Friends of Storrs Library

The Friends of Storrs Library is actively seeking new board members.

The Board meets once a month at the library. Enthusiasm and a love of our town library are the only requirements.

For more information contact :

Beryl Salinger Schmitt:
yipsister@comcast.net or

Karen Jordan:
karinina58@hotmail.com

Rejoice, MAC Users

While PC users have long been enjoying the digital audiobooks available through the OverDrive Media Console, MAC users have been waiting to download and transfer the files using their MACs. The wait is now over! Download MP3 audiobooks at www.longmeadow.org/library. The OverDrive MP3 Audiobook offers iPod®, iPhone™, and iPod Touch support! To download our MP3 content, please make sure you have OverDrive Media Console v3.0 (or newer) for Windows or OverDrive Media Console v1.0 (or newer) for Mac installed on your computer. Simple instructions are available when you click on DOWNLOADABLE DIGITAL BOOKS, AUDIO AND VIDEO at www.longmeadow.org/library.

Some of the more popular titles:

Sideways
The story of two friends, Miles and Jack, going away together for the last time to steep themselves in everything that makes it good to be young and single: pinot, putting, and prowling bars. A raucous and surprising novel filled with wonderful details about wine, Sideways is also a thought provoking and funny book about men, women, and human relationships.

Master and Commander

This, the first in the splendid series of Jack Aubrey novels, establishes the friendship between Captain Aubrey, R.N., and Stephen Maturin, ship’s surgeon and intelligence agent, against the thrilling backdrop of the Napoleonic wars.

Murder on the Yellow Brick Road

It is November 1, 1940. In the famous sound stage ofThe WIZARD OF OZ on the MGM lot, a little man is lying face-up on the yellow brick road. Someone has murdered a Munchkin. Toby Peters is summoned to the scene of the crime by a very young and frightened starlet named Judy Garland. He begins to put together the scanty clues. Within an hour, he is hired by Lewis B. Meyer himself to keep the name of Judy Garland (and MGM) clean of the scandal, and to hold off the police and the newspapers.

We hope that MAC and IPOD users will enjoy this new service. If you have any questions, please call us at 413-565-4181. Farida Pomerantz

Notable Books 2008

The New York Times Book Review has released its list of notable books for 2008. The books are selected from titles reviewed since December 2, 2007. Visit the Storrs Library to see a display of these books or visit the online catalog to review individual titles and request your favorites. Also, don't miss the School Library Journal's best books for children 2008.

Annual Poinsettia Sale

The Longmeadow Gardeners' Annual Poinsettia Sale is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, December 5th and 6th at the Storrs Library. There will be a selection of red, pink and white poinsettias and peach, pink and white cyclamen for sale. All proceeds are used to beautify the grounds surrounding the Storrs House and Library. For questions or pre-order information call the Longmeadow Gardeners at 567-3816.

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)