Auburn, Charlton, Dudley, Oxford, Webster

August 1, 2015

DINING
CALENDAR
CLASSIFIED

Its peaches time

at the orchards
By Magda Dakin
One of the many things we enjoy about summer is the abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables available at local orchards and farms
stands. The taste and quality of a freshly
picked strawberry, tomato, green bean or
ear of corn doesnt compare with those we
get the rest of the year in the grocery store
aisles, out of frozen packages or cans.
In August the bounty turns to peaches,
nectarines (smooth skinned peaches) and
plums. Whether you pick them yourself
from a local orchard or nd the native ones
at a local farm stand, there is nothing better
than eating a freshly-picked peach, the juice

Starting at

$6.00

Minimum
required
Call for
details

183 Main St., Webster

508-949-2024

DaisyPrint.com

10-13
38-39
36

A BOUNCE ABOVE
Bouncing in summer
PAGE 15

dripping down your hands as

you bite into it. You can smell
the heady aroma of the freshly
picked fruit as you prepare it
for a peach cobbler, peach pie,
peach salsa, peach amb, or
homemade peach ice cream.
The best way to tell if a peach
is ripe is by its skins undertone
color. A peach with a green
undertone is not ripe and even
though it can soften it will never
be as sweet. If it has yellow, orContinued on page 4

DUMAS DECORATING AND

UPHOLSTERY CENTER
The old made new
PAGE 18

ST. MARYS OF WORCESTER

A true renaissance
PAGE 26

SITKOWSKI APARTMENTS
All the amenities
PAGE 27

CHARLIE PAPPAS
Remembering a Webster icon

Buells store manager Patty Sandness picking peaches.

Custom Printed Life-Skills clients work the front lines in retail

T-Shirts

INSIDE

Bake Big Fat Cookies, manage consignments

By Ginger Costen
In the June issue we shared
the story of how the Southern
Worcester County Rehabilitation
Center (SWCRC) on Morris Street
in Webster became Life-Skills
Inc. Briey, in 1965 local parents recognized a critical need

to help developmentally disabled individuals who, because

of their age, were no longer able
to attend public school.
In response to this situation,
14 parents and business people
concerned about the need for
continued training and educa-

tional opportunities for developmentally disabled individuals formed and incorporated

SWCRC.
In the 1970s, the center
added residential living and
day habilitation programs and
Continued on page 2

PAGE 35

LINK TO LOCAL SAVINGS

PAGE 40, MORE ONLINE

www.theyankeexpress.com

WEBSTER SMILES
Dentistry
D
Dentis
enttis
isst
stry
try for
for Kids,
fo
Kid
K
idds,
ds,
s Adults
Adult
Ad
ults
ults
ts andd Seniors
Sen
S
enior
ioors
iors
rs

We Ac
We
Acce
Accept
cc
cc
ce
e MASSHEALTH
for
fo
or Children
or
Chi
Ch
hi
& Adults
OFFICE OPEN SATURDAYS
WE
W
E ACCEPT MOST INSURANCES

SPECIAL OFFER
for NEW Patients
Children and Adults

$89

Includes: Exam, Cleaning,

X-Ray and Consultation.
($200 value)

DISCOUNT
for patients
without
dental
insurance!

Our Office Offers

Video Games
Play Area for Kids
TVs in Each Room

DENTURES ARE
COVERED BY
MASSHEALTH!
AFFORDABLE
PRICES

70 W
Worcester
t Road,
R ad
d Webster,
Webster
W b t
MA 01570 (W
(Webster
W b t Plaza)
Webster
Pl
)

Tel: 508-.640.6040

Fax: 508.640-6041

www.webstersmilesma.com

Quality,
Qua
uality,
alit
ali
it
ity
ty,
ty
y, Co
Com
Comfortable
omfo
fo
for
or
rt
t
ta
able Ca
Care
are
re yo
you Can
Ca
an Trust
Tru
Trus
Tr
Trust!
ru
ru
us
st!

2 The Yankee Xpress, August 1, 2015

Life-Skills clients work the front lines in retail

Continued from front page

The Performance Leader

Since 1939

INDUSTRIAL
ATHLETES WANTED!

HIGH VOLUME DISTRIBUTION CENTER

STOCKERS, SHIPPERS, SELECTORS, RECEIVERS,
FORKLIFT, INVENTORY
3rd, 2nd and 1st shifts!
Must be 18yrs old. Read/Write English.
Pass Basic Math Test.
Lift up to 40-50lbs frequently.
Work rapidly for long periods of time.
Pass Drug Test/Criminal Background Check.
APPLY IN PERSON MON-FRI 8AM 3:30PM

33 Sword Street
Auburn Industrial Park
Auburn MA 01501
www.imperialdist.com

in 2006 the agency changed

its name to Life-Skills, Inc. to
better represent the scope of
services.
Today Life-Skills, Inc., an
accredited non-prot agency, provides a wide variety
of services to individuals
with developmental, physical, and emotional disabilities throughout Central and
Western Massachusetts. Almost three hundred employees provide services to more
than 360 clients ranging from
22 to 70 years of age in Auburn, Dudley, Fitchburg,
Gardner, Greeneld, Lancaster, Leominster, Southbridge,
Webster, Winchendon, and
Worcester.
In this issue were focusing on several of the
programs that fund those
services and how they help
both the clients and our local communities.
One of the rst of their
cottage industries began as
a creative way to continue
activities that had lost their
funding on the state level.
In 1996 now retired SW-

97 Stafford St., Worcester

508.796.5828

132 Sturbridge Rd., Charlton

508.248.0433

www.zorbastaverna.com

www.zorbaspizzeriatavern.com

Ou t d o o r P a t i o i s O p en
*Holiday Parties
All nightly specials start at 4 p.m.
*Rare Greek Specialties
Dine in only
Serving
*Homemade Pasta Dishes
Lobsters Monday - Endless pasta bowl
and
*Succulent Seafood
Tuesday - All you can eat Greek

We Can Cater Your

Next Office Party!
Open Daily at
11:00 a.m.

CRC program supervisor

Kay Chartier came up with
an idea to start the Big
Fat Cookie Company by
combining her own favorite
cookie recipes with the help
of her clients. At rst we
tried baking the cookies in
our ovens on Morris Street,
but the demand quickly
made us realize we needed
a bigger kitchen, said Chartier. Today The Bakery, as
its known by the clients, is
located within the Take 2
Consignment store located
125 East Main street in Webster.
We still have the full
line of Big Fat Cookies products, both baked and frozen
dough, plus much more,
said Bakery Manager and
Job Coach Paul Haynes. Surrounded by his crew as they
clean the kitchen and prepare to remove lemon meringue pies from the oven,
Paul quickly runs down the
list of whats on the agenda
for this week. We cook
fresh items every day and
have individual servings
available for sale at the front
of the store, he explains.
Clients Elaine Marini,
Candy Davis and Joanne
Ciuchta work with Haynes
helping to prep the ingredients and keep the kitchen
clean. Ive been making
the cookies for a long time,
said Candy Davis. Working in the bakery gives me a
paycheck and thats the best
part.
Not only are the regular

Take 2 Consignment clerk Brian Hamin and Job Coach Jen

Young work together at the register to enter a sale.

items available, they can

also ll special order cakes,
pies, breads, cookies and
desert trays. The Bakery
can be reached at the Take 2
store number, 508-943-1734.
The Bakery concept
grew from an idea that Kathy
Raymond developed when
she was the manager of the
Take 2 Consignment store. I
wanted to have small tables
and chairs where the shoppers could rest, and have a
cup of coffee and a snack,
said Raymond. However, the
consignment store was such
a big hit, the space was soon
lled with items for sale.
Take 2 Consignment store
is open seven days a week
and offers a wide variety of
brand name men, women
and childrens clothing, furniture, home dcor, toys,
books, CDs and more.
Brian Hanin works in
the consignment store help-

Steamers
roasted chicken
all
Wednesday - $6 burger night
summer Thursday - 1/2 pizza night

Fri. & Sat. Evenings: PRIME RIB

YOUR ONE STOP RESOURCE FOR ADVERTISING AND BUSINESS NEWS

HOW TO REACH US
The Yankee Xpress is published twice monthly and mailed to 66,000+ homes & businesses
1st of the month mailing: SOUTH COUNTY - Auburn, Charlton, Dudley, Oxford, and Webster
(32,000 direct mailed to homes and businesses)
15th of the month mailing: BLACKSTONE VALLEY - Douglas, Grafton, Millbury, Northbridge,
Sutton, Uxbridge, and Whitinsville, (34,400 direct mailed to homes and businesses)
Also available on news stands 168 Gore Road, Webster, MA 01570

Bakery workers Elaine Marine, Candy Davis and Joanne Ciuchta are waiting for the remaining lemon meringue pies to come
out of the oven and cool down so they can cut them into slices
and put them in the refrigerated display cases at the front counter at the Take 2 Consignment store.

ing customers at the cash

register. But I can do lots
of things like taking out the
trash or dust, he eagerly
explains. Jen Young also
helps as Hanins job coach,
guiding him with the steps to
take at the register.
New consigners can
bring up to 10 items a day
Wednesday through Saturday, said Rose Wheaton
the current manager. We
do ask though for the new
consigners to make appointments so we can go over
the contract with them and
explain the policy and procedures. After a consigner
has an established account
number, they can bring up
to 20 items a day also on
Wednesday through Saturday. Items must be clean, of
good quality, seasonal and
priced to sell. Since available oor space is always a
challenge, furniture items
require previous approval.
We will gladly help the
consigners to know more
about the process and whats
a good item to sell, added
Rose. Please dont bring in
broken, damaged or items
that are missing pieces, she
added.
Just as The Bakery is
an extension of the Big Fat
Cookie Company, Take 2
Consignment store is an extension of the original thrift
store named Closet Classics.
The Closet Classics store located at 131 East Main Street
Continued on next page

Shield High Gloss

Total Protectant with Teflon

Phone 508-943-8784 Fax 508-943-8129 www.TheYankeeXpress.com

Not responsible for typographical errors

THE YANKEE XPRESS DIRECTORY:

Barbara Van Reed,
Publisher/Editor
bvanreed@TheYankeeXpress.com
Submit business news:
Submit community events:
news@TheYankeeXpress.com
Request advertising information:
ads@TheYankeeXpress.com

Submit classified ads:

ads@TheYankeeXpress.com
General advertising information
Laura Gleim
lgleim@TheYankeeXpress.com
FREE online classified advertising:
www.TheYankeeXpress.com

Tony DiScepolo - Sales Bill Cronan - Sales Lisa Lemoine - Marketing

89 Southbridge St., Auburn, MA

Vacuums Always .75

(across from Sword St.)

-Gift Certificates Available-

Deluxe Wash

Super Wash

OPEN 24/7

Basic Wash
sh

Send letters, comments, and tips to: editor@TheYankeeXpress.com

The Newspaper Press, LLC Tel. 508-943-8784
Sally Patterson, Production Manager Carol Kosth, Graphic Artist
Contributing writers and columnists:
Keith Carpenter, Jacleen Charbonneau, Ginger Costen, Peter Coyle, Tom DAgostino,
Magda Dakin, Joe Grivalski, Kelly Wolfensen Guay, Becky Harvey, Rod Lee,
Jason Poquette, Janet Stoica, Jim Weicherding

$12

$9

$7

The Yankee Xpress, August 1, 2015 3

Life-Skills
Continued
in Webster started as a way
to build upon the success
the agency was having from
their annual yard sale. Families and friends of the clients
would donate items all year
long so that the staff and volunteers could prepare the
items for sale. As the donations grew so did the need to
have a central location for an
ongoing sale. With the inventory ever enlarging, over the
years the location changed
from Webster to Dudley and
back again.
Closet Classics is supported completely with donations, said Susan Johnston,
store manager. Our items
come from people who are
downsizing or cleaning out
a closet and dont want to
have a yard sale or put them
up for sale on the Internet or
consignment store. We have
more of the one of a kind
items or antiques than Take
2 so we have more collectors shopping at our store.
The clients at both stores
enjoy feeling a sense of selfreliance and accomplishment with a strong sense of
work ethics. I like the routine of coming to work every
day and making sure the
clothing is in the right location, said Kathleen Jewell.
Ive been coming here for
33 years and Ive met a lot of

people.
Having been with SWCRC/
Life-Skills for almost 15 years,
Johnston has been involved
with many of the programs.
But like Kathy Raymond
they both prefer working
directly with the clients in
job mentoring roles and love
to see the excitement in the
clients faces when its time
for Program Manager, Tony

Yeulenski to hand out the

paychecks.
Both stores also benet
from another program that
weve recently started,
added Yeulenski. If you
have a few boxes or a house
full and are just looking to
donate the contents, we can
pick up the items and even
help by cleaning out a home
or apartment, he added.

Up to...

TRIPLE TAX

OR... Dont wait!

Well give you the equivalent of...

DOUBLE

Only at

Closet Classics Clerks, Kathleen Jewell and Paula Polissack are

preparing clothing items to go out on the oor for sale.

Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg

508-943-4900

Souvenirs
Sweatshirts & Tees
Postcards Hats
Jackets Tervis Tumblers
Etched Glassware
Images of America, Webster book

154 Thompson Rd., Webster, MA

behind Wind Tiki in the

Sterling Realty Building

shop online at www.websterlakegifts.com

SAVINGS!

For the home of your life!

on pending MA TAX FREE

Weekend.

TAX SAVINGS

NOW!
*See store for details.


















The Country Primitive Shoppe

Check Out Our Primitive Country Shoppe!

EXTERIOR
HOUSE WASHING
Before
After

Before

After

REMOVES HARMFUL: Mildew Moss Algae

Oxidation Dirt & Pollutants
FROM: Vinyl Aluminum Wood Brick Painted Stained
GREAT FOR: Before Paint Prep Cedar Restoration
Decks Patios Stairs & Walkways Foundations
Soft Wash Roof Washing Gutter Cleaning

HI-TECH MOBILE WASH

OF WORCESTER
~ Est. 1987 ~

10%
Senior
Citizen
Discount

100% Satisfaction
Guaranteed or you
owe nothing!

PLEASE CALL


t

FOR MORE INFORMATION
OR FOR A FREE ESTIMATE
www.hitechmobilewash.com