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Complimentary to homes by request ONLINE: WWW.SPENCERNEWLEADER.COM Friday, November 4, 2011 Bullet shuts down Prouty SWAT TEAM SEARCH FINDS NO OTHER WEAPONS BY GUS STEEVES College. “Today, this happens.” STONEBRIDGE PRESS STAFF WRITER He was referring to a West SPENCER — Well-armed police, Roxbury teen arrested for bringing explosives dogs and a SWAT van a loaded pistol to school on Oct. 25. descended on David Prouty When asked if he could see that Regional High School Wednesday, happening here, Boynton added, Oct. 26, shutting down the school “Most definitely,from the way some for about four hours after a student kids act.” discovered a live bullet in the cafe- Although he dropped out a while teria. ago, he found out about the incident According to the brief police because his mother received the statement afterward by Sgt. John school’s ConnectEd Reverse-911 call Agnew, “the search revealed no — “Apparently, I’m still in their other ammunition or explosive enrollment system,” he said. devices.” Other people present essentially At least one former student out- disagreed with his view of the side, who was in cell phone contact school. with students inside, said his friend “This school is usually pretty Alfred’s aftermath therein believed police found good — little problems, but nothing Joy Richard photos cocaine and possibly heroin, big,” said one grandmother who although there were no details. didn’t give her name. “They’ve SPENCER — In the wake of Winter Storm “Yesterday, somebody in never closed everything completely Alfred, thousands of Worcester County resi- Massachusetts brought a loaded down. I’ve never seen this before, dents were left without power this week, and gun to school, and I told my friend, and I’ve been living in this town a with heavy snow bringing down trees and ‘Could you imagine if that hap- long time.” power lines, it looked like it would be a while pened at Prouty?’” said Joshua Shortly before the police let the until all power was restored. Boynton, a former student now at students go home, Superintendent Quinsigamond Community Above, Limbs can bee seen cracked in front of Turn To BULLET page A13 a Spencer home. Right, A Spencer road is narrowed due to a hanging tree limb. Town plans two special For the story and more photos, turn to page A9! events to honor veterans BY AMANDA COLLINS become a significant custom to the STONEBRIDGE PRESS STAFF WRITER nearly 100 veterans who come every Articles easily approved at Town Meeting WEST BROOKFIELD — Around year. this time six years ago, senior cen- “It’s brought out veterans who ter director Cindy Norden was were never recognized before, BY ELISA KROCHMALNYCKYJ before the Special Public Meeting The law would ban lawn watering thinking of her uncle, a soldier who maybe because they didn’t want to NEW LEADER CORRESPONDENT vote, officials agreed that the law from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., which is when died in World War II, when she real- be,” she said. SPENCER — Except for a debate should not apply to residents with the evaporation level is at the high- ized the town didn’t do anything to Norden said she thinks many vet- and close vote on whether to adopt private wells. est, during low-water and drought honor such heroes on Veterans Day. erans need time after being in the a “water conservation and restric- “We didn’t think we had the right times, officials said. Although the At the time both of her sons, who military before they’re ready to talk tion” bylaw, 23 budget, bylaw and to tell people what to do with their law is mandated by the state, were in the Navy, were stationed about their experiences. Growing capital expenditure items on the own well,” said Water enforcement would be by the town away from home. up, the topic of war was something Oct. 27 Special Town Meeting war- Commissioner Norman Letendre, only, officials said. “I had my own personal connec- her family of veterans never rant were easily adopted. adding that while the commission Some voters at the Town Meeting tion to veterans and I wanted to do brought up. The water restriction bylaw, learned that process by which the said they were hesitant to adopt something for them in town,” she “It needs to be enough in the required by the state and adopted law was adopted was rushed, he more restrictions from the state. said. past,” she said. after debate at the Town Meeting, thought it should be approved. “When you start putting restric- Norden planned the senior cen- At the senior center’s first veter- calls for restrictions on lawn water- “I don’t see anything unfair in tions on something like this, it just ter’s first annual Veteran’s Dinner an’s dinner, Norden said one veter- ing and washing cars. After a sepa- it,” he said. “It’s mostly common in 2006, a tradition that she said has Turn To VETERANS page A13 rate public hearing on it the night sense.” Turn To MEETING page A13 Turning scrap into cash BY AMANDA COLLINS STONEBRIDGE PRESS STAFF WRITER BAY PATH STUDENT WINS WELDING CONTEST, SCHOLARSHIP CHARLTON — One man’s trash Vocational High School senior interpretation of a dog on a leash “There were four buckets of really is another man’s treasure. Steven Stanikmas took home a first impressed the 150 people who scrap — old broken garden tools, That’s what a local student found place prize in a metal arts sculpture attended the competition, landing car parts, just the most random last month, when he turned a buck- contest, in which he competed him the top prize for most likeable pieces of metal you could think of,” et of scrap metal into a $1,500 schol- against older and more experi- and a scholarship. Stanikmas explained. “You could arship. enced welders last month. “I’m pretty proud. It’s simple but pick out what you want and just Bay Path Regional Technical Stanikmas, who lives in it’s meaningful,” Stanikmas said of make something with it.” Amanda Collins photos Charlton, called out of work to trek his sculpted dog. Stanikmas went in without a Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical two-and-a-half hours to Modern Contestants were given two plan. After rummaging through the High School senior Steven Stanikmas Welding School in Schenectady, hours to weld any kind of artistic buckets he came out with an old shows off his “pet” Fido, which earned N.Y., to participate in the school’s sculpture they could think of out of shovel, which he cut in half with a him first place in an out-of-state welding Oct. 8 sculpting contest. His metal scrap metal. contest and a hefty scholarship. Turn To WELDER page A16 2 SPENCER NEW LEADER • Friday, November 4, 2011 Nine requests on agenda for Leicester Town Meeting VOTERS TO DECIDE ZONING BYLAW CHANGES FOR SOLAR PANEL FARMS BY DAVID DORE Neighborhood Business District is necessary to install, operate and stated developers would have to on the zoning bylaw changes, the NEW LEADER STAFF WRITER along Pleasant Street. In other dis- maintain the system. “provide evidence of liability Planning Board will update its site LEICESTER — New rules for so- tricts, Town Planner Michelle Buck Systems that are abandoned or insurance in an amount and for a plan review rules and regulations called “solar panel farms” and said last month, they would be decommissioned would need to be duration sufficient to cover loss or accordingly. Board members voted monetary requests will be decided allowed “by right, with site plan removed, the proposed bylaw damage to persons and structures Oct. 19 to both recommend at a Special Town Meeting to be review.” states. The system owner or opera- occasioned by the failure of the approval of the bylaw changes and held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8 in the Applicants would be required to tor would have to notify the town by facility.” change their rules and regulations Town Hall auditorium. present the Planning Board with certified mail when the system will Buck said at an Oct. 19 public based on the Town Meeting vote. Five of the nine articles would evidence they have let National be taken offline and what the plans hearing the section was removed Leicester is facing an unofficial add language to the town’s zoning Grid know they want to connect the are for removal. The system is to be because “this level of specificity” deadline of Dec. 31 for the bylaw bylaw regarding ground-mounted system to the electrical grid. removed no later than 150 days was not in the model bylaw from changes to be approved because solar photovoltaic installations. Systems that will operate off the from the date it was decommis- the state used to craft Leicester’s that is when tax incentives for Article 5 defines large-scale and grid would be exempt. sioned. That would mean getting rules.