Five years ago, I decided to take a flying leap at improving communications and building greater awareness among Dunstable residents of issues that affect our community. I started out by creating an informal community email list on Yahoo Groups [1] and building a municipal website for the town [2].
Dunstable News was launched a year later, and became Dunstable Commons after my husband Darrell added his talent and skill to the mix. Over the past four years, it has given us tremendous satisfaction to watch Dunstable Commons become an information source that many residents turned to when they wanted to know what's going on. Many have expressed gratitude for the service. Your appreciation, coupled with our own sense of the good that Dunstable Commons has done for the community are what makes it so difficult for us to take this step, but we are simply no longer in a position to give the amount of time and energy that is required to keep it going.
So, what now?
Darrell and I are now moving on to focus on Mainstream Guides [3], a new business that reaches out to the broader internet market. Just visit the site to see what that's about.
The Dunstable Commons website will stay in place as long as people are using it. It will still display links to current news stories published on other websites. You can still put things in the classifieds, publish letters, or launch discussions in the forum. You will still be able to search for articles that have been published in the past or browse the photo gallery. Many of the magazine articles will remain relevant for those who want to learn about some of the people and places in Dunstable. But realistically, without regular updates to the site content and the attention drawn to the site by the newsletter, its value is likely to diminish. If any of you have any interest in maintaining Dunstable Commons as a local news source, please contact us [4]. (The challenge lies much more in creating the content than in the technology that gets the content published.)
We will continue to maintain the infrastructure of the town website [5]. Ever since we rebuilt the website last fall, town employees and other volunteers have been taking over responsibility for publishing the content on the site, but they could use some volunteer support. It's an easy way to do something for the town without having to commit a lot of time or attend committee meetings! Send webmaster@dunstable-ma.gov [6] an email if you think you can volunteer a little time.)
For those of you who need to get the word out about community events or things that are of interest to the community of Dunstable, we added a form to the town website [7] that lets community organizations submit notices for publication on the town site. Look for the Publish Bulletin link on the Quick Links menu in the left panel or use the link on the Bulletins page [8] .
We will also continue to moderate the Dunstable Yahoo Group [9] (email list). If you need to connect with folks in town, to ask a question, share information, or express an opinion, the email list is a good place to do that. If you would like to join the Dunstable Yahoo Group, either send a request via the Yahoo Groups page [10] or, if you don't have a Yahoo account, send your email address to Kathy at kicenogle@charter.net [11] with a request to be added to the list.
We believe that the e-newsletter has been a valued service and expect that many will miss it. If we can find time to set up a more automated newsletter, we will certainly do that. If you would be interested in such a service, please be sure we have your current email address. (If you currently get the newsletter, we have your email address; just let us know if your address changes.)
We hope that you will all continue to tune in to town happenings and look for ways to get involved. This is a great town, but it will only continue to be so if residents contribute to its operation and preservation.
Finally, there's an important Town Meeting coming up on May 12 that voters should attend. The FY09 budget information [12] is published on the town website. The warrant articles are in the town report you just received. Also, remember to cast your vote in the Town Election on May 19.
Thank you to all who have supported and encouraged us in our efforts on Dunstable Commons. Please stay in touch!
Regards,
Kathy & Darrell Icenogle
editor@dunstablecommons.net [13]