By Bonnie Adams, Government Editor
With additional reporting from Genevieve Jinson, Community Reporter
Northborough – Town and school officials have been scrambling to reschedule evening events and games after the State Department of Public Health (DPH) elevated the town's risk of mosquito-borne illnesses, including Eastern Equine Encephalitis and the West Nile Virus, to “High.” Northborough's risk level was raised by the DPH Sept. 7 due to its close proximity to Westborough, which has been ranked at a “Critical” level.
The decision has also impacted Northborough's annual Applefest celebration. The Saturday evening, Sept. 15 Applefest BBQ, concert and fireworks, all which were to take place outside Algonquin Regional High School (ARHS), have been cancelled.
The football game between ARHS and Wachusett Regional High School that was scheduled for Friday evening, Sept. 14, will now take place Saturday afternoon, Sept. 15, 3 p.m.
Allison Lane, the town's Recreation Director, said, effective immediately, all town fields will be closed after 6 p.m. until the first hard frost of the fall. That decision significantly impacted many organizations, she acknowledged, particularly the town's youth football program.
At the Sept. 10 Board of Selectmen's meeting, officials noted the decision to cancel the Applefest events was not made lightly.
“Ultimately it is inconvenient for everybody, and we are fully aware of that, but as I am sure you will agree ” Town Adminstrator John Coderre said. “We need to be very cognizant of public safety, in particular to sporting events where students are required to attend.”
Selectman Leslie Rutan emphasized the need for caution.
“All it takes is one incident to make everyone miserable and to give Applefest a bad name,” she said. “We would hate to see someone get sick from something like that.”
Board of Health Agent Jamie Terry noted that families must take precautions to protect themselves.
“If they are going to be outside in mosquito areas, please wear long clothing: pants, long sleeve shirt, hat, socks. They should be wearing bug spray,” she said.
Dr. Charles Gobron, the superintendent of the Northborough-Southborough Regional School district, noted making the schedule changes, not only for the Sept. 14 football game, but for all the district's sporting events that are played in late afternoon or evening was difficult, but necessary.
“We know people are disappointed, but the overall consensus is that we are doing this in the best interests of not only our students but for all the visiting teams as well,” he said. “No one wants to take a chance of having a student be affected.”
Michelle Gillespie, the chair of the Applefest committee, likewise noted the disappointment she and the committee felt.
“This year has been hard because we had to cancel the parade and hold the Street Fair at Algonquin instead of downtown, due to the traffic project,” she said. “We have put an incredible amount of work into this event in order to bring something wonderful to the community, especially bringing back the fireworks. But we agree, of course, that the number-one priority is to protect the residents of Northborough.”
In spite of the cancellations, she stressed that there would still be plenty of activities for people to enjoy throughout the weekend.
“Applefest is not just one event; it's a collage of many events,” she said. “There are things going on all weekend during the day. So we hope people will come out and support the other organizations that have events going on, like the Senior Center, Historical Society, Corridor Nine Area Chamber of Commerce, PTOs and the many other groups. They need support, too, because this is a major opportunity for them to raise needed funds.”