Saturday, November 1
The HUB Open House & Ribbon Cutting
4:00-6:00 p.m.
Join us for an evening of fun, food and community at our Fire & S'mores Open House! Bring your friends and family for a cozy gathering filled with laughter, connection and tasty treats. Official ribbon cutting at 5:00 p.m.!
5:00 p.m. Bowling Tournament FINALS!
Sunday, November 2
Pats Watch Party at the HUB
12:00 p.m.
Free Admission, All Ages Welcome!
Grab your jerseys and get ready to cheer--it's Game Day with Parks & Rec! Food available from Andy's On The Run food truck.
Sponsored by Winchendon Parks & Recreation.
At The HUB, 5 Summer Dr, Winchendon
This Week's Winchendon News
BOS Hears Presentation on the Senior Center
Judith Mizhir (left) and Miranda Jennings address the Board of Selectmen
Photo copyright Town of Winchendon
At their meeting on Monday, October 27, the Board of Selectmen heard the next in a series of planned presentations by department heads about important town departments, what they do and their current challenges and goals. Miranda Jennings, Director of the Old Murdock Senior Center, and Judith Mizhir, Chair of the Winchendon Council on Aging, came forward to give a presentation on the Old Murdock Senior Center. Ms. Jennings had a full PowerPoint slide deck which she put on the screen.
"The Senior Center is a place for lifelong learning, health and connection, which all feed into our overall health, of our seniors and our overall community," Ms. Jennings began. "The building is open Monday through Fridays, from 9:00 to 3:00, and then we offer transportation Monday through Saturday 8:00 to 8:00. We have 12 staff. We've had two to three Senior Work-off individuals who are fantastic and do various things from driving to cleaning to helping in the kitchen."
The Senior Center volunteers log over 2,800 hours a year. The Center serves more than 2,600 individuals per year, offering 500 different programs, serving 9,000 meals and offering over 7,000 rides, Ms. Jennings said.
Ms. Jennings explained that the Senior Work-off Program allows seniors in the community to work for the town in exchange for an offset on their property tax. Seniors in the program can work up to 73.3 hours. "We have a lot to do, so if anybody's looking for stuff to do, come see me. But we're very grateful for the people that do amazing work," Ms. Jennings said.
Under the heading of Nutritional programs, Ms Jennings explained that the Center has a congregate meal program (this is a program where seniors come to a dining room to eat together) with the majority of the food provided through the Making Opportunity Count (MOC) program, Meals on Wheels. "On Tuesdays, thanks to Robinson Broadhurst funding, we have Taste of Home, home cooked lunches, which are a hit. They're very good and delicious and open to the community," Ms. Jennings said. "All lunches are suggested donation of $3 but nobody is turned away."
Ms. Jennings went on, "We also offer home delivery meals through Meals on Wheels, as well as pantry deliveries that we coordinate with the CAC and Meals on Wheels. This happens every day. Our driver, Art Amenta, is out there 9:00 to 3:00 every day just delivering so many meals to people that can't access the the congregate meals.
"And finally, we do offer grocery store shopping to the larger grocery stores. We go to Hannaford's, Market Basket, and the shopping areas up in Rindge every Saturday. It is a nutrition related program, but it's a special program. A lot of it's a time for people to get on the bus together, and it's a real fun time. We can also bring people to the grocery store as needed and requested, if that date on the Saturdays doesn't work for you, and that is provided through our Community Connector program."
The Center has a lot of life-long learnimg programs, Ms. Jennings said, including art classes, music classes, a book club, various guest speakers, wreath making and other events. Ms. Mizhir added that they would love to hear from anyone in the community with a skill that they'd like to share.
The Center offers social services, including programs assisting with health care benefits. "SHINE and Integrity Medicare come in and actually set up office hours and use our space to do one on one counseling, and that's booked out every single time," Ms. Jennings said. "It's very, very popular and important. Red Cross comes in and does training. The Fire Department is doing training with our members, but also with our staff. We offer one on one social services and emergency assistance for for seniors that might be facing homelessness, loss of heat in their homes, can't afford their rent, need help with medication." Services are offered right there in the Senior Center because the clients are there, and they may not want or be able to go to a different location (like the CAC) to get a service.
"We coordinate with aging services, and we were running a dementia support group based on feedback from the town, and we'd love to continue doing that with a local resident who has dementia care company called Purple Hydrangea. All these are funded through grants and partnerships," Ms. Jennings said.
"When we did our survey a couple years ago, doing day trips was one of the biggest, most popular things people wanted to do," Ms. Jennings said. So through donations from seniors themselves, and grant funding, we've offered a lot of great trips." Excursion destinations have included Groton Hill for music events, the beach, local ice cream shops and the Winchendon Community Park amphitheatre events.
Fitness and Active Living programs include pickleball, yoga, strength training, line dancing and bowling over the The HUB. There is exercise equipment available to use in the basement and on the second floor of the building. Ms. Mizhir said, "It's brought in a lot of the younger, older adults. That's the new word, instead of "seniors", it's active "older adults" that we are. We take care of all ages, elderly, including my age, but at the same time, we are looking to include many of the younger people to come in and start doing the healthy things to keep themselves healthy and live longer."
There are many entertainment and recreation programs within the building, as well as excursions and trips. "We've had Elvis visit, as well as other famous impersonations through our musical concerts and performances," Ms. Jennings said. "Today we had Bob Jordan, who's a wonderful musician. We have Dennis Cormier. Thank you to the Friends of Old Murdock that fund a lot of these performances. We'll do theme lunches. Our staff, Donna, does a fantastic job decorating for different themes for lunches and holidays, but then a lot of people will come in just to socialize and hang out. We do have a TV that people can sit in some comfy chairs and watch TV. We have pool tables, puzzles, a Reading Room, several different places for reading and the Senior Stikers Bowling league, is very fun as well."
The Senior Center has done some intergenerational programming and wants to work more with the schools, getting the generations together. "We've had a lot of high school groups come over and do interviews with the seniors to learn about their lives," Ms. Jennings said. "They've made a bulletin board called Winchendon's Finest in the dining room. They also help to serve lunch and build that empathy and that respect. It's great for them to also see Old Murdock and see the Senior Center, so they value it as a building in town to protect it and to hopefully utilize it when they're older."
Ms. Jennings went on, "Volunteering is not often seen as a service of a senior center, but I think that's a way that a lot of seniors want to engage. A lot of seniors might not use the services, but they want to come help. So we do have quite a few older adults volunteering, but we have the students from MurdocK Middle School and High School coming every week to volunteer. They prep the lunches and clean the dining room." Three different volunteers come in three days a week to help deliver Meals on Wheels. Even Town Manager Bill McKinney pitched in to deliver lunches when the Center was short on volunteers. "We need help cleaning, answering phones, teaching a class and more recently, doing volunteer driving, which one of our Senior Work-off individuals did, and that was an immense help. So we are always looking for volunteer drivers," Ms. Jennings said.
The drivers are working with the Senior Center's new transportation program, the Community Connector, which is funded through a grant from the Mass Department of Transportation, through the Montachusett Area Regional Transportation (MART) and some funding from the town. The Community Connector provides over 7,000 rides oer year, about 850 per month. The program has $650,000 in grant money to run it. It has 11 staff and drivers (an increase from 3 in 2024), operates for 12 hours per day Monday through Saturday, and transports riders in a 40-mile radius around Winchendon. Rides are free of charge.
"We're doing a lot of innovative stuff," Ms. Jennings said. "What we're doing with our transportation is a model for this region of Massachusetts. It's happened in Western Massachusetts. We know that Eastern Massachusetts is all over transportation, but there's a lot happening in our region, and we are at the epicenter of doing, I think, some of the most innovative transportation work, and people are recognizing that." The number of riders is growing continuously, both new riders and those who rely on the service and use it regularly.
"I think the transportation is the glue that fits everything together," Ms. Jennings said, "because we can have the meals at the Senior Center, but a lot of people can't get there. We can have the recreation and the socialization or have the day trips, but people can't get there. So it's no surprise that transportation is a huge part of what we're doing, and it will only continue to grow as we want to do more. So from grocery store shopping to getting to the food pantry to getting to social services to get into lunch or to a concert, you need that transportation." A large number of riders use the system to get to medical appointments of all different kinds, including recurring appointments for treatments.
Among the challenges facing the Center is, first and foremost, the building itself, which is old (built in the 1880s) and needs a lot of upkeep. Anyone who would like to learn how to set and maintain the clock in the clock tower should talk to Ms. Jennings. "This past year, we did receive a grant from the state, as well as matched from Robinson Broadhurst, to install heat efficient heat pumps in the dining room, the auditorium, in a community room and in an office," Ms. Jennings said. "So that has enabled us to have year-round programming, whereas it would get very, very hot in the auditorium where the pickleball is played, for example. So we really couldn't use the auditorium in the summer months and same in the dining room, it would get very, very hot. It would also get very, very cold [in winter]. The building has one heating system. So now we can in heat in-zone, so it's much more efficient, better use of people's money and resources, and it's also just a comfortable and safe temperature for people." Rebates from Mass Save helped pay for the heat pumps.
Ms. Mizhir said, "Robinson Broadhurst has been totally gracious to us in this community, and this is one special thing that they recommended. When I became chairman, I met with the previous director, with the Council, and with Robinson Broadhurst, and we were very shyly asking for another van, because we had one van that was falling apart. And they said, Don't you want a senior center? And then they backed us throughout the whole process of getting the Old Murdock building. And then backed us with financial support and also support to getting multiple grants to be able to bring that building back so it could be usable, because at the point it was going to fall apart. So they have been totally amazing in so many things, but for us, they're so special for that."
Ms. Jennings said that in order to help keep the building maintained, the Center is looking at expanding building rentals in the evenings and weekends when it's not in use as a Senior Center. It could be rented for weddings and reunions, or conferences. It has a kitchen, dining room, large auditorium and many small rooms that could be used for meeting rooms. There are also possibilities for the area around the building, to be made into walking paths or a memory garden, or a similar project so the lawn would be fully usable by the community.
A challenge with Social Services, Ms. Jennings went on, is meeting the demand. There isn't anyone in the Center who can provide on-the-spot social services, and the CAC has a two-month waiting list for appointments. The demand for rides is exceeding the capacity of the Community Connector, as well. The Center is looking to expand its partnership with MART and increase the pool of drivers. The program started with one MART bus and now has two, and is seeking funding for a third one. MART helps pay for the drivers and gas.
The final challenge is growth, keeping the programs expanding. We just want to continue growing our programs and offerings to get more more people in and more diverse groups of seniors and older adults in, so being more creative with our partnerships, doing fundraisers and really adapting the scope and the focus of the programs," Ms. Jennings said.
Ms. Mizhir added, "Finding out what people want and go in their direction, and also keeping them healthy and more participating in the community."
Ms. Jennings said that the former state Office of Elder Affairs is now called the Office of Aging Inependence. Ms. Mizhir said "They don't want to be called seniors. They don't like to be called elders. They did surveys, and they found out people don't want to be called seniors. They want to be called older adults. So right now, we're working on the concept of signage that will reflect that and try to educate the community that we are here, and we offer these wonderful services for people to take advantage of, and most of them are either free or low cost, and we want the community to enjoy them and to enjoy that wonderful building. That's what this is all about."
Board Chair Andrew Beauvais asked what percentage of the Senior Center's funding comes from outside sources--grants, funds, sponsorships and gifts.
"So the budget from the town we get, we budget $2,000 for programs, for example, and we are spending about $20,000 on programs and events," Ms. Jennings said. "So that just gives you an idea of that part of it. I don't have the total number. The transportation piece is $500,000 versus we probably have budgeted, I think, $60,000 from the town. So the town budget really covers the building, the utilities and the core staff, the infrastructure."
Board member Erika Eitland said, "One thing that the Senior Center does extremely well is the food security piece. Not only just the nutrition part, but the socialization and what that means. And I'm very mindful with November 1 corner what that means for SNAP, and that it might not coming through and just recognizing the federal cuts that are coming to Medicaid and SNAP, recognizing that those shifts. They've eliminated that work exemption for homeless and veterans, and they've shifted who's eligible that the employment now goes all the way to 64-65 now. So some of those older adults who are not technically seniors or aging adults now are hit with the same work requirement.There's going to be a shift of who is looking for food in our town very soon. Are there ways that we as a town can chip in to support that food security? What does that look like meaningfully? Is it that we need to have, you people donating food? Is it to go into the month of Thanksgiving and know that certain families aren't going to eat?"
"We're all kind of scrambling, I think, to figure out what to do," Ms. Jennings said. "I've gotten contacted from the schools, from different people in town to do food drives. It's just kind of an emergency response that we might need to pull together to anticipate ways of increased demand that's going to be coming. I'm hopeful that MOC will be able to keep up with the demand in terms of the Meals on Wheels, and I know their budget is a lot tighter now too. So hopefully we can follow through with that.
"The Robinson Broadhurst funding is huge to be able to provide that lunch once a week. But even donating to help prepare those meals, or come and help serve them would be great. But then it's very compounding. So when someone can't afford food, they're choosing between rent or food or heat or food. So that's where the social services comes back in. And it's not just a one-off, I'm going to talk to you for five minutes. It's, I'm going to sit with you for an hour, get to know you and then talk. We have to meet again and again...working with some of our seniors to find secure housing takes months and months."
"We're a small community. We should wrap our arms around each other," Ms. Mizhir said.
Ms. Jennings said, "If anybody out there, if you have a need that I didn't address, or you're just wondering about something, just call us and we'll figure out how to connect. We have people that say, I need to get my will notarized. And we've called the Town Hall and figured that out, and people just step up to to help out. We'll do our best to to figure it out."
Ms. Mizhir said, "The Council on Aging will be doing an assessment at our next meeting on November 13, and we have a number of criteria that we go through and look at how what we are doing well and what we need to still achieve. And if anyone wants to attend that meeting, you're more than welcome to. We will have work. And I did share a little bit of information with a folder for each of the Select Board, right? And we will do a copy of that also, and look at what might you know. Take a look at what we want. Look at our goals and long term planning." The meeting will be at 12:00 noon.
The Old Murdock Senior Center is located at 52 Murdock Avenue, next to G.A.R. Park, and is open Monday through Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. You can follow their Facebook page, www.facebook.com/oldmurdock for updates on programs and schedules. Call 978-297-3155 if you have questions, or email them at winchendoncoa@gmail.com. Along with programs and services for older adults (age 55+), the Senior Center hosts art classes and exhibitions by GALA, events like Taste of Winchendon, the monthly Growing Places Mobile Market, and other activities open to all. Community Connector rides are available to persons of all ages. Contact the Center for more information.
Cooking the Taste of Home lunch in the Senior Center's commercial kitchen
Photo copyright Winchendon COA
Line Dancing class with Marylee, who also teaches Strength Training
Photo copyright Winchendon COA
Interim Superintendent King Discusses Busing Concerns with School Committee
Interim Superintendent Charlotte King addresses the School Committee
Photo copyright Town of Winchendon
At their meeting on Thursday, October 16, the School Committee and Interim Superintendent Charlotte King discussed some issues with busing that had arisen that week. Letters of explanation had been sent to parents about glitches in the service.
"We did have some bus issues this week," Ms. King said. "We have a meeting with the bus company regularly, providing our concerns and then getting feedback, the next time, giving them feedback and getting feedback from them. And we had seen some very positive things moving forward. But this week was very challenging. Yesterday and today we had combined buses. Yesterday, missed stops, students waiting for a long period of time, which obviously is not acceptable. So we have voiced all of those concerns to the bus company, and asked for a different plan going forward. Obviously, student safety comes first, and communication is just so essential, and so we've asked for a lot of revisions in the communication that we've been getting."
Committee member Greg Vine asked if the company was still having trouble finding and keeping drivers, as they had complained about in the past.
"Actually, this year, they have been more staffed," Ms. King said. "They're almost fully staffed. So that's a positive with being fully staffed. They have a lot of new staff, so that brings some challenges. That is the piece with the communication that people are being trained. They have someone on a leave, so someone's covering, so that person has to do dual roles. So they have some challenges too, but obviously, they they need to improve their communication with us, and they need to, if they're going to combine buses, that's fine. We just need to know about it. We need to have a plan for the kids, they can't be out waiting at bus stops. They can't be waiting at the YMCA. So, we've communicated that that's unacceptable."
Committee member Karen Kast asked about the negotiation for credit that the company should be giving the district for glitches in service that involve combined buses, buses arriving late and so on. Ms. King said that the credits are being processed, "and obviously that's important, but more important is the students being picked up and not left at stops."
Ms. Kast said, "I'm also very concerned [about] coming home, because if a bus is late or whatever, or if they miss a stop or forget a stop somewhere, and we're getting calls. I know that the central office closes at 4:00. I know that we had the plan. And I just want to reiterate, we still have this plan in place that somebody's at each building to field those calls, where a parent is like, my kid didn't get off the bus. I don't know where the bus is."
Ms. King assured the Committee that such a plan is in place. "We also have a plan, it was in place the last two years, that the bus company notify us when all the buses have cleared, so that the administrators and/or secretaries can go home. And that wasn't happening at the very beginning of the year. Once we had our first meeting, I can say that's been happening consistently. So we also have a backup plan if one of the administrators has to leave, particularly the little ones, because they're not safe to get off the bus with with no parent or guardian at home, we have a backup plan where one of us covers that building."
Ms. Kast said, "I appreciate that, because that's always going to be my number one concern. Half the time they don't necessarily email us, you see it on Winchendon Residents or somewhere else, or somebody texts me and says, Did you see this? And then I'm scrambling to find out what's going on."
Committee member Tara Teixeira said, "So actually, it's happened with me, with my youngest, Allie. It was the first day of school in kindergarten, and she ended up on the bus. And I will say it was actually a pretty pleasurable experience. The staff waited with her at the school. Everyone was very communicative with me. I was able to find out where she was, and so I've been able to use the procedure. It wasn't awful. It really wasn't. And Allie loves riding the bus, so I'm glad that there is something in place. But like you said, also we need a reliable bus company, and it's their job to be reliable."
Ms. King agreed, "We did have an issue similar to that with a younger student at the beginning of the year where [the bus company] did not follow protocol. And so we immediately met with the bus company, reviewed the protocol, made sure that the protocol was reviewed with that particular driver and the person in the office at the time, because, again, it was that communication piece where things were happening, but if we don't know about it, it's our responsibility to communicate with the parents and the guardian."
Mr. Vine asked if family members besides parents could be added to the message loop with emails or ParentSquare messages, because sometimes a grandparent or whomever might be waiting to meet the child at the bus, and if a notification has gone out only to parents about the bus being late or combined, that person wouldn't know what's going on.
Ms. Kast agreed, "I think that's something we need to look at adding because, you know, unfortunately or fortunately, more often than not, a lot of our families are working families, and they do have alternatives...let's say a parent's in a meeting or something, and they're not checking their phone, so poor grandpa standing on the side of the road or sitting in his car, whatever, waiting for the bus, and the bus is half an hour late, and he's going, where's my kid?" She asked Ms. King how often meetings take place with the bus company, and Ms. King said they are monthly, unless there is a specific issue to address.
