In the Rookie bracket, the Gunners from Shrewsbury cruised through their bracket without a loss defeating Oakmont G6 Girls (Hannah Everidge, Erika Hall, Megan Sears and Lindsey Russ) in a very competitive rematch in the final. 
Dan Farrell 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament
On Saturday, June 12, 2010, The 8th Annual Dan Farrell Memorial "3 on 3" Basketball tournament was held at Oakmont Regional High School from 9am until 7 pm! We had 51 teams participate in 7 divisions throughout the day and many many spectators came to watch the teams play as well as participate in the raffles, enjoy the food (Jeff Lawrence's special sausage and peppers was my favorite), and enjoy the pictures from years past as well as this year entries in the "Where in the World are the Dan Farrell t-shirts" contest!
Westminster family gets much needed accessible addition to their home
Beau and Krista Joyce of Westminster have spent the last 11 years living in their house, but as their son Zachary grew they felt that their family was divided in two. Their home had only one bathroom, and it was upstairs. Zack's wheelchair no longer fit through the door from his bedroom to the rest of the house. The family was forced to install an exterior door out of Zack's bedroom, and since he was about 10 years old he has lived his life a narrow doorway away from the rest of his family. He couldn't join them at the dining room table and there were no family movie nights, unless they all squished into Zack's tiny bedroom. After two potential projects and their financing fell through, Beau and Krista felt hopeless. When they first started meeting with people from Habitat for Humanity of North Central Massachusetts about putting the much-needed addition onto their home, Krista said, “I'm not getting excited about this until they dig the hole.”
On May 25, 2010, the entire Joyce family, including Beau and Krista, Zachary and sisters Taylor and Caylin, welcomed visitors to a blessing ceremony of their fully accessible addition, which consists of a bedroom and bathroom for Zachary. They also gave tours of their expanded home, a project only made possible thanks to the organizational efforts of the people at Habitat for Humanity of North Central Massachusetts and their group of volunteers.
The blessing began with a welcome by Megan Foley, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity of North Central Massachusetts, which was followed by an invocation by Pastor Chris Brown of the First Baptist Church of Westminster. Vickie Briggs of Matson Community Services and Janet Chambers from the Habitat for Humanity of North Central Massachusetts Board of Directors both spoke about this project and HFH in general.
Mike Nobrega, Construction Manager, presented a Bible to the family and talked about how this specific project differed from most others that they get involved with. The family continued to live in the home throughout the course of the project, which is unusual for a Habitat project, and according to Krista it made for a long and difficult few months. They felt as though they had no privacy, and people were coming and going all the time. Now that the project is complete, and they see how happy Zack is, Krista said they would do it 100 times over again for him. She especially thanked her husband Beau for being so supportive and working so hard with the volunteers during the construction of the addition.
Zachary's 12-year-old sister Taylor spoke emotionally about the difference that this project has made in their lives. She talked about how desperate they were to have an addition built onto their home, and that without it Zack was likely going to have to move to a residential school. Taylor said in the past Zachary had to eat in his room, but now he comes out into the dining room--because he can--the doors are wide enough. And when he does come out, they are a family again. She closed by saying thank you to Habitat for Humanity and to all who gave donations.
Krista Joyce said that this addition is the best thing that's ever happened to their family and for that they thank Habitat for Humanity, RCAP (Rural Community Assistance Program), Matson/ARC, DDS (Department of Developmental Services) and all other sponsors and volunteers. Donors include Aubuchon Hardware, First Congregational Church of Westminster, HH Gagnon Fund, Jeff Haley, The International Golf Club Charitable Foundation, Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services, Matson Community Services, Trowbridge Engineering, Northland Engineers, Rural Community Assistance Program, Saint Edward The Confessor Church, Tyco Simplex-Grinnell, Unitil, VFW Post 7389, Westminster Board of Health, Westminster Building Department, Westminster Lions Club, Westminster Neighbors Helping Neighbors and Young Life Ministries.
If you missed out on helping with this project and would like to make a difference to another local family, please consider volunteering on the next Habitat for Humanity of North Central Massachusetts project in Westminster. There will be an information session Thursday, June 3, 2010 at 7pm in Westminster Town Hall, 11 South Street. Learn about the new construction project on Davis Road in Westminster. Volunteers are needed and welcomed!
Beginning in mid-March 1980, a series of earth tremors and steam explosions at Washington's Mount Saint Helens suggested that the volcano—dormant since 1857—was on the verge of erupting. Then, on May 18, the entire north side of the mountain exploded in a cloud of ash, rock, and fiery gases that collapsed a good part of it and carried debris for many miles. About 60 people were killed, and millions of tons of ash blanketed much of the American northwest. How far did the ash eventually spread? 
Four years after Ali, an Ottoman army commander, helped drive Napoleon from Ottoman-ruled Egypt, he was named wali—governor—of Egypt. He helped modernize Egypt and attempted to secure its independence. Though unsuccessful, his efforts established his progeny as the rulers of Egypt and Sudan for nearly 150 years and rendered Egypt a de facto independent state. He is thus considered one of the fathers of modern Egypt. How did Ali trick Egypt's Mameluke leaders into walking into a massacre?
Tabei founded a climbing club for women in Japan in 1969 and, by 1972, was a recognized mountain climber. When Japanese newspaper and television companies sponsored an all-female expedition to climb Mount Everest, Tabei was one of the 15 women selected to go. In 1975, after months of training and preparation, the 35-year-old mother of two became the first woman to reach Everest's 29,035-foot (8,850-m) summit. What disaster partway up the slope nearly ended the climb?
