Volunteers Need For Harbor Park North Cleanup

From the Jonah Center

Reclaiming the North End of Harbor Park, Sat. May 30, 8 a.m.

Learn about invasive plants while we remove them from a prime Middletown location.

The Jonah Center calls for volunteers to help with this unique partnership opportunity that is closely related to our own mission.

Lunch and BBQ included. To make sure we have enough food, it is important that we know who is coming by Tuesday the 26th. Please reply to Lisa Santangelo at enws@comcast.net

Below are the background and details.

The Lions Club and crews from The Connection's AIC (Judicial Branch Community Service Work Crews) will be cleaning up the historic north end of Harbor Park. Japanese knot weed, Japanese sumac, bittersweet and other invasive plants have taken over the fencing and shoulder of the northern most 600 feet of the park. This screening from public view has attracted activities inconsistent with the stated "Waterfront Mission" which includes "A waterfront that serves as a focal point of community activities for people of all ages and interests throughout the year." and "Increased public awareness of the region's River-related culture and history." This area was once the landing for the ferry-boat that commerce between Middletown and Portland and the steamboat that took residents to Hartford and New York City.

Volunteers should wear long pants and shirts with long sleeves and gloves. Note that there is poison ivy in the area, so people who are highly allergic should not participate in this work day. Sun screen and sun glasses are recommended, as well as alcohol-containing hand gel to remove any plant oils we may contact.

Since we will be cutting, trimming and raking, volunteers are asked to bring clippers (short and long handled), small saws (hand, bow or sling) and rakes. (Make sure to mark your tools.)

We will have coffee and donuts at 8:00, then do a sweep of the litter before the crews arrive with the heavy tools between 8:15 and 8:30. A box lunch will be served at 12:00. We will finish the day with a BBQ around 3:30 or 4.

Dispatch from Suburbia

It was a big day on the cul-de-sac.

I found the source of the dead animal smell in the refrigerator. I’d been looking for days. I finally opened the cheese drawer, and Eau de Microbe hit me bang in the kisser. It was the decayed St. Andre I’d bought for guests about a month ago. I’d been saving the cheese they didn’t eat, on the grounds that it cost too much to throw out. I didn’t eat it, because high fat cheese makes my stomach hurt. Eventually, it got shoved to the back of the drawer, where it had plenty of time to sulk and plot revenge.

“Aha!” I said to the dog, who is a great listener.

Emboldened by this success, I decided to fix other nagging problems in my life. So I jettisoned three burdens that had been weighing on me heavily. I had known for weeks that I needed to say no to three people whom I like and admire. Saying yes instead of no to them would have kept me out of the house three nights a week and cost me money I don’t want to spend. Nonetheless, I’d been agonizing over saying no, for weeks.

So I said, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t do that,’ to someone who does good works and had asked me to join her. And to someone else I said, ‘Really, I feel very bad about it, but I have to resign from this group.’ (Not Oddfellows, by the way.) And to yet a third person, I said, ‘I thought I would be able to hire you to do some work for me, but I can’t after all. I’m sorry.’

In other words, I did what I am always telling my husband, children and friends to do: if you can’t do something, or don’t want to do it and don’t have to, or thought you wanted to but then changed your mind, just say so. It’s your life, and life’s too short. Why do things that make you unhappy, when love and decency don’t require you to? Whoever is being turned down won’t fall apart. At worst, he or she will be grumpy for a bit, and then go back to worrying about his or her own stuff.

After practicing for one morning what I’ve been preaching for years, I felt faint. I went out into the front yard to get some air, and to look for portents of doom. I checked to see if the maple tree had begun to shed human tears. Nope. Were the daffodils nodding in time to that song I can’t get out of my head? Hard to tell, but I decided to ignore them. My dog, the good listener, did jump up and bite me on the elbow. Maybe that was my karma, of the rare, fast-acting and relatively painless variety. Maybe not.

McCarthy Park Clean-Up

A clean up day is planned for Middletown's McCarthy Park this Saturday, April
25th from 9 AM to 1 PM.  Middletown's Park and Recreation Department will help
out by providing bags and hauling away garbage and brush.  Aside from the
general clipping and cleaning we hope to spread wood chips on the path, spread
topsoil  and seed some bare areas, and sweep the courts.  Please come and
help out if you can!  Bring gloves, clippers, rakes and large brooms if
you have them.

McCarthy Park is located on Hotchkiss St.  The park can also be accessed from an
entrance on High St., between Loveland St. and Church St.  It used to be know as
"City School Field".

Pike's Ravine Cleanup Saturday

From Martha Banks-Serindag:

There will be a community clean up of Pike's Ravine (between Pine Street and Beach Street), on Saturday, April 4, from 9am to 12pm, rain or shine. The Middletown Parks Department will supply gloves, garbage bags, rakes, and wheelbarrows. The Parks Department dump truck will be park at the Beach Street entrance to the Ravine.

Big River Keep On Movin'

This weekend offers a perfect opportunity to get up close and personal with at least three of the rivers that flow through our community.

On Saturday October 11, there's a Fall Foliage and River Cleanup Paddle up the Connecticut, Mattabessett and Cochinchaug Rivers.

What a perfect time to tell a story about cleaning up a river, and maybe win a Toyota Hybrid.


Here are the details.

TOM’S OF MAINE “RIVER STORIES” VIDEO CONTEST

With approximately 50% of the drinking water in the United States coming from rivers, the need for clean water touches the lives of millions of Americans each and every day.

From waterway cleanups to organizing educational programs, there are countless ways to learn how to protect local rivers. Through a Rivers Awareness Partnership™ program with American Rivers and River Network, Tom’s of Maine is looking to support and honor people that take an active role in their communities.

This year, the partnership focuses on “river heroes” who help improve water quality and inspire others to become involved. To salute these local citizens, Tom’s of Maine is launching its first-ever ‘River Stories’ Video Contest. The contest invites people to share their river preservation projects online as a way to draw attention to local efforts and volunteer opportunities.

How to Enter:

Now through October 31, 2008, river supporters are invited to create their own, original video that demonstrates how they are making a positive impact on the rivers in their community. Here are the simple steps to enter:

* Document a local river story on video
* Log onto www.tomsofmaine.com and click on ‘River Stories Video Contest ’ link to complete the online entry form

* Visit www.youtube.com to set up a free account and confirm login information

A valid email address is required to create an account

* Go to www.youtube.com/group/riverstories and click JOIN THIS GROUP to submit the entry

Video entries should not exceed 10 minutes and/or 100 MB in size, and must comply with YouTube submission guidelines

* For complete contest rules visit www.tomsofmaine.com

Grand Prize:

One grand prize winner will be awarded a 2008 Toyota Prius Hybrid

For more information in the River Awareness Partnership visit www.tomsofmaine.com/savingrivers