Not So Fast, Gardner News!
No decision has been announced about the Clean Water Trust loan, and the water pipe will still be there, anyway
Winchendon residents were alarmed this week by a headline that first appeared as a "subscriber only" feature in the digital edition of the Gannett-owned newspaper The Gardner News (a paper notable for its scarcity of news about the actual city of Gardner). "Winchendon water line won't get state aid" the headline ran, followed by, "The 2,100 homes and businesses that get their water through Winchendon public water system [sic] could lose their access at any moment."
The facts? The Massachusetts Clean Water Trust has not announced their decision on the loan, so any statement either way is premature.
Further, while Winchendon officials and the Department of Public Works know the water main is in poor condition, the specter of sudden dry faucets throughout town is also...exaggerated, to say the least.
Reporter Emilia Cardona quotes Town Manager Justin Sultzbach but leaves the source of her quotes unclear, not stating whether she talked to him directly or pulled quotes from some other published source. The first that Mr. Sultzbach knew about this Gardner News article was his phone and emails hitting the red zone on Wednesday morning.
The article's claim that the Fire Department is using pond water from tanker trucks to "wash their uniforms and equipment" is also...exaggerated, Mr. Sultzbach told the Courier, although the Fire Department is using tanker trucks to fight fires as they have always done.
The Courier, which reports the news the old-fashioned way (after it happens), advises residents not to panic. Winchendon may or may not get that specific loan this year, but every solution will be, and is being, explored to solve the issues with the town's water infrastructure. The Courier promises to keep you informed at each step of the way.
Youth Changemakers' Sunshine Café Holds Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting
Sunshine Café Director Angelina Dellasanta wields the giant scissors in front of the Sunshine Café's banner.
Photo by Inanna Arthen
The Café pastry case with just a few of the delectable treats on sale. Not shown: bagels and hand-made guava and cheese turnovers.
Photo by Inanna Arthen
The Youth Changemakers (YCM) Sunshine Café held its official Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony in its newly refurbished and refurnished space in the Winchendon CAC this Wednesday, February 15. It was an SRO crowd for a while as YCM friends and family members, HEAL Winchendon folks, town officials, local legislators, representatives from the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce and CAC volunteers--among others--all arrived to try out pastries and coffee and share in the landmark event.
Of course, the Sunshine Café and its staff aren't exactly new kids on the block. The Café has been running for two years and chances are you've seen it around. Its humble beginnings consisted of a well-worn rolling cart, donated by The Winchendon School, that YCMs pushed by hand along the roadways. It set up at town events such as the Recreation Department's Summer Concert Series in G.A.R. park, Fall Fest, Summer Solstice, and even events at the Winchendon Community Park. The YCM members vended coffee, lemonade and herb tea from the cart--and then pushed it back to its storage space over the roads, usually after dark (with adults in cars accompanying them).
Last summer, the "Youth Changemakers Café" settled in outside the Winchendon CAC, got a new name--the Sunshine Café--and a new logo and banner. YCM members and youth interns helping with the Café and the CAC Farmer's Market stand got a chance to learn about making retail sales, working with customers and coworkers, and managing a business. But the Café has long been in search of a more permanent, and year-round home.
They've made another big step in that direction with their shiny new space in the CAC. Occupying two upper rooms at the north end of the CAC building (formerly used as the Haven of Hope space and a conference room), the Café now has elegant round metal garden tables and matching chairs with a small sofa and a couple of comfy armchairs. The counter and serving area includes a refrigerator and sink. Replacing the small cart is a shiny two-level counter unit with formica countertops, on sturdy wheels so it can be easily moved. This was custom-built for the Café by Martin Johnson, Facilities Director at Murdock, who donated his time to build it.
Menu offerings feature hot and iced coffee made from Wicked Good Beans, fair trade coffee beans hand-roasted by Winchendon entrepreneur Heather Connor; a variety of herb teas; and a variety of pastries and snacks, often handmade by Winchendon culinary makers (these will change according to availability--stop in and be surprised!).
At 3:00 p.m., YCMs and guests streamed outside to hold the grand Ribbon Cutting in front of the Sunshine Café banner displayed on the CAC Farm Stand shed. Attendees included State Representative Jon Zlotnik, State Senator Jo Comerford, Town Manager Justin Sultzbach, Vice Chair of the Board of Selectmen Rick Ward and Acting Director of Planning & Development Nicole Roberts. The ribbon was snipped by Youth Changemaker and Café Director Angelina Dellasanta, to applause, and the Café was given two citations congratulating them on their official opening as the newest Winchendon business.
The Sunshine Café will be open on Wednesdays from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The Winchendon CAC is located at 273 Central Street, Winchendon--the Café entrance is on the left, as you face the building. Proceeds from the Café will go toward keeping the Café sustainable, able to increase its sales of locally produced pastries and snacks and upgrade its equipment; funding and supporting Youth programming and events in Winchendon; and improving the community for all Winchendon residents.
Maggie Flanagan of The Winchendon School played live piano music for the Grand Opening event.
Photo by Inanna Arthen
Martin Johnson donated his time to build this customized rolling countertop unit with formica tops and two counter levels for the Café.
Photo by Inanna Arthen
March 13 STM Warrant Articles Include New Broadcast Equipment, Question About Whitney Pond Dam
The Special Town Meeting scheduled for Monday, March 13 (7:00 p.m. at the Murdock Middle High School Auditorium, 3 Memorial Drive) will place six warrant articles before voters. These articles have been discussed at multiple Board meetings over the last couple of weeks. Click here to view the final warrant with all Board recommendations for each article (PDF).
The lengthiest discussions among Town Board members dealt with Article 5, the Community Preservation Act, which is the entire reason for scheduling an extra Town Meeting. This was covered previously in the Courier (see "BOS, FinCom, Discuss Community Preservation Act Questions at Length as Warrant for March 13 Special Town Meeting is Finalized" in the February 9-16 edition of The Winchendon Courier). But other articles on the warrant are important considerations for voters.
Article 2 is a usual and customary warrant article asking voters to approve paying bills left over from previous fiscal years. In this case the town owes To Each His Own Design $742.62 for Memorial Day wreaths which were invoiced to the American Legion and forgotten until after the end of the fiscal year on June 30, and KP Law $647.24 for a bill that was inadvertently overlooked, a total expenditure from Free Cash of $1,394.86.
Article 2 is recommended 5-0 by the Board of Selectmen and 6-0 by the Finance Committee.
Article 3 asks voters to approve spending $40,000 from Free Cash for Broadcasting Equipment Upgrades and staff support in Town Hall, for the recording and live broadcasting of town Board meetings, public hearings and similar business.
When the Board of Selectmen discussed this article at their meeting on February 6, several Board members described seeing for themselves how hard it sometimes is to hear the audio of meetings when broadcast. The town has not been able to livestream meetings for some time, so the only broadcast available is on Comcast Local Access Channel 8. This excludes residents who are not Comcast subscribers.
Town Manager Justin Sultzbach explained to the Board that the town will be implementing a new system. "It will fix the audio issues," he promised. "It will fix the visual issues in terms of getting the screen up and it will also allow for remote participation which I know is something that a lot of folks in the community have been clamoring for...This is a long term fix that should serve the community for some time."
Mr. Sultzbach explained that because of the very high demand created as communities moved to remote meetings due to COVID, "that created a scarcity in the availability of contractors actually willing to come out in our area. So the team that actually historically serviced us for the past decade or so dropped us as a client because they weren't willing to come out this far anymore. So that was a significant obstacle for us. And so once we got [the new] consultant on board, they were able to work with our team, with Linda Daigle, with Don O'Neil to find something that I think is a realistic fit for us."
He added, "We've never broadcast on Facebook, the audio and video is typically not ideal. So we didn't bother with that approach."
At the Finance Committee hearing on February 7, Mr. Sultzbach expanded his explanation of the article. "Our broadcasting booth...is in dire need of repairs, both for software but hardware as well, the physical infrastructure. Year over year, the town really hasn't done the best job of maintaining that asset. And so we have a lot of catching up to do. We've had a couple of critical failures. Most recently, just before Annual Town Meeting in May last year, we had one of our main broadcasting pieces of equipment go down which is why we haven't been able to live stream over the Internet for some time. That will repair that issue. It's also going to allow us to broadcast over Zoom, have remote participation and to be able to broadcast that Zoom participation live as well. There are a couple other more minor program things. For example, $5,000 for the archiving and playing videos, things like that, it adds up pretty quickly. So this $40,000 is going to cover that one time infusion of new broadcasting equipment as well as some staff support to implement that new system and get it online."
There is already $17,000 budgeted for this purpose, Mr. Sultzbach said; this article will add $40,000 for a total expenditure of $57,000. The town has also negotiated a new contract with Comcast.
Article 3 is recommended 5-0 by the Board of Selectmen and 6-0 by the Finance Committee.
Article 4 asks voters to approve amendments to the Town Bylaws, Article 24: Parks & Recreation Commission. The changes reflect the merger of the Recreation Commission with the former Winchendon Community Park Committee, which itself had merged several different committees focused on the Winchendon Community Park. All of these committees will now be a single department. In addition to this, the number of total members will increase from 7 to 9, and will include up to two student members who may be either Middle or High School students who live in Winchendon. The previous wording specified that one student be Middle School and one be High School but that stipulation has been removed.
Article 4 requires a majority vote and is recommended 5-0 by the Board of Selectmen, 6-0 by the Finance Committee, and 4-0-1 by the Winchendon Community Park Committee with one abstention.
Article 6 is a non-binding referendum asking voters to approve recommending that "the Board of Selectmen seek grant and other available funds for the purpose of making certain improvements to the Whitney Pond Dam such that water levels in the Whitney Pond will be higher and restored to the levels obtained when the Dam was originally installed, rather than proceeding with a more cost effective repair of the existing Dam with available funds that would keep the water level at its current, lower level but permit the Dam to continue functioning as needed for the foreseeable future; or to take any other action relative thereto."
Mr. Sultzbach explained to the BOS that a "yes" vote would mean restoring the dam and raising water levels, and a "no" vote would mean maintaining the dam just enough to keep the pond water level where it is now.
BOS Vice Chair Rick Ward said, "folks are going to have to know what is the estimated costs to keep it at the level it is now. And I've read that it's much more costly to bring that water level back to where it originally was. So they're going to have to know what those cost parameters are. And also, what are the benefits of bringing it back to its original level. So the pros and cons of those aren't clear, this to me is meaningless."
BOS Chair Audrey LeBrie added, "If we spend the money what do we get for it? Versus if we don't spend the money? What do we have?"
Mr. Sultzbach said that the value of Whitney Pond is different for different people, such as people who own property along its shores. "Ingleside is down there on that body of water. Grout Park is on that body of water. That body of water is tangled all throughout this community...when I got to town I heard basically three things. The roads are horrible. We want a grocery store and what's going on with that big dam. I hear about that all the time. So if we can provide some type of platform for people to have that conversation, then I'm happy to do it."
At the Finance Committee hearing on February 7, Mr. Sultzbach expanded his explanation of the article. "So the Whitney Pond dam which is the large one by Black Bridge, near the bike path, several years ago was hit by a large sheet of ice, it sustained significant damage and the water levels were drawn down. The dam was partially dismantled and it hasn't really been touched since." The state had issued a bond bill for several million dollars, but the governor has to release the funds. Department of Public Works Director Brian Croteau successfully petitioned the state to release about $300,000 of the funds to pay for designs so the town could apply for grant money. At that point everyone concerned felt they should ask for "more direction" before moving ahead.
A main intention of the article, Mr. Sultzbach said, is to start a conversation in the community about the pros and cons of the two options--which would be most beneficial for the environment, for wildlife, for safety, for the town.
"The engineers are going to give us cost estimates," Mr. Sultzbach said. "Not going to be a biddable number, but they should be able to back into something within reason that will at least be able...if it's a difference of $100,000, I think most people will say alright, raise the water level, but if the difference is $3 million, then that might give people pause. So we want to try to narrow down what that actual delta is between those two points."
Article 6 is recommended 5-0 by the Board of Selectmen and 6-0 by the Finance Committee.
For those who may not be familiar with Black Bridge and the (very hard to see) Whitney Pond Dam, Black Bridge is the foot bridge for the Bike Path that crosses the water next to Doody Burial Vaults on Summer Drive. The future Bull Spit Brewery is just outside the lower left corner of the photo. The dam itself runs roughly under the ladder-like structure visible to the left of the old railroad span next to the foot bridge.
Photo by Google Satellite
Beals Presents Social Issues Panel on Trauma Informed Care
From left, moderator Genievieve Kane-Howse and panelists Amparo Cruz, Renee Eldredge and Diane Lanni
Photo by Inanna Arthen
On Saturday, February 11, Beals Memorial Library in partnership with several local organizations presented its second Social Issue Panel Discussion exploring issues related to the One Book One Community Town Wide Read book selection Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosocska. This series is designed "to shine a light on the difficult topics, and to give voice to the many residents who have not typically been heard, including youth, and those who are experiencing, or have experienced, the trauma of these problems." The topic for this session was Trauma Informed Care (TIC).
Held from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the Bud Fletcher Community Room at the Clark Memorial YMCA, the panel was quite well attended, with almost all audience seats filled. Audience members were asked to turn off all cell phones and devices due to the sensitive nature of the subjects discussed. Each audience member was given some informational handouts, a post-panel survey and a questionaire for privately evaluating their own Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) score, which can have a lasting influence on a person's adult life.
Trauma Informed Care was described as a non-judgemental understanding that [unconstructive] behaviors come out of life experiences, and how a person is behaving doesn't have anything to do with the people around them witnessing the behavior. Negative health outcomes for adults, including substance abuse and self-harm, may be rooted in the person's ACE for unaddressed childhood trauma.
Panelist Ms. Lanni began by introducing herself and her work as a foster parent, who now works as a Trauma Coach for foster families who care for traumatized kids. FACES is a Worcester-based program that accepts referrals from the Department of Children and Families (DCF) as well as hospitals and other sources. The program gets a lot of referrals from Winchendon, Ms. Lanni said, indicating that the Winchendon area is lacking in local services and resources for foster parents and kids. However, she said, Winchendon, with over 10,000 residents, is a good size to be able to build its own programs and resources, unlike much tinier towns. Many foster children have experienced trauma, Ms. Lanni emphasized--being removed from their home is traumatizing in and of itself. Pediatricians and other medical professionals may not be trauma-informed.
Panelist Ms. Eldredge is a Winchendon resident who works with Heywood Community Health in the Handle With Care Initiative. The Initiative is designed to streamline the process of getting kids services, and to make sure that schools fully understand the impact of trauma on children. They are also helping the police become better trauma-informed.
Ms. Eldredge explained how an officer responding to the scene of a traumatic event for a child (such as domestic violence or another crime in the home, or a parent overdosing, among many possible events) will alert the child's school that the child has experienced a traumatic event. This gives the school a "Handle With Care" red flag--no specific details, just an alert that the child may or may not need intervention at school. If the child needs assistance, on-site mental health services can be brought to the school. Families can be connected to resources for TIC.
Even being taken to an emergency room can be traumatizing for a child. The family will be given an information form to give to the child's school.
Panelist Amparo Cruz works with the Worcester- and Fitchburg-based Pathways for Change, which focuses especially on sexual violence. She described the services offered for sexual assault survivors of all ages who have experienced this kind of traumatic event in their lives.
The panelists discussed how to communicate with traumatized persons, who may not be able to talk directly about their feelings and experience. Awareness of non-verbal cues is important--observing body language and eye contact and also being self-aware of your own body language and what it conveys about your unspoken reactions to what the traumatized person is doing and saying. It's the person's experience, not yours, the panelists emphasized. You don't have to know "the right thing to say," but one thing never to say is "I know how you feel." Validate the person's feelings but don't own them.
Resiliance is an important factor in working through trauma. The experience will always be part of the person, but it does not totally define them. "It's not 'what's wrong with you,' it's what happened to you" is a mantra to keep in mind while dealing with trauma (your own or as a counselor). In many cases, kids dealing with trauma have never had an adult in their life own, admit and make amends for their mistakes that affected the child.
Trauma "rewires the brain," the panelists said, and it's impossible to predict what will trigger a traumatized person, or when. Triggering from a traumatic event can occur years later and may come from some completely unexpected interaction or incident.
Self-care and support networks are important. Ms. Lanni spoke of some of the pitfalls to forming ad hoc "affinity groups," saying she's seen them turn into "bitch sessions." Ideally, groups should have a structured format for meetings, possibly including guest speakers, trainings and so on. The panel began with a breathing exercise as an example of ways to manage stress during the day--breath work, body work like yoga or stretching and other simple tactics can be helpful. Also essential, the panelists said, is staying detached and not getting emotionally and personally involved in the experiences you're hearing about.
The panel ran for the full two hours with numerous questions from the audience. Light refreshments were provided, including coffee and gluten-free pastries.
The next Social Issue Panel will be held on Saturday, March 11, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., in the Bud Fletcher Community Room at the Clark Memorial YMCA, and will focus on Mental Health. Panelists will be Marillisa Strand, Madison Eldredge, Ann Berube and Kelci Schultz. For more information about the One Book One Community Town Wide Read programs, see www.bealslibrary.org/townwideread. Copies of Hey, Kiddo are available to borrow at Beals Memorial Library and several other locations around town.
Click here to view or download Handle With Care information sheet (PDF)
Click here to view or download ACE handouts packet (PDF)
Click here to view or download Hotline numbers sheet (PDF)
Beals Memorial Library Director Manuel King welcomes the audience and introduces the discussion series.
Photo by Inanna Arthen
Beals Memorial Library staff member and coordinator of the Town Wide Read Patti Stanko talks about Hey Kiddo.
Photo by Inanna Arthen
Photo copyright © Beals Memorial Library