Events and deadlines up and coming in September in East Longmeadow

Date: 9/3/2014

EAST LONGMEADOW– Several municipal events and deadlines are up and coming this month, including the 13th annual candlelight vigil to remember the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the front yard of the Fire Department, 150 Somers Road.

“People want to pay their respects and remember and not forget,” Fire Chief Paul Morrissette said.

Typically about 300 to 400 people attend the memorial vigil annually, he said. The parking lots of the Fire Department and the Police Department next door are usually nearly filled.

“First there’s a blessing, usually by the department chaplain at the beginning of it,” he said. “At that point we light the candles.”

The ceremony begins at 8 p.m. and will last approximately a half hour, Morrissette said. A member of the Board of Selectmen will begin the vigil with opening remarks followed by speeches from local state representatives and senators.

“We do the ceremonial sounding of the last alarms for the firefighters,” he said. “We ring our bell in [remembrance of the firefighters who died in New York City during 9/11].”

Warrant articles for the Special Town Meeting must be received in the Board of Selectmen’s Office by Sept. 15 at 4 p.m. The Special Town Meeting is scheduled to take place at 7 p.m. in the East Longmeadow High School auditorium.

Petitioned warrant articles must include the signatures of at least 100 registered voters, according to a town press release. Forms are available in the Town Clerk’s Office.

A country bonfire sponsored by the Recreation Department in conjunction with KIX 100.9 will feature the Swon Brothers, a country music duo who finished in third place on the fourth season of NBC’s “The Voice.”



The bonfire, which benefits the East Longmeadow Fire and Police departments and the Recreation Department, will take place Sept. 6 at Center Field beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Last year about $2,500 was raised by the event in total, he said.

“We have a fund that we use in case there’s a firefighter in need,” Morrissette added. “It’s firefighter support.”

Country music singer Kelleigh Bannen, whose second single “Famous” made it to No. 46 in the U.S. country music charts in 2014, will also be a featured artist during the bonfire.

“People show up with their lounge chairs, last year [there were] people with Frisbees running around and the bonfire’s going to be going off,” he said. “It’s a good night out.”

Also, a regional household hazardous waste collection day for the towns of East Longmeadow, Longmeadow, Ludlow, and Wilbraham will be held on Sept. 13 from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. at Minnechaug Regional High School in Wilbraham.

The event is free to residents of all four communities and preregistration is required. East Longmeadow’s telephone registration number is 525-5400, ext. 1100 and can be taken only from Sept. 8 to 10 from 9 a.m. until noon.

Propane tanks will not be accepted for waste collection. Oil based and lead pant will be accepted and any latex paint, which is not a hazardous material, will not be collected.