Pauly's Templeton Watch

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Windfall for West Brookfield could be short-lived

Windfall for West Brookfield could be short-lived
By J.P. Ellery CORRESPONDENT

WEST BROOKFIELD — Good financial news from local school officials came with a caution at Tuesday night's selectmen's meeting.

West Brookfield and Warren, the two towns in the Quaboag Regional School District, are expected to receive a combined $272,000 in extra school transportation funding from the state, according to Camie Lamica, director of finance and operations for the school district. That total breaks down to $165,000 for Warren and $107,000 for West Brookfield, which sends fewer students to district schools.

This additional funding is made possible because the state Legislature plans to provide cities and towns with 90 percent of their school transportation funding instead of the 58 percent that the local school department projected in preparing the fiscal 2015 school budget.

"I don't expect the state will keep that funding level" for next fiscal year, Ms. Lamica told West Brookfield selectmen, warning them not to consider this a windfall that they can get used to.

She also told local officials that additional state funding in fiscal 2014 has resulted in $58,000 coming back to West Brookfield and $48,000 to Warren.

But school Superintendent Brett M. Kustigian, who was at the meeting, said he does not predict that all this good news will continue into fiscal 2016.

"Next year's budget is going to be difficult," he said. "Stay tuned."

For weather watchers, Worcester tornado not to be missed


The city's Forestry Division removes downed limbs from Windham Street Monday. (T&G Staff/RICK CINCLAIR)

By George Barnes TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
george.barnes@telegram.com

WORCESTER — Since Sunday's EF-0 tornado hit the city on Sunday, Michael Roescher has been hearing from friends asking him not to visit if there is bad weather.

Mr. Roescher, a weather spotter for the National Weather Service's SKYWARN Network, captured video of the tornado as it formed and passed two blocks from his home at 24 Cargill Ave.

The video, recorded by a camera mounted on the room of the three-story building where he lives, was used by the National Weather Service to help confirm that a tornado hit the city.

See video of tornado from Worcester's Vernon Hill.

And Mr. Roescher knows what a tornado looks like.

Before he moved to Worcester, Mr. Roescher had his home in Monson destroyed in 2011 when an EF-3 tornado tore through the area. It was that experience that led him to attend classes to learn how to be a weather spotter.

"It really sparked my interest in the tornado issue," he said.