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4 SPENCER NEW LEADER • Friday, April 4, 2008 CALENDAR Send all calendar listings and happenings to Editor David Dore by mail to the Spencer New Leader, 25 Elm St., Southbridge, MA 01550, by fax to (508) 764-8015, or by e-mail to ddore@stonebridgepress.com. All calendar listings must be submitted by noon Monday to be published in the following Friday’s edition. FRIDAY April 4 ECONOMY SHOP of the First Congregational Church, Main Street (Route 9), Spencer, will be open from 8-11:30 a.m. STATE REP. JOHN J. BINIENDA (D- Worcester) will hold office hours from 10 a.m. to noon at Leicester Town Hall, in the lower level selectmen’s office. BOY SCOUT TROOP 125 will be holding its Annual Pasta Supper from 5-7 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus, Mannville Street, Leicester. Tickets are $5 each, and may be purchased in advance by calling (508) 340- 9162. CELEBRATE RECOVERY GROUP meets from 7:30-9:30 p.m. at Charlton Baptist Church, 50 Hammond Hill Road, Charlton. The purpose of Charlton Baptist Church’s Celebrate Recovery is to fellowship and celebrate God’s healing power in our lives through eight recovery principles and the Christ-centered 12 Steps. For more information, call Elaine at (508) 248-7597, or visit www.charltonbaptist.org/celebrate%20reco very.html. SATURDAY April 5 LEARN BOATING BASICS COURSE will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at North Brookfield High School, 10 New School Drive (off Route 148), North Brookfield. The course is free and open to the public. Youth aged 12-15 who pass the course will be issued a safety certificate, allowing them to operate a motorboat without an adult on board. Also, adults, along with 16- and 17- year-old graduates, will be eligible for personal watercraft certification. To register, call the North Brookfield Police Department at (508) 867-0206. MIDDLE SCHOOL MATINEE, featuring the movie “Flight of the Navigator” (rated PG), will be held from 1-3 p.m. in the Community Room of the Richard Sugden Library, 8 Pleasant St. (Route 31), Spencer. Looking for a place to hang out with your friends? Movie theaters too hard to get into? Come to the library for movies we’re calling “Flights of Fancy.” The movies are free, and so is the popcorn. Younger siblings can come, but children 8 or under must be accompanied by an adult. This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Library. SPENCER RESIDENT ELISABETH GONDEK will perform a vocal recital at 2 p.m. in Payer Hall on the campus of Anna Maria College in Paxton. The concert is free and open to the public. Gondek will perform selected works from Vivaldi, Schubert, and Mozart, as well as more contemporary music from Michel Legrand, Ned Rorem, and Steven Schwartz (composer of the hit Broadway musical “Wicked”). Gondek will be joined by Ian Watson on piano, Nike Mavodones-Beaudry on clarinet, and special guest, soprano Nicole Lian. There will be a reception following the concert, where light refreshments will be served. For more information, visit www.nthstage.org, or call (508) 688-7199. JAZZ CONCERT AND ROAST PORK DINNER will be held at 6 p.m. at the First Congregational Church of West Brookfield, 36 North Main St. (Route 67), West Brookfield. Vocalist Jean Mancini Gough will be featured. The Massachusetts-based vocalist is an experienced and versatile singer who has performed extensively throughout New England as a classical recitalist, jazz stylist, wedding and sacred Express yourself... with Logo Wear or not! Choose from over 20,000 logos, create, use your own, or shop for apparel only! 12 piece minimum order (mix & match) Check us out online! Independent Representative Your source for logo apparel NEW TO THIS AREA! Top Brands! For Family or Business B&H Services 291 School Street • Putnam, CT • 877.928.7376 Email: bnhservices08@yahoo.com Web:logoweardirect.biz/hlamarre29 GOOD FRIDAY MEDITATION repertoire soloist. Currently, she divides her musical attention between classical and jazz singing, and can be heard each Sunday at the First Unitarian Church in Worcester and at regular appearances with her jazz ensemble at various venues in the New England area. At this performance in West Brookfield, she will be accompanied by a quintet. Tickets are $15 per person by reservation only. To make reservations, call Shirley at (508) 867-8129. WEST BROOKFIELD PARENT- TEACHER GROUP is sponsoring a “Cabin Fever Reliever” fund-raiser at Ye Olde Tavern, Route 9, West Brookfield. Cocktails will begin at 6 p.m., with a buffet at 6:30 p.m. and entertainment following dinner. Along with fun, entertainment, dancing and raffles, the featured performer will be comedian and hypnotist Peter Gross presenting the show “Get Hypnotized!” The cost is $30 per person. Proceeds support the children of West Brookfield Elementary School. For tickets, contact Linda Dorman at (508) 867- 2398 or Laurie Sokol at (508) 867-6184. SUNDAY April 6 HAYLOFT STEPPERS SQUARE DANCE CLUB is hosting a kick-off dance from 2-5 p.m. at the club, 232 Podunk Road, Sturbridge, as a way to herald in the upcoming 50th New England Square and Round Dance Convention being held in Sturbridge. The dance will feature dancers, cuers and callers from all over New England. Stop by the club to “check out” the various dance forms. There is no charge to sit and watch. For more information, contact the Hayloft Club at (508) 347-9130. CROATIAN PIANIST VELJKO GLODIC will perform at 3:30 p.m. at the Brookfield Unitarian Universalist Church, 9 Upper River St. (on the Brookfield Common), as part of the BUUC Concert Series. Glodic, a professor in the Zagreb Music Academy Piano Department, performs and records throughout Europe, the United States and Russia. He is internationally acclaimed. His program at the BUUC will include J.S. Bach, Chopin, New Braintree native Kendall Kennison’s “Three Pieces from a Green House” (2006) and music of jazz greats Davis, Coltrane, Gershwin and Lalo Schifrin. The event is open to the public. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under. Seating is limited, so reservations are recommended by calling (508) 867-3928. Courtesy/Claudia McNeil photo EAST BROOKFIELD — To mark Good Friday, St. John the Baptist Church held a Good Friday Meditation March 21, prepared and directed by Annie and Peter Wuelfing. Twelve “stations” were set up in different areas in the church to allow visitors to “enter the Passion story on a visceral level” and experience it through the senses. A printed booklet helped guide each visitor through each meditation. Above, Peter Wuelfing shared the grape juice at the Last Supper table. RRI WINE, BEER AND FOOD FESTI- VAL will be held from 4-6 p.m. at the Publick House Historic Inn in Sturbridge. Enjoy the season’s best wines and beers and sample food from the area’s top chefs from restaurants including The Vienna, Salem Cross Inn, the Oliver Wight Tavern at OSV and The Publick House. Live entertainment will be provided by Rob Adams, and there will be a great silent auction. The event is sponsored by the Publick House and Yankee Spirits. Tickets are $35 each. All proceeds to benefit people with developmental disabilities in our community. For more information, call (508) 347-8181, ext. 105 or visit www.rehabresourcesinc.org. TUESDAY April 8 REPRESENTATIVE FROM AARP will be at the North Brookfield Senior Center at 10 a.m. to talk about the economic stimulus package and the Circuit Breaker tax credit. Bring your 2007 income tax information with you, and fill out your paperwork while you are here. KEEP WELL CLINIC, hosted by VNA Care Network and Hospice, will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Council on Aging, 40 Wall St., Spencer. Local residents may have their blood pressure checked and learn about health concerns. Blood sugar, weight monitoring and other health assessments are also available at most locations. Clinics are open to residents aged 60 and older, unless otherwise noted. For up-to-date clinic information please visit www.vnacarenetwork.org, or call (888) 663- 3688, ext. 5603. SPENCER GARDEN CLUB ANNUAL SPRING LUNCHEON will be held at noon at the Lashaway Inn, East Main Street (Route 9), East Brookfield. “IT’LL BE MAGIC!” from 5:30-7 p.m. in the Children’s Room of the Richard Sugden Library, 8 Pleasant St. (Route 31), Spencer. All kindergarteners, their families and friends are invited to the library’s annual Kindergarten Open House. For the first part of the evening, drop in for a tour of the children’s room, sign your child up for their own library card, and have some refreshments. At 6:15, magician Joe Arsenault presents his “humorous, kind-of-crazy, nonstop interactive” show including doves, parakeets and a bunny. This program is supported in part by a grant from the Spencer Cultural Council, a local agency supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. A reminder to parents or guardians: in order for the library to give your child a library card, employees will need to see your license or a piece of mail with your name and current address. “GET THE ABC’S OF SLEEP” from the Community Outreach Department and the Baystate Neurodiagnostic and Sleep Center at Baystate Mary Lane Hospital in Ware from 6-7:30 p.m. in the hospital’s main conference room. Dr. Jay Fleitman, a pulmonologist on staff at Baystate Mary Lane Hospital, will present the program. Fleitman is board certified in sleep medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine. There will be time dedicated to questions. The hospital’s new sleep lab offers high tech testing for patients with a variety of sleep disorders, including sleep apnea, narcolepsy, chronic insomnia, restless legs syndrome (RLS) and snoring. Preregistration is required for the program by calling Baystate Health Link at (413) 967- 2488, or toll-free outside the Ware calling area at (800) 377-HEALTH. WEDNESDAY April 9 SPENCER CAREGIVERS SUPPORT GROUP will meet at 1 p.m. at the Spencer Senior Center, 40 Wall St., Spencer. The group, co-sponsored by the Spencer Senior Center and Lincoln Hill Manor Rest Home, meets on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month. Anyone who would like to meet with other caregivers for support and encouragement, and receive information about resources that are available in the local area is encouraged to attend. Attend one or more meetings; no long-term commitment is required. For more information, call Pam Woodbury at (508) 885-7546 or Brenda Lague at (508) 885-3338. “FUN WITH MATH” will be held from 3:30-4:30 p.m. in the Children’s Room at the Richard Sugden Library, 8 Pleasant St. (Route 31), Spencer. April is also Math Education Month. Let us help you enjoy math today with stories, games, and, yes, a math craft with beads and safety pins. For more information, call the library at (508) 885-7513. PARENT INFORMATION EVENING for families in Warren and West Brookfield whose children will be entering kindergarten in the fall will be held at 6 p.m. at Quaboag Regional Middle/High School in Warren. The evening will provide families with important information about the kindergarten program. Registration packets will be distributed and reviewed. Kindergarten screening appointments can be made that evening. Pupils must be 5 years old before Aug. 31 to be enrolled in the Quaboag Regional School District kindergarten program. THURSDAY April 10 ECONOMY SHOP of the First Congregational Church, Main Street (Route 9), Spencer, will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. FREE ADULT PROGRAM featuring Stan and Simon Remiszewski will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Merriam-Gilbert Public Library, Route 9, West Brookfield. The Remiszewskis traveled to India in the summer of 2006 to study with the Dalai Lama. Come enjoy stories and footage of the trip. To register, visit the library or call (508) 867-1410. EATING DISORDERS SUPPORT GROUP, the Worcester West chapter of ANAD (Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders), will meet from 7-8:30 p.m. in the basement of Christ Memorial Church, at the corner of Spring Street and Route 67 in North Brookfield. This group is for people who have concerns about themselves, a friend or a family member. Come alone or bring someone for support. Informational materials are provided. The group meets the second Thursday and the last Monday of each month. For more information, visit http://www.anad.org/site/anadweb, or send a confidential e-mail to shame2hope@yahoo.com. FRIDAY April 11 ECONOMY SHOP of the First Congregational Church, Main Street (Route 9), Spencer, will be open from 8-11:30 a.m. WHIST PARTY AND PENNY SALE will be held at 7 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, Main Street (Route 9), Spencer. Donation is $3. CELEBRATE RECOVERY GROUP meets from 7:30-9:30 p.m. at Charlton Baptist Church, 50 Hammond Hill Road, Charlton. The purpose of Charlton Baptist Church’s Celebrate Recovery is to fellowship and celebrate God’s healing power in our lives through eight recovery principles and the Christ-centered 12 Steps. For more information, call Elaine at (508) 248-7597, or visit www.charltonbaptist.org/celebrate%20reco very.html. SATURDAY April 12 LEARN BOATING BASICS COURSE will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at North Brookfield High School, 10 New School Drive (off Route 148), North Brookfield. The course is free and open to the public. Youth aged 12-15 who pass the course will be issued a safety certificate, allowing them to operate a motorboat without an adult on board. Also, adults, along with 16- and 17- year-old graduates, will be eligible for personal watercraft certification. To register, call the North Brookfield Police Department at (508) 867-0206. RABIES CLINIC will be held for dogs and cats from 9-11 a.m. at the North Brookfield Fire Station, 56 School St., North Brookfield. The cost is $11 per animal. Please bring prior rabies immunization information to verify last vaccination to check for eligibility for three-year vaccination. Also, 2008 dog tags will be available for purchase. “CREATE YOUR PORTAL TO THE WORLD WIDE WEB” from 10:30 a.m. to noon in the community room at the Richard Sugden Library, 8 Pleasant St. (Route 31), Spencer. Learn to use My Yahoo or iGoogle as your homepage, and unlock amazing functionality. You can have your bookmarks (favorites) and all of your useful applications with you anywhere you have an Internet connection. Let us show you all of the tricks we know about, and how to access the ones we haven’t tried yet! This class is appropriate for all skill levels. For more information, call Jillian at (508) 885-7513.
Friday, April 4, 2008 • SPENCER NEW LEADER 5 DPHS student work featured at Worcester Art Museum SPENCER — Pieces from five David Prouty High School students — freshman Michelle Wozniak, juniors Justin LaFleche-Tomlin, Paige Hart and Paige Morrill and senior Emily Casavant — were included in last month’s Youth Art Month at the Worcester Art Museum. The multimedia exhibit is sponsored by the Massachusetts Art Education Association as part of Youth Art Month, a national celebration to emphasize the value of art education for all children and to encourage support for the quality art programs in Massachusetts schools. Art teachers from 35 cities and towns have volunteered their time to make this event possible. Emily Casavant (silkscreen print) Justin LaFleche-Tomlin (scratchboard) Michelle Wozniak (pencil) Paige Hart (watercolor) Paige Morrill (Photoshop digital image) Don’t let a jumpy stock market make you jumpy The past year has been a wild ride on Wall Street. In February of 2007, the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered its biggest drop since the market reopened after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. By early May, the market had more than made up those losses and stood at record highs. Down and up again over the summer months and into October, the market was on the rise again. Then it tumbled again to a low in January, and it’s been a picture of jumpy and mediocre performance since then. How did you react? Did you turn off the news? Did you call your broker in a panic? Or did you call your financial planner to see if your plan is solid? Did you fall victim to the urge to sell when the market took a header or to buy when in was gaining ground? It’s hard not to react, but sudden investment actions are often a mistake. A research study done by Harvard University in the late 1980s clearly showed that people who listened to market news actually made lower returns. Why? Because investors who sold — or bought — during a market swing often learned after the fact that the market was really running on hype and not on fundamentals. So what should you do now? With the economy reeling from the U.S. mortgage crisis and the banking and investment industries still in a mess, what about tomorrow? And then next week, and the weeks after that? If this question fills you with worry, then it’s YOUR pretty clear you’re operating without MONEY a plan, or at least one you haven’t MATTERS recently checked. You need a clear ANNE O’BRIEN financial strategy that matches your risk tolerance and long-term financial goals. While there is absolutely no way to guarantee that you’ll never lose money, a well thought out personal financial plan will help you to better ignore the noise and to focus on your longterm goals and financial strategy. So the next time the stock market spikes or slides, ask yourself: • What is my plan? If you’ve worked with a financial planner such as a Certified Financial Planner, you should be able to articulate your goals or refer to an investment policy statement that you developed together. Much of the riskiest investing, overbuying and panic selling during the late 1990s and early 2000s could have been avoided if individual investors had sought advice for achieving longterm specific goals such as retirement or a college education. • What is my risk tolerance? At your first meeting with a planner, you should have discussed a number of questions about how you feel about and handle risk and what your expectations are about investment returns. Identifying how you feel about investing and understanding how you react to investment changes and decisions is an important part of the education process that you go through when you work with a planner. • Am I prepared to stay invested — no matter what? You may well remember the “Tech Wreck” of 2000, when technology stock prices plummeted. At the worst of that downturn, many investors bailed out of the stock market or drastically cut back and only got back in after they thought the market was rebounding. In reality, they missed out on stock market gains during the early stages of recovery – a costly decision in the long run. Many investors in the 1990s real estate boom market followed the same pattern when they started bailing out a couple of years ago when the real estate market headed south. Afraid of a falling market, they sold when stock prices were low and locked in their losses. A major study in 2004 of the 12 bear markets since World War II Regional effort to give troops taste of home ENGAGEMENT found that investors who either stayed in the market through its bottom, or were fortunate to enter at the bottom, saw the S&P 500 gain an average of 32.5 percent (not counting dividends) during the first year of recovery. Investors who missed even just the first week of recovery saw their gains that first year slide to 24.3 percent and those who waited three months before getting back in gained only 14.8 percent. • Am I diversified? The NASDAQ, the stock market for medium and smaller companies, lost 39 percent of its value in 2001 and another 21 percent in 2002. Meanwhile, real estate investment trusts, also known as REITS, which performed poorly in 1998 and 1999 when stocks were booming, had banner years in 2000 and 2001, were pretty flat in 2002 and had an excellent 2003. Bonds also delivered good returns during the last bear market. What does all of this mean? It means that your investments need to be spread out in different investment categories so that gains in one area of the market can help to offset looses in another area. Your planner, based on your attitudes toward investment risk, should have you in diversified investments that fit your goals. • Do I still feel the same way I used to about returns? Having a longterm investment plan doesn’t mean that you plan once and then just put your plan away. You and your planner are a team. You need to communicate with one another and decide when it’s time for a detailed review of your investment goals and whether or not they should be adjusted. An annual discussion might be enough if nothing’s going on, but life events like death, divorce, the kids moving out, a significant job change and illness are good reasons to do an in-depth review of your financial plan. If you’re worried this week, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t call your planner to calm your nerves and confirm what you’re doing. And if you’ve never talked to a planner before, now might be a pretty good time to start. If you need help in finding a financial planner, the Internet is a great research tool. To get started, go to PlannerSearch.org, a consumer-oriented website developed by The Financial Planning Association, or cfp.net, the internet home of The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, the accrediting organization for the CFP® professional designation. Anne is an independent, fee-only Certified Financial Planner located in North Brookfield, and contributes a column to the Spencer New Leader. She may be reached at (508) 867-8123 or anne@obrienassociates.net. BY PATRICK SKAHILL STONEBRIDGE PRESS STAFF WRITER One local realtor is hoping residents will help her on a crusade to bring a slice of home to our men and women fighting overseas, but hopes residents won’t let their personal feelings on the war keep them from supporting America’s bravest. “The troops fight for the freedoms and liberties that we all enjoy today and everyday,” said Linda Bazinet, owner of Bazinet Realty. “Whether our troops should or should not be in Iraq or Afghanistan is … a personal decision each and every one of us makes, [but] I am hopeful that the public will feel as passionate about our troops … and show their support.” Late last month, the Worcester Association of Realtors kicked off an event entitled “Boxes for the Troops,” a multi-town drive aimed at collecting everything from toiletries to crossword puzzles for U.S. troops stationed overseas. Run in conjunction with the Marine Club located on 181 Lake Ave. in Worcester, Bazinet said the drive is slated to last until April 12, with Central Massachusetts drop-off spots placed in Auburn, Charlton, Dudley, Southbridge, Spencer, Sturbridge and Webster. So far, donations have been slow coming in, but Bazinet expressed her hope the number of people donating would grow in the coming weeks, with residents jumping at the opportunity to give a small donation to the soldiers who have donated their entire livelihood to service. “I think [the soldiers] are very important over there,” Bazinet said. “They are fighting for our freedoms and liberties and [this drive] is the least we can do.” REALTORS’ PROJECT According to Bazinet, she initially felt compelled to spearhead the “Boxes for the Troops” campaign after hearing of the idea from fellow realtors in Worcester County. On a more personal level, Bazinet added some of the emotional stories she has heard from mothers and fathers with sons and daughters stationed overseas have moved her to donate. “It’s heartbreaking,” she said. “Everybody has a story … Hearing these stories makes me want to do more.” “I am very excited to be a part of this event along with many other fellow realtors,” she added. “It’s a very worthy cause.” Items needed for the troops include candy, crossword and word game books, decks of cards, disposable cameras, postcards of Massachusetts, non-perishable snack items, writing instruments, writing paper, envelopes, stamps and health/hygiene items. Cash donations are also welcome so volunteers can use the money to buy needed items, Bazinet said. Checks should be made out to Marine Corp. League, Worcester Detachment, with “Boxes for Troops Campaign” in the memo line. Checks can be mailed to Bazinet Realty LLC, 47 Durfee Road, Dudley, MA 01571. A receipt for cash donations will be mailed upon receipt of checks. DROP-OFF SITES Central drop-off locations include (during normal business hours only): • Auburn — Worcester Regional Association of Realtors, 492 Washington St. • Charlton Library — 40 Main St. • Charlton — St. Joseph’s Church, 10 H. Putnam Road Extension. • Dudley — Town Hall, 71 West Main St. • Southbridge — Town Hall, 41 Elm St. • Spencer — Memorial Town Hall, 157 Main St. •Sturbridge — Town Hall, 308 Main St. • Webster — Town Hall, 350 Main St. For further information or to schedule a pick up, contact Bazinet at (508) 943-0667, fax (508) 943-8759, or e-mail BazinetRealty@charter.net. Patrick Skahill may be reached at the Webster Times at (508) 909-4129, or by e-mail at pskahill@stonebridgepress.com. Boquist-Abbott Jean Normandin and Carl E. Boquist III of Spencer announce the engagement of their daughter, Stephanie, to Victor E. Abbott. The bride-to-be has a bachelor’s degree in pediatric rehab from Springfield College, and a master’s in child development from Florida State University. She is employed by the State of Tennessee as an infant and toddler development specialist. The groom-to-be, the son of Yolanda and James Abbott of Monticello, Fla., is attending Abraham University for his juris doctorate degree. He is employed by the State of Tennessee as an interpreter. The wedding will be held Saturday, March 15 in Brookfield, followed by a reception at the Leicester Country Club.
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