The Wrentham Times

Wrentham Still Seeing Significant Outages

National Grid is saying customers in Wrentham should start to see power returning this evening and tomorrow. Full restoration will not occur until Thursday. "You are going to see a large pocket of population restored sometime this evening," says Vanessa Charles, spokesperson for National Grid.

At the high of the emergence 421,000 customers serviced by National Grid lost power in Massachusetts and as of 3 o'clock today that number was down to 316,500. There were still significant outages throughout Wrentham. At that same time, 4,316 customers of the utility were still without power.  National Grid services a total of 4,644 in the town. "Ninety-three percent of our Wrentham customer are still without power," says Charles.

The Red Cross will again operate a shelter at LaSalette Shrine, 947 Park Street, Attleboro. The town is offering free transportation there for anyone needing assistance to the shelter. People should contact the Public Service Building at 508-384-3131 to make arrangements. The Public Service Building will also be open to residents needing a place to warm up for a few hours.

The compost site, 360 Taunton Street, will be open from 9:00 am to 3:00pm on Saturday and the fee will be waived for the drop off of yard clean up. "We have requested the waste haul to pick up an additional bag from each household," says Joe Botaish, chairman of the board of selectmen.

In addition, the town has ordered highway signs that will be running as of 5:00 pm today with information to help during the crisis (pictured). The town is also setting up temporary lights in a few of the more dangerous intersections.

Trick or Treating has been postponed until Friday.

Both King Philip and the Wrentham Public Schools have canceled classes for Tuesday, November 1st.

Annual Pumpkin Parade Held at School

Fourth grade students in Wrentham Public Schools participated in the annual Pumpkin Contest and parade last Friday. The different categories were holiday, craziest, inanimate object, sports, animal, space, famous person, food, vehicle and characters from a book, movie, or cartoon. Ribbons were handed out for each category. Click the Pumpkin Parade Photo Album to see a few the students' creations. (Pictured: Cookie Monster enjoying his favorite food. Pictures were submitted by Mrs. Mandi Kelley, 4th grade teacher, Wrentham Public Schools.)

Snowstorm Delays Halloween, Schools Closed

A bizarre October snowstorm hit Wrentham and brought with it destruction similar to when Tropical Storm Irene blew through the town in August. Downed trees and branches wreaked havoc on the lines feeding power to the community causing outages in nearly 90 % of Wrentham homes. Both King Philip Schools and Wrentham Public Schools will close Monday, and officials have postponed Trick or Treating until Friday out of concern for children’s safety with power lines still down throughout the town. (Pictured: Insipred by the unusual combination of the Halloween season and an early snowstorm, Garret, Carson and Lauren Poirier created jack-o-snowman.)

The storm started Saturday evening dumping between 2 amd 3 inches of wet snow. The combination of the heavy snow and trees still having leaves caused a destructive combination disrupting nine out of the twelve power loops that feed Franklin, Foxborough, and Wrentham. It has been 24 hours since the storm started and National Grid is still assessing the damage and wouldn’t provide estimates on the return of power at this time. Town officials are encouraging residents to be prepared for several days without power.

National Grid says an estimate on when power will be restored should be available on Monday. "We still have over 400,000 customers without service in Massachusetts, " says David Graves, spokesperson for National Grid. "It's an impossible task to get all those customers up tonight."

To help in restoration, the utility company has called in contract crews from Michigan, Ohio and North Carolina.

In August when Irene hit, the cold was not an issue, but the October storm has brought with it frigid temperatures. Weather reports predict temperatures dropping below freezing. An area shelter is available at La Salette, 947 Park St, Attleboro. Residents are also invited to the Public Safety Building behind the Town Hall to warm up for a few hours in the Community Service Room. “It’s probably a little warmer than people’s houses,” says Joe Botaish, chairman of the board of selectmen.

No School, No Halloween

There will be no school at the King Philip Schools and the Wrentham Public Schools. Without a good estimate on when power might be returned, officials also postponed Trick or Treating until Friday, November 4th. “With so many power lines down, it’s not safe to have children walking around in the
dark,” Botaish explained.

Most businesses remained closed. Power at the Outlets returned Sunday afternoon, but many businesses were not open with the exception of a few including Dunkin Donuts. Power also returned to Wampum Corner and many businesses there opened. The Wrentham House of Pizza made pizza and cold subs even without power. 

 

Halloween Happenings

October 31st  is right around the corner and that means haunted Halloween happenings are scheduled. This Saturday, October 29th, the Wrentham Downtown Merchants are holding their Annual Halloween Prowl. Visit of any businesses in the center of town decorated  with orange and black balloons to receive a Halloween treat. The prowl will run from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. 

At Fiske Public Library, storyteller Diane Edgecomb will tell spine tingling tales as a cauldron bubbles over with fog. The program is called Once Upon a Halloween, starts at 1:30 pm and is for children 5 and up. Tickets are free but canned-good donations will be acceptedfor the Wrentham Food Pantry. This program is supported with a grant from the Sweatt Fund.

On Sunday, the Lions Club will hold the Halloween Wrentham Duathlon. This event consists of three legs; a three mile run, an eleven mile bike, and a two mile run. The race starts at 8:30 am and participants are encouraged to wear costumes. Prizes will be awarded for best costumes. The starting line is 498 Emerald Street. Fiske Independent Race Management, the race organizer, will also hold a raffle for a Kestrel Air Foil Pro triathlon racing bike. All finishers of the race will receive an entry for the Kestrel drawing.

On Halloween, the Wrentham Fire Department will hold its annual parade and party. The night starts with the fire trucks lining up at 6:00 pm on Randall Road. The parade will move onto South Street, around the Town Hall and then into the Public Service building where there will be goodies and  awards for best costumes.

Voter Registration Drive for November Special Town Meeting

The Wrentham Town Clerk will hold a voter registration for the upcoming Special Town Meeting of November 14, 2011, on Friday, November 4, 2011 from 12:00 noon to 8:00 PM in the Town Hall Lobby.  All Wrentham residents who are 18 yrs old or older by November 14th are eligible to register.  Also,  November 4, 2011, 5:00 PM, is the last day for the Town Clerk's office to receive nomination papers for Ward and Town Committees.  For questions, please call the Clerk's office at 508-384-5415.

Wrentham to Receive State Funds

State Representative Dan Winslow announced today that Wrentham will receive $57,018 in unspent money from from last year’s State budget.  Funds are being added to the budgets of cities and towns throughout the Commonwealth. “Local aid is critical in maintaining and improving education, public safety and infrastructure in local municipalities and towns.  These are top priorities of mine because they help to preserve quality of life for citizens,” said  Winslow. “I am pleased to have supported this successful amendment sponsored by my colleagues in the GOP Caucus.”

The Wrentham Times Partners on Print Paper for Community

This December,  Wrentham and Norfolk residents will find the premiere issue of a new monthly paper in their mailboxes. Published by Local Town Pages, the Norfolk Wrentham edition will deliver features and updates on town happenings, local organizations, school sports, and local businesses. The paper will also feature the content of The Wrentham Times.

"Having a monthly paper makes sense. It provides stories relating to both towns and keeps residents and businesses closer together," says Chuck Tashjian, owner of Local Town Pages and publisher of four other newspapers which cover Norwood, Franklin, Medway/Millis, and Wellesley. "This paper will let residents of each town know what's going on in their local communities."  

The inclusion of the The Wrentham Times' content in the print paper is an exciting and unique partnership. Since its launch on Wrentham Day 2009, The Wrentham Times has focused on providing the residents of Wrentham with information specific to their community. The stories have covered topics such as town news, people that make Wrentham their home, and updates on local groups and the schools. This past month, the site reached new heights in web traffic and social media statistics. "The Wrentham Times  was started as a way to inform the people of Wrentham about their town and the response has been extremely positive," says Patrick Coleman, editor for the two year old web site. "I always believed residents should have an opportunity to read about their community in whatever form they prefer -- online, email, or print. The new paper will give them that choice. The Wrentham Times  will continue to update as a web site as news happens. That won't change."

The inclusion of Norfolk in the print edition makes sense. The connection between the two towns is strong. The towns share both a common history, as well as many connections today. The most notable is King Philip Regional School System which includes both the middle school and high school for the two towns as well as Plainville. Furthermore, the towns continue to explore opportunities to share common services.

More than 7,000 copies of the newspaper will be printed and mailed to every home and business in both communities. The complete issue will be available online as well. Online visitors will be able to access community links, coupons for local businesses, and classified ads.

Local Town Pages' Tashjian began his career in 1999 as owner of Photosite in Millis, later shifting to offset printing in 2004. He then expanded his business to include the production of local telephone directories in the Dover, Sherborn, Holliston, Uxbridge and surrounding areas. As a small business owner, Tashjiaan is aware of the challenges businesses face in reaching key audiences. The Norfolk Wrentham paper will be an option for businesses to get their messages out to the community and readers will receive information pertinent to their towns. "With other papers," says Tashjian, "you're lucky if there are one or two articles about the actual town. We plan on being community focused and community based."

Local nonprofit groups are welcome to submit monthly news articles and event listings. Local merchants are encouraged to offer tips from their experience with expert columns, advice articles and even recipes of the month and the schools are invited to provide information. Readers are also invited to submit articles, announcements, and story ideas to editor@norfolkwrenthamnews.com or by calling (508) 533-4588. The deadline for submissions is the 15th of each month.

Please continue to submit Wrentham specific news to pat@wrenthamtimes.com for inclusion in both the paper and The Wrentham Times.

Trottier to Deliver a Night of Music and Dance

The sounds of fiddle music and step dancing will pour out of Fellowship Hall in the Congregational Church this Saturday night, October 22nd. Kelli Trottier will bring her unique musical and step dancing style to Wrentham in a concert being presented by both the Proctor Mansion and the Church. Trottier, a Canadian singer, fiddler, and step dancer is known for delivering a concert with a variety of music styles that include Celtic Music, Folk, Country, and Western Swing. "I do quite a range of material, " says Trottier. "My strongest background is in Celtic music. [The audience] can expect to hear fiddle instrumentals. I probably do more singing at this point depending on the crowd and what they want to hear. I'm also a step dancer. I'll do some step dancing in the show."

Originally from Kingston Ontario's Ottawa Valley, Trottier's music and dance continues a family tradition. Her father was a fiddler, as well as both grandfathers and one grandmother. Her mother also plays the piano. "It's in my blood," she says. "If I hear fiddle music, I can't keep my feet still."

Trottier started step dancing at the age of 5 and picked up the fiddle when she was 9. She and her family would perform all over the community at nursing homes, local fairs, and competitions. "We were just always out playing music and I guess I got a fever for it," she says. "Watching people react to a song or a tune or a step dance. That's the most exciting part of playing, to be able to share it."

Trottier has traveled the world performing and has visited several communities in Massachusetts, but this will be her visit to Wrentham. She is excited to bring her music to a new audience and the evening will hold something for everyone. She also promised to do at least one number where she'll step dance and play the fiddle together. "Fiddling and step dancing have always gone hand in hand. A few of us started to do the two together and it's quite a show stopper," she says.

The concert is scheduled to start at 7:00 pm and will be held in the Fellowship Hall, Congregational Church located off the Wrentham Town Common, intersection of Rt 1A & Rt 140. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door. Seating is limited. Advance reservations are encouraged. A “Meet & Greet” reception will be held immediately after the performance at the Proctor Mansion Inn, 36 Common Street.

Town Web Site Being Moved to New Hosting Company

If you're looking for the Town of Wrentham's web site, it has been deactivated and this time it was planned. The town is currently moving it to a new hosting company since the previous vendor is no longer in the hosting business. "Our old [vendor] wanted to get out of the business and we needed to find a new home so that process is being undertaken," says Steve Langley, selectman and liaison to the technology committee.

Town officials are hopeful that it will be back on-line within the next few days.

Early this month the web site was disabled by what was descirbed as an outside force. It was the second time the town's web site was unintentionally shut down. 

 

Over Half a Million in Unclaimed Property Tied to Wrentham

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Unclaimed Property Division is holding a pretty sizable portfolio of unclaimed property for people and businesses from Wrentham. Currently, there are 7,626 properties unclaimed and cash  properties totaling $652,093. Twice a year the Commonwealth runs an awareness campaign to alert individuals that they may have forgotten treasures. Just in the past six months, $45,032 in cash property has been turned over to the unlcaimed property division. "Every year, thousands of people are surprised to find out that they have a claim to funds that have been misplaced or simply forgotten,” said Treasurer Steven Grossman, who oversees the Unclaimed Property Division.  “It’s not the state’s money – it belongs to the citizens of the Commonwealth.  We want to take every step possible to get unclaimed property back into the hands of its rightful owners.”

Unclaimed Property includes forgotten savings and checking accounts, un-cashed checks, insurance policy proceeds, stocks, dividends, and contents of unattended safe deposit boxes.  Most accounts are considered “abandoned” and turned over to the Treasury after three years with no activity.  Over the last six months alone, $61.3 million in new unclaimed property has been turned over to the state, adding to a total of $2 billion that the Commonwealth is holding in trust until rightful owners can be identified.

There are 11 Wrentham names tied to property valued in excess of $10,000, eleven with property valued between $5,000 and $9,999, and over 100 people with property valued over 1,000 up to $4,999.

Several businesses and organizations have abandoned accounts including The Fudgery, Morrill Insurance Agency, Pediatric Specialists, Wrentham Nurseries Inc, Wrentham Farm Foundation, Wrentham State Hospital,  Wrentham Insurance Agency and Wrentham Ski Club.

If you believe you may have unclaimed property, you may do an initial search online at www.findmassmoney.com. The online search does have issues and does not provide a complete list of every property. It's recommended that you call a customer service representative at 617-367-0400 or 1-888-344-MASS (toll free Massachusetts only) to see if you have any unclaimed property.