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Vol. 51 | No. 1 | January 3, 2025
Community Advocate celebrates 50 years of sharing community news
Market Basket concerned about gas station plans
By Maureen Sullivan Assistant Editor
SHREWSBURY | 7
WESTBOROUGH – Another big property tax increase may be on the horizon. The proposed budget for the 2026 fiscal year was released on Friday, Dec. 20, and it shows an estimated tax increase for the average single-family home of $990. The reason remains the same as that of the previous few years — increased residential property values. “This budget estimates a continued increase in the average single-family value as the broader market continues to reflect low supply and high demand Tax bill | 6
Concerns about housing project’s impact on wildlife voiced By Laura Hayes Managing Editor NORTHBOROUGH – Residents along Boundary Street are voicing concerns about the impact of a potential affordable housing project. The property at the heart of the discussion is at 150 Boundary St. The total site is 32.07 acres, though the Northborough Affordable Housing Corporation (NAHC) is proposing to construct its housing project on about two acres of it. The neighbors wrote a letter and came to the Dec. 16 Select Board meeting, outlining their concerns. They called it a “critical habitat” for wildlife, including coyotes, turkeys, bobcats, owls, rabbits, turtles and birds, noting Wildlife | 8
Local communities celebrate Hanukkah
Region | 13 Attic fire displaces homeowner in Grafton
Community Advocate team members Mary Ellen Cyganiewicz, Melissa Tatten-Perry, Barbara Clifford, Patty Bengtson, Laura Hayes, David Bagdon, Valerie Jurries, Cindy Merchant, Brett Peruzzi, Ellen Bishop, Maureen Sullivan, Evan Walsh and Tami White. (Photo/Courtesy)
By Kristina Nilson Allen Contributing Writer WESTBOROUGH – Over the past year, the Community Advocate has been celebrating its 50th anniversary — quite a feat in a world where news organizations are shrinking and disappearing across the nation. “Local journalism is important. We ask the questions that will provide clarity, we are constantly striving to get to the truth. The Washington Post has a famous slogan that states ‘democracy dies in darkness.’ I believe this to be very true,” said Publisher David Bagdon. The “Community Advertiser” began in 1974 as a grocery circular founded by Ed Bagdon and Arthur Surabian, with strong support from Eugene Colangelo of Julio’s Markets grocery chain. Bagdon had previously worked as the vice president of “The News Recorder,” a small community newspaper in Worcester, alongside his colleague Surabian. They partnered to form Bagdon and Surabian
Advertising, a marketing firm specializing in producing grocery circulars. The pair’s first major client was the growing supermarket chain Julio’s Markets, which provided much momentum in the early years. Ed’s son, David, learned the print business early at age 14 operating a very cumbersome Vari-Typer typesetting machine. Their first years of business were conducted in Surabian’s one-car garage in Worcester. “In the beginning I had no training,” recalled David Bagdon. “But there I was running a typesetter and operating a sheetfed printer producing inserts for customers. We had one part-time graphic designer and me.” There were no reporters or news stories in the first editions, since the paper’s original format as the Community Advertiser consisted of only advertising. “It was really pretty primitive, after I set the type, it was processed by hand in photographic chemicals and hung to dry on a clothesline in [Surabian’s] garage,” 50 years | 12
Grafton | 16 Christopher, Osafo lead Shrewsbury past rival Saint John’s
Shrewsbury | 22
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