Correction to SAPN Playgroups Listing in Rec Brochure
Dear Editor:
I’d like to make a correction to the recent Town Recreation Fall booklet. The Stow Area Parent Network playgroups were posted incorrectly. The correct ages, times and dates are as follows:
Wed. 10-12 ages 0-5
Thur 10-12 ages 1-3
Playgroups will be held at Pine Bluffs playground while the weather is nice ,and mid to late October they will be moved to Stow Town Hall until spring.
For more information please email [email protected]
Thank you,
Co-Chair SAPN
Thanks from Steppingstones School
To the Stow Community,
On behalf of everyone at Steppingstones School, we would like to express our deep appreciation for all of your support. Starting in March a groundswell of clients organized the Parent Action Committee to Save the School. They mobilized efforts for an Appeal Campaign and numerous successful fund raisers; Papa Gino’s Night, a Tag Sale, Portraits in Silhouettes, Mabel’s Labels, Groove Night and the upcoming Steppingstones School 1st Annual Golf Classic at Wedgewood Pines on September 25th. The response from this community has been overwhelming and heartwarming!
While we could never remember to name everyone who has supported the school, we would like to mention several special people. First, Rep. Kate Hogan was instrumental in getting this process started with the MA. DEP officials and recently with the MA. DPS inspectors. Thank you Kate! We have also had support from State Sen. Jamie Eldridge and Senator Scott Brown’s office in Washington. We are very thankful to them as well.
Our new landlord, John Bolton, has been extremely supportive of Steppingstones. In agreeing to lease us the building, John also agreed to undertake many of the major improvements needed in order to get licensed in his building. Dick Bolton, John’s father, has been the project manager overseeing the many contractors that were needed to get all the improvements done. Thank you so much!
One of the most significant contributions came from Theresa O’Riorden. She stepped in at the start of the process with MA. DEP by camping out at the new building for 24 hours while executing the first test of the well and the water. Theresa has spent countless hours, in concert with Jay Billings of Northeast Geoscience, preparing and submitting the extensive documentation that was required in order to be approved as a public water supply. It may have been more than Theresa thought she had signed up for however, she did it all willingly and professionally. Many thanks!
On the local level, there are many Stow business owners that have pitched in to help with the re-location of the school. Thank you to Jennie Lee and Gary Balboni of ET&L, Linda and Tom Curley of Curley Plumbing,, Chris Merrill of Merrill Trucking, Ben Poulson of Poulson Excavating, Steve Quinn of Quinn Electric, Barbara and Dwight Sipler of small farm and of course, The Stow Independent. We hope that residents of Stow will acknowledge these fabulous people and support their businesses too.
Then there are the dozens of parents, staff, family members of staff, former staff, friends, and incredibly, former students who showed up to pack, load trucks, unload trucks, unpack, dismantle the playground structure and then a few weeks later, re-assemble the playground structure! We truly could not have done this without you.
Last but by no means least, my husband, Ross Perry, has spearheaded all of the physical labor involved in this move. He has spent more days than either of us anticipated getting the playground done and every last item on my list to prepare the inside of the building. My deepest thanks!
Nancy (Mrs. D.) and I are extremely grateful for this show of support for what we have done and will continue to do at Steppingstones School. The dramatic increase in enrollment since the move is a validation of everyone’s efforts. We are anxiously awaiting the first day of school on September 4th. We know that you will love what we’ve done.
Thank you one and all.
Sincerely,
Susan Perry and Nancy DiGiovanni
Sales Tax Holiday; Tastes Great, Never Satisfying
The sales tax holiday is feel good legislation. The savings to consumers is weak at best. Politicians gloss over math and reality so they can be associated with popular legislation. On Aug 6th Rep Hogan spoke to the Hudson Business Association about the years end accomplishments of the legislature, including the sales tax holiday. In expounding how great the holiday was, she added how much parents appreciate the back to school savings on items like clothing. The fact that most clothes are not taxed had no bearing on her point.
Businesses lobby for the tax holiday because the hype is free advertising. Politicians report the loss of sales tax revenue but neglect to mention the increased payroll tax collection from the additional staff for the holiday, as well as the additional tax collected on items that people wrongly assumed were tax free. This is how public- private partnerships really work.
The time wasted discussing the holiday could have been spent getting any number of laws passed, like Melissa’s law, which only took 12 years!
Does saving 6.25% justify the cost of the trip? On most any other day retailers offer discounts of 10% 20% 30% or more. So if it isn’t the savings, what brings so many consumers out? The only plausible answer I’ve come up with is that it’s a statement of anger at the state.
If we simply lowered the sales tax back to 5%, consumer anger at the state wouldn’t be driving us to insanity or New Hampshire.
Chuck Kuniewich
Hudson