Paul working for you.

Monday, February 29, 2016

"I Guess It's Food Stamps": 400,000 Americans In Jeopardy As Giant Pension Fund Plans 50% Benefit Cuts

"I Guess It's Food Stamps": 400,000 Americans In Jeopardy As Giant Pension Fund Plans 50% Benefit Cuts

Tyler Durden's picture



Dale Dorsey isn’t happy.

After working 33 years, he’s facing a 55% cut to his pension benefits, a blow which he says will “cripple” his family and imperil the livelihood of his two children, one of whom is in the fourth grade and one of whom is just entering high school.

Dorsey attended a town hall meeting in Kansas City on Tuesday where retirees turned out for a discussion on “massive” pension cuts proposed by the Central States Pension Fund, which covers 400,000 participants, and which will almost certainly go broke within the next decade.
“A controversial 2014 law allowed the pension to propose [deep] cuts, many of them by half or more, as a way to perhaps save the fund,” The Kansas City Star wrote earlier this week adding that “two much smaller pensions also have sought similar relief under the law, and still more pensions are significantly underfunded.”

“What’s happening to us is a microcosm of what’s going to happen to the rest of the pensions in the United States,” said Jay Perry, a longtime Teamsters member. 

Jay is probably correct. 

Casella looking at options for water line to Charlton homes

  • Casella looking at options for water line to Charlton homes


  •  Zoom

  • By Brian Lee
    Telegram & Gazette Staff

    Posted Feb. 27, 2016 at 6:00 AM
    Updated Feb 27, 2016 at 10:01 PM


    CHARLTON - Consultants for Southbridge landfill operator Casella Waste Systems are working on a proposal to provide public water to a neighborhood of homes whose private wells are contaminated, the Telegram & Gazette has learned.
    According to a recent email from Charlton’s water-sewer administrator Steve Wandland to water-sewer commissioners, a call was placed recently by Walsh Engineering, working with Wright-Pierce Engineering, to the water-sewer office. The engineer said the two companies were retained by Casella relative to contamination from the landfill, according to the email.
    The source of the contamination has not been determined, and to that end, Casella is aiming to identify the direction of groundwater in the nearby neighborhood of contaminated private wells by putting data-logging pressure transducers in select wells.
    In an interview Friday, landfill development director Tom Cue and landfill site manager Tracy Markham talked about the communication from Casella to Charlton concerning public water.
    "For us to even consider something like a water line, we need to know cause, logistics, operational issues and environmental issues," Mr. Cue said. "That’s what we’re examining right now. We are right now dipping our toe in the water to see what options there are, and that is one of them."

Sunday, February 28, 2016

TANK CORRECTION



                       TANK     CORRECTION
In the previous blog it was stated the Athol system has no tanks.
This was not correct and the Athol system has a total of 4 tanks in their system.

When a check on the cost to the users was compared to those customers the cost in Templeton was so much higher it was hard to believe.

Templeton is listed at 7.74 For 1000 gallons and customer service charge per year@237.16
Athol cost is listed as  3.77 For  750   gallonsThe more you consume the higher the rates go.

Athol does not list a customer service charge so when you compare the cost it’s hard to believe we in Templeton pay such a high rate.

Maybe we have a management problem and the resources are not used as they should be.
Hard to tell when the Athol reports show many improvements and upgrades going on with less help on the payroll. Many have said in the past we have to many chiefs and not enough Indians.

What grant money has the Water department put in for other than the block grants in Baldwinville?
Do we not have the proper grant writer for the department to get whets available upgrade money from federal or state programs?
Do they just go and stick it to the rate payers when they run short on time for compliance notices ready to be mailed?
So take out your bills and look to see how they compare with someone you know in Athol for the facts on your own.
The facts are we have three tanks due for work in three years or less and why would we only be taking care of 1?
 If we only did the ladder hill tank paint job without a loan to replace the tank early. 
The money would not be in the budget like it should have been and it would show the budget could not support the department as the managers said it could. 
The report we paid big bucks for them to follow shows the need and the cost but the lack of management got in the way and a quick rubber stamp by the commissioners didn’t help us either.
So like I can say again and again!
DON’T SAY WE DIDN’T TELL YOU SO!!!
AND THEY WILL RAISE YOUR RATES TO PAY FOR THIS TOO!!!

No Need to Panic!

No Need to Panic! 


"I have more experience in these matters than you do!"

Shedding Some Light...Another water main Break?

Shedding Some Light...Another water main Break?

Looks like yet another water main break on Patriots Road by Glenwood Kitchen...

So what's this about deferring the water improvements until a later date so that people will vote for the water tank replacement on March 21st?

Why not have a water system like Athol's - without water tanks?

Could it be because our water system is a piecemeal infrastructure? Where lines vary in diameter from 8 inch to 12 inch back to 8 inch on the same stretch of roadway?

Got Water hammer? 

Anyone remember the day in July, a few years ago, 14 water main breaks in 1 day?

Go back to sleep... that's it...Nighty nite!

Markel Stays Another Year

Markel Stays Another Year
Templeton town administrator extended
Tara Vocino
Reporter

TEMPLETON  Selectmen have voted to keep interim Town Administrator Robert Markel on for another year.

His term will be extended from July 1, 2016, to June 30, 2017.

“I’m certainly pleased to continue for another year,” Markel said. “I knew that the contract expired on June 30. They asked me, ‘What are you doing next year?’”

Markel said he’d only stay if they all wanted him to. Selectmen voted unanimously.

Board of Selectmen Chairman John Columbus said Markel works well with him and the other board members. “In a lot of ways, we think alike,” Columbus said.

“He works well with the board.” Columbus said Markel will bring expertise by helping him to find his successor.

“We’re conducting a search, and he agreed to be a part of that,” Columbus said.

On Markel’s arrival, Templeton had serious budget issues that he had to remedy.

Markel said he accomplished a balanced budget surplus in fiscal 2015, a balanced budget for fiscal 2016, and his second review leads to a balanced budget for fiscal 2017.

During his term so far, he also restored nearly all services that he had to cut in fiscal 2014.

Saturday, February 27, 2016

Economic Recovery? 13 Of The Biggest Retailers In America Are Closing Down Stores

Economic Recovery? 13 Of The Biggest Retailers In America Are Closing Down Stores

Tyler Durden's picture



 
Submitted by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,
Barack Obama recently stated that anyone that is claiming that America’s economy is in decline is “peddling fiction“.  Well, if the economy is in such great shape, why are major retailers shutting down hundreds of stores all over the country?

Last month, I wrote about the “retail apocalypse” that is sweeping the nation, but since then it has gotten even worse.  Closing stores has become the “hot new trend” in the retail world, and “space available” signs are going up in mall windows all over the United States.  Barack Obama can continue huffing and puffing about how well the middle class is doing all he wants, but the truth is that the cold, hard numbers that retailers are reporting tell an entirely different story.
Earlier today, Sears Chairman Eddie Lampert released a letter to shareholders that was filled with all kinds of bad news.  In this letter, he blamed the horrible results that Sears has been experiencing lately on “tectonic shifts” in consumer spending

In a letter to shareholders on Thursday, Lampert said the impact of “tectonic shifts” in consumer spending has spread more broadly in the last year to retailers “that had previously proven to be relatively immune to such shifts.”

“Walmart, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Staples, Whole Foods and many others have felt the impact of disruptive changes from online competition and new business models,” Lampert wrote.
And it is very true – Sears is doing horribly, but they are far from alone.  The following are 13 major retailers that are closing down stores…
#1 Sears lost 580 million dollars in the fourth quarter of 2015 alone, and they are scheduled to close at least 50 more “unprofitable stores” by the end of this year.
#2 It is being reported that Sports Authority will file for bankruptcy in March.  Some news reports have indicated that around 200 stores may close, but at this point it is not known how many of their 450 stores will be able to stay open.
#3 For decades, Kohl’s has been growing aggressively, but now it plans to shutter 18 stores in 2016.
#4 Target has just finished closing 13 stores in the United States.
#5 Best Buy closed 30 stores last year, and it says that more store closings are likely in the months to come.
#6 Office Depot plans to close a total of 400 stores by the end of 2016.
The next seven examples come from one of my previous articles
#7 Wal-Mart is closing 269 stores, including 154 inside the United States.
#8 K-Mart is closing down more than two dozen stores over the next several months.
#9 J.C. Penney will be permanently shutting down 47 more stores after closing a total of 40 stores in 2015.
#10 Macy’s has decided that it needs to shutter 36 stores and lay off approximately 2,500 employees.
#11 The Gap is in the process of closing 175 stores in North America.
#12 Aeropostale is in the process of closing 84 stores all across America.
#13 Finish Line has announced that 150 stores will be shutting down over the next few years.
These store closings can be particularly cruel for small towns.  Just consider the impact that Wal-Mart has had on the little town of Oriental, North Carolina
The Town’n Country grocery in Oriental, North Carolina, a local fixture for 44 years, closed its doors in October after a Wal-Mart store opened for business. Now, three months later — and less than two years after Wal-Mart arrived — the retail giant is pulling up stakes, leaving the community with no grocery store and no pharmacy.

Though mom-and-pop stores have steadily disappeared across the American landscape over the past three decades as the mega chain methodically expanded, there was at least always a Wal-Mart left behind to replace them. Now the Wal-Marts are disappearing, too.
Of course there are many factors involved in this ongoing retail apocalypse.  Competition from online retailers is becoming more intense, and consumer spending patterns are rapidly changing.
But in the end, the truth is that you can’t get blood out of a rock.  The middle class in America is shrinking, and there just isn’t as much discretionary spending going on as there used to be.
And now that we have entered a new economic downturn, many retailers are finding that there are some local communities that can no longer support their stores.  The following comes from CNBC
Though the shift to online shopping is no doubt playing a role in lighter foot traffic at malls, there’s more to their changing economics than the rise of Amazon. Changing demographics in a town are another reason a shopping center could struggle or fail — for example, if massive layoffs in a particular industry cause people to move away to find employment.

“A lot of people want to try and tie it to the Internet or ‘that’s not cool,’ or teens don’t like it,” Jesse Tron, a spokesman for industry trade group International Council of Shopping Centers, told CNBC last year. “It’s hard to support large-format retail in those suburban areas when people are trying to just pay their mortgage.”

Friday, February 26, 2016

STM March 21, 2016 Water Tank

STM March 21, 2016    Water Tank

The ladder hill/Johnson ave Steel tank was built in 1957. South road was in 1950.
Last painted in 1996 and 20 years ago. The requirement is every 20 years rust and coatings are needed no matter what.

The report shows the data and it's hard for the water management to say this is a surprise.The surprise i find is the last water increase was enough to pay the extra expansion of the work force and the cost of the tank loan payments.So if they didn't raise the water rates/service charges for the shortfalls in revenue how is it they have all the extra monies to do both things now? Or more to the point do they?
Are they setting us up for a second big rate increase when the books look like they are in poor shape and not enough to pay the bills again and have our vendors wait for 3 months to be paid. Funny how all the money problems just went away and we are all fixed now and can afford the extra costs without any increases.

Don't forget we told you so!

AND THEY WILL RAISE YOUR RATES TO PAY FOR THIS TOO.
 
In 5 years or less the south road tank will need the same as the ladder hill tank and then what? How much to increase for that.

What about the Hospital hill road tank last paint original 2001 that needs paint in just 4 years.
Funny how they just only talk about the tank on ladder hill.

That water report does not list the last time the new tank was cleaned and inspected.
So does it need the inside cleaned and inspected also to tell if the condition is poor or it needs to be repainted or replaced.Larger tanks are a higher cost to maintain and paint. The cost to paint the newer tank is shown to be a bit higher at 870,000.00 in 2013 numbers. So are we being led to the bank for a loan every time we turn around.

Does the math for replace or paint add up for all three tank jobs the same?

If we don't ask why should we care. I hope the people in town have the same thoughts that I do and ask questions when we have the STM for this and the money for the school.

Without the questions and a better understanding of the needs of our towns water department and infrastructure we are sure to be taken to the cleaners over and over again. The same thing is going on with our electric rates and when our customers charge went to 3.00 from 4.00 it was only when the hand in the cookie jar was pointed out the management reduce the overcharges. The time has come to ask questions and get some answers before the meeting so people will know the truth about the needs and the overcharges so we can get the better rates we all deserve now.

A customer service charge of 2.00 would be a good start for the electric bills.With oil and solar power costs lower for the TMLWP we should be afforded a better rate without begging for it. How much of a raise did the commissioners vote for themselves?

All the information is on pg.2-13 and General manager John Driscoll didn't think anyone would ever look at the water improvement plan contract with Tighe&Bond. Another OBTUSE comment made by John Driscoll. If i can see this runaway train coming why don't the boys at the meeting table ever get it?

They laughed at me suggesting a new tank over a repainted one and then want to do that.

I would pull a Trump and fire the top two as soon as the contracts for their employment was up for not leveling with the owners of the system that provides their employment. There's over 250,000.00 alone

I'll bet when i finish talking at this meeting they won't be laughing at me anymore.

Enjoy your raises commissioners. Time for some LTE thoughts.


Water Improvement Plan

50 Reasons to Oppose Fluoridation


50 Reasons to Oppose Fluoridation

By Paul Connett, PhD (updated in September 2012)

Introduction

Dr. Paul Connett

In Europe, only Ireland (73%), Poland (1%), Serbia (3%), Spain (11%), and the U.K. (11%) fluoridate any of their water. Most developed countries, including Japan and 97% of the western European population, do not consume fluoridated water.

In the U.S., about 70% of public water supplies are fluoridated. This equates to approximately 185 million people, which is over half the number of people drinking artificially fluoridated water worldwide. Some countries have areas with high natural fluoride levels in the water. These include India, China and parts of Africa. In these countries measures are being taken to remove the fluoride because of the health problems that fluoride can cause.

Fluoridation is a bad medical practice

1) Fluoride is the only chemical added to water for the purpose of medical treatment. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classifies fluoride as a drug when used to prevent or mitigate disease (FDA 2000). As a matter of basic logic, adding fluoride to water for the sole purpose of preventing tooth decay (a non-waterborne disease) is a form of medical treatment. All other water treatment chemicals are added to improve the water’s quality or safety, which fluoride does not do.

2) Fluoridation is unethical. Informed consent is standard practice for all medication, and one of the key reasons why most of Western Europe has ruled against fluoridation. With water fluoridation we are allowing governments to do to whole communities (forcing people to take a medicine irrespective of their consent) what individual doctors cannot do to individual patients.
Put another way: Does a voter have the right to require that their neighbor ingest a certain medication (even if it is against that neighbor’s will)?

3) The dose cannot be controlled. Once fluoride is put in the water it is impossible to control the dose each individual receives because people drink different amounts of water. Being able to control the dose a patient receives is critical. Some people (e.g., manual laborers, athletes, diabetics, and people with kidney disease) drink substantially more water than others.

4) The fluoride goes to everyone regardless of age, health or vulnerability. According to Dr. Arvid Carlsson, the 2000 Nobel Laureate in Medicine and Physiology and one of the scientists who helped keep fluoridation out of Sweden:

“Water fluoridation goes against leading principles of pharmacotherapy, which is progressing from a stereotyped medication — of the type 1 tablet 3 times a day — to a much more individualized therapy as regards both dosage and selection of drugs. The addition of drugs to the drinking water means exactly the opposite of an individualized therapy” (Carlsson 1978).

5) People now receive fluoride from many other sources besides water. Fluoridated water is not the only way people are exposed to fluoride. Other sources of fluoride include food and beverages processed with fluoridated water (Kiritsy 1996; Heilman 1999), fluoridated dental products (Bentley 1999; Levy 1999), mechanically deboned meat (Fein 2001), tea (Levy 1999), and pesticide residues (e.g., from cryolite) on food (Stannard 1991; Burgstahler 1997). It is now widely acknowledged that exposure to non-water sources of fluoride has significantly increased since the water fluoridation program first began (NRC 2006).

6) Fluoride is not an essential nutrient. No disease, not even tooth decay, is caused by a “fluoride deficiency.”(NRC 1993; Institute of Medicine 1997, NRC 2006). Not a single biological process has been shown to require fluoride. On the contrary there is extensive evidence that fluoride can interfere with many important biological processes. Fluoride interferes with numerous enzymes (Waldbott 1978). In combination with aluminum, fluoride interferes with G-proteins (Bigay 1985, 1987). Such interactions give aluminum-fluoride complexes the potential to interfere with signals from growth factors, hormones and neurotransmitters (Strunecka & Patocka 1999; Li 2003). More and more studies indicate that fluoride can interfere with biochemistry in fundamental ways (Barbier 2010).

7) The level in mothers’ milk is very low. Considering reason #6 it is perhaps not surprising that the level of fluoride in mother’s milk is remarkably low (0.004 ppm, NRC, 2006). This means that a bottle-fed baby consuming fluoridated water (0.6 – 1.2 ppm) can get up to 300 times more fluoride than a breast-fed baby. There are no benefits (see reasons #11-19), only risks (see reasons #21-36), for infants ingesting this heightened level of fluoride at such an early age (an age where susceptibility to environmental toxins is particularly high).

Cabin Fever Baldwinville Legion February 27, 2016


Thursday, February 25, 2016

2.22.16 BOS Meeting Continued...

2.22.16 BOS Meeting Continued...

Shedding some light on the Water Department Special Town Meeting March 21, 2016

The Ladder Hill water tank on Johnson Ave is 55 years old. The estimated cost to repaint the inside of that water tank is $550,000. It was painted 15 years ago. The DEP is insisting that this water tower be repaired as soon as possible or fines will be assessed.

The cost for a concrete tank to replace the tank on Ladder Hill is $1.23 million dollars. The useful lifespan of a concrete water tank has been estimated to be between 65-100 years. 

The water department can't borrow money for this project. Only the town, with town meeting approval, can borrow money. [No answer on impact of no town bond rating on interest rate...Town does NOT need a bond rating to be eligible for USDA loans  ]  The water department will pay for the cost of the special town meeting.

The USDA has agreed to fund this project. It will be the fourth USDA loan for the water department. The last loan was for a period of 40 years. 

The cost to repay this loan, if successfully voted on at the STM on March 21, 2016, will be covered by the water ratepayers. The last exorbitant water rate increase was 9 %, which at this time is projected to cover the cost of an additional water department employee and this project. If there are any unforeseen cost overruns, the commissioners can just raise the water rates again to cover those costs. 

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Donald Trump Is Right: Here Are 100 Reasons Why We Need To Audit The Federal Reserve

Donald Trump Is Right: Here Are 100 Reasons Why We Need To Audit The Federal Reserve

Tyler Durden's picture


Submitted by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,
When a leading nominee for President gets something exactly right, we should applaud them for it.  In this case, Donald Trump’s call to audit the Federal Reserve is dead on correct.  Most Americans don’t realize this, but the Federal Reserve has far more power over the economy than anyone else does – including Barack Obama.

Financial markets all over the planet gyrate wildly at the smallest comment from Fed officials, and virtually every boom and bust cycle over the past 100 years can be traced directly back to specific decisions made by the Federal Reserve.  We get all excited about what various presidential candidates say that they “will do for the economy”, but in the end it is the Fed that is holding all of the cards.  The funny thing is that the Federal Reserve is not even part of the federal government.  It is an independent private central bank that was designed by very powerful Wall Street interests a little over 100 years ago.  It is at the heart of the debt-based financial system which is eating away at America like cancer, and it has no direct accountability to the American people whatsoever.
The Fed has been around for so long that most people assume that we need it.

But the truth is that we don’t actually need the Federal Reserve.  In fact, the greatest period of economic growth in United States history happened during the decades before the Federal Reserve was created.

A little over 100 years ago, very powerful forces on Wall Street successfully pushed for the creation of an immensely powerful central bank, and since that time the value of the U.S. dollar has fallen by about 98 percent and our national debt has gotten more than 5000 times larger.

The Federal Reserve does whatever it feels like doing, and Fed officials insist that the institution must remain “independent” and “above politics” because monetary policy is too important to entrust to the American people.

To me, this is absolutely ridiculous.  Everything else, including our national defense, is subject to the normal political process, and yet the decisions made by the Fed are so “important” that the American people can’t have a voice?

February 22 Selectmen's Meeting

February 22 Selectmen's Meeting

Interim  School Supt. Steven Hemman was the first speaker at the BOS meeting. Dr. Hemman outlined changes in the budget process. The school budget is currently $640, 699 dollars short. Total budget will be $20.1 million dollars which include the contracts for the new superintendent and high school principal.In a drastic change from the past few years, the school committee will answer questions about the NRSD budget on the floor of the Annual Town Meeting in May! Hold onto your wallets!

In other news - the Community Compact Grant has been accepted by the Commonwealth. A $5,000 grant for long term financial planning will proceed with the help of MRPC. Regionalizing of town services will also be a focus of the grant. Possibilities include the schools and the town working together for long term financial planning. Hold onto your wallets!

A public hearing was held regarding the acceptance of a trailer for the Ahimsa Haven animal shelter. All inspections have been completed. The lease agreement between the Town and Ahimsa Haven will be amended to reflect this addition. The trailer will house unvaccinated cats.

Flexible spending accounts for town employees are now operational. This is an optional benefit for Town employees to set aside pre-tax money for medical expenses.

The "Complete Streets" program was discussed by the highway superintendent Bud Chase. One possible project discussed was to place a sidewalk on Wellington Rd along the north side with granite curbing. There was some concern raised about the the amount of land for a sidewalk by Sonia White's property. 

A tour of Scout Hall is planned to assess what to do with the building. A Scout Hall committee was formed and appointed until June 30, 2016 to determine whether or not to move Scout Hall.
(What ever happened to using Community development grants for East Templeton? Has the Town applied for more federal funding to continue these improvements?)

The "Abandoned House " initiative is moving forward. There are 80 abandoned homes in Templeton.

Water Department Special Town Meeting - March 21st!
More on this later! Hold onto your wallets! 



Tyco And Johnson Controls To Merge

Tyco And Johnson Controls To Merge
No word on the impact on local jobs
News staff photo by DONEEN DURLING Changes may be in store at the Tyco Simplex Grinnell building in Westminster, though a company spokesman says it’s too early to tell what impact the merger with Johnson Controls will have on any one location or jobs in general.
+ click to enlarge
News staff photo by DONEEN DURLING Changes may be in store at the Tyco Simplex Grinnell building in Westminster, though a company spokesman says it’s too early to tell what impact the merger with Johnson Controls will have on any one location or jobs in general.
Doneen Durling
News Correspondent

 WESTMINSTER  It is hard to tell what the effect may be on the local industry after news was released Jan. 25 that Tyco will merge with Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls, and company officials are saying it’s too early to say.

Johnson Controls plans to buy Tyco for $16.5 billion.

The companies released the news that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Johnson Controls will combine with Tyco, a global fire and security provider, to create a leader in building products and technology, integrated solutions and energy storage. The merged companies will go under the name Johnson Controls. The completion of the transaction, which is expected by the end of the fiscal 2016 (September), is subject to regulatory approvals and approval by the shareholders.

Chris Woodcock, director and marketing communications of the Westminster-based Tyco Simplex Grinnell said, “At this stage, it’s too early to know if there will be any effects on Tyco business units, locations, functions or specific employee positions. I would say that employees are excited about bringing together the strengths and complementary capabilities of two great industry-leading businesses, and being part of a global leader in building products and technology, integrated solutions and energy storage.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Johnson Controls shareholders will own 56 percent of the equity of the combined company and receive $3.9 billion. Current Tyco shareholders will own 44 percent of the equity of the combined company.

According to the press release, the companies will shed $500 million in costs over the first three years and expects to save $150 million annually in taxes through the inversion.

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Weather Update

Weather Update

Good Afternoon All,

A two part weather system threatens to produce a variety of weather impacts for our area Tuesday night through Thursday morning. Here is a preliminary look at possible hazards:

Winter Weather

Snow Tuesday night will change to rain along the coast and to freezing rain inland.  Temperatures are likely to remain below freezing into Wednesday for many interior areas. A first cut would indicate light snow to light freezing rain during Tuesday night for interior portions northwest of the I-95 corridor including Boston's interior northern and western suburbs, the Worcester and Springfield areas, greater Hartford, and northern RI to the north and west of I-295. The Wednesday morning commute may be impacted in these areas. 

The subfreezing temperatures will be slow to erode during Wednesday with occasional light freezing rain or freezing drizzle persisting to Wednesday afternoon in many southern New England interior locations.  In fact, portions of the Connecticut River Valley and the route 2 corridor in northern MA may remain subfreezing until Wednesday evening.

At this time, it does not appear as though the amounts will be large enough to produce tree or wire damage, although portions of northwest MA and the Worcester hills may accrete up to a quarter inch of ice due to the duration of freezing precipitation.
 

Graves Damaged In 1950sTo Be Repaired

Graves Damaged In 1950sTo Be Repaired
Tara Vocino
Reporter

TEMPLETON  After 15 gravestones were vandalized in the 1950s and which have been compromised
by the weather since then, tombstones behind the First Church United Church of Christ the town has
been working on restoring them, and hopes for funds to finish the job.

Templeton’s first physician, Dr. Benjamin Shattuck, is buried there along with several families,
some of which have up to 10 grave places on a single plot. The cemetery is located at 1 Wellington
Road in Templeton Center.

Cemetery and Parks Superintendent Alan T. Mayo is applying for a Massachusetts Preservation
Project Funding grant, sponsored by the Massachusetts Historical Com­mission. Mayo is applying for
$50,000 for the third phase of renovation, and Templeton will have to pay a little more than
$50,000 since engineering costs are not eligible to be covered by the state.

Three gravestones were completed during the first phase in 2012; six in the second phase in 2014;
and there are six remaining graves that need restoration.

Mayo commented on the current condition of the tombs, which were incorporated as a cemetery in
1754. They were built between 1800 and 1810.

“Kids smashed all the stuff inside in the 1950s,” Mayo said. “They strewed the bones and stole body
 parts. The weather also compromised them. The walls are leaning, but slowly, we’re fixing them.”

Mayo said his office has a great respect for the dead, and he pointed out criminal penalties for
cemetery vandalism.

“Destruction of a burial space is punishable up to $1,000 per offense,” Mayo said. “That’s state law.”

He said due to the vandalism, he couldn’t say who the others buried there were.

“I do know they’re also prominent people since their families couldn’t afford the tombstones back
then if they weren’t,” Mayo said.

Today, First Church doesn’t have cameras to catch any modern-day vandals, but residents call him
if they hear or see anything.

There are four municipal graveyards in Templeton today.

The application is due March 23. It will go through Town Meeting before the grant goes through.


Meetings the Week of February 23, 2016


Meetings the Week of February 23, 2016

Tuesday 2/23/16
Town Clerk                          E. Temp.                 10:00 am
Assessors                             E. Temp.                   4:00 pm
Capital Planning                  E. Temp                    6:30 pm
Planning                              E. Temp                    6:30 pm     

Wednesday 2/24/16
Adv. Board                          E. Temp                    6:00 pm
Tomb Restoration               Sr. Drive                    6:30 pm

Monday, February 22, 2016

Hefty threats: Battles on deposit at banks, credit unions

  • Hefty threats: Battles on deposit at banks, credit unions



  • Digital Federal Credit Union teller Julian Chestna of Webster, right, helps a customer Feb. 18 at the branch on Tobias Boland Way in Worcester.Digital Federal Credit Union teller Julian Chestna of Webster, right, helps a customer Feb. 18 at the branch on Tobias Boland Way in Worcester. T&G Staff/Paul Kapteyn
  •  

  • By Lisa Eckelbecker
    Telegram & Gazette Staff

    Posted Feb. 21, 2016 at 6:00 AM
    Updated at 9:14 AM



    The rivalry between banks and credit unions is heating up, as both press for changes in Massachusetts law that would impact the way they do business.
    One battle focuses on whether credit unions should be able to accept deposits from cities, towns, school districts and the state. For now, only banks can do that. Another battle aims to change how credit unions can open up to new members.
    It’s the kind of conflict that might seem far removed from ordinary consumers, but both sides say changes could have important impacts on everything from tax payments to lending levels.
    Or as Richard K. Bennett, president and chief executive of Marlborough Savings Bank, said, “it’s a spiral.”
    Banks and credit unions share certain characteristics. Both accept deposits from consumers. Both lend money. Both are overseen by regulators.
    They also differ. Banks are for-profit businesses owned by stockholders or members. They concentrate on services for consumers and businesses.
    Credit unions are nonprofit institutions owned by members who have something in common such as working for the same company or living in the same community. They concentrate on services for members.
    Worcester County is home to about 20 banks with nearly $10 billion in assets and 18 credit unions with $5 billion in assets, according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the National Credit Union Administration.
    At the top of the rankings are Commerce Bank & Trust Co. of Worcester, which had nearly $1.8 billion in assets as of September 2015, and Workers’ Credit Union of Fitchburg with nearly $1.3 billion in assets.
    Both are dwarfed by a competitor that sits just outside Worcester County. Digital Federal Credit Union of Marlboro had about $6.5 billion in assets, as of September 2015, and about 500,000 members, mostly in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
    It’s that kind of heft that riles traditional community banks.

Sunday, February 21, 2016

Rumor has it....

Rumor has it...

So how does a community pay for a new school and a new police station, when that community doesn't have a bond rating? How could  community like Templeton obtain enough money to fund $50 million dollar in capital projects for a school and a police station?

Could it be that that community's leaders are negotiating with a landfill company, like Casella, to open a landfill in that community?

 

 

Selectman's Meeting 2.22.16

Selectman's Meeting 2.22.16



Food Pantry is MOVING!!

Food Pantry is MOVING!!

Templeton Food Pantry is Moving -
The Templeton Food Pantry in downtown Baldwinville is moving to new quarters at the rear of the Templeton Senior Community Center, 16 Senior Drive, Baldwinville. 

In preparation for the move, the Food pantry will be CLOSED:

February 23
February 25
March 1
March 3
March 8
March 10

The Food Pantry will re-open at is new location on March 15, 2016

  

Advisory Board Seeks Department Feedback

Advisory Board Seeks Department Feedback
Tara Vocino
Reporter

TEMPLETON  The Advisory Board members are not pleased that department heads couldn’t attend a meeting for a department submittal review on Wednesday.

Some Board of Selectmen members and interim Town Administrator Bob Markel feel that it’d be premature for department heads to attend the meeting.

However, Advisory Board members disagree. But, Markel recommended that the department heads postpone any meetings with the Advisory Board until the selectmen have finalized their budget request to Town Meeting for fiscal 2017.

Markel explained why they felt the effort was premature in an email to Advisory Board members and to the Board of Selectmen.

“I provided access to the draft budget to the Advisory Board last month at their request, but with the stipulation that it’s only a draft and a final review of numbers must be done, and most importantly, it hasn’t been modified and adopted by the Board of Selectmen,” Markel said.

“The Board of Selectmen has scheduled a meeting for Feb. 22 to meet with department heads, review any changes, make decisions about new requests, and possibly vote approval.”

According to Advisory Board Chairman Gordon Moore, some department heads are upset that they invited them to come. Moore said they’re also upset.

“I’m quite distraught that we aren’t working together,” Moore said.

Saturday, February 20, 2016

YOUR ALL INVITED

    
                                                           YOUR ALL INVITED

HIGHWAY/ FIREFIGHTER IN HOT WATER AFTER LEAVING WORK TO GO TO HOUSE FIRE


TOWN OF TEMPLETON
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
160 Patriots Road -P.O. Box 620
EAST TEMPLETON, MASSACHUSETTS 01438
TELEPHONE
: (978) 894-2755 - FACSIMILE: (978) 894-2801
Website - WWW.templeton1.org



February 11, 2016
VIA: CERTIFIED MAIL, RETURN RECEIPT
Mr. Michael Caisse
18 Fiver Road
Royalston, MA 01368
RE: Disciplinary Hearing - Monday, February 22, 2016, at 11 :00 a.m.
Dear Mr. Caisse:
Please be advised that I have been assigned by the Board of Selectmen to hold a
Disciplinary Hearing on Monday, February 22
,2016, at 11 :00 a.m., to hear a complaint
against you and to consider the discipline or dismissal of your employment with the
Town. Specifically, the complaint is alleged Insubordination to your supervisor at the
Templeton Highway Department
.
The meeting will take place at the Town Hall, 160 Patriots Road, East Templeton, MA,
01438. You have the right to attend this meeting, to speak on your own behalf and to
have counselor a representative of your choice attend the meeting for the purpose of
advising you. You may also request that the meeting be held in open session.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
For the BOARD OF SELECTMEN,

"Robert T. Markel,
Town Administrator
             CC: Paul Coffey, Esq., MA Laborers, VIA Certified Mail-Return Receipt
David Smart, Union Steward, VIA Certified Mail-Return Receipt
David Leger, Local 39 Union Representative, VIA Certified Mail-Return Receipt