RSS Feed
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
THE YEAR IN REVIEW
The year brought voters to the ballot box many times. Ashburnham voters supported Selectman Jonathan Dennehy as he ran against Bob Rice to replace Brian Knuuttila as the state representative, but the local Republican lost the election district wide. ... Voters then went back to the ballot box - twice - during the spring to reject extra money for the proposed public safety building. Voters told town officials that they didn't want a building that cost an additional $2.6 million. ... A new building committee took on the charge of redesigning the proposal and try to get the project cost under $6.5 million. As the year ends, the committee is preparing to bid out the new smaller building design. They have also paved the parts of the site after the soil kept washing out during rainstorms. ... The new committee is chaired by Christopher Gagnon, who left the Ashburnham-Westminster Regional School Committee in April, when he was elected to the Board of Selectmen. Gagnon ran against Marie Zbikowski for the seat vacated by long-time Selectman Ronald Reed. ...
Y2EA0R service this year. The town also said goodbye to Wesley Landry as he retired from his more than 30 years of service as town clerk. Landry, who took over the position from his father, retired in September but not before sharing many memories at a farewell party. ... Residents along Fitchburg Road/Route 12 saw the completion of a project many never thought would come to fruition - the installation of a public water line to take the homes off water filters after groundwater contamination was discovered in the 1990s. Most of the money was committed by the state 21J Board and a federal Environmental Protection Agency grant. ...
The schools also made news this year. October brought the installation of James Tracy as the eleventh headmaster of Cushing Academy. Tracy, who officially took the post in the summer, replaced Willard "Wink" Lampe as the headmaster. ... Brenda Houle took the reigns of Overlook Middle School after the retirement of Michael Sunderland in June. Ashby Ashby saw its share of controversy this year as budget debates raged along with challenges to elected officials. ... The year started with a race to fill the seat left open by former state Rep. Brian Knuuttila (D-Gardner) including a Democratic primary election that included Selectman Michael McCallum. Robert Rice of Gardner took the primary and the general election. ... In the annual election this April, McCallum, a long-time selectman lost his seat to newcomer Geoff Woollacott. ...
Paul Ludin of White Cross, N.Y. was swornin as police chief in October after a four-month search. Ludin replaces Steven McLatchy, of Ashby, who resigned in June after serving the town for more than two years. ... The Murray family expressed outrage and began a recall on the three cemetery commissioners in the spring after their father's grave was left uncovered. All three commissioners - Steve Beauregard, George Beauregard and Ray Wilkinson - resigned before the recall petitions were certified. ... The attempted recall in April was just a foreshadowing of another recall attempt in December of the library trustees. Residents were upset by the design of the library and the termination of library director Marja LePoer. But the recall failed in a special election on Dec. 19, when Lisa Gordon, Mathew Alfond and Paul McGrail retained their seats on the board. ...
Y2EA0R Townsend Residents have been focused on whether to turn the old railroad tracks into a new walking and bike trial. Voters supported a non-binding referendum question during the spring but selectmen are concerned about the impact and liability of environmental hazards along the trail. A group of residents continues to work hard to raise money for the studies and selectmen continue to debate the issues. ...
The fire department was the subject of debate as Fire Chief William Donahue told the select board he can't sell his house in the North Shore area. Donahue and the selectmen have argued throughout the year about whether he is complying with the residency requirement of his contract because he still owns in another part of the state. ... The Board of Selectmen saw much change during the year with challenger Maureen Denig defeating incumbent Daniel Murphy in the annual election in April. Denig, a local business owner, said she wanted to bring civility back to the board. Only a month later, David Chennelle was elected to the board, after Peter Collins resigned a year before the end of his three-year term. ... The North Middlesex Regional School District also had a number of changes. Long-time Superintendent of Schools James McCormick of Townsend retired at the end of the school year. The school committee interviewed three candidates before hiring Maureen Marshall, who has started her term off with a bang. ... The high school also saw a change in leadership with Richard Manley assuming the role of principal. Westminster Westminster saw the opening of the Crocker Pond Recreation area in May. The swimming area for town residents opened Memorial Day weekend and saw a large crowd of visitors come through during the summer. ... Construction began up and down Main Street with the expansion of the Village Square and the upcoming development near Wine and Roses. Business owners and developers believe the growing popularity of the Route 2 corridor will mean big business for Westminster. But voters were spared having to decide whether or not to have to allow big box stores along the state highway when the question was pulled from the special town meeting ballot in November. ... At the May annual town meeting voters passed the expenditure of $670,000 to repair the exterior of Forbush Memorial Library. But the town was prohibited from spending the money after a technical error in the approval process was noticed. So the matter went before voters again in November for a vote of re-affirmation, which failed to garner support after a controversial and expensive design was submitted to the town. As the year ends, trustees are searching for a new architect and hope 2007 will bring them the funds. ... The Library Trustees of Forbush Memorial Library also struggled after the resignation of Library Director Charlene Churchill in August. Churchill served the library for six months before taking a new job in Maine. ... Earlier in the fall the Board of Health, after many searches, filled the health agent position. Elizabeth Swedberg was hired in October to manage the health department. ... Voters also decided they were happy with the officials they had serving them in office. Selectman Thomas O'Toole was re-elected in an uncontested race in April and state Rep. Lew Evangelidis (R-Holden) beat out Democrat challenger Nate Kaplan in the state election in November. Residents gathered with the Jarvenpaa family on Nov. 18 to dedicate a memorial for David Jarvenpaa, who was killed in a fire in his family's mill on South Ashburnham Road in November 2005. The memorial on the edge of the Mid-State Trail and Braggs Hill Road recognizes David's work with the Montachusett Regional Planning Commission as well as his love of the land and his family. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
)
)
)
)
)
)