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Officials STAFF WRITER stressed the importance of strong communications at all SPENCER – Residents levels of the district and within learned about state level school both communities. finance operations during a public forum last week. “The meeting emphasized the need for us to work togeth- On April 9, Spencer-East er at the local level now more Brookfield Regional School than ever, as state revenues are Committee members teamed fluid and always changing,” up with selectmen and Finance Haughey added. Committee members in both towns to host the joint forum. For officials in both towns, The goal was to inform resi- it was helpful to provide elect- dents about the often enigmatic ed leaders and residents alike inner workings of public educa- with an opportunity to learn tion systems and school finance more about state level opera- operations at the state level. tions. There are often questions that arise related to funding Also in attendance at the formulas, but few opportuni- forum were M. J. Handy, of the ties exist like the one last week Massachusetts Department of to hear directly from state offi- Revenue, as well as Department cials. Kevin Flanders Photos of Elementary and Secondary Education representative John Alexander MacMillan receives his Eagle Scout certificate. “I’m grateful to Sullivan. Several topics were Superintendent Haughey for discussed, including strategic organizing this informative planning, tax rates, funding session with officials from the formulas, and Chapter 70 assis- Department of Revenue and the BY KEVIN FLANDERS the Baptist Church in East Brookfield. tance. STAFF WRITER Department of Elementary and MacMillan led several improvement proj- Secondary Education,” said ects at the site, including landscaping, add- It’s especially important for SPENCER – After achieving the highest Spencer Town Administrator ing new concrete, and cleaning a statue. residents of towns with region- Thomas Gregory. honor available in Scouting, a local teenag- “I’m a part of St. John the Baptist Church, al school districts to understand er celebrated his accomplishment with the and I’m close to my priest, Father Don the many factors involved in The program also provided community last weekend. Ouellette,” MacMillan said. “One day, I funding, officials said. Boy Scout Troop 201 member Alexander a thorough review of Chapter spoke to him about the project and he gave 70 funding as it relates to the MacMillan was recently confirmed as an me the idea of cleaning up the rectory. The “The evening was designed Eagle Scout, joining an elite few Boy Scouts SEBRSD and other rural region- most rewarding part was looking at the final to educate and inform the al school districts. Officials in nationwide to earn the honor. On April product and being proud of myself.” public on how Massachusetts 7, he was joined by family, friends, fellow both towns said it is important public school finance works to have venues like last week’s Scouts, and several community guests in MacMillan, a senior from Spencer who for the communities we serve celebration at Spencer Country Inn. Among event where Chapter 70 can be attends Bay Path High School, has been and for regional school dis- discussed at length. the attendees were State Representatives involved in Scouting since he was six years tricts like ours,” said SEBRSD Donald Berthiaume and Peter Durant, as old. After countless fun memories and learn- Superintendent Paul Haughey. “It brought School Committee well as Senator Anne Gobi. ing experiences, he now serves as an inspi- For local elected officials and Scouting members, selectmen, and ration to younger scouts. Attendees also discussed Finance Committee members leaders, it meant a lot to watch MacMillan’s what it means to be a minimum project take form last summer at St. John together to learn about this Please Read SCOUT, page A6 aid district, as well as statewide trends in funding and char- Please Read FUNDING, page A2 Students help Leicester return to MMEA festival BY KEVIN FLANDERS munities. The competition to 2019 festival set for April 28. STAFF WRITER earn a spot in the festival is intense, as a limited number of “This festival has been LEICESTER – It has been student musicians per district going on for many years, but nearly two decades since can take part. no Leicester students have the town was represented made it in since 2003,” said at a regional music festival, After LMS eighth graders LMS music teacher Kristina but three Leicester Middle Jacob van Lingen and Cole Looney. “This year, we had School students are ending the Delage were overlooked for the six band students audition drought in resounding fash- festival last year, the young and three were accepted. This ion. musicians came back even is a very competitive process Held by the Massachusetts more determined to make the that requires the students to Courtesy Photo Music Educators Association cut. And they recently learned prepare advanced audition (MMEA), the annual Central Three Leicester Middle School students were selected to take part in a that they’ll be joining school- material in the form of etudes, regional music festival. From left, Jillian Morrison, Cole Delage, and Jacob District festival includes stu- mate Jillian Morrison at the dents from several area com- Please Read MMEA, page A7 van Lingen. Asparagus Festival returns May 18 BY RUTH M. LYON approaching. The event, the one we all know and love, will be here, its green WEST BROOKFIELD — Spring is and lovely self, on Saturday, May 18. springing all around us, and this town’s From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., more green harbinger of the season, the wel- than 100 juried vendors of all things coming, happily celebrated Asparagus earthy, artisanal and artistic will pro- and Flower Heritage Festival is fast vide food for thought and the senses - history, gastronomy and the pleasure of your company, all of you, as you meet and greet the thousands of friends of Diederick Leertouwer. In fact, per- haps you’ll meet the man who, tradi- tion informs us, brought asparagus to America in 1794, right here in small, scenic, and altogether remarkable West Brookfield. And there’s free transportation to the common - no long walks nec- essary. To make your visit pleasant, there’s a free shuttle bus all day, from ten to four. You may park your vehicle Courtesy Photo at the town highway department area (at the junction of Ware, Front and Girls can be blacksmiths, too, at the West Brookfield Asparagus Festival. Blacksmith Central Streets). From there, you’ll be Rob Lyon assists. Please Read ASPARAGUS, page A7 2 SPENCER NEW LEADER • Friday, April 19, 2019 Hope Rudzinski of North Brookfield, three’s not a crowd DUDLEY — Hope Rudzinski of North of my comfort zone. I got two campus ‘Wait, I can’t do everything with them.’ room, and through impactful research Brookfield was the last of three siblings jobs (one of which, by the way, is with You have to separately navigate to be and professional education. Founded to choose Nichols College, but she was Nichols College Public Relations), met your own person and be independent.” in 1815, Nichols transforms today’s stu- not following in the footsteps of an older more people around campus, and made The three are majoring in different dents into tomorrow’s leaders through brother or sister who were already at more connections.” areas: Carlie chose hospitality man- a dynamic, career-focused business and the College or had graduated. In another departure from her com- agement; Zach, sport management; professional education. Within a sup- In fact, she and her brother Zach and fort zone, she has become less depen- and Hope, English-which has fit with portive community, Nichols offers and sister Carlie are triplets, and all cur- dent on her brother and sister, although her journalistic and literary interests. experiential business curriculum with rently juniors. the three stay in touch. Hope is vice president of Windfall-the a strong liberal arts foundation that is “I was the last one to decide to come “You know they’re going to be there,” Nichols literary magazine-and works as enhanced by the scholarship of practice here,” said Hope Rudzinski. “I didn’t she said. “If I’m in a stressful situation, a reporter for Nichols Public Relations, and pedagogy; integrates research and know if I wanted to go to college right I could just go walk over to their dorms for which she covers events around scholarship into the student experience away.” The 1,200-member Nichols stu- and see them.” campus and profiles its inhabitants. programs and activities that cultivate dent body represented a huge increase There’s no mistaking the three “Everyone has a story,” she said. and enhance professional skills and over North Brookfield Senior and Rudzinskis for each other. Aside from “And connecting with someone on a readiness; and develops the communi- Junior High School, about 20 miles the fact they are not identical, they have personal level is important.” cation and critical-thinking abilities, away, where she graduated with a mere each travelled their own roads through About Nichols College the ethical and cultural perspectives, 35 classmates.