My Southborough

Southborough’s KofC Free Throw: 2 time state champ and other winners

by beth on April 19, 2018

Above: Two Southborough residents made it to the state level of the Knights of Columbus Free Throw competition. One scored first place for his category. (contributed)

This January, Southborough’s Knights of Columbus held their annual Free Throw competition. Two of the winners made it through district and regional championships to compete in the State Championship over the weekend – Jake Blackburn (11) and Liam Shields (14). For the second year running, Blackburn came in first place for his age group.

For more details, scroll down. But first, here are some more photos from the competitions:

Here’s the announcement from the K of C:

Southborough’s Jake Blackburn won his 2nd Consecutive State Free Throw Championship Saturday April 14, 2018 at Anna Maria College in Paxton as an 11 year old. Liam Shields also competed fiercely to be State Champ coming up just short in a tight competition for the 14 year old boys. These 2 represented a much larger field of Southborough Competitors who battled their way out of the local, district, and regional competition that began in January at Trottier School. 1st Place Winners at the local level included:

Liam Shields

Conor Hoolahan

Jackson Rosenstein

Jake Blackburn

Cameron Adams

Luca Conigliaro

Libby Flathers

Ava Conigliaro

Lila Shields

Ashlee Dameri

Sophie Kutzko

This annual competition has boys and girls ages 9 – 14 shooting 15 Free Throws each with the high score winning.
Thanks to Conigliaro Block for sponsoring the competition.

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Police announce suspect being charged in theft from Southborough business

by beth on April 19, 2018

The Southborough Police Department announced that a suspect is being charged for a Felony Larceny that took place in February:

On, February 22, 2018, the Southborough Police Department took a formal Larceny Over $250.00 Felony Complaint from JBJ Construction of 259 Turnpike Road. An Ingersoll Rand Air Compressor valued at ten thousand dollars had been reported missing the previous day.

Detective Keith Nichols and Lt. Sean James worked with a JBJ representative to develop a possible suspect and location of the missing compressor. A former employee [from] Winchester NH, was located and interviewed at his home where he admitted to the theft.

[The accused] will be summonsed to appear in Westborough District Court at a later date on the felony charge. The compressor was located in Deerfield, NH were it had been sold to another contractor. It has been returned JBJ Construction.

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Why flags are at half staff: April 17 – 21, 2018

by beth on April 19, 2018

Flags in Southborough and across the state have been flying at half staff across the state for overlapping reasons this week.

Across the country, flags are lowered in honor of former First Lady Barbara Bush, through sunset on Saturday, April 21st. But that announcement, made yesterday, was one of multiple overlapping orders issued for this week (two of which I missed when they were made last Friday).

On Friday, April 13th, Governor Baker ordered the lowering to honor of Officer Sean Gannon of the Yarmouth Police Department who was tragically killed in the line of duty on Thursday, April 12, 2018. That order was “until further notice”. That was later updated to run through sunset on Wednesday, April 18th, the day he was laid to rest.

Later that day, the Governor added a that on Tuesday, April 17th from sunrise to sunset a simultaneous honor should be held for US Navy Ryan William Wainright of Attleboro, Massachusetts, who passed away on Thursday, March 29, 2018 in Bremerton, Washington.

On Tuesday, the Governor ordered that flags be lowered to half-staff at all state buildings from sunrise until sunset today, Thursday, April 19, 2018 in honor of Staff Sergeant Robert F. Campbell, MA Air National Guard, of Holliston, Massachusetts, who passed away on April 9, 2018.

The former First Lady’s funeral is planned for Saturday. Here is the Presidential proclomation in honor of Barbara Bush: [click to keep reading…]

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Reminder – Art on the Trails art proposals deadline is Sunday

by beth on April 18, 2018

Above: The 2017 Art on the Trails exhibition inspired this installation. Artists are invited to submit proposals for installations in this year’s exhibit through Sunday. (image from Facebook)

With the deadline for art submissions coming up this weekend, I’m re-posting information on this year’s Art on the Trails.

The opportunity to exhibit art on Southborough Open Land Foundation trails will be offered again this summer. The exhibition will be installed in Beals Preserve for public display from June 14 – September 23. Organizers will accept proposal for submissions to the juried exhibition through this Sunday, April 22.

The exhibition will be juried by Jean Mineo, former Director of Boston Sculpture Gallery. This year’s theme is “Unexpected Gestures”:

How does it feel to encounter art in an unexpected place? How does that gesture change the visitors’ experience of nature? Artists are encouraged to consider materials and methods that integrate with and contrast to the setting of woods, meadows, trails and ponds that make up this special property. We are seeking work that interprets this theme for a natural environment in ways that will surprise and delight the hundreds of visitors at Beals Preserve for four months in 2018.

Once again, art must leave no permanent trace to the environment and be installed without harm to surrounding trees or vegetation.

If you are creative, or know someone who is, you can check out the full details here.

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NECC’s 5K Walk/Run for Autism – May 12

by beth on April 18, 2018

You don’t have to run 26+ miles in the rain to raise money for a cause. The 12th annual 5K for Southborough based The New England Center for Children is coming up next month.

Every year, runners and walkers, including many from Southborough, take part to raise awareness and funds for autism research and education.

NECC promotes:

The 5K Walk/Run for Autism is a key event in NECC’s fundraising program. All money raised from this event goes to the Annual Fund, which allows us to improve the quality of life for all our students with autism. With your help, we can continue to promote independence for all our students, share our expertise with the greater autism community, and train more teachers.

The early bird registration rate of $30 is good through the end of April. (Click here to register.)

If you’re not up to doing the 5K, you can still mark the date to give your support in person. Last year, NECC encouraged:

Not a runner? That’s okay too – you will be in good company with the many walkers, and we encourage you to stay for the post-race cookout with excellent food, live entertainment and plenty of booth vendors!

And while they’d love to see you there – you don’t even need to step outside to support the fundraiser. You can also help by sponsoring one of the runners or walkers already registered or donating directly to the event (click here).

For those of you who are planning to participate, the 5K is on Saturday, May 12th. [click to keep reading…]

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Resident performing anti-violence, one woman show – Friday

by beth on April 18, 2018

Newton Theater Company is holding a special one woman show this Friday, marking the 19th anniversary of the tragic school shooting at Columbine. It is being performed by Southborough’s Karin Trachtenberg.

Trachtenberg will give a stage reading of Lauren Gunderson’s “Natural Shocks”.

The one-woman show and subsequent talkback are part of a national campaign of theater activism against gun violence. The free performance will be held at [Friday, April 20th at] 7:30 PM in the Cultural Center Auditorium at Newton City Hall, 1000 Commonwealth Avenue.

Admission is free, though donations are suggested to Moms Demand Action. The Newton show is one of many readings being held across the country that day (royalty-free) in support of the anti-gun violence movement.

The play is described as:

Based on Hamlet’s “To be or not to be,” Natural Shocks is a new 65-minute, one-woman tour-de-force play that bursts to life when we meet a woman waiting out an imminent tornado in her basement. She overflows with quirks, stories, and a final secret that puts the reality of guns in America in your very lap. The play is part confessional, part stand up, and part reckoning.

Southborough Wicked Local followed up with Trachtenberg to find out why she was involved in the effort:

“I was first confronted with gun violence about 25 years ago,” says Southborough resident Karin Trachtenberg. “Remember Simon’s Rock?”

If you’re having trouble recalling that shooting, you’re forgiven. It’s a little hard to keep track of them all. On Dec. 14, 1992, a student opened fire at Bard College at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington.

“My neighbor’s nephew was one of the kids who was shot,” says Trachtenberg. “It was horrible and tragic, but we thought that was the end of it.” . . .

Trachtenberg’s new gun nightmare is a reoccurring one – it’s the ALICE drills at Algonquin Regional High School in Northborough, where her daughter is a freshman. [click to keep reading…]

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Open discussion thread: Ask questions, share opinions

April 18, 2018 09:31:09 AM

The open discussion thread is your place to ask questions, sound off on town issues, or share information with other readers.

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Obituary: Kathann M. (Gebhardt) Bertone, 54

April 18, 2018 07:30:00 AM

Kathann M. (Gebhardt) Bertone, 54, died unexpectedly on Sunday, April 15, 2018 after being stricken ill. She was born in Memphis, TN a daughter of the late Dorothy (Rowe) Thurman and John M. Gebhardt.

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