MAC: The Old Pine Street Dump Will Soon Come to Life

DID YOU KNOW…

It appears the old Pine Street landfill/dump, which has been closed and capped for over 20 years, could soon become one of the New England’s largest solar facilities, which will be able to generate enough electrical energy to power more than 750 homes.

Under the solar generation proposal, approximately 24,000 solar panels will be installed in a 5.6 megawatt facility, and it is estimated it could net Canton about $16.3 million over 25 years, which includes the land lease, rebates for power generated from the site, and savings on the town’s electrical bills. If approved, construction is expected to be complete, with power flowing by this coming October or November.

Many older residents and Canton “townies” recall the dump with fond memories.  Back in the days before Canton had weekly trash pickup, virtually everyone in town would make a weekly trip to “the dump” on Saturdays with a car trunk full of their accumulated trash to dispose of. These trips were generally the social event of the week where you could meet and gossip with your friends and neighbors, and politicians would make it a point to get there each Saturday to meet and greet voters.

Now, if the Pine Street landfill becomes an active solar facility, the long-closed Canton dump will be coming back to a useful life, and even though we won’t be making weekly trips there like we used to, we will have the satisfaction of knowing the old dump is being used to generate environmentally safe electric power.

If you think the federal stimulus funds haven’t generated any jobs, think again. Since the program started almost two years ago, Massachusetts has spent $5.5 billion in federal stimulus funds, and more than 71,000 people in the state have received paychecks as a result.

MAC notes that heating costs are through the roof, and lower temperatures and higher bills mean our household budgets are also in trouble. According to the State Department of Energy Resources, the average price for heating oil in Massachusetts is $3.46 per gallon, which is an increase of 61 cents over last year’s average. As a comparison, natural gas prices are running at about 25 percent less than heating oil.

Lombardo’s function facility in Randolph is now undergoing its first major renovation in the last ten years.  The function facilities will remain open during the renovations, which are expected to be complete by April.  Improvements include new carpeting and lounge furniture, a neutral color scheme to replace the present green and beige colors, and new LED lighting, which can change color to customize events. The huge chandelier that hangs above the grand staircase will remain, but the fountain in the rotunda will be removed to create a larger reception area. Incidentally, the Lombardo’s building in Randolph is now 47 years old, and it has a 1,100-person capacity. Lombardo’s general manager is Bob Doe of Canton, who is also a member of the Canton Conservation Commission.

The Stoughton police chief is requesting a $67,500 town meeting appropriation to buy 45 stun guns for his department. The Patriot Ledger reports only 61 Massachusetts police departments have purchased stun guns since the legislature first allowed them in 2004. Of those 61, Canton, Rockland and Pembroke are the only South Shore communities to have them. The stun guns are capable of delivering a 50,000-volt jolt from a distance of up to 35 feet.

U.S. troops will receive a 1.4-percent pay raise for 2011, which is the smallest pay raise since 1962. The raise figure is based on the current average rate of private sector wage growth as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Cost Index (ECI). However, while active duty military troops are getting a modest pay raise, disabled veterans, military retirees, and Social Security recipients will not see a COLA increase in their monthly benefits for the second year in a row. COLAs are based on the Consumer Price Index, a government estimate of the rate of inflation. Since the inflation rate was negative for 2009 and 2010, there have been no federal COLAs for the last two years.

Finally, Barbara Walsh’s Unity Feeds Store at 626 Washington Street was used a couple of weeks ago to film portions of a new movie currently under production entitled “Fame:  Episode One,” an independent short film by actor/director John Mosetich. About 23 cast and crew members were involved in the Canton filming, and they managed to complete a week’s worth of footage between Saturday morning and Sunday night. The director says he hopes to have the film ready for showing in March.

Henry David Thoreau lived in Canton on Pleasant Street in the early 1830s and taught in the Canton public schools. The transcendentalist movement, which had in those years begun to achieve international interest, probably had much of its start in Canton.

The difficulties and struggles of today are but the price we must pay for the accomplishments and victories of tomorrow.

This is all for now folks. See you next week.

Joe DeFelice can be reached at manaboutcanton@aol.com.

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=1957

Posted by Joe DeFelice on Feb 16 2011. Filed under Featured Content, Man About Canton, Opinion. Both comments and pings are currently closed.