A Few Good Men

At 6 PM on Sunday night, I drove over to look at the new pool and found Jim March and Tim Downs hard at work (when they could have been home having dinner with their families.) We should be thankful to them and all the other volunteers for their hard work trying to complete the pool project (which has to meet all sorts of health department and state requirements.) It's looking like it may still be ten more days before we'll be able to dive in . . .

Rain Delay

Everyone keeps asking me if I know when the pool is opening and if there is going to be any fee for residents or guests. I posed this question to First Selectman Pat Mechare, who responded promptly. Here is her reply:


The best way to get the latest update on the pool is to call me at this office or at home. I would again encourage you to ask those who ask you to do that. At this point in time we are not sure of the exact date of the pool opening. The rain has put a crimp in the plastering of the inside of the pool so they are behind in finishing that task, which puts us behind in re-filling it and properly chlorinating the water. The State won’t conduct their inspection until that is complete. The finishing touches on the pool building are being completed and if all goes well should be done by early next week. Tim is working on some things that need to be done in the parking area. A potable water sample is being collected tomorrow for testing, an order is in to install the phone and on it goes. It doesn’t look like the pool will be opened by July 1st, but we’re hoping that within a week after that date we’ll be all set. However, there are no guarantees.

The Recreation Commission just this afternoon submitted a recommendation to the B of S regarding fees. I hope to be able to address that at a special B of S’s meeting on Thursday. Their recommendation is no charge to residents this year and $5 a day or $120 charge a season for non-residents. It’s hard to know if the B of S will make any modifications to that recommendation.

Be assured that the Town will announce the opening date when it is set in several different venues, but again have people contact me and I’d be happy to give the update.

Bummer!

Check out Terry Cowgill's blog for information about the closing of the iron bridge that links Falls Village and Amesville. With work beginning on the bridge near the high school, now there is likely to be even more traffic and delays on Route 7 . . .

Cell Phone Tower Concerns

Dina Jaeger, who lives on Beebe Hill Road, asked me to post this letter:

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I am writing to you regarding my grave concerns over the proposed cell tower to be erected on Route 7 at the location of the future Falls Village Fire Department building site. I have always supported and continued to support the FVFD and the vital work that the members provide to our community. And I do understand that there is a need for increased radio frequency communication at this site. But that support not withstanding, I am vehemently opposed to the construction of this tower. There are many reasons to oppose this tower. The most important, to my mind, is public health. These towers emit radio frequencies, a form of electromagnetic radiation, (EMR) for a distance of up to two and a half miles. They are essentially these same frequency radiation of microwaves in a microwave oven. Numerous studies have shown that even low levels of exposure to this radiation cause damage to cell tissue and DNA. There is strong scientific evidence that links exposure to brain tumors, suppressed brain function, depression, miscarriage, Alzheimer’s disease, and numerous other very serious
illnesses. To learn more, go to www.bioinitiative.org (find the summary for the public PDF) and www.safewireless.org.

Children are at the greatest risk due to their thinner skulls and rapid rate of growth. Also at greater risk are the elderly, pregnant women, and anybody with a compromised immune system. Siting a tower so close to two schools and a day care
center is ludicrous. Also ludicrous is the fact that our government does not allow human health concerns to be used as an argument to be used against cell tower construction. That regulation is courtesy of the FCC Wireless Act of 1996, largely written by the lawyers representing the wireless industry. There are no safety standards for electromagnetic low- frequency (ELF) safety in place AT ALL. We all treasure the natural beauty of our region. The vast numbers of migratory birds that pass through the Housatonic quarter are at great risk to EMR exposure. The creatures and plants that make this area one of the most important in this state in terms of biodiversity are also threatened by this radiation exposure. The proposed tower will affect much of Robbin’s Swamp and Housatonic State Forest lands. For information start your search at the websites listed above.

If the health of your family, community and environment are not sufficient to raise concern, consider the effects on your property values. Because my property abuts the proposed site, the Connecticut Siting Council (CSC) was obliged to forward to me via certified mail a Hearing Notice on behalf of CellCo Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless. This is a very confusing document and is available for review at the Falls Village Town Hall and online at the CSC site. This notice states there will be a public field review at the proposed site at 2 PM on Tuesday, July 1st, when they will fly a balloon to simulate the visual impact of the proposed one- hundred and fifty foot tower. A semi-private hearing at Lee H. Kellogg School at 3PM, and again at 7PM at Kellogg that same evening will follow this. The general public is permitted to make short comments at the 7 PM meeting. The purpose of the hearing is to weigh in on their application for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public
Need. Verizon Wireless/ Cellco contends that the public’s need for this facility outweighs any adverse environmental effects. There is cell service currently available at the FVFD site. It’s not Verizon Wireless. Is that company’s desire to increase their market share in
this region a public need?
So, what to do? Get in touch with our local government, stop by town hall, or e-
mail Pat Mechare at canaan021selectman@comcast.net. While you’re at town hall, review the Verizon application. The documents supporting my intervener status are available for review as well. Check out the status of this case online by going to
ct.gov/csc. We are docket number 360. Get in touch with our congressman, Chris Murphyand copy our senators Christopher Dodd and Joe Lieberman. Sign the petition that will be circulating around town (e-mail me if you would like to sign;
dinajaeger@comcast.net). This petition needs to be mailed by June 20th to the Connecticut Siting Council, so don’t delay. Anybody who works, lives or goes to school near this site should consider signing this petition. Most importantly, safe the date of July 1st to have your voices heard.!
I’d like to close with reasserting my continued support for our Fire Department
and others who serve as EMTs. Your health is as important to our community as
anybody’s. Please rethink your position on this tower, for everyone’s sake, particularly
our children’s. Let’s figure out another way to get the radio communication service that you need to do your work. In 2004 the International Association of Firefighters voiced its members’ opinions on cell phone towers and antennas by opposing the installation of cell phone antennas near or on fire stations until a credible study can be done to establish their safety. Go to www.iaff.org for more.

I look forward to working with this wonderful community.

Best regards,
Dina Jaeger

A Place Called Hope

The new swimming pool is looking almost ready to be used....

Suddenly . . . A Summer Festival For Us!

This coming Saturday, June 7, is looking like it will be the most exciting day in town since last fall's Scarecrow Contest and Hoedown. Here's what's happening.

The David M. Hunt Library will be holding its first Homegrown Plant Sale from 8 AM - 4 PM (and on Sunday from 9 AM - 1 PM.) The library will also be holding its monthly new Book Sale inside (10 AM - 2 PM) and its annual used book sale under a tent outside (9 AM - 4 PM on Saturday and 9 AM - 1 PM Sunday).

The Falls Village Volunteer Fire Department is hosting a Farmers' Market and Crafts Fair on the Town Green from 9 AM - noon, which they will hold the first Saturday of every month through the growing seasons. The fee to be a vendor is $10. Contact Kent Allyn: 824-5960

The Falls Village-Canaan Historical Society is holding its Annual Tool Discovery Day where people can show, sell or swap tools from 11 AM - 3 PM. The suggested vendor donation is $10. The museum will be open for tours. Information: 824-8226 or 824-7893

The Falls Village Day Care and F.O.L.K.S. (Friends of Lee Kellogg School) will hold a Tag Sale at the Kellogg gym on Saturday from 9 AM - 4 PM and on Sunday 9 AM - 3 PM.For more information call Laurie Wadsworth: 824-4851
Donations will be accepted Wednesday - Friday at the school between 3:30 and 6 PM.

The Falls Village Congregational Church is holding a Tag Sale/Bake Sale on Saturday from 9 AM - 2 PM. Contact Mary Atwood: 824-7258