GREG RUTH
iiThe Ashfield News
AN ALL-VOLUNTEER NON-PROFIT MONTHLY NEWSPAPER SINCE 1976 VOL MMXXI N0 2
FEBRUARY 2021
FREE TO RESIDENTS
Tower Foes, Backers Sound Off;
Project Goes to Third Hearing
BY BILL SCAIFE
The tower would not have won a beauty
contest for most of the 70 residents who
tuned into the Planning Board’s virtual
hearing Ian. 20 on the proposed cell phone
monopole near the intersection of Murray
Road and Route 116 (Conway Road).
Most participants objected to what one
person called an “eyesore.” Others called
Murray Road one of the most beautiful views
in Ashfield, one that would be ruined by the I
monopole proposed for Robertson family
farmland. Still others worried about a
120-foot tower’s potentialeffect on values of
land and homes within sight of the project.
But others, like Ashfield police Chief Beth '
Bezio, while acknowledging the tower could
have an effect on the landscape, said it would
enhance communications and safety along a
winding, dark stretch of Conway Road. “If
there is a car accident there, drivers would
have no easy way to contact emergency
services,” she said. For that reason, she said,
she supports the proposal.
Michael Epstein, of 527 Main St., said he
supports the tower on the grounds that
Ashfield has an aging population without
enough new “replacement” residents moving
to town.
“Younger people expect widespread cell
service throughout the community,” he said.
Three hours into the meeting, and with
the number of viewers dropping, Planning
Board Chair Alan Rice asked for a vote from
other board members to call it a night and
continue the hearing until Feb. 10 at p.m.,
earlier than the usual start time of 7:30 pm.
Residents of six households near the
proposed site submitted a SO—page memoran-
dum and letters questioning the siting of the
tower. Peter Curtis of Murray Road, one of
the neighbors of the proposed tower site,
called it a potential “eyesore” in an email to
Democracy Vigil
By candlelight on January 7, about two dozen people gathered in small
groups on
the Ashfield Common, one day after a mob marched from the White House to
the
US. Capitol, urged to do so by then—President Trump, with scores entering
the
center of American democracy and forcing lawmakers to go into hiding.
Messages
during the Ashfield vigil included support for the Constitutional amendment
that
governs the removal of a president, for Black Lives Matter and for
punishment of
those who rampaged through the halls of Congress.
HEALTH
PERMIT 137
fitfifiI‘lklkfllfififllfllflliitfifill‘ijED
phi,mm...,I.i..|,|.....|,iMurmurii|,|,|m|.,i.m,
WA WW?
PRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
PITTSFIELD MA 01201
g?
§§§
PAGE 4
INSIDE
comp-19
Find current numbers for the
virus in Ashfield and the
surrounding towns. Plus what
responsibility does each of us
have in taking the vaccine. It
is not only to ourselves.
nearby residents and said the memorandum
provided ample reasons fOr denying the
request. For a full copy of this-memorandum,
site maps and other documents, visit ashfield.
org/2416/Cell—Tower—Application.
The site would include a single tower
protected by a chain link fence and a gravel
access road for utility workers. The tower
would rise about 1,150 feet at mean sea level
at that site and would carry nine antennas to
provide coverage in all directions.
Centerline Communications, a builder of
cell towers, submitted theapplication for a
special permit to construct a tower 120 feet
high rather than the 80 feet allowed by town
bylaw. AT&T would be the owner. Several
reasons have been given for a tower height of
120 feet, which requires a special permit from
the Planning Board, rather than the 80 feet
allowed under town by laws. ' I
One is that at that height, the tower could
expand coverage in South Ashfield to as far as
Creamery Road, West Street and a small
portion of Baptist Corner Road, although in
the outlying areas the signal would probably
be sufficient for voice communication but not
data transmission.
AT8(T estimates that some level of cover—
, age would reach 436 households in Ashfield
and Conway.
Without the additional height, more
towers would be needed to provide the same
coverage, AT&T has argued.
Another point AT&T has tried to make is
that at a height of 120 feet, it could lease or
sell some of the tower space to other carriers
at a useful height, helping AT8<T defray some
of the construction costs.
Harry Dodson, a landscape architect and
Ashfield resident, said a tower of 120 feet
probably would mar the scenic beauty around
Murray Road, but a tower of 80 feet would
likely blend into the landscape. In addition to
continued on page
WEATHER
Ice Fishing
They are out there in
numbers coming from near
and far. Our columnist
interviews some who say
they are "definitely a
different breed". They love
the cold winter and await the
tip—up's flag. ‘
PAGE 5
GREGORY THORP
LIBRARY
Temporary
Closure ,
The library is getting a
facelift. Reopening will be
February 17. In the meantime
get ready for its return and
check out the many new
acquisitions for readers,
listeners and viewers of
all ages.
PAGE 8
Select Board, Finance,
Committee Say Time Not
'Right To Spend Millions
BY DAVID KULP
In letters to the Senior Center Expansion
Committee and Ashfield’s Council on Aging,
the Select Board and Finance Committee said
they would not support the Senior Center
expansion project.
For several years the Senior Center has
championed a new locatiOn for the organiza-
tion that serves Ashfield, Buckland and
Shelburne. The expansion committee
identified several locations in Shelburne Falls
that could be renovated and also considered
constructing a new building.
As part of that effort the Senior Center has
recently pursued the formation of an official
district that would be funded by the towns. The
district would borrow, own and operate a new
facility. The center had planned for a vote for the
district at each member community’s Annual
Town Meeting.
Now, those efforts are in doubt, after
Ashfield’s elected officials rejected the plan.
Qflfl Larder
fifi Ardor
Two Ways to Cook
a Duck Egg.
(And More Ways Not
to Raise Ducks)
Editor’s note: The Ashfield News is adding this
regular column, Larder Ardor, on cooking and
3%,... . e..-
Hilltown farm life.
BY CARTER I. CARTER
I have always loved ducks, though of late I
have felt they do not reciprocate. Every
morning I wake up, the very picture of
devotion, and trudge down to the winter coop
for our ducks and chickens. The coop has the
best view on the farm, a wall of salvaged
windows facing south to the hills, and without
fail the chickens have arrayed at their window,
waiting to greet me and peck the snow off my
boots.
They are, to all appearances, delighted.
The ducks, by contrast, greet my arrival
with all the enthusiasm of Romans realizing
the Visigoths are sacking the gate. They live in
the far end of the coop so cannot see me
coming, and are warned of my arrival by their
guard goose, Killer Mike. Allegedly, geese
COMMENTARY
It Takes ,
All Kinds
Chipmunks, groundhogs, blue
jays, beavers — marauders
of every persuasion, human
and otherwise. Draw your
comparisons where you may,
PAGE 5
; Senior Center Project Nixed ‘
In their letter, the officials wrote, “while we
support the Senior Center’s continuing focus
on planning for the future for our aging
population, we cannot commit to funding a
building in another town, nor are we prepared
to commit to a new West County Senior
Services District.”
At a meeting on January 4, Doug Field,
chair of both the Ashfield Council on Aging
and the Senior Center Board of Directors, said
he was shocked by the letter, but Select Board
member Todd Olanyk said that the decision
was consistent with discussions and findings
over the last several years. Select Board
member Tom Carter said that the letter
should not have come as a surprise, noting
that the panels’ concerns were consistent with
those expressed at a multi-town meeting at
Buckland—Shelburne Elementary in Septem—
ber 2019.
Select Board Chair Steve Gougeon said
that the town is interested in providing
greater services in Ashfield. And Gougeon
said that, given the difficult economy and
pandemic emergency, a major capital project
wasn’t financially feasible until 2022 or 2023.
Field suggested that the rejection was
premature because a cost proposal had never
continued on page I
LARRY PAHNASS
Carter]. Carter holds one of his small farm’s
ducks, a Silver Appleyard they call Mrs. Appleyard.
honk; in my experience, Killer Mike screams,
a feathered Paul Revere. He is sounding the
alarm as I open the ducks’ door, and at the
sight of me they are in instant disarray,
running top speed in all directions to escape
this hulking monster who feeds and waters
them and tells them he really does love them,
he pro'mises. I
It has been thus from the beginning. When
the ducks arrived this spring we had just
moved into the farm ourselves; we had no
equipment to speak of, to say nothing of the
faintest idea what to do with birds.
continued on page
Cutoff Date Feb. 15
for Broadband
Connection Subsidy
Residents who Request
Service After that Date Must
Pay Full Price for Installation
' BY DAVID KULP
February 15 is the last day that Ashfielders can
register for the town’s municipal brOadband
internet service without paying the full
installation price.
The vast majority of residents are now
eligible for free installation. The town agreed
to subsidize installations up to $3,000.
Residents who are on the fence must make a
decision in the next two weeks whether to
sign up or forgo that subsidy.
The minimum installation cost is $613.
That cost is for an overhead connection of
150 feet or less. Costs rise .for longer connec—
tions or underground service.
The Select Board decided on January 4 that
the subsidy program will end on Feb 15.
Residents who register for service after that
date must pay the full costs. For those with
costs exceeding the $3,000 subsidy the town
now offers 60-month financing, but that offer
will no longer be available.
Residents can still receive new fiber optic
installations after February 15.
To register for service, go to the town’s
website at ashfield.org or call Whip City Fiber
at 413-485-1251.
To date, 642 residents have activated
service. Roughly 75 percent of residents
overall but only about 50 percent of
residents in the village — have taken service. *
Village residents have access to DSL as an
alternative.
