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THE CHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGE COUNTRY LIVING

2 THE CHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGE COUNTRY LIVINGTHE STURBRIDGE TIMES MAGAZINE

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face book is also becoming outdated andquaint; something only old ladies use, and I’mnot an old lady. I’m waiting for the next revo-lution in communication, so that I can refuseto use that, also. (Don’t mess with old people.)The other day I did receive an interesting

email from a friend, with a list of admonitionsto younger people regarding things that hap-pen to us when we’re growing older, as bothof us, somehow, seem to be doing. One thingthat caught my eye on that list was the ideathat, when you are older, “Fewer things areworth standing in line for.” I immediately said‘Amen!’ to that, and also immediately decidedto write this column.It really is true. The older I get, the fewer

things are worth standing in line for. I thinkthat the ‘14 items or less’ aisles in my favoritesupermarket are a great idea, but I’ve always

Iremember that, many years ago, a pastorfriend of mine said that he got many of hisbest sermon ideas from tea bags. He wasn’t read-ing tea leaves or anything, but reading the tagsthat a certain brand of tea uses on their tea bags.You know, he was talking about the ones with thelittle proverbial sayings on them. Anyway, at thetime I thought it was fascinating that he not onlydid that, but that he shared that information withme. I don’t get ideas for this column from tea bags,

mainly because I don’t drink tea unless I am sick,and not very often, even then. I will admit thatsome of my columns do generate from thoughtsof one thing or another either shared with me inpassing, or shared with me in an email. Yes, I dostill use email, as old fashioned as that might seemto some. I have not graduated to social media,and have no intention to do so. I’ve heard that

Standing in linewondered how they came up with the idea of‘14 items’ in the first place. Personally, I thinkit should be 3 items or less in that aisle, for thisreason. People my age might not mind stand-ing behind a shopping cart full of groceries,driven by a young woman with a screamingchild in the seat of the cart, if we have 14 itemsto buy. For me, it’s kind of fun to be behind thatwoman in such a situation, and make stupidfaces at the kid. I can’t spank him, but some-body should. I absolutely refuse to get myselfinto one of those lines if I have only 2 or 3things to buy. I want to see a 3 items or lesscheckout in my supermarket. Super stores, big box stores, and such mon-

strous places are even worse. I don’t even go tothose unless I intend to buy a cart full of what-ever stuff it is I went there for. If I was alone I

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could save my list up for a year orso, to do that. If I do any substan-tial shopping in one of those storesit means that my wife is there withme, and I can sometimes wanderoff while she checks out, AFTER Ihelp her get that cart full of stuffonto the checkout counter. (Thatreminds me, in all sincerity, I usedto have a brother in law who wouldstand in line at a store with my sis-ter, and pass gas as she placed theiritems on the counter to check out.He would then silently walk away,leaving her alone there with the‘goods’. This could explain why I‘used’ to have this brother in law.) Fast food restaurants, these days,

are also on my list of places I havetrouble standing in line for. In theseestablishments, the line of cus-tomers is rarely the problem, I havefound. It’s just that some of thepeople working in those, these days,don’t seem to understand that I amthere to get a burger, or whatever,and not to hear them talk abouttheir girlfriend/boyfriend, what-ever the case may be, to a fellowemployee, or, worse, to watch themtext that girl/boy WHILE talkingto a fellow employee. The idea thatthe customer pays their wages

never seems to enter some ofthose people’s heads, I havethought, as I’ve waited toorder my food. LatelyI’ve taken to using thedrive through win-dows if I decide to gothere for food. (Imight still have towait, but at least Ican sit in my carfor the duration, andI don’t have to watchsome teenager scowlin disgust overhis/her phone.)In all of this,

I’m not sure if Ihave just becomemore curmudgeonlyand impatient astime has passed, or iflines really wereshorter and service better yearsago. As with most things, it isprobably a bit of both. I mightjust go over and order a cheese-burger and coffee, and try to fig-ure that out. I also might not.One thing is for sure. I havefewer days ahead of me than be-hind me, and some things are justnot worth standing in line for.


When you get up this morn-ing, you're in trouble. You

don’t realize It, but you are a crim-inal. Yes my fellow average Amer-ican, it may be true. By the timesleep comes over us, thrice we willhave transgressed Federal Law.That is the contention of Three

Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target theInnocent by Attorney Harvey Silverglate.Is it more than hyperbole?Attorney Silverglate is not with-

out qualifications. With a HarvardLaw degree ,he has been an advo-cate for civil liberties for over fourdecades. More recently, he hasbeen concerned with free speech is-sues on campus. Along with Pro-fessor Alan Kors he authored TheShadow University: The Betrayalof Liberty on America's Campuses.Both men are in no sense conser-vatives so their critique of thetyranny of political correctness, asit holds sway in college, carriessome weight.The two men co-founded the

Foundation for Individual Rights inEducation (FIRE). Attorney Sil-verglate is Chairman of the Boardof Directors.The book's argument is maybe

best illustrated by two cases, that ofTheodore Anzalone and that ofBradford Councilman. Though al-most two decades apart, they book-end the descent of the Americanlegal system in its willingness toruin lives for little purpose.In the early eighties, Theodore

Anzalone was a fundraiser forBoston mayor Kevin White. Thethen U.S. Attorney for Massachu-setts, William Weld, wanted to takedown White and the way to do it

would be to get someone to testifyagainst him. Getting something onAnzalone and making a deal for histestimony was the plan.The Feds got a conviction on An-

zalone for splitting up deposits andmaking them for under $10,000 sothat the bank would not have to re-port them. Legal at the time, thejudge decided on his own that it wasstill a crime and the jury agreed.The appeals court saw through

Weld's gimmicky prosecution andthe judge's bad instructions and re-versed the verdict. They did theright thing, but would they always?Almost two decades later, the

same court, but with a differentmakeup, did not. Bradford Council-man was Vice President of a com-

pany that provided an online listingservice for rare and out of printbooks. His company also suppliedemail addresses and served in thatcapacity as an ISP or internet serv-ice provider.Councilman was accused of

backing up client messages in orderto get an unfair advantage in pric-ing and violating the federal wire-tap statute. The accused claimedhe never read the messages, Wasstoring them a crime?The appeals court went back

and forth and finally under intensepressure reversed the district courtjudge's dismissal. We have comefrom the Anzalone case where thetribunal refused to see a crimewhere one wasn't to what is now theopposite. The judiciary increas-ingly is all too willing to cooperatealmost as part of the prosecution.Silverglate notes the result of this

is many ruined lives and shatteredcivil relationships when things thatshould not be crimes are so inter-preted. This is not to say there arenot real criminals in the worlddoing evil, but the prosecutors neednot seek to find everything a crime.Can anything be done?Alan Dershowitz, in his fore-

word, suggested the attorney gen-eral should not be the appointee ofthe president and thus not political.The author does not think thatwould do much and it is hard to dis-agree.Attorney Silverglate seems to

suggest everybody behave betterand who would not want that? De-fenders should see themselves inthis climate as civil liberties lawyersand the press should be far more

skeptical. Good ideas but hardlyenough.The author notes that there are

many vague laws that can bestretched to catch the citizen forcrimes he was unaware of. Maybewe need to reduce the number ofstatutes and their size. As Ciceronoted, “A corrupt state has manylaws.” One should expect a longwait for that.Silverglate has laid out a com-

pelling case concerning prosecuto-rial overreach. Do we, out here inthe exurbs, have to worry aboutthree indictments du jour? Proba-bly not for most of us if only be-cause we are too low for the radar.That hardly means it is not a prob-lem. It could happen even if itdoesn't.You might say, at least no one

gets killed. Well, not exactly.Last year Harvey Silverglate

would be a featured speaker at arally in memory of Aaron Swartz.Swartz had been involved in whatcould be called a case of electronictrespass and theft. The state hadseemed to come to the conclusionthat it had been much ado aboutnot too much and were ending theirinvolvement. At this point, Car-men Ortiz, US Attorney for Massa-chusetts grabbed it. According toSilverglate, “Tragedy intervenedwhen Ortiz’s office took over thecase to 'send a message'.”The squeeze on Swartz did send

a message and Swartz, an internetfreedom activist, would commit sui-cide.That message was not just for

Aaron.

BOOKREVIEWThree Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the InnocentBy Harvey SilverglateEncounter Books, 2011Hardcover 325pagesREVIEW BY RICHARD MORCHOE

Big Brother is watching and ready to pounce

Alan Dershowitz,in his foreward,suggested

the attorney generalshould not bethe appointee of the presidentand thus

not political.


By Elisa Krochmalnyckyj

Taking the kids to the Earth Dayprogram the Friday of school va-

cation week, April 22, is kind of likesneaking vegetables into their food --they'll love it, but won't realize there'ssomething good for them in it, saysDebra Friedman, senior vice presidentfor OSV about the then-and-now pro-gram on clean water.The parts the kids will love are the

mini rain garden they'll plant and takehome, the very cool experiment wherethey can pour water right through anew type of pervious pavement, thescavenger hunt and, of course, all thenewborn animals that charm the Vil-lage every April. The part that's good for them is

they -- and, officials hope, their parents-- will learn about water-quality man-agement and different ways to managestorm water before it goes into wet-lands. That will lay the groundwork forSturbridge's plan to adopt bylaws thathave a low impact when it comes tostorm water, said Sturbridge TownPlanner Jean Bubon. The event will be fun for adults as

well, Friedman said.“There's a lot of hands-on,” she

said. “And let's face it, adults love to dohands-on activities too. It's a great,great way to educate people and makea connection. “Visitors will also take home a flower

they've planted for their home raingar-den. A raingarden is a swale, or a shal-lower part of a lawn near where watergathers, like a downspout or driveway,to capture rainwater runoff before itleaves the property. It is filled in withflowers and deep-rooted plants andgrasses that thrive in that environment.Throughout the Village, there will

be ways to learn about water and theenvironment then and now.“We will be looking at the 19th cen-

tury things that people did, like collect-ing water in rain barrels for watering

and other household things,” Fried-man said. “The children will beusing small water cans to take waterfrom the barrels -- which are beingmade at our Cooper Shop withwater power at our mills -- and useit to water their newly plantedseeds.”From issues of water run-off cre-

ated when farmers cleared nearbyforests for firewood, to the idea ofusing barrels to collect rain for fieldsfar from streams and lakes, storm-water issues were as important tothe pioneers as they are to us, Fried-man said.A living example of back-then

water management is the Gristmillat OSV. Water from rivers andstreams were harnessed and used aspower, like in gristmills used forgrinding grain, and sawmills usedfor cutting lumber. The rain barrelis another example of water man-agement that grew out of need.“Obviously, you didn't have the

same type of water systems we havetoday, where water can be piped in

from half a state away,” Friedmansaid. “Conserving water and usingwater was very important, and somuch labor was involved.”What is similar between now

and then is the problem createdfrom water runoff.Back then, the biggest water-

runoff problem was created whensettlers clean-cut the forests forlumber and for heating. The resultof that is best depicted in OSV's“New England's Changing Land-scape” display, Friedman said.“It shows the chronological

change of the landscape, and howdeforestation affected roads andfields. If all the trees around theroad are cut down, the road isgoing to wash out all the time,”Friedman said, adding that thesame was true for fields beingwashed out -- when farmers cutdown forests next to their fields,fields were flooded during rain-storms. At the peak of deforestation in

the 1800s, Massachusetts was only

25 percent forests.As people moved out, and

New England went from a farm-ing to industrial area, the treeswere allowed to regrow. Now,two centuries later, New Englandis 75 percent forests.The evidence of fields turning

back to forests is alongside manyroads and highways, Friedmansaid“When you see woods, and

see rock walls inside of thosewoods, those are the areas thatused to be used for fields,” shesaid. Once the fields were aban-doned, the fields grew back intothe woods there today. The rockwalls remained.“What you see now is new

growth,” she said. “As peoplemoved out, the woods were al-lowed to regrow. And the stonewalls are still there.”Today, the issues that people

faced in the 19th century are sosimilar to those being faced

AT OLD STURBRIDGE VILLAGE

Something old is something new at OSV’s Earth Day

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Ahome equity line or loan oc-curs when homeowners bor-

row against their available equityusing the home as collateral. Thisusually occurs when the home-owner needs money to make a ren-ovation or is considering a largepurchase. Equity is established asprinciple payments are applied tothe home’s first mortgage. For ex-ample, if an owner’s home is worth$200,000 and they have $150,000in liens against the property (thelien is usually the mortgage bal-ance), the equity of the home

would be $50,000. A home equity isa valuable financial resource for ahome owner who is comfortable ac-cessing their available equity to securea line or loan at rates lower than of-fered for unsecured loans.

Using Home EquityUsing a home’s equity is one of the

least expensive ways to borrow moneyand may even be tax deductible. It isalways recommended to ask your taxadvisor for eligibility. While using eq-uity for the sake of a little spendingmoney is not wise, there are some

Home equity line or loan, which is best for you?

great reasons to tap into this financialresource. Here are a few:

• Home Improvement: use yourhome’s value to further increase itsvalue. Focus on renovations, additions,and repairs.

• Major Purchases: if you suddenlyneed to replace a car or major homefurnishing, a home equity is a great re-source.

• College Tuition: this is a good al-ternative to expensive student loans.Explore which is the least expensiveoption in your situation.

• Health Expenses: medical ex-penses come unexpectedly and canincur additional costs due to large de-ductibles and loss of income.

• Debt Consolidation: paying offdebt under more favorable terms is agreat way to save yourself some money.Having a home equity line or loan canaccomplish this. Understanding what the difference

is between a home equity line and loanis important to determine which bor-rowing option is best for you based onyour specific need(s).

What is a Home Equity Line of Credit?One option is a Home Equity Line

of Credit also known as a HELOC. Aline of credit provides a credit linebased on your available home’s equityand it’s there when you need it. For ex-ample, say you have a $15,000 line ofcredit. You borrow $5,000 to coversome repairs to your car. You then payback $2,000 toward the principal. Thiswould leave you with $12,000 in avail-able credit. This is a much more flexi-ble loan repayment agreement than is

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offered through a fixed-rate home eq-uity loan. The draw period is usually10 years, granting you significant ac-cess to the line. After the draw periodyou typically have a 20 year repay-ment period to pay off the balance.The amount of the line will be deter-mined primarily based on your avail-able equity determined by yourhome’s value and the bank or creditunions underwriting policies. The in-terest in most cases is variable andbased off of an index such as theprime rate and a margin. A margin iswhat is either added or subtractedfrom the index to determine the inter-est rate.

What is a Fixed-Rate Home Equity Loan?The second option is to take out a

Fixed-Rate Home Equity Loan. Thistype of loan consists of a lump sumdisbursement at closing. These loansrequire a fixed monthly principal andinterest payment set for a predeter-mined time period also known as theterm. Because of this, a home equityloan is usually used for a specificplanned expense. These loans featurelow fixed rates and offer multiple re-payment terms. The amount you areallowed to borrow is similar to a homeequity line and is determined by anumber of factors. Your income, out-standing debt, home value, credit his-tory, and home mortgage balance willall be major factors.

Advantages of the Fixed-RateHome Equity LoanAs you decide which is right for you,

analyze your financial priorities. If youCONTINUES NEXT PAGE


are trying to be prepared for ongoing expenseslike tuition, emergencies, unexpected repairs, orsmall or large renovation projects, a line of creditmight be right for you. Here are some advantagesto consider:• A Line is perfect for unplanned expenses• 10 year draw period to access the line• Continued access to your established and

line as you pay down the principal • May require making interest only payments,

keeping your payment low

Advantages of the Fixed-Rate Home Equity LoanA fixed-rate home equity loan is perfect for a

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payment is fixed for the entire term of the loan.

While both have advantages, it’s important tochoose the right one for what you wish to accom-plish. Start by getting your home appraised orusing your Real Estate Tax Assessed Value. Makesure you get good advice from a local, communitybased expert who can advise you based on yourspecific needs. n

FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

Continued on page 24

Old Sturbridge Village’s Earth Day

Dan Kirschner

today, particularly with the runoff problemsbeing created by deforesting, Friedman said.“We're seeing this now with solar fields, be-

cause what solar fields are doing is clear-cutting20 acres, and then after a good rain, everythinggets washed out,” Friedman said.The Earth Day event is a joint effort between

the Village, whose goal, as always, is to educate;the Central Massachusetts Regional PlanningCommittee, which oversees the clean-watersgrant that is funding the program; and the town,which is hoping the information trickles downto residents who will eventually be asked to ap-prove a “Low-Impact Development” (LID)bylaw that calls for new developments to be aslow-impact as possible when it comes to water

run-off.Through the fun, activities, experiments

and displays, organizers are hoping the pro-gram will help residents understand LID andstorm-water management.Bubon said the program at OSV -- which

is so convenient for Sturbridge residents whoget free admission to OSV -- is one of theways the town is informing voters about theLID clean-waters bylaw the town hopes toadopt at a future Town Meeting.“We'll publicize it that day, when the moms

and dads take their kids to see the educationalcomponent, and then we eventually follow upwith a grown-up session at Town Hall,”Bubon said.Sturbridge is not alone in its efforts to have

low-impact development, said Friedman, whois also vice chair of the Planning Board inLeicester.“So many planning boards are grappling

with this question of how to best design com-mercial and residential properties so that themaximum amount of storm water is regener-ated into the system,” Friedman said.Fortunately, the fixes that make develop-

ment projects low-impact when it comes torun-off are simple and inexpensive, like mak-ing roads narrower.“A lot of bylaws require roadways to be 40

feet wide, which is fine for major roads, but

with little side streets, there is no reason to havea road 40 feet wide with sidewalks on bothsides,” she said. Because pavement and side-walks are not pervious -- meaning water cannotget through them -- they prevent water fromgetting into the ground.Other simple remedies include cluster devel-

opment, which would mean fewer trees are cutdown and fewer and shorter roads are neces-sary.For developers, complying with an LID

bylaw is not difficult, Bubon said, and can

CONTINUES FROM PAGE 7

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Old Sturbridge VillageEarth Day for kidsset for Friday, April 22FROM PAGE 9sometimes be as simple as using the new pervi-ous pavement and including rain gardens inplans.“It will still allow development, but in a less

obtrusive way,” Bubon said. “You know at theHobbs Brook Plaza, in between the rows ofparking there are landscaping beds? If theywere depressed rain gardens, they would filterrain water slowly, and then it would just beperked into the ground instead of running off.”As will become evident at the Earth Day event

at OSV, the idea of rain gardens is far from new.“We will be looking at plants that in 19th

century had similar uses,” Friedman said.“Some of the staff horticulturalists will beshowing visitors what heirloom varieties wereused in the 19th century that would be bestused today.”Friedman said she hopes a lot of people take

advantage of the event.“It's such a better way to be educated rather

than going to a dry meeting. I really hope thatSturbridge residents come out,” she said,laughed, then added. “I am looking forward toseeing the pervious asphalt. I think it is ... cool!”n

By Elisa KrochmalnyckyjSturbridge Police Chief Thomas J. Ford III

is against the Massachusetts Department ofTransportation's proposal to reduce the num-ber of lanes on Route 20 between Sturbridgeand Brimfield from four lanes to two, he said.“I don't think it's a wise move, because of

the traffic density,” he said. “I think it is goingto increase traffic congestion in this area.”That stretch of Route 20, which has no di-

vider, no shoulder and a speed limit of 55 milesper hour, has a fatality rate four times higherthan the state average, according to JacquelynGoddard, communications director of theMassDOT, who responded to inquiries in aprepared statement.Ford said he understands the plan is in re-

sponse to fatalities, but would like MassDOTto consider doing what it did on Route 20 onthe Charlton/Oxford line, which was alsodeemed in need of improvements because offatalities.“I think they can very easily solve the prob-

lem with a similar set up -- the center line bar-riers to prevent people from crossing over, thesignage, including the LED arrows and LEDsolar-based speed signs,” he said. “If they re-sponded identically as they did in Oxford, Ithink Sturbridge and Brimfield would be better

served.”Ford said the other part of the solution is en-

forcement.“More concentration needs to be given to

enforcement and traffic-calming measures --measures to slow those traveling speeds that areunreasonable,” Ford said.Ford's concerns are not just for traffic during

the Brimfield Flea Market weeks in May, Julyand September, Ford said.“We always have traffic problems there,” he

said “It's always a challenge to get throughRoute 20 from the center of Brimfield from 4o'clock on. It's just more pronounced duringthe Flea Market.” The traffic problems ease up once Route 20

opens up into four lanes, just over the Stur-bridge line, Ford said.“Imagine the same traffic backed up right

over the causeway,” he said.MassDOT did not respond to a request for

a comment regarding Ford's suggestion. The plan, which is still under review, is to re-

duce the lanes to one in each direction, and addleft-turn lanes, rumble strips, drainage improve-ment, tree clearing and other incidental work,according to Goddard.“There have been several fatalities over the

last few years on this section of road and theBrimfield Select board requested (MassDOT)to make safety improvements,” she wrote.After conducting a road safety audit and

traffic analysis, MassDOT determined the traf-fic volumes of 7,900 vehicles per day on thatstretch of Route 20 do not require four lanes,and by eliminating two of the lanes, pavedshoulders could be added, according to God-dard.“Adding paved shoulders is a proven safety

measure that has been shown to reduce crashrates,” she wrote. The lane reduction would not increase travel

time getting to or from the Flea Market, whichalready routinely causes backups on Route 20for over a mile, according to Goddard.“MassDOT’s traffic study shows that the

cause of the backup is not within the projectlimits,” she wrote. “The only expected impactwould be the configuration in which vehiclesstack up while waiting, one long line versus two

Plans to narrow Brimfield’s Rt. 20 notgood for Sturbridge, says police chief

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shorter lines.”Still, at the request of Brimfield town offi-

cials, MassDOT is considering temporarily al-lowing the use of the shoulder as an extra travellane during the Flea Market, according toGoddard.At a public information meeting held in

Brimfield, most of the comments were againstthe lane-reduction proposal.“They expressed concerns about possible

traffic delays during evening commuting timesand creating road rage and dangerous passing,”she said. “Many people also anticipate trafficdelays during the antique show and are con-cerned about loss of attendance and businessduring the show.”The plan has not been finalized, according

to Goddard.“We are currently reviewing the design in

light of public comments that we have receivedto see if there are concerns that can be ad-dressed by making adjustments to the design,”she said. n

By Elisa KrochmalnyckyjIt should be enough that the $10 admission

to the Sunday, April 3 “Tantasqua TeamChef ” at the Sturbridge Host Hotel lets guestshave their fill of dinner and dessert preparedby the area's top chefs and culinary students.But there’s more.The $10 -- $5 for children ages 5 to 10, chil-

dren under 5 are free -- goes towards scholar-

ships for Tantasqua Regional High SchoolTechnical Division's Culinary Arts students. Italso lets the students experience real-life situa-tions and display their talents to future bossesand customers, and sometimes even lands themtheir first job.As it did for Emily Monroe, who last year, at

17, competed on the Sturbridge Seafood teamand was immediately hired by SturbridgeSeafood chef-owner Ken Yukimura.“Team Chef was an incredible, incredible

day for me,” Monroe said. “I am so grateful.I'm 18 and I have a job on Main Street in Stur-bridge, at one of the top restaurants. That'swhere you want to be.”During this year's event, which will be held

from noon to 3 p.m., chefs from six restaurantswill each pair up with two Tantasqua culinarystudents and prepare an entrée and dessert.Guests are given samples of each restaurants'offerings and vote on their favorite.“They do up a full-plate presentation for dis-

play, but we have 300 or so people coming, sothey do tasting portions for the rest of the day,”said Adam Popp, a culinary instructor at Tan-tasqua. That ends up working out fine because oth-

erwise, people get too full too fast and can'tsample all the entries on which they're voting,Popp said.“When people see the servings, they first

think 'look at how small it is!' “ Popp said. “Butby the end you are pretty full. And it's not likewe keep track, so when people find their fa-

vorite, going back for seconds is not a prob-lem.”Formal judging is at 11 a.m., and the public

is admitted from noon to 3 p.m. At 3 p.m. thewinners are announced in the four categories:people's choice entrée, people's choice dessert,judges' choice entrée and judges' choice dessert.The are four judges who are restaurant ownersor food critics. Chef knife sets, donated bySouthbridge's Dexter-Russell, are given to thewinners.“It's pretty free-flowing,” Popp said. “People

come in and out at all different times, but usu-ally more people come toward the end, oncewe tally up and announce the different win-ners.”The money raised is used for the culinary

students to go on to cooking schools when theygraduate from Tantasqua. There are about 50students, freshmen through seniors, enrolled inthe culinary program. The majority of themwill go on to culinary schools like the CulinaryInstitute of America and Johnson and WalesUniversity, Popp said.Monroe, currently a Tantasqua senior from

Holland, will be competing again this year --but because students are not allowed to com-pete on their employer's team, she will be work-ing with another restaurateur, Jay Powell ofUncle Jay's Twisted Fork in Leicester.“It's going to be strange, seeing my boss there

and not working with him,” she said, addingthat's especially true because it was because of

Tantasqua Team Chef will be held April 3 at Sturbridge Host

Brimfield’s Rt. 20

NEXT PAGE


Previous Team Chef participants

last year's Team Chef that Yukimura hired her.“Ken told me that we had won, and that he

was offering me a job, and that he wanted meto come work for him a.s.a.p.,” she said.Monroe admits it was very intimidating

going into work the first day, especially becauseall the other people working there were men,most of them old enough to be her father.“It was scary,” she said. “I was 17 then -- not

that I'm much older now -- and I could just

imagine they were thinking 'who is this little girlin this big kitchen full of men?' “The work is not easy, nor are the hours.

After most school days, Monroe goes right toSturbridge Seafood and doesn't get out untilabout 9 o'clock, she said.Monroe said that If on her first day of high

school anyone had predicted that by her junioryear she'd have won a chef competition andwould have a job doing prep work at a distin-guished restaurant like Sturbridge Seafood,

Monroe wouldn't have believed them, she said.“If someone had told me that I'd be working

at such a wonderful restaurant at 17 years old,I would have thought it was an outright lie,”said Monroe, who lives in Holland. “Even now,I count my blessings every day. Ken is outra-geously successful at Sturbridge Seafood. I'mso lucky to be working here. Team Chef wasan incredible day for me.” n

FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

Courtesy photo from Tantasqua High School

Team Chef

The Sturbridge Life


Egg cartons, hoarded all winter,totter on the old baker’s rack in

the kitchen. A bag of dark loamrests against the outdoor bench,awaiting an old spoon. Colorfulseed packets appear on store racks.Assemble, add water, and a minia-ture nursery will soon clutter thesunny spot on the counter.There is nothing quite like

watching tiny plants poke throughdirt, from seeds that could not bemore magical if they sproutedgolden eggs. Seeds are promise, po-tential, even hope. Their energytriggers a new plant and pushes ittoward the sun. Tiny mustard andsequoia seeds become great trees.The tremendous energy, protein

and fiber in nuts, seeds and beansnourish us. Entries in old accountsand journals describe early colo-nials as growing, salting, pickling

and drying beans, as well as eat-ing them from a pot for severaldays. Pease porridge is more

than a children’s rhyme; peaseporridge was a staple on everyhearth. Peas and beans, any

available meat, and other vegetableswould be tossed into the hearth pot.Brought to a boil from time to time, the“porridge” could last the proverbialnine days.There is an early recipe for preserv-

ing green beans that instructs the cookto string the beans, place them into awooden bucket, cover with saltwater(brine) and then weight them downwith a piece of wood. They werepromised to keep until spring, and itwas advised that they be soaked for acouple of hours before preparation,probably to remove some of the salt.A famous seed introduced to colo-

nials by native people is corn. Thecorn, planted in the center of a smallhill, was surrounded by bean plants,which helped preserve soil quality, andfinally by squash on the perimeter.These small mounds remain visible inplaces, for those who know what theyare seeing. Flavor-packed nativesquashes, smaller and less fleshy thanmodern varieties, still grow well here. This year, in honor of times gone by,

my window seedling garden will honorthe foods that have sustained and nour-ished through the years. Not just anyseeds will do; this spring the nurserywill sprout heirlooms. Opening the lit-tle paper packets advertising colorful,mature squashes, tomatoes and beans,I become impatient for this garden togrow. As a child I helped my father plant

a six-foot square garden in our small,inner-city yard. Nothing tasted betterthan the first ripe tomato, warm in thesun, a little salt, and juice runningdown my chin. Is it my imagination, oraging taste buds? Tomatoes do nottaste as good today. This year, if allgoes well, an heirloom tomato will

Marching Out of WinterAnd freeing your inner-child

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bring the memory to life. I’ll visit the gardens atOld Sturbridge Village (OSV) to pick up someheirloom seeds and explore garden layouts fromthe 1800’s.Amy Murray, the Coordinator of Horticul-

ture at OSV, concentrates on preserving our his-tory in a seed. “Heirloom seeds are bothinteresting and important,” she says, “you areliterally taking a bite of history when you eat anheirloom plant. And, as hybrids take over the

market, many varieties are lost. Old Stur-bridge Village is credited with saving varietiesthat would have been lost forever.” Everyweek volunteers gather at the village to parseout precious seeds into envelopes. Their salesupports OSV and an agricultural legacy.There is great satisfaction growing these

vegetables, teaching our children that fooddoes not come from boxes and wrappers.Using heirloom seeds feels like propagating

history; as though the tendrils of the beanplant reach all the way back to a native cornmound, the roots back to soil unburdened bygrocery stores and restaurants. Your inner farmer can be casual and re-

laxed, not so hard-working as the days whengardens provided food, medicine, herbs andfragrances. A few large pots featuring atomato or pepper plant, a couple of bean orcucumber vines along side, create a gardenspot both beautiful and nutritious. A wise oldfriend of mine planted, but rarely weeded andnever used insecticide on his plot. “Just plantenough for the bugs, too, water it from timeto time, and don’t worry about it,” Kentwould say. Another friend living in an apart-ment keeps a garden of herbs and baby saladleaves in small earthenware pots on a win-dowsill. The magic of growing things intrigues. We

start small, cultivating, protecting seedlingsfrom the elements. Tempering, hardening off,transplanting, all a time-honored process thatbears delicious fruit and keeps us true to ourroots. n

Garden


A flagpole dream come true for New Boston Road residentBy Elisa KrochmalnyckyjWhen Jim Montgomery was 6 or 7 years

old, his neighbors had a flagpole in their yard.Montgomery never forgot it. He can still pic-ture it perfectly.“I loved it. I remember him mowing the

lawn,” Montgomery said. He looked off in thedistance, then made a circle motion with hishand. “He had flowers all around it. It wasfrom then I knew that when I got a house Iwould have a flagpole in the yard. Only minewould be lit.”Now, many years later -- years that included

a wife, a son, many jobs and eight years in theArmy -- Montgomery's yard, and dream, iscomplete with a flagpole that proudly displaysthe American flag in his New Boston Roadyard.And it's lit.“Just on display, a flag is beautiful -- lighted,

it's, well, gorgeous,” he said, paused a moment,then added softly, “The image is just beautiful.Especially when it snows.”Kimberly Seaver, also of Sturbridge, said

she loves the Montgomerys' flag, especiallywhen it's illuminated at night.“It's awesome to see,” said Seaver, who

served in the Navy. Seaver was so impressedwith the Montgomerys' flagpole that sheasked Montgomery, who is an electrician, tolook at the flagpole on her property to see ifit would be possible to run electricity to it.Protocol and regulations of flag-flying say

that flags cannot be flown after sunset unlessthey are lighted, a rule that Seaver takes seri-ously and one that prohibits her from puttingthe flag up casually.“I don't get to fly the flag I have as much

as I'd like, because it's not lighted,” she said.“There are a lot of strict rules that If you putit up, there is a commitment to make sureyou take it down that day, because that flagshould not stay in the dark. Ever.”Seaver loves seeing the Montgomerys' flag,

even more so after her years in the Navy.“I think it's different for veterans than for

regular Americans,” she said. “We dedicatedour lives to that flag. Whether 5 years or 10

years or 20 years, people laid down their lives forthat flag and for what it stands for. That flagmeans a lot to me.”Montgomery is an American through and

through. Long before he noticed the flag flyingfrom the neighbor's flagpole he so admired, hisfather had instilled in Montgomery pride inAmerica. Although his father may not have hadas fancy a flag as the neighbors, he still had a flagon their house, hanging from a bracket with astandard pole.“My father was patriotic and he left that im-

pression on me and my sisters. I still feel that way.The fact that I can be able to do this and displaya flag on my property in this country....that's thebest,” he said, his voice cracking. “Not everyonehas that. I think of the people long before methat gave up a lot for that.”The Montgomerys' home on New Boston

Road is the second house they've owned, and thesecond in which they've installed a lighted flag-pole.Their first house was in Holland, and Mont-

gomery had to run electricity lines down their

THE CHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGE COUNTRY LIVING 17THE STURBRIDGE TIMES MAGAZINE

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driveway. It took a long pipe and 120 feet ofline to bring power to the flagpole, he said.Installing the flagpole at the Montgomerys'

Sturbridge home posed its own challenges.The whole area that now houses the flagpolewas filled with huge boulders that were far tooheavy to move, and there was an old lamp-post right in the middle that was unsightly aswell.Montgomery hadn't figured out how to

work around the problem -- until the day ahauler was taking away a huge tree that hadfallen elsewhere in the yard. At the lastminute Montgomery asked the hauler if therewas any way he could take away the bouldersas well, and the hauler agreed. Montgomeryreplaced the lamppost with a 25-foot fiber-glass flagpole, used the existing electrical lineto install three mounted light fixtures, and thelighted flag pole graced tehir yard.Montgomery's wife, Donna, said that with

or without the hauler, the flagpole would havehappened.“He would have found a way,” she said,

adding that the fact that the lights seem to

shine just the right way is not incidental. Thetwo of them toiled to make sure that no mat-ter which way the wind blew the flag, it wouldbe well-lighted, Jim Montgomery said.“There are three lights in a triangular for-

mation, which is recommended, and Iwanted to hit it right, so you can see it nomatter what,” he said, then sat back. “Andthat's the idea.”Montgomery's time in the Army only en-

hanced his respect for the American flag. Hedidn't enter the service until he was 28, thenserved three years of active duty and fiveyears in the Army National Guard, duringwhich time he was deployed to Iraq.When he was in Advanced Individual

Training, Montgomery was given flag detail,which meant that he was part of the groupthat raised the flag in the morning and low-ered it in the evening.“At sunrise and sunset, I would go with a

group of guys,” he said. “And when you wentout there, your uniform had to be pristine,and there was the marching, and when we

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

Jim Montgomery and his son Tyler adjust the flag on theflagpole in their New Boston Road yard.

© 2016 Sturbridge Times photo by Elisa Krochmalnyckyj


FROM PREVOUS PAGE

Flagpole

lowered the flag we had to lower it acertain way, and fold the flag a certainway and return it a certain way. It wasa big deal.”It was shortly after Montgomery

finished his military service and re-turned from Iraq when he put up thefirst flagpole, and a few years later heinstalled the current one on his NewBoston Road home.Montgomery lowers the flag to

half-mast when it's called for, andchanges it to a bicentennial flag forthe 4th of July. Because the flag islighted, Montgomery keeps it flyingall the time -- and always will.“It's a combination of things for

me,” he said. “The work that goesinto putting it up, the pride that goesinto putting it up, and what it repre-sents. No matter where we live, I willalways display it -- lighted.”

bedroom apartment, $1,326 for twobedrooms, and $1,486 for three bed-rooms.

come” means a family of four withan annual income of up to $65,000.Chapter 40B developments are dif-ferent than other affordable-housingprograms because there is no “sub-sidy” or state budget money.Monthly rents in the moderate-in-come units will be $1,111 for a one-

have concerns about it, I wouldlike to speak directly to those peo-ple and find out what their basisof knowledge is for the positionsthey want to be taking, becausenobody has spoken to me aboutthat.”In Sturbridge “moderate in-

By Elisa KrochmalnyckyjThe moderate-income housing

proposal for 152 Main St. betweenFairview Park Drive and Annie'sCountry Kitchen is for an apart-ment complex with 103 units, 25percent of which will be affordableto moderate-income families.The complex, on a 12-acre site

currently occupied by a smallnumber of apartments next to theScottish Inn, will house threebuildings, three to five stories high.Because it includes the moderate-income buildings, it is exemptunder the state's Chapter 40B reg-ulations from most of the town'szoning requirements.The development, called “Five

Leaves in Sturbridge,” is not is alow-income project, not some-thing that should raise concernabout crime, nor anything that willhave a significant impact on thetown's already problematic traffic,town officials said.“I don't foresee any issues with

the proposal,” said Police ChiefThomas J. Ford III. “If people

Moderate-income housing proposal for Sturbridge

CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

What it is and isn’t

The site of the proposed 103-unit apartment complex, 25 percent of which will qualify as “moderate-income” units. The site is betweenMain Street and Fairview Park Road, near the Scottish Inn.

© 2016 Sturbridge Times photo by Elisa Krochmalnyckyj

19THE STURBRIDGE TIMES MAGAZINETHE CHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGE COUNTRY LIVING

On personal trainers

HEALTH&FITNESS

By Julie GerrishPERSONAL TRIANERJULIE GERRISH FITNESS, STURBRIDGE

Ithink people have a lot of mis-conceptions about personaltrainers. They think they’re allgoing to be like Jillian Michaelson The Biggest Loser and yell andscream in your face, or work youso hard that you collapse fromexhaustion. Or, people think,“why do I need a personaltrainer; I can do it on my own.”I am going to tell you why youneed a personal trainer to helpyou achieve your health and fit-ness goals.The world of exercise can be

scary. People get hurt exercisingall of the time, and YouTubes’splethora of exercise “Fails” is atestament to that. Exercise issupposed to make us strongerand help us feel better; not hurt

us. A personal trainer is an exer-

cise coach. In its simplest terms,a coach is defined as someonewho educates, teaches and in-structs. But a good coach ismuch more than that. A goodcoach is someone who ignites,lights a spark within, gets you toreach for and achieve goals younever thought you could. At first.But a good coach and trainer be-lieves in you—and then gets youto believe in yourself.

“Our chief want issomeone who will in-spire us to be what weknow we could be.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson.A trainer gets you to show up.

And that is the first—and most

important—part of exercising:showing up. For many people, hav-ing their workouts scheduled intotheir busy days means they will ac-tually do it. Again and again andagain. Until they reach their goal,whatever it may be: to play withtheir grandchildren, run faster, playsoccer without getting hurt, or toneup for an upcoming wedding. Do you find yourself talking

about how you want to lose weightand get into shape but just can’tseem to get started? A good trainerwill help you convert thosethoughts into action. A good trainer will keep you ac-

countable. You will probably onlyspend about two hours a week withyour trainer. What about thoseother 166 hours? Are you eating

right, getting enough sleep, and mov-ing every day? Although those twohours with your trainer are meaningfuland important, those remaining 166hours in your week are far more im-portant, and a trainer will help makeand keep you aware of that and stayon track.A good trainer will also practice

what they preach and hold themselvesaccountable, too. They will eat right,get enough sleep, move every day, andbring their “A” game to every sessionwith you.

“Even greater than the abilityto inspire others with hope isthe power to motivate them togive as much to the lives ofothers as they would give to



HOW TO..with Pam PalagylExclusively for the readers of The Sturbridge Times

Spring decluttering

With your spring cleaning this year, in-stead of just washing the windows and

scrubbing the walls, make some permanentchanges. Give your house a thorough going-over by decluttering from basement to attic.Why Declutter?Clutter is stressful. Those piles of stuff

drain energy, create confusion, and can be abreeding ground for germs. Spring cleaning isa prime time to move out of CHAOS (Can’tHave Anyone Over Syndrome) and into a tidyhome.Most of us learn to stash, not declutter.

Stashing is the process of putting stuff insideof boxes, drawers, and bins. Storing that ex-cess mess under the bed makes you think “out

of sight, out of mind,” but the opposite is true.Stashing makes your house look clean, but themess and its unseen effects are still present.Decluttering, on the other hand, is the

process of sorting through the piles and dis-carding the nonessentials. It takes more timethan stashing, but the results are long-term. How to Declutter Your HomeOnce you are ready to begin, set aside some

time to focus on the task. Shorter blocks oftime are more efficient than trying to do thewhole house in one day. There are limits toanyone’s stamina and patience. Here are somebasic tips to help you on the way:

1. Grab a couple of empty boxes. Mark

each of the boxes with one of these “S” words– Swap, Sell, Store, and Scrap. * Swap – Items in the Swap box are those

you will give away. Donate them to SalvationArmy, Goodwill, or other benevolent group.These are things you do not need any longer,but are usable.* Sell – Items in this box are those you will

sell at a consignment store, tag sale, or online.Decluttering can be profitable!* Store – Items in this box are those you will

store for future use. This includes articles withsentimental value.* Scrap – Items in this box are no longer us-

able. Their destination is the trash can.


2. Start small when youbegin to declutter. The thought ofsorting through the entire housemay be intimidating. Begin with asingle dresser drawer. It takes lessthan fifteen minutes to declutterand clean a small area.

3. Handle each item onlyonce. Decide where it belongs,place it in the appropriate box,and move on to the next one.

4. Enlist the help of some-one you trust. If your family is fullof clutter-bugs, ask a friend tohelp instead. They will be asource of encouragement andable to help with the hard deci-sions that come with decluttering.

5. Overcome excessive senti-mentality. Although it is difficult topart with Johnny’s kindergartendrawings, preserve them in anotherway. Instead, take digital photos ofschool art, memorabilia, and otherspecial items. Sort through thosepiles of old photographs. Discardthe blurry, inferior photos and keeponly the best ones.

6. Overhaul your closets.Let each garment audition foryour new, updated wardrobe.Does it still fit? Consider howoften you have worn it in the lastyear. This is the time to be bru-tally honest with yourself. If theitem has not been worn lately, it istime to let it go. Put it in theScrap, Sell, or Swap box so some-one else can appreciate it.

7. Get creative with storageideas. Use ice cube trays for jew-elry or baskets for the bathroomand office. Plastic bins fit easilyunder the bed, but make surethey contain only necessary items.

8. Complete each area.Don’t allow yourself to get side-tracked. Finish the task entirelybefore moving on to the next.

Once you have declutteredyour home, determine to keep itthat way. Adopt the one in/oneout rule. If you purchase one newitem, then get rid of another one.This could be something relatedto what you purchased or some-

thing non-related. The point is toget into the habit of removingsomething each time a new piececomes into the home.Spring is the time to re-organize

and clean your home. Declutteringis a great way to bring lasting re-

sults that will benefit the wholefamily.

Pam Palagyi is a Sturbridge-basedfreelance writer, blogger, and author. Youcan connect with her at www.pam-palagyi.com.


r MUSINGS FROM LONG HILL s

BY RICHARD MORCHOE

HE SHOWS SOME PROMISE

LEGALBRIEF

M O N T H L Y L E G A L A D V I C E

F O R R E A D E R S O F

T H E S T U R B R I D G E T I M E S M A G A Z I N E

STURBRIDGE ATTORNEY

ROBERT A. GEORGE, ESQ.The words of H.L. Mencken must res-

onate with anyone paying attention thiselection season. Whether it's the open endedpromise to “Make America Great Again” orthe laundry list of Bernie Sanders.At least Senator Sanders has also provided

the electorate with a method of payment forhis promises. His litany of programs each hasa tax, tax increase or closed loophole that willdo the trick. That is if, as the song goes, “themoon is in the seventh house and Jupiteraligns with Mars.”Still, one should not get too excited about

what is proffered during campaign season. Ifyou've been around a bit, there is the peren-nial favorite, “middle class tax cut.” If every-one who made that pledge had fulfilled it, wewould by now have negative tax rates.The man from Vermont also wants to give

the American worker a $15 an hour minimumwage. On the surface, that sounds like a win-ner. It does beg the question, why is $15 themagic number? Why not $20 or $50? I'll letthe candidate's fans handle that one.There is one of the Senator's proposals that

does almost warm my heart. I say almost as Iused to have a dog in the fight, but no longer.

Several years ago, the looming tuition thatwas staring us in the face would have meantan eager embrace of one of the signaturefeatures of the man's campaign.Bernie Sanders has proposed that public

colleges and universities be tuition free. Hisrationale appears reasonable.This is not a radical idea. Last year, Ger-

many eliminated tuition because they be-lieved that charging students $1,300 peryear was discouraging Germans from goingto college. Next year, Chile will do the same.Finland, Norway, Sweden and many othercountries around the world also offer freecollege to all of their citizens. If other coun-tries can take this action, so can the UnitedStates of America.Well, if the Europe can do it, why not us?

After all, does not public education benefiteveryone?So can it work? To look at the problem,

we again turn to our official think tank, theLong Hill Institute of Educational Policy orLHIoEP for short. After their usual dillet-tantish investigation they were able to forth-

ADJACENT PAGE —>

Speeding tickets are rather annoying, as wegrownups might say. But for teenagers, speedingtickets are like, that bites dude.

The rules for junior operators do, indeed, bite.An adult who speeds is looking at a couple hundreddollar fine. But under the Junior Operator Law, li-censed drivers under the age of 18 have to pay a fine,PLUS, a 90-day license suspension, PLUS, a$500.00 reinstatement fee, PLUS, they have to re-take the written and road tests, PLUS, they have totake what’s called the Driver Attitudinal RetrainingCourse, which must really, really bite.

Junior operators also face a bevy of rules enactedin the hopes of preventing accidents. They can onlydrive with family members for the first six monthsof their license. No distracting friends allowed. Theyalso cannot drive from 12:30 a.m. to 5 a.m.

They are not allowed to text (insert sad emojiface here). Anyone who has watched a teenagerswerve back and forth, speed up and down and gen-erally drive all over the place all the while with theirnose in their cell phone can understand this one.So double happy emoji face for this rule.

The penalties for all of these violations includenot only fines, but also license suspensions andoften times the requirement that they retake the dri-ver’s test. Then there is that attitudinal retrainingthey have to go through.

The penalties for drunk driving and negligentoperation are also stiffer, and the penalties just keepgetting worse for subsequent offenses.

Hey, we know it bites, but we love you guys, soget over it and drive safe.

JUNIOR OPERATORS

“EVERY ELECTION IS A SORT OFADVANCE AUCTION SALE OF STOLEN GOODS.”


rightly come to the conclusion, maybe.The countries that the Senator cites do have

free tuition. How do they do it? In the case ofNorway, there is a simple answer. Like mostScandinavian nations, there is a belief in equal-ity so everyone can attain a post-secondary de-gree if they want it. It works maybe becausenot everyone wants it.In spite of the near costless education, if

your parents didn't attend college, you proba-bly won't either. So why wouldn't people takeadvantage of it? One reason from anHechinger Report article of last June notes thatblue collar jobs pay well enough that everyoneis more or less middle class. Kind of like whenthis country had no dearth of such work.So if the whole country does not go, it is af-

fordable. Of course, the Sanders plan claimsthat his system of paying for it will allow every-one to attend. His plan should appeal to all.Whether or not the American people were

saved by the bailout in 2008 is arguable. Therewas however one class that was, the bankers.The candidate wants to levy a fraction of a per-cent tax on “Wall Street speculators who nearlydestroyed the economy seven years ago.” Cer-tainly, we all want to see them pay, but if peri-odically we have to bail them out, we may haveto figure something else out.There is another problem. In theory if you

tax something you get less of it and if you sub-sidize it, you get more. Some young people

might have done a cost benefit analysis anddecided that the debt made it not worth it.They might not come to that conclusion if itis near free. Some may go through schooland come out with a career and a life. Manywill major in fields lacking rigor andprospects. It will have been a pleasant fouryears at winter camp, but for naught.That this is already happening is evident

from the lampooning of grads who can't getjobs in their field as is heard on GarrisonKeillor's Prairie Home Companion. His ret-inue will occasionally do a sketch about TheProfessional Organization of English Majorsor P.O.E. M. The words, “Do you want frieswith that” have been uttered. Another consequence is the non-public

colleges that will go out of business becausecompeting with free is too much of a disad-vantage. Places like Harvard, which is ahedge fund with courses, need not worry.Some small yet solid institutions may go tothe wall.Norway like the other Scandinavian coun-

tries is not huge. Even with its North Sea oil,it has to adjust means to ends realistically. Inthis country, reality rarely rears its ugly headin primary season.The Long Hill Institute of Educational

Policy has pinpointed one group that is pas-sionately supporting Bernie 's plan. Collegeadministrators are audibly salivating. n


Personal trainers

Moderate-income housing

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19



their own; and to empower them toconfront the worst in themselves inorder to discover and claim the best inthemselves.” – Aberjhani, Journey through the Power ofthe Rainbow: Quotations from a Life MadeOut of Poetry.A good trainer or coach can positively affect

someone’s life forever. Getting you moving,teaching you how to do exercises properly, andgain strength, mobility and speed are some ofthe reasons you hire a trainer. But far more im-portant than that is gaining the confidence, be-lief and tools to become your very best self ! n

In 40B developments, it is up to the landlordto set the reduced rent and up to the tenant to payit, so the government is not involved. The resi-dents who qualify under the affordable guidelinesare not segregated, but are scattered throughoutthe buildings. Nothing except the landlord'srecords indicate which units are the Chapter 40Bones, said Town Planner Jean Bubon.The goal of Chapter 40B is to allow working

families and seniors to remain in their communi-ties when they might otherwise be priced out ofthe conventional housing market. The state re-quires that at least 10 percent of a town's housing

be “affordable.”Because it is a rental development, all of Five

Leaves in Sturbridge's 103 units -- including the75 percent of units that will be rented at marketrate -- can be counted toward Sturbridge's mod-erate-income housing. The complex would com-prise about 5 percent of the town's housing, socombined with the town's other moderate-in-come housing units, the town is just under the 10percent required by the state, Bubon said.The existing affordable housing units, which

comprise another almost 5 percent of the town'shousing, include some houses scattered through-out town along with Heritage Green, CrescentGate and the Autumn Ridge Senior Housing.That surprises a lot of people, Bubon said.“Even during the public hearing for this, peo-

ple were discussing how nice Heritage Green andCrescent Gate are,” she said. “They were both40B projects as well.”People are often misled by the term “affordable

housing,” and think it means the government pro-viding and managing housing in communities,which the government stopped doing severalyears ago, Bubon said. “So when we say 'affordable units,' they are

units that a teacher's family or, say, a firefighter'sfamily can use,” she said. “You think about thepeople in the service industry, who work at hotelsand restaurants, these units are available to thosefamilies.”The biggest difference between Chapter 40B

developments and traditional developments is notthe tenants, but the buildings themselves, becausethey don't have to comply with all of the localzoning laws, Bubon said. Instead of proposed de-velopments going before the local PlanningBoard, Conservation Committee and ZoningBoard of Appeals (ZBA), the developers need ap-proval from only the ZBA, and are given“waivers” for the other requirements.“With a 40B, the rules and regulations are ba-

sically saying that the regional housing need out-weighs local concerns as long as it is healthy andsafe,” Bubon said.Waivers requested by NBM Realty, the devel-

opers of Five Leaves at Sturbridge, include re-quiring 4,700 square feet of land per unit insteadof the town-required 20,000 (half-acre) squarefeet per unit; allowing the buildings to be as highas 52 feet instead of the town-required 35 feet; al-lowing 23, 32 and 48 units per building insteadof the required four units per building; requiring1.5 parking spaces per unit instead of the requiredtwo parking spaces.Also, a waiver on the 25-foot no-disturb zone

around the marsh and other wetlands on theproperty, although there will still be a substantialbuffer between the new development and existinghomes, Bubon said. The developer is required tocomply only with state wetland requirements, butnot the more-strict town wetlands requirements,Bubon said.


PETQ&AWITH KATHY MENARD

Q. I adopted a rescue dog several monthsago that seems to be very sweet but she barksat people and dogs sometimes. How do I tellif she is just excited or being aggressive?

A. I would need to observe the behavior totell you for sure. Either way it sounds like youshould contact a professional, either for a oneon one or sign up for a series of classes. Dogsdo bark for a variety of reasons. The barkingis accompanied by body language and this iswhat a professional will use to determine whatis going on. It is worth noting that there issometimes a very fine line between excitedbarking and aggressive barking, thus my rec-ommendation of getting some professionalhelp.

Q. What is the best way to control a dogthat is lunging, barking and dragging me to-wards what she wants, which can be a person,dog, cat, or even a place?

A. Do not move forward while she is ex-hibiting this behavior - if you do you are rein-forcing the bad behavior.. Stop, make her sitpolitely at your side until she is calm, then tryadvancing forward. She will most likely lunge

Barking problems, early feline-canine socialization

forward again as soon as you try to move for-ward. Stop, again make her sit calmly at yourside, then try advancing again. Set this up asa training session, expecting to have to keepstopping and making her sit. You can ask theperson helping you to approach her while youmake her sit calmly. If she gets up, ask the per-son to step back away from her. Usuallywithin 5 or 6 times she will catch on that sittingcalmly brings the people to her. Signing herup for a class would allow you to practice thisunder the supervision of a professional.

Q. How do I get my dog and cat use to

each other?

A. Teach the dog to sit or down calmly inthe presence of the cat. Be sure to have himon a leash so he can't suddenly lunge at thecat. Do not force the cat to meet the dog bycarrying the cat towards the dog. Once thedog is calm around the cat, the cat will be theone to determine how quickly or slowly theybecome friends. If your dog is too excited inthe presence of the cat, work on sittingcalmly with the cat present. Teach the dogthe leave it command and make sure he isgood at it, then when he wants to charge thecat tell him to leave it them make him sitcalmly at your side. Be sure the cat has a safeplace to be when the dog cannot harrass him.Do not allow the dog to chase the cat.

Kathy Menard has been a dog trainer for over35 years and is certified through the CertificationCouncil for Professional Dog Trainers. She hastrained under three world-renowned Schutzhundtrainers for 14 years and has competed in theAmerican Kennel Club and the sport ofSchutzhund, earning over 15 titles. Kathy is theowner of Compatible Canine in Fiskdale, MA.


By Richard McGrath, CIC, LIAPRESIDENT & CEO, McGRATH INSURANCE GROUP

INSURANCEGUIDANCE

Why the need for earthquake insurance in New England

Earthquakes can happen in all 50 states andcan cause severe damage that isn’t covered

under your homeowners, renters, or condo-minium insurance policy. Yet, many people inNew England neglect to purchase earthquakecoverage for their homes because they think theyare safe. At a recent Seismological Society of America

meeting, new research was presented by the U.S.Geological Survey, the Federal Emergency Man-agement Agency (FEMA), and the California Ge-ological Survey stating that more than 143 millionAmericans live in earthquake-prone areas. Although New England doesn’t experience the

high frequency of earthquakes such as out in Cal-ifornia, they are known to occur. According to theNortheast States Emergency Consortium(NESEC), “the Northeast has experienced dam-aging earthquakes in the past and they will occuragain in the future.”

HISTORY OF NEW ENGLAND QUAKES

From 1638 to 2007, the Northeast has experi-enced a total of 2,403 earthquakes, according tothe NESEC.

In November of 1755, one of the most sig-nificant earthquakes to impact the Northeastregion occurred off the coast of Cape Ann,Massachusetts. The earthquake had an esti-mated magnitude of 6.2 and caused consid-erable damage in Boston and all along theNew England coast. The quake damaged asmany as 1,600 chimneys and collapsed thebrick walls of several buildings.There have been more damaging earth-

quakes in the region since 1755. In Decemberof 1940, a quake with a magnitude of 5.5 oc-curred near Lake Ossipee, New Hampshire.Damages were reported across New England,including chimneys thrown down, crackedplaster, broken dishes, and overturned objects. On October 16, 2012 Hollis Center,

Maine experienced a 4.0 magnitude earth-quake centered in southern Maine. Residentsnear the epicenter of the quake reported thatwhole houses shook when it hit. The impactwas felt across most of New England, eveninto New York, New Jersey, and Canada. More recently, and a little bit closer to

home, the Weston Observatory at BostonCollege recorded 11 seismic events spanning

over the course of a week in Danielson, Con-necticut. On January 12, 2015, the secondand most powerful in the series, a quake witha magnitude of 3.3, was centered five kilo-meters east of Plainfield. There were no in-juries, but those who experienced it reporteda loud explosion and ground-shaking.

Earthquake Insurance BasicsSince every state has some level of risk for

earthquake damage, it is important that youadd an endorsement or purchase a separatepolicy that specifically covers damages toyour home resulting from an earthquake. InMassachusetts, coverage is likely to be less ex-pensive than in California where quakes aremore frequent.Earthquake insurance will cover damages

to your personal property and dwelling, andmay cover other structures that aren’t at-tached to your home, like a garage. Addi-tionally, it will cover the costs to removedebris and extra living expenses while yourhome is being rebuilt or repaired. Althoughcoverage varies by insurance company, thereare some common exclusions for earthquake


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insurance, including any pre-exist-ing damage. Fire. Earthquake insurance will

not provide coverage for fire dam-age to your home resulting from anearthquake, such as a ruptured gasline. Instead, your homeowner’spolicy would cover losses from afire.Land. Earthquake protection

will not cover the costs of damagesto your land, such as sinkholes fromerosion or other hidden openingsunder your land. Also, coverage willnot pay to fill in large cracks orholes that appear in your yard aftera quake.Vehicles. As earthquake cover-

age does not protect against dam-ages to your car resulting from aquake, your auto insurance policymay cover the cost of damages.

External water damage.Water damage from an externalsource, such as from sewer, drainbackup, or flood, will not be cov-ered by earthquake insurance. Youwill need a flood insurance policyto cover your property for thatdamage. Masonry veneer. Most poli-

cies do not cover damages to ma-sonry veneer—the brick, rock orstone that covers your home’s out-side instead of stucco or siding. Ifyou have masonry veneer on yourhome, the cost to repair damagesmay be based upon siding materialsthat cost less.

PROTECTING YOURSELFAND YOUR HOME

Earthquakes can occur at anytime without warning. However,

there are preparations you can taketo lower the risk of earthquakedamages to your home, some ofwhich may even lower your quakeinsurance premium. Consult with aqualified contractor or engineer be-forehand to determine if retro-fitting is practical for your home.Some inexpensive ways to re-

duce earthquake damage to yourhome are:• Bolt down heavy furnishings,

appliances, and bookcases.• Secure and brace the water

heater to the dwelling frame.• Install automatic gas shut-off

valves.Additionally, you should create

an inventory of all household itemsfor your independent agent. Gothrough each room individuallyand document everything includingantiques, electronics, jewelry, col-lectibles, and guns. In the event ofdamage or a loss, a content inven-

tory will help your agent processyour claim quickly. To downloadour free Home Inventory Guide,please visit: info.mcgrathinsur-ance.com/home-inventory-guide.New England is just as much at

risk for devastating earthquakes asthe West Coast. It is only a matterof time before another quake sim-ilar to the destruction of CapeAnn occurs again. Talk with yourindependent agent about whetherearthquake insurance is right foryou and your home.

Richard A. McGrath, CIC, LIA isPresident and CEO of McGrath Insur-ance Group of Sturbridge, Mass. He canbe reached at 508-347-6850 or [email protected].

This article is written for informa-tional purposes only and should not beconstrued as providing legal advice.

“ “


ADJACENT PAGE

April is my favorite month, because we cel-ebrate my favorite holiday, Arbor Day.

Arbor Day is a nationally-celebrated observancethat encourages tree planting and care. Foundedby J. Sterling Morton in Nebraska in 1872,Arbor Day in Massachusetts is usually cele-brated each year during the last week in April.I believe in the words of J. Sterling Morton, whosaid of Arbor Day; “Arbor Day is the only holi-day that celebrates the future, and not of eventsof the past.” In honor of Arbor Day, thereprobably isn’t a yard that could not use sometype of tree, or shrub, so this month lets go oversome basic tree planting tips and let’s help cele-brate Arbor Day!One of the most common problems I see

when I am called in to look at a trees in declineis being planting too deep. Trees purchased thrua local nursery usually have two “trunk flairs”The upper one being the bud graft flair, this iswhere a better root stock is bud grafted to thebranch of a specific species of tree, and this budgrafting is a good way to reproduce trees in largequantities. The second, lower and more impor-tant flair is the root collar flair, this is where the

and water. This is to provide the tree with moistsoil around it. The roots can use this “happy lit-tle zone” and expand easier, growing quicker,taking up more water and nutrients, resultingin a tree that will establish itself quicker to itsnew home. Use the soil that came out of thehole, and amend it especially if you had to usea jackhammer to get it out (too much clay) orthe sides of the hole keep sliding in and younow have a hole the size of a swimming pool(too much sand). Bagged compost or manureis good if you do not maintain your own com-post pile (which you should!)Resist the urge to stake your tree as research

shows a tree needs the movement with wind forgive and take to grow strong. Sometimes a treethat is staked too rigidly is too weak to survivewhen the staking material is removed. If youthink your tree needs staking, use a soft flexiblematerial (old pantyhose, perhaps) so there is“give,” and don’t forget to take the staking ma-terial off after one full growing season.Another very important item is watering —

either too much or too little. Watering is criticalduring the first three years. But trees should notget so much moisture that the roots drown. To

roots flair out from the trunk. It is this root col-lar flair that should be positioned slightly abovegrade. In other words, the tree should look likea bell-bottom pants leg going into the ground,not a telephone pole. If it looks like a telephonepole, planted too deep, the roots may end upgirdling the tree, eventually strangling the vas-cular system and killing it and the ability of theroots to absorb oxygen is diminished, stressingthe tree.The planting hole should never be deeper

than the root ball (in a tree that is sold as “ball-and-burlapped”), don’t be afraid to pull offsome dirt and look for that root flair. Make surethe hole is two to three times as wide. If thehole you dug is the same size as the root ballgoing in, it’s too small. Remember to removeall wire and at least the top half of the burlap.If it is a plastic container, known as “containergrown” completely remove the container and“rough up” or cut the root ball mass if obvious,this will encourage the roots to start to spreadgrow out.Then backfill the hole with soil you have

amended with a 10% peat or compost mixture

Celebrate Arbor Day on April 29

YARDWORKSBy Tom Chamberland, ISATom Chamberland is the Tree Warden for the Town of Sturbridge and a Certified Arborist

Caring for what grows in your yard

moisture will encourage the tree to send out ad-vantageous filamentous root growth leading tostress and die back of the tree during periods ofdrought, and all this extra mulch cost money!Mulch should be no more that 4” thick and keptback from the tree stem several inches, exposingthe root flair. For more tips on tree planting visit:http://www.tree-planting.com/During the month of April tree seedlings will

be handed out to all students at Burgess, andhopefully by the end of the month a contractwill be let by the town to plant 15 street trees, forthose who asked to adopt a tree.

For more information on Arbor Day, treeand shrub seedlings, tree planting and care visitthe National Arbor Day website at:http://www.arborday.org/index.cfmAnother great program of the Arbor Day

Foundation is their Tree City USA program. Iam pleased to announce that Sturbridge hasproudly been designated a Tree City USA for 27consecutive years, one of several longest runningTree Cities in Massachusetts.So please help celebrate Arbor Day by plant-

ing something if not on Arbor Day, how aboutcelebrating Earth Day by planting something?Take your children and go visit a local nursery,walking around their yard, I’m sure there will besomething that grabs their eye for which you allcan enjoy in your yard! n

Tom Chamberland is the Tree Warden for the Townof Sturbridge and a Certified Arborist. He enjoys caringfor plants that grow in his yard and welcomes reader sug-gestions for future articles. Email him at:tchamberland@town. sturbridge. ma.us


test, put your finger one inch down into theroot ball. If it’s wet, you’re fine. If not, it’s timeto water. The rule of thumb is that a treeneeds five gallons of water for every inch ofdiameter of trunk ( 2” tree = 10 gallons) everyfive to seven days, if there is less than one-halfof an inch of rainfall during the week, wateryour tree. And the biggest problem I see is over

mulching. “Mulch volcanoes” the piling upof mulch around tree so they look likemound, with the tree “erupting” will soon be-come the #1 killer of trees in our urban land-scape. This over mulching maintainsmoisture and fungus around the stem of atree that is meant to be dry. These fungi willbreak down the cell wall structure leading tofailure and breaking off of the stem. The

Americans celebrate Arbor Day on the last Friday of April each year

Sturbridge has been designated a‘Tree City USA’ for the past 27 years


Spring trail events By Tom Chamberland,Park Ranger andAssociate Member of Sturbridge Trails Committee

Saturday, April 16th the trail Committeewill resume its “third Saturday” volunteer traildays for 2016. On the 16th, pre-preparationfor the April 23rd Earth Day event will becompleted as well as final trail surface work onthe Gate Way trail. Volunteers are asked tomeet at the Riverlands, 52 Stallion Hill Rd for8:30 am. Bring gloves, safety glasses, waterbottle and wear sturdy work shoes.Additional “third Saturday” trail days are

set for May 21 for trail work on the LeadmineMT trails at 10 Shattuck Rd and on June 18th,for Heins Farm trails, at 197 Leadmine Rd.

Riverlands Trail PlanThe trail committee also completed draw-

ing up the first phase of a three phase trail de-velopment plan for the Riverlands. This planwill be presented to the Town Administratorfor approval, and then on to Opacum LandTrust for their OK as the holders of the Con-servation Easement. Once all approvals are inplace, construction of the trails and parkinglot is proposed to start in Mid-Summer.

Trails Master Plan GoalsThe Trail Committee completed a review

of the 6 goals and 49 objectives as outlined inthe 2013 Sturbridge Trail Master Plan. It wasnoted that progress was made on three newobjectives, while maintaining completion of

31 others. Of note, the Committee votedto focus special effortsin 2016 on Goal 3:Create a safer and more efficient bicy-cling/pedestrian infrastructure, includingconnections too historical, business, andcommercial areas as scenic touring routes.And goal 5: Improve and highlight publicaccess to the Quinebaug River. The com-mittee recognized that both of these goalswill require a focused session on plan devel-opment and implementation action steps. The Sturbridge Trail Committee is a

volunteer town board, under the Town Ad-ministrator. There are 5 members and 5 as-sociate members. Currently there is oneassociate member vacancy. The committeemeets on the second Thursday of themonth, 7 pm 2nd floor of the Center officebuilding and welcomes resident participa-tion. For more information on the TrailCommittee visit the Town’s web site:http://www.town.sturbridge.ma.us/Pub-lic_Documents/index and click Boards andCommittees or the Friends of SturbridgeTrails Website: http://www.sturbrid-getrails.org/index.html

Tom Chamberland is a retired ParkRanger with over 17 years’ experience inEmail your trail questions to [email protected]

With spring comes the long awaited re-newal to get outdoors and active

again, and for the Sturbridge Trail Commit-tee, that is the plan. The Trail Committeespent the months of January, February andMarch reviewing, planning, discussing andeventually deciding on a number of eventsand actions they want to accomplish thisspring. They are:

Earth Day Clean upAn Earth Day Cleanup of the Riverlands

on April 23, 8 am to Noon. The Riverlandswere acquired several years ago, and a por-tion was an old gravel pit area. There wasan initial clean up just after acquiring thisproperty, and the Trail Committee is againstarting to focus trail development and accessand the need for this continued cleanup.

National Trails Day A Celebration of National Trail Day on

June 4, 2016. Last fall and thru the wintersome trail work was completed and the TrailCommittee felt a celebration of progress wasin order. Mark your calendars to join us onJune 4th as we celebrate the official openingof the Arbutus Park, Old Growth and Gateway trails on the Leadmine Mt property.More details to be announced in May.“Third Saturday Trail Volunteer days”


Bubon said she understands thatin addition to the concerns thatneighbors face with any new devel-opment, neighbors of this develop-ment have the added concerns thatcome with Chapter 40B projects.“It's the fear of the unknown,”

she said. “You live in your house andthere is empty land nearby, and youjust assume it will always stay thesame. But you don't own the land,and when the owner wants to de-velop it, it can create stress or fear.You wonder 'how is this going to im-pact what I can see, what I can hear?Is it going to impact how long it takesme to pull out of my driveway orside street?' “To help towns deal with 40B de-

velopments, the state pays for a con-sultant. Sturbridge chose JudieBarrett, director of municipal serv-ices for RKG Associates of Boston,whom the state is paying $10,000,Bubon said.“This a consultant for the (Zoning

Board of Appeals) to help guide theboard through the process, which istotally different than we are used todealing with,” she said. “Judie iswonderful. She's been in the businessa long time and we're happy to have

her helping us.”In addition to hiring Barrett, the

town hired an independent consult-ant to conduct a site-plan review, anarchitect to review the plans, and atransportation engineering firm toconduct a traffic study. All of themworked for the town but were paidby the developer.Chief Ford said the traffic gen-

erated from the proposed develop-ment will not have a noticeableimpact on traffic.“We have a serious density prob-

lem in our community regardless,”he said. “Most of it is transient,

which means it is not generatedfrom residents. It comes from othercommunities.”The town-directed traffic study

conducted on weekdays duringcommuter peak periods from 7 to 9a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. shows that cur-rently, 15,900 vehicles travel onMain Street in 24 hours on an av-erage Tuesday.The “turning movement count”

was conducted at the intersectionof Main Street at the proposed de-velopment's driveway, which isacross from the plaza that includesGarieri Jewelers and Rom's ItalianMarket. Some 1,030 vehicles en-tered the intersection between 8and 9 a.m., while 1,340 vehicles en-tered it between 4:15 and 5:15 p.m.The 103 new apartments will

generate 53 trips during the week-day morning peak hour and 64trips during the weekday afternoon

peak hour, the report said. Site-re-lated traffic will increase delays bysix seconds or less, the studyshowed.There were no crashes reported

at that intersection during the mostrecent three years available fromthe Massachusetts Department ofTransportation -- 2011, 2012 and2013, the report said.

Although they are bound by thestate's Chapter 40 mandates, townofficials are making sure that theFive Leaves in Sturbridge develop-ment is as much in keeping with therest of the town as possible, Bubonsaid. That includes requesting thatan apartment manager be on site24-7. The developer has agreed,she said.“From our standpoint, we are

doing the best that we can to pro-tect abutters and the community atlarge,” Bubon said. n


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