Food for All - last signup date, tomorrow at the Sardinia CC

The "Food for All" program will come to the Sardinia Community Center tomorrow, July 21, from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

They will help any individual sign up for Food Stamps online. The process takes approximately 30 minutes. If anyone thinks they may be eligible, please stop by the Community Center on one of those evenings and speak with a representative there or contact Kelly Ann Kowalski at 716-882-7705. For any questions, please contact Mary Hannon at 716-864-9472.

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Food for All - tomorrow at the Sardinia CC

The "Food for All" program will come to the Sardinia Community Center on the following Tuesday evenings from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

• July 7
  
• July 21. 
  

They will help any individual sign up for Food Stamps online. The process takes approximately 30 minutes. If anyone thinks they may be eligible, please stop by the Community Center on one of those evenings and speak with a representative there or contact Kelly Ann Kowalski at 716-882-7705. For any questions, please contact Mary Hannon at 716-864-9472.

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Food for All - tomorrow at the Sardinia CC

The "Food for All" program will come to the Sardinia Community Center on the following Tuesday evenings from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

• June 16
  
• July 7
  
• July 21. 
  

They will help any individual sign up for Food Stamps online. The process takes approximately 30 minutes. If anyone thinks they may be eligible, please stop by the Community Center on one of those evenings and speak with a representative there or contact Kelly Ann Kowalski at 716-882-7705. For any questions, please contact Mary Hannon at 716-864-9472.

Food for All - tomorrow at the Sardinia Community Center

The "Food for All" program will come to the Sardinia Community Center on the following Tuesday evenings from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

• May 19
  
• June 16
  
• July 7
  
• July 21. 
  

They will help any individual sign up for Food Stamps online. The process takes approximately 30 minutes. If anyone thinks they may be eligible, please stop by the Community Center on one of those evenings and speak with a representative there or contact Kelly Ann Kowalski at 716-882-7705. For any questions, please contact Mary Hannon at 716-864-9472.

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Food For All at the Sardinia Community Center

The "Food for All" program will come to the Sardinia Community Center on the following Tuesday evenings from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

• May 19
  
• June 16
  
• July 7
  
• July 21. 
  

They will help any individual sign up for Food Stamps online. The process takes approximately 30 minutes. If anyone thinks they may be eligible, please stop by the Community Center on one of those evenings and speak with a representative there or contact Kelly Ann Kowalski at 716-882-7705. For any questions, please contact Mary Hannon at 716-864-9472.

Event Calendar for Sardinia - Send me your events

Please submit any events in the Town to me by email to add to the Sardinia Event Calendar - it's available in the sidebar of this site, and at its own web page.
I'll add any event that's sent to me by email - please include the who, what, where, when, and a little bit of how and why.

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Seethroughny

Now there's a web site you can peruse to see how some of your state taxes are being spent.

http://www.seethroughny.net/

Email your Events for the Sardinia Event Calendar

Please submit any events in the Town to me by email to add to the Sardinia Event Calendar - it's available in the sidebar of this site, and at its own web page.
I'll add any event that's sent to me by email - please include the who, what, where, when, and a little bit of how and why.

What are you doing over the weekend? Eating Pancakes with the Kiwanis and Fire Company, I hope.

The Kiwanis / Fire Co. Annual Pancake breakfast with real maple syrup will take place on this Sunday, March 22 from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Sardinia Fire Co. Training Hall on West Schutt Road, Sardinia. All proceeds benefit the Chaffee-Sardinia Fire company. 

Would you like to volunteer to help (busing tables etc.)? Contact any Kiwanian or respond through our website - www.cskiwanis.org.

What's your favorite pancake recipe? Post it here. I add wheat germ, cinnamon, nutmeg and a dash of smiles to mine.

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Little League Baseball Signups for Chaffee-Sardinia

Chaffee-Sardinia Little League baseball signups will take place at the Pioneer Middle School cafeteria on Friday, March 13 from 5-8 p.m. and Saturday, March 14 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Registration forms will also be available at the Town Clerk's office after March 14, but sign up as soon as you can!

TONIGHT: Baseball and Soccer Registration for SYI

Springville Youth Incorporated will be having its last baseball and soccer sign up.

Where: Springville Town Hall

When: Wednesday, March 11th 6:00PM - 8:00PM 

It's not too early to start thinking about spring and summer sports! 

For costs, please visit SYI website. 

Call for items for the Sardinia Event Calendar

Please submit any events in the Town to me by email to add to the Sardinia Event Calendar - it's available in the sidebar of this site, and at its own web page.

I'll add any event that's sent to me by email - please include the who, what, where, when, and a little bit of how and why.

Belated Reactions from Sardinia Republican Committee Pancake Breakfast

I'm 2 days late in posting my thoughts about the Sardinia Republican Committee breakfast this weekend - I just thought it was a great time. The pancakes were delicious, the company was pleasant, and I even won a raffle basket (sadly, not my first choice, which was the basket with chocolate). 

I hope that future events like this have similarly sunny weather! 

Pancake Breakfast - One Month from Today!

The Kiwanis / Fire Co. Annual Pancake breakfast with real maple syrup will take place on Sunday, March 22 from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Sardinia Fire Co. Training Hall on West Schutt Road, Sardinia. All proceeds benefit the Chaffee-Sardinia Fire company.

Would you like to volunteer to help (busing tables etc.)? Contact any Kiwanian or respond through our website - www.cskiwanis.org.

(I like my pancakes with cinnamon and syrup - no butter!)

HEAP Outreach - Home Energy Assistance Program

An Outreach for HEAP is scheduled on Thursday, February 26, 2009, for the Sardinia Community Center, 12320 Savage Road, Sardinia, NY.

We interview all prospective clientele at Outreach regardless of age or disability.We conduct interviews from 9-4, but a staff member will be on site as early as 8 am to sign in applicants and set up for the day.

Applicants should come prepared with the following:

1 form of ID for all household members (birth cert, license, SS card)
Proof of income received within last 30 days for all household members (paystubs, SS or pension award letters, proof of child support, rental income, unemployment benefits, worker's comp, etc.)
Current heat and /or electric bills
Current shut off notice, or statement of low fuel supply, if applicable
Proof of all household resources including: current checking and savings account bank statements, proof of other resources (stocks, bonds, IRAs, 401K, etc.)
If applicant is missing information we may allow them to mail the information to us in order to complete the application process.

Applications are available at the Town Clerk's office and will be at the registration desks for the Special Election for the Firemen's Service Retirement Award on Tuesday, February 24.Any questions, please contact Council Member Mary Hannon at 716-864-9472.

Reminder: Sardinia Republican Committee Pancake Breakfast This Weekend!

What: Pancakes, and lots of 'em. Plus sausage, juice, and coffee/tea, and sledding, basket raffles, and a bake sale

Who: the Sardinia Republican Committee

When: Sunday, February 22 from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Where: Sprague Brook Park Casino, Foote Road, East Concord

The Committee is also looking for interested individuals to join the team and run for office in the 2009 election. Meet the committee at the breakfast!

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Springville Relay for Life Kickoff Event on February 26

Springville's Relay for Life Committee is planning a Kick Off/Awards Night on February 26, 2009 at 7 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church on Main Street in the 'Ville. This event will gear volunteers and participants up for the main event, the Relay for Life, to be held June 19-20 at the Springville-Griffith Institute High School.

Join the Relay for Life Facebook Group!

Be there.

Family Swimming with SYI

Family Swim will start on Tuesday, February 24th from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.. 

Come and get out of the cold and swim for only $1.00. Come soon because the last Family Swim is on March 17th.

Mr. Heineman's Answers

I didn't make it to the informational session this evening, but I listened to part of it online.

Here are Mr. Heineman's answers to my questions from earlier this week; his answers in red.

I will reserve my comments until tomorrow when I'm more well-rested. I decided not to comment on what I heard, since I wasn't there in person and wasn't able to hear all the audio. If you were there, please comment here.

I hope that these questions are answered in time for the informational

> session on Thursday, though if it takes longer to confirm some of the

> answers, I understand.

>

> - Is the Fire Company willing to have a portion of their financial

> reserves applied to this program?  (no response given)

> - Is there a public record or audit of the Fire Company's finances?

> Has one been done? yes

> - Does the Town or the Fire Company have projections for membership  

> over the next 10-20 years? no

> - Are service award payments considered taxable income? yes

> - What payments can current and former town board members (or their

> families) expect to receive? what do you mean?

> - Once in place, what has to happen in order for the program to end?

> - Does the fire department have trouble recruiting members? What steps YES, A LOT OF HOURS HAVE TO BE SPENT AND A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO GIVE UP THERE PERSONAL TIME, SOME VOLUNTEERS CAN SPEND UP TO AND ABOVE 600 HRS. A YEAR

> have been taken in the past 1-2 years to bring new members into the

> department? we set up booth at carnival,add in our book we hand out,labor day event, word of mouth  

> - How much money has the department spent on advertising in the

> Sardinia Standard, Springville Journal and Arcade Herald, and in  don't know exact amount but it was min. this was our foreign fire tax money we used.

> letters to individual residents, to promote this program?

> - What are the average response times for calls throughout the town? depending on time of day, weather, week day or week end 

>

> I have to say quite honestly that I'm very disappointed that the Town

> Board chose to go with a more expensive program. The Chaffee Sardinia  there are more expensive plans available than this one 

 Fire Volunteers provide an essential and vital service to our town and

> should be duly recognized, but I don't think this is the way to go  if you look at fire co. web site you will see companies that use this type of program

The New Sardinia (official) web site

Hooray!

It's finally here!

Town of Sardinia at the Erie County Web Site

Once they add in news and information (and, dare I dream? a link to this web site?), and fix the glaring and embarrassing typo of "SARDINA" in the top left corner, I think it'll serve as a great resource for the town.

[Edited to add: I emailed the Erie.gov webmaster and told her about the typo - it's fixed! As for the missing content, it all has to come from the Town itself, so - NOTE TO THE TOWN: get that information updated, posthaste!]

My Emailed Questions to the Fire Department

I'll post any answers as I get them.

###

I hope that these questions are answered in time for the informational session on Thursday, though if it takes longer to confirm some of the answers, I understand. - Is the Fire Company willing to have a portion of their financial reserves applied to this program? - Is there a public record or audit of the Fire Company's finances? Has one been done? - Does the Town or the Fire Company have projections for membership over the next 10-20 years? - Are service award payments considered taxable income? - What payments can current and former town board members (or their families) expect to receive? - Once in place, what has to happen in order for the program to end? - Does the fire department have trouble recruiting members? What steps have been taken in the past 1-2 years to bring new members into the department? - How much money has the department spent on advertising in the Sardinia Standard, Springville Journal and Arcade Herald, and in letters to individual residents, to promote this program? - What are the average response times for calls throughout the town? I have to say quite honestly that I'm very disappointed that the Town Board chose to go with a more expensive program. The Chaffee Sardinia Fire Volunteers provide an essential and vital service to our town and should be duly recognized, but I don't think this is the way to go about it. Best, Kara Kane

More Pancakes: The Sardinia Republican Committee

What: Pancakes, and lots of 'em. Plus sausage, juice, and coffee/tea, and sledding, basket raffles, and a bake sale

Who: the Sardinia Republican Committee

When: Sunday, February 22 from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Where: Sprague Brook Park Casino, Foote Road, East Concord

The Committee is also looking for interested individuals to join the team and run for office in the 2009 election. Meet the committee at the breakfast!

Fire Service Award Comments + Community Meeting Results

Some interesting sentiments in the Fire Service Award Poll comments. I agree with a lot of them. With a $3.2 million surplus, the Town is ably prepared to weather the financial poo-storm that continues to gather strength on a global level. The results of the community meeting in November, where dozens of good ideas were tossed around, were never publicized or given to the Board to my knowledge.

I will post the report here. Denise Scheiner emailed it to me as a powerpoint, which is not a web-friendly form of posting information, so I've copied and pasted the text. Many of these ideas have just as much, if not more, merit than the Fire Service Award program, and I wonder why in the name of grilled cheese this document has not been publicized or discussed? Discuss it here. (any typos are mine)

Town of Sardinia

Citizens Committee Report

Short & Long list of suggestions for use

of excess funds

Meeting 11/6/08, 25 people present

Categories

• Future

• For the good of the whole town

• Town buildings

• Seniors

• Wild ideas

• Residential

• Youth & Families

• Town Parks

• Various & Sundry Ideas

Short List/Priority

• Taxes, Fire and School

• Water for Chaffee

• Water for the Rt 16 & Rt 39 business corridor

• Town owned van service

• Web site – filled with pertinent info about the town, events, documents, also to promote the town

• Study, Plan & Act

Long Lists

Future

• 5/10/20/30 year financial plan

• Green energy for all new construction

• Solid long-term fiscal plan

• Invest

• Comprehensive plan

• Replace community center

• Look over old ideas

For the good of the town

• Pay fire taxes for residents

• Pay school taxes for residents

• Comprehensive on-going water and air testing program

• Sponsor health insurance plan for residents, under $100 per person per month

• Free Wi-Fi access

• Positive promotion of our town

• Town web site

• More open to working in partnership with corporations

• Town wide cable access

• Engineering study for water

• Large well in each of the town parks to supply the hamlets

• Disaster Facility

• Encourage new businesses

• Survey public on more ideas within the town

Town Buildings

• Replace community center with an energy efficient building

• Supply a new multicenter purpose state of the art meeting area

• Working elevator for handicapped access

• Sell the Old Town Hall for $1 to the Historical Society and subsidize with an annual stipend

• Spruce up highway building, landscaping

Seniors

• Exercise room

• Bingo

• Senior housing/apt.

• Donate 1 or 2 new vans for Rural Transit and expand on hours and distance

• Senior assistance center/help line

Wild Ideas

• Sport center on the main road

• Small business and residential loans

• Indoor heated pool

• Community banquet facility

• Partnership with Chaffee water works

Residential

• Sidewalks

•Sponsor education on reducing energy needs, recycling etc.

Youth & Families

• Separate the sports fields from the town parks

• Offer entertainment i.e. movies, bowling

• Affordable housing

• Area for skateboarding and ice skating

Town Parks

• Sponsor a study for better use of park

• Path from Chaffee to Veterans Park space

• Trails

• Cabin/Building for use or rent year-round

• Road or path connecting Meyers Rd to the Veterans Park

Various & Sundry Ideas

• Water

• Investigating use or purchase of Erie County  buildings in our town (Warner Gulf & Genesee)

• Education Center/programs

• Tapping back into the Erie County Library system

• New Post Office for Chaffee

• Fire Hall on west end of town

• Scholarships for volunteer fire fighters

• Scholarships for town residents to complete education and remain in town

Site Stats, January 2009

For the start o' the year . . .

315 visits and 113 unique visitors. A little dip from last month.

The average time a person spent on the site was just under 3 minutes.

The site had 675 page views. Another dip, but whatever. This site is fun to write!

The most popular posts were the Fire Service Award post, the Fire Service Award Poll, and the ZBA Planning Board post.

Call for Events to Add to the Sardinia Event Calendar

Please submit any events in the Town to me by email to add to the Sardinia Event Calendar - it's available in the sidebar of this site, and at its own web page.

I'll add any event that's sent to me by email - please include the who, what, where, when, and a little bit of how and why.

Informational Meeting for Fire Service Awards Next Week

Bring your questions about the Chaffee Sardinia Fire Service Awards program to an public information meeting on February 5 at 7 p.m. at the Community Center.

The CSFire web site has a link on their site for emailing questions: danny.hein@verizon.net. I'd encourage everyone to email their questions before the informational meeting in the hopes that they will have answers for the community there. I hope to come up with some questions in the next day or two, and I will post them and any answers I receive here. If you have questions and get some answers beforehand, post them in the comments!

A second informational meeting is scheduled for February 7 at 10 a.m., but to my knowledge the insurance representatives will not be there.

The Boston Hotel Devastated by Fire

WKBW and other sources are reporting on the Boston Hotel fire yesterday. Firegeezer (what an odd name for a web site) has the news, too.

It's outside the town of Sardinia, but anyone who drives north on 240 knows where it is. Such a sad and devastating story.

One Month until the Relay for Life Kick Off

In one month, Springville's Relay for Life Committee is planning a Kick Off/Awards Night.

On February 26, 2009 at 7 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church on Main Street in the 'Ville, the Kick Off will gear volunteers and participants up for the main event, the Relay for Life, to be held June 19-20 at the Springville-Griffith Institute High School.

Join the Relay for Life Facebook Group!

Be there.

Fire Service Award - New Poll

One of the comments suggested a poll about the use of paper ballots vs. voting machines for the referendum on the Sardinia-Chaffee Fire Service Award on February 24. I hadn't heard anything about that, and honestly, if the majority of the Town Board decides that paper ballots are the way to go, there's nothing to be done. Instead, I added a very simple poll that would reflect on the actual vote on February 24: vote yes, vote no, or vote "no, go back to the drawing board and come back to the voters with the least expensive option."

I think you can guess which one I chose, and will choose. I'm astounded that four people who look to be reasonable, thinking human beings (Balus, Uhteg, Phelps and Kenyon) would reject a financial option that is substantially less for this town's taxpayers and put in place one that shows that in Sardinia, fiscal responsibility is less important than political expedience.

Not surprisingly, the Fire Department has a page on their web site devoted to the Fire Service Award. Read it in conjunction with the letter to the Arcade Herald by Mr. Robert Church (who I don't think I've ever met, but maybe he reads this site?), and get out to those informational sessions to see what the facts are on February 5 (7 p.m.) and February 7 (10 a.m.) at the Sardinia Community Center.

Trees and Shrubs, Oh My!

The Erie County Soil and Water Conversation District has its annual tree and shrub seedling program order form available.

Order deciduous and evergreen seedlings, shrubs, transplants and wildlife-attracting seedling packs (at quite reasonable prices).

The ECSWCD web site has descriptions of each tree and shrub along with planting instructions.

Countdown to Pancakes: Two Months!

The Kiwanis / Fire Co. Annual Pancake breakfast with real maple syrup will take place on Sunday, March 22 from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Sardinia Fire Co. Training Hall on West Schutt Road, Sardinia. All proceeds benefit the Chaffee-Sardinia Fire company. 

Would you like to volunteer to help (busing tables etc.)? Contact any Kiwanian or respond through our website - www.cskiwanis.org.

(People who eat their pancakes with Mrs. Butterworth and the like are truly missing out).

A New Poll?

Any suggestions for a new poll (look to the right of this page --> )?

National News about Food Banks

According to CNN, food banks nationally are reporting a 30% increase in demand.

I have the number the food bank coordinator at the Sardinia-Chaffee Baptist Church (I don't know as if she'd want her name and phone number on the Internets), and the Trading Post in Springville can be reached at 592-4455.

Raising Chickens?

Does anyone have recommenndations for good chicken breeds for the Southern Erie County climate? I'm considering getting some from a hatchery to raise for eggs and eventually dinner. No vegetarians in my house.

And for those of you who follow national politics

The CQPolitics web site has a list of cabinet nominees.

Though all the cabinet-level attention has been going towards SecState (Hillary Clinton) and the Treasury (Timothy Geithner), I'll be keeping my eye on what Tom Daschle is able to do as the Health and Human Services Secretary.

Inauguration Day

Regardless of your political affiliation, tomorrow's Inauguration of President Obama is an historic occasion. And if the tv coverage is any indication, this is the most-hyped event in the past few months!

I may be making red white and blue rice krispie treats for the occasion.

Being Green

Does anyone else use reusable shopping bags for groceries and other errands?

I try to, but half the time I forget them in the car.

Kick Off for the Relay for Life in Springville

The Relay for Life Kick Off Event is scheduled for February 26 - that's a Thursday - at the First Methodist Church in the 'Ville. With a birthday party theme, delicious snacks and lively entertainment, it's going to be a great evening!

Want to learn more about the Relay? Visit the Relay site.

Want to start your own team for Relay in June? Sign up!

Are you on Facebook? Join the Relay for Life / Springville Group.

Softball Signups for SYI

The sign-ups for Springville Youth Incorporated Soccer and Baseball also includes Softball.

The dates are as follows:

Saturday, February 7th: 9:00 - 12:00

Wedneday, February 11th: 6:00 - 8:00

Saturday, February 14th: 9:00 - 12:00

Saturday, February 28th: 9:00 - 12:00 (late sign-up date)

Baseball and Soccer Registration for Springville Youth Incorporated

Baseball and soccer registration will be at the Springville Town Hall on the following dates:

Saturday, February 7th - 9:00 - 12:00

Wednesday, February 11th - 6:00 - 8:00

Saturday, February 14th - 9:00 - 12:00

Late Sign - Up Date: Saturday, February 28th - 9:00 - 12:00

Play ball!

Food Bankin' Bins

Two plastic bins will be available before Wednesday's Board Meeting with signs for the Trading Post in Springville and the Chaffee Baptist Church up in Chaffee.

Food items - canned goods, canned or boxed juices, pasta and meals-in-a-box - are needed for the Church's pantry.

Food and children's items, including baby formula - are apprecitaed for the Trading Post.

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Community Service Math

2008's election saw 1400 go to the polls in Sardinia.

The average American watches 4 hours of television per week.

If each Sardinian of voting age volunteered four of those television watching hours to community efforts each month - in a school, with a neighbor in need, at a library, at local food pantries, local non-profits - that would equal 67200 hours in a year (4 hours per month x 12 months x 1400 people).

Say there's about 50 full work-weeks in a calendar year: that's 1344 hours/week, and at 40 hours/week, that would be the equivalent of nearly 34 volunteers working full-time to better the town of Sardinia and the surrounding area.

I don't like math, but I do like those numbers. 

Is anyone else willing to commit to 4 hours/month? I'm sure there are many people in Sardinia who already contribute much more than 4 hours, but some of us need to start slow.

Lead is bad but federal regulations are worse

After February 10, 2009, any consumer item intended for use by children under the age of 12 must be tested for lead. Read the latest news on the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) at Google News, or see the CPSIA regulation for yourself.

That sounds like a good thing, until you think of all the items that will be effected.

Handmade toys, clothing and books.

Hand-me-down toys, clothing and books.

Thrift store toys, clothing and books.

Donations to thrift stores and "community closets."

Items sold on Ebay/half.com/Amazon/craigslist.

Items sold at garage sales.

Large manufacturers won't have a problem with this regulation. Economies of scale will allow them to do testing and labelling en masse and they'll just pass the cost on to consumers. Small manufacters and small business will have a problem with this - CPSIA is one more nail in the coffin for entrepreneurs.

Many of the children's clothing pieces that have made their way through my house got minimal use - this regulation means that I'd be violating the law if I buy a hand-knitted sweater on etsy.com, or sold some gently-used books to a consignment shop. My grandma will be breaking the law when she knits caps for newborns in local hospitals, or sews small quilts for use by kids in domestic violence shelters. 

I want to protect kids from the dangerous health effects of lead exposure, but COME ON! The set of never-used onesies that I want to give to the Salvation Army shouldn't make me a criminal. 

I'm steamed. And I plan on regularly breaking this law. I emailed my local Congressional representative to ask what he is doing to protect local businesses and non-profit outreach from this POS regulation. (I didn't phrase it that way, though). Those in Mr. Higgins' district can do the same through his web site.

Update: a Florida newspaper has an early word on clarification of the regulation from the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission),  which sales consignment and thrift stores are not effected.

Thank goodness!

ZBA and Planning Board Openings

Per advertisements in the Springville Pennysaver (among other places?):

The Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) and Planning Board are accepting applications for open positions. Send resumes to the Town Hall, 12320 Savage Road, Sardinia, New York 14134.

Sardinia Event Calendar

I've added a Google Calendar for Town of Sardinia Events and Board Meetings - it's available in the sidebar of this site, and at its own web page.

I'll add any event that's sent to me by email - please include the who, what, where, when, and a little bit of how and why.

Freepeats for Buffalo

I'm subscribed to a few parent-oriented web sites, most of which focus on time- and money-saving tips. One of them clued me in earlier this week to a site called freepeats.org, where you can register to give and receive "baby, kid and maternity stuff." 

A new "chapter" has opened up for Buffalo, and you can join for free until January 15, 2009. If you're a parent or grandparent who has some gently-used kid stuff, coupons or formula samples to unload, or who wants to pick up some extra gear, this is another opportunity.

Freepeats looks like a discussion-board version of other services like freecycle (which is email-based). Once it establishes a larger user base I think it will turn into a very useful site for parents, grandparents and parents-to-be.

Site Stats, December 2008

Just for some general statistics about the use of this site - I use a service called Google Analytics which tells me how many people have visited townofsardinia.blogspot.com and some other basic information about the site's usage. 

The site had:

• 333 visits and 168 unique visitors. Given that Sardinia had about 1500 voters in the 2008 election, if I were to assume that even half of the visitors live in the Town of Sardinia -  I've reached about 5% of the town's resident voters. Sweet.
• The average time a person spent on the site was 4 minutes.
• More than half the site's visitors used Internet Explorer, with the rest split between Firefox and Google Chrome, and a tiny handful of Mac users.
• The site had 821 page views.
• The most popular posts were Next Town Board Meeting, Chaffee-Sardinia Kiwanis Club, and Food at Town Board Meetings.

I wonder what January 2009 will bring!

Welcome to 2009!

I'm interested to hear what Sardinians are looking forward to in 2009, and what they hope to see locally! 

There's a technology/culture site I like to read called boingboing, and it has a list of 2009 predictions on a more global scale that I enjoyed reading through. Is that our future?