Westhampton Select Board to take up emergency plans
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WESTHAMPTON - The Select Board tonight will take up the town's protocol when power fails.
The board has scheduled a meeting tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the Town Hall to review emergency planning practices in the event of extended power outages. Selectmen will discuss "additions to the existing Emergency Management Plan," according to John Shaw, secretary for the board.
A snowstorm at the end of October knocked out power to 60 percent of Westhampton, according to Western Massachusetts Electric Co. Call 527-0463 for details on tonight's meeting.
Reception marks library anniversary
A public reception for a photo exhibit tracking the history of the town's new library will be held Thursday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the library's community room. Light refreshments will be served.
"A Retrospective Look at the Town Center Library Project" includes photos taken from 2006 to 2011, the one year anniversary of the opening of the $2.1 million library building on North Road.
After town voters rejected a request for tax funds to pay for a new library in 2005 and 2006, supporters launched a series of creative fundraising events. Among them was the Great Pumpkin Roll, which has become a town tradition. In the end, the new Westhampton library was funded entirely with grants and donations.
In October, the building received a Gold rating from the U.S. Green Building Council for environmentally-friendly design. Westhampton's library is one of only four in the state to become LEED certified since the rating program began in 2008, according to the state.
The photo exhibit continues through the end of the month. Images were taken by Pamela Murphy, Barbara Pelissier, Laurie Sanders, Ann Tracey, Bill Trohon and John Zimmerman.
Fire Department reaches out to elderly
Members of the Westhampton Fire Department have completed a year-long project to install more than 100 carbon monoxide detectors in the homes of elderly residents - a population identified as especially vulnerable to carbon monoxide poisoning.
Fire Chief Christopher Norris said members of the volunteer fire department worked with the Westhampton Council on Aging to develop a list of local homes that either didn't have detectors, needed new ones or wanted current detectors checked. Members worked on nights and weekends to install the life-saving devices.
"There are more than 100 people in town who are much safer now than they were before," Norris said. Having the fire department install the devices also "alleviates the small financial burden placed on some of these individuals who may be on a fixed income," he added.
Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless, tasteless gas that can be produced by blocked chimneys, appliance vents or improperly installed heating appliances - among other sources.
Norris said the recent safety effort is a follow-up to the fire department's work last year to install more than 250 smoke detectors in town. The estimated $2,500 cost of the carbon monoxide project was paid for with the help of a $1,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation and the fire department's revolving account, he said.
'Local Color' reprinted
Back by popular demand - and just about gone again.
That's the story of "Local Color," a beloved compilation of town history first published in 2003 for Westhampton's 225th anniversary.
The latest reprinting of 25 copies in December didn't last very long, said Barbara Pelissier, president of the town Historical Society - which helped collect family histories, personal anecdotes and images for the book.
"I only have three left," she said in an interview last week. "There's just been such a demand for them."
The book, edited by Jacqui Hickey LaFrance, James Bridgman and Sarah Mulvehill, includes more than 100 images of local residents, homes and other town history. It also has an extensive index.
"So whether you're looking for ice harvesting or someone's name, you can find it," Pelissier said.
"With all the anecdotes people put in there, many have found out a lot more about their friend and neighbors than they had known before,"
The original printing was 500 copies, although subsequent runs have been much smaller. For the town's 250th birthday in 2028, Pelissier said local history buffs hope to update Local Color to include chapters on the new public library and the Pine Island Lake neighborhood.
For a peek before then, copies of "Local Color" can be found at the Westhampton Library and Forbes Library in Northampton.
Barbara Solow can be reached at bsolow@gazettenet.com.
