SHELBURNE FALLS — Fly fisherman Bob Gancarz of Chicopee is the guest speaker at Thursday’s monthly meeting of the Deerfield River Trout Unlimited Chapter No. 349. The Oct. 19 meeting takes place at 6:30 p.m. upstairs at the Shelburne Falls Eagles Club, 52 State St., and the public is welcome to attend.
Gancarz, a former design and industrial engineer who co-invented the AccuTrigger for Savage Arms in 2002, is spending his retirement perfecting the fly-fishing skills that he learned as a boy, fishing on the upper Deerfield River in the 1950s.
According to chapter President Kevin Parsons, Gancarz is a fan of tying and presenting tiny midges to big trout using light-weight rods, thin tippet in winter and tiny midge imitations that dominate a trout’s diet. He will bring some of the tiny flies he ties and uses, and a device he invented that can compare the weight and flexibility of one rod against another.
He will offer his own tips to successful midge fishing and looks forward to discussing midges, light-tackle techniques and even firearm design.
SHELBURNE — While examining the upper floor of the Cowell Gym for possible use as storage or office space, town officials found a large number of wooden folding chairs, some in large sections of four or five seats, according to Selectman Robert Manners. The Selectboard can’t think of a town use for them, so they may be sold.
SHELBURNE — The Highway Department will be working on a plan to repair or replace the bridge that resulted in the closure of Brook Road, but town officials say the back road between Shelburne and Greenfield will be closed for a long time. The state Department of Transportation asked the town to close the road after the bridge failed an inspection. No access to homes have been cut off by the closure, although the road has been used by some Shelburne and Colrain residents as an alternative to Route 2.
SHELBURNE — The Shelburne Selectboard has signed a 36-month contract with Hampshire Power to provide electricity to town-owned buildings that is “100 percent green.” In this case, the green electricity will be 100 percent wind power coming from New Hampshire.
Zach Holt of Hampshire Power told the board the town used about 118,000 kilowatt hours of electricity last year. For about $109 per year, the town will have 100 percent green power, according to Holt.
The Selectboard agreed that running on full “green” energy was worth an extra $100 per year and included that option in its new contract.