Town Meeting prep

Public service announcement time: remember spring Town Meeting and how annoying it was to go over budget minutiae that, ultimately, should have been brought up at Finance Committee before it hit Town Meeting floor?

Guess what? Finance Committee meets tonight, 7:30 p.m. in the FinCom Conference Room at the Municipal Center. On the agenda: public discussion of the articles prepared for the Oct. 20 Town Meeting. It’s not on the schedule for Channel 12, so if you want a sneak peek, plan on leaving the house tonight.

Can’t do it tonight? Finance Committee is continuing the discussion Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m.

Have you seen a fun Halloween house?

Before I forget — I’m going to be looking for houses decorated for Halloween over the next few weeks but, of course, I’m probably not going to get into every neighborhood. If you see an interesting display, can you drop me a line or comment in this post?

Also — my family is taking off on our first camping trip this weekend. Michael has graciously agreed to allow me to set him up as a contributor to the blog so y’all will have something to read while I’m gone. Be nice to him, won’t you?

If you didn’t get to Pell Farm this morning…

… you can still get a sense of what it looked like by checking out the Grafton Land Trust’s  Flickr stream here.

Looks like it was a great morning for a walk!

Details on why you should care about Pell Farm, and why buying it is on the Oct. 20 Town Meeting warrant, of course, are here and here.

Paws-ing for cancer

Are you planning to take your dog for a walk Sunday? If you do it over at Tufts, you could help to raise funds for the cancer center at the Cummings School for Veterinary Medicine. Check it out:

There will be more than 500 feet—or, more accurately, paws—on the ground this Sunday to walk the campus of the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University.

That’s because more than a hundred people and their pets are expected this Sunday to walk and raise funds for the cancer center at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine—at the seventh annual Pet Trek, benefiting the Harrington Oncology Program.

The 1.25-mile fun walk will take place beginning at 12 p.m. Sunday at the school’s North Grafton campus, and all pets with up-to-date rabies vaccinations and leashed or in carriers are also welcome to join in.

Last held in 2006, PetTrek last raised more than $13,000 for Tufts’ oncology program, which provides state-of-the-art cancer treatment for more than 1,500 animals each year.

The event will also feature live music from David Rivers of the David Rivers Group, a police dog demonstration from the Worcester Sheriff’s Department, and both human and dog massage. Refreshments will be available for purchase.

To register or for more information, visit the web site: www.pettrek.org or call Jennifer Ford: (508) 839-5395, X-84627.

Renowned for developing groundbreaking advances in the treatment and understanding of animal cancer, the Harrington Oncology Program at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine is world-renown for originating a novel method of bone marrow transplantation to treat cancer in dogs.

In addition, Harrington Oncology Program investigators are working with staff at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to establish a geographic database for dogs with lymphoma. One goal of this study is to more fully understand how environmental factors cause canine cancer.

Most recently, the Cummings School began a partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Broad Institute to learn more about the genetic roots of hemangiosarcoma, a rapidly growing blood cancer in golden retrievers, Labrador retrievers and German shepherds—breeds in which the disease is most common.

Our yellow Lab died of lymphoma just a few years after we moved to Grafton. I always wondered if it was because he was exposed to so many chemicals from new lawns in the neighborhood — but all our vet could say was that Labs are predisposed to some illnesses (Including, in his case, epilepsy). Take a walk and think of my dog, will you?

Parent Shadow Week

Grafton Middle School is having “Parent Shadow Week” at the end of the month — just in time for parents to either rejoice that the modular classroom expansion passed Town Meeting or get first-hand fodder on the overcrowding situation at the school.

I wrote about my son’s horrified reaction to my interest in participating here.

In short: parents of middle schoolers the week of October 27-31 have the opportunity to attend class with their kids. They must follow the bells, turn off their cell phones and participate when the teachers deem it necessary.

Seriously, how can I turn down blog fodder when it’s just handed to me like that? But — before Principal Lind starts freaking out — I will say in advance: I will not be taking notes. I will not be violating student confidentiality, even my own son’s. But I would like to paint a picture of just what it’s like at the middle school during the school day.

Heck, aren’t you curious?

Ghost town: Grafton, Utah

Still in search of Grafton ghosts, I stumbled on this: in Utah, the town of Grafton is, itself, a ghost.

The town was actually named after Grafton, Mass. by the Mormons who settled there, according to this Web site. Here’s another reference.

According to Grafton resident Ken Wadland, who maintains a page of towns named Grafton, there are actually TWO ghost towns named Grafton. The second is a former mining town in New Mexico.

GIANT rainbow over Grafton

Right now, at 5:30 p.m., there is a huge rainbow arching over Grafton.

You’ll notice, I don’t have a photo.

That’s right. Because just a day after smugly posting that I always have a camera with me, I can now report that my camera… is in my car. The one my husband is driving. Because I took the minivan to work today.

But if you’re reading this in real time, go run outside and look up at the sky. WOW.

Edit: A certain 9-year-old girl was much smarter than me and knew to always carry HER digital camera. Reports are, it ended in the old police station, which leads to speculation… could there be a pot of gold hidden there?

Rainbow Girls! Rainbow Girls! They are the best in the world today!

Please give a huge thank you to your daughter, Keith!

Can I ride your magic bus?

Remember this?

Really, how can you forget a 30-foot bus painted to support Michael Moore’s State Senate run? The giant rolling bumper sticker, Moore said, was an unexpected gesture by a longtime friend.

I’d wondered why it didn’t show up on his campaign filings with the Office of Campaign and Political Finance, but figured it was donated after the reporting period closed. Of course, I did receive a bunch of emails from people suggesting that I “check into it further,” and, apparently, I wasn’t the only one that happened to either.

So check out Worcester Magazine this week: new reporter Owen Skoler dove into the story behind the Moore wagon and how Moore really doesn’t have to claim it — but his friend, John Direnzo of Direnzo Towing and Recovery of Millbury, might have to.

Because his campaign did not ask Direnzo to paint the bus, he does not have to record it as an in-kind contribution, according to Brad Blazer, Deputy Director of the Office of Campaign and Political Finance.

But Blazer says the bus isn’t quite the same thing as a giant bumper sticker as Direnzo would like to believe. If an individual spends over a $100 supporting or opposing a clearly identified candidate, he or she needs to file a report for an independent expenditure with the OCPF, something Direnzo said he has no intention of doing.

Direnzo argues that technically he didn’t spend a dime creating the Moore Wagon since a friend of Direnzo’s who owed him a favor painted the bus pro bono.

Check out the story here.

Personally, the whole thing is way too convoluted for me and, frankly, Moore’s friends may mean well. But is this skirting of campaign laws really the image Moore wants to be presenting to voters, many of whom will only be seeing his name on the ticket for the first time on Nov. 4?

Grafton’s Indian Burying Ground

I’ve often passed by the Indian Burying Ground on Providence Road, near the bottom of Bruce Street, and wondered about it.

I visited it this week and, frankly, I’m still wondering. The sign simply says 1664.

The gravestones are small and unmarked — or, if they are marked, they’re weathered to the extent that I can’t see the markings. It’s a very peaceful place, even with Rte. 122 whizzing beside you.

Meanwhile, back in the 21st century, I went online and found this, which gives a little history of the site. The burial ground was apparently established at the time of the Hassanamesit Praying Village and contains the remains of the original “Praying Indians.” The current configuration dates back to the 1920s, according to Blackstone Daily, due to road construction that uncovered remains.

No one aufed?

This is partially a test post, since WordPress apparently ate one that was supposed to post this afternoon (trade secret: on days I know will be busy at work, I’ll preset posts to publish at different times and just keep an eye on my Gmail).

But, since I now know there are Project Runway fans out there in Grafton: what the HELL was that?

Kenley talks back to each and every judge and produces something out of “Little Shop of Horrors” (”feed me!” squeaked the model) and she STILL gets to compete for Bryant Park? Jerrell wins — wins with THAT ill-fitting thing? — and he doesn’t get a guarantee to be a finalist? Leanne feels compelled to put a random scrap of blue fabric on her dress? Korto is called pagenty?

Why is the episode before Bryant Park cursed with bad fashion? And why didn’t Heidi start cussing out Kenley in German? Because you know she totally wanted to.

And will we ever get to see the season that’s now shooting in L.A.? On what network?