Shirley

Janis Bresnahan Run for Education set for Sunday

May 19, 2023 by pkzadmin

AYER — The Janis Bresnahan Run for Education is set for Sunday, May 21, with proceeds to benefit the Ayer Shirley Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization that funds educational and enrichment programs in the Ayer Shirley Regional School District’s four schools.

The run is named for Janis Bresnahan, an Ayer High School alumnus who died in a tragic accident nearly 20 years ago. The following year, her family and close friends launched the Janis Bresnahan 5K Run for Education as an annual fundraiser that supports local schools. Organizers have said the event reflects its namesake’s local roots and honors her lifelong dedication to children’s education.

The run is a fitting tribute on another level, as Janis was also an avid outdoor enthusiast and high school athlete who co-captained the women’s track team in her senior year at Ayer High School.

Besides the main event — a 5K run with several age categories ranging from under 10 to 60 and over — there’s also a 2k walk/fun run for all ages and a tot trot for the little ones, ages 2 to 6.

The registration fee is $20 for the 5K and 2K runs; $15 for the tot trot. Although registration is open until the day of the event, the fee is $5 more at the gate. The first 300 pre-registered participants get an added perk: a Janis Bresnahan Run tee shirt.

Details and registration forms are available on the website janisbresnahanrunforeducation.com.

Besides the run, walk and tot trot, the event, which starts with registration at 10 am at Ayer Shirley Regional High School, 14 Washington St., Ayer, includes a variety of activities, with refreshments and bathroom facilities available at the high school. The 5K run begins at noon.

Prizes include $100 each to the two top winners — male and female, respectively — of the 5K race.

Sponsors — area businesses and individual donors — are listed in four categories, Premier, Legacy, Platinum and gold. Topping the premier list is Main Street Bank. Piccolino’s Bar & Grill, a family-owned restaurant in Shirley, heads up the Legacy List.

Shirley police seize dog after abuse allegations

May 19, 2023 by pkzadmin

SHIRLEY — According to an announcement by Police Chief Samuel Santiago shared on the department’s Facebook page on Tuesday, police took a border collie away from its owner Tuesday morning due to allegations of abuse.

The dog’s owner faces criminal charges for animal cruelty. “Shirley Police officers served a search warrant this morning in the area of Great Road to retrieve a Border Collie/Australian Sheppard,” the Facebook post reads in part. The dog was “seized” from the owner and brought to a veterinarian to be examined and treated.

Asked for further details, such as how police were notified of the situation, Santiago said the call came from a neighbor.

The case is under investigation, he said.

Lunenburg native finds success pursuing musical dream

May 13, 2023 by pkzadmin

LUNENBURG — Hannah Robuccio is returning to her roots for a May 21 show at the Bull Run in Shirley after moving to the west coast at the beginning of the year to pursue her musical dream.

The 20-year-old talented singer-songwriter and guitarist said living in California is “going great.”

“I feel like I belong here, and I’m surrounded by the most wonderful and talented people every day. I’ve never felt more inspired and motivated,” she said.

Talented singer-songwriter and Lunenburg native Hannah Robuccio is bringing her indie-pop musical style to the Bull Run in Shirley for a show on May 21. (COURTESY AMY ASHMAN)

Robuccio was born and raised in Lunenburg and is looking forward to seeing her family and friends during her visit this month and again in July when she comes back home to sing at a wedding.

“I’m also very excited to share the songs that I’ve been working on these past few months,” she conveyed of the Bull Run gig.

Her musical style can be described as indie-pop and her sound has been likened to Gracie Abrams, Julia Michaels, and Phoebe Bridgers. Robuccio is known for her heartfelt, raw, and emotional lyrics and vocals and while she mostly performs originals, she also includes covers from some of her favorite artists in her sets — Boy Genius, Phoebe Bridgers, Lizzy McAlpine, and Gracie Abrams, to name a few.

Robuccio released her first song “It’s You” in 2018 and her first album “Phases” came out the following year. She followed that up with a second album, “Things I’ve Been Meaning To Say,” in April of last year and has performed in a plethora of concerts and shows over the years.

She is no stranger to the Bull Run stage, having been on it for the first time at 10 years old as part of a voice recital and for other shows there, and is looking forward to returning to the venue.

“I love the intimate setting, the good food, and the overall feel of it,” Robuccio said of the well-known Shirley spot. “It’s genuinely one of my favorite places to perform at.”

Tickets for the show are $18 plus food minimums. Robuccio will be joined on stage by her uncle Michael Kelly, who plays guitar and bass, drummer Benny Austin, her father Ron Robuccio, who plays piano and keyboard, and fellow singer-songwriter Evan Shaw will be opening for her.

Her future plans include releasing more records and music videos and continuing to write songs, both for herself and others.

“I’ll be celebrating the releases from other artists who have recorded the songs I’ve written for them,” Robuccio shared of what’s coming up for her, adding that she is “excited to release new music this year.”

“Right now, I’m in meetings and writing sessions every day for my upcoming projects along with writing for other artists. I’m also in contact with many people within the industry, which is helping guide me through what my next career steps are whether that be a publishing or distribution deal to even just writing in rooms with bigger artists. I’m learning more and more every day and am incredibly excited to see where all of this takes me.”

For more information visit hannahrobuccio.com and follow Hannah Rose Robuccio Music on Facebook and Instagram.

Shirley voters pass Community Preservation Act by a wide margin

May 5, 2023 by pkzadmin

SHIRLEY — Turnout was low in the annual town election on Tuesday, but those who cast their ballots made their support for the Community Preservation Act abundantly clear.

A total of 688 voters made their voices heard Tuesday, just 15.53% of the town’s 4,430 registered voters. When it came to CPA, 505 voters were in favor, 180 were opposed, with three blank ballots cast.

After an enthusiastic campaign that included townwide mailings and signs promoting a “yes” vote on the CPA ballot question, the act, which will levy a 1% surcharge on property owner’s annual tax bills, with some noted exceptions, has been in place in many other cities and towns across the state for some time, including Ayer and other neighboring communities.

Now, it’s on the books in Shirley, too.

The pro-CPA campaign was headed by a grass-roots group called “Small Town Shirley” whose stated purpose is to preserve the town’s intrinsic assets — rural character, historic landmarks and small town vibe, for example, through various initiatives, CPA being one of them.

Under the law enacted by the state Legislature in 2000, projects in certain categories can vie for funding from the CPA coffers, with a committee appointed to oversee the process.

The committee, the makeup of which is stated in the law, reviews applications, oversees the CPA nest egg and makes funding recommendations to town meeting voters every year.

Projects considered for funding under CPA are limited to those aimed at historic preservation, creation of affordable housing, open space and outdoor recreation.

The passage of the CPA was the only thing in question Tuesday, with the remainder of the ballot consisting of uncontested seats for various town boards, including Board of Assessors, Board of Health, Constable, Library Trustees, Planning Board, Recreation Committee, Ayer Shirley Regional School District School Committee, Sewer Commission and War Memorial Trustees (veteran and non-veteran.)

Debra Flagg retained her seat on the Select Board with 571 votes, while longtime ARSD School Committee member Joyce Reischutz retained hers with 540 votes. Both were without challengers.

While one of the openings for a veteran on the War Memorial Board of Trustee was filled by the incumbent, the other seat – recently vacated by the late Norman Albert, remains open.

Shirley native rocks out with Invisible Animals

May 4, 2023 by pkzadmin

SHIRLEY — It seems only fitting that Luke Snyder became a drummer after listening to AC/DC since he was a babe in the crib.

The former longtime town resident is rocking out these days as the member of “a new band with deep roots,” Invisible Animals, whose name comes from a passage in “The Tracker,” a book by author Tom Brown Jr.

Snyder plays alongside guitarist Jon Kelley and Ryan Flynn, who plays guitar and bass. The latter two met in high school in the Boston area and bonded over shared musical interests. While they jammed and did occasional one-off performances, when Kelley went off to college in Central Mass. in 2014, he met Snyder, who is also the vocalist for Invisible Animals.

They “instantly clicked” and the duo wrote original songs in their dorm room until graduating. Fast forward several years to 2020, when they picked up creating music together again and added Flynn back into the fold.

“After sharing and building on each other’s songs virtually, a few jam sessions followed,” the band’s bio states. “Once it became clear that something real and powerful was coming together, the trio decided to take things to the next level and began recording original songs at a local Boston recording space.”

The band certainly made up for lost time and are celebrating the release of their debut album, “The Over Under,” which can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, YouTube, Amazon, and other platforms including “surprisingly TikTok.” The seven-track gem of an album “showcases the bands strengths and a broad range of styles,” they imparted.

“I made it out of the wilderness/ so I know you can do this/ it’s alright just take it step by step baby,” are the lyrics that kick off the second song on the album, “Horizon.”

Invisible Animals recently released their debut album, a seven track gem that can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, YouTube, Amazon, and other platforms including TikTok. (COURTESY INVISIBLE ANIMALS)

When asked to describe their pleasant sound, they had a tongue-in-cheek response: “Liked by all hated by none, the best you’ve never heard” — but said their influences range from “the bluesy, country rock of the Rolling Stones and heart-on-their sleeve anthems of the Replacements, to folk, modern alternative, and everything in between.”

“With a diverse and eclectic mix of tracks, the band has songs that can appeal to any taste and serve as a gateway introducing listeners to the sounds of some of their influences and idols,” the bio states.

They practice in their “DIY studio in Boston whenever we can get the chance” and recently performed at an open mic at the Midway Cafe in Jamaica Plain, a venue known for its live music scene. They are opening for band at PorchFest Quincy on May 13 and have some exciting things coming up.

“We’re in talks with a label called Leesta Vall (Sound Recordings) out of Brooklyn that does direct to vinyl sessions where we will go and record and they will press it and distribute it for us,” Snyder imparted, adding that they will be headed to Brooklyn the first weekend in June. “Each vinyl is a different recording so all who buy one, there’s never a duplicate.”

Snyder is an Ayer-Shirley Regional High School Class of 2013 graduate and studied Environmental Studies and Sustainability at Framingham State University. He started working as a water tech specialist for Little Leaf Farms, which is headquartered in Devens, shortly after college and has been in McAdoo, Pennsylvania, the past two years helping start up new locations of greenhouses.

He was transferred back to the Little Leaf Farms Shirley site in March of this year “to help out up here and to be closer to the band as we start to play more gigs.” Nowadays he calls Troy, New Hampshire home but is in the area frequently for work.

His personal music playlist consists of a lot of Tom Petty, Noah Kahan, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Collective Soul, Whiskey Myers, Turnpike Troubadours and Amy Winehouse.

“Genres and influences are far and wide,” Snyder said. “There isn’t a genre that I’ve heard that hasn’t given me some sort of inspiration.”

Current goals for the band including prepping for Brooklyn in June and “working on new music all the time.” As for what’s to come after that, Snyder said they have big dreams — and that people can contact them through their website and Instagram to book them and for more info.

“Future goals obviously are to play in venues we’ve all dreamed of playing in but right now our future goals are to just keep playing, whenever, wherever, and however we can,” he shared. “We can play them all from bar and bat mitzvahs to Sweet Sixteens to retirement parties to graduation parties.”

Invisible Animals bandmates, left to right: Luke Snyder, a Shirley native who performs drums and vocals, guitarist Jon Kelley, and Ryan Flynn who plays guitar and bass. (COURTESY INVISIBLE ANIMALS)

All of the band members write original songs but when they play live, they “add in a few covers to get people going,” an eclectic mix of songs by Third Eye Blind, The Black Crowes, Karen Dalton, The Cranberries, Pink Floyd, The Replacements and Talking Heads. They’ll be back at Midway Cafe on May 9 for another open mic and on June 8 they’re playing their “first big show” at The Jungle in Somerville and again there on June 12 with another band.

“The most enjoyable thing for me is being able to share my work and words with everyone,” Snyder said. “Also, the fact that we, the band, make it fun no matter what. We all have full time jobs and being able to do what we love on the side and to see people actually enjoying themselves when we play is a good break from reality.”

He went on to say that he’s happy to be writing and creating music again, an artistic outlet that seemingly comes easy to him. Growing up, he “always had a knack for reading and writing music in music classes,” and it helped that people around him were into all sorts of music, from AC/DC to the Allman Brothers to Brooks & Dunn.

“I always felt like music is my calling for some weird reason or another. I’ve always called to it, or it’s called to me.”

Ayer-Shirley boys track team puts together 35-meet win streak

April 21, 2023 by pkzadmin

AYER – Since April 2016, the Ayer-Shirley Regional High School boys track and field team hasn’t lost a dual meet.

The Panthers have put together an impressive 35-meet winning streak, which includes wins earlier this month over Narragansett Regional and Murdock. Along the way, the team won five straight Mid-Wach E League titles, two district titles, as well as the Central/West championship title in 2018.

Prior to this season, the program had to endure poor conditions with a worn down, old track, while sand pits and pole vault mats were put onto the school’s parking lot so the kids could practice field events.

Last year the program didn’t host a meet. This year things have changed dramatically.

Construction on the $5 million Harold G. Norton Athletic Complex was completed at the start of the school year, with the football and soccer teams playing on it. In the spring, it’s lacrosse, youth sports on the field turf, and the boys and girls track teams on the six-lane (8 in the runway) track, which also has designated areas for pole vault, high jump and triple/long jump, and two shot put areas.

The javelin throwers just need to insert rubber tip jabs to throw on the turf field, if not they go off to the outfield grass of the baseball field.

“Other than the (old) track feeling like concrete, and you got to see sparks coming off people’s feet, it was nice,” said senior Jacob Kalgren, sporting a big, sarcastic grin.

Added fellow senior captain Patrick Bergin, “The complex is beautiful. We have waited a long time for this. The grass was starting to really decay and it was just dirt and mud piles. It was really ripped up. This new facility, it’s just so nice. It was supposed to be done my sophomore year, but now I’m a senior, it’s here and I’m just so lucky to have one year with it. It just feels like a new facility and new track.”

Kalgren and Bergin are two reasons why this program has dominated for six and a half years, excluding the missed COVID year. Both of them have been a part of the program since they were seventh-graders.

Kalgren became a Division 5 state champion in the hurdles last year, and this year he already has the league’s best mark in the shot put. He will be taking his talents to Northeastern University in the fall.

“(The streak) is something really nice to have behind you. It gives you a lot of confidence. The secret really has been the middle schoolers coming in and being able to get helped out by all of the seniors and the well-adjusted kids who have been doing this for a while – some for five years,” said Kalgren. “I’m living proof of that. I have been doing the shot put for seven years and I’m not built like a shot putter but I think I have the best mark in the league. That is all due to me growing up in the program and working with a lot of good shot putters.”

Bergin is used in many different events, including sprints and jumps, and he said the coaching staff instills the winning concept into the members of the program.

“I’ve never lost a meet since I have been here and that’s kind of special to me,” said Bergin. “To be part of a program where losing isn’t really something that is taught. None of us have been taught how to lose. You just know how to win. That’s our goal going into every meet. We have goals past our dual meets and stuff like that, but the streak is just kind of something special and we want it to keep going for as long as we can. Obviously it’s not going to last forever.”

Head coach Chris Donovan, now in his 12th year after taking over the legendary Jamie Lamoreaux, said the last league meet loss came to Littleton. Upcoming are league meets withTahanto Regional and Maynard, before a non-leaguer with a tough Tyngsboro squad.

“It sounds cliché that we take it one meet at a time but we kind of do,” said Donovan, an English teacher at the high school. “I didn’t think it would still be going to be honest. If you look at your crew, they are a lot younger so you never know what to expect. After the COVID year I thought we may be in trouble but we have been able to keep it going and if we can throughout the rest ofthe season that would be great. I don’t want to put a cap on what number we need to get to, but it’s pretty cool that we haven’t lost since 2016.”

Either way, win or lose, streak or no streak, the community and program wins every day by being able to compete on the new facility.

“The amount of people who got this done like our old superintendent, Mary Malone, and school committee members and community members, and now we’re here and our numbers are upbecause of it. I’ve had more kids this year than I’ve had (in several years),” said Donovan. “We are really, really fortunate. It’s just such a positive thing for the whole community.”

Shirley

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