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Welcome back!
We have a bunch of new subscribers receiving their first email edition this week — so a special welcome to all of you. The Sudbury Weekly newsletter is a digest of this week’s stories, but with some humor sprinkled throughout. Some people like the levity, and some people, well…
Here’s what we have for you this week:
Friday March 13 Edition
Let’s get into it!
Sudbury Select Board Establishes Annual “Be Like Zach Day”
NEWS
By Kevin LaHaise
In an emotional moment on Tuesday night, the Sudbury Select Board voted unanimously to permanently designate May 3 as “Be Like Zach Day” in the Town of Sudbury.
The proclamation honors the life of Zach Wall, a beloved 16-year-old member of the community who passed away from cancer at the age of 16. Zach’s parents presented to the Select Board on Tuesday, with his father, Jonathan Wall, describing Zach’s deep empathy and a commitment to caring for others through principles his family call “Zach’s Rules for Life.”
Senior Center Launching “Community Rides” — Calls For Volunteers
NEWS
By Kevin LaHaise
For many seniors, the most daunting distance isn’t a cross-country flight, but the ten-mile trip to a specialist’s office. As the “Silver Tsunami” of aging Americans continues to grow, the Sudbury Senior Center is taking a proactive step to ensure no resident is left stranded with the launch of its new volunteer-powered program, Community Rides.
Designed as a “last-resort” safety net, Community Rides aims to fill the critical gaps left by existing transportation resources, providing a resource for seniors who have exhausted all other options for getting to essential appointments, medical or otherwise.
Goodnow Library to Phase Out CD Collection
NEWS
By Kevin LaHaise
They brought back the 1990’s classic sitcom “Full House” with “Fuller House” on Netflix in 2016, but it’s going to be tough to bring back CD’s in the age of streaming music and Apple CarPlay. Farewell, 1990’s — how we miss thee!
On March 3, Goodnow Library director Amy Stimac told the Trustees of the Goodnow Library that the library has 2,457 music CD’s in its collection, but 48% of them have not been taken out at the library in the last year. Stimac also noted that nearly 300 of those CD’s are 20 years old. She added that the library hasn’t purchased a single CD since 2021.
Return Mail Ballots for Town Election Promptly
NEWS
By the League of Women Voters of Sudbury
Mail ballots for the March 30 town election are on their way to voters, and those ballots must be received in the Town Clerk’s office by 8 p.m. on Election Day to be counted.
Town Clerk Beth Klein said approximately 2,400 voters have requested mail ballots and that ballots are being mailed the week of March 9 to all who have requested them.
The deadline for requesting a mail ballot for the town election is Monday, March 23. You can apply for a mail ballot online at www.VoteInMA.com or request one from the clerk’s office. The Town Clerk included a mail ballot application form with the annual town census mailing.
Sudbury Police Dispatcher Injured In Dubai is Recovering
NEWS
By Nancy Brumback
The Sudbury Police dispatcher deployed on U.S. Navy Reserve duty who was injured in Dubai is “doing just fine,” said Police Chief Scott Nix.
Owen Gerow, 22, sustained injuries the first day of the conflict when the United States and Israel attacked Iran and Iran retaliated with strikes on U.S. bases in the Middle East.
Chief Nix said Gerow is not one of the military personnel whose injuries required evacuation to a military hospital in Germany, but instead was treated where he was deployed. He has not returned home, and Nix does not expect him home “for some time yet.”
“He is totally fine, and we are proud of his service,” Nix said. The chief expects Gerow to return to his job with the Sudbury Police Department when he completes his deployment.
There are no other members of the Sudbury police department currently deployed on military reserve duty.
The Cabin in the Courtyard
FEATURES
By Cosette Greece
[Editor’s Note: This article is syndicated in collaboration with The Forum — the student newspaper of Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School. You can also read the article on the Forum’s website here.]
Each day, students at LS have walked, drove, or gazed past the rustic brown shed that lives in the parking lot. I am positive that almost all of those students have thought about the true purpose of what that small building is, and why it is still there, yet never looked deep enough to find the truth. It sits there through the passing seasons, watching students go to school each day, holding so much history as it continues to stand after many years. With that in mind, I took it upon myself to figure out the who, how, and why behind this historic cabin.
Finance Committee Gears Up to Take Positions on Articles – Smooth Sailing Ahead?
NEWS
By Kevin LaHaise
The Sudbury Finance Committee (FinCom) is going through its usual process of reviewing articles for Annual Town Meeting in May. They are tasked with making recommendations to support or oppose articles to Town Meeting, and this process ultimately results in the position statements you see in the Town Meeting Warrant. The Select Board goes through a similar exercise for all articles, as does the Capital Improvement Advisory Committee for a smaller subset of major capital articles.
In the March 9 meeting of the FinCom, members discussed if they needed more information on articles ahead of next week’s meeting, and co-chair Mike Joachim took the pulse of the committee on each article.
Open Table to Host 2026 “Chopped for Charity” Gala in May
NEWS
By Kevin LaHaise
Get ready for a night of culinary competition and community spirit. Open Table, the MetroWest non-profit dedicated to fighting food insecurity, has officially announced the lineup for its 2026 Chopped for Charity gala.
The high-energy fundraiser will take place on Friday, May 1, at the Nashawtuc Country Club in Concord. Returning to lead the festivities as Master of Ceremonies is popular chef and television personality Joe Gatto.
The heart of the evening features three acclaimed local chefs facing off in a fast-paced cooking challenge:
Poor Farm Gets New Map, Trail Guide
NEWS
By Kevin LaHaise
One of Sudbury’s sometimes-overlooked conservation parcels now has a trail guide published by the Sudbury Conservation Department.
Poor Farm, which has a parking area at the intersection of Willis Road and Marlboro Road, is an approximately 55-acre parcel with a unique history. According to the trail guide “Before there was Social Security and welfare, so-called “poor farms” were a common approach for grappling with poverty. Also called “town farms,” the residents would provide labor to expenses associated with their upkeep. This include raising the fruits, vegetables, and livestock that they consumed. Sudbury’s own “Poor Establishment” came into being in the 19th century. In 1832, the Town purchased the land of Asa Noyes expressly for this purpose.”
Events!
Opinion
Parting Thoughts
The massive snow piles are melting down, but that’s not even going to be enough to get us out of drought conditions. It may look wet out there, but it’s actually quite dry.
As the announcement from Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Rebecca Tepper said “Even when it melts, the three feet of snow equals only about two and a half inches of water, which is not enough to fully recharge rivers, lakes, ponds, and groundwater after months of below-average precipitation and overall substantial water deficits.”
Appearances sure can be deceiving!
Senator Jim Inhofe famously brought a snowball onto the floor of the United States Senate and held it up as proof that the planet wasn’t warming. An amusing stunt… but not a terribly persuasive argument because it ignores scientific evidence and swaps in anecdotal evidence.
The problem with political stunts is that their desperate pursuit of attention undermines the credibility of the associated position. And that position is often based on bad or incomplete information, which is why it needs a stunt to get attention in the first place.
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse fired back:
“You can believe NASA and you can believe what their satellites measure on the planet, or you can believe the Senator with the snowball.”
Onward!