Westport in Brief!
EverythingWestport.com
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Quick Article Index . . .
The origins of Groundhog Day.
Free Home Energy Saving Seminar for Retirees coming to Westport Council on Aging.
Curbside Appeal!
Beer drinkers raise over $1200 for Haiti relief.
The origins of Groundhog Day.
EverythingWestport.com
Thursday, January 28, 2010
History courtesy of Stormfax Weather Almanac
Is six more weeks of winter on its way?
It appears so as a large high front is moving across the Eastern United States, and the weather forecast
for Gobbler's Knob is sunshine.
And to think an animal rights group wanted to replace Phil with a robot! What nonsense! Click here to see
Phil’s response to being automated.
History of Groundhog Day.
In 1723, the Delaware Indians settled Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania as a campsite halfway between the
Allegheny and the Susquehanna Rivers. The town is 90 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, at the intersection
of Route 36 and Route 119. The Delawares considered groundhogs honorable ancestors. According to
the original creation beliefs of the Delaware Indians, their forebears began life as animals in "Mother
Earth" and emerged centuries later to hunt and live as men.
The name Punxsutawney comes from the
Indian name for the location "ponksaduteney" which means "the town of the
sandflies."
The name woodchuck comes from the
Indian legend of "Wojak, the groundhog"
considered by them to be their ancestral
grandfather.
When German settlers arrived in the 1700s,
they brought a tradition known as
Candlemas Day, which has an early origin
in the pagan celebration of Imbolc. It came at the mid-point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring
Equinox. Superstition held that if the weather was fair, the second half of winter would be stormy and
cold. For the early Christians in Europe, it was the custom on Candlemas Day for clergy to bless candles
and distribute them to the people in the dark of winter. A lighted candle was placed in each window of the
home. The day's weather continued to be important. If the sun came out February 2, halfway between
winter and spring, it meant six more weeks of wintry weather.
The earliest American reference to Groundhog Day can be found at the Pennsylvania Dutch
Folklore Center at Franklin and Marshall College: February 4, 1841 - from Morgantown, Berks County
(Pennsylvania) storekeeper James Morris' diary..."Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas day, the day
on which, according to the Germans, the Groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his
shadow he pops back for another six weeks nap, but if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather
is to be moderate."
According to the old English saying:
If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Winter has another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Winter will not come again.
From Scotland:
If Candlemas Day is bright and clear,
There'll be two winters in the year.
From Germany:
For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day,
So far will the snow swirl until May.
For as the snow blows on Candlemas Day,
So far will the sun shine before May.
And from America:
If the sun shines on Groundhog Day;
Half the fuel and half the hay.
If the sun made an appearance on Candlemas Day, an animal would cast
a shadow, thus predicting six more weeks of winter. Germans watched a
badger for the shadow. In Pennsylvania, the groundhog, upon waking from
mid-Winter hibernation, was selected as the replacement. Pennsylvania's
official celebration of Groundhog Day began on February 2nd, 1886 with a
proclamation in The Punxsutawney Spirit by the newspaper's editor,
Clymer Freas: "Today is groundhog day and up to the time of going to
press the beast has not seen its shadow." The groundhog was given the
name "Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator
of Prognosticators, and Weather Prophet Extraordinary'' and his hometown
thus called the "Weather Capital of the World.'' His debut performance: no
shadow - early spring. The legendary first trip to Gobbler's Knob was made
the following year.
Free Home Energy Saving Seminar for Retirees coming to
Westport Council on Aging.
EverythingWestport.com
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Westport residents, Want to reduce your home energy costs? Looking for cheap, do-it-yourself solutions?
Interested in ways to finance energy and heating improvements?
You’ll learn about all this and more by attending a free seminar: Home Energy Savings for Retirees on
Monday February 17th, at 1:00 p.m. at 75 Reed Road, Westport. The Council on Aging is hosting this
session, one of the 130 being held statewide by the Massachusetts Municipal Association.
The workshop will stress the importance of reducing heat usage by providing do-it-yourself sealing
techniques; information on which in-depth alterations are most cost effective; tips on reducing electricity
and water usage, resources for home audits, rebates and financing alterations. Presenters will lead a
slideshow to illustrate hands-on tips, discuss which changes are the most cost-effective, and provide free
educational materials for attendees. Refreshments will be provided.
“Home Energy Savings for Retirees Seminars cover the key elements to reducing home energy costs,”
Gomes said. “These free workshops will teach residents how to be most effective in reducing energy use
and costs.”
To find out more about this workshop, contact Mary Ellen Gomes at: (508) 636-1026 or email:
coadirector@westport-ma.gov.
Click here to review MMA slide presentation on Home Energy Savings to see if this workshop is
for you. PDF Large file, please be patient.
Curbside Appeal!
EverythingWestport.com
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
“We’re on budget and slightly ahead of schedule,”
Owner’s Project Manager Peter Koczera told
EverythingWestport.com. “We have almost zero
change orders,” he said, a result Koczera feels is
due to good building design and construction
documents. “Contactors have little opportunity to
vary from their original quote.”
MRJ Construction employee Jeff Miranda (left)
sets a curbstone with the help of a Bobcat and coworker Donald at the new southend fire station.
Workers took advantage of sunny weather to
tackle some of the outside landscaping chores,
getting a jump on spring. It’s probably not a
minute too soon as Punxsutawney Phil predicted
six more weeks on winter.
Inside the building, Fradette Drywall of Danielson,
CT continues with the taping and mudding of the
interior wallboard, while KONE, Inc. (branch office
in Canton, MA) installs the fire station’s threelevel traction elevator.
KONE (pronounced cō´nāy´), a Finish company,
is a world leading elevator and escalator
company. Their KONE MonoSpace™ elevator is a practical, affordable and efficient machine room-less
elevator.
HVAV (Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning) systems use energy-efficient equipment.
The fire station’s heating system is primarily forced hot water with a secondary forced hot air supply using
duct-inserted, remotely installed VAV (Variable Air Volume) units with hot-water-driven reheat coils and
fans.
The thermostatically-controlled VAV units employed at the fire station (pictured below) provide two
important functions; rapidly warming a space cooled by nighttime setbacks; and by regulating the volume
of air delivered, a VAV system can control the temperature of a space without changing the temperature
of the main supply air.
Another VAV benefit for large buildings is the need to address the problematic environmental
requirements of the need to heat or cool some parts of a building (usually at the perimeter) at a different
rate than others (usually the interior). This problem can be overcome by adding a reheat coil to the VAV
box (pictured to the left.)
Most of the ductwork in the fire station is used for the Air Exchange System, as today’s more energyefficient construction can create a problem of indoor air pollution, with vapor barriers, thermal windows,
weather-stripping and caulk reducing or stopping fresh air from infiltrating and replacing stale air. A device
known as an air-to-air exchanger is used to recover heating or cooling and improve air quality.
Left: Central ductwork associated with the air-handling system. Right: Dave of Seekonk Heating works the copper fittings
in the heating system’s hot water lines.
Left: Neil of KONE Elevators works high in the elevator shaft. Center: Neil plumbs and levels the elevator’s hardware.
Right: Frank of Fradette Drywall works the mud in the tight spots, squeezing himself into the HVAC piping systems to get
the job done.
Left: Interior walls are ready for painting. Right: Alan of Fradette Drywall provides the finishing touches to the building’s
interior walls.
February 1, 2010
Koczera also said that interior painting should begin next week.
“Energy-efficient construction materials implemented throughout the entire station will produce returns by
reducing energy costs,” Koczera said. “The air exchange system, for example, (fresh outside air
periodically replaces stale internal air) recovers most of the energy used to heat or cool the internal air
being replaced. The thermal pane glass used in the apparatus bay doors allow solar heat to be captured
in the colder months.
“The windows also provide a light, airy environment,” Koczera said.
Beer Drinkers raise over $1200 for Haiti relief.
EverythingWestport.com
Saturday, February 6, 2010
On Saturday, February 6th, the South Coast's local brewery, Just Beer, decided to donate 100% of sales
of its Amber Ale beer to World Vision's efforts in post-earthquake Haiti.
Bill Russell, owner and brewer, explains that "with the SuperBowl on Sunday, we couldn't help but think
this was a great way for people to serve delicious local brew and do some good at the same time." 100%
of the proceeds is a rare thing these days but it helped the small microbrewery raise over $1200.
"Giving back into our community is important to us," continues Russell, "several of our bottled beers have
earmarks for important local concerns." In a day and age where federal earmarks are fraught with political
controversy, Just Beer's earmarks help raise funds for "local farming, poverty issues and our Marines in
Afghanistan". Indeed, Just Beer donates between $1 and $2 per bottle to these concerns. "Beer can
change the world," declares Russell. And his small brewery is proving it.
It seems many grabbed their SuperBowl Sunday brewskies early at 98 Horsemeck Road in Westport and
did some good in the process. “We sent the donors home with a 24-bottle case of our beauteous amber
ale for each donation of $15; all proceeds went to assist the relief efforts in Haiti,” Russell said.
The daughter of one of Just Beer's fundraising fans drew ‘Help Haiti Buy Beer’ on the brewery's cooler
box (photo above left.) You can find out more about Just Beer at their website www.justbeer.us, or on
twitter name = ItsJustBeer.
For more information call Bill Russell at (774) 201-9297, or email: messmaker@justbeer.us
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