The Bellingham Bulletin January 2010 : Page 1
T BulletinBellingham’s “Good-News Paper”for Over 15Years! Visit our website: www.BellinghamBulletin.com January 2010 POSTAL PATRON Bellingham Bulletin Since 1994 Direct-Mailed into every Home & Business in Bellingham! Volume XVI, Issue 4 BELLINGHAM’S “HOMETOWN” NEWSPAPER SINCE 1994 Bellingham Teens Take on “Rachel’s Challenge” JANUARY 2010 Governor Announces Funds for Pulaski Blvd. Project story & photo by Pamela Johnson, Bulletin Publisher BELLINGHAM, MA 02019 PRST-STD U.S. Postage PAGE P A I D Bellingham BULLETIN Permit No. 107 Bellingham, MA STILL FREE! 1 Against a projected image of his sister, Craig Scott presents “Rachel’s Challenge” at BHS On Wednesday, December 2, scores of Bellingham teens made a commitment to practice kindness and compassion in their lives. What could inspire such an unprec- edented outpouring of good will? The story of one young girl—Rachel Joy Scott. Rachel Scott was the first victim of the 1999 Columbine High School slayings. Her brother, Craig Scott, spoke at Bell- ingham High School about Rachel, her life, her death, and her vision for making a difference in the world. The presentation, entitled “Rachel’s Challenge,” was offered in three sessions: one for the 7–9th grade students, one for grades 10–12, and a third in the evening for parents and members of the community. The driving force behind bringing the program to Bellingham High School was Senator Moore, Governor Patrick, Representative Callahan, Congressman Neal and Tom Emerick of MADOT look over plans for Pulaski Blvd. Project. the students of SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions). The group attended the program in Medway earlier this year, and they were struck by its message. Together with their advisor, Melissa Newman, they resolved to bring “Rachel’s Challenge” to their own community. Craig Scott, like his sister Rachel, was at Columbine High School on the day of the shootings. He witnessed some of the killings and narrowly escaped himself. Yet despite his personal trauma and loss, Craig has chosen to dedicate himself to motivational speaking and filmmaking in an effort to spread positive messages in the world. The education of the heart, said Craig, is at least as important as the education of the mind. His program, which partners with Founda- RACHEL CRAIG–continued on pg. 16 A project that began in 1996 took a giant step closer to completion recently when Governor Deval Patrick came to Bellingham to announce that, as part of his Massachusetts Recovery Plan, $13 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds are being invested in what is known as the “Pulaski Boulevard project.” Despite freezing temperatures and a sub-zero wind-chill factor, Governor Patrick, Tom Emerick of the MA Dept. of Transportation (DOT) and several elected officials on the local, state and federal lev- els were present on Dec. 18 at the Crooks Corner Common in South Bellingham to make the announcement. The project has been long in the making. In 1996, DPW Director Don DiMartino PULASKI BLVD–continued on pg. 2 * AIRPORT * SPECIAL Logan or Greene Airport $ Round-trip from Bellingham, Hopedale, Mendon, Franklin…Call for details 169 2 MAIN ST. • BLACKSTONE 508-883-4696 HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Bellingham Teens Take On “Rachel’s Challenge”
On Wednesday, December 2, scores of Bellingham teens made a commitment to practice kindness and compassion in their lives. What could inspire such an unprecedented outpouring of good will? The story of one young girl—Rachel Joy Scott.<br /> <br /> Rachel Scott was the first victim of the 1999 Columbine High School slayings.<br /> <br /> Her brother, Craig Scott, spoke at Bellingham High School about Rachel, her life, her death, and her vision for making a difference in the world. The presentation, entitled “Rachel’s Challenge,” was offered in three sessions: one for the 7–9th grade students, one for grades 10–12, and a third in the evening for parents and members of the community.<br /> <br /> The driving force behind bringing the program to Bellingham High School was the students of SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions). The group attended the program in Medway earlier this year, and they were struck by its message. Together with their advisor, Melissa Newman, they resolved to bring “Rachel’s Challenge” to their own community.<br /> <br /> Craig Scott, like his sister Rachel, was at Columbine High School on the day of the shootings. He witnessed some of the killings and narrowly escaped himself. Yet despite his personal trauma and loss, Craig has chosen to dedicate himself to motivational speaking and filmmaking in an effort to spread positive messages in the world. The education of the heart, said Craig, is at least as important as the education of the mind.<br /> <br /> His program, which partners with Founda Tion for a Better Life, hopes to inspire teens to develop strong character and good values.<br /> <br /> Craig describes Rachel as “a normal teenage girl… who didn’t get to do anything big in her life. She just believed in one word strongly, and that word was ‘compassion.’ ” Compassion is the central theme in Rachel’s Challenge, which is based on an essay Rachel wrote one month before her death. The paper was entitled “My Ethics, My Codes of Life,” and her thesis was that acting in a generous, positive manner can have a powerful impact on the world at large. She urged people to go out of their way to show compassion and do acts of kindness. If you do, she said in the line which has become the slogan of Rachel’s Challenge, “you just may start a chain reaction.” Craig Scott presented his audience with five challenges gleaned from the principles in Rachel’s writings and her life.<br /> <br /> The first was to choose positive influences.<br /> <br /> Craig noted that the shooters at Columbine “chose a lot of negative influences in their lives.” They disconnected from their peers, isolating themselves and focusing on dark and violent materials. Rachel, on the other hand, was known for forging Friendships with even the most marginalized students she encountered.<br /> <br /> Craig’s second challenge was to set positive goals. He suggested writing down those goals and keeping a journal of your progress and feelings along the way. Rachel, he told us, regularly kept journals, and in one she wrote, “Glory only comes when one pursues their dreams.” Third, Craig challenged his listeners to perform little acts of kindness in their daily lives. Rachel, he said, believed that, even at her young age, she could have an impact on the world through her actions. She wrote, “People will never know how far a little kindness will go.” The fourth challenge is to eliminate prejudice by looking for the best in others.<br /> <br /> By prejudice, Craig explained, he means not only racial or cultural prejudices, but also the lack of understanding that can cause division between the “cool” and the “uncool,” or the popular crowd and those who are excluded.<br /> <br /> Finally, Craig challenged each person present to tell the people they love how much they care about them—a challenge that was clearly close to his heart. “Life is short,” he said, “and it’s so important how you treat people.” Craig Scott’s words about and images of his sister Rachel had a profound impact on the Bellingham students as well as many parents. Their effect was evident on the faces of audience members as many lined up to embrace Craig after the program. It was further evidenced when students were invited to sign a large banner that read “I accept Rachel’s challenge.” The tangle of names covering the great expanse of paper attested to the power of Rachel’s story and was a tangible sign that the youth of Bellingham are prepared to start a positive chain reaction of their own.<br /> <br /> For more information, go to www.racheljoyscott. com or www.rachelschallenge.org. story & photo by Margo Ball, Bulletin Correspondent
Governor Announces Funds For Pulaski Blvd. Project
A project that began in 1996 took a giant step closer to completion recently when Governor Deval Patrick came to Bellingham to announce that, as part of his Massachusetts Recovery Plan, $13 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds are being invested in what is known as the “Pulaski Boulevard project.” Despite freezing temperatures and a sub-zero wind-chill factor, Governor Patrick, Tom Emerick of the MA Dept. of Transportation (DOT) and several elected officials on the local, state and federal levels were present on Dec. 18 at the Crooks Corner Common in South Bellingham to make the announcement.<br /> <br /> The project has been long in the making.<br /> <br /> In 1996, DPW Director Don DiMartino Approached the Board of Selectmen, advising them that roadwork was needed on the stretch of Pulaski Boulevard from Crooks Corner to the Franklin town line. The original Board members (as well as succeeding Board members) agreed, as did the residents of Bellingham, and over the next several years, over $4 million was invested to replace water and sewer lines and anything else that the town could do in order to get the project to the “shovel-ready” point. This would help to ensure that the project would make it onto the state’s Traffic Improvement Plan (TIP) and that, once on the list, it would move to the top.<br /> <br /> With passage of the ARRA, federal funds became available specifically for use on infrastructure improvements, so the Pulaski Boulevard project became one of many throughout the state vying for those funds.<br /> <br /> In a sentiment echoed by more than one official, the tenacity of both DiMartino and Town Administrator Denis Fraine proved to be largely responsible for the project’s being funded. “Every time there was a [TIP] meeting, they attended, constantly advocating for Bellingham,” explained Selectman Jerald Mayhew.<br /> <br /> Elected officials from Bellingham to Washington, D.C. advocated for Bellingham, including State Representative Jennifer Callahan (D-Sutton), Senator Richard<br /> <br /> T. Moore (D-Uxbridge), Governor Patrick, and U.S. Congressman Richard E. Neal (D- 2nd District), and all were on hand—with very cold hands—when the announcement was made.<br /> <br /> Patrick spoke of the partnerships that had evolved while making this project a reality.<br /> <br /> “I’m delighted to be part of this project because it’s important for job creation, and it’s important to the folks who use these routes to and from jobs and school. We are on course to invest all available federal stimulus transportation funds ahead of schedule, and this project, along with dozens of others across the Commonwealth, will bring immediate and long-term economic benefits to our residents, businesses and communities.” Patrick commended Congressman Neal, saying, “With his help, we are putting people to work and reversing decades of neglect through investments in our infrastructure.” Neal pointed out that, while Congress was a partner, putting the money aside, it was the Governor who advocated for this shovel-ready project, calling him “a friend to central and western Massachusetts.” State Representative Jennifer M. Callahan noted that the competition [for funding] was stiff and that Bellingham beat out other, much larger projects that had been in the running. While crediting Congressman Neal and the governor for their efforts, she pointed out, “This would not have happened without the resolution of the community.” “After more than ten years of planning, dedication and hard work, I was happy to learn that the Pulaski Boulevard project would be receiving state and federal funding,” said Senator Moore, also praising DiMartino and Fraine for their efforts.<br /> <br /> “After all the time and effort he’s put into this project, it should probably be named ‘DiMartino Way,’ ” he quipped, adding that Fraine, “the longest-serving town administrator in the region, if not the whole state, should be cloned. This project will certainly improve Bellingham’s infrastructure and will bring about enhanced safety and traffic flow to local commuters.” When asked if he sees signs of recovery around the state, the Governor responded, “Definitely. The stimulus funds have helped greatly, 20,000+ jobs have been saved, and the unemployment rate has gone down two months in a row. But,” he cautioned, “folks are still in need, still afraid. There is still a lot of work to be done.” The bid opening date has been set for January 19. The project is supposed to begin in the spring and will take an estimated two years to complete.<br /> <br /> Senator Moore threw in a shrewd observation: “It would be great if the project were completed by November 1, 2010—right before the election.”
