This Week's Winchendon News
Warming Centers and Road Salt Shortage as Winchendon Braces for Grand-Slam Double Header: Bitter Cold and Biggest Snow Storm of the Season
Weather forecasters are predicting dangerously cold temperatures and wind chills this weekend, along with a massive winter storm impacting the Northeast from midday Sunday, January 25 until well into Monday. The overnight low in Winchendon on Friday night may be around -6° (that's 6 degrees below zero) and nighttime lows will continue to bottom out around the 0° mark for the next several days. The forecast highs on Saturday and Sunday are only 9°.
At the same time this is happening, a historic winter storm will pass just south of New England on Sunday into Monday, dropping at least 12 inches of snow on north central Massachusetts by most estimates, with higher amounts around Boston and southeast Mass. We can consider ourselves lucky, however--for us, this is just a winter storm. The South and Mid-Atlantic are bracing for paralyzing ice and conditions they're not accustomed to dealing with. But even we hardy New Englanders will want to make preparations for this one.
Complicating the situation is a local shortage of road salt for treating roads, which has led Winchendon and Templeton Departments of Public Works to issue advisories to residents. On Wednesday, January 21, Winchendon Town Hall posted, "Due to a regional shortage of road salt deliveries, the Town's ability to fully treat all roadways is limited at this time. With inclement weather expected tonight and continuing through the weekend, residents are urged to use extreme caution when traveling.
"Road conditions may be icy and slippery, particularly on untreated side streets, hills, bridges, and shaded areas. Please slow down, allow extra travel time, and avoid unnecessary travel if possible. Pedestrians are also reminded to use caution on sidewalks and walkways.
"DPW crews will continue to monitor conditions and prioritize main roads, emergency routes, and public safety areas as resources allow. We appreciate residents' patience and cooperation as we work through this temporary supply issue."
The town of Templeton issued a similar message but expanded on the reason, saying, "We have been notified by our road salt vendor of a regional shortage of road salt due to salt vessels stuck out at sea in storms. Templeton has several loads ordered but will not receive anymore deliveries until middle of next week."
Several Winchendon organizations have announced warming centers for residents during the harsh weekend cold spell.
The Clark Memorial YMCA (155 Central Street) will host a warming center starting this Saturday January 24 until the following Saturday January 31. Monday through Friday 8:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Beals Memorial Library (50 Pleasant Street) will also be available Monday January 26 until Thursday January 29, 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Friday January 30 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturday January 31 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
The Old Murdock Senior Center (52 Murdock Avenue) dining room will be open Monday through Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., primarily for seniors and people with disabilities.
The Winchendon CAC/The HUB (5 Summer Drive) community classroom space will be open Wednesdays through Saturdays, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Immaculate Heart of Mary church (52 Spruce Street) parish hall (downstairs) will be open Sundays 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Friends of the Beals Memorial Library Keep on Growing and Innovating 27 Years After They Were Founded
The Friends of the Library book sale room on the Beals lower level, next to the Equal Access entryway
Photos by Inanna Arthen
The Friends of the Beals Memorial Library has been a familiar name to residents of Winchendon for several decades. Many people have visited the Friends' Book Sale room at the library, or the book sale tables at town events like Solstice Fair. Library users have noticed the Friends' name as a sponsor on all kinds of library events, offered free to the public thanks to fundraising done by the Friends to pay for them. But who are the Friends, what is their relationship to the library, and how much do they really do? With a brand new Friends project coming up--a Valentine's Cookie Bake Sale--the Courier sat down with Friends President Sheila Sbrogna to learn more.
The Friends is an incorporated non-profit organization that was founded in October, 1999. In its original Articles of Organization, the Statement of Purpose reads, "The purpose of this organization shall be to maintain an association of persons interested in and working for the Beals Memorial Library and its welfare, to promote and encourage gifts and donations to the Library, and to provide such support and educational activities to the Library as are appropriate."
Ms. Sbrogna explained, "When it initially started, the mission was to help with providing funding for educational programs for the library, to support the library, to provide volunteers for whatever the library needed. Over the years, the mission has developed into a little more than that. We also are here to promote and to assist in the funding of cultural events, not just educational events."
The Beals Memorial Library has several sources of funding, Ms. Sbrogna said. It had a $20,000 American Library Association (ALA) grant last year; it receives funds from the Winchendon Cultural Council; it has its own budget from the town; and it gets funds from the Friends.
"The library develops different program ideas," Ms. Sbrogna said. "We have meetings once a month on Wednesdays, and we have the Friends there. We have representatives from the [Beals Memorial Library Board of] Trustees there, and we have representatives from the library there. And the library presents thoughts that they have for different programs that they will offer that season or that part of the year. Then they demonstrate what the Cultural Council will pick up, what they will use grant money for, what Beals will pay for. And then they ask the Friends for a portion of that. The Executive Committee that meets on Wednesdays, votes and approves the amounts, and we give thousands of dollars every year to the library for their programming. Not only do we provide some of the funding, but our members attend the events and volunteer at the events, whether we're baking food or if it's a sensory friendly program where they have to help with the children, to supervise and guide them through whatever the program is."
Ms. Sbrogna said that the Friends currently have 30 to 40 members, with a core group of around 12 of the most actively involved members. They are working to bring in more members, of all ages and groups represented in the town. "We want to be a diverse organization. The library is very committed to diversity. We also commit to that. We would like to have cross generational members. We really do welcome new members," she said. The Friends do not currently have youth members but they may be collaborating with the library's Teen Advisory Board in the future.
Asked what some of the Friends-sponsored programs she's most excited about, Ms. Sbrogna said they strongly support the library's cultural events. They sponsored an a capella singing group last year at Christmas. The Friends funded the prize awards for the Beals Poetry contests. They sponsor the Summer Reading Program, the various science programs offered for kids, and the Toy Town Tree Festival. This past spring, the Friends organized a library Open House.
"We worked hard on the campaign to educate the public about the override and to help save the library in the spring," Ms. Sbrogna said. "That was probably our biggest commitment for our last fiscal year, because it involved a great deal of hard work. We tried to be present everywhere and get lots of information out there. And it was successful. So that was very exciting." Because the Friends are an independent organization, they had free rein to speak as citizens about the issues before voters. Library employees had to avoid any conflict of interest.
"We are separate. We are totally autonomous," she emphasized. "We like to interface with the library. For example, if we're planning a new program, we always go to them first and say, this is the time frame we're thinking. Is there anything that would conflict with that, that the library's planning? Would you support this? Do you think this is a good event? Do you see it as a fundraiser? We work in harmony, but we are autonomous."
The Courier asked where the inspiration for their newest fundraiser, the Valentine's Cookie Bake Sale, came from. Ms. Sbrogna said, "Another thing that changed for our organization in the past year was we were invited to join a new coalition, called the North Central Mass Coalition for Friends of the Library. We were very excited to be invited, and we went to the first meeting last year, I think late winter or spring. Now there are seven libraries involved in this: Ashby, Ashburnham, Lunenburg, Fitchburg, Hubbardston, Beals, and then there's one more.
"The goal of this coalition is for sharing. The libraries get together, and they talk about what kinds of programs they have had and what kinds of fundraisers they have had that have been the most successful, and why and how they did it, and they talk about the ones that they tried and weren't successful. So we are learning from each other before trying something, and we're learning how to best tailor our programs so that they can be more successful.
"We've had bake sales here before, but we've never done a pre-order by the box type of sale. We are learning from other libraries that there was a flat rate, $20 for a bag or $25 for a box. So this is the first time we're taking that approach where people can pre-order and they can actually get a dozen or two dozen or order a variety pack. The Unitarian church actually does that at Christmas time--you can pre-order their boxes. So through this coalition, we've learned quite a few things, and we're trying some of them. That's where we have all these new ideas. We're not a huge town and we don't have a huge group, so we're trying to also be realistic about what we can achieve."
The cookies for the bake sale come in six different varieties and are being baked by members of the Friends. "An announcement was sent out a week or two ago, calling all bakers," Ms. Sbrogna said. "So people signed up. We picked, six kinds of cookies, and then the variety pack, and people who were willing to bake picked the type of cookie they wanted to make, or made a proposal for something they'd like to make. The volunteers buy the materials and donate those."
The Valentine's Cookie Bake Sale will end on Saturday, February 14, when people can come to the library to pick up their pre-orders, or buy cookies on the spot. Cookies are $10 a dozen or $20 for "two baker's dozens" (26). Cookie varieties are Peanut Blossoms, Scotch shortbread, a stenciled butter cookie, Raspberry Almond Scandinavian cookie, M&M Valentine sugar cookie, Chocolate Peppermint Splash, or a variety pack with samples of all the different varieties. Pre-orders must be received by February 9 (so the bakers know how many to make). To pre-order, fill out an order form at the library, or email Paula Whitaker at jimpaulawhitaker@gmail.com.
Beals Memorial Library Trustee Suzanne Rader shows some of the items on sale in the Friends' book sale besides books!
Photo by Inanna Arthen
"People in the community can donate books, puzzles, DVDs, games, and we have one section of our library for children and the other section is for adults," Ms. Sbrogna said. "When people come in to shop there, there are no prices. They just give whatever donation they want for what they find that they need or want." There are shelves full of DVDs and shelves of jigsaw puzzles, and some board games, and many shelves of books.
"Our homeschoolers love it as a resource," Ms. Sbrogna said. "They come in and pick up books that are nonfiction or fiction, and we do have a lot of adults who are interested in historical fiction. Mysteries seem to be a pretty good seller, and book biographies tend to be popular, and our puzzles are popular, and our DVDs, we have a children's section of DVDs and an adult section."
The book sale has thousands of books and other items, Ms. Sbrogna said. "We did get a big influx in the spring. It took us most of the summer to shelve them. The schools donated a lot of children's books to us, and in those books, we found a lot of Newbery Medalist books and Caldecotts [Award] and famous authors. So it was like a treasure trove." At the end of last year, she said, the Friends did a promotional sale, offering books for a dollar a bag, which helped clear some space on the shelves.
The space itself once hosted the entire museum collection of the Winchendon Historical Society, many years ago. In the future, it may become a new Children's Library room. Where the book sale will go then will have to be decided. For now, it is open on Mondays from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., Thursdays from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (In the summer, when the library closes on Saturday, the book sale has Friday hours.) The room has a wheelchair ramp and is fully accessible.
Ms. Sbrogna said, "The Friends want to make the townspeople in the community aware that when we develop programs, or when we assist with the funding of programs, or we volunteer, these programs are not just for people who are patrons of the library, who have library cards. They're not just for children. They're for everyone in the community, all ages. And we also outreach to other communities. For example, when we had the Sensory Friendly Touch-a-Truck program in the spring, people came from other towns, from Jaffrey, and not even just the state. So we want people to be aware that they are for everyone. They're inclusive. Some people think the programs are just for children. They're not."
For more information about the Friends, including how to contact them and how to learn more about becoming a member, see www.bealslibrary.org/friends.
BOS Creates Fire Station Building Committee for Oversight on Solutions Going Forward
Following a debate at the Board of Selectmen's meeting on Monday, January 12, the Board is creating a Fire Station Building Committee which needs four citizens from Winchendon to join as members. The seven member committee will be made up of a member of the Board of Selectmen, a member of the Board of Health, a member of the Finance Committee and four town residents with experience in building construction and/or finance. Interested and qualified residents can email a letter of interest to Deb Dennis in the Town Manager's Office at ddennis@winchendon-ma.gov.
The formation of the Committee was initiated by recently retired Winchendon Housing Authority Executive Director David Connor at the Board of Selectmen's meeting on December 8, after the Special Town Meeting vote rejecting the funding proposal for the Fire Station Renovation and Addition Project. (See "BOS and Citizens Share Reactions to Town Meeting Fire Station Vote" in the December 18-25, 2025 edition of the Winchendon Courier.) In that meeting, Mr. Connor said, "I really think we need to put a committee together in this town of townspeople, taxpayers, but also some department heads. I don't want to make it too big, but I think if we can get concerned people that care about it, and also maybe a few that are naysayers, and put together a committee to look at the plan we have today, what changes can be made to it now, because it's designed and ready to go out to bid."
At the January 12th meeting, Board Chair Andrew Beauvais said, "Based on the fire station project and the upcoming MSBA [Massachusetts School Building Authority] project, it's been suggested by a number of folks, and I think it makes a lot of sense, and I know the town has done it in the past, to form a building committee comprised of representation from some of the boards and some stakeholders from the community."
Board member Tiffany Newton asked if this meant a permanent committee that worked on all kinds of building projects in the town, or individual committees that would be formed to focus of specific projects. Mr. Beauvais said, "Originally, the thought was just one committee per project, but there may be some value in having one that meets more frequently when there's something on the table, and maybe less frequently, just more of a maintenance. Because right now you don't really have any discussions happening on the maintenance of our facilities, like Town Hall, school buildings, etc. But I don't want that to affect what the Capital Planning Committee does, either."
Town Manager Bill McKinney said, "My suggestion was one committee to oversee all the town buildings, because the MSBA is going to require a building committee for the window projects. So since we have the fire station as well, I decide who makes sense to have one committee that would oversee all of the town buildings."
Board member Erika Eitland said she saw value in having a committee that did general oversight of all the buildings in town, so there would be people who acquired consistent knowledge about them, before there was an "11th hour" crisis and projects were trying to be moved forward.
Ms. Newton said she felt there should be separate, project-specific committees. "I don't necessarily negate the benefit to having an overall committee for some things, but I'm thinking of the fire station. I'm thinking that's a very specialized kind of building that you're going to want some specialized insight from people on that board. And you make a board that's just a general board for all projects around town, and but if you're soliciting for a specific project, you may get those people that have that kind of knowledge for that project over just a general board."
Board member Audrey LeBrie said she saw pros and cons to both types of committees. However, the most urgent need before them right now is the fire station. "If we have a standing committee to keep the eye on all of the the town buildings, that's a much more rigid organization. So it will need to have, like you said, terms and outlines, and what are they going to be doing, requirements, policies and procedures. There may be some out there that we could use as examples from other towns, but I think that'll take a little bit of time to actually get it to a point where it's feasible to launch. And I don't think we can really wait on the fire station building...Let's take care of this one, and let's research and find out what it would take to actually launch a standing committee on the town infrastructure, or the town buildings."
Board member Melissa Blanchard pointed out that a building committee was a requirement for the MSBA project, and it might be hard to find enough volunteers for two committees, schools and fire department.
Ms. Eitland expressed concern that a members of a general committee might have stronger sympatheties toward one project than another. A committee considering a building project needed to look at the issues with "unbiased eyes" and be able to think about what the town actually needs and then at how it could be funded.
Mr. Beauvais asked Mr. McKinney about the composition he proposed for the committee, and Mr. McKinney said he was suggested a one member each from the Board of Selectmen, School Committee and Finance Committee, and four citizens with experience in buildings, construction or finance. Mr. Beauvais said that if they had to set up two such committees, for the fire station and the MSBA project, there was bound to be some overlap in the membership of the two. Mr. McKinney said that a meeting about the MSBA project was scheduled for February 5. "My Proposition would be to form two separate committees, one for MSBA, one for fire, and then we could re evaluate once the school project is complete," Mr. Beauvais said.
There was some discussion about the exact purpose of the committees, and whether it would be valuable to have people on both sides of the issue, as Mr. Beauvais suggested, or people whose focus was on moving a project forward in a timely manner, as Ms. Eitland suggested. The Board seemed to have varying concepts of what the building committees would have as their core purpose. Mr. McKinney said, "these are big projects, multi-million dollar projects that we want to make sure that we have a large enough committee to be able to get a wide, diverse viewpoint." Ms. LaBrie said, "Let's see who applies and go from there."
Mr. Beauvais and Ms. Eitland suggested that given the health implications of the fire station project especially, and aging buildings generally (with factors such as mold and so on), the Board of Health should be represented on the committees.
Fire Chief Tom Smith came forward to say that the composition of the committees needed to reflect the unqiue needs of each building. He wouldn't know what the needs were for a school building, and a School Committee person wouldn't be familiar with the needs for a fire station.
Board members agreed. "I don't think that it makes sense to have somebody from the School Committee on the fire station," Mr. Beauvais said.
Ms. Eitland said that in a FAQ on the MSBA website, it says that towns with a permanent Building Committee still have to submit a form with their school building committee. "So even if we have it, they're still going to be looking for other people working to meet the designation from MSBA. So I think the approach of having one for fire and having one for schools is going to be [the best] approach, and I think we should be very tailored in who is applying and who is accepted. I think so often we're just grateful we have volunteers. I think we need to make sure that we're getting the right people who are able to actually make informed decisions, because this is too expensive of a project to not have the expertise to make the right choice."
The Board voted in favor of a motion to create a committee for the Fire Station with the membership composition as noted in the first paragraph of this article.
Addressing the public at large, Mr. Beauvais said, "A lot of you have voiced your concerns, and this is your opportunity to step forward and have a part in this process. So I encourage all of you that are listening, that have relevant experience, that you submit your letter of interest to the Town Manager's office as soon as possible."
The Board then voted to appoint Ms. Eitland as the representative from the Board of Selectmen on the committee.
Rural Town Leaders to Deliver Dire School Budget News to Healey January 23, amid the MMA Annual Conference
"Without additional state support, rural school districts face a fiscal crisis that threatens their continued viability."
(Boston, MA)--On January 23, when Governor Maura Healey addresses the annual Connect 351 conference hosted by the Massachusetts Municipal Association in Boston, leaders from rural towns and schools from across the Commonwealth aim to deliver an urgent message: Without additional state support, rural school districts face a fiscal crisis that threatens their continued viability.
Over the last decade at least six statewide reports have examined this crisis, and each has concluded that rural school districts are seriously under-resourced and underfunded. (A list of these reports is available upon request.) The situation likely will only get worse with pending state mandates for new literacy programs and expanded graduation requirements.
"Deerfield and most other rural towns and rural school districts across the Commonwealth are facing unprecedented fiscal year 2027 (FY27) budget challenges," Deerfield Selectboard member Tim Hilchey said. "Much of that is due to an outdated school funding system and spiraling health care costs. School expenses account for almost 70 percent of Deerfield's entire municipal budget. Barring significant new support at the state level, the wheels are going to come off the bus, and we're going to face major cuts in services across the board."
The state Commission on the Fiscal Health of Rural School Districts issued its final report in July 2022. Among other recommendations, it proposed that annual rural school aid be funded at a minimum of $60 million. While rural school aid (7061-9813) reached a high of $16 million in FY25, it dropped 25 percent, to $12 million, in FY26.
Many rural districts have received no meaningful increase in Chapter 70 state education aid for more than 15 years.
The result: Rural towns are struggling to make up the funding gap. Many rural municipalities repeatedly pass overrides simply to keep schools operational, straining municipal budgets even further as they battle stagnant or declining economic growth.
"It's not an overstatement to say an existential threat exists to the financial viability of rural schools and towns," said Sheryl Stanton, Superintendent of the Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont Regional Districts. "For more than 15 years, we've been trying to achieve sustainability on our own. We've consolidated and closed schools; shared services; bid jointly with other districts on key contracts. But the savings simply do not keep pace with our rising fixed costs. The lack of equitable funding continues to leave rural students at a disadvantage, and at the end of the day, this is about doing what is right for all students."
In its December 2025 letter to Governor Healey, the Massachusetts Municipal Association strongly reaffirmed its support of the Rural School District Commission's recommendation to appropriate $60 million a year to the Rural School Aid line item.
"This is our plea to the Governor and the Legislature for the FY27 budget. Let's work together to make 2026 the year we devote $60 million to fully fund the Rural School Aid account," Hilchey said, adding that the state should also use a Fair Share supplemental budget to restore the $4 million cut in FY26.
(Constituents who would like to contact Governor Healey may do so using the email form or phone numbers at www.mass.gov/info-details/email-the-governors-office)
