Worcester Magazine May 3 - 9, 2018 by Worcester Magazine

MAY 3 - 9, 2018 WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

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The Case For Middle School Sports: Can City Hoops Spark A Rebound?

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in this issue M AY 3 - 9, 2018 • V O L U M E 43 I S S U E 36

the cover

The Case For Middle School Sports: Can City Hoops Spark A Rebound? In blue, the ‘Young Female Ballers’ rebound and look to score in the paint. In all, there are four middle school teams, and they’re two weeks into a five-week season. Story on page 14 Photo by elizabeth Brooks, Design by Kimberly Vasseur

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news Plumley Village patients and advocates call for health justice D BILL SHANER

ozens of patients and advocates spoke out against the planned closure of the Plumley Village Health Center, making their case directly to the interim UMass Memorial Medical Center president, at a forum Monday night at the Journey Church on Belmont Street. “I’ve been going to Plumley for 19 years. My children were raised in Plumley Village,” said Valerie Washington, a longtime patient. Washington paused several times during her comments to choke back tears. “When I heard this I was devastated, I was shocked.” UMass Memorial Medical Center announced in March it would be shuttering the clinic, where a small staff serves about 2,000 patients. Most of the patients are residents of Plumley Village or the Bell Hill neighborhood. Many of the patients are low income, about 70 percent are Latino, and half speak only Spanish, according to data compiled by advocates. At the forum, interim President Jeff Smith made the case that the clinic cannot remain open because rising staffing costs across the UMass system. “We are forced to continue to look for opportunities for efficiency,” Smith told the crowd. According to UMass’s plan, the clinic will be rolled into the Hahnemann Campus on Lincoln Street, which Smith said was 1.2 miles away. He sat on a six-person panel that otherwise focused on the highly personal and quality care the clinic provided its patients and the gaps it filled in a health care system that is otherwise difficult to navigate for people of low income and of color. Panelist Joyce McNickles, statewide secretary of the Massachusetts Woman of Color Coalition, made the case there’s a racial disparity across the country in the quality of medical

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Plumley Village Health Center patient Modesta Rosado speaks as interim UMass Memorial president Jeff Smith looks on. care. “I’m particularly concerned about how closing this center might further create inequities for this population,” said McNickles. Panelist Katharine Barnard, a doctor at the

M AY 3 - 9, 2018

clinic, argued it filled an important gap for its patients, and is custom tailored for its population, with bilingual staff and doctors that intimately know their patients. “We do it in a small environment that really

BILL SHANER

allows people to receive personal care,” said Barnard. While some pleaded that the clinic stay C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 6

news Cloak, Dagger and Worcester’s David Clark Company

MICHAEL TOUGIAS

WHAT: Slide Presentation by Michael Tougias WHEN: Thursday, May 10, WHERE: Old Sturbridge Village

(Editor’s Note: The following was adapted from “Above & Beyond: John F. Kennedy and America’s Most Dangerou Spy Mission,” co-authored by Michael Tougias and Casey Sherman.)

t was a U-2 spy plane that discovered the nuclear missiles in Cuba in 1962, and it was a Worcester company that helped make that possible. The U-2 is no ordinary aircraft. It has a lightweight frame, a powerful jet engine, and is armed with cameras rather than bombs. It looks something like a glider on steroids, with a wingspan of 103 feet. The plane can fly so high –13 miles above the earth — the pilot must don a specialized pressure suit and fish-bowl style helmet, similar to what an astronaut must wear. Should the single-seat cockpit lose air pressure, the suit is designed to keep the pilot alive. Otherwise, in the thin air of the stratosphere the pilot’s blood would literally begin to boil.

Pilot Jerry McIlmoyle in 1962 checking out his U-2

Those early pressure suits – looking something like a wetsuit— were made at the David Clark Company in Worcester. In the early years of the U-2 program, from the mid-1950s through the ’60s, the David Clark Company had to keep their involvement under wraps. The spy plane, developed by the CIA, was so secretive only a handful of people knew about the program. Most citizens only learned of its existence when Gary Powers was shot down in his U-2 while making a flight over Russia in 1960. Even after that incident, our government did not divulge any details about the aircraft. The elite pilots who were selected to fly the first U-2s found the CIA preferred they know little about who made the pressure suits that just might save their lives. PHOTO SUBMITTED

C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 7

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also provide important social services, he said. Glenda Carabello, a longtime patient of the C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 4 clinic, said she didn’t trust that UMass adminopen, others accepted the closure as reality istrators would follow through on their word and tried to press Smith and the UMass manto help residents find new primary care. agement to actively work with the patients “Why should I trust, ‘We’re going to take there to find them new primary care physicare of you?’” said Carabello. “I don’t believe it. cians. I’m sorry, but I do not believe it.” “I am in no way under the delusion that this The remark provoked cheers from the clinic remain open,” said District 4 Councilor crowd. Sarai Rivera, “But we need to make sure people The beauty of the Plumley Village Health are not left to their own demise.” Center, she said, is the staff treated the paRivera made two specific demands of the tients like human beings. UMass Memorial administration: that they “This is my family,” Carabello said. “You are assign staff to work with the Plumley Village breaking up my family.” patients to work through what she called an Advocate Nicolas Wurst, who is a member already confusing health care system to find of the Worcester Socialist Alternative, connew primary care doctors, and that the admin- nected the closure to the payout of top administration work with the city to prevent further istrators in the UMass Memorial system. closures. “We’re supposed to be asking questions, so “The question of health equity cannot end how much do you and your administrators here,” she said. and your board of directors take home?” he Councilor At-Large Khrystian King stressed asked. the importance of the clinic for the commuAdvocate Martha Assefa said the smallnity, and said it was intentionally placed there scale tailored care of the Plumley clinic is an because it’s an underserved community. They ideal model of care for underserved popula-

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tions. Closing it, she said, is “racism in action.” Mattie Castiel, the city’s director of health and human services, stressed the importance of investing in health equity, meaning equal access to health care resources. Part of that, she said, is eliminating gaps in services and improving access to care. The Community Health Improvement Plan, she said, calls for an increase in access to clinics like Plumley by 10 percent. Bill Shaner can be reached at 508-749-3166 x324 or at wshaner@worcestermag.com. Follow him on Twitter @Bill_Shaner.

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news In 1958, pilot Jerry McIlmoyle had cleared the first phase of training and it was time for him to be fitted with a pressure suit. He had been training in Nevada, and he and another pilot were told to board a plane that would take them to Massachusetts for the fitting. The pilots were ordered to wear only civilian clothes during the trip. No military uniforms were allowed — not even GI-issue underwear. They were also to travel with no military documents or identification. Upon arrival, a man who did not identify himself, but may have been an employee of the CIA, awaited them at the terminal. The man simply said, “Follow me,” and led McIlmoyle and his fellow pilot to a car and whisked them to Park Avenue in Worcester. (The company has since relocated to Franklin Street.) The pilots were ushered into an old factory, where women worked at sewing machines in an open room as big as a football field, making bras and corsets. Next, the “host” took them to a green door, down a series of steps and through a basement, where he handed the pilots off to a new man, who escorted them to a black door. They knocked, and a wizened old man pointed them inside. “Take off your clothes, all of them,” he barked. This was the “tailor,” and he had the pilots climb a two-step platform, where he took their measurements. He said not a word until he was finished, then simply grunted, “Go to your hotel.” The next morning the U-2 pilots were taken back to the bra factory basement. Behind the black door the tailor waited with two pressure suits. The suits were skin tight, and the pilots helped each other get into them. Once the suits were on, the pilots realized they fit perfectly. McIlmoyle was amazed the old man and his team of seamstresses had achieved a flawless fit in just one night. He could only imagine how quickly they could create custom bras and corsets. The pilots knew the partial pressure suits could be vital for their very survival when flying at altitudes upward of 70,000 feet. Every opening in the suit had to be sealed airtight and the suit hooked to an air hose. Should the cockpit lose pressurization during flight, the flight suit would pressurize with air and become tight enough to simulate the air pressure on the surface of the earth: 14.5 pounds. The closed environment in which the pilots flew was also pressurized for this reason. A New York–based company was contracted to pressurize the cockpit of the U-2 to create an atmosphere equivalent to the air pressure of 28,000 feet. If the cockpit pressure fell below

Above: Jerry McIlmoyle, left, and Michael Tougias. McIlmoyle narrowly escaped being shot down by the Soviets over Cuba. Left: The cover of co-author Michael Tougias’s new book. fearing the crisis was spinning out of their control hammered out a deal and no other pilots were lost. Incredibly, U-2s are still flying today, and the David Clark Company continues to make the pressure suits.

Dan McCarter, a program manager at Clark, commented on the U-2’s longevity, saying, “Having that human in the cockpit must still be paying dividends, otherwise the aircraft would be replaced by drones.” The David Clark Company today no longer makes bras and girdles, but instead is best known for its headset communication systems for high noise environments, such as the aviation industry. In their Franklin street location, there is no secret room in the basement for U-2 pilots. But McCarter said every now and then there is a U-2 pilot whose body type does not match the many pressure standard sizes that can be ordered. And just like the super-secret days of the company’s past, a new U-2 pilot will be flown into Worcester and be personally fitted before they launch on a spy mission. In addition to his slide presentation on May 10 at Old Sturbridge Village, Tougias will do the same at the Boylston Public Library Wednesday, May 16; at the The Boyden Library in Foxborough Tuesday, June 19; as part of the Harvard Warner Lecture Series Friday, Sept. 21; and at the Forbush Memorial Library in Westminster Thursday, Oct. 4.

ELIZABETH BROOKS

C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 5

that threshold, the pilot’s suit would immediately inflate, allowing him to breathe oxygen through his helmet only. The suits were designed for survival, not comfort. In fact, many airmen became claustrophobic and hyperventilated after putting them on. McIlmoyle, however, adapted and by the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis he was one of a handful of U-2 pilots selected to fly reconnaissance over the island. Besides the normal dangers of flying the temperamental aircraft, dubbed “The Dragon Lady,” the missions over Cuba left the U-2s exposed to the Soviet surface to air missiles that blanketed the island. Few people know or remember that one of our pilots, Maj. Rudy Anderson, was shot down and killed by the Soviets. He was one of Mcilmoyle’s good friends and the loss was devastating. Yet, McIlmoyle and the other pilots were prepared to launch the very next day. Fortunately, Kennedy and Khrushchev,

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news

worcesteria

SHOW YOUR MATH: If you don’t have the data, don’t visualize the data. The AWARE group – Accurate Worcester Assessments on Real Estate – sends out messages near weekly bashing anything that smacks of raising residential property tax rates. This week, predictably, the AWARE group chose to take on the Community Preservation Act proposal, which would attach a small surcharge to property tax bills to create a fund that would then be used for open space, historic preservation and affordable housing, with a small state match. A lot of cities and towns in the state take advantage of this and there are many in Worcester who feel it’s a good idea. But not AWARE. And now, to the point of this item. Inside AWARE’s message, they provided a pie chart calling it a “hypothetical analysis showing how we believe” the CPA funds will be spent. This pie chart shows most of the money going toward affordable housing and only a very small percentage going toward historic resources. The only problem is they don’t show their math and don’t cite a source. Plus, the chart looks a lot like clip art. So I google searched “blank pie chart” and BAM. FIRST PAGE. The exact pie chart they used comes up. It is a blank, stock pie chart image. It is meaningless. All they did was put words over an image. This brings me back to my original point: If you don’t have the data, don’t visualize the data. Otherwise, it’s not really the most Accurate Worcester Assessment on Real Estate you could provide. TOUGH WEEK: If there’s one guy in Worcester Politics I would not want to be right now, it’s District Attorney Joe Early Jr.. Attorney General Maura Healey has all but stuck him to the cross of the Ali Bibaud arrest report issue, saying he pretty much ordered the state police to redact the report (I know, I know, he never specifically directed the State Police to do so, but I mean c’mon). While Healey is not recommending criminal charges (didn’t even think that was in the picture, but OK), she does want to see a review from the State Ethics Commission. Not only is this extremely bad for Early, it comes during the early stage of a campaign season, a campaign season in which he faces a challenger – a real challenger – that is part of a nationwide movement to unseat district attorneys and put in their place more progressive, criminal justice reform-friendly attorneys. His name is Blake Rubin, and the movement is What Difference A DA Makes. Rubin came out swinging this week, calling for Early to resign, saying the behavior was unacceptable and unethical. Here’s a quote from our segment with him on the Worcester Magazine Radio Hour: “The only logical conclusion is this was special treatment” of a judge’s daughter. Tough week for Early, and it looks like it’s bound to be an even tougher campaign season. TRASH FIRE: The battle between the town of Southbridge and Casella Waste Manage-

ment, the operator of the big leaky Southbridge landfill, is only getting uglier. Earlier this month the town filed to sue the company in federal court, according to the Telegram, saying they’re walking back a contractual obligation to provide trash collection until 2027, even though the landfill is set to close next year. Casella is calling the suit “baseless.” Now, I was there for the campaign leading up to a ballot question on whether or not to close the landfill. I wrote a cover story on it. I have Casella official Tom Cue on record saying the company would honor the trash pickup obligation even if the landfill closes. It was a major aspect of the campaign on both sides. Walking it back now is, at best, dirtier than the bottom of that landfill.

JUST TELL US: So, so, so much swirling in the Worcester Politics soup about the Pawtucket

Worcester-Boston Full Service Radio for New England 8

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M AY 3 - 9, 2018

Red Sox right now. There were the “rumblings” last week, as my editor put it on Twitter, of a deal happening sooner rather than later, and then the immediate response from the city, in the form of its own Tweet and press release, rebuking those rumblings (weird PR move, if you ask me). Then there was Bill Ballou’s column in the Telegram over the weekend, saying there are meetings coming up and quoting an anonymous Rhode Island source saying the PawSox are inspecting property in Worcester like a slab of beef. Don’t forget a blurb from the Worcester Business Journal quoting an anonymous Worcester business owner saying, “If I were a gambling man, I would put money on it.” The businessman, according to WBJ, said an announcement could be made as soon as June. And then, there’s this executive session (closed door meeting, in normal human English) the City Council held Tuesday night to discuss something related to property. All they’re required to disclose is that the meeting was related to property dealings. And not one person familiar with what the meeting is about will say Bill Shaner, reporter so. It could be completely unrelated to the Paw Sox – no relation wshaner@worcestermag.com at all – but where’s the fun in that? Twitter: @Bill_Shaner

news

DON’T REPLACE. REFACE

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the beat

Jet Blue flights from Worcester to New York start today. The long-antic-

REFINISHING

ipated flights will get Worcester-area folk to JFK in about an hour. Tickets are about $100 currently. In other Worcester Regional Airport news, the airport marked its 500,000 flight Wednesday morning with a 5k event.

PAINTING REFACING

The Cabinet

A former Grafton elementary school teacher stands accused of embezzling about $20,000 in union funds. She was arraigned last week and resigned from the school last November. Kerrie Clark served as the teacher’s union treasurer, and she was reported to police by the union co-presidents in October.

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Auburn Police on Monday put up a hilarious

post about a driver that had tried to fool them with a fake inspection sticker. And when I say fake, I mean really, really fake – a handwritten number 12 in what looks like sharpie with handwritten lines. Not that I’d advocate for forging documents, but come on man, at least put it on colored paper. Here it is, to the right, in all its glory.

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Sheriff Lew Evangelidis announced a $110,000 public safety

and security grant to expand the office’s substance abuse treatment program. The program, deployed in the Worcester House of Corrections, is intended to help inmates struggling with addiction and reduce recidivism rates. The 48 participants from 2016 fared well, and the office is reporting a 65-percent drop in the rate of contact with the criminal justice system among that small subset. The grant will fund two full-time counselors to provide cognitive behavioral therapy.

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Auburn joined the growing list of towns around Worcester to ban recreational pot shops Tuesday night, voting on Tuesday to prevent any such store from opening within its borders, passing up any additional sales tax or community host agreement money built into the new law. Dexter-Russell, one of the longest

running manufacturers in the area, will celebrate its 200th anniversary in June. The company, which manufactures cutlery and accessories, was founded in Southbridge in 1818.

Councilor Matt Wally called for another traffic study, re-upping one put together by the

city in 2011, but focused on the Worcester Regional Airport. As the airport continues to grow, Wally said traffic in that area can only get worse, and the city should start working now to mitigate it. The proposal was sent to the City Manager’s Office for further review.

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editorial

opinion

letter

The DA and the Alli Bibaud case Disappointed by American Airlines schedule

ho knew the arrest of a local judge’s daughter would snowball into the complex and sorry scandal it became? It has stripped many of their livelihoods and reputations, while exposing serious management flaws within the State Police and illustrating the close ties in state government that often lead the public to question just where allegiances truly lie – with the public’s interest of that of a privileged few. Months after Alli Bibaud’s arrest on drug and other charges and the altering of her arrest report, an investigation that saw two state troopers needlessly punished, top law enforcement officials resign in disgrace and a young woman in desperate need of help subjected to ridicule — to name some of the fallout of this whole affair — now moves on to the State Ethics Commission. There will be no criminal charges. That was the decision by Attorney General Maura Healey, whose office’s investigation was one of two - the other led by State Police. And it has not sat well with some who say the reports clearly show Worcester County District Attorney Joe Early Jr. called for changes to be made Bibaud’s arrest report. Namely, troopers were ordered to scrub embarrassing statements made by Bibaud, the daughter of Dudley District Court Judge Tim Bibaud. Early has said he did not ask anyone to change the arrest report. The AG’s investi-

gation, however, seems to put Early in the middle of it all. Now-retired State Police Col. Rich Mckeon said, after talking with Early about Alli Bibaud’s arrest, he felt he was doing the right thing in calling for the altering of her arrest report and the discipline of the troopers involved. McKeon’s statements suggest, if not directly asked, he was encouraged to do so. When he spoke with Worcester Magazine in the early stages of the Bibaud case, Early said police arrest reports are reviewed and potentially revised “all the time.” Arrest reports, he said, should include a statement of facts. Pointing out he is a minister of justice, not just an advocate, Early said it is imperative to ensure a defendant’s right to a fair trial. In the wake of the investigations, Early continues to insist he did not ask for Bibaud’s arrest report to be changed. Perception, it is often said, is reality. One reality may be that protecting someone from public ridicule, ensuring their right to a fair trial and removing a few words from a police report, knowing the person will still go through the judicial process, is harmless. For others, the reality is a favor was called in for someone of privilege, and as a result, other people’s lives were permanently changed.

Photographer Elizabeth Brooks x323 Contributing Writers Stephanie Campbell, Sarah Connell, Janice Harvey, Jim Keogh, Jessica Picard, Jim Perry, Corlyn Voorhees Editorial Intern Bridget Hannigan 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 Paul M. Provost Publisher Kathleen Real-Benoit x331 Editor Walter Bird Jr. x322 Culture Editor Joshua Lyford x325 Reporter Bill Shaner x324

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Director of Creative Services Don Cloutier x141 Creative Director Kimberly Vasseur x142 Creative Services Department Becky Gill, Stephanie Mallard, Wendy Watkins Ad Director Helen Linnehan x333 Media Consultants Diane Galipeau x335, Cheryl Robinson x336, Sarah Perez x334 Media Coordinator Madison Friend x332 Classified Media Consultant Rachel Cloutier x433

M AY 3 - 9, 2018

To the Editor:

less one is traveling solely to Philadelphia, or returning on a red eye from the West Coast, any round trip elsewhere requires overnighting in Philadelphia on the return. A better schedule would have been an early-morning flight from Worcester to Philadelphia, with a late-evening return, which would necessitate overnighting the aircraft and crew in Worcester. It would lend itself to seamless travel to and from all points domestic and international.

As a lifetime elite AAdvantage frequent flyer member and million miler with American Airlines, I was pleased to learn of their decision Pat George to resume service to Worcester. I am, however, Spencer disappointed with the schedule offered. Un-

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.

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education

A WISE opportunity for senior citizens WALTER BIRD JR.

oe Corn spent his professional life as an electrical engineer. A 1967 graduate of Penn State with a master’s degree, his career took him many places. In addition to working for companies such as RCA and Raytheon, from which he retired in 2010, he also taught for a spell at Springfield Technical Community College. At just about every turn, he was surrounded by smart colleagues, never lacking for intellectual stimulation. “I was a working engineer,” the 72-year-old Corn said. “I worked for really, really bright people. It was very intellectually stimulating and always challenging.” Not surprisingly, when he retired, Corn wanted to remain intellectually engaged.

WHAT: WISE 25th anniversary celebration WHEN: Thursday, May 3, 5 p.m.

WHERE: Tsotsis Academic Center, Assumption College, 500 Salisbury St., Worcester

engineering profession, but people with all kinds of diverse backgrounds.” Now celebrating its 25th year, WISE operates under Assumption’s office of continuing education. While there is no age restriction, An administrator, Marsha Addis, 75, spent WISE is geared toward seniors; the majority of 30 years in Oklahoma City, another 30 in California. She made her career in academic medi- members are semi- or fully-retired. Started in 1993 by a small group of retired cine. Like Corn, she found herself shoulder to social workers at a time when the lifelong shoulder with like-minded peers. “I was around intellectual stimulation all the learning concept was taking hold across the time,” Addis said. “I came to Worcester around country, with eight courses offered, WISE does not offer degrees. Credits are not awarded and 2005. There wasn’t much here I could find, there are no grades. much intellectual stimulation.” It is, as Corn puts it, “simply learning for the “Then,” she continued, “I found WISE, and fun of learning.” it’s been the most wonderful thing in my life.” Corn is the current president of WISE, Addis Corn also discovered the organization, more the first vice president. In June, Corn’s two-year formally known as the Worcester Institute of term comes to an end, when Addis will asSenior Education at Assumption College. He sume the role. has been with WISE about eight years. The most recent session for WISE — there “After I retired and started taking courses with WISE, it opened up a whole new avenue,” are four quarters to each year — featured 21 courses, the most ever for one sesson, he said. “I was meeting people not just in the

Joseph Corn, president of WISE, sits in on an Irish history course, taught by group leader Philomena Feighan, held in the Kennedy Building at Assumption College Campus. ELIZABETH BROOKS

according to Corn, almost triple when WISE started. There are facilities on the Assumption C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 13

Thank you to all who voted! Worcester State University is proud to be Worcester’s Best University for 2018. Schedule a summer campus tour: worcester.edu/Visit-Us M AY 3 - 9, 2018

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education With weather improving, Wyvernmobile hitting streets

t launched in January, but Mother Nature wasn’t exactly accommodating during winter. In recent days, the weather has started to become more agreeable. That means you will probably start seeing Quinsigamond Community College’s Wyvernmobile tooling around the streets of Worcester and the region. Wrapped in college garb, the Wyvernmobile, which is actually a decked-out 2015 Ford Transit Connect van, aims to change the college admissions process by bringing QCC directly into the communities it serves. “We were looking at a way to advertise a little bit more localized grassroots,” QCC Director of Admissions Mishawn Davis-Eyene said. “We were also looking for a vehicle we could take out to the community and make it a mobile admissions office, if you may. It became this idea of having the van and wrapping it with a logo and branding it.” The van, operated by QCC Admissions Recruitment Counselor Sabine Dupoux, will be

used year-round and has already visited high schools and community organizations. The plan is also to attend area festivals, such as the Asian Festival in June, the Latin American and Caribbean festivals later this year, as well as festivals in other towns. The van will also visit malls, high school sporting events and other locations. The van is equipped with materials and information on enrollment, admissions, financial aid and services available at QCC. It comes with a tent, tables and Wyvern chairs to allow prospective applicants to be served and even apply to the school right onsite. It is Davis-Eyene, said, a unique venture. “I’ve never heard of anyone using vehicles in this manner,” she said, adding when she worked at private colleges, they were sometimes used to visit high schools, but not as a mobile admissions office. “We need to understand our community can’t always get to our campus. That’s why we really bring the opportunity to apply to QCC or learn about QCC

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right to them.” Newly-installed QCC President Luis Predaja acknowledged the need to get into area communities. “We need to increase higher education access for all people,” he said, “particularly those who have historically been underserved. This van gives those within our community a way to learn about the educational Quinsigamond Community College’s opportunities available to them. We must make the effort to give Wyvernmobile brings the admission process higher education access to every- off campus and into area communities. PHOTO SUBMITTED one. This van is just one way to begin that process.” They like seeing we’re in the area and they ask The mobile effort focuses on areas “we know people have found it challeng- a lot of questions.” Area organizations, Davis-Eyene said, can ing to get to our location,” Davis-Eyene said, adding the van has been well-received where it help get the word out about the Wyvernmobile to their members and clients. has already been deployed, such as in Marl“We’re reaching out to community organizaboro. “They have received the van really well. tions and trying to arrange times to come so

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education they get people to come to the van to sign up for classes. That way it is meaningful interaction between us and our community. We actually really try to make sure they’re making their clients aware that we’re going to be there, so we can walk them through the application process and enrollment steps. “We’re making it much more personalized with the students. We’re really explaining to them what are the next steps they need to do. It’s not enough just to apply to college. You have to get enrolled, help them set up testing appointments as well as registering for classes, so they’re ready to go.” In addition to the Wyvernmobile, QCC is also piloting an initiative of community-based learning centers expected to start in the fall. Partnering with three different agencies, the college is creating centers in communities where student live to allow for places to study, access free Wi-Fi and use computers and printers. Like the van, it is part of an effort to bring the school into area cities and towns. “A community college cannot just be defined by the walls of our campus,” Pedraja said. “It must be present in our community.”

WISE

C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 11

campus for 12 courses, and other courses have been offered at places such as The Willows at Worcester Retirement Community, Southgate at Shrewsbury Retirement Community, Worcester Art Museum, Mass Audubon in Worcester, the JCC in Worcester and Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston. Members - there were 19 the first year, more than 400 now - pay $250 per person for fullyear dues, $150 for a half-year. The fee entitles members to take as many courses as they want. Almost all members, Corn said, have college degrees (about 90 percent). Roughly half have advanced degrees. They hail from Worcester and area towns such as Holden. Some members also serve as group leaders, or teachers. There are about a dozen members that teach and take classes. Corn has done both. Teachers, however, do not have to be members of WISE. There are about 60 or so teachers a year, according to Corn. Some are current professors at local colleges such as Assumption, Clark University and WPI. Others

are retired professors. “Our group leaders really enjoy teaching us,” Addis said. “Our students are not only really motivated … but they also come with lifetime experiences. Many of our teachers who also teach undergraduates find it’s so much more fun teaching WISE members, because there’s so much more give and take.” One group leader, she noted, teaches courses on law and the Supreme Court. Those classes, she said, are interactive. “There are many people that can relate their own experiences and knowledges to the discussion,” she said. “We find this in all courses.” Class topics include American Politics and Law, Art Appreciation, Audubon Studies, Business and Economics, Cinema, Comparative Religion, Current Events, History, Literature, Music Appreciation, Science and Technology. “We’ve reached the point now,” Addis said, “one of the reasons we’ve gone up to a larger number, a lot of our courses are ending up closed early on in the registration process. We needed to expand and have more available.” Some classes offered in the spring sessions included Thinking for Oneself, Films of the Fifties, The Guilty and the Innocent: Searching

for Justice, and Female Artists and their Music. And while members may learn a thing or two from their classes, that is not necessarily the primary intent. “Our courses aren’t courses that teach,” said Addis. “They’re courses that make you think.” In addition to taking classes, many members also participate in clubs associated with WISE, such as the baseball club Corn runs and the movie club his wife Bobbi leads. The social aspect, Corn said, is important. The organization also hosts brown bag lunch lectures and offers trips and other events. Members also have access to Assumption facilities. WISE is gearing up for its 25th anniversary celebration, to be held Thursday, May 3, 5 p.m., at the Tsotsis Family Academic Center at Assumption. Among those expected to attend are Senate President Harriette Chandler and Mayor Joe Petty, both of whom will present citations. Others, including U.S. Congressman Jim McGovern and Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tim Murray, have also been invited.

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feature

The Case For Middle School Sports: Can City Hoops Spark A Rebound? BILL SHANER

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

M AY 3 - 9, 2018

ELIZABETH BROOKS

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s our photographer Liz Brooks and I walked down the empty hallway toward the Forest Grove Middle School gymnasium to check out a pilot middle school basketball program, she made a passing observation that struck at the core of the problem. “When I was this age, I think I was on three teams,” she said. “Basketball was life.” Brooks, who went on to play four years in college, is not alone. A graduate of Shepherd Hill Regional High School, she had the opportunity many children have: to play any number of sports at the middle school level, not to mention the means to sign up for often-costly and largely parent-funded travel teams. A Worcester Magazine review of middle school sports programs found that every school district within a half-hour drive of Worcester – even smaller districts of lesser means, such as Webster and Southbridge – offers at least two seasons of sports at the middle school level – built into the school budget, and available to every student. School officials in those districts hail the programs as both a feeder system for the high school teams

and a valuable teaching tool for middle school students. But the districts around Worcester are not Worcester, the second largest public school district in the state, and do not face the same budgetary challenges. Gateway cities such as Worcester are hit disproportionately hard by the state’s education funding formula, so much so officials in Worcester, Brockton and other gateway cities are considering a class action lawsuit against the state. Despite talk of reform, early looks at fiscal 2019 education funding proposals suggest next year won’t be much different for Gateway cities. While middle school sports were at one time a reality in Worcester Public Schools, they’ve since gone the way of so many other programs as school officials faced with budget deficits had to parse meat from fat. Now, Worcester’s lack of middle school sports – and its relatively low participation rate in high school sports – is one of the myriad ways inequality in public education manifests itself. But a group of volunteers, school officials C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 16

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and city officials rallying under the name City Hoops are working to rebuild a basketball program at the middle and elementary school levels. The program is currently tiny, with only four teams at the middle school level, but demand could see it quickly grow – that is, if organizers can find a way to keep it running.

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he sound of basketballs thudding against the faded hardwood of the Forest Grove gym reverberated around the empty room as students and volunteers trickled in on a recent afternoon. A Forest Grove teacher made the rounds, pulling out the green collapsible bleachers so a small handful of parents and students had a place to sit. The City Hoops program was in its second week, and students donned light blue, orange, black and red t-shirts with the program’s logo. The girls were first to play. They had team

names obviously thought up by the students (“Young Female Ballers”), and the volunteer coaches also served as referee and time keeper as a high school student wearing his Rec Worcester t-shirt kept score on a whiteboard. As the girls played, the boys’ teams grew restless, dribbling and passing along the edge of the court, sneaking shots on the side hoops when the girls played on the opposite end. Eventually, the gym was divided at center court and the boys and girls teams played simultaneously on half courts. The teams aren’t divided by school, but rather quadrant of the city. At least for now, all the middle school games and practices are hosted at the Forest Grove gym. Middle school participants practice on Thursday and Friday, and play games on Monday. At the elementary school level, there are four sites; practices are held on Tuesdays and games on Thursdays. The season started last week, and it will run for five weeks, until late May. The fifth week serves as the postseason tournament, and one middle school team for both boys and girls will emerge the champion. Kim Hampton, the program coordinator,

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feature watched on as the boys and girls shared the divided court. She’s from Worcester, and said she grew up around basketball. “I know how basketball can shape a person’s life. That’s why I think this program is great,” said Hampton. “No one wants to deny kids an opportunity to develop their sportsmanship.” As she spoke, one of the volunteer coaches came up to her. A girl had jammed her fingers on a basketball and needed ice. Another teacher went to the cafeteria to fetch some, and Hampton noted that as the program grows, an athletic trainer might be a necessity. For now, though, the budding league has more pressing concerns, like real uniforms, water bottles and score boards – at least the manual kind, Hampton said. Though they’re still working out the kinks – it’s a pilot, after all – the primary goal, Hampton said, has already been achieved. “The student engagement is the piece that I love the most,” she said. “They actually want to be here, they love this.” As Hampton spoke, the boys’ coach called out – five seconds left in the half – and a player went for a buzzer-beating shot from half court. It sailed under the net toward the bleachers behind it, and the dozens of friends and family that came out in support ducked out of the way.

PILOT RUN

ity Hoops is a joint effort between Recreation Worcester, the Worcester Public Schools, a private donor and a corps of volunteers pulled from local colleges and the community. The schools provide site coordinators for each building, Rec Worcester orchestrates the program and the coaches manage the teams. John Moynihan, a Worcester businessman, donated the seed money, and At-Large City

Councilor Khrystian King has consistently advocated for the program on City Council floor. Plans to launch the program started last year with meetings between Moynihan, school and city officials. Moynihan said he was motivated to get involved because he’s watched the quality of Worcester Public Schools athletics decline over the years, and one of the main reasons was the lack of what he and others have called a “feeder system,” cultivating athletic talent at a younger age than high school. “We’re going to create a feeder system,” said Moynihan. “That’s the whole idea. It’s an institutional approach to making Worcester Public Schools more competitive.” Students who want to have a future in athletics, he said, are bound to look elsewhere, to either neighboring school districts or area private schools, because they don’t see when they’re younger that they have an athletic future in Worcester Public Schools. A middle school program, he said, shows students their school system is invested in their athletic future. “Here’s the dilemma I wanted to create: Do I, as a student, see a future for me if I play sports here, or am I better off going to the private schools? That’s the dilemma I wanted to create, to make it difficult,” he said. “Right now, it’s easy.” But outside of cultivating a stronger athletic program, others make the argument it benefits children’s development – especially those who don’t otherwise have the opportunity to play organized sports at that age. “All kids should have access to these types of opportunities,” King said. “Research has shown that kids who are struggling with life challenges, it help kids get off of medications. It helps them with attention. Also, with young girls, middle school is around the time when they stop participating in extracurriculars. It’s a valuable time to keep them hooked in.” A robust middle school sports program can

A Worcester Magazine survey of area school districts found Worcester is the only district not offering middle school sports. lead talented young athletes in the direction of opportunities in sports, King said, but more importantly, it gets kids into healthy habits and keeps them busy. That can lead to good opportunities outside school, but also toward healthy living, King said. “That’s important for public safety. We know that prevention, keeping these kids busy is important no matter where you come from no matter what socioeconomic background you have,” said King. “Idle time leads to stuff.”

At the April 24 City Council meeting, King made the connection between middle school sports and the activity we’ve come to call “swerving,” popular among young boys in Worcester, which involved aggressively riding a bike and weaving in and out of traffic. The issue has become such a dominant one that, last year, councilors pressed for greater enforcement from police. King argued at the meeting that keepC O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 18

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feature 60

Fitchburg & Worcester High School Participation percentage

S PO RT S

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

ing kids busy with structured exercise could reduce the problem before police get involved. In another order he filed last year, King got the unanimous support of the council in pushing for a middle school sports program. But the City Hoops program has a long way to go before it can give every middle school student the opportunity for structured sports. Currently, there are a little more than 100 kids enrolled in the program, but if it were offered to all middle schoolers, there could be hundreds, if not thousands, as Worcester is a school district of 26,000 students. The costs of scaling the program up, especially for transporting children to games, could be significant. And it comes at a time when school officials already feel they don’t have the money to fund a proper middle school sports program. But to the north of Worcester, another district with similar socioeconomic demographics, albeit a much smaller population, has launched a full, three-season middle school sports program and, after just a few years, is already seeing measured success.

THE FITCHBURG STORY

oughly six years ago, Fitchburg Public Schools launched an ambitious program to roll out a full middle school sports program after school officials saw participation in athletic programs dropping. Superintendent Andre Ravenelle said the

Fitchburg

Worcester

20 2005

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2008

high school struggled to even field a baseball team, and the high school band was down to only a dozen students. “I started to look at what are the things that create a vibrant extra curricular high school program, and a lot of it is feeder systems,” said Ravenelle.

2009

2010

2011

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“It was clear that, because we didn’t have a robust band program at the middle school, our high school band was suffering, and all of our high school sports teams were struggling to get enough talent and membership on the teams,” he said. Most towns have strong town sports at

2014

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the middle and high school levels, something Fitchburg had at one time, between travel and intramural teams. But, Ravenelle said, most of that has gone away. As demographics have shifted in Fitchburg, participation in those C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 20

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followed by white at 30 percent. In Fitchburg, when the middle school sports program launched in 2010, participation in high school sports was low. A Worcester Magazine review of Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association data found 2009 was among the lowest years for participation in high school sports on record in Fitchburg. In a high school of 1,398 students, there were 551 sign-ups for high school sports. MIAA participation data does not take account of two- or three-sport athletes. If every sign-up represented a one-sport athlete, the figure is 39 percent of the student body participating in sports. If every sign-up was from a threesport athlete, the figure would be 13-percent participation. Compared to the neighboring district of Wachusett, at which there is a smaller percentage of at-need and low-income students, the participation rate in 2009 was much higher, at 53 percent, if every student played one sport. In Worcester, the rate was lower than Fitchburg’s, at 37 percent. In neighboring Shrewsbury, a district with a much lower percentage of at-need and low-income students, the 2009 participation rate was 56 percent.

C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 18

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leagues has waned. Of the many bedfellows of poverty, he said, one is a lack of opportunities. Parents working multiple jobs do not have the time or resources to put into coaching teams that more well-off parents do. “It’s almost non-existent,” he said. “It became really clear that if we were going to provide a feeder system for sports and a feeder system for music, we were going to have to do it ourselves.” Though Fitchburg is a much smaller district – its high school population in 2017 was about a fifth of Worcester’s – the district’s socioeconomic demographics are similar. In the most recent state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education data available, 65 percent of Fitchburg students were classified as high needs, and 57 percent were classified as economically disadvantaged. Hispanic is the most dominant ethnicity, at 47 percent, followed by white, at 31. In Worcester, there are more high-needs students, at 78 percent, but about the same rate of economically-disadvantaged students, at 59 percent. The district is similarly hispanic-dominant, at 43 percent,

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feature “It’s a question of limited dollars,” said Foley. “There’s no question a sports program at middle for both boys and girls would be beneficial.” The absence, he said, hurts kids, both athletically and developmentally. “Middle school is a tough place anyway,” Foley said. “They’re only there for two years, it can be hard to develop camaraderie. Sports help build bonds across different classes. All of a sudden now you have friends beyond academic peer groups. That’s how schools become communities.” But, at the end of the day, the committee has not had a serious discussion about funding middle school sports in the budget.

A SPORTS FOUNDATION

hort of funding from the school budget, organizers are working on a way to keep the City Hoops program running for years to come, in the way of a nonprofit foundation.

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C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 22

Holy Cross students and volunteer coaches Luke Walsh, left, and Tim Noone.

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ELIZABETH BROOKS

But, of the four districts, Fitchburg is the only one to see a marked rise in participation to present day. In 2016-2017, the most recent data available, Fitchburg boasted a 46-percent participation rate, down from a high of 52 percent in 2014, but still drastically higher than the 39 percent in 2009. Worcester, on the other hand, has had relatively stagnant participation rates. In 20162017, the participation rate was 38 percent, only a point higher than the 2009 rate. Officials in Fitchburg credit this rise in participation to the middle school sports program. “I’m so convinced of this,” said Ravenelle, “that it’s one of the best decisions I ever made to bite the bullet and say we’re going to fund full middle school sports for all parents and kids. The return has been really great on the investment.” To launch the program, as well as middle school music and arts programs, Ravenelle said Fitchburg initially pulled $1 million from the school choice fund, and now contributes about $92,000 a year to keep the program running. In Worcester, school funding for a middle school sports program is something School Committee Vice Chairman Jack Foley said was “aspirational.”

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Moynihan, the original donor, said officials in the city and school are working to establish the foundation now, as he works to solicit one-time donations from area companies and philanthropists. “I want it institutionalized,” he said. “I don’t want this about me, you, or anyone else.” With $1 million in donations, Moynihan said the foundation could generate interest enough on the money every year to continue to fund and maintain the program. “I’m very adverse to constantly asking the same people for money,” said Moynihan, adding the foundation would keep the program running for years. “Let’s see if we can just do that, a one-time solicitation, see if we can get it funded, lock the money up and that’s it.”

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Kim Hampton, program coordinator, said she was “tickled pink” standing courtside as both the boys and girls teams played. ELIZABETH BROOKS

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Christine Croteau takes a step back to view her Buddhas Over Worcester installation, “Home,” suspended between two trees in the gardens of Boundless Way Zen Temple. ELIZABETH BROOKS

M AY 3 - 9, 2018

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culture Awakening to life: Buddhas Over Worcester knows no bounds WALTER BIRD JR.

f you’ve ever walked through the garden at the Boundless Way Temple/Worcester Zen Center, perhaps you’ve felt it, a feeling of peace and enlightenment – a feeling, in short, of being awake. “Buddha,” after all, means the enlightened or awakened one. The Boundless Way Temple at 1030 Pleasant St. is rooted in Zen Buddhism, and teaches and practices what it means to truly be awake. Buddhas Over Worcester, the temple’s annual sculpture exhibit, is a public effort to expose the community to that philosophy, and to afford artists and non-artists alike an opportunity to express what it means to be awake. The sixth annual exhibit kicks off Saturday, May 6, 2-5 p.m., with an opening ceremony at 3. Buddhas Over Worcester runs until July 6.

or sittings in other meditation communities. “I was really drawn to the way they sort of walk through life,” Croteau said. “It piqued my curiosity, and the types of things they would talk about. I started sitting more and more because of the people.” The Boundless Way Temple originated in Rynick and Blacker’s former home on Berwick Street where, in 1992, they started a meditation group with two friends. Their sittings expanded over time - first in a back room, then to the kitchen, then the living room. Eventually, they started looking for a new place. “We thought we would just rent an old ware-

house,” Rynick said, “but this lovely old building at 1030 Pleasant St. was on the market.” Formerly a Jewish elderly services center, the property featured a brick walkway and landscaping, but required some upkeep. “It is quite a thing of beauty now,” Rynick said. The temple hosts sittings six days week as well as residential trainings, special events and retreats. Rynick and his wife also travel the world to teach meditation. There is no set membership fee, but members are asked to make a contribution, which Rynick said can range from $10 to several hundred dollars a month. “Just like church, members make contributions to the ongoing support of the operation,” said Rynick, who is a life and leadership coach. His wife runs a contemplative counseling practice and worked many years at the UMass Medical School Center For Mindfulness. Perhaps now more than ever, Rynick said, a place such as the Boundless Way Temple is needed. “In this world where we’re all so crazy busy, just to sit down and be quiet for a little bit is a radical

act,” Rynick said, stressing the public is always welcome to join meditations or walk the garden. Another temple member, Ray Demers, will also be displaying his work in Buddhas Over Worcester. He has been practicing Zen about 11 years. Buddhas Over Worcester, and art in general, he said, can be therapeutic. “The process is really helpful. It’s really informative,” Demers said. “It’s usually around a particular theme, something you’re working on in your personal life. It helps resolve internal conflict. Sometimes, art can do that for people.” Beyond the exhibit, Demers said Buddhism represents “a deep longing to make sense out of life, to make sense out of the chaos of living in this world, which is so full of misery and suffering.” “‘Life is a mix of joy and sorrow,” he continued. “For many of us, we try so many things to be happy. We try material things, and eventually they leaves us disappointed. What is true happiness? Where can I find joy? This invites and offers a methodology, if you will, of attaining those things – awakening, enlightenment, whatever you want to call it.”

WHAT: Buddhas Over Worcester Opening Exhibit WHEN: Saturday, May 6, 2-5 p.m. WHERE: Boundless Way Temple, 1030 Pleasant St., Worcester “Partly, [the exhibit is] one way to invite people into the garden,” said David Rynick, an abbot and Zen Roshi who, with his wife Melissa Blacker, lives at and helps run the nonprofit Boundless Way Temple. “The sculptures are a way of bringing the community together.” The exhibit is free to attend, with exhibitors assessed a small fee to display their work. The public is welcome to walk through the garden to view the exhibit, which this year features close to 30 pieces. The temple garden is open to the public every day, dawn to dusk, throughout the year. Christine Croteau is one of about 140 members who collectively own the temple. Through donations and pledges, they help maintain the temple. She is also an artists and is displaying a piece called “Home” in the exhibit. “It’s made of found objects,” Croteau said. “I found rusted, old barrel rings. I have a tendency to pick rusty objects that are compelling to me. The ideas is these rings, these circles remind of the Zen circle enso. It’s what coming home is like to me, a grounded, centered place. The premise of the show is what it means to be awake. I feel I am the most human, the most alive when I am at home.” Croteau said she was drawn to Buddhism by friends who were either attending local sittings

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David Rynick, abbot and resident teacher at Boundless Way Zen Temple, sits next to his Stone Stupa, which took two weeks to create.

ELIZABETH BROOKS

M AY 3 - 9, 2018

culture Truth-Makers

connected to a thin metal tube. A graph depicting mountainous shapes that dissipate from left to right accompanies it, and records the imagined measurements received from the instrument. What could it document? Perhaps it measures the aftermath of injuries as outrage and activism following an event dissolve. Alternatively, you might believe it measures life expectancy based on air breathed into the metal tube. Either of these truths, Crane might say, is as true as her own description of the instrument’s function. With a bachelor’s in geography from UMass, a master’s in fine arts from Lesley University and time observing in the Physics laboratories of Clark University, it is no wonder Crane’s work blurs science and art. Crane describes herself as “post-media,” existing without an artistic period or movement. She crafts her instruments of measure from found objects and hardware, and works with acrylic paint and graphite on paper and Plexiglas to create the layered images of her diagrams. She begins each new work by examining images of scientific instruments and allowing the pieces of found material to come together without specific pre-planning. The results are striking: her instruments closely mimic real scientific devices. Her diagrams are inspired by 19th-century social scientist Benjamin Betts, who wrote a psychology textbook diagramming human consciousness and feelings. Like Crane’s works, Betts’s diagrams claim to present scientific and mathematic truths while representing emotions such as love, which cannot actually be measured. Rather than use science for art, Crane uses art as a parallel

TONI ARMSTRONG Editor’s Note: This student’s art criticism is published by Worcester Magazine in partnership with ArtsWorcester and Clark University. It is made possible by a grant from the Mellon Foundation to support partnerships between Clark University and Worcester organizations.

hotographs of instruments from the Harvard Museum of Historical Scientific Instruments adorn the walls of artist Carrie Crane’s Boylston studio. Across her workbench, a visitor might see boxes of found objects, metal pieces, acrylic paints, colored pencils, and vintage flashcards. These are the materials she uses to manufacture her sculptural “instruments of measure” and craft their corresponding diagrams. In her series “Becoming Truth,” currently on view at the Aurora Gallery at ArtsWorcester, 660 Main St., one such instrument has a large glass chamber situated on a flat base with a meter. Inside the chamber, metal rods poke out from the base, and the chamber is

Carrie Crane, “IOA Density Meter,” found materials including: glass, wood, wire, rubber, tubing, found meter, paper, plastic, 10 x 5 x 15 in., 2017.

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form of science. Crane’s artistic method also draws on that of artists past. The use of found objects and collaged images inspired by scientific methods grows from a tradition that started in the early 20th century. Artist Marcel Duchamp (18871968) created “Three Standard Stoppages” in 1913, using a meter-long string dropped from one meter high to create new standards of measurement. His work teases the scientific reverence of the meter. Another early-20th-century artist, Jean (Hans) Arp (1886-1966), created collages by dropping ripped pieces of paper and gluing them to the canvas where they had fallen. Arp claims the laws of physics and randomness for his art. Much like Duchamp’s recreation of the meter or Arp’s physics, Crane uses found objects to play with scientific truths. She appropriates perceived scientific fact in works that act like they could measure truth, but don’t. In this way, she places her authority as artist on the same level as scientist. Who is allowed to make truth? The power of truth, Crane might argue, lies in the hands of those with the authority to define it.

Much like a scientist, Crane has power: her interpretation and intention of a work overrides others. She hopes to disrupt some of this in “Becoming Truth” by prompting viewers to approach her works with their own desire to question truth. Rather than imposing her own authority, she expects her viewers to develop their own theories of her instruments. Further, Crane’s works are unburdened by the scientific method. They document truth differently than a scientific report, and her constructions might even be more believable because they do not claim to define scientific fact. Rather, Crane presents a visual vocabulary and leaves it to the viewer to make sense of it. The series is aesthetically pleasing to look at, and perhaps represents a more joyful kind of truth. No explanation is needed for her viewers to enjoy the investigation of looking. Each of Crane’s instruments is her challenge: What truth do you make of it? Toni Armstrong, from North Wales, Pa., is a junior at Clark University, Class of 2019, studying art history and ancient civilizations.

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An opening celebration for

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place Saturday, May 5, 5-8 p.m. The first 18 years of the 21st century have inspired six local artists in different ways; their collected work offers unique and captivating impressions of this century through paint, photography, digital manipulation and poetry. The collection includes work by mixed-media The photographs of Jonnie Coutu will appear in artist Joey Mars, photographer “18 IN THE 21st,” set to debut at The Sprinkler Jonnie Coutu, painter and Factory this week, including this shot from 9/11 printmaker Elizabeth Hughes, taken in New York City oil painter Dave Dineen, poet Steve Siddle and digital media artist Cale Griffith. “18 IN THE free mini-sketches of superheroes beginning at 21st” represents the growth of all six artists noon. Free face painting by expert face-painter throughout trying times, and accordingly marks Jessica-Lee VanWinkle will be available as well. voter eligibility for those born into the 21st cenAttendees are encouraged to cosplay in conjunctury. The opening reception will feature light fare tion with a costume contest winners could win a provided by The Boynton. $15, $25 or $50 store credit prize.

Sometimes the light’s all shinin’ on me

This year’s Best of Worcester winners did not include an award for the champion food truck, so WooTrucks is taking things into their own hands. WooTrucks will host Worcester’s first local food truck festival, the Food Truck Throwdown, in order to deem one food truck the “Best in Worcester” for 2018. A winner will be chosen by local celebrity judges and food writers. (Insert the woman-raising-hand emoji here.) The honor of my presence was not requested, but all hope is not lost; attendees can vote for their favorite trucks by purchasing ballots for just $1 a piece. A people’s choice award will be tallied at the end of the event. General attendance and parking are free at historic Green Hill Park in Worcester Saturday, May 5, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Be Free

Everything I know about comic culture I learned from my NPR hero Glen Weldon, and if there’s one thing Mr. Weldon has taught me, it’s to take advantage of Free Comic Book Day. Our very own Eisner-award-winning pop culture store, That’s Entertainment, will celebrate Free Comic Book Day Saturday, May 5 by giving out free comic books from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Giveaways include a broad range of comics, franging from kid-friendly to adult selections. Attendees can choose up to five free comic books on a first-come, first-served basis. Professional comic artists will be on hand drawing and giving away

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Over the last two decades, Wachusett Brewing Companies has grown into one of the largest breweries in the Northeast. On Tuesday, May 8, The Fix will host a chef ’s four-course dinner with select pairings from Wachusett Brewing to celebrate. The event will cost $65 per person, including tax and gratuity. Dishes include shrimp toast, spring gnudi, halibut, and rice pudding. If you missed out on the Fergal Project - Wachusett’s collaboration with the Guinness master brewer - this is your shot to get a rare taste.

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accounted for a change in eating habits. As a result, our perceptions of Japanese cuisine have shifted to include more carnivorous trends like teppanyaki, which evokes visions of monstrous steaks sizzling on hot steel grills. Kai conveys an American lens through which customers can experience Japanese food. Lamb Chops ($13.50) make for a nice appetizer, sauteed with garlic butter and red wine sauce over spinach. The filet mignon ($22.50) is of excellent quality, served medium-rare with a red wine shiitake mushroom sauce. One of the sushi rolls even boasts red meat - the bul goki ($11.95) made with Korean marinated tenderloin beef, sweet potato, cucumber and avocado. Sushi arrives on a large plastic boat, along with a vibrant purple flower, safe to eat. Rolls are large and complex, constructed in a vibrant fashion that proves particularly attractive for first-time sushi consumers. Take for example, the exotica ($11.95) consisting of spicy tuna and mango topped with shrimp, tempura crunch

ai Sushi Bar and Grill is explicit in its mission to set a comfortable tone for a customer base that is inexperienced when it comes to Japanese cuisine. The Worcester eatery deliberately aims to be approachable and set an inclusive tone. Kai is less serious than its sister restaurant Kaizen, which boasts long waits and loyal regulars in nearby Sturbridge. Their promotional materials actually say, “If you ever thought Japanese food was too exotic to try, this laid back setting is the perfect environment to give your taste buds a new experience.” Kai is unassuming - positively blushing with humility; they want to be your entry point. And, if you can get past the physical entrance sandwiched between Payless Shoesource and an establishment aptly named Liquor Store in Webster Square Plaza – you should hand over your taste buds. Kai is a worthy keeper. Kai Sushi Bar and Grill in Webster Square wants I suggest you sit at the you to get comfortable with Japanese cuisine. sushi bar, so you can fully appreciate the meticulous labor at hand. It could be awhile before anyone and a tangy chef ’s sauce. Who could resist a sexy takes your drink order. Do your best to pass the roll ($13.50) slathered in sauces and sprinkled time basking in the artform before you. Try not with bright red tobiko? Other rolls are named to admire yourself in the mirrored dining room for popular sports teams to entice orderers with wall; the true beauty is in the precision of your local loyalties. sushi chef ’s definitive fingers (and also in the Kai is a clean, quick and replenishing stop vases of real fresh flowers distributed throughfor Worcesterites hoping to dip their toes into out the restaurant). Japanese waters. Service is courteous, though When you do find an audience to order a drink, I have a personal vexation with staff members it will appear in what feels like mere milliseconds. using their cell phones in view of guests. The bar The Mai Tai’s ($6) are inexpensive and arrive in is a suitable place to watch a game (or the NFL tall tiki glassware with drippy red maraschinos. draft) though it can be difficult to find a seat, A 22-ounce Sapporo ($7) or a glass of Oyster Bay given Kai’s significant popularity. Sauvignon Blanc ($9) will provide a zippy compleOur last dinner for two came to $82.55. ment to your American-Japanese fare. A social taboo prevented the widespread Food HHH1/2 consumption of domestic livestock in Japan Service HHH until approximately 150 years ago. The subseDecor: HHH quent westernization of Japanese food culture

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inema 320 wraps up its spring schedule with an intense piece of storytelling about the emotional carnage a few choice words can wreak on a community’s soul. “The Insult” takes place in modern-day Beirut, where local Christians and Palestinian immigrants regard each other with suspicion verging on hostility. Tony Hanna (Adel Karam) is a local mechanic and ardent member of the Christian party, who seethes over the presence of the Palestinians, insisting they are ruinous to the cultural and social health of the city. Yasser Salemeh (Kamel El Basha) is a skilled construction foreman forced to work under the table because of his status as a Palestinian refugee. The men clash over an illegally-installed drainpipe in Tony’s home. Yasser curses at Tony, who demands an apology. None is forthcoming. When Tony lashes out with an insult of his own, Yasser socks him, breaking two of his ribs. Consumed by anger and inflamed by pride, Tony sues Yasser for damages. In the U.S., lawsuits are part of our national DNA, but apparently in Beirut, the notion of someone suing a refugee is unusual. The media pick up on the case and do what they do, reshaping the narrative from a spat between two men into a metaphor for wider tensions. Soon, a city synonymous with violent divisiveness is split into Camp Tony and Camp Yasser, and Lebanon’s civil war, which officially ended in 1990, seems on the cusp of reigniting. The trial at the center of “The Insult” stands as a fascinating study of Lebanon’s judicial process. In some ways, the courtroom activity is not much different from what we would see in an American trial. But the judges (there are three) tolerate people speaking from the gallery, and the attorneys are given remarkable leeway to pry into personal lives to establish motive. At one point, Tony’s lawyer, Wajdi Wehbe (Camille Salameh) is allowed, preposterously, to show a video about a massacre in Tony’s home village to illustrate that his client is suffering from a form of PTSD. Wajdi is the star of this legal circus - a pompous, arrogant sort who refers to himself in the third person because he likes how his name

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and stubbornness. Even when the two men begin perceiving the good in one another, we know not to expect the handshake, the hug, the admission of error. Acknowledgement of fault is an unthinkable indignity. So the personal becomes the political, becomes the national, becomes the global. Then, war. “The Insult” will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and 1 and 3:15 Sunday in the Jefferson Academic Center at Clark University. Jim Keogh contributing writer

Jose Llana and Elena Shaddow in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The King and I. Photo by Jeremy Daniel.

War of words

sounds. The guy would have been very comfortable on the O.J. team. When Tony wavers, Wajdi preys on his client’s deep-seeded animus, arguing “those people” need to be put in their place and equating the refugees with terrorists. Echoes of our own political discourse reverberate loudly and often. “The Insult” is an acute accounting of our collective, chaotic humanity. Old resentments never die; they fester in a stew of misunderstanding

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culture Saturday, May 5 Food Truck Throwdown

Friday, May 4 STEAM Fair!

Goddard Branch, Worcester Public Library, 14 Richards St., Worcester Help celebrate the “Arts” in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math). Visit STEAM stations featuring spin art, 3Doodler printing pens, geometric sticker art and spirographs. Then, create colorcoded mazes for the library’s Ozobot robots. For ages 7-up. Runs 3:30-4:30 p.m.

Green Hill Park, Worcester Worcester’s first food truck festival featuring all local trucks. Judges will vote for Best in Worcester food truck. The public can vote for their favorite food truck by purchasing ballots for $1 each. A second People’s Choice Award will be given based on attendee ballots. Runs 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Friday-Sunday, May 4-6 Pottery Invitational

Worcester Center for Crafts, 25 Sagamore Road, Worcester A nationally-recognized, multi-day exhibit juried by guest curators Holly Walker and Sarah Heimann. Free. Friday, 5:308:30; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Saturday, May 5 Saturday-Sunday, May 5-6 2018 New England Rowing Championships 21st Annual Two Nations Powwow Lake Quinsigamond, Worcester More than 1,200 competitors and 36 schools take part in a regional championship regatta for qualifying New England colleges. Features 14 events for men and women.

Auburn Sportsman’s Club, 50 Elm St., Auburn Experience native music and drumming, dancing, traditional regalia, a teepee village, food, arts and crafts vendors and more. The event is free. Parking is $5 per carload. Runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.

Saturdays, Through May 8 Film: Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors

Museum of Russian Icons, 203 Union St., Clinton A tale of love, hate, life and death in 19th-century Ukraine. Cost is $10 for members, $15 non-members.

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culture Sunday, May 6 Jane Week: The New Blackstone Valley Visitors Center: A Sneak Preview

Quinsigamond Elementary School, 14 Blackstone River Road, Worcester Part of Jane Week, enjoy a tour of the almost-completed visitor center. Learn about the walking and biking trails that lead through Middle River Park to Mass Audubon’s Broad Meadow Brook. Runs 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Sunday, May 6 Worcester Children’s Chorus presents “A Decade of Sound” 10th Anniversary Gala Concert & Reception

Mechanics Hall, 321 Main St., Worcester The concert features music of Antonio Vivaldi, Richard Rodney Bennett, Donald Patriquin, Jim Papoulis and local composer Amy Feldman Bernon. Starts at 3 p.m.

Saturdays & Sundays through Nov. 24 Maple Farm Sanctuary Tour: Meet Rescued Farm Animals Maple Farm Sanctuary, 101 North Ave., Mendon Meet rescued cows, goats, llamas, sheep, pigs, chickens and more. Cost is $12 for adults, $8 children 12-under, free for children 2-under.

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Sunday, May 6 Showcase Woodwind Trios (Court Hill Music Festival) First Unitarian Church, 90 Main St., Worcester The Coriollis Winds Chamber Ensemble returns to present unique combinations of clarinet, soprano sax and bassoon. Debussy and Mozart will be contrasted with Scott Joplin and Peter Schickele.

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sports p Worcester Railers laying down tracks for future WALTER BIRD JR.

hey were, not unlike an artist, working from a blank canvass – or, in this case, a sheet of ice. The Worcester Railers last year weren’t just starting a new season in the ECHL, they were readying for their first ever. They weren’t just

Worcester Railers alternate captain Chris Langkow, who would later wear the “C” on his jersey, speeds down the ice. FILE PHOTO/ELIZABETH BROOKS

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sports preparing for a new hockey season in Worcester, they were bringing hockey back to the DCU Center for the first time since the Worcester Sharks left town in 2015. The Railers would be the third professional hockey team to give it a go in Worcester (hello, Ice Cats). Was there still an appetite? Would the city welcome the Railers with open arms? Would hockey thrive once more in Worcester? The answers appear clear now. An opening night crowd of more than 12,000 on Oct. 14 for the Railers’ first win over the Manchester Monarchs showed fan interest was there and served as quite the welcome mat. The team fell far behind in the race to the playoffs, some 17 points out from the final spot around the midpoint of the season, but went on a late-season run, spurred by the at-times dizzying play of goalie Mitch Gillam and a never-say-die attitude in general among players such as Woody Hudson, Barry Almeida and Yanick Turcotte. There was, indeed, playoff hockey in Worcester, even if the Railers couldn’t quite muster enough magic to knock of the No. 1-seeded Adirondack Thunder. They did manage to take them to six games in a series that featured a Game 5 for the ages to force Game 6. All in all, not a bad first year, right? “It’s been fantastic,” Railers President Mike Myers said, while acknowledging the bitter pill swallowed in the playoffs and the need to improve in some areas moving forward. “You

couldn’t have asked for a better story, from the way opening night went, with 12,000-plus in the building, being able to win the opening game in dramatic fashion, to a young team filled with rookies never playing together sort of coming together midseason to become the hottest team in the ECHL down the stretch to just make the playoffs. All those things combined to make it a very special season.” General Manager and Head Coach Jamie Russell, who spent the months leading up to the first season working out the team’s affiliation with the NHL’s New York Islanders and their American Hockey League affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, as well as scouting players well up into Canada, also looked back fondly on the year. “From a hockey standpoint,” he said, “You go from … a big win against a team that went right to the Eastern Conference finals and had a number of players back, and we had a number of players that never played together. To go through some growing pains with a young team in the first half, have that great stretch run, find a way to get ourselves into the playoffs and have a hardfought series with Adirondack, it was a terrific experience from start to finish.” The Railers certainly endured some tests of their mettle. The cutting of the first player they signed, goalie Joe Fallon. Trading opening night captain Jim Rome in March. Blending veterans with about 13 rookies. Losing key players to

College Sports

Women’s Rowing

Baseball

Assumption May 4 @ Southern New Hampshire, 3 p.m., 6 p.m. Holy Cross May 5 vs. Lafayette, 1:05 p.m., 4:05 p.m. May 6 vs. Lehigh, 1:05 p.m., 4:05 p.m. Nichols May 4 vs. Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament May 5 vs. Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament May 6 vs. Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament

Men’s Lacrosse

Clark May 5 vs. NEWMAC Finals Nichols May 5 vs. Commonwealth Coast Conference

Women’s Lacrosse

Holy Cross May 4 vs. Semifinals May 6 vs. Championship Game Nichols May 5 vs. Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship

Men’s Rowing

WPI May 5 vs. New England Championship, 8 a.m.

Assumption May 5 vs. New England Rowing Championship @ Lake Quinsigamond Clark May 5 @ New England Championship @ Lake Quinsigamond WPI May 5 vs. New England Championships, 8 a.m.

Softball

Holy Cross May 3 vs. Bryant, 4:35 p.m. May 5 @ Lehigh, Bethlehem, Pa., 12 p.m., 2 p.m. May 6 @ Lehigh, Bethlehem, Pa., 12 p.m. Nichols May 4 vs. Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament May 5 vs. Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament WPI May 4 @ NEWMAC Tournament Day 2 May 5 @ NEWMAC Tournament Day 3 May 6 @ NEWMAC Tournament Day 4, 1 p.m.

Men’s Tennis

Clark May 6 vs. NEWMAC Finals Nichols May 5 vs. Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship

Women’s Tennis Clark May 5 vs. NEWMAC Semifinals

injury, such as Chris Langkow and Mike Cornell. The young team, put together without the benefit of an expansion draft (the ECHL doesn’t have one) or trades (they didn’t have a roster before last year), may have been justified in singing the old refrain “wait ’til next year.” Instead, they gelled and brought playoff hockey back to the Woo. “I think, like everything, there are some things you can look back and be proud of, and certainly some areas you feel can be improved upon,” said owner Cliff Rucker, adding he thinks he, Myers and Russell make a good team. “You can’t paint everything with a broad brush. As far as on the ice, we were a competitive organization.” The Railers enjoyed solid support from the business community and fans. With 128 corporate partners, the team ranked in the top three in the ECHL in corporate sales. They ranked first in the league in youth hockey tickets sold and sixth in group ticket sales and season tickets. Attendance-wise, the Railers finished near the middle of the pack - an average of 4,393 fans per game (13th of 27 teams), but were first in the North Division. They drew 158,132 through 36 regular season home games and 10,847 for three playoff games, an average of 3,616. The big draw was opening night, when 12,135 fans turned out for the biggest pro hockey opener in the city’s history. There were also nine crowds over 5,000. Rucker acknowledged fan attendance could be better, while noting it was tops in the division.

Men’s Track & Field

Assumption May 4 @ NE-10 Outdoor Conference Championships May 5 @ NE-10 Outdoor Conference Championships Holy Cross May 4 @ Patriot League Outdoor Championship, Easton, Pa., 9 a.m. May 5 @ Patriot League Outdoor Championship, Easton, Pa., 9:15 a.m. Nichols May 4 @ NCAA Division III New England Championship Worcester State May 3 vs. DIII New England Championships @ MIT May 4 vs. DIII New England Championships @ MIT May 5 vs. DIII New England Championships @ MIT WPI May 4 vs. New England Division III Championships Day 1 @ MIT May 5 vs. New England Division III Championships Day 2 @ MIT

Women’s Track & Field

“Worcester’s a good group market,” he said. “I think with a year under our belts, we’ll have a better chance of cracking the Top 10 next year. Anecdotally, I’m happy with everything except I don’t want to be in the middle of the road on attendance.” The team is already working on next season. Several players impressed this year, according to Myers and Russell, and now the team has the chance to protect some of them. It also has trading chips, should it decide to go that route. Exit interviews have been held and Myers, Rucker and Russell said they have also met to start planning for next season. Scoring and offense is a focus, Russell said, particularly from the back end, as is getting the puck out of their zone more quickly. Add in the desire for more fans, more wins and the Kelly Cup Rucker wants in Worcester within five years, and the team wants, well, more. “We need more,” said Myers. “We need to grow. Everything we’re going to do for the next two months is geared to making us better, putting out a better product. There are things we could have done a lot better. We’ve identified some of those. We will identify more as we get deeper into the offseason. “We turn the page. You can only really look back so far and for so long, and the difference between good and great is made in the next two months. We really want to improve on the product we built a foundation for.” Worcester State May 3 vs. DIII New England Championships @ MIT May 4 vs. DIII New England Championships @ MIT May 5 vs. DIII New England Championships @ MIT WPI May 4 vs. New England Division III Championships Day 1 @ MIT May 5 vs. New England Division III Championships Day 2 @ MIT

The Score

Massachusetts Pirates April 29 The Pirates improved to 3-1 on the season with a 72-24 romp on the road over the winless Lehigh Valley Steelhawks. (Upcoming: The Pirates return home Sunday, May 6 to take on the Columbus Lions at the DCU Center. Game starts at 4:25 p.m. )

Round-Up

Wide receiver Marshawn “Mardy” Gilyard, a former fourth-round draft pick of the NFL’s St. Louis Rams, scored four touchdowns for the Pirates - three receiving, one rushing. Pirates QB Sean Brackett returned from a tryout with the Canadian Football League’s Saskatchewan Roughriders to throw for 237 yards and six TDs. Team owner Ameer Ismail said another Pirate player, Orlandus Harris Sr. has caught on with the Roughriders in the CFL. WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Adoption option

Welcome to 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.

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last call Liz Hamilton Executive Director T the past 12 years, we’ve really grown our arts programming. We actually have a nationallyrenowned dance program. We’re going to San Diego next week. I’m really proud of them; they’ve worked so hard. We also have a strong education and job development program. The past two years, we’ve had 100 percent of our kids who graduated from high school get accepted into college and, you know, they’ve worked so hard, and many were the first in their family ever to go to college. So again, when we can address any type of Can you just tell me about your history disparity, whether it be a health with the city of Worcester and how you disparity or education disparended up here? I’m from Oklahoma, but ity where there’s that inequity, I did Jesuit Volunteer Corps after college. I went to Regis University in Denver. I did Jesuit and be able to address that, that’s huge. We have been able Volunteer Corps for one year in Montana, where I worked mostly with the Blackfeet Na- to offer a lot of different job tion, and it was a wonderful experience. Then, opportunities for our kids or job trainings, such as lifeguard I thought I’d do it another year, but I wanted to try a different area, and Worcester was one certification, where you can of the places I had never been to. I came with actually get paid more than the minimum wage, which is three other folks who were also doing Jesuit a big deal. They often will get Volunteer Corps and we lived near Pernet. ServSafe certified here, work at it was a smaller apartment, it was a triple our Kids Café where we provide decker; we had one floor and it was just an our kids a dinner every night, incredible experience. I worked at Rainbow Child Development Center. I was planning to Monday through Friday. We get a master’s in journalism, but I think doing also have driver’s education. We teamed up with a local Jesuit Volunteer Corps for over two years redriving school and they’re able ally changed my direction. I decided instead to go to driver’s ed for free. We to go to BU and get my master’s in social have about 100 kids who have work. I had two kids with my husband and then we came back to Holden and lived there completed that course. for a couple years. For the past 17 years we’ve lived in Worcester and we just love Worcester. How many kids are you servI wanted to live where I work. I think that’s re- ing? We have 1,800 members ally important, especially, with the work I do. and we serve 8,000 youth a year, meaning they might come in for a particular service, but not actually be a member. We have the What is the age range at the Boys and opportunity to touch a lot of different kids Girls Club? Five to 18. So, it’s been really from a variety of different backgrounds bewonderful because, for some of us, we have had the pleasure of knowing our kids for 12 or cause of that. We have traditional club activi13 years, and then they come back sometimes ties, such as the games room. When a kid first joins the club, it might feel a little overwhelmafter graduating from college and work here. ing. Everything’s safe. The kids have fun. They Can you tell me about your programming? get to know each other, get to know our staff and that’s when they want to venture out and When we were at Ionic Ave. it wasn’t as conmaybe take swim lessons, which we also offer ducive to providing diverse programming. I for free. would say, probably, we were more “gym and swim.” Since we’ve been in this building for he Boys and Girls Club operates with an “upside down” business model. Simply put, the more kids they serve, the more money they have to raise. Depending on the programs each child is involved in, the club spends between $400-$1,000 a year on each member, according to Executive Director Liz Hamilton. The membership fee remains only $25, with scholarships readily available. The club’s 129th annual meeting will take place at Hanover Insurance on Thursday, June 14 at 5:30 p.m.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

M AY 3 - 9, 2018

That’s great. Swimming is definitely a life skill. People of color are less likely to have had the opportunity for swim lessons, so I think we’re addressing that. They’re more, I think, three times more likely to drown because of not having that skill. It was probably several years ago when one of our club kids actually

about kids and residents. You know, we have a nice relationship with the Main South CDC, with Clark University, with the schools in this area. And then we also have a nice relationship with Holy Cross, which is on the other side. But again, they are very involved. We have about 80 Big Brothers Big Sister matches ELIZABETH BROOKS

saved two of his relatives who were drowning because he had had swim lessons. We also teach them how to float, or if they’re feeling they could drown or whatever, what they need to do. How do you feel like you fit into the fabric of Main South? We love this neighborhood. We’re also in Great Brook Valley and Plumley Village, so we really want to be in areas where we think kids will really best benefit. What I love about being in Main South is I feel like there’s so many good things happening here and it’s a real community that really cares

with Holy Cross. Clark University gives us probably the most college volunteers which really helps, especially in the education and gym areas. In October 2016 we had the track and field from Clark University that we get to utilize especially in the summer, Monday through Friday. So we’re able to do so much more and introduce so many more athletics, but also just running, walking club - things that would be considered untraditional urban sports. We have the women’s rugby team that comes in and works with our kids. – Sarah Connell

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