Byline Stories - News

Westborough – The battle over minimum wage, the increasing problem of homeless families being sheltered in local hotels and how to better support businesses were all topics that were on the agenda at the Corridor Nine Area Chamber of Commerce Legislative Breakfast held Jan. 28 at the Doubletree Hotel. Over 200 members of the chamber attended the annual breakfast, which featured a panel of local state senators and representatives discussing the pressing issues facing the state.

Region - By the time the next week is done, it is likely that we will be reminded of the old British TV show, "That Was The Week That Was." Tomorrow will see fair weather with moderate temperatures reaching the upper 30s to around 40 during the afternoon. Clouds will be on the increase during the afternoon as yet another and much more important storm heads our way. Snow will break out across our area from southwest to northeast around or just after midnight Tuesday night. Temperatures will continue to be moderate, holding at about 30 degrees.

Berlin- The Corridor Nine Area Chamber of Commerce celebrated the grand opening of the first Massachusetts location of the Growing Room Child Development Center...

Westborough - The Highlands Gracious Retirement Living held its official grand opening of its new 129 East Main St. (Route 30) location Jan. 26....

Westborough – After 40 years meeting at Westborough's Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, local Boy Scout Troop 4 has been forced to find a new home after the church decided not to renew its charter. The troop, comprising about 45 Scouts, had 60 days following notification to find a new chartering organization. The charter had been renewed annually "almost as a formality," said Eric Lebow, who handles public relations for the troop. After approaching numerous churches and organizations in Westborough, the troop finally found a home in Shrewsbury, at the American Legion Ray Stone Post.

The Ground hog did indeed see his shadow and has forecast 6 more weeks of winter for us. He surely must have seen the latest European model output as Joe D'Aleo suggested in his WeatherBell blog today. That output appearing below (from the WeatherBell.com web site) shows a bullseye of snow over southern New England, eastern New York, central and eastern Pennsylvania and all of New Jersey, with amounts of 15 to 20 inches projected for these areas between now and February 12th. While I am not one to give a lot of credibility to long range weather predictive models, there is a good chance this forecast will verify.

Marlborough – Melissa Rotondo of Marlborough was born with a heart murmur, identified by her doctors as "innocent." Up through young adulthood, she found any physical activity difficult. At age 26, she was diagnosed and treated for atrial septal defect, a congenital heart disease. Now 37, she ran two 5K road races within the past year.

Shrewsbury – Although Tom Kennedy retired as human resources director of Shrewsbury Public Schools in June 2012, his contributions to the community have continued with no end in sight. He was honored with this year's Community Service Award by the Shrewsbury Education Foundation (SEF) at its 21st annual awards dinner Jan. 25 at the Cyprian Keyes Golf Club in Boylston.

Hudson – Mark Durrenberger of Hudson first became interested in solar energy while in high school.

Northborough - Northborough resident Donna Lacroix is a busy pet guardian. As the caretaker of two well-bred dogs, Lacroix uses whatever free time she has apart from her career as a nurse to support their time-consuming activities as model, show and therapy dogs. That itinerary this winter will include a return trip to New York City when she and her 4-year-old dog, Perla, will compete in one of the world's most prestigious dog shows, the Westminster Kennel Club 138th Dog Show.

Westborough - Two former Olympians and Westborough High School graduates will be heading to Sochi to help support members of Team USA during the winter games. Luger Ashley Hayden Walden and skier Nikki Stone will be headed to Russia in February.

Westborough - A plan to develop the former Rotary Club golf driving range on the eastbound side of Route 9 into a used car dealership is on the verge of approval after months of hearings before various town boards and committees. Richmond, Va.-based CarMax, which operates used car stores nationwide, wants to open its first Boston-area location at the site, building a 57,235-square-foot showroom and refurbishment building behind 452 spaces for vehicles fronting the roadway.

By Chris Wraight, Contributing Writer Westborough - The Westborough High School Rangers boys' hockey team hosted the Algonquin Regional High School Tomahawks for a Roy...

Shrewsbury - In January, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick recognized 33 state park lifeguards for their exceptional service during emergencies at the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) swimming facilities during the summer of 2013. These DCR Aquatics Division lifeguards performed Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and lifesaving resuscitation on seven individuals at five swimming locations.

Shrewsbury - In October 2013, after months of wrangling, Shrewsbury Selectmen ordered a dangerous dog euthanized after it had made multiple attacks on townspeople. Dogs "Saydee" and "Pesky," owned by Jeneen Demers, 31 Westmont Road, were the subjects of the ongoing dispute. At the October meeting, Saydee was ordered to be humanely euthanized.

Northborough - The town's new Code Red emergency notification system is now live and at least for now will be reserved for true emergencies, the Board of Selectmen were told during its Jan. 27 meeting. Town Administrator John Coderre said after exploring several options, Northborough signed a three-year contract worth $7,500 annually with Florida-based Emergency Contact Network (ECN), which operates Code Red.

By Joan F. Simoneau, Community Reporter Marlborough - Marlborough City Councilor Matt Elder announced his candidacy for state representative for the 4th Middlesex District at...

By Joan F. Simoneau, Community Reporter Marlborough – The City Council voted at its Jan. 27 meeting to accept an $8,585 grant through the Local...

Marlborough - Construction of a new senior center at Ward Park is continuing, according to Mayor Arthur Vigeant's office, despite a lawsuit against the city brought by the park's neighbors. The suit, filed in Middlesex Superior Court, alleges that the city of Marlborough did not comply with various state regulations when it moved forward with planning and construction of the center, according to Julie McNeill, a Dracut attorney representing the plaintiffs. "The city is constructing a senior center and associated parking lot on approximately 2.2 acres of Ward Park but has not complied with the proper procedures to do so," the suit reads, in part. Michael and Faith Nickolas, Ned Fenstermacher, and Paul Brodeur, who live adjacent to the park, are listed as plaintiffs.

By Karen Scopetski, V.P. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage The winter is officially here and many people question whether to put their homes on the market...