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Vol. 50 | No. 28 | July 12, 2024
Shrewsbury · Westborough · Northborough · Southborough · Marlborough · Hudson · Grafton
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Architect obtained for community center project
100-year-old Isabelle Chang’s secret to a happy life? Read. Read. Read.
Inaugural concert to be held at Gonkplex pavilion
By Maureen Sullivan Assistant Editor WESTBOROUGH – The Westborough Community Center project has an architect. During its meeting on June 25, the Select Board voted to authorize Town Manager Kristi Williams to negotiate a contract with BH+A, an architecture firm based in Boston. The selection was made after bids were opened on June 18, and interviews with the top three prospects occurred on June 25. Select Board member Ian Johnson cited the firm’s work with facilities around the area, including the FairCommunity Center | 4
Caruso settles in as health, human services director By Laura Hayes Managing Editor NORTHBOROUGH – After serving as the interim Health Director, Isabella Caruso now sits at the helm of the new combined Health and Human Services Department. Caruso began working with the town as a part-time epidemiologist, and over the years, she became a full-time employee and took on the role of a shared services coordinator, whose role is to manage the Public Health Excellence grant award. She became the interim health director following the departure of Kristin Black in December. Now, about six months later, Caruso has officially become the director of the new combined Health and Human Services department. Caruso | 4
SHREWSBURY – Sitting at her kitchen table, Isabelle Chang heard the back door swing open. It was her neighbor delivering a container full of homemade soup. Moments later, the door flew open again — this time a Meals on Wheels driver greeted Isabelle and dropped off lunch. Isabelle is a woman wellcared for. Alice Canty, Isabelle’s longtime friend, sat close to the living room. The space is lined with cards, well-wishes and awards: Isabelle’s 2013 Spirit of Shrewsbury Grand Marshal plaque; medals, citations and proclamations from every level of government; and, centrally located near the mantel, a sign that read, “Happy 100th Birthday, Mrs. Chang!” created by a local kindergarten class. Though Isabelle hit the 100year mark in February, her road to become a centenarian started in Boston’s Chinatown in 1924. Isabelle was the fifth of nine children. Although her father was a tea merchant and her mother had no post-secondary education, Isabelle always loved to learn. In particular, she loved books, and she will give almost any book a chance. In 1946, she graduated from Simmons College with a degree in library science. “I was always a dreamer. My father always had a book in his
NORTHBOROUGH OPENING LATE SUMMER 24' 318 Main Street Northborough, MA 01532 508-861-1010
northborough | 12
By Evan Walsh Reporter
Members of Shrewsbury’s Class of 2024 join the armed forces
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westborough | 16 Westborough sixth-grade soccer reaches state championship
Isabelle Chang celebrated her 100th birthday in February. (Photo/Evan Walsh)
hands, and that’s when I first started to get thinking about books. If you don’t know something, you can probably find it in some book somewhere,” Isabelle told the Community Advocate. After completing her undergraduate degree, Isabelle — following her parents’ wishes — went to Yale University to study Chinese culture. That’s where she met Min Chueh “M.C.” Chang, who would later co-develop the birth-control pill and in vitro fertilization. He brought her to Shrewsbury after they got married in 1948. He was conducting research at the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology, now the UMass Maple Avenue facility. If you look closely at the property, you’ll notice the Chang Building.
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