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Electrifying car show addresses buzz around EVs

September 25, 2022 by pkzadmin

LOWELL — While standing next to her fully-electric vehicle, a 2022 Tesla Model Y Long Range, Tyngsboro resident Margie Lynch-Freshner proudly announces she has been internal-combustion-engine free, or “ICE free,” as she put it, for almost two years.

Lynch-Freshner explains she and her husband have owned or leased at least one electric vehicle, or EV, for more than two decades. However, almost two years ago, they scrapped their last gas-powered vehicle and have relied solely on electric ever since.

When asked if she would ever consider turning in her EV and going back to buying gas powered in the future, Lynch-Freshner provides a definitive response.

“Not if I can help it,” she said. “Electric vehicles are a much nicer drive.”

Lynch-Freshner was one of the approximately 30 EV owners that showed up with their electric rides for the Lowell Drives Electric car show held in the parking lot of Heritage Farm Ice Cream and Restaurant on Saturday afternoon.

The event was part of National Drive Electric Week, scheduled until Oct. 2. With EVs becoming an increasingly popular and hotly-debated topic, the week was organized with the goal to raise awareness of the benefits of all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

During Saturday’s event, local EV owners talked about their vehicles, answered questions, and a few even gave rides, including Thomas Christian, of Nashua, N.H. Christian was happy to show off his 2023 Genesis GV60 Performance, glowing with a vibrant yellow paintjob, which one car show attendee described as “tennis ball yellow.”

“A lot of people I found who are on the fence (about buying EVs) are concerned about the cost,” Christian said while giving a test drive down Pawtucket Boulevard. “This is a $70,000 sticker price. … I consider that still to be reasonable for me, because I’m an enthusiast. I enjoy it not just as a vehicle, but as a toy.”

Mike and Sarah Rushton, of Lowell, along with their 4-year-old daughter, Emma, brought their 2019 Chevy Bolt — among the more affordable EV options — to Saturday’s car show. As they sat next to the vehicle eating ice cream, Mike Rushton explained his decision to go electric stemmed from being “a geek” who is interested in technology.

“Then getting away from gas, oil changes and all the rest of it made sense for me,” he added.

Mike Rushton pointed out the positives of EVs, including less maintenance demands and that they have fewer parts that lead to damage. And, of course, proponents of EVs tout them as the environmentally-friendly option compared to gas-powered vehicles, which spout toxic pollutants.

But, as for the EV naysayers, a common topic of discussion is range anxiety, which is the fear that the EV won’t have a sufficient charge to get from point A to point B.

Charging stations are becoming more common nationwide and there are apps, like PlugShare and ChargeHub, that will map out where charging stations are located. Despite these advancements, range anxiety continues to be one of the main roadblocks for those on the fence about switching to electric.

The recent passage of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act offers a potential solution to that concern. The bill puts $7.5 billion toward building out a network of 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations nationwide. Of that, $5 billion will go toward the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, which calls for states to focus on building public charging stations at least every 50 miles along interstate highways and within one mile of federally designated alternative fuel corridors.

Last week, the Federal Highway Administration announced it had approved the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s EV Infrastructure Deployment Plan, which was developed as part of the NEVI program. Massachusetts will receive funding over five years, including approximately $9.4 million for federal fiscal year 2022 to support the construction and operation of direct-current fast-charging stations along EV alternative fuel corridors.

On hand in Lowell on Saturday was James Penfold, the director of eMobility Solutions at Revision Energy, a company that specializes in installing public charging stations.

Penfold said when looking into locations to construct charging stations, one of the goals is to have them situated in areas that offer amenities that will give people something to do while they wait for their vehicle to charge.

“If you have to plan a trip, you might combine a stop with a place like this where you say, ‘Let’s grab some ice cream while we’re charging,’” Penfold said, referencing the host of Saturday’s car show.

When asked if EVs are the future, like Lynch-Freshner, Penfold provided a definitive answer of his own.

“100%,” he said. “The horse has left the barn.”

For more information about National Drive Electric Week, including where other events are scheduled to take place over the next several days, visit driveelectricweek.org.

Follow Aaron Curtis on Twitter @aselahcurtis

Murder Mystery cystic fibrosis fundraiser set for Oct. 1

September 25, 2022 by pkzadmin

FITCHBURG — Murder is the name of the game, but instead of mayhem it’s all in the name of good clean fun in honor of an 11-year-old New Hampshire boy who has been battling cystic fibrosis since he was born.

J.J.’s Helping Hands Network founder Cheryl Cucchiara is organizing a Murder Mystery Dinner & Show on Saturday, Oct. 1 at the British American Club through her nonprofit, with all proceeds benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in her nephew Lionel West II’s name.

Lionel West II, the nephew of Fitchburg resident Cheryl Cucchiara, who is organizing a Murder Mystery Dinner & Show on Oct. 1 at the British American Club through her nonprofit J.J.'s Helping Hands Network. All proceeds will benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the disease the now 11-year-old has dealt with since birth. (COURTESY CHERYL CUCCHIARA) — Lionel West II, the nephew of Fitchburg resident Cheryl Cucchiara, who is organizing a Murder Mystery Dinner & Show on Oct. 1 at the British American Club through her nonprofit J.J.’s Helping Hands Network. All proceeds will benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the disease the now 11-year-old has dealt with since birth. (COURTESY CHERYL CUCCHIARA)

“The campaign hits home for my family,” the longtime city resident said of her personal connection to the important cause. “He has gone through so terribly much in his 11 young years.”

Cystic fibrosis, or CF, is a progressive genetic condition that affects a protein in the body. People who have cystic fibrosis have a faulty protein that affects the body’s cells, tissues, and the glands that make mucus and sweat, which causes these fluids to become thick and sticky. They then plug up tubes, ducts, and passageways, which in turn can cause severe damage to the lungs, digestive system, and other organs.

Upon waking up each morning, Lionel “has to be fitted with an inflatable therapy vest that uses high-frequency airwaves to force the mucus that’s deep in his tiny little lungs to come up towards his upper airways so he can cough it up,” Cucchiara said. “This is a ritual he endures each morning and evening, never mind the many hospital stays he has had over the years and the feeding tube to help get nourishment into his tiny body.”

She said it’s important to her to be an advocate and bring more awareness to CF.

“We are planning this event in order to help with more research involving cures, treatments, and to extend longer life expectancy for children like my nephew,” she said.

The fundraiser will feature a spaghetti dinner with meatballs, salad, bread and butter, and dessert after the doors open at 5 p.m. There will be raffles including a 50/50, a Chinese auction, and the Boston Murder Mystery Company show will start promptly at 7 p.m.

The occasion is part of J.J.’s Helping Hands’ long history of community outreach, the nonprofit dedicated to helping those less fortunate that Cucchiara founded four years ago in memory of her son Jesse Jarvis, who passed away on Mother’s Day in 2018.

“Feel free to vent if you are missing a loved one on J.J.’s Helping Hands Network as we know what you are going through, or if you’d like to share your experience and how you handled your grief or even yet volunteer to help with our mission,” she said. “It’s a safe place to be who you are, voice your frustrations, and give and receive support.”

Over the years J.J.’s has held diaper drives for young mothers, food and clothing collections, comedy shows and dinners, among many other events.

“We’ve worked with Coats for Kids alongside with the Knights and recently the Teddies & Blankets Campaign for Needy Children, and what a campaign it was, it was terrifically huge,” Cucchiara said, with their latest efforts the Murder Mystery Dinner & Show event.

Fitchburg resident Sheila Tines has been tapped as the spokesperson for the Oct. 1 Murder Mystery Dinner & Show at the British American Club, a fundraiser to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the disease she lives with. (COURTESY SHEILA TINES)

Cucchiara said they are “very excited” to have signed on Sheila Tines as their CF spokesperson for the Murder Mystery fundraiser, a fellow Fitchburg resident who lives with CF firsthand.

“Unfortunately, she will not be able to attend as planned but we are working on doing a Zoom interview from her hospital bed,” Cucchiara said of Tines. “She will talk about what most patients endure through their life such as ‘cleaning out’ every six months and will explain much more about cystic fibrosis and answer any questions people may have.”

Tines, whom Cucchiara calls “an inspiration to many of those suffering from this horrible disease,” occasionally speaks about her own experience with CF at various events. At the age of 54, Tines is way over the life expectancy for a person with CF.

“I’m happy to be one of the more mature patients raising that bar every day,” Tines said from her bed at Massachusetts General Hospital, adding that life expectancy for CF is now up to 44. “It means I’m doing something right!”

She said that while she was slated to speak in person at the Oct. 1 fundraising event, she “had to improvise to make my appearance virtual.”

“Life with CF can change rather quickly, which is evident by my hospital admission, which sadly, will have me here during the event,” Tines shared.

She said she can relate to Lionel’s experience as a person constantly dealing with CF.

“I have been sick my whole life and I lived a rather unconventional childhood by being homeschooled by a private tutor up until seventh grade simply because I was too sick or too compromised to be around other kids,” Tines recalled. “In the lungs, which is my main area of manifestation, the mucus clogs the airways and traps germs, like bacteria, leading to infections, inflammation, respiratory failure, and other complications. For this reason, avoiding germs is a top concern for people with CF, hence the unconventional childhood.”

Although there is no cure for cystic fibrosis, a range of treatments can help control the symptoms, prevent or reduce complications, and make the condition easier to live with, therefore improving quality of life. Regular doctor appointments to monitor the condition are needed and a care plan is set up based on the person’s needs.

“As a person ages with CF, the condition progresses so it is important to remain disciplined in our daily meds and treatments which includes nebulized meds, pills, airway clearance, physical activity and exercise, rest and being cautious of who we are around, always,” Tines said. “It is a full-time job with no holidays or vacation. It is a difficult life to live, and even though many of the people you meet with cystic fibrosis will make it look easy trust me, it is not.”

Despite her personal battle with the disease, Tines has managed to stay positive in the face of immense difficulties and struggles.

“I am proud to still be fighting the CF fight at my age, every birthday is a trophy or another stripe on my uniform,” she said. “It shows my strength, my courage and my determination to beat this as long as I can.”

Tickets for the Murder Mystery Dinner & Show are $30 per person and can be purchased at the British American Club, 1 Simonds Rd. Fitchburg any time after noon or by calling Cheryl Cucchiara at 978-855-1712.

For more information including volunteering email jjshelpinghands@yahoo.com. To donate, make checks out to Cheryl Cucchiara and mail to 16 Clearview Ave., Fitchburg, Mass., 01420.

Sentinel & Enterprise Correspondent Cheryl A. Cuddahy contributed to this report.

Local musical couple to perform fresh and refined folk music for modern times

September 25, 2022 by pkzadmin

LUNENBURG — Little by little, you will get to know Mark Mandeville and Raianne Richards through their unmistakable vocal harmonies, poetic lyrics, and down-to-earth personae at the Lunenburg Public Library’s Fall Music Concert Series at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5, at the library, 1023 Massachusetts Ave.

Artists Mandeville and Richards are a married musical couple based out of Webster, whose hard work has contributed in over seventeen albums and toured consistently throughout the United States and Canada.

Their songs poetically reflect personal experiences as factory workers, teachers, community organizers, and natives of post-industrial mill towns in central Massachusetts.

Accompanying themselves on guitar, harmonica, ukulele, penny whistle, electric bass, and most uniquely clarinet, their live performances are both musically captivating and spiritually uplifting as audiences are carefully balanced between serious songs and humorous commentary.

“After experiencing the last two years, with limited live performance opportunities, we are grateful to be invited by folks like library director Lydia Gravell to perform a concert in their town,” said Mandeville. “Our audiences appreciate the way in which we present our music and stories, and from our side of the stage, that is much easier to accomplish in person.

The duo has also organized the Massachusetts Walking Tour where folk musicians play and travel on foot for two weeks along such trails as the Appalachian Trail. Midstate Trail, New England National Scenic Trail, Bay Circuit Trail, The SNETT, Wachusett Greenways, Southcoast Bikeway, the Cape Cod Rail Trail, and many more.

Each summer since 2010, the couple has organized the Massachusetts Walking Tour, where they hike the roads and trails of the Commonwealth, more than 100 miles in less than two weeks, in support of the arts in local communities along the way.

Each evening they stop over in yet another Massachusetts town, putting on a free concert there, along with local performers and fellow artists who accompany us on our journey.”

These annual two-week treks raise awareness of the trails and greenways in Massachusetts, including daily public hikes through recreational properties.

“Our first year was all road walking, so by our second year, we had decided to use the Midstate Trail and immediately found that we had a natural partnership,” said Richards. “The volunteers of the trail were thrilled to have additional recognition in the press, with a front-page article in the county newspaper talking about us using their trail.”

It was the first time, Richards says, the trail had received any press at all, with volunteers eager to support the couple with rides, snacks and cold drinks.

“From that point on we knew that our hikes would be much more pleasant using trail systems and that the people who keep the trails open and passable deserved to have a pat on the back every now and then which we could do personally and also at our local performances,” she said. “Supporting the local musicians in each town developed over time as we realized that our state is loaded with great talent who rarely get to share their music in their own community – especially in a seated, listening environment. We hope that sharing our event format can provide an opportunity for the folks trying to organize community events to see that it can be done and offer them some local connections to make it easier and hopefully when we leave they will keep having concerts.”

The Massachusetts Walking Tour has partnered with The National Parks Service, Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC), Freedom’s Way, the state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and the Trustees, with primary funding through grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council Program.

“Human connection, especially through the arts (i.e. visual art, poetry, music), can help us better frame our perspectives, open our minds to new ideas, balance out the glut so ever present on television and social media,” Mandeville said.

For more information on this library concert, or to register, which is required, call the Lunenburg Public Library at 978-582-4140 or visit lunenburglibrary.org. For more information on Mark Mandeville & Raianne Richards, you are welcome to visit their website markandraianne.com.

Shirley’s oldest citizen, World War II veteran, presented with Boston Post Cane

September 25, 2022 by pkzadmin

SHIRLEY — Continuing a New England tradition that dates back more than a century, the Boston Post Cane was recently presented to the town’s oldest resident, John Casey, who turns 101 in December.

Select Board Chair Bryan Sawyer presented the cane during an informal ceremony at the Casey home, attended by family members, neighborhood friends and town officials.

According to his stepson, Edmund Huntley, John Vincent Casey, known as Jack, was moved by the honor and “very excited” about the event at his home. “It really meant a lot to him,” he said.

Recalling family history, Huntley described his stepfather as a man with an eventful past, including three years in the Army and a successful civilian career.

Photo albums and documents the family leafed through recently turned up some interesting information.

A World War II veteran who served stateside during the war, Casey achieved the rank of first lieutenant. A knee injury, however, cut his military career short.

Casey grew up in Windham, Montana, where his father ran the state mental institution and the family lived in a house on its grounds. He enjoyed exploring the countryside and often revisited the area over the years.

Casey’s civilian resume included a top position at United Airlines, where he was in charge of over 300 flight attendants. He worked there for 20 years, moving across the country as he was promoted.

He later worked at Hanscom Field Air Force Base.

Casey continued to be interested in military matters and often visited the former Fort Devens.

Before moving to Shirley more than 20 years ago, John and Nancy Casey lived in Littleton.

The couple will celebrate their 41st wedding anniversary in October.

An avid gardener and animal lover, Casey took pride in tending to his property and kept a lush green lawn that, at 98, he still mowed himself, only recently turning those duties over to a landscaper.

Launched in 1909 as a publicity push by the Boston Post newspaper to boost its circulation, the newspaper owner, Edwin Grozier, had 700 canes manufactured — black ivory with 24-carat, rolled gold heads — to distribute to select boards in New England’s largest towns at the time.

The canes were to be presented to “the oldest living man” in each town. That criterion was amended after 1930 to include women, a decade after women won the right to vote.

Of those that received the canes, many communities later had copies made up to hand out, with the ornate originals stored for safekeeping or placed on display. The cane is meant to be passed on, from one recipient to the next.

Some communities have continued the tradition, others let it lapse. The town of Ayer, for example, had discontinued the Boston Post Cane ceremony but reinstated it last year.

Cases of lost and found Boston Post canes have been reported, notably in Dracut and Burlington, according to a Boston Post Cane website that tracks such matters — or did — the last entry was in 2016.

The cane’s namesake newspaper, The Boston Post, which was founded in 1831 and claimed a circulation of over a million readers in the 1930s, folded in 1956.

Sunday Notebook: As a cold wind blows, prepare for this winter’s heating bills to hurt

September 25, 2022 by pkzadmin

Snap poll: when you woke up Friday to find a crisp morning with the temp hovering somewhere south of 50 degrees, did you fire up the heat?

Some of our hardier readers probably scoffed at the question — it’s not even October, and this is New England, where a higher tolerance for cold weather is a badge of pride. Just put on a sweater, they might say. And as the calendar flips forward, that resistance might be more potent than in years past.

Many Bay State families will face significant strain to keep their homes warm this winter amid projections that energy bills will soar, the latest blow in months of relentless inflation. Utility giant National Grid attributed the looming challenges to spiking natural gas prices amid “global conflict, inflation and high demand.”

Massachusetts officials did not roll out the same kind of sugar-coat spin they often use. “At best,” Baker administration Undersecretary of Energy and Climate Solutions Judy Chang said, it will be “a very high-cost energy winter.” Attorney General Maura Healey’s press secretary cautioned the rate hike will be “devastating for hundreds of thousands of customers in Massachusetts who simply cannot afford it.”

The example National Grid provided for a basic service customer forecasts a $114 increase in a monthly electric bill. If that holds true, only a couple of months of chilly temperatures at the higher energy rates will effectively wipe out any one-time relief Bay State taxpayers can expect from state government.

Lawmakers approved but never finalized rebates of $250 for single middle-income earners and $500 for married middle-income earners, a plan legislative leaders pitched at the time as a more targeted way to address inflation and prices at the pump than suspending the state’s gas tax. The Baker administration predicts tax refunds under Chapter 62F will cover about 13 percent of what a taxpayer paid the state last year; the average middle-quintile earner in 2019 owed $1,642 in state income taxes, which would translate to a check of about $213, though the final amount will vary based on other credits.

Top Democrats either tacitly or explicitly signaled they are mostly on board with the plan Gov. Charlie Baker rolled out a week ago to return nearly $3 billion to taxpayers using checks and direct deposits this fall. It seems less and less likely they have the appetite to intervene and change the proportional formula that will direct most of the money to higher earners who paid most of the taxes.

While House budget chief state Rep. Aaron Michlewitz called complaints that millionaires who probably do not need the money will get tens of thousands of dollars “a legitimate gripe,” he made clear House Democrats are not currently planning to change the voter-approved law “midstream.” That’s a conversation for the future, he said, maybe next session.

Even though the final amount of money due back to taxpayers ($2.941 billion) is within a single percentage point of the Baker administration’s estimate from late July ($2.965 billion), Michlewitz maintained this week that he and fellow lead negotiator state Sen. Michael Rodrigues still need more time to figure out if the state has enough money to cover both the mandatory relief and the roughly $4 billion economic development and tax relief bill the branches approved this summer and then shelved.

His uncertainty extends to the aforementioned one-time relief checks.

“We’re still looking at all of that. Everything is still on the table,” Michlewitz said, nearly two months after Baker made public the impending impact of 62F. “The challenge that we faced was with 62F being triggered and those rebates going out, we do have to reanalyze what we can and can’t afford. That’s currently what we’re working on right now.”

In the meantime, the House has signaled it’s closer to a conclusion on allowing a new local tax to take effect.

The chamber quietly gave initial approval to a home rule petition from Boston that would authorize the city to impose a charge of up to 2 percent on real estate transactions worth more than $2 million, designed to generate revenue — up to $100 million, in Mayor Michelle Wu’s estimation — for affordable housing.

It’s not clear how far the measure will make it during the informal sessions, where a single lawmaker’s objection can stall a bill, on tap for the remainder of the term.

Lawmakers also need to wrangle during informal sessions with Baker’s proposed changes to a road safety bill, which emerged as the most significant item of business so far during an otherwise quiet, vacation-filled stretch for the Legislature.

The Republican governor sent back a wide-ranging bill seeking to pare down the minimum “safe passing distance” requirement to a more consistent and less confusing measurement, and he also warned that allowing municipalities to set a 25 miles per hour speed limit on state roads in densely populated areas could imperil federal funds for road and bridge construction.

There might not be a Massachusetts bridge construction project more high-profile than the planned replacement of the Bourne and Sagamore Bridges — well, unless you’re former Republican congressional candidate Rick Green, who in 2018 swam across the Merrimack River in a campaign ad highlighting the nightmarish traffic on Lowell’s Rourke Bridge — but that effort is not off to a flying start.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers struck out on the first of several applications for federal grants to help foot the bill for demolishing the pair of 87-year-old bridges and building new spans connecting Cape Cod to the rest of Massachusetts.

We wish we could say exactly how much of a blow that represents, but both the Army Corps and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation are staying tight-lipped about exactly how much funding their unsuccessful bid for an INFRA grant sought.

The federal government only awarded $1.5 billion in this round, with the largest grant totaling $150 million, so maybe it wouldn’t have made that much of a difference to a Cape Cod bridges project that could spiral to as much as $4 billion in costs.

There are other grant program options still in play for the federally-owned bridges, so it could wind up being nothing more than an early hurdle, but the Cape residents and millions of tourists who cross the canal every year will need to continue their wait for a funding plan.

Off the coast of the cape, fallout continues from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s move to fly immigrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard using taxpayer dollars. DeSantis now faces a class action lawsuit filed in federal court in Massachusetts on behalf of the immigrants, who allege they were subject to a “ruse to exploit them for political purposes.”

One matter that will not get decided in federal court is the case of Newton District Court Judge Shelley Joseph, who was indicted more than three years ago on allegations that she helped an undocumented immigrant facing drug possession charges evade an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer seeking to detain him at the courthouse.

Joseph and U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island Zachary Cunha struck an agreement that will drop the federal charges and instead shift her case to a state judicial disciplinary review.

It’s a sign of the changing times: a Trump-appointed prosecutor filed the indictment against Joseph, and now a Biden-appointed prosecutor dropped the charges.

STORY OF THE WEEK: The checks flowing back to taxpayers this fall might not make much of a difference if projections about exploding energy prices hold true.

SONG OF THE WEEK: They may not span troubled water, but an early grant application failure poses a headache for officials planning to replace the Bourne and Sagamore Bridges. (Thanks to our friends at Bloomberg Baystate Business for the inspiration.)

Friends of the Thayer Memorial Library to host Annual Book Sale

September 25, 2022 by pkzadmin

LANCASTER — The Friends of the Thayer Memorial Library are excited to host their Annual Book Sale beginning Friday, Sept. 30 through Sunday, Oct. 2 and Columbus Day weekend, Saturday, Oct. 8 and Sunday, Oct. 9, at the Old Lancaster Town Hall, 695 Main St. Friday hours are 3 until 7 p.m.; Saturday hours are 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., and Sunday hours are noon until 4 p/m.

‘Fill a bag’ is being offered throughout the event. All proceeds benefit books, programs, and events at the library.

This event is held annually the first and second weekend in October in conjunction with the Horseshed Fair.

Friends’ members receive $5 off per bag the first weekend so if you are not already a member, you may become one at the sale.

Over 600 boxes of books, DVDs and CDs will be available and sorted into categories, provided by the volunteers from the Friends of the Thayer Memorial Library.

The Friends of the Thayer Memorial Library is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization. They exist to stimulate the interest of the community in the services and needs of the Thayer Memorial Library, to enrich the cultural life of the community and to promote a program of assistance through volunteer help and fundraising that will enable the Thayer Memorial Library to keep pace with the growth of the Town of Lancaster.

If interested in volunteering, or to donate, email friendsofTML@gmail.com.

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