Hawley News

Sally Rich, 1941 – 2019, Town of Hawley Selectman

In the aftermath of Hurricane Irene (August 2011), Sarah “Sally” Rich stands in front of a Town Truck with other officials and participants in Hawley’s response.  Left to Right: Richard “Dick” Desmarais; Sally Rich; Lisa Turner; Richie Gould; Darwin Clark; Hussain Hamdan.​

It is with great regret that I inform you that Hawley Selectman Sarah J. “Sally” Rich (formerly Sarah Jones), passed away surrounded by her family a little after eight o’clock in the evening on Tuesday, March the 26, 2019, at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. She was 77 years old.

She was presently also serving on the Hawlemont Regional School Committee and the Hawley Conservation Commission. As many people in Hawley know, she was also my grandmother and one of my best friends.

Sally was Hawley’s first and, thus far, only woman to sit on the Select Board, serving on and off from the 1980s and being elected to her current term in May of 2018.  She left the Board in the ’90s for health reasons, but when her health improved and the Town needed her she answered the call and came back.  She liked to be called by the traditional title “Selectman”; not “Selectwoman,” “Selectperson,” or “Select Board Member.”

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A TREE FALLS in such a way that it straddles Town/Resident property lines? A new Tree Removal policy, adopted by the Hawley Selectboard at its October 2, 2018, meeting, spells out the options. This policy, which is…

THE TOWN OF HAWLEY SELECTBOARD ADOPTED a new tree tapping policy at its September 18, 2018, meeting. The purpose of the policy is to set standards and definitions regarding the tapping of trees on Town-owned land.  Included in the policy…

THE HAWLEY BOARD OF SELECTMEN ENACTED a new, local advertising policy at their August 21, 2018, meeting. The policy defines the conditions under which local Hawley businesses can post business cards or small fliers advertising their goods and services at…

CHARLES STETSON, a long-time resident of Hawley who served the Town in a number of important roles over the years, passed away on Saturday, November 11, 2017. A US Army Veteran, he was 75 years old.

According to an obituary in the November 13 Greenfield Recorder [access it HERE], a “… celebration of life service will be held Sunday, November 19 at 2:00 pm at Mary Lyon Church in Buckland.” No calling hours have been established.

Charlie and his spouse, Cynthia, lived in Hawley on West Hawley Road for many years, moving to their current address — 29 Potter Road, Rowe — two years ago.  During his time in Hawley, Charlie performed

Notice to small logging/firewood operations: The Hawley Conservation Commission has encountered a few cases recently that have involved logging in or near wetlands. The forest cutting practices act allows landowners to cut up to 25,000 board feet of timber or…

THE MASSACHUSETTS BROADBAND INSTITUTE (MBI) HAS SET a fast pace in the weeks since it first announced a new direction and level of flexibility. For a Town like Hawley, this is the first time that Town officials and committee members…