Athol Democrats elect delegates to state convention

ATHOL — Athol Democrats met for a Caucus on Saturday, June 3, to elect delegates to the Massachusetts Democratic State Convention, which will be held Sept. 23 at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell.

The three delegates elected were Mare Hawthorne, Scott MacPhee and Robert Osborne. Two alternate delegates, who will attend as non-voting members, are: Mitchell Grosky and Maxfield MacPhee. The Democratic Town Committee Chair, Margot Parrot, will also attend as an ex officio voting delegate.

For more information, please contact Town Committee Chair Margot Parrot, 978-830-4542, mparrot@parrotlaw.com

The 2023 convention is an issues convention at which the party platform will be the featured agenda item. More information is also available at the Democratic State Committee website at www.massdems.org

MWCC graduates join the nursing profession intraditional pinning ceremony

GARDNER — Mount Wachusett Community College held a traditional pinning ceremony for the graduates of its Associate Degree in Nursing program on May 18, 2023 with family and friends at the Mount Fitness facility.

“On behalf of everyone at MWCC and in the communities you will serve, we thank you for choosing a caring field, and commend you on your success,” MWCC President James Vander Hooven told students. “You are going out into the world to make a difference, you will touch and sometimes save lives, provide healing, and above all comfort and empathy. Congratulations to you all.”

The Class of 2023 is the 50th class to earn their Associates Degree in Nursing. The class was made up of students who were enrolled in either the day nursing program or were licensed practical nurses who returned to MWCC to continue their education through the Bridge to Nursing program.

The Class of 2023, include the following area students:

Nicole-Marie Catherine Cain, Athol

Christopher Michael Knickle, Athol

Ashley M. Peirce, Athol

Avery Elizabeth Johnson, Erving

Samantha L. Piragis, Orange

Justine Naomi Pottinger, Orange

Jennifer Lee Navarijo, Phillipston

Danielle Marie Knight, Winchendon

LedgevilleSchoolhouseopen house

PETERSHAM — The Ledgeville Schoolhouse Number 4 at 191 East St. in Petersham will be open for drop-in visits on Saturday, June 10, from noon-4 p.m. Barbara Metzger of the Petersham Historical Society will be on hand to welcome visitors. The schoolhouse has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2016. Visits are free and everyone is welcome.

Jane Gagliardi named Associate Dean for Learning Environment and Well-being

ORANGE — Jane Gagliardi, MD, MHS, has been named the new Associate Dean for Learning Environment and Well-being, effective July 1.

Gagliardi is a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, professor of medicine, and the director of the Combined Internal Medicine-Psychiatry Residency Training Program.

As Associate Dean for Learning Environment and Well-being, Dr. Gagliardi will serve as the academic leader ensuring that the School of Medicine’s health professions education programs occur in professional, respectful and positive learning environments, including the MD, Physician Assistant, Doctor of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy Doctorate and Master of Biomedical Sciences programs. In conjunction with directors of the different programs, she will develop a cohesive plan for support services for students to include academic, disability and mental health support. She will be responsible for exploring the feasibility of establishing a School of Medicine Office of Student Services which would standardize the resources available to students and ensure equitable access across the school.

Dr. Gagliardi is an alumna of Duke University School of Medicine and Duke’s combined residency training program in Internal Medicine-Psychiatry. She has been on faculty in both departments since completing residency training in 2003. Gagliardi is a 1990 graduate of Mahar Regional School and received an undergraduate degree in neuroscience in 1994 from Brown University, Providence, R.I. She grew up in Tully, a village of Orange.

Thursdays at the Wendell Meetinghouse Presents: Some Like It Hot, Some Don’t

WENDELL — On Thursday, June 15, at 7 pm at the Wendell Meetinghouse, Court Dorsey will present “Some Like It Dark – And Some Don’t,” a reading of his original dark poems and dialogues, and a discussion of the appropriateness of dark art.

Court writes, “Let’s face it – when it comes to art, some like it dark. And some don’t. When I read ‘Timmy’s Work is Done,’ so far, no one has walked out. A bartender once stopped putting up chairs and stared at me in horror, and at another event, at least one audience member quipped, ‘I loved the songs, the poetry, and even the dark rhymies, though the Timmy one was pretty creepy. Not exactly a stellar example of nonviolence.’

My sweetheart asks, ‘Why do you write these things, let alone read them? You should ask some other people what they think.’ So that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

There are several veins of dark rhymie, a term Dorsey has coined for some of these uncomfortable poems, written often in sing-song rhyme. We’ll hear “Mommy, May I Have a Pony?” “Timmy’s Work Is Done,” “The White Troll” and “Pumpkin Peter” (with and without music), and “Ordinary Mortimer Scrod,” and then discuss in circle, is there a point to doing dark art? Is it art at all? Are some of these OK and others just gratuitous?

Court Dorsey is a singer, writer, actor, playwright, mediator and President of Friends of the Wendell Meetinghouse. He has created hundreds of pieces, including songs, poetry, short stories and monologues. Many of these have been produced as theatrical works, guest sermons, solo and ensemble performances, and in concert settings across the U.S., Canada and Europe.

Thursdays at the Wendell Meetinghouse is a new series running every Thursday evening in May and June at the Wendell Meetinghouse on the town common in Wendell. Admission to these events is free with donations strongly encouraged. Proceeds will benefit the Friends of the Wendell Meetinghouse and support the continued renovation of this historic structure.

For more details about upcoming Thursday presentations, visit https://wendellmeetinghouse.org/.

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