Text  and photos by Steev Riccardo

WEBSTER - One of the nicest and most peaceful spots around Webster Lake is that of the relocated North Main Street Bridge near the entrance of Memorial beach.

At any given time you can see a myriad of wildlife from the bridge, including turtles, frogs, geese, ducks, muskrats, and the beautiful Blue Heron that often frequents the area.  It is a wonderful spot to relax, take photos, and enjoy the surroundings.

There is also an adjacent walking trail where you can get some exercise while taking in the scenery.

Unfortunately, there are people who have no respect for this serene spot or the environment and choose to break the law by leaving their garbage behind.

Recently someone decided to take an entire garbage can and throw its contents into the water, creating a very disturbing and unpleasant sight for those who regularly visit the spot.

Fortunately, within 24 hours of being alerted of this crime, Webster Highway Department head Ken Pizzetti and members of his outstanding crew went beyond their duties and into the water and cleaned up the mess.  

“We went down there with our small floatation device, which was ready to sink, but we made it,” said Pizzetti jokingly.

“I was happy we were able to get that garbage out of there,” said Pizzetti. “We work as a team, this is one unit, a talented group, which on the highway end does everything.”

“Everything” even included a job that Pizzetti said was “probably not” under the highway department’s jurisdiction, but they still took the time and effort to take care of it.

No one is really sure whose responsibility it is to take care of messes like this, but the fact that the highway department reacted so quickly and cleaned up the area sent a great message to the community. 

Still, It’s a shame that people have to behave poorly and get their kicks out of polluting and showing disrespect for the environment, especially a place as nice as this one, a frustration shared by the highway chief.

“It’s a little different than the way we grew up in this town, we didn’t do that,” said Pizzetti. “We weren’t interested in throwing trash everywhere; we didn’t walk on Main Street, finish our water bottle and drop it on the ground. Some people don’t get it.”

“The police department can’t be everywhere to prevent this pollution; our eyes and their eyes are open but we can’t be everywhere.”

Perhaps we all need to keep our eyes open and not let this behavior go unnoticed. There really is no excuse for pollution of any kind. It not only makes the individual look bad but it makes the whole community look bad.  

The North Main Street Bridge, which was originally built in 1871 by the National Bridge and Ironworks of Boston, was relocated from the French River location on North Main Street in 1996 by the Webster Highway Department for historical preservation.

It is truly one of the town’s bright spots and it’s up to all of us to keep it clean and beautiful.  It really isn’t asking for much, is it?

Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Student grades to be based on attendance

Janet Stoica
Patriot Correspondent

In a move that speaks volumes about the new school administration in Webster, students who have more than six unexcused absences will see their grades drop by one full letter or 10 points.  And the administration means business. A student who has a grade of “B” but has seven unexcused absences will now see that grade drop to a “C.”  It will be a rude awakening indeed for those who are accustomed to getting by with the slightest of effort. The days of slacking are a thing of the past. The new attendance requirement will become the norm effective September 2012, just a few short months away.

Using the Common Core State Standards as their guideline and, therefore, what is expected of students and the priorities established to meet those guidelines, teachers are able to give students the opportunity to improve themselves and to achieve a higher level of success. Teachers, parents, and community leaders have all helped to create the Common Core Standards.

Students will be notified of the new policy during an assembly at the beginning of the 2012-13 academic year and their parents will be notified by e-mail, phone system, or letter.  In an interview last week, interim Bartlett Jr-Sr High School Principal Dr. Stephen Dlott said the entire process is an attempt to channel kids in the right direction. Dr. Dlott states that “an overwhelming majority of parents do want their children to succeed and the students will become more successful as they too want success.”

Dr. Dlott further stated that there is a need “to raise standards and reduce failure, as failure breeds failure.” The rationale is that the teachers and administration want to encourage the school’s values, which will be done through participation. This is an issue of concern at Bartlett as some students do not participate. Habits are set at the Junior High level and the new standards are a great way to establish what is expected of each student.

Dr. Dlott also elaborated on the dramatic increase of Advanced Placement courses that will be available. These college-level classes will increase from three to nine offerings and will be very competitive. The AP courses will be:  English Language; English Literature; Calculus AB; U.S. History; Statistics; Biology; Chemistry; Environmental Science; and Studio Art: Drawing. He noted that “when you set high expectations, students will hurdle that bar. They will take their cue from adults to challenge themselves. Students will not be competing on just a local level but must be world-competitive. The faculty and administration has found that students will rise to the challenge.”

Evidence of changing and evolving standards can be found by the fresh ideas brought out by those teachers from other areas who are on staff. A cosmopolitan feel and ideas percolating into the mind-sets of the teaching staff are exciting students about their education and helping to build a solid base for their future education after high school. Dr. Dlott confirmed that of the 113 students who recently graduated, 88% are going on to a higher educational level.

The process for the new policy began when the school staff saw an issue and wanted to address it in the most viable manner. A committee was formed that worked on student absenteeism and tardiness. The guidance department, administration, and teachers worked closely together to tackle the issue. The general feeling was that all departments agreed the issue was not insurmountable and that it could be remedied. To assist students through the adjustment period, a full-time counselor has been added to the staff.  Great success is expected.

Dr. Dlott also provided details on the 10-year review committee that had begun its process of analyzing Bartlett’s Jr/Sr High School’s strengths and weaknesses in preparation for the NEASC (New England Assoc of Schools and Colleges) school evaluation. The committee members consist of Van Constantine, David Ellis, and Betty Sabaj and the group expects to have their report completed by Spring 2013. Dr. Dlott expressed high praise towards the committee members. The report that is generated is then submitted to the NEASC, which reviews the submission before the review group’s arrival, expected in either Fall 2013 or Spring 2014.

Date: July 1, 2012
Webster Police Report

On 7/1/12 at approximately 1644 hours, Webster Police responded to a report of an armed robbery at the One Solution Wireless, located at 76 East Main Street involving a firearm. The employee was pistol whipped while two suspects made off with an undisclosed amount of product and cash.

The two males were described as both being white one wearing a white t shirt, shorts, and having a tattoo of 3 skulls on the right side of his neck. He was about 6’0 with a medium build.

The other had a black t shirt on and jeans. He was about 5’10 with a medium build.

Both males may have been on foot in the Park Avenue Second Island area.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Detective Gordon Wentworth or Officer Robert Larochelle at 508-943-1212. Tips may also be submitted at www.websterpolice.com

They're on, and gates to the beach open at noon. Evening entertainment starts around 6 p.m., and will include the Pulaski Brass Band and Sudden Urge.

The Webster-Dudley Veterans will be raising the flag and singing the national anthem.

The fireworks will begin after dusk...around 9 or 9:30. Food vendors include:

*Scuba Steve's with hot dogs, hamburgers, sausage sandwiches, prepackaged ice cream and kettle corn

*Jerry's Ice cream with ice cream, cotton candy, and popcorn

*Ray's Fries, serving french fries, nachos, and soda.

*Bill McNeil's Novelties, with pitching games and smoothies.

*Tasty Foods with fried dough, water, and soda

Admission is $10 for carloads and $2 for walk-ins.

By Becky Harvey

Webster -  Moods were light and emotions high at the Webster School Committee meeting Tuesday, due to the overwhelming vote of citizens to approve the building of a new Park Ave. Elementary school, combined with the retirement of Superintendent Dr. Greg Ciardi.

After an extra-long executive session, the open meeting was called to order at 7:40.  After approving the minutes from executive sessions dating from October 2008 to July 2010 and the regular meeting minutes from last month’s meeting, Ted Avlas, Assistant to the Superintendent for Business, announced with great enthusiasm, that the summer meals program had begun as of June 25^th.  He spoke with great pride that the school system is, once again, offering all Webster school-aged children a free lunch every Monday through Friday at 11 a.m. To 1 p.m. at the middle school until August 3^rd.

In addition to the free lunch, the town will be providing free transportation to and from the middle school for the lunches.  There are currently three bus stops. The first is at North Village, the 2^nd at the hub at Sunnyside and Lake St. and the 3^rd at Island Road, across from the police station.  The buses will run from beginning at 10:50 a.m. and running throughout a two-hour time-frame.  The Patriot is running the bus schedule with stops and it is available through the school’s website. Also available in both places is the menu. The superintendent’s office is also working with the Parks Department on the possibility of running a bus down to the lake so that day-camp students will be able to access the free lunches as well, as a part of the day-camp program.

Administrator Retreat

Dr. Ciardi, in his last days as the superintendent, discussed the success of a two-day retreat which was attended by both the new superintendent, Dr. Barbara Malkas, and the new Bartlett Jr./Sr. High school principal, Mr. Steven Knowlton, as well as the current administrators.  The retreat focused on how to create smooth transitions for new administrations.  SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) were discussed at length and the entire team focused on “audacious goals” that would focus on what they wanted the school system to be like ten years down the line.  Ciardi was extremely pleased with the outcome.  Avlas added that what “could have taken months” was accomplished in “just days.”

Praise for Park Ave School supporters

Next on the agenda was discussion over the previous night’s vote with regards to building a new Park Ave. Elementary school.  The project, which was first proposed in 2007, passed, winning with a huge margin: 948 (yes) to 306 (no) – this according to the Webster schools website.  Accolades were given to the Friends of Webster Public Schools, whose efforts were paramount in the vote getting passed.  According to Ciardi, the vote not only gets a new school, but it sends a message that the parents of this town (Webster) want a quality education for the children of the town.  Carolyn Wallace, principal of the Park Ave. Elementary school interrupted the litany of praises to personally thank the citizens of Webster for their votes for a new school.  Thus began an avalanche of thanks and praise from all the members of the board.  Committee member, Shawn Collins stated that the “vote was an endorsement of a vision” not just consisting of parents of current students, but also by those who will have families in the system in the future and of people who had students in the system in the past, or were themselves in it and believe it did right by them.  The vision of which he spoke is to provide the town with a 21^st century education, not just for the kids about to go through the school, but for generations in the future.  Craig McNulty, committee member, concurred and stated that he was shocked the biggest supporters of the new school don’t even have children in the elementary level.  He stated that Webster is “no longer a laughing stock” and that “it’s just super” that townspeople have gotten behind upping the ante with regards to the education that the town will provide its citizens.

Contract changes 

Revisions of administrator contracts were approved, as were those for the secretarial/clerical staff, cafeteria workers and janitorial staff.  The main changes for the administrators were that yearly raises are no longer guaranteed at two to five percent.  They may now be as low as zero percent, based on assessment reviews.  Ciardi semi-joked that if someone got a review that warranted a zero percent raise, they would have other issues than raises to worry about.  As for the other contracts, they addressed health insurance adjustments, seniority/classification, cost of living expenses, funeral leave for janitorial and café workers, clothing allowances.  All contract changes were unanimously approved by the board.  Member, Joan Czechowski, thanked all the people involved in the discussions, praising how smoothly the talks had gone.

The board also unanimously approved all of the low bids for the cafeteria/food services contracts that were brought by Phyllis-Ann Zalewski, director of food services.

Farewell to Dr. Ciardi

As it was the superintendent’s last school committee meeting, all committee members and John Daniels, the high school vice-principal, and Wallace, the Park Ave. Elementary School principal took turns praising and thanking Ciardi for his service over the past six years.  Humbled, Ciardi stated that his retirement was bitter-sweet.  He thinks that he is leaving “at a good time and that feels right.”  He praised the town and employees saying that they have created a “system where students transition at the right time” and that the schools were now “aligned with current theory and practice” in education.  He finished with the comment that “it has been a singular honor” to be the superintendent of the Webster School System.

Funds to help prepare residents for competitive job market

BOSTON – Sen. Richard T. Moore, D-Uxbridge, announced that the Webster Public Schools has been selected to receive a $205,000 award through the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (ESE) highly competitive Community Adult Learning Center grant program.

“A professional skill set is critical to remain competitive in today’s job market. These funds will enable Webster residents to receive the training they need in order to return to work,” said Moore. “I commend Terri Stone, and the Webster Schools’ Adult Education Office, for their hard work and efforts in the area of adult education and workforce training,” he continued.

The Community Adult Learning Center grant is one of two major awards, including the Adult Career Pathways grant, offered through ESE. These grants support adult basic education services to under-educated adults (16 years of age and older who do not possess the skills expected of a high school graduate) and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) instruction. Both grant programs are outcomes-driven, with a strong emphasis on past performance, staff qualifications, and program design that reflects practices of demonstrated effectiveness; these include curricula leading to college and career readiness, opportunities for accelerated learning, and increased use of instructional technologies.

Funding is allocated based on need in the 16 workforce development regions, and applicants compete for funds within each region.

Proposals were scored based on 100 points. The first 15 points were awarded based on the need for ABE services in the city or town served, using U.S. Census data. The next 35 points were awarded based on the program’s FY 2007 to FY 2011 performance in the following areas: student learning gains, achievement of quality outcomes (e.g., earning the GED, getting a job, etc.), attendance and average attended hours, participation in required assessments, and completion of educational functional levels (the adult student equivalent of completing “grade levels”). The remaining 50 points were awarded based on the quality of the proposed program design and the qualifications of the staff who would administer the program, teach, and support the students.

The Webster Adult Basic Education program offers educational pathways that seek to improve the quality of students' lives in a safe, professional, and supportive learning environment. The program strives to provide positive, effective, and motivational guidance to students that will maximize their productivity as individuals, family members, community members, and employees. In addition to the ESE grant, the Webster Adult Basic Education program is funded through appropriations from the Central Massachusetts Regional Employment Board, and the Town of Webster.

For more information on Sen. Moore’s efforts in the area of job creation and workforce development, visit www.senatormoore.com, or follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com.

###

�� fo
���h0�e area of job creation and workforce development, visit www.senatormoore.com, or follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com.

###

WEBSTER – Avowing that he detests anything having to do with illegal drugs in Webster, Board of Health chairman David Zalewski last week acknowledged that the board had gone too far when it amended the tobacco bylaw in April to include blunts, rolling papers and  pipes in a ban of all drug paraphernalia.

“We shut down everything in the shop,” said Mr. Zalewski. “We banned everything.”

Local vendors of smoking merchandise were unclear as to what they could and could not sell.

Therefore, Mr. Zalewski moved to amend the bylaw to allow blunts, rolling papers, and tobacco pipes  to be legal.

While acknowledging the necessity for the change, Mr. Zalewski said, “You'll never convince me an 18-year old kid is buying rolling papers and making cigarettes, an older person, maybe.”

The sale of merchandise that is clearly oriented towards illegal drug use will still be prohibited. The definition of drug paraphernalia includes water pipes, glass pipes, roach clips, miniature spoons with level capacities of one-tenth cubic centimeter or less, bongs, wired cigarette papers, chamber pipes, electric pipes, air driven pipes, ice pipes, punctured metal bowls, and many more.

Members of the board recognized that some cultures and religions use glass pipes in their celebrations and ceremonies, but agreed that customers for these could “buy them elsewhere, just not in Webster.”

In other business, the board instituted a new fee schedule for public and semi-public pool inspections.

The first inspection is free of charge. If the health agent finds a problem, the re-inspection will also not incur a charge. However, if the agent has to reinspect a second time or finds additional violations, there will be a $25 fee, plus a $50 fee for every re-inspection required thereafter. The fee is intended to address instances when an organizations has called for the health agent to come out for an inspection knowing that the violations have not been fixed.

Demolition of "Vito Block" in progress

Text and photos by Steev Riccardo

WEBSTER - If you have driven down Main Street in Webster in the last week or so, you probably noticed that the preparation for the demolition of the “Vito Block” is in its early stages.

Once the demolition is done, in its place will be a brand- new 22,000 square foot Webster Police Station, a project which as it stands now should be completed by Spring 2014. But first the old building needs to come down.

The town contracted with waste hauler and recycling company J. R. Vinagro Corporation of Johnston, RI. “We had a pre-construction meeting last week, a pre- demolition meeting,” said Town Manager John McAuliffe. 

“Within a couple of days they had the construction fencing up and have already started removing some of the glass. They are coordinating with two different environmental groups, one a soils group, one a building materials group, and those people have already been on site. There is some asbestos, like all old buildings like this have, which will need to be removed.”

The town and McAuliffe are very pleased with the initial phase of the demolition. “So far this company has really impressed us and it looks like they want to do what we want them to do, which is be done quickly; then they get paid and move on to the next project, and everybody is happy. It looks like we will stay on a pretty good schedule. I am not going to pick a day with the demolition will happen, but it is suppose to happen very soon. The company assures us that this is going to go quicker that we could even hope,” he said.

As far as the recycling of the debris goes, Vinagro has its own site where it can filter out and separate construction debris, which means, in McAuliffe’s words, “this thing is going to get dropped and hauled out quite quickly.  This should go very well.”

One of the challenges to get the next phase, the construction, done is that the DEP “marches to their own drum,” and in order to keep the process moving they must approve the site and they have no timelines, which doesn’t necessarily mean it will be a long wait, McAuliffe explained.

“In the public sector we have to have a full set of construction documents to go out to bid. On other projects, if it’s privately done, you can multi-task. We can’t really do that because things have to be bid out in a way that is open to everyone, so in order to do that you have to have a full set of plans for all the trades, including electric, masonry, HVAC, gas and plumbing. All those trades submit their bids first. You can’t get to that point where everyone is bidding on the same project unless you have biddable construction documents, which is a set of details which are complete and thorough,” he said.  

The town bought the Vito building in September for $500,000,   donated by Randy and Donna Becker.  In addition the Fels Foundation has donated $6 million over the course of the next several years to help partially fund the project.  The town approved the remaining funds for the project. 

“This is a project that the town is going to be very proud of,” said McAuliffe earlier this year. “We have a tremendous amount of gratitude towards the Fels Family Foundation generosity and the generosity of Randy and Donna Becker. It was overwhelming.”

Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Debt exclusion approved by 75% of Webster voters

By Janet Stoica
Patriot Correspondent

WEBSTER - Voters overwhelmingly approved a debt exclusion to build a new Park Avenue Elementary School, on Monday, June 25. Of the total 11,180 registered voters, 1,257 votes were cast, according to town clerk Robert Craver. Mr. Craver said that after three hand-counts, votes in favor of the debt exclusion were 948 and those against were 309. 

Parents and committees formed to advocate for the building project could be seen on just about every corner of every major intersection in town from early morning to late evening Monday. Their signs urged voters to "Vote Yes for the Debt Exclusion." Considering the periodic downpours and extreme thunderstorms that blew into the area all day, the debt-exclusion approval is a sweet victory.

The $46.8 million project will be reimbursed at a rate of 76.86 percent by the Massachusetts School Building Authority, and it will cost the town approximately $17 million.

Bobby Phillips, co-founder of the Friends of the Webster Public Schools said, “I just want to say Thanks to everyone involved with the Friends of Webster Public schools and everyone who came out to vote yes.  It is clear the direction this town is headed in and the future is bright!  This started out as simply trying to get a new school built and became a movement to change the attitude and culture of the town and we hope everyone continues to be involved and support this positive change!” 

Construction is planned to begin at the end of next school year and the new school would be open for  students in January of 2015

Becky Harvey
Patriot correspondent

WEBSTER - The historic Cranston Print Works site has been completely demolished and plans for the development of the East Village Square  shopping center are moving along swiftly, Patrick Doherty told the planning board this week. Doherty is a  principal of MidPoint Engineering and Consulting, consultant to Galaxy Development LLC, developer of the property, located at the intersection of Worcester Road and Gore Road (Rt. 12 and 16).

Doherty noted that the original aim to build a supermarket and bank has been changed by lack of interest by any banks.  Modifications made as a result have been to redesign what would have been a bank and create a space for what would be categorized as a “fast-casual” dining establishment with both outdoor eating space and a drive-through.   Doherty pointed out that the intended occupant is not the typical “fast-food” restaurant.

Fastcasual.com sets the criteria for such a restaurant to include: limited-service or self-service format, average meal prices between $7 and $11, made-to-order food with more complex flavors than fast food restaurants and upscale or highly developed décor.  The site changes suggested were very minor and didn’t change the size of the 8000 square foot building, but would slightly reduce the frontage.

Due to the change, small modifications were being requested to accommodate the outdoor patio.  In addition to the revision to the reduced building space, Doherty requested minor changes be made around the parking area near what will be a remote pharmacy drop-off, drive-through.  Planning board members voiced concerns regarding parking lot safety with the addition of a drive-through.

This led to concerns with other parking issues, including whether or not there should be a one-way-only turn from Worcester Rd.  Some discussion arose concerning possible citizen use of the parking area as a cut-through during high traffic times, which led to more parking lot safety talk.  After planning board members suggested added signage, making areas one-way and adding arrows, Doherty stated that he felt these additions were unnecessary because people driving in a parking lot are sensible enough to drive slowly and be careful.

After much discussion back and forth, the board stated that there was not enough information to take any votes and they moved that the issue would be continued until July 9^th.

Price Chopper previously announced it will build a state-of-the-art supermarket at East Village Plaza, and that plan has not changed.