Winchendon Teen Soaring to Eagle Scout with WYBS Field Project

by Inanna Arthen
Winchendon teen Kaleb Brown is on the verge of achieving the highest rank in Scouting with the completion of a major community project at the Winchendon Youth Baseball & Softball League ball field next to the Winchendon American Legion Post 193 on School Street. With the assistance of volunteers and his mentor, Kevin Fuller, and over 126 collective hours of labor, the ball field has a new warm-up track running around the outfield, usable batting cages and a freshly painted storage shed to hold the batting machine and equipment.

Kaleb said he first joined the Scouts when he was six years old. "I had just moved to Massachusetts. The open house for school, there's a table set up with Kevin Fuller and Chad and they were recruiting new Cub Scouts. You know, 'you want to do this?' I had no idea what it was. And I was like, 'Yeah, sure.' And eleven years, almost twelve years later, I'm still in it."

The Boy Scouts of America ranks begin with Scout, and progress to Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star Scout, Life Scout and finally Eagle Scout. Each rank has specific requirements, which earn a specific merit badge. Badges are earned in the areas of Scoutcraft, physical fitness, citizenship, personal growth and Scout Spirit.

The second highest rank is Life Scout, which is awarded when a Scout serves actively in a troop, serves in a position of responsibility for six months and performs six hours of community service, as well as earning five merit badges on top of six required badges already earned, for a total of eleven. One of the required badges is First Aid. A Life Scout must also pass a Scoutmaster conference and a board of review.

Currently a Life Scout, Kaleb said that achieving Eagle Scout rank is "a long, hard process to come all the way up through. Not a lot of people can do it." Eagle Scout involves earning a total of twenty-one merit badges, an overall demonstration of Scout Spirit, service and leadership, and an extensive service project that the Scout plans, organizes, leads and manages.

"I just finished a project, now I have the paperwork left to do for my Eagle application," Kaleb explained. "And then I send all that into the Heart of New England Council, which is where my troop is based out of. If they approve it, then I move on to Eagle board review."

If approved, Kaleb's troop will hold an Eagle Court of Honor. The regular Court of Honor is held regularly for the whole troop, and is when Scouts receive their merit badges and changes in rank. "The Eagle Court of Honor, it's a big deal," Kaleb said. "The spotlight is taken off the troop and directly onto the Eagle Scout. So it's one of the bigger events in Scouting."

All of this must be completed before the Scout turns 18, at which time he or she can no longer serve as a Scout or a Youth Leader. Kaleb's 18th birthday is this November. He expects to become an assistant Scoutmaster after he turns 18. "It's a lot less involved than the youth leadership is," he said. "You kind of sit back and give guidance to the youth leaders that give guidance to the younger scouts."

Asked what kept him going through the years, Kaleb pointed to his mom, Melissa Brown. "She kept telling me, it's gonna be worth it in the end. And for about a year I was like, 'Yeah, I don't see anything coming out of this.' Then for an entire year I just checked out, like, 'I don't want to do this. I don't want to be here anymore.' Then the year after is when I was really like, 'Okay, I need to do this. This is going to look amazing for future jobs.' So she was definitely my number one supporter throughout the past eleven, almost twelve years." Kaleb also affirmed that he wouldn't have gotten this far without the unflagging support of his Scouting mentor, Kevin Fuller.

The School Street field was not Kaleb's original project. Initially, he had planned a project at Bentley field, next to the Old Murdock Senior Center. The project was to include resetting benches, cleaning out the dugouts and putting permanent roofing over the dugouts. Kaleb and Tony LaPointe, family friend and board member of Winchendon Youth Baseball & Softball, had made significant progress, removing one of the benches, cleaning the dugouts and preparing to dig postholes for the roofs. Then Kaleb went to summer Scout camp. While he was there, the building inspector told them that because of changes in the codes, the project plans had to be modified, and the price for the entire project would double. That was "way out of reach," Kaleb said.

So Kaleb and Tony looked at other possibilities, and Kaleb chose the field on School Street. "It was within reach. It was within the funds that I had. And it was still under the same beneficiaries. We weren't going to have to change a whole lot with my Eagle proposal."

Kaleb and Tony worked for five days, with volunteer help from other Scouts and their parents. "We never got a whole lot of help. But with what we had we did our best with it. And everybody was working as hard as they could and we just pushed through on the last day and did all of it," he said. Altogether, 126-1/2 person-hours went into creating the track, painting the shed and clearing the batting cages.

Powell Stone and Gravel donated 25 tons of stone dust for the surface of the warm-up track. Winchendon Youth Baseball & Softball had leftover paint from painting other buildings and the dugouts which they donated.

Kaleb ran a GoFundMe to raise funds for his project, which netted $690. Additional amounts were donated by Scouts, with $150 coming from the Cub Scouts as a pack. Kaleb had planned other fundraising drives such as a car wash and a bake sale, but he didn't need them. $250 will cover a permanent sign at the field for the troop, and saying "donated by Kaleb Brown for his Eagle project."

With donated lumber for the Bentley Field project that wasn't used, "I also plan on building two benches and putting plaques on both of those and then donating those benches to the League. As a 'congratulations, I did all this hard work for you'," Kaleb joked. All funds left over from the project will be donated directly to Winchendon Youth Baseball & Softball.

Kaleb said that earning the merit badges involved a lot of work and time. He put in many of the hours during the summer at Camp Wanocksett in Dublin, New Hampshire. The Hiking badge involved five-mile, 10-mile, 15-mile and 20-mile hikes along with a lot of paperwork documenting them.

The troop has gone camping all over Massachusetts, including Camp Collier and Split Rock. They are planning a trip to Pennsylvania next year, which each Scout will need to fund through fundraising or pay out of pocket. "We've gone to quite a bit of different Scout Camps," Kaleb said. "This coming year, we're going to try to do less Scout Camp, do camp outs in actual campground camps. Where we can do all kinds of activities instead of just having it oh, we're gonna sleep in a tent and build a fire event, right? Learn all this other new stuff. So instead of that, we're just gonna go for a day, have fun. Maybe go to like, we want to go to Six Flags. We're going to try to do a lot of fun stuff with the troop now getting a lot bigger than it has been in the past few years."

Kaleb said the troop has been growing steadily. He suggested at one meeting that they do more fun events that aren't strictly Scouting-related to help bring in more people. With more people, the troop can do a lot more things. One Scout troop fundraised enough to finance a trip to Hawaii.

Kaleb is currently a senior at Sizer School in Fitchburg, and plans to attend Salem State University to study criminal justice and environmental science.

The Winchendon Scouts BSA Troop 193 meets at the Winchendon American Legion Post 193 at 295 School Street. Their website is troop193winchendon.blogspot.com/ and you can find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/troop193winchendon/. Anyone interested in Scouting is welcome to contact them for more information.

Proposal to Close Front Street at School Street Evokes Lengthy Debates

by Inanna Arthen
A public hearing concerning changes in the traffic flow on Front Street was held as part of the Board of Selectmen's meeting on Monday, September 26. It evoked so much debate and public comment, the hearing ran for 30 minutes and was tabled until the BOS meeting on October 3.

The junction of Front, School and River Streets known as Tannery Hill, where Front Street splits from Rte 12 on the south side of Clyde the Rocking Horse and the Fidelity Bank, while traffic taking Rte 202 south turns onto River Street, has always been a high-accident location. The north-south grade coming up from Blair Square is steep. The grade downward after the turn onto River Street is also steep, because all the roads in question are built on the bank of the Millers River.

In mid-August, in response to concerns about the traffic flow and accidents, Town Manager Justin Sultzbach and Department of Public Works Director Brian Croteau temporarily placed barrels and signs to block Front Street's south exit onto Rte 12, and make Front Street one-way between Rte 12 and School Square, the cross street that runs behind the bank. This was done with very little fanfare and many town residents may still be completely unaware of the change.

Mr. Sultzbach opened the discussion on making the change permanent, saying that he wanted the Board to approve it, and they would adjust GPS systems, Google Maps, and so on, and notify the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), so vehicles coming through town would be aware of the one-way section.

Board Vice Chair Rick Ward asked exactly how many accidents happen at the intersection. Mr. Croteau rose to respond that "there's probably at least one accident there, I'd say every other week. At minimum."

Mr. Ward went on, "I don't believe this should be coming to the Selectmen to make a possible motion which includes leave the present conditions untouched. This is a decision that's made at the Town Manager's level. Police, Fire Chief, DPW. We don't know traffic flows, we don't know safety regulations, what the danger is...I'm for fully closing that section of Front Street."

Selectman Barbara Anderson stated, "I live there. I know these accidents. Nothing has stopped these accidents, we have had two since you closed it a month ago. And quite frankly, Mr. Ward it is the determination of the Board of Selectmen, and we should have had the public hearing first, heard from the public, heard from the people that lived there, and then you made the decision and do it. Instead we did it backwards, but we're doing it now." Ms. Anderson argued that the problem was the intersection of School Street and Rte 202 south, not Front Street.

Board Chair Audrey LaBrie, Ms. Anderson and Mr. Croteau discussed the problem with sightlines and visibility for people making left turns. Mr. Croteau proposed closing Front Street and making dedicated right and left turn lanes on School Street, instead of the island which is there now.

Cliff Blake, a resident of 6 School Square, rose to say that tractor trailer trucks frequently miss the southward turn onto Rte 202 and head up Rte 12. "Their GPS tells them to take School Square and come back around to get to 202. And certainly it's three or four tractor trailers every day that ended up in front of my house. I have to go out, one day I had to go move the rubbish buckets out of the way...One day I went out there was a tractor trailer. He was trying to maneuver to get back out to Route 12. And a gentleman came out of the bank and he went to the back of the truck and he signaled him, and walked out on Route 12 so he could stop traffic, so [the truck] could back [up] and make his way around."

Ms. LaBrie suggested closing School Square to large trucks so they wouldn't try to go around on a closed Front Street. Mr. Sultzbach said, "that's going to be a component of this. If it were shut down, down at the exit there, it would be improvements, before you make the turn onto School Square and Front Street to make it clear to people that you can't get out that way, but also improvements to School Square paving, widening or narrowing in some areas, formalizing the curve, more signage, some trees because I'd like to sprinkle trees around when we can. But that would all be part of this process. We're not looking to kind of do a bandaid on this. We'd like to actually do it right."

Resident Ed Ford rose to suggest that the town create a through pass from Front Street onto River Street over the point of land that juts out between the two roads, which is town-owned. Mr. Croteau said it was a good idea, but it would be expensive due to the steep slope and the amount of ledge. Ms. LaBrie said it could be difficult in snowy conditions.

Mike MacKenzie, a 23-year resident of Front Street, rose to argue that the proposed closing was not going to accomplish anything. "The accidents aren't from traffic coming from School Street to Front Street. They're from School Street to River Street. As Miss Anderson noted, the problem that we do have now currently as residents, is when you come down Front Street, and you get to the closed off portion. There are more traffic cones and signs in the street that you cannot see traffic coming up Front Street that has just crossed Route 12. And that's where the accidents are. There's been twice since these cones that I've almost been hit at that intersection because I can't see past those cones, because there's traffic parked on both sides of Front Street at that closed off section. When you come to those cones and you have to turn left, you can't see who's coming up that street."

Resident Tina Santos rose to argue that closing Front Street would increase traffic congestion on School Street at the intersection because southbound cars wanting to turn left could no longer do so from the mouth of Front Street as they do now. She also suggested some sort of traffic light. Ms. LaBrie observed that "School Street was never designed for the amount of traffic, mostly commuter traffic, that we see come through these intersections."

Selectman Danielle LaPointe asked what the cost would be for some kind of traffic lights at the intersection, possibly "sensor operated." Mr. Croteau said that the difficulty is the steepness of the grades and the problems that trucks have going up the hills under the best of conditions. If they had to stop at a light on the middle of a grade, they would have a hard time.

Ms. Anderson said that the town had MassDOT do a study years ago. "They put a rotary where those islands are, so that coming up Tannery Hill you just keep bearing, or you can get the rotary, and that really is the only solution, not blocking off roads, not making them one way. Put a rotary there. We have the plans, we have the study and that was the only thing that worked. We can't have lights because of the issue with trucks."

Mr. Sultzbach said, "It's hard with MassDOT because they do throw a rotary at everything for a solution, and sometimes it's not the most practical solution, and the elevation change there is kind of difficult. So I'm not sure about that."

Resident Jane LaPointe rose to say that a rotary would cause the same issues as a traffic light because of the steep hill and the trucks.

The Board was not able to come to enough consensus to make a motion on the proposal. Mr. Croteau said that "we're coming to the end of barrel season" and needed to do something more permanent (and snowplow-worthy). He also stated that the MassDOT plan would cost a mimimum of $3 million and the town couldn't afford it; Blair Square couldn't be done for under $1.5 million. Mr. Sultzbach said that of the email feedback he'd received from citizens, "four out of five" wanted Front Street closed.

The Board voted 4-1 to table the discussion until October 3, with Mr. Ward voting no.

At the Board's meeting on October 3, Mr. Sultzbach had provided the Board with supplemental materials from 2016 which included the MassDOT recommendations. A full closure of the end of Front Street (creating a dead end, with no access to or from School Street) was supported by the Police Chief, Fire Chief and then-DPW Director Al Gallant. Mr. Sultzbach said he had received one additional citizen comment, which supported closing Front Street.

Ms. Anderson said, "I don't think you're thinking this through." She argued that simply closing the street as shown in the simple diagram Mr. Sultzbach displayed would leave no room for vehicles to turn around if they went down the road by mistake. Drivers would end up turning around in residents' driveways or driving over the grass. Mr. Sultzbach explained that they would structure the end of the road to allow people to turn around, although large trucks would have to back out. "This little green rectangle blob [on the diagram] oversimplifies it, but we're gonna put something in that's a little more stylized," he said. "I think ultimately it'll look pretty nice."

Ms. Anderson asserted that Front Street wasn't the problem, it was people turning from Rte 12 onto Rte 202. Drivers didn't use their directionals to indicate they were making a turn. "Cutting off Front Street really isn't going to solve that problem, and you know, what we're trying to do is avoid the majority of those accidents, and I don't really see this as as impacting the accident rate at all," she said.

Mr. Croteau explained that based on input from citizens, the DPW will be narrowing the lanes on School Street so that drivers must stay in a single lane and not "double up" with southbound drivers making the right turn onto Rte 202 squeezing over into a second line next to drivers going straight ahead. Curbing and line markings will be placed to keep traffic in one line and one lane, whether drivers are going ahead or turning right.

Ms. Anderson predicted that making the traffic one lane will increase the southbound traffic backing up on School Street even more than it is now. "It's backed up well well past my house and you are now slowing it down even more and there's going to be people who are really angry," she said.

Mr. Sultzbach said, "It's backing up because you're slowing people down. They're not trying to jockey past each other, which is causing accidents. And it may incentivize people to seek alternate routes."

"I think more time needs to be spent looking at that exact situation and trying to figure out really what is before we spend money and say, 'Well, that didn't do anything,'" Ms. Anderson said. "When traffic backs up, that's when you get people acting stupid and trying to cut around people that they shouldn't be. I just don't see this as solving a problem."

Mr. Ward suggested that they could try the closing for six months and see if the accident rate at the intersection decreased. Mr. Croteau said that he was concerned about prolonging the visibility issues caused by the temporary markers, and if they got this work done before winter, those would be eliminated. It would also be much easier for snowplowing.

Front Street resident Tiffany Newton rose to say that she didn't think closing Front Street would change the accident rate. She did agree that narrowing the lane as Mr. Croteau described, to stop "the people racing down Route 12 to cut off everyone who may be waiting their turn to come off Front Street," would be effective. She raised the issue of it becoming more difficult to turn out of School Square onto School Street with the traffic backing up more.

With no other citizen comments, Mr. Ward made a motion "to recommend that the Town Manager authorize the DPW to close Front Street in both directions, as well as provide designated turning lanes onto River Street from School Street as recommended by MassDOT, Winchendon Police and Winchendon Fire."

Before the motion was seconded, Ms. LaPointe asked if they could add a note that solutions for the impact of traffic on School Square would be considered. Mr. Sultzbach said they could possibly paint a grid and put up signage telling drivers not to block the intersection.

The Board approved the motion 4-1, with Ms. Anderson voting a resounding "no."

Winchendon Police Chief Walsh Retires After 33 Years of Service

by Inanna Arthen
Winchendon Chief of Police David Walsh has retired, as of October 1, after 33 years of dedicated service to the town of Winchendon.

On September 29, Chief Walsh was honored with a retirement celebration at the police station. Board of Selectmen Chair Audrey LaBrie and Town Manager Justin Sultzbach gave the Chief framed copies of his notice to appear for an interview and offer of employment, circa 1989. State Representatives Jon Zlotnik and Susannah Whipps presented a citation, and Executive Director of Central Mass Chiefs of Police Association, Chief Larry Barrett (Ret.) gave Chief Walsh a commemorative mantel clock.

At the Board of Selectmen's meeting on Monday, October 3, The Board gave Chief Walsh a proclamation of appreciation and wished him a happy retirement.

Asked to say a few words, Chief Walsh promised to be brief. "As I reflect over the last thirty-three years, I just want to thank the town and the various Boards of Selectmen for the opportunity to serve the community," he began. "I've met wonderful people, and I I think the Police Department is in a better place now than when it was when I started. I think that's pretty much a shared opinion. Again, I don't want to keep you tonight. I think it feels right. It's the right time. And I think I'm very comfortable with Dan taking over, Kevin as far as the leadership but between the two of them, they will do very well moving forward. And, again, thank you all for the opportunity, and thank you for the people and the citizens and the community of Winchendon for the opportunity to serve you over these thirty-three plus years. Thank you."

The Selectmen who were present and Chief Walsh then stood together for a photograph, and Chief Walsh was presented with his Proclamation.

Board Vice Chair Rick Ward added, "We also welcome Chief Wolski on board."

Selectman Danielle LaPointe spoke up, saying, "if I may, I would actually also like to call out the Chief's wife, Diana, and thank her and recognize the incredible sacrifices that she and her children and her other family members have made over the past thirty-three years. As much as Chief Walsh did, you did a lot as well. So thank you."

With Chief Walsh's retirement, Daniel Wolski has assumed the position of Winchendon Police Department Chief of Police.

PROCLAMATION

Whereas: Chief Walsh has faithfully served the people of Winchendon as a member of the Winchendon Police Department for the past 33 years serving its various ranks; And

Whereas: Chief Walsh has served to the great benefit of the town as the chief of police for seven years; and

Whereas: Chief Walsh displayed considerable leadership in the development and implementation of the relocation of the Winchendon police department to its current location at 80 Central Street and

Whereas: Chief Walsh worked diligently to deliver professional, courteous and unbiased police services to all citizens and visitors of the town and for that reason,

Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Board of Selectmen hereby present this proclamation to Chief David P. Walsh, with our sincere appreciation for his many years of service to the Town of Winchendon Police Department and wish him a happy retirement full of continued good health and prosperity.

Signed, members of the Board of Selectmen Chair Audrey Labrie, Rick Ward, Vice Chair, Barbara Anderson, Selectman, Danielle LaPointe, Selectman, Amy Salter, Selectman.

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