IMPORTANT PENDING BILL FOR SHIRLEY
1. Shirley, like every town in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is struggling to make ends meet. Currently there is a bill being battled behind the scenes, that could help send a much need infusion of cash to every single city and town in Massachusetts! The democrat majority for reasons known only to them, are fighting this.
House Docket # 4651, Massachusetts Municipal Finance Relief Act of 2007, which is being fought in the back rooms of Beacon Hill, would take $450,000,000 from the Commonwealth’s Stabilization Fund, (that contains surplus revenue in the billions) and divide that up to all 351 cities and towns in the State. Shirley would receive a very much needed $696,571 with which we could make improvements to our roads, purchase new equipment, and more wisely put all or a portion of it into Shirley’s “rainy day” fund.
Our Republican Town Committee urges every resident of Shirley to contact our elected representatives in the State (State Senator Pam Resor @ 617-772-1120, or State Representative James Eldridge @ 617-772-2060) and insist they insure passage of this important legislation.
Once this Bill passes we then urge our town fathers to use this money wisely, not for salaries or staff additions in any department, but rather to support those in need, to purchase or repair old equipment, or to save this money in our rainy day fund to offset any potential future issue as they may arise. The Republican Town Committee will be pushing our State officials hard, for passage and monitoring our local elected officials to insure the wisest possible use of these funds, to impact a better quality of life for all Shirley residents.
To see the full content of this legislation click here...
NEWS ITEMS
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On Saturday the 21st at 8.a.m, while people were getting ready to start their weekend activities with family and friends, two pickup trucks loaded with boxes pulled up in front of the Devens Commons Center, the drivers were greeted by Mike Egan, General Manager, who donated rooms for the days events and showed the drivers where to drop off their precious cargo. In the minutes that passed more people arrived with homemade cookies, snack items and monitory donations and a group of 30 started the task at hand, sorting and separating personal care items from snack items and the trademark of this third get together, homemade cookies, needing to be sorted, broken down into units of one dozen and shrink wrapped.
For people who had not attended the last two Cookie Drop efforts, the looks on their faces said it all, a combination of awe looking at the sheer amount of donations and being overwhelmed by the controlled chaos as box after box was opened the contents laid out, sorted into like items then moved to another area for packaging. Five volunteers in the back of the room barely looked up as they sorted and shrink-wrapped cookies, two more people steadily completed the customs paperwork for every box being shipped and three gentleman running for elective office rolled up their sleeves and set about doing whatever was asked to assist. Jeff Beatty a U.S. Senate candidate, brought in a camcorder and recorded each volunteers name, where they were from and a message to the troops, some amusing, some emotional, all heartfelt. "This will be included in one of the shipping boxes to let our troops know they are loved, missed and thought of every day", Beatty told the gathered volunteers.
A reception table was set up and everyone who contributed anything was identified so that formal recognition could be made. Kendra Dumont, Chair of the Shirley Republican Town Committee related "There is absolutely nothing political in making sure our troops get remembered every day. They are keeping us safe the least we can do, as a group is to let them know we think about them often." Laurie and Kevin Hayes, were all smiles as they explained that they are the proud parents of one of the Marines in the unit receiving this shipment. Laurie stated "This is awesome, each year we do this, it gets bigger and this year my son is there and this is his unit, this is very special to us."
Recognition needs to be made to the following people who gave of their time and money to insure the 3rd Cookie Drop was a success; Bemis Associates Inc; Devens Common Center; Devens Grill; Sonoco; Wachusett Brewing Company; The employees of Hub International; Pepperell RTC U.S. Senate Candidate Jeff Beatty; Ma State Senate Candidate Steven Levy; 37th Middlesex District Candidate Kurt Hayes; Kevin/Laurie Hayes; Bryan/Kendra Dumont, Warren/Pamela Bisson; Dan/Karen Rau; Joseph Sheehan; Brian Bernhard; John/Elaine/Lauren/John Jr. Gailey; Colleen Smith; Bill O'Connell; Mike/Leah/Nick/Jarred O'Leary; James T. McDonald; Thea White; Chris Kidger; David Lester; Dr. Nanjula Battaluri DMD; Frank/Elizabeth Devan; Catherine Djerbaka; Curtis Howes; David Lunges; Steven/Kate Cantwell; Dr. Kevin Brown DMD; Denise Traynor; Mike Hruby; Mike Pare; Doug Crossman; Eileen Madigan; Jeanne Kangas; Brian Burke; Mike Egan; Patricia Wilson; Kathleen Bergantino; Marcy Brooks; Nancy Prunier; Christine Doucette; Carol Mahoney; Dan/Lesa Bourgeois; Peter Quinn; Kevin/Kim Buckler; and Rene Robinson and all the children and their parents at Mary Rowlandson Kindergarten in Lancaster;
See Photos in Photo Gallery
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On June 5 2008 The Shirley Republican Town Committee presented its First annual scholarship "Shirley's Future Fund" to two deserving Shirley seniors, Mr. Brendon M Couturier, and Ms. Kathleen M. Roy both graduating from Lunenburg High School.
During the presentation ceremony, held at the Lunenburg High School Kendra Dumont, Chair of the Town Committee stated "We decided several months ago to try and recognize the achievements of some of our Shirley Students and came up with a non-political way to do this called the Shirley's Future Fund. It was created to provide a little something for these young men and woman as they will be Shirley's and our country's future. The selection process was a very difficult decision for us as we met with 2 different groups of seniors and a total of seven great kids, We based our final decision on input from the schools and the students enthusiasm, motivation and community service."
Each recipient received a certificate and check to help defray some of the costs of higher education. Local Shirley Business's too include Custom Courier and Sentry Security & Investigations donated to the fund.
Kendra stated that "We hope to involve more business's making contributions and more schools and students in the future. We see this as a way to recognize students for their community involvement and then reward Shirley's future leaders. We will track this years recipients and if the donations are available we'll continue to support them through their college life as well as identifying worthy students each year. It is simply the right thing to do and with any luck they will come back to Shirley and help lead our town into the future."
See Photos in Photo Gallery
The Shirley Republican Town Committee would like to congratulate our newest selectman Mr. Andy Deveau.
And offer a heartfelt congratulations to all those who ran for what sometimes is a thankless job in a small town. We would also like to wish all those well, who have served our community in the past in elected, non elected and volunteer positions.
Mr. Deveau brings with him positive energy and an upbeat attitude, refreshing to say the least. Our Town Committee stands ready to assist in whatever way we can to improve the quality of life for Shirley Residents.
Times are indeed tough for the citizens as well as town finances, focus should be paid on higher elected officials to get back into Shirley what Shirley has coming. Our Republican Town committee is ready to support our town in these times, a positive energy, thinking outside of the box, and the elimination of the “it can’t be done attitude” will help Shirley flourish far into the future.
Shirley Republican Town Committee takes a stand, makes an endorsement for our partys future!
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As February 5th and our Statewide primary draws near, there are other issues on the ballot aside from your choice for either parties presidential nominees, that are as important to the political well being of our democracy in Massachusetts.
Each party has the opportunity to elect their respective Town Committee officers and members, These men and woman provide ground level support for their local parties. In addition each party elects their State Committee Members. These individuals, volunteer their time and efforts to set the agenda for their respective parties for the next four years.
This critical role will establish respective party platforms, set and approve budgets and guide the
Democrat or Republican party¹s future in Massachusetts.
To that end, The Shirley Republican Town Committee was excited to hear from the two men challenging for the open seat on the Republican State Committeeman position. Both men presented their reasoning on why they should be voted for and what they hope to bring to the State Committee level, after their summary and a question and answer period, the Shirley Republican Town Committee was proud to endorse Mr. Brian Burke of Stow Massachusetts for this position. Mr. Burke brings with him a wealth of knowledge and the desire for change, for the better, for the Massachusetts Republican Party.
The Town Committee also endorsed Ms. Jeanne Kangas of Boxborough Massachusetts for another term of the State Committee Woman (Ms Kangas is also serving as the Vice Chair of the Massachusetts Republican Party)
These two fine representatives of the Republican party are responsible for providing support and guidance in all matters Republican, to the following cities and towns; Shirley, Ayer, Harvard, Littleton, Acton Boxborough, Stow, Maynard, Sudbury, Hudson, Marlborough, Northborough, and portions of Southborough, and Westborough. We encourage all Republicans to vote for your respective Town Committee members and would ask that you consider Mr. Brian Burke and Ms. Jeanne Kangas to represent all of the towns listed, at the Republican State Committee level.
We are proud to say that both our endorsed candidates won thier respective seats, God speed in bringing a real Republican party back to Massachusetts and giving voters an actual choice!
2. 2007 A Year In Review........YOUR Republican Town Committees Efforts.. A brief moment to reflect on what YOUR Town Committee accomplished!
a. The State Committee Chair Debate; On 11 Jan 2007 and in conjunction with the MRA the Shirley RTC sponsored a debate among the candidates for the Chair of the State Republican party. this was also announced and covered locally and brought people from surrounding areas to our area.
b. We contracted and had a web site designed by an entity called FILETACTICS. This website speaks for itself and our cost is covered by our advertisers, who are also receivng business as a result of their ads..We have email comments to that effect.
c. We had Stationary designed using a Shirley Landmark. as our logo
d. “Welcome to Shirley” Letter; we get the names of the folks moving in and send them a welcome letter.
e. Happy Birthday or Happy Graduation Letter; We send every resident child in town a letter to when they reach their 18th Birthday The Town has reported An “unknown” spike in youth registering to vote, and it is beingattributed to these letters, as nothing else is being accomplished by any other entity we also see a spike in hits on the Web site.
f. Operation “Cookie Drop”; Last year the RTC took part in this with the Shirley American Legion leading the charge. We challenged each other and came up with 50 dozen cookies and related stuffers for a forward deployed military unit. The Legion received huge support, the RTC was favorably mentioned and in turn received a significant amount of favorable press and publicity, This year the RTC is the lead element in the event, and receivied substantial donated goods to go along with the 50-125 dozen cookies the RTC membership and former Legion members baked. A local conference center has donated a room(s) for the day for staging purposes, A local luxury motel is donating personal care items and a large chain, supermarket with a branch in our neighboring town is donating other snack and related items. Each troop in our selected and forward deployed unit received a packet that included Christmas/Holiday cards, made by a local grade school! We were favoribly covered by the press and had numerous local dignitaries, and politicians to attend.
g. The Shirley Hoe-Down; (Local Town Fairs) we rented two booth spaces, in one booth we had candy and Hot Fudge Sundaes for sale, in the other, with the RTC Banner we had Temp Tattooing, Temp hair coloring patriotic balloons, and sold Silly String, The later came with a letter indicated the proceeds of which were being donated to the troops, additionally every can we sold, the manufacturer was donating a can to the U.S. Military as they use it to detect trip wires.
h. Operation Clean a Street”; On 16 September 2007 The Members of the RTC participated in “Operation Clean Street” We coordinated with our towns’ Highway Department, selected a 2.5 miles of town road, in our case it is the road leading to our towns center and cleaned up one side and down the other, totaling five miles of road. Taking 10 people about four hours on a Sunday morning. A local and regional paper showed up and had favorable stories and Photos concerning the activity. That included our banner and the 17 bags of refuse collected.
i. Shirley RTC Food Drive; We have completed two in 2007. We were able to deliver a total of two large pick up trucks full of needed items, one before Thanksgiving and the 2nd before Christmas to our local Loaves and fishes
1. Shirley Republican Town Committee Lends Support!
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Off in some distant corner of Iraq, in harms way, a group of some two hundred United States Marines will be receiving special holiday packages which will hopefully make a brief period of their 24/7 lives a little bit special, let them know complete strangers support and care about them, and give them a taste of home for the holidays. The Shirley Republican Town Committee, chaired by Kendra Dumont and a group of concerned citizens from Ayer lead by Ed Orr worked tirelessly over the last month to insure these particular Marines were not forgotten. Caring Individuals from all over Central Massachusetts responded, along with local business’s and insured successful outcome was achieved.
On Sunday December 2, 2007, thirty to thirty five volunteers gathered in two rooms provided by Michael Egan, Director of Sales and Marketing, Devens Common Center and packed and vacuum sealed over three hundred dozen home baked cookies, so that each Marine would receive at least one dozen. These were then boxed with assorted personal care items, Twenty of these containers received special treatment and specific items, from Kendra Dumont and some of the other female volunteers as these boxes werefor 20 Woman Marines assigned to this unit. Snack items are a big hit according to the Unit First Sgt. So Hot cocoa, single coffee and tea packets, Pringles, slim jims, gum and other assorted items were used to Fill each individual bag.
To insure the Marines has a complete holiday experience hundreds of holiday cards were mailed courtesy of the Mary Rowlandson Elementary School in Lancaster and Page Hilltop Elementary School, and Ayer Middle School. Each and every donation was of value in particular the financial contributions as the shipping costs for all 125 boxes exceeded eleven hundred dollars!
In addition to the gracious donation of the space both Ed. Orr and Kendra Dumont wanted to extend thanks to the following business’s and individuals that made this event a success;
Lancaster Teachers, Renee Robinson, Gail Sticklor and Nancy Kulis, Page Hilltop Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Adamson, and several other Ayer Page Hilltop and Middle School teachers, American Family Link of Leominster, Custom Courier, DCU, Devens Grill, HUB International, Hannafords of Lunenburg and Ayer, Prokowiew Electrical, Sentry Security/Investigations, Shirley Town Republican Committee, Snip-its Hair Salon, Kath B Hair, Spring Hill Marriott, Devens Common Center, Thelma Dumont, Ed/Jenn Orr, Beth Grant, Robbi Orr, Laurie/Kevin Hayes, Kendra/Bryan Dumont, Elaine/John/John III and Lauren Gailey, Mark Prokowiew, Doug Crossman, Kay/John Tohline, Sharon/Jim Lucchesi, Dan/Karen Rau, Pam/Warren Bisson, Penny/Rich Halpin, Bruce/Gina Novak, Pauline Conley, Maria Delrosario, Brian Burke, Kathy Burgintino, Katrina Grossi, Jeanne Kangas, John Conney, Dottie Hoare, April Cole,Kate/Steve Cantwell, Lucie Lindley, Elizabeth/Steve Grant, Rene Zajon, Paul Wilson, Kathy/Ray Bergantino. We especially want to thank St. Anthonys in Shirley and Father Derosia for supplying and blessing religious medals for the troops.
The appearance of Colonel Belcher, Commanding Officer of the 25th Marine Regiment, Devens RFTA provided a much welcomed moral lift to the 30 to 35 volunteers. The Colonel stayed for the entire event, and at it conclusion presented Ed Orr coordinator of the Ayer Volunteer effort and Kendra Dumont, Chair Shirley Republican Town Committee, coordinator of the Shirley effort, a Commanders Coin and Marine Coffee mug in appreciation of the total effort. Each participant also received a certificate of Appreciation from the Command group of the Massachusetts American Legion. And a special thanks is offered to the entire staff at the Ayer Post Office, their assistance in planning, setting up an appointment, and processing the 125 boxes.
2.The Truest Meaning of The Holidays
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The Holidays are the busiest of times for most area residents, sharing the best that this time of year has to offer with family and friends, planning family festivities and looking forward to giving and getting. There are those among us who do not share these feelings of joy and celebration, rather they are concerned with providing a meal and some small gift to those near and dear to them. Our local papers brought our attention to those in need and a organization willing to provide that service. The Shirley Republican Town Committee, with the help of a caring community answered the call and it’s members got to experience, first hand, the truest meaning of the holidays. On December 1 , Republican Town Committee members organized by the Chair, Kendra Dumont, traveled throughout Shirley, Ayer and as far away as Acton and Westford picking food items up from people who wanted to give a little something to those with a little less. Arriving at the local Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry in mid-afternoon an entire pick-up truck full of donated items including Turkeys, Dry goods, Fruit Juices, Pastas, Cereal, canned fruits and vegetables and much more was released to a grateful Loaves and Fishes staff.Committee members got a tour of the facility and found out that Loaves and Fishes supports 7 surrounding communities, not only with food, but educational opportunities, health initiatives, clothing, and during the Holiday Season provides toys for parents to give to their children as well as gift items for children to give to their parents. Kendra Dumont observed that not many people are aware of all the outstanding services that are provided and was especially touched by the gift area and stated that this committee will endeavor to help again. She also expressed grateful appreciation to all those that gave in support of this effort and will be sending personal thanks from the committee to those who gave of their time and money to make another families holidays a special time.
3. The Shirley Republican Town Committee would like to thank our newest Selectman, Enrico Cappucci and long time School Committee Board Member, Paul Wilson for attending our meeting on 27 August 2007. Both were interesting and informative. Mr. Cappucci’s message of transparency in town government is very appealing and a refreshing change from the status quo . We believe when a town resident steps up to the plate and really works for better town government, at the end of the day their party affiliation is less important than the good work they are doing. Both Mr. Cappucci and Mr. Wilson have made many sacrifices and have worked hard for our town. Our committee thanks both gentleman for their appearance and hard work..
4. The Shirley Republican Town Committee is excited to announce that they are the second RTC in the State to officially endorse Jeff Beatty for his run in 2008 for U.S. Senate against John Kerry. After the unanimous vote Beatty called in to thank his supporters I want to thank you all for your endorsement I’m truly honored by your support. We can do better and with your help we will, God Bless you all. Kendra Dumont, the RTC Chair, commented that she was pleased with the vote Mr. Beatty was here last month and made a positive impression with the membership and guests, He is the right man for these times. Jeff Beatty, who has formed an Exploratory Committee to consider the Senate run, has a lifetime of public service as a decorated veteran and Purple Heart recipient. He is the first person to have served with all 3 of the U.S.’s most elite anti-terrorism units: Delta Force Assault Troop Commander in the first Blackhawk shot down; Special Agent of the FBI, advising the FBI National Hostage Rescue Team; a CIA Counter-terrorism Officer with service primarily running successful operations against terrorists and nations hostile to the United States. Since leaving government service, Jeff Beatty has been an active small businessman and homeland security consultant designing training programs for over 500,000 Americans to help keep our citizens safe. His clients have included Logan Airport, The MBTA, The Superbowl, Boston Public Schools, The Statue of Liberty and other local and national organizations. Beatty is widely sought in both national and international arenas as a consultant and commentator in the areas of National Security, Homeland Security and Anti-Terrorism. Beatty is a familiar face on national and international broadcast and news media, with over 250 appearances on FOX News, CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS and other major media outlets.
Members please register on the site for additional information.
1. The Shirley Republican Town Committee is pleased to announce a candidates forum. We are going to try, at least monthly, (This will officially kick off in the fall of 2007) to have a candidate or candidates representative available to the public. This will be completed in order to provide additional educational opportunities on candidates or issues to the general public. You can check this web site or the Shirley Volunteer or Oracle to determine the time, location, and guest speaker. We only ask that you RSVP to the Chairperson in the contact portion of this web site so that we can make appropriate seating arrangements.
2. Shirley Republican Town Committee secured a table and was officially identified as an appreciation contributor for the APPRECIATION CELEBRATION HONORING LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR KERRY HEALEY at the Sheraton Tara in Framingham.
3. The Shirley Republican Town Committee enjoyed a GREAT evening on 23 July 2007, after a brief meeting, the guests speakers were introduced by the Chair, Kendra DUMONT, they included, Jeanne KANGAS, Vice Chair for the Massachusetts Republican Party, Bob PARKS, Author, TV and Radio personality and the Vice President of the Massachusetts Republican Assembly; and Jeff BEATTY, decorated veteran, Business Owner and Candidate for the United States Senate opposing John Kerry.
4. The Shirley Republican Town Committee has one of it primary objectives to insure they do whatever we can to make Shirley a better place to live and raise a family. To that end on Saturday, 15 September, members of the committee participated in Operation Street Clean, Starting at the Shirley Train Station and going to the Harvard town line on Front Street (Shirley Strip) both sides of the street were cleaned, refuse collected and properly disposed of. “It is amazing what some people simply throw out of their car or just leave on public property, from regular trash to car parts. This road, for many people is the main access to our town, this is what people first see of Shirley, people should remember that before littering.” Said one committee member. “Next spring we will again coordinate with the Town Highway Department and identify another town road in need of a good cleaning” said Kendra Dumont the Chair of the Committee. The Committee also expressed thanks Mr. Lynch, Superintendent of the Shirley Highway Department for taking time from his busy schedule to insure a drop off area was provided and for establishing the safety briefing and the guidelines for the clean up area.” And drop off we did, 17 bags of trash were collected and put in the town dumpster!
5. Member of the Shirley RTC attended a fund raising event on 21 September 2007, sponsored by the Littleton Republican Town Committee (and their Master of Ceremonies Mr. Paul Avella) at Ken’s. We had the opportunity to listen to two gentlemen who are running for elective office, Mr. Jim Ogonowski who is running in the 5th Congressional District Race and again from Mr. Jeff Beatty who has formed an explority committee for the United States Senate versus John Kerry and this race, according to a Zogby poll is a statistical ties! The evening was completed by a very motivated Massachusetts State Senator, the Honorable Bruce Tarr who made us all feel great to be a Republican in Massachusetts. The evening was concluded with Mr. Beatty leading the sold out event in a rousing and emotional rendition of God Bless America