It's TONIGHT!

[Here's a message we received, sent to fans of the Facebook page "Tufts Farm Field" about the meeting that was held Wed. evening in response to Tuft's announcement to close their field. Emphasis below is mine -- webmaster]

Subject: Meeting Results Information

Since I know there are quite a few people here that didn't make the meeting, I wanted to make sure everyone knew about the major points. They will be reopening the field in hopefully a couple of weeks, but they need a way to track and address some of the problems that have happened more frequently over the past few months (the attacks with some dogs, confrontation with some owners, etc). So, here's the scoop:

Tufts will require all dogs walking in the fields to be registered. This registration will be a relatively short form you'd fill out with obvious info (name, address, phone number, etc) and some not so obvious info (type of dog, description of his/her temperament, proof of up-to-date vaccines). For Westborough and Grafton residents they're leaning towards waiving the registration fee, but for residents of other towns, you'd pay a registration fee (which doesn't sound like it'll be all that expensive - maybe $5-10). There may also, in the short term, be a requirement to bring your dog to registration for an "interview" for lack of a better term so they can get a feeling for the dog's personality.

With registration, you'd get a numbered tag your dog will have to wear while you walk in the fields. So, if there are any issues, hopefully we can pinpoint which dog (or maybe more likely, which owner) is causing the issue. Obviously, this brings a ramp up period where not everyone will be registered. They key here will be not to be confrontative about unregistered dogs/people, but rather just educate them about the registration process and why it's needed.

In conjunction, all dogs in the field have to be on a leash. This is the policy now, and obviously they've been pretty lax about it, but it's going to be more enforced. HOWEVER - Tufts will be fencing off an area that sounded like it would be a couple of acres where dogs can be off leash. This fence would be a pretty significant cost to Tufts (in the order of $5-10k), and they still have some stuff to figure out in terms of funding.

Now, to make sure there's an open dialog between the owners and the administration, one of the other things they'd look to set up would be an advisory committee/board type of group comprised of dog owners to make sure we can be active participants in the fields and how Tufts deals with them.

All in all, I think it was a really productive meeting. Obviously the ideal situation for us would be to go on with business as usual, but the issues as of late clearly represent a significant amount of risk for Tufts. They're compromising as best they can to make sure they meet all of our needs with some realistic accountability constraints.

The dean was overwhelmed with the support we showed not only in the emails and phone calls leading up to the meeting, but also tonight's dialogues. Personally, I think the best thing we can do is to keep doing what we have been in showing how much we appreciate all that Tufts has done for us so far, and show that we will all be responsible in our use of the fields and our respect for their house rules.

I did talk to Tom after the meeting and said I knew of a couple of guys with pickups (myself as one of them) that would be happy to pick up a bunch of empty barrels, go around the field, grab the full ones, and swap them and drop them off for them so they don't have to take a tractor around. He was blown over by the generosity because that's one of the jobs the Tufts employees absolutely detest.

Charter Channel 3 also interviewed me after the meeting was over and hopefully that did some good - I mentioned how much we all appreciate what Tufts has done, and also talked to the fact that the attendees are the people who truly care about things, but the people that weren't at the meeting were those we need to help realize what's going on.

I think that hits the major points covered. If anyone else that attended thinks of anything major I forgot, please correct me!

I hope to see everyone at the park soon!

Chris Nichols, aka Baxster's dad.

UPDATE Tuesday 29-Jul:

The location for the meeting has been moved:

Farm Field Meeting
Frankin M. Loew Veterinary Education Center
(Building D on the Campus Map, located at http://vet.tufts.edu/tcsvm_campus_map.pdf)

Wednesday, June 30, 2010, 6 p.m.

Have you heard about the closing of the Tufts Farm Field to dog walkers?  The Daily Grafton reported today that "Tufts University closed its farm field to dog walkers this week after several incidents in which off-leash dogs attacked both other dogs and people."

Please check out the Facebook group "Tufts Farm Field" for more information.  As reported on that group:

Many of you have written or called to voice your feelings about the recent closure of the Tufts Farm Field. We truly appreciate your points of view, and thank you for sharing them with us.

We would like to invite you to a special question-and-answer session about the Farm Field on Wednesday, June 30, 2010 at 6 p.m. [In the Frankin M. Loew Veterinary Education Center]  I will be joined by Dr. Deborah Kochevar, dean of the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, and Sgt. Glenn McCune of the Tufts University Police Department, to answer your questions and hear your suggestions about the Farm Field.

We look forward to meeting with you.
Sincerely,
Tom 
____________________________________
Tom Keppeler 
Associate Director, Public Relations
Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine
Tom.Keppeler@tufts.edu
200 Westboro Road
Grafton, Massachusetts 01536 
508/839-7910 desk
508/887-4292 fax

We called Mr. Keppeler this morning, and learned the location for the meeting will be in the Administration building Frankin M. Loew Veterinary Education Center on campus, in the 1st floor conference room.  (As inserted above in brackets.)

"Jump"

Performed by the High School Repertoire Jazz Ensemble, Matthew Lefebvre - director.

The Westborough Public Schools (Massachusetts) hosted the first public jazz concert on the pavilion at Bay State Green on Monday, June 7, 2010. This event was free and open to the public. The schedule was:

5:00 PM -- Mill Pond Jazz Ensemble, Paul Tomashefsky - director
5:30 PM -- Gibbons Jazz Ensemble, Karen Forrest - director
6:00 PM -- High School Jazz Combo -- David Jost - director
6:30 PM -- High School Repertoire Jazz Ensemble -- Matthew Lefebvre - director
7:00 PM -- High School Festival Jazz Band -- Matthew Lefebvre -- director

Click "READ MORE" below for "April in Paris", "Take 5", and "Swinging Shepherd Blues"; or visit the Showcase page.

Rotary Club of Westborough and Sun Multisport Events are partnering to bring a new Sprint Distance Triathlon event to Westborough, MA. The date for the new race will be Sunday, August 15, 2010 and will be based at the Westborough State Hospital on Hospital Road off of Lyman Street in Westborough, MA.

Triathlon: Westborough Sprint Triathlon
When: Sunday, August 15, 2010 @ 8:00 a.m.
Where: Westborough State Hospital, Westborough, MA
Divisions: Age Group, Relay

Website: www.sunmultisportevents.com/Westborough_Sprint.htm

The event will consist of a .25 mile Swim in Lake Chauncy. Athletes will then transition to a 14 mile bike course and will finish with a 3.1 mile Run that is mostly off road on the scenic and flat trails that surround Lake Chauncy.

See the website above for full information, and for course maps, too.

Beneficiaries of the 2010 Westborough Sprint Triathlon: The Westborough Rotary Club has selected Sun Multisport Events to produce this event as a fundraiser for the Rotary Club. All sponsorship revenue will be donated the Larry Ware Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Awards: Awards will be given to the top 3 male and female finishers in each age group as well as for the top Athena, Clydesdale and relay team. 

Registration is now OPEN for the new Westborough Sprint Triathlon event. This is a USAT Sanctioned event.  Registration closing date: Friday, Aug 13, 2010 @ 11:59 PM

Entry Fee: Individual: $65; Relay Teams: $120

Click here to register via active.com