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Montague Politics
Rob - Mon, May 16, 2022, 7:25 P
Re: Mike Henery For Town Meeting
site is acting up for me and can't find your post. Just wanted to say it would be nice to know which precinct you are eligible to represent.
 
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Montague Politics
stash - Wed, Oct 13, 2021, 5:37 P
Selectmen
Got a question? How come all the other town committees rotate chairmen every year yet the selectmen don't.? You want to be one but don't want the chair. If you don't think you're qualified to do it , what do you want to be a selectman for? Just asking.
 
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homeowner - Sun, Oct 24, 2021 10:00 P
The people in Montague would rather make up their own rules as they go along to suit their racist agendas.
MikeNaughton - Thu, Oct 14, 2021 7:27 P
stash - I don't think it's true that "all the other town committees rotate chairmen every year". For years (decades?), Ernie Brown was the chair of the ZBA; that stopped when he finally retired. When ....
Montague Politics
stash - Wed, Sep 22, 2021, 5:13 P
9/21 Elction?
I looked this morning and the outcome was on the town site. Just looked and not there now. What happened? Recount ?
 
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MikeNaughton - Thu, Sep 23, 2021 8:02 P
Stash - I just looked -- the "unofficial" results are right there on the town's home page. In today's Montague Reporter, Joanna Mae Boody is quoted as saying she is not going to ask for a recount (if ....
stash - Wed, Sep 22, 2021 5:16 P
Election, BIG fingers
Montague Politics
MikeNaughton - Mon, Jun 14, 2021, 6:20 P
Precinct Voters
I have been a Town Meeting member for over twenty years, and I am up for re-election this year. I thought I had done what was necessary for my name to appear on the ballot, but I guess there was a slip-up somewhere because my name is not there.

You can vote for seven people, and there are six names on the list. Please consider writing me in: Michael Naughton, 11 S Lyman St, Millers Falls. I would be grateful for the opportunity to continue to have a voice in the affairs of the town, and to represent the interests of Precinct 2 and the entire town to the best of my ability.

Thank you very much for your support.
 
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stash - Sat, Jun 26, 2021 12:05 P
How did you do????????
stash - Tue, Jun 15, 2021 9:12 A
Sure. After we voted. Good luck Mr. N
Montague Politics
stash - Mon, Mar 15, 2021, 9:23 P
Airport
A few years back they needed a big fancy John Deere to mow with. Now they need a BULLDOZER to do it, what's wrong with the jd???
 
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stash - Mon, Mar 15, 2021 11:32 P
They are using it now to mow and brush hog. all of a sudden it doesn't work? Next they'll need a garage.
Clark - Mon, Mar 15, 2021 9:44 P
It sounds like maybe it would be less expensive to contract the job out. Just a thought.
Montague Politics
stash - Wed, Mar 3, 2021, 3:44 P
Info
Hi. Does any one know how many Town residents make use of the airport? Why are NON residents even on the commission? I just hope it doesn't come back for more money? Odds are it will with our towns track record. .......Stay well
 
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MikeNaughton - Wed, Mar 3, 2021 7:52 P
Hi Stash - People have asked over the years how many Montague residents use the airport -- most recently at the last Special Town Meeting (I think -- it was there or at one of the information sessions ....
Montague Politics
MikeNaughton - Sun, Feb 21, 2021, 11:32 A
Remote Town Meeting
Just wondering how other town meeting members feel after the two "practice" meetings we had to learn the technology for a remote town meeting. I'm feeling fairly confident that I'll be okay, but there seemed to be a range of abilities, largely based on differences in equipment and internet connections (I was using a Windows 10 laptop with Comcast internet). And a related question: should the goal be to get through the meeting if at all possible, or to make sure that as many members can participate as possible, even if that means postponing the meeting if too many people have problems?
 
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patrick - Sun, Feb 21, 2021 12:11 P
I thought we voted to hold the meeting on a warm beach? ?? Seriously, I thought it went pretty well and I think we’ll be fine.
mik - Sun, Feb 21, 2021 12:09 P
If people don’t have the connectivity or technology, you can always go to Town Hall (call, first) and use one of the Chrome laptops they have.
Montague Politics
stash - Mon, Sep 28, 2020, 6:39 P
Meeting
Why no selectman's meeting???? Mctv says 8/31 meeting. Oh well .
 
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Montague Politics
stash - Tue, Sep 1, 2020, 11:12 P
Polling Place Precinct
Also,Deb was at the selectman's meeting a week or so about the move.
 
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Montague Politics
MikeNaughton - Tue, Sep 1, 2020, 1:23 P
Polling Place Precinct
We got a postcard in the mail, and there was an article in the Greenfield Recorder about two weeks ago, and also one in The Montague Reporter's last issue. We voted by mail this time, too; we'll see what the future brings.
 
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Montague Politics
stash - Mon, Aug 31, 2020, 11:15 P
Polling Place Precinct
One stupid move. Imagine when there are classes. No $$ saved on staff. Hard enough as it was for the handicapped. So glad we did mail in. Looks like our only choice in the future. Maybe go 100% mail in? IMHO , Stash
 
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Montague Politics
Rob - Mon, Aug 31, 2020, 8:51 P
Polling Place Precinct
Haven't seen any message from this site in a while. Going through the recycling bin tonight before taking to the curb and found out the polling place for precinct 2 moved. That would have been a major pain to find out in the morning
 
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Montague Politics
stash - Mon, Aug 24, 2020, 7:17 P
Typical
Here we go again . 81 grand down the toilet. But this time it is OUR folks that dropped the ball. Pretty damn sickening. Seems every project goes down the same dirt road. Looks like it ain't over yet. Is the fat lady ever going to sing?? Again NO DAMN records. Think I'll say I have no record of my tax bill. Sorry you'll just have to eat it.
 
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Montague Politics
MikeNaughton - Mon, Aug 24, 2020, 3:50 P
Typical
Stash, you may be right, but people screwing up years ago sounds as plausible as people screwing up today (meaning they both sound plausible). And if you check a map, but the map doesn't show stuff that it should be showing, how are you to know?
 
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Montague Politics
stash - Mon, Aug 24, 2020, 10:17 A
Typical
All kidding aside, Do you really think they would admit they screwed up? They were supposed to redo the road by Deb B's place. TWO years ago. Still waiting for the new town barn OOOOOPPPPPPPSSSSSSSSSS. Stay well.
 
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Montague Politics
MikeNaughton - Sun, Aug 23, 2020, 8:42 P
Typical
Stash - did you see the 8/17 selectboard meeting? There was an explanation of how the Spinner Park situation came to be. From what they said, the town and the engineers did what they were supposed to do -- at least this time around. Can't speak for maps that don't show what they're supposed to show. . . .
 
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Montague Politics
stash - Tue, Aug 4, 2020, 12:32 P
Typical
Yup. Just like the repaving of the road by yhe Highland Cemetery. Was supposed to be done last year by one our fabulous contractors. Has there EVER been a job done right in this town??????????? Town exempt from DIG Safe????????? I bet there is a MAJOR screw up with the new town barn. Million under so lets spend it. |We bailed out the sewer dept. and they got the money owed by the mill. Where is MY money back?? Nope extra bucks BLOW IT.
 
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Montague Politics
MikeNaughton - Mon, Aug 3, 2020, 8:35 P
Typical
Stash - I watched the meeting, and I see what you mean. I haven't followed the details of that project -- do you know who did the design work? Seems like that would have been an important element to include in the bid specs. . . .
 
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Montague Politics
MikeNaughton - Fri, Jul 31, 2020, 8:20 P
Typical
Thanks, Stash - I will check it out.
 
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Montague Politics
stash - Wed, Jul 29, 2020, 5:14 P
Typical
The spinner park debacle. Monday nite selectboard mtng.
 
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Montague Politics
MikeNaughton - Tue, Jul 28, 2020, 11:48 P
Typical
Stash, sorry to sound ignorant, but what are you talking about?
 
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Montague Politics
stash - Mon, Jul 27, 2020, 10:51 P
Typical
Should be Does as first word. Big fingers small keyboard.........
 
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Montague Politics
stash - Mon, Jul 27, 2020, 10:45 P
Typical
Goes our town EVER NOT get a project that doesn't end up costing more. How does one start a project NOT knowing about massive power lines under it? Don't they know about digsafe? Should fire whoever did this. What a waste of MY tax money.
 
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Montague Politics
MikeNaughton - Fri, Jul 10, 2020, 7:38 P
1676
mikeybsr, I agree with much of what you say. Certainly that history should never be forgotten -- even if it's history that we might wish had never happened. Whatever our wishes, it _did_ happen, and that should be acknowledged. Don't get me started on the Turners Falls Indians. Whatever the merits of the underlying issue (I leaned towards the "change" side, but with reservations because I knew how disruptive it would be; changes like that are sometimes better done gradually), the way it played out in the press and public meetings and the school system and social meetings was horrible. I think that any good that might have come from making the change was cancelled out by all the bad feelings generated by the process. But, as I said, don't get me started.

That said, I kinda like the Thunder logo -- looks very menacing, in a good way. And speaking of Christopher Columbus, I've been reading about the Vikings, who came to Canada (and maybe further south) hundreds of years earlier. We didn't learn about them growing up in Connecticut. . . .
 
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Montague Politics
mikeybsr - Fri, Jul 10, 2020, 12:03 P
1676
Very interesting Mike N! The history seems a little complicated. Sometimes I wonder "why"! Growing up I went to school at TFHS. Home of the Turners Falls Indians! Being alumni from TFHS we always, or at least I though Turners Falls Indians was honoring what happened at the falls within the town many years ago! Times have changed. I get that!
Many years ago I had traveled Navajo Nation through the southwest! Very depressing! My point though is history "good" or "bad" is and should never be forgotten.
The Racism Card" seems to be played too much and the media polarizes this by brainwashing people daily!
Back to Turners Falls. Keep in mind the high school, Turners Falls Indians! Takes pride within the town and is FAR from being racist!
Thanks to Christopher Columbus for naming American Natives indigenous people. I guess he set sail to the West Indies, thought he was there. Maybe met some people who were unable to speak the language he new and came up with the name "indian"!
 
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Montague Politics
MikeNaughton - Thu, Jul 9, 2020, 8:03 P
1676
"William Turner . . . did what he was instructed to do!"

For another view, see
https://www.google.c...TTZPrBBl_OgDJRXBv4gU

"Captain William Turner, commander of the Hadley garrison, decided to take action despite the instructions from his superiors."

This is a complicated history (as many are), and I daresay most of us (myself included) are only familiar with a small part of it. Maybe best to resolve to learn more before forming firm opinions. . . .
 
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Montague Politics
MikeNaughton - Thu, Jul 9, 2020, 7:53 P
1676
"the Deerfield massacre didn't matter"

Bit of an oversimplification there, Stash. You might want to talk with our Millers Falls neighbor David Brule to get a fuller understanding of what happened. . ..
 
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Montague Politics
stash - Thu, Jul 9, 2020, 7:39 P
1676
I guess the Deerfield massacre didn't matter cause the white folk didn't win. Kind a like current times.
 
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Montague Politics
mikeybsr - Wed, Jul 8, 2020, 8:13 P
1676
Yes folks 1676! 324 years ago! A man by the name of William Turner was sprung out of jail to carry out a mission assigned to him to carry out a mission for immunity! He was jailed in the eastern part of the state for his religious beliefs! (Didnt know that was something to be locked up for).
Here we are many years later offended by a town named after a man who did what he was instructed to do! Yes! During the King Phillip conflict Native Americans were fighting for their land and their beliefs! It's unfortunate but people, people in general were slaughtered both the colonists and Native Americans. Supporting a name change because of history which happened over 300 years ago is foolish!
 
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Montague Politics
MikeNaughton - Tue, Jun 23, 2020, 1:09 P
Great
Yes, very impressive. Now let's hope that he's able to put in the time that will be necessary . . . .
 
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Montague Politics
stash - Mon, Jun 22, 2020, 11:56 P
Great
Mike kept his seat. One heck of a write in. Congrats.............. Stash
 
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Montague Politics
Rob - Sun, Jun 14, 2020, 11:28 A
Police Budget
But even though companies are paying the town for a generic police officer the town still has to budget to pay the police officer. Income and spending are different line items and have to be noted even if it evens out.
 
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Montague Politics
Rob - Sun, Jun 14, 2020, 11:26 A
Police Budget
I also thought it was a state law that companies had to hire police and not use civilians for traffic control
 
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Montague Politics
newbie - Sun, Jun 14, 2020, 11:13 A
Police Budget
I believe the police on job sites are paid by the company, not the town. Should not be an impact on the budget. Ed
 
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Montague Politics
MikeNaughton - Sat, Jun 13, 2020, 5:59 P
Police Budget
I hope this is the start of a longer conversation about the role of the police, both here in Montague and around the state and the country.
 
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Montague Politics
Rob - Sat, Jun 13, 2020, 5:20 P
Police Budget
today's town meeting voted not to increase the police budget from last year. The police chief had requested an increase in spending but the town meeting members wanted to send a message about all the police reports around the country and I guess some reporting about disparities in arrests in Montague. At the meeting I did ask the chief why he wanted an increase and his response was "contractual obligations which included raises". I expect the chief will come back at the next special town meeting with more concrete information to present to the town meeting when he asks for more money. Somebody mentioned that police shouldn't be wasting their training directing traffic but I thought it was a state law in Mass that construction areas had to use police officers?
 
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Montague Politics
MikeNaughton - Thu, May 23, 2019, 8:11 P
Info
No results yet on town web site. Just a guess, but they may be waiting until they know the winners in all the races. There were more open seats than candidates for a number of town meeting races, and it can sometimes take a while to go through the write-ins to figure out who won. (If anyone -- one year in Precinct 2 there was a tie, and the precinct town meeting members had to meet at town hall for a special election to choose between the candidates.)
 
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Montague Politics
newbie - Tue, May 21, 2019, 10:05 A
Info
Any results on your election ? Didn't notice any info in the Greenfield Paper. Thanks . ED
 
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Montague Politics
MikeNaughton - Sun, May 19, 2019, 9:28 P
Tree Warden Contest Monday Election
Hi everyone,

Maybe I missed it, but I haven't seen anything about the contest for tree warden in Monday's election. Does anyone know who the challenger is and why they are running? Thanks in advance. .. .
Mike Naughton
 
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Montague Politics
MikeNaughton - Tue, Sep 4, 2018, 11:49 P
Election
Well, in fairness, it's not like we have a boatload of votes with which to swing things one way or another. . . .

That said, though, are you sure all the races have been called? WWLP's site shows Jo Comerford leading Chelsea Kline by a little over 1,700 votes, with 62% of precincts reporting. Kline won precinct 2 pretty handily, so maybe that will end up making a difference.

On the House side, Natalie Blais is leading Francia Wisnewski by about 1,500 votes, with 75% of precincts reporting. Again, Wisnewski beat Blais in precinct 2 -- it's a long shot, but . . . .
 
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Montague Politics
stash - Tue, Sep 4, 2018, 11:02 P
Election
I guess not making it back to town to vote didn't make a difference. Winners are announced and I'll bet our votes aren't included.
 
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Montague Politics
mdover - Sun, Sep 2, 2018, 9:56 A
Help Needed For Comerford Montague Tuesday
Hi Jo voters,
Jo’s campaign needs people to hold signs and hand out write-in information at several polling places in Montague, including Turners Falls, and Millers Falls. If you have an hour or two to help, please consider signing up for a shift. Filling all of these poll slots could really make this campaign successful. People can sign up directly here: www.signupgenius.com...DB03AECEEE2-montague. And please share this with friends!

Thanks
Michael
 
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Montague Politics
MikeNaughton - Tue, May 22, 2018, 9:24 A
Election
Kudos to Deb and Maddie for getting election results up so quickly. Nice job! :-)
 
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Montague Politics
Rob - Tue, May 22, 2018, 7:03 A
Election
this morning the town has posted on their website unofficial results:

To Build a New Public Works Facility:
Yes: 688

No: 649
 
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Montague Politics
newbie - Mon, May 21, 2018, 11:21 P
Election
Boy the old ballot boxes are niece but getting results suck. Any info yet? Ed
 
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Montague Politics
MikeNaughton - Sat, May 19, 2018, 10:26 P
Wow
Hee hee :-)
 
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Montague Politics
stash - Sat, May 19, 2018, 9:24 A
Wow
Wonder if the new Mascot logo will be a Thunder Mug. :-) :-)
 
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Montague Politics
stash - Wed, Mar 21, 2018, 3:03 P
Question
It was in the minutes near the end. The 2/12 ones as I stated in the first words of my post. They could have corrected it. I haven't been back to it.
 
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Montague Politics
MikeNaughton - Wed, Mar 21, 2018, 2:35 P
Question
Stash, where do you see a reference to Chief Morgan?

https://www.montague...electmen_Minutes.pdf
 
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Montague Politics
stash - Tue, Mar 20, 2018, 11:16 P
Question
I just read the 2/12 exec. session minutes. Who is Chief Morgan? Should it be Dodge? Is it a legal document with the mistake? Just wondering.. Hope the weather on the Montague site is right. Only 1-3 inches of global warming. :-0 Stash
 
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Montague Politics
MikeNaughton - Thu, Mar 8, 2018, 7:50 P
Our Police Chief Got Caught Stealing Opiates...
The independent investigator's report was dated Dec. 15, 2017.
 
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Montague Politics
Rob - Thu, Mar 8, 2018, 9:35 A
Our Police Chief Got Caught Stealing Opiates...
from my understanding the long drawn out process was the independent review panel
 
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Montague Politics
Clark - Thu, Mar 8, 2018, 12:16 A
Our Police Chief Got Caught Stealing Opiates...
Rob: I am very aware of which you commented on since I served as selectman in Montague for twenty years and retired from being in a human resources environment for over 30 years and I fully realize the confidential part of the particulars BUT that all being said , the taxpayers don't APPEAR to being well served by the LONG drawn out process , say nothing about the morale with in the department. Situations like this are always painful BUT the PEOPLE of Montague don't deserve this !
 
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Montague Politics
Rob - Wed, Mar 7, 2018, 9:28 P
Our Police Chief Got Caught Stealing Opiates...
contracts the town makes with positions like police chief can be involved. It is not employment at will like most people. The cost of firing him might have ended up costing more than the severance pay if he contested the firing. The newer thinking is that drug addiction is more of a disease that needs to be treated instead of punished. We elected our select board to represent us and to make hopefully the best informed decisions for us. I hope the board takes the time to explain why they made the decision they did.
 
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Montague Politics
jmr - Wed, Mar 7, 2018, 6:11 P
Our Police Chief Got Caught Stealing Opiates...

 
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Montague Politics
Clark - Wed, Mar 7, 2018, 5:52 P
Our Police Chief Got Caught Stealing Opiates...
Very disappointing --- why not termination much sooner ?
 
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Montague Politics
jmr - Wed, Mar 7, 2018, 1:09 A
Our Police Chief Got Caught Stealing Opiates...
as punishment they're letting him resign and giving him an extra year's salary. makes sense to me!

http://www.masslive....chief_charles_1.html
http://www.recorder....-violations-16026998
 
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Montague Politics
MikeNaughton - Thu, Jan 4, 2018, 8:51 P
Holiday
Hey, ED, I answered your question about the trash schedule. Sorry you got all huffy this time around when I suggested you could find out the answer yourself. Hope you and the old dude survived the storm okay.
 
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Montague Politics
newbie - Thu, Jan 4, 2018, 11:38 A
Holiday
Asking a question sure as heck isn't sticking your hand in my wallet. I suppose it is a case of WHO asks a question. ED
 
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Montague Politics
MikeNaughton - Wed, Jan 3, 2018, 6:00 P
Holiday
Gee, sorry newbie -- I thought that _was_ helpful. I had you pegged as a "people should do for themselves and not always be expecting a handout from somebody else" type guy, so I figured you might appreciate knowing that there's a much easier way to get an answer to your question than posting on this corkboard. My apologies if I figured wrong. I have no idea whether town hall is open today.
 
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Montague Politics
newbie - Wed, Jan 3, 2018, 5:16 P
Holiday
Nobody likes a smarta$$. Far from cute. Most folks on here are helpful, what happened to you?????????????????
 
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Montague Politics
MikeNaughton - Wed, Jan 3, 2018, 1:10 P
Holiday
If only they had a telephone or something, so you could call them and find out . . . . :-)
 
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Montague Politics
newbie - Tue, Jan 2, 2018, 10:37 P
Holiday
Was the Montague Town shut down again today? My old Dude called me to have me run him over to pay his tax bill. I said we would wait til Wed. because they probably have another 2 day work week. Must be nice. Never knew that Christmas was a 2 day holiday. Oh well. ED
 
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Montague Politics
MikeNaughton - Tue, Jan 2, 2018, 8:18 P
Holiday Garbage Pick-up
Thanks, Michael!
 
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Montague Politics
elffle - Tue, Jan 2, 2018, 9:14 A
Holiday Garbage Pick-up
High St and Crocker Ave still have garbage out as well.
 
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Montague Politics
MichaelNelson - Mon, Jan 1, 2018, 9:01 P
Holiday Garbage Pick-up
Republic has given the town a less than satisfactory explanation for the lack of pickup last week on several streets. We have been told that they will do pickup for all the homes they missed tomorrow (tuesday 1/2) - although most people probably won't know this. The Selectboard is discussing this underperformace with Republic (I believe next monday).
Roads we know they missed and are supposedly doing tomorrow are:
Stevens St.
Charon St
Davis St.
Dunton St.
Bulkey St
Willmark
Linda Ln
George St
Keith St
Maple St
Grove St
Hillside Ave
Wrightson Ave
Madison Ave.
 
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Montague Politics
MikeNaughton - Mon, Jan 1, 2018, 9:57 A
Holiday Garbage Pick-up
I think calling Republic Services is your best bet . . . .
 
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Montague Politics
elffle - Sun, Dec 31, 2017, 3:29 P
Holiday Garbage Pick-up
Except it is now 12/31 and garbage has not been picked up on the hill. They should have picked it up on the morning of Friday, 12/29, and no one came. Do we call the DPW or the new garbage people for an explanation?
 
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Montague Politics
newbie - Sun, Dec 24, 2017, 9:28 A
Holiday
Thanks for the info Mr. Mike. Have a super Christmas and even better New Year. ED
 
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Montague Politics
MikeNaughton - Sat, Dec 23, 2017, 8:57 P
Holiday
Hi Newbie,

Town hall has a two day holiday, but it looks like the folks who pick up the trash do not. Since they do not pick up on Mondays (because of all the Monday holidays), and Christmas day is on a Monday this year, the schedule for the rest of the week will not change, and your old dude's stuff will be picked up on the regular day (assuming all else goes well :-) ).

For future reference, there's a link on the DPW page of the town web site to "Trash/Recycling Schedule": http://montague-ma.g...ule_800-367-7778.pdf

Since New Year's Day is also on a Monday, I think it would be safe to assume that the pickup schedule will be the same for that week, too, but if you want more reassurance you might try calling the DPW sometime next week . . . .
 
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Montague Politics
newbie - Sat, Dec 23, 2017, 12:22 A
Holiday
Seeing that Montague Town hall has a 2 day CHRISTMAS holiday, does that change the trash pick up for the week?? I put my old Dudes trash and cans/paper out every couple weeks and they have trash barrels raiders once in whiles so I don't like to put it out if they are doing a different day. His normal pick up day is Wed. Thanks and Merry CHRISTMAS to all... ED........ P.S. Did a quick search on the new town page and didn't see a notice. Site is real nice compared to the old one...
 
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Montague Politics
MikeNaughton - Sun, Jun 11, 2017, 12:24 P
School Comm.
We're getting some rotten trim boards replaced, before getting it painted. Been putting it off for years, patching here and there, but decided it's finally time to get it done right. Not cheap, but we think worth it in the long run.
 
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Montague Politics
newbie - Sun, Jun 11, 2017, 11:44 A
School Comm.
Like I said, I don't live in Montague. If I did you could bet the farm I would be the biggest PITA all the town comm's. have ever seen. Including Mrs. G. Still holding my ground on my statements. What's going on in you digs?? Looks expensive.. Ed
 
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Montague Politics
MikeNaughton - Sun, Jun 11, 2017, 10:40 A
School Comm.
Rob - agreed. I think the proper way to view that election is that there were three good candidates for two slots, so one didn't make it. I think you could make a case that the voters were looking for a change, but let's face it: if no one who had been voted off the committee in the past had come forward now, there would be no candidates at all for the empty seat.It would be nice if there were more Cassie Damkoehlers (i.e. interested, involved newcomers) out there -- where are they? What do you think, newbie?
 
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Montague Politics
Rob - Sat, Jun 10, 2017, 11:33 P
School Comm.
looking at the numbers, more people voted for the other candidates, it was not a landslide.
People voted someone else in does not mean they wanted someone else out just they preferred one person over the other. Plenty of people still voted for the loser so plenty of people think they did a good job.
 
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Montague Politics
newbie - Sat, Jun 10, 2017, 10:23 P
School Comm.
Not mud---------- FACT. The town folk voted them out. You would think they would have sense enough to walk away .................Ed
 
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Montague Politics
MikeNaughton - Sat, Jun 10, 2017, 9:33 P
School Comm.
Whoa, noob, settle down. The rules are that if there's a vacancy on the school committee, the committee appoints a replacement who will serve until the next annual election. Whomever is selected can be voted out at that time, assuming someone chooses to run against them. The superintendent has no say in the matter -- it's a school committee decision; letters of interest get sent to him because he's a central point of contact for the school committee.

AND, according to this week's Montague Reporter, TWO letters of interest have been submitted: one by Michael Langknecht and one by Joyce Phillips. Both are people who were one the committee but got voted off. BUT at the meeting where the decision will be made (to be held this Tuesday, June 13, school committee members are free to nominate as many other candidates as they like. SO right now there are two choices, but by the time is vote made there may be more.

BUT (as patrick rightly noted), only if other people step forward and express an interest. It looks like a lot of people are all fired up about the school system until it's time to serve on the school committee -- then they've suddenly got something else to do. They may have been voted off, but at least they still have an interest in doing the job. I think they both deserve credit for that, not mudballs thrown by some living in another district.
 
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Montague Politics
newbie - Sat, Jun 10, 2017, 7:11 P
School Comm.
Living in Wendell I doubt they would let me be on the board. Also even though (IF ) he was the only one you would think the super would have BRAINS enough to question if he should be on seeing he WAS voted out.. Ed
 
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Montague Politics
patrick - Sat, Jun 10, 2017, 4:24 P
School Comm.
I believe there was a period to inform the Superintendent of interest in the available seat. Did you apply for it? Because if you didn't, and only one person did, maybe that's why they're back.
 
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newbie - Sat, Jun 10, 2017, 2:09 P
School Comm.
Wow. The town votes out a member and now he will be back. Oh well the comm. doesn't give a crap about the people who PUT them there. Time for you folks out there to clean house. They seem to go along with OUTSIDE interests (mascot) over the feelings of the town. Why the heck do you folks bother voting at all?? Ed
 
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MikeNaughton - Fri, May 19, 2017, 3:41 P
Campaign Sign
If any Cassie Damkoehler supporters are reading this, there's still one of her signs in front of Highland Apartments in Millers Falls. It should have been removed after the election was over . . . .
 
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MikeNaughton - Wed, May 17, 2017, 7:49 P
Turners Falls Indians
Election Results Update:

Along with absentee ballots, which apparently are still coming in (and therefore need to be checked out to see if they were mailed before the deadline), Deb Bourbeau also has to deal with all the write-ins. I know that's an issue with Precinct 2 -- we had two empty slots for 3-year town meeting member, and we must have had at least a dozen write-ins. We also had write-ins for other empty slots (library trustee, and trustee of soldiers' memorials (veteran)), and for each one Deb has to verify that the person is qualified and also whether they want to serve, which can be time-consuming. But when all that is done for all the precincts, the results will be posted on the town's web site (http://www.montague-.../ElectionInformation).
 
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MikeNaughton - Tue, May 16, 2017, 9:00 P
Turners Falls Indians
Mark - PS:

I suspect that Deb may have wanted to get the school committee and ballot question votes up quickly, figuring that everyone would be interested in them. She may have added the precincts just because they were ready, but nothing, really, is in its final form. Past election results are posted to the link at the bottom of the town's home page, and they are much more complete (for example, they include the blanks).

Of course, the school committee results on the Montague site only show the Montague votes. For a complete breakdown, see here: http://gillmass.org/clerk.php. Interestingly, Sandy Brown won in Gil by one vote, and Mike Langknecht edged out Cassie Damkoehler by nine votes, but Montague's larger numbers made the difference. Seems fair, arguably, for the Montague seat, but I wouldn't blame Gill voters for being upset that Montague gets to pick their school committee representative.
 
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MikeNaughton - Tue, May 16, 2017, 8:28 P
Turners Falls Indians
Hi Mark,

No insight whatsoever, except that they may have needed time to finalize the results. I know in my precinct the posted results sometimes differ from the ones I've turned in, which is due to things like their getting mailed-in ballots from service people, etc. (when I get my book back for the next election, there are notations in red indicating what got changed). Also, this time I believe our warden had a problem reconciling the total number of ballots received from town hall with the total number returned to town hall, which would have needed to be worked out. I can tell you that we were done before 11:00 pm, which is earlier than we sometimes are. But even so, it's a long day for the folks down at town hall, so they may have been moving a little slowly today (just a guess).

If I get a chance, I'll stop by town hall tomorrow and see how things are going, and I'll post here whatever I learn.
 
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Mark1 - Tue, May 16, 2017, 3:49 P
Turners Falls Indians
Mike, as a vote counter, any insight on why the town has yet to post results from precincts 2, 3, and 5 nearly 24 hours after the polls closed?

Mark1
 
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stash - Tue, May 16, 2017, 11:30 A
Turners Falls Indians
It is too bad our Town Meeting doesn't have the eggs to do what the town in Vt. did. No school budget if they change their mascot. If they SC doesn't agree with the towns wishes I'll bet there will be more changes next time around... I'm surprised Lizzie didn't poke her beak in the mix... I like the new vote flags.
 
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MikeNaughton - Mon, May 15, 2017, 11:20 P
Turners Falls Indians
For what it's worth, Precinct 2 voters want change on the school committee. Shawn Hubert beat Sandy Brown in Gill, and April Reipold and Cassie Damkoehler were the winners in Montague. The non-binding referendum was 203 Yes to 60 No and 20 blanks.

There were 283 ballots cast, which is a pretty good turnout for a town election (last year, there were about 70), but well below that for a national election (last year's presidential election we had almost 750 ballots).

I continue to wonder why so many more people will turn out to vote on the national level than bother to do so for a local election, where their vote can matter so much more. Case in point: this time around, we may have two new town meeting members who will have been elected with only a couple of votes. Library trustee and trustee of soldiers memorials (veteran) also received write-ins for blank slots.
 
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MikeNaughton - Sun, May 14, 2017, 5:11 P
Turners Falls Indians
Rob -

I'm a counter in Precinct 2 (actually, I'm now the clerk, so I tabulate the results that the counters give me), and blanks are counted for every vote because we have to account for every ballot cast, whether it had markings on it or not. It can get tedious sometimes with the town meeting members, since they're "vote for seven" and sometimes new counters take a while figuring out the correct number of blanks if there aren't seven names on the ballot, but the numbers have to match or we get heck from Deb Bourbeau. But "yes/no" questions are easy, and we'll definitely know the number of blanks.
 
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Rob - Sat, May 13, 2017, 10:58 P
Turners Falls Indians
Mike thank you.
I will personally leave that question blank since I did not attend school here, I do not have an emotional tie to the mascot. And my kids are too young to be worried about the team mascot.
Maybe for this question they will count the abstentions and not just the yes and no respones
 
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MikeNaughton - Sat, May 13, 2017, 8:23 P
Turners Falls Indians
Rob -- good questions. Since no one else has responded, I'll step up and offer my perspective, for what it's worth (which may not be much). I hate to see someone ask good questions and raise good points and then just be ignored.

First, I agree that the Cleveland team's logo is way worse, but I think it's a case of nobody here in Montague being in a position to do anything about Cleveland. The Turners Falls High School logo is definitely something that the school committee can change, so when the issue was raised they considered it. Along those lines, some people say, "Why not change the name of Turners Falls while you're at it?", which is also a good question but would be much harder to do, since it would probably involve the state and maybe even the federal governments. In this case, I think the school committee saw what they perceived to be a problem that was within their power to fix, so they did; the fact that they didn't fix other similar problems was because they had no power to do so.

I also agree that the the pre-European inhabitants of this region should not be forgotten, but after following this issue I wonder if the former logo didn't actually contribute to the notion that "Native Americans are .... some people from the old West". After all, the picture was of a person wearing the headdress of a Plains Indian -- not anyone who would have been living around here. I think the logo might have been easier to defend if it had more accurately portrayed a local inhabitant. But if the goal is not to forget those people, maybe the proposed cultural center focusing on the pre-European sites discovered at the airport will be helpful. That, along with proposed changes to the TFHS curriculum, might keep the history alive.

On the Indian vs. Native American question, you're right -- they're both coming from a European perspective. I believe that Canada avoids this by using the term "First Nations", which sounds like a good solution to me.

As for your proposal to change the name to one of the local tribes, I dunno. For one thing, I think the SC is likely to rule out any names that reference a specific group of people, but even if they didn't I think you'd need a pretty good rationale for picking one name over another (why "Wabanaki" and not "Nipmuc"?) As for "Homo Sapiens", it's certainly all-inclusive, but somehow -- maybe it's just me -- I can't imagine sports fans chanting "Go Homos". :-)

Finally, I think I'm with you on boycotting the ballot question. I'm already on record as saying that I don't think a ballot question is the way to decide this issue (or even find out what "everyone" thinks, since so few people typically vote), but since the selectboard in their wisdom put the question on the ballot I think people should mark their preference (and if they really don't care, then leave the ballot blank).

Just my thoughts. . . .
 
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Rob - Fri, May 12, 2017, 7:13 A
Turners Falls Indians
I do not understand what is so offensive of the Turners Falls Indian compared to the cartoon depiction of the Cleveland baseball team. One of my concerns though is that removing the Indian will regulate the people who lived here before the Europeans as forgotten history. Reminding school kids that Native Americans are not some people from the old West but actually spanned our entire continent.If the term Indian is offensive, I don't see how Native American is any less offensive since they are both European created names.
My compromise solution would be name the mascot after one of the tribes that lived in the area (per town website): Pocumtuk Confederacy, the Narragansetts, the Nipmucs, the Wampanoag, and the Wabanaki tribes. Honoring our past is a good thing. If these names sound offensive then maybe the teams can be called the Homo Sapiens which is all inclusive.
Side note, I don't understand the point of boycotting the question on Monday instead of voting one way or another. I do agree with the concept that deciding Civil Rights by a majority vote is not the best way or else minorities would never have gotten their rights. But I do not see this question as a Civil Right
 
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MikeNaughton - Fri, Mar 10, 2017, 7:50 P
Town Meeting
I agree, David gets points for persistence, but he was clearly out of order, and there was no way that Ray Godin could let his questioning continue.

That said, I agree that he was asking some good questions, and they deserve an answer. The annual town meeting will provide another opportunity, although I personally hope that we don't have to wait that long to learn more about that situation.
 
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stash - Sun, Mar 5, 2017, 10:05 A
Town Meeting
I caught the rerun yesterday. If Dave ever gets an answer to his questions I hope he posts them here. If it wasn't for him and Jeff I don't think there would be any questions raised at the meetings. Kudos to Dave for not folding.
 
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stash - Fri, Mar 3, 2017, 1:33 P
3/2 Town Meeting
Looking for when it will be aired. The MCTV schedule page shows an error message. Thanks ,,,, Stash
 
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MikeNaughton - Sat, Jul 2, 2016, 10:15 P
Over-ride Vote
"Liberals always resort to name calling . . . . I see it all the time."

Huh. While conservatives worry about Subaru-driving Bernie voters traveling the country and getting their jollies by increasing real estate taxes?

It's a strange world we live in . . . . :-)
 
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ghgfarmer - Sat, Jul 2, 2016, 8:09 A
Over-ride Vote
Mark 2 , don`t waste your time on here as it`s just not worth it !! It`s such a wonderful neighborhood we live in where money just seems to grow on trees along with a good paying job everywhere you look as the town has done such a wonderful job!!
 
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mark2 - Fri, Jul 1, 2016, 10:32 P
Over-ride Vote
Liberals always resort to name calling when they don't like or agree with what someone says or thinks. I see it all the time. Liberals are tolerant of other peoples ideas as long as they share the same ideas.
 
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JanetMasucci - Fri, Jul 1, 2016, 10:04 P
Over-ride Vote
I have to chime in here.

Mark, it sounds like you are saying liberals call you names, because, "unfortunately, it's the PC world we live in."

It's PC to call people names?
 
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Montague Politics
MikeNaughton - Fri, Jul 1, 2016, 8:57 P
Over-ride Vote
". . . you can't reason with liberals."

Mark2 - thanks for that -- I haven't had a good laugh in a while. How would you know? -- I can't think of a time when you've ever tried to reason with anyone who disagreed with you.You just make flat statements with little or nothing to back them up,and when you're challenged you don't respond.

But happy 4th to you, too. I'd add, "hope you have all your fingers on Tuesday", but I actually think you're smart enough to make sure you do. :-)
 
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Montague Politics
MikeNaughton - Fri, Jul 1, 2016, 8:54 P
Over-ride Vote
Oh, Stash, blow it out your nose! :-)

Or, better, take a deep breath and calm down. Everyone knows that I don't run the town. And I have the same right to my opinion as you do to yours, and you have the same options with my posts that you say I have with yours.

Sometimes I think you want one set of rules for yourself and another for everyone else. I think you know better. Happy 4th to you, too.
 
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