Speak out Holland! (no.17)

As every 6th of the month everybody is invited to go of topic here. Do you have any questions or suggestions? Comment about anything that is amusing you or about anything that is bothering you, but do it in a civilized manner! I will delete obvious lies and offensive comments. To read previous comments under this category, click on “Speak Out Holland” on the left of this blog under the heading “Categories.”
Peter Frei

Posted on 6 Aug 2010, 00:01 - Category: Speak Out Holland
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Voters of Holland, HOW DO YOU FIND THEM?

Lynn-Arnold-driving-the-boat-and-acting-as-spotter-at-the-same-time-in-violation-of-the-law.
Lynn Arnold and Fred Beaulieu above the law?? Read more»

Posted on 4 Aug 2010, 23:10 - Category: The Town Common
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Some Old-Timers remember the Blaze of May 3rd, 1957.

Historic-Structure-on-fire-here-in-Holland Gerald Germaine will write a series about historic events, places, and structures here in our beloved town. Gerald and Leslie Germaine are the owners of the historic Hisgen Farm. Leslie presently operates Hisgen House Bed & Breakfast, which is located on 78 Hisgen Road here in Holland.
Gerald, most call him Gerry, grew up here in Holland and left the town in 1971 to pursue his career as a real estate agent. Gerry was the Vice President of Relocation and Asset Management of Better Homes and Gardens Trust of New England. In 2005 he bought the historic Hisgen Farm and returned to the place he calls home.
The Hisgen House has a rich history and carries the name of a man, Thomas Louis Hisgen, who made a run for the White House back in 1908. Gerry is an avid historian and will share some of his knowledge and rare photographs of his collection with the readers of the Holland Blog.
His first piece is about one of the biggest fires ever that attacked a historic structure in Holland when Gerry was just five years old, read more»
Peter Frei


Posted on 30 Jul 2010, 09:49 - Category: Local History
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Make your party special!

Paul-with-one-of-his-Gyro-GymsPaul Minkley just bought his third Gyro Gym. Mounted on trailers, he will move one (or up to three) to your place to make your party special. If you live within 50 miles of Holland, Paul will spin you and your guests for 3-1/2 hours and all that for only $250 (for one Gyro Gym). Paul carries insurance if anything unexpected should happen (nothing did so far, but he is required by law to carry insurance).
Paul can be reached to schedule a date by email at paulsgyrogym@aol.com or by phone at (413) 668-7109.
Peter Frei

Posted on 26 Jul 2010, 06:49 - Category: The Town Common
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Live streaming video showing BP’s work on the bottom of the ocean in the Mexican Gulf.

Even so the BP oil spill is not local news, it will sooner or later affect us all. The scale of the catastrophic oil spill in the Mexican Gulf is beyond anybody’s comprehension.

Live video link from the ROVs monitoring the work 5,200 feet below the ocean.
Enterprise ROV2 (showing the leak between the 19” riser and the top hat cap, the best capture rate with this setup is about 17% at best): Please be aware, these are live streams and may freeze or are unavailable from time to time.
Peter Frei

Posted on 26 May 2010, 00:01 - Category: The Town Common
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Welcome Back!

Archive-picture-of-Officer-Duggan Archive-picture-of-Officer-Duggan

Herb Duggan is back! During tonight’s meeting of the Board of Selectmen, acting chief of the Holland Police Department Brian Haughey made a request to have Herb Duggan appointed to serve on the force as part time Police Officer.
Herb Duggan served the HPD before but unfortunately resigned last year to take a full time position serving the Police Department of West Brookfield. The selectboard of West Brookfield appointed Herb Duggan back on June 15, 2009 to serve on the West Brookfield Police Department.

I'm glad you are back in Holland, welcome back Officer Duggan.

Peter Frei


Posted on 13 Jul 2010, 20:42 - Category: The Town Common
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Nightly Blaze on Valley Drive.

Scene-of-the-fire-on-Valley-Drive
It was not a Friday the 13th, nevertheless it happened on a 13th.

Today, July 13, around 3 a.m. a house on the south end of Valley Drive and north of Chandler Street caught on fire.
What-is-left-of-the-house-on-Valley-Drive

Valley Drive is the short private road to the left if you drive up Davidson Road on the north side of the parking lot to Team Hoyt’s Drive-in Restaurant. The fire rescue vehicles shown in the picture above are on Chandler Street.

The fire fighters were only able to prevent the fire from spreading, the house was a total loss.

Peter Frei


Posted on 13 Jul 2010, 18:29 - Category: The Town Common
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250,000 Page Views!

Time to celebrate.....
The Holland Blog went online for the first time at 13:30 hours on Saturday February 14, 2009. By today, the Holland Blog was viewed 250,000 times (page views or hits).
I would like to share one of my favorite YouTube videos with the readers of the Holland Blog to celebrate this special occasion:
The amazing Lyrebird of Australia. This viedeo is not a joke, it is real. There are many other videos on YouTube featuring this amazing bird.



Posted on 9 Jul 2010, 23:08 - Category: The Town Common
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Speak out Holland! (no.16)

I missed the 6th of the month, a reader pointed this out to me today; sorry!
Everybody is invited to go of topic here. Do you have any questions or suggestions? Comment about anything that is amusing you or about anything that is bothering you, but do it in a civilized manner! I will delete obvious lies and offensive comments. To read previous comments under this category, click on “Speak Out Holland” on the left of this blog under the heading “Categories.”
Peter Frei

Posted on 8 Jul 2010, 22:36 - Category: Speak Out Holland
17 Comments - Edit - Delete


Octagonal Turret

Octagonal-turret-in-the-works I’m sorry that there are no new posts for so long.
If you cruise up and down the south side of Hamilton Reservoir you may noticed, I’m building an octagonal turret on my castle. I’m in a race against time as I want to close the roof before the next rain. The turret has two unusual features; can you figure out what they are? It is a challenge and it took me much longer than I expected. There are posts in the work and will be posted soon.
Peter Frei

Posted on 8 Jul 2010, 22:34 - Category: The Town Common
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New Open Meeting Law Takes Effect July First.

    Changes to the Open Meeting Law Effective July 1, 2010:
  1. New requirements for certifications and other documentation to keep on file. (These requirements will likely pertain to the Town Clerk’s Office.)
  2. 48 hour notice – still required, but now cannot count Saturdays, Sundays or holidays. (Example: Monday night meeting must be posted before Thursday night.)
  3. Notices must (1) include a list of topics the chair reasonably anticipates will be discussed (i.e., agenda), and (2) be posted in or on a municipal building to be visible to public at all hours. (Having meetings posted on the Town Website does NOT bring officials into compliance. Town Officials must have a posting board attached to the OUTSIDE of Town Hall!)
  4. Emails are expressly included in definition of “deliberation” (must be in open session), but discussion of agendas, scheduling information or reports to be discussed at next meeting is permitted.
  5. Attendance by a quorum at a location will not constitute a “meeting” if it is not the intention of the board/commission to conduct business and no deliberations occur. (For example, attending a conference, social event or a meeting of another municipal board is acceptable, as long as no discussions ensue regarding board/committee issues.)
  6. Minutes must contain more detailed information in addition to “date, place, time and matters discussed,” they shall include summaries of matters discussed, and a list of documents used, all decisions made/votes taken.
  7. “Minutes” shall also include “documents and other exhibits, such as photographs, recordings or maps used by the body at an open or executive session and along with the minutes, be part of the official record of the session.”
  8. Remote participation (conference call, audio or video conferencing) will likely be allowed by regulation or letter ruling of the Attorney General. (However, a quorum of the body will have to be present and the meeting cannot be chaired via audio or video conferencing).
  9. All persons serving on a public body must receive a copy of the Open Meeting Law and related regulations and must submit receipt of same to the Town Clerk within two weeks of appointment.
  10. Citizens making complaints of Open Meeting Law violations must file written complaints with the governmental body first. The governmental body then submits a reply to the complainant and the Attorney General’s Office.
Peter Frei

Read also:

Open and accountable Government.
Record Keeping at the Planning Board.

Posted on 29 Jun 2010, 22:44 - Category: Town Politics
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