Your CONNECTION - Quaboag Current

The ONLY local coverage in Brookfield – West Brookfield – East Brookfield – North Brookfield – Warren – West Warren – New Braintree & Sturbridge
Connect with us online
Quaboag Current
Town Common
Newspapers
BROOKFIELD
Write-in candidate edges Holdcraft
for planning board seat, p5
NORTH BROOKFIELD
Bussel presents research
on wartime history, p6
CURRENT
WARREN
Students dig in for
Arbor Day, p24
Calendar 3
Editorial/Opinion 4
Business 9/10
Education 10
FREE
Sports 14/17
Police Logs 18
Obituaries 19
Classifieds 20/23
Volume 5, Number 38 – 24 Pages Thursday, May 10, 2012
A GOOD GOOOAAALLL
TURLEY PUBLICATIONS STAFF PHOTO BY TIM KANE
BROOKFIELD – Coaches Kelly Geers Landine, left, and Jennifer Grybowski teach youth soccer every Saturday until end of June for ages 4 to 7 from 10.30 a.m. to 11.30
a.m. at Lewis Field in Brookfi eld.
Voters nix
Bay Path
expansion
funding
NORTH BROOKFIELD
- May 4 brought forth a Special
Town Meeting for residents to vote
on the potential funding of the Bay
Path project. The Superintendent
of Bay Path Regional Technical
Vocational High School was on
hand to speak about the project
and answer questions from residents.
There were 84 voters in attendance,
and the funding question
passed with a ballot vote of 56-yes
over 26-no. Three days later, the
Annual Town Election presented
to the voters the opportunity to
vote on the project itself. A total of
416 voters turned out to cast ballots
this time, and the approval for
the project itself was denied, with
186 no votes against 157 yes (not
all voted on this question).
Town seat questions yielded
187 votes for Richard Chabot,
49 for Dane Falardeau, 55 for
Ron Ryel and 25 for Robert Filipkowski
as selectmen candidates.
Two open vacancies on the School
Committee elected in Danielle
Mann with 334 votes, and Nicole
Styles with 70 write-in votes. William
King received 324 votes to fi ll
a vacancy on the Planning Board,
a two-year term. All other positions
were incumbents. There are
2,922 registered voters in North
Brookfi eld.
All roads lead to West Brookfi eld Asparagus Festival
WEST BROOKFIELD
- One of Massachusetts’ most
eagerly anticipated events will
take place on Saturday, May
19, when this town’s historic
common welcomes visitors to
the 10th annual Asparagus &
Flower Heritage Festival. The
party, free to the public, begins
at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. on
that festive Saturday, but, in fact,
folks from around New England
frequently arrange mini-vacations
in the area, planned around
that special event.
Picture more than 100 local
growers, artisans and countryside
businesses, combined with
music, a May pole dance, frog
jumping contest, and food, wonderful,
glorious food, all gath-
ered in the name of one Deiderick
Leertouwer and his favorite
food – asparagus. In 1790, the
Dutch diplomat traveled from
his native Holland, sent by his
government to promote trade in
Massachusetts and New England.
He settled in West Brookfi
eld, but missed his homeland’s
scrumptious, delicately fl avored
green harbinger of spring.
“Forthwith,” says local historian
Dick Rossman, “asparagus roots
were shipped here from Holland,
and Deiderick planted them near
the foot of Foster’s Hill. Asparagus
patches still appear there; several
of my neighbors claim to own
the original patch”. He modestly
A scene from last year’s festival.
By Cristy Bertini
Reporter
WARREN – Three men have been charged by Warren
Police with attempted murder following an assault
that occurred on May 7.
Police Chief Bruce Spiewakowski reported that offi
cers responded to a disturbance on North Street at
approximately 11:45 p.m. While investigating the disturbance,
police dispatch received a call from Baystate
Mary Lane Hospital in Ware reporting that a man had
been assaulted in West Warren. The victim was being
treated for lacerations and contusions and was identifi ed
as Ben Ostiguy, 29, of Town Farm Road in Warren.
As a result of an investigation conducted by Offi cer
Jeffrey VonDauber and Sergeant Joseph LaFlower,
Barry A. Bennett, 25, of North St., West Warren; Antonio
Alan McClelland, 19, of Old West Warren Road,
West Warren; and William Joseph Ditto, 23, of West
Warren were charged with attempted murder, assault
and battery with a dangerous weapon (baseball bat), assault
to murder while armed, intimidation of a witness,
carrying a dangerous weapon and disorderly conduct.
Town approves Wright’s Mill re-zoning
Planners alleviate
fears of school
overcrowding
By Jennifer Robert
Reporter
WARREN - This year’s Annual
Town Meeting in Warren, preceded
by a Special Town Meeting,
displayed a real community
contribution to the evening, in
more ways than one. High school
students and alumni were present
to check in residents and assist
in multi-media functions, and
the gymnasium became a “family-fun”
center for children of
residents, thanks to the generous
sponsorship of the Warren Community
School PTO.
Teachers and parents volunteered
their time to entertain the
young folks in town, with activities
and sports going on, and even
a bouncy house. Principal Suzanne
Sullivan said, “we wanted
to get people out to this meeting,
See FESTIVAL I PAGE 12
Three Warren
men charged with
attempted murder
and giving the kids something
to do lets mom and dad be in
the meeting.” This collaboration
was certainly benefi cial, as 110
residents of Warren and West
Warren were present for the 6:30
p.m. STM, and over 180 were
checked in at the start of the 7
p.m. Annual Town Meeting.
The most heated issue of the
night came in the form of the
motion to accept Article 6. This
Article addressed the possibility
of amending the Warren Zoning
By-Law by adding a Section
See ATTEMPTED MURDER I PAGE 12
13. This proposed section would
consist of the 65.6 acres that is the
former Wright’s Mill property,
privately purchased roughly four
years. Voters had many concerns
and questions, and approved two
motions to allow non-voters to
address the audience, including
Town Planner Bill Scanlon, and
Tony Marcot, project developer
with MCOD.
Scanlon outlined the reasons
for developmental interest in the
See WARREN TM I PAGE 12
TURLEY PUBLICATIONS FILE PHOTO