There’s A LOT Going On!
Coming Soon!
Next week, I’ll have the full election slate to send you for our annual election on MONDAY, MAY 5. I’ll also have a link to the warrant for our annual town meeting on Monday, May 12. (The Selectmen will be signing that warrant next week.) Meanwhile, you may start pondering school funding by looking at this two-page flyer about our two school districts, Mohawk Trail Regional School District and Hawlemont School District.
On to other news:
Spring Fling
First, I want to put in another plea for Hawleyites to let us know you are coming to Hawley’s Spring Fling, a free event on May 17 for all ages that should help us build community (and have fun!). The details are below. Please register by May 1 if you can! We’ll need to know how many baskets we’ll be making and how much lunch we’ll need.
Tick, Tick … Boom!
In a couple of weeks, Mohawk Trail Regional School will present the musical Tick, Tick … Boom! This play is autobiographical, based on the life of Jonathan Larson, the creator of the musical Rent. I’m going … because I love musicals, and because Hawley’s own Landon Clark will be starring in this production. The entrance fee is $12 per person. The poster is below. I hope to see you there!
Wingmasters: Birds of Prey
The Tyler Memorial Library is bringing back the popular Birds of Prey program to Hawlemont School! See the poster below for details.
Return of the Charlemont Forum
The Charlemont Forum will return on Thursday, May 8 … but not in Charlemont! The forum is trying out a new venue, the library at Mohawk Trail Regional School. See the poster below. If you can’t make it to Buckland that evening and would still like to listen in, you may use this link to view the event on YouTube.
Bulky Waste
May 17 will be full of things to do! From 9 a.m. to noon, the Solid Waste District is organizing its Bulky Waste Disposal. Details may be found here.
Antique Tractors
That same weekend, on Sunday, May 18, at approximately 11 a.m., Antique Tractor enthusiasts from Cummington will bring their vintage machines to visit the Hawley Fire Station. Our firefighters will serve them coffee and nibbles. Hawleyites are invited to come look at the tractors and have a bite to eat as well.
Cemetery Clean Up
Once again, Melanie and Ray Poudrier are asking for volunteers for Hawley’s annual cemetery clean ups. The next clean up is scheduled for Saturday, April 19, at 9 a.m. at the East Hawley Cemetery on the corner of Plainfield and Ashfield Roads (across the road from the Fire Station). And on Saturday the 26th at 9 a.m. the group will tackle the Doane Cemetery on Forget Road.
Melanie notes: What to bring … Work gloves, pruners, lopping shears, leaf rake, metal rake, pruning saw, energy. We will be moving broken branches and fallen limbs to a central area for later disposal. There will be a bucket loader for moving the brush to that area.
And maybe some neatening of the stone wall perimeters? All sessions are weather permitting…could there be more snow to come?
The Three Rs
The Solid Waste District recently published its annual Reduce, Reuse, Recycle guide for Franklin County. Download it here. Hawley’s information may be found on pages 29 and 30, but the booklet has useful tips throughout.
Fix-It Workshop
Speaking of reusing things, SAVE THIS DATE! On Saturday, May 31, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. the Solid Waste District and Franklin County Technical School are going to hold a regional repair/fix-it event at the Technical School in Turners Falls. We should have more details soon; at the moment, the repair categories are small electrical items, small wooden furniture, and sharpening a range of items – from knives to lawn mower blades. This will be a showcase of the Tech School students and staff, including adult students. The Tech School culinary department will provide food and refreshments for sale. The group is also looking for volunteer fixers!
Join the Fire Department!
Our Emergency Management Director, Brandon Root, provides this important message:
If you are looking for an important way of supporting your community, look no further than the Hawley Fire Dept.
There are multiple volunteer opportunities available at the Hawley Fire Dept. Want to be a firefighter? How about a Medical First Responder? Could you help us on the sidelines with scene support tasks? Are you really good at communication and organization, and want to learn how to support us at the fire station in emergency situations? Call 413-770-6166 or leave us a message at our station, 413-339-4267. You could even stop by at one of our meeting nights at the East Hawley station to speak with someone in person each Wednesday at 7:30pm.
Positions include Firefighters, EMTs, First Responders, operations support and much more.
No experience necessary WE WILL TRAIN YOU!
Museum on Main Street
Finally, I want to put in a plug for a project on which I have been working with several teachers at Mohawk Trail Regional School. Museum on Main Street: Voices and Votes is a traveling exhibit brought to the school by the Smithsonian and the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities. It was installed in the school library on Wednesday, along with a mini-display of related artefacts borrowed from local historical societies. The exhibit itself is worth a visit—and so are the related events. For information on all of this, visit the exhibit’s web page.
Meanwhile, here are a couple of photos from Opening Night on Thursday. The crowd (first photo) included our Selectboard chair, Will Cosby. The speakers included our inspiring State Representative, Natalie Blais (second photo).
And Carol Foote shot an extremely short video of yours truly leading the crowd in singing the end of “We Shall Overcome.” We were all a hit. The head of the Massachusetts Cultural Council told me that he wanted to write a musical about me in which I could star. I have a feeling that’s something he says to girls at parties, but it was gratifying even so.
That’s it for this week. I’m sorry to throw so much information at you, but some seasons are like that. Until I return, I wish you a happy daffodil season!
Warmly,
Tinky Weisblat
Gal Friday
Town of Hawley
