Solid Waste Disposal
Until 1987 the town of Jackson disposed of the town’s solid waste in the Jackson dump on Melloon Road. The dump was closed in 1987 and monitoring wells were established as ordered by the N.H. Department of Environmental Services. The Board of Selectmen contracted with American Waste Systems, Inc. to transfer the town’s refuse to the Sanco landfill in Bethlehem, N.H., (approximately 50 miles one way).
On January 14, 1984, the towns of Jackson, Bartlett and Hart’s Location entered into an agreement to form a solid waste disposal district. When land between the towns of Bartlett and Jackson became available, the two towns purchased the present transfer site location, which has direct access from Route 16. The transfer site opened in 1989. The town of Hart’s Location withdrew from the district on the basis of cost to their community.
Bartlett and Jackson each own and maintain their own compactor and employ their own attendant. Capital improvements include a large building for housing the pallets and collection boxes for aluminum cans, newsprint, magazines and office paper. An attached shed houses the waste oil collection tank. Corrugated cardboard is collected in large containers, as is the glass. Tires, mattresses, furniture and metal is piled separately and hauled off when a sufficient shipping load has accumulated. Construction debris containers are identified by town. Several burn pits accommodate the disposal of brush and untreated wood and lumber. The transfer site has a backhoe used for moving the containers. Water is supplied from a recently drilled well. There is a regional hazardous waste collection day held annually in the
town of Conway.
Capital and operating expenses are apportioned based on the equalized valuation of the towns. The plowing and maintenance of the access road is shared by the towns on a rotating basis. Waste is hauled to the Bethlehem landfill by North Conway Incinerator.
Aluminum cans are recycled but bring the town a minimal sum of money. The corrugated cardboard, newspaper, magazines and office paper that are separated from the waste stream are hauled away by North Conway Incinerator. Glass is crushed and accumulated.
Solid Waste tonnage and fees
Cemeteries
Jackson has two cemeteries, one in the Village area on Mill Street, adjacent to the Wentworth golf course, and the other on Dundee Road. The cemeteries are maintained with income from the cemetery trust funds, which in some years is supplemented by money in the annual town budget.
The Village cemetery measures 1.8 acres and has space for approximately 120 more graves. The Dundee cemetery, at just under an acre, contains an addition that was recently cleared of trees and has room for many more graves.
Graves can be obtained for Jackson residents or relatives of those already buried in the cemetery. With the current average of five burials per year, the cemeteries will serve the community for many years into the future.
Library
Jackson Public Library was built in 1901 on the Wentworth Hall property. In 1931 it was moved to its present site on Protestant Chapel Association land to make way for the stone bridge. The Town appropriated $500 and the remaining cost of $1300 was raised by gifts and donations. The building is approximately 900 square feet and is heated by propane gas. There is no plumbing, water supply or handicapped accessibility.
The Library serves all the Jackson Grammar School children who visit each week as part of their school program. The Library is available to the general community at large three days a week.
Financial support for the Library, besides the annual town appropriation, comes from several trusts, book sales, the Friends of the Library, and gifts and donations.
Interlibrary loans of books from the N.H. State Library and the other 232+ libraries in New Hampshire are available. In addition to books, audio and video tapes are circulated, and computers with Internet access for research, reference and e-mail use are available.
Circulation Statistics for the Year 2000
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