Date: Fri 05-Feb-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

fred-hurley-recycling-material

Full Text:

Admiring The View From Atop Mt Hurley

(with photo)

BY STEVE BIGHAM

High atop Mount Hurley, the view can take your breath away. The 360-degree

scene provides a glimpse of the Newtown highway department, an old sand and

gravel operation, and the impressive former landfill.

Reaching the mountain's summit is something few have experienced... few have

ever bothered trying. The 70-foot Mount Hurley stretches for nearly a quarter

mile. It is nothing more than a massive pile of dirt, asphalt and other fill

material. It was all collected during the town's massive sewer project, which

succeeded in digging up Newtown's roadways for more than three years. Twenty

miles of sewer pipe were laid during the project.

The highway crew named the mountain after Fred Hurley, the director of public

works and the head of the sewer system.

"I would say this is as high as a six- or seven-story building," Mr Hurley

figured as he stood atop the pile. "The wind doesn't blow quite like it does

on Mount Washington, but you can still feel it."

Members of the highway crew joked that the hill would make a great place for a

kiddy ski slope. All they need is snow making equipment.

As much as Mr Hurley appreciates having the mountain named after him, he'd

like to see it come down. The unsightly mound is full of material that can be

recycled. The asphalt can be ground up and used on the roads again. The dirt

can be used as fill, the sand can be transformed into rich top soil. Even the

stones have value, as does the concrete, which can be used as an aggregate for

sand and gravel.

"We're running out of room here," Mr Hurley noted.

In order to make room, the public works department has requested a $95,000

screener in its proposed budget for 1999-2000. The screener is used to

separate the different material so that it can be recycled for use on the

roads.