
The Opinion Page
University of the Wild Program July 3
Petersham will welcome back Brother
North Star,
A Pilgrim Peace Walker, musician,
writer, and earth & social justice activist to share his
stories on Sunday, July 3rd at Noon on the
South Common of Petersham.
For the last twenty-five years (25) Brother North Star
has walked the Earth, for Peace and Social and
environmental justice, including the MIDDLE PASSAGE WALK
through USA, South America, and countries of Africa
“Retracing the Journey of Slavery” - One People, One
Earth.
One of North Star’s
many homes is Petersham where he has spent many days in
the Earthlands and University of the Wild communities
teaching and sharing his story. Brother North
Star is now committed to telling his story and offering
his perspective on the “State-of-the-World” and how we
all can become better Global Citizens.
The program is free and
open to the public
with
donations being accepted for the work.
Sponsored by University of the Wild of Petersham where
Brother North Star is an Advisor, Mentor, and Instructor
CONTACT: Dr. Larry Buell
<Larry@UofWild.org>
(978) 724-0412 (O) (978) 855-1420 (Cell) To see North
Star's resume and program details, VISIT:
www.UofWild.org
Sunday Band Concerts Are
BackThe Petersham Brass
Band opened its summer concert season at 7 p.m. Sunday,
June 26, from the Bandstand on Petersham Common. The
concert will be under the direction of former conductor
Stuart Britton, who led the band for more than 15 years.
The band was established in 1914 and has been
presenting a summer concert season for more than a
century, with the exception of part of World War
II and the COVID-19 shutdown of 2020. The band has also
participated in town anniversary celebrations, the
agricultural fairs and has performed at the Big E.
Alpaca Summer Festival
The New England Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association
will hold an Alpaca summer festival from 10 a.m. to 4
p.m. on Saturday, July 9 at the Middlesex County
Fairgrounds, 55 South Chelmsford Road in Westford. The
event will showcase Alpacas and Alpaca products. The
festival is open to alpaca owners and to the public.
Vendors are also welcome. For more information contact
Keith Tetrault at
ktetreault@charter.net or visit www.neaoba.org
Exploring Nature at the Memorial
Library.
The library and the EQLT have joined forces once again
for their Nature Program Series! Join the library and
the East Quabbin Land Trust on the library lawn for fun
and educational events geared toward early elementary
aged children throughout the summer. The programs
include stories, activities, and crafts. Please register
by emailing
PetershamLibraryRequests@gmail.com . These events
are free and open to the public.
Mark your calendars:
Pollinator Power Tuesday, July 12 @ 10:30 a.m.
All About Clouds Tuesday, July 19 @ 10:30 a.m.
Take Me Out to a Ball Game
The Age Council is Planning a trip
to a Woo Sox game in July.
To reserve your tickets WooSox game,
make out your check to:
Petersham COA
Please write “WooSox
Game” in the memo line.
mail
to: The Petersham COA, P.O.
Box 486, Petersham, MA 01366.
questions? call Kathy McCrohon 508-404-7552
Date: Sunday
July 10, 2022
Price $ 25.00 per person plus gratuity for bus
driver
Bus Boarding
Time: 10:45 a.m
Bus Departure
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Game Time: 1:05
p.m.
New Congregational Church Discussion Group
The Orthodox Congregational Church is
starting new Adult Christian Education programming with an
ongoing Discussion Group Series meeting on the Second & Fourth
Wednesdays of the month (except March, which will be the Second
& the Fifth) at 6:30p both in-person and remotely via Zoom &
Facebook Live. This Discussion Group will address a variety of
topics, the first being "What's the Difference? Christian Church
Edition," which will discuss what makes one church tradition
different from an other, like pastors or priests, decorations,
the layout of the sanctuary, views on the sacraments, and more.
Other topics will follow, like Books Excluded From the Bible,
Church Architecture, Congregationalism, Biblical Archaeology,
Inter-Faith Topics, Heresy in History (e.g. Gnosticism &
Prosperity Gospel), et al.
The transfer station is now open on Wednesdays from 1:30
to 4 p.m. as well as Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
NEW: Local
Petersham Telephone Directory
Surgical Pavilion Work at Heywood Hospital
Site work began about February 28th, in preparation of the construction
of a new surgical pavilion at Heywood Hospital. Visitors
will notice fencing and heavy equipment on site, as
phase 1 site preparation includes erosion control,
drilling and blasting.
Hospital abutters will be offered pre-construction home
inspections, conducted by Falvey Associates as blasting
of ledge will be conducted on the site. Quarterly
abutter forums will provide ongoing communication and
information exchange.
The new surgical pavilion is designed to improve local
and regional access to surgical services, expanding from
the current four undersized operating rooms to a total
of six operating rooms. It will include modernization
and technology upgrades designed to optimize access to
high quality, low cost, surgical care. Completion of the
surgical pavilion is anticipated in the fall of 2023.
Become
a Local Volunteer
All Communities
It Is Often said ...
That there is a shortage of people who are willing to accept
positions - to make a contribution - to small
town governments like ours. It may be easy to believe that.
But here are the facts. Three people stepped up to run for a
single seat on our Selectboard recently. Not one or two but
three. And if you look a bit more closely at the numbers,
there are 25 municipal committees at the helm of our town
government. We have a Board of Health, Zoning Board,
Planning Board and more.
Together, those committees have a combined membership of 85
residents all willing to serve, to attend meetings and
deliberate important town issues. That is almost one in ten
of us. Nearly 200 residents attended a recent special town
meeting.
And the numbers do not include churches and fraternal groups
like the Lions Club and the Petersham Grange or trustees of
the library and the craft center.
So the next time someone tells you that nobody is willing to
serve, feel free to correct them.
Heywood Hospital and Barre Covid Testing
Heywood Hospital Damon Building. ** Appointment
required **
Call 978-630-6186
Testing available Monday-Saturday
9:00am-5:00pm.
Closed on Sundays. Physician order/referral is not required.
The Heywood Hospital Damon Building (234
Green Street, Gardner, MA) is located across from Heywood Hospital
(242 Green St. Gardner, MA).Enter through Matthews Street.
Also:
Barre Family Health Center, Rte. 122 in Barre. Call 978-355-6321.
Info for Residents Seeking Help With Heating Bills
A website that answers frequent questions is
right here
A New Feature
An Occasional Column of Pastoral Thoughts:
At the
recent Annual Meeting of Orthodox Congregational Church,
a Bicentennial Committee was formed, as the Church will
be celebrating that milestone next year. What does
history mean to you? In general, and in relation to our
Church.
During the
worship service before the Annual Meeting, I gave a
sermon that was about the Church's history and then the
vignette of the “Discipline Committee.” It was the
supposition of one of my
predecessors who was relating those events in a speech,
that a couple hundred years ago, recording history was
not a big concern to the original congregation, and so
they did not see much need to record many milestones,
but did record the disciplinary issues. 
Now,
records of that sort of thing would be useful to
historians for a snapshot of society and culture at that
time, but it is hardly something to celebrate. For
example, it took a major series of renovations and a
knowledge of Congregational architectural terms to
confirm that there used to be a balcony in the
sanctuary, even!
These
details were not forthcoming, and the oldest members had
not even heard about this. I find this interesting
because of my background studying religious art &
architecture, but in reality may not be so important or
profound to other people.
Anyway,
this is why I ask, as Orthodox Congregational Church
prepares to celebrate its 200th
anniversary, what does the history of this Church mean
to you (assuming it is)? What is important? What should
be showcased? What should be highlighted for the larger
community of Petersham? and What has this Church meant
to Petersham?
Please feel free to let me know!
There is the front light & a sign on the front door
denoting when I am in the building, so drop in; call the
Church; message me via the Church's Facebook page; or
email me at
pastorgwsmith@gmail.com
Missing Dogs and Cats?
Click Here
Handy Transfer Station Recycling Guide
Mike Seitz, transfer station assistant, provides this
short guide to recycling.
These items should go in the regular trash bin:
plastic bags, styrofoam, black plastic, glass and ceramic kitchenware,
plastic or combination coat hangars, all medical devices. Any other
items not marked for recycling. Questions? Ask
Paul or Mike.
Single-use household batteries go in the trash bin.
Give rechargeable batteries to the transfer station monitors along with
laptop batteries and button batteries. Auto batteries and the like can
often be returned to auto parts stores or scrap yards for store credit or
cash.
Switch to Amazon Prime and the Petersham Friday
Market can get a small donation for our music program from each
purchase.
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Food Pantries Serving Petersham Residents
Orange, MA Food Pantry
118 East Main Street (across from the Armory)
Open Thursdays 10-3
Evan Manning - coordinator
978-544-2149
Salvation Army Athol
Food Pantry 107 Ridge Ave.
Open Tuesday, Friday | 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
This food pantry is available twice a month or on an emergency basis.
Please call 978.249.8111 for details.
Take out meal program Tuesday nights.
Nichewaug Video Tour
1993
Just for the Fun of It... click here
Got
Something to Say?
Send it here:
info@petershamcommon,com
Petershamcommon.com has been putting local Petersham news and information
online since 1996. This website averages 7,500 page views each month - more
than any
other source of local Petersham news. It is a good place to spread the word
about community events so all can see. There is an
Opinion Page open for
thoughts and comments from everyone -- just like Letters to the Editor in a
newspaper.
This website is NOT an official outlet for town government. It presents
fact-based reporting about town government and news about local events. The site is
updated nearly every day, so please put us on your list when sending out
your news.
Simple text e-mails listing who, what, when, where and why do
nicely - no PDFs and no posters please.
Send it here:
info@petershamcommon,com
Get Some Free Stuff
You Can't Beat These Prices
At the Dump
Transfer Station (DUMP) Fees
Calendar of
Town Committee Meetings

Selectboard Office Hours
Monday 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Tuesday 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Wednesday, Thursday
8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Friday Closed
Sen. Anne Gobi
617-722-1540
Rep. Susannah Whipps
978-895-9606

Official Town Website -
www.townofpetersham.org
Committee meeting notices and minutes are posted at
www.mytowngovernment.org
LOCAL CHARITIES
Colorful Fish
If only the river were this blue...
Photos from
Petersham, Surrey, England
and A Place to
Stay the Night
Harvard Forest - Fisher Museum
"Great Plates, Eat Out."
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Parade Returns on the 4th of July
WANTED:
Fertilizer Enhancer Collection Specialists, aka Pooper
Scoopers. Highly prestigious VOLUNTEER position. Expert
wheelbarrow driving skills required, shovels provided. Send
text to Sue Dougherty 832-499-1670
Petersham is pleased to bring back a
favorite tradition—the July 4 Parade on July 4. It is the first since
the pandemic began in 2020. The parade begins at 10 a.m., Breakfast
snacks and beverages will be available on the Common beginning at 9:30
a.m. Live music by Drew Paton also is featured from 9:30-11:30 a.m. on
the town’s bandstand.
The parade route begins at the historic
and picturesque Town Common and travels the “Old Maid’s Mile,” a
one-mile residential loop that circles back to the town center.
The
parade line-up includes a color guard, Grand Marshal “Smilin’ Ernie”
Richards, decorated horses and members of the New England Equestrian
Center of Athol, Petersham historical figures, participants from the
Petersham Grange and the Orthodox Congregational Church, Candidate for
State Representative Aaron Saunders, antique cars, ATVs, motorcycles,
and fire trucks for the conclusion.
Town Meeting Voted Nichewaug Demo Loan
Town meeting easily met a 10 percent quorum requirement and voters agreed to
borrow $621,000 to tear down the former Nichewaug property on the
common. No estimate of the borrowing cost was provided. The vote
included using $100,000 of Covid relief cash for a total of $721,000.
In other business:
Voters passed a $4.7 million budget for fiscal 2023
Covered a $437,000 Center School deficit
Revised bylaws to eliminate "Selectmen" in favor of "Selectboard"
Favored a citizen petition to revise the state flag
Provided $1,800 for 6 Sunday brass band concerts and $1,000 for
Friday Market music.
A Plan to Cover $437K Budget Gap
The Advisory Finance Committee recommended steps to cover a $437,000
budget gap created when the last town meeting failed to include state
reimbursements in a vote to appropriate money for the Center School
budget.
The Committee plans to use money ordinarily set aside for property tax
abatements ($73,923) and draw down the town stabilization fund to 2.4
percent of the total budget from its customary 8 percent
level
($276,041) and also apply $87,559 from free cash to fix the problem. Selectboard chair Nancy Allen said the budget "glitch" occurred when she
neglected to include state money with the $1.2 million in the local
taxation vote that pays for the Center School budget, creating a deficit
for the school.
The committee said other effects of the mistake will be dropping a
request for a new police cruiser ($89,000) from consideration and
cutting $10,000 for preservation of town documents. The committee
also asked Selectboard for assurance that a proposed Nichewaug Inn
demolition - also delayed when bond counsel rejected the town's
borrowing due to procedural errors - will not create principal or
interest charges in fiscal year 2023 which begins in July.
Loose Dogs
Loose Cows and a Hurt Turtle
Animal Control Call Log Summary
May 2022
5/3 @9a Resident call
regarding loose dogs on the west side of town, owner contacted and dogs
secured until owner arrived
5/6 @9a PPD contact
regarding likely hit by car, deceased possum on the west side of town,
to area, animal removed from area and buried
5/9 @11a Resident call for
lost dog, new adoption, reviewed tips for safe recovery with owner, to
area to assist
5/10 @7a To area to set up
feeding station for lost dog
@5p Trap and cell transmission
camera set for lost dog
@6:45p PPD call for injured
porcupine, to area, porcupine determined to have life limiting injuries,
call Tufts Wildlife to discuss, PPD dispatched animal, ACO removed and
buried
@10p To area for lost dog to
rebait trap
5/11 @10p Lost dog safely
trapped, to area to assist owner in bringing dog to house in trap, dog
assessed and no injuries noted, owner to call vet
5/12 @1p Email and
subsequent follow up call with resident regarding ongoing issue with
barking and loose dogs in neighborhood. Caller reports dogs from two
different households have been in his yard today.
@2p Meeting with owner of one set
of the above dogs
5/14 @2p Call from North
Quabbin Animal Control regarding found dog that was picked up near
Petersham town line, photo sent. Outreach to Petersham resident and
confirmed dog was missing, dog safely returned to owner at 7p
5/22
@3p Call regarding loose cows, advised owner neighbors would be notified
with a number to call if sighted
@5p Caller reports loose dog in
the northern section of town, to area, no contact made
5/25 @7:15a Resident call
regarding two coyotes in yard that are not leaving, advice given
5/27 @9:30a Resident call
regarding dog bite that occurred while playing with owned dog, protocol
reviewed, owner to contact MD, dog eligible for 10 day home quarantine
5/29
@6:45p Dispatch call for injured turtle, advised dispatch rehab
facilities would be contacted, to area to move to rehabber
@8:30p Resident call for found
dog, caller states the dog must be picked up immediately, dog move to
shelter, owner identified, dog safely returned to owner at 9:30p
5/30 @2:45p Resident call
stating dog is not in yard and appears to have wandered off and they are
unable to locate, advice given
@3:15p Out of town motorist call
for a found dog, connected finder with owner of above, dog safely
returned home
5/31 @1p Follow up phone
conversation with owner of dog that is repeatedly out of home
unattended, action plan discussed
Nichewaug Demolition Project Update
The Capital Improvement Planning Committee April 21 approved
sending a $721,0000 Nichewaug property demolition proposal to town
meeting. The committee is the last stop to review large spending items
on the way to town meeting.
The committee took no action on a request for funds to replace
wooden rain gutters at the center school and a police department
request to purchase one or two new police cruisers and will get
more information on those items in a week. One cruiser could cost
$59,500 -- two $119,
051.
Committee member Jim Dowd asked Police Chief Peter Buck if the
department could get along without one or two new vehicles this year since the upcoming budget could force a $200,000 Proposition 2 1/2
override due to increased regional and local school appropriations. Buck
said the department could make due if necessary.
Town Treasurer Dana Robinson told the Selectboard April 13
that an error and an oversight will prevent the town from borrowing for
Nichewaug demolition until the loan is approved at our next town
meeting. He said bond counsel noticed that voters were not
informed about the Dec. 6 meeting as required by local bylaws
and the proposal was never sent to the Capital Improvement Planning
Committee - also a bylaw requirement.
Committee chair Nancy Allen said she would inform the contractor about
the problem on April 13. Robinson also said any delay could raise
borrowing costs as the Federal Reserve will be raising interest rates
again soon.
Should Petersham Take Online Payment for Taxes?
More than 300 small and large communities across
the state have easy systems to accept online payments for town fees (dog
licenses and dump permits, etc.) and for tax payments (excise and property
taxes).
Should Petersham offer this convenient service to residents? Tell us
what you think.
Send an email to
roynilson@verizon.net with a subject line "E-Payments" stating simply
Yes or No or include more thoughts.
Covid Updates from the State Dept. of Public
Health
Link to town by town data
The
Friday Market
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MORE
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party - not ever.
Monthly Foot Screening for Seniors
The Council on Aging now offers monthly “Foot Screening” for
seniors. The treatment will
be provided by Melinda Powling, owner of “Nails
to Envy”
in Orange. Treatments will include a
15-minute
foot soak, then clipping toenails (no polish). Melinda will then
inspect your feet, and let each person
know if they should consult a doctor about anything.
The Foot Screenings
will be available on the first Thursday of each month in
the lower town hall.
Each person will pay $5.00
directly to Melinda when the appointment occurs, with the
balance of $10.00 being paid by the
COA. Appointments are required. Appointments will be available
from 8:15
a.m. until 10 a.m.
Clients must bring their own towels.
Melinda will follow Petersham Board of
Health approved guidelines. For Questions or Appointments:
Contact Marilyn Fisher at: 978-724-3223.
The Memorial Library Is Open
The Petersham Memorial Library welcomes
patrons back for in-person browsing with no appointment
necessary. The library would like to thank the community for
bearing with us as staff adjusts to providing
service during this complicated time. 
Hours::
Tuesday 10-5 p.m.
Wednesday 2-7 p.m.
The library requires everyone over the age of two to
properly wear masks or face coverings in the building at all
times in order to help ensure the health and
safety of our
patrons, community, and staff. Without vaccine coverage for
our youngest patrons, a large indoor footprint for people to
really spread out, or an HVAC system, masking remains a
useful and important health and safety tool at the library.
The staff looks forward to continuing to safely serve the Petersham community.
LOCAL CHARITIES
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