The Dudley Police Department announces a reserve officer entrance examination will be held on Saturday, June 15^th at the Dudley Municipal Complex.  The deadline to register for this examination is Monday, June 10, 2013 at 9 am.  Public Safety Consultants, LLC of Shrewsbury Massachusetts will be conducting the written examination.  There are no declared vacancies on the Dudley Police Reserve force at this time.  This examination will be used by the Dudley Police Evaluation Committee as a basis of hiring when reserve officer openings are authorized within a time period of up to two years.  Applications will only be accepted from the list of individuals who take and successfully pass this written exam.  Registration and job information is available at Public Safety Consultants’ web site:  http://publicsafetyllc.com/site.  Should anyone require additional information, please contact Chief Steven Wojnar at 508-949-8023 or at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . 

Text and photos by Steev Riccardo

WEBSTER – Traveling east on Route 16 from Webster to Douglas, it’s hard not to notice that right before the town line it looks like a tornado came through the area and literally cut down every tree on the south side of the road.

It’s a scene that has a lot people talking, but it’s somewhat of a mystery what the owner, Douglas developer Louis Tusino, has planned for the six-acre area of land.

by Steev Riccardo

DUDLEY – The Shepherd Hill lady Rams won their third straight game after a tough opening day loss to Millbury and look to have all their cylinders working in top form.

Junior Brenna Foley was outstanding on the mound on Tuesday (April 9), overpowering Northbridge with a 10-strike- out effort, allowing only four hits in a 5-0 shut out victory. The junior showed tremendous poise against a good team and looks primed and ready to make a big contribution.

by Steev Riccardo

OXFORD –  Oxford sophomore Dan Caissie delivered the goods, driving home Dennis Sneade with a pinch hit RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Pirates a dramatic walk-off 3-2 win over the Bartlett Indians in a tough encounter between the neighboring towns’ schools.

The game featured a good pitching duel between Pirates senior ace right-hander Nick Cardoni and rookie left-hander freshman John Hughes, who sparkled in his varsity debut performance on the mound.

by Steev Riccardo

OXFORD – The Oxford Lady Pirates split two games last week, defeating Bartlett 15-2 and falling to Auburn 8-7.

In their 15-2 win, sophomore Erica Fradsham made her varsity debut and pitched extremely well, while junior Jamie Brodeur banged out a pair of hits and drove in three runs.

by Steev Riccardo

WEBSTER – The Shepherd Hill girls' tennis team squeezed by the Bartlett girls 3-2 in a very competitive contest last Wednesday.

In singles action, the Rams' top singles, player sophomore Abbey Packard, defeated senior Amanda Stevens, 6-4, 3-6, 6-0; Indians' sophomore Karolina Dzieminski, who has been very impressive in the early season, beat senior Callie Mulcahy in straight sets 6-3, 7-5, and the Indians' Indre Noujokiate was also a straight sets winner, beating Victoria Crowe, 6-3, 6-1.

award ceremony to be held April 29^th in the Great Hall at the State House in Boston

by Becky Harvey
Patriot correspondent

For the past ten years, the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women has hosted an event to recognize the “Unsung Heroines” of our commonwealth. The honor originally was given to only three to five women per year, but the commission soon came to realize the vast number of women from around the state who make enormous contributions that widely go unnoticed.  It soon changed its goal to try and recognize a woman from every town in the state, each year.  Members came to realize that with 351 towns in the state, there was nowhere in the state house to host such a large endeavor.  The goal now, is to have legislators from around the commonwealth nominate deserving women.  They aim to honor “about one hundred women a year,” according to Jill Ashton who serves the Director of the committee.  “This year we’re honoring 83 women.”

Greg Gibbs of Wicked Tuna will be in attendance

By Steev Riccardo

WEBSTER – The Powerhouse Gym in Webster and Webster Police Athletic Association are teaming up once again to host an exciting night of boxing at the Town Hall this Friday night at 7:00 p.m.

As in years past, every boxing event helps promote and raise money for a charity. This year’s event has all its proceeds going to Brady’s Mission.

Brady’s Mission is a charity that was created for three-year-old Brady Smith of Webster who was diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma and is currently at the Boston’s Children hospital receiving treatment.

by Steev Riccardo

OXFORD – The Oxford Pirates waited a whole week to play their first game of the season following a pair of cancellations due to field conditions, and when they finally did get to play had their game with the Northbridge Rams suspended after 10 innings with the scored tied of 7-7.

The Rams took a 6-3 lead in the top of the seventh inning, but the Pirates rallied in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings.

Oxford Lady Pirates win 4-3 extra-inning thriller

by Steev Riccardo

OXFORD – Senior Sarah Smith singled home the winning run in the bottom of the eighth, giving the Lady Pirates a dramatic 4-3 victory over the Northbridge Rams in a key Southern Worcester County league tilt on Friday afternoon.

With one out in the bottom of the eighth inning, sophomore Evelyn Marquis singled and moved to third when sophomore Callie Andrews doubled, setting the stage for Smith’s heroics, whose infield hit was enough to get the winning run home.