PDF - Sturbridge Times Magazine

Transcription

Sturbridge teen’s
summer trip to
WHY TANTASQUA
SHOULD LEAVE THE
SOUTHERN WORCESTER
COUNTY LEAGUE Page 4
Romania
Page 5
VOLUME 1
NUMBER 3
The Sturbridge Times
WWW.STURBRIDGETIMES.COM
THE HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER FOR STURBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS USA
Page 11
Vino
Where to go
to taste & know
Page 15
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EVERY HOME
AND BUSINESS IN
STURBRIDGE
MASSACHUSETTS
THE SEPTEMBER 2007 EDITION
Chamber, Town
aim to increase
tourism, economic
development
Lt. Joshua Booth
Bridge to be
dedicated
September 30
By Jessica Ann Morris
The picturesque green and
white historical home at the intersection of Route 20 west and
Stallion Hill Road averages more
than 75 visitors daily, not because
of its attractiveness, but because
it’s the center of activity for local
commerce.
The Sturbridge Visitor Information Center and the local
Chamber of Commerce are
together at 380 Main Street, and
while the structure that houses
them is small, the responsibilities
shouldered by the two inhabitants is enormous.
“Tourism is the third largest
industry in Massachusetts and
the primary economic engine for
Sturbridge,” said Ms. Alexandra
E. McNitt, executive director for
the Chamber.
“Thirty-nine percent of our
member base is directly affected
by Sturbridge’s tourism success,”
she adds.
More than 450 Chamber of
Commerce members hail from
Sturbridge, Southbridge, Charlton, the Brookfields, Spencer,
Brimfield, Holland, Wales and
northern Connecticut. Annual
dues start at $275 and afford networking, service events, insurContinued on Page 12
On Sept. 30,
the Holland Rd.
Bridge will be
dedicated to 2nd
Lt. Joshua Booth,
the U.S. Marine
platoon leader
from Sturbridge
who was killed
2nd Lt. Joshua Booth
in Haditha, Iraq,
October 17, 2006.
At the time of his death, Lt.
Booth was on a mission to build
trust between the Marines and the
Iraqi people. His company had
been deployed to the AnBar
Province one month prior to his
death.
The dedication will coincide
with the Gold Star Monument rededication on Sunday, Sept. 30,
beginning at 1:30 p.m. at the Gold
Star Mother’s Monument, in front
of the Center School.
The ceremony will include a
roll call and flower laying in
front of the new crosses named
for Sturbridge veterans who have
died in battle. Taps will be
played and a firing squad will
pay tribute. Families of all veterans will be invited.
The group will then re-assemble at the Holland Rd. Bridge for
the dedication ceremony to Lt.
Booth and plaque unveiling.
Jim Glickman, John Stebbins and Christine Tieri are part of the Ted Team.
Meet Ted
Tantasqua Education Foundation
will raise funds to enhance learning
By Richard Murphy
The sign on the door of your
office says emphatically, “No
Solicitors.” Some guy comes
along and ignores those words.
What do you do? If he is selling
magazine subscriptions or
offers to blacktop your driveway, you have instructed staff to
send him packing. What if he is
selling your beloved alma
mater?
That is what happened to
Christine Tieri, partner in the
Sturbridge advertising agency,
Smith & Jones. At her door was
John Stebbins, who runs a
regional payroll company in
Springfield and lives in Sturbridge. While Chris has a son at
Burgess Elementary, John has a
freshman son and junior daughter at Tantasqua. John had come
to Chris’ workplace less to sell
than to give Ted.
Ted is the nickname given by
its marketing-oriented members
to
the Tantasqua Education
Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization.
Chris is a Sturbridge native
and Tantasqua graduate who,
along with her business partner
and classmate, Jean Giguere,
loved her experience as a
Continued on Page 18
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2 THE STURBRIDGE TIMES | SEPTEMBER 2007
EDITORIAL
A
A common good
s you read this issue of The Sturbridge
Times, I hope you will notice that there is
no shortfall in this town of people who
step outside their own needs to help other people.
In July, Sturbridge teen Kallie Richards boarded
a plane for Romania where she hoped to provide
comfort and friendship to orphaned children who
have not enjoyed the privileges that she knows so
well.
Here at home, Carol Childress, who has formed
and led the Opacum Land Trust, took her passion
for the environment, mixed it with her business
savvy, and mobilized a small army of do-ers into
an Eco-Art Auction that sold 70 items that were
made from, or inspired by, nature.
Sturbridge residents Pat McGarrah and Tom
Chamberland will be at the American Legion Hall
on Monday, Sept. 17 at 7:00 p.m. instead of at
home, relaxing after work. They will be there to
answer any of our questions concerning the trail
development plan that promises to enhance the
lives of Sturbridge residents for decades to come.
Deb Morin has been teaching at the Sturbridge
Nursery School for 25 years. In that time, she has
given her unique talents to help form hundreds of
young lives and enrich generations of Sturbridge
residents.
These few examples of service are pulled from
this one issue of our paper. Obviously, there are
many more; actually there are others mentioned in
this paper.
It is worthwhile to pause occasionally and
notice the people around us whose shoulders are
to the wheel for our common good.
Guest Editorials
Tguest editorial in this paper will help us find
his newspaper welcomes Guest Editorials. A
the Sturbridge “Vox Populi” — or Voice of the People.
Here are the rules. You are invited to write about
anything that has to do with Sturbridge and
Sturbridge life, as long as it is enlightening to all of
us, makes good sense, is non-defamatory and is
coherent and appropriate enough to be read aloud
and understood by most members of a Sturbridge
family.
Enlighten us with something new. Challenge us
all with an idea. Point something out that will help
us as neighbors. Give it to us in 350 words or less,
sign it and give us your phone number. We look
forward to hearing from you.
Let’s Talk
HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER OF
STURBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 01566 USA
TO SEND NEWS
OR A LETTER TO EDITOR
OR A GUEST EDITORIAL
PUBLISHED DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF EACH
MONTH AT STURBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
PUBLISHER & EDITOR
MANAGING EDITOR
CONTRIBUTORS
PAUL CARR
JOHN SMALL
RENÉE CANADA
TOM CHAMBERLAND
JAMES COOKE
JESSICA ANN MORRIS
RICHARD MURPHY
STEPHANIE RICHARDS
Please do not send letters for print that
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E-mail: editorial@sturbridgetimes.com
or go to www.sturbridgetimes.com
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or write to us at P.O. Box 418 in Sturbridge 01566
or call us at 508-347-7077
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THE STURBRIDGE TIMES | SEPTEMBER 2007 3
THE
VIEW
FROM STURBRIDGE
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
APPOINTMENT TO
AD HOC COMMITTEE
SHOULD BE FINALIZED
I WATCHED, WITH SOME DISMAY, the proceedings of the
most recent Board of
Selectmen’s meeting on August
20th during which there were
discussions regarding proposed
appointments to the Economic
Development Commission.
Specifically, I was surprised
to hear commentary from the
B.O.S. regarding their concerns
about a proposed appointee,
Matt Sosik, who Town
Administrator Jim Malloy had
recommended to service on the
Economic Development
Committee.
I do not see how or why the
B.O.S. would take an official
position on an appointment
when that appointment is to an
ad hoc committee for which the
B.O.S. has no appointment confirmation authority.
The Town Charter clearly
states in section 6-2 Other
Appointive Powers that, “The
Town Administrator shall have
the power to appoint such other
individual town officers and
members of boards and commissions as are authorized by the
General Laws, this charter, or
bylaws, and for whom appointment is not otherwise provided.”
Of note is that an “Economic
Development Commission” is
specifically NOT mentioned in
the long list of boards and committees that require B.O.S. confirmation (refer to Town Charter
section 6-1). I strongly urge Town
Administrator Jim Malloy to
finalize the appointment process
of Mr. Sosik — and all other proposed appointees — as it is his
statutory authority to do so.
JENNIFER MORRISON
Sturbridge
Ed. Note: Ms. Morrison has written
as a private citizen. She is a member of
the Sturbridge Planning Board.
TELEVISED ACCESS
AIDS IN LOCAL
DEMOCRATIC PROCESS
IN MARCH OF THIS YEAR I
ASKED A SELECTMAN why the
Conservation Commission meetings were not televised and was
simply told “I don’t know”, to
which I indicated additional
information would be appreciat-
ed. To my knowledge, neither I
nor the town has received an
appropriate answer.
Certainly any group that has
the statutory authority to levy
decisions upon residents has an
obligation to be as accessible to
the public as possible. This concept is surely a motivating influence behind the televised broadcasts of the B.O.S., ZBA, and the
Planning Board meetings.
Residents and B.O.S. members
alike will recall that in the Fiscal
’07 Finance Committee report,
released in April 2006, the
FinCom stated that, “Accurate,
relevant information on numerous and often new subjects must
reach the townspeople at a timely
moment. Otherwise, there is little
chance for sound decision-makContinued on Page 4
THE
VIEW
FROM STURBRIDGE
ConCom, other town committee meetings should be televised
Continued from Page 3
ing. A steady flow of the latest
verified information belongs on
community access cable television. We recommend a reconfiguring of the meetings of all Town
boards, committees and commissions to maximize the televising
of those meetings”.
Given the concerns raised by
the FinCom and lack of public
accessibility residents have to
ConCom meetings, I am sufficiently concerned that neither this
report, nor the question posed by
me and others has yet to be satisfactorily addressed. Certainly the
ConCom’s robust meeting agenda which necessitates the scheduling and conducting of business
well past 10:00 p.m. cannot be
considered publicly accessible to
the general public as a whole
given the competing demands on
resident’s time. Where the technology already exists in the Town
Hall meeting room (where
ConCom meetings are conducted), I am at a loss to understand
the reasoning behind the failure
to televise these meetings.
Certainly the residents of
Sturbridge deserve the right to
actively participate and monitor
government proceedings from
the safety and comfort of their
homes should they desire such,
again when and where the technology exists. Consider as well
the demands upon families, older,
or incapacitated residents who
are unable to make the trek to
Town Hall and the challenges
they face in maintaining access to
public proceedings. One would
surely think that we have a
responsibility to make public
meetings truly publicly accessible.
In a 1772 journal entry John
Adams wrote that “There is danger
from all men. The only maxim of a
free government ought to be to trust
no man living with power to endanger the public liberty". Sufficiently
concerned and experienced with
the predisposition of men in
power to be influenced by special
interests while simultaneously
becoming
intoxicated
with
power, Mr. Adams and the founding fathers knew all too well the
personal limitations of government officials. Years later in a letter dated April 15, 1814, John
Adams would further state that
“Democracy never lasts long. It soon
wastes, exhausts and murders itself.
There was never a democracy that did
not commit suicide".
John Adams understood the
proclivity for man to become
uninterested with the day to day
functions of government, as the
competing demands of daily living shifted focus to the task of survival. Thus, the small, seemingly
insignificant acts of governmental
representatives beyond the public
view might well lay the foundation for abuses or special interest
lobbying. By the time this imbalance was noticed, one would have
traveled the road too far to recognize the level of power seeded to
OPINION
SPORTS
others. This would cause democracy to “exhaust and murder
itself”.
It is the responsibility and right
of every resident to carefully scrutinize government, particularly
locally, as it is at that level that the
majority of us are affected.
THOMAS R. CREAMER
Fiskdale
Ed. Note: Mr. Creamer has written as
a private citizen. He chairs the
Sturbridge Planning Board.
JAMES COOKE
Why Tantasqua sports should leave the S.W.C. League
ast year, the Tantasqua Boys
Basketball team generated
pride for the school and excitement for the region when it won
the state title in Division 2. That
was indeed quite an accomplishment as it was only the third time
in the school's 50-year history that
a Tantasqua sports team has won
a state title. Compared to other
regional high schools of its size,
Tantasqua lacks state trophies for
athletic achievement.
The time has come then to
build on that momentum from
winning a state title in basketball
and create a winning sports tradition at the high school.
Unfortunately, Tantasqua's current participation in the Southern
Worcester
County
League
(SWCL) does not provide the
strong level of competition for the
school's sports team to ensure
continued success in the
Massachusetts
Interscholastic
Athletic Association (MIAA) state
tournaments. All the other
Tantasqua sports teams compete
in the Division 1 category with
L
the exception of boys' basketball
and football. Yet there's only other
Division I school in the SWCL Shepherd Hill Regional in
Dudley.
In order to compete successfully in the state athletic competition, it's important that Tantasqua
face Division 1 teams during the
regular season. Given the school's
enrollment - about 1300 students Tantasqua will find itself playing
in the Division I category for the
foreseeable future. (The MIAA
assigns to sports teams to
Division I, II or III categories, usually based on school population,
although many athletic powerhouses in Central Massachusetts
such as St. John's, St. PeterMarian and Holy Name High
Schools with lower student
enrollment than Tantasqua's play
up in D1.) Frankly, it's surprising
given the school's enrollment that
the MIAA lets the boys' basketball
team play D2.
With those two exceptions boy's basketball and football -- all
the other Tantasqua boys and
girls teams are unprepared for
state competition because they
don't play enough tough D1
teams. Take last year's boys' soccer team as an example. During
the regular 2006 season, the team
crushed SWCL opponents like
Southbridge and David Prouty.
Although Tantasqua was seeded
Number 1 in the Division I
District playoffs for boys' soccer,
it got ousted in the first game by a
lower-seeded opponent. The soccer team should have faced tough
D1 opponents to prepare itself for
the state playoffs.
Where would Tantasqua go if it
left the SWCL League? If the goal
was to minimize travel and costs,
then Tantasqua should go play in
the Western Mass Pioneer Valley
League.
The reason is that
Tantasqua (which has three of its
member towns in Hampden
County) is more close to the D1
schools in the Springfield area
than it is to suburban D1 schools
in Worcester County, which tend
to lie east and north of the city of
Continued on Page
SUMMER
What I did
VACATION
A VACATION EXPERIENCE
WITH A HIGHER PURPOSE
Sturbridge teen
finds her
Mission
on a trip to
Romania
14-year-old Kallie Richards went to Prague during her 9-day visit to Romania. Inset shows
Kallie, center, with two Romanian students, LaLa, left and Betty, right.
BY RENÉE CANADA
When summer hits, many
kids take advantage of the beautiful weather and the freedom
from long school days to soak
up the sunrays and just have
fun. But Sturbridge teen Kallie
Richards decided at least nine of
her days this summer would
have a greater purpose.
On July 3, she began her journey to Romania quite literally
with a mission. She, along with
45 others were a part of a mission trip led by Global
Expeditions, a ministry of Teen
Mania, to Oradea, a city on the
western border of Romania.
The group was originally
expected to head to orphanages
and hospitals to visit with the
local children, but when they
arrived to town, the government
quickly forced a change to their
plans.
Although Romania has been
liberated from its status as a
communist police state, the government turned down the
group’s request.
“We tried ministering for one
day and then the government
wouldn’t let us any longer,”
Kallie says.
After her team got to know
the translators who accompanied them on the entire trip,
they focused on learning about
the people and the culture of the
area.
“I was originally kind of upset
because one of the main reasons
I went on the trip was because I
knew most of the kids had been
there [at the orphanages] for
long periods of time. While they
have guardians, they don’t get
the love and attention of parents,” Kallie explained, showing
a maturity that transcends her
young age of 14 (she was just 13
at the time of the trip).
“I was looking forward to
playing with the children in the
orphanages and thought they’d
be happy to have us visit.”
But Kallie knew not to take
the change of plans personally.
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She loved the opportunity to get
to learn all about the culture of
this city, which is known as the
“entrance gate” to Romania. It is
an important social and cultural
center, the oldest city in Transylvania.
Kallie learned many things
about the area. For one, there
were not one but two Catholic
churches in town that everyone
seemed to attend. Another thing
that surprised her was how
diverse the population was.
Right on the border with
Hungary, Oradea has a large
Hungarian population and is
officially bilingual in Romanian
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SUMMER
What I did
VACATION
Tantasqua sophomore
Amber Reilly
takes on the
AAU Jr. Olympic
Games
By Renée Canada
Fifteen-year-old Amber Reilly
is not so different from most girls
her age. When she hangs out with
her friends, she loves to go shopping and have sleepovers. She's
been spending much of her last
days of summer swimming, wakeboarding, and tubing. That is,
however, when she’s not spending
hours at the gym.
As a competitive gymnast,
Amber spends a lot of her hours at
the gym--up to 12 hours a week-and it certainly has paid off. This
past July at the AAU Junior
Olympic Games in Knoxville, TN,
Amber placed fourth on the balance beam in her age division and
seventh overall in events for her
age division.
Amber, along with seven others
from the Over the Top Gymnastics
Academy, also in Worcester, went
to Knoxville. Their team finished
first in the Team Dance competi-
From July 27 to 31, Amber Reilly
was in Knoxville, TN representing
“Team New England” at the AAU
Junior Olympic Games. You might
recognize her as a cheerleader for
the Tantasqua Varsity Basketball
team.
tion, bringing home the gold.
Started in 1967 in Washington
D.C., the AAU (Amateur Athletic
Union) Junior Olympics is the
largest multi-sport event for youth
in the United States. Its inaugural
games included 523 athletes competing in just swimming and track and
field. Today the competition has the
participation of over 16,000 participants in over 20 sports. This year the
event was held in Knoxville from
July 27th to July 31st, 2007.
Amber qualified for the gymnastics portion of competition in May at
Paramount Gymnastics Academy in
Swansea, and from there, she was
put into one of two teams according
to her score. Her regular AAU season finished at the end of May and
she started training for the Junior
Olympics at Paramount immediately afterward until the end of July. "So
instead of starting and learning new
tricks [as I usually do at the end of a
season], I just did the same routines
over and over again," Amber
explains with a laugh.
A dance instructor came to Over
the Top in January and choreographed all the team's routines. The
head coach for the cheerleaders who
used to share their gym also helped
in coming up with their dances. The
girls chose Cirque du Soleil for their
theme.
“Cedar Street is gourmet greatness”
The Phantom Gourmet
“A glorious and far-reaching menu of carefully chosen, creative and varied dishes.”
Matt Quinn, Worcester Magazine
“Dinner at a place like Cedar Street (and
there aren’t many) is good for the soul.”
Bill Cory, Telegram & Gazette
NEW SUMMER MENU
Dinner daily from 5:00
Reservations highly recommended
A New Flavor Every Season
With fresh world influences, our menu takes on a new flavor every
season. If America is a melting pot, this is what real American food is.
12 CEDAR STREET STURBRIDGE MASSACHUSETTS
CEDAR
street
restaurant
www.cedarstreetrestaurant.com
508-347-5800
Meet the man
who gives us
Cedar Street
Restaurant
The Interview
Many Sturbridge residents consider Cedar Street
Restaurant to be one of the town’s culinary
treasures. Non-Sturbridgers talk about the place
and travel great distances to enjoy its fresh,
sophisticated cuisine.
Bill Nemeroff bought the place three years ago
and has transformed it from a restaurant to a
Sturbridge attraction.
When did you know you were going to
become a chef?
Probably when I was about 13.
Believe it or not, that’s when I had
my first restaurant job.
Where was that?
A place in Virginia Beach called
Frankie’s Place for Ribs. It was a
very touristy place. Very popular. A
real high-volume restaurant.
At 13-years-old, what did they have you
doing at Frankie’s?
BILL NEMEROFF
“Today, when I go
out to eat I look at
the dessert menu
first.”
I started as a dishwasher. Then they
promoted me to fry cook, which was
a huge deal for that place. It was an
unusual situation because of my age
and the fact that back then in the
restaurant industry line cooks were
very hardened people and not
always law-abiding. I wasn’t supposed to be working but the guy
who ran the restaurant was my
mother’s boyfriend. I worked there
longer than anyone, including the
general manager, which was pretty
extreme. By the time I turned 15, I
had become the de facto kitchen
manager.
Anyway, early on I knew that cook-
STURBRIDGE TIMES PHOTO BY JOHN SMALL
Cedar Street Restaurant
ing was going to be a major part of
my life. When I went to college at
Old Dominion I decided to study
Geology Education, so that I could
teach and have weekends and summers off so I could also cook in a
restaurant. My mother was telling
my I had to prepare for a ‘real job,’
but I wanted to be a chef. This was
in the days before the Food
Network. I really wanted to be a
chef because I liked to cook.
How did you face up to the fact that
Geology wasn’t going to be it for you?
My father was sick. He said: ‘Life
is short; do what makes you
happy.’ I still follow that advice.
Today, when I go out to eat I look at
the dessert menu first.
There really was no choice. What
made me happy was the fast-paced
atmosphere of a restaurant kitchen
and that experience can’t be recreated anywhere else.
What helped you choose Johnson &
Wales in Charleston, S.C. for your
training?
It just made good sense. I’m a
southern boy and Charleston is the
capital of the south as far as food
goes. Johnson & Wales had a school
there so it was the right thing to do.
Does the city have a strong influence on
the school?
All of the aspects of Charleston,
from the hospitality, the culture and
the history — it all makes for interesting cuisine. I draw a lot from
that. The French side of it. My
mother’s family is French, My
father’s family was Russian. So all
of the culture mix between southern
and french cuisine, it all became a
labor of love. A lot of braising. We
didn’t concern ourselves with calories; we made food so that it tasted
good.
So, you were a classmate of Tyler
Florence?
Yes. It’s amazing that two guys can
leave the same school and one of
them gets picked up by a national
TV network. Actually, Tyler and I
went two different routes. As soon
as he finished he went off to publish
his cookbook. I went off to cook.
This worked out great for him and
catapulted him into the limelight.
Continued on next page
Bill Nemeroff
Continued from previous page
Actually, I don’t remember him
much at school. Some of my roommates worked with him at a place
called Blossoms and I guess he didn’t make much of an impression on
them either.
What was your first job out of Johnson &
Wales?
I worked while I was in school full
time. Had some great jobs. I worked
in a cajun restaurant where I
learned how to make authentic
cajun and creole cuisine. I also
worked at a yacht club where I
developed skills in catering to
guests. I worked for a time at The
Mills House Hotel, the only fivestar hotel in Charleston. Right out
of school almost instantly I was
picked up by a restaurant called
Andiamo here in Massachusetts, in
Bernardston. I was appointed as
general manager and executive chef
of this 300-seat restaurant. I was
young right out of culinary school,
and didn’t have much management
experience but they wanted someone
young and unconnected—no wife,
no kids. I stayed there for four years
and received a lot of experience
•
•
•
•
there. The owners were very handsoff. It’s also the place where I met
my wife. She worked there for a
while and then I had to let her go
(chuckle).
Experience History ...
In a casual atmosphere
Is there a point in a chef’s career when
you know you’re ready to own your own
place and that’s the only choice for you?
I don’t think anyone is ever really
ready. You just have to jump into it
and do what feels best. By never
compromising on your integrity, the
food, and eventually you, will have
some success. Maybe not financially, but you’ll build a reputation.
People will recognize that you know
what you’re doing. If you want, you
can leave it and start something
else. I really don’t know that anyone
is ever ready to do this. You have to
experience it to know. It’s a tough
business.
You know that every day is Thanksgiving
at the Publick House.
But after serving guests for 236 years,
our culinary staff has taken traditional favorites
and added a modern twist.
Experience our innovative menu for yourself.
Visit www.publickhouse.com to view our complete menu.
Present this to your server for
25%
off
your meal.
Valid on Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner in the Historic Dining
Room Only. Discount on food only. Cannot be combined with
any other offer or special. Not valid on Twilight Dinner menu.
ST
Valid between 9/1/07 and 9/30/07
What is the toughest part?
Keeping yourself motivated.
Constantly having to be on your
toes. I enjoy watching trends and
developing new flavors.
On the Common, Route 131 — Sturbridge, MA
508-347-3313
www.publickhouse.com
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420 Main Street, Sturbridge
508-347-3335
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A conversation will Bill Nemeroff, chef-owner of Cedar Street Restaurant
Your menu changes with each season.
Would you say that your dishes are
inspired by the seasons?
Yes. Seasons as well as local flavors.
I work with local farmers and people
who grow herbs. One guy in
Sturbridge, who doesn’t live far
from here, sells me a pound of
Morell mushrooms that grow
around one of his trees. You can
never get Morell mushrooms this
fresh anywhere. There’s another guy
who grows chervil, fresh and abundant. He brings it over and it ends
up in our food.
How did you find Cedar Street
Restaurant?
My wife is from this area. We had
our first child in Virginia Beach.
My family in Virginia is small; she
has such a large family; we wanted
to be near all of that. Her mother
lived in West Brookfield. Just by
visiting the area often we knew that
Sturbridge had a lot of culture and
history and people coming through
with the Pike and Rt. 84 merging
here. Cedar Street already had a
good reputation and I knew that I
wanted a small, older house that
was converted into a restaurant. I
didn’t want a place with a bar
because I didn’t want that to influence the people that would come in
for the food. It was a nice New
England place with a good location.
Would you say that there are flavors that
are indigenous to New England?
The people who come from outside
New England are looking for clam
chowder and lobster. When I go
down south, I notice that one in five
restaurants has lobster. People are
looking for lobster everywhere. But
the interesting thing is that much of
New England is a melting pot
because of the various cultures that
have settled here. Down south
you’ll find southerners with the
southern culture. You don’t find so
much of a melting pot down there
as you do here. Around here, the
cuisine takes on the flavors of the
various communities. You think
about the large Italian communities,
Quality, Convenience, & Personal Service
570 Main Street
Route 20
Sturbridge/
Fiskdale, MA
508-347-0116
Store Hours:
Mon-Fri 9-7
Sat 9-6
Sun 9-5
— High Quality Meats
— Fresh Seafood
— Boars Head Deli Meats
— Frozen Foods & Ice Creams
— Dairy Products
— Hand Selected Produce
— Fresh Baked Breads
— Cold Beer, Sodas & Juices
— Domestic & Imported Wines
— Selected Groceries & Supplies
and the large Brazilian community
in Worcester—a little of that comes
into the food.
Your restaurant attracts people who have
a strong appreciation for wine. Please
tell us about the relationship between
your food and good wine.
They go hand-in-hand. Sitting
down and eating a meal is an
experience; it’s not just filling
your stomach. Obviously you
need a beverage with the meal.
The experience is enhanced
when we pair nuances of certain
wines as complements to the
food.
You, and others here in town, have played
a strong role in the fact that Sturbridge
has become a regional destination for
good food. With this success, what are
your ambitions for Cedar Street
Restaurant?
Someone asked me this recently. I’ve
been here for three years and the
first two years we were merely
building a reputation; now we’re
29 Brookfield Road (Rte. 148)
Sturbridge, MA
508-347-0017
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BACK-TO-SCHOOL
BACKPACKS
T-SHIRTS
OTHER APPAREL
Monday-Friday 10-7
Saturday 10-6
getting phone calls from purveyors
who wouldn’t ordinarily come to a
place as remote as Sturbridge. For
instance, Cambridge Meat
Packaging, which is the largest supplier of kobe beef on east coast,
called me one day and told me
they’d be willing to stop in
Sturbridge. We’re purchasing meat
from them now. Now we have
seafood that is flown-in 2-day air
from Hawaii. You can’t get tuna as
fresh from Boston harbor because
the boat has been out there for days
and they have to travel a full day
just to get to where the tuna can be
line caught. In Hawaii, once a tuna
is line caught it goes to market and
can be on our plates within two
days. We get big eye tuna because
we feel the quality is better. There’s
a lot of process and careful precision
involved in getting that one dish on
the table here at Cedar Street.
Although we get a lot of our business from outside of our 40-mile
radius, we are a neighborhood
restaurant.
Cedar Street Restaurant, 12
Cedar Street, Sturbridge. Tel. 508347-5800.
THE STURBRIDGE TIMES | AUGUST 2007 11
25 years of service to Sturbridge families and the little ones she launched on their way
Deb Morin marks 25 years of teaching ABCs
By Stephanie Richards
As Deb Morin talks about
teaching preshoolers during the
last 25 years, you see the excitement in her eyes as if she was just
beginning her career.
“Since the age of three, I
always knew I wanted to be a
teacher,” Morin, director of
Sturbridge Nursery School, said.
“Preschool and kindergarten
were nonexistent when I was
growing up. But my cousin and I
would play school, making up
names and things to do. I loved
playing school.”
Established in 1967, Sturbridge
Nursery School is accredited by
the National Academy for
Education of Young Children and
offers two-day and three-day programs for three- to five-year olds.
It is a cooperative program
where parents commit to helping
in the classroom for two weeks
and assisting in areas like raking
leaves, shoveling snow and
fundraising initiatives.
Morin is a believer in the cooperative experience because it creates a special bond like a family.
“You really don’t see a lot of
cooperatives around. I love it
because the children see parents
giving their time and it tells them
that they are important and education is important at an early
age,” she said. “And there have
been many longtime friendships
that began here.”
That special bond has made a
difference most recently Morin
said as two families were impacted by tragic events. A few years
ago, a student’s mom had cancer
and died. More recently, fouryear old Christian Frechette, who
was in the two-day class,
drowned. Morin commented how
supportive parents of students
were to these families, “because it
is like a family.”
And there is no question that
the kids are the focal point for
Morin’s love of teaching.
“On my self-evaluation every
year, I always put down the best
part of teaching is the interaction
with the kids. The chemistry of
each group is different every year.
I really learn from them too,” she
Deb Morin
Sturbridge Nursery School
said. “It is always exciting to see
a shy child that suddenly joins
in—he or she has finally reached
a comfort level.”
New initiatives as well as traditions help make each new
school year diverse for Morin as
well.
“We have established some
traditions, like our Thanksgiving
Feast and Mother’s Day Tea. The
children do everything from
cooking to serving and in the
process learn things like left to
right progression, science and
measuring,” she said.
More recently, preschoolers in
the program have benefited from
music enrichment through a state
grant as part of the Union 61
Community Partnership Council.
And a field trip to local dentist,
Dr. Thomas Boccia’s office, helps
to calm their fears while they
learn about dental health.
Morin has seen a lot of things
change in the last 25 years, especially in the lives of preschoolers.
“Preschoolers are a lot smarter
now. They are exposed to a lot
more with technology and tools
that are geared toward learning.
And there is more diversity in the
makeup of children than there
was,” Morin, who has two
grandchildren, said. “There are
more moms working now and
we see greater participation from
dads helping out in the classroom and going on field trips.”
There are many sweet moments
that Morin can recount over the
years but one in particular holds a
special place in her heart.
“I remember in one class, there
were six kids sitting at a small
table. One of the kids called me
‘mom’ by mistake. I told him that
I am a mom too and a teacher.
One of the little girls at the table
said ‘you mean you are a mom
and a teacher. Then your dream
came true!’ And she was right,”
Morin said.
Sturbridge Coffee Roasters
Meet Rita Schiano
at September 22
book signing
turbridge author, Rita
Schiano will be signing
her new book, “Painting
the Invisible Man,” on
Saturday, September 22 at
Sturbridge Coffee Roasters, 212
Hamilton Street, Southbridge
from noon to 3:00 p.m.
The book is available at
www.reededwards.com and
also at Garieri Jewelers,
Bedrock Plaza (Rte. 131) in
Sturbridge.
S
STURBRIDGE
BUSINESS
Chamber: looking to bring in the right businesses
ance discounts, committee participation, newsletters, education and
training, and other benefits.
Ms. McNitt, originally from
Woodstock, Connecticut and now
a West Brookfield resident, has an
extensive hospitality background.
Before venturing on her current
journey as Executive Director, she
spent 12 years at Harvard
University
as
Director
of
Marketing and Communications
for Dining Services.
“It was important to find a job
that meant something to me,” she
explained. “Here I can serve the
area where I grew up and have
always cared about.”
Ms. McNitt inherited a number
of tourism and economic development challenges when taking
office in 2006.
“The Chamber was in a bit of
disarray as there really wasn’t a
foundation for processes,” said
Ms. McNitt. “This first year is
about reestablishing how we can
better serve members, as well as
increase membership and volunteerism.”
Providing support to Ms.
McNitt is the only other Chamber
staff member, Ms. Marta B. Davis
of Fiskdale. Hired in early 2007,
Ms. Davis serves primarily the
tourists and residents that arrive
at the Visitor Information Office.
“Just recently we’ve had folks
from Germany and England stop
in for information, but people
who live here come in to find out
what’s going on as well,” said Ms.
Davis. “The top tourist questions
are: ‘Where is Old Sturbridge
Village?’ and ‘Where can we turn
around when driving on Route
20?’”
With Sturbridge’s heavy reliance on tourism, hotel vacancies
paint a confusing picture for visitors and residents.
“The economic health of
Sturbridge can be improved and
there needs to be a plan on how to
address area vacancies,” commented Ms. McNitt. “We’ve had
numerous conversations with the
administrator, selectmen and
Planning Board, and steps are
being taken to research what’s
going on and how economic
health can be sustained.”
According to Sturbridge Town
Administrator, Mr. James J.
Malloy, the research underway is
driven by a newly-created
Economic Development Committee that “inventories vacant
places and works with companies
to locate here.”
“We’re also working with Old
Sturbridge Village on the Sturbridge Heritage Preservation
Partnership, which is a combination of area interest groups, in
order to identify what kinds of
businesses we want to attract and
how to market to them,”
explained Mr. Malloy.
“The
Sturbridge Rotary honored
by Rotary International
The Presidential Citation is given to local
clubs by the president of Rotary
International where the clubs have met
multiple goals in each of the following
areas: Membership Growth, Club Service,
Community Service, Vocational Service,
International Service and Youth activities.
The sitting District Governor is required to
validate the achievements and distribute
the award at the end of a Rotary year.
The specific goals change a little each
year based on the priorities set by the
Rotary International president, but are
intended to encourage clubs to participate
in a broad range of activities. The award
received by the Sturbridge club was signed
by Bill Boyd, Rotary International
President 2006-2007.
RECOGNIZING
ACHIEVEMENTS WHILE
SERVED AS THE
DICK VAUGHN
CLUB’S PRESIDENT
Sturbridge Rotary past President Richard Vaughan, District
Governor Elect, Klaus Hachfeld and President Robert Sparrow.
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STURBRIDGE
BUSINESS
Economic
development
report is due in the fall of 2007.”
Mr. Malloy is quick to note that
things are not always what they
seem. For example, he did not see
the increase in area newspapers as a
reflection of town health.
“A lot more paper is being delivered that I have to recycle and it’ll
be interesting to see which ones survive,” he said.
Furthermore, Mr. Malloy urges
people to look for reasons beyond
the vacancy signs.
Vacancies are not always related
to a town issue, says Malloy.
“Often businesses change town
location, there is a landlord/lessee
dispute, or as in the case with
Basketville, stores become catalogue-driven and simply exit their
buildings,” he said.
Mr. Malloy and Ms. McNitt hope
the research will identify the types
of businesses that will best serve the
greater Sturbridge community.
“If the study finds there is a saturation of high-end restaurants, it’ll
help determine our direction,” said
Mr. Malloy.
“Sturbridge needs to be vigilant
in attracting the right venues, but
not at any cost. A healthy local economy is always on the town’s agenda.”
“It doesn’t seem that, in the past,
Sturbridge has made a concerted
effort on this, but it has recently lost
business tax income,” observed Ms.
McNitt. “It’s a tricky situation to
find the balance between big box
stores and boutique businesses that
better blend with the landscape.
The Economic Development Committee needs to be empowered to
bring in the appropriate businesses.”
Ms. McNitt said the Chamber is
aligned with the town’s desires and
wants to be a helpful resource to all
in the area.
“The Chamber’s long-term plan
for success is not limited to
Sturbridge,” she said. “The most
positive thing is that there appears
to be a growing energy and enthusiasm for members to get involved in
the economic development health
of the area, which will certainly be
affected by how much the commuContinued on Page 20
Ben Houston from Pioneer Oil Co. addresses the Community Business Associates at a recent meeting.
Community Business Associates: there for each other—and for us
At a recent meeting of Community Business
Associates (CBA) in Sturbridge, the small business networkers discussed the ineffective prerace publicity for the recent Pan-Mass Challenge
— the Jimmy Fund bike-a-thon that starts in
Sturbridge.
After a brief discussion, the members agreed
to identify ways to augment the publicity efforts
for the event next year. While this was not an
agenda item, it is clearly the kind of commerce
issue that interests this small business networking group.
CBA members come from all business arenas,
from oil service to banking. They show up for
7:00 a.m. meetings on the first and third
Thursday of each month at the Hampton Inn,
where they make contacts, help and encourage
one another, and explore ways to contribute collectively (through their dues) to a person or place
of need. Last winter, they purchased a tank of oil
for a Sturbridge resident in need.
Those interested in membership to this organization should call the group’s president,
B arbara Yeager at 508-347-3121.
LUNCHEON BUFFET
Monday to Friday 11:30-2:00
$7.95
15
CHOICES
Including Desserts
179 Main Street, Sturbridge
WALDEN
POND
STUR BRIDGE Trekker
september DAY TRIP
TOUCHING
THOREAU’S
CONCORD
nce
a
t
s
i
D om
fr
DGE:
I
BR
R
U
T
S
STURBRIDGE TIMES PHOTOS BY JOHN SMALL
5
While unseen walkers saunter off and on the well-tended paths of Walden
Pond, a cluster of folks relax along the waterfront at the pond’s Main Beach one
recent Sunday afternoon. The beach is located at the east end of the pond, nearest
the parking area and the replicated site of Thoreau’s cabin. The wooded section in
the upper-right corner of the photo is the actual location of Thoreau’s historic shelter.
SPIRING WRITER, HENRY
DAVID THOREAU was living
with his parents when
their financial circumstances
required that they
fill their home
with lodgers. This
frustrated
Thoreau, who
needed peace and
quiet for his writing
and reflection.
After recalling a visit he had made to
the woodsy cabin retreat of his Harvard
College classmate Charles Stearns
Wheeler, Thoreau realized that living in
such a place would solve many of his
problems; but how would he do this—
and where?
It so happened that Thoreau’s good
friend and mentor, Ralph Waldo
Emerson, owned a small plot of land
on Walden Pond. Emerson gladly gave
his young friend permission to build a
cabin on that site and, on July 4, 1845,
Thoreau moved there, where he
remained until 1847.
Actually, Thoreau was going for
more than a writer’s peace when he
built his cabin. While there, he had
intended to finish his first book, titled
“A Week on the Concord and
Merrimack Rivers” but he was also
interested in conducting an economic
experiment. Was it possible to thrive
while working just one day a week
and spending the other six in transcen-
A
s
e
l
i
9m
dental pursuits? This sort of living was
in perfect opposition to the six-day
work week endured by his family and
New England neighbors. The answer
to the experiment, as we know readily,
depends on one’s cost of living.
One year into his Walden experience, Thoreau was taken from his
retreat and arrested for failing to pay a
poll tax. His one night in jail catalyzed
his essay “Resistance to Civil
Government,” which became later
more widely known as his “Civil
Disobedience”.
During that period, he
made his first visit from
Concord to Mount Katahdin in
Maine, a place which became the
backdrop of future Thoreau writing.
This second year of living at the
pond was also when Thoreau began
work on his second book, “Walden,”
which he wrote as a series of notes
responding to the insufferable questions by townspeople about what he
was doing in the woods.
After leaving Walden Pond,
Thoreau moved in with Emerson for a
couple of years, and then back to his
parents for the remainder of his relatively short life. He traveled to Maine,
Cape Cod, Minnesota and Canada.
Many people don’t know that
Thoreau spent much of his life working in his parent’s pencil factory.
Ironically, the brilliant Thoreau was
well-suited to the facile and uncomplicated yet productive work. He was
most at peace after finding the lowest
common denominator in things, striving for simplicity and eschewing the
stress of conventional living. He died
in Concord at age 44 of tuberculosis.
EPTEMBER IS A SPLENDID
MONTH IN WHICH TO VISIT
WALDEN POND. This is when a
spontaneous afternoon swim is still
possible and the leaves have begun to
radiate their fall beauty. It is also the
time of year when the physical world
reminds us of the splendor and fragility of life, when we mark our days and
question how we spend our time.
While we may have more solitary
and just-as-beautiful trails right here
in Sturbridge, there can be unexpected pleasures found in catching the
scent of pine on one’s fingers while
touching the places where Thoreau
found his lonely path to peace.
— Paul Carr
S
Shops along Concord’s Main Street
face the intersection with Walden
Street. The downtown area offers a
fine New England stroll for day trippers and, for shoppers, high-quality
buys for a variety of goods from jewelry to duck decoys. Lunch or supper
at the Colonial Inn, located a few
blocks up from these shops, completes
the experience but is no more satisfying than our own Publick House.
Henry David Thoreau
(1817-1862)
Thoreau statue stands
patiently in front of the
replica of his cabin.
S E L E C T E D
Q U O T E S
Thoreau
Fare
“To be awake is to be alive.
I have never yet met a man
who was quite awake.”
“Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs
be as two or three, and not a
hundred or a thousand ...
Simplify, simplify.”
“The mass of men lead lives
of quiet desperation.”
“I went to the woods
because I wished to live
deliberately, to front only the
essential facts of life, and
see if I could not learn what
it had to teach, and not,
when I came to die, discover
that I had not lived.”
here is a twice-yearly event in
Sturbridge that you might not
be aware of.
It is the Grand In-Store Wine
Tasting at Yankee Spirits, the most
recent of which took place on a
Sunday a few weeks ago.
Several years ago, I don't
remember how many, I happened
to be going into Yankee Spirits for
a routine purchase and, at the
door, a woman asked if I was there
for the wine tasting. Fortunately, it
was my day for making the right
on-the-spot decisions and I
haven’t missed many of these
Yankee Spirits events since.
When you enter, a small suggested donation is requested (to
benefit of a local charity.)
You are then given a numbered
book listing over 150 wines that
are there for the tasting. I don't
know anyone who has ever tasted
all of the wines; one can only
imagine the record for tasting the
most and how straight that person
was walking afterward.
At the most recent event a few
weeks ago, one of the first tables
in the room was an interesting display of Red Sox Wines.
Just the name conjures men in
baseball uniforms putting aside
bat and glove to prune vines, pick
fruit and work the presses. Ah,
not really. This is actually a charitable venture with bottles labeled
after three sox players and $1.25 of
each sale donated to their favorite
charity. The folks in Tuscany and
Provence will not quake in fear,
but it is all in good fun and helps
good causes.
The next table did not bear sampling wine, but food.
Chef
William Nemeroff’s Cedar Street
Restaurant sent James Talaga to
serve a Cuban Barbecue Sandwich
of smoked brisket on top of a sour
dough toast point with a mojo
dressed slaw.
That was not all for food. Further
on in the store, another Sturbridge
landmark, the Publick House, was
represented by Babelyth Alvardo
and Alex Riddle who provided
tasters with lobster rolls.
T
Vino
Above left, this was Matt Dorment’s sixth Yankee Spirits wine tasting
experience. At center, Yankee Spirits wine manager, Joe Astukewicz.
Above right, Dee King, partner at Cafe Europa.
F O R
T H O S E
W H O
L O V E
BY RICHARD MURPHY
Of course, we were there to sample fruit of the vine and the wines
were supposed to be the stars of the
show, and they were. However, the
folks, staffing the tables in many
cases had some engaging tales of
how they got there.
Perhaps the most interesting of
such stories was that of a New
Englander who made good in the
wine world, Joseph Carr.
Joe is living proof that education
will lead to success. Needing to
work his way through college, Joe
took a job in a restaurant. In short
order he was summarily informed
that he was a lousy waiter. Instead
of giving him the boot, they gave
him a bow tie and a cork screw, et
voilà, he was a wine steward.
Graduating with a fine arts
degree, he used his academic credentials (or not) to continue and
become a sommelier and eventually a
corporate president in the wine business. It has now led to his own label.
I can attest that his cabernet sauvignon justified all of that education.
Another story involves Ian
White, who grew up among good
food and wine in England, but went
to Australia, also a land of good
wine but without a lot of snow.
So how did he end up here?
Well, Ian went to “Melbourne to
find a girl from Kenmore Square,”
as he put it. At the tasting he represented United Liquors; he also
teaches wine appreciation.
All the folks representing the different vineyards and distributors
displayed professionalism and a
high degree of knowledge of the
At the table with friends and family ... no one goes unloved.
One inspired family...
three distinctive locations
Route 20
Sturbridge, Ma.
108 Grove Street
Worcester, Ma.
Main Street
Rutland, Ma.
508-347-0100
508-753-4511
508-886-4600
Kallie Richards’ summer trip to Romania
and Hungarian. “The students are very smart.
They all speak English, and learn so many different things.” Germans, Jews, Slovaks, and
Gypsies also make up the social makeup of the
city.
The beautiful historic architecture also
impressed the local teen. “There was a stone
cathedral that had taken 17 years to build,” she
recalled.
She also describes a famous fortress built in
the 1000s; while largely destroyed by numerous battles, it still stands and has been re-purposed into an art school.
Kallie was less impressed with the local cuisine. She turned her nose up to the traditional
Romanian meal that included stuffed cabbage.
“I didn’t really like it except for what was
inside, so I unrolled the cabbage and ate the
meat and rice,” she says, laughing.
However, not all of what Kallie experienced
was so light-hearted. She was discouraged by
Napoli Pizzeria, III
the poverty she saw in the country. “Some
translators lived with eight other people in
these tiny houses that were so dark and
gloomy,” she says.
She reports that begging is not an uncommon occurrence, describing one experience at
an open mall where members of her ministry
were eating ice cream. The group was
approached three times by children begging
for money and food.
Kallie and her friends encountered many
gypsies and their children, remembering: “One
day some of the gypsy kids came up to a girl
and started pulling off her jewelry while they
were talking with her.”
For safety, the team traveled in groups of
four or more, with at least one male over the
age of 16. All of the ministry groups were were
well supervised.
Up to five people stayed in each room,
which had adjoining sinks with running water.
“We had cot mattresses on wooden bed
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stands,” Kallie recalls. “It wasn’t like at home,
but the rooms were comfortable.”
Though at first, her cousin Kori was the only
person she knew on the trip, Kallie came out of
Romania with many new friendships that she
hope will be long lasting.
She’s already received emails from friends in
Romania, and maintains a close friendship
with a girl in California, who is “about as far
away from Massachusetts as you can be,”
Kallie jokes.
But Kallie has become accustomed to long
distances. It was a 22-hour trip to Oradea.
Kallie’s trip began in Houston, TX at the Teen
Mania headquarters. From there, she took a
plane to Paris, and then a flight to Budapest,
Hungary. She then boarded bus for the sixhour ride to Oradea.
All of the effort was worth it for the incoming Tantasqua freshman. “I would love to do it
again. I would recommend a trip like this to
everyone.
Max Michael Cohen
Born July 24, 2007
at 13:31 p.m.
7 lbs. 8.5 oz.
to proud parents
Steven and Melanie Cohen
of Sturbridge
Nicole Rose Pelski
Born April 27, 2007
to proud parents
Sherri and Glenn Pelski
of Sturbridge
Nicole joins her maternal grandparents,
Ralph and Nancy Brown of Ware
and her late paternal grandparents,
Walter and Natalie Pelski, also of Ware.
product. Typical of the spokespeople was Matt Dorment,
at the Commonwealth Wines table. He also showcased
the highly-respected Robert Kacher selections. Matt has
attended the wine tasting for several years. He can even
suggest just the right wine for a dish you might be planning. He once helped me with a pairing for goose.
So, how did the public enjoy the day?
Pat from Worcester acknowledged his satisfaction with
the event. His wife did not seem to be having a bad time
but was reticent about giving her name and put her foot
down about Pat giving it. Their friends Helen and Jack
Stockdale were not as shy. They like Yankee Spirits for the
prices, but Helen was forthright that Bellini and fruit, a
sparkling Italian blend was her favorite on the day.
Were there any negative comments? No, but Lisa M.
said they should have some gluten free snacks. It can’t
have been that bad for her as she came all the way from
Milton, just south of Boston.
It seemed as we just got there, it was soon all over. The
staff was busy filling orders, so I thought it better not to
bother them. In the next week, Joe Astukewicz, wine manager, was kind enough to spend some time with me.
According to Joe, between 800 to 1000 people attended.
He based that estimate on the number of books handed
out, many to couples. It speaks to how well-run the event
was because the wait at the tables was not long and the
people representing the wines had time to speak about the
product with anyone who had a question.
Yankee Spirits, the largest liquor retailer in New
England, is a destination shop, so people come from all
over. Even so, Joe estimates 10 to 20% are Sturbridgers.
The efficient running of the event was part of an evolution. When the wine tastings were first held, the system
for ordering was slow and confusing. Now, if you taste
something you like, a bottle is marked with your book
number at the table. Staff regularly picks up the bottles
and brings them to the back where patrons proceed to
when they are done. The bottles are separated according
to book number and given to the customer. The line for
picking up tasting choices was always moving.
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508-347-2002
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Tantasqua Education Foundation setting goals to plug in holes
Sturbridge student. She went on
to work in advertising in New
York, but could not resist the pull
of home and eventually made it
back. When John came knocking,
she was ready and willing to
pitch in.
So, what is Ted and why was
John out there soliciting locals on
its behalf?
It started at the home of Jim
Glickman, former Tantasqua
School Committee member and
teacher of English at the
Community College of Rhode
Island.
While Jim’s son has already
graduated from Tantasqua, Jim
remains interested and involved
in the school.
While on the school committee, he was part of a subcommittee that studied ways to get the
moribund old foundation moving or start something else.
Nothing took off.
So Jim called John and they
reached out to Colleen Bonja, a
former Burgess School Committee member. The three got together at Jim’s and talked it over and
decided to give it a try.
After reaching out to Chris,
they approached Katherine
Alexander
at
Southbridge
Savings Bank for the obvious reason that if Ted flew, it would need
a bank. Katherine signed on.
They also wanted someone
with name recognition on board
and asked the owner of the lovely, but now closed, Bin 479
owner, Greg Meserole. Greg has
children in the school system and
remains involved. Another member of the team, Melissa Earls,
already knew the ins and outs of
such organizations as she had
been active in the Mendon-Upton
Foundation before moving to this
area.
The first goal for the group
was to build a board of directors.
The target number was 20.
On April 3, 2007 there was a
rollout presentation at Bin 479.
The vision was presented to various community leaders, and the
original group presented Ted as
“a community-sponsored, independent , non-profit organization
dedicated to providing financial
resources to support projects and
programs that encourage stu-
dents to develop their talents,
become lifelong learners, and
pursue excellence.”
Basically, Ted would be supporting projects not funded by
the school budget.
COMMUNITY TO FUND
If you visit their website, and
you should, you will see the symbol called a helix, of four connected spheres representing community, teachers and students. The
idea is that the community will
fund Ted, and Ted will provide
extra resources for teachers.
Teachers will provide students
expanded offerings, and the students will infuse the community
with skills and enthusiasm.
The “rollout” saw serious folks
come forward representing local
businesses as well as private citizens. The board was complete by
the end of April and had its first
official meeting in May and has
subsequently met in June and
July. They evidenced their enthusiasm by quickly forming subcommittees.
Melissa Earls and Katherine
Alexander head up fundraising.
Jim Glickman leads communications. Finance is Jeff Tasse’s and
Grants is under John Kittel. Not
all are Sturbridge residents.
The Foundation will be introduced officially to the community on November 4th at a brunch
in Old Sturbridge Village. Jim
Donahue, OSV’s new CEO will
speak.
The fundraising goal is
$50,000, which will be allocated
as half for the endowment and
half to be awarded as grants.
KIND OF GRANTS
UNDER CONSIDERATION
There are over 40 such foundations in Massachusetts, so there is
no dearth of examples of how
funds are raised and grants are
distributed.
In Sutton, the fund paid for the
use of Boston University Medical
School’s Mobile Lab.
The lab is a 40-foot bus from
the Boston University School of
Medicine. Biology students used
the lab as their classroom laboratory while it was there. They
conducted experiments in DNA
fingerprinting; protein quantization; and bacterial transformation.
Other
grant
possibilities
involve funding for field trips.
On a field trip to Walden Pond,
some kids could not afford the
bus fare and had to stay behind.
Fifteen percent of Tantasqua’s
students qualify for free lunch. A
small grant to make sure everyone went on such excursions
would mean so much.
Jim Glickman would like to
see SAT tutoring funded.
John Stebbins sees Ted as
something that will help shape
the community. Folks moving in
with a foundation already in
place will be more likely to
become involved.
As teachers are replaced and
new ones are recruited, many
will ask if the school has a foundation.
In this era of pressure on all
municipal budgets, school district education foundations
appear to be the wave of the
future.
If you have kids in school, or
like Jim, are civic minded, you
could do worse than join this
spirited group of folks this
November 4th for brunch.
You may be doing yourself a
favor and come away inspired.
You will certainly be helping the
students at Tantasqua. As Jim
put it, “There are some products
that sell themselves.”
To contact Ted about the
brunch, to donate or just inquire,
email info@TedFound.org or
phone 774-230-6525.
This is an accident
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STURBRIDGE LEGAL
ROBERT A. GEORGE, ESQ.
STURBRIDGE ATTORNEY
M ONTHLY L EGAL A DVICE
FOR
Taking title
to land
t took judges and lawyers several hundred years to figure out what it means
when someone says, “I own my house.”
Perhaps not surprisingly, centuries of legal
hand-wringing yielded not a single simple
answer, but all sorts of different meanings.
One of the most important decisions you
have to make before you buy a house is
what you want it to mean to you.
If you’re the only person on the deed, you
will end up owning it in what’s called fee
simple, which means you get to use the
property while you’re alive and decide more
or less what happens to it when you die.
Complications arise when you own it
with someone else. What does “I own my
house“ mean when the person you own it
with dies?
The answer depends on what your
lawyer writes on the deed’s title taking
clause. If he writes you take title “as tenants
in common,” you may still own in “fee simple”, but your individual shares pass to
your heirs when you die. Under this type of
ownership, you might buy with John and
end up owning with John’s children.
If your lawyer writes “joint tenants,” the
entire property passes to the surviving tenant when one dies. You might buy with the
intention of passing your half to your children. You might even write in capital letters
in your will, “i give my half of the property
to my children.” It won’t matter. If you took
as a joint tenant, it passes automatically at
your death to the other joint tenant.
Finally, if you take title with your spouse,
your lawyer will most likely have you take
title as “tenants by the entirety.” This is similar to a joint tenancy in all ways except that
under a joint tenancy one of the tenants can
mortgage his half of the property without
the other tenant. Under tenants by the
entirety all tenants have to participate.
A bank that lends money to a single tenant by the entirety is out of luck if that tenant dies first. The property passes to the
surviving tenant and that mortgage is, as
they say, not worth the paper it’s written
on.
I
PHOTO COURTESY OF PAT MCGARRAH
S TURBRIDGE R ESIDENTS
Ross and Lana Hughes ride the Grand Trunk Trail up to the Westville Dam.
Information meeting on Sturbridge Trails set
In the early 1900s, the Grand Trunk
Railroad of Canada wanted a line that
went to Providence, RI. It was planned
to go through Sturbridge and snake
through Blackstone Valley to Rhode
Island.
The railroad was backed by financiers in England. As the project
advanced, the president of the railroad
traveled back to England for another
round of funding. But the poor fellow
booked his return passage on the
Titanic, and that was the end of the program.
Fast forward to 2002, when a group
of local folks decided that bike trails or
paths for recreation should be made on
the old Grand Trunk line.
The line went right through
Fiskdale and on to where the Main
Street of Old Sturbridge Village lies
today, then to River Road and off to
Westville Dam.
Five years ago, the federal government began setting aside a portion of
gas tax money for non-motorized
transportation uses, like welcome centers on interstates, restoring transportation buildings and making bike paths.
The government allocated $560,000
for this project with the requirement
that state and local funding be added
as 10% matches respectively. The grant
is reduced each year that it is not used.
A plan has been developed to link
the Grand Trunk with other such circuits to form a trail network in excess
of 40 miles. Communities outside of
Sturbridge are involved in similar
efforts.
Sweat equity from local citizens will
make a difference in this project, even
in counting toward the local match
requirement.
Anyone interested in knowing
more is urged to attend an informational meeting on Monday, Sept. 17 at
7:00 p.m. at the American Legion Hall
in Sturbridge.
Volunteers working on the second
annual National Public Lands Day on
Sept. 29 will be asked to help in the
cleanup.
For more information contact: Pat
McGarrah
at
pat.mcgarrah@charter.net or Tom Chamberland at
thomas.a.chamberland@usace.army.mil. (no hyphens).
Robert A. George
AT T O R N E Y AT L A W
LAW OFFICES
OF ROBERT E. GEORGE, PC
508-347-7114
www.regeorge.net
YOUR LOCAL LAW FIRM SINCE 1973.
• Estate Planning
• Real Estate
• Corporate Busines
• Bankruptcy
• Divorce
• Litigation
Nuptials are
announced
Anthony and Joel
Khattar were married on July, 7 2007 in
a ceremony performed by town
clerk, Lorraine Murawski.
“We could not have
asked for a better person to unite us together in marriage,” wrote
the couple.
Anthony and Joel
celebrated their oneyear anniversary in
Sturbridge in August.
Please
support
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in
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Sturbridge
Times
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Rosacea, Acne, Facial Veins,
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71 Main Street
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508-347-3028
AROUND
THE YARD
A monthly feature of The Sturbridge Times on the care of what’s growing in your yard.
BY TOM CHAMBERLAND, ISA
Eco-friendly, low maintenance lawn care
STURBRIDGE TREE WARDEN
“It is critical to educate the general public that the darkest green turf, which many people strive for, is not in fact the healthiest turf.
A medium green turf with moderate growth rate will have the deepest root system with less thatching, reduced disease and insect
problems and increased tolerance to environmental stresses such as heat drought, cold and wear.”
— DR. JAMES BOARD, PROF. EMERITUS, TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY, Author, Turfgrass: Science and Culture
any of us want to have at least one
less mowing of our lawns during
the summer while some of us
share a growing concern for our environment.
Having a lush green lawn has been a
trend in recent years, though this has
involved using more fertilizers and pesticides.
Marketing campaigns have convinced
many home gardeners that five-step fertilizer/pesticide programs are a necessary part
of lawn maintenance.
This month I offer some simple steps to a
healthy low maintenance, and ecologically
more diverse lawn, that reduces the amount
of fertilizer and pesticide use.
M
Cancer concerns spur
more organic lawn care
A Harvard School of Public
Health study last year found that
people exposed to pesticides had a
70 percent higher incidence of
Parkinson’s disease.
A University of Iowa study in the
mid-1990s showed that golf course
superintendents died of cancer far
more often than the national average.
The Raliegh (N.C.) News &
Observer reports that, as a result of
cancer fears, more homeowners are
turning to “natural yards”.
What brought you to Sturbridge?
Tell us.
editorial@sturbridgetimes.com
• STARTING THIS FALL, have your lawn aerated. Aeration breaks down thatch and helps the lawn
breathe. You can rent an aeration machine or have a
landscaper do it for you.
• OVERSEED – After core aeration, overseed
your lawn by broadcasting a good quality seed mixture. Many of the seeds will fall into the tiny holes left
behind by the aeration machine.
• TOP-DRESS WITH COMPOST – If you have an
established lawn where the soil seems too sandy and
just doesn’t seem to hold water or
the soil is more of a hardened clay, a
top dressing of good quality compost will make a world of difference. Spread 2 yards of compost
per 5 thousand square feet of lawn
(approx. 30’ x 160’), raking it out as
evenly as you can to a depth of
about 1⁄2” . Some garden centers sell compost in bulk
and some even have
spreaders you can rent.
• FERTILIZE – Most
lawns will do fine with
fertilizing just once per year, in early
September. If a second application is needed, apply
after the first cut in the spring. I recommend that you
consider using “phosphorus free lawn fertilizer” to
help keep unnecessary phosphorus out of our lakes
and streams. Phosphorus is the key trigger to lake
quality degradation according to our Conservation
Commission.
• KNOW YOUR SOIL pH – The pH of the soil
(acidity level) for lawns should be close to 6.5. Most
soils in our area are too acidic. If your lawn soil has
a pH of 5.5 or less, weeds will grow wonderfully but
grass will not. Further, you can spend a lot of money
on weed and feed, etc. and grass still won’t grow
well. Soil testing kits can be purchased at garden
shops or you can send a sample of your soil to the
UMASS Soil testing Lab (for order form got to:
Chamber of Commerce
nity participates.”
Two years from now, Ms.
McNitt would like to see
tourism growing, by at least
10 percent, each year. She
intends to focus heavily on the
needs of Chamber members
and welcomes ideas.
Ms. McNitt suggested the
“Fun at Five” monthly networking events as a place for
people to begin their experience with the Chamber. The
next Fun at Five is Monday
September 17, from 5 p.m. – 7
p.m., at Rovezzi’s Restaurant
(603 Main Street in Fiskdale).
It is sponsored by the Hair
Gallery Salon and Spa of
Southbridge and costs $10 for
Chamber members that preregister, $15 for members at the
door and $20 for non-members.
Contact the Chamber and
Visitor Information Center for
further details at:
1-888-STURBRIDGE
or info@sturbridge.org.
www.umass.edu/plsoils/soiltest (no hyphen). The
UMass lab will tell you what the pH is and exactly
how much lime you need to adjust to a pH to 6.5.
The test will also inform you of fertilizer needs and
your soil organic matter (compost). Lime can be
added at any time of the year.
• DE-THATCH IN THE SPRING – Removing
thatch helps your lawn breath and allows for new
shoots to fill in open spaces. Give your lawn a good
raking with a flexible tooth rake in early spring, or
hire a landscaper to power rake your
lawn. Save the pile of dead clippings
as a nice carbon source for your
compost pile.
• MOW HIGH –
Set your mower at 2
1⁄2 to 3 inches. Mow
high and weekly to
keep your lawn
healthy. Higher grass will
shade out weed species.
• SKIP THE WATER AND LET
IT GO DORMANT. If you don’t
water your lawn during the summer
months it will naturally go dormant in the heat of the
summer. As rains return it will green right back up
in the fall. An added boost is that Japanese beetles
will look somewhere else —to lush, over-fertilized
and over-watered lawns to lay their eggs.
• FIGHTING WEEDS – Follow these low maintenance lawn practices and your lawn will grow
healthy and will naturally crowd out weeds. You can
pull a few dandelions individually if they bother you
without having to spray an herbicide over the entire
lawn, or apply dry chemical as the 5-step programs
often require, whether the weeds are present or not.
By following these steps to a healthy lawn you will
be protecting groundwater, reducing pesticide exposure and saving money.
Sturbridge resident to give
seminar on unresolved stress
Dr. David Ballan, M.D., of Sturbridge,
author of the book Unresolved Stress:
Thirsting for Peace, will begin a five-week
series on this topic at Belmont Street Baptist
Church in Worcester Saturday, Sept. 8 from
6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. There is no fee for the
seminar. Interested parties should register in
advance by calling 508-753-0312.
ARTISAN
FRIEND
Michael Terragna is back after the battle of his life
By Richard Murphy
Michael Terragna figures he
has eighteen years to go until he
retires. That should bring him to
about 80 years of age.
Michael is not complaining or
making a political statement
about the inadequacy of Social
Security — he is glad of the
opportunity to be doing what he
loves. After a battle against cancer, he is where he wants to be:
handcrafting sconces, lanterns,
chandeliers, cupolas, weather
vanes and other architectural and
custom metalwork.
An important part of the
Sturbridge area craft scene for
many years, he is returning with
a much lower-profile presence
than before, but that in itself is a
triumph considering his ordeal.
It was a long journey from
beginner tin and coppersmith to
entrepreneur to his comeback in
his craft. Obviously, he was not
born with tin shears in his hand.
Michael Terragna
Michael grew up on a farm and
had a normal enough childhood
and youth.
His military service saw him in
Advanced Infantry Training at
Fort Dix, which was generally a
conduit to Vietnam until it was
realized by the army that lads
trained in New Jersey where
Hey listen!
there are few jungle-like areas
tended to become casualties at an
unacceptable rate. So Michael
was shifted into training to use
the hi-tech (at the time) Red Eye
shoulder fired missile.
Being able to handle a shoulder-fired missile is a critical military job, but all good things must
end and after separation from
service Michael took up the sheet
metal trade in 1971. He must
have liked something about
metal work because in 1974 he set
up a workshop in his grandmother’s house on the farm. There, he
taught himself tinsmithing.
During the seventies, while
still working in sheet metal, he
displayed his tin work at shows.
He was building a name for himself. In 1980, he was injured on
the job. By the time he was healed
in 1983 he was ready to open a
shop in the back of the building
that is now the Yankee Candle
outlet in Sturbridge, where
Seraph used to be located.
He opened his doors on April
Fools Day and began making and
selling tin ware, copper lanterns
and
reproduction
lighting.
During the eighties Michael was
collecting antique tools and
books on his chosen field.
As time went on, he picked up
some employees, and by 1989 he
moved major operations to nearby Charlton. From then until 1994
he kept growing and eventually
had 12 workers. His business was
both retail and wholesale.
Eventually, Michael opened a
museum of tin smithing where he
had 8000 square feet of production space. It was all open to the
public.
It certainly would appear to be
a shrewd marketing strategy to
have people come in and watch
him and his staff using eighteenth
century machinery and equipment to manufacture product,
Sturbridge’s Friendliest
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Mon-Sun
11:30 - 10:00 pm
Pub Hours
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Coming in September
on 42” HD TV’s!!!
Upstairs — Watch up to 5 games
Live Entertainment Friday & Saturday Night
Everyone else does.
407 Main Street, Rte. 20
Sturbridge, MA
508-347-2838
Michael Terragna is back doing what he loves most
but it also sounds like what Michael would do
without guile, just because it worked. There
was even candle making as part of it.
The museum had the largest collection of
antique tools of the period and the library had
over a thousand books. On the first anniversary of the opening of the museum in 1991
over 200 tinsmiths gathered. Many of the people Michael had looked up to during the
learning process were now his peers and some
would call him with questions. He counts that
as the best kind of compliment. Not that he
thinks of himself as a great tinsmith since, as
he has been told, “you are not a great tinsmith
until you pass on.”
Michael’s process does not include using
powder paint to make his work black. He has
an antiquing process that makes his work so
you can't tell it from that produced in the
eighteenth century. It is a trade secret that he
has only shared with one person and unfortunately not with the Sturbridge Times.
Michael has been approached by corporations for what he knows and turned them
down also. A lot of tinsmiths put their names
on their work, not Michael. Even though he
does not sign, people know what is his.
In 1989, Early American Life magazine voted
him one of the top 200 traditional craftsmen.
This is an award many apply for and receive
year after year. Michael only applied once and
got it once. His view on the matter is “do it
once, that's it. Move on in life.”
If you go into his showroom, with all the
inventory that he has made, it is easy to come
to the conclusion that he does not favor wasting time.
In 1999, tinware made by Michael became
part of the White House Christmas tree. His
work has also been obtained by the prestigious Abby Rockefeller Foundation.
If you ask where Michael’s passion for the
craft stems from, he will tell you that he is not
going to work when he goes into his workshop.
Because it was “too much of a business”
and he wanted to be a hands-on craftsman, in
1994, Michael closed the Charlton operation
and moved to Sturbridge to operate out of 5
Snell Street, behind the building he had started out in. He had his workshop in the cellar,
retail on the ground floor and lived upstairs.
He was creating for the local market, but he
was still doing it for the whole country as
well.
Things were going well when around
August or September 2002 he was diagnosed
with cancer. In December of that year he had
to undergo surgery, and had to close the business until April of 2003. During the break, he
had no income. By December, the cancer had
returned and he had to close again and
endure radiation treatment that lasted until
the end of March of the next year.
Michael reflects that insurance is great until
you get sick. He is fortunate to have had the
Veterans Administration to fall back on.
In April, 2004, he reopened, but soon
decided to sell out and take a break and make
Extra copies of this paper: Yankee Spirits, Joshua Hyde Library, Town Hall, Chamber of Commerce, Publick House Bakery
Yankee Spirits wine tasting
I asked Joe how the vendors and wines are
chosen and learned that they are hand picked,
based on their value and what the French call
typicitée. That is, the wines taste the way they
should at the price point.
Certainly, there was a great variety from the
mainstream to super obscure. Yankee Spirits
was very accommodating to the vendors within reason. After all, no one would have wanted 50 different New Zealand Sauvignon
Blancs no matter how good.
There were more whites because of the summer season, but I wish to weigh in with the fact
that, in my view, there is nothing better than
burgers cooked outside on the grill with a
glass of beaujolais.
Did Joe have a favorite wine? He was a bit
hesitant to say, citing the oft-touted: “they are
like your children and you do not feel it is
right to favor one over the other”.
Still, he shared that as wine goes, he tends to
be a francophile.
French wines are identified with regions
that share the same type of soil and weather
conditions. There are sixteen allowed varieties
of grapes, but most wines will blend at most,
four.
With that in mind, Joe did name his favorite
child. It was Domaine Saint-Benoit Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2005. Apparently, the excellent
2005 weather produced the hints of brambly
fruit and spice flavors. It was, indeed, wonderful to taste.
The wine tasting made for a very enjoyable
day. I asked Joe if there were any events coming in the near future. He advised that a
Sonoma County wine and cheese pairing seminar is planned. You can check the website
(http://www.yankeespirits.com/) for details
which should be forthcoming soon. While
there, you can sign up for their newsletter and
email alerts.
Joe and Yankee Spirits had their choice for
best wine of the day. My choice fell into the
under $10 category: the Arancio Nero d’Avola
Sicilian Red.
Salut!
an effort to get better.
From April to September, he worked at selling off his inventory. Fortunately, he had the
great friendship and support of his customers
who would come and visit him with coffee
and donuts. By September, he had cleared out
the inventory and walked away.
Moving to New Hampshire, Michael took a
year and a half off to get himself healthy,
“food, diet, the whole nine yards,” he
shrugged.
In 2006 he started making tinware again.
He bought a little house and got back to work,
did some shows and put up a webpage.
While doing the shows in the northeastern
U.S., he was lucky enough to run into Elaine
Ramsey of Village Primitives on Route 20 in
Sturbridge. Elaine and Michael sat down and
made an arrangement. Michael set up his
showroom in the back of Village Primitives
and Elaine will handle the sales. The showroom will be the same as his old place at 5
Snell across the way.
According to Michael, only 30% of the merchandise is there, but it looks pretty full
already.
Though he is still a dedicated artisan, he is
taking things easier than before. He fished
growing up on the farm, but had no time as
an adult. Now he has bought a boat and he
goes out on the Connecticut River with his
dog when he can. Just making and not selling
has made a big difference in his life. As he
learned from his ordeal, money means nothing and he is genuinely happy.
Michael Terragna has started his 18-year
countdown to retirement. In truth, he is not
really counting down. That's not his style. He
will enjoy doing what he has always loved
and when he turns 80, he will probably decide
to give it 20 more years.
Michael’s website can be viewed at:
www.coppersmithtinsmith.com.
Barefoot
Cellars
3for
00
15
750 ml
All Types
$5.99
per bottle
Fred’s Variety
& Package Store
Route 148, Sturbridge
347-9221
Carol Childress has deep roots with Opacum
By Stephanie Richards
Growing up in the middle of a
3,000 acre watershed in Southbridge, Carol Childress developed
an appreciation for nature.
“As a child it was great. There
was nothing around and we had
the woods, dirt, wildlife, fishing
and hiking,” the Sturbridge resident said. “We weren’t allowed to
watch TV, so we spent a lot of time
outdoors.”
Because of her passion for conservation, Childress has immersed
herself as the volunteer president
and founding member of Opacum
Land Trust, Inc. The private, nonprofit organization is dedicated to
protecting natural and cultural
resources from Monson to the
Brookfields to Sturbridge.
“I’m not anti-development. I
make a living off being a real
estate appraiser,” Childress said.
“But the laws in Massachusetts
barely take care of resources we
have and provide too much leeway. Once (the greenway, plants,
animals, landscape) they are gone,
we can’t get them back. I am a
STURBRIDGE TIMES PHOTO BY STEPHANIE RICHARDS
Carol Childress
firm believer that we must have
balance in everything we do. We
needed to take steps to protect historic and prehistoric sites, vernal
pools and endangered animals.”
About eight years ago when
development increased in the
area, Childress experienced first
hand a rare animal find in her
own backyard—the marbled salamander. That was the beginning
of her education on everything
from vernal pools to environmen-
tal law and the formation of
Opacum Land Trust, Inc.
The all-volunteer Opacum
Board has six members including
Childress; Vice President Jennifer
Ohop, staff naturalist at Norcross
Wildlife Sanctuary; Treasurer
Jennifer Morrison, partner in
Sterling
Engineering;
Allan
Forrest Smith, archeologist and
amateur herpetologist, George
Miller, a marketing specialist and
Leslie Duffy, staff horticulturalist
at Norcross.
The organization currently
boasts about 300 members and
sponsors programs on a monthly
basis to provide information to the
community and hosts fundraising
events, such as the July 29 Eco-Art
auction and annual plant sale, to
help further conservation efforts.
Childress, who also writes grants
to help in the fundraising efforts,
was quick to point out membership support. “Our membership is
with
their
very
generous
resources. We raised $5,000 just
from membership to help support
two specific conservation efforts,”
she said.
Carol is quick to dispel the
myth that Opacum competes with
developers. “Opacum doesn’t
compete with developers because
the people we work with are conservation buyers,” Childress said.
“I’ve learned that time and
patience is the key to making
things happen.”
Case-in-point is developer Bob
Moss who worked with Childress
and the Opacum Land Trust,
donating a 266-acre property that
is a permanent conservation area
in Sturbridge. Opacum Woods,
located off Old Brook Circle, is
open from dawn to dusk and
includes four miles of hiking
trails. Adjacent to the property is
the 30-acre Herve and Mary Jane
Gaumond Memorial Sanctuary,
which was donated to Opacum
Land Trust by the Gaumond
Family in 2002.
And Moss is in the process of
building 70 houses on an additional 55 acres next to Opacum
Woods. “Bob really believes in
The Sturbridge Times Crossword
PHOTO BY LES GARDNER
Southbridge Credit Union supports indigent veterans
Thomas A. Chamberland, center,
Commander of Champeau-Vilandre
American Legion Post 109, Sturbridge,
receives from Thomas J. Smalarz, right,
President and CEO of the Southbridge
Credit Union, and Paul D. Raffa, the
Credit Union's Business Development
Manager, a $1,000 check to support
indigent veterans in the jurisdiction of
the Sturbridge Veterans Agent. Mr.
Chamberland also serves as Veterans
Agent. The presentation marked the
60th award from the Credit Union's
continuing Community Champions
Fund, which, four times a year, aids
community-based activities that improve
the quality of local life. National credit
union officials have described the
Community Champions Fund as one of
a kind in the United States.
Are amalgum fillings safe?
A MONTHLY FEATURE OF
THE STURBRIDGE TIMES
Tooth Decay: Why You Need Fillings
BY
THE FACULTY OF THE
HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL
Q: I have some old silver fillings
that my dentist says need to be
replaced. I’ve heard that removing
these types of fillings can release
mercury. Is this dangerous?
A: Dental amalgam is the silver-colored material used to fill
(restore) teeth that have cavities
(see illustration). Also called silver or mercury amalgam, this
material consists of two materials in nearly equal parts: a powder containing silver, tin, copper,
zinc and other metals; and liquid
mercury. Even though amalgam
has been used for more than 150
years and is the most common
material used for fillings, it
remains controversial.
The source of the concern is
fear that mercury may promote
conditions such as Alzheimer’s
disease, multiple sclerosis and
autism. Amalgam fillings release
a tiny amount of mercury vapor
when they are put in or removed
from teeth. Even chewing can
release mercury vapor. But there
is no evidence that removing
amalgam fillings will benefit —
or harm — your health.
To date, no scientific studies
have demonstrated any harm
from dental amalgam. As a
result, organizations such as the
Food and Drug Administration,
American Dental Association,
National Institutes of Health and
the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention have, at one time
or another, stated that amalgam
is safe for everyone except the
few individuals who are allergic
to the material. In addition, banning it would eliminate an
important dental option for
many people. Amalgam fillings
are strong and durable, so they
last longer than most filling
materials. They are also relatively inexpensive.
However, the debate isn’t
over yet. After reviewing studies
on amalgam from 1997 to 2006,
the FDA drafted a report that
reiterated that amalgam is safe
for nearly all people. But in
September 2006, the advisory
panel that reviewed this report
said there were too many uncertainties to make that claim. They
say more information is needed
on how it might affect certain
groups, particularly pregnant
women, children and people
who are sensitive to mercury.
Nearly all the data on amalgam safety come from studies of
adults. In many cases, these people worked in places where mercury is present in sizable quantities, like dental offices. In fact,
the first randomized trials in
children appeared only in April
2006. These two studies found
that children whose cavities
were filled with amalgam had
no health problems as a result.
Each study involved more than
500 children, who randomly
received either amalgam or composite fillings. One study tested
the children over several years
for memory, attention, physical
coordination and speed of nerve
conduction. The other study
tested IQ. Researchers found no
difference in test scores between
the children in the two groups.
They did find, however, that the
children with the amalgam fillings had slightly higher levels of
mercury in their urine.
While these studies are reassuring, we still need more
research. The FDA advisory
panel said there wasn’t enough
information
to
determine
whether pregnant women and
children should avoid amalgam
fillings.
The debate about amalgam
has prompted some dental professionals to substitute more
expensive restorations for still
serviceable silver fillings for all
patients. Composites, which are
tooth-colored materials made
from powdered glass and other
compounds, are a common
option. When composites were
introduced, they were not very
strong and were used primarily
in the front teeth. Newer composites are stronger, although
they still tend to wear out faster
than metal-based materials and
generally need to be replaced
earlier than amalgam fillings.
Porcelain, gold and other metals
are also used as filling materials.
If you got your fillings more
than a decade ago, your dentist
is correct. Most amalgam fillings
wear out in 10 years or less and
need to be replaced. Ask him or
her which restoration material
would be best for your particular situation and needs. Make
your decision calmly, without
undue worry about the mercury
in amalgam.
© 2007 the President and
Fellows of Harvard College.
Submit questions to
harvard_adviser@hms.harvard.edu.
A trip to Knoxville and the Junior Olympics for Tantasqua teen
Amber, her mother and her
teammate Melissa made the 15hour drive over a couple days to
compete in the four-day competition. “It was my first time going,
and it was a really good experience," Amber says. She explains
that the Junior Olympics is
markedly different than the
Olympic games most readers are
familiar with. There are younger
girls competing, at varying levels, and it's less competitive. “It's
a lot of fun.”
Fun is what has kept Amber in
the sport of gymnastics for the
last 121⁄2 years. Amber's mother
signed her up for the sport when
she was two years old. Amber
has been happily flipping
through the air ever since. “I just
love tumbling,” Amber says.
One of the things she enjoys
most about the sport of gymnastics is nailing new skills on her
favorite event, the floor. “It's cool
being able to do really hard
moves not many others can do."
One of those moves is the back
layout full, which involves a sort
of running cartwheel, jumping
back into something akin to a
handstand while pushing off into
the air, immediately followed by
Southern Worcester County League
Worcester.
Note that Tantasqua's distance to the following D1
schools: 36 miles away from
Springfield Central, 39 miles
from Cathedral High School in
Springfield, and 38 miles from
Springfield Sci-Tech. In fact,
there are a number of nearby D1
schools such as Minnechaug at
22 miles, Ludlow 31 miles, and
Amherst 33 miles. Tantasqua
could play 10 to 14 games
against Pioneer Valley teams
and the remainder of the 20
game schedule against SWCLWest teams. (Bartlett, Leicester,
Prouty, Quaboag, Shepherd
Hill, and Southbridge.)
If the Tantasqua community
prefers to stay within Central
Mass, it could compete in either
the Midland-Wachusett A
Division or B Division. Schools
in the Mid-Wach A
are:
Algonquin, Fitchburg, Leominster, Milford, North Middlesex, Shrewsbury and Wachusetts. The Mid-Wach B encompasses
Gardner,
GrotonDunstable, Marlborough, Nashoba Regional, Quabbin, and
Westborough.
Already, the Tantasqua swim
team competes against Mid
Wach teams because the other
SWCL schools don't offer swimming as a sport. In addition, it's
likely that the Tantasqua
Lacrosse team, which gets
underway this year as a JV program, will have to participate in
another League other than the
SWCL to find opponents. Five
of 7 Mid-Wach A schools have
Lacrosse teams, four of the 6
Mid-Wach B teams do and several Pioneer Valley League
teams do as well.
With the start of Lacrosse it's
the right time to move to another venue as all the school's
sports teams - baseball, basketball, cross country, field hockey,
golf, soccer, softball, tennis,
track and field - could take part
in the same league. For a number of reasons, including costs
and travel, it would make the
most sense for Tantasqua to join
Mid-Wach A, in which all 7
league members are ranked D1.
If that happened, because
MIAA generally requires a 20game schedule to qualify for
state tournament play, most
Tantasqua sports teams could
still play 6 nearby SWCL teams
like Quaboag and David Prouty
in its regular season schedule.
Mid-Wach A offers the challenge Tantasqua needs to get
better. Along with the Catholic
schools in Worcester, the MidWach A teams of Algonquin and
Milford are the athletic powerhouses that Tantasqua must
overcome to be successful. On
the other hand, the Mid-Wach B
is less appealing because
Groton-Dunstable is Division 2
and lies some 67 miles from
Tantasqua. Gardner also is 60
miles away. The farthest schools
in Mid-Wach A from Tantasqua
are North Middlesex at 59 miles
and Fitchburg at 54.
Although switching to
the Mid Wach A League will
mean longer bus rides to 5 of its
7 schools, it won't be considerable. For starters, since
Tantasqua plays SWCL East
teams, team buses now have to
travel east of Worcester to
schools
like
Northbridge,
Uxbridge and Millbury. Most of
the sports teams start their
games at 3:30 p.m. in the afternoon and playing schools like
Quabbin means that athletic bus
will arrive back at Tantasqua at
7:15 p.m. rather than 7 p.m. As
for the basketball teams, they
may have to adjust schedules
and play the farthest-away
teams on Friday nights, or else
move the start time for the J.V
games to 5 p.m. rather than 5:30
p.m. By the way, the Tantasqua
boy's basketball played Milford
- 45 minutes away - on Friday
night, a game that was the turning point for the winning sea-
son. And some teams like swimming, cross-country and indoor
track already travel throughout
Worcester County - and even
the state-- for meets.
Tantasqua will likely have to
petition the MIAA to change
leagues and it may be two or
three years before such a switch
happens. Still, leaving the
SWCL lies in the long-term
interest of the school and its student athletes. The community
experienced considerable excitement last year when the
underdog boys basketball team
upended tough opponents in
the state playoffs. We can only
ensure continued athletic success if during the regular season
Tantasqua faces the same D1
schools Tantasqua will be pitted
against in the playoffs. On top
of that, DI is generally regarded
as the highest level of sports
competition, and that's where
an
eminent
school
like
Tantasqua surely belongs.
Tantasqua Regional High
School Committee will likely
vote early this fall (probably
October) on whether to leave
the SWCL. It will also have to
decide which league to take part
in as well. If you want the sports
program to continue to move in
a positive direction, talk to your
school committee members or
come to the meeting. That vote
could well determine how
many state titles Tantasqua wins
in the future.
James Cooke is one of the
Brookfield representatives on the
Tantasqua Regional School Committee. He sponsored the motion to
study leaving the SWCL last spring.
Advertising
Account Representative
Enjoy your work.
Sell advertising space for
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• Commission-based.
• Make your own hours.
Send resume and cover letter to:
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P.O. Box 418, Sturbridge, MA 01566
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Sturbridge Times Crossword Solution
AUGUST
MOVIES
at Village Cinema
Village Cinema is located at the Visitor
Center, Old Sturbridge Village.
Showtimes are 7:00 p.m. and tickets are
just $5.00 per person. Snacks and sodas
September 7 and 8
THE LAKE HOUSE
Amber Reilly
a graceful, outstretched back flip
with a full twist at the end.
Though Amber might make it
look easy, these highly skilled
moves come after a lot of work.
Going to practice four times a
week for three hours each,
Amber has learned a lot about
the meaning of dedication.
“Sometimes I stay up really late,”
she says. “During basketball season, I went from [basketball]
cheerleading practice to gymnastics with 15 minutes in between.”
But the sacrifice of time seems
worth it to the Tantasqua sophomore, who will be on the football
cheerleading squad for the first
time at school this fall.
Her grades don’t seem to suffer
from time commitments to practice. “Amber does her homework
in the car on the way out to her
meets,” Amber's mom Marion
explains. An honor roll student,
Amber wants to go eventually
into marine biology, though she
wouldn't mind first, of course,
making the Olympic team.
(PG)
September 14 and 15
BOBBY
(R)
September 21 and 22
WE ARE
MARSHALL
(PG)
September 28 and 29
THE ASTRONAUT
FARMER
(PG)
Old Sturbridge Village
S
T
U
R
B
R
I
D
G
E
CLASSIFIED RATES
CLASSIFIEDS
Sturbridge Residents:
SELL YOUR STUFF
FOR FREE!
4 lines = No Charge!
ITEMS FOR SALE
Rowenta IS7800 Commercial
Garment Steamer $89.00
Retail price: $149.00
Miscellaneous Sports Items
Rowenta IS-7800 Industrial
strength, commercially rated
steamer removes wrinkles from
hanging garments such as curtains, bed skirts, and suit jackets. Also ideal for difficult to
iron fabrics such as sweaters
with beading and delicate
items.. 508-347-8252.
Free-standing adjustable basketball hoop $25.00; Football
table (Soccer) 2 feet by 4 feet
$35.00. 508-347-1325
Baker’s Rack
Bakers Rack, 67" high, 27" wide,
17.5" deep, wrought iron and
wood, 4 small drawers and it
holds 5 wine bottles $45.00.Call
508-347-1325
Holy Love
Love God above all things; love
your neighbor as yourself =
Holy Love.
www.holylove.org.
B
U
S
I
Bottom Line
Bookkeeping
Independent Bookkeeper
On/Off Site Services
QBooks Installation
and Training
Free Consultation
978-223-8051
Kelly Tiedemann
N
Sturbridge Residents:
SELL YOUR STUFF
FOR FREE!
E
S
S
The Dental Office of
Dr. Robert Audet
and Dr. James Dores
located at
22 Main Street
Sturbridge, MA
is pleased to announce
new extended office hours:
Mon. 8 to 8
Tues.&Wed. 8:30-8
Thurs.&Fri. 8-5
Jobs available for machine
operators, assemblers, draw
tower
operators
in
the
Southbridge and Sturbridge
areas. Must have high school
diploma or GED. Must be able
to communicate in English. Call
Lee at 508-765-8881.
Please call:
508-347-7171
to schedule an appointment.
BOSTON
COMPUTER
DOCTOR
We make
PC Housecalls
MOBILE COMPUTER NERDS
• PC Service / Repairs
• Virus Removal
• Slow PC or Internet
• We Can Fix it!
BACK-TO-SCHOOL PC TUNE-UPS
service@BostonComputerDoctor.com
Sturbridge, Mass.
508-904-9490
Brand New
5-Light Sonoma Chandelier
Bought for our last home, never
installed. In box. Mission style,
almond colored glass and green
accents. 18” diameter chandelier
w/intricate filigree border on the
handcrafted glass shade and
beautifully styled antique bronze
5-light fixture.
• Antique black patina finish
Tiffany style glass shade
• Overall size 19” wide x 19”
high
• Uses five 60w medium base
bulbs
Paid $168. Will sell for $125.
508-347-8252.
D
I
R
E C
AD REP
For Sturbridge Times. Call on
area businesses. We’re flexible.
You’re dependable. Commission-based. Send letter and
resume to: The Sturbridge
Times,
P.O.
Box
418,
Sturbridge, MA 01566.
___________________________
50 Elm Street
Southbridge, MA 01550
508-765-8881
Email:
maria.ngo@eandkstaffing.com
Website:
eandkstaffing.com
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+ 3 Text Lines
Each line = 24 characters
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AND BUSINESSES:
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including spaces, phone #.
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PLACE YOUR AD:
E-MAIL:
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MASSAGE
The Sturbridge
Massage Center
John Foley (formerly of Paul
Conzo Day Spa) is offering therapeutic relaxation massage at
the Sturbridge Host Hotel. By
appointment only. Call: 508867-3958 or 774-200-0872.
T O
R Y
Best New
Restaurant
in Town!
US MAIL
Sturbridge Times, P.O. Box 418
(please give way to contact)
All ads in print also appear on our website in the
pdf copy of this newspaper. Deadline is the 22nd of
each month at 4:00 p.m. All classified ads must be
paid prior to publication. The Sturbridge Times
accepts no liability for its failure, for any reason, to
print an advertisement or for any errors appearing
beyond the cost of the advertisement. The
Sturbridge Times reserves the right to edit, rewrite
or reject any ad. Sorry, no refunds on classified
advertisements.
Carol Childress
328 Main Street
Sturbridge
508-347-6466
Now accepting new patients.
Our office provides comprehensive
dental care, including but not limited
to: family general dentistry, endodontics (root canal therapy), prosthetics
(partials, dentures and bridge work),
cosmetic dentristy, implant reconstruction, and minor oral surgery.
Let your comfort and smile be our concern!
Specializing
in Home &
Business
STURBRIDGE RESIDENTS
EMPLOYMENT
5-Piece Bedroom Set
Maple hues, exc.cond., 5
pieces—must see. $500.00 or
b/o. 508-347-3399.
FREE for
Cooking from the heart
Breakfast & Lunch
Open 6 am-2 pm • 7 Days
508-347-9300
25 Brookfield Rd.
(Rt. 148) Fiskdale
YOUR
AD
HERE
NEXT
MONTH
Complimentary hot deluxe
breakfast. Free high-speed
Internet access. Indoor heated
pool and jacuzzi. King rooms
with micro-fridge, cable TV
with premium movie channel.
Exercise room. Just 1/2 mile to
Old Sturbridge Village.
(formerly HooYa’s)
$30
508-347-7077
ORDER YOUR
DISPLAY
ADVERTISING
ONLINE
AT 3 AM!
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REACH EVERY
HOME
AND BUSINESS
IN
STURBRIDGE
leaving something for the next person.”
Childress said.
Childress, representing Opacum Land Trust,
and Moss were applauded for their efforts with
the 2004 Environmental Award sponsored by
the Massachusetts Audubon Society and
Worcester Business Journal.
“In the most positive way, Carol is relentless.
She possesses a level of laser-like focus and commitment and without someone like her at the
helm, we wouldn’t be growing,” said Morrison.
Ohop concurs. “One phone call from Carol
about eight years ago changed my life. I grew
up here and a lot of things have changed over
time. I wanted to be involved to preserve it,”
Ohop said. “Carol is a great person and a very
hard worker. She says she is going to do something and she does it.”
Growth in the organization is evident with
the recent success of the Eco-art silent auction at
Old Sturbridge Village (OSV). More than 100
tickets were sold and 70 silent auction items
donated toward the event, which raised about
$5,400 for the organization.
For more information on the web, go to
www.opacumlt.org or call 508.347.9144
GREATER
STURBRIDGE
REAL ESTATE
Mortgage rates from selected
lenders in Sturbridge
SELLING? RENTING?
Call Our Office
508-347-7077
or
PLACE YOUR AD
ONLINE
Classified or Display Ads
Sturbridge Sampler
from Jo Chiodetti, REALTOR®
“Jo Knows Sturbridge”
30 year fixed
Assumes 20% down; $365,000 loan
Hometown Bank
(as of 8/27)
APR: 6.625
RATE: 6.638
FEES IN APR: $500
LOCK: 60
ESTIMATED PAYMENT: $2,337.14
Sovereign Bank*
(as of 8/22)
APR: 6.523
RATE: 6.5
FEES IN APR: $860
LOCK: 60
ESTIMATED PAYMENT: $2,307
TD Banknorth*
(as of 8/22)
APR: 6.570
RATE: 6.545
FEES IN APR: $930
LOCK: 60
ESTIMATED PAYMENT: $2,318
* Source: bankrate.com
Got a new Sturbridger?
Go to our website,
click on
GOT NEWS?
and tell
Sturbridge
about
it.
Exceptional home + Beach rights
Water views from every room
400++ ft. Walker Pond Frontage
STURBRIDGE: AMAZING 3400 sf OUTSTANDING luxury custom appointments.
Four large bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths. 9'ceilings,
beautiful millwork, mahogany decks,
absolute DREAM KITCHEN granite counters with Thermador gas cooktop & grill and
warming lights, Thermador convection double wall ovens, Sub-Zero fridge, refrigerated
drawers integrated into the 5x5' island
counter, Fireplaced familyroom, Fireplaced
livingroom, Fireplaced year-round sunporch,
vaulted master bedroom with spa bathroom,
Hydro Air heating, Central Air, Finished
basement, Private Deeded Big Alum beach
rights. $582,029. Jo Chiodetti 508.868.6826
STURBRIDGE: Incredible Classic, original
Wells family built waterfront home. Over
400++ feet of rare true Walker Pond
frontage! Favored western exposure offers
glorious sunsets. Very private pancake-flat lot.
Dock.Water views from every room. Pine
floors throughout. Heated sunroom offers
breathtaking panoramic views of lake and
Wells State Park. Stately fireplaced living
room. Fully applianced eat-in kitchen.
Oversized two car/two story garage offers
potential with additional recreation/hobby
space. Gem! $474,900.
Jo Chiodetti 508.868.6826
Charming. Great Neighborhood.
REDUCED!
STURBRIDGE: JUST
Charming Dutch Colonial, located in sought
after centrally located cul-de-sac neighborhood. Front-to-back LR, formal DR, kitchen
slider overlooks entertainment sized twotiered deck and giant level backyard.
Hardwoods, oil, attached two-car garage. SF
does not include freshly redone FP familyroom
and office in lower level! Flat driveway. Town
water and sewer. Call to set up a showing!
$288,800. Jo Chiodetti 508.868.6826
Jo Chiodetti, REALTOR®
508.868.6826
RE/MAX
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATES
49 Main Street
508.347.9595
Hear ye! Sturbridge Realtors!
Bring your listings into Sturbridge’s Hometown Paper!
508-347-7077

PDF - Sturbridge Times Magazine

Transcription

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