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Market Basket appeals Planning Board approval of Route 20 gas station By Evan Walsh Managing Editor
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Vol. 51 | No. 49 | December 5, 2025
Dana Jackman retires after 41 years at Westborough DPW
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SHREWSBURY – Market Basket is still pushing back against a proposed gas station. In September 2025, the Planning Board approved plans for a YATCO gas station complex, which includes a 7,000-square-foot building with a convenience store, drive-through window, and quick-serve restaurant. A 4,800-square-foot car wash would be built adjacent to the gas station. The structures are estimated to generate roughly 900 new trips per weekday, according to traffic engineers.
Northborough group stitches up holiday joy for kids in need
northborough | 10 The battle of the rowers and the towers
Not just turning a wrench”
SHREWSBURY | 11 Thanksgiving dinner remembers Robert Sylvester
Gas Station | 15
Southborough to narrow down site options for potential wastewater facility By Leighah Beausoleil Assistant Editor SOUTHBOROUGH — As Southborough residents look for relief from increasing taxes – and toward a list of hefty infrastructure projects – town officials continue to eye long-term solutions, including the possibility of making Route 9 more developable for business. The problem? There is currently no available wastewater capacity in town – or capacity from surrounding areas for that matter. Established in February, the Southborough Wastewater Study Committee was tasked with developing a plan for providing wastewater treatment
westborough | 12 Shrewsbury High’s Team 467 building robots and friendships
Dana Jackman works on one of his last vehicles before retiring from the DPW after 41 years. (Photo/Leighah Beausoleil)
By Leighah Beausoleil Assistant Editor WESTBOROUGH — Dana Jackman has dedicated 41 years of his life to Westborough’s Department of Public Works (DPW), but now he’s finally ready to hang up his toolbelt. In Jackman’s time with the department, he’s worked in every corner of the town, said DPW Director Chris Payant. “It’s been 41 years of overnighters, snowstorms, and other storms where he’s been driving a truck out to fix something,” Payant said. “When it’s freezing cold out, your fingertips are numb and
some guy is standing there waiting for you to help him out, and you got to do it. That means you have to get in the mud, the snow, the ice, the water, and do what the job requires of you. That’s what he’s done.” The Jackman family has somewhat of a legacy at the DPW in Westborough. Jackman’s father worked on repairs in the garage for about 15 years until his retirement in 2000; Jackman’s brother, Joe, joined the department in 1985. Maintenance has always been a part of everyday life for the Jackmans. Growing up on a farm, the brothers would spend their days fixing cars and Jackman | 15
Wastewater | 4
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