Our application has been submitted to the Solarize program and we hope to hear back in the next few weeks on whether or not we have been approved. We ended up with three towns, Shelburne, Colrain and Conway. We set up a FB page for our group to answer questions about solar and keep folks updated about coming events. Please join us!
I totally agree with Deborah about "habit", and to be sure, the software that runs this site is antiquated. The last time I put any serious effort into the code was before Facebook was invented. Yes, a lifetime ago in terms of social media.
That said, in the next few months we'll be rewriting the interface to be more mobile-friendly, and doing a marketing push to get people back. If it becomes more used in the mean time, that will make the site more enticing for newcomers.
Hi. I'm your host, Mik. Please let me know what you think.
I'm looking for a small used stereo in pretty goodt condition, maybe a decent boombox, that can play CDs & is possible to use with an MP3 player and to hook up a turntable. Got one that you aren't using?
I am working with a group of folks to help start a Solarize program in Shelburne, Colrain and maybe Conway and Deerfield, similar to the program now under way in Buckland, Ashfield and Plainfield. Solarize is a program to help residents and businesses work together to secure group purchase discounts of up to 20% on purchase and installation of solar pv systems. If you are interested and want to be on the contact list as the project moves forward, let me know. And if you know others in Shelburne, Colrain, Conway or Deerfield who might want to buy a solar pv system in 2016, have them get in touch with me.
Good question, Harvey. I think it has to do with habit.
Using a resource like this requires that folks learn a new habit.
Most of us are used to certain social media habits for news and for posting, and
we are very ingrained in the newspaper habit for news and info and posting.
This is something in between and new to most folks.
So, a bit of awareness raising might help it....but awareness raising would be
in the places that people are already looking and using for posting and for news...
so, facebook, twitter, etc and press releases to the regular print media on a periodic
basis. Just my thoughts on your question.
I wish. Say hi to everyone for me. My PT says no. My back got screwed up when we were rear ended a few weeks ago..... But she'll have me ok soon (I hope!). Xoxox
Yes, let's see if we can get it going. Shen, I didn't know about the Facebook page. Will you please invite me to join? That's how it works, right? Sara
Here's a guess - there has to be a perception that it's useful.
I posted things once or twice, no response, and forgot all about trying to use it.
Maybe getting the word out to existing Shelburne Falls area networks - from the business association & womens club to churches to yoga classes & meditation groups... Senior Center. Town boards. Users of free food pantry and clothes closet. Users of Cowell gym.
Wonder if there are any Sh F area groups are already doing some or all of their stuff online, via FB groups or google groups etc? (for example, I see the FB group called Shelburne & Buckland Then & Now & it has over 1000 users.)
Just some thoughts. I'm happy to share anything via email or FB.
Great question Harvey! Maybe we can revitalize it now - If the 19 people getting this email all spread the word to our friends and neighbors in S.F., maybe it could become useful to people? Let's try.
To any Franklin Community Co-op (Green Fields Market & McCuskers) member/ owners:
This month the Board of Directors will be having their meeting at McCUSKERS on Wednesday eve (Tomorrow) 7/7
All members can attend and participate, as well as vote.
6:00-?6:3030 min Arrival, meal join together
6:30-?6:45:
1 Welcome, Introductions & Announcements
2 Open Forum listen to and record owners' input
3 Agenda Review approve/modify
etc - ends at 9:00. Contact me if you would like the complete agenda, as currently posted.
I will be bringing the policy proposals from the Non-GMO committee to the agenda review to request they get put on the schedule. Contact me for more info, if interested.
Did you know McCusker's is open every night till EIGHT O'CLOCK now?
I was in the store around 7 last night and found out they were not closing till 8, so I hung around - seems like no on else knows they are open late either - store was deserted.
(I was at a board meeting of the Co-op recently and it seems the store is loosing money - they have to pick up the sales somehow. - they even mentioned the possibility of closing McCusker's - I can't imagine SF without it. I think I will shop at McCuskers more often, instead of GFM where I usually go)
Cheerful sunny 2nd floor bedroom, about 9’x14’ plus 2 closets in a large older house a few blocks from center of town. Furnished or unfurnished.
Includes:
? Shared kitchen, pantry, bathrooms (½ bath adjacent to room + full bath downstairs), front & back porches, yard
? Attic storage space
? Use of washer, indoor & outdoor clotheslines
? Wireless internet access
? Off street parking in winter
No dogs, will consider other pets. We have 2 friendly indoor cats.
Special conditions:
? Not vegetarian but limited meat.
? Fragrance free, including laundry products (we can provide laundry soap), body & hair care products (soap, shampoo, deodorant, skin cream, etc), cleaning products. No air fresheners or scented candles.
Cost: $475/month includes heat & electric.
Will consider short term rentals when the room is unoccupied.
I can email you photos if you want.
Reply to this post or 413-625-2951
Hi! Are you missing your dark calico cat? I'd bring him/her inside, but we've all become allergic. It's a beautiful healthy cat, clearly used to a loving home. Or do you know someone who wants a nice cat?
Sara
Welcome Shen - I'm glad someone else is familiar with how useful this corkboard is in Montague, and if it was even half as used here it would be a great success of communication amongst villagers. Thanks for chiming in and inviting others to use it.
Everyone reading this is encouraged to let others know as well, and post any happenings or questions - dialogs or announcements of any kind about literally Anything in or around Shelburne Falls. Some fun or useful things talked about in Montague are animal sightings, favorite trails and nature spots, weather happenings, senior center/ library /school / boards/ councils/ events and conversations - topics are unlimited.
Just learned about this site from a flyer at the Arms library. I know what a great tool MontagueMA.net has been for years now and would love to see the same here.
It looks like you've been here for quite a while, but with a very small number of users?
I just posted info about the site on my FB page - maybe I'll also email to selected local acquaintances....
: ) shen
Calling photographers & artists: as part of a June 18th event in Greenfield, a show of artwork depicting scenes along the proposed pipeline route is planned. Janice Sorensen (magpiefarm@comcast.net) will put together a slideshow if you send her photographs. Please contact Janice if you are interested in submitting artwork. Please share. Thank you!
By DIANE BRONCACCIO Recorder Staff
Thursday, March 27, 2014
(Published in print: Friday, March 28, 2014)
SHELBURNE FALLS — If all goes as hoped, Michael Collins and Pacifico “Tony” Palumbo — former co-owners of a popular Colrain eatery — could be starting something folks have wanted for a long time: a restaurant next to the Glacial Potholes.
During their 20 years of running a restaurant at The Green Emporium, Collins and Palumbo received restaurant critics’ praises and features in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, Yankee Magazine and Saveur Magazine, Bon Appetit, Self Magazine and in travel books.......
The map in on this website looks like the pipeline proposal could go though Shelburne Falls, which is why it is very important to be aware and act now if we can, to prevent it.
LOCALS! URGENT! COPY AND POST TO FRIENDS.
What route would you like the proposed gas pipeline to take?
We are all one big community here in Western MA so no town could easily claim NIMBY and if does go through, eminent domain may be imminent.
Presentation on Fracking in Western MA, Saturday, March 8, 2014, 1:00 - 3:00 pm
There will be a presentation on the TGP Northeast Expansion Pipeline being planned to run through the Berkshires and across northern Massachusetts. Bruce Winn from Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT - http://www.thebeatnews.org) will be talking about the basics of fracking, the proposed pipeline route, the nature of the pipeline and its contents, environmental and health issues, economic and regulatory issues, issues of eminent domain, and what can we do to stop this. Discussion time to follow.
Place: Village Congregational Church, Main Street, Cummington, MA http://www.cummingtonvillagechurch.org/
FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Recorder Staff
Monday, February 3, 2014
(Published in print: Tuesday, February 4, 2014)
SHELBURNE FALLS — Frigid winter weather combined with volunteer efforts to create a 100-by-90-foot ice skating rink on the outdoor tennis courts of the Cowell Gymnasium.
While winter lasts, residents may go to the Cowell Gym on Maple Street to enjoy the free outdoor rink, which is divided between an ice hockey area and a free-skate section.
Cowell Gym Director Emily Crehan said the ice pond formed naturally, then volunteers mounded up the surrounding snow to contain the ice. Neighbor and volunteer Frank Field added more water, to smooth out the ice, and he keeps an eye on its condition.
The rink also has a new cedar bench nearby, where skaters can take off shoes and skates. The skating bench was built and donated by carpenter Dave Campolo of Greenfield, who worked with Recreation Committee Chairwoman Diana Hardina and Jeff Kratz of Leader Home Center to create it. Leader Home Center donated the cedar for the bench.
“Townspeople have been coming up here and are really happy to see it,” said Crehan.
To find out about more activities at the Cowell Gym online, “like” the Cowell’s Facebook page to see notices of open gym times that randomly occur over weekends, school vacations and holidays. For more information or to inquire about a private rental, call 625-0305.
Sarah Pirtle will facilitate the evening
Location: Ashfield, Big white church on main street, across from the fire department
Kate Stevens writes:
Dear friends,
As many of you probably know by now, world-renowned folk singer and peace activist, Pete Seeger, died yesterday. We are holding a Pete Seeger Tribute tonight at the church.
Sarah Pirtle will facilitate the evening and it is open to the whole community. We will hold the event in the upper room at the Ashfield church at 7 p.m.
It's the big white church on main street Ashfield across from the fire department, about thirty minutes from the Greenfield rotary.
Participants are invited to bring instruments, copies of the book Rise Up Singing, and any favorite Pete Seeger stories. Please feel free to invite any of your singing friends.
Blessings to you all,
Kate Stevens
As CNN reports this morning:
Pete Seeger, the man considered to be one of the pioneers of contemporary folk music who inspired legions of activist singer-songwriters, died Monday. He was 94. Seeger's best known songs include "Where Have All the Flowers Gone," "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)" and "If I Had a Hammer (The Hammer Song).
Lets create a community garden in Shelburne Falls. Villagers who live in the center of town, or residents who prefer gardening with friends and neighbors, and growing their own food, need a place to become resilient and save money on healthy fresh organic (low carbon miles) food! interested? - write to me, or post a reply with your ideas.
By Christina Brown
blog - frugal by nature
With food prices continually on the rise, more people are turning to gardening as a way to save money. If this is something you’ve been thinking about, you have a couple of options to consider.
You could invest in a Community Supported Agricultural (CSA) program, where you buy a share of produce from a local farm. It’s much less work than planting your own garden, but it also offers less flexibility. You’ll spend a minimum of $400 for the season and you may end up with produce you don’t know what to do with (rutabega, anyone?)
If you’re willing to invest some time, growing fruits and vegetables in your own back yard can be very economical. A $1 packet of carrot seeds will give you dozens of fresh carrots to eat. Just a few tomato plants will bear enough fruit for salads, salsas, sauces and more for a few months for a family of five.
Either way, gardening on your own has a lot of perks, besides the obvious cost savings. One of the perks is that you control the conditions. You can choose to raise your food organically, which provides a significant cost savings over buying organic produce at the store. You could pay as much as $3 a pound for organic carrots, or you could grow 25 pounds of carrots for the cost of a $1 packet of seeds.
The other perk: food you’ve grown yourself tastes amazing! Your food is picked fresh from your garden when it’s ready and doesn’t have to be transported on a truck or sit around on store shelves. When food tastes better, you’re less likely to let it go to waste.
I first started gardening three years ago. I’ve never had much of a green thumb, and I’ve made plenty of mistakes (and I’ll make more), but I can honestly say that growing your own food isn’t that hard. I’ve grown tomatoes, broccoli, green beans, carrots, peppers, zucchini, and basil in just two 4’x4’ raised bed garden plots and saved more than $125 on my food bill.
The first year is the most expensive as you get set up. My initial investment consisted of less than $70 for one 4‘x4’ raised-bed kit, dirt and plants. I added a second plot in year two. This year, my only investment has been plants and seeds. The amount of produce I’ve grown more than makes up for the money I’ve spent on my garden.
Of course, if you’re not careful, gardening can be expensive. If your motivation is to save money, it’s important to keep your costs low. Here are a few ways you can save money on planting a garden:
Start small. A smaller garden takes much less work and needs fewer materials to start. With a small raised bed and some containers, you’ll be able to grow plenty of fresh produce.
Start from seed. Starting seeds indoors can be a huge savings over what you’d pay for plants at the greenhouse. For example, you may pay $2 for tomato seeds to plant dozens of tomato plants, or you could buy one tomato plant at a greenhouse for $5 or more. You just need a bit more time and planning to start from seed. Since each seed packet has more than you need, consider a seed exchange with friends to get the plants you want for less.
Shop the sales. If planting from seed isn’t for you, then be sure to shop the sales at your local greenhouse. Sign up for any mailing lists or newsletters from local greenhouses to be notified of special sales. Watch for end-of-season close-outs and save 50% off or more on your plants.
Plant what you’ll eat. There’s no point in having a garden if you don’t like anything you plant. One of the best ways to save money when gardening is to plant things you love to eat but hate spending money on. For me, that’s broccoli. For you, it might be fresh herbs or tomatoes.
Compost. You can start your own compost bin or pile and provide hearty nutrition for your garden with your own vegetable scraps. You’ll save money on fertilizer and be doing something good for the environment.
Preserve your harvest. Make sure to make the most of what you’ve grown – I highly recommend freezing or canning whatever produce you don’t eat right away. You can watch the sales for deals on vacuum packers and bags for freezing, or use coupons to buy canning supplies. Canning jars can be picked up for great prices at thrift stores and estate sales – you’ll just need to get new lids and rings. You can even use a food dehydrator to preserve items like carrots and celery for use in soups during the winter months.
Gardening is a fun, family activity that doesn’t have to cost a lot. And if I can do it with my two brown thumbs, I know you can, too!
"......With the help of $910,000 in CPA funds, private funding, and other grants, 24 of these acres will be carved out for active recreation, 35 acres of forest will be conserved as part of the Mill River Greenway, and the remaining land will be devoted to agriculture. Grow Food Northampton worked to raise $700,000 in six months to buy the121 acres of protected farmland from The Trust for Public Land, and is in the process of creating a community-supported agriculture farm. CPA funds are also being used to help develop 17 of these farmland acres as a community garden."
Could Shelburne Falls ever see a smaller scale version of this project come to fruition with the help of CPA funds?
This is a very informative TEDx talk about what could be possible if we passed the Community Preservation Act for our town(s).
Shelburne Falls resident, Wendy Ferris says "It's imperative that when we talk about the natural and cultural assets that define our "sense of place", we also talk about the tools to preserve, repair and enhance them, and the CPA does just that."
$100,000. a year to spend or save to be used on Open Space Conservation Projects, Affordable housing, Historical Preservation projects and Public Recreation.
It would take 61 voters' signatures on a petition in Buckland to put this on the ballot.
I love the examples she gives of what Leverett, Goshen, Whatley, Sunderland, Conway, and Deerfield have done with their CPA money - these types of projects would be great for our Village.
Hello everyone. Yes, this website is here for you to post whatever, free from Facebook and too-wide a reach, which sometimes dilutes what you're trying to do sometimes: create a vibrant local community... a single town.
So, post your events in the calendar, announcements and questions on the corkboard, and your businesses on the business card page. All free. Email the site link to your neighbors and invite them to join. The only way this vehicle will thrive is if there are people here to make it so. More, is more.
And, if you want to buy a banner ad, well, that's always helpful :-)
Oh, you mean the crime against architecture?
The Taco Bell Savings and Loan?
UGH!
I am angry, sad, frustrated, disgusted....and a host of other strong feelings
about this.
It's not enough to make me switch banks, but I feel a sense of betrayal.
Harvey Z made some great points....the old time banks were edifices of great
stature and stable architecture ..they gave us a feeling of trust , security, respect
and decorum. The new bank building in Shelburne Falls screams cheap....like
we are now another fast food community .....as a resident here, I feel devalued.
I , too, am surprised by how powerfully it has affected me....but our sense of place....
our sense of our village identity ....has been socked in the face and given a black
eye this not going to go away.
And it was so unnecessary.
To add insult to injury, this week they put out some greenery in an attempt to soften the
blow they dealt us.....but have you seen it????? Some scrawny left over Christmas trees....
with so many fine landscape architects to choose from here, they went out and stuck
a few Christmas trees .... where's Monty Python when you need a shrubbery?
It's all about context.....not all our buildings are architectural delights, that's true. But we have
a look and feel that's been created by a mix of old and 50's and 60's. And why did they need
a new facade anyway?
I don't think we'll be seeing anymore movie folks wanting to show off what we have now.
I think it is cheap, ugly, temporary- looking piece of shit architecture..... something that may be abandoned at any moment, like a mall, and left to rot.
There was a time that banks were designed to appear strong and everlasting, and instill those same feelings in the people who trusted them to guard their money.
Apparently, those feelings of security and trust are gone.
Hart Yoga features Yoga and Fitness classes, as well as special series, monthly events and workshops on a variety of topics. You'll attend classes in a peaceful, intimate studio overlooking the entire village of Shelburne Falls, the Deerfield River, the Bridge of Flowers and the surrounding hills. Smaller class sizes ensure more personalized instruction in a warm, welcoming environment.
Hart Yoga occupies Suite 8 (a.k.a. the "Infinity Suite") on the upper floor of the Salmon Falls Artisans Showroom Building at 1 Ashfield Street, which has a long history in the community. I am proud to be a part of its present and its future.
This Hart Yoga website will provide you with the most current information about the classes, the teachers and the schedule, as well as upcoming special events and workshops. Check back frequently for the latest news and schedule, and make sure you read the Hart Yoga Blog!
For those living in Shelburne Falls, I highly recommend making this town forum one of your home pages, and staying active with village happenings. Find out what's happening - events, discussions - Post on the Calendar or raise a topic yourself about anything relevant to Shelburne Falls - This is a public Forum. This site was first launched on January 18th, 2014, (a few days old as I write) so WELCOME and ENJOY!!!!!
To see the same site in full use in another town, check out http://www.MontagueMA.net, which has been very successfully used for all manner of discourse since 1999! The web wizard, Mik Muller, moved into (my old house in) Montague Center with his family in 1999, having moved from NYC, was completely charmed by the village, and instantly became a community organizer and activist for Montague, being central in the Montague Grange, the local public access cable station, and creating this web site, etc. He also established two annual events in Montague: the Soap Box Derby and Mutton and Mead!
I lived in Montague Center near the Book Mill for 13 years, so watched all Mik's in-depth contributions to the area over the years. Now I'm in Shelburne Falls, and he has gifted us with with our own Shelburne Falls Corkboard! Thank You Mik Muller!!!
