September 20, 2012 pdf edition - Quaboag Current

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PAGE 10 A Turley Publication • www.turley.com I Thursday, September 20, 2012 EMPLOYEES I FROM PAGE 1 fall behind in the department.” The board approved his request, and congratulated Williams on his move to full-time status. They also commented on the recent situation that occurred at Williams’ home, the barn fi re that broke out a few weeks back where Williams and two of his children were in the structure when the blaze started. Selectmen Chair Bob Souza addressed Williams, saying that he is confi dent that his training and knowledge prevented the fi re from being a truly tragic event, and hopes that he and his family are doing well in the aftermath. The board also had an employment decision to make that was more personal. On Sept. 5, they held an executive session to interview, screen and consider applications for the role of selectmen’s assistant. The rules governing the board state that the fi nal interviews must be held in a public forum, and the fi nal two candidates were present at the meeting to be addressed by the board with any remaining questions. Souza expressed to both his sympathy for the process, and expressed that while it must be a very diffi cult situation to interview in a public meeting, both women interviewed remarkably well in his opinion. Starting with Prokop, Selectman Robert Downing said that he was very impressed with her fi rst interview and her resume. “You come across to me as a take-charge person, and a self-motivated person, which I consider the two most important per-requisites for this job,” he stated. Prokop agreed that these attributes described her well. Souza asked her to explain why she felt that she was the best candidate for this job. Citing herself as a professional with over 25 years of experience, Prokop summed up the sort of work she previously did for Falcetti Music, and claimed, “I believe that I hold the skills that are necessary to accomplish the goals of this offi ce.” The only other question presented to Prokop during this process involved the recent high turnaround rate for the selectmen’s assistant position. Selectman David Delanski explained to Prokop the history of the assistant over the last couple years, and said that the board is “looking for someone who will not be leaving shortly.” Prokop re- FREE! PICK UP THE QUABOAG CURRENT EVERY THURSDAY Available at: West Warren – Traska’s Village Market Outside W. Warren Post Office Warren Senior Center Warren – Warren Town Hall • Cash Market Cakettes Café • Tebo’s • Xtra Mart Town Pizza • Warren Package Store Outside Old Town Hall/Police Station Brookfield – Cumberland Farms East Brookfield – EB Flatts • Trolley Stop Town Hall • Cumberland Farms • Klem’s North Brookfield – Hannaford’s New Braintree – Reed’s Country Store www.quaboagcurrent.com The Quaboag Current is a Turley Publication • www.turley.com sponded to this concern, stating that her “intentions are for the long term. My family is settled here, we love this community,” she said and expressed that she is looking to make this a career move, not simply a short-term role. “I believe that I hold the skills that are necessary to accomplish the goals of this offi ce.” Loretta Prokop CANDIDATE FOR SELECTMEN’S ASSISTANT Candidate Lillian Gordon was addressed by Downing, who claimed that he was very impressed with her response to the time it took her to answer questions in the initial interview, and that she struck him as having a high degree of confi dence. She agreed. The other two selectmen addressed the same questions to her as they did to the previous candidate. In regards to her being most suited for this positon, Gordon stated that she, “believes that my past performance is a good indicator of my future potential.” She also stated that she, “loves living here, and has been waiting to really be a part of this town. I believe that I have found the perfect position. I would not only have a job, but I would be working for the town that I live in.” In reference to the recent high turn-around of the position, Gordon said that she would be with the board for as long as they were willing to have her. After speaking with both candidates, the board took a short break to review the resume’s of both candidates and make any fi nal deliberations. Loretta Prokop was offered the position of selectmen’s assistant, and she gladly accepted the role. Her fi rst offi cial duty with the board will be during executive session scheduled to be held on Sept. 25. RUN I FROM PAGE 1 a fi nance offi cer for the Texas Army National Guard upon completion of her training. She hoped to one day become a part of the FBI. She graduated summa cum laude with a 3.69 GPA from Norwich University in 2007 and spent eight consecutive semesters on the Deans List and received the COL Conrad D. Whitney Award for military excellence. While attending Norwich, she dedicated much of her time to the Women’s Rugby team, of which she was captain during her junior and senior years, and helped her team to become fi rst in the North East and third in the country at the National Elite 8 Rugby fi nals in Florida. After her passing she was awarded three medals: The Meritorious Service Medal, The Army Commendation Medal and The Army Achievement Medal. In addition to keeping Hurley’s memory alive, the race allows her family to fund two $1,000 scholarships for deserving Tantasqua Regional High School students each year. “It feels really good to give,” said Hurley’s mother and race organizer Christine Hurley. “Steph was an average student in high school and when she went to college she just blossomed. It feels good to support students like that and it felt so good when we were at the school giving out the scholarships. It felt like we were doing this for the right reasons.” CEMETERY I FROM PAGE 1 gates at a salvage yard in Connecticut, replacing a few of the bars and getting a blacksmith from the Village to clean the gates up a bit and make the pintels, the hardware used to mount the gates to the pillars. Camosse Granite, of Worcester, donated the granite hat became the pillars of the entrance. Sexton was pleased with the pieces, he said that he felt the look and cut of the pieces makes you feel the age of the cemetery. “You look at them and they look like something that you would have seen here two hundred years ago,” he said. On Saturday, Sept. 15 Silvia Buck, chair of the Warren Historic Commission, led a dedication ceremony for the new gates. The Commissioners were present, as was Michalski, along with his father and grandfather. Michalski’s grandfather, Bernard Drazek, served the town of Warren for 42 years taking care of the Pine Grove Cemetery, and was delighted to see this improvement for another local ceremony. Buck said that she was pleased to, “offi cially accept and dedicate these gates to this beautiful cemetery,” and gave Michalski the honor of opening the gates for the fi rst time. The Christine said she hoped more students from Tantasqua attend the race this year. “It would be really nice to see a real strong attendance from Tantasqua because the scholarship goes to one of those students,” she said. Volunteers are also very much needed for the event, and Christine pointed out volunteering at the run is a good way for students to earn community service hours. Christine said the family had done a number of fundraisers over the years to fund the scholarships in Stephanie’s memory, but that they decided the race was what they wanted to put their energy into. “Steph was captain of the rugby team at Norwich and because of that she became an avid runner,” Christine said. “She was always running. One of her best friends, Crystal Brenner, was a runner too and came up with the idea of having a run.” Christine said that besides enabling the family to give the scholarship, the race honors Stephanie by keeping her memory alive. “This race is all about just bringing people together, having good time and good food, lots of laughs and lots of people telling stories,” she said. “It keeps us going and gives us a reason. Stephanie was a free-spirited girl who lived life to the fullest. When she walked into a room, I’m telling you it was like the room was on fi re. The room was alive. When she came home she always brought college friends home with her. We just want to keep it running.” TURLEY PUBLICATIONS PHOTO BY JENNIFER ROBERT Syliva Buck, Warren Historical Commission chair, shakes Michalski’s hand and thanks him for the donation for the gates while offi cially accepting them on behalf of the Commission. town of Warren Highway Department installed the gates for the Commission, to which Buck stated that they are “extremely grateful to them,” for doing so. After the ceremony took place, Michalski recalled some of his memories of Scouting, and how earning his Eagle rank has served him as he transitioned into adulthood. During the application and interview process for jobs, he explained, many of the potential employers he met with asked him about his being an Eagle Scout. While Michalski is, rightfully so, proud of making that rank, he explained that being part of Scouting in any capacity is something that is a very good thing for boys. “It such makes a man out of you quick,” he chuckled. “If it’s cold, hot, wet, you gotta keep walking. I went on a 50-mile hike the fi rst year I was in the Troop, they told me I didn’t have to go but I wanted to. I think my pack weighed more than I did. It was hard. But you learn so many great things in Scouts, learn things that are important when you are older too and a lot of boys don’t realize how much of an impact what they learn in Scouting has on the rest of their lives. Even if you don’t ever make Eagle, just going through the program is great, and teaches you so much that is really important.” But this year’s run almost didn’t happen. The family was hit with another devastating blow when Stephanie’s grandfather, James M. Hurley, was tragically killed in an apartment fi re in August. “We were going to cancel,” Christine said. “It’s been a really hard time for us and there was so much work to be done. But we were like, ‘Let’s just do it,’ and everything has been falling into place so nicely. We are in essence we are doing this in honor this year of her grandfather.” The 5K begins at the maintenance parking lot of the Tantasqua High School, proceeds behind the school and fi eld house to Route 148, turns Left onto Route 148 and goes to the second entrance of Webber Road, ending at the Rod and Gun Club. The cost for individuals to walk is $20, run is $25; the cost of a family of four to walk or run is $50. Nonrunner BBQ meal tickets are $10 are available at registration. Christine said the Rod & Gun club has been wonderful to her family over the years, letting them use the facility for free. “They’ve been such a huge supporter of the family and they are just awesome,” she said. More information and race registrations can be found at www.hurleysrockinrun.com or at www.facebook.com/HurleysRockinRun or by e-mailing hurleysrockinrun@gmail. com. Registration can also be done on race day.
A Turley Publication • www.turley.com I Thursday, September 20, 2012 PAGE 11 The East Brookfi eld team, along with members of the Mack family. The North Brookfi eld team. Connie Connie Mack Mack (l to r) Connie Mack III, Connie Mack V, Connie Mack IV and Dennis McGillicuddy cut the birthday cake. Winners of the East Brookfi eld Elementary Connie Mack Essay Contest pose with Mack the Eagle. First place winner John Button read his essay for the crowd. RIGHT: Jim “The Mud Man” Bintliff muds up a baseball with Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud. BELOW: Members of Boy Scout Pack 148 and Troop 238 get ready for the rededication ceremony. honored at weekend celebration EAST BROOKFIELD – Hundreds of people turned out to Connie Mack Drive on an absolutely gorgeous fall day Saturday for Connie Mack Day, a 150th birthday celebration for their hometown hero. A rededication of Connie Mack Field was held Saturday afternoon, attended by local politicians and dignitaries, followed by an exhibition game reenactment of Connie Mack’s fi rst championship game between East Brookfi eld and North Brookfi eld. Other activities on Saturday included a pancake breakfast, parade, classic car show, fairway booths, farmers’ markets, kiddie rides, fi eld games, art show, quilt show, a special exhibition by the East Brookfi eld Historical Society, live music, book signings by author Norman Macht and a chicken barbecue sponsored by the fi re department. Friday night featured presentations by Dick Rosen, chair of the Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society; Norman Macht, author of two biographical books about Mack; Dick Armstrong, one of the last living people that ever worked for Mack; and Brandon Avery, member of the North Brookfi eld Historical Commission. TURLEY PUBLICATIONS PHOTOS BY JENNIFER GRYBOWSKI ABOVE: The new sign is unveiled at the rededication. LEFT: Norman Macht signs a copy of one of his books for an enthusiastic fan in the library. CAPTURE the Moment Purchase these photos or any others you see in one of our Turley Publications by going to www. turley2.smugmug.com. QC Connie Mack III, Connie Mack IV and Connie Mack V all throw out the fi rst pitches for the game.
Page 1 and 2: The ONLY local coverage in Brookfie
Page 3 and 4: Brookfi eld Board of Selectmen Note
Page 5 and 6: Council On Aging Notebook Brookfi e
Page 7 and 8: Tantasqua’s Cornerstone Café set
Page 9: WEST BROOKFIELD Traditional Classes
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