South Hadley goes solar

South Hadley goes solar
Town’s landfill first in state to install solar panels

By Kristin Will
Staff Writer, kwill@turley.com

SOUTH HADLEY – South Hadley’s landfill will be the first in the state to affix solar panels to its sides.
Approved last Monday by the Planning Board, a total of 372 solar panels with be installed on the south-facing side of Cell 2D. Their total length extends 200 feet and the panels, comprised of rigid crystalline, will be stacked nine high.
Cell 2D wraps around the southern perimeter of the landfill. It can contain 230,000 cubic yards of waste. The cell does not surpass 405 in elevation.
Each solar panel generates 230 kilowatts per year. In total, the collection of panels will generate 100,00 kilowatts per year. The panels are a fixed orientation, anchored to four inch-thick steel stabilizers embedded within Mechanically Stabilized Earthen [MSE] Berm. They are expected to last at least 25 years.
“It’s the first we’re aware of anywhere in the country,” said Bryan Wheler of the ARM Group Inc., designers of the landfill. “It’s certainly a unique design. We’re excited about it.”
Planning Board Member Mark Cavanaugh asked of any noise associated with the solar panels. It was explained the panels have an inverter with a fan creating noise a little louder than a residential refrigerator.
Energy produced by the panels will cover 50 percent of the landfill’s current on-site demand. When asked by a Planning Board member why Interstate Waste Services [IWS], mangers of the landfill, were not aiming for 100 percent, Wheler said, “Cost, mainly,” adding the panels are expensive to fabricate and install, as they’re much more intricate than typical rooftop solar panels. After the landfill is capped, however, its energy expenditure would obviously decrease, allowing the town to harness some of that previously used power.
Absorbing much energy at the moment is the treatment of contaminated groundwater running beneath the site. The landfill sits atop old waste placed in the ground ages ago and an ancient system treats the contaminated groundwater, directing it to a sewage plant. IWS oversees the treatment of this water, despite it having existed prior to their ownership. “Once it’s removed, it’s removed,” said Tom Fields, director of landfill operations, of the contamination. He projects over time, the contamination will cease, thanks to the treatment, and the town – which will resume care of the treatment and ownership of the solar panels when the landfill is capped within the next five to eight years – will no longer need to expend power in that area.
Installation of the panels will take between three to four weeks on-site. IWS and ARM hope to do the necessary groundwork before the next frost. Further installation will resume in the spring. “We try to avoid doing this work in the heart of winter,” said Wheler. A March installation is scheduled.
It was expected the solar panel installation would be completed this fall, however due to project delays, IWS and ARM requested from the Department of Environmental Protection an extension. One was granted until April 15.
South Hadley Electric Light [SHELD] will coordinate with IWS and ARM for the installation of a transformer to transfer energy from the panels.
“It’s a no-brainer,” said Planning Board Associate Member Jeremy King. “Let’s do it.”
Unanimously, the Planning Board voted to approve a special permit to alter/expand a pre-existing nonconforming use (the landfill) for installation of solar panels.

Looking to be limbless

Looking to be limbless
DPW assures residents of debris removal

By Kristin Will
Staff Writer, kwill@turley.com

SOUTH HADLEY – There’s no need for residents to go out on a limb in order to clear away debris left from October’s nor’easter. Slow but sure, the Department of Public Works [DPW] will take care of what’s left in its wake.
Worried about what to do with large limbs, trunks and piles of debris from both private and town trees, residents have inundated the DPW with anxious calls. Twice, the department has made phone calls to residents informing them of removal plans.
Since the storm on Oct. 29 through Nov. 1, the DPW, with help from the water and fire districts, pushed brush having fallen in the roadways to the side and trimmed hazardous branches. Beginning Nov. 2, crews have gone around town chipping and removing piled debris.
Thus far, Reidy estimates the town has spent $150,000 in regard to clean-up services including snow and debris removal. He is aiming to have the total cost come in under $300,000. FEMA will reimburse the town 75 percent of its clean-up cost, leaving South Hadley to pay roughly $75,000. “That to me is unbelievable,” said Reidy, who earlier stated during Tuesday’s Selectboard meeting surrounding towns have been spending in the millions for removal. “I think we’ve got the right response to this,” he said.
In addition to the already-contracted Northern Tree Service, three other landscaping companies have been scouring about town. Two chippers were rented, and SHELD, along with Northern, have lent the use of their bucket trucks for trimming branches. Northern is providing use of their log truck with a grapple arm attachment when it can. In addition to the town’s Bobcat and backhoe, a second Bobcat with a grapple arm was rented. The DPW purchased a grapple attachment for their own Bobcat machine, which makes quick work of picking up large bundles of branches, rather than tossing them into a chipping machine.
The town’s compost area has been open every day from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. since Nov. 2. Greencycle will stop by the area in the near future to grind the monstrous debris piles in order to make room for the seemingly endless supply.
Residents can choose from three steps to take with removal of their branches and debris. Firstly, Reidy emphasizes the DPW will indeed stop by each and every home to remove the yard waste should residents have no ability to bring their piles to the compost area. Any branches for removal in this manner should be carefully piled on the edge of residential property. But because the entire town was affected, DPW arrival will not be immediate. Although, the DPW cannot guarantee it will makes all rounds before the snow falls once more. Should this happen, the remaining brush would be picked up in the spring.
Secondly, residents are able to bring their debris to the compost area every day from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Nov. 23. This option is highly encouraged by Reidy.
Lastly, the curbside yard waste collection by Allied Waste will begin its autumn collection Nov. 14 through Dec. 9 following the next two trash collection schedules. Brush and leaves must be in either paper leaf bags or open containers. Bundles of branches must be no more than four feet long and two feet wide. Branches larger than two inches in diameter will not be collected.
Regardless if the debris fell from private or town trees, Reidy said, “We’re going to pick it all up.”
FEMA has extended the town’s clean-up time for which it will reimburse efforts to a six-month period. Reidy said the department is aiming to have everything cleaned up by Dec. 16, weather permitting.

Regular joe saves resident’s life

Regular joe saves resident’s life
Diane Chlosta, coffee credited with rescuing neighbor

By Kristin Will
Staff Writer, kwill@turley.com

SOUTH HADLEY – Diane Chlosta makes a great cup of coffee – her neighbor Julie can attest to that after Chlosta saved her life while she was having a stroke.
It all began the Saturday afternoon of Oct. 29 , when Chlosta had friends over to her Brittany Road home to help split wood. She purchased a Dunkin’ Donuts Box ‘O Joe to share with those who helped. That evening, a Nor’easter sauntered through South Hadley, leaving the entire town without power for multiple days.
The close-knit neighborhood in which Chlosta resides often watches out for one another – Chlosta especially for her neighbor and dear friend Julie. She checked in on the 84-year-old woman, who lives alone, the next morning following the massive storm. Julie was fine, despite not having heat in her home. When asked by Chlosta if there was anything she wanted, Julie said she’d love a cup of coffee. Chlosta complied and learned another neighbor would give Julie a hot meal at the end of the day.
Having lived parallel from one another for the past 13.5 years has made the duo quite close. Each one has access to the other’s home. They know one another’s family members and more importantly, their routines. Julie is an early riser, normally up and at ‘em at 7 a.m. “I always wait for one shade to open,” said Chlosta of Julie’s morning habits.
However, come Monday morning- now 36 hours without power or heat to either of their homes – Julie’s shade did not rise. Chlosta had woken up early, cooking breakfast on the grill she had just purchased for her husband for their recent fifteenth wedding anniversary. Warming on the grill was leftover coffee for Julie.
For some reason, Chlosta said, she was overcome with an urge to call her friend right away, bothered that she had noticed Julie’s shade remained drawn past the normal hour. “I called and it was a very garbled message,” said Chlosta of what she heard on the other end of the line. “You couldn’t understand a word. I said, ‘Julie, if this is you, I will be right there.’” Confused, Chlosta hung up and decided to re-dial the number she had pressed into her phone, just in case she had called the wrong number. She hadn’t.
Chlosta, still in her pajamas and bathrobe, rushed over to Julie’s home with a key in one hand and the coffee in the other. “I walked in and there she was on the floor,” said Chlosta. Julie was having a stroke.
As a former home health aid for 20 years who had to leave her beloved profession due to Multiple Sclerosis, Chlosta knew not to move or jostle the woman on the floor. Looking around the freezing cold home for something with which to warm the elderly woman, Chlosta grabbed a blanket and threw it over Julie and dialed 9-1-1. She then removed her own bathrobe and nightgown, warm from her own body’s temperature, and covered Julie with them to keep her warm. “I laid over her and we prayed together,” said Chlosta. “Then the paramedics came and whisked her away.”
Due to Chlosta’s quick reaction, Julie was admitted to a local hospital within one hour of having a stroke and given tissue plasminogen activator, more commonly referred to as TPA, within the “golden” three-hour window. TPA breaks up any formed blood clots causing a stroke. Its effectiveness increases when administered as quickly as possible, but only within three hours. “We got her in the golden hour,” said Chlosta. “That’s what saved her life.”
But Julie sees that a little differently, with more emphasis on Chlosta saving her life.
“I remember everything I did that morning,” said Julie, who recalled heading into the bathroom that Monday morning to wash her face and not being able to fold the towel. “I tried it and I fell over,” she said. “I tried to get up and I fell over again. Then, I crawled out of the bathroom into the hallway because the telephone was hanging on a wall. I tried getting up on a chair and I kept falling.”
Julie’s phone is a heavy, old rotary dial phone that miraculously remained connected during the power outage when not just her neighborhood lacked power at that time, but more than 80 percent of South Hadley. “Finally, the phone rang,” said Julie. Diane was on the other line. Miraculous again, Julie was able to maneuver the ancient receiver off the telephone, but she could not speak. Julie hung up the phone and fell once more. The phone rang a second time. “I couldn’t grab it and I heard Diane, saying, ‘Julie, I’m coming,’ and she came and she covered me with a blanket and I remember everything,” said Julie as she broke down in tears while clutching Diane’s hand, recounting the ordeal with her. “She saved my life. I know she did. I know she saved my life.”
Julie is making a fantastic recovery. She has moved straight from the intensive care unit to a rehabilitation center where each day she is regaining functions. Already, she can squeeze her hand and speak clearly. She is slated to return home soon.
For now, though, she is relaxing at the rehabilitation center, cracking jokes on a daily basis and converting her roommate into an X-Factor and Dancing With The Stars fan. She is in constant contact with Diane and her best friend and neighbor, Vivian Moriarty. “We check on each other every day,” said Moriarty. “That’s how close we are.” Moriarty and Julie share a birth date, although Julie calls Moriarty the “old lady” of the two, as Moriarty is four years older. “She’s a miracle worker,” said Moriarty of Chlosta.
The humble Chlosta is saving the actual box in which the Dunkin’ Donuts coffee came, that life-saving cup of coffee which kept Julie in the forefront of her mind during the Nor’easter aftermath. “The box is going to be bronzed, I think,” laughed Chlosta. A public relations manager for Dunkin’ Donuts, McCall Gosselin, said, “We are happy to hear that everyone is OK and doing well.”
As she sat next to Julie this past Tuesday in the local rehabilitation center, reliving last Monday’s moments of miracles, Chlosta expressed how difficult it was to put into words how she felt that morning. She revealed it wasn’t normal for her to be up that early and she can’t explain why she had the urge to call Julie. “I honest to God don’t know how to explain it,” she said. “Something just sent me there. I wasn’t nervous. I wasn’t cold. There was a peace – a feeling I’ve never felt before in my life. It feels good.”
It’s the feeling of saving a life.

President declares an emergency for Massachusetts

President declares an emergency for Massachusetts

WASHINGTON -The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that federal disaster aid has been made available to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and ordered federal aid to supplement commonwealth and local recovery efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from a severe storm during the period of October 29-30, 2011.

The President’s action authorizes FEMA to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the counties of Berkshire, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Norfolk, and Worcester.

Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency. Emergency protective measures, limited to direct federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent federal funding.