Friday, February 15, 2013 at 9:53AM You'll find the official minutes here. They include minutes of a joint meeting with the Select Board and Budget Committee to go over 2012 expenditures and recommendations for next year. Worth reading if you want to be prepared for the Town Meeting.
Friday, February 15, 2013 at 8:47AM ;)
Sandi Pierson has been getting a visitor. (Click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized image.) "We were enjoying our second visit very much until he started ripping apart my prize young peach tree with his antlers," she writes.
"Then, like relatives visiting for a week, couldn't wait to see him go." She eventually let her dog, Cuckoo, out to drive the moose away. But "the moose just stared at the barking menace like he was an idiot.
"Thus, as the branches of my little tree went hither and dither, I went out for my own staredown and shot off my rifle into the loam pile a few times.. alas the visitor just stared back at the second idiot and commenced his fun. He finally walked off, and as he did I thought I heard a voice say, 'See y'all tomorrow!'"
If you have pictures of wildlife or other Orange scenes, be sure and let us know!
Thursday, February 14, 2013 at 8:38AM There will be a Candidate's Night on February 25 at the Town House at 7p.m. The two candidates who have filed for the Select Board slot (now being held temporarily by Bob Ells) have been invited: Bob Ells and George White.
Dorothy Heinrichs sent us her notes from the latest Select Board meeting. These are unofficial; as always, we'll post the official minutes when we get them.
Year to date numbers for trash and recycling: 7.88 tons of trash, 3.29 tons of recycling.
The Conservation Commission is hosting renowned bear expert Ben Kilham on Sunday, April 7 at 6 p.m.
The Board reviewed a few abatement requests.
The Board was joined by the Budget Committee to review estimated revenue to the town for 2013.
Members of both the Select Board and the Budget Committee expressed concern over the percentage of the welfare expenses for administration in 2013. A total of $1,224 was expended for the welfare agent's hours, training, travel and expenses. The total for direct assistance to Orange residents in need was $473 for food and electricity.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 1:46PM Colin Higbie just posted a careful analysis of the Mascoma School District Plan, which calls for $23.96 million--an increase of 10% in our tax rate. Colin believes the plan has too many flaws to get his vote, even though he plans to send his daughter and brand-new son to Mascoma. But he's fair-minded enough to provide links to arguments for the plan:
Plan summary
Full plan (pdf)
Video made by students
Colin has put together one of the best studies we've seen, and whether you agree with him or not, you'll want to read it before you vote next month. To join the discussion, you'll need to log in as a member of this site. (Click here if you want to join or forgot your username or password.)
You'll find Colin's post here.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013 at 7:11AM We've just revised the calendar after receiving the year's holiday schedule from Northeast Waste.
As always, on a holiday week, pickups get made the Saturday following the holiday.
Memorial Day Week - service will be on June 1st
Fourth of July Week - service will be on July 6th
Labor Day Week - service will be on September 7th
Thanksgiving Week - service will be on November 30th
Christmas Week - service will be on December 28th
New Year's Day Week - service will be on January 4th, 2014
When in doubt, consult the Orange Google Calendar. Don't forget, you can subscribe to the calendar to display trash pickups and other Orange events on your own computer calendar. How?
If you use a different calendar application, copy this address and paste it into your program, following the instructions for subscribing to a calendar: https://www.google.com/calendar/ical/g67kiak074paua2k06gbjhc79k%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics
If you use Google Calendar, simply go to your calendar and click the down arrow next to Other Calendars. Select Add by URL from the menu. Now paste this address into the appropriate field: https://www.google.com/calendar/feeds/g67kiak074paua2k06gbjhc79k%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic
You now have the Orange calendar on your regular calendar!