Veterans Day Ceremonies
Winchendon American Legion Post #193
295 School Street
Friday, November 11, 11:00 a.m.
Refreshments will be served after the ceremonies.
Winchendon Voters Resist State Trends as Toy Town Stays Red
The 2022 midterm elections on Tuesday, November 8 swept Maura Healey into office as the first woman to be elected Governor in Massachusetts, the first openly gay person to be elected Governor, and a Democratic Governor in a state where the legislature is usually Democratic but the Governors are overwhelmingly Republican.
According to the unofficial results posted by the Town Clerk's office on the Winchendon town website (https://www.townofwinchendon.com/sites/g/files/vyhlif8401/f/news/state_election_11.8.2022_unofficial_results.pdf (PDF)), Winchendon voters chose Republican candidates in almost every contest on the ballot, creating a little red island in a sea of blue on the state election results maps. The only race in which a Democratic candidate had an opponent, and won in Toy Town, was Treasurer. Winchendonians preferred Democrat Deborah Goldberg over challenger Christina Crawford. Statewide, all of the Republican candidates Winchendon preferred lost except for incumbent Lewis Evangelidis for Worcester County Sheriff.
Many of the Republican candidates received significantly more--in some cases twice as many--Winchendon votes than the number of registered Republicans on the town rolls, indicating that "unenrolled" voters, the largest block in Winchendon by far, favored the positions of these candidates over their opponents.
Statewide, local State Representatives Jon Zlotnik and Susannah Whipps, who serve Winchendon, and new State Senator for Winchendon Jo Comerford, were all re-elected to their seats, with Rep. Zlotnik being re-elected for a sixth term. Sen. Comerford ran unopposed.
On the ballot questions, Winchendonians agreed with the rest of the state on regulating dental insurance (yes) and increasing the number of allowed liquor retail licenses (no). Winchendon disagreed with statewide voters in rejecting the 4 percent additional income tax on income over $1 million, and voting not to allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses.
3,433 ballots were recorded cast by the Town Clerk's office as of the unofficial results, a town-wide voter turnout of 46.8 percent. This is smaller than the approximately 53 percent turnout for the 2018 midterm elections. Unseasonably lovely weather, with mild temperatures and bright sunshine, certainly invited residents to get out to the polls.
The polls at Old Murdock Senior Center were peaceful at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, with fewer campaign signs posted along Murdock Avenue than have been seen in past elections. While all the voting booths were occupied, turnover was rapid and there was not a long wait to vote.
The unofficial Winchendon results as of Thursday, November 10, are below. The candidates are listed in order of their Winchendon numbers, with the first candidate being the preferred choice for Toy Town voters. The statewide winner is in bold text.
| Governor and Lieutenant Governor | |
| Geoff Diehl and Leah V. Allen (R) | 1824 |
| Maura Healey and Kimberly Driscoll (D) | 1509 |
| Kevin Reed (Lib) | 81 |
| write-ins | 4 |
| blanks | 15 |
| Attorney General | |
| James R. McMahon, III (R) | 1921 |
| Andrea Joy Campbell (D) | 1457 |
| write-ins | 4 |
| blanks | 51 |
| Secretary of State | |
| Rayla Campbell (R) | 1660 |
| William Francis Galvin (D) | 1651 |
| Juan Sanchez (G-R) | 88 |
| write-ins | 2 |
| blanks | 32 |
| Treasurer | |
| Deborah B. Goldberg (D) | 1776 |
| Christina Crawford (R) | 1197 |
| write-ins | 48 |
| blanks | 412 |
| Auditor | |
| Anthony Amore (R) | 1815 |
| Diana DiZoglio (D) | 1252 |
| Dominic Giannone, III (Wrkrs) | 91 |
| Gloria A. Caballero-Roca (G-R) | 87 |
| Daniel Werner Riek (Lib) | 78 |
| write-ins | 2 |
| blanks | 0 |
| Representative in Congress (3rd District) | |
| Dean A. Tran (R) | 1859 |
| Lori Loureiro Trahan (D) | 1497 |
| write-ins | 3 |
| blanks | 74 |
| Councillor (8th District) | |
| John M. Comerford (R) | 1892 |
| Tara J. Jacobs (D) | 1398 |
| write-ins | 4 |
| blanks | 139 |
| Senator in General Court (Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester District) | |
| Jo Comerford (D) | 2129 |
| write-ins | 167 |
| blanks | 1146 |
| Representative in General Court (2nd Franklin District) Winchendon Precinct 1 | |
| Jeffrey L. Raymond (R) | 493 |
| Susannah M. Whipps (I) | 441 |
| Kevin Patrick McKeown (unenroll) | 25 |
| write-ins | 2 |
| blanks | 36 |
| Representative in General Court (2nd Worcester District) Winchendon Precincts 2 and 3 | |
| Bruce K. Chester (R) | 1239 |
| Jonathan D. Zlotnik (D) | 1123 |
| write-ins | 2 |
| blanks | 72 |
| District Attorney (Middle District) | |
| Joseph D. Early, Jr. (D) | 2190 |
| write-ins | unknown |
| blanks | unknown |
| Sheriff (Worcester County) | |
| Lewis G. Evangelidis (R) | 2180 |
| David M. Fontaine (D) | 1138 |
| write-ins | 2 |
| blanks | 113 |
Question 1: Additional 4% income tax on taxable income over $1 million.
NO: 1941
Yes: 1440
blanks: 52
Question 2: Regulation of dental insurance rates, requiring companies to spend at least 83% of premiums on dental expenses and improvements instead of administration.
YES: 2070
No: 1311
blanks: 52
Question 3: Increase maximum number of liquor retail licenses (for off-premises consumption) from 9 to 18 over a 9 year period.
NO: 2143
Yes: 1211
blanks: 79
Question 4: Allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses.
NO: 2124
Yes: 1247
blanks: 62
Question 5 (Precinct 1 only): Non-binding resolution in favor of single-payer health care.
YES: 498
No: 413
blank: 86
Question 6 (Precinct 1 only): Require each legislator's vote to be publicly available on Legislature's website.
YES: 660
No: 248
blank: 89
BOH Chair Keith Kent Scores Over 2,700 COVID Test Kits from State for WPSD
Keith Kent with some of the iHealth Lab rapid antigen COVID-19 test kits delivered to the Winchendon schools on November 7
Photo courtesy Keith Kent
On Monday, November 7, 30 cases of COVID-19 antigen home testing kits were delivered to the Central Office of the Winchendon Public Schools from Massachusetts Health and Human Services, at no charge to the town of Winchendon, thanks to the efforts of Board of Health Chair Keith Kent. The 30 cases plus one partial case included just over 2,700 kits with two tests per kit. The Courier spoke with Mr. Kent about how the test kits, with a retail value of more than $50,000, were acquired.
Winchendon is at the bottom of the state's community vaccination rate, among the lowest 10 out of 312 municipalities, Mr. Kent began. "In speaking with [Winchendon] Health Agent James Abare as Chair of the Board of Health, we realized that the Winchendon public school system, as with all school systems in the state, no longer had support from DESE [Department of Elementary and Secondary Education] in terms of the testing component, with home antigen testing kits being provided through what formerly was the DESE Testing state program. That component was no longer provided to any public schools in the Commonwealth as they were revising the DESE protocol." DESE has created the regulations and guidelines for Massachusetts Public Schools throughout the COVID pandemic.
Mr. Kent spoke with Dr. Ryan Forsythe, Chair of the Winchendon School Committee, offering to help the schools make up for the reduced support from DESE for obtaining testing supplies. Mr. Kent expressed concerns about the history of holiday season spikes in COVID infections due to increased numbers of indoor gatherings and colder weather, even in communities with higher vaccination rates than Winchendon.
Mr. Abare referred Mr. Kent to his contact at the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, Jeremiah Hay, Deputy Chief of Staff. Mr. Kent reached out to Mr. Hay, who asked numerous questions about the town, its median income and population and other data. Mr. Kent said, "I expressed to Mr. Hay that we were the only town last academic year in the Commonwealth that actually had to shut down our school system with the caveat of having to go back with special DESE dispensation in December and get special DESE dispensation to go back to a period of remote learning. Returning back to in-person learning at the end of the holiday break beginning in January 2022. Mr. Hay immediately went, 'that was your town?' It rang a bell, and I went 'unfortunately Mr. Hay it was.' And at that point, the director of HHS, Mr. Hay said, 'You need say no more. Yes, you need this. Fill out this questionnaire that your health director had to get filled out,' that our health director hadn't received, 'please fill out this questionnaire.'"
Mr. Hay asked Mr. Kent how many tests he had planned to apply for. Mr. Kent said he'd planned to apply for 20 cases of iHealth Lab home antigen COVID-19 tests, which were previously expired but had been given an extension on their expiration date by the FDA, and would be provided at no cost to the town or the school district. Mr. Hay urged Mr. Kent to apply for the maximum number the town was eligible for, based on Winchendon's low vaccination numbers (60 percent fully vaccinated and 67 percent partially vaccinated at that time).
Mr. Kent said, "My focus 100 percent for doing this, as Chair of the Board of Health, was to keep our kids in school. Keep the doors open in all the schools of the Winchendon Public Schools District and keep [for] our children the all available important option of in-person learning as much as possible, to keep our children in the classroom where they belong, as much as possible at all costs. I don't want to see our doors shut again. I want to see our children in the classroom, obtaining all social skills possible, all in-person learning skills possible. I know our teachers are dedicated and I know our teachers want the kids in the classroom, if they can help it. I've talked with our teachers. I know our teachers don't want to go back to online learning, they want them there for in-person learning."
Mr. Kent reported that Superintendent of Schools Thad King told him that getting these tests, which DESE no longer supplies, "would mean the world" to the Winchendon Public School District. "At that point, it was a matter of just trying to make it happen. We had everything going in the right directions. It was a matter of just making sure there was enough left for the shipment," Mr. Kent said.
On Monday, November 7, Mr. Kent received a call from Liz Latoria, Executive Assistant to the Superintendent at the district's Central Office on Grove Street, saying, "Keith, I just want you to know they just arrived." Mr. Kent went to the Central Office and inventoried the shipment, then personally transported cases of tests to each of the district schools. Nine cases went to Murdock High School and eight to Murdock Middle School, eight cases to Toy Town Elementary and four cases to Memorial Elementary School. If Memorial needs more, they can share with Toy Town. "I then balanced the remainder at our town Board of Health office on Pleasant Street and said [to Mr. Abare], 'Jim, here we go. We now have more for the public through the holiday surge that we know is coming.'"
With so many costs going up this winter, especially fuel for heating, Mr. Kent stressed, the availability of these tests means that families won't have to pay out of pocket for COVID testing kits, which retail for around $20 per kit. A family that can't afford that might simply keep their child out of school as a precaution, with no way to be sure whether the child has COVID or simply a cold.
The Courier asked how the schools will use the tests. "Excellent question," Mr. Kent said. He explained that the school nurses do not administer any tests. If a child is found to be symptomatic at school, the child will be sent home with one or more test kits which the parents can then use in the privacy of their homes. If the child tests negative, they can return to school without delay. If they test positive, they can wait until they're clear to go back. "The way these tests work, you would test on one day and then you would wait a couple days later and then test two or three days after that, if you were extremely sick and needed to wait longer...due to the amount of tests we got, if these children need more than one box, we have instructed the nurses at the schools, send the children home with more than just one box. Two tests per box. Give them one box, give them two boxes. If there's two kids in a family, send them home with two, three, four boxes."
The tests are good through January, Mr. Kent said. They represent a potential collective cost savings of around $50,000 for Winchendon families who might otherwise need to buy test kits retail in order to keep their children in school.
Mr. Kent added, "I would just like to tell the parents to please know, Board of Health has been trying behind the scenes to make sure that by obtaining these tests, the Chair of the Board of Health wants parents to know we are trying to make sure we can keep the doors open this winter, and do whatever we can to make sure your children have in-person learning as much as possible. And by obtaining these tests, we are trying to show we are actually putting our money where our mouth is."
Winchendon PD Arrest Alleged Drug Dealer After MV Accident on Rte 140
According to a statement released by the Winchendon Police Department on November 9, 2022, on Tuesday, November 8, Winchendon Police responded to a report of a motor vehicle operating erratically on Gardner Road (Rte 140). Officers arrived at the scene to find a 2018 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck crashed into a guard rail. The operator and only occupant of the truck was identified as Shayne Kenneth Favreau, 40, of Athol, MA.
In investigating the accident and situation, Sgt. Gerald Gagne, Officer Caleb Similia and Officer Daniel Caputi found probable cause to arrest Mr. Favreau for operating under the influence of drugs; negligent operation of a motor vehicle; possession with intent to distribute a class B substance (crack cocaine), subsequent offense; carrying a firearm without a license; possession of ammunition without an FID; and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Officers seized several grams of crack cocaine, a 25 calibre handgun and a large sum of United States currency from Mr. Favreau.
Mr. Favreau was held overnight at the Winchendon Police Department and transported to Winchendon District Court for arraignment on Wednesday, November 9.
The Courier found that Mr. Favreau appeared in Orange District Court numerous times in 2014 and 2018.
On January 23, 2014, Mr. Favreau, then age 31 and listed as "homeless," appeared before Judge David S. Ross to plead innocent to a charge of shoplifting, at Walmart in Orange, two charges of possession of Class A drug, to wit, Tramadol in the first charge and methadone in the second charge, possession of a Class E drug, to wit, Alprazolam, and one charge of vandalizing property. He was released on $100 cash bail and ordered to pay a legal counsel fee of $150 or perform 16 hours of community service.
On February 10, 2014, Mr. Favreau appeared before Judge David S. Ross to plead innocent to operating with a suspended license, failure to stop or yield, and making an improper turn, in Orange, for which he was released on personal recognizance. He also pled innocent to shoplifting, possession of class A drug, to wit, Tramadol, possession of class A drug, to wit, Methadone, and possession of a class E drug, to wit, Alprazolam, in Orange by Athol Police. For these charges he was released on bail of $100 cash and ordered to pay a legal counsel fee of $150, or perform 16 hours of community service.
On January 19, 2018, Mr. Favreau appeared before Judge Mark Pasquerillo in Orange District Court on charges of operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license, and carrying a spring assisted pocket knife (or "switchblade"). Both charges were dismissed.
On August 31, 2018, Mr. Favreau was charged with assault and battery and intimidating a witness/juror/police/court official. He was released on $1,000 cash bail, and ordered to stay 500 feet from the victim, have no contact with the victim or abuse the victim. Mr. Favreau appeared before Judge Maureen Walsh in Orange District Court on September 17, 2018 on a charge of assault and battery, and was released on $250 cash bail.
