Next ‘Honoring Elders’ program set for April 8

WENDELL — Gail Mason will convene the first event in the 2025 “Honoring Elders” series at the Wendell Meetinghouse on Tuesday, April 8, with Karen and Michael Idoine as the honorees. The event is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m.

Michael Idoine was Wendell’s Town Meeting moderator for a couple of years, served on Wendell’s Selectboard from 1984 until 1990, and served on the town’s Finance Committee for several years. He was one of the creators of the Wendell Post, a volunteer-driven newspaper published from 1977 and 2001.

With others, Michael also formed the Wendell Concerned Citizens to try to stop nuclear waste from being transported through Wendell Depot, and he played a major role in the Route 2 Environmental Coalition, which worked to prevent a four-lane Route 2 through Wendell’s Bear Mountain. In 1995, he realized his dream of owning a sawmill and serving the community by making lumber from locally harvested wood.

Karen’s early work consisted of managing the Wintergreen Cooperative Solar Greenhouse, followed by joining UMass Extension as a specialist in home gardening and landscaping. She also became curator of the Edna W. Lawrence Nature Lab at Rhode Island School of Design.

Karen had previously worked at a shoe factory and with the Department of Mental Health to support children and adults with developmental challenges. She joined the Clamshell Alliance occupying the Seabrook nuclear power construction site, and was arrested and jailed in the Manchester Armory.

Michael and Karen came to live in Wendell in 1971, and in 1973 became part of the Home Farm project (now Swallow Rise). Most of the private land trust they created has now been protected with conservation restrictions, with some opportunities for community shareholders to build affordable homes where they can live on the land.

The April 8 Honoring Elders event is free to attend and is sponsored in part by a grant from the Wendell Cultural Council.

For more information on Honoring Elders events, or for support in organizing similar events in other communities, contact Mason at rushingwaters01@gmail.com.

NAB donates $6K to Wendell

WENDELL — No Assault & Batteries, the citizens group that formed in 2023 in opposition to a now-withdrawn proposal for a 105-megawatt battery storage facility, has donated $6,000 to help defray legal costs for the town, which is appealing the state attorney general’s rejection of a battery energy storage bylaw.

No Assault & Batteries Treasurer Nina Keller presented a check to the Selectboard at its April 2 meeting. She also expressed her group’s appreciation for the work of the Selectboard, which voted unanimously to accept the donation. No Assault & Batteries had started a GoFundMe to raise the money.

Wendell residents voted at a Special Town Meeting in May 2024 to approve the addition of a general bylaw to deal with the licensing of battery energy storage systems, including those powered by lithium-ion batteries.

The Wendell Selectboard decided during a Dec. 18 executive session to contract with Springfield law firm Doherty Wallace Pillsbury & Murphy PC to appeal the Nov. 14 decision by the state Attorney General’s Office.

Selectboard OKs Transfer Station fee hikes

ORANGE — The Selectboard voted unanimously to increase Transfer Station fees.

Larry Delaney, who oversees the Jones Street station as part of his role as superintendent of highway, cemeteries and parks, said the cost of hauling and disposing of materials is going up about 8% for the start of the next fiscal year and he wants to recoup some of that lost money.

Selectboard members approved increasing the permit fee from $40 to $45.

“That’s still lower than others in the area,” Delaney said.

The cost of commercial permits and landlord permits has increased from $65 to $70 and non-resident permits went up from $70 to $75. The Selectboard agreed to adopt Delaney’s suggestion that municipal trash bag prices increase to $3.25 apiece, $16.25 for five and $32.50 for 10.

The cost to drop off contaminated waste oil and antifreeze has gone from $3 per gallon to $4 per gallon and demolition waste weighing 2 pounds and less is now $2, as opposed to $1. Propane tanks, which used to cost $1 for drop-off, now cost $2.

Bulk waste went from $200 per ton to $216 per ton while porcelain sinks went from $7 to $8, recliners went from $20 to $25 and carpeting went from $5 to $6. The cost of dropping off wooden furniture now starts at $6, whereas it was previously $5.

Disposing of wet mattresses and box strings will now cost $60 (instead of $50), and getting rid of refrigerators and freezers will cost $30 (instead of $25) if their doors must be removed by Transfer Station employees. The price of dropping off scrap metal went from 25 cents per 20 pounds to 50 cents per 20 pounds.

The Selectboard also voted to allow the Transfer Station to begin selling permits on May 1, as opposed to July 1.

Town Administrator Matthew Fortier mentioned the Transfer Station will likely be able to accept credit cards within the next year.