Packard wins singles match

Text and photos by Steev Riccardo

DUDLEY – The Shepherd Hill girls’ tennis team lost their home opener to Eastern Mass powerhouse Weston 4-1 in less than perfect weather conditions on Saturday morning at Shepherd Hill.

The Rams’ number one singles player. sophomore Abbey Packard. was the lone winner for the Rams, winning her match 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 over Deniz Cataltepe, who was a singles player for Weston’s 2010 state championship team.

Text and photos by Steev Riccardo

WEBSTER – Bartlett Junior High School eighth grader Keyshla Falcon has been accepted for a full scholarship to attend NASA Space Camp this summer in Huntsville, Alabama.

The eighth grader is part of the school’s advanced STEM (Science Technology Mathematics Engineering) class, which is taught by teacher Brandy Whitney.

“To get accepted to space camp, Keyshla had to come up with an experiment on her own and build a solar-powered race car. She had to document it and do a lab report,” said Whitney. “She also had to write several essays on why she should go and who inspired her to go, and she had to get three teachers to recommend her. She spent many hours working on this project alone; shewas really incredibly motivated to this.”

Dawidczyk wins 100 meters, second in shot put

Text and photos By Steev Riccardo

OXFORD – The Oxford Pirates boys’ team defeated both Grafton and Millbury in a outstanding performance that included seven first-place finishes, while senior captain Emily Dawidczyk won the 100-meter dash and just narrowly missed breaking the school record.

Co-captain Andrew St. Germain won the triple jump and the 100- meter hurdles, Alec St. Germain won the javelin throw, Co-captain Aaron Holmberg won the 800 meters, Mike McCarthy won the two- mile run, Connor St. Germain won the 400 meters, and Nick Rivelli won the discus throw for the boys’ team.

Text and photos by Steev Riccardo

DUDLEY – One of the reasons that the Shepherd Hill girls’ volleyball team became so successful, to the point where they put together an outstanding 15-4 playoff team this past season, was the dedication of the players to the program.

Senior co-captain Julie Priessler was one of those dedicated players who played four years of volleyball and has helped put the relatively new sport on the map for the Rams. 

What is even more impressive is that while she was excelling in volleyball and also being a key contributor on the girls’ varsity basketball team, Priessler maintained a high enough grade point average to rank her in the top five of her class.

Text and photos by Steev Riccardo

OXFORD – For a team that lost some key players to graduation, the Oxford Lady Pirates are pretty confident going into this new softball season and with good reason.

With senior co-captain catcher Sarah Smith, who coach Jamie Hetherman calls “The Rock,” leading the way, the Pirates have plenty of offensive fire power returning to their lineup.

WEBSTER – Nomination papers have been turned in and certified. There will be three candidates for two selectmen positions on the ballot, and three candidates for one Town Treasurer position. Incumbents for the Board of Selectmen Donald Bourque and Mark Dowgiewics are running for re-election, while William Starzec is running his first race. Linda Slota is the incumbent Town Treasurer, and she will be challenged by Deborah Keefe, who is currently a member of the Board of Selectmen, and Julie Dell'Anna.

The complete slate is shown. Continue reading below.  

By Thomas D’Agostino
Patriot Correspondent.

WEBSTER -   Health Agent Cathleen Liberty Monday night addressed the Webster Board of Health with an issue regarding a separate entity, which will be located inside the new  Price Chopper, applying for a food permit. Angel Sushi, a company that contracts with Price Chopper, did not meet the minimum requirements for sinks needed in food preparation. The main food service area has the proper three-bay sink and hand sink. However, the law requires a separate three-bay sink and hand sink for each permit issued, regardless of whether the businesses share space. Nancie Zecco stated that sushi, being a raw food service, could cause cross contamination to foods being prepared by the Price Chopper food service. The board agreed to address the situation promptly and make the establishment take necessary steps to insure safety and compliance.

The new Price Chopper is scheduled to open April 23.

By Becky Harvey
Patriot correspondent

OXFORD - The School District of Oxford’s digital conversion conversation has begun.  The school department last week hosted a panel of experts in the fields of technology initiatives and digital conversions.  As Oxford moves toward digital books and a future with iPad apps for learning, the input from other school systems that have gone through the upgrade (so to speak) is valuable.  Thursday’s meeting offered the chance for Oxford residents to be involved in the planning.  Though no decisions were made this night, information was given and questions were answered.

DUDLEY - Nichols hosted the third annual Empowering Women in Business conference last Thursday afternoon and evening, as the almost 200 attendees in Davis Hall heard from the first woman mayor in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.   Admission to the event—co-hosted by the Hometown Bank and the Center for Women and Enterprise—was  free to all registrants.

In her keynote address Mayor Lisa Wong noted, “I had a passion and worked hard,” adding that achieving her office by age 28—and twice winning re-election—required moving from being elected “second most bashful” in high school to finding her voice and reaching her constituency, often on foot.

Dowgiewics proposes responsible property owner initiative

By Thomas D’Agostino
Patriot Correspondent

WEBSTER -   Town Administrator John McAuliffe presented the Board of Selectmen with the past year’s accomplishments. Mr. McAuliffe started by expressing his feelings on working as town administrator: “I am very fortunate to work with the bulk of the same board that hired me. I mean, that’s actually an unusual thing in this business, so I feel very fortunate… Quite candidly, I say this a lot off camera, so it’s nice to say on camera, that it really is a pleasure and an honor to serve Webster. This has been a tremendous Board of Selectmen…This is a welcome relief for a town administrator, working with a board that doesn’t care about the petty nonsense, that really cares about the big stuff and the goals in making the community a better place to live, and work, and raise a family…”