Did you hear …?

MONROE, CT — Linda Picheco, a town employee of 16 years, recently retired as developmental services coordinator of the Monroe Public Works Department. Her last day was June 30.

“I liked dealing with the public and enjoyed the relationships with all my co-workers,” Picheco said during an interview before her retirement.

Picheco and her husband will celebrate their 45th anniversary in October. The couple has two grown children and three grandchildren.

“I’m going to spend more time with my grandchildren and I hope to travel,” Picheco said.

She was first hired at Monroe Town Hall as administrator of Human Resources and Inland Wetlands in 2005. She was then named developmental services coordinator of public works the next year.

“My main job is bulky waste pickup,” she said.

Bulky waste pickup is a free service the town provides by request. Items like unwanted refrigerators and furniture are left curbside for the DPW to pick up. Picheco said there were times when residents left pianos for pickup.

Picheco also handled around 450 purchase orders a year for things like tires for the Highway Department and hoses for firefighters.

Light the Night for Hope

The Monroe Women’s Club will host its 2nd annual Light the Night for Hope on Saturday, July 24. Participants will illuminate their driveways and walkways with luminarias at 8:30 p.m.

Luminarias can be purchased from the Monroe Women’s Club. A kit with white bags and candles costs five dollars. Checks should be made payable to the Monroe Women’s Club. The deadline to order is July 18.

To place an order, visit MonroeWomensClub.org or call Deb Heim, 203-268-1072, or Annmarie Hughes, 203-543-1306.

Ideas to protect water quality

We’re fortunate to live in an area that has abundant water. Streams, wetlands, ponds, and rivers are never far away and they support a wide variety of wildlife.  What we do in our yards and gardens can have a surprising effect on that water. Water runoff from rain, watering our lawns and gardens, and washing our cars can end up in the surrounding water. That runoff is carrying soil and other particles with it including fertilizer, oil, and animal waste and can negatively affect water quality.

The Conservation Commission shared tips to avoid negatively impacting water and the wildlife it supports:

1. Have your soil tested before applying fertilizer. The test results will give you specifically what you need to use for your lawn, vegetables, and perennials. Contact the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven for information on how to get your soil tested.
2. Plant trees, shrubs and perennials that are native to our area. They will thrive without excessive watering.
3. Have your septic system serviced regularly.
4. Plant a border of shrubs, perennial flowers, and trees where water may run off your property. The vegetation will slow the water, help it soak into the ground, and prevent pollution from entering our water bodies.