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Wetlands could reroute proposed Westborough trail By Adri Pray Reporter WESTBOROUGH -- After resident feedback, Westborough will allocate funds to allow a consulting firm to explore alternate routes for a pedestrian trail project. It’s an effort to help the trail avoid wetlands present in the current route. Consultants working on the BostonWorcester Air Line Trail (BWALT) adjusted the scope of the remaining work for the Otis Street/Sassacus Drive to Park Street segment of the trail to explore alternative options that would avoid the Westborough Wastewater Treatment Plant and residential areas. Town officials shared at the Select
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Vol. 51 | No. 35 | August 29, 2025
Abandoned cars offer insight into Northborough’s past
Is a new statue coming to this local town?
NORTHBOROUGH | 6 WPD employee retires after 40-year career
WESTBOROUGH | 7 New 48-unit development proposed in Shrewsbury
BWALT | 5
Three Central Mass. high schools ranked in top 20 statewide By Adri Pray Reporter
Old Farm Trail
Rankings | 17
NORTHBOROUGH – Walking along Northborough’s Old Farm Trail, you might stumble across a 1953 Oldsmobile, a 1940s Buick, or even a hayloader. The mile-long trail is dotted with remnants of automobile history, leaving many to wonder how the parts and cars got there. But for local residents, the vehicles aren’t just old relics. They’re a monument to a different way of life. The vehicles date back to Don Haitsma, a man who was born and raised in Northborough and ran Stirrup Brook Farm. He died in 2022 at age 88. According to his stepbrother, Allan Bezanson, Haitsma left the cars in what
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There’s much more to this picture than an abandoned car. (Photo/Shealagh Sullivan)
By Shealagh Sullivan Reporter
REGION – Three high schools in Central Mass. are among the top 20 schools in the state for the 2025-26 academic year, according to rankings released by the U.S. News and World Report last week. Algonquin Regional High School in Northborough was ranked No. 14, Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School in Marlborough was ranked No. 15, and Westborough High School was ranked No. 19 in the state based on college readiness, state assessment test scores, and graduation rates. Algonquin serves nearly 1,200 students from Northborough and Southborough and boasts a 98-percent graduation rate, according to the report. The
SHREWSBURY | 13
was once a field on the farm’s property after they broke down or an engine died. “My stepbrother was one year older than me, and he was a true farmer,” Bezanson said. Haitsma was raised on the farm alongside Bezanson. While running the farm, Haitsma worked as a mechanic and bought and sold antique vehicles, sometimes just for parts. Some of these vehicles can still be seen on the Old Farm Trail. Others were used as makeshift tractors, said Paul Derosier, a friend of Haitsma’s. The pair met in the 1960s, and Derosier would often help Haitsma load hay on the farm. “A lot of the cars and stuff that the farmers collected, usually the car got too bad to be driven on the road, they could use it around the farm. So you can cut the roof off,
southborough | 14
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Trail | 5
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