Advancing the social, educational, civic and economic interest of the village and it’s inhabitants
LEEDS CIVIC ASSOCIATION
P.O. Box 114, Leeds, MA 01053
LeedsCivicAssoc@gmail.com
LEEDS CIVIC ASSOCIATION
P.O. Box 114, Leeds, MA 01053
LeedsCivicAssoc@gmail.com
LEEDS SCHOOL EMERGENCY RESPONSE MEETING
Tuesday, December 11th at 6:00 p.m. in the Leeds School Cafetorium
AN OPEN LETTER TO OUR NEIGHBORS OF LEEDS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Dear friends,
We are collaborating to reach out to the Leeds community to establish a plan with neighbors should the Leeds Elementary School ever be faced with a serious safety concern. This need stems from discussions happening in schools across the country on how best to react to an active shooter situation in school or on school grounds.
As you know, this is a tough topic to discuss with children because of the maturity level of the content, as well as the fear it incites. At the Leeds School, we have instructed our students to look to adults for direction and those directions may be, “run!” The obvious question is: run where?, and the obvious answer is: to safety. But where exactly is “safety?”
That is where you, neighbors, come in. We would like to invite you to become partners in the safety and well-being of the children. We envision that if an active shooter were to infiltrate our community, kids could run into the nearby neighborhood and knock on doors knowing that they are turning to safe locations and that they will be cared for until they can be safely reunited with their primary caregivers.
Please consider helping us to teach our students to trust our neighbors. Would you be willing to welcome strangers, whose average age is eight, into your homes and be willing to provide them with safety and a brief moment of social and emotional support?
Together, let’s start this discussion between Leeds Elementary School and you: our neighbors. We look forward to a dialog on how to best meet this need that we hope will never arise. Please join us on Tuesday, December 11th at the Leeds School Cafeteria at 6:00 p.m. to plan with us.
With thanks,
Sal Canata, Principal, Leeds Elementary School
Alisa Klein, Ward 7 City Councilor
Robert’s Hill Gets Some Trail Love
David Litterer, friend to the LCA and trail enthusiast from UMass has done a remarkable job defining the major and minor trails on Robert’s Hill over the past four years. He worked his magic again on a warm Saturday in November. Finally, the Robert’s Hill trail network is complete! You can download the newly updated Robert’s Hill trail map at LeedsCivic.org.
IMPROVED RED TRAIL AND NEW PINK CIRCLE TRAIL – The Red Triangle trail that extends east of the Blue trail was not well defined and a bit confusing as it rounded down to the Fire Road. Now with the easment path properly relocated the path is much easier to follow. Without having to do too much work, thanks to neighbors who helped with the clearing, David blazed a beautiful new trail loop off of the Red trail. This new trail is blazed with PINK CIRCLES.
NEW YELLOW CONNECTOR TRAILS TO NEW PINK CIRCLE TRAIL – Two new yellow paths makes for easy access from the long yellow path to the new pink loop. After working on the trails and painting the new blazes David did a bit more exploring and ran into two groups who had just discovered the new blazes and walked the trails, literally while the paint was still drying! He said they were absolutely delighted. David thinks these trails will be very popular – they’re very nice walks.
NEW ICE POND YELLOW CONNECTOR TRAIL – David painted small yellow marks along the small loop west of the Ice Pond. That path was very hard to follow otherwise, and in fact, a hiker he met on that trail said he had spoken to a couple cyclists who had gone there and struggled to find their way through. It’s very easy to follow now, and hopefully this loop will get more traffic.
Download the map
Wildlife blind takes form in Leeds
by Matt Verson
When the Beaver Brook Working Group first started discussing a blind, we thought it would be cool to keep our funds in the communityandemploylocaltradespeopletoshowwhattheycould do. Wally Halva at the Hampshire County Jail donated shop time and services by building the kiosk, and Joel Strate transported the kiosk. In April, Tom Jenkins of Westhampton felled the trees and dragged them to the landing with his oxen, Rock and Star. In August, Neil Godden of Goshen with his portable sawmill milled the logs into timbers and boards. A host of other folks participated by donating time or materials to the project including Dave Bowman for the roof boards, Goshen Stone for plinths and stair landing, Hathaway Construction for gravel, RK Miles for the metal roofing material. Underground Supply helped erect the structure, and Bob Marvel planed the floor boards.
The relationship between Tom Jenkins and his oxen, the way they silently moved the massive walnut, cherry, and locust logs through the forest, it was unassailable the special husbandry a teamster develops. The interest that the oxen took in their surroundings – nibbling on the emerging garlic mustard, tasting a twig here and there, was a reminder that animal traction is not just a blast from the past, but an invitation to ground oneself in the here and now.
The objective now is safe parking off the road near the kiosk, and clearing some trails to avoid having to wade through the undergrowth. Picnic tables andabenchwillfollownext season, and some folks are working to clear invasive species, and rehabilitate the old farmstead garden that still provides a variety of blooms.