COVID-19 Cases Spike In 2 School Districts; See District-By-District Incident Rates COVID-19 Cases Spike In 2 School Districts; See District-By-District Incident Rates
Covid-19 Cases Spike In 2 School Districts; See District-By-District Incident Rates Two local school districts experienced COVID-19 flare-ups over the last week, according to the most recent state data. On Thursday, Jan. 28, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released how many COVID-19 incidents were reported by students and staff from Jan. 21-27. Most of the Central and Western Massachusetts, as well as the Berkshires, had school districts where no COVID-19 incidents were reported that week. However, Shrewsbury and Hampden-Wilbraham school districts each reported 12-15 students and faculty that had become il…
COVID-19: How Many Miles Will You Travel To Get Vaccinated? Check This Map COVID-19: How Many Miles Will You Travel To Get Vaccinated? Check This Map
Covid-19: How Many Miles Will You Travel To Get Vaccinated? Check This Map A new map of where you can get vaccinated against COVID-19 in Massachusetts shows 20 locations in Central and Western Massachusetts. If you’re eligible to get a vaccine, Mass.gov has created an interactive map of vaccination sites you can use to learn more about the facilities and how to book appointments.  It appears that most people live within 10-12 miles of a vaccination center, but for the more far-flung communities, including North Adams and Sutton, the trek could be 20 miles or more. The closest vaccination center to Williamstown, which is located in the most northwest…
COVID-19: Where Are The Hot Spots? Infection Rates Down In Most Central/Western MA Big Cities COVID-19: Where Are The Hot Spots? Infection Rates Down In Most Central/Western MA Big Cities
Covid-19: Where Are The Hot Spots? Infection Rates Down In Most Central/Western MA Big Cities COVID-19 rates went down in 7 out of 10 of Massachusetts’ largest cities west of I-495. The COVID-19 infection rates per 100,000 people went down in Worcester, Springfield, Chicopee, Leominster, Fitchburg, Amherst, and Shrewsbury, according to town-level data released by Massachusetts’ Department of Public Health on Thursday, Jan. 21. All of these communities, except for Amherst, are in the “red” - meaning they are at the highest risk for the spread of the virus. Amherst is in the yellow category. Massachusetts's color-coded risk system has four levels. They are, from most to least risk, …
Is Your Town On The List? Showtime's 'Dexter' Revival To Be Filmed In Massachusetts Is Your Town On The List? Showtime's 'Dexter' Revival To Be Filmed In Massachusetts
Is Your Town On The List? Showtime's 'Dexter' Revival To Be Filmed In Massachusetts The new limited return of the serial-murder drama “Dexter” will be shot in Massachusetts. Production is set to begin in late January and run through July, according to the Boston Globe. Showtime announced it was going to revive its hit show for another 10 episodes in October. Communities that can expect to see the “Dexter” crew filming include Worcester, Gardner, Lancaster, and Sterling. “Dexter” is a show about a serial killer/police forensics expert who channels his violent urges into killing people he considers to be bad and his attempts to keep his crimes a secret. The show ran …
Victim, Suspected Shooter In Charlton Murder-Suicide ID'd Victim, Suspected Shooter In Charlton Murder-Suicide ID'd
Victim, Suspected Shooter In Charlton Murder-Suicide ID'd The Worcester District Attorney has identified the two people who died in an apparent murder-suicide in Charlton. On Saturday, Jan. 2, police responded to a 911 call on Southbridge Road in Charlton and discovered two people with gunshot wounds. The man was dead at the scene, the woman died shortly thereafter. The victim of the violence was Kristen A. (Bradbury) Carey, 37. She had two children Nick and Natalie. Carey had just moved into the Southbridge Road residence with her boyfriend and suspected shooter Keith M. Cuthbertson, 49, according to the Worcester Telegram and Gazette. Cuthberts…
COVID-19: New Town-By-Town Rates, Trends - Worcester County - Rates Drop COVID-19: New Town-By-Town Rates, Trends - Worcester County - Rates Drop
Covid-19: New Town-By-Town Rates, Trends - Worcester County - Rates Drop Good news! The COVID-19 rate in most Worcester County cities and towns has gone down, according to the most recent information from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Worcester County now has 4 “green” communities as well - a term for communities with a low risk for the spread of the virus. They are Harvard, Holland, Hubbardston, and Millville, according to the Massachusetts weekly community-level report, Dec. 31. SCROLL TO THE END OF THE ARTICLE FOR A LIST OF TOWN STATS Other Worcester County communities where the risk is low include New Braintree, Hardwick, Berlin, Chester, a…
Third Apparent Murder-Suicide Being Investigated In Worcester County Third Apparent Murder-Suicide Being Investigated In Worcester County
Third Apparent Murder-Suicide Being Investigated In Worcester County An apparent murder-suicide is being investigated by the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office as well as the state and local police. The community has mourned a handful of apparent murder-suicides in recent months - three of which happened in Worcester County. The crimes took place in Worcester and Gardner, as well as Somerset, Wayland, and nearby Windsor Locks, Conn. Typically, Massachusetts experiences four murder-suicides each year, according to GunViolenceArchive.org. The most recent incident happened on Saturday, Jan. 2, in a Southbridge Road apartment in Charlton, the Worcester …
COVID-19: Town-By-Town Rates And Trends, Worcester County, Dec. 18 COVID-19: Town-By-Town Rates And Trends, Worcester County, Dec. 18
Covid-19: Town-By-Town Rates And Trends, Worcester County, Dec. 18 Just over a dozen communities in Worcester County lowered their COVID-19 incident rates since the previous week, according to the most recent state data. On Thursday, Dec. 17, Massachusetts Public Health Department released weekly town-by-town datasets that include how many COVID-19 incidents there are per 100,000 residents - the incident rate. The communities where the rate went down are Chester, Harvard, New Braintree, New Salem, Bolton, Gardner, Southborough, Sutton, West Boylston, Sterling, Hopedale, North Brookfield, and Upton. Of these communities, only 5 are “red” - the state’s highe…
At Least 26 Central, Western Mass Schools Get Free, Rapid-Result COVID-19 Test Kits At Least 26 Central, Western Mass Schools Get Free, Rapid-Result COVID-19 Test Kits
At Least 26 Central, Western Mass Schools Get Free, Rapid-Result Covid-19 Test Kits Rapid-result COVID-19 testing is coming to 134 public Massachusetts School Districts and facilities in December to help stop the spread of the virus. Among the 134 districts and schools receiving testing, at least 26 individual schools and full districts are from Central and Western Massachusetts (not including the Berkshires). For a list of districts and schools getting the tests, scroll down to the end of the article. Due to the limited number of tests, districts that will get the equipment are those that meet certain criteria and offer in-person education. The 2 million tests provided…
COVID-19: Fourth Grade Switches To Fully-Remote Learning COVID-19: Fourth Grade Switches To Fully-Remote Learning
Covid-19: Fourth Grade Switches To Fully-Remote Learning After the discovery of a COVID-19 infection, an entire grade has been put on remote-learning. On Wednesday, Nov. 18, in a letter to the community, Superintendent Mark Pellegrino said that the fourth-graders at Elm Street School in Gardner are switching to full-remote learning for the next two weeks. Pellegrino said that six COVID-19 incidents have been recorded in Gardner School District - 1 at Gardner High School, 1 at Gardner Middle School, 1 at Waterford Street School, and 3 at Elm Street School. “Fortunately, after extensive interviews with students and staff, our nurses have determine…
Police Seek 'Pale' Man Accused Of Attempted Kidnapping Police Seek 'Pale' Man Accused Of Attempted Kidnapping
Police Seek 'Pale' Man Accused Of Attempted Kidnapping Police are seeking the public’s help in locating a suspect after a 30-year-old woman reported that a man attempted to pull her into his car. On Friday, Nov. 13, at around 1:25 p.m., police were called to the area of 125 Park St., in Gardner. A woman reported that while she was walking a four-door, silver sedan passed her slowly, appearing to be lost, Gardner Police said. The vehicle went out of sight, then reversed directions and stopped across from the woman and shouted to her, police said. The male driver asked the woman to come to his vehicle stating he couldn’t hear her. When she moved…
COVID-19: Town-By-Town Rates And Trends For Worcester County COVID-19: Town-By-Town Rates And Trends For Worcester County
Covid-19: Town-By-Town Rates And Trends For Worcester County A little more than one-third of Massachusetts cities and towns are “red” and considered high-risk for the transmission of COVID-19. Of the 122 red Massachusetts communities, 18 are in Worcester County: Athol, Auburn, Bolton, Clinton, Fitchburg, Gardner, Hubbardston, Leicester, Leominster, Mendon, Milford, Northborough, Shrewsbury, Southborough, Webster, West Boylston, Westborough, and Worcester. As of Thursday, Oct. 29, there are now 122 red municipalities reporting high numbers of new COVID-19 cases every day for the past 28 days. The “red” refers to the color-coded system Massachusetts i…