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Vol. 51 | No. 9 | February 28, 2025
These Shrewsbury shotputters are making history
Meet candidates for Select Board
By Evan Walsh Managing Editor
WEstborough | 7 Music is the key to happiness, togetherness
NORTHBOROUGH – A couple of Northborough residents have decided to get more involved. On Feb. 10, the Northborough Select Board formally appointed two individuals to different town boards. The first, Amanda Derosier Millette, was appointed to a three-year term on the Library Board of Trustees. She was recommended by the Interview Subcommittee. The vote was unanimous. “She’s grown up in town, so I thought
Westborough | 11 Chestnut Hill Farm program taps into maple syruping
Involvement | 4
Accessory units, M-1 District subject to possible changes
Southborough | 12 Meet Walter Castagna, the longesttenured town employee
Josh Castello (left) and Darius Gibbons at Shrewsbury High School. (Photo/Evan Walsh)
By Maureen Sullivan Assistant Editor WESTBOROUGH – Changes to the accessory housing bylaw and the M-1 Zoning District will be among four Town Meeting Warrant articles sponsored by the Planning Department. Planning Director Jennifer Gingras outlined the articles during the Select Board meeting on Feb. 11. On accessory dwelling units (ADUs), Gingras said the proposed changes would bring the zoning bylaw more in line with state regulations. Under the new guidelines, ADUs may be built by right in single-family zoning districts. There would be no short-term rentals allowed and no more than one ADU per property. M-1 District | 4
By Evan Walsh Managing Editor SHREWSBURY – It was the MIAA Division 1 Indoor Track and Field Championship, but to Darius Gibbons, it felt like Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals. The Shrewsbury senior entered the meet with hopes of taking home hardware, but minutes before his first shot put, there was doubt he’d be able to compete at all. That morning, Gibbons woke up feeling incredibly sick — so sick that he seriously considered skipping the championship meet entirely. His teammate convinced him to make the trip to “the Reggie” in Roxbury, but his illness persisted. “We were looking at him, and he looked so miserable. We had to do some-
thing,” said Jay Costa, an assistant coach for the shot put. Alongside Tom McCabe, the program’s head coach, Costa encouraged his student-athlete in the only way he knew how. Just before Gibbons’ first throw, Costa Googled Michael Jordan’s infamous “flu game,” when the Chicago Bulls legend fought through food poisoning to play in the NBA Finals and hit a game-winning 3-point shot. The video of that moment was sent to Gibbons. And, moments later, an under-theweather Gibbons had the best performance of his career. On his second throw, he tossed the shot a personal-best 55 feet, 10.75 inches. It was far enough for the Division 1 championship, and with the throw, Gibbons took the ShrewsShot put | 22
Shrewsbury | 15
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