USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Douglas > Town Annual Report of the Officers of the Town of Douglas, for the year ending 1938 > Part 3
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42
Motor Vehicle Transfers Checked and Approved
29 Accidents : Personal Injury 2
Property Damage 10
-
. Total 12
Total Fines and Assessments $283.00
MISCELLANEOUS ACTIVITIES
Tours Special Duty-All Officers 399
Street Lights Found Out and Reported 29
Doors to Business Places Found Unlocked and Secured. . . . 8 Business Places Found with Night Lights Out-Checked ... 14
Lost Property Returned to Owners-Value $230.00
Insane Persons Committed
4
Death Notices Delivered
7
Obstructions in Highways Found and Removed 7
Defects in Highways Noted and Reported to Supervisor
6
Stray Dogs Shot
4
Missing Persons Located
4
Communications Received
346
Communications Sent Out
390
CLASSIFICATION OF OFFENCES FOR WHICH ARRESTS WERE MADE
Absentee, Habitual
1
Assault, Indecent
1
Assault and Battery
3
Assault to Rob
1
Automobile, Taking Without Authority
1
Accosting and Disorderly Conduct
2
Adultery
1
Accessory Before Fact to a Felony
1
Accessory After Fact to a Felony
1
Breaking, Entering and Larceny (day time)
2
Breaking, Entering and Larceny (night time)
9
Bastardy
1
Collecting Junk Without a License
4
Delinquent Children :
Larceny
1
Lewdness
1
Total
2
43
Disturbing the Peace
3
Default (Capias)
1
Drunk
12
Escaped Patient
1
Failure to Stop on Signal of Officer
1
Insane Persons
4
Larceny
4
Leaving the Scene of an Accident
4
Larceny from a Building
3
Lewdness
1
Misconduct
1
Non-Support (Warrant)
1
Neglected Children
6
Neglect to Provide (Warrant)
1
Neglect of Minor Children (Warrant)
1
Operating Motor Vehicle Under Influence of Liquor
3
Operating Unregistered Motor Vehicle
1
Operating Uninsured Motor Vehicle
1
Profanity (Warrant)
1
Receiving Stolen Property
1
Vagrancy
1
Violation of Probation
1
Unnatural Act
1
Total
84
Minors 8
Felonies 21
Misdemeanors (excludes minors) 55
Residents (excludes minors) 22
Non-Residents
54
Males
79
Females 5
Bound Over to Grand Jury 17
Sentenced to Jails and Institutions for Correction. 27
Cases Pending January 1, 1939 2
During the past year this department was subjected to several non-recurring activities. Needless to say the expenditures exceeding the appropriations allotted for this department at the annual town meeting were due directly to these non-recurring activities, i.e., hur- ricane, special investigations of thefts in town, patroling highways damaged by storms.
Respectfully submitted,
KARLE T. HOWE,
Chief of Police.
44
Report of the Fire Department
Town Appropriation
$700.00
Expenditures :
Fire Chief Salary
100.00
Fire Company Salaries
273.00
Janitor
70.50
Miscellaneous Labor at Station
6.50
Fire Hose
70.00
Fire Truck-Expense
48.05
Fuel
37.30
Light
8.25
Repairs at Station
3.97
Telephones
79.95
All other
.95
Unexpended Balance
$699.47 .53
Estimated fire loss for 1938
$1,000.00
Number of Alarms answered 38
26 Chimneys, 3 House, 2 Barns, 3 Grass, 1 Auto, 1 Brush, 2 False Alarms.
FIRE DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL:
Charles Anderson, Chief
Joseph Vecchione, Ass't. Chief
Felix Vecchione, Engineer
William Van Ness, Secretary
Edmund Bruno, Treasurer
Harold Buxton
Louis Bloniasz
Herbert E. Gove
Fred Cabana
Joseph Bruno
Kenneth McMahon
Harold Anderson
Lawrence Kolumber
Albert Frost
Stephen Kosiar
Respectfully submitted,
CHARLES A. ANDERSON, Chief.
$700.00
45
Report of the Forest Fire Department
To the Selectmen and citizens of Douglas:
During the year 1938 the forest fire department received 21 calls to fight fire: 4 of these calls were for grass fires that burned a total of only four and half acres with very little damage resulting; 9 of the calls were to put out fires in second growth woodland with some forty-two and a half acres being burned before the fires were placed under control; on 2 other occasions the local department assisted the forest fire departments of Webster and Sutton on the boundary lines; 6 other alarms were answered and found to be false.
Throughout the year some 228 permits to burn brush and rubbish were issued by me as Forest Warden.
I urge all citizens and residents of this town to be on the alert this spring for forest fires and everyone of us must be extra careful to prevent forest fires. The work of the W. P. A. crews and the C. C. C. boys at the local camp is daily reducing the forest fire hazard but its menace will not be entirely eliminated by spring.
The Selectmen have informed me that plans are being made to furnish the department with a truck which will be equipped with a pump and approximately one half mile of hose. With this new addi- tional equipment the department will be better prepared to face this forest fire menace, possibly the greatest in the Town's history.
Respectfully submitted,
HENRY A. PETERS,
Forest Warden
46
Report of the Tree Warden
1938 Appropriation
Reserve Fund Transfer
$400.00 24.57
The Northern Tree Expert Co.
$365.00
Palmer, Massachusetts
Paul D. Manning, Insurance
24.72
Sundry persons, labor
29.00
W. R. Wallis Lumber Co.
3.35
Charles C. Krull
2.50
$424.57
Respectfully submitted,
JAMES FULONE.
47
Report of the Highway Commissioner
December 31, 1938.
Chapter 81 Highways:
Appropriated by Town
$ 5,250.00
Allotment by State 10,500.00
Total $15,750.00
Earl Ballou, Supt. as per wages
$1,079.52
Earl Ballou, Car. 1084 hrs. @ .20
216.80
C. L. Church, Foreman 768 hrs. @ .60
460.80
H. W. Buxton, Truck & driver 862 hrs. @ 1.50
1,293.00
D. E. Caswell, Truck & driver 774 hrs. @ 1.50
1,161.00
Nellie Parker, Truck & driver 898 hrs. @ 1.50
1,347.00
W. H. Dudley, Truck & driver 741 hrs. @ 1.50
1,111.50
E. S. Chase, Double Team 123 hrs. @ 1.00 123.00
Roy Kenyon, Double Team 22 hrs. @ 1.00 . .
22.00
Earl McCann, Tractor oper. 654 hrs. @ .60
392.40
Earl McCann, Labor 435 hrs. @ .50
217.50
Everett Ballou, Grader oper. 569 hrs. @ .60
341.40
Clifford Lunn, Grader oper. 32 hrs. @ .60
19.20
Carmine Ferno, Labor 979 hrs. @ .50
489.50
Stanley Krouse, Labor 800 hrs. @ .50
400.00
Alfred Miller, Labor 936 hrs. @ .50
468.00
Harold Keith, Labor 146 hrs. @ .50
73.00
Albert Valcourt, Labor 906 hrs. @ .50
453.00
Harold Dudley, Labor 10 hrs. @ .50
5.00
Gustavus Wellman, Labor 56 hrs. @ .50
28.00
James Murphy, Labor 679 hrs. @ .50
339.50
Jesse Chase, Labor 259 hrs. @ .50 129.50
5.00
Paul Manning Jr., Labor 5 hrs. @ .50
2.50
D. E. Caswell Jr., Labor 20 hrs. @ .50
10.00
Edward Balcom, Labor 4 hrs. @ .50
2.00
Lewis Fisk, Labor 262 hrs. @ .50
131.00
Michael Kocur, Labor 483 hrs. @ .50
241.50
Donah Bonville, Labor 298 hrs. @ .50
149.00
Alfred Lafferriere, Labor 160 hrs. @ .50
80.00
W. H. Dudley, Labor 7 hrs. @ .50
3.50
Chesley Johnson, Labor 137 hrs. @ .50
68.50
Frank Revard, Labor 4 hrs. @ .50
2.00
Everett Ballou, Labor 204 hrs. @ .50
102.00
Clifford Lunn, Labor 769 hrs. @ .50
384.50
Irving Fisher, Labor 10 hrs. @ .50
48
Elwin Chase, Labor 144 hrs. @ .50 72.00
Joseph Huchowski, Labor 14 hrs. @ .50 7.00
Roy Kenyon, Labor 43 hrs. @ .50 21.50
John Minior, Labor 155 hrs. @ .50 77.50
Elmer Kenyon, Labor 11 hrs. @ .50
5.50
George Jones, Labor 26 hrs. @ .50
13.00
H. W. Buxton, Labor 16 hrs. @ .50 8.00
William Laws, Labor 153 hrs. @ .50 76.50
Irwin Smith, Labor 3 hrs. @ .50 1.50
Ernest Lunn, Labor 8 hrs. @ .50 4.00
John Carter, Labor 18 hrs. @ .50
9.00
Wayland Heck, Compressor oper.
24 hrs. @ .871/2 21.00
Walter Dimock, Helper 24 hrs. @ .621/2 15.00
Labor & Trucking $11,683.62 Rental from Town owned machinery credited to machinery account $ 878.00 $ 878.00
Chapter 81 Material :
The Barrett Co., 500 Gals. Tar (TM-2) @ .12 $ 60.00
The Barrett Co., 10957 Gals. Tarvia @ .119 . 1,303.88 C. C. Plumb Co., 9,735 Gals. road oil @ .0675 .. 657.12
P. D. Manning, Compensation & Liab. Ins. . .
321.03
H. W. Buxton, 4,155 cu. yds. gravel @ .07 . .
290.85
New England Metal Culvert Co., culvert pipe .. 474.29
State Prison Colony, Grate & Frame for catchbasin 15.10
Wayland Heck, one case dynamite
9.75
O. F. Chase, 120 cu. yds. gravel @ .05 6.00
C. A. Sweet, 655 cu. yds. sand @ .05
32.75
D. E. Caswell, 424 cu. yds. gravel @ .04.
16.96
Total Material
$ 3,187.73
Grand Total Chapter 81 Highways
$15,749.35
EARL BALLOU,
Supt. of Highways.
Chapter 90 Maintenance :
Appropriated by Town
$500.00
Appropriated by County 500.00
Allotment by State 500.00
Total
$1,500.00
Earl Ballou, Supt. as per wages
$
83.04
Earl Ballou, Car 96 hrs. @ .20
19.20
49
Charles Church, Foreman 60 hrs. @ .60 36.00
Nellie Parker, Truck & driver 98 hrs. @ 1.50 .. 147.00
W. H. Dudley, Truck & driver 64 hrs. @ 1.50 .. 96.00
H. W. Buxton, Truck & driver 28 hrs. @ 1.50 .. 42.00
D. E. Caswell, Truck & driver 68 hrs. @ 1.50 .. 102.00
Earl McCann, Labor 54 hrs. @ .50 27.00
Everett Ballou, Labor 16 hrs. @ .50
8.00
Clifford Lunn, Labor 79 hrs. @ .50
39.50
Carmine Ferno, Labor 119 hrs. @ .50
59.50
Albert Valcourt, Labor 104 hrs. @ .50 52.00
Stanley Krouse, Labor 80 hrs. @ .50 40.00
Alfred Miller, Iabor 40 hrs. @ .50 20.00
James Murphy, Labor 80 hrs. @ .50
40.00
Michael Kocur, Labor 20 hrs. @ .50
10.00
Donah Bonville, Labor 28 hrs. @ .50
14.00
Alfred Lafferriere, Labor 8 hrs. @ .50 4.00
Elwin Chase, Labor 72 hrs @ .50
36.00
Jesse Chase, Labor 40 hrs. @ .50
20.00
Chesley Johnson, Labor 36 hrs. @ .50 18.00
Lewis Fisk, Labor 88 hrs. @ .50
44.00
John Minior, Labor 68 hrs. @ .50 34.00
Harold Keith, Labor 30 hrs. @ .50
15.00
D. E. Caswell Jr., Labor 24 hrs. @ .50
12.00
H. W. Buxton, Labor 4 hrs. @ .50
2.00
William Laws, Labor 44 hrs. @ .50
22.00
Ernest Lunn, Labor 8 hrs. @ .50
4.00
Total Labor & Trucking
$1,046.24
Chapter 90 Maintenance Material :
State Prison Colony, Concrete guard rail post $ 22.50
The Barrett Co., 3,096 Gals. Tarvia @ .119 .. 368.42
New Engand Bolt Inc., Cable & fittings, guard rail 41.44
New England Bolt Co. Inc., one 4 ft. x 15 in.
pipe 5.56
(". A. Swete, 150 cu. yds. sand @ .05
7.50
D. E. Caswell, 34 cu. yds. gravel @ .04 1.36
H. W. Buxton, 98 cu. yds. gravel @ .07
6.86
Total Material $453.64 Grand Total Chapter 90 Maintenance $1,499.88
EARL BALLOU,
Supt. of Highways.
50
Chapter 90-Construction
Unexpended balance on Uxbridge Road
of 1937 allotment, spent after January 1st, 1938
Balance as of January 1st, 1938
$2,050.80
Earl Ballou, Supt. as per wages
$117.64
Earl Ballou, Car 136 hrs. @ .20
27.20
Charles Church, Foreman 1792 hrs. @ .60
107.70
Nellie Parker, Truck & driver 56 hrs. @ 1.50 ..
84.00
W. H. Dudley, Truck & driver 331/2 hrs. @ 1.50 65.25
H. W. Buxton, Truck & driver 811/2 hrs. @ 1.50
122.25
D. E. Caswell, Truck & driver 81 hrs. @ 1.50 ..
121.50
Joseph De Vries, 11/4 cu. yd. shovel 75 hrs.
@ .650 487.50
Joseph De Vries, 11/2 cu. yd. truck & driver
42 hrs. @ 1.50 63.00
Joseph DeVries, 5 cu. yd. truck & driver
201/2 hrs. @ 3.00 61.50
Joseph De Vries, trailer 6 hrs. @ 7.50 45.00
E. L. Sabatinelli, compresser & jackhammers 32 hrs. @ 2.85 91.20
A. A. Sabatinelli, Blaster 29 hrs. @ 1.00
29.00
Earl McCann, Labor 44 hrs. @ .50
22.00
Earl McCann, Tractor oper. 15 hrs. @ .75
11.25
Everett Ballou, Grader oper. 15 hrs. @ .75
11.25
Carmine Ferno, Labor 661/2 hrs. @ .50
33.25
Albert Valcourt, Labor 1751/2 hrs. @ .50
87.75
Stanley Krouse, Labor 1671/2 hrs. @ .50
83.75
Alfred Miller, Labor 39 hrs. @ .50
19.50
D. E. Caswell Jr., Labor 2 hrs. @ .50
1.00
Clifford Lunn, Labor 17512 hrs. @ .50
87.75
Harold Keith, Labor 28 hrs. @ .50
14.00
Everett Ballou, Labor 16 hrs. @ .50 8.00
James Murphy, Labor 421/2 hrs. @ .50 21.25
Micheal Kocur, Labor 371/2 hrs. @ .50
17.25
Labor & Equipment hire Material :
$1,840.74
Wayland Heck, 5 cases dynamite % 9.75 48.75
Wayland Heck, 300 blasting caps @ 7.50 22.50
Joseph Zemianek, 2,772 cu. yds. gravel @ .05 ..
138.60
Total Material .$209.85 Grand Total 90 Construction '37 Allotment $2,050.59 EARL BALLOU, Supt. of Highways.
51
Machinery Account :
Receipts :
Appropriated by Town
$ 100.00
Received for Rental Chapter 81
878.00
Received for Rental Chapter 464
392.00
Balance in account Jan. 1st, 1938
164.32
Total income $1,534.32
Payments:
W. R. Wallis Lumber Co., Tools & Supplies.
$ 99.36
Walker Oil Co., Gas & Oil.
106.67
Southwestern Petroleum Co., Drum Yukon roller grease
20.35
Douglas Motor Sales, Gas, Oil & repairs
143.19
Clark-Wilcox Co., Repair parts
205.66
Registry of Motor Vehicles, Plates for Tractor
2.00
F. E. Jones, Gas, Oil & Grease, repair parts ... Wait Hardware Co., Fittings for grease gun ..
3.00
Emmott Transportation Co., Express
2.03
Wayland Heck, Blasting Caps & Drill Points ..
21.30
Warren D. Sampson Co., 1 doz. red Lanterns ..
16.10
Dyar Sales & Machinery Co., Mixer Drum.
79.00
Richard Aldrich, Express
2.83
Penetroleum Graphite. .
30.62
Whitinsville Auto Body Co., Welding
on Tractor tank 2.00
Railway Express Agency, Express
1.20
Charles Krull, Repairs
48.85
Wrocester Oxy-Acetylene Supply Co.,
Welding Outfit 75.00
Worcester Oxy-Acetylene Supply Co.,
Oxygen and Acetylene. . 19.53
Total Payments $1,050.73 Balance in account Dec. 31, 1938. $ 483.59
Snow removal & Sanding:
Plowing and Trucking $ 530.90
Labor
633.00
Material and repairs
336.79
Grand Total Snow removal.
$1,500.69
EARL BALLOU, Supt. of Highways.
. .
Atlantic Coast Refining Co., 2 drums
172.04
52
Highway Railings:
Appropriated by Town
$ 100.00
Earl Ballou, Supt. as per wages $ 13.84
Earl Ballou, Car - 16 hrs. @ .20 3.20
C. L. Church, Foreman 24 hrs. @ .60 14.40
Nellie Parker, Truck & driver 4 hrs. @ 1.50 ... 6.00
Albert Valcourt, Labor 30 hrs. @ .50 15.00
Earl McCann, Labor 8 hrs. @ .50 4.00
James Murphy, Labor 4 hrs. @ .50
2.00
William Laws, Labor 6 hrs. @ .50
3.00
Everett Ballou, Labor 8 hrs. @ .50
4.00
Total Labor & Trucking ... $ 65.44
Material :
W. R. Wallis Lumber Co., Lumber & material 34.47
Total Material $ 34.47
Grand Total Railings $ 99.91
Bridges :
Appropriated by Town $1,200.00
Earl Ballou, Supt. as per wages $ 34.60
Earl Ballou, Car 24 hrs. @ .20 4.80
Charles Church, Foreman 3 hrs. @ .60 1.80
Nellie Parker, Truck & driver 20 hrs. @ 1.50 ..
30.00
H. W. Buxton, Truck & driver 131/2 hrs. @ 1.50
20.25
Abert Valcourt, Labor 11 hrs. @ .50
5.50
Earl McCann, Labor 32 hrs. @ .50 16.00
Harold Keith, Labor 8 hrs. @ .50 4.00
Gustavus Wellman, Labor 4 hrs. @ .50
2.00
Joseph DeVries, Removing & Filling Grand Trunk Bridge on Bald Hill Road 500.00
Joseph De Vries, Removing & Filling Grand Trunk
Bridge on Franklin Street 500.00
Total Labor & Equipment Hire $1,118.95 Material :
W. R. Wallis Lumber Co., To Material
$ 17.95
17.95
Grand Total Bridges
$1,136.90
EARL BALLOU,
Supt. of Highways.
53
Chapter 498 - Flood Damage:
Total Allotment by State,
Earl Ballou, Supt. as per wages $ 221.44
Earl Ballou, Car 256 hrs. @ .20
51.20
Charles Church, Foreman 144 hrs. @ .60
86.40
Nellie Parker, Truck & driver 245 hrs. @ 1.50 367.50
W. H. Dudley, Truck & driver 258 hrs. @ 1.50
387.00
H. W. Buxton, Truck & driver 228 hrs. @ 1.50
342.00
D. E. Caswell, Truck & driver 246 hrs. @ 1.50 369.00
Earl McCann, Tractor oper. 226 hrs. @ .60 ... 135.60
Earl McCann, Labor 72 hrs. @ .50
36.00
Everett Ballou, Grader oper. 64 hrs. @ .60. 38.40
Everett Ballou, Labor 14 hrs. @ .50
7.00
Clifford Lunn, Grader oper. 154 hrs. @ .60
92.40
Clifford Lunn, Labor 99 hrs. @ .50 49.50
Carmine Ferno, Labor 257 hrs. @ .50
128.50
Albert Valcourt, Labor 233 hrs. @ .50
116.50
Stanley Krouse, Labor 232 hrs. @ .50
116.00
Alfred Miller, Labor 281 hrs. @ .50
140.50
James Murphy, Labor 242 hrs. @ .50
121.00
Micheal Kocur, Labor 143 hrs. @ .50
71.50
Donah Bonville, Labor 661/2 hrs. @ .50.
33.25
Alfred Lafferriere, Labor 16 hrs. @ .50 8.00
Chesley Johnson, Labor 36 hrs. @ .50 18.00
Jchn Minior, Labor 226 hrs. @ .50
113.00
Henry Peters, Labor 8 hrs. @ .50
4.00
Elwin Chase, Labor 56 hrs. @ .50
28.00
George Jones, Labor 14 hrs. @ .50
7.00
Jesse Chase, Labor 56 hrs. @ .50
28.00
Lewis Fisk, Labor 76 hrs. @ .50
38.00
Ernest Lunn, Labor 3 hrs. @ .50
1.50
William Laws, Labor 32 hrs. @ .50
16.00
D. E. Caswell Jr., Labor 3 hrs. @ .50
1.50
Harold Keith, Labor 22 hrs. @ .50
11.00
Total Labor & Trucking ... $3,184.69
Rental from Town owned Machinery
credited to Machinery Account, 392.00
Total Rental $ 392.00
Material :
New England Metal Culvert Co., Culvert Pipe 111.50
C. L. Church, 340 cu. yds. gravel borrow @ .05 17.00
A. B. Simmons, 40 cu. yds. stone filling @ .05 .. 2.00
$4,000.00
54
Albert Valcourt, 77 cu. yds. stone fiilling @ .05 3.85
H. W. Buxton, 878 cu. yds. gravel @ .07 61.46
H. W. Buxton, 75 Chestnut post 6 ft. @ .20 ... 15.00
H. W. Buxton, 14 Chestnut post 8 ft. @ .25.
3.50
John Gingrass, 142 cu. yds. gravel @ .06 8.52
The Barrett Co., 1,020 Gals. Tarvia @ .119. 121.38
New England Bolt Co., Inc., Culvert Pipe .... 74.93
Total Material $ 419.14 Grand Total Chapter 464 $3,995.83
EARL BALLOU, Supt. of Highways.
September Hurricane Damage:
note :
These funds were taken from the State fund Chapter 500, and Chapter 90 for the current year, which was authorized by the State Department and by the Town at a Special Town Meeting.
Amount of Chap. 500 fund $1,700.00
Total expenditures from Chap. 500 fund .. $1,692.16
Amount of Chapter 90 fund $8,000.00
Total expenditures from Chap. 90 fund ... 4,724.15
Grand Total $6,416.31
I am taking this opportunity to express my sincere thanks and appreciation for the splendid cooporation and help given me by all town Officials, especially the Board of Selectmen, and Clerk, Joseph S. Virostek, and all others who so willingly gave a helping hand in the disastrous Hurricane of September 21.
I also wish to thank the Superintendent and commanding officers of the C. C. C. Camp of Douglas and W. P. A. Project workers for the splendid work they did for us in helping to clear our Town Highways so that traveling could be restored as soon as possible, it is a feeling of security to know that we in Doug- las can have such help and cooperation in times such as these.
Respectfully,
EARL BALLOU,
Supt. of Highways.
55
Report of Treasurer Simon Fairfield Public Library
1938
Jan. 1-Balance on Deposit $ 158.00 Town Appropriation 1,000.00 Dog Fund 506.70
Jan. 5-Uxbridge Savings Bank Interest $ 15.00
May 2-Whitinsville Savings Bank Interest .. 145.21
July 5-Uxbridge Savings Bank Interest . . 15.00
Nov. 1-Whitinsville Savings Bank Interest. .
145.21
Nov. 2-Uxbridge Savings Bank Interest on James W. Wixtead Fund
118.79
Nov. 2-Uxbridge Savings Bank Interest on Mrs. Royal Keith Fund 184.93
Dec. 5-Mrs. Lena M. Schuster Books 4.86
629.00
2293.70
Expenditures :
Rosalie E. Williams, Librarian
780.00
Mrs. Carl Donaldson, Assistant Librarian
18.00
Frank E. Jones, Fuel
74.37
For Books
314.35
Magazines and Papers
77.41
Miscellaneous Expense
199.13
Coughlin, Inc., Delco Heating Unit Complete. .
612.00
Herbert E. Hughes, Janitor
137.50
Worcester Suburban Electric Co.
35.21
2247.97
Balance in Town Treasurer
.76
Balance on Deposit
44.97
2293.70
56
Endowment Funds :
Mrs. Royal Keith Fund
200.00
James M. Fairfield Fund
5,000.00
James Smith Fund
6,000.00
Arthur F. Taft Fund
500.00
Winfield S. Schuster Fund
1,000.00
James W. Wixtead Fund
200.00
$12,900.00
Respectfully submitted,
FRANK E. JONES,
Treasurer.
57
Report of the Water Commissioners
To the Citizens of Douglas :
Appropriation at Town Meeting, 1938
$3,200.00
Reserve Fund Transfer
454.00
$3,654.00
EXPENDITURES
Administration :
Superintendent's Salary
1,300.00
Telephone
24.57
Postage
8.36
All Other
1.93
$1,334.86
General:
Labor
210.32
Pipe and Fittings
181.27
Equipment
404.79
All Other
40.03
$836.41
Pumping Station :
Light and Power
1,038.25
Repairs
3.60
All Other
157.17
$1,199.02
Service Pipe :
Pipes-Meters
283.20
$283.20
Unexpended
.51
$3,654.00
58
WATER DEPARTMENT
Rates
Outstanding January 1, 1938
$980.59
Charges
4,406.62
Water Miscellaneous reported as rates
19.91
Advance Payments December 31, 1938
5.00
$5,412.12
Payments to treasurer
5,011.31
Charges reported in error
47.37
Outstanding December 31, 1938
353.44
$5,412.12
Water Miscellaneous
Outstanding January 1, 1938
32.32
Charges
20.76
$53.08
Payments to Treasurer, 1938
33.17
Water miscellaneous, reported as rates
19.91
$53.08
Respectfully submitted,
GILBERT W. ROWLEY, Chairman, *OSCAR OLSON, WILLIAM WALLIS,
*Deceased.
Water Commissioners.
59
Charities in Douglas
REPORT OF BOARD OF PUBLIC WELFARE
To the Citizens of the Town of Douglas:
During the year ending December 31, 1938, the cost of charities reached a new peak in the history of this town which we sincerely hope may never be repeated again but which we as members of the board of Welfare of Douglas cannot control. To begin with the department had to pay out $2,481.83 in 1938 for bills that had been contracted for in 1937. This total appears as a 1938 expenditure when in reality it was a 1937 expenditure.
At the annual town meeting the Town voted to raise only $12,000.00 for Welfare costs for the year. This sum was expended the first six months of the year and necessitated the calling of a special town meeting for additional funds. The Town voted an addi- tional $5,000.00 on July 15 and $4,000.00 on November 8.
During the month of January 63 families representing 276 per- sons were being aided. By the end of April the number of families had increased to 68. The Welfare Department called upon the Select- men for further clerical assistance and Welfare investigation. Under the previous set up it had been practically impossible for the Chair- man of the board to keep close contact of each individual case, and make the necessary investigation on each case as to family incomes. Preliminary investigations made by the Board showed several families were being aided when some member of the family was receiving some income from part time employment. Something had to be done quickly to avoid further waste of taxpayer's money.
At a joint meeting of the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Public Welfare a unanimous agreement was reached that the office of the Public Welfare Board should be in the Town Hall with a full time clerk. Miss Vera Warner, whose work as Old Age Assistance Clerk had been highly praised by federal authorities, was named clerk. The set ups in neighboring towns were investigated and their best features were incorporated into ours.
During the first part of May, Richard E. Moore, then Chairman of the Board and Joseph S. Virostek, Clerk for the Selectmen went to Boston to contact federal authorities to make the necessary ar- rangements for having a Federal Surplus Foods Distribution center at the Town Hall. These surplus commodities were to be distributed
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to welfare recipients, W. P. A. workers, Old Age Assistance cases, and to assist those people who were trying their utmost to refrain from public charity. The actual food distributed along with the clothing is included in detail on a separate page in this report.
Few people realize the necessity of the Welfare Department having a full time clerk in the office. The clerk's work is to first take the necessary application of aid, the proper settlement is determined, notice must be sent to the state or to the Town from whom we may expect reimbursement, the complete history of the applicant's family is then presented to the Welfare Board. The Board then decides the amount and manner in which the aid shall be rendered. By checking up with the Accountant's report as to the amount of money the Town has been reimbursed from the Federal Government, the State, other Towns and Cities one can readily see that improper notice, incorrect bills will render a loss to the Town far in excess of a Clerk's Salary. These reimbursements are estimated yearly by the Accountant and are given to the Assessors who include the amount in the Estimated Receipts to reduce the local Tax Levy. The amount of money that the Federal Government grants to the Town for Old Age Assistance and Aid to Dependent Children is directly dependent on the Clerk's reports and the necessity for these being accurate can readily be seen.
The chart showing the cost of charities in the Town of Douglas for the past nine years shows to the citizens the trend of charities here and explains the extreme necessity of our having increased our administration costs, to take care of the additional amount of work now facing this department.
Because of the amount of money expended under the Welfare account last year the Board has included in its report a classification of the expenditures to which we refer you. This report shows that most of the money was expended for Groceries and Milk with local merchants receiving the entire benefit.
One of the most uncertain welfare expenditures over which we have no control is due to aid rendered in neighboring towns and Worcester to families whose settlement is in this Town. For this item alone over $1,000.00 was expended with some bills still out- standing and due.
How this town would have been able to carry the welfare burden without the W. P. A. we do not choose to even consider. There have been between 20 and 30 men employed on the several projects through- out the year. The money that was expended on these projects by the Federal Government and paid directly to these men is included in the report of the W. P. A. activities in this town for last year.
Included in the report for medical and hospital expenditures are the costs to the town of six major operations to local relief recipients as well as hospital expenses for three maternity cases. The Town
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