Monthly Archives: April 2009

April 24, 2009 · 6:59 pm

Why Not Celebrate the Creator as Well as the Creation During Earth Week?

“Down to Earth,” by Barbara Taormina in the April 17th Newburyport Current informs readers that there will be a 10-day celebration of the planet.
 
Let’s face it, isn’t Earth Day (Week?) just a fancy name for spring cleaning? 
 
Most people out there cleaning up the outdoors on their property and in other parts of Newburyport could care less about making some sort of event out of it.  They just want to get the work done.
 
Speaking of events, I was intrigued to see that as part of the Earth Week celebration students from the Edward Molin School took a field trip to Mark Richey’s wind turbine.  Would I be dreaming to think that somewhere in the pre or post field trip experience the impressionable youngsters would hear an evenhanded presentation of why the wind turbine is considered marvelous by some and a monstrosity by others? 
 
I also noticed from the agenda of events that the salespeople for global warming would be hawking their wares.  Anyone that assures you that global warming is a fact is a liar.  Global warming is a theory.  Twenty-four inches of snow in Denver on April 17th is a fact and to some, who expect us to take them seriously, a sure sign of global warming. 
 
Maybe the environmentalists, who are pushing so hard to make an event out of something normal, should move on to something else.  Why not celebrate the creator of the earth? 
 
Could the Earth Week organizers open up their event schedule for a time of praise and prayer to earth’s creator?   We could sing songs of praise to the creator and spend time praying that God would make us wise as we manage the earth he has given us.
 
Celebrating the creator of the earth can be an uplifting event.  I was at Immaculate Conception on Friday night and heard the music of the Boston Community Choir. They were singing gospel music and it was lively – ask anyone who was there. 
 
They were singing about someone greater than the earth.  They were singing about someone who, “In the beginning created the heavens and the earth.” 
 
Genesis Chapter One is a great source of information on earth’s creation.  It would be a terrific chapter to read as part of the Earth Week celebrations.

( This letter-to-the-editor appeared in the Newburyport Current on April 24, 2009 and the Newburyport Daily News on April 27, 2009. )

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April 23, 2009 · 3:31 pm

Triton Boys’ Lacrosse Defeats Newburyport on April 22nd

Triton coach Donna Andersen works out goalie Carson True before the game with Newburyport.

Triton coach Donna Andersen works out goalie Carson True before the game with Newburyport.

I was trying to get my usual weekly story for The Town Common and went into Tuesday (April 21st) with almost nothing.  A seemingly set up interview on Thursday (April 16th) vanished on Friday, Monday, and Tuesday morning.

What to do?  Could have thrown in the towel but God opened a door on Tuesday.

I heard about a boys’ lacrosse game happening on Tuesday morning between Newburyport and Triton at Newburyport.  I knew that the Triton coach was a woman from seeing a game last year.  I thought that I could find out in an interview about that arrangement and also discuss the game.

Some things sound good but can things be pulled together on such short notice. 

I hustled over to Newburyport – a mile from here – and met the coach (Donna Andersen) on the field ½ hour before game time.  She agreed to an interview back at Triton after the game.

I stood on the sidelines and used my big Canon.  It was quite foggy with rain likely before day’s end.

Both teams had won only one game and the play was rough.  Newburyport put some very solid hits on Triton kids.  Getting a penalty didn’t seem to lessen their willingness to hit hard.  Triton led throughout and won 15-9.  Three of Triton’s goals came when they had the man advantage.

Andrew Sokol (#9) and his "shadow" Bert Comins.

Andrew Sokol (#9) and his "shadow" Bert Comins.

Newburyport had one very impressive player (#9 Andrew Sokol).  Only a sophomore, he had a shot that was quick and accurate.  The longer the game went on the more Triton shadowed him.  #43 of Triton (Bert Cumins) was the shadow.

I went home after the game to warm up and then went to Triton.  I arrived just as the team was getting off the bus.  I had a nice chat with Donna Andersen inside the building.  I believe that the players were calling her, “Coach A.” 

She teaches phys ed at Triton and also coaches field hockey.  She excelled at both field hockey and lacrosse at UNH. 

She became coach seven years ago when the lacrosse program started at Triton.  Elizabeth McAndrews (AD at Triton then – at Amesbury now) needed someone to coach boys’ lacrosse and no one had stepped up to do it.  Elizabeth knew that Donna could handle mixed phys ed classes and had a lacrosse background.  Donna was surprised to be asked to take the job but accepted after a weekend’s consideration.

She likened the boys’ intensity playing lacrosse to the intensity of Division 1 women’s lacrosse. 

She said that she thought that the boys were comfortable with her as their coach.  She said that unfamiliar officials tend to think that JV coach Avery Woodworth is the head coach and she might be the trainer.

She told me that she doesn’t know of any women coaching high school level or above boys’ lacrosse.  She thought it was surprising.

( A regular story on Triton coach Donna Andersen will appear in The Town Common on April 29, 2009 )

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April 23, 2009 · 2:54 pm

Matt Irwin: Amesbury’s Busy Goalie

Matt Irwin - Amesbury's junior goalie

Matt Irwin – Amesbury’s junior goalie

Sometimes it’s hard to figure out how good a hockey goalie really is, especially if a cast of all-star teammates surrounds him.  Defensive breakdowns in his end of the ice are few and the other goalie sees most of the shots.

Matt Irwin of Amesbury has not been surrounded by all-stars but he has made a name for himself (Daily News All-Star last two years) anyway protecting the Indians net.

During a 2-16-1 season, he was under siege nightly (44 shots per 45-minute game). “Having to make a lot of saves was what I expected to do,” he told me in a recent interview.  “I know that I won’t be sitting back there with little action.”  By comparison, Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins faces an average of 31 shots per game in a 60-minute game.

“He has been our best player for the past two seasons,” said AHS coach Pete Cignetti of his junior goalie.

Coach Cignetti told me that Matt was a backup as a freshman but made “astronomical improvement before his sophomore season.”

Matt credited that transformation to Rob Day from Exeter (NH) who is also known as, “The Goalie Guy.”  Rob has specialized in training goalies for nearly 20 years.  “I owe everything to him,” Matt told me.  “I train with him on synthetic ice once a week during the off-season and schedule appointments with him during the season.”

Matt assured me that despite the many shots fired in his direction, “he’s never had any bad goalie dreams.”

It wasn’t as easy for his mother, Laura. “Being the goalie’s mom makes watching a little difficult,” she admitted in an email.  She also told me that her family had a hockey background.  She said that her father founded a youth hockey program in Western Massachusetts and her brother played hockey.  “I lived in a rink most every winter in my childhood,” she added.

Matt wasn’t always a goalie.  “When I first played I wanted to score goals,” he recalled, “in fact, I was scoring three or four goals per game.”

What caused the switch to being a goalie?  He laughed when he told me, “I was attracted to being a goalie because the equipment looked really cool.  I tried being a goalie in the mites and just loved dressing up in all the pads.”

Any hockey pads Matt has worn this season have seen plenty of use.  In one of his best games, he had 60 saves in a 3-0 loss to Masco.

Matt said that he wasn’t surprised by Newburyport’s great season.  “They had plenty of really good players including the goalie,” he said.

Amesbury played Newburyport twice during the season.  “We lost badly to them the first time,” he recalled.

The second time was much different.  “We ended up losing 3-1,” said Coach Cignetti, “but one goal was on a power play and another on an empty net.  Matt had 49 saves.”

Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens is Matt’s favorite goalie.  “He’s young (21) and already in the NHL,” he said.  “I like his style of play and how focused he gets.”

When Matt was younger, he also played baseball and lacrosse.  Now his other athletic activities are skateboarding and surfing.

“Matt is a quiet leader and lets his play do the talking for him,” said Coach Cignetti of his captain.  “He sets a good example with his work ethic and is always looking to improve.”

( This story appeared in The Town Common on April 22, 2009 )

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April 16, 2009 · 10:02 am

Matt Irwin: Under Siege in Amesbury

Matt Irwin under point-blank attack from Brandon Middleton of Triton at the Graf Rink.

Matt Irwin under point-blank attack from Brandon Middleton of Triton at the Graf Rink.

Amesbury has not been a very good hockey team in recent memory.  However, when their best player is the goalie, you figure it could be a whole lot worse.  The team won just twice this season.

I went after the junior goalie (Matt Irwin) of the Amesbury hockey team to get his perspective in an interview at AHS on April 8th.

I found Matt to be quiet and relaxed.  It seemed to me to be the perfect temperament for someone facing almost a shot a minute in every game. He used the word, “cool,” any number of times. 

I asked him about how he became a goalie and he amused me by saying that as a young kid he was “attracted to the equipment.” 

His skills seemed to take off after he started working out with a goalie coach named Rob Day in Exeter after his freshman year.  I am learning that the better the athlete the more likely it is that he/she is getting instruction away from the area schools. 

I also learned from Matt that he does not like sports that interfere with his daytime activities.  That was why he moved away from baseball and lacrosse.  Hockey is an early morning and/or evening sport.

He is in the National Honor Society although after our interview he was heading off to serve a detention.  I was led to believe that it was a “two-minute minor.”

His mom, Laurie, told me in an email that being the mother of the goalie makes game watching a little difficult. 

Matt’s coach (Pete Cignetti) praised him as a leader on and off the ice.  Matt has been the team’s MVP these past two seasons.

(The actual article that I wrote for The Town Common will appear in their outlets on April 22nd.  After that happens, I will transfer the article to this blog.)

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April 15, 2009 · 6:12 pm

Young Gymnasts Train Locally and Excel Regionally

Gymnasts Gabe Pellitier, Noah Piotte, and Taylor Gigandet train in Salisbury.

Gymnasts Gabe Pellitier, Noah Piotte, and Taylor Gigandet train in Salisbury.

It was not the easiest place to find but the foggy windows gave away the location of the All Around Gymnastics Training Center at 5 Fanaras Drive in Salisbury.

Owner George Teazis invited me to the gym on April 3rd.  Even on a rainy Friday late afternoon, I saw about thirty elementary-school aged kids actively involved in gymnastics. Hence, the foggy windows.

Three of the boys from the gym had done well enough at the state event in March to qualify for the New England Regionals held in Andover April 5th and I had a chance to chat with each of them before they attended the event.

Gabe Pelletier (11) is a fourth grader in Amesbury.  He said his interest in gymnastics, and I suspect his parents’ as well, began, “when I started doing cartwheels in the living room.” 

Gabe said his best event is the floor exercises although he really enjoys the rings, “because of doing dismounts and all that crazy stuff.”

Taylor Gigandet (11) is from Byfield and attends Newbury Elementary School.  He told me that he started gymnastics about four years ago.  “My sister was doing gymnastics and I would stay home and do nothing,” he said.  “My mother asked if I wanted to start and I did.  I really enjoy it.”

Taylor’s favorite event is his best event – high bar.  “I get my highest scores on it and can do advanced tricks.”  That ability earned Taylor the gold medal in the high bar and fifth overall at the New England Regionals on April 5th at Andover High School.

Noah Piotte (14) is from Haverhill.  “My grandmother got me into gymnastics about four years ago,” he recalled. “She thought it would be good for me.”

Noah said that his favorite event is the rings because, “it takes the most strength.” 

Noah is now the New England champion in the parallel bars. He also finished fourth overall at Andover.

“George (Teazis) is training me to be a coach,” added Noah.  “I’ll probably help coach some of the older kids.”

Several days after the interview, George called me with the results of the New England Regionals and added that, “he was extremely pleased with how his boys did.  We go at it all year and the boys have worked hard.  They will now move up to a more difficult level and hopefully be ready to compete at that level by November/December.”

George reports that his facility is a busy place.  “We have about 300-400 kids come here during a typical week.  I say sometimes that my wife (Debbie) and I live here.”

“We have been here for about 15 years,” he said, “and I have been coaching for 34 years.”  He laughed when he told me, “I just got a call from a former student who told me she wanted to bring her daughter here.” 

Gymnastics are not easy, according to George.  “It is the hardest sport in the world,” he explained.  “Pound for pound gymnasts are the strongest athletes in the world.  There is plenty of work involved to get good at it.”

Most of the gymnasts I have seen are not only strong but also short.  “Size matters in gymnastics,” said George.

I learned that in competition gymnasts are not divided by age but by ability.  “Older doesn’t mean anything in gymnastics,” he explained.  “A seven or eight year old can be competing on the same level as someone fifteen or sixteen.”

“We enjoy teaching kids,” he added.  “We think that they enjoy it here.  It keeps some of them out of trouble.  They learn about making a commitment to something positive which gives them a good sense for later life.”

(This story appeared in The Town Common on April 15th)

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April 7, 2009 · 7:35 pm

Mill Road Bridge on Ipswich/Hamilton Line to Reopen in June

The signs on Mill Road that will be removed in June.

The signs on Mill Road that will be removed in June.

“Did he say what year?”  That’s probably the question that would come to mind for many of the longsuffering former users of the Mill Road Bridge.

But it’s true.  “The overall completion of the work is expected to be in mid-June (2009),” was the confirmation I received from Colin Durrant of MassHighway.  Mr. Durrant is in charge of Media Relations.

The director of the DPW in Ipswich (Bob Gravino) shared the same news, “Come the middle of June it should be back on line.”

Mr. Gravino doubted that there would be a ceremony similar to the January 5th event when the Parker River Bridge in Newbury was reopened.  “That closing was planned,” he said.  “This one was an emergency.  People will just be glad to have it back.”

It will be difficult for a visitor stopping by the Mill Road Bridge site now to imagine it will be reopening soon.  On March 26th, my visit turned up birds singing, water rushing, a horse grazing, but no workers.  I also noted that as I viewed the bridge from the Ipswich side I could still see where the bridge appeared to have dropped on the left side.

I expressed my concerns to Mr. Gravino in a phone interview.  “The most difficult and expensive part is now complete,” he assured me.  “The structural part is finished.  The final step is to rip up the roadbed, rebuild it, and repave it.”

Why hasn’t the final work started yet?  “Nothing is going on right now because they haven’t had the right weather to do it,” he explained.  “We could still get a snowstorm.”  If you’ve lived around here for a while, you know he’s not making that late snowstorm part up.

Snow is one thing but the rain that belted the Ipswich region starting on May 13, 2006 was another.  The rains may have let up three days later but the flooding had just begun.  Roadways were closed as well as bridges.

The scary thought was that the Mill Road Bridge was in use until May 17th handling a huge volume of heavy vehicles and mounting volume.  If the surface then is what it looks like now, you wonder how many more vehicles it could have handled before giving way.

Once its dangerous condition was spotted, the bridge was abruptly closed.  MassHighway was quickly involved and the bridge was stabilized by pouring concrete under the piers to offset the scouring that the floodwaters had done on the riverbed.

The next part was the full-scale structural repair.  A double-arched, stone bridge built in 1829 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places would not see a quick-fix approach.  There was little visual evidence that anything was being done and a rumor made the rounds in July (2008) that the project had been stopped.

The bridge roadway will be repaired last.

The bridge roadway will be repaired last.

It hadn’t, but the public couldn’t tell otherwise because they couldn’t see what was being done.  With private property on both sides of the bridge, and boats prohibited from the bridge area, there was no way to be certain if anything was being repaired.  But it was and now both MassHighway and Ipswich officials assure us that the structure out of sight is successfully finished.

The arrival of heavy equipment to the Mill Road Bridge area in April/May to do the roadwork will signal the beginning of the end of nearly three years of alternate routes for many people.

Would this be the place to mention to Ipswich folks, that the MassHighway will begin the bridge replacement on Route 1A (High Street) over the MBTA and B&M Railroad this fall, according to their website?  Didn’t think so!

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April 6, 2009 · 8:05 pm

All Around Gymnastics Training Center of Salisbury

Gabe, Noah, and Taylor from the All Around Gymnastics Training Center in Salisbury.

Gabe, Noah, and Taylor from the All Around Gymnastics Training Center in Salisbury.

Gymnastics?  I got them as an assignment for The Town Common. 

What do I know about gymnastics?  The only time I’ve ever seen them has been on TV especially during the Olympics.

I know that the people involved are small and daring.  They clearly do things you would be apprehensive to watch live with lesser skilled people performing.

Anyhow, I got the assignment to cover the accomplishments of the All Around Gymnastics Training Center in Salisbury.

I arranged for an interview on April 3rd.  If you know my “sense” of direction, you could easily find a place that is down the street from Salisbury’s Hodgies.  Unfortunately, Hodgies opened the day AFTER I did the interview.

This gym was hard to find on a wet late afternoon.  There were no outside markings that gave the name away, as far as I could see.  The giveaway was the fogged up windows.  Picture a school bus on a rainy day.

I entered a place that had an assortment of gymnastic equipment.  Outside that area was a windowed room where parents could watch what was going on.

I could see that the participants were almost exclusively elementary school age.  There was a lot going on, sort of like a school cafeteria.

The owner, George Teazis, saw me.  I knew he was Greek because of his name and because I had talked to him on the phone.  I was there to talk to him and to the three boys from that gym who had qualified for the New England Regionals. 

Two of the boys were fourth graders and eleven while the other kid was fourteen.  The older kid had obviously been lifting a lot as you can see in the picture. 

I tried to ask each kid similar questions.  One of them was very curious to know what paper the story would go in.  I tried to explain that I didn’t work for ESPN.

After the boys, I waited for George and had the chance to see, what could have been, an eight year old go through a floor routine.  This little girl did flips and spins as George coached her and was very impressive.

George has been coaching for 34 years and has worked with literally thousands of kid,s I suspect.  He was quite demanding of the kids but since he knows what it takes to be a good gymnast he had everyone’s attention.  He said that there’s not a lot of fooling around and the kid’s train hard. 

George got me to confirm that the story would appear April 15th. 

Today I got a call from George updating me on how the three boys had done at the Regionals.  That helped me a lot with the story because it gave it closure.  Two of the boys had won first place medals in individual events.

I now think, after doing the story, that seeing some of these young gymnasts in action might be a good take.

(I have prepared an article about this training center for The Town Common.  When it is posted on their website I will bring it onto this blog.

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April 1, 2009 · 3:17 pm

Plum Crazy Replaces PJ’s on Plum Island

Manager Trish Cram and owner Kurt Littlefield in front of mural inside Plum Crazy.

Manager Trish Cram and owner Kurt Littlefield in front of mural inside Plum Crazy.

If you’re new to a neighborhood, a quick way to meet your neighbors is to start a building or remodeling project.  They’re not always thrilled.

That wasn’t the case, though, for the owner of a restaurant/convenience store called Plum Crazy on Plum Island.  The neighbors were pleased.

They were so pleased, in fact, that they came to a lunch in early March before the place opened.  “We expected a few,” said owner Kurt Littlefield during a recent interview, “but 28 people showed up.  They brought plants and all signed one of our orange beach bags.  That bag is our good luck charm.”

Why were the neighbors so friendly?

First, a very popular convenience store/restaurant called PJ’s Variety had existed at that spot, halfway to the lighthouse, for forty years.  Kurt described PJ’s as a “social hub where people were used to meeting.”  It closed suddenly nearly five years ago and there was no alternative.

Second, Kurt took initiative with the neighbors.  “We visited all of them,” he told me.  “We wanted them comfortable with us.  We asked them how late we should stay open and they suggested 9PM and we agreed.”

Third, Kurt designed the interior of Plum Crazy to give something back to the Plum Island community.  “We wanted people to walk in here and say – “Wow, that’s Plum Island,” said Kurt.  “That’s why you see all the murals (by Susan McCann of Peabody) including the mural of the Plum Island lighthouse on the main 30-foot ceiling.”

Probably the biggest reason for the good reception was that many Plum Islanders saw the opening of a commercial establishment by someone who actually lived on the island, like Kurt Littlefield, as a pushback against the property taking by outsiders, especially Jeanne and Julian Geiger.

Julian is the wealthy CEO of Aeropostale. His wife, Jeanne, took a fancy to Plum Island in 2003 after visiting.  Ten million dollars later Jeanne owned 16 properties on the island including the only hotel.  She was willing to pay top dollar and got what she went after including PJ’s.  Once purchased the island favorite was abruptly boarded up. 

Apparently, Jeanne Geiger’s plan was to remodel and merge all the properties she bought into a big resort on Plum Island with a similar look to each property.  The New Yorker hoped to attract New Yorkers with a mini South Beach look.

Some of the work had started but Jeanne Geiger died accidentally in February of 2005.  That left Julian Geiger to run things and he has not pushed hard to carry on his wife’s plans.  This eventually led to the unoccupied PJ’s being offered for sale.

Kurt, who is a vice president of information technology at Fresenius in Waltham, purchased the property in June of 2008. 

Trish Cram is the partner/manager at Plum Crazy.  “The retail end is new to me but I’ve got 20 years in the restaurant business in management,” she told me.  “The convenience part is currently open every day from 7:30AM-5PM.  From Wednesday through Sunday, we’re serving breakfast and lunch until 2PM.”

“We serve traditional breakfasts and lunches,” she added.  “A morning special called, ‘Two Crazy,’ which has two of everything, has been very popular.  For lunch, our chicken walnut cranberry salad sandwich is awesome. We have wraps and burgers.”

Close to completion is an ice cream window where soft-serve will be available.

“When this place is fully operational we expect to be open from 6AM to 9PM during the on season and offer breakfast, lunch, dinner, and ice cream,” explained Kurt.  “The off season we’ll go from 7-to-7.”

The restaurant part has a seating capacity of 44.

 “I have nearly 100 applications to go through,” said Trish.  “We’re still taking applications and hiring because we plan to be extremely busy.”

“Our goal was to put something together that we could be proud of and that the Plum Island community will be comfortable with,” said Kurt.  “I think that we have done that.”

( This story appeared in The Town Common on April 1st. )

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