News
Nashoba Proposes a 3.9% Hike
By Ann Needle
The Nashoba Regional School District proposed a 3.9% budget hike last night for the 2013/14 school, up from a 3.1% increase in 2011/12. This puts the total potential budget at $49,054,064, before adding in projected revenue and grants.
However, in comparing the two years, changes in legal requirements on financial reporting mean the estimated hikes for the total budget and the net budget, are not being measured in the same way as last year. Wood explained that items have been moved for accounting purposes from the gross budget to the net budget.
Town Forest Overrun with Dogs
By Nancy Arsenault
The Conservation Commission recently heard a report from Animal Control Officer Susan Latham that suggests the Town Forest conservation area off Bradley Lane is becoming so overrun with loose dogs and professional dog walkers that it may be time to consider more stringent rules for this property.
Nashoba Seeks New Goals
By Ann Needle
Looking for broader community input into priorities for the Nashoba schools, Superintendent Michael Wood devoted last night’s School Committee meeting to a public forum for setting some goals for next year’s District Improvement Plan.
The plan is a legally required document, updated each year, that outlines a district’s overall goals, along with ways these targets should be reached and success measured. As Committee Chair Nancy Federspiel of Bolton explained, “The District Improvement Plan is intended to be a living, working document, intended to look at the next 5 years in our district.” She also pointed out that it is these goals that perhaps make the biggest impact on the district budget.
Selectmen Put the Brakes on Projects
By Nancy Arsenault
In a discussion that became heated at times, the Board of Selectmen last night put the brakes on any further spending on capital projects until a new group can be formed to oversee all three projects as a whole. Additional topics included a group of business owners looking for support to bring water to Lower Village and the presentation of a parcel of land for sale near the town center.
Rec Meeting: Sharing, Mowers, and Music
By Ellen Oliver
Saving money was the top concern for the Recreation Commission at their December 20 meeting, as the Commission used the slower winter months to prepare for the busy spring and summer seasons.
Tragedy Shadows School News
By Ann Needle
The Nashoba School Committee opened last night’s meeting with the backdrop of the tragic Connecticut school shooting.
Residents Concerned About Development
By Nancy Arsenault
The new Hemenway Farm subdivision proposal for Walcott Street came under review Tuesday night at a Planning Board Public Hearing with nearly 50 residents, mostly abutters, in attendance.
While there were some comments against the concept of a subdivision coming to this rural corner of Stow, the Planning Board heard more concerns about flooding and drainage problems that have plagued the neighborhood for decades. Area residents expressed their concerns for what additional building could do to an already precarious situation.
Schools Study Thefts and Technology
By Ann Needle
Thefts at Nashoba Regional High School topped the discussion at Tuesday night’s Nashoba School Committee meeting. The Committee also heard more about how the district is equipped to handle new technology, voting in a new policy on how students and staff can use their own technology in the classroom.
Break-In Suspect Arrested in Maynard
By Nancy Arsenault
On Saturday, December 1, the Maynard Police Department arrested Robert M. Redfield, 21, of 113 Dawn Road, Maynard and Joseph W. Redfield, 26, of 135 Main Street, Apt #1, Maynard as the result of an ongoing investigation involving multiple motor vehicle breaks. Police are now looking for assistance in identifying some of the property recovered.
Joseph Redfield had been arrested by Stow Police in October after being seen breaking and entering into a parked car on Crescent Street. After his arraignment in Concord District Court at that time, he was held briefly and then released due to overcrowding in the Middlesex County jail in Cambridge. He and his brother are also suspected of other car and house breaks in Stow, according to Stow Police Detective Mike Sallese.
Gobbler 5K Grows into a Tradition
By Ellen Oliver
For years Nashoba graduates met up on Thanksgiving morning on the bleachers surrounding a football field as Nashoba and North Middlesex took to the gridiron. But the Sixth Annual Stow Gobbler 5K officially wins the reunion race, bringing together former Chieftains and Stow community members two hours before football kick off.
“My favorite part is seeing old high school friends and checking in on the high school team,” said Miles Hodge, a 2012 Nashoba graduate and Gobbler runner.
The Gobbler was founded by avid runners Nick and Alex Papanastassiou when they were in high school as a way to help their mom participate in a Thanksgiving race closer to home. Now college seniors, the brothers proved they haven’t lost a step, crossing the line at 9th (Nick, 18:45.9) and 11th (Alex, 18:47.0), along with former event organizers Abby Hurd at 12th overall and the top female finisher (18:50.14) and Allie Allaire crossing at 59th (21:37.8).