Here are brief thoughts on some of the events taking place around Franklin County and the North Quabbin area.
What would towns do without volunteers? From firefighters to those who serve on town boards or in individual positions, people do what they can to help keep things running.
Sometimes people go beyond the norm, and so we want to note the service of Ernie Brown, who served on Montague’s Zoning Board of Appeals for 47 years.
To put this in perspective, Brown’s first day on the board was March 27, 1972.
Brown, who is 82, doesn’t recall any big controversies during his time on the ZBA. Mostly the board worked on potential projects in residential neighborhoods, say an addition to a home. If that proposed addition would violate zoning rules for that part of town, the board must decide whether it should be allowed anyway.
He stepped down Aug. 26 and the Selectboard officially accepted his retirement at last week’s meeting.
Brown did attend the ZBA meeting in September but as a spectator in the back row. He notes, “Things went the same.”
Kudos to Brown for his long service to his town.
We say start ’em young helping others and give them opportunities to practice.
Student athletes at Pioneer Valley Regional School participated in a recent project to create “blessing bags” to be distributed at local homeless shelters.
The gallon-sized bags that were assembled contained items such as bandages, hand sanitizers, tooth brushes and feminine hygiene products. There were even useful personal items like socks, underwear and gloves.
According to Pioneer’s Athletic Director Gina Johnson the athletic teams — field hockey, boys soccer and volleyball — purchased and donated all the items.
“I felt — as community role models — the student athletes should do something to give back to their community,” Pioneer field hockey coach Sallie Gilliland said.
That’s a great lesson to be carried forward.
Some people can be just slobs. They think nothing about dumping a plastic bottle or other trash on the ground, including along our rivers.
But thanks to environmentally minded volunteers, the rivers in Western Massachusetts got a little cleaner last week.
As part of the Connecticut River Conservancy’s 23rd Source to Sea Cleanup, volunteers donned gloves and got to work along our waterways. Some volunteers have been coming for years.
We thank the organizers and volunteers for their efforts.
But, honestly, we wish the people who did the dumping would clean up after themselves. Or as a sign at the Green River Swimming and Recreation Area says: “Stop trash before it starts.”
Now you see it, now you don’t. And the person behind the fun is Eaden Marti, a Warwick resident who has a flair for magic.
“Psychological readings, mind reading, hypnosis — I do all of that stuff and mix it with sleight of hand,” he said.
And Marti, who is 19, was honored for his skills by winning first place in the national Tannen’s Magic Competition.
He saw his first magic show when he was 6 and it became an inspiration to pursue being a professional performer. He has been attending the Magic Camp since he was 14. He practices for hours each day. He’s also a student at UMass Boston.
Marti is a great example of someone who catches onto a dream early and does the work to achieve it. Here’s hoping he shows off his skills locally, so we can be fooled by his tricks of his trade.