Winchendon Lights Up the Night!
Seen at this home on Laurel Street, both the left and right sides of this homeowner's yard, just as with Halloween, now at Christmas time provide everything from bright lights to super tall inflatable figures of all kinds attracting many onlookers from both in Winchendon and towns beyond.
Photos by Keith Kent
Located at the intersection of Central and North Central Streets, this magnificent home holiday light display complete with falling icicle lights and far more, helps light up the night sky along with the Broadview Assisted Living Center and another home across the street, taking part in the largest holiday trifecta for miles around the area.
Photo by Keith Kent
Highly visible at the corner of Lakeshore Drive and Maple Street, this home more than does its part helping beautify the night in Winchendon, decorating the house, tree, and yard with over 20 different attractions and figures of all kinds along the busy stretch of road.
Photo by Keith Kent
BOH Votes to Recommend Vaccinations for All Who Are Healthy Enough to Do So
At their meeting on Monday, December 6, the Winchendon Board of Health discussed and voted on a motion that the Board recommended vaccinations if healthy enough to do so.
Board of Health Chair Keith Kent presented his report on the current COVID numbers in Winchendon and the surrounding communities (see recent previous editions of the Courier for details). He concluded by proposing the motion, which was made by BOH member Ed Bond and seconded by BOH member Garrett Wante.
BOH member Lionel Cloutier asked Health Agent Jim Abare for his views. Mr. Abare said, "The primary reason for this vaccinations are to prevent serious illness and death. From the numbers in the hospitals, the majority of the people who are hospitalized with serious COVID symptoms have been unvaccinated. From the numbers I reported at the Selectmen's meeting a while back, COVID-19 was either a contributing factor or the primary cause of the death of 20 Winchendon residents. And I don't want to see any more of our friends and neighbors go through that or even be seriously in the hospital for weeks on end. If anybody has any concerns about the vaccine, again, I urge them, please have an honest and frank discussion with your primary care physician. Ask any questions, there's no stupid questions, don't be embarrassed. If it's something that you're really concerned about, for your body, your health, and your family, talk to your doctor. They have your health and best interests in mind. I can't stress that enough. We've had people in town, in the hospital, fighting for their lives, and this vaccine will give them extra ammunition to fight that virus. If they have underlying symptoms, some conditions, even if they are vaccinated, they get into the hospital, this vaccine will help them fight that virus and give them a better chance of recovering. So I would recommend this, and I have recommended it to my friends and family."
Mr. Wante described being exposed to COVID-19 after being vaccinated, testing positive and having no symptoms of any kind due to the vaccine. BOH member Lionel Cloutier said, "I can recommend the vaccine, I've had the vaccinations. I've had a friend that was very close to death. And he was vaccinated and the doctors said that was the only thing that saved him. So he's fighting back, he's coming back very slowly. But I hope, and I recommend to everyone, if you're healthy enough, and you have concerns, talk to your doctor like Jim said. But you've got to do something to fight it, or you'll be like the percentage that are under the ground now."
BOH member Tina Santos stressed the need for vaccinated persons to continue to wear masks and take precautions, citing several people close to her who, like Mr. Wante, were vaccinated and tested positive without having any symptoms. She explained why her personal health history led to her doctor recommending against her getting vaccinated.
Mr. Kent pointed out that all but five of the Massachusetts towns on the New Hampshire border have rising COVID positivity rates. He also read into the record a statement from resident Greg Vine who could not be present but had sent a very strong argument in favor of vaccination in writing.
Resident Karen Kast rose to ask how the BOH would "get the word out" to residents about the recommendation. Mr. Kent explained that the Town Manager's office was planning to put out a Code Red notice and call about the situation and the BOH's recommendation. Ms. Kast asked if there was a procedure to translate the notice for residents who speak another language than English. Mr. Kent suggested that the BOH could work through the school districts to convey the message to families with another primary language. Ms. Kast said that it would also be good to reach out to area churches to help pass the information on.
The Board of Health approved the motion to recommend vaccinations unanimously, 5-0.
Town Hall Celebrates the Holiday Spirit with Employee Contest
It's that time of the year again, when it gets colder outside and people turn up the heat to stay warm, holiday decorations go up, and the stores see gift shoppers in swarms. The sun goes down early, and people need to keep their spirits bright, so take a look around inside your local Town Hall, and you will see a festive holiday door contest delight!
Town Manager Justin Sultzbach wanted to provided Town Hall employees with something to cheer about and put a smile on their faces, all the while making sure to help keep up employee morale during the holiday season when many can tend to feel burned out due to so much going on in their lives. Prepping for the holidays with family, gift shopping and wrapping, making sure all tasks are completed at work for the good of town operations, and oh yes, all the while like the rest of the public, dealing with this continuing event known as a global pandemic.
So Sultzbach said he had an idea, "Let's create a Town Hall holiday department door decorating contest for employees with a prize to help keep up morale and give our employees a reason to smile at such a busy time of the year and a reason to be happy to come to work!" And with that, Sultzbach's idea of both the department door decorating contest and a prize for the top 1st Place finisher came to be, in the words of the Town Manager himself, "First place gets one personal day off with pay." With similar contests taking place in other municipal town halls, it wasn't just competitive, but a sure fire hit with smiles in every office, and the contest was on!
Celebrating the contest with the true good spirit of the season, department members while planning their own entries frequently helped their fellow Town Hall competitors. Ideas shared here, items borrowed there, and a helping hand when needed, all in fun and friendship among fellow staff. No less than twelve departments got in on the action. The Assessors Office door, Planning and Development "Two doors," Building Department/Board of Health, Assistant Accountant door, Clerk Office, Accountant door, Treasurer door, Town Manager's Office door, Town Manager Executive Assistant door, DPW Office door, and a back hallway door were all entries.
The ideas quickly took shape, jumping into high gear shortly after the Thanksgiving break, and what once were the same old hallways quickly came to life. Performing a spoof, one entrant even entered an "Ugly Door" into the contest. With ideas many and all entries complete, it was time for judging to see who would win the all important and coveted prize, one personal day off with pay. On Wednesday, December 8, town hall employees made their rounds judging door to door, all with a chance to score the competition on a scale of 1 to 10. The smiles were many and the comments cheerful with laughter all around. From office door to office door the judging and scoring would finally be tallied. Only one would win the coveted office holiday door crown.
In the end every employee came out a winner for their participation in many ways, and one person was declared the 1st Place finisher. To her surprise and delight it was none other than Town Treasurer Lynn Nystrom, with her classic entry of Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge appeared on the office door with a large poster face in the window, with physical arms extended holding a collection plate of gold coins. In true Scrooge fashion, he frowned on those passing through as though no amount of money was ever enough. Second Place finish went to Tamarah Casavant for her highly festive gift box designed door, each one opening to reveal candy and chocolate inside, and Third Place went to Nicole Roberts, where a very large traditional snowman setting, complete with a photo of her cat and fellow office assistant, "Squeaks".
After winning the contest, Nystrom said, "I couldn't have done this without somebody, so a big kudos to Tracy Murphy, as she was able to provide me with the large picture of Ebenezer Scrooge in the door window, so I would like to give her a special thanks as I couldn't have done it without her. I would also like to thank both Zoe DuPont and Kelly Wood in my office for all their help, such as gluing the coins together and other things."
In the end, the scoring was tallied by Town Manager Justin Sultzbach who said he made sure he didn't get a single vote in the contest. Sultzbach said, "A large part of management is oversight of operations but one thing that should never be overlooked is the importance of employee morale. From a team building standpoint I think this is a great opportunity for our employees to get involved by showing community pride and to decorate Town Hall in an effort to come together during the holiday season." Sultzbach provided a copy of the list of names and offices voted upon in the contest of which he tallied the final scores. The sheet was signed, "Clark Griswold."
First Place Winner! Seen in this photo, a very humble Lynn Nystrom, Town Treasurer of the Treasurer's Office, poses with her 1st place winning door entry depicting the infamous 1843 Charles Dickens' character Ebenezer Scrooge, from the novella, A Christmas Carol. Scrooge, who can be seen holding out his dreaded collection plate on the town hall first floor, is always looking for more money
Photo by Keith Kent
Second Place Finish! Celebrating a strong 2nd place finish at the entry door to the Town Manager's Office, Tamarah Casavant cheerfully poses with her entry full of no less than 28 different gift boxes and several different Christmas theme sayings.The boxes were not only set up to be openable by Casavant, but each with candy inside for those happily passing by to their delight!
Photo by Keith Kent
Third Place! Rounding out the top 3 of 11 town entries, Land Use Coordinator Nicole Roberts of the Planning and Development Department, proudly poses for a picture with her entry of a very large snowman. Included is well known department member "Squeaks" seen near the bottom of the door posing with both Roberts and her Snowman. Rumor has it Roberts cleaned out all the cotton ball supplies of every store in town!
Photo by Keith Kent
Winchendon Realizes Fourth Consecutive Week Tracking High COVID-19 Viral Positivity
As of the latest Massachusetts Department of Public Health viral positivity tracking report, the Town of Winchendon has registered at 8.98 percent as of Thursday, December 9, 2021. This means over the last four consecutive weeks, Winchendon as a town has averaged 9.5 percent viral positivity, tracking back to November 18 at 9.77, November 25 at 10.26, December 2 at 8.95, and as of the newest report update, December 9, at 8.98.
Regionally, Royalston registers at 9.15 percent and its school district partner town of Athol is 9.59 percent. Orange to the west of Athol increased again to 11.72 percent. Closer to home, the City of Gardner to our South yields 9.19 percent, while also to the south of Winchendon, Templeton and Phillipston in the Narragansett Regional School District realize 7.01 and 9.46 percent positivity respectively. Also to the south of Winchendon and just two towns away, Hubbardston tests at 8.70 percent. To Winchendon's east, Ashburnham-Westminster Regional School District members Ashburnham and Westminster currently log in at 7.79 and 11.55 percent, significant increases in the district, for a two town average of 9.67 percent.
Just two towns to Winchendon's east, Ashby, which is partnered with Townsend in the North Middlesex Regional School District, has exploded from almost 16 percent last week to 22.93 percent this week on 266 tests. Townsend realizes 9.86 percent on 659 molecular tests, for a two town school district average of 16.4 percent positivity. Additionally, in the Twin Cities, Fitchburg is now up to 9.83 percent, and Leominster to 7.30 percent.
If you consider the local ten town radius within a two town distance by municipal borders, Winchendon's ten town area of Winchendon, Ashburnham, Westminster, Gardner, Templeton, Phillipston, Athol, Royalston, Ashby, and Hubbardston, currently realizes a regional positivity rate of 10.4 percent across our area. This number does not even include the Town of Orange at 11.72 percent, which in part borders Royalston which then borders Winchendon.
At its Monday, December 6 meeting, due to both a continually high viral infection percentages and a low average full vaccination rate, the Town of Winchendon Board of Health voted unanimously by a vote of 5-0 in favor to officially recommend, "Getting vaccinated if healthy enough to do so." This decision was achieved on factually science based information and data. Our town's continuing high infection rate places others at risk due to continued low vaccination rates as a municipality. On Wednesday, December 8, a telephone "Code Red" call was sent out to the residents of Winchendon also advising the town of its high positivity rates and the BOH recommendation which can be viewed online at www.townofwinchendon.com/home/news/covid-19-code-red-announcement.
As of the December 9 Mass DPH update, 5,581 of Winchendon's 10,765 residents are fully vaccinated for 52 percent of our population, up 1 percent from the week prior. This is followed by the "partially vaccinated" residents who as of the latest report equal 6,334 for 59% of our town population, all documented online 3,026 of the Worcester County municipal vaccination reports. Additionally documented by the DPH based on both Hospital and Insurance claims data, of the 4,947,761 of Massachusetts' 6.9 million residents who are fully vaccinated, those who become infected are at an ultra low breakthrough rate of less than 2 percent of all persons vaccinated. While vaccinations were never created to 100 percent stop infection, they are over 99 percent effective keeping you out of the hospital if you still go on to become infected as a break-through case.
In closing, the Town of Winchendon Board of Health recommends and asks you if you are not yet vaccinated to please, "Become vaccinated if healthy enough to do so." Always remember for any health care decisions, please consult your medical doctor for any questions you may have about what is right for both you and your family, and do not listen to the nearly countless false claims on social media which is full of unsubstantiated rumors and falsehoods that continue to endanger public health.
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.
