Cypripedium acaule, or the pink lady’s slipper.
Just 50 feet from my house is this pink lady’s slipper, one of two orchid species that grow right next to my house. I took this picture yesterday.
The cypripedium acaule is native to our region but you will not find any on your lawn. Keeping your surrounding s natural produces this wonder of nature’s beauty and splendor and keeps the lake clean.
Even if you do not live on a lake, you can help keep it clean. One of the easiest ways is to use lake-friendly, phosphorus-free fertilizer for your turfgrass. Hamilton Reservoir and Lake Siog and all other downstream water bodies will appreciate it.
When too much phosphorus enters the lake, algae and weed growth become uncontrollable. Using a lake-friendly, phosphorus-free lawn fertilizer will help protect the lake and will not compromise your lawn’s appearance.
Peter Frei
Read also: Lake Siog and the cyanobacteria.
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Public Hearing on Budget (Draft) for Fiscal Year 2O11.
This year’s public hearing with the Finance Committee was held on April 20, 2010. Thomas Dubrey, chairman of the Committee, together with Anthony Roman and Andrew Harhay presented the draft of the budget for FY2011 and explained how they will keep the town fiscally afloat during these economic hard times. Dubrey had an unexpected clear answer to tax collector Nancy Talbot’s request for more funds. Read more and watch the video»1 Comment - Edit - Delete
Speak out Holland! (no.14)
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
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Janice Vera Swenson
You may don’t know her name but you know her friendly face; she was one of the two ladies at the table where you would check-in and get a paddle at the town caucus and other town meetings. She also gave a helping hand to Kristin LaPlant in the town clerk's office. Janice past away last Sunday May 2, 2010.Residents living around the lake are familiar with the daily boat rides she took with her long time friend of 50 years, Mary B vandenBerg. The couple lived together on 27 Hamilton Drive.
The picture on the right shows the couple all bundled up on their last boat ride for the year 2009 on December 12.
Peter Frei
Janice Vera Swenson born October 2, 1925 in Maplewood, New Jersey to Robert M. Swenson, Sr. and Vera (Thulander) Swenson, died Sunday (May 2, 2010) at home in Holland, Massachusetts. She is survived by her long time friend of 50 years, Mary B. vandenBerg; her nephew Ralph M. Swenson III, of Burlington, Vermont; her niece, Siri S. Marshall of Minneapolis, Minnesota; and her sister in law Margaret Swenson of Barrington, Rhode Island. Dr. Swenson earned the bachelor of arts degree from Douglass College, the Master's of Social Work from Columbia University School of Social Work, and the Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Connecticut. She served as the Executive Director of the Connecticut Valley Council of Girl Scouts, then became Professor of Sociology at Southern Connecticut State University. Following retirement from SCSU she worked seasonally for the U. S. Department of the Treasury in income tax preparation. After moving permanently to Holland, MA, Janice served the community as Registrar of Voters and as a member of the Holland Finance Committee. Jan enjoyed daily boat rides on the Hamilton Reservoir, adventure van travel from the Panama Canal to the North Slope of Alaska and many places in between. She always provided a loving and safe home to rescue dogs, and was renown for her quick wit and snappy lines. She has donated her body for study to the Medical School of Tufts University. Anyone wishing to make a memorial donation in her honor is invited to make a contribution to the charity of the donor's choice. To leave an online condolence, click here!
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Brian Johnson‘s sign at the four corners not too large after all!
My aquisations were incorrect, it was not intentional and here is how it happened: The town zoning bylaws clearly restrict political signs to 288 square inches, see paragraph (i), and (d) of subsection 7.11:7.1 SIGNS
7.11 General Restrictions and Allowances:To make sure that no other rules apply to political signs erected on parcels in the business district, I started to read subsection 7.13.Any exterior sign or advertising device hereafter erected or maintained shall, except as expressly provided, conform to the following restrictions:
- No sign shall be so located that it will cause danger to traffic by obscuring the view of a public way.
- Flashing, blinking, revolving signs and similar displays are not permitted except by special permit by the Board of Appeals.
- No sign shall be place on or project over town property or be placed on utility poles which are located on town property.
- Nothing in this bylaw shall forbid property owners from erecting on their own property signs not more than two square feet in area containing the words “No Dumping”, “No Trespassing”, “Private Property”, “Beware of Dog”, “Blind Driveway” or other customary signs of similar import.
- One sign for each family residing on the premises indicating the name of the owner or occupant or pertaining to a permitted accessory use provided, however, that said sign shall not exceed two square feet in area, or twelve feet in the aggregate.
- One sign not over nine square feet in area pertaining to permitted buildings, structures and uses of the premises, other than dwellings, and their accessory buildings.
- Temporary signs aggregating not over twelve square feet in area pertaining to the sale or lease of the premises on which said signs are located, provided that said signs shall be permitted for a period not exceeding one year.
- Directional signs not exceeding two square feet in area pertaining to churches, schools, institutions and other non profit uses, or to the location of businesses, places of accommodation and professional offices.
- Political signs shall be allowed as a matter of right, but shall not be greater in either area or in the aggregate, than that allowed for non political signs.
Under paragraph (a), I read “Signs shall pertain only to a use or business conducted on the premises on
which they are located and must conform to the height regulations in the
appropriate district.” This sentence is unambiguous and restricts permitted signs to signs that “pertain only to a use or business conducted on the premises on which they are located...” There is nothing that would indicate that there are exceptions, there is no language such as “except,” there is also no restriction on the term “signs.” It does not read, “business signs...” it just reads “signs shall pertain only to a use or business conducted on the premises on which they are located...” There was no need to read any further, political signs are not allowed at all according to the meaning of paragraph (a) of subsection 7.13.
However, I just read the entire subsection 7.13, and to my surprise political signs are mentioned under paragraph (f). Not only are they allowed, they can measure up to “200 square feet in the aggregate.” A political sign could be as large as 10 feet by 20 feet if erected on a parcel in the business district.
The word “aggregate” is a term used to describe the one-dimensional property of a group of items and not the two-dimensional or three-dimensional properties. The word is correctly used to describe the length or height of an item (sign) and not the surface in square foot.
I do apoligize for jumping to a conclusion. Anybody familiar with our bylaws will agree with me that our bylaws are a mess and need to be rewritten to avoid ambigiuous interpretations and situations like this one.
Here is subsection 7.13 in its entirity:
7.13 Business DistrictsIn all business districts the following signs and no other are permitted:
- Signs shall pertain only to a use or business conducted on the premises on which they are located and must conform to the height regulations in the appropriate district.
- The total surface area of no one exterior sign on any one property shall not exceed one square foot for each linear foot of street frontage; however, in no instance shall the total surface area of all exterior signs combined on one premises be more than 200 square feet in area.
- Notwithstanding any other provisions of this bylaw, religious and public institutions shall be permitted to erect signs in the aggregate of not more than fifteen square feet, and only on property belonging to same.
- Illuminated signs shall be located twenty five feet or more from a residential district boundary line.
- No sign shall extend over public property.
- Political signs not exceeding 200 square feet in the aggregate.
Peter Frei
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We need a debate between candidates.
The Holland Blog has an average of 125 visitors a day and this number will rise in the days before the annual town meeting (May 25) and the annual town election (June 7.) Many people, including myself, do not know all the candidates.
A debate between the candidates would be ideal, the Holland Blog can offer you the next best thing. I will make an attempt to post here on the blog two one-hour audio recordings of two question-answer sessions with the two candidates running for the three year term on the Board of Selectmen.
You, the readers of the Holland Blog, are encouraged to email me questions to be asked during the recorded question-answer sessions. Please email me your questions to peterfrei@cox.net.
I will then setup a time and place and will read the questions to the candidate. The candidate then has 3 minutes to answer the question. I will limit the number of questions to twenty. Once I have both sessions recorded, I will then post the audio files on the blog for everybody to listen to.
If either of the candidates, Michael P. Kennedy or Raymond P. Korny chooses not to participate, I will post the audio recording of the candidate that chooses to participate.
If there is interest in such question-answer sessions to get a debate going, I will send a formal letter inviting the two candidates to participate in the question-answer session.
Peter Frei
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Selectboard Meeting of April 20, 2010.
Last Tuesday, April 20, the selectboard met the second time this month.
Earl Johnson did what he and other members of the Johnson clan do best, disseminating fictional “information.”
Watch the video of the meeting or, read more»
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200,000 Page Views!
Time to celebrate.....The Holland Blog went online for the first time at 13:30 hours on Saturday February 14, 2009. Last Monday night, the Holland Blog was viewed 200,000 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:
A tribute to our founding fathers produced by Soomo Publishing.
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James P. LaMountain exonerated again, this time by Justice Moriarty II.
The Selectboard, represented by Super Lawyer Tani Sapirstein, didn‘t get their way in Court.
Superior Court Justice Honorable Cornelius J. Moriarty II, denied the town‘s request for a permanent injunction to enjoin the LaMountains‘ from open burning of brush and issued his ruling the following day.
Justice Moriarty‘s ruling was again - for the third time on this question - in favor of the LaMountains‘, and once again the three men holding the highest office in our town were the ones on the wrong side of the law. What do they care, the majority doesn't seem to mind paying for it all...
The Ruling by the Superior Court is another embarrassing defeat to our “leaders.”
Read more»
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Earl & Brian Johnson, "Keep the team together!"
Some of you may remember the Johnsons' campaign slogan, "Keep the team together." My hope for a positive change was dashed at the caucus when Brian Johnson's nomination for the highway surveyor went unopposed. There was a rumor in town that a most (more) qualified long time resident would be willing to serve the community and challenge Brian Johnson for the highway surveyor position. Kristin LaPlante confirmed today that 52 year old George Carling filed his nomination papers yesterday, Kristin LaPlante: "I have not had the time to certify the signatures yet, but it seems that he has more then he needs." George Carling who previously worked for the highway department for one year under Woods wants to end the deterioration of Holland's roadways (something Brian Johnson is not currently doing) and make a difference. While Brian Johnson founded J & G Construction in 2008 while holding his office, George Carling sold his business recently to devote his undivided attention to better the roads and ways of our town. The community, after all, will get the opportunity to "keep the [Johnson] team together," this time outside the town hall..Peter Frei
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Selectboard Meeting of April 6, 2010
On April 6, the selectboard met the first time this month, read more»Leave a comment - Edit - Delete