An inspiring story....

“Macular degeneration is the leading cause of severe vision loss in people over age 60. It occurs when the small central portion of the retina, known as the macula, deteriorates. The retina is the light-sensing nerve tissue at the back of the eye. Because the disease develops as a person ages, it is often referred to as age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Although macular degeneration is almost never a blinding condition, it can be a source of significant visual disability.” Source: http://www.webmd.com/

Jules Brenner, a long time resident of Longmeadow developed macular degeneration many years before his death in 2006. I met Julie for the first time when he attended a Internet class for seniors at Center School in Longmeadow about 10 years ago. In the years after the initial diagnosis, Julie was able to learn how to use a computer, play cards and other normal activities that we all take for granted.

In the 20 minute audio clip produced by Story Corps, his wife Ruth shares their life experiences together with this problem and Julie’s story of perserverance to overcome his vision handicap that allowed the two of them to live a close to normal life.

Please share this blog posting if you know someone who is developing this problem- Julie’s story might make a huge difference.

[For those who are interested… the software that Julie learned through the Veterans Administration educational program to conquer the computer in spite of his vision problems is called ZoomText and I would strongly recommend its use. The local VA contact is Jim Waldron in West Haven, CT at 1-800-645-6373.]

Leaves, Leaves, Leaves

Everywhere.















I’ve just looked outside my window and see a 3-4” blanket of leaves that need to be removed…. and I wonder how many hours that it will take for me to accomplish the task this year.

Now that election day and all of its excitement has passed, many town residents are fully engaged in the fall ritual of leaf raking/ blowing and removal. For many years the town of Longmeadow provided a service to collect loose leaves at curbside but due to budget constraints, this service has been replaced with a fee based bagged leaves collection system (click here for program details).

As a long time resident of Longmeadow I remember that curbside leaf collection did not always work as planned. In some years, leaves did not always fall in a timely fashion and snowflakes arrived before all of the leaves were picked up…. as expected leaves and snow were plowed together resulting in one big mess. I even remember DPW “bucket loaders” + dump trucks removing frozen piles of leaves and snow from the streets in order to make them safe for both pedestrian and vehicle traffic. In addition, piles of leaves on both sides of some streets left one lane for traffic to pass- not a safe situation.

At the recent Special Town Meeting there was a warrant article aimed at reinstituting the service. Town meeting members speaking in favor of the article claimed that they were "entitled" to the service because they pay high real estate taxes. As the town navigated through past budget shortfalls, the leaf collection program was a casualty due to its lower priority as a town service.

The warrant article asked for the appropriation of $150,000 to reinitiate leaf collection starting next fall. Mike Wrabel- Director, Longmeadow DPW has provided estimates that suggest in excess of $300,000 (twice the proposed expenditure in the warrant article) may be required to reinitiate the program and that may not include the cost/rental of truck vacuum equipment that no longer exists in the DPW fleet.

I believe that curbside loose leaf collection is similar to other services needed by homeowners- driveway snowplowing, lawn service, etc. and to expect the town to provide this service as part of our normal property taxes is not justified given the other priorities of town services including police, fire and schools. The current bagged leaf approach is a user fee based system and makes good fiscal sense.

Here is a suggestion to property owners looking to regain the luxury of curbside loose leaf collection at a reasonable cost. Talk to your neighbors and work out a plan to have a group of 5-10 homes participating in a local curbside leaf pickup. With that number of participants you should have some negotiating power with local landscapers and be able keep the cost reasonable.

A “non binding” referendum or poll has been started on LongmeadowBuzz. Take 30 seconds and voice your opinion on curbside leaf collection. Let’s not allow this topic to become a replacement for water fluoridation and waste of our valuable time at future town meetings.

Ballot Question #4

Here is a link to the election ballot.

Make your vote count!

Longmeadow High School Feasibility Study

On Tuesday, October 28th and Tuesday, November 4th, the voters of Longmeadow have an opportunity to responsibly plan for the future of our children and our town. This can only happen with a vote of YES on Articles 6 & 7 at Town Meeting and Question #4 on the election ballot to authorize a Feasibility Study to investigate renovation or new construction at the high school. I urge you to join me in voting yes for the following reasons:

1) The high school desperately needs to be renovated or rebuilt. As anyone who attended or watched the recent building tours or forums with the School Building Committee knows, the building does not help promote student learning. Our students are learning in spite of the building and thanks to their hard work and the dedication of the high school teachers. The town’s students and teachers deserve a building that facilitates their intellectual engagement and does not serve as a distraction.

2) This project demonstrates responsible stewardship of town resources. As our largest town owned building, upkeep of the high school is the responsibility of every adult resident in Longmeadow. In order to make a truly informed decision on the fate of the high school, we must complete this comprehensive Feasibility Study. Without it, we cannot proceed responsibly.

3) This is the only way we can receive state aid to help pay for the project. The state has committed $2.5 billion over five years to support school building projects. Thanks to the hard work of our town leaders, Longmeadow was one of only 49 schools (15 high schools) out of 423 submissions chosen by the state to proceed with the state funding process. If we fail to support the Feasibility Study, it is doubtful that we will become eligible for state funding for the high school in the near future.

4) The financial impact is minimal. We are voting to fund a $750,000 study which will cost the average Longmeadow taxpayer (home value of $370,000) $30 per year for five years (total of $150). This is an excellent investment in the future of the town. The Feasibility Study will both provide us with the information necessary to make an informed decision on renovation versus new construction and enable us to obtain millions of dollars in aid from the state once we make the decision. We need to take this first step in order to proceed further with the state.

5) This project will help keep Longmeadow an attractive place to live and work. Longmeadow’s outstanding reputation in the region is due, in part, to our long-standing commitment to high quality public education. Passage of funding for the Feasibility Study will continue this positive tradition and send a strong signal to families looking to move into the area and teachers looking for the best employment opportunities that Longmeadow is committed to quality facilities and the long term improvement of our high school.

In closing, I hope you will join me in supporting the future of our town; vote YES on Articles 6 & 7 and Question #4.

Ballot Question #1 State Income Tax Repeal

TV Interviews with both sides online now at "Put Up Your Duqs!"

Longmeadow High School Facilities Tour

If you are not able to attend one of the remaining LHS facility tours (see schedule), please take 15 minutes to view the video below that was recently made through the efforts of the LCTV team. It spotlights some of the problems at Longmeadow High School and hopefully will be useful for town residents to become more informed about this important issue facing our town.

Longmeadow HS Facilities Tour
(click link to view video using your favorite viewer)

Vote No on Question 1

Take the time to read the four questions for the upcoming election day ballot on November 4. A number of posters to the LongmeadowBuzz blog have urged voters to vote NO on Question 1.

A YES vote on Question #1 would reduce the state personal income tax rate to 2.65% for the tax year beginning on January 1, 2009 and would eliminate the tax for all years beginning after January 1, 2010. A NO vote would make no change in state income tax laws.

Given today's financial uncertainties, a YES vote on Question #1 might seem to be attractive to some people but the impact on cities and towns would be devastating. A group called "The Coalition for our Communities" has generated some numbers to help voters assess the financial impact and the results are shown below:

Here is a link to "The Coalition for our Communities" website which provides more information including the methodology used to generate the numbers.

In order to avoid major financial chaos for Massachusetts cities and towns, please vote NO on Question 1.

Question #1 Impact on Libraries

Question 1 on the November 4th ballot, if passed, would eliminate the state income tax. Visit the Coalition for Our Communities to see the estimated state aid cuts for Massachusetts cities and towns.

According to a Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners’ recent news release , the impact on libraries would be severe. Effects include the elimination of funding for automated networks, which allow borrowing of materials from other libraries, elimination of State Aid to Public Libraries in place since 1890, loss of all electronic resources currently funded by the state and the Regional Library Systems and much more. Commissioner Em Claire Knowles stated, “At a time when we are seeing library use surge, the repeal of the state income tax, would take us back to the library of 1890 and really hurt our residents.”

Financial matters on our minds

Confused about financial terms in the news? Eager to have reliable background information on the stock market, hedge funds, investment banks, commercial banks or the Federal Reserve? Visit the library and consult Gale's 2008 Everyday Finance. It is on display, together with several other up-to-date reference books on money matters.

The library subscribes to the print editions of the Value Line Investment Report, the Value Line Small and Mid-Cap Report and The Morningstar Report. As a subscriber to The Morningstar Report, the library provides in-house access to Morningstar Mutual Funds Online at each of the seven internet stations in the Adult Department. Users should consult the folder on the desktop labeled Morningstar Online to obtain username and password. Morningstar Mutual Funds Online is a PDF report service and all reports may be saved to a disk. Each month, updated full page reports appear on the website two weeks before the print issue arrives. Special reports are issued each quarter. Topics covered recently include Model Portfolios for Retirees and the Best Funds for Income.

In these uncertain economic times, these valuable resources, supported by tax dollars, are available to all

Important Voter Info on Question #1

The LCTV talkshow "Put Up Your Duqs" will have an in depth interview with a representative of the Committee for Small Government, which is pushing for the repeal of the state income tax in Massachusetts.

The one hour interview IS NOW ONLNE at www.JeroldDuquette.organd will air on LCTV Channel 12 starting Monday, October 13th at 6pm.

Leonard Cooperman, representing the Committee on Small Government, provided a thoughtful, if debatable, rational for the ballot measure.

An interview with opponents of the income tax repeal measure will be appearing on the show in the next couple of weeks. More information will be distributed on that interview as soon as it is "in the can," so to speak.