Community Advocate Aug. 14, 2020

Westborough ‘space scientist’ making most of his life on Earth page

Assabet grad builds impressive political journalism resume

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Vol. 46 | No. 33 | August 14, 2020

Shrewsbury’s inspiring Babs Donahue Continuing a legacy of philanthropy at age 94

PHOTO/MELANIE PETRUCCI

Babs Donahue at home in Shrewsbury

By Melanie Petrucci Senior Community Reporter SHREWSBURY – Barbara Grant Donahue recently celebrated her 94th birthday. She was born on May 17, 1926: the same year as Queen Elizabeth II. Like the Queen, Barbara “Babs” is sharp, spry and still very independent.

During a recent visit she reminisced about her life that has been filled with love, laughter, music, hard work, community service and a deep faith in God that she shared with her late husband, Shrewsbury native, philanthropist and founder of Donahue Industries, Inc. - Irving James Donahue, Jr. “I have seen a lot of Presidents,” Donahue said, as she reflected on turning 94. “It’s a step toward 100 and that’s my goal.”

Stompers’ frontman Sal Baglio still amplifies his music ‘loudah’ inside this issue: viewpoint.................2 news .....................4 police log ...............23 obituaries .............23

crossword .............23 schools ...................26 homes & more ........28 classifieds .............35

Local infectious disease expert uses his skills for the good of others

Donahue | 9

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2 • COMMUNITY ADVOCATE • Friday, August 14, 2020

Letters to the Editor Response to letter – “Respect the police and their authority” To the Editor: I am deeply troubled by the letter to the editor, “Respect the Police and Their Authority,” (July 24), I too, with a heavy heart, read countless stories of police violence. The media has historically played a vital role in exposing injustices, such as the barbaric abduction and lynching of 14 year old Emmett Till in 1955 in Mississippi, and the police beatings of peaceful marchers protesting voter suppression in Alabama in 1965, coined “Bloody Sunday,” in response to the brutality. We must consider where we would be today if the media failed to reveal injustices.

In Mississippi, Emmett’s mother held an open casket funeral and allowed the press to photograph his disfigured body. People across the country were mortified and the Civil Rights movement garnered

momentum. Footage of “Bloody Sunday” in Alabama shocked our nation, and marches all over the country ensued. Under the leadership of Martin Luther King, John Lewis, and others we gained the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The majority of the recent protests have been peaceful.

The fallacy of “only a few misguided” is used to defend the majority of police, while the actuality of a limited number of agitators is used to discredit the majority of protesters. There is a larger outrage over isolated property destruction versus police violence against peaceful protesters. The oath police take to serve and protect applies even when we disagree with them. If police represent law and order, what then do police represent when they are breaking the law and disrupting order?

If someone is not an imminent danger to police, failure to comply should never result in murder. The problem is systemic, and understanding the history of policing and how it emerged as a means to disenfranchise and control the Black population is important to the discussion. As is understanding what “defund” actually means, and how reallocation of

funds might better serve certain communities.

I think of the families of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Walter Scott, Alton Sterling, and the countless others.

The current demonstrations remind me of the power of unity against what is wrong, and commitment to fighting for humanity for what is right, which I hope is the new normal.

—Elizabeth Hylton Shrewsbury

Response to ‘Facts about renewable energy’ letter To the Editor: I am sure that David Maidrand (“Facts about renewable energy,” July 31, 2020) is correct about which sources of power were used in Massachusetts during the last heat wave, however; his assertion that it means renewable energy is nothing more than a religious fantasy is both condescending and absurd.

Mr. Maidrand is a retired nuclear power plant engineer, so let’s look at nuclear power.

It is declining in this country

not because of tree-hugging environmentalists but because the plants are too expensive to build and operate profitably.

100 projects have been canceled since the 1970s. Many others closed due to poor reliability and excessive operating costs, even though the nuclear power industry is still subsidized via liability and waste disposal waivers. I support nuclear power, but we first have to find a competitive way to build and operate nuclear plants. Until then, nuclear power can never be the only alternative to fossil fuels.

Mr. Maidrand dismisses solar and wind because they currently make up a small fraction of energy generation today, but he forgets that it was well over a decade before commercial nuclear power became a significant contributor to the US electric grid. Grid scale alternative energy and storage are just starting to ramp up. Is there enough to replace a nuclear power plant in Massachusetts today? Of course not, but that doesn’t mean never, as he would have us believe.

We will not always have to rely exclusively on centralized power distribution. National grid rents My 5-kilowatt solarpowered backup battery as part

of a growing virtual power plant network which supports the grid during times of excessive demand. National Grid would not do that if it did not make economic sense. Centralized power generation will always be necessary, but we will need less of it in the future as decentralized alternative energy technology advances, costs decline and energy efficiency improves.

Straightforward engineering says we can transition from fossil fuels. Massachusetts decided 12 years ago that we needed to do it because human-caused climate change is a scientifically documented reality, not a religious belief.

— Andrew Koenigsberg Westborough

Further discussion re: claims of clean energy To the Editor: Today, renewable solar and wind energy represent big business worth billions of dollars per year. Investment giants like Bloomberg New Energy Finance and Lazard Asset Management serve corporate investors and advocate for the illusive advanLetters | 3

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COMMUNITY ADVOCATE • Friday, August 14, 2020 • 3 Letters | from page 2

Normalcy is in Jeopardy REGION –It is a mild understatement to say that 2020 has been a year like no other.

The pandemic, fanned by social media and frazzled tempers, has created a toxic brew of anger, division, and downright nastiness. Add to this the nation’s social and political differences and you have a climate that is pushing people to the brink. Our society was built on individuality and the freedom of thought so it is not surprising that many are feeling suppressed and frustrated living under current restrictions. As we move towards Fall and the much-anticipated election, we should remember that we are in this together and do our best to be tolerant of one another and accept differing opinions without condemning them.

Letters to the Editor

tages of wind and solar energy.

Solar’s claim to be approaching a cost parity with the powergrid, overlooks the federal subsidies and state-imposed mandates placed on the rate payer.

Meanwhile, the cost of natural gas is less than $2 per million Btu. Natural gas is known for burning clean; thereby, emitting minimal pollutants for the quantity of electricity produced.

For the past 15 years energy conservation and substitution of natural gas for coal have significantly reduced U.S. CO2 emissions.

We know the stability of the electric-grid is a necessity, because grid failures cost the economy millions. The deterrence of blackouts must be of the highest priority. Daily power interruptions are prevented as operators pursue excess generating capacity – called “spinning reserve.” This reserve must be available within seconds during any disruption in electricity supply. To ensure an uninterruptable flow of electricity to all consumers, solar installations require a stable electrical grid; currently supported by gas-fired electric generation.

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According to ISO-New England, we have relatively few natural resources for producing electricity. Therefore, our region requires attention to its energy delivery infrastructure, in order to sustain the growing number of natural-gas fired power generation facilities needed for continued electric grid stability.

If we believe the claims of a forthcoming climate catastrophe, caused by CO2 emissions, the solution is clearly not solar electricity. Even James Hansen, the father of the “global warming catastrophe,” believes nuclear energy is the only practical method of reducing CO2 emissions.

Finally, as a former utility employee, I observed how MASSPIRG became a formable opponent to utility growth in the 1970s. Their hidden agenda continues to coerce government agencies in the advance of leftwing environmental policies. If these well-organized political groups insist upon promoting flawed policy, our politicians will accommodate them; and our children and grandchildren will have to endure the economic consequences. ­—Robert Groce

Westborough

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Local infectious disease expert uses his skills for the good of others

By Peg Lopata Contributing Writer WESTBOROUGH - Say the words “infectious diseases” and most will cringe. Others, such as Christopher Sassetti, 52, find them fascinating. As director of the Sassetti Lab, Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems, at University of Massachusetts Medical School, his specialties are infectious diseases - specifically, tuberculosis and immunology.

“Tuberculosis is a uniquely terrible infection,” Sassetti explained. “Despite the availability of antibiotics and massive control efforts, the disease still kills millions. My work focuses on how tuberculosis can persist despite both our immune response and antibiotic therapy.

The fact that there is such a great need to understand this infection makes my work very satisfying.”

Sassetti is driven to help others, whether in the lab, classroom or as a volunteer for the Special Olympics Unified sports program, his favorite volunteering gig.

“It brings out the best in everyone,” said Sassetti.

He’s also vice president of the Westborough Community Land Trust.

“The Land Trust is a great organization,” he said. “My family has always loved the outdoors and it seemed natural to help preserve and maintain open spaces in town.”

Christopher Sassetti

The natural world has interested Sassetti since he was young. He majored in biology at Santa Clara University in California.

“I always loved biology, particularly the forms of life that seemed unusual to me. I had a chance to work in a lab that studied really bizarre tropical parasites. That experience got me hooked on infectious diseases,” said Sassetti. “I can’t imagine a job that’s more fun.

We get to solve puzzles all day. I can dream up a new idea during my morning shower and try it out the same day.”

Not surprisingly, Sassetti is extra busy during this pandemic and his experience with dangerous and highly contagious diseases is being put to good use.

“As we have a lot of experience working with easily transmissible diseases, we’re doing our best to help our colleagues safely start new COVID research programs,” he explained. “I love working with a community of colleagues that all share the

Accepting new patients!

same goal. Every day I get to interact with a really interesting group of students, fellows and colleagues from all over the world. Seeing a new idea spread through this group and develop into insight that moves the field forward is really gratifying.”

Sassetti is heartened by what the pandemic has brought out in people and is hopeful.

“I am struck by how generously my neighbors and community have put their lives on hold to protect each other,” he said. “I am also impressed with the creative solutions we’ve all come up with to continue living our lives - from telecommuting and distance learning to driveby birthday parties.”

He is confident that all of the research and clinical trials being conducted will provide answers about the virus soon.

“We’ve only known about this virus for a few months,” he noted. “With a bit more understanding, I’m optimistic that we’ll keep getting better at treating this disease. Patient outcomes have already been improving through experience.

Though vaccine development is typically a decade-long process, I’m optimistic the combination of new technologies and testing strategies that are being applied to a COVID-19 vaccine could greatly accelerate this timeline.”

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Proposed project would address issues on Flanders Road

By Jennifer L. Grybowski Contributing Writer WESTBOROUGH - Town Planner Jim Robbins has visited with multiple boards recently to discuss a proposed MassWorks Infrastructure Program.

The project would address issues on Flanders Road. It would include a new signalized intersection at Flanders and West Park Drive Extension to support an existing industrial park and a new industrial road subdivision, and the widening of Flanders Road. The project is intended

Infectious disease Expert | from page 4

one cannot but help be infected by his optimism. Whether it’s weekends spent shoring up the old house he bought in Westborough, his work with the Special Olympics, protecting open spaces, or coming up with new ways to combat tuberculosis, one gets the sense Sassetti will continue to use his skills for the good of others.

to relieve congestion at the Connector Road and Research Drive signal. It would improve safety on Flanders Road by reducing vehicle speeds, relieving current line of sight issues and improving turning movements.

Additionally, people who have trouble entering or exiting their property along Flanders Road would have better opportunities to do so.

It would also relieve congestion at the Route 9/I-495 interchange because a new road will allow people to leave West Park Drive and the Westborough Business Park and head east without having to get onto Route 9.

“It is one of the top congested intersections of the commonwealth,” Robbins said. “In fact, it recently rose to the number one traffic nightmare in the state.”

That also means that by adding the proposed 1,800 feet of roadway are going to save thousands of commuters the hassle and environmental impacts of driving an additional 2.8 miles every day on Route 9 to enter

and exit the park.

The project would also install new signalized pedestrian crossing and promote the use of a bike/multipurpose trail that would run the length of West Park Drive, and new sidewalks.

The trail would connect to a regional bike trail the town is hoping to build called the Boston Worcester Air Line Trail (BWALT), to be built on the old Boston & Worcester trolley line.

This is a competitive grant program that provides the largest and most flexible source of capital funds to municipalities and other eligible public entities primarily for public infrastructure projects that support and accelerate housing production, spur private development, and create jobs throughout the commonwealth.

Kevin Kuros, regional director for Mass Office of Business Development, was in attendance at Robbins’ recent presentation to the Economic Development Committee, and gave some insights to what might help the town receive a grant

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economic development.

Mark Verreault, senior vice president of Carruth Capital, manages the properties at the adjacent business parks. Carruth Capital will be partnering up with the town on the project.

“Our motivation here is accessibility for both cars and bikes; they have terrible access,” Verreault said. “People in the area will be able to bike or walk to work. It’s a great amenity for the community to have.”

He said right now, there is a 25 percent vacancy rate at the park (30 percent if you include leased, but currently empty space), and that almost all of that vacancy is in buildings at the end of West Park Drive. He attributed that to the difficulty of accessing the area, and said after this project he expected to be able to market and lease those units.

The Board of Selectmen, Planning Board and Economic Development Committee have all endorsed the application.

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award. He said leveraging private investments and projects that are essentially shovel-ready are looked upon favorably. He said the community use portion of this particular project makes it more desirable. He told town officials that 92 applications for a requested $223 million were received last year, but that only about a third of applications were funded, with the average award being around $2 million.

Town officials expect the project will cost about $2.5 million total.

Robbins said the project meets the scope of the program by supporting economic development by encouraging job creation and improving access.

He said the project also supports the economic development goals of the town’s master plan by reducing congestion and improving circulation while improving access for pedestrians and bikers. Further, he said the project fits into the region planning efforts for the comprehensive economic development strategy, the I-495 compact and the CMRPC plan for regional

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Saxophonist pursues a master’s degree at NYC’s Julliard

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MARLBOROUGH – Marlborough native Sarah Hanahan has avidly studied music since third grade when she got a saxophone from her drummer dad as a Christmas gift. Now residing in New York City, she’s pursuing a master’s degree in jazz studies at the Julliard

School.

As a child, she and her father watched DVDs of big bands featuring acclaimed jazz drummer Buddy Rich. Her interest in jazz was sparked and she became mesmerized by saxophones.

“Even as a young kid, I thought the saxophone was so cool – the way it looked and sounded,” she recalled. “I al-

ways felt really connected specifically to the alto saxophone, which is what I play now.”

While attending Marlborough High School (MHS), Hanahan was encouraged by now-retired instrumental music teacher and band leader Gary Piazza. He directed her as a budding saxophonist in MHS Jazz Ensemble as well as drum major with MHS Marching Panther Band.

“Gary knew I was serious about music and always pushed me to grow,” she said.

“He was really supportive and made me believe in myself, too.”

Under Piazza’s direction, she performed with MHS Jazz Ensemble four consecutive years at Boston Esplanade’s Hatch Shell. The students ap-

peared there after earning Gold Medal ratings at district and state band festivals presented

by Massachusetts Association for Jazz Education.

“I remember being on the Hatch Shell’s big stage and thinking that I’m going to do this for my whole life,” Hanahan recounted. “I felt so confident about that.”

On weekends throughout her senior year, she also played lead alto saxophone with New England Conservatory Prep Youth Jazz Orchestra in Boston and performed concerts at its Jordan Hall.

“I was fortunate to have opportunities to get a little taste of what was to come in college and after,” she said.

Upon graduating from MHS in 2015, Hanahan was awarded a full scholarship to study at the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz within Hartt School of Music (University of Hartford).

Concurrently, she gigged at Connecticut and New York clubs and festivals, often with her band.

During her college senior year, she began touring with NYC-based Sherrie Maricle and the Diva Jazz Orchestra. Its

website describes them as “extremely talented and versatile musicians who just happen to be women.”

The Sarah Hanahan Quintet was voted 2019’s Best Jazz Band by readers of the weekly newspaper CTNow, published

by Hartford Courant.

She graduated from Hart School with a bachelor’s degree in jazz studies in 2019.

Soon afterward, she relocated to NYC. “2019 was a great year,” Hanahan noted.

Last fall, she performed in “The Second City and Kennedy Center’s Jazz Comedy Experiment” in NYC and Washington, D.C. The show consists of five musicians including Hanahan and pianist-composer Jason Moran, the Kennedy Center’s artistic director for jazz. They’re joined by five improv-comedy actors.

“Everything is improvised and the shows are hilarious,” Hanahan explained. “We’re playing and cracking up at the same time. It’s been a big lesson for me to have everything improvised.”

Although pandemic restrictions canceled some performances of this show and several other gigs, her new music education venture is on schedule in a city that she greatly appreciates.

“I love living in NYC,” Hanahan declared. “There are so many fantastic musicians to meet, be friends with, and go hear play. Pre-COVID-19, I’d go out and hear music almost every single night. You can’t do that anywhere else in the world.”

Find more information about her at SarahHanahan. com and facebook.com/SarahHanahanMusic.

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Marketing professional finds second career as a SCORE mentor

By Serena Howlett Contributing Writer WESTBOROUGH - In 2003, a semi-retired Pete Allen took his tennis partner’s advice and joined the Senior Core of Retired Executives (SCORE).

Allen didn’t know what to expect and worried if he could really be helpful to a small business Pete Allen owner or manager. He soon discovered that his long career as a marketing executive enabled him to help almost every SCORE client who sought his advice.

Allen began his career at the Dennison Manufacturing plant in Framingham. He discovered marketing to be “more interesting than I had expected.” Sensing Allen’s talent, a marketing manager brought him onboard. Years later, still working together, Allen asked the manger, “What did you see in me?”

The manager replied, “Ideas are one thing, execution is another. If I ask you to do something, it not only gets done, but gets done well.”

Eventually, Allen was promoted to vice president of marketing with responsibility for all products nationwide.

In 1993 a pharmaceutical company knocked at Allen’s door. Allen wondered how he would transfer his skills, but soon mastered the challenge.

“Marketing knowledge,” he said, “is needed in every business and the same skills are applicable under many different circumstances.

As a SCORE mentor, Allen has had ample opportunity to use his business expertise to help people with businessrelated decisions. And this is clearly something he is eager to do. Barb Smith’s Companion Pet Sitting and K-9 Hydrotherapy is one of Allen’s favorite success stories. Allen mentored Smith in the startup phase of her now successful business and she still calls Allen for advice from time to time.

SCORE mentors can prevent business disasters. When two airplane pilots who loved to cook approached Allen with their plans to open a restaurant, he asked them two questions: “Will you follow an

example of a successful restaurant?” and “Do you have a business plan?” When the duo said they did not have a plan, Allen walked them through potential challenges, testing their level of preparedness.

Without directly advising them against opening the restaurant, he saved them from the dire consequences of going forward with this idea.

As marketing chair for

SCORE-Worcester Allen matches a person who clicks on the SCORE website “request a meeting” button with a SCORE volunteer who has the relevant skillset and is available to help. Meetings can be in-person. However, Zoom meetings are increasingly popular and of special interest during the pandemic lockdown.

At SCORE service and ad-

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“People sometimes ask, ‘What’s the catch?’ There is none,” Allen remarked. “It is rare that a SCORE client cannot benefit from consultation with a SCORE mentor.”

Allen is married to his childhood sweetheart, Kris, who is locally known for her book, “On the Beaten Path: Westborough, Massachusetts,” which was published by the histori-

cal society in 1984.

“In Westborough,” said Allen with a big grin, “I am known as the husband of Kris Allen.”

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8 • COMMUNITY ADVOCATE • Friday, August 14, 2020

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COMMUNITY ADVOCATE • Friday, August 14, 2020 • 9

Shrewsbury’s inspiring Babs Donahue Continuing a legacy of philanthropy at age 94 Donahue | from page 1

The purpose of this fund that Jim set up was to save a life or change a life. ­— Babs Donahue

PHOTO/MELANIE PETRUCCI

She grew up in Athol, Mass. and graduated from a secretarial program at Becker College in Worcester. She went to a work as a private secretary.

Destiny brought Jim and Babs together in May of 1946.

She fell in love with him before she even met him.

They were set up by his father whom she knew through her work. She had heard all about Jim through stories and a news article that featured a photo of him in his Naval Officer uniform. With that story was a poem he had wrote about surviving a typhoon in the Pacific.

“He got accepted at Harvard to go for his graduate degree and he said, “I don’t want to leave you behind so the best thing I can do is to marry you and take you with me,” she recalled. “I said, ‘Okay, let’s go!”

The couple married in September of 1946 and raised two daughters, Susan Donahue Falzoi and Judy Donahue,

Babs Donahue at home in Shrewsbury

while Babs continued to work.

In addition to being a secretary, she was a Sunday School teacher, a floral arranger and a storyteller /ventriloquist with her Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls in tow. She retired at the age of 72 to care for her ailing husband.

During their marriage, Jim had established the Irving

James Donahue, Jr. Fund to support their expansive philanthropy.

“The purpose of this fund that Jim set up was to save a life or change a life,” Donahue explained.

With that credo they supported countless causes and built The Donahue Rowing Center on Lake Quinsigamond.

Since Jim’s passing in 2003 Donahue has carried on, and inspired by her faith and prayer, continuing to support many in need.

As such, she has purchased several ventilators and a brain scanner for the NICU at UMass Memorial Hospital in Worcester.

“Premature babies, boy, that’s where you save lives…I have seen such wonderful things happen,” she said.

And she has also changed the lives of several students in need at St. John’s High School over the years. She called them “her boys”. Sam, who was her first, is still a part of her life today.

Her love for her husband has never wavered. In 2004,

the family honored him by installing a display of “Dancing Musical Lights” in the pond at Dean Park. Then in 2016 she donated a bronze statue called “Angel of Peace” to St. John’s High School and she gifted an exercise and weight training room to the Shrewsbury Fire Department.

“I love those firemen. I am the only honorary woman member of the fire department,” she shared proudly.

In her spare time she knits prayer shawls and gives them away to friends and visitors.

At the age of 94, Donahue has no desire to slow down.

“I’m needed. I’m busy and I just don’t have time to die,” she said.

10 • COMMUNITY ADVOCATE • Friday, August 14, 2020

Grafton artist shares her passion for pottery with community

By Matthew Dunn Contributing Writer GRAFTON - Lee Smith of Grafton has been an artist all of her life, and amidst a global pandemic and widespread future uncertainties, she finds solace in her spinning pottery wheel.

“It can be hard to be creative when your mind is worried,” she explained. “But there have been some bright spots too and I realize how lucky I am to have my craft to distract me,” adding that her humble home studio turns into a refuge when the days start to blend together.

Growing up in Acton, Smith took an interest to art from an early age and felt confident it would be part of her future.

Upon graduating high school Smith enrolled at Mount Ida College as a graphic design major, but it was a semester spent in a ceramics studio that unearthed Lee’s favorite artistic medium. After college, Smith set out to launch her career in design, and with many twists and turns, never let go of her passion for ceramics and pottery.

“After graduation I worked as a cartographer and in advertising and eventually ended up at Digital Equipment doing graphics for sales reporting,” she said.” I stayed home to be a full-time mom in the late ‘80s and found when I was ready to go back to work the graphic design world had gone digital and my skills were no longer relevant. In order to stay home with my own kids, I decided to open a home day care and for the next 20-plus years I was home doing arts and crafts and caring for children in Shrewsbury.”

In 2011 Smith was able to join a small local pottery studio, and gain access to a pottery wheel, kiln, and all of the supplies needed for her to engage in her passion. However, the studio closed shortly thereafter, and Smith saw an opportunity to create her own workshop.

“When that studio closed and liquidated, I bought a wheel and eventually a kiln and started to slowly set up my

Lee Smith and some of her work.

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Grafton artist shares her passion for pottery with community Potter | from page10

own studio space,” Smith said.

This move led to the creation of her home-based studio, NaturaLee Designed Pottery. “[The] name came from my love of incorporating nature in my work,” Smith explained.

“Whether I’m using leaves to create dishes, making pots to hold plants or pieces to decorate my gardens outside I’m always trying to pull nature into my work.”

She also incorporates antique lace impressions in her work, creating bowls and other functional ware with the lace patterns.

“I love looking for interesting pieces of lace when I’m out antiquing,” she said.

Smith’s work speaks for itself - a combination of intricate aesthetics and textures, natural elements and functionality ranging from whimsical creations, such as a line of pet-themed bowls, to elegant trays incorporating some of her signature glazes and patterns.

“This is perhaps my favorite time in the studio, when I’m left to my own devices and can just create, making decisions as I go along to add flowers here and a chimney or window there,” she noted. “Six months from now I could be creating something completely different - that’s the wonderful part of this.”

Smith is part of a growing number of local artisans who are expanding their hobbies and artistic endeavors to share their creations within their communities.

“We live in a wonderful area with so much talent and creativity. I’ve met such a diverse variety of artists, artisans, craftsmen and other small business owners and it’s a joy to share ideas and support each other,” Smith said.

And in these difficult times, the sharing of ideas and support between fellow artists and small business owners is just as important as the unique paintings, jewelry and pottery they produce.

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Shrewsbury Public Library announces enhanced services SHREWSBURY – Priya Rathnam, the director of the Shrewsbury Public Library, has announced the library is now enhancing some of its services.

Patrons can place holds on books, audiobooks, CDs, video games, or DVDs through the C/W MARS system. Items that belong to Shrewsbury or other libraries can be selected. Up to 10 holds can be placed on one library card.

Starting now, patrons can pick up their holds in the library. The west entrance will be open and the holds will be on tables in the hallway.

Holds will be arranged in alphabetical order by patrons’ last names, and can be checked out using the self-checkout machines. Patrons will then follow directional signs to exit the building from the main north entrance.

Patrons are asked to remember -

• Holds will only be ready 72 hours after the receipt of an email notice.

• Patrons must have the library card associated with the hold.

• Due to safety concerns for staff and patrons, this will be a no-contact transaction. Staff will not be able to assist patrons in person, but will be available to help via phone at 508-841-8609, x2 or x3.

• Patrons are required to wear a mask and maintain a 6 foot distance from others while in the library.

• No browsing is allowed at this time.

• Patrons who need special assistance such as

curbside pickup service can call the library at 508-841-8609 x3.

Days and hours of service:

• Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.; 2-4:30 p.m.

• Tuesdays and Thursdays: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.; 2-4:30 p.m.; 5-7 p.m.

• Saturdays: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

To cancel your previously scheduled appointments, call 508-841-8609, x2 or x3 or email splcirc@cwmars.org .

Items belonging to any C/W MARS library can now be returned on the following days and times:

• Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays: 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

• Tuesdays and Thursdays: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

• Saturdays: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

There will be a black bin outside the main entrance near the automated drop-off machine that says “Returns” where materials can be dropped off Monday–Thursday and Saturday.

The automated drop-off will only be open on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

All returned items must be quarantined and will not be checked in for 72 hours.

12 • COMMUNITY ADVOCATE • Friday, August 14, 2020

A look at the Hale Block Building through the years as it begins a new chapter

By Melanie Petrucci Senior Community Reporter SHREWSBURY – The Town Center is anchored by the Town Common and adjacent First Congregational Church to the east but one can’t pass through the center without noticing the stately 10,000-square-foot two-story red brick building at 566-572 Main St., directly opposite the Civil War Monument.

The Hale Block building was in the news this past spring when it was purchased by Femion Mezini of Arilia Holdings, LLC and David Weinstock of Weinstock Holdings LLC. It was most recently owned

by Block Enterprises, Inc., headed by Pamela Cole from Shrewsbury, and had been in the Cole family for many years.

This purchase has renewed local residents’ interest in its history and the role it will play in the revitalization of the Town Center.

When asked what they saw in the building that interested them, Weinstock replied, “For

May you know

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Right: Hale Block present day on Main Street

Below: Hale Block historical photo

PHOTO/MELANIE PETRUCCI

SHREWSBURY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

us the decision was easy -although we are not from the Shrewsbury area, we came to visit the property and immediately saw the potential of what it could be...the Hale block has all the bones of a great vibrant downtown building…”

Noted town historians

shared what they know about the building that dates back to the 1920s.

According to “Images of America, Shrewsbury,” a historical depiction of Shrewsbury through photos and postcards written by life-long resident Michael Perna, Jr.; a Methodist

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She added that Davidson Jewelers and a shoe repair shop where “the highly skilled cobbler could fix anything,” were also located in the Hale Block.

“The pharmacy area itself was quite impressive. Charlie Hale, who lived nearby, was the pharmacist. The store was quite large and had marble tile floors and high tin ceilings. There was a wide range of medicine and pharmacy products, greeting cards, and other convenience items,” she reflected. “The last store in the block was the Village Gift Shop, which was famous for its penny candy and gifts. The Hale | 13

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Church once stood where the Hale Block Building is now but was torn down in 1922.

“Charles Hale, who was first registered as a pharmacist in 1902 ran the store. He became, along with the store, a Shrewsbury fixture, arriving at work at 5:30 a.m. every day…Even in his mid-80s… Later, his son Albert followed him into the business and still later a grandson, Charles Hale,” Perna stated.

Kristine Gustafson, vicepresident of the Shrewsbury Historical Society, remarked, “In the 1960s businesses in the Hale Block provided Shrewsbury residents with a fun shopping experience.”

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COMMUNITY ADVOCATE • Friday, August 14, 2020 • 13

A look at the Hale Block Building

Open Mic Night in Shrewsbury benefits NAACP and WHO

Hale | from page 12

SHREWSBURY – Nearly 100 people came out to attend an Open Mic Night Aug. 1 on the Shrewsbury Town Common. The event, organized

by Deeptha Ganesh and Aditi Venkateswaran, two rising juniors at Shrewsbury High School, raised $770 in donations for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

“In the midst of a global pandemic and immense calls for justice and reform across the United States, we felt completely helpless,” Ganesh said.

“We decided that we needed to find a way to help, and began the process of planning Open Mic Night.”

Beth Casavant, chair of the Shrewsbury Board of Selectmen, first welcomed everyone to the event before a series of performances were held.

“There was a wide variety of songs, ranging from pop songs to hard rock to 60s jazz to Bollywood music: there truly was something for everyone!

The emcees, Liam Reardon

it creates a live, work, and play ecosystem …” Weinstock said.

By providing apartments for people who enjoy the amenities and accessibility of being downtown, the new owners’ hope is to see the downtown fill in with reasons for people to come downtown, “hang- out and linger.”

Many residents in town are excited and eager to see Mezini and Weinstock’s vision come to fruition.

owner, Marie, was always accompanied by her friendly pet dachshund!”

What does its future hold?

Currently, Amici’s Trattoria and The Hairs Inn are located among the building’s many storefronts – some are empty.

“Our vision is to renovate and rebuild the apartments upstairs which is a very traditional use from long ago and now is coming back into vogue since

Library to host Job Seekers session Aug. 26 NORTHBOROUGH – The Northborough Free Library will host a Zoom session featuring Susan Joyce, editor of Job-Hunt.org, as part of its Job Seekers series. Joyce will discuss job searches from the recruiter’s perspective. In their search for qualified job candidates, recruiters rely on referrals, online searches for prospective candidates and online verification of candidates. She will discuss: • how recruiters work • how recruiters search for qualified candidates using Google, Linked In, referrals, and more • how you can optimize your online presence so that you can be found.

The program will be held Wednesday, Aug. 26, 3-4:30 p.m.

This event is free but registration and access to Zoom are required. To register, go online to northboroughlibrary.org and click on “Events” in the main navigational bar; or call Adult Services at 508- 393-5025. ext. 5.

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and Aarshiya Sachdeva, entertained the crowd with their witty banter and jokes in between acts,” Ganesh said.

In accordance with health guidelines, masks and social distancing were mandated.

Additionally, our team of volunteers unfailingly sanitized the microphones, mic stands, and chairs in between each and every act. After the planned segment of the program, the floor was opened up to the

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14 • COMMUNITY ADVOCATE • Friday, August 14, 2020

Community Harvest Project adapts to COVID-19

By Abbey Basile Contributing Writer GRAFTON - The Community Harvest Project (CHP) - a nonprofit farm that grows and harvests fresh fruits and vegetables for families and individuals in need in the Worcester area - has adapted to the effects of COVID-19 in order to produce a bountiful harvest in 2020.

Though the organization typically relies on thousands of volunteers each year, Wayne McAuliffe, manager of volunteer programs for CHP, stated that with the onset of the pandemic, plans for planting and harvesting on the 14-acre farm needed to be adjusted.

McAuliffe explained that usually the farm would see up to 100 volunteers a day from the beginning of May up until

mid-June for its planting season, but because of COVID-19 restrictions, such large gatherings of volunteers were not possible. Instead, the fields were planted with the help of one of the project’s funders the Reliant Foundation, who assisted in purchasing a mechanical planter - and with the help of staff, a very small group of volunteers, and the CHP advisory board.

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Due to COVID-19 restrictions, adjustments have been made to ensure the safety of the volunteers. Though the project has previously allowed for drop-in volunteering, Tori Buerscahper, development manager at CHP, explained that individuals must now sign up before volunteering as a safety measure.

CHP will also compile a daily list of every person who has visited the property, and those who do visit the property are asked to selfregulate. The project starts the day with handwashing and a huddle covering protocols, and throughout the day, hand sanitizer is available and masks CHP | 15

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COMMUNITY ADVOCATE • Friday, August 14, 2020 • 15

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Community Harvest Project adapts to COVID-19 CHP | from page 14

are worn, even outside if volunteers and staff come within six feet of one another.

McAuliffe stated that the small groups of volunteers who helped during planting season “allowed [CHP] to really test out our safety protocols to make sure that we were doing everything right [for the harvest season].”

In addition to volunteering, individuals may donate to support hunger relief in the community. Buerscahper explained that one can make a direct donation, participate in a monthly giving program, donate equipment on the project’s wish list, or “adopt” a row or tree on the farm.

“That is a symbolic adoption where you essentially care for a particular row or tree for the entirety of the season, so that all of that produce can be donated,” said Buerschaper.

Other changes include transforming their spring fundraising plant sale into a

virtual experience with curbside pickup, and eliminating the planting of flowers for the project’s annual flower festival, which allowed for more farmland to be used for produce in order to meet the year’s greater need.

Over the past five years, Community Harvest Project has donated one million pounds of produce to hunger relief efforts.

“Our partners reported very shortly after the pandemic struck and lay-offs began to happen that the increase in demand on services was 200 percent,” McAuliffe said. “The need is growing, and likely, will be here for quite some time.”

Additionally, CHP recently announced that the Board of Directors has appointed Jim McPherson as its new Executive Director.

For more information on how to volunteer or donate, visit community-harvest.org or email volunteer@community-harvest.org.

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Community input invited for Grafton Library’s long-range plan

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GRAFTON - The Grafton Public Library’s Long Range Plan expires in December 2020, the Long Range Planning Committee is seeking public input on future direction. The committee met in March 2020 to begin to strategize is now inviting community feedback. Share your thoughts about Grafton (and what role the library will play over the next five years) in a short Community Survey, online at bit.ly/LRP2025.

A Long Range Plan, or strategic plan, is a written document that provides goals, measurable objectives and spe-

cific activities for library staff to carry out. A Long Range Plan spanning five years is required by the Mass. Board of Library Commissioners for any library that wishes to apply for or keep grant funding. The library currently is in the middle of Mass.

Public Library Construction Program Grant for renovation and expansion, and must create a plan and update an action plan (and remain eligible for state aid) to keep this grant.

Anyone can review the current Long Range Plan and Activity Plan online at www. graftonlibrary.org/lrp.

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16 • COMMUNITY ADVOCATE • Friday, August 14, 2020

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Josh Semeter on a glacier in Greenland

By Peg Lopata Contributing writer WESTBOROUGH - Joshua Semeter, Ph.D., 55, doesn’t need vacations. As a scientist working in his own laboratory, he has a job where vacations aren’t needed because he is so excited about his work.

Semeter studies a very active part of our atmosphere, the ionosphere, which is some 50 to 600 miles above the earth’s surface.

Aside from his work and spending time with his wife, Heather, and three children, ages 16, 14 and 8, Semeter volunteers at elementary and middle schools to discuss science and engineering with students. He also has many interests outside the lab, including bicycling, reading short stories, tennis, and debating with his kids. He loves building things out of wood, cooking for his family and is fascinated with dragonflies and octopi.

Could all that activity up above be the explanation for his high energy right here on earth? Perhaps he’s always been this way.

Semeter’s career began with a position at Pratt and Whitney Aircraft in Connecticut after obtaining a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. But something wasn’t quite right.

“After three years at this company…I felt myself slipping perilously into a comfortable, suburban Connecticut existence,” said Semeter. “So, I considered grad school.”

Then a fellow worker said

Josh Semeter

Semeter would never quit his job to go to graduate school because next year he had earned three weeks’ vacation. Semeter realized, he said, that “I needed a career where vacationing is irrelevant.”

To prepare for that type of career, Semeter enrolled as a doctoral student in electrical engineering at Boston University. While there, he looked for a research opportunity and discovered the Boston University Center for Space Physics (CSP).

The interdisciplinary aspect of this department made the CSP the perfect home for him.

An interdisciplinary approach to life and learning is Semeter’s modus operandi. As a high schooler, courses such as literature, French and music, had a more profound effect on him than science courses, teaching him about thinking, ideas, and effective communication.

He applies what he learned then to his current studies of the ionosphere, an important part of the atmosphere because it reflects and modifies radio waves used for communication and navigation.

“One of our current projects,” he explained, “is using a network of thousands of GPS receivers spread across the world to create global images of the ionosphere.”

Another project involves non-scientists studying auroras, bright, beautiful, colorful bands of light that happen in

PHOTO/JACKIE RICCIARDI

the ionosphere.

“In the polar regions of the world there are many who love to photograph the aurora,” he noted. “We are collaborating with these citizen scientists to find important phenomena in the aurora.”

As part of this work, Semeter travels to beautiful places such as Alaska, Greenland and northern Scandinavia.

The ionosphere is not the only love of Semeter’s life - music is also vital to him.

“If I go too long without playing music, I feel like I’m suffocating,” said Semeter. He plays acoustic guitar, banjo, ukulele, electric bass and harmonica and performs with a local band called “No Guarantee.”

Like the name of this band, Semeter recognizes that life is full of uncertainties. That’s not just a philosophy for him - it’s based on some fundamental laws of science.

Explained Semeter: “There is a persistent flow toward greater entropy. We are caught up in it. Resistance is futile. ‘Go with the flow’ is more requirement than advice.”

So, does that mean we should accept falling into chaos? Not according to Semeter.

“Within this flow, we are self-aware and empathetic beings, free to decide what principles we will live by. The three precepts I try to live by are: be kind to yourself, be kind to others, seek the truth.”

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Eldridge advocates for immigrant congregants at Hudson church HUDSON - Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, State Senator Jamie Eldridge (D-Acton) has been a vocal advocate for immigrant families across Massachusetts, working to ensure that they receive the same financial support as other Massachusetts residents do. In a press release from his office he noted that “since the federal CARES Act failed to provide stimulus checks for undocumented and mixedstatus families, and many immigrant families are not eligible for state unemployment assistance,” he has worked to secure financial and food support for immigrant families in his district - the Middlesex and Worcester district - through private sources and charities.

Recently Eldridge visited the Assembly of God church in Hudson, to highlight the partnership he has developed with church’s Pastor Constantino Pereira Junior.

“Pastor Junior, a Marlborough resident, and I have been friends for many years, and I

commend him for his advocacy for his congregants. During the pandemic, I have been pleased to partner with him, a Boston foundation, and the Open Table food pantry, to provide financial and food support for members of the church, the vast majority of whom are Brazilian immigrants,” said Eldridge.

The Boston foundation was able to provide a $25,000 grant to the church, distributing $500 each to about 50 Brazilian and Spanish families of the Assembly of God church. More recently, Eldridge partnered with the Open Table food pantry, located in Maynard, to provide basic staple items, fresh fruit, and vegetables to families in the church, after their Sunday service.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, 50 of our church families were greatly impacted by the generosity of Senator James B. Eldridge through the Family Independence Initiative,” said Pastor Constantino Pereira Junior. “The families that

received the $500 funds were families who couldn’t get any assistance from the state or federal government because of their immigration status. Senator Eldridge was sensitive to our community needs and was able to get our church $25,000, which was distributed through UPTogether to 50 Brazilian

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great need. Eldridge has filed a bill this session, S.D 2659, An Act to provide equal stimulus checks to immigrant taxpayers, that would have ensured that Massachusetts residents who filed their taxes with an ITIN number, would get the same stimulus checks as the federal CARES Act provided.

Kane supports bill expanding telehealth options BOSTON – State Representative Hannah Kane (R-Shrewsbury) is supporting health care legislation that will provide Massachusetts residents with increased access to telehealth services during the COVID-19 global pandemic.

In a press release her office noted tht House Bill 4888, An Act to promote resilience in our health care system, was engrossed by the House of Representatives on July 29 by a vote of 158-0, following two days of debate. The Senate previously passed its own version

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and Spanish families from our congregation in the Hudson region. This great generosity came in a time of great need for our church families.”

This grant was a pilot for a larger program, which will hopefully provide aid, Eldridge said, for more desperate families in this time of

of the bill (Senate Bill 2796) on June 25.

Kane said the House bill requires both public and private insurers to treat telehealth services in the same manner as in-person doctor visits, with deductibles, co-payments and co-insurance requirements not allowed to exceed the inperson rate. She said these rate parity protections are needed as more residents turn to telehealth as a safer option to help minimize their exposure to the 2019 novel coronavirus.

Kane said House Bill 4888

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will keep rate parity between in-network telehealth services and in-person services in place until July 31, 2021. The bill also establishes a temporary out-of-network rate for emergency services, and prohibits cost-sharing requirements for all emergency and inpatient services related to COVID-19 delivered by in-network and out-of-network providers during the same time period.

Kane filed and secured two amendments to H4888.

Amendment #3, Increasing Access to Cancer Clinical Trials, would work to increase enrollment, retention, and minority participation in cancer clinical trials. It would also eliminate financial barriers to participation by informing trial subjects – as well as family, friends and chaperones who accompany them – of their eligibility to be reimbursed for travel expenses and other ancillary costs through government entities, study sponsors, public and private foundations, corporations and individuals.

Amendment #71, titled Rare Disease Advisory Council, would establish a rare disease advisory council in the Commonwealth, which would be a powerful tool in creating a comprehensive rare disease network and bolstering education and attention to the cumulative mass and prevalence of rare diseases. The mission of the Council would be to advise the Governor, General Court, and Department of Public Health on the incidence and status of rare disease in Massachusetts.

House Bill 4888 also provides permanent rate parity protections for individuals receiving behavioral health services. These services include the diagnosis, treatment and management of patients with mental health or substance use disorders.

COMMUNITY ADVOCATE • Friday, August 14, 2020 • 19 $

Officials vote to purchase property for $2.3 million Proposal will come before voters at Special Town Meeting

By Jennifer L. Grybowski Contributing Writer WESTBOROUGH - After several weeks of discussion in executive session, selectmen voted to purchase a 66.15-acre property at 31-33 Eli Whitney St. for $2.3 million.

They will pay for the property with a combination of funding from existing Walkup and Robinson Memorial Reservation, open space and sale of real estate accounts.

Open Space Preservation Committee Chair Mark Silverberg said this parcel, located near the Annie E. . Fales Elementary School, is one of

the top five remaining existing largest residential parcels in town, and that its position adjacent to several other open space opportunities and existing lands made it desirable.

Timothy Buckalew, serving as representative from Walkup and Robinson and as vice chair of the Conservation Commission, said the parcel has lots of featuring, including limiting development in the area, which affects watershed, stormwater and runoff protection. He also said the town has been interested in this parcel since the 1980s.

“This is a great opportunity for town to preserve a great

piece of land for conservation and future passive recreation,” Selectman Allen Edinberg said.

The vote Tuesday night allowed for the selectmen to execute a purchase and sale; the next step is for the land to be surveyed. Selectmen voted to include a 4.72 parcel of land on Eli Whitney Street as remaining under the care and control of the board of selectmen in order to construct parking and trailhead facilities. Once the land is surveyed and a proposed plan is completed, the selectmen will set a date for a Special Town Meeting to formalize the plans.

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HUDSON- The American Heritage Museum, located at 568 Main St., Hudson, will host the Tanks, Wings and Wheels weekend on Saturday, Aug. 15 and Sunday, Aug. 16. Two other museums in the complex, the Historic Aviation Hangar, and Classic Automobile Barn, will also be open. This is a unique opportunity to see some of the world’s most rare aircraft, extraordinary American classic automobiles, historic tanks, armored vehicles, military artifacts and much more.

There is over 100,000 square feet of space within the American Heritage Museum and One of the exhibits in the American Heritage Museum Hangar combined. As such, oncepts there is plenty of room for al Group people to explore these amazbe led directionally through ment of Japan’s surrender that ing grounds while adhering each museum within limwas made on Aug. 15, 1945 (V-J to social distance protocols. ited group size intervals.

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Stompers’ frontman Sal Baglio still amplifies his music ‘loudah’

By Ed Karvoski Jr. Contributing Writer EAST BOSTON/MARLBOROUGH – Music is amplified in the DNA of singer-songwriter and guitarist Sal Baglio, an East Boston native now residing in Marlborough.

With a strong following since the 1970s to ‘80s in Boston’s music scene as The Stompers’ frontman, he and the

rock-‘n’-roll band are enjoying a second wave of popularity.

Concurrently, he’s performing and recording his original music.

“The first memories that I have are of music,” Baglio shared.

A 9-year-old Baglio would rush home from school to hear the “Beach Boys Concert” album. After receiving a fourtrack tape recorder as a Christ-

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Circa late-1970s promo photo of The Stompers: (l to r) Stephen Gilligan, Sal Baglio, Dave Friedman and Mark Cuccinello

mas gift, he began composing songs at age 12. He was impressed when his older brother attended The Beatles’ 1969 concert at their hometown of East Boston’s Suffolk Downs.

“Once The Beatles hit, I’d walk up and down the streets, and in every cellar there was a band playing,” Baglio recalled.

“In junior high and high school, I played with different bands around town.”

After graduating from high school in 1974, he learned the The Amplifier Heads’ 2020 EP “The music business while Man with the Sun for a Head” working on the road with top40 bands. He also learned about Boston nightspots where bands performed original music.

Baglio and drummer Mark Cuccinello formed The Stompers in 1977 with bassist Stephen FIREARMS AND EDGE WEAPONS MARKET IS Gilligan and keyboardist Dave THE STRONGEST IT’S EVER BEEN. THIS IS Friedman. Soon afterward, they worked regularly at BostonTHE TIME TO TURN YOUR ITEMS INTO CASH! area colleges and clubs as well as Hampton Beach, N.H.’s Club Casino (now known as Casino Ballroom).

The Stompers’ radio airplay began in 1978 with their debut single, “Coast to Coast.”

Following stints as opening act, they performed their first headlining gig in 1979 at Paradise Theater (now known as Paradise Rock Club). The Boston Globe raved, “Baglio is Top Price Paid a guileless straight-talker with For Vintage and Contemporary an authentic soul for rock ‘n’ roll. He plays with an urgency Firearms & Accessories reminiscent of the very best from Little Richard to Bruce Springsteen, and he has to be one of the most exciting emerging talents in the area.”

While appearing at Paradise twice yearly, The Stompers NO GUNS SOLD IN OUR STORE. performed every two months ALL SALES ONLINE ONLY! at The Channel.

“The Channel was a huge, cavernous club,” Baglio explained. “Playing there Saturday nights to 1,700-plus people going crazy made for a fun 18 N. Main Street time.”

West Boylston Opening for the J. Geils 508-835-5400 Band’s 1980 holiday tour, baystategunbuyers.com The Stompers rocked New

COMMUNITY ADVOCATE • Friday, August 14, 2020 • 21

Left: Sal Baglio performs with The Stompers at 1982’s Spring Fling in East Bridgewater

The band represents to its audience a period of time that they want to remember.

Right: The Stompers – (l to r) Dave Friedman, Sal Bruno, Mark Cuccinello and Stephen Gilligan – depicted on the wall of fame at Hampton Beach Club Casino (now known as Casino Ballroom)

­— Sal Baglio

Below: Sal Baglio onstage with The Stompers at Salisbury’s Blue Ocean Music Hall

PHOTO/JOE NETT

England arenas.

Between local gigs throughout the 1980s, The Stompers periodically toured with the Beach Boys. One concert culminated with Baglio accepting Carl Wilson’s invitation to join him singing “Barbara Ann.” “A highlight of my career was Carl asking me to come up onstage with him during an encore,” Baglio recounted.

“It was a rock-‘n’-roll fantasy come true!”

When Cuccinello left The Stompers in 1983, the band recruited drummer Lenny Shea and pianist Jeremy Brown.

(Current drummer is Dave Fox.) Boston Globe readers voted The Stompers #1 band in New England three times from 1981 to ’86 and in the top three the other years.

Since the late-1990s, they resumed a more frequent performance schedule after a friend of Baglio’s made him aware of a Stompers’ album selling for $60 on eBay. Additionally, the band’s songs are featured on the movie soundtracks of Adam Sandler’s “Grown Ups” (2010) and “Grown Ups 2” (2013).

Performing original music solo as The Amplifier Heads, Baglio released the CD “Loudah” in November 2019, and a three-song EP “The Man with the Sun for a Head” in June 2020.

“It’s solo material, but I use ‘The Amplifier Heads’ name because I like to present as a band,” he explained. “I usually have a drummer, occasionally a bass player, and different musicians here and there.”

The Amplifier Heads’ shows in Liverpool this past May were canceled due to COVID-19.

Likewise, some Stompers’ gigs got rescheduled. Baglio appreciates entertaining their longtime fans.

“There are people who bring their kids to our shows – and in some cases, their grandkids,” he said. “The band represents to its audience a period of time that they want to remember.”

Find information online at thestompers.com and theamplifierheads.bandcamp.com.

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22 • COMMUNITY ADVOCATE • Friday, August 14, 2020

Internationally-recognized calligraphist continues studies

By Ed Karvoski Jr. Contributing Writer HUDSON – Gerry Jackson Kerdok of Hudson has honed her calligraphy skills for over 40 years. Collectively for three decades as an educator, she shared her love for creativelydesigned letters with both children and adults. Her artwork is exhibited in juried competitions at prominent venues worldwide.

Along the way, she continues to study her favorite art form.

“The beauty of any art form is to find joy in something that you do by hand and can get lost in,” she said. “It’s not necessarily to be the best calligrapher in the world, but to find your joy.”

Jackson Kerdok took many art classes at Framingham State College (now known as Framingham State University), where she majored in elementary education and graduated in 1966. Art was among the subjects she taught for six years as a Framingham elementary school teacher.

PHOTO/ED KARVOSKI JR.

Above: Gerry Jackson Kerdok displays her calligraphy piece titled “Psalm 30:12,” which was chosen for publication by the Washington National Cathedral in 2017.

“Hope” by calligraphist Gerry Jackson Kerdok, based on an online prompt from Scribbled Lives

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“I’m of the age when there was no maternity leave; if you were going to have a baby, you either had to come right back to school or stay home,” she explained. “I stayed home and decided to take a commercial art class – a little, tiny piece of it was calligraphy. I got hooked!”

While working as a commercial artist, she built her calligraphy portfolio by donating her talent to local nonprofit organizations. In 1990, she began a 23-year stint teaching basic lettering and related arts at Worcester Art Museum.

In 1991, Hudson selectmen presented her with a citation for her numerous volunteer efforts.

Networking with calligraphy guilds, she learned that the Smithsonian Institution’s National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C., created the Graceful Envelope Contest in 1995. The Smithsonian administered the contest until delegating responsibility to Washington Calligraphers Guild in 2001.

Jackson Kerdok has entered artwork into the contest most years from 1995 to 2018 and achieved 16 wins including three “Best of Show.” Nearby in Maryland for another commitment at the time, she was able to view her first entry in Washington, D.C. “I’ve had opportunities to study at weeklong international assemblies of lettering artists,” she noted. “I was at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and got to go to Washington and see my piece at the postal museum. It was wonderful!”

Calligraphist | 34

COMMUNITY ADVOCATE • Friday, August 14, 2020 • 23

COMMUNITYOBITUARIES Richard L. Fay, 73 WARDSBORO, V T. - R i c h ard L. Fay, 73, of Wardsboro, Vt., formerly of Westborough, passed away July 24, 2020 while enjoying one of his favorite pastimes, riding his bike on the back roads and trails of rural Vermont.

Dick was predeceased by his mother, Ann, and his father, Charlie, who lived in Westborough. He is survived by his loving wife, Carol; daughters Elizabeth and Stephanie; sister Nancy; and a large, eclectic group of family and friends in Massachusetts and Vermont.

A graveside service was held Aug. 3 at Pine Grove Cemetery of Westborough. Pickering & Son Westborough Funeral Home assisted with arrangements.

Damien R. Hughes, 27 WESTBOROUGH Damien R. Hughes, 27, of Westborough,

“NO CLOUDS UP NORTH”

was the victim of a fatal stabbing on the morning of July 31, 2020. Born in Worcester, he was the beloved son of Ashley E. Tenczar Curran of Jamaica Plain, and was raised by his maternal grandparents, Maureen (Qua) Tenczar of Westborough and the late Gary Tenczar.

In addition to his mother and his grandmother, he is survived by his sister, Sydney Curran of Andover; his uncle, Jed Tenczar of Fall River; his close cousin, Rheanna Tenczar of Worcester; as well as his aunts, uncles, and cousins. He was predeceased by his stepfather, Peter C. Curran.

His funeral Mass was celebrated Aug. 8 at St. Luke the Evangelist Church of Westborough, with burial at St. Luke’s Cemetery. Pickering & Son Westborough Funeral Home assisted with arrangements.

Jessica L. Bishop, 43 SHREWSBURY - Jessica “Jess” Lynne (Reardon) Bishop, 43, of Shrewsbury, passed

away peacefully Aug. 4, 2020 after a ten-month battle with cancer.

Jess is survived by her loving husband, Ernest “Ernie” T. Bishop of Shrewsbury; her daughter, Brenna S. Champy of Warren; and her son, Deven J. Champy of Shrewsbury. She also leaves a sister, Melissa Anderson and her husband Roger of Worcester, and her lifelong step-father, Donald B. Brown of Gouverneur, N.Y. She was predeceased by her mother, Betty Reardon-Brown of Worcester.

Family and friends honored and remembered Jess’ life by gathering for calling hours Aug. 10 at the Chiampa Funeral Home of Shrewsbury, with a Mass of Christian burial held Aug. 11 at St. Mary’s Church of Shrewsbury, followed by burial at Mountain View Cemetery.

Mary E. Colby, 71 SHREWSBURY - Mary E. (George) Colby passed away peacefully with her family by her side July 30, 2020 at the age of 71. Mary was raised in Shrewsbury by her late par-

ents, Gordan B. and Viola L. (Burns) George.

Mary leaves her loving children, Sean D. Colby and his wife Maria of Rutland and Jessica M. Billitier and her husband Ron Billitier of Rochester, N.Y., and her beloved grandchildren who affectionately called her “Mimi,” Jack Billitier, Colby Grace Billitier,

Avery Billitier, and Evan Colby.

Mary also leaves behind her cherished dog, Finley.

Mary’s funeral Mass was celebrated Aug. 4 at St. Mary’s Church of Shrewsbury, followed by burial with military honors at Pine Grove Cemetery of Westborough. The BrittonShrewsbury Funeral Home assisted with arrangements.

POLICELOG The information in the police log is obtained directly from the official records maintained at each police station in our circulation area.

Those arrested are innocent until proven guilty. The Community Advocate will publish news of acquittals upon notification and a copy of court issued documentation.

Westborough

Thursday, July 30 7:44 p.m. Arrested, William Sciretto, 49, of 322 Lynwood St., Lynn, on warrant.

Marlborough Friday, July 31

8:11 p.m. Arrested, Devyn R. Mackerer, 19, of 166 Goodale St., Marlborough, for carry dangerous weapon, warrant.

Tuesday, Aug. 4 10:02 p.m. Arrested, James D. O’Connor, 20, of 68 Spectacle Hill Rd., Bolton, on warrant.

Thursday, Aug. 6 12:21 p.m. Arrested, Jonathan Braga Monteiro, 42, of 8 Elm Pl., Apt. 1, Marlborough, on warrant.

Shrewsbury

Tuesday, Aug. 4 4:11 a.m. Arrested, Aris Y. Rodriguez, 31, of 25 Lyon St., Apt. 1, Worcester, on warrant.

SUPER CROSSWORD

Answers to puzzle located on p. 35

24 • COMMUNITY ADVOCATE • Friday, August 14, 2020

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COMMUNITY ADVOCATE • Friday, August 14, 2020 • 25

Shrewsbury Town Meeting approves $125 million dollar budget

By Melanie Petrucci Senior Community Reporter SHREWSBURY – Shrewsbury’s elected Town Meeting finally assembled on Aug. 8, under a tent, on the front lawn of Oak Middle School. Originally scheduled for May 18, it had been tentatively scheduled and then rescheduled three times. But on the warm morning that it was finally held, 41 warrant articles were voted

on in a mere four hours.

Officials had prepared video presentations in advance of the meeting for members to preview.

Some articles were bundled in a “consent agenda” format and financial matters including the operating budget was near the beginning of the meeting.

Without much discussion, the $125,200,201operational budget (school and municipal) easily passed. Town Meeting

also authorized the following: SELCO to borrow $15 million for a fiber to the home project; a $1 million capital budget; a slate of zoning bylaws to create a Town Center District; disposition of the Beal School and land to be put up for sale and authorizing a citizen petition to be placed on the Nov. 3 ballot to adopt the Community Preservation Act. Town Manager Kevin Mizikar prefaced Article 2 (operational budget) with news that there were not a lot of changes this year but the town faced a lot of revenue challenges because of the pandemic.

“The proposed operating budget is just .85 percent greater than the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 budgets…certainly on the town side are level FTEs, no additional FTEs are being proposed and in some situations a reduction in FTEs is required in order to make it through these challenging times,” he said.

Sandra Fryc, chair of the School Committee, shared that the school department’s FY2021 financial status experienced numerous changes because of a number of variables. After their

Shrewsbury to vote on Community Preservation Act in November

By Melanie Petrucci Senior Community Reporter SHREWSBURY – Town Meeting members voted at the Aug. 8 Annual Town Meeting to move the only citizen petition warrant article forward to the November ballot so the voters could decide whether to adopt the Community Preservation Act. Jason Molina, chair of the Ballot Question Committee “Community Preservation Shrewsbury” explained that the CPA allows communities who opt in to establish funds dedicated for recreation, open space, historic preservation and affordable housing. It is funded through a local option surcharge on property tax bills and a state match or those surcharges.

Thomas Pitney, Precinct 5 was concerned about people who are struggling because of COVID-19 and the impact this would have on them.

Beth Casavant, Board of Selectmen Chair, said that the Board recognized the value of the CPA but had issue with its timing because of their decision to support the debt exclusion for the Police Station that already will be on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Dale Magee, Precinct 5 stated: “A yes vote today is not adopting the CPA. A yes vote today is putting it before the voters and allowing them to decide.”

If Shrewsbury follows suit, the community stands to raise approximately $500,000 annually, according to prior information provided by the Shrewsbury committee.

The committee’s ballot question calls for a conservative surcharge of one percent of the tax levy against real property and includes all allowable exemptions. The surcharge can only be changed by referendum.

The average assessed prop-

erty value in Shrewsbury is $478,603. Each property is allowed a $100,000 exemption automatically taken off of its assessed value. The yearly surcharge for the average property would be $47.41.

There is a 100 percent exemption for qualifying low-income and qualifying low to moderate income senior property owners.

To v iew Tow n M eeting in its entirety visit https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=66XUo5cWYGU

There are reality limitations to a more rapid deployment, largely based on the number of contract crews available to do the work at such a large scale. ­— Christopher Roy SELCO general manager July 22 vote their estimated budget gap was $2 million.

She explained that the BakerPolito Administration and the legislature reached an agreement to maintain unrestricted local aid and Chapter 70 funding at FY2020 levels. This additional funding lowered the gap to $1,087,413.

After working with their union groups, Fryc noted, “I am pleased to announce that yesterday the Shrewsbury Education Association – who represent the school district’s largest employee group- voted to approve an agreement between the SEA and the School Committee that will reduce the estimated budget gap by $1,046,455.”

SELCO’s new general manager Christopher Roy was on hand to answer questions relative to Article 18 which authorized them to move forward with a multi-year fiber to the home project.

William Barry, Precinct 3 asked if they could speed up the installation time frame in light of COVID-19.

“There are reality limitations to a more rapid deployment, largely based on the number of contract crews available to do the work at such a large scale,” Roy replied.

To v iew Tow n M e e ting in its entirety visit https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=66XUo5cWYGU.

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26 • COMMUNITY ADVOCATE • Friday, August 14, 2020

Back to Sch

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Administrators emphasize need for flexibility in school reopening School committee officially delays start of school year

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BOROUGH - School administrators shed new light on their coronavirus reopening plans at a School Committee meeting

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Aug. 5, emphasizing a need for flexibility in the framework the district ultimately adopts.

Presenting a 35-page summary of their work, members of the school reopening advisory panel spoke alongside Superintendent Greg Martineau. Together, they answered questions for the majority of a more than four-hour meeting before seeking approval to send their summary to the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for review.

“It’s a rapidly evolving situation,” Martineau said in introducing his plan. “What we know now will mostly likely be different from what we know a week from now or a month from now. It is important to be agile.”

Aiding in that agility, Martineau notes, will be new simplification of online learning tools to buttress either hybrid or full remote learning when school starts next month.

High school and middle school students will all see their classes organized through the website, Canvas. Younger students, meanwhile, will operate through Google Classroom.

“No matter what course the high schooler or middle schooler is taking, there will be some structure that they can really rely on,” Martineau said.

This embrace of Canvas and Google Classroom comes in direct response to parent feedback on the chaotic remote learning of this past spring.

As the district sought to

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quickly pivot after the coronavirus shutdown, they set up their own online system.

That, though, relied heavily on third-party logins and separate websites that left parents and students confused, administrators acknowledged.

Further responding to concerns like that, administrators also announced their district’s plans for 1:1 technology availability to help should COVID-19 data suddenly show a need to shut down schools again.

“We want to move seamlessly in and out of models,” Martineau said. “So we want students to have the technology that they need to be able to work from home.”

As they addressed their three reopening models - full in person, hybrid, and full remote - administrators did offer new information on the hybrid mode that many districts in the region will be using in the fall.

They relayed new guidelines from the state clarifying how many days per week special education students would attend school in person.

Special education students who spend less than two hours per week receiving specialized services would be in school alongside the rest of the student body, following the typical schedule of getting two days of in person learning per week. Those with more than two hours per week of specialized services would get an extra Reopening | 30

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COMMUNITY ADVOCATE • Friday, August 14, 2020 • 27

Back to Sch

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Assabet grad builds impressive political journalism resume

By Cindy Zomar Contributing Writer MARLBOROUGH - Michael Lisasa recently graduated from Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School as part of its Design and Visual Communications program (DV).

“DV was the first shop I explored, and I knew immediately it was what I wanted,” Lisasa said.

However, spots are limited, and the process is competitive. Lisasa landed in two other programs, but kept his eye on the prize.

“I was persistent, and eventually a spot opened,” he recalled. “At that point, though, I never imagined I would someday be interviewing a former presidential candidate!”

Lisasa was asked to be an intern for Senator Jamie Eldridge

last summer.

“My philosophy was that it’s not what you do in an internship, it’s what you take out of that internship,” he said. “I networked with everyone, always reaching out to shake a hand and introduce myself.

I definitely believe in the Butterfly Effect… the smallest things can make the biggest difference.”

Michael Lisasa interviews Governor Michael During his intern- Dukakis in his Brookline home. ship, he met Governor card of a presidential candidate Michael Dukakis. in my pocket!’

“I went up to him and told Lisasa emailed him and him my parents had voted asked for an interview and for him for president,” Lisasa Dukakis agreed to meet at his remembered. “He gave me his home in Brookline. card and said if I ever needed “He is just a regular guy anything to reach out. As I was who loves to help people and driving home that day, I kept mentor,” Lisasa noted. “He is thinking ‘I have the business

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currently a professor at both Northeastern and UCLA, passing on his knowledge and encouraging young people to get involved. He has over a hundred former students currently in public service, which is quite the legacy.”

More recently, Lisasa interviewed Massachusetts Senator Eric Lesser, another contact from his internship. Lesser’s experience includes working on President Barack Obama’s campaign and as a White House aide, before coming back to represent his district.

“We had talked about having him on my show at school, but then the pandemic hit… Senator Lesser generously agreed to [a Zoom interview],” Lisasa said. “He’s a great man, and an inspiration to me.”

As for that college experience, Lisasa will be attending West-

field State, though there will only be virtual classes in the fall.

“I was really looking forward to that feeling of driving away to college, to my dorm,” he admitted. “My plan is to study digital media communications.”

His internship opportunity with former Legislative Aide Dan Sena’s campaign to the House of Representatives is on hold, but he is keeping busy working at the Theatre Creamery in Maynard and volunteering with Joe Kennedy’s campaign.

“None of this would have happened if I had given up my dream of being in the DV program at Assabet,” he said. “I am so grateful!”

The interview with Dukakis can be seen at https://vimeo. com/362610580. The interview with Lesser can be viewed at https://vimeo.com/433131519.

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28 • COMMUNITY ADVOCATE • Friday, August 14, 2020

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wasn’t sure how to respond to my call for “either a shower curtain or a bunch of towels” so they brought both (I think we were the first in the room this year). It was postapocalyptic Ogunquit, with many places open limited hours and limited days. I did note the ocean was oblivious to social distancing. It was fine; it was different.

O ur loc al real estate inventor y hit a level 50 percent less than last year. I track this regularly, and while arguably good for sellers, it is a bigger challenge for buyers.

This is where you hear, “there is no inventory.” Inventory is snapped up faster than the dots in that Pac-Man arcade game from the 1980s.

Interest rates hit the lowest I have seen in ages… like in the 2s for a 15-year mortgage. That is almost scary low when you consider what investors are making on their bond purchases.

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many cases are working from home and are somewhat inefficient. Many towns are still operating at COVID speed….making approvals on things like septic plans downright painful. While a delay of a day or two isn’t the end of the world, delays of weeks or months really gum up the works. (A condo 6D certificate is good for a month…and then a new one has to be ordered. What if the buyer’s rate lock expires, who pays for the extension? (unless of course the rate dropped).

Through all this, I am reminded people buy from people. I am not a fan of the nameless faceless call center approach to business.

Economies of scale for real estate showings or mortgage origination ultimately end up being performed at the lowest transaction cost – without any consideration for the relationship. I’m a fan of the model of good/ fast/cheap and how in life you can have two and not three. So if that fast/cheap mortgage call center is your thing, remember it won’t be good. Good and fast may not be as cheap, unless you include something for the value of your time.

In the summer of firsts, the key is striking the right balance for all the options.

Stay sanitized!

I’m not a huge fan of Zillow, etc. for buyers. Here is an app for your phone/ tablet tied directly to the MLS: www.homesnap.com/ Gary-Kelley.

Gary is heard on WCRN AM 830 discussing “All Things Real Estate.”

If you need advice on selling your home or buying a new one, give us a call 508733-6005.

COMMUNITY ADVOCATE • Friday, August 14, 2020 • 29

COMMUNITYBUSINESS Elements Massage offers clients a warm and safe ‘Welcome Back’

By Barbara Allen Contributing Writer SHREWSBURY - For Andrew and Jill Dudka, owners of Elements Massage in Shrewsbury, the health and safety of their staff and clients is of the utmost importance. For those weighing the well-publicized benefits of massage against the risk of possible exposure to the coronavirus, Andrew Dudka has a message of reassurance: Elements Massage is going above and beyond to protect their clients and staff, while continuing to offer the same quality customer service for which they are known.

“The state of Massachusetts put together clear re-opening requirements for massage studios,” Dudka explained.

At Elements, staff must pass a temperature screening prior to beginning work. Appointments are staggered to reduce social interaction. More time has been allotted between clients to better facilitate deep cleaning and disinfecting of private massage spaces. Both massage therapists and clients wear face masks; therapists also wear goggles, aprons and gloves. New gloves and laundered aprons are changed between every client session.

But protection starts even before the appointment. When scheduling a massage, clients must answer a verbal questionnaire regarding their health. Upon arrival at the massage studio, clients then have their temperature taken with a touch-less thermometer. If the client’s temperature is elevated above the guidelines set by the CDC, he or she must reschedule their massage appointment. Prior to their massage, clients also need to answer another short questionnaire, this time written, about their current health status and any potential exposure to illness.

Besides carefully following the re-opening requirements, Dudka has taken precautions one step further with the addition of an antimicrobial UV light system to the studio’s HVAC system.

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particles are killed by the UV light, he explained. The particles are then captured via a MERV filter. The sanitized air is then recirculated back into

the studio.

For a business which has taken a substantial hit due to Covid-19, operating since their re-opening on June 24

at only 65 percent of their previous client volume, “it was a significant investment,” Dudka admitted. “But it was important that I do all I could to make my employees and clients comfortable.”

He pointed out that their Elements franchise is a small business, independently owned and operated and, as such, he and his wife face the same struggles as other small businesses during this difficult time to make ends meet.

For clients, the ailments which had been effectively treated by massage prior to the pandemic have not gone away.

“They may have become worse,” observed Dudka, “not only due to COVID-19, but because of the additional stress of everything else that’s going on in the world.”

He encouraged clients to

book an appointment at Elements, to gift themselves a respite from all that, “to let their minds go blank and embrace the hour of stress relief,” offered by a massage.

To learn more about Elements Massage of Shrewsbury, their membership-based service, types of massage offered, and add-ons (which include cupping, salt stone massage and CBD oil, to name a few) available, visit their website at www.elementsmassage. com/shrewsbury. Elements Massage is located at the White City East Shopping Center, 100 Boston Turnpike, Shrewsbury. For questions or to book an appointment, call 508-319-1720.

Editor’s Note: the preceding is not an endorsement and is presented for informational purposes only.

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One Day

By Arianna Ahmed Rising seventh grade student, Gibbons Middle School, Westborough Their hopes Their dreams Freedom That’s why Rosa Parks sat on the bus That’s why we walk through the streets With our hands up to the sky

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They tell us to stand down But instead, We all stand up As we put our fist to the sky Shots fly toward us This is why we fight For freedom

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Yet in the distant horizon, Trouble rolled the dice while thunder roared above.

“You have no school today,” said her mom with anxious eyes.

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Administrators emphasize need for flexibility in school reopening Reopening | from page 26

half day of in-person teaching.

Students who spend more than 25 percent of a typical week receiving such services would come to school for four days and those who spend more than 75 percent in specialized services would stay in the classroom for five days per week.

“In all four of these scenarios, parents would receive notification of any changes in instruction,” Director of Student Support Services Marie

Alan said.

With the future remaining tenuous, the school committee also voted to delay the start of the school year to Wednesday, Sept. 16.

Thanks to an exemption for all Massachusetts districts, schools will only need to be in session for 170 days this year, instead of the typical 180.

Northborough/Southborough teachers will come into work as planned starting Monday, Aug. 31, allowing them 11 days of prep time.

COMMUNITY ADVOCATE • Friday, August 14, 2020 • 31

Counseling service continues to provide support during pandemic Mary Taber meets with a client.

By Brett Peruzzi Contributing Writer WESTBOROUGH - Mary Taber knows that in these stressful times, even when people can’t meet face to face, being able to talk to a trusted therapist is more important than ever. But Taber, executive director of Pastoral Counseling Centers of Massachusetts, with offices in Worcester and Westborough, is still making sure its clients get the services they need.

“The majority of our current clients have continued to meet with their therapists, though referrals are way down,” said Taber. “During this coronavirus pandemic, we have been closed for faceto-face, in-house sessions, but all 11 of our therapists have continued to work from home. They are using various means of teletherapy, from phone sessions - the majority - to Facetime, Zoom or Doxy, a telemedicine site.”

The team of therapists comes from a variety of clinical backgrounds, and includes social workers, psychologists, licensed mental health counselors, and a spiritual director.

Taber noted that one benefit of teletherapy is that office location and travel to the office are not issues.

“Typically, we see clients from all over central Massachusetts, averaging from about 70 to 80 towns and cities, but there is no limit to that range.

Someone may even be out of state, but working near central Massachusetts is what brought them to us,” she said. “Though people might be more comfortable meeting in person with a counselor, particularly if it’s the first time, we know that times are challenging and there is a lot of stress and anxiety in all our lives.”

Clients do not have to be of any particular faith, nor have any spiritual tradition, Taber emphasized.

“We are a regular counseling agency, but offer the additional benefit, for those looking for it, of having all of our therapists comfortable bringing anyone’s faith into the session,” she explained.

“Perhaps half of the folks coming to us are interested in utilizing their faith in working with the issues that brought them to us.”

For anyone hesitant to commit to an extended treatment plan, Taber assures po-

tential clients that this is not necessary.

“There is no obligation to sign up for a commitment beyond the first session,” she stressed. “Having a trial session through telehealth might

just be what would make a difference for someone during this pandemic.”

Taber also cautioned potential clients against allowing potential costs to keep them from seeking help. “Though

most of our clients have health insurance with mental health coverage, we hope to not turn anyone away,” she said. “We can offer a sliding scale and some help from our assistance fund to those who are in need

and self-pay. To help provide counseling to those with significant financial needs, we rely on donations from faith communities, businesses, civic groups and individuals.”

“Even before this pandemic, anxiety has probably been the most frequent reason for contacting us,” Taber noted.

“However, we see people of all ages - we have three child therapists - and for many reasons.”

These include depression, bullying, relationship issues, sexual abuse, alcohol and drug issues, separation and divorce, grief and loss, chronic illness, PTSD, parenting concerns and behavioral problems.

“Regardless of where anyone is coming from or whatever their level of stress or need is,” Taber said, “we welcome the opportunity to be a helpful tool in their dealing with it.”

Pastoral Counseling Centers of Massachusetts may be reached at 508-366-4000 to leave a confidential message. Additional information is available at https://www. pccofma.org.

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Poet Frank O’Hara’s imprint on Grafton is small, but large on the world an early age. He attended St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury, and then served in the Navy during World War II. After the war he attended Harvard University. In 1951 he moved to New York City, where he would live the rest of his life, juggling his writing and a job at the Museum of Modern Art, where he eventually became an associate curator.

By Brett Peruzzi Contributing Writer GRAFTON - Poet Frank O’Hara was a prominent figure in the mid-20th century literary and art world in New York City, but in his hometown of Grafton, his profile is decidedly lower.

O’Hara was born in Baltimore in 1926 but moved to Grafton with his family at

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While the Grafton Public Library has many of his books, reference librarian Heidi Fowler doesn’t believe patrons who borrow them know he was from Grafton.

“I don’t think he’s all that popular with patrons these days,” she said. “But he does get some attention.” Of the books by him that the library has in circulation, all have been checked out less than 10 times in the past several years.

“The rest of the books we have by him are in the ‘Grafton Collection’ which does not circulate, so knowing how many people have looked at them is tricky,” Fowler explained. “If they looked at the Grafton Collection editions, they’d know from the section they are in that he has some tie to Grafton.”

The Grafton Historical Society does include information about him in its collection, but interest appears low. ”The society does have a detailed notebook on Frank O’Hara, including some of his works,” said Nancy Therrien, who has been president of

Frank O’Hara

the society since 2014. “Right now we do not have a special display for Mr. O’Hara and truthfully we haven’t had an inquiry about him in the years I have worked as president.”

In the literary world, however, interest in, and appreciation of O’Hara and his work has grown greatly in the 50-plus years since his untimely death in an accident at age 40 in 1966.

“Though Worcester was late to appreciate O’Hara’s significance, scholars like Prof.

Laura Menides of Worcester Polytechnic Institute under-

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stood his importance as one of Worcester’s ‘Big Four’ of nationally and internationally known poets: Stanley Kunitz, Elizabeth Bishop, Charles Olson and Frank O’Hara,” said Rodger Martin, president of the Worcester County Poets Association (WCPA).

Because of O’Hara’s importance, the WCPA renamed its annual contest “The Frank O’Hara Prize.”

“In almost all major anthologies of 20th-century American poetry, O’Hara has a significant place,” Martin noted.

“He was a major influence on later American poets like John Ashbery. His work as a curator at the Museum of Modern Art created a bridge between painters like Jackson Pollack and the New York poets.”

Alan Feldman, a retired Framingham State University English professor who published a book about O’Hara’s life and work, provided additional perspective on the poet’s significance.

“He’s become one of the most influential and widely read poets of the post-war period in the 20th century,” Feldman noted. “Originally known only as one of the socalled New York School poets, his influence has spread among younger poets who value the way he adapted colloquial speech in his lyrics, his off-hand spontaneity, and his absorption of the urban environment…He remains an important touchstone for many gay people, although he wrote in a time when public discussion of homosexuality wasn’t practical.”

Feldman also noted how O’Hara’s reputation has grown in the decades since his death.

“When I first wrote about O’Hara in the ‘70s, Robert Lowell was considered the preeminent poet of the postwar period and O’Hara was hardly known at all. Since then,” he observed, “O’Hara has far eclipsed Lowell … as a source of inspiration and influence on the poets who have come along later. His star has risen significantly.”

What makes the poems of this man from Grafton so distinctive?

“I always loved his work because I found his poems often both funny and very moving,” said Feldman. “Like the best of poets he’s completely one-ofa-kind, though he’s often been imitated.”

COMMUNITY ADVOCATE • Friday, August 14, 2020 • 33

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34 • COMMUNITY ADVOCATE • Friday, August 14, 2020

Veterans Inc. to hold 15th annual Stand Down to support in-need veterans and their families

REGION – Veterans Inc., in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor, and other local agencies, announced the 15th annual Veterans Inc. Stand Down will be held Friday, Aug. 28. The outdoor event will take place at the Worcester Headquarters of Veterans Inc., 69 Grove St., and will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“Stand Down” is a term that originated during the Vietnam War, used to describe the practice of removing combat troops from the field and taking care of their basic needs in a safe area.

Thousands of veterans and their families have received assistance at Veterans Inc. Stand Down since the event’s inception in 2006. Services available include, but are

August Special

not limited to, a career fair, counseling and substance abuse referrals, employment and training services, health and wellness services, housing resources, and legal services. Free items and services available to veterans at Stand Down include clothing, food and refreshments, personal care items, and much more.

“It is our hope to get our veterans in front of as many job opportunities and other services that could normally take them months all in one day,” said Vincent J. Perrone, Lt. Colonel, USAF (retired), president & CEO of Veterans Inc. Stand Down is open to homeless and in-need veterans and their families. All services and items are provided free of charge. Veterans should bring a DD-214 or VA card as proof of veteran status.

“It is an honor for us to not only provide this amazing day of service-delivery, but also to say thank you to all of

our veterans in a meaningful and practical way,” said Executive Director Denis Leary.

Corporate sponsors of this year’s event include Boston Scientific, National Grid, Spectrum, Hanover Insurance Group Foundation, Eaton Corporation, Serve with Liberty, and Fallon HealthCare, as well as the many service providers who will be onsite during the event to provide goods and services to veterans. Sponsorships and donations for the event are still being sought by the organization.

For more information, veterans may contact Veterans Inc. at 800-482-2565 or highly encouraged to pre– register at www.veteransinc. org/events/stand-down. For Stand Down sponsor opportunities, visit www.veteransinc.org or email Sherrycallahan@veteransinc.org. Please note Covid-19 guidelines will be in place, including masks and social distancing.

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“New England Weather” by calligraphist Gerry Jackson Kerdok, awarded 2018’s Graceful Envelope Contest “Best of Show”

Calligraphist | from page 22

She also attended Washington National Cathedral’s exhibit opening with her 1999 entry. Her most recent entry there in 2017 was chosen for publication on brochures, posters and notecards.

When the Eiffel Tower hosted Salon du Design in 2000, her artwork placed in the top 10.

“That year, we had two kids in college, so going to France was outside our budget,” she said.

Jackson Kerdok practices spontaneous creativity with Scribbled Lives, an international group of calligraphers who commit to create pieces based on weekly online prompts. There are currently 72 participants.

“Everybody in Scribbled Lives gets to see what you post, and then we all comment and learn so much,” she relayed. “Every week, there are 72 pieces of art – all done dif-

ferently because everyone can do whatever they want with the prompt.”

Among her other online ventures was a six-week class on the Roman capital calligraphy alphabet taught by Yves Leterme from Belgium. Her “classmates” were hundreds of calligraphers worldwide.

“We learned how to do Roman letters in different ways that can be very plain and perfect, or very wild and off the page,” she explained. “You could spend your whole life studying and not learn Romans perfectly.”

Pre-pandemic, Jackson Kerdok exhibited with Masscribes, the New England calligraphers’ organization.

Whether in-person or online, she plans to continue studying calligraphy. “ You can never learn enough,” she said. “There’s always something new to learn or different ways of doing something.”

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