USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Westford > Town of Westford annual report 1932-1936 > Part 13
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We recommend the appropriation of $500.00 for making prepara- tions for town zoning as called for in a special article of the Town Warrant.
Relative to the article requesting that the street lights which were removed in the several villages be put back. We recommend that the number now in use be not increased, but that the Board of Selectmen be requested to try and rearrange the present number so that they may accommodate those parties who are now dissatisfied.
Every year the committee makes an endeavor to bring about as low a tax rate as possible. It now appears that the rate will be low- ered this year. Using as a basis the probable income from State Tax, Income Tax, Poll Tax, Excise Tax and all other probable income, also using $8,000.00 from surplus, it would appear that we should have a tax rate for the year 1934 of about $33.00 per thousand.
Respectfully submitted,
HERBERT V. HILDRETH, OSCAR R. SPALDING, FRANK L. FURBUSH, P. HENRY HARRINGTON, JULIAN A. CAMERON, WILLIAM E. WRIGHT,
Finance Committee.
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Warrant for Annual Town Meeting, Westford, Mass.
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
To the Constable of the Town of Westford in said County:
GREETING: You are hereby required, in the name of the Commonwealth aforesaid, to notify and warn all the inhabitants of said Town, qual- ified to vote in elections and also in Town affairs, to meet at their several polling places, viz .:
Precinct 1. Town Hall, Westford Centre.
Precinct 2. Abbott's Hall, Graniteville.
Precinct 3. Abbott's Hall, Brookside.
Precinct 4. Abbott's Hall, Forge Village.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1934
being the second Monday in said month, at 12.00 o'clock noon for the following purposes:
To bring in their votes for the following officers:
For Three Years
One Selectman.
One Member of Board of Public Welfare.
One Assessor.
Two Members of the School Committee.
One Member Board of Cemetery Commissioners.
One Trustee of Public Library.
One Member Board of Health.
For One Year
Moderator. Town Treasurer. Collector of Taxes. Constable.
Tree Warden.
And Vote on the following questions:
1. Shall licenses be granted in this town for the sale therein of all alcoholic beverages (whiskey, rum, gin, malt beverages, wines and all other alcoholic beverages) ?
2. Shall licenses be granted in this town for the sale therein of wines and malt beverages (wines and beer, ale and all other malt beverages) ?
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The polls will be open from 12 o'clock noon to 8 P. M., and to meet in the Town Hall at Westford Centre on the following
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1934
at 1 o'clock in the afternoon, then and there to act upon the follow- ing articles, viz .:
1st. To hear the reports of the Finance Committee, other Commit- tees. Boards and Officers.
2nd. To determine the salary and compensation of elected Officers and such Officers and Officials as provided by law.
3rd. To appropriate money to meet the cost and expenses of the following departments, officers and purposes:
1. General Government.
2. Town Hall.
3. Police Department.
4. Fire Department, including new fire trucks.
5. Hydrants.
6. Sealer of Weights and Measures.
7. Fish and Game Warden.
8. Forest Fires.
9. Town Forest.
10. Tree Warden.
11. Moth Department.
12. Health Department.
13. Cattle Inspector.
14. Highway Purposes.
15. Board of Public Welfare.
16. Old Age Assistance.
17. Soldiers' Benefits.
18. School Department.
19. Vocational Tuition.
20. Public Library.
21. Care of Common.
22. Commemoration of Memorial Day.
23. Publishing of Town Reports.
24. Liability Insurance.
25. Cemetery Commissioners.
26. General Loans.
27. Interest on General Loans.
28. Interest on Revenue Loans.
29. Electric Lights.
30. Fire Insurance.
31. Reserve Fund.
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32. Overdrafts of 1933.
33. Bills Outstanding December 31, 1933.
4th. To see if the Town will appropriate $50 and elect a Director under the provisions of Section 40-45 of Chapter 128 of the General Laws.
5th. To see if the Town will vote to re-establish the street lights that were discontinued last year in Westford Centre, Forge Village and Graniteville and act in relation thereto.
6th. To see if the Town will vote to authorize the making of altera- tions, changes or repairs in the town hall, appropriate money therefor and act in relation to the same.
7th. To see if the Town will direct or instruct the Selectmen to dis- tribute the hiring of trucks more evenly among the citizens of the Town than has been done in the past, or take any action thereon or in relation thereto.
8th. To see if the Town will vote to accept a deed of land on School Street, Graniteville, donated by Mrs. Harriet Hildreth of Winchester, Mass., to be used as part of the school playground.
9th. To see if the Town will vote to accept a deed of land on School Street, Graniteville, donated by the C. G. Sargent Estate to be used as part of the school playground.
10th. To see if the town will vote to authorize the Selectmen to ap- point a committee of three to cooperate with the State Forest and Park Association in the detection and eradication of the Dutch Elm Disease.
11th. To see what action the Town will take relative to continuing the publication of the names of delinquent taxpayers in the annual town report.
12th. To see if the Town will vote for the allowance of damages oc- casioned to the following named through the relocation of the following named roads, and appropriate money therefor:
Makepeace Road: Alfred Patenaude, Annie Sygla.
Concord Road: Lyman Priest, James J. Fallon. Tyngsboro Road: John D. Psarias.
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13th. To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Treasurer, with the approval of the Selectmen, to borrow money in anticipa- tion of the revenue of the current financial year, and to renew any and all of the revenue notes of the year 1934 in accordance with Section 17 of Chapter 44 of the General Laws as amended; any debts so incurred to be paid from the revenue of 1934.
14th. To see if the Town will appropriate a sum sufficient to pay the County of Middlesex, as required by law, on account of assess- ments levied on the Town for its share of the principal of the Middlesex County Tuberculosis Hospital Funding Loan, Act of 1932 bonds maturing in 1934, issued in compliance with Chap- ter 10, Acts of 1932, also for any other indebtedness incurred and outstanding under said Chapter 10, also for the Town's share of the cost and interest on said bonds due in 1934, also for the Town's share of the expense incurred under the provi- sions of Chapter 331, of the Acts of 1933 which provided for the settlement of certain claims of the Commonwealth against . the Middlesex County Tuberculosis Hospital District, also for the care, maintenance, and repair of said Hospital for 1933, and including interest on temporary notes issued therefor in ac- cordance with sections of Chapter 111 of the General Laws applicable thereto, and for all other expenses in connection therewith, determine how the money shall be raised, or in any way act thereon.
15th. To see if the Town will vote to establish a planning board and appoint a committee to act until the next annual meeting and act in relation thereto.
16th. To see if the Town will appropriate money for the purpose of developing a zoning scheme for presentation at a subsequent meeting.
17th. To see if the Town will vote to accept Section 3 of Chapter 143 of the General Laws.
18th. To see if the Town will vote to adopt the following amend- ments to the by-laws by inserting after Article V the follow- ing new articles:
ARTICLE V-A-Planning Board.
Section 1. A board of five members is hereby established to be known as the planning board. The terms of members shall be three years, but at the annual town meeting to be held in the month of February, 1935, there shall be elected two mem- bers to serve for one year, two members to serve for two years,
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and one member to serve for three years, and thereafter there shall be elected at the annual meeting in each year such mem- bers as are necessary to fill vacancies.
Section 2. Vacancies otherwise occurring in the board shall be filled as provided in General Laws, Chapter 41, Section 11.
ARTICLE V-B-Use Districts.
Section 1. Under the provisions of General Laws, Chapter 143, Section 3, the Town of Westford is hereby divided into dis- tricts to be known respectively as Non-resident Districts, Gen- eral Residence Districts, and Single Residence Districts, as follows:
Non-residence Districts shall comprise- (1) all lands which at the time this by-law becomes effective are used for any business or industry other than farming, truck gardening, the growing of trees, shrubs, vines or plants, the raising of animals, a tele- phone exchange, or the conduct of a boarding or lodging house; and (2) all lands located and fronting upon any section of any street or way which lies between two successive intersecting streets, but not further from the land in question than four hundred feet, and in which section not less than one-half of the lot frontage on the same side of the street as said intersecting streets, and also not less than one-half of the lot frontage on the other side of said street for the same distance, is at said time devoted to business or industry or is manifestly intended to be so used.
Residence Districts shall comprise all areas not included in Non- residence Districts. General Residence Districts shall comprise all Residence Districts bounded by four streets or ways, or by one or more streets or ways and the Town boundary line, in which, at the time this by-law becomes effective, more than one-half the area is developed and more than one-half of such development is used for other than Single Residences or their appurtenant land and buildings. All other Districts shall be Single Residence Districts.
The words "intersecting streets" as used in this by-law shall mean any streets or ways which join each other at any angle whether or not they cross each other. .
Section 2. Except as hereinafter provided, no parcel of land lying in any Residence District and not at the time this by-law becomes effective devoted to any business or industry, other than those specified in Section 1, shall hereafter be used for any business or industry, and no parcel of land lying in any
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Single Residence District not at said time devoted to a use other than Single Residences or buildings or purposes ap- purtenant to Single Residences shall hereafter be used except for Single Residences or purposes appurtenant thereto, and no permit shall be issued for the erection, alteration or conversion of any building for or to any such prohibited use upon any such parcel.
Section 3. A permit may be issued for the erection in any Res- idence District of a building for the purpose of any business or industry or for the alteration or conversion of a building in such District for or to such purposes, or for the erection in a Single Residence District of a building for purposes other than Single Residence or for the alteration or conversion of a build- ing in such District for or to such purposes, if the Board of Selectmen shall after public hearing so permit; provided that there be filed with the application for such permit written con- ยท sents thereto signed and acknowledged by the owners or legal representatives of the owners of three-fourths of the area of all lands used for the purposes for which said District is re- stricted as provided in Section 1 hereof, including vacant lands, which are within five hundred feet of the lot for which a permit is requested.
Section 4. No permit shall be granted under the foregoing sec- tion except after a public hearing before the Board of Select- men. Notice of said hearing shall be given by publication of the time and place thereof in a local newspaper not less than two weeks before said hearing, the expense of such publication to be borne by the petitioner.
Section 5. In the single and general residence districts as now or hereafter defined by the Zoning By-Law, no single house shall be hereafter erected or placed on a lot containing less than six thousand five hundred (6,500) square feet, and no other residence building shall be hereafter erected or placed on a lot containing less than seven thousand, five hundred (7,500) square feet; but this shall not prevent the erection or placing of any residence building on any lot containing a less area, provided such lot on the effective date of this section does not adjoin other land of the same owner available for use in con- nection with such lot.
If any such residence building is placed on a lot smaller in area than hereby prescribed and such lot is hereafter further re- duced in area, or if any lot on which any such residence build- ing is placed is hereafter reduced in area so that it becomes
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smaller than hereby prescribed, except in either case by the taking of a portion thereof by eminent domain, the said build- ing thereon shall not be used until sufficient land is restored or added to said lot so that it will contain an area equal to its original area or equal to the area hereby prescribed for such building.
And you are directed to serve this warrant by posting up true and attested copies thereof at the Town Hall and each Post Office in said Westford, seven days at least before the time of holding said meeting.
Hereof fail not, and make due return of this warrant, with your doings thereon, to the Town Clerk, at the time and place of holding the first meeting aforesaid.
Given under our hands this first day of February, in the year of our Lord Nineteen Hundred and Thirty-Four.
WILLIAM R. TAYLOR, ARTHUR M. WHITLEY, W. OTIS DAY,
Selectmen of Westford.
Annual Report
OF THE
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
OF THE
Town of Westford, Mass.
F WESTFO
TOWN
D
1729. e
ORPORATED
3.
SEPT. 2
For the Year Ending December 31, 1933
2
ORGANIZATION-SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Mr. Eric Anderson, Secretary
Term expires 1936
Mr. George Gibbons
Term expires 1936
Olive P. Heathcote Term expires 1935
Edward Buckingham, Chairman Term expires 1935
Axel G. Lundberg Term expires 1934
Albert G. Forty Term expires 1934
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS Robert W. Barclay, Westford, Mass.
Tel. Residence 155 Office 133 Westford Academy Office hours-By appointment
SCHOOL PHYSICIAN Cyril A. Blaney, M. D., Westford, Mass. Tel. 26
SCHOOL NURSE C. Veronica Meagher, R. N., Westford, Mass. Tel. Residence 185 Office 41-3 Town Hall
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REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
January 1, 1934
Citizens of Westford:
The following is my report in behalf of the School Committee, for the year 1933:
At the annual election of town officers, Mr. George Gibbons of Forge Village and Mr. Eric Anderson of Westford Center were chosen to serve on the Committee. At its next meeting the following officers were selected: Mr. Edward Buckingham, chairman, and Mr. Eric Anderson, secretary. Later in the year, in order to contract for and to supervise the repair work at the Sargent School, a building com- mittee was organized consisting of the following members: Mr. Gib- bons, Mr. Forty, and Mr. Buckingham.
Our policy in the maintenance of our buildings is to keep them in good condition by doing some repairing annually rather than by put- ting it off and trying to do it all in one year. This year we have made extensive repairs to the interior of the Sargent School, a building which has received very little attention over a long period of time. Our maintenance bill is surprisingly low, when one considers the age and type of our buildings, together with their present conditions.
Our superintendent, Mr. Barclay, has continued his active program in the interests of the children and of the taxpayers. He has put into effect many changes to increase the efficiency of our school system. With the co-operation of his principals, teachers, and janitors, he has been able to cut our expenditures in many ways. A continuation of his policies is bound to further reduce the costs of our schools.
During the extremely cold weather in December, pipes were frozen in several of our buildings. The greatest damage was done in the Academy, where both the water and heating systems were put out of commission. This was the first real test that the heating system in the assembly hall had undergone since it was installed. There is no doubt that it failed. The actual amount of the damage cannot be estimated at present.
The increased cost of materials together with the probable cost of repairs due to the freeze-up, have added considerably to the amount of our budget. We therefore request $67,000 to maintain the Public Schools of Westford. The recent tuition bill from the Vocational School indicates that we shall need $3,500 for vocational tuition for the coming year.
Respectfully submitted,
EDWARD BUCKINGHAM, Chairman
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REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
January 1, 1934
To the School Committee:
I herewith submit my second annual report as Superintendent of Schools, together with those of the Principal of the Academy and the School Nurse.
Our schools opened on September 5 with a total enrollment of 816. The increase in numbers over the preceding year was largely due to the fact that many families had moved into Westford seeking em- ployment in the mills, where business seemed to have taken a sudden spurt under the new federal administration. Another contributory cause was the new N. R. A. ruling that prohibits the employment of minors under the age of sixteen instead of under that of fourteen as provided by our state laws. This change caused many to remain in school, and also increased our enrollment in the Vocational School.
With our aim to provide an adequate education for the children at as low a cost as possible, we have been fighting an uphill battle. Our first great obstacle was the cut in our proposed budget, which had already been cut to the bone in view of the existing conditions. This necessitated dropping our music supervisor, reducing our already low salaries, curtailing our purchase of materials and supplies, in spite of the advantage to be gained by securing them at the low prices then prevailing, and postponing book replacements and building repairs. This situation was further complicated by a sudden, tremendous in- crease in the cost of materials, but, in spite of this, we have managed to keep our expenditures within our budget.
In order to make clear to all what our local schools actually cost ' the taxpayers, the following figures are submitted :
Budget 1933 $ 65,000.00 State Aid $ 10,395.00
Tuition and Transportation of State Wards 1,268.23
$ 11,663.23 Net expenditure for local schools from local taxation, (including $333.32 tuition paid to the Town of Chelmsford) $ 53,336.77
Our state aid varies according to each teacher's training, exper- ience, and salary, together with the cost of our local system. The amount received for tuition and transportation changes according to the number of state wards attending our schools. The cost of tuition paid to the Town of Chelmsford varies according to the number of pupils residing in the vicinity of the Fletcher Quarry who are too far from our local schools for economical transportation to them.
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Our children seem to be in very good physical condition for these hard times. Milk is provided free for the undernourished when the parents are unable to pay for it. This work is in charge of the local community nurse. Our local Red Cross is alert and active. Their chairman, Mrs. J. Herbert Fletcher, has asked the Superintendent of Schools to have each teacher watch his or her pupils to see that they have rubbers and sufficient clothing. As soon as a needy case has been reported, it has been promptly taken care of. The Welfare De- partment has also co-operated by looking after pupils from families re- ceiving their aid.
Christmas cheer was brought into many homes by contributions from various organizations. The pupils, with assistance from the local Red Cross, were able to do their part by gathering and contributing many bags of vegetables, fruit, and canned goods. They also collected a truck load of evergreens for the veterans' hospital at Bedford. De- pression did not dampen the Christmas spirit in our schools, as we were able to hold our usual Christmas parties through the generosity of the Abbot Worsted Company and the C. G. Sargent Sons, Inc. The Abbot Worsted Company gave $100 to the Cameron School, $50 to the Sargent School, $50 to the Frost School, and $35 to the Nabnasset School. The C. G. Sargent Sons, Inc. gave $25 to the Sargent School.
Keen interest in our schools and in the welfare of our children has been displayed in two generous gifts of land from members of the Sargent family. Both Mr. A. C. Sargent and Mr. C. G. Sargent ex- pressed their hearty approval of the playground project, and consented to have the trustees of the Sargent estate deed over to the Town a piece of land adjoining school property already lying between Church Street, Graniteville, and the railroad tracks, so that its rear portion might extend as far as School Street. The second gift, from Mrs. Henry Hildreth of Winchester, Massachusetts, who was formerly Miss Harriet Sargent, consisted of the corner lot on Church and School streets, adjoining the other two already mentioned, and completed a splendid unit to be used as a school playground. A building on the lot presented by Mrs. Hildreth has been razed and transformed into a bandstand on top of "Sugarloaf Hill", where the former Sargent band- stand stood.
When school opened in September, there were several new teachers in the faculty. The vacancies caused by the resignations of Mr. Gay, Miss Parfitt, Miss Hart, and Mr. Osborne were filled by the following appointments and transfers:
Mr. Reginald V. T. Steeves, of the Austin-Cate Academy at Straf- ford, New Hampshire, was appointed to succeed Mr. Gay at the Acade- my as teacher of mathematics and science. He is also athletic direc- tor for the girls.
Mr. Ernest V. Knapman, of Brigham Academy, Bakersfield, Vermont, was appointed to succeed Miss Parfitt at the Academy as
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teacher of mathematics, science, and English. He is also athletic director for the boys.
Mr. Paul Ford, of Brockton, was appointed Principal of the Wil- liam E. Frost School.
Miss Emma Goucher was transferred from the Frost School to Grade III at the Sargent School.
Mrs. Lottie Blodgett was transferred from Grade IV in the Sargent School to Grade V in the same school.
Miss Elizabeth Nesmith was appointed to succeed Miss Hart and assigned to Grade IV in the Sargent School.
Miss Gertrude Donahoe of the Nabnassett School was promoted to the principalship of that school.
Miss Mary Reynolds was transferred from the Sargent School to Grades I, II, and III in the Nabnassett School.
In order to improve the school spirit at the Academy we have en- deavored to provide other common interests besides those furnished in the regular classroom studies. We have cut the number of recita- tion periods from six to five so as to reduce both the number of pupils in the study rooms and the number of study periods of each pupil. We have also cut two minutes from each period and reduced the noon hour recess to 28 minutes, thus making it possible for nearly all the classes to meet in the forenoon. By this arrangement, the academic day is practically over at the lunch hour. In the two afternoon periods club activities are encouraged. Every boy and girl must attend at least one gymnasium class a week. When not in a gymnasium class, each student must be in attendance at a particular club that he has chosen. Friday afternoons are reserved for teacher help periods, in- terclass games, and assemblies.
We were unable to continue our cooking class this fall because of the illness of Mrs. Pendergast. We hape that we shall be fortunate enough to secure her services as soon as she resumes her duties with the Lowell Gas Light Company.
In September interested parents petitioned for a kindergarten for children over four years of age and not in school. The matter was brought up before the Board, and it was voted to start one under the following conditions:
1. That a suitable place be found to hold such a class without further cost to the School Committee:
2. That the teacher be elected by the School Committee and be under the supervision of the Superintendent, the salary of the teacher to be paid by the parents of the children attending this school.
3. That the School Department furnish the necessary supplies and equip the class with furniture then in storage.
We were very fortunate in obtaining the services of Miss Priscilla Wright from the Perkins School for the Unadjusted Child. She is well trained and capable. Her untiring efforts to increase her class may
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be rewarded by a small amount of Federal Aid from the F. E. R. A. This will permit her to open a free school in the Abbott Hall in Forge Village for children from families receiving assistance from the Wel- fare Department.
There have been two changes in our staff of janitors during the year. In May Mr. Oscar Anderson was appointed as assistant janitor of the Frost School and of the Academy. In August Mr. Michael Mc- Glinchey was appointed janitor of the Nabnassett School to succeed Mr. Edwards.
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