Worcester Magazine March 1 - 7, 2018

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Gatehouse Media buys Worcester Magazine, Holden Landmark Corp.: The Holden Landmark Corporation has been sold to GateHouse Media in a deal that was expected to close Feb. 28. 6

in this issue M A R C H 1 - 7, 2 0 1 8 • V O L U M E 4 3 I S S U E 2 7

the cover

Children and SWAT raids: An Unintended Consequence

Bullet points: I will never carry a gun.

Let’s get that straight: I will never own one, hold one, point one, or lock one in my desk. I’m a teacher. I’m not a cop or a soldier. 13

Story on page 15 Photo/documents submitted, Design by Kimberly Vasseur

Zorba’s Taverna Blooms in Spring: The space is flexible, the staff floats in and out of conversation and Zorba’s is an excellent spot for families in search of a unique pizza night. 29

34 11 27

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news

Council eyes siting of pot shops in city BILL SHANER

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n the City Council’s first crack at recreational pot regulations proposed by city staff, councilors focused on making sure pot shops will be spread evenly among the five council districts.

Looking at a zoning map put together by city staff on his phone which colored in areas pot shops could open, District 3 Councilor George Russell said he’s skeptical the distribution would be even.

“There’s an awful lot of color on the east side of the city, and there’s not too much color on the other side of the city,” he said. “These should be spread out across the city.”

The Council voted to send the regulations to the Planning Board for further review, but not before addressing a wide number of issues councilors have with the nascent industry.

Pending a favorable review, the regulations will come back to the Council for a full vote. State regulators are scheduled to start accepting applications for pot shops, warehouses, testing facilities, growing facilities and other facets of the industry in April, with a targeted opening date of July 1.

The zoning regulations proposed by the city limit all forms of the new recreational cannabis industry to business, commercial and industrial zones, while simultaneously banning them from operating within 500 feet of a school, public park, library or daycare, among other specific types of properties.

The net result, as illustrated in the map, is a concentration in business corridors and along major highways and arteries. Allowed locations are most prevalent along Interstate 290, I-190 and routes 146, 9 and 20. Districts 2 and 3, which make up most of the city’s east side, appear to contain most of the allowable land, though the north side of District 1 along I-190 contains a large swath of land that could be usC O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 7

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A new look for Worcester Magazine

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or several months, the staff at Worcester Magazine have been working on a redesigned print edition. We are proud and excited to present the end result this week. Creative Director Kimberly Vasseur collaborated with the staff and took their vision and transformed it into what an alternative newsweekly should look like in 2018.

We wanted to accomplish many things by changing the overall look and feel of Worcester Magazine. New typefaces will make it cleaner and easier to read. We have added new elements, such as “Adoption Option” and a local artist spotlight. Our section names have been changed. City desk, for example, is now simply “news.” Worcesteria will be accompanied by a new feature, “The Beat,” a wrap-up of Central Mass news.

Slants & Rants is called “opinion,” cover story is “feature” and Night & Day is now “culture.”

Bite-Sized, which has grown to incorporate so much more than food, has been relabeled “lifestyle.” An editorial cartoon has been added to the opinion section, and a new calendar section eschews listings for a more specific group of upcoming events. Readers can still access full listings via socialweb on our website. Classified has been revamped and illustrations by Worcester artist Chelsea Zona have been added to writers’ bylines.

You’ll find sports scores and other new features, too.

The media landscape is ever-changing, and Worcester Magazine is no exception, but what doesn’t change is Worcester Magazine’s unique approach to covering Worcester and Central Mass. It is your gateway to stories written by award-winning writers, pages crafted by award-winning page designers, ads for your favorite local businesses solicited by a dedicated and supportive sales staff, and more. It is all part of our commitment to delivering the best product possible.

Let us know what you think of the changes and, as always, thank you for reading Worcester Magazine.

Kathy Real, publisher Walter Bird Jr., editor

news

Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls debate in Worcester BILL SHANER

ence to a moment in the original Star Wars trilogy.

All three candidates pushed for more he three Democratic candidates for governor all focused their message on what investment in affordable housing, the state’s they saw as insufficient leadership from transportation system and health care. While their criticism of Baker was strong, the three Governor Charlie Baker at a candidate steered away from knocking their opponents forum in Worcester Monday night. or otherwise working to create distance.

Setti Warren, Jay Gonzalez and Bob Massie The dynamic was, in part, acknowledged all argued at the forum, put on by the city when someone in the room asked if the candiDemocrats at Leo’s Ristorante, that Baker’s brand of leadership has done nothing but pre- dates would support the Democratic Primary winner and actively campaign for them. All serve the status quo, while his high approval three said yes. rating is due in part to a lack of risk taking.

“We’re all going to be together in the fall, to Bob Massie went as far as to liken the polls work to get the governor we deserve in Masshowing the governor’s approval rating – which at last glance was about 74 percent – to sachusetts,” said Warren.

Left to right, Democratic gubernatorial candidates Setti Warren, Warren’s pitch for his candidacy centered a Jedi mind trick.

Bob Massie and Jay Gonzalez.

“This is not the race you are looking for,” ELIZABETH BROOKS C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 8 Massie said with a waive of his hand, a refer-

T

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news

Gatehouse Media buys Worcester Magazine, Holden Landmark Corp.

Womag Junior page.qxp_Layout 1 1/24/18 3:52 PM Page 1

WALTER BIRD JR.

T

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6

he Holden Landmark Corporation has been sold to GateHouse Media in a deal that was expected to close Feb. 28.

The sale includes all HLC publications: Worcester Magazine, The Landmark, baystateparent magazine, the Grafton News, the Millbury-Sutton Chronicle and the Leominster Champion. All but baystateparent are published weekly. Baystateparent is a monthly publication.

HLC owner Kirk Davis made the announcement Thursday, Feb. 22 in a Town Hall-style meeting with all employees (the company employs 38). He had met earlier with upperlevel management.

“Owning the properties that comprise Holden Landmark Corporation has been a family endeavor for 17 years,” said Davis, who is also chief executive officer of GateHouse Media. “Not only has our staff consistently done award-winning community journalism, but we have also undertaken assignments uncommon for community enterprises. We sent staff to the Dominican Republic, where we chronicled local women from Holden who were helping to build a hospital there. In 2015, staffers traveled to West Africa to shadow Holden doctor Rick Sacra, a missionary who has spent years volunteering in a hospital in Liberia. Dr. Sacra was returning to Liberia after being stricken by and surviving the deadly Ebola virus. The list of inspirational, funny and important stories we’ve told through the years speaks volumes.”

GateHouse Media has grown exponentially in recent years, making notable newspaper buys that, as of September 2017, had swelled its portfolio to include 130 daily newspapers, more than 640 community publications and in excess of 540 local-market websites reaching more than 21 million people each week.

The company has publications in 36 states and 540 markets.

In December, GateHouse unsuccessfully bid for the Boston Herald with a $5-million proposal that was ultimately topped by Digital First Media, which won the daily with an $11.9-million bid earlier this month.

Details of the acquisition of HLC, including C O N T I N U E D O N N E XT PA G E

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news able under the proposed regulations.

The City Council already adopted regulations limiting the amount of pot-related businesses to 15 city-wide. The conversation Tuesday centered around making sure those 15 were evenly distributed among the districts. Russell advocated for an entirely separate zoning overlay for recreational cannabis that would allow for more even distribution.

Councilor At-Large Khrystian King offered that a pot shop would have to be located in another district once one is already sited in a specific district, essentially moving locations evenly around the city so that every district gets an even number – three.

But there’s a slight problem. It may not be at all legal to limit pot shops by city council district. City Manager Ed Augustus Jr. suggested the council get a legal review on whether or not it’s possible to restrict businesses in such a way. If not, he suggested the city could use the special permitting tool via the ZBA to make sure the shops are evenly distributed.

“We may not be able to do it with a blunt instrument, but we may be able to use a more strategic instrument through special permits,” he said.

While some, including Russell, proposed

scrapping the zoning regulations and starting over, others stressed it was important the city had something in place before the April 1 deadline, even if it isn’t perfect.

“

It’s imperative we adopt this.

The clock is ticking.

We must act.

– Khrystian King

“It’s imperative we adopt this. The clock is ticking. We must act,” said King.

Others still advocated against over-regulation. Councilor At-Large Gary Rosen, himself a vocal critic of marijuana, came out as saying it may not be in the city’s best interest to

regulate the drug more tightly than they do alcohol or even prescription drugs.

Augustus countered that recreational marijuana is a new industry, and it’s better to over regulate at first and scale back the restrictions as they become a burden.

Councilor At-Large Konnie Lukes asked for a review of surrounding towns that have banned pot shops under the law. Councilor At-Large Kate Toomey asked for an overlay of liquor stores. District 4 Sarai Rivera backed the order, saying her district already has enough liquor stores, and she’s worried what more pot shops on top might bring.

But for most councilors, the conversation focused on how to evenly distribute pot shops.

Just as the conversation neared an end, District 2 Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson said she was hesitant to pass the regulations along to the Planning Board without assurance the shops could be capped by district. Augustus put in for the legal review, though he cautioned it might not be possible. The Council passed the item on the Planning Board.

Bill Shaner can be reached at 508-749-3166 x324 or at wshaner@worcestermag.com. Follow him on Twitter @Bill_Shaner.

ELIZABETH BROOKS

1,001 words

the cost, were not immediately disclosed.

Davis owned HLC independently from GateHouse Media, having first bought The Landmark in October 2001. The following year he bought baystateparent, later followed by the Millbury-Sutton Chronicle. The company launched the Leominster Champion in 2006. In 2008, Davis bought Worcester Magazine from Allen Fletcher. The Grafton News was brought into the fold in 2014.

Davis said his ownership of HLC was fiercely personal.

“Our children have essentially grown up Kirk Davis learning about, and FILE PHOTO taking part, in the family business,” he said. “From the start we’ve felt a strong sense of duty to maintain a ‘founder’s passion’ in how we managed these wonderful properties. Our kids have witnessed that spirit.”

The decision to sell, he said, was about “providing the best opportunity for the company to continue growing.”

“Further,” Davis said, “my staff has experienced me juggling the growing demands of my position at GateHouse, while being committed to building a better Holden Landmark Corporation. There’s clearly a strategic fit here between my group and our local GateHouse properties in Central Massachusetts that excites me. I see a tremendous opportunity here.”

“I would like everyone to know how much I appreciate the employees I’ve worked with for so long,” he added. “There’s no shortage of challenges in running a small company, or competing in local media, and one isn’t always blessed with such an amazing staff. We have wonderful people.

“GateHouse Media will be even more strongly positioned to serve Worcester and the surrounding communities. There’s a lot of excitement in Central Massachusetts these days so the timing is perfect.”

According to Davis, HLC will now fall under the regional oversight of Worcester Telegram & Gazette publisher Paul Provost.

“I am grateful to get to work with this talented group of professionals from Holden Landmark Corporation,” Provost said in an emailed statement to Worcester Magazine. “I admire Kirk for his leadership and believe this team, their products, audience and community involvement will improve our overall position in Central Massachusetts. This is an exciting day for all of us, and I am looking forward to being a part of this winning culture.”

POT SHOPS

C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 4

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G AT E H O U S E

C O N T I N U E D F R O M P R E V I O U S PA G E

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news

Farming a future for disabled

the program after years of interest in hydroponic businesses.

Lucas and Piselli met through the former’s involvement in another Worcester-based food program, Greenvitalize, that uses Aquaponics said. “It’s not stressful, and there’s good people The hydroponic technology used in the ALEX POLINSKY and helps provide healthy food and education that work here. They’ve obviously worked with farming process is unique. It is only the second to low-income areas in the city. disabled people before ... A lot of the work I did of its kind on the Eastern Seaboard, and the ven as blizzards rage and storm winds “This,” said Lucas, “is the future of farming.” at my previous job, they didn’t appreciate me, only vertical hydroponic farm in New Enghowl throughout Worcester, a small Lucas and Piselli also want to make Worcesno matter how much I bent over backwards land. The technique, called “vertical farming,” building on Main Street contains an ter more self-sufficient. In the event of a for them, unlike here.” involves planting seeds in small plugs of dirt, oasis of summer plants. catastrophe that separates Worcester from the Giachellii said he likes working in the garwhich are then placed upright into plastic My Choice Programs is an organization that surrounding areas, Piselli said it would take six towers. A complicated plumbing system feeds days for food to run out because of Worcesden because it gives him “an idea of what the has served developmentally or otherwise diswater to all of the plants. The water drips onto ter’s reliance on outside imports. He hopes to future will look like.” abled members of the Central Mass. commuthe top of the towers, then nity more than 45 years, but this year, they are change that by growing local Worcester food. moves down to hydrate doing something different. The organization “There are no farms in Worcester at all,” he all of the plants. The water has launched a hydroponic farming initiative, said. “There are some community gardens, but also contains fish fertilizer, no farms. So I said, ‘Well, gosh, let’s do it.’ And My Choice Greens nitrogen, calcium and other nearly $600,000 later, we’re here in the future of The program was conceived two years ago nutrients. The nutrients

by My Choice Programs CEO Alain Beret, farming.” and pH level of the water who wanted to create a program that could My Choice Greens is currently reaching out are regulated by a large, give meaningful work experience to disabled to restaurants and Worcester businesses to sell adjustable filter. LED lights vegetables. Nu Cafe and Living Earth, a grocery persons as well as being profitable for the shower the plants in pink company. store focused on organic produce, and several glow for much of the day, “I don’t want [disabled people] just working restaurant groups have both expressed interest based on a carefully timed on the farm,” Beret said. “Eventually, I want in buying from My Choice. schedule. them to take over the operations of the farm The first vegetable harvest was completed The two heads of the and then, buy it from us. I want to create the in late February, and the vegetables will start program are John Piselli, first intellectually-challenged millionaires.” being sold in the coming months. My Choice director of employment Beret and others are optimistic about the Greens will host an open house Thursday, Kay Kohls, a former WPI student, prepares to inand training/hydroponics, program’s prospects.

March 8, offering tours of the facility and and Howard Lucas, director samples of the vegetables.

My Choice’s receptionist, Jonathan Giachstall an environmental sensor he created himself.

ELIZABETH BROOKS of workforce development. elli, is one of the individuals with special More information about the farm and My Both are enthusiastic about Choice Programs can be found by e-mailing needs who helps on the project. Giachelli the program.

When he isn’t working as a receptionist or does planting, harvesting and miscellaneous info@mychoiceprograms.com or calling 508“People buy this food, they also buy a story, gardening for My Choice, Giachelli competes maintenance work. He worked various retail 556-6887. in the Special Olympics and plays recreational and that story is that we’re providing jobs jobs before joining My Choice Programs in and resources for people with disabilities and sports. “ September 2017.

Alex Polinsky a contributing writer and forI have some gold medals,” he said with pride. youth,” said Piselli, who became involved in “I like [working at My Choice],” Giachelli mer Worcester Magazine intern.

E

G U B E R N AT O R I A L

ing to provide the sound fiscal management he built his campaign around.

“We are not leading right now. Not under around raising revenue, particularly with the Gov. Baker. I’ve been frustrated by how little Fair Share Amendment, also known as the millionaire’s tax, to invest in public education, our governor has accomplished, but even more frustrated by how little he has even tried,” said transportation and infrastructure.

Gonzalez.

“We gotta ask folks doing really well in this Massie, an accomplished climate activist economy, making more than $1 million to pay and nonprofit leader, said he’s focusing his more and invest in our people,” he said. campaign on the need to prepare the state for Economic inequality, said Warren, is the the future. The state needs to prepare for the defining issue of the era, and he believes the effects of climate change and do what it can to government needs to do more to help people earn a decent living. Warren is currently mayor convert to renewable energy, he said, as well as invest in public transportation. Baker, he said, of Newton.

Gonzalez, a healthcare executive and former would rather see public institutions privatized cabinet member of the Deval Patrick adminis- than invested in.

“I don’t believe Charlie Baker believes in tration, focused his pitch on the need for Masanything with the word ‘public’ in front of it,” sachusetts to make progress despite a federal said Massie. administration he said is taking the country The state, he said, also needs to prepare backward. Baker, he said, has been weak on for the effect of automation on the workforce. immigration and civil rights issues while failC O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 5

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Self-driving cars are right around the corner, and when they come, they’ll take people’s jobs.

Baker, he said, has not done anything to address that problem.

Massie ended his remarks with a message that drew applause from the room.

“If a Democrat can win in Alabama, a Democrat can win in Massachusetts,” said Massie.

The Worcester Regional Transit Authority, which is facing possible route and service cuts after a third consecutive year of budget cuts at the state level, was a prominent issue at the forum.

Each candidate criticized the governor for a lack of investment in the RTA network, and said regional bus systems need to be part of a whole-cloth investment in the future of public transit in Massachusetts.

“We’re going exactly the wrong direction under Charlie Baker,” said Gonzalez. “All the the RTAs, they’re all in a similar situation, be-

ing level funded.”

Warren advocated for using some of the revenue generated by a millionaire’s tax to invest in the RTA and green technology for buses. He said fare hikes, which have been proposed for several RTAs including the network around Springfield, shift the burden off the government and onto people, mostly of low income, who ride the bus.

Massie said the problems at the RTA need to be tied into a holistic solution for transit in Massachusetts.

“We’re having the same conversation over and over again We have to stop trying to fix things in little pieces,” he said.

One of the three candidates will face Baker in the November general election, after a primary contest in September.

Bill Shaner can be reached at 508-749-3166 x324 or at wshaner@worcestermag.com. Follow him on Twitter @Bill_Shaner.

The papers of the Holden Landmark Corp. are humbled after receiving 26 awards at the New England Newspaper and Press Association’s annual Better Newspaper Competition this past weekend.

14, 2016

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Arts & Entertainment Reporting Joshua Lyford (Worcester Magazine) First Place, Third Place Crime & Courts Reporting Rebecca Humphrey (The Landmark) Second Place Amanda Collins Bernier & Patricia Roy (The Landmark) Honorable Mention

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Desilets found not guilt Holden, Massachusetts

By Rebecca Humphrey

• February 2, 2017 •

thelandm ark.com

And the second time, Bradley said, was “literally in December of 2011, he forced her out that window when plunged to her death, tearing and she her heart open and causing her to bleed to death internally."

rhumphrey@thelandmark.com

Following a nine day trial a-half days of deliberation, and two-anda jury found Princeton dentist Roger Desilets not guilty of manslaughter in the death Bradley insisted that blood spots in the 44 years, Kathleen Desilets. of his wife of third floor bathroom and hallway of the On Tuesday, the jury also couple’s home reveal Desilets assaulted Desilets of asault and battery acquitted his wife before breaking charges. the third story Kathleen, 65, died shortly window himself, picking her up by the found below a broken windowafter being arms, and shoving her through at the couple’s home on Dec. 6, the broken window.

2011.

Monday morning, Desilets’ “He’s got her by the arms attorneys filed a motion arguing that elbow and rushes her over and the multiple to statements the prosecution Bradley told the jury. “She’s the window,” made backpedaling, closing argument were inaccurate in its he’s forcing her. Shes losing and balance and unfair. Their request for ultimately she ends up in these statements the window to either be stricken from the record or call itself.” for a mistrial was denied He also pointed out that

by Judge Janet the couple had Kenton-Walker. a housekeeper. “Do you honestly While prosecutors said she that blood in all those different think all out of the window, the defense was thrown locations was sitting around for a said she long period of broke the window with a time?” he asked the jury. chair argument then jumped and/or after an Bradley then showed jury fell of her members a own volition. photograph of the room and pointed out Desilets broke his wife’s a foot path in the carpet heart twice, leading straight Assistant District Attorney John E. Bradley to the window. He also noted blood Jr. said in closing remarks spots on the bottom of the frame on Friday Roger Desilets in court last and “critically” morning to the jury. The on the top right exterior week. first heartbreak of the window. was figurative, he said, referencing Bradley said Kathleen was when doing whatever Kathleen found out about buttocks and heels. she could to save herself, her and alleged that long-term infidelity in August husband’s The theory that 117-pound while falling backwards of 2011.

Kathleen she cut the back picked up the chair on her of her hands and landed own outside on her “absurd,” to Bradley. “Consider was who she

We Love Your Pet As

y

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was,” he said to the jury, recalling after learning of her husband’s that long-term

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Education Reporting Corlyn Voorhees (Worcester Magazine) Third Place Environmental Reporting Bill Shaner (Worcester Magazine) First Place Health Reporting Robert Fucci (Millbury-Sutton Chronicle) Second Place Tom Matthews (Worcester Magazine) Honorable Mention

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History Reporting Joshua Lyford (Worcester Magazine) Honorable Mention Human Interest Feature Story Janice Harvey (Worcester Magazine) Second Place

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Investigative/Enterprise Reporting Walter Bird Jr. (Worcester Magazine) Second Place

WORCESTER’S 10 WORST PROPERTIES

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Reporting on Religious Issues Richard Price (The Grafton News) Honorable Mention (two) Social Issues Feature Bill Shaner (Worcester Magazine) First Place Walter Bird Jr. (Worcester Magazine) Third Place

Advertising General Excellence Worcester Magazine Second Place

thegraftonnews.co

m | The Grafton

Cystic fibro sis: A love story

By Richard

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23, 2016 | 19

thoughts

Price

Grafton News

Editor

On the interne t, their messag and faith in e of love pushes the the face of a daily medica viewer to laugh or smile l fight unspoken Congregationa dare but the In a series is not to cry. is preaching,” l Church. “My heartbe jabbed with of video blog posts he said, adding at was also a that it good machine for IV needles, hooked of being congregation fit because it is up a pulmon a small spending ary functio to a relationship. that offers a familythe scan, Grafto day at the hospita n test or preaching Peter said his purpos like l is her viewer n resident Mary Freyfor a CT hard times. to help people find e in s for a ride hope in “There is medical ordeal in her complitakes hurt and pain,” more to life cated along than ive husban with her suppor On Sunday he said. d, t20 | Thursday, easily shift Peter. In their vlogs, often dressed mornings from the August 25, 2016 they sions about gears from heavy discuspulpit, | The Grafton in jeans sportcoat, or khakis News | thegrafton he and a to her love her fainting at the news.com and persev posts his sermon hospital s on hope erance on Christmas of wearing tights with he said is print. a loud a valuable YouTube, which Peter is also resource for disabled.

But the Congregationathe new pastor at tion offers he also said the congre the Union l Church in valuab He and his South Grafton extend a helping le support, many gawife are millenn . discovered who hand struggling that their positivials who have to balance when the couple is Mary Frey ing attitud e and and other in a scene medical deman e from “The stuff. subscribers on life is also a tonic outgods Frey Life.” for “It’s really SUBMITT nel offering on the couple’s YouTu 93,000 Hagers ED PHOTO us to live life a journey that has

By Richard Price town, Maryla taught medical — comfort and strengt be chan- the same one day at nd. They attende Later, he confess h in Mary’s Grafton.News.Edito and surpris a time,” church d and became journey — ingly life-aff r sweethearts. ed the stress he said. avoid catchin they manag with high school irming is a “Don’t forgetcystic fibrosis.

Moody Bible Later, they both attende internet, theyg a contagious virus.

“We lean e because they work lot but to laugh Institu Reverend Daniel on as d 28, says to said, has become The connect. mission is each other,” he said. a team. the camera every day,” Peter, bachelor degrees te in Chicago, earned a spiritual leader Gregoire began making a way to to take this and grew of every episode at the peppy later, as Peter Before they closer. Years on togethe “Our German his mark as town was In June he was somewhat by acciden r.” includes their , “The Frey Life” intro knew it, “The workinlvania. in Pennsy degree, grew g on t. they in which to a Born master apricot Frey Grafton tens Wellesl in thecaught next ministe Life” of thousands is also Mary’s ’s poodle, Oliver, interviewing ey Therapeutic 1980s, the “In 2014, now it is approa hevloggin r was raised grandpa of we were spendin g bug.by who Services Grafton and at the Unitarian Univers to be the is proud to ching 100,00viewers and Life is not therapy dog. his paterna abroad inrents in a Penteco ing with g stal Upton. The some announce we alist Society mother Scotlan l it a much 0, bringtime househo , Laurain killed 49 and d faith in God easy but their unshak Orlando shootin while of postgra change have apprec ld. e, was the income I was doing His d our name iated part-ti grandchurch duate as sponso gs, which whichresearc strength, and each other gives able and it was all wounded 53, were less of a smallbegan to: me h at the pastor of rs such as founded the couple storefront University than a week rgh,” she over Walgreens sonEdinbu two was born.

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“It would the with debilita ofhave at them. Barely lives” etarianism, since his new role, on her lap. ter s (and the Mary is open stances but known witheach up in differen tinterests in social justice with him. tuned But the membe they were there ispeople North Grafto Street about her pain in seeking close to she said vegof that comes so much t circumrs seemed at a andkids, environother physical I would them) n, comfor I like The ease from the idea the growin And Gregoir about myself t and strengt tional sufferinshe rarely experie have g up ment. couplenot 508.887.8888 MA 01536 in been “All nected, said nces the e that struggle that felt h. many with same if I had and ” he said. “It’s g, thanks to emowe the same. “The nesses often .” attracted me chronic illherthe not had her faith in up to us to liveare all interconfamily. service.” thing quarantine As he comple God to reach out,”here was that the congreg that really a life of love themselves New name, The couple and based Unitaria tes his first month The new ministe to he said in an ation located to same great spread the word at the when interview. “And wanted Grafton in one-to-one r is a Brookly Before landing August Pentecostal n Church he said growing GraftonPeter - was welcomed about this n, New I want to physical therap ism “a saving household shaped by the Union up in a connectionsp logical Semina in Grafton, he attende York native. faith” that faith.” He calls Unitaria y.

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COVER STO RY

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• Financi care needs WorriesalPricing” meals daily optionsfinancial • Medicatio • Laundry assisting living to helpprogram n reminder & housekee Christopher • 1.5options you s ping hoursthat affords Heights of Worcester • A of daily help you apartment social calendar assistan remain is dedicatedfull once cein your own No Worries with persona home, filled to giving you persona l funds with—The Pricing peace of mind Our “No Worries l care new friends, areneeds a caring, comfortab depleted.

Christop new knowing your • Medica Pricing” Youʼll experienc her le, have affordable Call Marla HeightsesDifferenc financial tion reminde and expert care and you will residency program O’Conno rs with us is secureapartment once personal e! r ataffords when you need place to call continue to • Safety 508-792assisting funds are depleted.

1456.living enjoy all Christop checks it. has to offer.

20 Mary You’ll have peace options that help you secure Scano and Drive her Heights • 3 chef prepare you will• continue remain in your of mind Our doors Worceste

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Mass – especially if you’re a Boston guy. And that is calling Central Mass, Western Mass. Candidate for governor Jay Gonzalez came dangerously close to doing so at a forum Monday night held by the City Dems. In front of a room full of about 50 C-Mass diehards, the words “Western Mass” almost fully left his lips before he quickly changed it to Central Mass. What made it worse was it was in response to a question specifically asking what the candidates would do for C-Mass. And. And. The person who asked the question also prefaced it by saying “not 495, not Western Mass.” The trip-up went noticed – it got a few laughs, and even a boo. Good for the guy who booed. Now, this isn’t some sort of big scandal that’s going to knock his chances or anything, but it is a cautionary tale for politicians – and some friends of mine in Boston – who often make this condescending mistake. Western Mass is, on the whole, a very nice place, by the way. No knock against our friends in the Pioneer Valley.

OUCH, WBJ: As you should all know by now, Worcester Magazine and its parent company,

the Holden Landmark, were bought by Gatehouse Media this week. The news led some to offer some dire predictions for the fate of local news (relax, folks), but perhaps none so dire as a Worcester Business Journal online poll about the issue. Given the news, the WBJ asked whether media consolidation has impacted the quality of local journalism. The first option: “Yes. Local news coverage in my community has deceased.” Ouch! We’re not dead yet! Now, that could be a typo. Asking if local news coverage has decreased is a fair question. But deceased? Don’t kick us to the curb just yet, WBJ. In fact, take a look at this issue. It’s stuffed with local news and features a redesign entirely driven by our staff. Proud of this crew. Proud to work here.

GOODBYE, DIANNE: The media news in this city just can’t seem to slow down. Most recently,

Dianne Williamson announced she’s leaving her post at the Telegram & Gazette this week.

This after 35 years at the paper, 25 as a columnist. In a Facebook post earlier this week, she was tight-lipped on the circumstances surrounding her departure, saying, “It’s kind of like ending a long relationship that you cherish but realize is no longer right.” Williamson has an outsized voice in this city and it will be sad to see her go. But we have one more column to look forward to. On Sunday, the Telegram will run her last column. A must read, for sure.

GUESS WHO’S BACK: Yes, he’s back. Back again. Remember the kerfuffle over the Germain

Street sober house last year? The city and a resident of the street took legal action against the home, which charged about $150 a week for recovering addicts to double-bunk in the old victorian. Well, Vanderburgh House, the Southbridge company owned by Hunter Foote, has opened another for-profit sober house in another residential neighborhood, this time on Kenwood Ave. Neighbors, following exactly the same script as the Germain Street neighbors, came to City Council Tuesday night all riled up, talking about how the house is going to destroy the neighborhood. They threatened to move out of Worcester. What about the children. All that. The city’s hands are kind of tied here, as local regs rub up the wrong way against federal fair housing laws.

REPLACE DR. CARTER: Kevin Ksen brought up a good point Tuesday night in discussing the new push to revise the city’s affirmative action plan. Malika Carter, the chief diversity officer (the city’s first, actually), has not been replaced. She left 18 months ago. The chief diversity officer is the kind of person who could really help with a new affirmative action plan. See where I’m going here? Replace Malika Carter.

A NEW LOOK: If you’ve read this far, you’ve probably noticed Worcesteria looks a little different this week. Ok, a lot different. Listen, change is good. Instead of two pages of Worcesteria, we’re trimming the fat, offering instead one page of what I feel is my most Worcesteria-ish content.

On the opposite page are the less Worcesteria-ish items I would typically include, but with less copy and more graphics. The Beat is an exciting collaboration between myself and Kim Vasseur (Kim Vasseur and I for you grammar nazis), our amazing page designer. It holds within it potential of the likes Worcesteria could never dream. So enjoy it, OK? Don’t do the normal Worcester thing and resent change simply because it exists.

Bill Shaner, reporter wshaner@worcestermag.com Twitter: @Bill_Shaner

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

M A R C H 1 - 7, 2 0 1 8

news

the beat Sen. Elizabeth Warren reamed the

JOE SANTA MARIA/KILL THE BALL MEDIA

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The Worcester Sun, which I reported last week will temporarily shutter its print paper, is also

suspending any digital journalism for the time being. Sad day for local media. Here’s hoping they figure out a way to get back at it.

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Union workers and others rallied outside City Hall Monday in protest of a Supreme Court decision that could weaken the power of unions across the country.

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Good news for the Worcester Renaissance. It looks like, after only a week, the swanky development at 145 Front St. has leased 20 of its 365 units before it even opened.

Still a long way to go to stuff that place full of people willing to pay some hefty prices ($1,400 to $3,000, reports the T&G). But it certainly assauges fears no one wants to move there.

Graduation rates are on the rise, in Worcester and across Central Mass. New state data shows Worcester steadily climbed to 83.3 percent last year over 81.9 percent last year. The rate is the highest among large urban districts in the state. Southbridge, among the toughest districts in the state, also saw a rise, from 71.2 to 78.9 percent.

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11

editorial

opinion

letter

Journalism, newspapers find a way Praising city’s customer service

T

o say the local media scene has changed in recent weeks would be an understatement. The Worcester Sun first an online-only news source, then adding a print product to its arsenal - announced earlier this month it was stopping publication. Last week, GateHouse Media revealed it was buying Worcester Magazine and its parent company, The Holden Landmark Corp. And just this week, longtime Telegram & Gazette columnist Dianne Williamson posted on Facebook she was leaving after 35 years.

Her last column, she said, is Sunday.

Heady stuff, indeed.

The truth is, the media landscape has been changing for quite some time. GateHouse has, in many cases, been at the center of it all, buying newspapers and expanding its impressive digital and print footprint. The T&G itself was brought into the fold more than three years ago, in 2014. Beyond that, however, we have witnessed changes to news media for longer.

The internet ushered in the first major changes, but it wasn’t until the huge growth in popularity of social media that we saw just how much journalism, particularly in its print form, had changed. How the news is gathered, disseminated and consumed has undergone a sea change, especially in newspaper form.

The reasons are many and varied as to why newspapering and journalism have changed.

Again, technological advances and changes in the demands of news consumers have largely dictated the media’s fortunes. There is, for example, a growing desire for news that blends opinion and judgment - which runs entirely counter to the tenets of news journalism.

Technologically, with Smartphones and other devices, the news is often right in the palm

72 Shrewsbury St. Worcester, MA 01604 worcestermagazine.com Editorial 508.749.3166 x322 editor@worcestermagazine.com Sales 508.749.3166 x333 sales@worcestermagazine.com President Kirk A. Davis Publisher Kathleen Real-Benoit x331 Editor Walter Bird Jr. x322 Culture Editor Joshua Lyford x325

12

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

of one’s hand, in a moment’s notice, from numerous sources. Anonymity has also played a part. The rise of blogging, for instance, has emboldened some who might otherwise not come forward with news, to do so, particularly if their identity is shielded. Traditionally, newspapers have employed anonymity sparingly and only when there were multiple sources. Maybe that was a mistake. Maybe, just maybe, newspapers have held too rigidly, for too long, onto their way of doing things.

Contrary to what you might believe, however, newspapers and journalism have not just changed for the worst. They have seen their missions grow in scope. Many print publications, for example, now offer events to engage the public. It has been challenging, but it has opened up new possibilities and opportunities. And the digital age has been a friend in many ways. For a reporter to be able to get a story out onto multiple platforms at push of a button or two is a seismic shift from just years ago. The ability to add video with minimal effort, particularly Facebook Live, has helped drive audience engagement. It’s fun, too.

While not all have survived, newspapers as a whole have weathered myriad changes - and there are more to come. The most important thing is the continuation of journalism. Who does it will change. How it is done will, too. In the end, however, what matters most is for journalism — in all its forms — to carry on. Sometimes it will be scary. There are unknowns and there are the harsh realities of business. But so long as there is a heartbeat in the publisher overseeing a newspaper, the editor shepherding a newsroom and the writers connecting with their community journalism lives.

Reporter Bill Shaner x324 Photographer Elizabeth Brooks x323 Contributing Writers Stephanie Campbell, Sarah Connell, Janice Harvey, Jim Keogh, Jessica Picard, Corlyn Voorhees Editorial Intern Bridget Hannigan Director of Creative Services Don Cloutier x141 Creative Director Kimberly Vasseur x142 Creative Services Department Becky Gill, Stephanie Mallard, Colleen Mulligan, Wendy Watkins Ad Director Helen Linnehan x333 Media Consultants Diane Galipeau x335, Cheryl Robinson x336, Sarah Perez x334 Media Coordinator Kathryn Connolly x332 Classified Media Consultant Rachel Cloutier x433

M A R C H 1 - 7, 2 0 1 8

To the Editor: I would like to write a letter of praise for the city of Worcester’s customer service department. I am a frequent caller, and almost every complaint or concern I have called about has been dealt with efficiently and in a short timeframe.

I wanted to use this as an opportunity to advertise a department of the city that is deserving of some acclamation. Their number is 508-929-1300, and I hope we can encourage more people to utilize this asset that we have in our city.

Evan Corrigan Worcester

WORCESTER MAGAZINE is an independent news weekly covering Central Massachusetts. We accept no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts. The Publisher has the right to refuse any advertisement.

Legals/Public Notices Please call 978.728.4302, email sales@centralmassclass.com, or mail to Central Mass Classifieds, P.O. Box 546, Holden, MA 01520 Distribution WORCESTER MAGAZINE is available free of charge at more than 400 locations, limited to one copy per reader. Unauthorized bulk removal of Worcester Magazine from any public location, or any other tampering with Worcester Magazine’s distribution including unauthorized inserts, is a criminal offense

and may be prosecuted under the law.

Subscriptions First class mail, $156 for one year. Send orders and subscription correspondence to Holden Landmark Corp., 22 West St., Suite 31, Millbury, MA 01527.

Advertising To place an order for display advertising or to inquire, please call 508.749.3166. WORCESTER MAGAZINE (ISSN 0191-4960) is a weekly publication of The Holden Landmark Corporation. All contents copyright 2018 by The Holden Landmark Corporation. All rights reserved.

WORCESTER MAGAZINE is not liable for typographical errors in advertisements.

opinion

Bullet points JANICE HARVEY

Do you want to give me a gun? Miss Fogerty was a better candidate for expert marksmanship than I would ever be. I’ve made it this far will never carry a gun. without ever touching a gun, and I plan to exit Let’s get that straight: I will never own this life without ever having the cold steel of a one, hold one, point one, or lock one in weapon cross my palm. my desk. I’m a teacher. I’m not a cop or a I have yet to speak with a teacher who soldier. I busted my back earning the license to thinks the idea of weaponized educators is teach, not carry. a swell plan. As Roger Nugent, the president Donald Trump’s solution to the continuing of the Educational Association of Worcester slaughter of children in American schools is to arm teachers. I would like everyone reading teachers union said: “I’m absolutely against it. We need pencils, pens, paper and people. that sentence to stop for a moment and picNot guns.” The Massachusetts Teachers Asture your third-grade teacher with a gun. Picture her (and let’s face it, most of your teachers sociation has made it clear the idea of arming teachers is beyond ridiculous. MTA President have been women) trying to unlock her desk drawer to retrieve a pistol while a shooter with Barbara Madeloni issued a statement that read a flesh-shredding AR-15 barrels through a door in part: “ … it reflects a bizarre commitment to hastily barricaded with kiddie-sized chairs. I’m violence as the answer to problems. This says picturing Miss Fogerty (whose sole purpose in something not only about the president, but life was to turn Marty Lynch and me into right- also about a deeper violence in our society.”

Indeed it does. ies by whacking our left knuckles with a ruler) The students who survived the St. Valenyanking a pistol out of her bra.

Now picture me. I’m 5-feet-2-inches and five tine’s Day massacre in Parkland, Fla. have years away from retirement. I couldn’t find my rallied heroically, channeling their indescribable trauma into a movement that has steamcar keys for 20 minutes the other day, only to discover them in a place I’d checked five times. rollered elected officials. In a modern twist of

I

“the emperor has no clothes” fable, politicians like Marco Rubio have withered in the presence of bright, articulate and passionate youth calling them out for their hypocrisy. These kids don’t dance politely around the truth; when the usual pablum is offered, they reject and resist. They may have grown up listening to euphemisms for B.S., but they know it when they smell it. They know “alternative facts” are lies, and they know that taking money from organizations that, as Rubio stammered, “buy into my agendam” means a politician has been bought and paid for, and that voting against gun reform is best described as “quid pro quo” – a handy little Latin term that aptly describes whoring for the NRA. Seventeen-year-old seniors in high school know the idea of teachers carrying concealed weapons is nonsensical, and they are saying so in growing numbers.

I didn’t think Donald Trump could stoop any lower than to golf on the day parents were burying their children only minutes away from Mar-a-Lago, but his photo-op “listening session” shoved him below sea level. Devoid of any human emotions, incapable of sincere empathy toward others, the current occupant

of the White House gripped a cheat sheet that reminded him to say, “I hear you” at a listening session (I couldn’t make that up if I tried.

See: “irony – noun”). By now, we’ve become accustomed to his incoherent and outrageous tweeting, but the Parkland slaughter shines a particularly bright light on his monumental ineptitude and utter lack of understanding.

Trump described a scene straight out of a rejected “Rambo” script, with crack-shot English Lit teachers taking down wild-eyed “sickos” – presumably for a “bonus” that makes up for the pencils and notebooks they bought out of pocket.

“Problem solved,” he tweeted.

Forgive me, but that’s one movie I think I’ll skip.

Janice Harvey contributing writer

your turn

Keeping graduating students in Worcester

R

JERRY LEMBCKE

ight questions, wrong group to ask.

That’s what I thought when reading the results of a college student survey of their intentions to stay in Worcester after graduation. Worcester Magazine’s Feb. 1 Worcesteria column reported 49 percent said they would not. Only 18 percent said they would. Twenty-nine percent said they didn’t feel safe in the city.

These findings are troubling. Graduates of the city’s colleges and universities will earn upward of middle-level incomes and spend most that money in the communities where they live. If they don’t stay in Worcester, neither do their incomes — and Worcester loses.

As it turns out, where students’ professors live is an even more important consideration.

A survey asking college and university faculty members where they live and why, would yield valuable information for city planners and shed additional light on student perceptions about the city. Let me explain.

Millions of dollars flow into Worcester’s colleges and universities each year in the form of foundation grants, private and government

research monies, and student tuitions. Many of those dollars are paid to faculty members and researchers who spend their incomes for houses, home furnishings, cars and car expenses, restaurants, family expenses — and property taxes. Most of that money gets spent where they live. And they don’t live in Worcester.

In Holy Cross’s sociology and anthropology department, from which I retired in 2013, there are currently 11 tenured and tenure-track faculty members, only four of whom live in Worcester. In a recent year, four of 17 psychology professors lived in the city. Using $75,000 per year as a conservative approximation of the average income of those living outside of Worcester, that is $1.5 million dollars every year that flows into and through just two academic departments in one small school.

Multiplied by the numbers from history, modern languages and other departments, and then again by the number of other schools in Worcester, you’re talking real money for which the city is just a pipeline through which those dollars move.

Back to students. In their four years on Worcester campuses, many students will ask

a favorite professor where he or she lives. The likely answers include Holden, Westboro and Cambridge. When I retired, three department colleagues lived in Cambridge. Unsurprisingly, the next question is, “Why not Worcester?”

The “why not” question is stickier than it might seem. Many professors will say “schools.” they want better educational opportunities for their children than those offered in Worcester.

But the “schools” reason, like the students’ “don’t feel safe” reason, masks deeper discomforts that are more difficult to express.

What professors and students say about Worcester schools and public safety is an expression of their feelings about the city generally, their impressions of the city in comparison with other places they lived and visited – impressions that get bundled into a “quality of life” criterion that seeps into thoughts about schools and perceptions of safety. Worcester’s colleges and universities are populated with students and faculties that, frankly, did not grow up and study in cities and towns with asphalt “sidewalks,” plastic bags fluttering in trees and counter-sunk manhole covers.

When they see bike paths that begin and end M A R C H 1 - 7, 2018

nowhere, cockeyed drain grates plastered with trash and shuttered storefronts, they see mismanagement and dysfunction that spell danger, places their parents told them to stay away from — so they do.

The millions of dollars that come into Worcester’s colleges and universities could source the public tax and commercial revenues needed for quality-of-life enhancements.

Cynics might say that is a chicken-and-egg proposition: to fix the problems that now repel professors and graduating students, we need the incomes that those same elites now spend elsewhere. But it isn’t.

The most consequential conditions, outlined above, are aesthetic, matters of appearance that can be fixed with low-cost attention to the way newcomers see the city. Banning plastic bags (and water bottles), enforcing the ordinances on commercial signage and upgrading street signage would boost the allimportant first impressions. Trash pickup and street sweeping improvements should target college and university neighborhoods and the C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 12 WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

13

W

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approaches to them. The weeks of late August and early September, when new students and newly-hired faculty arrive are “showtime” for the city. Spiff it up.

There is hope. The current city administration’s interest in a plastic bag ban and improved waste recycling are good signs; its provision of better (if still woeful) snow removal and its stepped-up stewardship of city waterways are signs that it recognizes some of what needs doing and can be moved into action.

Worcester has been down and broken for a long time and the fixes will take a while. But the fixes will bring the dollars, reversing the current dynamic in which its colleges and universities are conduits for the pass-through of money needed for economic development.

Worcester: If you fix it and clean it, they will come. And stay.

Jerry Lembcke is associate professor emeritus at the College of the Holy Cross. He has lived in Worcester since 1989.

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feature

CHILDREN AND SWAT RAIDS: AN UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCE S T O RY B E G I N S O N PA G E 16

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feature SETH KERSHNER

A

t 5 a.m. on a hot August night in 2015, a van carrying the Worcester SWAT team pulled up outside a triple-decker on Hillside Street. The officers were wearing body armor, ballistic helmets and camouflage clothing. They came bearing shotguns, handguns and at least one .45-caliber submachine gun.

Their target was Shane Jackson, an individual with a violent past, wanted for illegal possession of a firearm. An informant had told State Police Jackson was residing on the thirdfloor apartment. That, apparently, was enough for police to secure a warrant from a magistrate allowing the SWAT team to conduct a “dynamic entry” of the apartment, at night, without knocking.

But Jackson no longer lived there. In fact, according to Brad Petrishen — a Telegram & Gazette reporter who has covered the case extensively — courthouse records show Jackson had been arrested on a theft warrant two weeks before the raid. A simple check at the Registry of Motor Vehicles would have revealed the apartment was by then occupied

by Marianne Diaz, her fiancée Bryant Alequin

and their two young children. (A family friend, Joshua Matos, was also living in the apartment at the time).

As Alequin was in the bathroom getting ready for work, he heard officers push through the apartment door. Detective John Morrissey then kicked in the bathroom door with such force it flew off the hinges, forcing Alequin to duck to avoid getting hit. A wall mirror crashed to the floor in the ensuing chaos.

With Alequin handcuffed, Matos—who was sleeping on the couch when the doors caved in—awoke to find Officer Terence Gaffney’s handgun in his face. Matos claims police then handled him roughly, refracturing a bone in his hand that had been previously injured.

It was left to Detective Ron Remillard, carrying his department-issued shotgun, to enter the bedroom. There he found a nude Diaz sitting upright in bed, her children with her.

According to multiple press reports, as Ms. Diaz tried to comfort her terrified children, she was not allowed to clothe herself for at least 10 minutes while police searched the room. Her older daughter, 7 at the time, was “freaking out,” Diaz told the press in the days after the raid. “She was just shaking, and she couldn’t stop.”

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An analysis of police agency records by the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism revealed SWAT raids to serve search warrants in Massachusetts frequently involve children.

While sometimes, as in the Hillside case, children are an unexpected element officers encounter, SWAT raids in the state are also routinely planned and carried out even when police know in advance the suspect’s children will be present and possibly placed in harm’s way. This concerns psychologists, groups like the American Civil Liberties Union, and even some in law enforcement, who worry SWAT teams may overlook the potential harm done to children by paramilitary, pre-dawn raids on family homes.

What’s more, the absence of statewide standards on when and how a SWAT team should operate creates a patchwork situation where children in one part of the Commonwealth appear to be better protected than those in another.

Citing an ongoing lawsuit involving the Hillside Raid, Worcester Police declined to comment for this story.

VOICELESS VICTIMS

T

he SWAT concept dates back to the 1960s, when urban riots and a mass shooting at the University of Texas demonstrated that law enforcement needed to prepare to respond to emergency situations involving hostages, terrorists or crazed gunmen. The following decade saw the development of the first tactical teams in New England. By the 1980s, the war on drugs led the federal government to start channeling more resources to local and state law enforcement agencies, leading to a major expansion of SWAT raids and a drift away from the original purpose of SWAT. For example, the Massachusetts State Police Special Tactics and Operations team was rarely activated during the 1970s, and then only for extreme incidents like airplane hijackings. The number of operations has since increased from around 17 per year in the mid-1970s to 180-200 times per year today.

A 2014 report by the American Civil Liberties Union, based on nearly 4,000 public records obtained from police departments

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feature across the country, found about 80 percent of all SWAT deployments were for the purposes of executing a search warrant — usually for drugs. In Worcester, police records show more than half of all deployments by the Worcester SWAT team between 2015-2017 were warrantrelated.

What is almost never mentioned in the public debate about SWAT operations and police militarization is the impact all these raids have on children. Betty Taylor, a former tactical officer from Missouri who has since become an advocate for more sensible drug laws, told an NPR interviewer in 2016 she knew of a girl and her brother who had experienced years of nightmares after a SWAT team burst into their home. Taylor has since become an advocate for more sensible drug laws, calling children the “voiceless victims” of militarized policing.

Those tiny victims are, apparently, quite numerous. Of the 818 SWAT deployments studied by the ACLU, the organization found that at least 14 percent involved the presence of children. Police records reviewed by the BINJ suggest, when some Bay State tactical teams burst through the doors of a home to serve a search warrant, they have a 25-50-percent chance of finding children. In 2014, Brockton’s Special Reaction Team deployed 25 times, entering homes where children were present on at least seven separate occasions.

In 2015, Berkshire County Special Response Team encountered children on six of their nine operations.

10 MINUTES OF TERROR

W

The Hillside Street house in which the Worcester SWAT raid took place.

ELIZABETH BROOKS

hen SWAT shows up to serve a search warrant, they usually manage to complete their work in a short amount of time.

After-action reports on SWAT raids in the state show teams typically take 10-15 minutes

to enter and secure the target residence before then turning over the site to narcotics detectives, or — as in the Hillside case — a combination of local and state police investigators.

As the Hillside Street operation shows, SWAT deployments for drug warrants routinely involve battering rams, splintered door

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frames and bellowing, heavily armed men barging into a suspect’s home. Not to mention the use of “flash bangs” or “diversionary devices,” a law enforcement term of art for concussion grenades.

The typical SWAT raid on a family home “sounds like it could be quite traumatic to

young children, particularly if they have no expectation of it,” according to Dr. Frederick Stoddard, a board-certified child psychiatrist and professor at Harvard Medical School. He is the editor of the forthcoming book, “TraumaC O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 18

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feature C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 17

and Stressor-Related Disorders.” “Traumatic exposure that children would suffer in this context would include fear that they might be killed or fear for the lives of their parents or loved ones.”

When asked to consider how his officers’ early-morning raids might affect children, Lt. Dan Fleming, the operational commander of

cases mark a road to some kind of recovery or maybe even Department of Children and Family supervision for them.”

Despite the potential for a positive outcome for the youth involved, at every stage of a SWAT deployment — from planning to performance — it is important, Stoddard stressed, that police tactical teams minimize the psychological harm they might inflict on youngsters.

other city agencies, such as DCF. The information is then given to SWAT officers in a pre-raid briefing given by the team’s commander.

According to Thor Eels, executive director of the National Tactical Officers Association, intelligence-gathering is “a critical aspect of assessing the risks of activating a SWAT team.”

Founded in 1983, the NTOA is the primary trade group for SWAT officers; its activities

Police photo showing a SEMLEC member carrying a child after a "no knock" raid in East Wareham in 2016.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

the tactical team in Lawrence, said: “I can only imagine. It must be horrific for them.” But he was quick to add that, even though a SWAT raid can be scary for youngsters, scarier still are the family dynamics that lead to his team being there in the first place. This sentiment was echoed by Bridgewater Police Chief Christopher Delmonte, president of the Southeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council — a mutual aid consortium whose SWAT team deploys an average of six to eight times per year.

“When you encounter children during a SWAT operation, they’ve probably endured much more through the course of their lifetime,” Delmonte said, “and it may in some

18

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THE END AND THE MEANS

I

n the days and weeks leading up to an operation to serve a search warrant, police gather “pre-raid intelligence” on the target location — usually a home or apartment.

This intelligence-gathering might consist of physical surveillance — “drive bys” carried out by plainclothes officers, who scrutinize such details as where the entryways of a residence are located. Toys in the yard or on the front porch would suggest the presence of children in the home. Police might also check in with

M A R C H 1 - 7, 2 0 1 8

include holding conferences, publishing a quarterly journal, and sending instructors across the country to train local teams.

Eels, who assumed his role in 2017 after more than 30 years of service with the Colorado Springs Police Department, said police can never rule out using SWAT to raid a home where children are known to be present.

However, through training seminars and other forms of outreach, his organization teaches tactical officers to weigh the pros and cons of executing a search warrant.

“Responding to a terrorist incident is one thing,” Eels said, referring to when it is appropriate for a SWAT team to put children at risk. “But if it’s a drug warrant we’d say to the personnel we teach that they should execute

that search warrant some other time, some other place. It’s a case where the end may not justify the means.”

Records from Massachusetts police agencies, however, show that, despite the inherently dangerous and chaotic nature of SWAT raids, few teams allow pre-raid intelligence about finding children in the home to alter their strategy. Details of several hair-raising incidents in the state, hint at the emotional and psychological toll tactical operations may have on children.

• In June 2013, a “no-knock” drug raid was carried out by the Berkshire County Special Response Team (SRT), a regional unit composed of officers from Pittsfield, Lee and surrounding towns in far-Western Massachusetts.

Pre-raid intelligence revealed officers could expect to find “several teenagers” and “at least one young child” at the location — a duplex on Pittsfield’s West Side, where both apartments were considered targets. Despite knowing children would be present, at 6 a.m. the team decided to move in. At the first apartment, an officer forced entry using a heavy portable ram, finding he had just barged in on the suspect’s sleeping family. An officer would later write in his after-action review of the incident: “Just inside the door was a bed,” where the suspect and his two young children had been sleeping only moments before. Two more children would be found in another room, and still another in the adjoining unit. One suspect was “not handcuffed and allowed to care for the children” who were presumably upset by the commotion.

• On the other side of the state, in August 2015, officers from the Lawrence Police Department’s Emergency Response Team (ERT) split into two groups to conduct another “no-knock” raid for distribution of heroin and illegal firearm possession. According to an affidavit written by a Lawrence detective in support of the search warrant, the Water Street apartment was home to two women and two young children. Utilizing a portable ram, the ERT broke down one of the apartment’s doors and detonated a flash bang explosive after entering another. “Both teams cleared the apartment,” the after-action review notes, finding the two small children “alone in the front bedroom.” The adult suspect, who had fled the scene before the team’s arrival, was captured soon thereafter.

• Sometimes the law enforcement imperative to gather evidence for their case against a suspect overrides the duty to minimize potential harm to children. Case in point: a June 2015 “no-knock” raid in North Adams by Berkshire County SRT. Police were sure the suspects, wanted for distribution of heroin, would also have a firearm. In a pre-raid briefing, officers were told to expect to find chil-

feature Michael Wynn of the Pittsfield Police Department, BCSRT’s sponsoring agency, explained: “Despite the fact that the suspect had been arrested, the firearm had not been accounted for.” So, the operation continued, with officers using a heavy metal ram to break through the front door and “clearing” the home with weapons drawn. Eventually, they encountered a “tall female” who was ordered to the ground.

When the responding officers learned that she was, in fact, 16 years old, the girl was allowed to get up from the floor and care for the other children who were present: an 8-year-old boy and an infant.

A PATCHWORK SITUATION

A Damaged caused to the house in the East Wareham raid.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

dren, including an infant, in the home. While the SRT was en route to the target residence, however, team members were notified the suspects in the case were not at home. In fact, they had just been pulled over and were by that time in State Police custody. Instead of cancelling the raid, however, the tactical team, a recipient of more than $400,000 in homeland security grants since 2012, continued to the suspect’s home. In an email, Chief

nalysis of hundreds of pages of reports from Bay State police departments revealed only a few SWAT teams moderate their tactics to minimize harm to children. This creates a patchwork situation where kids in one part of the Commonwealth appear to be better protected than those in another community.

A review of after-action reports filed by the Central Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council SWAT team revealed their officers routinely use what they call “scaled-down” operations if they anticipate encountering children. For example, before a May 2013 search warrant operation in Boxborough, the team, which operates mostly in Worcester County, knew children might be present in the target residence. Therefore, officers decided to reduce risk of injury to children by deploying their flash bangs outside, rather than inside the home.

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feature C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 19

Redacted source documents detailing a raid in Pittsfield.

SUBMITTED

But even when such tactical shifts are employed, SWAT raids may still place children at risk of harm.

In May 2016, days before executing a “noknock” search warrant at a ranch-style home in East Wareham, members of the Southeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council SWAT team were still trying to determine whether they would encounter any children.

It was supposed to be a routine drug bust; according to a police informant, the suspects in the case were in possession of heroin, crack cocaine, and a firearm. But once officers learned two young children — an 8-year-old girl and another child in the 5- to 6-year-old range — might also be home at the time, they ruled out the use of flash bangs as a safety precaution.

However, documentation of the raid shows SEMLEC SWAT still employed what many would consider overwhelming force, sending more than two dozen officers to the scene armed with assault rifles, breaching tools and a tactical robot system. In the predawn hours, officers stationed in turrets atop SEMLEC SWAT’s two armored vehicles trained rifles at the home as a pair of “entry teams” broke down doors. An after-action report notes a total of four doors in the home were damaged during the operation, including one leading to a bedroom that was knocked off its hinges. While neither drugs nor a gun — the reasons for executing such a violent entry in the first place — were recovered by police, officers did find at least one young child. A series of photographs released by SEMLEC under the public records law show the extent of damage to the home, as well as an image of the team après-raid, milling about in full tactical gear on the front lawn while a toddler, looking bewildered and swaddled in a pink princess blanket, is carried by a camo-clad paramedic.

Although Worcester police did not comment for this story regarding department policies and procedures, evidence suggests its SWAT team may adopt less violent techniques

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feature when officers expect to encounter children.

For example, in June 2016 a multi-agency investigation into drug trafficking culminated in a SWT raid at an Ingleside Ave. apartment.

Police avoided using the "no-knock" method of executing their search warrant, instead first knocking and announcing their presence before prying open the door. This shift in tactics may have been because officers anticipated finding children in the apartment. Upon entry, SWAT officers took positions behind heavy ballistic shields, and with guns aimed at the rear of the residence, called on the occupants to surrender. After the target of the warrant came forward, a woman and two young children also appeared and were "detained without incident," according to the WPD's after-action review of the incident.

LITTLE GUIDANCE

I

n a recent interview, Hector Pineiro, a Worcester attorney representing the Diaz family, noted one of the more alarming things he had learned after the Hillside operation.

“Nowhere in the Worcester SWAT operations manual were there any instructions on how to handle children,” he said.

An analysis of nearly two-dozen written SWAT policy manuals used by police in Massachusetts reveal few guidelines on how to treat children encountered on a SWAT raid. Nor are there many written instructions on whether or not to carry out a raid once it is known children will be present at a suspect’s home.

Despite the apparent absence of written protocols, SWAT officers in some communities appear to receive guidance on how to keep children calm.

In an email, Wynn said if his Berkshire County SRT officers encounter children during an operation they are to speak to them in a soothing tone of voice.

“Once the target residence is secure,” he added, “children are relocated to one room, under the supervision of one officer. That officer is then instructed to remove their protective equipment as soon as possible and to continue to talk to the children, until the children can be turned over to a responsible adult or agency.”

In Lawrence, Fleming said his team follows a similar procedure: once kids are cordoned off to one area of house, a SWAT officer will

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remove their headgear and try to talk with and distract the children.

“We’re a seasoned team and we all have children ourselves,” Fleming said. “So, we try and minimize the psychological harm to kids.”

According to Stoddard, the child psychiatrist at Harvard, such protocols as the ones practiced by SWAT teams in Lawrence and Berkshire County can be an important means of mitigating the potential harm of a police raid.

“It’s better than if they didn’t do it, that’s for sure,” he said.

Yet, even when such safeguards are in place, the unexpected penetration of heavily-armed officers into the private domain of the home can leave lasting trauma.

NIGHT TERRORS

A

fter they realized their mistake in the Hillside raid, Worcester SWAT officers sat down with Marianne Diaz’s oldest child and tried to help calm her jangled nerves. Incident reports released by the department show more than

one officer had conversations with the 7-yearold around such topics as whether she’d been to the city pool that summer. The SWAT team and the young girl had apparently developed such a rapport that, by the time they had gathered their gear and were getting ready to leave, one officer wrote, “I extended my open hand … and she slapped me five.” But, according to a federal lawsuit against city and state police officials filed by Diaz and her family, the children’s experience that morning would have a lasting and negative impact.

The emotional and mental distress suffered by the couple’s two girls — the youngest was 18-months-old at the time of the raid — figure prominently in their complaint.

“As a result of the raid,” the older daughter “refuses to sleep alone and has treatment for anxiety and fear that, in her words, ‘army men’ will again invade her home.” The complaint also notes the SWAT operation led the younger daughter to suffer from night terrors and sleep disruption.

Given the inherently-risky nature of SWAT raids, some in the law enforcement community believe children should be better protected from such trauma. According to Tom Nolan, C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 22

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feature C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 21

a former SWAT officer and 27-year veteran of the Boston Police Department who now teaches criminology at Merrimack College, “If I were the SWAT commander I would be extremely reluctant to put my team through the door when I have reason to believe that there are innocent people, particularly children, on the other side.” This is echoed by the 2014 ACLU report, which advised police departments to “avoid subjecting children to SWAT deployments whenever possible.”

DO NO HARM

A

s the national organization for SWAT officers, the NTOA sets standards for training and preparation of tactical teams. But few law enforcement leaders interviewed for this story want to see standards apply to the question of when and how teams should operate. Even when children may be at risk, they emphasize every situation is different, thus no tactic can be ruled out beforehand.

“We don’t divulge tactics as to specifically

why we would or would not do something,” said SEMLEC’s Delmonte when asked about whether his team would ever try to find a safer means of serving a warrant if it knew beforehand that kids would be at risk. “It’s a tactical decision and so would depend on the circumstances of each case.”

Eels, the NTOA executive director, agrees.

“There is no way for us to pen a policy that covers all of the potential idiosyncrasies or nuances of a particular situation,” he said.

Still, the leader of the country’s largest association of tactical officers stresses that a SWAT team’s responsibility should at all times be to shield children and other vulnerable parties from harm.

“All we can do as an organization,” he added, “is teach a method that won’t be putting innocent lives in danger. We should not make a situation more dangerous for those we’re there to protect.”

Chapter One Section One

M A R C H 1 - 7, 2 0 1 8

to perform his duties. While the term “fitness: can cover a broad

STOP TEAM

standardized guidelines and operating procedures to assist in the performance of

their duties. These SOPs are provided toTesting supplement and support current STOPDepartment Team PT testing will be conducted at an appropriate location policy. If an officer becomes aware of a conflict between the Department suchpolicy, as the MSP Academy. Testing will be conducted twice statute law, or current contract, they are to bring it to the attention ofannually. section supervisors.

The following events will comprise the PT Test: Events STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE Tactical principles are constantly evolving, and what is current tacticalFRONT doctrine today@ 135 lbs: Max # of Reps: No Time Limit SQUAT

MANUAL

may become obsolete tomorrow. This also applies to SOPs, which will SCORING: continue to One point per repetition evolve with changes in doctrine. These SOPs are meant to be employed as general BENCH PRESS @ 185 lbs: Max # of Reps: No Time Limit operating guidelines, and realistically they will not address every facetSCORING: of every One point per repetition

circumstance encountered by STOP Team members in the performance of their Rest in “up” positioning duties. Therefore, these SOPs in no way will supersede the good judgment Bar inand clean position or resting on shoulders decision making ability of the operator or supervisor in the field.

DEADLIFT @ 225 lbs: Max # of Reps: 1 Minute Time Limit

SCORING: One point per repetition Each mission is unique, and may call upon a different means for mission No wraps permitted. Dead stop, no bouncing of bar. accomplishment. Simply stated, SOPs are a set of guides and regulations that the PULLUP: Max # of Reps: No Time Limit

section operates within. It is intended that officers and supervisors assigned to the SCORING: One point per repetition unit employ their knowledge, training and ability to arrive at solutions to missions Dead hang, no kipping permitted. assigned to the unit. When identified, changes to current SOPs will be approved by SANDBAG GETUP @ 40 lbs: Max # of Reps : 10 Minute Time Limit the STOP Team Commander before implemented.

SCORING: One point per repetition

Start in standing position. Sandbag loaded onto a shoulder.

Nothing contained in this SOP Manual is intended to create or does create an Sandbag can be switched to either shoulder at any time, rest at enforceable legal right or private right of action. any time.

TEN MINUTE REST PERIOD

This SOP was authored by Trooper John L. Suyemoto 2467 and Lieutenant Michael J. 1.5 MILE RUN in 15 Minute Time Limit Domnarski 0915, it was approved and promulgated on March 30, 2009. It was last SCORING: PASS or FAIL reviewed and updated on October 01, 2012.

PASSING SCORE ON TEST: 50 point total, minimum of one

repetition in each event

PREPARED BY:

LAST UPDATED:

TPR JLS

10-03-2015

V E R S I O N 9.0

Excerpts from the State Police SWAT manual.

with Mary Chapin Carpenter and Chris Hillman & Herb Pedersen WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

PT Testing Physical Fitness is a critical component of a team members’ ability

spectrum of attributes, tactical fitness means upper body / lower MASSACHUSETTS STATE Purpose: ThePOLICE purpose of this manual is to provide officers assigned to the STOP Team body / core strength, stamina and durability.

David Crosby & Friends 22

General Purpose

V E R S I O N 9.0

Seth Kershner is a freelance writer with the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism. This story is part of a BINJ series on SWAT policies across the state.

Section Eight

Administration and Organization

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culture At the end of Winter: Central MA poet Susan Roney-O’Brien A prolific writer and poet, as well as a former public school teacher, recently released “Legacy of the Last World.” 24 All Imperial All the Time: Greater Good, America’s first all-imperial brewing company with dangerously drinkable brews range from 8-14-percent alcohol by volume. 27 The winner is still not ‘La La Land:’ Jim Keogh’s picks for the March 4 Academy Awards 30

M A R C H 1 - 7, 2018

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culture At the end of Winter: Central MA poet Susan Roney-O’Brien JOSHUA LYFORD

T

ucked away at the end of a quiet Princeton street stands an old white farmhouse, built in the 1820s. Surrounded by deep forest, the home could be a tidy centerpiece for thoughtful reflection, or a gathering point for a slow walk through the rambling woods. On this wet and dreary afternoon, however, a boisterous greeting by a 95-pound chocolate lab named Oliver punctuates a visit to Susan Roney-O’Brien.

Roney-O’Brien, a prolific writer and poet, as

Worcester State University Sunday, April 8; and the ongoing reading series at Princeton’s Thirsty Lab liquor store.

Sitting at the edge of a cozy old sofa, framed by books and fireplace, Roney-O’Brien flashed a rascallish grin when asked what it is that compels her to take part in so many events many of which she organizes herself.

“Because,” she said, “I’m not dead yet.”

“When I was teaching, I’d wake up at 4:30 every morning and write for two hours before I taught because by the end of the day, it was over,” Roney-O’Brien said, pulling the glasses

Susan Roney-O’Brien well as a former public school teacher, recently released “Legacy of the Last World,” published

by Word Poetry, and has a slate of upcoming events, including a Women’s Reading at the Princeton Library Wednesday, Wednesday, March 21; the poet and artist group 4x4 at

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from the crown of her head and folding them before her. “There was no more in there. I never had time to really polish things and work really hard on them. Now I have the time.

I sound busy to other people, but I have much more time than when I was busy teaching.”

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Roney-O’Brien’s voice is soft and calming, but entirely clear and almost begrudgingly confident. She has a tendency to speak with her hands, and leans in during animated moments of conversation.

She and her family have called Princeton home for several decades. It is a quiet place, save for the creaks and groans inherent in an old home.

“I write every morning,” she said, a copy of her first book, “Farmwife” — winner of the William and Kingman Poetry Prize - on the coffee table before her. “It’s either before or after I take the dog out, because it’s quiet. Sometimes, I am looking around the backyard and looking through the woods and see something that connects to something else and brings things in that I can’t not write about.

“I have to sneak up on myself. If I wait until I’m completely awake to write, I censor. If I’m not quite awake, I just write it down. Then I can go back and find out what’s there later on.

You have to deal with some of those things you didn’t think you wanted to.”

In “Legacy of the Last World,” RoneyO’Brien explores the story of Adam and Eve, with Eve discontent in her Eden experience. She wants a new world and she gets it.

“Adam’s death is mentioned in the Bible, but Eve’s isn’t,” she said. “I decided that she’s still alive.

Her death was not important enough to mention. She wasn’t important enough to die.”

Roney-O’Brien is lighthearted and funny, traits that followed her through her career, much of which was spent educating middle school students at ELIZABETH BROOKS Princeton’s Thomas Prince School.

“I just loved it,” she said of her teaching experience. “I knew that middle school was the time to inspire kids to write or draw. It sticks. Letting kids know that they could say what they wanted to say and no one was going

to yell at them for saying things, that was a wonderful thing to be able to do.”

The administrative end of her teaching position, however, wasn’t always a snug fit for the purveyor of whimsy.

“Administration was never a good thing for me, I didn’t fit,” Roney-O’Brien said. “I remember when I first started teaching there, Lou Giantris was the principal. My first class, I threw all the desks out of the room and brought in pillows for the floor. I had my desk between the two doors you use to come in. The kids were all on the floor. I was sitting on the edge of the desk, and all of a sudden the kids were raising their hands and speaking in complete sentences and I thought, ‘Oh, I must be really good today.’ Lou Giantris was behind me, doing a stop in. He tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘A little unconventional, but it works.’

The kids came-up and said, ‘We thought you were going to get fired.’”

Roney-O’Brien did not take a writing course until she attended college. Growing up, she was a stutterer. Her first writing class ended on just her second day, as her professor invited her into his office and said, “Ms. Roney, I suggest you find a nice boy, settle down and have babies.”

Roney-O’Brien promptly dropped the class.

The following year, however, she decided to take a modern American poetry course.

She asked her professor if she could submit her poetry in lieu of the assigned papers. The professor agreed, with a stipulation.

“He said, ‘One thing about poetry, I don’t consider a poem finished until it’s read aloud,’” Roney-O’Brien said. “He arranged a reading for me. I said, ‘I can’t do that, I can’t.’ He gave me the date and said I’d be with three other young poets. He chose eight poems to read. I said, ‘I can’t do it.’ He said, ‘Well, I’m giving you this recorder and these tapes. You have 12 weeks.

Every week, I want one tapeful of those poems.

If you decide not to do it, don’t bother coming back to my class, you’ve failed.’ I was super pissed. I was angry.”

Still, she agreed to her professor’s terms. Her professor asked her one more question before the date of the reading: “Is there anyone you’d like to have attend?” At the podium, backlit and seeing the crowd clearly, the professor whose class she dropped sat there in the center of the audience as the poet read a “really awful poem about him, right to him.”

As Roney-O’Brien rose from her seat, gathering the papers and chapbooks from her library coffee table, eager to let Oliver in to sit on the couch and stare out the rainy window, she said softly, “Everything works. Everything works out, eventually.”

culture Handmade plates and pasta return to Worcester Center for Crafts

alongside the artists and makers at the center, tables, that gets people talking to each other.”

“It’s so interesting because, while it’s comthe event will feature upward of 150 custom After dinner, dessert is available for petitive, people also talk to each other about handmade ceramic plates, that attendees vie purchase from the Craft Center’s artists-inthe decisions they’re making,” she said.”There for. VIP entry takes place at 5:30 p.m., with residence, Paige Ward, Jon Glabus and Faith are a lot of oohs and ahhs. Why do you like general admission starting at 6:15 p.m. The Connor. that? It’s really quite interesting to see how fan-favorite event is part interactive experience, part gallery viewing, part dinner and all fun.

“I think the idea of collecting plates and being able to come in and have your pick from 100, 200 different handmade plates made here — there’s a real local angle — I think that’s quite attractive to people,” said Hess. “I think they love supporting the craft center, but I think it’s this notion of being able to pick themselves, so they are sure to get a plate that fits JOSHUA LYFORD their personal aesthetic, but they have a good time.” few years back, the Worcester Center The evening will coincide with for Crafts, 25 Sagamore Road, brought the closing of photographer Ron back their pasta dinner benefit, follow- Rosenstock’s 50-year retrospecing an outpouring of community suptive, a decision, Hess said with port. Now in its third year since, the unique tongue-in-cheek, that was as event, melding handcrafted ceramic plates practical as it was altruistic. with pasta provided by Ciao Bella — along“Practically, photographs are side beer, wine and the raucous discussion behind glass and there’s nothof aesthetics inherent in a semi-competitive ing on the floor, so the gallery is (but entirely fun) rush to a favorite plate that clear to put up tables with lots attendees get to keep — will bring makers, of plates,” she said. “When you’re artists and enthusiasts together once again in the business of making, you’re Worcester Center for Crafts Executive Director Honee Hess Saturday, March 3. often very practical.”

ELIZABETH BROOKS “It’s a revival,” Executive Director Honee Event-goers will pick out their Hess said. “This is the third year in the revived plate upon arrival, grab their pasta dinner. We hadn’t done it for a long while preferred libation and partake in and there was, seriously, community outpour- the silent auction, before helping themselves “They’re handcrafted, of course, no storesocial people want to be about their aesthetic ing of when is it going to happen again? That to Ciao Bella’s pasta selection. bought cookies on that table,” Hess said. “They choices.” is how we were able to pull together our com“They go into our largest space, our multiuse the money they raise to go to a national Tickets for the Worcester Center for Crafts munity committee. There were people who media space, which we will transform, with ceramics conference.”

Pasta Dinner benefit on March 3 are available said they’d help, when are you doing it? We a little suspension of disbelief, into an Italian Part of the evening’s fun, she said, is the online at Worcester.edu/wcc. said, come help.” courtyard,” said Hess. “It’s the kind of commu- interaction between its attendees and their With the help of the community committee, nal eating arrangement, there are individual reasoning behind their plate choices.

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March, new us, really. Have you taken a look around the new book yet? You must have, or it would have been unlikely you’d end up here. Either that, or you were stoked on Sarah Connell’s column that I’m now savagely piggybacking. Either way, nice to see you. So here’s the skinny: we’ve had some updates; some things that have been a long time coming, others that are bright and fresh. Regardless, pumped to have you aboard. Sarah and I are now running closer together, which is great for me, she’s a popular columnist. We’ve got a fresh kick off page for Night and Day - err, Culture!

We’ve got space for a new section showcasing featured artists (I am pumped), with this week’s featured artist being prolific painter of goats, Don Hartmann. This will not run every week, but as often as we have space (artists, shoot me an email if you want to be highlighted!). Each week we’ll be highlighting one of the Worcester Animal Rescue League’s adoptable pets, this week we’re highlighting Cardinal, and if Brisco wasn’t such a poor houseguest, I think I’d have to meet him for myself. Finally, huge shout out to Chelsea Zona for making us look awesome with our new cartoons. I owe you a Genesee Cream! There are other subtle changes, but I’ll let you track them down for yourself.

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM: If you

Worcester-Boston Full Service Radio for New England 26

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haven’t noticed, I’m pulling back the curtain a little bit this week. If you missed the memo, The Lyford Files is going weekly. Woo! The tradeoff for becoming weekly is my word count has been reduced a bit, which is fine by me.

I tend to write these after the rest of my copy, when my brain is fully fried. However, since you are looking at a brand new “back of the book,” I think it’s appropriate to use this kick-off column to get into the nitty-gritty. You’ll notice I no longer have my signature “contact” info underneath my column. If you weren’t one of the two people who noticed this, at the bottom of each column, I would have some fun.

Like, to contact Joshua Lyford, create a goat’s blood pentagram and summon a fire demon to hand-deliver a note to Worcester Magazine. So

instead, I’m going to use this space to both push the arts and entertainment world and show you a bit of how things tick around here.

PASTA AND POETRY: Case in

point: I spent 15 minutes today trying to figure out a third “P” word to run with Pasta and Poetry in this week’s story on the Worcester Center for Crafts’ Pasta Dinner benefit event.

I didn’t succeed. Still, the WCC is always a great time and I am still grateful for them letting me craft a plate last year. More importantly, you may have read this week’s story on Susan Roney-O’Brien, an incredible local poet. I didn’t meet her as a poet, however. She was my sixthgrade English and social studies teacher. I owe her an awful lot, if I were to list the two most formative events in my writing career (ha!), it would read: 1. My dad giving me “The Hobbit” and 2. Mrs. O’Brien’s sixth-grade class. I can’t stress enough that, while I am a maniac as an adult, I was a real hellion as a kid. She made me feel like that didn’t have to be a bad thing, and she inspired me to read and write in a way no one else ever had. I could go on and on, but you don’t want that, she doesn’t want that and my editor, Walter Bird, sure as hell doesn’t want that. So, if any of those things made you feel warm and fuzzy, skip a step and read her work.

You’ll appreciate it.

IN CLOSING: As your

illustrious Arts & Entertainment editor, I truly hope you enjoy the new look for the back of the book and if you have suggestions or questions, please feel free to reach out. I get a lot of threats and hate mail already, so if that’s your plan, it’s a bit redundant, but for anything else, I’m happy to correspond. We’ve got a whole lot of new content for you, from weekly columns, to adoptable pets, to featured artists, to a new look for our calendar, to arts criticisms from local students and more.

Thanks for hanging loose!

Joshua Lyford Culture editor @Joshachusetts

culture Lifestyle SARAH CONNELL

All Imperial All the Time

By now, you’ve probably heard of Greater Good, America’s first all-imperial brewing company.

Each of their dangerously drinkable brews range from 8-14-percent alcohol by volume, including PULP. PULP, short for, Paul’s Ultimate Lupulin Protocol named for owner Paul Wengender’s affinity for lupulin, the concentrated powder jampacked with the aromatic resin and essential oils that make your favorite IPAs taste so juicy. A taproom is slated to open at

ABV, as I am tremendously keen on sessionable stouts. Guiness Master Brewer Fergal Murray was in town all week for the highly anticipated collaboration. “The Fergal Project” is a New England Stout, characterized by classic Irish malts and American hops. “I love working with people that are passionate about making great beer, and certainly found that with everyone I met at their brewery, the whole creative process was a pleasure,” Murray shared. Fergie was not available for comment.

55 Millbrook St. in mid-

March with the capacity for 100 guests, live music and a killer game collection.

Greater Good’s proximity to BYOB favorite

Dacosta’s Pizza Bakery,

Shaun Radzuik, head brewer of Greater Good Imperial will no doubt Brewing Company, at the new facility on Millbrook Street in encourage walkability in a Worcester.

SARAH CONNELL neighborhood marked by auto parts and car dealerships. I foresee a lot of pizza, Oiled Up ping pong, and PULP in my future this spring.

Hot Power Yoga Center will host an Essential Lock it Up at simjang Oils Expo Saturday, March 3, 5-7 p.m. on GrafToday is the day! March 1 marks the official ton Street in Worcester. Stations will allow atopening of simjang, sister restaurant to deadtendees to test and try before they buy. Stations horse hill, at 72 Shrewsbury St. Manager Ellen will include oils, plant based mineral makeup, Benson clarifies that in Korean, “sim” refers vegan makeup, Ningxia Red – a juice high in not only to the heart, but the notion of the soul, antioxidants featuring the Ningxia Wolfberry while “jang” expresses a bigger perspective, — and Thieves — a line of plant-based products referring to the world around us. The refreshed including toothpaste, mouthwash, cleaning soluspace features a cardiovascular mural by Arlin tion and dish soaps. Young Living consultants Graff as well as a “lovelock” bridge, harkening will be at every station back to a ritual in which lovebirds inscribe their to answer questions. The initials on padlocks and latch them to iconic event features food and bridges around the globe. Locks will be available drinks as well. for purchase at the restaurant in coming weeks.

(Hint, hint.)

The Fergal Project

While I was disappointed to find that Wachusett Brewing Company would not be collaborating with American singer and frontwoman of The Blackeyed Peas, Fergie, for their new release, “The Fergal Project,” I was nevertheless pleased to hear that the brew lands at just 4.5-percent

Sarah Connell contributing writer

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culture

Artist spotlight

Don Hartmann is a prolific painter

from Worcester. He has shown his work from the Heart of the Commonwealth all the way to Ohio. He was named a Fellow of the Worcester Cultural Commission (now the Worcester Arts Council) back in 2010 and Best Painter at the ArtsWorcester Biennial back in 2005. He has shown in unique spaces, like 2016’s “Left of the Dial” at WCUW Community Radio on Main Street, and utilized fun partnerships like his dual showing with photographer Louie Despres at the Worcester Center for Crafts’ Krikorian Gallery in 2015. Recently, Hartmann has worked on an ongoing series of goat paintings. You can see his work at the Sprinkler Factory, 38 Harlow St., at Contributing Artists of Cirque du Noir, opening Saturday, March 3.

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culture Zorba’s Taverna Blooms in Spring 97 Stafford St., Worcester Zorbastaverna.com 508-796-5828

For refreshment, Zorba’s has all of the usual suspects on draft. Wormtown Be Hoppy ($5.50) or Allagash White ($5.50) will do the trick. If it’s cocktails you’re after, look no further than the Penicillin ($10). This bit of medicine will leave you with a soothing glass of lemon, ginger, honey and thyme, along with a belly full of scotch. Sangria is ideal for springtime on the patio.

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pringtime at Zorba’s is a floral affair. On my last visit, a dapper gentleman sat at the bar, trimming tulips one by one and arranging them into little glass vases. Greek folk music quickened the Chicken Souvlaki and Rosa Salata SANDRA RAIN step of our servers. Love was in the air.

You can trust in the chicken souvlaki ($11), The space is flexible, with room for events and seating by the marble bar top, to suit every marinated in an aromatic wash of lemon, garlic and oregano. Crisp greens, sliced tomatoes, occasion. High tables offer comfortable foot and another dose of pungent red onion are rails for socializing and booths build snug assuaged by the creamy tzatziki, which defines little alcoves for collusion. Glass partitions this dish. The french fries are unremarkable give the dining area some spacious room to breath. And the patio is freeing, though it takes and would benefit from a sprinkle of Greek oregano to find synergy with the traditional a special kind of Worcesterite to appreciate a plate.

Stafford Street view.

Zorba’s is an excellent spot for families in Don’t be shy. Zorba’s is no place to tiptoe search of a unique pizza night. The pies are through the tulips. “Appetizer Meze” options are ideal for sharing. Parties of two, four, or six crafted from handmade dough, tossed and grilled over an open flame. I suggest the great can order generous prixe fixe meze packages Greek ($15) if you subscribe to the kalamata. at just $26 per person. The tzatziki ($6.59) is Service is as sweet as the flowers. The staff served with warm buttery triangles of pita, floats in and out of conversation with carefully cooled by garlic-laden dollops of Greek yogurt placed anecdotes, firm recommendations and and shreds of cucumber. If you’re really feeling forward, spear up the rounds of red onion and quick drink refills. Zorba’s could due to update a few of the specials, as a dish called “Autumn the pickled jalapeño to temper your tzatziki.

Chicken” tends to grow off-putting come Baked feta ($7.99) is also alluring in its castMarch. I can, however, attest that the tulips are iron casing, stuffed with peppers and tomamind bogglingly fresh and worth a timely trip. toes, and served with a warm baguette. I will On my last visit with a friend, our total note that the stuffed grape leaves ($6.59) are came to ($78.32). sometimes past their prime, but slathered in enough lemon herb sauce, a hungry guest may not know the difference.

The roka salata ($9.49) is also great for com- Food: HHH1/2 Ambience: HHH1/2 munal diners. Mixed greens are flanked with Service: HHHH feta, oven-roasted tomatoes, candied walnuts Value: HHH1/2 and grilled chicken kabobs. I suggest soaking up the house made balsamic with slivers of warm Syrian bread.

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Restaurant opening soon! culture Function Room Open & Available Year Round

The winner is still not ‘La La Land’

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A

cademy Awards ceremonies are rarely capable of surprise, with the exception of Warren Beatty announcing the wrong Best Picture winner last year. That was weirdly fun. Otherwise, the broadcast is a slog.

It doesn’t mean I won’t watch on March 4, of course, and be intrigued and bored in equal measure. Here are my picks:

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OH

Best Film: “The Shape of Water” Nine film nominations dilute the field, though I see three contenders emerging. I’m going with Guillermo Del Toro’s lovely fable about a lonely cleaning woman who falls in love with an amphibious creature imprisoned inside a government laboratory. “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” was my early frontrunner, though it has endured lateinning backlash for its handling of race issues, particularly the casual bigotry and unlikely aboutface of Sam Rockwell’s cop character (I don’t think the controversy will affect the acting categories — see below). “Lady Bird” has enjoyed a surge of support, particularly after Greta Gerwig was snubbed for a director’s nomination at the Golden Globes, though I think it will fall short.

Best Actor: Gary Oldman (“Darkest Hour”) If a higher being were to command me to pick one winner at this year’s Academy Awards or be damned to an eternity of watching an endless loop of the “Fifty Shades of Gray” movies, I would bet my mortal soul on this one. Gary Oldman is the lock of locks. He wears a fat suit (the Academy adores physical transformation, even if it’s prosthetic — remember winner Nicole Kidman’s fake honker in “The Hours”), and goes full bulldog as Winston Churchill in a sturdy, showy performance. Daniel Day-Lewis, purportedly acting for the final time, could have won in just about any other year for his portrayal of a troubled dressmaker in “Phantom Thread.”

Best Actress: Frances McDormand (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”) McDormand is such an overwhelming talent, it’s shocking that it’s been 22 years since she last won ( for “Fargo”). Here, she takes no prisoners as an angry, grieving mother who publicly shames the local cops for not finding her daughter’s murderer. McDormand’s toughest challenger is probably Sally Hawkins (“The Shape of Water”), wonderfully expressive in a role with no dialogue, with Saoirse Ronan the dark horse as the yearning teenager in “Lady Bird.”

Best Supporting Actor: Sam Rockwell (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”) He rants, he raves, he catches fire — what more can an actor do to win an award? Rockwell, a reliable second banana for a couple of decades now, pulls it all together to play a preening, violently-racist cop whose police badge is like a melanoma on the small town of Ebbing. I love the idea of Willem Dafoe winning for his wistful performance in “The Florida Project,” but the film likely is too low-profile to dent the voters’ collective conscience.

Best Supporting Actress: Allison Janney (“I, Tonya”) I am so torn on this one. I first saw Laurie Metcalf as the bluntly honest mother in “Lady Bird,” whose well-intentioned nagging compels her daughter to throw herself from a moving car. Superb — a sure Oscar. Then I saw Allison Janney, whose performance as Tonya Harding’s monstrous mom takes bad parenting to Joan Crawford levels. She even has a parrot perched on her shoulder for much of the movie, like a postmenopausal pirate. I’ve picked her to win, but wouldn’t be heartbroken if Metcalf took home the statuette.

Cinema 320 returns next week with “The 19th Annual Animation Show of Shows,” at 7:30 p.m.

March 6, 7 and 10, and 1 and 3 p.m. March 11, in the Jefferson Academic Center at Clark University. A full review will appear in the next issue.

Jim Keogh contributing writer

Adoption Adoption option option This week, we introduce Adoption Option, a partnership with the Worcester Animal Rescue League, highlighting their adoptable pets. Check this space often to meet all of the great pets at WARL in need of homes.WARL is open seven days a week, noon-4 p.m., 139 Holden St. Check them out online at Worcesterarl.org, or call at 508-853-0030.

This big handsome puppy is Cardinal.

Cardinal is free-spirited and silly, and is ready to become part of a fun-loving family. Cardinal loves being around people and loves playing with toys. He knows his basic commands, but is eager to learn even more. Cardinal needs to be the only pet in the home, but with a personality like his, he is all you will need. Ask a WARL staff member to meet this silly boy today.

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culture MARCH 1 Metal Thursday featuring Cazador, Glacier and Altar of Ash

Thursday, March 1 @ 9 p.m.

148 Grove St. $7 admission, 21+ The long-running dedicated weekly night of metal welcomes Boston sludge act Cazador, Boston heavy instrumental act Glacier and Worcester’s own blackened doom band Altar of Ash. Bang your head and grab a Genesee can for $1.50.

Shop orientation at the WorcShop

Thursday, March 1, 6-9 p.m.

243 Stafford St. $20 members, $40 non-members A run through the WorcShop! A tour including where the important features of the shop are located, including safety features, how to turn on machinery and a look at the rules of the space. Geared for members, but non-members are welcome and will receive a discount on their first month of membership, if they so choose.

MARCH 2 United Way Hockey Night at the Railers

Friday, March 2, 7-9:30 p.m.

DCU Center, 50 Foster St. Ticket prices variable, 20 percent discount via Railers/United Way purchasing The Worcester Railers ECHL team take on the Wheeling Nailers with 20 percent of the ticket price benefitting the United Way. This evening also marks 2-3-4 night, with discounted popcorn, hot dogs and beer and the Railers will also wear Marvel Comic Universe-themed jerseys.

Winter Tracking and Ecology at Mass Audubon: Broad Meadow Brook

Friday, March 2, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.

414 Massasoit Rd. $18 members, $26 non-members Walk the Broad Meadow Brook Conservation Center and Wildlife Sanctuary’s trails with ecologist Martha Gach, following tracks and trails to learn about the activity of the local critters.

MARCH 3 Pasta dinner and Ron Rosenstock closing

Saturday, March 3, 6:15 p.m. (earlier with VIP ticket purchase) Worcester Center for Crafts, 25 Sagamore Rd. $45 per person/plate, $10 for children (paper plate), $65 VIP Check out the Worcester Center for Crafts annual Pasta Dinner, with money raised benefitting the space. Entry gets a pasta dinner and a handmade, one-of-a-kind ceramic plate made in-house. Wine, beer and dessert is available and the evening will also function as the closing of the Ron Rosenstock: 50 years of camera work exhibition.

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MARCH 3 Anthrax & Killswitch Engage

Saturday, March 3, 6:30 p.m.

Worcester Palladium, 261 Main St. $33-175 Metal legends Anthrax join Killswitch Engage and guests Havok downstairs at the Worcester Palladium.

Get your headbang on.

M A R C H 1 - 7, 2 0 1 8

culture

ELIZABETH BROOKS

First Saturdays gallery openings at The Sprinkler Factory Saturday, March 3, 5-8 p.m., 8-10 P.M. The Sprinkler Factory, 38 Harlow St. Donations suggested The Sprinkler Factory art space continues their First Saturdays openings with three new galleries. In Gallery one, Contributing Artists of Cirque du Noir IX, in Gallery two, A Matter of Intention and in Gallery three, Favorite Places photography exhibit. From 8-10 p.m., Full Volume Music Series: Lauren Ann Baker.

MARCH 8 Hot Dog! A Stand Up Sideshow

Thursday, March 8, 8-9 p.m.

George’s Coney Island, 158 Southbridge St. Worcester’s premier hot dog related comedy event returns!

Comedians spin a wheel to find the beats of their set, the audience laughs, eats hot dogs and drinks beer! This time around featuring Paul Cyphers, Allison Dick, Mairéad Dickinson, Daniel Donohue, Sam Ike, Logan O’Brien, John Paul Rivera, Nate Shu.

OSV.ORG

Maple Days

Saturdays through Sundays, March 3 through March 24 Old Sturbridge Village, 1 Old Sturbridge Village Rd., Sturbridge $28 adults, $26 seniors, $14 youth & college student, under 4 is free Old Sturbridge Village welcomes visitors to see how maple syrup was crafted in 19th century rural New England. Sample some old-school maple treats!

M A R C H 1 - 7, 2018

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

33

sports p At 37, Southbridge’s Pagan shows he has plenty left WALTER BIRD JR.

H

is mother made it clear when he was younger and growing up in Puerto Rico: You can play any sport you want, but not boxing. All these years later, Wilfredo Pagan is boxing and his mother has finally started going to his fights.

She picked a good time - even if, according to her son, she doesn’t watch.

Just last year, the 37-year-old Pagan turned pro, after spending years, off and on, toiling in the amateurs. Along the way, he won two Golden Gloves titles, fought the distractions life brings and, when just about everyone else was telling him he was too old to do it, decided to “see what I can do.”

What he could do was win. In just over a year, Pagan has fought four professional fights. He has won them all, including his most recent and perhaps most impressive yet - a second-round stop of veteran Bryan Abraham in a junior welterweight bout at The Palladium in Worcester Feb. 10 as part of New England’s Future 5. At 35, Pagan’s opponent wasn’t much younger than him.

Gracious when his age is mentioned, Pagan said he has been told to retire, that he’s too old to box. All it does, he said, is add fuel to the fire. When he made the decision to turn pro, he heard the naysayers.

“I had nothing to prove as an amateur,” Pagan said of his mindset following a tough loss on an amateur Springfield card in 2015.

“I talked to my trainer, talked to my wife and family. I said, ‘I want to be a professional fighter. I want to see what I can do.’ I wanted to jump up to the next step. I didn’t want to give up, quit boxing and have in my mind why I never tried it.”

At the time, he was 35, Pagan said. He told

his trainer, Dave DiGregorio at the Uptown Boxing Gym, boxing professionally was one of his dreams - age be damned.

“I know my age,” said Pagan, who is mar-

ELIZABETH BROOKS

Worcester 78s Feb. 24 78s, 165-139, over the Bronx Holy Flames

Worcester Railers Feb. 21 Railers win, 4-3, in Adirondack Feb. 22 Railers fall, 6-3, in Reading Feb. 24 Railers top Manchester, 4-1 Feb. 27 Railers lose, 4-1, to the Beast in Brampton (Upcoming: Railers return home to take on Wheeling Nailers March 2-3) WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

tion, I love fighting. I tried to follow him. He always talked to my mom and she said, ‘No, it’s too dangerous. I saw a movie and somebody died [ from boxing].’ She said, ‘If you stay living in my house, you’re not going to do that sport. You can do any other sport except boxing.’ I followed the rules, so I never did it.”

By 1999, Pagan’s entire family had relocated to Southbridge. He ended up moving there and getting a job at G&F Industries in Sturbridge.

Wilfredo “El Sucaro” Pagan of Southbridge swings at Bryan Abraham at the Palladium.

The Score

34

ried with three daughters. “I know it’s kind of late for some people. I was sick and tired of people telling me I was too old. Some people said, ‘Oh, you’re kind of crazy.’ It made me motivate myself to work harder.”

For Pagan, it all started in Puerto Rico, where he lived until he was 19. Growing up, he fell in love with boxing through a neighbor.

“He was fighting local,” Pagan recalled. “I went down and saw him fighting. I saw how boxing works. I fell in love. I love the competi-

M A R C H 1 - 7, 2 0 1 8

Round-Up

FROM ICE DOG TO CRUSADER Erkka Vanska, a 5-foot-10-inch forward for the Fairbanks Ice Dogs hockey team in Fairbanks, Alaska, will has committed to play for Holy Cross in Worcester, according to the Daily News-Miner, Vanska, a 170-pound forward from Espoo, Finland, was tied for fifth place in scoring in the North American Hockey League as of Feb. 20.

sports The following summer, at the suggestion of a friend, Pagan started training with DiGregorio, who ended up being his first opponent in a 2001 exhibition match in Webster.

After that, Pagan, an aggressive fighter who likens his straight-ahead style to Mexican boxing, had his first big test in a Golden Gloves bout in Holyoke, where he stopped his opponent in the first round.

He didn’t always fight, sometimes giving into the temptation of soaking up the sun outside and having fun. Still, he continued learning the ropes as a boxer. In 2006, Pagan won the Western New England Golden Gloves’ novice division at 152 pounds. He also did some shows with the State Police.

Over the next several years, Pagan was in the ring off and on, often with much success.

In 2006, he won the Western New England Golden Gloves’ novice division. Then, in 2015, after a tough loss in Springfield, he decided to turn pro.

Pagan’s first schedule professional bout ended up being canceled. After taking time off again, he returned to the gym after learning of a card being promoted by Rivera in January 2017. Fighting as a pro for the first time, Pagan won in New England’s Future 1.

At the time, Pagan had simply wanted one shot at going pro. That turned into a second, then a third. Now, with four professional bouts under his belt, he is ready to continue.

He is scheduled to fight next on a card in Warwick, R.I. on March 24 against Placido Hoff, a 26-year-old with a current record of 1-2-1. He also expects to fight on Rivera’s

College sports

Men’s Golf

Baseball

Anna Maria March 3 vs. Lyndon State, 9 a.m., 11:30 a.m.

March 4 vs. Martin Luther, 9 a.m., 11:30 a.m.

March 7 vs. SUNY Poly, 5 p.m.

Assumption March 2 vs. Nyack, 5 p.m.

March 3 vs. Nyack, 2 p.m.

March 4 vs. Concordia, 5 p.m.

March 5 vs. Concordia, 11 a.m.

March 7 vs. Bentley, 11 a.m.

Becker March 3 @ Newbury, 11 a.m., 2 p.m.

March 4 vs. Newbury, 10:30 a.m.

Clark March 3 vs. Penn State - Abington, 2:30 p.m.

March 4 vs. Wartburg College, 5 p.m.

March 5 vs. Aurora University, 5 p.m.

March 7 vs. St. Joseph’s, 3 p.m., 6 p.m.

Holy Cross March 3 @ Mercer, 6 p.m.

March 4 @ Mercer, 2 p.m.

March 5 @ Mercer, 4 p.m.

March 6 @ Georgia Southern, 6 p.m.

Nichols March 3 @ Framingham State, 11 a.m.

March 4 vs. Wheaton, 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m.

Worcester State March 3 vs. Fisher, 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m.

March 6 vs. UMass-Dartmouth, 3 p.m.

WPI March 4 vs. Aurora, 2:30 p.m., 5 p.m.

March 5 vs. Coe, 9:30 a.m., 12 p.m.

March 7 vs. Rhode Island College, 1:15 p.m., 3:45 p.m.

Equestrian

Becker March 3 @ Assumption

Holy Cross March 4-6 vs. Panther Invitational

Men’s Ice Hockey

Holy Cross March 2-4 vs. Atlantic Hockey Tournament Round One Nichols March 3 vs. Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship

Women’s Ice Hockey

Nichols March 3 vs. Colonial Hockey Conference Semifinal March 4 vs. Colonial Hockey Conference Championship

Men’s Lacrosse

Anna Maria March 3 vs. Nichols, 1 p.m.

Assumption March 4 @ Wilmington, 12 p.m.

March 7 @ Mercy, 3 p.m.

Becker March 3 vs. Mount Ida, 12 p.m.

March 5 vs. Lyndon State, 4 p.m.

March 7 @ Mass Maritime, 7 p.m.

Clark March 5 vs. DeSales University, 6 p.m.

March 7 vs. Catholic University, 6 p.m.

Holy Cross March 3 vs. Loyola Maryland Nichols March 3 @ Anna Maria, 1 p.m.

March 6 @ Salem State, 4 p.m.

Women’s Lacrosse Assumption March 3 @ Le Moyne, 12 p.m.

March 4 vs. Dominican, 1 p.m.

next card, New England’s Future 6, on May 4.

DiGregorio credits Pagan’s early run of success as a pro to a lack of ego, patience and willingness to listen to his trainer.

“The professional fighter is usually brought along fairly slowly,” DiGregorio said. “What happens is, he wins, and he wins, and he wins. If he keeps his eye on the ball, he’s going to move up the ladder, not quickly, but quickly enough. Unfortunately, you have the variable of family and friends coming and saying you are the greatest fighter since Jack Dempsey, and it happens. If you buy into that, you’re done, you really are. [Pagan] hasn’t bought into that.”

As for whether a title shot may be in the wings, Pagan said time will tell.

“One step at a time, that’s what I’m trying

to do,” he said, adding he wouldn’t mind fighting for a local championship. “I would love to have a belt, so that’s my goal. I’m trying to put that in my mind to have more motivation to keep training harder and harder and harder.”

Becker March 4 vs. Maine-Farmington, 1 p.m.

March 7 vs. Mass Maritime, 4 p.m.

Holy Cross March 4 @ Stetson, 3 p.m.

March 7 vs. Vermont, 1:05 p.m.

Worcester State March 1 @ Gordon, 4 p.m.

Women’s Swimming/Diving

Softball

Anna Maria March 4 vs. Albion, 3 p.m., vs. Waynesburg, 5 p.m.

March 5 vs. Geneva, 3 p.m., vs. Penn St. Altoona, 5 p.m.

March 6 vs. Elms, 9 a.m., @ Clark University, 11 a.m March 7 vs. New Jersey City, 9 a.m., vs. Kenyon, 11 a.m.

Assumption March 4 vs. Ashland, 9 a.m., vs. LIU Post, 2 p.m.

March 5 vs. Winona St., 2 p.m., vs. Cedarville, 7 p.m.

March 6 vs. Seton Hall, 11:30 a.m., vs. U. of Mary, 4:30 p.m.

Clark March 3 vs. Elms College, 11 a.m.

March 3 vs. Kenyon College, 3 p.m.

March 4 vs. New Jersey City University, 9 a.m.

March 4 vs. Rivier, 11 a.m.

March 5 vs. Waynesburg University, 9 a.m.

March 5 vs. Pitt-Bradford, 11 a.m.

March 6 vs. Albion, 9 a.m., vs. Anna Maria, 11 a.m.

March 7 vs. Penn State-Altoona, 9 a.m.

March 7 vs. Geneva College, 11 a.m.

Holy Cross March 6 @ Bethune-Cookman, 1 p.m., 3 p.m.

March 7 @ Stetson, 2 p.m., 4 p.m.

WPI March 4 vs. Alfred, 11:15 a.m., vs. Muhlenburg, 1:30 p.m.

March 5 vs. Thiel, 11:15 a.m., vs. St. Joseph’s, 1:30 p.m.

March 6 vs. Heidelberg, 1:30 p.m., vs. Meredith, 6 p.m.

Men’s Swimming/Diving

Walter Bird Jr., editor wbird@worcestermag.com

WPI March 2-3 vs. NCAA Diving Regionals

Men’s Tennis

Assumption March 5 vs. Tiffin, 8 a.m.

March 6 vs. Wartburg, 12 p.m.

March 7 vs. Tusculum Clark March 5 vs. Oglethorpe, 8 a.m.

Nichols March 7 vs. Colby-Sawyer, 2:30 p.m.

Women’s Tennis

Holy Cross March 1 @ Boston University, 4:30 p.m.

Men’s Track & Field

Holy Cross March 2 vs. IC4A Indoor Championship, 2:30 p.m.

March 3 vs. IC4A Indoor Championship, 9:30 a.m.

March 4 vs. IC4A Indoor Championship, 9:30 a.m.

Worcester State March 3 @ Tufts Last Chance Meet WPI March 3 @ Tufts Last Chance Meet

Women’s Track & Field

Holy Cross March 2 vs. IC4A Indoor Championship, 2:30 p.m.

March 3 vs. IC4A Indoor Championship, 9:30 a.m.

March 4 vs. IC4A Indoor Championship, 9:30 a.m.

Worcester State March 3 @ Tufts Last Chance Meet WPI March 3 @ Tufts Last Chance Meet

WPI March 2-3 vs. NCAA Diving Regionals

M A R C H 1 - 7, 2018

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

35

games "It Bears Repeating"--but just a little bit.

by Matt Jones

JONESIN’ Across

19 21 22 23 25 27 29 31 34 35 38 39 40 44 47 50 51 52 54 56 57 58 61 63 66 69 70 71 72 73 74

Ballet garb Cotton swab brand Forfeit Seafood often imitated Abbr. on some beef Soda, to a bartender He followed Dan, Al, Dick, and Joe Action star who's yellow and full of potassium?

Notable times University official ___ in "cat" "___ du lieber!"

Negative votes Minute Make frog noises Ms. ___-Man Madalyn Murray ___, subject of the Netflix film "The Most Hated Woman in America" Shake it for an alcohol-based dessert?

Inkling Jim Carrey comedy "Me, Myself & ___" Dermatologist's concern Classical piece for a jeweler's eyepiece?

Clean thoroughly Exist Word before par or pressure 95 things posted by Martin Luther Fix, as a game Actress Lupino '50s election monogram Similar (to) Actress Russo Rock nightclub open for a long time?

Critters that seem to find sugar Dot in the ocean "Easy-Bake" appliance Treats, as a sprain Grant consideration Pied Piper's followers Shakespearean king

Down 1 Cable channel that airs films from the 1900s 2 Self-proclaimed spoon-bender Geller

36

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 15 18 20 23 24 26 28 30 32 33 36 37 41 42 43 45 46 47

Pay after taxes Lyft competitor Tex-Mex dip ingredient Co. that launched Dungeons & Dragons "___ not know that!"

Walking speed Ohio team, on scoreboards Track bet with long odds North America's tallest mountain It's opposite the point Cassava root ___ Harbour, Florida Songwriter Paul Prefix before -monious Gunky stuff "This is ___!" ("300" line) Charlize of "Atomic Blonde" Calculator with beads "He's ___ friend" Easy gallop Recycling container "Jazz Masters" org.

Spectators Earned a ticket, perhaps Juno's Greek counterpart Like ___ (energetically) Winter Olympics sled Skip going out

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

M A R C H 1 - 7, 2 0 1 8

48 It may come in sticks or wheels 49 Thrift shop purpose 53 Genre where you'd hear "pick it up!" a lot 55 Jeremy of 2018's "Red Sparrow" 59 "Young Frankenstein" role 60 PBS science show for 45 seasons 62 Press-on item 64 Clifford's color 65 Figure out (like this answer) 67 Drink from a bag?

68 Tajikistan was one (abbr.)

Fun By The Numbers Like puzzles? Then you’ll love sudoku. This mind-bending puzzle will have you hooked from the moment you square off, so sharpen your pencil and put your sudoku savvy to the test!

Here’s How It Works: Sudoku puzzles are formatted as a 9x9 grid, broken down into nine 3x3 boxes. To solve sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes. The more numbers you name, the easier it gets to solve the puzzle!

Last week's solution

FIND US ON FACEBOOK! ©2018 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) Reference puzzle #873

Word Scramble answer: music

1 5 9 13 14 15 16 17

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37

last call John Genkos project manager

J

ohn Genkos has served as a project manager for the city of Worcester since summer 2015, working diligently to prevent youth violence and to strategically address acute risk behaviors throughout the community. His work on the Hub initiative this year has helped connect individuals and families to immediate services by facilitating inter-agency collaboration. As a Worcester native, Genkos feels a great deal of pride for his city. He is the all-time leading basketball scorer at Doherty High School, with 1,298 points. This year, Genkos is an assistant coach for the Doherty High School men’s basketball team.

What is your history with the city of Worcester? I was born here at UMass and grew up on June Street. I went to Forest Grove and Doherty. Then, I attended college at UMass-Dartmouth before coming back to the city.

I hear you had quite the basketball career. Yeah, I had a good career at Doherty.

I’m actually in the Worcester Public Schools Athletic Hall of Fame.

What was your crowning achievement as a player? I scored 1,000 points at Doherty.

I played three varsity sports: football, basketball and baseball. I was the captain on the basketball team.

What did you study in college and can you describe the career trajectory that followed? I was a criminal justice major.

Originally, I wanted to be in law enforcement.

Then, I tore my ACL in basketball, so I had an extra year to play and I decided to do my master’s because they had an accelerated program. I studied public policy and I got interested in that kind of work. I needed an internship to complete the degree. That’s how I started at the city manager’s office.

Can you tell me about the youth violence prevention efforts taking place in the city? In the summer 2015, the manager and the mayor saw an uptick in violence. It was a big issue brought to light by a couple of shootings. They put a coalition together and now they have a governance team that regularly convenes. The chief of police, the

38

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district attorney, the superintendent and all the big players from DCF meet monthly to connect and correlate data from each institution. They identify which grants we can get, and because we’ve decided to collaborate together, we’ve gotten more money for youth violence prevention. An example is the “family chaos” grant that we’re reapplying for this year. It helps divert domestic situations for youth. What’s interesting is that the domestic law is the same for adults as it is for youth. If you get in a fight with your brother, the police are forced to arrest the youth the same way they would an adult. These cases are now diverted to services for youth violence prevention instead of being thrown into the system. Another push for prevention is Recreation Worcester, which includes academic and summer programs. That’s another prevention measure to encourage kids to play after school. The biggest uptick in violence for children takes place from 3-6 p.m. The manager’s vision is to have afterschool programming in each district of the city and then have summer programming full time, all summer long.

Can you tell me about the new Hub initiative? The Hub just got started; it’s an initiative that brings over 22 organizations to the table. It’s intended to streamline services for people with acute elevated risk, which means they have multiple risk factors in their backgrounds. All of these service providers, from state agencies to nonprofits to municipal organizations, get together once a week and we go over high-risk individuals or families. From there, we try to connect them to services. Individuals and families can be referred by any agency at the table. It can help youth, but it’s designed for any person with six risk-factors or more, including drug and opioid abuse, chronic homelessness, mental health issues, poverty and crime. Ideally, we cover three to five cases a week and connect them at a rate of 75 percent.

What is your role? I’m the Hub coordinator. My role is to get everyone in the room and make sure everyone feels comfortable with the model.

M A R C H 1 - 7, 2 0 1 8

Has growing up in Worcester shaped how you approach these initiatives?

Oh, yeah. Having lived the experience, I’ve seen a lot of people go through hard times, especially in public school, so I feel like I can relate. I think that relatability is important in every situation, even when I coach. You have to be able to relate to people. When you study theory it’s one thing, but it’s been really helpful growing up here and knowing the issues our community faces.

I know you’ve had a very successful season this year as one of the coaches of the Doherty basketball team. Can you share a bit about that experience? The season is going very well. I’m the yeller.

The yeller? Yes. That’s my role, I’m the discipline guy. The team has had a really good year. We actually had a guy score 1,000 and he’s only a junior, Marty Silvera.

It has been really fun.

Right now, they’re consistently ranked in the Telegram as third or fourth.

I only coach the varsity level. The players seek advice. It’s good to serve as a role model for them as far as applying for college,

ELIZABETH BROOKS

getting recruited and communicating with prep schools, all these little things. Jermaine Chavis is a great coach. He was my coach when I played my senior year and the reason why I got into coaching. He does a great job as the head coach. But I lived it just five years ago. Jermaine is the reason I got into coaching and he is a great mentor.

When you aren’t at City Hall or on the basketball court, where do you like to hang out in Worcester? I’m still a young adult, so I still enjoy rounding the troops to go to Union or the Banner on Green Street on the weekends.

– Sarah Connell

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