A Thanksgiving Offering

The Mayflower II in Plymouth Harbor

It all started in a small town in Nottinghamshire County in the years 1605 – 1606. Scrooby is where a core group of the Separatists, having had their full of King James I imposing His Majesty’s Church on them, decided to leave England for The Netherlands. Amsterdam was merely a stop-over, however, as they soon relocated to Leiden, where they lived for more than ten years.



The Mayflower II at Sunset


After living a decade in Leiden, the would-be colonists, concretely sensing the passing of time and understanding that they were perhaps growing old beyond their useful years, became anxious to begin their new lives, so embarked upon a project of acquiring access to the New World. In 1617 this was no small feat, as they needed more people, a charter to give them legal access to the land and, as is true to this day regarding any endeavor, money. Because of their desire to launch their plan, the Separatists agreed to an arrangement that was less favorable to them from Thomas Weston, the leader of a group of English merchants. The deal would mean that for seven years, this band of "adventurers" [A Little Commonwealth by John Demos, p.5] would owe the company store. Nevertheless, they accepted, procured the legal right to the land near the Hudson River and swelled their ranks with like-minded and some not so like-minded folks from East Anglia, London, Kent as well as a few soldiers who were stationed in Leiden at the time, including Myles Standish.


This picture shows the characteristic shape of the Mayflower.

And thus began the journey of 102 Pilgrims, who referred to themselves as such, and who, after suffering a year of hardship, would recall a thanksgiving holiday they celebrated in The Netherlands which commemorated the ending of the assault on Leiden on October 3rd, 1574. A little more than half the congregation would live to enjoy the feasts and games at harvest time in 1621, but those that did were extraordinarily grateful.


Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, October, 2009, "Pilgrim Fathers" by Jeremy Dupertuis Bangs
http://www.oxforddnb.com/public/themes/93/93695.html


A Little Commonwealth, Family Life in Plymouth Colony, by John Demos, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2000, Second Edition, pp.2-11.

Massachusetts, A Concise History, by Richard D. Brown & Jack Tager, University of Massachusetts Press, Amherst, MA, 2000, pp. 21-26.

Plimoth Plantation website
http://www.plimoth.org/features/mayflower-2/

"'It's not about protecting police officers, it's about protecting the community as a whole.'" ~Officer Ralph LeBlanc

Last Thursday, Representative Lew Evangelidis held a press conference on legislation he will be filing that would replace the current verdict of "not guilty by reason of insanity" with "guilty but insane," a major difference pertaining to punishment of criminals convicted of murder. Rather than six months at Bridgewater State Hospital with an annual follow-up review, ten years would be the minimum time served. Rep. Evangelidis is quoted in Friday's Telegram & Gazette as saying, "'It is outrageous that a murderer could be released from incarceration after only a few months or years of treatment in a hospital setting without any criminal record whatsoever.'" (p.A4)

The proposed change, called "Jupin's Law" arose as a result of the shooting of a Westminster police officer, Lawrence M. Jupin. Detective Ralph LeBlanc spoke to the Telegram about the events of May 10, 1999 when his partner was shot, leading to his resultant death in 2002 after having been in a coma for those three years, as being "'surreal'". Mr. Evangelidis elaborates in his November 20 press release. “'Just like the thousands of police officers who protect our communities each and every day, Officer Jupin risked his life for the better of our society and made the ultimate sacrifice to protect and serve. This tragic death and subsequent trial of Mr. Rivers did magnify the inadequacies of our insanity laws which must be rectified. There is a fine line to balance when dealing with defendants who are mentally ill, but I feel as though this legislation is a fair solution to protect public safety while safeguarding the rights of mentally ill criminals.'”



Read Representative Evangelidis' full press release below and beneath that, click on the link to watch NECN's coverage.



EVANGELIDIS TO FILE “JUPIN’S LAW” CHANGING INSANITY DEFENSE LAWS

Worcester- On May 10, 1999, Officer Lawrence Jupin of the Westminster Police Department responded to Route 31 in Westminster to assist another officer. An individual had approached the other officer while he was conducting a motor vehicle stop. The man was wearing camouflage clothing and carrying a back pack when he appeared out of nowhere on the desolate roadway. When officers attempted to speak with him, the suspect fled. Officer Jupin and the other officer quickly pursued him into a nearby wooded area. Officer Jupin was shot three times with a stolen handgun by Jason Rivers of Fitchburg. After receiving extensive treatment for brain damage suffered as a result of the shooting, Officer Jupin died in November of 2002 at the age of 34.

After years of medical examinations and evaluations at Bridgewater State Hospital, Jupin’s assailant finally faced a Judge and was found not guilty by reason of insanity on September 1, 2009. Under current Massachusetts Law, an individual who is found not guilty by reason of insanity can only be committed to Bridgewater State Hospital for a period of six months. Following this initial commitment, the individual can be re-committed in one year increments following subsequent evaluations.

State Representative Lew Evangelidis will be filing legislation to change the Commonwealth’s insanity defense laws to ensure that individuals who have committed these serious crimes are committed to Bridgewater State Hospital for at least ten years, rather than the current system that could allow someone like Jason Rivers to be released after six months. Evangelidis’ legislation would remove the current defense of “not guilty by reason of insanity” in cases of murder and replace it with “guilty, but insane.” Under the proposed legislation by Evangelidis, an individual found guilty except insane would be committed to a period of confinement for at least ten years, with subsequent commitments occurring every year.

Evangelidis said, “I believe that the current laws that allow someone to be found not guilty by reason of insanity are simply crazy. It is outrageous that a murderer could be released from incarceration after only a few months or years of treatment in a hospital setting without any criminal record whatsoever.”

“Just like the thousands of Police Officers who protect our communities each and every day, Officer Jupin risked his life for the better of our society and made the ultimate sacrifice to protect and serve. This tragic death and subsequent trial of Mr. Rivers did magnify the inadequacies of our insanity laws which must be rectified. There is a fine line to balance when dealing with defendants who are mentally ill, but I feel as though this legislation is a fair solution to protect public safety while safeguarding the rights of mentally ill criminals” said Evangelidis, who is a former Assistant District Attorney and Assistant State Attorney.

Officer Ralph LeBlanc, who initially made the inquiry concerning Mr. Rivers on Route 31 in Westminster in May of 1999, added the following, “After the courts ruling on September 1, 2009 I was horrified that a person could be found not guilty of murder based on their mental status. This discovery took almost 10 years for doctors to come to a conclusion about and even though the judge said Jason Rivers was, without a doubt, to blame for Larry’s death. After the ruling, I began looking into how other states deal with such cases of mental competency and discovered the “Guilty Except Insane”. I believe that a change in the existing insanity laws will address both sides of the issue. The safety concerns of society where a person who is responsible for killing someone, will be supervised with guidelines in place to keep society safe. As well as, provide necessary psychological treatment for the offender in the appropriate setting. My quest to see a change in this law will never affect the person who is responsible for the death of my friend Larry. Though, it could address similar issues that may affect other citizens throughout our state. It’s not about protecting police officers, it’s about protecting the community as a whole.”

Senator Jen Flanagan, who has also expressed her support for Jupin’s Law said, “Certainly my background and my capacity as Chairman of the Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse, allows me to understand the very complex issues surrounding mental illness. What happened in Westminster was an absolute travesty and my heart goes out to the Jupin family and to the members of the Westminster Police Department. I have supported this legislation because the trial of Mr. Rivers did bring to light the glaring shortcomings in the current statute. Keeping in mind the intricate nature of this issue, I am supportive of the efforts to remedy what lacks in the current law.”

This legislation will be filed with the House Clerk after other legislators have the opportunity to co-sponsor the bill. Jupin’s law has been officially endorsed by the Fitchburg Police Department, Leominster Police Department, Ashburnham Police Department, Princeton Police Department, Gardner Police Department, Clinton Police Department, Lunenburg Police Department, Oakham Police Department, Hubbardston Police Department, Devens Federal Prison Union, Worcester County Sheriff's Union, Central Mass Chiefs, and Mass Chiefs. Verbal endorsements have been received by the Massachusetts Correctional Officer's Union, State Police Association of Massachusetts, Boston Police Association, MPA and MassCop.



New England Cable News, Thursday, November 19, 2009 (original posting) "Mass. lawkmaker works to change insanity legislation." by Kenneth Craig.
http://www.necn.com/Boston/New-England/2009/11/19/Mass-lawmaker-works-to-change/1258670567.html



Telegram & Gazette, Friday, "Bill would eliminate 'not guilty by insanity'" by Gary V. Murray, Friday, November 20, 2009, p.A4.
http://www.telegram.com/article/20091120/NEWS/911200350/1052

"If Scott wins, we'll break their filibuster-proof majority." ~Eddie Bracebridge

The Rutland Republican Town Committee Springs Into Action for Scott Brown

Eddie Bracebridge leads the Rutland RTC this past Tuesday at the Community Center on Glenwood Road. First order of business was pledging allegiance to the flag.





Eddie Bracebridge interviews State Representative Lew Evangelidis throughout a good chunk of the meeting. Mr. Bracebridge, with his calm demeanor and knowledge of politics, proved he would make an excellent talk show host.





Although mobilizing for Senator Brown played heavy on the agenda, the future of the First Worcester district was a concern to many. Representative Evangelidis answers one of the various questions posed to him during the meeting.



Eddie Holds Up "Dear Friend Cards" Designed by Members of the Rutland RTC

"Let's Roll" ~Todd Beamer

Over the weekend, ground was broken near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, marking the official beginning of construction of a memorial honoring the victims of United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11th, 2001. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar opened the ceremonies by quoting Todd Beamer, the leader of the passengers. Upon learning what had happened at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, this heroic group of individuals voted to take back the plane from the terrorists. Mr. Salazar said that those brave souls on Flight 93 represented democracy up until the end, something the hijackers could never comprehend.

A chapel with 40 chimes, representing each of the fallen heroes, will be built near the entrance of the park with wildflowers planted on the crash site, open only to family members.


Telegraph.co.uk, "Work on 9/11 memorial park begins" by Tom Leonard, November 8, 2009
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6526806/Work-on-911-memorial-park-begins.html

A Paradox

Mike Hruby opens Tuesday's meeting of the regional service organization at the J. V. Fletcher Library on beautiful Westford Common.
Ordinarily, when the topic of utulizing statistics and consumer information is mentioned, the mind zooms directly into the clinical and impersonal, that is, the more sophisticated the technology, the less interaction between you and me. However, on Tuesday evening, November 3rd, Mike Hruby and his group demonstrated the opposite. They not only showed warm and welcoming hospitality, they also offered practical advice on using compiled data in ways that help build the community.








Margie Brandon (center) of the Acton Republican Town Committee, wowed the audience with her computer know-how and her understanding of statistical analysis. Christine Doucette, (left) Chair of Boxborough RTC, talked about how to take these dispassionate numbers and get down to the personal level.





Mike Hruby gave a show 'n tell presentation on "How to Get and Use Voter Lists", complete with hand-outs and props. He also explained, from a marketing perspective, the value of gathering this data, available to all rtc's in Massachusetts through the town clerk's office, for free.

Mike Hruby's Definition of "Voting Blocks"
Mike began his segment of the evening by quoting Charlie Baker who said, "'Politics is additive.'" He then took Charlie's idea and varied it, noting that "Politics are also subtractive."


To learn more about this organization, e-mail Mike Hruby. mike.hruby@comcast.net

A Trick on the Eyes But a Treat for the Town

After years of planning, preparing, calculating and fighting lawsuits, John Fitch, PMLD Manager, has, on behalf of Princeton, purchased and installed two giant windmills on the southwest side of Mt. Wachusett. John deserves a big thank you (as big as the windmills) from Princeton residents for his persistence and perseverance in this matter. So well known was the dispute surrounding the acquisition of the windmills that Director John Stimpson included that controversy as an underlying theme in his 2006 movie, "The Legend of Lucy Keyes."

In spite of the news coverage, it was with great surprise that while hiking along the Harrington Trail on Halloween, I happened upon one of the new windmills. "How could anyone stumble over something so large," you might ask. After all, the blades are 134 feet long and are perched 230 feet above ground where they are connected to a hub large enough to comfortably hold two standing men . Before I give the answer, consider this. While looking at the first windmill, the second was not visible, something I found curious, given their size. The other peculiarity was that the windmill I could see appeared to be rather small, at least compared to pictures in The Landmark. I continued along the path which curved towards the northeast and there, on the side of the trail, was the other windmill. At the time, however, I thought I was looking at the same one I had just seen because as I was hiking, it had temporarily disappeared from sight behind a tree-covered hill.

The explanation to these oddities is that the windmills are so enormous that given the right vantage point, they create optical illusions. Their size and placement create a deceptive image, making the windmills appear smaller than they are and making me think I was looking at the same windmill as opposed to two at separate times. Nearing the top of Wachusett Mountain and looking across the valley at them, their actual size became obvious and both were visible at the same time. The trick was on the eyes, but the treat will be the substantial amount of power the windmills will provide without using any resources other than wind.

Expect the windmills to begin operating within the next two weeks. Many thanks to John Fitch and Princeton Municipal Light Department.


http://www.thelandmark.com/Current/Princeton_News/ [Must be a subscriber to access.]
The Landmark, October 29, 2009, "Second windmill is up at PMLD wind site" by Phyllis Booth, Princeton News, p.12.


http://www.thelandmark.com/news/2009/1029/Editorials_Opinions/
[Must be a subscriber to access.]
The Landmark, October 29, 2009, "As the mill turns" Editorial, p. 4.

http://www.thelandmark.com/news/2009/1022/princeton_news/025.html
The Landmark, October 22, 2009, Photograph in Princeton News, p.8.