By Becky Harvey
Patriot Corrrespondent

Horror and stunned disbelief were two of the emotions that residents of the town of Oxford expressed at the news a local dad had shot and murdered his daughter, and shot and severely wounded his son, before killing himself.  Forty-one year old Daryl Benway, according to local authorities, first shot his nine- year old son, Owen, in the kitchen of their home and then his seven- year old daughter, Abigail, and then turned the gun on himself.  Owen was found in the kitchen by his uncle, after Daryl Benway’s brother heard shots from his downstairs apartment and went to investigate.  Owen was rushed to a local hospital and listed in critical condition.  Both Benway and Abigail were found in the master bedroom, dead upon arrival.  This is the first murder Oxford has seen in over thirty-two years.

Benway and his wife, Kelleen Plantier Benway, had reportedly separated.  Mrs. Benway was not in the home at the time of the shooting, though she did come there while the investigation was ongoing at the Main Street home.  She was briefly taken into custody, but it was quickly ruled that she had not been present at the murder and was released and allowed to attend her son at the Intensive Care Unit of UMass.

According to a family friend, Mr. Benway had recently lost his job and feared losing his home.  The thought of losing his family must have made him “snap.”  The family has posted a sign requesting to be left alone in their time of mourning.

The townspeople of Oxford reacted quickly and with great passion, organizing and attending in great numbers, a candle-light vigil at the bandstand on the common Monday night.  In mere hours, coordinator Sarah Gaucher had organized the event, complete with donations from businesses in town.

Coleen Rea, Owen’s third grade teacher attended the vigil, along with his “adopted grandmother,” Joan Ayotte, from the Adopt-a-Grandparent Program at Chaffee Elementary. Rea said that “he was a sweet boy, such a bright child in my class. He never tries to draw attention to himself.  He was just in a play, on stage, at the end of the year and he did such a good job.  He is so kind to others. And he loved his sister. He was always talking about her.” Ayotte was visibly shaken at the vigil.  She said that she just loves Owen.  “He is always such a good boy.  Oh he loves his candy, all kinds.  If it’s sweet, he loves it.  He would always try to sneak sweets during snack time. And he always talks about his favorite dogs: huskies.  Oh, and his sister.  They got along so well.”  Ayotte stayed in touch with Owen after the program ended and has even met with the whole family.  She is just shocked by the reported allegations against his father.  “He seemed so nice.”

The vigil lasted for over two hours.  It was very slow-paced, but extremely well done.  Hundreds of candles were on-hand, along with cut-out cups and wax-shield rings.  Cub scouts and girl scouts ran tables for people to sign cards/posters for Owen.  Members of the Oxford Chorus, both present and newly graduated, volunteered to sing.  Soloists Molly Ennis and Katie Shaw sang “Over the Rainbow” and “How Great Thou Art,” respectively.  Chaplain Martin offered a moment of silent prayer, followed by the Lord’s Prayer and words of reassurance.

Gaucher, the organizer of the event, posted the following on the facebook “invite” to the vigil: “I sat down at the baseball field last night and was talking to Kevin Mercier and said I wanted to do something for this family. I threw out the idea of a Candle Light Vigil. 2 hours later at 6:30 pm we are on the computer and started this with just 93 invites and has grown to almost 4,000! We are are both so happy to see the responses and support. This is not surprising because we stick together in this beautiful town! Thank you to HOME DEPOT FOR BEING ONE OF THE 1st to email me asking what we need. All news Media are reporting this on the news.”

She stated at the vigil that the “main focus is on that poor mother that is suffering right now, and those two poor children.”

Facebook has lit up almost as much as was the vigil with some who are angry and disgusted; others flat-out refuse to believe that Benway was behind the shooting.  A family friend, Robert Charbonneau, though not saying Benway was innocent of the shooting, did say that “He did love his children and his wife.  He did take care of his kids.”  Another family friend, Roger LeBlanc, could only say that it was “shocking.”   Neighbor, Debi King stated that there were absolutely no warning signs and wished that Benway would have come to talk to her or any of the other people who loved him.

As the town tries to come to terms with this horrific event, there will be counselors available to students and families at Chaffee Elementary school Tuesday, July 31st.

Praises volunteers for 300^th celebration

Janet Stoica
Patriot Correspondent

OXFORD - After agreeing to remove a sign that Oxford Selectboard Chairman John Saad stated was on State property and then fielding questions about his business to be located at 381 Main Street, Fernando Beltran was approved for a new Class II License for Fernando’s Auto Sales. Also approved at the July 24 meeting for the same type of license and contingent upon a successful CORI check as well as a bond receipt, was Mohamad Mansour of 109 Main Street (BP gas station).  Selectman Saad spoke to Mr. Mansour about past customer complaints and indicated that Mr. Mansour must be a responsible retailer to his customers in the granting of the Class II license.

The board reappointed all current election workers and approved the appointment of four new ones: Precinct 2 - Peter Stefan, Jr. and Elizabeth Zingarelli; Precinct 3 – Joan Goodell; and Precinct 4 – Rose Wing.

The board approved a special one-day (Sunday, Aug. 26) pouring license for all alcoholic beverages for Singletary Rod & Gun Club, as well as a Special Animals Permit for Monica & Marion Royston of Huguenot Road for their 18 rabbits and 10 hens.

A request for extra signage for Carbuncle Pond was passed over as selectmen discussed the over-abundance of signage in town presently and the need for signage reduction.

The Board then approved the State Primary Warrant submitted by Town Clerk Lori Kelley and also approved a Fall Festival request submitted by Albert DuBois, Chairman of the Oxford Lions Club. The Festival is to be held at the Bandstand on Saturday, 9/22/12, rain or shine, from 9am-4pm for the general public.

The next agenda item approved was the 1^st Annual Bike Marathon to benefit the Oxford Community Center with the event to be held on September 22 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Town Manager Joseph Zeneski then read notifications of the State Primary & State Election Calendar that included dates of Aug. 17 from 9 a.m.-8 p.m. as the last day/hour to register new voters or change party enrollment for the Sept. 6^th State Primary; and Oct. 17 from 9 a.m.-8 p.m. as the last day/hour to register new voters or change party enrollment for the November 6^th State Election.  All town residents may register to vote, change their name, change their voting address, or change party enrollment at the Town Clerk’s office during regular business hours of 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. or by sending a mail-in registration form to the Town Clerk (postmarked by the deadlines listed above), 325 Main St., Oxford MA 01540.  Additionally, notice was given regarding voter registration for the October Special Town Meeting. The last day/hour to register to vote before this meeting is Friday, Sept. 21, from 9 a.m.-8 p.m. with guidelines the same as the aforementioned.

Selectmen Dennis Lamarche thanked the 300^th Town Anniversary Committee for the July 8^th parade and activities, asserting that the group and its many volunteers “have worked hard and deserve tremendous kudos.” Selectman Michael Voas also remarked that everyone should be praised as well as the Police Department and the Town Clerk. He declared that “we need all the help we can get. We have a big year coming up.” Selectman Henry Lamountain stated that he wanted to make sure that Oxford has funds to go forward to continue the great success they’ve had thus far. Chairman Saad then thanked Deb & Dennis Lamarche for all their hard work and dedication as well.

Selectwoman Jennie Caissie and the other board members then praised the Oxford Little Leagues for their great wins and wished them continued success, stating how proud they felt for the Oxford teams’ wins. Ms. Caissie stated that the team was fundraising for their upcoming trip to New Jersey and if townspeople wanted to contribute they could contact Paul Fitzpatrick of the Oxford Little League.

The subject of town constables’ ability to legally carry firearms during the course of their duties was brought up and Selectwoman Caissie requested that the board obtain information from the Police Chief regarding the matter.

Chairman Saad then asked that the Highway Dept look into the new traffic light installation at the junction of Route 12-South and Cudworth Road. He indicated the left-turn arrow, when waiting in the Route 12-South lane to make a left turn onto Cudworth Road, is non-functioning and requested a report on its repair. The subject of using the Town Maintenance Dept to keep all buildings and properties in running condition was then discussed. Selectman Lamountain indicated that a question had arisen regarding the money saved through the use of the Town Dept as opposed to using outside contractors. Town Manager Zeneski stated that he would put together a report on the savings. Chairman Saad then highly praised the town maintenance people and stated that “this department has saved the town thousands of dollars.”

The evening’s final comments were made by Town Manager Zeneski indicating he had received correspondence from the Cable Access Board and looks forward to new audio/video equipment for the meeting room.

L to R: Officer Jason Firmin, Sheriff Lew Evangelidis, Kathy Dow, and Barbara Guthrie

Text and photos by Steev Riccardo

OXFORD – Kathy Dow, who is the Director of Children’s Services for the Head Start program, just happened to be listening to the radio at the right time, which unexpectedly led to some big savings for the Community Action Council center in Oxford.

Dow heard Worcester Sherriff Lew Evangelidis speaking about the Inmate Work Program on the Jordan Levy radio show right around the same time that she and Barbara Guthrie, Director of the Head Start Program, were trying to figure out how they would be able to afford painting the inside of the Community Action Council building in Oxford in time for the upcoming school year.

“We knew that we had some painting that needed to be done so we decided to check out the program,” said Dow.  “They came down, looked at the project and said they could do it, and two weeks later they were here. It’s fabulous; we are so excited about it.”

The center, which serves children in Webster, Southbridge, Oxford, Spencer, Leicester, and Millbury, was able to save over $8,500 with the help of the inmate work program, which sent a crew of eight inmates to the center last Wednesday.

“These men not only did an incredible job, but they were very neat,” said a very pleased Guthrie.

“We try to accommodate people if they are in a tight spot,” said Evangelidis, knowing that the school had time restraints along with the lack of a budget for the painting.

To show their appreciation, twelve students from the school designed a thank you painting for the Sheriff and the inmates for painting the inside of the building.

The town of Oxford has been able to save over $30,000 in the last year by using the inmates on various jobs for the Housing Authority, the Historical Commission, the Clara Barton Center, the Town Hall, and last week, the Worcester Community Action Center.

Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with any comments regarding this story.

On Tuesday, July 24^th, Sen. Richard T. Moore, D-Uxbridge, will be in Oxford starting his day by hosting “Coffee with Constituents.” Residents are welcome to visit with the local lawmaker, enjoy a complimentary cup of coffee, and take the opportunity to discuss current issues and concerns.

“Coffee with Constituents” will be held at Carl’s Oxford Diner, located at 291 Main Street in Oxford, from 7:30 to 9:00 a.m. Customers who arrive during this timeframe will receive a free cup of coffee, courtesy of the Senator.

Sen. Moore routinely visits area breakfast spots within the Worcester & Norfolk throughout the year, and combines these with his regular constituent service office hours to connect with residents about the issues of the day.

Constituents requiring immediate assistance should contact Sen. Moore’s office at (617) 722-1420 or log onto his web site at www.senatormoore.com/services.

OXFORD - The town began its year-long tercentennial celebration in grand style on Sunday with a parade led by 104-year old May White and selectmen chairman John Saad. Above, Oxford firefighters participated in the parade. More photos follow.

Reward offered for information

By Steev Riccardo

OXFORD - At around 4:00 a.m. Saturday morning at least two people entered the prestigious Pine Ridge Golf Course grounds in Oxford, removed a 300-pound golf cart from a locked pen, brought it to the green on the third hole, and burned it to the ground.

“They took the cart onto the third green tipped it on its side, undid the gas cap, let the gas flow out on to the green, and they ignited it,” said General Manager Ken Duquette. “ It turned the golf cart into basically rubble. There is nothing left to it. It had to burn for over an hour.”

The assailants, who were on foot, avoided surveillance cameras by coming in through the backside of the golf course.

“It had to be somebody local on foot and it had to be at least two people. The police watch this place like a hawk. A lot of them are members here, they would have spotted a car easily.”

Duquette has never seen anything like this at the course before. The only prior vandalism that has occurred at Pine Ridge in the past was “light stuff, never to this extreme.”

The crime, unfortunately, was a costly one as well, to the tune of about $25,000 in damage.  The golf cart was worth 5,000 but the real damage was what the fire did to the green.

“This was a devastation due to the hours and the money that is spent on these greens,” said Duquette. “It disappoints me. This is our sanctuary, we need to send a message to our youth that this was a lack of respect for a beautiful golf course.”

Assistant Superintendent Brad Allen, who was one of the first employees to witness the damage, was shocked by what was found.

“It had a sickening look to it. We work real hard to keep this course beautiful and when you see something like that it was like, Wow, it looked like something exploded,” said Allen.

“We came in at six o’clock in the morning and there it was, a pile of melted metal. It was turned upside down and then lit on fire so the roof just melted to the grass, so as we were pulling the burnt stuff up we were ripping the sod out with it. We had to clear off the debris and we had to clear off the sod.”

Allen said that they were hoping to get the green ready by the middle of next week but until then have “made a temporary third hole in the fairway.”

There is a reward being offered, the amount undisclosed, leading to the arrest and the conviction of the people who did this.

When we spoke to Sergeant Tony Saad of the Oxford Police Department he said that the department did not have any leads. “We are looking for some help, if anybody knows anything or hears anything, give us a call.”

Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

July 8^th tercentennial parade and activities

Janet Stoica
Patriot Correspondent

The prelude to Oxford’s 2013 Tercentennial Big Bash begins on July 8. A kickoff parade starts at Oxford’s Middle School and ends at Joslin Park, beginning at 12 noon. Thirty-four groups and individuals will be participating, among them Oxford’s award-winning Jr ROTC Colorguard and Chairman and Board of Selectman John Saad, who will be the Master of Ceremonies. Best of all, the Grand Marshall will be Oxford resident May White, whose 104^th birthday coincides with the parade date of July 8^th.

According to Deb Lamarche, member of the parade organizing committee, other parade participants will be the Worcester Fire Brigade’s bagpipers, the Pulaski Brass Band, floats from various organizations, including Hometown Bank, the Barton Center, St. Ann’s Church, a replica of the Huguenot Society’s Monument with historical figures, Women’s Club, Lion’s Club, Cubs & Girl Scouts as well as a float from the Universalist Church with its original steeple bell.  Also expected to be part of the celebration are Finz, the Worcester Sharks AHL hockey team mascot, Ronald McDonald of McDonald’s Restaurant fame, members of Oxford’s three amazing dance studios, antique cars, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, the American Red Cross, and many local businesses.

Also at noon, entertainment will begin at Joslin Park. There will be  plenty of food vendors, craft retailers, dance performances by local dance studios, a Frank Sinatra singer/impersonator, animal shows, various bands, and games for children. Shirley McAfee, songstress, will be the host of the bandstand activities.

The 300^th anniversary planning committee is headed up by Alan Hammond, and also includes Tina Weldon, Emily Thomas, Jean O’Reilly, Michael Voas, and many others who continue to give their valuable time and effort to benefit the Oxford townspeople.  So come one, come all, for good food, good times, and great fun for all ages!  Let the Celebration Begin!

By Steev Riccardo

Oxford – The Oxford School Committee voted 3-2 to approve a host of new positions at its schools as well as restore two positions at th high school for the fall, at its bi-monthly meeting Monday, June 25.

The following is a list of the restored and new positions.

Restored Positions

Girls physical education teacher-Oxford High School
Foreign language teacher-Oxford High School
Grade 3 teacher-Clara Barton

New positions
Dean of students/part-time assistant director- Oxford High School

In-school suspension coordinator-Oxford High School

Special education team chairperson-District wide

Special education teacher-Clara Barton/Oxford Middle School

Part time literacy coach (2)-Clara Barton/Chaffee School

Superintendent of Schools Allen Himmelberger said “the new positions that we were able are to create are due to increased Chapter 70 funding from the State.” 

Public school budgets are made up of several components, one being the local share, which is primarily funded through property tax, the state share, which is funded primarily through Chapter 70, the chief mechanism to fund individual cities’ and towns’ public education. The third is the federal component.

“For some towns, Chapter 70 provides the majority of the funding for public education, and that is the case in Oxford,” said Himmelberger. Because we have an inflation factor this year that is substantial and because we have an increase in our low income students, the formula did increase for us for Chapter 70.”

Himmelberger said that he was very pleased that the school committee approved the restoration of the three positions that were cut the last few years.

He also commented on the dean of students and in-school suspension positions. “We feel strongly that those two positions are needed to improve the attendance, the behavior, the conduct, and the academics of some of our at risk students. For that reason those positions are critical to our mission for next year.” 

The part time literacy positions are being put in place to work with students who are behind in small group settings.

School committee member Susan Rivelli expressed concerns that the Oxford Middle School does not currently have music and art programs in place and hopes to see this addressed at some point in the future.  Himmelberger agreed and said “we are challenged at the middle school to add more arts and more electives.”

The Oxford School Committee will meet again on July 9 at Oxford High School in the community room.

Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

by Steev Riccardo

“I think everything she has earned she deserves. She is an incredibly hard worker, she's focused, and she is incredibly coachable. I think all those things together make Emily the great athlete that she is.”

-Oxford High School Track Coach Andrew Martin

It could have been an extremely difficult decision picking the View Super Team Athlete of the Year if they were only 11 candidates, but there was a 12th candidate who just happened to get invited, not to a State Tournament, not the New England tournament, but the National tournament!

We are, of course, talking about Oxford High School junior Emily Dawidczyk, who is clearly our choice for high school athlete of the year. Believe me, when I say this is definitely not a knock on the other 11 super team members, who are all in their own right superb student-athletes, but what Dawidczyk has accomplished this season has been truly incredible.

In only took me about two minutes upon meeting Dawidczyk a few months back to come up with the moniker “The Sweet Assassin.”  She is a fierce competitor on the field and the track, and as sweet as a bowl of honey off the track and the field.  

Getting an invitation to the National Outdoor Track and Field tournament was only the icing on the cake for what has been an unforgettable year for the junior. 

She started the year off with another superb soccer season, which earned her a nod on the Central Mass All-Star team; she then dominated in indoor track and received another Central Mass all-star spot, and then topped off her junior year with perhaps the most amazing season of them all, blowing people away in three different events in her league, in Central Mass, in the State, and incredibly enough, in the New England tournament.  These are only her high school accomplishments; she is also the captain and leading scorer on her traveling club soccer team.

“The Sweet Assassin”, still only a junior, is already mentioned in the same breath as Oxford hall of fame athletes like Carla Berube and Billy Herrion. She is, simply put, one of the greatest athletes ever to come out of Oxford High School.   Amazingly enough, she has one year of high school left. 

“She is definitely the best athlete that I have ever coached,” said Martin, one of her two track coaches along with Tim Craig. “It's easy to be happy with being good and being the best in the Southern Worcester County League, but she isn't and that really is what helps her achieve. She was the only one left from her team and she went through two or three weeks of practice with coach Craig and myself because she wanted to do it.”

“Obviously there is a component of natural talent that she has, however you cannot go as far as she has with just natural talent. A lot of it is the fact that she is coachable in all those other things that I just mentioned.  I think that she is a great role model for the younger athletes in this school and in the middle school because of her work ethic.” 

“She does everything the right way. If I had a team of 11 Emily's, I would go undefeated every year and I am not even talking about talent wise, I am talking about work-ethic wise. I think she is a role model, I think she works hard and I think she deserves everything that she achieves.”

Craig agrees wholeheartedly with his counterpart, “She is the best track and field athlete, girls and boys, that I have coached; she has a year left and she wants to work hard and I think she is going to continue to set records.”

“She was absolutely fantastic at the state-qualifying meet. She was doing three individual events, the order of the events was not that conducive to her. The 100-meter hurdles and the 200, due to the fact that she had to run trials for both, and then got a ton of rest, but she stuck with it and set a meet record in the 100-meter hurdles and almost a meet record in the 200, but by then she was a little tired and still finished second in the long jump.”

Imagine, she finished second in the state.  That is what it’s all about with “The Sweet Assassin;” it’s about breaking records and even breaking her own school records.  This is what drives her and will continue to make her the best at what she does.

“For me it’s records, I want to keep bettering my time. When I got to the New England’s I just wanted my best time and I got it,” said Dawidczyk. 

It wasn’t easy either. She had to deal with injuries such as back problem most of the outdoor season.

“Going into the State qualifiers, you want to get better, but for me it was way back before that, it was important to stay healthy.  Getting rest was really important for me and it helped.”

“My back starting acting up during the season and my coaches were really good about it and told me to take it easy. They understood that I needed to go far into post season, that is my season.”

She knew that if her back bothered her even “a tiny bit” she had to rest it.  Despite that, she still never lost a race until the state tournament, when she came in second and third respectively in the 100-meter hurdles and the 200 meters.

This year was Dawidczyk’s third year at the state tournament and each year she has been the only Oxford athlete to make it. She said jokingly, “Yeah I was practicing by myself with my two coaches.”

“They are so supportive, they calm me down when I am nervous, their goals are similar to my goals and they really listen to what my goals are.”

The New England Tournament was something new for Dawidczyk and once the thrill and excitement of it all settled in, it was business as usual.

“Getting there and seeing the amount of people that were there and how much they liked track just as much as I did, and the competitive field there was amazing. All the girls were there to win and the atmosphere was really nice. After I realized my time and I came in second, I was on a high. From that, tons of things go through your head. I think for me it was important to say that I accomplished this and I qualified for something as big as Nationals.”

Oxford High School Athletic Director John Dooldorian is as impressed as anyone about what Dawidczyk has accomplished.  “Obviously, anytime anyone gets the invitation to the Nationals it’s special. Her work ethic has been great and she really did a great job and so did her coaches of getting her to peak right at the right time. Her best times came at her last couple meets.”

“As far as what it means to the building,” said Doldoorian. “I think it’s a sense of pride that we finally had someone invited to the Nationals; it hasn’t happened before. The ability in knowing that we had one of our athletes qualify for the Nationals is very special.  The national stage is very different, being recognized like that has opened a lot of doors for her in regards to college recruiting. Being the athlete that she is, she is going to have a lot of decisions to make. Her track abilities warrant attention from scholarship schools and her soccer abilities warrant attention from scholarship schools”.

Despite these amazing accomplishments in track and field, remarkably enough, soccer has and still plays a huge role in her life.

She started playing soccer when she was 5 or 6 years old and was on club teams by the time she was 10. She followed in her sister Maggie’s footsteps, who went on to play in college.  Her dad John was also a soccer player in high school, while her mom Patricia is where the track roots come from.

“To me playing soccer is a little different because it is a contact sport.  Playing from such a young age and getting into premier teams, the competition is a little bit more aggressive. You have to be aggressive. I am very competitive, but I don’t get mean, it’s just the way I play soccer.”

She is coached by Dung Nyugen at Oxford and has high hopes to not only repeat her individual successes but also improve as a team in her senior year. “Hopefully as a team we can have a great season and get to Districts next season. For me personally it’s just being part of the team.”

Someone who has been along Dawidczyk’s side from the beginning is her cousin, best friend, and teammate Oxford High School junior Gina Manzi.

“We first started playing soccer together in the peewee league. I started a couple years after her and we have been playing soccer together on the same team ever since then. We have played high school soccer together, we played on the youth league together, and we played club soccer together.

“It's been really good, I really like playing with her, she's one of my very close friends and we are always on the field together and we play really well together,” said Manzi.

“She is so humble about all the things that she has done, she knows no one has done it and she goes out and does it and never makes a big fuss about it. She is always really into it and really works hard, she really deserves it.”

Manzi was not surprised that Dawidczyk was invited to the Nationals. She said that she always knew that she could do this. “She's talented and she works really hard, obviously she has natural talent but she goes to every single practice and she's never down, she is always working 100% in every single practice. I could tell, and everyone else could tell, that she's just going to keep going and going and going.”

Other Oxford athletes are also fans of Dawidczyk, including baseball/football standout Nick Bruzious, who said “Emily is an incredible athlete, she would definitely beat me in a race, which is why I would never race her. We all enjoy watching her race, and we enjoy watching her break away from the crowd and take bets on who is going to finish second.”

Oxford Principal Kevin Wells, who was an athlete at Oxford and coached both at the high school and college levels, is proud to have Dawidczyk at the Oxford High.

“Emily is a young lady who is outstanding both in the classroom and on the athletics field and certainly, as we have just found out, being second in New England and third in all of New England, an outstanding track athlete. She works exceptionally hard at her studies. It’s always a primary focus. She is hoping to go into nursing and go to nursing school. She understands that it is a game, she loves the game, she loves to compete, she has a competitive spirit about her both in the classroom and on the track, as well as the soccer field.”

“She’s all in everything that she does and she’s just a great kid, she is a pleasure to have at Oxford High School. She comes from a great family with a great support network. She is the epitome of what a great athlete should be because she is right at the top.”

In will be interesting to see how things play out for Dawidczyk with another year of high school in front of her. Perhaps she should take the advice of athletic director Doldoorian who said, “The thing that I hope for Emily right now is that she relaxes and enjoys the attention that she is going to get. She should take it as a compliment, her family should take it as a compliment. It shouldn’t become something that becomes worrisome, it should be a real positive feeling that this is happening to her.”

“I need to do some soul searching this summer and decide where I am going.” said Dawidczyk. “As far as sports goes, I know I want to do something in college. I am not exactly sure what sport that I am going to choose right now, depending on where I go, I could do both.”

“For me education is first, no matter what, I just want to go to the best place I can go and get the best nursing degree and get the best education that I can get, and hopefully still be on a good athletic team.”

Until then, we get to watch this great student athlete compete locally for another year. How awesome is that?

Emily Dawidczyk, “The Sweet Assassin”, The View from the Sidelines Athlete of the Year.

Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

By Becky Harvey
Patriot correspondent

The Oxford selectmen’s meeting kicked off Tuesday night, June 5, with an impassioned plea by Good Samaritan and Oxford citizen Richard A. Vacca of Burbank St.  A long-time resident of the town, he has spent hundreds of hours over the past four years in selfless service, cleaning up what others have left behind.  Vacca was not just concerned with simple littering, but with the blatant illegal dumping of bulk items likes tires, televisions, appliances, furniture and building materials. The problem has become rampant in the town of Oxford, though many are unaware, as it is often done at night and in secluded, unpatrolled areas.

Vacca has spent his own money to remove over 1000 tires from the Greenbriar Area alone.  His recent clean-up efforts have been concentrated on Greenbriar and all its surrounding trails and the Caughlin Road area.  His efforts, though great, have only made a dent in the growing problem.  He feels that his work is a way of “un-victimizing” the town of this growing crime.

Mr. Vacca implored the selectmen to aid him in his mission to clean up the town.  He asked that the DPW be made available to pick up piles of debris which he hauls out of areas but has trouble disposing of.  The selectmen were quite responsive to the request, but all were very vocal about warning Vacca not to take his efforts onto private property.

The selectmen stated that they appreciated his work, but reiterated that if he were to get hurt or cause damage on privately owned property, he would be in danger of getting sued.  The major concern with private property was with Vacca’s efforts on land owned by National Grid.  Despite the fact that Vacca had been in contact with them, selectmen remained concerned and warned against further work on property that was not town owned.  Town Manager, Joseph Zeniski, suggested that Vacca contact the Board of Health with reports of issues on private property, as the owners may be responsible for clean-up and installing preventative measures in order to comply with town regulations.

In his address, Vacca requested that the town erect either a large, locking gate in the areas of greatest concern, or at the very least, place large boulders that would prevent people from driving trucks full of garbage down the secluded pathways and trails.  He even suggested building a visitor’s center to increase foot traffic, therefore making it harder for people to sneak in.  The town has already set up cameras in the areas of concern, but the offenders are tricky enough to move around them.  Selectman John Saad, mentioned that the town only has five police officers per shift and that adds to the inability to catch illegal dumpers while in action.

Of particular interest to selectman Jennie Caissie was the fact that Vacca mentioned that police were aware of one Oxford resident whose household trash has been discovered dumped in two areas near Greenbriar in less than a year’s time.  Though the police felt they had insufficient evidence to charge the owner of the garbage (bags that included identifiable information such as household mail and prescription bottles with the alleged offender’s name) after the first offense, they have assured Vacca that they would launch a full investigation.  Selectman Dennis LaMarche stated, “That seems to blow my mind” in reference to the fact that the woman in question had not been arrested.

Caissie mentioned that she had requested information from the Oxford police with regards to citations for littering and whether or not people are, in fact, being issued citations when they are seen littering.  She stated that her request has gone unanswered.  She also said that the aforementioned offender ought to have a criminal complaint levied against her, as the criteria for doing so was very low.  Having trash with identification in it, in Caissie’s belief, would give enough grounds to file charges successfully.

Vacco’s worries of secretive, illegal dumping morphed into a conversation about the issue of underage drinking and drug use, which also leads to littering in wooded and abandoned areas around town.  He mentioned that five barrels full of drug paraphernalia and alcohol containers were rounded up during an eight-hour clean-up of the area between Oxford High School and Carbuncle Pond.  He alleged that he has also witnessed “a fifty year old man” supplying three fourteen year old girls and a seventeen year old boy with alcohol and drinking with them near Lowe’s Pond.

There are, according to Vacco, a number of areas in town where teens party and drink, aided by older townspeople who purchase the alcohol for them.  LeMarche stated, “That really fries me,” regarding adults providing underage children with alcoholic beverages.  Some have even set up tents and build fires to drink by.  Though police try to stay on top of it, it seems to be a growing problem.

The selectmen all acknowledged the problem the town is having with both illegal dumping and underaged drinking.  They all thanked Vacco for his efforts and said they would work on continuing to educate the townspeople on the issues.

Moving on, the selectmen addressed the scheduling of the October special town meeting.  It has been set for Wednesday, October 3^rd, 2012 at 7pm in the New High School Auditorium.  The warrant will be open as of June 6, 2012 and will close at August 28^th, 2012 at 4:30pm.

Community Volunteer Days, sponsored by the Home Depot and the Oxford Community Center, will be Saturday July 28^th and 29^th.  This is a change from the previously announced June date.  Drop-ins will be welcome at the community center, but prior sign-up is preferred. Most of the work will involve painting (with paint supplied by Home Depot.)  Please wear appropriate attire if you elect to attend!

Recognition was given to both Civil Defense Police Officer Gary L. Belvery Sr. and Deputy Fire Chief Cleighton B. Tourtellotte, who will each be leaving their posts.  The board voted to send their thanks on behalf of the town.  Each was recognized for his service to the town of Oxford.

The meeting concluded with the announcement that the much praised Carbuncle Summer Program will be starting later this month.  The official kick-off date is yet to be determined, but it will be announced soon.  As soon as some minor repairs are made to the bathhouse, which are in progress, the program can start.  The selectmen announced that interested townsfolk can sign their children up for the program by calling Stacy Barr, the Community Program Director at the community center at 508-987-6002.