| 10/30/2015 8:44:00 AM Did I see a ghost? Read on ... Editor's note: This is first-person account of a Gardner News correspondent's experiences at the Narragansett Historical Society. | |||||
News correspondent As I stood alone in a dimly lit room at the Narragansett Historical Society recently, I expected something to happen. How could I not think about something scary and unexpected happening to me after the president of the historical society, Brian Tanguay, said moments before leaving the room: “We talk about the spirits in this room (the loom room) and this is one of the most active rooms where they come from the attic — back and forth.” “A lot of times when we are talking about them, they show up,” Mr. Tanguay said casually. “You know, so once and a while, you will get that chill in the back of your neck or your arms, and when that happens take a picture with a flash.” Sure Brian, no problem, I thought. Mr. Tanguay went in the hall to turn the light off so I could get a better photo of what are known as orbs: round glowing balls of light believed to be spirits. Mr. Tanguay later showed me a photo with four orbs in the room, as well as several other frames in the same spot within the same time frame that the first orb photo was shot. Because no orbs were in the following exposures, paranormal investigators believe that the orbs were not caused by a dirty camera lens. |
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Did I see a ghost? Read on ...
Happy Haunting
| Happy Haunting Spirits at Historical Society are all nice | ||||||||||
News correspondent TEMPLETON Nestled between historic homes on the Templeton Common, across from the First Church of Templeton, is the suspected stomping grounds of Colonel Ephraim Stone’s spirit. “Ephraim was a heavy man and he looks like he was about 225 (pounds), maybe 250. So he was a big man and he lived next door,” explained Narragansett Historical Society President Brian Tanguay. Mr. Tanguay and others say they’ve had unexplained paranormal experiences at the 1 Boynton Road building for many years. So much so, historical society members have enlisted help from paranormal investigation groups to verify whether people’s eerie experiences at the society’s building were real or imagined. “The story goes (Ephraim) lived next door but he worked here in the store (now the historical society) at the time,” said Mr. Tanguay, who noted that he regularly hears footsteps going from the front door of the society to the back door. “So (Ephraim) must of, just like I do every night, lock the front door from inside because it’s a giant key, lock the deadbolt, walk through the hallway, shut off the lights, go through the kitchen and lock the back door, and then go home,” said Mr. Tanguay. “So he had the same routine that I have when I come here, and those are the footsteps that I have heard.” Ephraim is believed to have worked at the store in the early 1800s. His family ran a lumber mill in Otter River. He and his famed brother, Leonard Stone, tried “one-upping each other” about how much wood they could bring to the minister’s house on South Road, said Mr. Tanguay. Ultimately, the brothers worked together to load 40 cords of wood from the bottom of Baldwinville Road, continuing up to South Road. An old photograph shows 160 oxen, four abreast, hauling the wood up Baldwinville Road. The New York Paranormal Society conducted its first investigation of the building in 2011, setting up recording equipment in the hall from the front door to the back door. The group, said Mr. Tanguay, recorded the entire route of footsteps that he had described hearing at 2 a.m. one morning. But the group unexpectedly lost power to its video battery at the old kitchen threshold, where the footsteps often stopped. The battery allegedly drained to 42 minutes of charged recording time from 60 minutes within mere seconds. Between all of the investigations done at the society, Mr. Tanguay said, five spirits have been identified at the building: Ephraim, a young girl, an older woman and a few men. Encounters with these entities have occurred in the downstairs hallway, loom room and bride’s room, kitchen and attic areas. |
Friday, October 30, 2015
Templeton Pumpkin Festival
Templeton Pumpkin Festival
Come and check the great exhibit 'Death Becomes Her' that leads us into our Pumpkin Fest this month!! It is open every Tuesday from 6-8pm and every Saturday from 1-5pm in the Narragansett Historical Society in Templeton,MA
Halloween Safety Tips
Halloween Safety Tips
Every Halloween, monsters, zombies and ghouls fill the streets across the United States to celebrate. With all those excited youngsters walking (and running) around, the trick-or-treaters and motorists each play an important role in making it a safe night.
“On Halloween, motorists need to be especially vigilant between the hours of 4 p.m. and midnight, when pedestrians are the most vulnerable,” said Diana Imondi Dias, traffic safety education specialist for AAA Northeast. “Slowing down and watching for trick-or-treaters, who may cross between cars or mid-block, may save a life.”
To help make the roadways safer this Halloween, AAA Northeast offers motorists a few easy tips:
Avoid neighborhood shortcuts.
If possible, avoid cutting through residential streets where trick-or-treaters are likely to be present.
Watch for children.
Kids will be walking on streets, medians and curbs. Excited trick-or-treaters, often in dark costumes, may not pay attention to traffic and cross mid-block or between parked cars.
Slow down. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, a pedestrian is more than twice as likely to be killed if hit by a car traveling 35 mph compared to 25 mph. What seems like a small difference — just 10 mph — can be the difference between life and death.
Drive sober. Alcohol-impaired drivers make up about one-third of all motor vehicle deaths, resulting in an average of one death every 45 minutes. Always designate a sober driver.
Tips for parents and kids
Trick-or-treat together. AAA recommends that parents accompany youngsters at least until the age of 12.
Make a plan. Review trick-or-treating safety precautions and plan the route ahead of time. Remind children never to cross the street mid-block or between parked cars.
Check costumes. Choose disguises that don’t obstruct vision. Where possible, use face paint instead of masks. Check and adjust the length of costumes to avoid tripping and add reflective material or tape to keep kids visible. Carry a flashlight.
Buckle up. If driving trick-or-treaters between neighborhoods, always use appropriate car seats and have children exit and enter on the passenger side of the vehicle.
Every Halloween, monsters, zombies and ghouls fill the streets across the United States to celebrate. With all those excited youngsters walking (and running) around, the trick-or-treaters and motorists each play an important role in making it a safe night.
“On Halloween, motorists need to be especially vigilant between the hours of 4 p.m. and midnight, when pedestrians are the most vulnerable,” said Diana Imondi Dias, traffic safety education specialist for AAA Northeast. “Slowing down and watching for trick-or-treaters, who may cross between cars or mid-block, may save a life.”
To help make the roadways safer this Halloween, AAA Northeast offers motorists a few easy tips:
Avoid neighborhood shortcuts.
If possible, avoid cutting through residential streets where trick-or-treaters are likely to be present.
Watch for children.
Kids will be walking on streets, medians and curbs. Excited trick-or-treaters, often in dark costumes, may not pay attention to traffic and cross mid-block or between parked cars.
Slow down. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, a pedestrian is more than twice as likely to be killed if hit by a car traveling 35 mph compared to 25 mph. What seems like a small difference — just 10 mph — can be the difference between life and death.
Drive sober. Alcohol-impaired drivers make up about one-third of all motor vehicle deaths, resulting in an average of one death every 45 minutes. Always designate a sober driver.
Tips for parents and kids
Trick-or-treat together. AAA recommends that parents accompany youngsters at least until the age of 12.
Make a plan. Review trick-or-treating safety precautions and plan the route ahead of time. Remind children never to cross the street mid-block or between parked cars.
Check costumes. Choose disguises that don’t obstruct vision. Where possible, use face paint instead of masks. Check and adjust the length of costumes to avoid tripping and add reflective material or tape to keep kids visible. Carry a flashlight.
Buckle up. If driving trick-or-treaters between neighborhoods, always use appropriate car seats and have children exit and enter on the passenger side of the vehicle.
FLUORIDATION REVISITED
The Irrepressible Rothbard
Essays of Murray N. Rothbard
Edited by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.
Yes,
I confess: I'm a veteran anti-fluoridationist, thereby – not
for the first time – risking placing myself in the camp of
"right-wing kooks and fanatics." It has always been a bit of mystery
to me why left-environmentalists, who shriek in horror at a bit
of Alar on apples, who cry "cancer" even more absurdly than the
boy cried "Wolf," who hate every chemical additive known to man,
still cast their benign approval upon fluoride, a highly toxic and
probably carcinogenic substance. And not only let fluoride emissions
off the hook, but endorse uncritically the massive and continuing
dumping of fluoride into the nation's water supply.
Essays of Murray N. Rothbard
Edited by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.
FLUORIDATION REVISITED
Yes,
I confess: I'm a veteran anti-fluoridationist, thereby – not
for the first time – risking placing myself in the camp of
"right-wing kooks and fanatics." It has always been a bit of mystery
to me why left-environmentalists, who shriek in horror at a bit
of Alar on apples, who cry "cancer" even more absurdly than the
boy cried "Wolf," who hate every chemical additive known to man,
still cast their benign approval upon fluoride, a highly toxic and
probably carcinogenic substance. And not only let fluoride emissions
off the hook, but endorse uncritically the massive and continuing
dumping of fluoride into the nation's water supply.
First: the generalized case for and against fluoridation
of water. The case for is almost incredibly thin, boiling down to
the alleged fact of substantial reductions in dental cavities in
kids aged 5 to 9. Period. There are no claimed benefits for anyone
older than nine! For this the entire adult population of a fluoridated
area must be subjected to mass medication!
The case against, even apart from the specific evils
of fluoride, is powerful and overwhelming.
(1) Compulsory mass medication is medically evil,
as well as socialistic. It is starkly clear that one key to any
medication is control of the dose; different people, at different
stages of risk, need individual dosages tailored to their needs.
And yet with water compulsorily fluoridated, the dose applies to
everyone, and is necessarily proportionate to the amount of water
one drinks.
What is the medical justification for a guy who drinks
ten glasses of water a day receiving ten times the fluorine dose
of a guy who drinks only one glass? The whole process is monstrous
as well as idiotic.
(2) Adults, in fact children over nine, get no benefits
from their compulsory medication, yet they imbibe fluorides proportionately
to their water intake.
(3) Studies have shown that while kids 5 to 9 may
have their cavities reduced by fluoridation, said kids ages 9 to
12 have more cavities, so that after 12 the cavity benefits
disappear. So that, at best, the question boils down to:
are we to subject ourselves to the possible dangers of fluoridation
solely to save dentists the irritation of dealing with squirming
kids aged 5 to 9?
(4) Any parents who want to give their kids the dubious
benefits of fluoridation can do so individually: by giving
their kids fluoride pills, with doses regulated instead of haphazardly
proportionate to the kids' thirst; and/or, as we all know, they
can brush their teeth with fluoride-added toothpaste. How about
freedom of individual choice?
(5) Let us not omit the long-suffering taxpayer, who
has to pay for the hundreds of thousands of tons of fluorides poured
into the nation's socialized water supply every year. The days of
private water companies, once flourishing in the U.S., are long
gone, although the market, in recent years, has popped up in the
form of increasingly popular private bottled water even though far
more expensive than socialized free water.
Nothing loony or kooky about any of these arguments,
is there? So much for the general case pro and con fluoridation.
When we get to the specific ills of fluoridation, the case against
becomes even more overpowering, as well as grisly.
During the 1940s and 50s, when the successful push
for fluoridation was underway, the pro-forces touted the controlled
experiment of Newburgh and Kingston, two neighboring small cities
in upstate New York, with much the same demographics. Newburgh had
been fluoridated and Kingston had not, and the powerful pro-fluoridation
Establishment trumpeted the fact that ten years later, dental cavities
in kids 5 to 9 in Newburgh were considerably lower than in Kingston
(originally, the rates of every disease had been about the same
in the two places). OK, but the antis raising the disquieting fact
that, after ten years, both the cancer and the heart disease rates
were now significantly higher in Newburgh. How did the Establishment
treat this criticism? By dismissing it as irrelevant, as
kooky scare tactics. Oh?
Why were these and later problems and charges ignored
and overridden, and why the rush to judgment to inflict fluoridation
on America? Who was behind this drive, and how did the opponents
acquire the "right-wing kook" image?
THE DRIVE FOR FLUORIDATION
The official drive began abruptly just before the
end of World War II, pushed by the U.S. Public Health Service, then
in the Treasury Department. In 1945, the federal government selected
two Michigan cities to conduct an official "15-year" study; one
city, Grand Rapids, was fluoridated, a control city was left unfluoridated.
(I am indebted to a recent revisionist article on fluoridation by
the medical writer Joel Griffiths, in the left-wing muckraking journal
Covert Action Information Bulletin: "Fluoride: Commie Plot
or Capitalist Ploy?" [Fall 1992], pp. 26-28, 63-66.) Yet, before
five years were up, the government killed its own "scientific study,"
by fluoridating the water in the second city in Michigan. Why? Under
the excuse that its action was caused by "popular demand" for fluoridation;
as we shall see, the "popular demand" was generated by the government
and the Establishment itself. Indeed, as early as 1946, under the
federal campaign, six American cities fluoridated their water, and
87 more joined the bandwagon by 1950.
Instructional Basketball League
Instructional Basketball League
The Narragansett School District will be offering an Instructional Basketball League for Girls and Boys in grades 1 thru 12. The games will start on Saturday, December 12th and will run thru February. We play on Saturday mornings only at the Phillipston Elementary Gym and Narragansett HS & Middle School Gyms
This year we will be changing up the grouping:
(Mighty Mites) Boys and Girls in Grades 1st – 3rd
(NCAA) Boys and Girls in Grades 4th – 6th
(NBA) for Boys and Girls in Grades 7th and 8th
(Senior) for Boys and Girls in grades 9th – 12th
click here for more information
Seeking Opioid Answers
| Seeking Opioid Answers DA comes to film showing to push for a solution | |||||
News Correspondent FITCHBURG In an effort to put a face on opiate addiction in Worcester County, Montachusett Regional Technical School and the Fitchburg Police Department hosted the movie “The Hungry Heart” at the Monty Tech auditorium Wednesday evening. District Attorney Joseph D. Early and film Director Bess O’Brien were in attendance, and reached out to discuss the problems facing addicts and their quest for recovery. Ms. O’Brien said the film was made in 2012 in St. Albans, Vermont, a small rural community just above Burlington. It tells the true story of one doctor’s attempt to connect with addicts in the town, and showed the battles each young person waged from the first time they found what eventually became their own personal devil. District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. spoke after the film and said there have been 96 deaths attributed to opiates since the beginning of the year in Worcester County. He said his mantra has been to show compassion and stay within the law. He said state Sen. Jennifer Flanagan, D-Leominster, has done a lot as a member of the opiate task force in terms of education. He said people are not turned away if they have diabetes or cancer. He likened addiction to a disease, and said people should not be turned away with addiction. “There aren’t enough beds. We need more beds,” he said. |
Winchendon Narrows Town Manager Search
| Winchendon Narrows Town Manager Search Decision is now down to three applicants |
| Damien Fisher News Staff Writer WINCHENDON The final candidates in the running to be Winchendon’s next town manager are the current town manager of Salem, New Hampshire, Townsend’s town administrator, and the former city manager for Portland, Maine. Selectmen were presented with the resumes of three candidates selected by the Town Manager Search Committee, which has been working with acting Town Manager Bernie Lynch to fill Toy Town’s top job. The committee started with 37 resumes before narrowing the field down to the three presented Wednesday night. Keith Hickey is the current town manager in Salem, New Hampshire, a town of 29,000 residents with a $49 million annual operating budget, which excludes the education budget for the town. Mr. Hickey, who currently lives in Greenfield, New Hampshire, has been the manager in Salem since 2011, and has had managerial experience in Merrimack, New Hampshire, and Bedford, New Hampshire. He also has municipal financial management experience. Mark Rees, from North Andover, served as the Portland, Maine, city manager from 2011 to 2014, managing a city of 65,000 with a $220 million budget, He served as the North Andover manager before that from 2000 to 2011, and had had the position of chief financial officer for Framingham, town manager on Northbridge, and town administrator in Ashburnham from 1987 to 1991. Andrew Sheehan is Townsend’s current town administrator, taking over the position in 2010. He’s been assistant town manager in Westford, and assistant to the city manager in Lowell under Mr. Lynch from 2007 to 2009. Mr. Sheehan also received a certificate in local government leadership and management this year from the Suffolk University, where Mr. Lynch teaches. |
A Big Score
| |||||||
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Field Trip To Cuba May Be Delayed
| Field Trip To Cuba May Be Delayed Parents say they could use more time to raise the money | |||||
Reporter TEMPLETON — Parents suggested moving the timeline of a proposed field trip to Cuba from June 2016 to February 2017 to allow more time to raise funds during an informational meeting at the Narragansett Regional High School library on Tuesday. The plan is for students, parents and teachers to travel to the Caribbean island for nine days. They will interact with local high school students, prepare Cuban food, play Cuban drums, and students will earn college credit through educational tours. Hosted by the International Club, the trip will be sponsored by WorldStrides, an educational travel company. According to teacher Steven Latorre, co-leader of the trip, postponing the trip to 2017 allows more time to raise funds. Parent Ann-Marie Geyster, whose daughters, senior Jillian and sophomore Jordan, want to participate, was concerned about financial assistance for all income levels and all family sizes. The trip costs around $3,200. “You have to be under the $85,000 annual gross income guideline, no matter if you have one or six kids going,” Ms. Geyster said, to qualify for financial aid. |
Heywood Explains Vision For Rehab Center
| Heywood Explains Vision For Rehab Center | |||||||
Reporter PETERSHAM Heywood Healthcare is making a big step toward helping those suffering from drug addiction in North Central Massachusetts. The organization hosted a celebration among company employees and local area leaders on Monday at their recently purchased property at 211 North Main St. in Petersham, which will become The Quabbin Retreat, a mental health and substance abuse treatment facility. The property was formerly owned by the Sisters of Assumption, a Roman Catholic religious order. “We’re very humbled to by the asset they have handed over to us, to allow us to help those in need, which is what they would have done,” said Heywood Healthcare President and CEO Win Brown. Heywood Healthcare is a nonprofit healthcare system which includes Heywood Hospital and Athol Hospital, among other health centers. Mr. Brown said that the plan to turn the Sisters of Assumption property into The Quabbin Retreat has been underway for over a year. The building is 75,000 square feet and the facility will open sometime in the middle of 2016, but the entire project is scheduled to take three years to complete and is contingent upon Heywood Healthcare receiving funding from state and federal sources. “We see it as a three-year project with three distinct phases,” Mr. Brown said. The first phase of the project, set to be operational next year, is creating a program to offer continued support for adults who have detoxed from drug use. The program will have 26 to 35 beds for patients. Mr. Brown said there will be a screening process to determine which patients are accepted into the program and a requirement that patients have detoxed for at least 72 hours. He said Heywood Healthcare will take patients who have either public or private insurance. “We will not cherry-pick payers. Our role is to keep as many patients as we can,” he said. The second and third phases of the project are creating an adolescent treatment facility and an inpatient detox unit, respectively. |
Narragansett Historical Society Fundraiser
Narragansett Historical Society Fundraiser
Click on the link above to find out how you can support the Narragansett Historical Society
The greatest part of living in a small town is the rich history, peace and quiet, and everyone looks out for their neighbors. Our town of Templeton MA is no different! We have a great community with small town values, and preserving its history is a very important priority to us.
Main building at 1 Boynton St.
The Narragansett Historical Society in Templeton, MA has a great group of volunteers packed with enthusiasm investing many hours of their free time to support the organization. Heading up the Society is our President Brian Tanguay who is working hard to make the society more active in the community involving as many members as possible. Several committees have created events such as Teas, Bake sales, demonstrations along with annual events such as the Cabin Fever Collectors show in February, the Engine Show in September, a Pumpkin Fest in October and the Jack Frost festival with Santa in December. Our events do raise some funds but we still end up short for the repairs and upkeep of the two buildings that the Historical Society owns on Boynton Street and Hubbardston Rd.
The Boynton Street building is our main headquarters which houses thousands of irreplaceable items. Maintenance projects from the new roof shingles, attic insulation, brick re-pointing, and new downspouts for the gutters have been graciously donated to help with cutting heating costs and mold issues. Other big projects are underway from scraping and painting the many windows in the main building along with the entrances both front and back. Not to mention the many preservation projects slated when funding is available.
Grange building at 9 Hubbardston Rd.
Click on the link above to find out how you can support the Narragansett Historical Society
The greatest part of living in a small town is the rich history, peace and quiet, and everyone looks out for their neighbors. Our town of Templeton MA is no different! We have a great community with small town values, and preserving its history is a very important priority to us.
Main building at 1 Boynton St.
The Narragansett Historical Society in Templeton, MA has a great group of volunteers packed with enthusiasm investing many hours of their free time to support the organization. Heading up the Society is our President Brian Tanguay who is working hard to make the society more active in the community involving as many members as possible. Several committees have created events such as Teas, Bake sales, demonstrations along with annual events such as the Cabin Fever Collectors show in February, the Engine Show in September, a Pumpkin Fest in October and the Jack Frost festival with Santa in December. Our events do raise some funds but we still end up short for the repairs and upkeep of the two buildings that the Historical Society owns on Boynton Street and Hubbardston Rd.
The Boynton Street building is our main headquarters which houses thousands of irreplaceable items. Maintenance projects from the new roof shingles, attic insulation, brick re-pointing, and new downspouts for the gutters have been graciously donated to help with cutting heating costs and mold issues. Other big projects are underway from scraping and painting the many windows in the main building along with the entrances both front and back. Not to mention the many preservation projects slated when funding is available.
Grange building at 9 Hubbardston Rd.
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
City Gets Help For Auditing Services
City Gets Help For Auditing Services
Firm hired to temporarily mind the books for city
Andrew Mansfield
Reporter
GARDNER The city of Gardner has hired the accounting firm CliftonLarsonAllen LLP to perform temporary auditing services for the city.
“They’re well qualified. They’ve served many municipalities before and know the state system,” said Mayor Mark Hawke last week.
The decision to seek outside help for auditing services comes after the resignation of City Auditor Gene Ferrari, which took effect on Sept. 25.
Mr. Ferrari signed a three-year contract for the position in 2014 after being hired by the City Council, but he was unfamiliar with the city’s accounting software, Munis, resulting in a delay in the certification of the city’s free cash.
Mayor Hawke said CliftonLarsonAllen LLP has provided the city with the help of two of its employees, who began their work on Friday, Oct. 23. He said that several duties, including filing a tax rate for next year, are near deadline and the city needs additional support.
“We need to keep the office rolling,” he said.
Mr. Hawke said the city will need its auditing services for about a month, but it remains to be seen exactly how long.
He said CliftonLarsonAllen will provide between eight and 16 hours of service a week. The city will be paying $110 an hour for the service of its employees, but only one employee will be working at a time.
Firm hired to temporarily mind the books for city
Andrew Mansfield
Reporter
GARDNER The city of Gardner has hired the accounting firm CliftonLarsonAllen LLP to perform temporary auditing services for the city.
“They’re well qualified. They’ve served many municipalities before and know the state system,” said Mayor Mark Hawke last week.
The decision to seek outside help for auditing services comes after the resignation of City Auditor Gene Ferrari, which took effect on Sept. 25.
Mr. Ferrari signed a three-year contract for the position in 2014 after being hired by the City Council, but he was unfamiliar with the city’s accounting software, Munis, resulting in a delay in the certification of the city’s free cash.
Mayor Hawke said CliftonLarsonAllen LLP has provided the city with the help of two of its employees, who began their work on Friday, Oct. 23. He said that several duties, including filing a tax rate for next year, are near deadline and the city needs additional support.
“We need to keep the office rolling,” he said.
Mr. Hawke said the city will need its auditing services for about a month, but it remains to be seen exactly how long.
He said CliftonLarsonAllen will provide between eight and 16 hours of service a week. The city will be paying $110 an hour for the service of its employees, but only one employee will be working at a time.
Board of Assessors Denies Claims Of Office Being Closed
Board of Assessors Denies Claims Of Office Being Closed
Selectmen plan to investigate
Tara Vocino
Reporter
Phillipston — The Board of Selectmen voted Monday to begin an investigation regarding the Board of Assessors’ posted office hours at Town Hall.
They have received several complaints from the public that Board of Assessors’ doors were locked without explanation when they arrived.
According to Board of Selectmen clerk John Telepciak, the office is overstaffed with an assessor and two assistant assessors for such a small town.
However, Board of Assessors Chairman Gerhard Fandreyer denied Mr. Telepciak’s claim. “There are no issues with our posted hours,” Mr. Fandreyer said. “It’s possible my staff had an emergency when they arrived. Or if they’re sick, they stayed home so they don’t get everyone else sick. But there’s a sign on the door saying it’s closed.”
Mr. Fandreyer said an assessor is a part-time position. Office hours are Mondays from 6 to 8 p.m., and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
However, a quick check of the website indicates that the hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Thursday - Friday.
But Mr. Telepciak said the Board of Selectmen has to act upon the public’s complaints. “I’m not trying to micro manage their office, but we owe it to the public to make sure they’re open -- literally -- during posted hours,” Mr. Telepciak said. “We asked for documentation numerous times before conducting this investigation, and we were told we have no authority.”
Selectmen plan to investigate
Tara Vocino
Reporter
Phillipston — The Board of Selectmen voted Monday to begin an investigation regarding the Board of Assessors’ posted office hours at Town Hall.
They have received several complaints from the public that Board of Assessors’ doors were locked without explanation when they arrived.
According to Board of Selectmen clerk John Telepciak, the office is overstaffed with an assessor and two assistant assessors for such a small town.
However, Board of Assessors Chairman Gerhard Fandreyer denied Mr. Telepciak’s claim. “There are no issues with our posted hours,” Mr. Fandreyer said. “It’s possible my staff had an emergency when they arrived. Or if they’re sick, they stayed home so they don’t get everyone else sick. But there’s a sign on the door saying it’s closed.”
Mr. Fandreyer said an assessor is a part-time position. Office hours are Mondays from 6 to 8 p.m., and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
However, a quick check of the website indicates that the hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Thursday - Friday.
But Mr. Telepciak said the Board of Selectmen has to act upon the public’s complaints. “I’m not trying to micro manage their office, but we owe it to the public to make sure they’re open -- literally -- during posted hours,” Mr. Telepciak said. “We asked for documentation numerous times before conducting this investigation, and we were told we have no authority.”
Thank You from the Highway Department
The
Highway Department would like to thank everyone that has been bringing
in recycled used motor oil. They use it to heat the Highway Garage and
it is very much appreciated. They hope to continue receiving donations
of the used motor oil. It helps to defray the costs of heating and save
the taxpayers money.
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Weather Update for Wednesday
Weather Update
What:
Strong winds especially when accompanied by heavy showers and possibly thunderstorms
Winds may be strong enough to bring down small tree limbs and branches, thus low risk for scattered power outages
Tropical downpours (remnants from once Hurricane Patricia) may result in localized urban/poor drainage flooding including fast responding small streams. The heaviest rain may fall after the late day commute Wed
Minor Coastal/Tidal Flooding during the Wed evening high tide cycle along the South Coast of MA & RI
Marine - South to Southeast Gales (34 to 47 kt) likely with a low risk of a few gusts near 50 kt if thunderstorms develop
REMINDER: Second Quarter Real Estate & Personal Property Taxes are due by November 2, 2015.
REMINDER: Second Quarter Real Estate & Personal Property Taxes are due by November 2, 2015.
