~ THE NEW ~
“Your Hometown News” VOLUME 19 • ISSUE 6
A FREE Monthly Publication
Uxbridge • North Uxbridge • Linwood • Douglas • Northbridge • Whitinsville • Sutton • Manchaug
Sutton supports School Building Ballot Election BY CONStANCE DWYER Due to the anticipated large turnout for the vote on Article 9, the May 10th Spring Annual Town Meeting was held in the high school gym. The town fathers’ prediction was “on the money” and chairs and bleachers were filled to near capacity with more than 500 voters. The proposed FY2011 Town Budget, $24,294,562, was $1,637,387 less than that of FY2010. According to the Town Administrator James Smith’s report to the residents, this reduction was due primarily to retirement of Town debt in the amount of $1,317,510. The Meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Moderator Carl Licopoli, followed by the speedy and unanimous passage of the first three articles dealing with routine annual issues: receiving the reports of town officials, fixing the compensation of Cemetery Commissioners and fixing the compensation of the Board of Health. The next motions passed, Articles 4 and 5, dealt with taxes: increasing the room occupancy tax to 6% and accepting a local option to assess a local meals tax set by the state, and expected to provide about $40,000 in needed annual revenues, a tax that can be revoked by a future Town Meeting. Article 6, normally the high point of the spring meeting, passed unanimously, funding the FY2011 budgets for General Government, Public Safety, Public Education, Public Works, Health and Human Services, Debt Service, Employee Benefits and the Capital Stabilization Fund ($511,523) in the combined amount of $24,294,562. The FY2011 Capital Projects Plan, Article 7, was passed by a 2/3 vote in the amount $366,500. Under Article 8, the Town Meeting passed by a 2/3 vote the installation of solar panels at the Early Learning Center, a project that will have a payback time of 7 to 15 years depending on electric rates, natural cloudiness and
POStAL PAtRON
state grants. Article 9 requested the appropriation of $59,945,474 “for constructing, equipping and furnishing” a new Middle School-High School complex on the Boston Road site. The projected functional life of the complex meets the state requirement of 50 years. The State share is limited to 55.39% of the cost of “eligible, approved” project items, while the Town’s share is expected to be $30,100,000 due to expected costs for items not on the State list of reimbursable items. This appropriation is, however, subject to a ballot election approving a debt exclusion under M.G.L. 59, section 21C. After the motion, there was a presentation by Sutton School Building Committee Chairman Wendy Mead in which she invited Town Meeting members to ask questions. She succinctly described the “hours and hours” spent by the committee to come up with the conclusion that Sutton needs to renovate its middle school and high school. Responding to the invitation, one voter questioned the demolition of the existing elevator and the building of another in a different location, suggesting that a back-up elevator would be the prudent thing in the event of an elevator failure. No reasonable response was offered. Selectman Mike Chizzy spoke for the minority noting the cost, as low as $1.00 a day for a home assessed for $340,000, would still be a difficult burden for many residents, especially senior citizens on fixed incomes. Speaking for the appropriation were State Representative Jennifer Callahan and her opponent in the upcoming State elections, Selectman Ryan Fattman. Rep. Callahan, a former school board member, spoke from her experience on that board and as a former Sutton Selectman. She emphasized how important it was to have everyone in the community “come together” to vote in continued on page 38 PRESORTED STANDARD US POSTAGE PAID BOSTON, MA PERMIT NO 55800
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JUNE 2010
Callahan Announces Candidacy
YOUNG ANGLERS - Meet the 4th Annual Blackstone Valley Fishing Derby Winners. See Page 40 for names and awards listing. Photo by LaMich Productions
Uxbridge Traffic Warning The Uxbridge Police wish to advise all residents of Uxbridge that there will be a large amount of traffic around the high school on June 19th for the Town meeting regarding the new high school proposal and the bridge repair proposal. Please plan ac-
cordingly. There will probably be some traffic changes so that the increased traffic can be accomodated. Community members’ support is very important. Please watch for traffic pattern changes and please do not park in designated NO PARKING AREAS.
Antique Fire Museum opens The Uxbridge Antique Fire Museum, Inc. along with the Uxbridge Firefighters Association will be hosting the Grand Opening of the Uxbridge Antique Fire Museum on Sunday, June 13th at 5 p.m. The Grand Opening events will coincide with the annual Firefighter Memorial Sunday Observance. The museum is located at 18 Depot St. in Uxbridge. As most residents of the Blackstone Valley are aware, the Bernat Mill was destroyed by a fire in July of 2007. The Uxbridge Antique Fire Museum was founded in 2006 in the
boiler room of the Mill. After the fire, the founders relocated to the Bernat garage on Depot St. The garage space was donated by Capron Corp. and to date the members have quite an impressive collection, with the crown jewel being the return of Uxbridge Engine 2, a 1940 Seagrave Fire Truck. The public is invited to browse the collection dedicated to the Fire Service in Uxbridge. Refreshments provided by the First Holiday Night Committee. The Blackstone Valley Fife & Drum will provide music for the event. Rain or shine.
On the heels of collecting over 1,000 certified signatures, State Representative Jennifer M. Callahan (D-Sutton) announces she is a candidate for reelection in November. Callahan is well known for her work on ethics reform, increased government accountability and an independent voting record. “Since taking office, I have never forgotten it is the people that sent me to Beacon Hill to be their voice,” said Callahan. “I continue to stand up to special interests and Leadership and fight for good government. I will continue to push for a wide range of policy reforms designed to restore the public’s confidence in state government.” Ethics REfoRm Following a series of investigative reports concerning alleged corruption and ethical misconduct by several Legislators, Callahan filed a series of legislation focused on Ethics Reform and was the only legislator to testify before the Governor’s Task Force on Public Integrity. Her proposals have included measures to apply the Open Meeting Law to the Legislature, prohibit all contributions from lobbyists, strip legislators of their Leadership privileges if fined by the State Ethics Commission or the Office of Campaign Finance and eliminate “pay-to-play” loopholes. Despite the passage of an ethics reform bill by the Legislature, Callahan continues to believe the Legislature stopped short of what is being demanded by the public. “The public has a cynical view of the Legislature and a lack of confidence in the way we conduct business,” she said. “The legislation passed this session was only a starting point. We must continue to push for changes which uphold the integrity of the legislative process.” Of all her proposals, Callahan considcontinued on page 38
business bio:
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FaMiLy Karate center
town News ..............Page 4 Calendar...................Page 21 Society .....................Page 25 Senior Corner ..........Page 27 School News............Page 29 Real Estate...............Page 33 Business News........Page 35 Sports.......................Page 39 Classified .................Page 43
Reinforcing One’s Self-Worth and a Healthy Lifestyle See Page 35