'Tis the Season

Welcome back!

You know it’s Town Election season when the opinion section is longer than a CVS receipt.

But there’s plenty of news and features this week, as well. That includes a great historical piece, and five Q&A’s with candidates.

Here’s what we have for you this week:

1. Meet the Candidates This Sunday

2. 250 Years Ago: March 13, 1775

3. SudburyWeekly.com News Roundup

4. Thoughts In Return? A Q&A With Esmé Green, Director - Goodnow Library

5. Committee Roundup

Let’s get into it!

Meet the Candidates This Sunday

By The League of Women Voters of Sudbury

Do you have questions for the candidates in Sudbury’s Annual Town Election? 

Come to the League of Women Voters’ Meet the Candidates event this Sunday, March 16, from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Goodnow Library and ask your questions.

All the candidates in the contested races for Select Board, Sudbury School Committee and Lincoln-Sudbury Regional District School Committee have indicated they expect to attend. Most candidates in uncontested races for town offices will also be on hand.

Meet the Candidates is an informal, drop-in event. Members of the community can stop by any time to meet and talk to the candidates running for town offices and school committees. Students are encouraged to come and ask questions. Families are welcome. Light, allergy-friendly refreshments will be served. 

In addition, the LWV Candidates’ Forum programs for the March 31 election are now available. There are separate programs for the three contested races: Select Board, the two-year seat on the Sudbury School Committee, and the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional District School Committee. All contested candidates participated. A separate program featuring candidates in uncontested races is also available.  

Voters can find on-demand links to each program in the LWV Voters’ Guide or at sudburytv.org. A cable subscription is not needed to view the programs on-demand on a computer or smartphone. The forum will run on SudburyTV’s cable channels, Comcast 22 and 1074 and Verizon 30 and 2130, during March. Viewers can find the SudburyTV cable broadcast schedule here.

The Voters’ Guide includes clickable links to available candidate websites and social media, a photo of the candidate, and a statement from each candidate outlining their priorities for their term. New this year, voters can click on a candidate’s image to hear the candidate introduce themself.

If you want to vote by mail in the election, you need to apply for a mail ballot. Applications from 2024 have expired.  You can find the application form here. Voters should apply immediately to assure time to receive and return a mail ballot.

The last day to register to vote in the town election is Friday, March 21. You can check your registration status and register online to vote at www.VoteInMA.com. You can also register in person at the Town Clerk’s office in Town Hall, 322 Concord Rd., or by mail.  Download a registration application here. 

Members of the League of Women Voters will be available to assist you with voter registration and information at Meet the Candidates event. 

250 Years Ago: March 13, 1775

By Jan Hardenbergh

250 years ago on March 13th, the Minute Company of the West Side started drilling. It is safe to assume that all of the companies of militia and minute started more serious drilling at the same time. More on the other companies in the next installment. The roll call record below survives in the Town Records. It details the attendance of the 58 men in his company on each Monday up until April 17th, two days before the Battle of Concord. it reads:

A Call Roll of Captain John Nixon’s Company of Minute Men. They Enlisted March Ye 13th, 1775.

You can find the full page [here]

Captain John Nixon was a veteran of the French an Indian War. Soon after the battles of Lexington and Concord he was promoted to colonel and led the Sudbury militia at the battle of Bunker Hill. In August 1776, Nixon was promoted to brigadier general. The next year, a cannonball passed so close to his head that his sight and hearing were affected the rest of his life.

Captain Nixon lived on Nobscot Hill and is where he started on the morning of April 19th. The cellar hole of the house can still be found just off Nixon road in the Nobscot Scout Reservation. The [Nixon School] is named for him. You can read more about Nixon on [WikiPedia] and much more about his military record [here].

SudburyWeekly.com News Roundup

Thoughts In Return? A Q&A With Esmé Green, Director - Goodnow Library

Editorial Note: Esmé Green has served as the director of the Goodnow Library since 2011. Last week the community learned that she would be moving on to a role at the Memorial Hall Library in Andover. Sudbury Weekly caught up with Green to talk about her time in Sudbury, and her experiences at the Goodnow Library.

Looking back on your time at Goodnow Library, what accomplishments are you most proud of, and how do you hope they will shape the library’s future?

I am really proud of our children’s programming. We have made a difference in 1,000s of families lives—from weekly Music Makers, to major open houses like Family Pride and May the 4th. I am also really proud of the projects we completed with the Goodnow Library Foundation, like the building of the NOW Lab makerspace and renovating the children’s department in 2013. Some fun accomplishments that might not seem significant are the opening of the Dunkin path and adding the drive up book drop. Those projects really changed the way people use the library. The path facilitates access to and from the library, and the book drop has been hugely popular since its installation. All of these changes have brought the library into more people’s lives and made the library the social hub of the community.

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced as Library Director, and how did you work to overcome them?

Every job has its challenges, and my experience was no different. I would say that covid was the most significant. We really had to pivot dramatically and quickly to continue to serve the community during lockdown. That being said, I think we were really successful. We initiated contactless pickup, 1000s of grab and go crafts, and pop up libraries outside. We also spent aggressively on ebooks. The use of them spiked during covid, and hasn’t gone back down at all, but continues to grow.

How has the role of the Goodnow Library evolved in the Sudbury community during your tenure, and what do you see as its most valuable contributions?

The library has become much more user-centric and visible to the community in general. One of the most valuable contributions has been the advent of Teen Study Week. We have created a welcoming, safe and friendly atmosphere for students twice a year since 2012. Not only is the space welcoming and open, but we have worked to address the stress that comes with preparing for exams with snacks, games and even baby goats!

How has your experience at Goodnow Library influenced your career and personal growth, and what’s next for you in your professional journey?

I have grown tremendously in my time here. I think the most amazing thing about Sudbury is the talented and genuine people who are invested in giving back to the community; these volunteers have been very special. Just about everything we do and have accomplished can in someway be credited to the volunteers who have participated in our various endeavors. I will take many of the things I have learned here with my on my next adventure as Director of Memorial Hall Library in Andover, MA.

What will you miss most about the Goodnow Library and the Sudbury community?

Frankly, I will miss just about everything—from the amazing staff and library users, to the beautiful drive to work through the backroads from Cambridge. I have met and worked with so many amazing people over the years and made lifetime friendships. I am grateful for my time here and the generosity of the people of Sudbury. It is going to be very hard to say goodbye.

Committee Roundup

By Kevin LaHaise

Select Board

• They met on Tuesday, March 11. The main action item for the meeting was to review Town Meeting warrant articles.

• They heard from Rami Alwan, chair of the Energy and Sustainability Committee, about the OPT-in stretch code article. They also heard from resident Ralph Tyler regarding the two citizen petitions he submitted to the warrant. It was unclear by the end of the discussion if these articles would get the support of the Select Board, and they did note vote their positions.

• The board did take a few unanimous votes to recommend approval of non-controversial articles. Things will heat up in their next couple meetings as they take positions on the rest of the articles—some of which have been controversial.

Park and Recreation Commission

• They met on Monday, March 10. The big focus of their meeting was on the Atkinson Pool.

• The commissioners were concerned that participants in a recent join meeting of the Finance Committee and Select Board had misconceptions about how much capital has been invested in the pool over the years, and how the pool operation is funded. (Details on that meeting here.)

• They decided to prepare a data analysis of pool use over the last several years to demonstrate how heavily the community relies on the pool. They also discussed how to make the case to the community that investing in the pool is the right thing to do.

• Jump to 1:17:30 to watch the pool discussion.

Parting Thoughts

Mark you calendars for April 8. The Sudbury Health Department has been planning a Public Health Week Health Fair that looks impressive. They’re going to have everything from yoga sessions to chair massages, vision appointments and other health screenings. The event will be at the Fairbank Community Center.

It sure is starting to feel like “event season” in Sudbury. The birds are chirping, the snow is melting, and the spring sports schedules have parents twisted up in knots already. In something of a Sudbury tradition, the goal is to sign your kids up for every available sport to test your skills in logistics and/or teleportation. Some may say it is simply not possible to be in North Attleborough and Groton at the same time. Sudbury parents know better. Spring sports are here. Start your engines!

Onward!