Our Towne Bethlehem April 2023

I was surprised the other day by an article in a regional newspaper applauding the Town of Colonie for providing one single day of storm debris collection in the wake of the March 4 storm’s heavy snow and innumerable broken branches.

Bethlehem’s Highway Department collects yard debris year-round, with intensified collection efforts after big storms. In the wake of the March 4 storm, for example, our Highway crews collected more than 200 dump-truck loads of downed branches and trees!

because our crews will also pick up waste lumber, wood fencing, wood bed frames, and wood lawn furniture. These items will only be collected during the Spring Clean Up event from April 17 to April 21, but what a great service it is!

Spring Clean Up is a huge amount of work. It’s also hard on our workers because each crew member lifts tons of yard debris each day.

During Spring Clean Up and through the year, please be considerate and make sure all containers and biodegradable bags are lighter than 50 lbs.

with toxic chemicals.)

At the Compost Facility, branches and logs are shredded into small pieces and composted. Turning leaves and wood chips into compost takes about 9 months and is done entirely by beneficial microbes. These microbes keep the piles at more than 130o F for extended periods, which not only allows them to keep eating through the winter, but also kills weed seeds and garden pests that might have come in from our yards.

All this yard waste, plus a growing amount of food scraps, is turned into about 500,000 cubic feet of compost each year. We sell the majority of this compost to commercial buyers (over the last 3 years, these sales generated more than $350,000 for the Town). But we also hold a lot of the compost for free distribution to residents by the shovel full, or a modest cost by the pickup truck load. You can find more information about our Compost Facility, hours, and rates at

www.townofbethlehem.org/125/ Compost-Facility.

WHAT WE DO WITH YOUR YARD DEBRIS

During the Spring Clean Up event, Fall Leaf Pickup, and all the other yard debris collection our Highway crews do throughout the year, we gather about 2 million cubic feet of yard waste.

SPRING CLEAN UP – April 17-21

Now that winter has passed, we’re transitioning to our big Spring Clean Up effort. Spring Clean Up is more than just our normal yard waste collection,

All of that yard waste is taken to our Compost Facility on Route 32. (Other wood waste collected during the Spring Clean Up event is, sadly, landfilled because it is often painted or treated

David VanLuven Bethlehem Town Supervisor

Earth Day lessons for investors

It’s almost Earth Day, when people around the world focus on ways of protecting and preserving the environment. And the lessons from this occasion can be applied to other areas of life — such as investing.

Here are some themes to consider:

Sustainability – From an environmental perspective, sustainability encompasses a range of issues, such as using natural resources wisely. As an investor, you, too, need to protect your resources. So, for example, to sustain a long-term investment strategy, you won’t want to dip into your retirement accounts, such as your IRA and 401(k), to pay for major home or car repairs or other unexpected, costly bills before retirement. You can help prevent this by building an emergency fund containing several months’ worth of living expenses, with the money kept in a liquid, low-risk account. And once you’re retired, you need to sustain your portfolio so it can help provide income for many years. For that to happen, you’ll need to maintain a withdrawal rate that doesn’t deplete your investments too soon.

Growth potential – Many people plant trees to celebrate Earth Day, with the hope that, as the trees grow, they’ll contribute to cleaner air. When you invest, you also need growth potential if you’re going to achieve your goals, including a comfortable retirement. So, your portfolio will need a reasonable percentage of growth-oriented vehicles, such as stocks and stock-based mutual funds or exchangetraded funds (ETFs). Yet, you do need to be aware that these investments can lose value, especially during downturns in the financial markets. You can help reduce the impact of market turbulence on your holdings by also owning other types of investments, such as bonds, government securities and certificates of deposit (CDs). While these investments can also lose value, they are typically less volatile than

stocks and stock-based mutual funds and ETFs. The appropriate percentage of growth and fixed-income investments in your portfolio depends on your risk tolerance, time horizon and long-term objectives.

Avoidance of “toxins” – At some Earth Day events, you can learn about positive behaviors such as disposing of toxic items safely. And in the investment world, you’ll also want to avoid toxic activities, such as chasing “hot” stocks that aren’t appropriate for your needs, or trading investments so frequently that you run up commissions and taxes or jumping out of the markets altogether when there’s a temporary decline.

Consolidation – Getting rid of clutter and unnecessary possessions is another lesson some people take away from Earth Day. All of us, when we look around our homes, could probably find many duplicate items — do we really need two blenders or three brooms or five staplers? When you invest, it’s also surprisingly easy to pick up “clutter” in the form of multiple accounts. You might have an IRA with one financial company and brokerage accounts with two or three others. If you were to consolidate these accounts with one provider, you might reduce correspondence — even if it is online — and possibly even lower the fees you pay. But perhaps more important, by consolidating these accounts at one place, possibly with the guidance of a financial professional who knows your needs and goals, you may find it easier to follow a single, unified investment strategy.

Earth Day only happens once a year — but it may provide lessons for investors that can last a lifetime.

Daniel Daly

This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor. Agency of California,

Pet ID Week

Keeping an ID on your pet is so important to animal advocates that there is an entire week dedicated to it. April 17 through April 23 is National Pet ID Week. Even the most well-behaved cats and dogs can get lost, run off unexpectedly, or get separated from their humans. Having the proper identification on your pet at all times can help you reunite with your pet quickly. Many dogs and cats end up on the streets, homeless, or in animal shelters because their family can’t be identified. Many of these pets are picked up close to their homes and are assumed to be homeless or abandoned.

Would your dog be able to find his way home if he got separated from you on vacation, while on a road trip, or while chasing a bunny in your backyard? The best way to safeguard your pet’s return is to provide him with identification.

Pet IDs are important for all pets to have - whether it’s on a collar or an implanted microchip; it is much easier for an animal to be reunited with their owner if they get lost. When cats are microchipped, they are 20 times more likely to be returned to their owners when they go missing. Dogs are two and a half times more likely to make it back home.

All forms of pet identification should include your name, your address, telephone numbers, necessary medical information, and your veterinarian’s name and number. While this information could be kept on a traditional collar or ID tag, veterinarians and pet experts recommend microchipping your dog and cat.

Any lost animal brought to a veterinary clinic, picked up by animal control or taken to an animal shelter is automatically scanned for a microchip. A microchip is a permanent means of identification that is implanted under an animal’s skin. The primary benefit of microchipping is that unlike traditional collars and tags, your pet cannot lose his microchip. The chip can be read using a special scanner and provides the information needed in order to reunite the animal with its owner.

The technology of a pet microchip is simple and safe. No bigger than a grain of rice, a pet microchip is a radio-frequency identification transponder made up of just a few components encased within a slender capsule of bioglass, which is used extensively for implants in both humans and animals. A microchip’s sole function is to store a unique ID number that is used to retrieve a pet parent’s contact information; it differs from a Global Positioning System, which is used for tracking, and requires a power source such as a battery. Microchips are passive devices, which means

they have no internal energy source. They stay dormant until they are activated by a scanner. When a microchip scanner is passed over the skin of a microchipped pet, the implanted microchip emits an RF (radio frequency) signal. The scanner reads the microchip’s unique ID code. The microchip registry is called, and the registry company uses the ID number to retrieve the pet parent’s contact information from the pet recovery database.

Talk to your vet today about microchipping your pet. If your pet is already microchipped, make sure that your contact information is up to date so if your pet is found you can be contacted. If you are not sure how to do this, contact your veterinarian.

If you have any questions about spaying or neutering your pet, ask your vet!

Please send all your veterinary questions to:

AskTheVet@canterburyvet.com