April 12, 2013 - Southbridge Evening News

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14 SPENCER NEW LEADER • Friday, April 12, 2013 Selectmen order schools to pay health insurance for retired super LAWSUIT continued from page 1 ELECTION continued from page 1 ment percentage for retired employees at the time of the Superintendent’s retirement.” With seven years of service to the North Brookfield school district, O’Neill would have been entitled to a 70 percent reimbursement rate under his contract. According to a brief from O’Neill’s attorney, John J. Driscoll of Holyoke, O’Neill was not eligible for the town’s retiree health insurance plan because he did not have at least 10 consecutive years of service. So, the reimbursement clause was written into his contract. Driscoll’s brief stated O’Neill remained on the town’s health plan through COBRA, and paid the entire cost, until January 2007. He then bought his own health insurance plan and paid the premiums himself. In January 2011, Hampshire Superior Court Judge Mary-Lou Rup ruled the School Committee and the town should pay O’Neill Wood and Town Moderator Donald Cherry Jr. Davis said Housing Authority member Diane Desaulnier had not yet contacted her to announce whether she would seek re-election. In the meantime, Richard Hammarstrom has pulled nomination papers. Also appearing on the June 11 ballot will be a three-year term on the Moose Hill Water Commission now held by Ruth Kaminski. Nomination papers must be returned no later than 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 23 to the town clerk’s office at Town Hall with the signatures of at least 42 registered voters in Leicester. The forms will then be $46,052.57 — the amount of his health insurance premiums from Aug. 15, 2005 to the date of the decision, plus interest and costs. The town and the school board were also ordered to reimburse 70 percent of the cost of his health care plan for the rest of his life, as stated in his contract. The town and the School Committee appealed the decision to the Supreme Judicial Court. David Jenkins and Brian Maser, attorneys with Kopelman and Paige in Boston, wrote in their brief that the health insurance provision in O’Neill’s contract exceeds the six-year limit under state law for agreements between a school board and a superintendent. They also argued it was beyond the authority granted to the School Committee under state law to put that provision into O’Neill’s contract. “There is a distinct difference between the term of a contract and the extension of a benefit earned under a contract of finite length,” Driscoll wrote in his brief. given to the registrars of voters for certification of signatures. The deadline to object to or withdraw from the ballot is Thursday, May 9. The final day to register to vote in the Annual Town Election is Wednesday, May 22. The town clerk’s office will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. that day. Pre-election campaign finance “The [School] Committee’s failure to distinguish between a lifetime benefit and a lifetime contract is selfserving and unavailing.” On Feb. 8, the Supreme Judicial Court upheld Rup’s ruling. “The School Committee at the time exercised poor judgment in signing a contract with Mr. O’Neill,” Petraitis said last week. “The Board of Selectmen and the School Committee last February or March decided together to appeal the insurance decision. The School Committee Leicester election races beginning to pick up steam reports are due to the town clerk no later than Monday, June 3. Postelection financial reports are due Thursday, July 11. Polls will be open from noon to 8 p.m. June 11 at Town Hall for the Annual Town Election. Five weeks before that will be the Annual Town Meeting, which has been scheduled for Tuesday, May 7. The last day to register to vote at at the time ... understood that it’s the school’s responsibility, and the School Department needed to find the money to pay it. It was a bad contract that should never have been signed.” Petraitis said the town has received a copy of the Supreme Judicial Court’s decision. David Dore may be reached at (508) 909-4140, or by email a t ddore@stonebridgepress.com. Town Meeting is Wednesday, April 17. The town clerk’s office is open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information, call (508) 892-7011. David Dore may be reached at (508) 909-4140, or by email at ddore@stonebridgepress.com. LOCAL SERVICE PROVIDERS AUTO PARTS 40 acres! Over 3,000 cars! Free Nationwide Parts Locator Service Used & New Auto Parts • 91 Day Warranty Deposits conveniently taken over the phone. • Foreign & Domestic • Early & Late Model • Engines • Transmissions • New Radiators • Gas Tanks • Wheels • Tires • Balancers • Exhaust Manifolds • Window Motors Amherst-Oakham AUTO RECYCLING Trust us to do it right! Toll Free: 800-992-0441 • Worc #. 508-799-9969 Off Rte 122 • 358 Coldbrook Rd., Oakham, MA 01068 www.amherstoakhamauto.com **WE PAY $$$ FOR JUNK CARS** AUTO, TIRES & TOWING Country Auto Body & Tire Center FULL TOWING SERVICE Featuring: Cooper, Hankook, Starfire & Runway Tires Hundreds in Stock Retail & Wholesale We are now Stocking Radial Trailer Tires Lawn & Garden Tires & Tubes For all your auto body, mechanical & tire needs WE FILL PROPANE www.countryautotirecenter.com 69 Donovan Rd., North Brookfield, MA 508-867-9736 BUILDING & REMODELING Dagostino Building & Remodeling Co. New Homes, Additions, Window Replacement, Roofing, Vinyl Siding, Interior Finish Work See my work on Facebook: DagostinoBuilding & Remodeling Co./ Vincent Dagostino Licensed & Insured Home (508)892-0881 Cell (774)696-0116 812 Pleasant Street Vincent T. Dagostino III Rochdale, MA 01542 FLOORING CARPET SPECIAL 12’ x 13’ $ 250 .00 PER ROOM INSTALLED W/PAD Carpet • Wood • Vinyl • Tile • Laminate Residential • Commercial 1065 Main St., • Warren, MA 01083 Open by appointment. Call Tim. 413.436.7118 HOME HEATING LANDSCAPING OIL BURNER SERVICE SAND & GRAVEL Supplier of: • Premium Heating Oil • Pellet Burners • Pellet Stoves • Wood Pellets PREMIUM HEATING OIL HEATING INSTALLATION Bob LaFlamme Phone: 508-867-6740 Fax: 508-867-6871 www.crowleyfuel.com 167 N. Main St/PO Box 55 North Brookfield, MA 01535 SERVICE Fully Insured! Great Low Prices! Free Estimates! Fountains Landscaping Lawn Care Spring Cleanups Gutter Cleaning Tree/Brush Removal Power Washing Paver Walkways/ Patios Stonewalls/ Retaining Walls Call today to reserve this season’s weekly mowing service 774-200-9111 Ware, MA T.A. HUBACZ Oil Burner Service CLEAN EQUIPMENT SAVES MONEY! - Call Us For Rates - SALES • INSTALLATION CLEANING • REPAIRS 24 Hour Emergency Service Cell 508-414-1200 TOM HUBACZ • 508-867-7753 219 New Braintree Rd. West Brookfield, MA 01585 Over 30 Years Experience • Licensed & Insured SAND & GRAVEL Washed & Double Washed Crushed Stone Washed Sand Natural Round Landscaping Stone (all sizes) Screened Loam • Crushed Gravel Stone Dust PLANT LOCATION 53 Brooks Pond Rd. North Brookfield, MA 508.867.0400 SEPTIC PUMPING Dumont Septic Pumping Schematic of a Septic Tank Septic Pumping • Title 5 Inspection Camera Inspection • Sewer Line Backups Owner Operated • Prompt Friendly Service We Pump Your Tank To The Bottom The less scum & sludge in your septic the less chance it can get into your leach field 508-867-9353 SEPTIC SYSTEMS R. Barnes & Sons Sanitation • Cesspool Pumping • Title V Certification • Portable Toilet Rentals • Reasonable rates 508-867-3063 508-867-8993 TREE SERVICE Kevin Chobot TREE SERVICE Complete Storm Damage Tree Service Free Estimates • Fully Insured Call Kevin 508-867-0317 774-452-2918 TREE SERVICE Young’s Tree Service “Specializing In Dangerous Trees” Fully Insured Free Estimates 30 years’ experience John H. Young, Jr 508.885.TREE 1.800.660.5358 To Advertise on this page call June at 508-909-4062 or email newleaderads@stonebridgepress.com ADVERTISE IN THIS DIRECTORY AND REACH OVER 15,250 HOMES IN SPENCER, LEICESTER, AND THE BROOKFIELDS. Ad deadline for the Local Service Providers Directory is Friday, 2 pm.
Friday, April 12, 2013 • SPENCER NEW LEADER 15 Voters to decide fate of Proposition 2 1/2 question OVERRIDES continued from page 1 giving more money to the schools through an override after a deficit in this year’s budget that reached an estimated $1.65 million. If the override fails in Spencer, East Brookfield or both, Gaudette said, the School Committee would have 30 days to decide whether to reduce next year’s budget request or submit the same plan. If it fails again, he said, a district-wide meeting would be held. If no plan is in place by Dec. 1, Gaudette said, the state would set the budget. Meanwhile, the Spencer Rescue Squad is seeking the $150,000 override to close a deficit in its operations. This would be the first time since it was founded in 1959 that the nonprofit, independent ambulance service is asking for town money. Gaudette said last month the town could put $110,000 in the Fire Department’s fiscal 2014 budget to “basically level fund their operations.” But the rescue squad’s Board of Directors unanimously voted recently to seek the override; Treasurer Vincent Cloutier said last month $110,000 would be “cutting it too close.” The rescue squad is seeking town funding because it can no longer survive on the mixture of donations, payments from insurance companies, Medicare, Medicaid and local residents who need an ambulance, and proceeds from its annual subscription drive on which it’s depended for 54 years. If the override and a companion article on the Annual Town Meeting warrant are approved, town officials are planning to enter into a contract with the Spencer Rescue Squad. Gaudette said Monday night if the agency doesn’t need the entire $150,000, the town would only add to the property tax NEWS BRIEFS rate the amount the rescue squad uses. Gaudette said the $150,000 override (if approved) would add 16 cents to the property tax rate. For a house valued at $200,000, the tax bill would increase $32 per year; it would go up $48 per year for a house valued at $300,000. Selectman John Stevens said the override would be a “one-year, temporary” fix that should be funded through the budget, and not with an override. He wondered if the squad could get the $110,000 Gaudette first proposed and $40,000 from increased pay-as-you-throw bag fees for residents who use the transfer station on South Spencer Road. Stevens’ colleagues objected. Berthiaume said money collected at the transfer station should not be used for other purposes, while Vice Chairman Gary Woodbury said “there’s not enough time left” to deal with the transfer station’s estimated $130,000-per-year deficit before the end of this fiscal year. “Our job is to make sure we continue with the ambulance service,” Woodbury said. “ ... We’d be doing a disservice to this town if we don’t provide some sort of service.” Stevens said using money from the transfer station to help the Spencer Rescue Squad would show voters the town is doing what they have to do with their own budgets — make reductions in one area to supplement another. “Ironically,” Stevens said, “at least with my plan we get a guarantee we’re going to have ambulance service.” Berthiaume said municipal departments have reduced their budgets as much as they can in the last five years — doing exactly what Stevens suggested. Chairman Anthony Pepe, speaking to his fellow selectmen via telephone, said people see an override as “guaranteed money” — and that made him uneasy. Despite his feelings, he said, the override request should be presented to voters next month. Other board members, except for Stevens, agreed. The ambulance and school overrides will be discussed on a special edition of the Spencer Cable Access show “Talk of the Town.” Viewers can call in and ask questions starting at 7 p.m. Monday, April 15 on Charter Cable Channel 12. Also, the last day to register to vote in the May 2 Annual Town Meeting and the May 14 Annual Town Election is Friday, April 12. The town clerk’s office at Memorial Town Hall will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. that day. David Dore may be reached at (508) 909-4140, or by email at ddore@stonebridgepress.com. Becker on Top Games School List for fourth straight year Write Us! LEICESTER — Becker College was ranked for the fourth consecutive year by The Princeton Review as a top school to study game design. This announcement comes on the heels of recent recognition for the Becker interactive media game design and programming and development programs, from Animation Career Review and Game Players Review, and Becker students’ involvement in the awardwinning game “On Call” and top placement in the 2013 MassDiGI Game Challenge. “This has been an amazing year for Becker College’s game design programs, and recognition by The Princeton Review for the fourth consecutive year speaks to the expertise of our faculty and the knowledge and skills that our students are building,” said Robert E. Johnson, Ph.D., president of Becker College. “It confirms the value of our game design program in offering relevant course work and the real-world preparation that is valued by students and employers. We are confident that partnerships created through our affiliation with the Massachusetts Digital Games Institute (MassDiGI) will continue to build on our success and set the standard in digital games education.” Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s senior vice president/publisher, noted the burgeoning interest among students in game design and the exceptional study options available from specialized college majors to concentrated graduate degrees. “We salute the schools on our 2013 list for their commitment to this professional field,” he said. “We hope our project will guide students considering careers in game design to schools best for them on our lists and on to companies at which they can apply their creative ideas and skills for the next generation of game players.” “It’s a great honor for Becker College to be the only school in New England to have been named to Princeton Review’s Top Undergraduate Schools to Study Game Design list every year for the last four years,” said Paul D. Cotnoir, Ph.D., director of design programs at Becker. “To be consistently regarded so highly among some very tough competition speaks very well of our innovative and engaging video game curriculum, our faculty, and most of all, our talented students.” Cotnoir went on to describe the elements that add to the value of the Becker programs: “I feel that Becker’s standing in this regard is due in large part to its cuttingedge game design curriculum, which allows students to choose a variety of specializations including programming, 3D modeling, sound design, and story development. Add to all of this the groundbreaking impact Becker has had on the video game industry with the Massachusetts Digital Games Institute, and you have a hard-to-beat formula for success.” Alumni of the game programs at Becker have gone on to work for numerous entertainment companies such as Harmonix, Blizzard, Demiurge and Blue Fang Games, as well as in other digital technology applications for Courion Corporation, John Hancock, Meditech, Oracle, the Santa Ana Police Department in California, the Internal Revenue Service and the United States Army. Becker student-created games are in use by the UMass Medical School-City of Worcester Mobile Safety Street Bus, Old Sturbridge Village and the Danforth Museum, with similar projects in the works for the Worcester Historical Museum, Worcester Youth Center and the Why Not Stop Project. Students have also shared their skills with the Easter Seals and Center for Living and Working’s Tech Savvy Group and helped build game development communities in local public high schools. Lamoureux Ford earns President’s Award again EAST BROOKFIELD — Lamoureux Ford, Inc. of East Brookfield has achieves Ford Motor Company’s highest award, the 2012 President’s Award. The President’s Award recognizes Ford and Lincoln Mercury dealerships that have made a commitment to consistently deliver exceptional sales, service and vehicle ownership experiences to their customers. Ford Motor Company’s President’s Award is reserved for the best of the best — only 10 out of 140 Ford Dealerships in New England received this award. Every year, this award is given to dealers who provide their customers with first-rate treatment throughout the life of their Ford, Lincoln or Mercury vehicle. Lamoureux Ford has won the President’s Award 16 years in a row and 19 years in total. “We’re very proud to receive this kind of recognition and it’s especially gratifying that it comes from our customers,” said Lamoureux Ford owner Lionel Lamoureux. “I couldn’t be more proud of our entire staff. They’re the reason we were able to achieve this award.” For more information, call (508) 885-1000 or visit www.lamoureuxford.com. 426 Worcester Rd. Charlton, MA 01507-1506 508-248-1040 Fax: 508-248-3927 www.pedcocpa.com Helping you go from facts to decisions RONNIE’S SEAFOOD RT. 31 CHARLTON DEPOT “Proudly serving the community for over 40 years” NOW OPEN TUESDAY - SUNDAY 11:00am to 9:00pm Accepting most major credit cards TheHeartOfMassachusetts.com 6 MONTHS Same As Cash! What’s On Your Mind? We’d Like to Know. Send your letters to: Letter to the Editor Spencer New Leader 25 Elm St. Southbridge, MA 01550 28 Trolley Crossing Rd., Charlton, MA 508.248.4346 x107 111 E. Brimfield Rd., Holland, MA 413.245.3712 265 Grafton St., Worcester, MA 508.792.1030 29 Summer St., Lunenburg, MA 976.343.3202
Page 1 and 2: JAMES J. OSTROMECKY, D.D.S. Patient
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Page 35 and 36: APRIL 10, 2013 ☎ TOWN-TO-TOWN CLA

April 12, 2013 - Southbridge Evening News

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