2006-09-13
home town news
A tributary of the Eight Mile River
Open Space Preservation: Tonight, there's a town meeting and we go to ask townspeople to agree to pay the town's share of a down-payment on 117 acres [47 hectare] of land. The site is one that brings us closer to having a completely contiguous block of land in the Eight Mile River watershed, a long-standing goal for both the township and the region. In November 1997, the first selectmen of East Haddam, Lyme and Salem, through which the Eight Mile River flows, signed an agreement to cooperatively protect the river and its watershed. The effort has had technical support of both the University of Connecticut Cooperative Extension office and the Essex Chapter of Nature Conservancy.
The endeavor is daunting. UCONN's Project NEMO notes that "The Eightmile River is a regional sub-basin draining to the lower Connecticut River. About 63 square miles in size and encompassing land from 5 towns, the Eightmile basin has remained largely forested—a fact which, combined with its geology and water systems, have made the area home to a remarkable diversity of plants, and animals, including many rare and endangered species." We have enjoyed overwhelming support from the townspeople. While there are a few people opposed to spending the funds, five years ago a town-wide referendum vote showed that 5 out of 6 citizens agreed to commit $5 million [USD] to bond in order to save undeveloped land for open space preservation. Nevertheless, I remain cautious.
Local Politics We had a fund-raising party at our house for our friend Diedre. She is running for Probate Court judge in town. She comes with good qualifications:
• Experience ~ she worked as an attorney at Robinson + Cole, a high-powered law firm in Hartford, Connecticut. Her fields of experience included trusts + estates law as well as commercial and probate litigation.
• Empathy ~ Ms. Devaney recognizes that Probate Court is not just about managing estates, but involves sometimes close, thoughtful contact with bereaved families; considers other family relationship issues around guardians and conservatorships and requires an understanding and sensitivity to oft-times complicated family interpersonal dynamics.
Some have questioned her youthful looks. As a mother of a not yet 5 year old son, many have assumed she's in her early 20s. But don't be fooled by this. She's actually 38. On top of that, she's pleasing to the eyes and [in my opinion] better looking than Nicole Kidman. Over 60 people filled our front lawn and clogged our narrow street with parked cars and both Representative Linda Orange and State Senator Eileen Dailey arrived to show support.
Firewood season It's time to get the firewood piles built up. Temperatures the past three nights went below 8 degrees Celsius [that's about 45 Farenheit] and we had the woodstove going ...in fact, it's keeping us toasty now. Almost all the firewood for winter is still up on the hill 90 metres way [more than 300 feet] ~ nowhere near the house ~ and about three terrace levels away from being convenient. So I suppose that tells me clearly what I have to do the next weekends and days off from work. Plus I have to scrape down the chimney of soot and creosote buildup. More on that as it comes along.
Open Space Preservation: Tonight, there's a town meeting and we go to ask townspeople to agree to pay the town's share of a down-payment on 117 acres [47 hectare] of land. The site is one that brings us closer to having a completely contiguous block of land in the Eight Mile River watershed, a long-standing goal for both the township and the region. In November 1997, the first selectmen of East Haddam, Lyme and Salem, through which the Eight Mile River flows, signed an agreement to cooperatively protect the river and its watershed. The effort has had technical support of both the University of Connecticut Cooperative Extension office and the Essex Chapter of Nature Conservancy. The endeavor is daunting. UCONN's Project NEMO notes that "The Eightmile River is a regional sub-basin draining to the lower Connecticut River. About 63 square miles in size and encompassing land from 5 towns, the Eightmile basin has remained largely forested—a fact which, combined with its geology and water systems, have made the area home to a remarkable diversity of plants, and animals, including many rare and endangered species." We have enjoyed overwhelming support from the townspeople. While there are a few people opposed to spending the funds, five years ago a town-wide referendum vote showed that 5 out of 6 citizens agreed to commit $5 million [USD] to bond in order to save undeveloped land for open space preservation. Nevertheless, I remain cautious.
Local Politics We had a fund-raising party at our house for our friend Diedre. She is running for Probate Court judge in town. She comes with good qualifications:• Experience ~ she worked as an attorney at Robinson + Cole, a high-powered law firm in Hartford, Connecticut. Her fields of experience included trusts + estates law as well as commercial and probate litigation.
• Empathy ~ Ms. Devaney recognizes that Probate Court is not just about managing estates, but involves sometimes close, thoughtful contact with bereaved families; considers other family relationship issues around guardians and conservatorships and requires an understanding and sensitivity to oft-times complicated family interpersonal dynamics.
Some have questioned her youthful looks. As a mother of a not yet 5 year old son, many have assumed she's in her early 20s. But don't be fooled by this. She's actually 38. On top of that, she's pleasing to the eyes and [in my opinion] better looking than Nicole Kidman. Over 60 people filled our front lawn and clogged our narrow street with parked cars and both Representative Linda Orange and State Senator Eileen Dailey arrived to show support.
Firewood season It's time to get the firewood piles built up. Temperatures the past three nights went below 8 degrees Celsius [that's about 45 Farenheit] and we had the woodstove going ...in fact, it's keeping us toasty now. Almost all the firewood for winter is still up on the hill 90 metres way [more than 300 feet] ~ nowhere near the house ~ and about three terrace levels away from being convenient. So I suppose that tells me clearly what I have to do the next weekends and days off from work. Plus I have to scrape down the chimney of soot and creosote buildup. More on that as it comes along.Labels: community planning, Eight Mile River, open space, preservation
¶ 09:09
Comments:
<< Home
firewood time.
man oh man, that brings back memories. I grew up in central PA and after the mines closed and things got tough we heated the whole house with wood. A big old 1800s house with drafty windows. I believe one summer we hauled, split, and stacked over 100 truckloads of wood.
Post a Comment
man oh man, that brings back memories. I grew up in central PA and after the mines closed and things got tough we heated the whole house with wood. A big old 1800s house with drafty windows. I believe one summer we hauled, split, and stacked over 100 truckloads of wood.
# posted by 
: 22 September, 2006 15:44
: 22 September, 2006 15:44<< Home
