USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Palmer > Town Annual Report of the Officers of the Town of Palmer, Massachusetts 1958 > Part 5
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The Registry of Motor Vehicles again operated a branch at the Library during the months of November and December, issu- ing nearly 10,000 sets of 1959 plates to residents of Palmer and vicinity, a service which may result in a permanent branch of the Registry at Palmer. A bill for this is now pending in the Legislature.
Treasurer's report for the year ending December 31, 1958:
RECEIPTS:
Balance January 1, 1958
$16.45
Income from Invested Funds
2,930.15
Town of Palmer, appropriation and transfer
7,900.00
Fines collected
330.36
Davis fund, for purchase of records
488.03
Books sold, rental of records, and miscellaneous 175.31
$11,840.30
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DISBURSEMENTS:
Books, magazines and records
$1,956 57
Salaries, services and rentals
7,668.28
Light, heat, and telephone
1,389.51
Insurance premiums 185.11
Printing, supplies and equipment
378.19
Building services and repairs
91.60
Social security taxes, etc.
126 58
Miscellaneous
38.50
11,834.34
Balance. December 31, 1958
5.96
$11,840.30
Respectfully submitted,
ALLEN F. DAVIS, Treasurer
Examined and Approved January 10, 1959
STANLEY W. WISNEWSKI, Auditor
In Memoriam
Bridget Griffin
1910-1958
In recognition of her untiring efforts and devotion to duty in the Palmer Schools
In Memoriam
Stanley J. Kolbusz
1946-1958
In recognition of his untiring efforts and devotion to duty in the Palmer Schools
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School Committee 1959-1960
HENRY R. TRESPAS, Chairman DONALD F. McCAFFREY, Secretary
STANLEY J. GILL Term expires 1959
HENRY R. TRESPAS
EDMUND J. FRYDRYK
Term expires 1959 Term expires 1960
EDWARD R. PROSPERI Term expires 1960 DAVITT M. ROONEY Term expires 1961
Regular meetings of the School Committee are held at 7 p.m. on the Monday before the last Friday of each school month.
All bills must be in the hands of the Superintendent on Monday before the above-ment oned date.
Superintendent of Schools, Donald F. McCaffrey Office Hours: 8 am. to 12 m .; 1 to 4 p.m.
CALENDAR
1958-1959
Opening, September 3, 1958 Columbus Day Observance, October 13, 1958
Teachers' Convention, October 24, 1958 Veterans' Day, November 11, 1958 Thanksgiving Recess, November 27-28, 1958 Fall Recess, December 24, 1958, to January 4, 1959 Winter Recess, Week of February 22, 1959 Good Friday, March 27, 1959 Patriots' Day Observance, April 20, 1959 Spring Recess, Week of April 26, 1959 Closing-Grades, June 12, 1959 High, June 26, 1959
1959-1960
Opening, September 9, 1959 Columbus Day, October 12, 1959 Teachers' Convention, October 23, 1959 Veterans' Day, November 11, 1959 Thanksgiving Recess, November 26-27, 1959 Fall Recess, December 24, 1959, to January 3, 1960 Washington's Birthday, February 22, 1960 Winter Recess, Week of February 28, 1960 Good Friday, April 15, 1960 Patriots' Day, April 19, 1960 Spring Recess, Week of May 1, 1960 Memorial Day, May 30, 1960 Closing-Grades, June 17, 1960 High, June 30, 1960
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Annual School Report
To the School Committee of the Town of Palmer:
I submit herewith my eighth annual report, the sixty-sixth report of the town:
Repairs
This past year, several projects were continued, among which were the installation of a new oil burner at the Thorndike Gram- mar School, the completion of the girls' toilet at Park Street, and the installation of a new vacuum pump at the High School.
Minor repairs were carried out in all buildings, and painting was completed in Bondsville and Thorndike.
Textbooks and Equipment
During the year, new textbooks were added in the High School in the fields of English, commercial, French, mathematics, biology; in the elementary schools in English in grades 6, 7, 8; spelling in grades 7 and 8; and reading in grades 3 through 8. The read- ing program, which formerly was a one-book series, is now a two-bock series. The revision provides more interesting and a wider variety of stories for the pupils.
New bookkeeping furniture was purchased for the High School, and additional electric typewriters were placed in the type_ writing room.
Pupil Redistribution
Many meetings of the School Committee have been held to study the problem of redistributing pupils from Thorndike Street School in order to accommodate the ever-growing high school population. Many proposals have been discussed, but no one proposal seems to provide satisfactory answers. However, the time has come when a distribution must be made. Next Sep- tember, pupils must be distributed to the village schools. Thorn- dike Grammar School is the most central school for pupils from Forest Lake, Lake Thompson, and Palmer Center. It is probable that it will be necessary to reassign pupils from these areas and bus pup'ls from other areas in order to house high school pupils in the old high school.
In making this distribution, the School Committee aims to create as many new single grades as possible. In all probability, th's will not be done at once but gradually over the next few
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years. Parents are asked to be as cooperative as possible in carry- ing out the needed distribution, since a change in school assign- ment will, in no way, injure your child's education. This distribu- tion will necessitate some added costs in transportation, new teachers, new lighting, and furnishings.
High School
The mention of redistribution of pupils leads d'rectly to the most critical educational problem in our community - badly needed facilities for the High School. This problem has been held up too long already. The past year, the School Building Committee completed a two-and-one-half-year study and, by majority vote, voted to recommend to the town a $1,200,000 addition to the pres- ent High School. This addition was designed by the firm of Alderman & MacNeish of West Springfield and meets the mini- mum space requiren ents required by the School Building Ass's- tance Commission Unless these requirements are met, no state aid to the town will be forthcoming. This aid would amount to approximately 36 per cent of the cost of the bu lding.
Some people argue that we have empty rooms in our village schools. This is true, but it must be remembered that elementary rooms do not necessarily make good high school rooms. An ele- mentary room in Bondsville is of no use as a science room. Empty rooms are not useful unless they serve a definite educational pur- pose, and high school needs are quite different from elementary needs.
Others argue that Palmer High School housed 700 pupils in both the present and old buildings at one time back in the Thirties. This is true, also; but classes were held in the auditorium, the cafeteria, and the balcony of the auditorium. Is this the kind of education you want for your children today ? There was some ex- cuse in those days because of the depression, but there is abso- lutely no excuse for such educational conditions to exist in this day and age. There is no good reason for young people to run be- tween buildings in all kinds of inclement weather to get an edu- cation, and it should not be expected that competent teachers and officials can teach and operate a school to its utmost effi- ciency under such conditions.
There is nothing more dead than the past. Young people today must be prepared to meet the problems of the future with today's tools, not yesterday's. Our young people must compete with others in other communities. Some people argue that it is of no consequence to us that pupils in other towns have new fac- ilities in which to be educated. This is not true, since everyone knows that a good craftsman with good tools and equipment usually can turn out a better product than a good craftsman with- out the proper tools. To do otherwise is to waste the natural re- sources of the teacher and the pupils. Our young people must compete with pupils from other towns for jobs, and they must compete with pupils from other towns in college entrance exam-
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inations in order to be admitted to college. It is not fair to ex- pect our science teachers, in a small, outdated, poorly equipped laboratory by today's standards, to equip our pupils to pass col- lege entrance examinations and do as well as pupils from South Hadley, Longmeadow, Tantasqua, Agawam, Wilbraham, and East Longmeadow. College admissions officers and businessmen are apt to put pupils from other towns ahead of ours. We cannot afford to permit this to happen because it is not good business.
The other communities that have built new facilities for their children have done so with your money. Monies for state aid come from income tax receipts. Anyone in Palmer who pays a state income tax has helped to build schools in Agawam, East Longmeadow, Wilbraham, and South Hadley for your neighbors' children. Don't you think it is time to dip into the fund and use your own and your neighbors' money to build a good school for your own children ?
We need space now. Times have changed considerably. More and more pupils remain in school and graduate than was the case formerly. In times gone by, only those going on to college took physics or chemistry, or only those enrolled in the commercial curriculum were permitted to take typewriting or bookkeeping. This is no longer the case. More and more emphasis will be placed on mathematics and science courses for all students. Type- writing no longer is for commercial students only but for all who wish to take it. In the fields of home economics and shop, our facilities long have been inadequate. At present, it is neces- sary for us to accept only a limited number of students in these classes, forcing others who would benefit from this type of in- struction into other courses where their educational needs are not best fitted. We are forced, at the present time, to steer stu- dents interested in typewriting and science into other fields simply because we have no room for them. It is not being done because we want it that way but because we have no other choice. Operating in this type of educational strait-jacket is inefficient and wasteful
At the moment, we are using the library as a classroom; and indeed, the library itself hardly meets the proper standards for a school of our size.
The Springfield Trade School is accepting fewer pupils from surrounding towns in its program, which means that we must provide better and broader shop facilities for pupils who will benefit from this type of instruction and remain in school.
The high school cafeteria serves more than 350 meals daily in a kitchen that is noisy and poorly designed to meet feeding re- quirements of the present day. The high school lunch program probably provides as many, or more, meals daily than any single restaurant in town, a fact that few people realize.
Lastly, our gymnasium requirement hardly needs repeating. Our present gym is small, hazardous, and inadequate to meet the
present-day physical education or sports needs of our youth.
Rooms in the old high school building or any other building do not solve our high school educational needs.
It is my earnest hope that the townspeople will accept at the town meeting the recommendation of the School Building Com- mittee that the town build the addition to the high school and that the School Committee subsequently will call a special town meeting for the express purpose of relating the facts to the people and asking the town to take action to appropriate the necessary money to build the recommended addition to the present high school.
We have lost good prospective teachers because our high school facilities were not up-to-date.
Good education is an investment in the future prosperity of your children, your community, the state, and our country. Guard it well.
Salary Schedule
The School Committee revised the salary schedule to remain in a comparable position to other communities of our size and to communities in our immediate area. The new schedule is as fol- lows:
Bachelor's
Master's
Degree
Degree
Minimum
$3900
$4100
Maximum
$5900
$6100
Annual Increment
$200
The 1959 school budget as voted by the School Committee is $516,093, an increase of $47,105, or 10 per cent, over last year.
In the main, increases in salary for school personnel, addi- tional staff, furnishings to accommodate increased enrollments, and increased transportation costs account for most of the in- crease. The repair account and trade school expenses are less than a year ago, and most other budget items are less than last year.
Conclusion
In conclusion, may I take the opportunity to express my sin- cere appreciation to the members of the School Committee, the Board of Selectmen, the Highway Department, the Police Depart- ment, all other town officers, a loyal and helpful staff, parent- teacher organizations, and all others who have given the School Department their whole-hearted support in its objective to pro- vide a successful school program for your children.
Respectfully submitted,
DONALD F. MaCAFFREY
Superintendent of Schools
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TOWN WARRANT
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
County of Hampden, ss.
Town of Palmer
To either of the Constables of the Town of Palmer, in said County, GREETING:
In the name of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, you are hereby required to notify and warn all the inhabitants of the Town of Palmer, qualified to vote in elections of town officers, to meet at the several polling places in said Palmer, designated by the selectmen, to wit: In Precinct A, at the High School Gymnasium on Converse Street in the Depot Village; in Precinct B, at the Thorndike Grammar School in Thorndike; in Precinct C, at the Three Rivers Grammar School in Three Rivers, and in Precinct D, at the Bondsville Grammar School in Bondsville, on Monday, the second day of February, A. D. 1959, at ten o'clock in the fore- noon, then and there to give in their votes on one ballot to the town, for the following officers: 3 Selectmen, 5 Constables, 3 License Commissioners, Town Treasurer, Collector of Taxes, Tree Wadden, all for the term of one year: 1 Assessor, 1 Mem- ber of the Board of Public Welfare, 1 Cemetery Commissioner, 2 Members of the School Committee, 1 Member of the Board of Health, all for the term of three years; and 2 Members of the Planning Board for the term of five years.
The polls will be open at ten o'clock in the forenoon and will be closed at eight o'clock in the evening.
And you are further hereby required to notify and warn the inhabitants of said Palmer, qualified to vote in town affairs, to meet at the High School Auditorium on Converse Street in the Depot Village in said Palmer, on Monday, the ninth day of Feb- ruary, A. D. 1959, at seven o'clock in the evening, then and there to act on the following articles, viz:
Article 1. To choose a Moderator to preside at said meeting.
Article 2. To choose all other usual town officers.
Article 3. To act on the reports of the town officers.
Article 4. To hear and act on reports of committees.
Article 5. To choose committees and give them instructions.
Article 6. To see if the town will vote to authorize the town treasurer, with the approval of the selectmen, to borrow money from time to time in anticipation of the revenue of the financial year beginning January 1, 1959 and to issue a note or notes there-
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for, payable within one year, and to renew any note or notes as may be given for a period of less than one year, in accordance with Section 17 of Chapter 44 of the General Laws.
Article 7. To see if the town will vote to authorize the treasurer, with the approval of the selectmen, to borrow money as permitted by law to meet any appropriations made or expenses incurred under any of the articles of the warrant.
Article 8. To raise money and make appropriations to de- fray the expenses of the town for the ensuing year.
Article 9. To see if the town will vote to authorize the selectmen to sell at public auction, after first giving notice of the time and place of sale by posting such notice of sale in some con- venient and public place in the town fourteen days at least be- fore the sale, property taken by the Town under tax title pro- cedure, provided that the selectmen or whomsoever they may authorize to hold such auction may reject any bid which they deem inadequate, or take any action relative thereto.
Article 10. To see if the town will vote to authorize the selectmen to sell at public auction, after first giving notice of the time and place of sale by posting such notice of sale in some convenient and public place in the town fourteen days at least before the sale, or at private sale, any old and absolete equipment or personal property, provided that the selectmen or whomsoever they may authorize to hold such auction or sale may reject any bid which they deem inadequate, or take any action relative there- to.
Article 11. To see if the town will raise and appropriate or transfer from unappropriated available funds in the treasury a sum of money for Chapter 90 Highway Maintenance, or take any action relative thereto.
Article 12. To see if the town will vote to appropriate or transfer from the parking meter account any sum of money for (a) police enforcement; (b) constructing, reconstructing, resur- facing, operating and maintaining off street parking areas; (c) a miscellaneous fund under the exclusive control of the selectmen to be used for purposes authorized by law; (d) contribution toward cost of snow removal.
Article 13. To see if the town will vote to raise and appro- priate the sum of money necessary to pay overdraft on snow re- moval.
Article 14. To see if the town will vote to transfer any sum of money from the Overlay Reserve account to the Reserve Fund, or take any action relative thereto.
Article 15. To see if the town will vote to appropriate any
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sum of money from Free Cash to reduce the 1959 tax levy, or take any action relative thereto.
Article 16. To see if the town will vote to raise and appro- priate any sum of money for the collection and disposal of gar- bage and/or rubbish in the several villages of the Town of Palmer and authorize the selectmen to prepare specifications, execute a contract or contracts for a term not to exceed three years and do all things necessary to effect the collection of said garbage and/ or rubbish, or to authorize the selectmen to have said garbage and/or rubbish collected by a department of the town, or take any action relative thereto.
Article 17. To see if the town will vote to accept the pro- visions of Chapter 427 of the Acts of 1957 which provides for increase in retirement benefits of certain employees previously retired, or take any action relative thereto.
Article 18. To see if the town will vote to have a plumbing code which shall be established in compliance with Chapter 142 of the General Laws and all rules and regulations made there- under by the examiners, or take any action relative thereto.
Article 19. To see if the town will vote to purchase a new cruiser for the Police Department, and raise and appropriate any sum of money therefor.
Article 20. To see if the town will vote to accept the fol- lowing Perpetual Care Funds which have been given to it during the year: Allen F. Davis $150.00; Robert E. Stebbins $200.00; Wesley W. Magee $100.00; Arthur W. Bell $100.00; Fred Fell $100.00; Morton I. Alden, Sr. $100.00; Edward Shaw $100.00; Robert E. Cox $100.00.
Article 21. To see if the town will vote to raise and appro- priate any sum of money to be expended in the Town by the Hampden County Trustees for Aid to Agriculture in accordance with provisions of General Laws, Chapter 128, Section 42.
Article 22. To see if the town will vote to discontinue and abandon a certain portion of Blanchard Street, Depot Village, formerly called Boston Road or Boston Post Road, bounded and described as follows:
Beginning at a Massachusetts Highway Bound in the North- easterly line of said Blanchard Street, two hundred fifty and 86/100 (250.86) feet Southerly measured along the Easterly line of said Blanchard Street from the Southwesterly line of the Bos- ton & Albany Railroad, said bound is also opposite Station 67+21.65 in the old state highway layout, and running thence
S. 45° 03' 30" E. one hundred seventy-four and 91/100 (174.91) feet along land of the New England Power Co. to a
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Massachusetts Highway Bound; thence turning and running
S. 73° 21' 30" E. seven hundred seventy-eight and 08/100 (778.08) feet along said last-named land and land of the Wor- cester County Electric Company to a Massachusetts Highway Bound; thence turning and running
S. 85° 23' 30" E. two hundred seventy-nine and 75/100 (279.75) feet along said land of the Worcester County Electric Company to a point; thence turning and running
S. 52° 18' 33" E. sixty-four and 34/100 (64.34) feet along land of Boston & Albany Railroad to a point; thence turning and running
S. 62° 08' W. twenty-seven and 71/100 (27.71) feet to a point; thence turning and running
N. 85° 23' 30" W. three hundred fifteen and 54/100 (315.54) feet along land of the Worcester County Electric Company to a Massachusetts Highway Bound; thence turning and running
N. 73° 21' 30" W. seven hundred ninety-five and 94/100 (795.94) feet along said last-named land and land of the New England Power Company to a Massachusetts Highway Bound; thence turning and running
N. 45° 03' 30" W. two hundred two and 95/100 (202.95) feet along said New England Power Company land to a Massachusetts Highway Bound; thence turning and running
N. 62° 06' 45" E. fifty-two and 32/100 (52.32) feet crossing said Blanchard Street to the Point of Beginning.
Article 23. To see if the town will vote to accept and allow a town way in the Village of Three Rivers as shown on plan en- titled "Plan of Proposed Streets in Three Rivers, Palmer, Mass- achusetts, as Laid Out by the Selectmen of the Town of Palmer, to be known as Edgewood, Barker Street Extension and Sibley Street, dated December 10, 1958, prepared by Kenneth C. Sher- man, Town Engineer" according to the following description:
Beginning at a point in the Westerly line of said Edgewood Street at the Southerly terminus of the 1958 Town Layout of said street, and running thence
S. 85° 39' E. fifty and 0/100 (50.0) feet to a point; thence turning and running
S. 4° 21' W. one hundred ten and 0/100 (110.0) feet to a point at Barker Street Extension proposed; thence turning and running
N. 65° 15' W. fifty-three and 35/100 (53.35) feet to a point; thence turning and running
N. 4° 21' E. ninety-one and 40/100 (91.40) feet to the Point of Beginning.
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Said street is to be known as Edgewood Street.
Said town way is laid out over land of John and Maxine Sasur.
Article 24. To see if the town will vote to accept and allow a town way in the Village of Three Rivers as shown on plan en- titled "Plan of Proposed Streets in Three Rivers, Palmer, Mass- achusetts, as Laid Out by the Selectmen of the Town of Palmer, to be known as Edgewood, Barker Street Extension and Sibley Street, dated December 10, 1958, prepared by Kenneth C. Sher- man, Town Engineer" according to the following description:
Beginning at a point in the Easterly line of Edgewood Street, at the Southerly terminus of the 1959 proposed layout of said street, and running thence
S. 4° 21' W. forty and 36/100 (40.36) feet to a point; thence turning and running
N. 76° 15' W. one hundred ninety-eight and 14/100 (198.14) feet to a point; thence turning and running
N. 48° 13' W. one hundred ninety-four and 61/100 (194.61) feet to a point; thence turning and running
N. 4° 21' E. sixty-two and 97/100 (62.97) feet to a point; thence turning and running
S. 48° 13' E. two hundred twenty and 35/100 (220.35) feet to a point; thence turning and running
S. 76° 15' E. one hundred twenty-six and 70/100 (126.70) feet to a point; thence turning and running
S. 65° 15' E. fifty-three and 35/100 (53.35) feet to the Point of Beginning.
Said street is to be known as Barker Street Extension.
Said town way is laid out over land of John and Maxine Sasur.
Article 25. To see if the town will vote to accept and allow a town way in the Village of Three Rivers as shown on plan en- titled "Plan of Proposed Streets in Three Rivers, Palmer, Mass- achusetts, as Laid Out by the Selectmen of the Town of Palmer, to be known as Edgewood, Barker Street Extension and Sibley Street, dated December 10, 1958, prepared by Kenneth C. Sher- man, Town Engineer" according to the following description:
Beginning at a Concrete Bound in the Northerly line of Barker Street Extension, 1959 Proposed Layout, and running thence:
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N. 48° 13' W. sixty-two and 97/100 (62.97) feet to a point; thence turning and running
N. 4° 21' E. three hundred sixty-one and 78/100 (361.78) feet to a point; thence turning and running
S. 85° 39' E. fifty and no/100 (50.0) feet to a point; thence turning and running
S. 4° 21' W. four hundred and no/100 (400.0) feet to the Point of Beginning.
Said street is to be known as Sibley Street.
Said town way is laid out over land of John and Maxine Sasur.
Article 26. To see if the town will vote to accept and allow a town way in the Lake Thompson section, as shown on plan en- titled "Proposed Alteration of Flynt Street, Palmer, Mass., dated May, 1958, Kenneth C. Sherman, Town Engineer, As Laid Out by the Selectmen", according to the following description:
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