Breaking News

In this Week’s Print Edition… January 30, 2013

The 2013 Grocery Store Price Survey

By Nancy Arsenault

This past Saturday, the Stow Independent went grocery shopping –  shopping for prices, comparing what a typical food shopper might expect to spend not only at Stow Shaw’s, but at Market Basket in Leominster, Hannaford in Hudson and Acton’s Roche Bros. supermarkets.

This 2013 grocery price roundup was based on a list of typical staples. (See full chart on page 9). Name brands were used instead of store brands, except in the case of milk and eggs, so that consistent product brand and quality could be compared across the board.

 

Burn Permits Now Online Only

By Nancy Arsenault
The Stow Fire Department is launching a new online burn permit application and activation process as the 2013 open burning season gets underway.  Residents will now apply for and activate their burn permits through the Fire Department’s web page rather than in person or by phone.
If a person does not have access to a computer, a computer has been set up at the fire station and Fire Department personnel will assist anyone needing help to enter the information.

Hearing Loss Treatment

Contributed by Robert Cooke
Now hear this!  Experiments under way in mice at a major biomedical resarch center show for the first time that hearing ability can probably be restored, perhaps even in people who are profoundly deaf.
“This is the first step. We’ve opened the door,” said biologist Albert Edge, associate professor of otolaryngology at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, a Harvard University affiliate.  “It’s the first time we’ve seen significant hair cell regeneration in mammals.”

Familiar Face at Stow PO Retires

By Nancy Arsenault
After 27 years on the job in Stow, Post Office employee Jim Cort is retiring on Thursday. Having spent most of those years in the position of postal clerk, serving on nearly every shift, Cort decided that at age 60, it was time to begin the next chapter in his life.

 

XC Ski Team: Small but Mighty

By Ellen Oliver
Nashoba’s Nordic ski team fields only 11 skiers against teams from larger schools like Acton-Boxboro (36 skiers), Concord-Carlisle (22) and Lincoln-Sudbury (20). Yet Nashoba has been competitive on the courses and this year is no different, despite losing nine seniors. “Our best race was last race,” explained Coach Margaretha Burr-Nyberg. “We have so many new kids and last year with no snow, we have others who seem new.”

 

Plus:

Past Tense

Stow Community Park’s Ice Skating Rink Schedule

Nashoba Varsity Sports Scoreboard

Letters to the Editor

Classifieds

Puzzles

and more!