persons who require spe-cial accommodations for the hearing should contact the town at least one week prior to the hearing date at (413) 512-5200. For further infor-mation contact John O’Leary at PVPC at (413) 781-6045 or [email protected]/16/2020

Ronney A. Grover, 78, passed away peacefully at home on Jan. 7, with his family by his side. Ronney was born on Feb. 2, 1941 in West Stewartstown, New Hampshire, son to the late Rodney and Arlene (Nason) Grover. He grew up in Errol, New Hampshire, and was a grad-uate from Berlin High School. He later moved to Russell and finally settling in Huntington. Ronney proudly served his country in the United States Navy with the Seabees during the Vietnam War, and was a member to the VFW Post 6645. He worked as a rewinder operator for the Westfield River Paper Company for over 27 years. Ronney had a love for his scratch tickets, talk radio, his red Jeep Cherokee, welding

beanies and of course his green and yellow toque.

Ronney is survived by his loving chil-dren Karna Pease of Russell and Kiley Grover and his wife Tammy of Huntington. He was the cherished grandfather to Tia, Phillip, Hunter, Walker, Rodney and great grandfather to Rhyland, Amiyah, and Ayla. He was the caring brother to Judy Heath, and was predeceased by his brother Reginald Grover. In lieu of flowers, memo-

rial donations may be made in Ronney’s memory to the Holyoke Soldier’s Home, 114 Cherry Street, Holyoke, MA, 01040, or to the Northampton VA Medical Center, 431 Main Street, Leeds, MA 01053. All services for Ronney will be private.

Turley Publications offers two types of obituaries.

One is a free, brief Death Notice listing the name of deceased, date of death and funeral date and place.

The other is a Paid Obituary, costing $100, which allows families to publish extended death notice information of their own choice and may include a photograph. Death Notices & Paid Obituaries should be submitted through a funeral home to: [email protected].

Exceptions will be made only when the familyprovides a death certificate and must be pre-paid.

Obituary PolicyCountry Journal

GROVER, RONNEY A.Died Jan. 7

All services will be private

DEATH NOTICE

HOW TO SUBMIT PUBLIC NOTICESAll legal notices to be published in the Country Journal should be sent directly to notices@turley.

com. Jamie Joslyn processes all legals for this newspaper and can answer all of your questions regarding these notices. Please indicate the newspapers and publication date(s) for the notice(s) in the subject line of your email. For questions regarding coverage area, procedures or cost, please call Jamie directly at 413-283-8393.

Please check the accuracy of your legal notice prior to submission (i.e., date, time, spelling). Also, be sure the requested publication date coincides with the purpose of the notice, or as the law demands. Thank you.

Turley Publications, Inc. publishes 13 weekly newspapers throughout Western Massachusetts. Visit www.turley.com for more information.

Public NoticesWE’VE EXPANDED OUR WEB SITE

ARE NOW ONLINE

visit www.publicnotices.turley.com

Email all notices [email protected]

Access archives anddigital tear sheets by newspaper title.

Find a quick link to the state of Massachusetts’ public notice web site to search all notices in Massachusetts newspapers.1 2 3

Public notice deadlines are Mondays at noon, Fridays noon for Monday holidays.

OBITUARY

PUBLIC NOTICES

Ronney A. Grover, 78


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LIFE ALERT. 24/7. One press of a button sends help FAST! Medical, Fire, Burglar. Even if you can’t reach a phone! FREE brochure. CALL 800-457-1917

MOBILEHELP, AMERICA’S PRE-MIER MOBILE MEDICAL ALERT SYSTEM. Whether you’re Home or Away. For Safety and Peace of Mind. No Long Term Contracts! Free Bro-chure! Call Today! 1-844-892-1017

OXYGEN-ANYTIME. ANY-WHERE. No tanks to refill. No deliv-eries. Only 2.8 pounds! FAA approved! FREE info kit: Call 1-855-917-4693

PROMOTE YOUR PRODUCT, ser-vice or business to 1.7 million house-holds throughout New England. Reach 4 million potential readers quickly and inexpensively with great results. Use the Buy New England Classified Ad Network by calling (413)283-8393, [email protected]. Do they work? You are reading one of our ads now!! Visit our website to see where your ads run communitypapersne.com

STAY IN YOUR HOME longer with an American Standard Walk-In Bath-tub. Receive up to $1,500 off, including a free toilet, and a lifetime warranty on the tub and installation! Call us at 1-866-945-3783.

STOP STRUGGLING ON THE STAIRS. Give your life a lift with an ACORN STAIRLIFT! Call now for $250. OFF your stairlift purchase and FREE DVD & brochure! 1-844-325-8610

*****A CALL WE HAULWE TAKE IT ALLWE LOAD IT ALL

Lowest Rates,accumulations, junk, estates,attics, garages, appliances, basements, demo services

10% disc. with this ad.All Major CC’s

CALL NOW (413)[email protected]

CHAIR SEAT WEAVING & re-finishing - cane, fiber rush & splint - Classroom instructor, 20+ years expe-rience. Call Walt at (413)289-6670 for estimate.

DRYWALL AND CEILINGS, plas-ter repair. Drywall hanging. Taping & complete finishing. All ceiling textures. Fully insured. Jason at Great Walls. (413)563-0487

WE RENOVATE, SELL & PUR-CHASE (any condition) horse drawn vehicles such as sleighs, carriages, surreys, wagons, dr’s buggies, drive-able or lawn ornaments. Some fur-niture and other restoration services available. Reasonable prices. Quality workmanship. Call (413)213-0373 for estimate and information.

DEMERS & SONSBELCHERTOWN, MA

CHILD SERVICES*NEW STATE LAW. Anyone adver-tising caring of children must list a li-cense number to do so if they offer this service in their own home.

FOR SALE FOR SALEFOR SALE FOR SALE SERVICES

MAIL TO: Classifieds, 24 Water St., Palmer, MA 01069or call toll free: 800-824-6548

Name: ____________________________________________________ Phone: ______________________

Address: _______________________________________________________________________________

Town: _____________________________________________________ State:_______ Zip:_____________

Number of Weeks: _________________________________________ X per week rate = $______________

Credit Card: ❏ MasterCard ❏ VISA ❏ Discover ❏ Cash ❏ Check# ___________

Card #: ______________________________________________ Exp. Date ___________ CVV __________

Amount of charge: ___________________________________________________Date: _______________

First ZONE base price ___________

Add a second ZONE ___________

Add a third ZONE ___________

Subtotal ___________

x Number of Weeks ___________

TOTAL Enclosed ___________

$10.00$5.00

Quabbin❏

Suburban❏

Hilltowns❏

Run my ad in thefollowing ZONE(s):

Includesadditional words

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12

13 14 15 16

17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24

25 26 27 28

29 30 31 32

33 34 35 36

37 38 39 40

Base Price$9.50

Base Price$10.00

Base Price$10.50

Base Price$11.00

Base Price$11.50

Base Price$12.00

Base Price$12.50

Base Price$13.00

Base Price$13.50

Base Price$14.00

Base Price$14.50

Base Price$15.00

Base Price$15.50

Base Price$16.00

Base Price$16.50

Base Price$17.00

Base Price$17.50

Base Price$18.00

Base Price$18.50

Base Price$19.00

Base Price$19.50

FILL OUT AND MAIL THIS MONEY MAKER

CATEGORY:

DEADLINES: HILLTOWNS – MONDAY AT NOON QUABBIN & SUBURBAN – FRIDAY AT NOON

OUR CLASSIFIEDS REACH 50 COMMUNITIES EVERY WEEK!

HilltownsCirculation: 11,900

Buy the Hilltowns ZONE for $9.50 for 20 words plus 50¢ for each additional word. Add $10 for a second Zone or add $15 to run in ALL THREE ZONES.

Our ClassifiedsGet Results!

Buying? Selling?$$


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3 WAYS TO SUBSCRIBE1

3

2Use our website to securely subscribe online at

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Please complete the form below, and mail it in a secure envelope to:

Country Journal24 Water St., Palmer, MA 01069

ClassifiedsA TURLEY PUBLICATION ❙ www.turley.com COMMUNITY MARKETPLACE Call us toll free 800.824.6548

13 WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS ❙ SERVING 50 LO CAL C OMMUNITIES

GARAGE DOOR SERVICES

MENARD GARAGE DOORS Spe-cializing in the best quality and selec-tion of insulated Haas garage doors. Sales, Installation, service and repairs of residential and commercial garage doors and openers. Fully insured. Free estimates. Call (413)289-6550, (413)626-1978 or www.menardga-ragedoors.com

HOME IMPROVEMENT

DELREO HOME IMPROVEMENT for all your exterior home improve-ment needs. ROOFING, SIDING, WINDOWS, DOORS, DECKS & GUT-TERS. Extensive references available, Fully Licensed & Insured in MA. & CT. Call GARY DELCAMP @ 413-569-3733

MASONRY

STOP WET BASEMENTS

ABC MASONRY & BASEMENT WATERPROOFING

All brick, block, stone, concrete. Hatch-way doors, basement windows, chim-neys rebuilt & repaired, foundations repaired, basement waterproofing sys-tems, sump pumps. BBB+ rating. Free estimates. Lic #14790. Call (413)569-1611, (413)374-5377

PAINTINGFORBES & SONS PAINTING & STAINING Interior, residential, com-mercial, new construction, wallpaper removal, sheetrock, plaster and car-pentry repairs. Quality products. Since 1985. Free consultations. Insured. HIC Lic #190875 www.forbesandsonspaint-ing.com Call/ text 413-887-1987.

HORSESHORSEBACK RIDING LESSONS offered year round at our state of the art facility. beginner to advanced. Ages 4 years to adult. Boarding, sales and Leasing also available. Convenient lo-cation at Orion Farm in South Hadley (413)532-9753 www.orionfarm.net

FOSTER CARE.You can help change

someone’s life. Provide a safe home for children

and teens who have been abused or neglected. Call Devereux Therapeutic Foster Care

413-734-2493

SHARED LIVING- seeking families to share their

home with individuals with developmental disabilities.

Call 413-734-2493 for more information.

THE RUSSELL PUBLIC LI-BRARY is seeking individuals inter-ested in occasionally substituting as desk attendant. Training will be pro-vided. Obtain an application at the library or Town Hall, both on Main St. in Russell.

FOR RENT

ALL REAL ESTATE advertised herein is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, or intention to make any such preference, limitation, or discrimination.” We will not know-ingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis.

VACATION RENTALS

WARM WEATHER IS Year Round In Aruba. The water is safe, and the dining is fantastic. Walk out to the beach. 3-Bedroom weeks available. Sleeps 8. Email: [email protected] for more information.

SERVICES HELP WANTED REAL ESTATESERVICES

Town of BecketBuilding Inspector/Zoning Officer

The Town of Becket seeks to hire an Inspector/Zoning Enforcement Officer. The position, under the direction of the Town Administrator, works with contractors, homeowners, and stakeholders. The Building Inspector/Zoning Enforcement Officer must have or acquire within six months, the Massachusetts Building Commissioner Certification. This position requires an understanding of state and local building codes, and entails actively enforcing zoning bylaws. Employee supervises several part-time employees. Although regular office hours will be required, candidates may present options re: shared services and/or the ability to service more than one town. This position, up to 32 hours per week, is eligible for benefits. FY2020 pay rate $27.58/hour. Please see the full job description at townbecket.org for more information.

Priority deadline for consideration: Friday January 24, 2020.

The Town of Becket is an Affirmative Action & EOE. Please send applications to:

William Caldwell, Town Administrator557 Main Street, Becket, MA 01223 Or Email to:

[email protected] line: Building Inspector

All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status (number of children and or pregnancy), national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, or any intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination.This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate that is in violation of the law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertising in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis. To complain about discrimination call The Department of Housing and Urban Development “ HUD” toll-free at 1-800-669-9777. For the N.E. area, call HUD at 617-565-5308. The toll free number for the hearing impaired is 1-800-927-9275.

FOR RENT

CLASSIFIED DEADLINESQUABBIN & SUBURBAN

FRIDAY AT NOON

HILLTOWNSMONDAYAT NOON

Find archives of this local newspaper atwww.newspapers.turley.com


Families flew kites during the beautiful weather on Saturday, Jan. 11, during the Woronoco Heights Outdoor Adventures at Moses Scout Reservation in Russell. The blacksmith shop was a popular place for demonstrations throughout the day.

Connor Holmes of Enfield, Connecticut gives a welding demonstration to Scout Pack 272 out of East Longmeadow.

East Longmeadow’s Pack 272 tries to figure out the escape room.

Pack 272’s Leo Collins works with Connor Holmes on a welding project.Blandford’s Willow Hicks, right, gets a lesson in plastic welding from Granby’s James Guzman.

Abby Thibodeau of Troop 124 in Southampton instructs Anthony Rennie, 10, and Joseph Rennie, 7, of Dalton on the directions for the escape room.

Spring

funin winter

sunScouts from different troops play a round of Gaga ball. Photos by Adrianne Johnson

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