LWN093021

More documents

Recommendations

Info

8 WEEKLYNEWS.NET - 978-532-5880 SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 Bridgewell assists those turning 22 PHOTO | SHUTTERSTOCK For the Weekly NeWs At Bridgewell, our team delivers on our mission to inspire hope and empower people experiencing life challenges to achieve their fullest potential. One critical area of need for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities is building independent living skills as they graduate, upon turning 22 years old, from residential educational environments. Bridgewell recently launched a pilot program in partnership with the Department of Development Services (DDS) designed to serve as a “bridge” model, helping individuals turning 22 transition from highly-supervised environments, with 24/7 direct support, to living more independently in the community with fewer needed supports. “There is a huge gap in support for individuals in this age group, and the need for skill-building among these individuals as they mature is massive,” said Andrea Ward, Bridgewell’s residential director of individual supports. Based in Wakefield, the program provides participants with support on structuring an independent routine based on needs determined during a living skills assessment process. Bridgewell staff help participants create individual development goals and build independent living skills, such as meal planning and preparation, financial skills such as budgeting and paying bills, laundry, navigating the community, taking care of their health, and coping strategies. Job skills training is also a key component of the program. In addition to direct support from Bridgewell staff, program participants also benefit from cutting-edge technology, including smart home technology and a care.coach digital platform, which provides a new channel of communication and care delivery in the home. The digital platform offers capabilities ranging from telemedicine to a 24/7 engaging avatar companion, all of which can be customized to meet a wide range of needs. “Most young adults have the desire to live independently in their own space after they’ve finished school. I am excited to be part of this new Bridgewell service, supporting these young adults as they learn the skills to move into adulthood and live independently in their own space – whatever that may be for each of them,” said Jennifer Dinan, Bridgewell’s residential manager, who also oversees day-today operations of the program. The program is intended for participants to be enrolled for 24-48 months with staff support, but then to “graduate” and be prepared to safely transition into the community, gain steady employment, and live as independently as possible. This is a new service for DDS and Bridgewell, with no other programs like it available in the North Shore area. Based on the learnings of this pilot program, we hope to grow and expand this individual support programming into other communities we serve in Metro North. LETTER TO THE EDITOR To the editor, Two weeks ago, the Weekly New kindly published my letter about the recent kerfuffle between the Town of Lynnfield and the Lynnfield Historical Society. I tried to point out that the loss of the Society’s 501(c) (3) status had been blown out of proportion. However, another writer in last week’s Weekly says she scoffed at my characterization of the Society as forgetful history buffs. She challenged my understanding of the IRS’ published policies that help small, voluntary nonprofit organizations remedy their failure to submit the necessary paperwork. She identified herself as an attorney and offered her professional opinion that nonprofit organizations are under intense Federal scrutiny and that the Society’s failure to submit the A TRADITION OF TRUST, CARING & PROFESSIONAL SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY SINCE 1952 Service to all faiths Complete Pre-Need Planning Medicaid Approved Trust & Insurance Plans 19 YALE AVE., WAKEFIELD, MASS. Conveniently Located off Exit 39 (North Ave.) Rt. 128 Spacious Modern Facilities Ample Private Parking Handicapped Accessible Area Code 781 245-3550 • 334-9966 proper forms for a number of years “is a grave infraction that should not be swept under the rug.” She insinuated that something dark and sinister was afoot. So, which of us was correct? By good luck, the Historical Society just received a letter from the IRS that begins with, “We are pleased to tell you that we have determined you’re exempt from Federal Income Tax under Internal Revenue Code 501(c) (3)”. This was the most upbeat letter from the IRS that I have ever seen. If the IRS felt that the Historical Society was as sinister as that writer believes, I doubt it they would have used the word “pleased”. How did this attorney get it so wrong? Well, the truth is that she got nearly everything in her letter wrong. That writer went on to suggest that the Historical Society obfuscated its financial situation in order to profit from renting out a Town-owned building. She questioned the lack of financial transparency, asked about secretive payment of salary to an individual to manage the rental of the Meeting House, and suggested that since all of the Society’s reserve funds came from those rentals, those funds should be turned over to the Lynnfield Historical Commission. That is just hogwash. The financial records are freely available. She just didn’t ask for them. They prove without a doubt that her financial questions are simply inventions of someone’s imagination. Over the past 22 years, the total income of the Society was $445,080, with expenses of $427,356 (overwhelming devoted to the Meeting House). The Society has cleared a grand total of about $17,000. Surely, no sensible person could think that the Society was enriching itself. Had the Society been allowed to complete the kitchen renovation, much of that money would have been consumed. One change that is easily seen in the data is the change in sources of annual income. My mother tells me that when she and my father chaired the Country Store, it generated over $20,000 per year for the Society. By the early 2000s, the net income from the Country Store had fallen to less than $4000 per year, and in 2019 it was less than $2500. To counter that decline, the Society has increased the rentals of the Meeting House. But unlike the Country Store, where the workload was concentrated in November and early December and was shared by dozens of members, the rental management has become year-round, often with multiple rentals each weekend, and falls to only one person. In 2017, when no one would volunteer to carry the load, the Society’s Board authorized a modest stipend of about $4800 per year. Linda Gillon took on that responsibility and continues to do it because no one would step forward after she was later elected president. Somehow, her continuing to do this essential task has been twisted by last week’s letter writer into the false notion of the Society President receiving a secret salary. The other writer appears to confuse the annual Society income with its separate endowment that was established well before 2000 in the years when rental income was negligible. The endowment was established by generous gifts of supporters of the Historical Society back when people like my father served as president. That writer also questions the stewardship of the Society’s wonderful collection of historical artifacts. She says she snooped through the windows of the Pope-Richard Center and saw disarray. What she actually saw were all of the artifacts stored in boxes when she probably expected the items to be on exhibit. The Pope-Richard Center has been used exclusively as a storage building by the Society for a number of years, since that building cannot be open to the public because it does not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Since February, the Society has not had access to its property, as the Town changed the locks and now denies them access to the Pope-Richard Center. Despite her scoffing, the second letter writer simply failed to check the facts herself, and nothing in her letter is actually an original thought. Her so-called concerns are merely echoes of the unfortunate propaganda emanating from the Chairman of the Lynnfield Historical Commission. Richard Foulds, Ph.D.
SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 WEEKLYNEWS.NET - 978-532-5880 9 Sports PHOTO | SPENSER HASAK Lynnfield’s James Sharkey breaks a tackle during a shutout win over Ipswich Friday night at Pioneer Stadium. Lynnfield puts together complete effort in win over Ipswich FOOTBALL By Sam Minton LYNNFIELD — Coach Pat Lamusta should be happy with his squad’s effort in all three phases of the game as the Lynnfield football team defeated the Ipswich Tigers 33-0 on Friday evening. The Tigers started the game off with a lengthy drive, which lasted more than eight minutes. The ball stayed on the ground with Henry Wright and David Lonergan receiving a heavy dose of carries. But the passing game did Ipswich in with Lynnfield sophomore Arthur Chiaradonna going on to snag an interception to give the Pioneers the ball with 3:45 left in the first quarter. Lynnfield’s offense would make them pay as the Pioneers quickly made it a 7-0 game thanks to a 35-yard touchdown pass from junior Nick Razzaboni that was caught by Joey Cucciniello. Friday night was another impressive game for the junior quarterback, who continued to show his ability to make magic happen with his arm. But it was junior James Sharkey who was the talk of the town after racking up 108 yards rushing and averaging 15 yards a carry; he also had a touchdown on the evening. Lamusta described Sharkey as a runner whose feet don’t stop moving after the win. “He’s a north/south guy,” the coach said. “He’s really a downhill runner so it was awesome to see him capitalize on those runs today.” Ipswich would get the ball on its own 31 to start their second drive of the game with 2:32 left in the first quarter, but they wouldn’t have the ball long as the Tigers fumbled the ball on a reverse and the Pioneers Jack Phelps recovered the ball with less than a minute left in the quarter. Lynnfield carried possession through the beginning of the second quarter and got all the way down to their opponent’s five-yard line. Unfortunately for the Pioneers, a fumbled snap killed their momentum and Lynnfield wound up turning the ball over on downs. Luckily the Pioneer defense answered the call and caused Ipswich to go three and out with seven minutes left in the half. Lynnfield made quick work of Ipswich’s defense, as a less than two-minute drive was capped off with Spencer Riley running 30 yards into the end zone with just over five minutes left in the second quarter. The Pioneers’ front seven brought the pressure to the Tiger’s offensive line in the following drive, forcing an intentional grounding in their opponent’s end zone; this caused a safety, giving Lynnfield a 16-0 lead. The half ended with the score line unchanged. The Pioneers had a perfect start to the second half, with Sharkey scampering for a 54-yard touchdown run after Lynnfield recovered Ipswich’s on-side kick attempt to start the half. The Pioneers failed to convert the two-point conversion, giving them a 22-0 lead with 11 minutes left in the third quarter. Lynnfield’s defense came through again, forcing yet another three and out from Ipswich that was capped by a sack from junior Steven Dreher with nine minutes left in the third quarter. Lamusta said his defense had an awesome performance against Ipswich. “It’s a fast defense,” he said. “We might not be the biggest, but we are very fortunate to have some fast, athletic guys on D and you were able to see that today.” The Pioneers drove down to their opponent’s red zone, but were stopped by the Tigers’ defense, which forced them to kick a 22-yard field goal. The kick was good, courtesy of junior Kevin Connolly, who gave Lynnfield a 25-0 lead. Ipswich sustained a long drive before turning the ball over with seven seconds left in the third quarter. It wouldn’t take long for the Pioneers to score once again on the ground, as junior Robert Marley broke off for a 63-yard rushing touchdown, which gave Lynnfield a 33-0 lead after a successful two-point conversion with 11 minutes left in the game. Lynnfield is now 2-0 and plays Newburyport on the road Friday (6:30). PHOTO | JAKOB MENENDEZ Lynnfield’s Ella Gizmunt goes up for a spike during a win over Newburyport Monday evening at Lynnfield High School. Pioneers soar past Newburyport VOLLEYBALL By Mike Alongi LYNNFIELD — The Lynnfield volleyball team kept its undefeated season alive and knocked off yet another Cape Ann League foe in the process Monday evening, taking down Newburyport by a score of 3-0 on its home court. The Pioneers won by set scores of 25-6, 25-16, 25-7. “We played our best game (Monday), and it’s really looking like things are starting to click for the girls out there,” said Lynnfield coach Brent Ashley. “They were fun to watch out there. They’re healthy, they’re rested and they’re executing the game plan exactly how we’ve laid it out. It was great to see.” One of the biggest changes that Ashley has seen between this year’s team and last year’s team is that this year’s team has been able to get off to fast starts in every single match. “It’s almost like a Jekyll and Hyde situation with last year’s team,” said Ashley. “Last season, we couldn’t get off to a good start to save our lives. Now, we get off to a great start in every match and then have a let-down in the second set. The great starts have really helped us, but now we just have to back them up.” Monday’s win was also special because it was a payback game for the Pioneers, who suffered their only loss of last season to Newburyport. And even though there are only two returning players from last year’s Lynnfield team, the feeling of getting revenge lingered. “That chip on our shoulder really carried over into this year after that loss, even though most of those girls saw that loss while watching from the JV team,” said Ashley. “This was definitely a program win, and one that every player was itching to get.” The victory puts Lynnfield at 7-0 on the season, meaning the Pioneers are inching closer and closer to a berth in the state tournament. But that’s not on their minds yet, as the team still has unfinished business in its own league. “We’ve really been focused on building small goals throughout the season, and the first one for us is beating every team in the CAL and going undefeated in the league,” said Ashley. “Once we can get through that milestone then we can shift our focus to the next thing, but we want to remain focused on what’s in front of us for now.” Lynnfield travels to Triton Friday (5:30).
Page 1 and 2: The #1 Selling Real Estate Office i
Page 3 and 4: SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 WEEKLYNEWS.NET -
Page 7: SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 WEEKLYNEWS.NET -

LWN093021

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?