HAWLEY — Due to the rise in COVID-19 cases locally, the Selectboard/Board of Health approved a mask mandate for all who enter the Town Office — except those with a health condition that makes them exempt — during its meeting Tuesday.
According to a Hawley town newsletter, the Selectboard/Board of Health will revisit its decision at every other regularly scheduled meeting.
HAWLEY — Due to a decline in use of the Hawley Grove building to access Wi-Fi and the cost of heating the facility, it is now locked and can not be accessed by the public.
According to a broadband update from Kirby “Lark” Thwing, chair of the Hawley Communications Committee, that was included in the Hawley town newsletter, “use of the building has dropped to almost zero and it costs about $1,500 to heat it all winter long.” However, the Wi-Fi signal is strong enough that residents can use the internet from their vehicles.
Those looking to have broadband service installed in their homes are encouraged to contact Thwing at 413-339-0124 or kthwingjr@gmail.com.
BUCKLAND — The town is kicking off its Clesson Brook Watershed-Based Assessment and Climate Resiliency Plan with a virtual Community Open House on Wednesday, Jan. 26, at 6 p.m.
Interested participants are encouraged to sign up at bit.ly/clessonbrook.
According to a notice from Allison Gage, land use and natural resources planner with the Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG), residents and landowners in the Clesson Brook Watershed are encouraged to participate to learn about the project and its goals, and provide feedback on their concerns related to climate change in the watershed.
Clesson Brook and its watershed lands are an important natural resource for Buckland, as well as Ashfield and Hawley, according to Gage. Clesson Brook and its tributary streams are classified as Coldwater Fisheries Resources, while the land in the watershed includes prime farmland and forestland that also serves as a habitat for some rare and endangered species.
According to Gage, the Clesson Brook Watershed-Based Assessment and Climate Resiliency Plan will describe how changes in precipitation — including frequent and intense rainstorms, drought and temperature changes due to climate change — impact Clesson Brook and its watershed lands. The project will also assess the flooding and fluvial erosion hazard vulnerabilities along Clesson Brook.
Buckland is working with a consultant team made up of GZA GeoEnvironmental, Field Geology Services and FRCOG to develop the plan. Funding is provided by the state’s Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program and the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Water Quality Management Planning Grant Program.
COLRAIN — Sarah Cole of Colrain has been named to the Dean’s List at Connecticut College for the fall semester. The sophomore is majoring in philosophy and English.