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Mailed free to requesting homes in Charlton, Charlton City and Charlton Depot Vol. 3, No. 29 COMPLIMENTARY HOME DELIVERY ONLINE: WWW.CHARLTONVILLAGER.COM “He who does anything because it is the custom, makes no choice.” Friday, July 17, 2009 Open Meeting Law tweaked Override talk BY RYAN GRANNAN-DOLL STAFF WRITER LOCAL OFFICIALS CRITIQUE CHANGES Local officials have a little gets ‘serious’ homework to do — boning up Association (MMA), a group with the state Legislature on vote these licenses,” he said. on the newly revamped Open that advocates for state com- the new bill. The law now The new statute also Meeting Law. munities. clearly states that a quorum requires both boards to post Several significant changes The new law moves enforce- of one board can attend a the meeting in public. have been made to the law, treatment ment of the statute to the meeting of another body, but Currently, the law requires a which currently governs, state’s Attorney General only discuss the latter board’s public body to post a notice of among other things, how, (AG), and out of the hands of business, Lampke said. Prior meetings at least 48 hours in when and what can be dis- the local district attorneys. It to the new law, he said, inter- advance, excluding Sundays cussed at a meeting of a pub- OFFICIALS BRAINSTORM OVER also clarifies how meetings of pretations of the statue pro- and holidays. lic body. The new changes two bodies can be conducted, hibited the first board from Another change likely to were part of the ethics reform BUDGET DEFICIT according to Executive speaking at all, unless they cause concern for some offi- bill Gov. Deval Patrick signed Director of City Solicitors had a posted a meeting. cials is requiring boards to recently. They take effect in and Town Councils John “They should not be able to state the specific topic and BY RYAN GRANNAN-DOLL prohibits raising the rate 2010, according to the STAFF WRITER Lampke, whose group worked say, while we are here, let’s more than that number. Massachusetts Municipal Turn To LAW, page 11 CHARLTON — Town offi- “I think it is a serious con- cials have a number of ways templation, an override, I to cover its budget deficit after really do,” said Town a brainstorming session last Assessor Deborah Ceccarini. week. Ceccarini said the Board of Tax overrides, Selectmen could send levy hikes, using the a letter to town resi- Goodnight, Moonstruck town’s savings dents explaining the account and cutting town’s budget situa- other town services tion and the need to were all among the generate more rev- ideas tossed out by enue. Pepperell, she town officials who said, issued a similar gathered to generate letter. ways to cover the “[Approving an town’s $263,000 fiscal override] won’t hap- Rick Swensen 2010 deficit. pen unless you get out The meeting was there and really let the called after the budg- people understand et was updated using what you have been,” newly available local Ceccarini said. aid figures from the Tax Collector Lucia state government. Blanchette said any Selectmen letter couldn’t advo- Chairman Rick cate for or against an Swensen said the override. ideas would be dis- The possibility got cussed at the board’s Charles Cloutier more support form Tuesday, July 14 other officials, including meeting. Library Trustee Stefan Sage, “Our goal is to have a budg- who has been pushing the et in place as soon as humanly idea for months. Without it, possible,” he said. he said, the town is facing cuts Proposing a Proposition 2 in town services, Board of Ryan Grannan-Doll photos 1/2 tax operating override Assessor member Stephen was among the most seriously Coleman lent further support. Above, Moonstruck Café owner Doreen Krajewski displays the first mug ever discussed options. The meas- “I think its time we pursue used at the Moonstruck Café. It is now “retired.” At right, Krajewski makes ure allows voters to approve the override,” he said. a frozen hot chocolate drink. Bottom right, Krajewski, at right, talks about Fire Chief Charles E. the impending closure of the Moonstruck Café with her sister, Joy Butler. raising the property tax rate by more than 2 1/2 percent in Cloutier Jr., however, said an any given year. The current override when the town has rate is $9.05 per $1,000 in $1.7 million in its savings POPULAR ROUTE 20 CAFÉ value. Currently, state law Turn To BUDGET, page 11 CLOSING ITS DOORS BY RYAN GRANNAN-DOLL STAFF WRITER Schools seen as fter more than a decade of serving up coffee, some music and even a bit of poetry, Moonstruck Café on Route 20 will close its doors later this month. A The gourmet coffee house, across the street from the old Yankee Diner and easily recognizable with its bright- vaccine centers ly painted exterior, is set to close Thursday,July 30. When it does it will mean the end to nearly 12 years of serving up hot cups of morn- BY GUS STEEVES ing joe to area residents. STAFF WRITER “I am proud of what we have done here,” said the business’s owner, Leicester resident Doreen Krajewski. Last week, the U.S. government urged school districts to pre- Two issues are to blame for the business’s fate, according to pare for giving H1N1 (swine) flu vaccinations to their students Krajewski. The building has been sold, she said, and she has been this fall, but local officials are still crafting plans to do so. “I personally think it’s a great idea,” said Southbridge Board Turn To MOONSTRUCK, page 11 of Health Chairman Dr. Thomas O’Leary. “I certainly remem- ber getting them when I was a kid. The logistical problem, the stick in the wicket, is getting parental consent.” It’s also figuring out how to deal with the potential of allergic reactions in some people, how to distribute hundreds of doses in a short time frame, how to juggle that with the fact the same period will see new vaccinations for the seasonal flu, a separate For city kids, it’s a breath of Fresh Air illness, and, in some cases, how to address concerns of those opposed to vaccination. There’s still time to finish such planning, since the vaccine is LOCAL FAMILIES WELCOME NYC YOUTHS still being developed. The July 10 Washington Post reported the goal is to distribute the first 100 million doses sometime in BY TERESA A. FRANCO families throughout the area, includ- STAFF WRITER October. ing Charlton, Karen Poutre of Oxford O’Leary,who is also a school committee member, said he had The parking lot at the Wal-Mart in decided to give the program a try. A preliminary discussions on how to implement such a process Sturbridge last Friday was full of year later, her friend, Cindy Chesna, with Superintendent Dale Hanley last month, but she was on local families anticipating the arrival of Auburn joined in as well. vacation and unavailable for comment last week. He predicted of children from New York City who For the past six years, Sabrina a “classroom by classroom kind of thing may be the best way to will spend a couple of weeks in their Doctor, 13, of New York City has do it.” homes. stayed with the Chesna family — Madeline Brouillard, principal at Trinity Catholic, agreed, which includes her husband Peter Since 1877, the Fresh Air Fund has saying her school’s approach would mirror whatever the public made it possible for city children to and her daughters Alicia, Kaitlyn, Megan and son Dakota — and for the health authorities create. She said Trinity will probably have experience what summer is like in a the school nurse give shots one-on-one to protect student’s pri- more rural part of the country.Every past seven years, Bria Lemon, 13, of New York City has visited the Poutre vacy a few days after a school-wide assembly describing what’s year, a group of children hop on a bus family, which includes Karen, her happening. and travel three hours to stay with a husband, Brian, and their children She said 80 to 90 percent of her school’s parents get their chil- host family for two weeks. Ali, Matthew and Chris. Not only dren the annual flu shots, and all students have the regularly Courtesy photo During their stays, many of the have the girls formed friendships required vaccinations. A group photo of local Fresh Air Fund host families and host families and children develop with their respective families over “Every once in a while we do get a family who doesn’t believe children from New York City that will be staying with lasting friendships as well. the years but with each other as well, in vaccination, but we don’t have anybody like that now,” them for two weeks. After hearing about the Fresh Air Turn To VACCINE, page 11 Fund, which has city kids stay with Turn To FUND, page 11 DUDLEY SILENCES TRIVIA Almanac ................. 2 Learning................ 12 RYDER CHARLTON IN Its capital is Olympia Obituaries ............. 13 Calendar ...............13 JUNIOR LEAGUE and its state motto, “Al- Police Logs .............. 5 Real Estate ...B Section TAVERN Ki,” means “by and by.” INDEX INDEX Opinion ................ 10 Sports .............. 15-16 PAGES 8-9 TOURNEY Which U.S. state is this? PAGE 15 Answer inside. 2 •THE CHARLTON VILLAGER• Friday, July 17, 2009 www.charltonvillager.com THE WEEKLY QUESTION Do you care about the state’s For some kids, it’s a summer of enrichment Open Meeting Law and whether town officials follow it? BY RYAN GRANNAN-DOLL STAFF WRITER Last week’s question: With the economy CHARLTON — For some students, school is still recessed, are you more or less likely not quite done for the year.

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