WEST BOYLSTON — The tee sheet was full from 7:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. on Friday as 150 golfers played on the first day of golf at Wachusett Country Club since Gov. Charlie Baker allowed golf courses to open on Thursday for the first time in six weeks due to the coronavirus.

"People are so happy today," Wachusett owner Cara Cullen said. "I think they felt like there's some hope. We haven't had a lot of hope for the last six weeks." Not everyone was happy, however. Among the strict guidelines golf courses had to follow in order to open was the banning of golf carts to promote social distancing. Golfers physically unable to walk 18 holes were upset they wouldn't be able to play. "I have been yelled at," Cullen said. "I have been screamed at. I have been threatened to be sued." Cullen said one golfer got in his car and left after screaming at her for discriminating against people with disabilities. She offered him phone numbers at the state house to register his complaints.

Cullen said after receiving complaints that the club was violating the Americans With Disabilities Act, she spoke with the Massachusetts Office on Disability on Friday. Cullen said she was told that the office had received thousands of complaints, that it should have been included on the 17-member Governor's Reopening Advisory Board that set the guidelines to reopen courses and that it planned to contact the governor's office. The T&G's call to the MOD for comment was not immediately returned.

Cullen hopes single riding carts will be allowed soon. She said a lot of her customers are older, Vietnam veterans, retired firefighters with COPD, people with heart and lung issues, people with knee replacements. But they can still golf if they can ride a cart. "I feel bad for them," Cullen said. "The people who can walk, they're so happy today to be golfing and the people who can't feel completely discriminated against by us and the state." Bob Smith, 72, of Worcester has been a member at Wachusett for 40 years, and he runs two leagues at the course. He recently underwent hip replacement surgery, so he can't walk while golfing, but he showed up on Friday to say hello to friends. He was upset he couldn't ride in a cart by himself.

Below link should allow you to watch advisory committee meeting; about 55 minutes into the meeting, listen to town administrator speak of scout hall.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZoAFiWccHI&t=1074s

TO: SelectBoard

FROM: Carter Terenzini, Town Administrator

RE: Scout Hall

DATE: February 5, 2020

CC: Advisory Committee; Accountant; file
______________________________________________________________________________

I write to follow-up on recent questions relative to Scout Hall raised by various bodies.

Let me first address the matter of expenditures to date. There have been two appropriations of $50k each to this project from CPA funds. Those were made at the Annual Town Meeting of 2016 and the Fall Town Meeting of 2019. To date, $38,859.26 has been expended. You will find the itemized breakdown and invoices attached.

Let me now move on to the matter of the request for the second round of funding. Over a period of time, this office somehow become more deeply involved in trying to assist with project bidding and implementation. Our DPW Director, which includes Buildings & Grounds, was assigned to be the lead person on this. As the project approached having roughly $10k on hand, it became apparent to him that there were insufficient funds to complete the project. He recommended we not proceed further until we could identify the remaining elements needed for a finished project and obtain funding to carry those out.

In a meeting with the Committee Chair, Ms. Julie Richard, Bob and I did verify such a list and Bob went on to compile the needed estimates. With that in hand, with the Fall Town Meeting approaching, with a project that had already been in progress far longer than anticipated, and with a Committee that seemed challenged to obtain a quorum and convene, I personally encouraged Ms. Richard to seek the needed funding from the CPC. In conjunction with that application I advised her there would also be a need to appear before the Capital Planning Committee. She did as asked and presented to both bodies the estimates compiled for her.

At this point I want to apologize to Ms. Richard for not have been more aggressive in defending her by explaining I asked her to do these things. If you have any questions about why I asked Mr. Szocik or Ms. Richard to do as they did feel free to ask and I will respond as best I can.

Where this project goes from here I leave to the Board.

From Today's webinar for:
Massachusetts Selectmen Association/MA Municipal Councillors Association
State Revenue and Budget Outlook
• Some History May Provide Some Guidance: ◦ In the Great Recession, State Tax Revenues Dropped by 10%, and Unrestricted Aid was Cut by More than 25% ◦ Yet Education Aid (Chapter 70) was Not Cut as Deeply Due to Federal Stimulus Aid (ARRA)
• The Key Question is Whether the Federal Government will Provide New Stabilization Aid to Support Local Government ◦ The MMA is Working with National Organizations to Call for AT LEAST $250 Billion in Direct Aid to Cities and Towns During the Coming Recession & at Least the Same for States ◦ This would Provide MA Communities with Nearly $6 Billion for over 2 Years
• Without Federal Aid, the Budget Crisis will be Unnecessarily Painful ….
Now back to Geoff to moderate the Q&A part of our program

Two former allies of Gov. Chris Christie who were convicted for their roles in the Bridgegate traffic jam scandal nearly four years ago and were facing prison terms are not going to jail after all. In a dramatic ruling today in Washington, D.C., the United States Supreme Court overturned the 2016 guilty verdicts in Newark federal court of Christie’s former deputy chief of staff, Bridget Anne Kelly, and William Baroni, the former governor’s top political appointment at the Port Authority. With all nine justices voting unanimously, the court threw out Kelly’s and Baroni’s convictions, thus setting them free to go on with their lives which had been in limbo since the scandal burst into the public spotlight with Kelly's infamous email:  "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee. "Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning.Writing for the majority, Justice Elena Kagan said federal prosecutors in Newark improperly applied federal fraud laws in charging Kelly and Baroni with participating in the traffic scheme that reportedly was meant to punish the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee for his refusal to endorse the re-election of Christie, a Republican. 

The recreation committee has voted to cancel the spring Templeton Youth Softball season for 2020. This decision was not easy to make but the safety of our children, parents, and coaches is top priority. All registrations will be refunded within the next few weeks.

The committee has also voted to cancel the upcoming Summer Camp Playground for 2020.

The committee voted to keep Learn to Swim on the books as of right now and we will discuss in early June what direction the program will take based on the status of the COVID-19 protocols

Thank You,
​
Scott Dill

At some point, reality has to set in.
from Worcester Telegram:

From Wichita to Webster, police officers and other emergency responders across the country are the highlight of birthday parades for residents under stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But some local agencies, citing increased demand and the need to keep their ranks free to respond to emergency calls, are putting a halt to the procession.

The Holden Fire Department, in a Facebook post Monday morning, declared it would no longer join celebration parades.

“Due to the high demand requesting parades, we feel that it is not fair for us to do some parades and not be available to do others,” the department said.

“While we do feel honored to be requested to help celebrate such an important day for the kids, it has become too much for HFD to keep up with and it would be heartbreaking to not show up for a child/loved one that is expecting us,” the statement continued.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, with people stuck inside and birthday party plans being canceled, some police and fire departments have restored joy by parading past houses, with sirens blaring. In Webster on April 7, a procession of emergency vehicles made its way through North Village apartments, recognizing the 6th birthday of Valentina Garcia, who battles chronic lung disease. Her mother had planned a pool party. Still, it turned out to be a memorable birthday.

In Southbridge, the police and fire chiefs are saying no to the parade route.

Chief Shane D. Woodson said Monday the department was overwhelmed by 20 requests during the weekend. They even had requests for adult birthdays. Police and fire were able to accommodate some but not all requests, in part because of an increase in emergency calls for police services, Woodson said.

Some parents, after being told by police and fire command staff that they would participate in parades, promised their children, only for everyone to be disappointed, Woodson said.

“We made them that promise,” Woodson conceded. “Unfortunately, this weekend, with the weather getting warmer, we were overwhelmed with calls for service, not routine calls, but emergency calls for service.”

Southbridge Fire Chief Paul Normandin said: “It is very unfortunate. It’s very nice to see children and grandparents and parents on people’s lawns and in their homes, waving towards us. It’s important to the Fire Department and public safety personnel in regards to this situation ... And we at this point need to make an operational decision not to carry out in doing these events.

“Obviously, there will be towns around us that will still be doing this,” he said. “Unfortunately we’ve taken the role in the response that we will not do these events.”