Byline Stories - News

Shrewsbury – Soon after starting as executive director of Shrewsbury Youth & Family Services (SYFS) last June, Terry Cassidy met with community leaders and heard the same comment repeatedly. "I kept hearing how surprised they were that so many people don's know what SYFS does," she said. She learned that residents are familiar with their modest building and its "SYFS" sign at 240 Maple Avenue, but unaware it's the hub of activity beyond that address.

Hopkinton - It has been just over a year since a 4-foot cement statue of the Virgin Mary was unearthed at the Golden Pond Assisted Living Facility during a 38,000 square foot expansion project. The construction has since been completed as has the statue restoration. Recently residents and staff gathered in Golden Pond's newly renovated chapel to celebrate the transformation. The restoration was completed by Upton resident Rita Kozel who heard about the statue discovery from friend and Golden Pond resident, Bill Wood. Graciously, she offered to donate her time to restore it.

It looks as though earlier forecasts are on track, requiring little or no modification at this time. Southern New England will experience a strong to severe winter weather event, featuring heavy snow, strong winds and biting cold temperatures. The storm track continues to look like it will take this disturbance off to the northeast from the mid-Atlantic coast where it will pass in the vicinity of the "Benchmark" (a reference point in the ocean to the southeast of Nantucket Island located at 70 degrees west and 40 degrees north). This is a track that is favorable for a major snowstorm in southern New England, and this situation should be no exception. The National Weather Service has issued a "Blizzard Warning" for southeast Massachusetts including the Cape and the Islands for Tuesday afternoon through much of Wednesday afternoon. A "Winter Storm Warning" has been issued from the Springfield area eastward to the area under the Blizzard Warning. A "Winter Storm Watch" has been issued for the area to the west of the Winter Storm Warning area.

Westborough - Registrations are now open for Westborough Little League and Softball's 2014 spring season. Baseball programs are available for players born between May...

Region – The Starhawks Youth Hockey program has had a successful season culminating with two of its teams winning a championship and three others coming very close. The PeeWee 1, PeeWee 2, PeeWee 3, Squirt 3 and Mite 1 teams all traveled to Groton School and Lawrence Academy to play in the Tourney in the Woods. The PeeWee 1 team went 2-0-1 in divisional play and in the finals won the title game with an impressive 4-2 win.

By James M. Arnold, Weather Specialist We can look forward to at least a two week period of wild weather here in most of southern...

Northborough - Although he is only 26 years old, Northborough resident Matt Bruce is facing the challenge of a lifetime – a diagnosis of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which is commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. In spite of that, his friends note that he has a "never give up" attitude.

Marlborough – Mayor Arthur Vigeant insists he is not trying to take away insurance benefits for firefighters or police officers who have had to retire because they have been injured on the job. What he is trying to do, he said, is to have city officials review possibly eliminating a 40-year old statute that pays for extra expenses not covered by the employee's insurance. His request was presented to the city council Jan. 13 and immediately drew criticism from the city's union officials who attended the meeting to protest.

Westborough – The Literary Arts Open Mic event will be held Thursday, Jan. 23, from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m., at Tatnuck Booksellers and Café,...

Marlborough - The Marlborough High School Panthers hosted the Westborough High School Rangers for a boys' basketball game Jan. 17. The league-leading Rangers jumped out to an early lead but the Panthers fought back and in a sloppy second quarter for both sides, briefly took the lead. The Rangers came right back however and led 33-26 at the half.

Worcester - Before the Shrewsbury High School Colonials boys' hockey team played the Algonquin Regional High School Tomahawks at the DCU Center Jan 11, Shrewsbury resident and long-time hockey coach Art Ward was recognized. Ward, who suffered a stroke in 2011, was a standout player at St. John's High School and Fairfield University and continued to coach hundreds of other young players in the area.

Northborough ?Employees of the Northborough Wegmans store recently contributed nearly $54,000 to be donated to two local United Way branches.

By Chris Wraight, Contributing Writer Hudson - The Marlborough High School Panthers girls' gymnastics team hosted the Shrewsbury High School Colonials at Hudson High School...

Shrewsbury - Officials from the Shrewsbury Public Schools released a statement this afternoon regarding a situation that occurred at the Sherwood Middle School. According to the release, "the incident involved the discovery of a document written by a sixth grade student that included a list labeled "assassination list."" The release included a statement from Dr. Joseph Sawyer, superintendent of schools and an email that was sent by Dr. Jane Lizotte, Sherwood Middle School principal to families. Those statements are below:

Shrewsbury – Maclaine Lehan is decorated with accolades from her long-tenured soccer career. An NSCAA All-American, two-time Independent School League Defensive Player of the Year, and a NEPSAC Class B champion, the Shrewsbury resident was at the top of her class as a center back for the Red Wings at the Rivers School in Weston. She is the oldest child of John and Michele Lehan. So technically sound, so quick, and so formidable to approaching offensive players, it was no surprise that she was recruited by Division I colleges for her athletic prowess. Susanna Donahue, the varsity girls" soccer coach at the Rivers, believes Lehan was one of the best defenders to ever come through the Independent School League.

Massachusetts communities can no longer rely on state or federal aid to fill their budget gaps. Therefore, each municipality must take responsibility for its own economic fate. Towns and cities are failing to take advantage of economic development opportunities and tax revenues. They do not understand how to create the optimum number of local jobs, nor understand municipal metrics that determine their economic well-being. They lack knowledge about their industry clusters, especially about which are thriving or struggling. They do not know the decision makers at those enterprises who pay business taxes and create jobs.

Westborough - Westborough Town Meeting members will get another free opportunity at using electronic voting in March, to decide whether they want to fund electronic voting in future meetings. The Board of Selectmen voted 5-0 during its Jan. 14 meeting to recommend that an article be placed on the March warrant to fund the use of electronic voting. Selectman Denny Drewry said Town Meeting members would be more likely to vote their conscience, because voting electronically can be done more privately than a show of hands or by a standing vote.

By Nance Ebert, Contributing Writer Westborough – For the last two decades students at the Sarah W. ?Gibbons Middle School have participated in an annual...

By James M. Arnold, Weather Specialist Region - This is an unusual message from me because it deals with a longer range outlook than I...

Shrewsbury - The main order of business at the Jan. 14 meeting of the Shrewsbury Board of Selectmen was a continued review of the town's financial plan for fiscal year (FY) 2015. Town Manager Daniel Morgado noted that the town has a rating of Aa2 from Moody's Investors Services, which translates to "Prime-1," meaning high quality and very low credit risk. Morgado noted that Shrewsbury continues to have a "fragile economic stability" since the town is meeting its financial obligations with the possibility of a slight improvement in FY2015, which begins in October 2014. On the plus side are a sizable, affluent tax base and adequate financial reserves. On the minus side are the town's ever-growing expenses for pensions and other post-employment benefits (OPEB)/health insurance and the continuing practice of using cash reserves to supplement the annual budget.