News

Crocker Field restoration part of Mayor Stephen DiNatale’s ARPA plans

February 8, 2023 by pkzadmin

FITCHBURG — A potential boost to restoration efforts for Crocker Field is included in the plan for the second half of the city’s American Rescue Plan Act appropriation from Fitchburg Mayor Stephen DiNatale.

The plan was referred to the Fitchburg City Council for approval and contains three major spending requests: $8 million for water and sewer infrastructure; $5.5 million to support the renovation of the Fitchburg Public Library (total cost estimated at $40 million) and $2 million to support ongoing efforts at field turf replacement, lighting and track improvements at Crocker Field. The proposal was referred to the Finance Committee for vetting and recommendation to the Council.

The water and sewer infrastructure programs will occur on Boulder Drive and Main Street and are entirely funded using ARPA monies.

The remaining two projects will benefit not only from ARPA funding, but from other funding streams. Funds from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners grant, city bond efforts and fundraising will be used toward the library project. The Crocker Field project will be assisted with grants and fundraising and some of those efforts were detailed at the Fitchburg School Committee meeting held on Monday evening.

Thomas Lamey, treasurer for the Crocker Field Restoration Committee, spoke prior to the School Committee’s acceptance of a $250,000 of a grant from the National Football League Foundation Grassroots Program. The funding will be used towards the installation of a new artificial turf surface at Crocker Field.

Lamey, a former Fitchburg Superintendent of Schools, joked that it had been many years since he attended a Fitchburg School Committee meeting. He remarked at the beauty of the current meeting space in the recently renovated Municipal Building and commended the city on the investment of money into rehabbing the building. He stated, “Facilities do make a difference.”

It was an appropriate segue into the work that the Crocker Field Restoration Committee has undertaken for many years.

Information presented in a slide show by Lamey showed that the work of the committee is aligned within the City of Fitchburg and Fitchburg Public Schools with the goal of completing restoration efforts. The ultimate goal of the nonprofit is to enhance equitable access to Crocker Field for all Fitchburg Public Schools, the city’s youth leagues and the community at large.

Lamey noted this work is being done so as to center Crocker Field as the hub of an ongoing urban renewal effort of Fitchburg’s Upper Common neighborhood.

Restoration efforts will ensure that both the history of this important city landmark and its future will be secured. According to information from the group’s website, legend has it that Charlotte Crocker asked her husband and Fitchburg industrialist Alvah, to build a field where their son and other children could play safely.

That simple request planted the seed that would become Crocker Field. Planning and design began in 1917. In a letter to the City of Fitchburg dated Jan. 1, 1917 Crocker wrote: “In my opinion the public schools of the city require an adequate field in which the different out-of-door sports and contests, which count so much in the physical and moral development of our boys, can be held.”

Alvah Crocker hired the Olmsted Brothers Landscaping and Design Firm of Brookline, to design the park. The Olmsted Brothers were the sons of Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed Central Park in New York, the Emerald Necklace in Boston and the landscape for the great Chicago World’s Fair in 1893.

In May of 1925, the Cincinnati Reds played a benefit game to raise funds for a memorial to their manager West Fitchburg’s Pat Moran. In July, Paavo Nurmi, who participated in 1920, 1924, and later 1928 Summer Olympics winning nine Gold Medals and three Silver Medals, performed at Crocker Field.

While touring Crocker Field, baseball legend, Babe Ruth asked Athletic Director Clarence Amiott, “What professional team plays here?” to which Mr. Amiott replied, “The Fitchburg High School teams.” The field has been the site of many of the Fitchburg-Leominster Thanksgiving Day football classics.

While preserving the history of the city and honoring investments of the past were part of the impetus to restoring the field, Lamey noted that Crocker Field is an important part of the City’s overall efforts towards redevelopment and that the field was integral to solidifying its place as an economic and cultural hub for the City.

DiNatale agreed, indicating that this is why his ARPA committee viewed this project favorably for public funding, noting that Crocker Field is an important link in the chain of Main Street redevelopment.

Firefighters and police officers get promotions

Among other Council business, the following promotions and appointments were recognized: Permanent full time Firefighters for the city Ryan M. Preville, Patrick Swenson and Seth Viles; Firefighter John Girouard to Provisional Lieutenant; Lieutenant Jude Lambert to provisional captain; Captain Anthony Castelli to provisional deputy and Permanent Deputy Dante Suarez to acting as provisional fire chief.

Special Police Officers for the City who were appointed and sworn in are: Sgt. Michael Turner and Officer Elijah Weiss. Turner and Weiss work for Fitchburg State University, but under an agreement with the city, are appointed special police officers. This affords the city the opportunity to call upon these police officers in assisting the city with policing efforts in and around the college.

Reingold Elementary students plow ahead

February 8, 2023 by pkzadmin

FITCHBURG — The students in Ashley Tonelli’s class at Reingold Elementary School are enjoying the snow and watching the snow plows a little more lately.

Miss Tonelli’s first grade learning perspective program students recently were chosen as winners of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s “Name a SnowPlow Contest.”

Reingold’s winning statewide entry to name a snow plow was, “Plower Ranger.”

“Miss Tonelli is always looking for creative ways to engage her students in their learning,” said Reingold Principal Justin Sparks. “The students had a great time with this project and were thrilled to see the name they chose as one of the winners.”

“We’ve partnered with MassDOT here at Reingold for years through ‘The Safe Routes To School Program.’ As we continually look for ways to improve safety at our school, they’ve funded a grant to enhance sidewalks, taught pedestrian safety classes, conducted a bike rodeo, and supported monthly walk, bike and roll to school events. We’ve also submitted a grant to install solar speed signs at both the entrance and exit to our school. In 2022 our school became a ‘Gold Level Partner’ and the previous year we won the ‘Resilience and Adaptability Award.’”

MassDOT is planning to have site visits to the 12 winning classrooms with the snowplows in the following few weeks. The $100 gift card for school supplies will be given to the classroom during the visit.

“We are excited about the results of our first-ever contest to partner with school students across Massachusetts to name several of our snowplows,” said Transportation Secretary and CEO Gina Fiandaca in a prepared press release. “In addition to recognizing the schools that submitted winning names, this contest also strengthens the connection MassDOT has with communities across the Commonwealth.”

During the visit to Reingold, MassDOT will unveil the “Plower Ranger” snowplow with a specially designed logo on the door that features the font and lightning bolt logo from the television show, “Power Rangers.” Under the logo will be the words, “Reingold Elementary School, Fitchburg.”

“I’m thrilled for Reingold students to be recognized for their creativity,” said Fitchburg Public Schools Superintendent Robert Jokela.

Following first-place Reingold in the K-4th grade division was “Arctic Beast” by JFK Elementary School in Canton (2nd place), and third place “Luke Snowalker” from Munger Hill School in Westfield.

Tonelli said she saw this contest on Facebook and she and her paraprofessional, Christina Stanford, came up with some names that they thought their class would enjoy.

“We had a class vote with three name choices and Plower Ranger won,” Tonelli said. “Our runner up was Plow Patrol. Everyone was really excited about the name since Power Rangers is becoming popular again. It was such a fun snow day surprise to get an email from MassDot saying our name was selected.

“When we came back to school, I shared the news with my students. We played the video from the news for the students to see that our class won and they were so excited. They can’t wait for MassDOT to come visit with the plow truck.”

State lawmaker looking to strip MBTA of commuter rail, ferry operations

February 7, 2023 by pkzadmin

State Rep. William Straus filed two bills that would remove commuter rail and ferry operations from the MBTA, and leave it solely responsible for running the region’s bus and subway systems.

If the legislation is approved, commuter rail operations, except for the Fairmount Line which would remain a part of the MBTA, would transfer to the rail and transit division of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

The ferry would be overseen by a new regional port authority, a political subdivision of the commonwealth created for the purpose of providing water transportation services, similar to regional transit authorities, the legislation states.

“My goal is to have a smaller T, which is then allowed to focus on its core mission,” said Straus, House chair of the Joint Committee on Transportation. “So, it would be buses and subway in the immediate Boston metro area, and that core mission is to safely get people back and forth throughout the day.

“A more targeted, less-broad-missioned T, I think, benefits everybody in the state on a number of different levels.”

Aside from Philadelphia, he said, “almost everywhere else” in the United States views its commuter rail differently from its closed-in metropolitan-area subway system, and has distinct oversight and governance for both.

“Whatever the circumstances that got us to the MBTA being in charge of both, it doesn’t work anymore,” Straus said, asserting that the governor’s office is already more involved with commuter rail operations than the T.

According to Straus, the MassDOT secretary of transportation made the decision to hire Keolis Commuter Services as the MBTA’s commuter rail operator, despite that decision technically being made within the T, by the general manager.

Commuter rail also moves people differently from the subway, its capital infrastructure needs are different, and the two systems answer to separate federal agencies for safety oversight, which are the Federal Railroad Administration and Federal Transit Administration, respectively, he said.

In addition, Straus said he doesn’t want to see capital needs for the subway system “in direct competition” with commuter rail, particularly with electrification of its diesel-powered fleet looming.

Similarly, he said safety oversight of the ferry is handled by the U.S. Coast Guard, and direct operation of three ferry routes in Boston Harbor is contracted out to a private company.

Ultimately, Straus is aiming for an MBTA that also delegates much of its major capital work, similar to what he said was done with South Coast Rail and the Green Line Extension.

A statutory change would not be necessary, and Straus sees a potential solution in the new high performance unit created by former MassDOT Secretary Jamey Tesler. Major capital projects could be run out of that secretariat, he said.

Lawmakers propose different safety watchdogs for MBTA

February 7, 2023 by pkzadmin

Two Massachusetts lawmakers disagree on which agency should assume safety oversight of the MBTA, but they agree on one thing: The T’s watchdog should no longer be the Department of Public Utilities.

“I think the DPU has forfeited the opportunity to continue on the job,” said state Sen. Michael Barrett. “I don’t blame the agency too much. Their climate responsibilities have grown enormously.

“One of the results is that they have lost sight of the tacked-on responsibilities the Legislature has given them over the years.”

Barrett is one of two lawmakers who filed legislation that would remove safety oversight of the MBTA from the Department of Public Utilities.

If approved, the bill would establish a “commission on transportation safety oversight and regulation,” an independent public entity not subject to the supervision or control of any other executive office of the commonwealth.

“The feds tell us they do not want oversight in the hands of an agency directly responsible to the same governor who directs mass transit itself,” Barrett said. “So we’re trying to create some separation.”

The DPU’s lack of independence from the governor’s office was one of the areas the Federal Transit Administration ordered it to address, following a months-long investigation of the MBTA and its state safety oversight authority last year.

The feds also honed in on the DPU’s staffing shortages, and legislative oversight hearings of the agency, chaired by Barrett via the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy, focused on staff and leadership’s lack of transit safety experience.

Barrett said current DPU transportation oversight division staff and future hires would move over to the new commission, which would be a “truly independent watchdog” over the MBTA.

State Rep. William Straus, House Chair of the Joint Committee on Transportation, filed a bill that would create a working group dedicated to establishing a framework for moving safety oversight to the Office of the Inspector General.

This office is an independent agency that prevents and detects fraud, waste and abuse of public funds and public property, and promotes transparency and efficiency in government, according to the state website.

“I’m more than open to any other ideas,” Straus said. “If there’s another way to provide independence for a safety oversight entity that has sufficient staff and resources, that would suit me just as well.”

Barrett said moving oversight to the inspector general’s office is “probably not the best approach,” because it would recreate an existing problem.

“You’ve got a transportation function that distracts the DPU from its primary mission of climate and energy,” Barrett said. “If you move things over to the inspector general, you would create a new situation in which you distract that office from its primary mission: to ferret out waste, fraud and abuse.”

A DPU spokesperson declined comment.

Marty Walsh to head NHL Players Association: source

February 7, 2023 by pkzadmin

U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, the former mayor of Boston, appears set to be on his way out of the Biden administration and into a new role heading the National Hockey League players union, a source confirmed.

The NHL Players Association was rumored to be zeroing in on Walsh last week, and now it’s a done deal, as first reported by the hockey blog Daily Faceoff and confirmed to the Herald by a source familiar with the negotiations.

Walsh, a longtime union leader from Dorchester, served two terms as mayor of Boston, first elected in 2014. He left in 2021 to become his friend President Biden’s head of the Department of Labor, 14th in the line of presidential succession.

A move to the NHLPA, succeeding Donald Fehr in that role, would likely come with an extremely sizable pay bump from the $203,100-a-year chunk he was breaking off from the federal government, which is actually right around what he’d been making as mayor of Boston when he departed.

Walsh is a big Boston sports fan. Indeed, part of his personal story crosses with the Bruins — in his discussions about getting sober, he cites an instance in 1995 of getting thrown out of a B’s game in the old Boston Garden as part of a weekend bender in which he says he hit rock bottom.

The then-Laborers 223 union official from Dorchester has been sober ever since. He won election to a Dorchester-centric state rep seat two years later and continued his political ascendance from there.

In 2013, by that point head of the Boston Building Trades and still a state representative, Walsh won election as mayor of Boston. He’d be re-elected in 2017, and remained popular through the pandemic and up until he left.

Walsh’s tenure as Labor secretary largely has avoided any trips to the penalty box; he mainly served as a cheerleader for the president’s economic agenda and he helped resolve several significant labor issues, including impending rail strikes and a looming Major League Baseball lockout — getting his feet wet in the pro-sports labor scene. Otherwise, he mainly made the news in low-impact bright stories whenever people from other parts of the country were amused by his thick Boston accent or when he invoked Southie treasure Doughboy Donuts & Deli in his easygoing confirmation hearing.

His seven-plus years leading Boston did feature a few kerfuffles, most notably two federal investigations into allegations that City Hall had been involved in strong-arm tactics to force events to use union labor.

He continues to split time between Boston and Washington, D.C., and has been known to continue to make calls about local issues in the Hub even since he departed City Hall.

This comes after Walsh’s friend former Gov. Charlie Baker took a seat helming the NCAA.

Lindsay Clancy’s husband cried: ‘SHE KILLED THE KIDS’

February 7, 2023 by pkzadmin

The Duxbury mom accused of strangling her three children with exercise bands told her panicked husband the kids were in the basement where he “begged them to breathe” after discovering their bodies, a prosecutor said.

PLYMOUTH, MA - February 7, 2023: Assistant D.A. Jennifer Sprague addresses the court during Lindsay Clancy's arraignment in the killing of her three children. (Staff Photo By Chris Christo/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald) — PLYMOUTH, MA – February 7, 2023: Assistant D.A. Jennifer Sprague addresses the court during Lindsay Clancy’s arraignment in the killing of her three children. (Staff Photo By Chris Christo/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)

“She killed the kids,” husband Patrick Clancy cried out to first responders the evening of Jan. 24, Plymouth Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague added Tuesday.

The prosecutor asked that the mom, Lindsay Clancy, be held without bail — adding that soon after the 32-year-old woke up at the hospital she wrote on a whiteboard: “Do I need an attorney?”

Sprague also said Lindsay Clancy used mapping software to track how long it would take her husband to run errands she sent him on that evening — including a trip to a nearby CVS for stool softener for kids and take-out dinner.

That dinner, the prosecutor added, was called in by Lindsay Clancy to ThreeV Restaurant in nearby Plymouth, where she ordered a Mediterranean power bowl for her, scallop and pork-belly risotto for him.

He arrived at the CVS at 5:32 p.m. and ThreeV at 5:54 p.m. and headed back home “within a minute” with the food arriving just after 6 o’clock, Sprague said.

“When he arrived home,” the ADA added, “the first thing he noticed was the silence.”

A bedroom door was locked; there was blood on the floor upstairs; and then Patrick Clancy found his wife on the ground outside, her cuts no longer bleeding.

“What did you do?” he asked her, Sprague said.

“I tried to kill myself and jumped out the window,” the wife responded.

“Where are the kids?” he added.

“In the basement,” the mom said.

“Guys?” the dad called out as he went searching for his children, Sprague added.

“He could then be heard screaming in agony,” Sprague said, and “begged them to breathe” as he pulled the bands from their necks. And when first responders arrived and met him in the basement, he yelled out to them “She killed the kids!”

The older two children, Cora, 5, and Dawson, 3, would be pronounced dead at area hospitals that night while 7-month-old Callan would hold on until that Friday, Jan. 27, when he, too, was pronounced dead at Boston Children’s Hospital.

They were killed, Sprague said, by ligature strangulation, in which Lindsay Clancy would have had to hold the ligature in place for up to 5 minutes per child to cause death.

“Therefore she had to strangle each of them to unconsciousness and then make sure the bands were squeezing their little necks for several minutes,” Sprague said. “She could have changed her mind at any point during that time and removed those bands from their necks and she did not.”

Sprague added Lindsay Clancy “killed the kids because she heard a voice and had ‘a moment of psychosis.’” When her husband asked “what voices” Sprague said she responded that she “heard a man’s voice telling her to kill the kids and kill herself because it was her last chance.”

Lindsay Clancy appeared for her Plymouth District Court hearing Tuesday over Zoom from her hospital bed in Boston to be arraigned on two counts of juvenile murder and three counts each of strangulation or suffocation and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Defense attorney Kevin Reddington said his client is a “paraplegic” — paralyzed from the waist down — who “can’t walk” after jumping out a second-floor window that night and who was pumped full of drugs as she tried to cope with postpartum complications after the birth of her third child.

Reddington added the one-time labor nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital now needs someone with her “24/7” out of “concern she will commit suicide.”

Reddington asked for her to be sent to Spaulding Rehab with a GPS monitor if the court orders more safeguards. The prosecution sought an alternative, Shattuck Hospital in Jamaica Plain.

At that, Reddington groaned and threw up his hands calling the Shattuck “dismal and dank … like something out of Iran.”

Judge John Canavan ordered that Clancy be held at the unnamed hospital she’s at now and will “likely” be sent to Spaulding Rehab in Charlestown once she is cleared by her doctors to do so. But, he added, she needs to keep receiving mental health care and is due back in court May 2 — a date that will probably be moot once the case is bumped up to superior court.

Reddington stressed that Lindsay Clancy had been over-prescribed meds in the run-up to the awful night.

From just October until January, Reddington said, Clancy had been prescribed various mixtures of drugs including the antidepressants Prozac, Remeron, amitriptyline and Trazodone; Seroquel, which the National Alliance on Mental Illness said treats schizophrenia and is an atypical antipsychotic; and the anti-anxiety drugs Ativan and benzodiazepines. He also said that she was on Valium at some point and had been taking Benadryl.

“Our society fails miserably in treating women with postpartum depression, or even postpartum psychosis,” he said. “It’s medicate, medicate, medicate. Throw the pills at you and then see how it works. If it doesn’t work, then increase the dose or decrease the dose. Then end up trying another combination of medications.”

He said that holding her without bail is an “inhumane order” for a woman in her condition.

“She was so bad she turned herself in … to the McLean Hospital,” Reddington added. “This is really a tragedy, this case.”

A GoFundMe drive organized to help Patrick Clancy “pay for medical bills, funeral services, and legal help” in the wake of the tragedy has sailed past its goal of $1 million to reach $1,041,610 by 10:06 a.m. Tuesday.

Joe Dwinell contributed to this report.

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