CDBG: One Applied, Another Weighed
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(978) 297-0050 • www.winchendoncourier.com FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 2018 Newsstand: 75 cents BOS weighs Blair Square options BY GREG VINE ing vehicle movements conflict COURIER CORRESPONDENT with each other. When you Plans currently call for the look at the current configura- reconstruction of Central tion with these traffic islands, Street between Blair Square you’re really creating addition- and Maple Street, with work al points of conflict as motor- due to get underway in 2020. ists try to maneuver around Partly in response to that proj- them.” ect, the town has asked the “There’s also a lack of traf- engineering firm of Tighe and fic signage and directional Bond to weigh various options out there,” he said. “So, while to improve the flow of traffic at locals may understand the Blair Square, where Central, movements, others entering Spring, Front, and High streets that intersection may not. You converge. really have a point of confu- It is common for traffic turn- sion as to where you should go. ing left from Central Street to Luckily, because of the confu- Spring Street to back up sever- sion, most of the traffic move- al cars deep and accelerating ment is slow.” Photo by Keith Kent to make that turn can often Loring said a traffic study Recent Mass Firefighting Academy call and volunteer firefighters graduation, representing the Winchendon be risky business. The inter- revealed that during peak vol- Fire Department from left to right are new firefighter Betty-Jane Nicholson, Chief Tom Smith, and new section has certainly seen its ume, more than 2,000 vehicles firefighter Edward Coulter, with Templeton Fire Chief David Dickie, and new Templeton Fire Department share of fender-benders. per hour move through the member Drew Brassard. Tighe and Bond Vice intersection. President David Loring and Loring said Tighe and Bond project engineer Alex Fagnand looked at either installing a met with selectmen Monday traffic light or constructing a Winchendon adds two new night to discuss steps that could roundabout to control traffic be taken to improve traffic flow flow. and safety at the troublesome “I understand people have square. really strong opinions about Firefighter Academy graduates “The intersection current- each one of these options,” ly…has a series of four traffic he said. “With traffic signals BY KEITH KENT as well as receiving public fire education, islands,” said Loring. “They you’ve got aerial interference COURIER CORRESPONDENT hazmat material incident mitigation, flam- really aren’t the kind of a with sight lines. Modern round- about is a new traffic pattern The Winchendon Fire Department is mable liquids knowledge and training, stress design that we’d use today. some people aren’t comfortable pleased to announce the addition of two new management, firefighter self-rescue, and They’re too small to be func- with.” firefighters, as Edward Coulter and Betty- vehicle extraction. Other aspects of the pro- tional. When we look at inter- Jane Nicholson celebrated their graduation gram include physical fitness training, skills sections like this we talk about Turn To BOS A7 at the Stowe campus on Tuesday. training, classroom instruction, and live fire- traffic conflict, where oppos- page Coulter and Nicholson, who were joined fighting practice. by 23 other graduates representing 13 fire Ostroskey said to start ceremonies, “It’s departments, became members of the second my great privilege on the behalf of the of three classes to graduate this week, accord- Department of Fire Services to welcome you Firms face sanctions ing to State Fire Marshal, Peter J. Ostroskey. here tonight as we celebrate with you the Completing a 240 hour comprehensive graduation of these new recruits of the call/ course, all graduates have meet the National volunteer recruit class number 69.” Fire Protection Association 1001 standards Ostroskey continued, “I also have the priv- for wetlands violations and requirements, allowing the ability to ilege to work here every day with a terrific become certified to the level of Firefighter 1 staff and terrific group of instructors at the BY GREG VINE the Massachusetts Attorney and 2, along with hazardous materials first Massachusetts Firefighters Academy. These COURIER CORRESPONDENT General’s office.” responder operational level by the Mass professionals come back to the Firefighter Winchendon Conservation Fire Training Council, according to Jennifer Academy to deliver training day in and day Two local companies are Agent David Koonce said pen- Mieth, public information officer. out, and all are fire service personnel, active being called to enforcement alties could range from an As part of earning their certification, all or retired, who are committed to our firefight- hearings to answer to find- order that damaged wetlands graduates have learned the basic skills need- ings they violated the state’s Wetlands Protection Act during be restored to a financial penal- ed to respond to, contain, and control fires, Turn To FIREFIGHTERS page A11 logging operations on a 230- ty, or a combination of the two. acre parcel located off Teel and In an email to Powell, Childs Bemis roads in Winchendon. said it is DEP’s hope “to reach The property is owned by a negotiated settlement that Steven Powell, owner of Powell provides you an opportunity Stone and Gravel Company, to have input on the correc- Swanson on to national races Inc. and Winchendon tive actions and penalties to be Materials, LLC, both owned by assessed.” Richard Swanson not only performer at the Massachusetts the eighth fastest number in Steven Powell and headquar- State and local conservation became the first Murdock Class V championships. Eighth the state at the time. tered in Lunenburg. officials held a meeting last athlete in nearly two decades grader Lily Digman and fresh- Allard not only won the state In letters to Powell, Denise August to discuss a complaint to qualify for the All-New man Lexi Allard captured state long jump title, she set a new Childs, Wetland Chief for filed with DEP claiming that England track meet to be held crowns as well (600 meters and school record in the 55 meters the state’s Bureau of Water tree harvesting on the proper- tomorrow, he also punched his long jump respectively) and as and finished second in the 55 Resources, said the state ty had occurred “in streams ticket to next week’s national a two-competitor team, piled hurdles. Department of Environmental and around wetlands following high school event at the New up more points (28) than any That group might have post- Protection “intends to the completion of a timber har- York City Armory with an out- MHS track team, boys or girls, ed the most headlines but it take enforcement action in vest that concluded last year standing race in last weekend’s had ever done. was a banner day for others as response to your noncompli- (2016)…I witnessed substantial 600 meters where he ran 1:23:93. Digman had been considered well. Ryan Thira and Steven ance. Possible actions may road construction and culvert A week earlier, an unseeded a significant underdog against Ingman ran personal bests in include issuance of an admin- installation. I did not witness heat in 1:21:68, lowered his own older runners before her tour- the 55 meters and mile respec- istrative consent order, a uni- any DEP permit information school mark by two full sec- de-force when she stopped the tively. Thira finished 15th over- lateral administrative order, a on site, and so my assumption onds. timer in 1:37, obliterating the all while Ingman placed ninth. civil administrative penalty, Swanson wasn’t the only star school record and putting up Turn To WETLAND A10 Turn To RACES page A9 or referral of this matter to page CDBG: one applied, another weighed BY GREG VINE to get underway in late spring or early “Last year we only asked for $30,000 first year we did it, and we didn’t even COURIER CORRESPONDENT summer. per unit and we’ve done several sin- the program going until late in the year. Winchendon Planning and “We decided to do more housing gle-case waivers because we’ve gone This year we were up and running in Development Director Tracy Murphy, rehab (for FY18) because next year over that amount. The costs have just the middle of December. We were tak- in cooperation with the assistance of we’re going to try to do an infrastruc- gone up.” ing applications. It was just much more the Montachusett Regional Planning ture project, and infrastructure proj- Murphy also explained the rehab efficient this year.” Commission, has spent the past couple ects take up a lot of the money,” said grants are not to pay for aesthetic The Board of Selectmen recently of weeks putting the finishing touch- Murphy. “So, if we propose 10 or 11 improvements to the home. endorsed the town’s application and es on the town’s FY18 Community housing projects this year, next year we “It’s to improve peoples’ homes and received an update on plans for the Development Block Grant application. can only do one or two.” take care of code violations, really, FY19 grant. The final request is due into the state Murphy said the town is seeking quality of life type of things. We want “In a two-year span, the maximum Department of Housing and Community $440,000 per housing rehab. to make sure people are living in a safe we’re allowed to apply for is $1.35 mil- Development by the end of today. The “That’s $40,000 per project,” she home.” lion,” Murphy said. “The most we can total for the grant comes to $550,000.