Text and photos by Steev Riccardo

DUDLEY – Shepherd Hill senior Tina Gauvin, like her best friend and fellow senior Taylor Daniels, has been one of the staples of the high schools sports program for the past four years and even though she is graduating and moving on, she will not be forgotten.

Extremely popular amongst her friends and fellow classmates, Gauvin has made quite a name for herself at the school for her dedication to both the soccer team and basketball team.

DUDLEY - The Dudley Patrolmen’s Association annual fund raiser began on Monday, April 15^th.  Phone calls for donations will be placed to local residents and businesses.  The proceeds of this campaign benefit local police programs and other community based initiatives, including scholarships. The officers wish to thank the community in advance for their continued support and generosity.  Contributors will receive complimentary tickets to the annual soft ball game versus the New England Patriots which is to be held in early June.  Should anyone have any questions about this or other fundraisers, we encourage you to contact the Dudley Police at 508-943-4411 before making any donations.

Livery license prompts CORI discussion

by Charles Kelleher Harris
Patriot correspondent

DUDLEY- What was expected to be a typical public hearing about pole placement became a tense back and forth between several selectmen and a representative from National Grid.

Diane Clowes of National Grid came before the Board of Selectmen Monday night to present a petition from National Grid and Verizon for permission to place a pole at the intersection at Center Road. According to the meeting agenda, abutters to that location had been notified.

Saturday, April 27^th from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m

DUDLEY--The Dudley Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will give the public another opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.  Bring your medications for disposal to The Dudley Police located inside the Dudley Municipal Complex at 71 West Main Street Dudley, Ma.  This is the fourth time an event such as this has been held in Dudley.  The last took place in October of 2012.  A large quantity of prescription medications were taken in at that time.  The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

In addition to the prescription disposal, officials from Harrington Hospital will be on hand to provide medical information and limited health screenings to anyone interested.  A container to dispose of used needles and other medical sharps will be on hand for those who may require a safe method to dispose of these items.  The Dudley Police Department thanks Harrington Hospital once again for their assistance with this program.

If you have any questions or need further information, please contact Police Chief Steve Wojnar at 508-949-8023.
 

Would cap school funding increases at 2.5 percent

DUDLEY – While local tax increases are capped at 2.5 percent annually, there is no such cap for Chapter 70 school funding, which can present communities with very high, unexpected budget increases. Last December Chairman Jonathan Ruda and the Dudley Board of Selectmen decided to do something about the problem of unfunded mandates, and now they have.

On March 29 State Representative Peter J. Durant (R-Spencer) filed a bill in the House that proposes to limit Chapter 70 increases to 2.5 percent, unless there is a ballot election override. The bill was co-sponsored by Representative Anne M. Gobi (D-Spencer), making it a bipartisan effort. State Senator Richard T. Moore had originally agreed to co-sponsor the bill, but withdrew.

The Dudley Police Department announces a reserve officer entrance examination will be held on Saturday, June 15^th at the Dudley Municipal Complex.  The deadline to register for this examination is Monday, June 10, 2013 at 9 am.  Public Safety Consultants, LLC of Shrewsbury Massachusetts will be conducting the written examination.  There are no declared vacancies on the Dudley Police Reserve force at this time.  This examination will be used by the Dudley Police Evaluation Committee as a basis of hiring when reserve officer openings are authorized within a time period of up to two years.  Applications will only be accepted from the list of individuals who take and successfully pass this written exam.  Registration and job information is available at Public Safety Consultants’ web site:  http://publicsafetyllc.com/site.  Should anyone require additional information, please contact Chief Steven Wojnar at 508-949-8023 or at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . 

Text and photos by Steev Riccardo

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

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

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

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

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

TA looking for 5% decrease

by Charles Kelleher Harris
Patriot correspondent

DUDLEY- The Board of Selectmen and the Finance Appropriation and Advisory Committee (FAA) met Thursday, March 21, to discuss the proposed budget for FY13-14.

Each town department was asked submit a budget to Town Administrator Peter Jankowski. Jankowski then reviewed them and made his recommended proposal. Jankowski said that he was trying to cut the budget by five percent overall.

At Thursday’s meeting, the Selectmen and FAA heard from several department heads about their proposals and where they intended to make necessary cuts.