by Glenn C. Koenig, webmaster at Town Wide Mall
The warrants are mailed out this way because Maynard no longer has a weekly newspaper, the Beacon- Villager, which was the traditional publication in which it was included. The Beacon-Villager ceased publishing on paper in May 2022. The Action Unlimited is the only weekly publication routinely mailed out to every household at this point in time. If you did not receive a copy of The Action Unlimited, or your copy was missing the Warrant, a copy can be obtained at Maynard Town Hall or on the town's web site: https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2867/warrant-5724?bidId= For anyone signed up to vote by mail, you should have already received your ballot For those planning to vote in person, a sample of the ballot is also available on the town web site: https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2853/sample-ballot?bidId= The reason for two separate Warrants has to do with the unusual nature of the town election this year. Every ten years, the town is required to review its Charter, as required by state law. The Charter is sort of like the town’s constitution, an overall guide to the functioning of government in town. A special committee is set up to review the Charter and make changes and amendments in order to keep it consistent with various changes in state and federal laws and policies, as well as changes in the surrounding culture that may have evolved during that time. Once the committee has finished its initial work, it has to report to Town Meeting for approval (which it did last year), then report to the voters, who must give final approval of the changes (at this upcoming election). That report and the entire text of the revised Charter is provided to voters before the election in the Warrant booklet. Therefore the election is not only to elect officers (Select Board, School Committee, Library Trustees, and Town Moderator), but also to vote either “yes” or “no” to the changes to the Charter. The warrant booklet includes four pages to detail when and where the election will take place, what will be on the ballot, then ten pages for the report from the Charter Review committee, followed by the entire revised charter itself (another 32 pages). If you want to review all this online, the report and the charter itself are located on a separate page of the town web site, devoted to the Charter Review Committee: https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov/272/Charter-Review-Committee Note: For those new to Maynard, or new to town government in Massachusetts in general, you may want to read my four page guide, "Town Government Introduction." To access it, go to the Opinion page on this web site and scroll down to find the link to the document. It is a PDF file that you can download, read, and save for future reference. Commentary The Annual Town Election is likely to have a relatively low turnout this year, as all the candidates are running unopposed and the ballot question is not particularly controversial. Does this mean that democracy is in trouble? Perhaps. However, although there may be differences of opinion on various issues here in town, the lack of new candidates is likely due more to the time and effort it takes to participate on the boards and committees on which they will serve. Few people in town have the capacity and devotion to step up to these posts. Most of the rest of us are resigned to trust them to do well for the town in general, and take a balanced approach to the questions they will face and the decisions they must make. This is now how our government was intended to work, perhaps, but with the pace and complexity of life these days (compared to when our government structure and functions were originally set out), this is where we have ended up. In addition, the Town Charter (the only ballot question this time around) is not well known to most residents in town, not surprisingly. After all, the charter is intended to serve as a non partisan, non controversial framework within which the town functions. As with any similar constitution-type document, it is not intended to be changed very often or in any radical way. Still, I found it interesting to read portions of the Charter Review Committee’s report. It is clear to me that a great deal of thought and care has been given to the revision process by the members of the committee, and I appreciate the time and effort they have put in, in completing this work. In this case, the phrase “no news is good news” comes to my mind. After all, no one wants to have a struggle or boiling controversy when it comes to such an important document. Thankfully, I believe that voters can vote in confidence in favor of this ballot question. Please consider donating to help support the news in Maynard. Just click the button below to get started.
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by Glenn C. Koenig, webmaster at Town Wide Mall
The purpose of the collection is to divert the toxic elements and compounds within the devices from the regular trash stream, where it would otherwise be incinerated and released into the atmosphere or become part of the incinerated “ash” that is later transported to landfills. Instead, the waste will be handled by operations specifically devoted to recycling the items, such as the electronic waste program at Staples, the office supply retailer.
The drive is part of a high school wide "March Madness" competition. Students in each grade are competing against students in the other three grades at the school. There are various other ways for students to earn points in the competition, in addition to the drive. Maynard residents, other than those connected with the school as mentioned above, cannot donate directly to the drive at the school, but are otherwise encouraged to donate any devices that are still in working condition to any of the various charities who take them for reuse. (For example, I searched the web for "donate working electronics" and came up with a reasonable list.) For devices that are no longer working, various retailers, such as Staples and others have programs to take them. In addition, Troop 130, here in Maynard, has a separate drive, twice annually, for deposit containers and electronic waste where residents of the town can drop off their e-waste items and donate money to benefit the Troop at the same time. Contact the troop for the latest information through their web site, https://maynardtroop130.weebly.com
About WAVM WAVM are the call letters for both the radio and TV stations at Maynard High School. The stations are operated by a team of students, under the supervision of John Ogden, television and radio broadcast teacher. They maintain a web site at https://wavm.org/ The radio station broadcasts on 91.7 FM; the TV station can be seen by cable TV customers on Verizon FiOS channel 28 or on Comcast Xfinity channel 8, but does not have an "over the air" broadcast capability. Live broadcasts can be streamed online at https://wavm.org/live/ Programs previously produced at the studio can be seen on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@WAVMproductions Staff at the station can be contacted by any of the means displayed on their Contact page: https://wavm.org/contact-us/ WAVM is Maynard’s only PEG (public/educational/government) access studio, which is housed entirely within the high school. Students working with the station provide video coverage of a variety of government meetings, as well as a series of news programs and other programming related to student, school, or town events and interests. Both the TV and radio stations broadcast live only at certain times during the week. Check the above web site for the latest schedule. Maynard High News (MHN) is one of many programs produced at the high school by students on a regular basis. The program features topics and creative works of interest to the student population at the school. Comment I applaud the students and staff at the high school for taking on this project. Although the effort might seem mundane at first, it is part of a major challenge facing our culture today.
With a population of 333 million people in the US right now, this adds up to many thousands of tons of electronic garbage that isn't going where it should go. I don't mean to blame anyone for this. After all, the problem is a cultural wide one. It exists because of our endless desire to invent, create, promote, and use the latest new technology. We live in a sea of messages that tell us that something new is better than what we have now, and therefore we should upgrade as soon as possible. What we should do with the one we already have is seldom mentioned. So, let's step back and look at the big picture. We mine ores from the ground, refine them into pure metals, then use them to make the components of our electronic products. We use the products until they malfunction or become obsolete. Then we "throw them away" and buy new ones. This leaves us with two major problems: • Mining has a significant impact on the land where the mines are located, and mining operations often exploit local people for labor, rendering them continuously in poverty, in poor health, and ending up with shortened lifespans. • Disposal also has a significant impact on us and the world around us. Where can we get rid of all these old electronics? Truck them to a landfill? Dump them into the ocean? Incinerate them and emit the toxic compounds that result into the air we breathe? What can we do to change this? We can learn from nature, which recycled everything before we humans and our clever industrial revolution showed up. That is, everything in nature is biodegradable. Minerals and nutrients make a full circle, from soil to plant to food for animals & humans, then back to the ground, into the soil, to start over. When everything was biodegradable, landfill made sense. Once in the ground, things would decompose and nature would take care of the rest. But manufactured products, made of metal and plastic can't decompose that way. Landfill just becomes a way to bury the problem and avoid dealing with it. If we follow nature's example, and complete the circle, then we avoid all the problems of mining and disposal. To complete the circle we have to do two things: • Design products to be easily disassembled so that the valuable metals and other elements within them can be removed, purified, and reused. • Send products we're done with to be separated into their component elements and compounds, which can then be used to manufacture new products, thus avoiding having to rely on mining to obtain more of them. And that's what these visionary high school students are doing. Teaching us all to complete the circle. No, it's not perfect. There's a long way to go for us all to live more compatibly with nature. But it has to start somewhere. Additional Resources For more on the impact of mining minerals used in today's electronic devices and electric cars, the WBUR program "On Point" produced a week long series of programs on the topic, entitled "Elements of Energy, Mining for a Green Future," March 11 through 15, 2024 https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2024/03/07/elements-of-energy-mining-for-a-green-future Each of the five programs is available as a podcast, running approximately 45 minutes each. Both the pros and cons to mining are discussed. Please consider donating to help support the news in Maynard. Just click the button below to get started.
by Glenn C. Koenig, Webmaster at Town Wide Mall Maynard, MA - There are many ways to celebrate the Chinese lunar new year, which takes place on the first new moon in early February, even if your heritage isn’t Chinese. This year, seniors from both Maynard and Stow met together for the first time to celebrate by playing Mah Jongg. The game is akin to Gin Rummy, where players attempt to create certain combinations of tiles, each in their personal racks. When it's a player's turn, they can select at tile from the supply of tiles face down, or take the last tile discarded by a previous player. There are up to 144 tiles in a full set, although some variations of the game omit a few of them. When a player anywhere in the room completes the desired combinations of tiles, they say "Mah Jongg" out loud for the rest of the room to hear.
Council on Aging Director Amy Loveless told me that she hopes to host another meeting of the two groups in Maynard in the future. For details, she can be contacted via the Town of Maynard's web page for the Council on Aging:
https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov/164/Council-on-Aging By Glenn C. Koenig, Webmaster at Town Wide Mall • Online registration deadline: 10 days before Election Day • Register by mail deadline: Must be postmarked 10 days before Election Day • In person registration deadline: 10 days before Election Day See the Commonwealth’s web site for more information on registration: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ovr/?ref=voteusa_en Elections: See the Town of Maynard's web site for more information on elections: https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov/170/Elections Election Year Dates 15 February - (This Thursday) Democratic Town Committee (see "Town Committee Details," below) 20 February - (Next Tuesday) Republican Town Committee (see "Town Committee Details," below) 5 March - Presidential Primary Election (for the political party of your choice): • Preference for President of the United States • State Committee Man & Woman • Town Committee members 16 March - Maynard Democratic Town Committee Caucus, to elect State Convention Delegates (see "Town Committee Details," below) (Note: The committee now changed the date; it was 9 March.) 15 July - Republican National Convention, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 19 August - Democratic National Convention, Chicago, Illinois 3 September - State Primary (for Governor, Legislators, Senators, Governor’s Council, etc.) 5 November - Presidential Election (President if the United States, US Senator, Congressional Representative, State Representative, State Senator, along with other state and federal offices) Town Political Committee Details From the Maynard Republican Town Committee (their e-mail message as received): Our February meeting is rescheduled to next Tuesday, February 20, 7 PM, in the Maynard Public Library (77 Nason Street). We will be meeting in the Trustees' Room on the 1st floor. Please join us as we begin an exciting year with growing membership and renewed enthusiasm! MRTC meetings are held on the second Tuesday of the month, unless otherwise noted. The March meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 12. It's great to be in the company of fellow conservatives with a purpose, so please join us and bring a friend! We have enthusiasm, commitment, and a desire to make a positive difference. We look forward to seeing you in person on February 20th at 7 PM. From the Maynard Democratic Town Committee: (their e-mail press release as received): MAYNARD, MA TO ELECT DELEGATES TO DEMOCRATIC STATE CONVENTION Registered Democrats in Maynard will hold a caucus on March 16, 2024 to elect Delegates and Alternates to the 2024 Massachusetts Democratic State Convention. (Editor's Note: This is the new revised date. The event was originally scheduled for 9 March.) The caucus will be held March 16 at the Maynard Public Library, Roosevelt Room, 77 Nason Street, Maynard, Massachusetts from 11:00am to 12:30pm. Maynard can elect 8 Delegates and 4 Alternates to the Convention. The caucus is open to all registered and pre-registered Democrats in Maynard. Pre-registered Democrats who are 16 by February 24, 2024 will be allowed to participate and run as a Delegate or Alternate. We welcome any registered Maynard Democratic to run for one of the delegate seats. Same-day voter registration will be available at the caucus - paper registration forms will be available and those who are interested should come a few minutes early. Any person who is not shown on the Democratic Party list must either provide proof of Party registration or preregistration or must register before the end of the caucus registration period. Youth, minorities, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ individuals who are not elected as a Delegate or Alternate may apply to be an Add-on Delegate at the caucus or at www.sec.state.ma.us/VoterRegistrationSearch/MyVoterRegStatus.aspx The 2024 Massachusetts Democratic Party Convention will take place on Saturday, June 1 in the DCU Center Arena, Worcester, Massachusetts. This year is a nominating convention for the senate seat that Elizabeth Warren currently holds. Those interested in running to be a delegate or alternate or to get involved with the Maynard Democratic Town Committee should contact the Committee via email at maynarddtc@gmail.com. Or check the Maynard Democratic Town Committee Facebook page. Also, the 2024 Democratic National Convention will be held in Chicago from August 19-22, 2024. And, please remember the Massachusetts Democratic Presidential Primary is March 5, 2024. Comment Note: As some state offices do not have a Republican running, the election for that office is often decided at the state primary on September 3rd. By the election in November, there is only one candidate, except for write-ins.
by Glenn C. Koenig, webmaster at Town Wide Mall
• post more news stories
• update the Community List and begin expanding it to include more information. • post a "year end report" to summarize what I've done and acknowledge donations from you, my readers, since starting this site, back in April of 2023. • do more fundraising for the Field Guide to Maynard, in order to complete the project and provide printed Field Guide maps to everyone in town who wants one. • establish an e-mail list (as some readers have requested) to be notified when I post a story, rather than having to check Facebook. The Community List has taken a serious effort, but I'm dedicated to maintain it accurately and keep it updated. To expand it, I need to determine what other information the members of each group want to include about their group and possibly about themselves as leaders or other office holders. I have already gathered addresses, e-mail addresses, phone numbers, and so forth for some organizations, but I want to make sure I don't publish anything without permission. In today's world we all must be very careful with access information as it can sometimes be used as an avenue for unwanted communication (such as junk e-mail messages or phone calls or worse). If you you are responsible for a group, I would really appreciate your help in this process. If possible, would you please take a few moments to review the list and let me know whether what I've published is accurate, and what additional information you'd like me to include in the list connected with your group. Please go to the Contact Us page on this web site to send me the information. Thank you. by Glenn C. Koenig, webmaster at Town Wide Mall Maynard, MA - I have just published the first draft of the Community List. This list is intended to include all groups, committees, and other organizations active in Maynard or specifically serving Maynard from other places.
This list is available for download as a PDF file on the Community List page on this web site. The Community List page includes a submission form so that individuals can contribute information to help me update the list. I want to thank David Mark, the staff at the Maynard Public Library Reference Desk, and many others too numerous to name here, for helping me gather the information needed to compile this list. As I have stated on the Community List page, this is a work in progress, and always will be, to some extent, as Maynard is an ever changing and dynamic community. by Glenn C. Koenig, webmaster at Town Wide Mall
The current facility has very poor access for those with mobility challenges, a lack of adequate space for its functions, a leaky roof, and other problems. The center has been at that location, 50 Brown Street, since 2015. (For more details, please see, "An Uphill Struggle," a story we published back on October 3rd: https://www.townwidemall.com/news/an-uphill-struggle ) On October 11th, at Maynard’s Special Town Meeting, voters approved the article that was submitted by the Senior Center Focus Group, but the vote was ruled to be "advisory only" because of errors in how the article was written. That meant that the money hoped for by the group could not be appropriated. Our report on the Special Town Meeting, on October 11th, has more details: https://www.townwidemall.com/news/historic-vote-brings-historic-attendance-at-meeting Although the funds desired were not available, the vote in favor served two purposes: It brought visibility to the situation for both the voters present and the public at large, and it encouraged those who wanted to establish the center by letting them know that the voters supported their effort, overall. At the meeting tonight, the Council on Aging was joined by members of Friends of Maynard Seniors, a stand alone fundraising and awareness group, members of the Senior Center Focus Group, an informal group of activists working to move the center to new quarters, as well as two members of the Select Board and a member of the Finance Committee. As a result, the Select Board is now set to move forward to establish a new town committee, called the "Senior Center Committee" to facilitate a collaboration of everyone interested in the effort. The Board could move on this as early as their next meeting, Tuesday, December 19th. At tonight's meeting, there was unanimous support for exploring both an interim as well as a long term plan. The interim concept is to lease currently available space in an existing building and move the center there as soon as possible. The long term plan is to take advantage of research soon to be conducted by a consulting group at UMass, Boston, ("The Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging") which is set to survey the needs of the community and it's senior population, then recommend specifics to construct a fully functional Senior Center at a later date. There was also widespread support at the meeting to incorporate a Community Center in the long term plan, with the understanding that different community groups might benefit from holding activities there at different hours of the day and evening on a shared basis. Council on Aging Chair Mary Ann Shields expressed optimism that members of the new committee, once formed, would first get to know each other and their individual working styles and then start digging into the work at hand. The new committee is tentatively designed to include a few at-large members from the town's general population, as was proposed in item III. of the agenda for tonight's meeting: https://tinyurl.com/TWMLink06 As it is likely that the Select Board will vote on "the charge" to establish the new committee to include such at-large members, they invite anyone in the town who wishes to participate to contact them as soon as possible by sending an e-mail message, stating their desire, care of the Town Administrator: gjohnson@townofmaynard.net Comment With somewhere around 3000 seniors in Maynard (depending on what age bracket you choose), it seems well past time to get going on a new center! For way too long, the current Senior Center has been stuck in seriously inadequate facilities, preventing many seniors for whom it was created, from taking advantage of the services they need. I urge anyone who wishes to join this committee, or just wishes to support this committee's work, to let the Select Board or Town Administrator know. You can also get in touch with the Council on Aging directly by visiting their web page: https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov/164/Council-on-Aging It may not seem likely to some people, but residents of Maynard over the age of 60 or 65 represent a vital and important source of enthusiasm and support for community life and cohesiveness in Maynard, in general. In our rapidly changing and unpredictable world, the strength of our community is likely to be needed more and more in the next few years. After all, I'm included in this group (I'm 73 now) and I'm doing what I can to support community cohesiveness and spirit partly by publishing this news feed. Believe me, I'm just getting started. Town Wide Mall is free for anyone to read and carries no advertising, so our only means of support is donations from you, our readers. Please consider helping us with a donation of any amount. Click on the Donation button, below, to familiarize yourself with the options available.
by Glenn C. Koenig, webmaster at Town Wide Mall Maynard, MA - A moving violation in a motor vehicle can get you a fine and perhaps an increase in you car insurance. A "non-moving" violation is more commonly known as, ... a parking violation. With the warm, rainy weather we've been having recently, it's easy to forget that it's already winter (well, meteorological winter, actually, which starts on December 1st, not on the equinox, Dec 21st). Today's story is actually two stories in one: Parking Meters and the Winter Overnight Parking Ban. Parking Meters
Overnight Winter Parking Ban Here in Maynard, the annual overnight parking ban begins on December 1st. That means that no vehicle is permitted to be left on the streets between 2 AM and 6 AM. The ban lasts until March 15th, 2024. Of course, there may be additional parking restrictions on streets during other hours, depending on the weather forecast. There are some exceptions allowed, as explained on the town's web page for Winter Parking, here: https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov/184/Winter-Municipal-Parking-Program (Note: This page was posted before the Florida Road bridge was completed. Contact the town for the most up-to-date information on designated parking areas.)
Although this is not a major news story, I'm publishing it to serve as a reminder for others who may make a similar error. Comment To some people, this may seem like just another bothersome government regulation. But I take a slightly different view. After getting this warning, I stopped to imagine the job of a truck driver, responsible for plowing or salting the streets in winter weather. I imagined being in the driver's seat, having to work long hours in the dark, in challenging weather conditions (snow, sleet, high winds, and bitter cold). True, as a driver, I'm getting paid for my work, but encountering a car blocking the street makes my job that much more difficult. I have to leave a wide berth to prevent damaging the parked vehicle. In addition, as such a driver, it's hard for me to plan my other activities because weather in New England can change unexpectedly. Despite the best forecasts, and I could be called to go out to work on very short notice. Then I imagined that I'm a member of the police force, responsible for keeping the streets clear of vehicles in such weather. I have to drive up and down many miles of streets to check for cars blocking the way. Then I have to arrange to have those vehicles towed, if necessary, all during similar difficult weather conditions. Then I thought of those driving emergency vehicles, such as ambulances or fire trucks. Anyway, by now you probably get the idea. This kind of regulation can help the town operate efficiently and safely with just little effort on our part. My thanks go out to all those who do this work.
by Glenn C. Koenig, webmaster at Town Wide Mall Maynard, MA - Last night, there was a "Public Open House" for something called the "Powder Mill Road Corridor Initiative." The event was held at the Elks Lodge on Powder Mill Road, in Maynard, from 6 to 8 PM, on Wednesday, November 15th. Officials and staff members were there from the planning departments of the towns of Acton and Maynard, as well as from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC).
The Powder Mill Road Corridor is the name of a section of land which includes parts of Maynard and Acton. It's called a "corridor" because it is a narrow piece of land along Powder Mill Road, a major route for travel between Maynard and Acton. At the border between Acton and West Concord, the road continues as Main Street, which heads out to intersect with Route 2, the closest major state highway to Maynard. As a result, it is heavily traveled, especially during rush hours.
At the bottom left of the map is the intersection where Powder Mill Road meets Parker Street and crosses Waltham Street, near the BP Service Station, although the intersection itself is just outside the border of the study area. The dark black line is meant to show the edges of the study area. The blue areas show the river and the green areas are woods, wetlands, or other open areas. The term "Initiative," in this case, means that multiple government groups and citizens are working together to lay a legal foundation for change within the area shown on the map, above. The idea is to better understand certain problems (hence, a "study") and prepare to guide and support improvements (the "initiative") primarily through changes in zoning laws. Unlike many planning efforts, the initiative does not involve any specific building or road or other project as of yet. Rather the goal is to support and facilitate such changes over the next few years. The next major step in the process will be for both towns to consider and vote on zoning law changes at their respective town meetings next Spring, in 2024. For those who plan to attend town meetings at that time, learning more about this project now may be good preparation. For those not familiar with the MAPC, there is a description of the Council here: https://www.mapc.org/aboutus/ More information about the initiative is available on the MAPC web site here: https://www.mapc.org/resource-library/powder-mill-road-corridor-initiative/ Personnel at the planning departments in both Maynard and Acton told me that they do not have individual web pages devoted to the initiative currently, so the MAPC web site is the main source of information for now. A complete set of the display boards that were available at the meeting are due to be posted on the MAPC web site, starting on Monday November 27th, as the staff has to make some minor revisions. Note: There is more to this news story below my commentary. Comment The many facets of this project may leave some citizens feeling overwhelmed by all there is to learn. In addition, there's nothing tangible being proposed here ... yet. Until the initiative is complete and the zoning laws are changed, no specific building projects, roads, or landscaping are likely to be implemented and no money is scheduled to be raised by taxes or borrowing, etc.* Yet, I consider it highly important to stay aware of and up to date on projects like this! This is the time to understand what's entailed and where it is headed; to think through what you would like to see in this area and add your thoughts, opinions, and concerns to the mix. The more that time passes, the more other decisions are going to be made that settle certain aspects of the plans, after which buildings may be built, roads and landscaping may be changed, and wildlife areas are likely to be protected, so it may be too late to make much of a difference by then. On the other hand, some people may not have the time, or the "bandwidth," that it takes to follow and understand all of what's going on. I'm posting this news story here, now, in order to help summarize this, and inform you as best I can, but I have to work within limits. After all, sometimes "the devil is in the details" but if I tried to reproduce all the details of the study or the initiative here in this news article, I'd have time for little else, and many people would tire of reading about it all, well before reaching the end. There is unlikely to be any single vote at the ballot box to approve or disapprove of what will take place. This is the "background" part of democracy that goes beyond voting on election day or debating over candidates. This work is being done by the people within government who are hired (either directly or indirectly) by the elected officials for whom we vote at election time.
However, as important public opinion is, it helps if individuals who wish to provide input take the time, before hand, to catch up with what's been done so far. Many questions and concerns have already been reviewed over the past three years. This public open house was one attempt to update people on what's been done, where we are now, and receive input. At this point the MAPC web site is the main resource for further details. I urge anyone preparing to contact the respective planning departments or MAPC staff to start out with getting their questions answered, first, if possible, before continuing with suggestions or critique. * Note: It's possible for construction or changes to be made on private property now, but only in conformance with the existing zoning laws now in place. Developers of major projects are likely to wait until new plans are in place before proceeding, in order to avail themselves of new options that may be of advantage to both themselves and the public. Picturing the Area Continued from the News section, above. Anyone driving along Powder Mill Road is likely to be familiar with some aspects of the area but not familiar with others that are less obvious. I went out and took a few photographs to help get a better idea.
There seems to be an increased demand for bicycle use along this way. However, implementing a "share the road" option (where bicyclists travel in the same lane as cars and trucks) may be unsafe for all but the most accomplished bicyclists because of the speed and volume of traffic. How might we accommodate bicycle use here? Do we widen the road? Are there other options?
There are other features within the project area that I did not have time to photograph, research, or describe here. Some areas were photographed by staff working on the project and were included on the display boards exhibited at the meeting. When those are posted online, later this month, they will become available for viewing by the public on the web (see the MAPC project link above). Some Definitions and Comment Zoning Laws: Zoning Laws are a separate body of town laws, based partly on state and federal laws and regulations. They evolved to help communities organize areas for development within town boundaries, and specify what kinds of buildings can be built, and what general kinds of activities can occur within each zone. For example, most people wouldn't want to live in a house with a gasoline service station on one side, a scrap yard on the other side and a forge (where hot metal parts are pounded into shape) across the street. Zoning attempts to classify areas as "residential," "commercial," "industrial," "farming," or perhaps wildlife preserves, in order to group similar uses in compatible areas. When done well, zoning helps both developers and community members know what to expect before moving in or building on available land. When done poorly, they can end up discriminating against certain groups (racial or economic, sometimes known as "snob zoning,"), cause undue hardship on developers wishing to comply with regulations, and leave loopholes where development that's overbearing or out of character with the neighborhood can go ahead. Once that happens, there is seldom any "Undo Button" to return the land to its former state. Overlay Zone (or Overlay District): It's possible to create a zone that overlaps or covers areas already covered by separate zoning laws. This can help provide consistency throughout an entire area, specifying some conditions that would be too time consuming to included in each separate zone thus covered. This term is used on some of the display boards and in some documents describing the protect. I located a good concise definition of this here: https://www.planetizen.com/definition/overlay-districts Again, the object of all this is to have a consistent plan that both the public and developers can rely upon to proceed in a compatible manner. The challenge is to make these laws clear and reasonable and straightforward to enforce. If they fall short of those goals, developers can experience too many confusing or conflicting regulations (aka "government red tape") which delays projects unnecessarily, can result in court hearings, and drives up costs. Meanwhile the public may be left in confusion or in conflict over the nature and intent of the policy and its impact on the community overall. When that happens, government itself ends up wasting time and money trying to resolve all the issues. I’d like to thank everyone who has donated to Town Wide Mall so far. If you have not donated before, please consider making a donation now. Town Wide Mall is free for anyone to read and carries no advertising, so our only means of support is donations from readers.
For details, please click on the "Donate" button below. Once you do, you can still decide to donate at a later time, if you wish. And thank you! by Glenn C. Koenig, webmaster at Town Wide Mall
station), then turn and head up Summer Street, to stop at Memorial Park, across the street from the Fine Arts Theatre. There, marchers will stop to gather for a brief ceremony. After that, the parade will reform, head down Nason Street and return to Town Hall. A few details are available at the town's web site, here: https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=127 And on the Discover Maynard web site, here: https://discovermaynard.com/event/veterans-day-parade/ There is some background on the holiday, on Wikipedia, here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veterans_Day
Veterans Day began as "Armistice Day," when, at "the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 the Armistice with Germany went into effect, officially ending World War I, then known simply as "The World War" or "The Great War" (as no one at the time anticipated that another world war was yet to take place, merely 20 years later). In 1954, the name of the day was changed to Veterans Day to honor American veterans of all wars. Comment I once heard someone say that World War II was the last good war. My mother told me that when she asked her father, who had fought in World War I, what it was like, he replied "War is Hell!" In those days, the word hell was considered taboo, but I think he wanted to emphasize the point. The process of trying to kill others before they kill you, and watching others die is one of the most disturbing experiences anyone can have. No wonder many veterans just decline to ever talk about what it was like.
In my mind there is no such thing as a "good" war. To me, war is glaring evidence that we have failed to find a better way to resolve our differences peacefully and make amends for ways in which we may have harmed each other in the past. I should correct that and say that many people have found ways to settle differences and make amends without resorting to violence and destruction. Perhaps we're just working toward the day when those ways become so widespread and accepted that war is no longer considered an option. When war is anticipated or breaks out, there seems to be lots of support for the enterprise, but when it's over, the horror of it all apparently leaves us wishing to leave it all behind and get on with our lives. We mourn the dead every year, but, sadly, the veterans who survived often end up neglected in the process. Their names are not carved into the stone monuments or cast onto the plaques. Many of them have been injured, either physically or mentally, and need our support and care but end up feeling forgotten. It's as if they remind us of something we wish we hadn't participated in. Budgets are cut, services end up diminished, and veterans are sometimes left to fend for themselves. Many end their own lives out of despair. Just showing up at a parade won't do much to change this, perhaps. But please show up anyway. Dress warmly, as it will be chilly, but the forecast is for sunny skies and calm conditions. Oh, and by the way, I am a veteran. I am fortunate to have remained in the US mainland during the Viet Nam war, so I did not engage in combat. I'm willing to discuss my experiences with anyone, so please don't hesitate to ask me. I'll be there tomorrow. I hope to see you there. |
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April 2024
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