Local Boys and Girl Scouts Assist American Legion Post 193 with Removal of Flags

Members of Winchendon Boy Scouts Troop 193 of Winchendon and local Girl Scouts of America members pose for a group photo with just some of the 1,200-plus U.S. Flags removed from Veterans' and Service Members' graves at Calvary Cemetery on Saturday, November 13.
Photo by Keith Kent

Two young members of the Schulz family and local Girl Scouts assist with removing flags from graves before winter snow arrives.
Photo by Keith Kent

by Keith Kent, Winchendon Courier Correspondent
Members of the local Winchendon troops of the Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, and Girl Scouts provided strong work and vital assistance to the Winchendon American Legion Post 193 with the removal of over 1,200 United States Flags from the graves of Veterans and U.S. Service Members at Calvary Catholic Cemetery and Riverside Cemetery on Glenallen Street on Saturday, November 13, providing an organizational service project where some of our youngest proved they were willing to jump in and make a big difference.

With dedicated parents and their children arriving at 10:00 a.m., volunteers began quickly covering lots of ground. Many young legs and positive thinking turned many acres of land into a simple two hour task that was done by lunchtime at 12:00 p.m. When it all was done, American Legion Post 193 member and Post Commander Mark Desmarais said, "These kids are incredible. We couldn't do it without them. Every year they remove between 1,200 and 1,400 United States American Flags from these graves, and they always do such a great job for us."

Kayla Maine, a Cub Scout leader and parent, said, "Last weekend, members of BSA Troop and Pack 193 laid down the mulch and did all the leaf blowing at the American Legion, and then on next Thursday, November 18, we are hosting toy donation collection for both the WCAC and the Fire Department Toy Drives, and next spring we will even be working with the Mount Grace Land Trust as they will be laying in a bunch of new trails in the Benjamin Street area and others, so we will be working with them to clear some paths and mark trails." Maine also said, "Cabin Camping will soon be coming up in the first weekend of December at a new campground Troop members will be attending where they will also be doing a big Thanksgiving dinner."

Maine said, "Both the Boys and Girls who are members of BSA Troop 193 meet every Wednesday evening at the local American Legion at 6:30 p.m., and the members of Cub Scout Pack 193 meet every Thursday night at the American Legion. We have 11 members in the girl troop, about 25 in the boy troop, and 56 members in Cub Scout Pack 193 which is Co-Ed for both boys and girls. Additionally there are some roughly 30 Leaders. Troop members are ages 11-18, and the Cub Scouts is for grades K-5."

Asked about the merging of boy and girls in Troop and Pack 193, Maine said, "Our kids need to be outside more than ever after the past year we have had. Our organization we have our core principles about community, and making ourselves better leaders, better thinkers. When I have girls come to me I always tell their parents to have them look at Girl Scouts, have them do a den meeting with girls and then come back to the Cub Scouts and do a meeting with us and then make your determination which unit is a better fit because it's like comparing baseball to basketball. We are very different organizations and we both have core values and what we like to do, and it's just a matter of who both the parents and children have a better fit with."

In closing Maine said, "These kids are amazing, they come out all the time and work their butts off giving up their weekends and doing lots of labor work, and it's going to make them stronger and better in the future, and we for sure need that!"

Kelci Schulz of the local Girl Scouts of America and a parent leader was attending with her daughters who were also volunteering with the flag removal. About the Girl Scouts, Schulz said, "The community service and amount of support from our community along with the support the girls give the community has been amazing especially given the times we have faced during COVID. The GSA gives the girls something safe to still take part in. In the past we have donated stockings full of toys and gifts cards to our schools in the past years, and other events such as visitations to nursing homes for the elderly."

Schulz said that between the Daisies, Brownies, and Juniors of the GSA, there currently are 32 members in Winchendon. The Daisies are Troop 64743 and the Brownies and Juniors are Troop 64744. Schulz also explained, "We are part of the larger service unit, which is Winchendon, Westminster, and Ashburnham known as WWAGS service unit 195. So as a service unit, we do our activities collectively in the three towns."

After the removal of flags was completed, Desmarais was asked about how he and his fellow Post 193 Legion members felt about the work the young boys and girls provided. Desmarais replied, "These kids are awesome. Hopefully many we see here today are not only our future, but future generation of our veterans. These children you see here today are learning great qualities like leadership and things like that. They are here every year to help and we couldn't do it without them. My thanks also go out to the parents and Scout leaders and they things they do. I would also like to thank the Scouts and the parents for the work they just did at the American Legion with all the mulch, leaf blowing, and improvements they made. Again, they are a great help."

Both boys and girls who are members of Troop and Pack 193 assist with removal of flags from around the cemetery.
Photos by Keith Kent

Veterans Honored at Winchendon Winds Season Finale

The Color Guard from Winchendon American Legion Post 193 opens Winchendon Winds' final 2021 concert: "Veterans Tribute."
Photo by Joe Sackett

by Jill Nicholson Sackett
Winchendon Winds, our town's very own concert band, concluded a four-concert fall series this past Sunday at the Unitarian Universalist Church at 126 Central Street. Now in its seventh year of operation, "Win Winds" is a 40-piece, professional level band featuring the full gamut of band instrumentation including brass, woodwinds, and percussion. The band's reputation for exemplary performances and ability to play a broad range of music have drawn a loyal following to its Sunday afternoon concerts.

Sunday's final concert, titled "Veterans' Tribute," appropriately fell just four days after our nationally observed Veterans Day. Win Winds coordinated with Winchendon American Legion Post 193 to execute a moving and inspirational event. The concert was officially opened with the Post 193 Color Guard and a special arrangement of the Star Spangled Banner. Win Winds performed a variety of patriotic tunes and marches, including the solemn "Salvation is Created" and favorites "National Emblem" and "Stars and Stripes Forever."

Perhaps the most moving portion of the program featured a veterans' "Roll Call." Rev. Inanna Arthen provided an introductory blessing, advising "there are those around us in whose memories the echoes of battle are never entirely silenced. May we always be aware that not every scar is visible, and not every burden can be seen. We gather today to honor all those who fought for the good of us all, and have been forever changed by the struggle. May we, and they, find the peace for which they fought." Post Commander Mark Desmarais then read the names and military branches of every veteran present. Veterans stood when called, and received a standing ovation and applause from the appreciative audience.

Twelve men and women were honored, including 95-year old Charles Juniper, WW II Navy veteran who had fought in Okinawa and Saipan, and who traveled from Keene, NH to attend the Tribute. All five branches of the military were represented as follows:

Beech Street Properties Transfer of Ownership Progressing

by Keith Kent, Winchendon Courier Correspondent
As part of a continuing project to remove significant blight and increase added value to Winchendon's downtown business district for the purpose of attracting future business in its downtown showcase, Town Manager Justin Sultzbach says town attorneys are currently in talks. The process of legal transfer of ownership of the properties at 3 Beech Street and 11 Beech Street to the town is now well underway.

Articles 14 and 15 of the November 8 Fall Special Town Meeting addressed two properties. Article 14 asked voters to approve the town's acceptance of the transfer of deeds In Lieu of Foreclosure for the adjacent properties located at 3 Beech Street and 11 Beech Street. The article passed with 87 percent in favor, 13 percent opposed. Next and directly related, Article 15 asked voters to approve the transfer of both properties to the Winchendon Redevelopment Authority, which would take responsibility for handling the rehabilitation of the properties at no cost to taxpayers. Costs will be covered by the future sale of 11 Beech Street for full market value. The article after an amendment (adding the words, "Winchendon Redevelopment Authority") passed with 97 percent in favor, 3 percent opposed.

Sultzbach explained, "Over the next couple of months, we are and will be continuing to work the the current operator of the garage at 3 Beech Street to get as many of these automotive related materials off the property prior to us taking ownership as we can before the town takes over total ownership of the property. Every item we get off there is a dollar saved before we take ownership. That's the upfront piece. The behind the scenes piece is our legal counsel working with the current owners' legal counsel to draft up the papers for the final transfer of ownership of the property now which is underway. I anticipate the actual transfer and taking of ownership at the latest after the holidays early in the start of the new year. As soon as we got the green light at Town Meeting, the very next morning this was one of the very first phone calls I made to our attorneys to get this immediately underway."

At this time, the business owner and garage occupant who has been operating at the garage has been squatting and has not paid rent to the existing owner, Bonnie Therrien of Waterboro, Maine, in quite some time. This individual has started removing automotive items, but it is unknown whether he will remove multiple hazardous items or materials. Sultzbach has been in regular contact with the operator and said, "For every item we get removed, is another dollar saved. The operator is aware he will have to vacate the property, so we are working with him to get him to take as much as we can. Ultimately, after he has vacated the premises, we will work with BETA Group Inc., who performed the Limited Subsurface Investigation (LSI) to hire a company to remove any and all hazardous waste items or materials."

At this time per an October 12 report to the town financed with funds released by the Finance Committee, BETA Group has projected the following expenses to be realized on the site of the former garage at 3 Beech Street. Abatement of Hazardous Building Materials such as Asbestos, Lead-based paint, PCB's, Mercury, and Monitoring and reporting, $13,500. Removal of Automotive related waste for items such as Drums, Tires, and the many miscellaneous garage items, $30,000. Regarding soil contamination where the project costs increase dramatically due to meeting necessary regulations and much more, Additional Investigation is listed at $12,000; Removal of lifts, $30,000; Soil Excavation and Off-site Disposal, $18,000; Risk Assessment, $8,000; Capping, $0.00; Deed Restriction, $5,000; and lastly MassDEP Reporting, $12,000; for a projected project total cost of $128,500.

Also part of the project while separate as an entity is the duplex located adjacent to the former garage at 11 Beech Street. BETA Group lists projected costs as Asbestos removal, $35,000; Lead based paint removal, $2,000; PCB's, $1,000; Mercury, $1,500; and Monitoring and reporting, $12,000 for a total of $51,500.

Regarding 11 Beech Street, Sultzbach said, "Once the town has legally taken over the property, we are going to immediately turn it over to the Winchendon Redevelopment Authority, and it will be leading the charge of the total rehabilitation of that two-family building. We are going to try to keep the cost of rehabilitating the structure low, and we already have a call out to the Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School to see if there are any aspects where they can work on the building as to fitting well into their curriculum and be of value to the students of that school to help us save costs, and are also looking into other additional options. A conversation I have had with the Redevelopment Authority is we want to do this at a low cost, but we don't want to do it cheap."

Expanding on the importance of the project, Sultzbach added, "The whole purpose of this exercise is to make entering the downtown gateway look nice, so we want that two-family to look nice. Once the garage is torn down and removed for a public park, the duplex will be even more visible so we don't want to do it cheap, it has to look nice. Once the duplex is completed, it will be sold at market rate, there will be no options, it will be sold at market rate which will pay for the costs of the what it took to rehab the two family, and then the total project cleanup costs.

"We are working as a town to also try to get CDBG funds as in a few years we want to also begin work on Beech Street as we have with other streets around it. This project is sort of non-traditional in a lot of ways, but I think if you look at a lot of the problems we have in town, they require many creative solutions," Sultzbach emphasized.

Regarding what the future park will look like Sultzbach said, "At the end of the day this is supposed to be a future community park, so we want some community input. We don't want to make decisions in a vacuum, we want the public to have input and give us some feedback so they can tell us what they want to see in their town, that is the important piece. If anybody also has any interest in this project, it would be good for them to attend Winchendon Redevelopment Authority meetings and provide some input."

In closing Sultzbach explained, "Realistically I think the project could take up to two years with materials, contractors, and many other factors. But I think the most important take-away is that the residents of Winchendon spoke in terms of what they wanted to see and the town listened. We are going out and we are not stopping here as this is one of many creative projects we are trying to bring forward into 2022. There is a huge backlog of projects, and this is just one piece of huge positive steps in the right direction."

This dilapidated former garage located at 3 Beech Street, once a full razing and hazmat side cleanup is performed, will be the future site of a Winchendon riverfront park greatly improving the view of those entering the downtown business district along Route 12 and Spring Street.
Photo by Keith Kent

The duplex located at 11 Beech Street and adjacent to the former garage to be removed, will be completely rehabilitated by the Winchendon Redevelopment Authority, and then sold at market value to cover the entire project costs of both 3 and 11 Beech Street.
Photo by Keith Kent

Winchendon Spikes to Highest COVID-19 Viral Testing Rate in Worcester County

The Town of Winchendon, after seeing positive testing rates in the upper 3 percentile range several weeks ago, has skyrocketed in just the last three weeks to 9.77 percent, the highest positive testing average in all of Worcester County from the New Hampshire to the Connecticut borders. At this time, the Massachusetts statewide testing average is 2.26 percent.

Winchendon as a town has risen from 4.86 percent on November 4, to 6.68 percent on November 11, to a very high 9.77 percent testing average as of the latest Massachusetts Department of Public Health report released at 5:00 p.m., Thursday, November 18, based on 1,116 molecular tests. This number represents the percentage of positive tests, per the pool of those who were tested. This means that going by those tests, nearly 1 in 10 Winchendon residents are now viral positive, whether they know it or not, as some have no symptoms at all and may not be aware they are infected. At this time the number of known cases in Winchendon which are being monitored is up to 103 cases and climbing, the highest number being monitored since before the end of 2020. Winchendon as a town is still tracking at 49 percent vaccinated, and has one of the Commonwealth's lowest vaccination percentages for a municipality.

A call to Winchdon Fire Department Chief Thomas Smith confirmed that ambulance call runs have increased over the last two weeks to seven call runs per day, not including the amount of increased wellness checks being performed. Additionally, the number of COVID positive students in our public school system has been significantly on the rise.

Bordering the Town of Winchendon just to the south, the City of Gardner has now risen in one week from 5.80 to 8.36 percent based on 2,430 tests, with a population of 19,800 people. To Winchendon's southwest, the Town of Athol, the largest town in northern Worcester County at 11,500 residents, has increased in one week from 5.58 to 6.98 positivity based on 1,404 tests. Royalston which shares the school district with Athol, bordering Winchendon on the west, in three weeks has risen from 0.00 percent, to 3.10, to 5.59 percent as of the latest DPH report.

To Winchendon's east, the member towns of the Ashburnham-Westminster Regional School District, while having seen increases, are faring slightly better on average the last few weeks, with Ashburnham registering up from 2.53 to 4.24 positivity, while Westminster which for a longer period realized percentiles in the 7 and 8 range, has seemed to flatten out at this time, registering last week on November 11 at 4.75 percent, to 4.85 percent in the most recent update of November 18.

To our south and southeast, municipal members of the Narragansett Regional School District realized a small but welcome drop in the Town of Templeton with viral testing rates dropping from 4.08 to 3.98 percent, but realizing an increase in Phillipston--which several weeks ago was in the high 12 percentile range--increasing from 3.60 to 5.97 per the latest report.

The City of Boston with its high vaccination average continues to be very low, registering up just slightly from 0.76 to 0.96 percent positivity based on nearly 210,000 tests. The City of Worcester at 209,000 residents based on 56,000 tests, while increasing is still very low per population with its testing pool increasing from 0.85 to 1.24 percent, and Springfield, the Commonwealth's third largest city, increased from 2.91 to 3.79 percent.

As Chair of the Board of Health, and not speaking for the Board of Health, I am asking if you are not vaccinated, and are healthy enough to get vaccinated, to please strongly consider doing so. Winchendon is still under 50 percent vaccinated as a town at this time. Please do not listen to the nearly countless false claims of information by people who solicit them on all forms of social media. Listen to your own personal physician or primary health care provider if you have any questions.

At this time 4.8 million of Massachusetts' 6.9 million residents are vaccinated. Of that number, breakthrough cases, that is, a person who is vaccinated who becomes COVID positive, are still far below 1 percent of the total vaccinated population, last listed at under 0.01 percent. Science along with Mass DPH documentation proves these as facts. Your Board of Health is working diligently to get its public and residents documented facts and data. Please go by the science and the facts, and not what a friend may have heard on social media who either deliberately or unknowingly spreads falsehoods.

Keith Kent
Chair
Board of Health
Town of Winchendon

To schedule a free COVID-19 vaccination at any time, go to www.mass.gov/covid-19-vaccine.

HEAL Winchendon Doodle Poll to Set Meeting Time to Discuss Winchendon Makerspace

Calling Winchendon makers and small business entrepreneurs! We will be holding a gathering next week to move forward with creating a Makerspace in Winchendon- a place where local entrepreneurs could have an affordable space to create/sell/teach about your products. What equipment/materials should it have in it? What should the space look like? Where should it be? These are all questions we want to ask YOU! Let us know when works for you at this link: Doodle Poll.

This exciting project has been growing through feedback we've gotten from local makers about a need for a local and affordable space to create and sell your products! We are working to find grant funding to help get this off the ground but we need your vision for what the space should have and where it should be in town.

Currently, we have a small grant through Growing Places for local Food Makers to make products using the commercial kitchen at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church on certain days/times (thank you!). The grant also provides assistance with ServSafe® Certification and Liability insurance fees as well as training/mentorship in business planning, labeling, etc. If you are interested in participating in this current grant as a food maker let us know! For more resources about building a small business visit: healwinchendon.org/makerspace/

HEAL Winchendon is a collaboration of Winchendon residents, youth, and institutions including the Town of Winchendon, Winchendon Public Schools, Winchendon Community Action Committee, The Winchendon School, Growing Places, Heywood Hospital, Community Health Network for North Central Mass, and Three Pyramids INC.

Click Here for Community Directory

Winchendon Businesses, Organizations, Services, and Government