Today and Friday Begins Peak Traffic Season
Plan Ahead

Massachusetts Turnpike Authority officials are reminding motorists to monitor traffic conditions and plan ahead as the high traffic volume season begins on Thursdays and Fridays prior to spring and summer weekends.

In 2008 the Thursday and Friday before Mother's Day weekend logged in the top 25 highest traffic volume days out of 365 days on the Turnpike and on I-93 in Boston. Mother's Day was the fourth busiest traveled Sunday on both highways in 2008 with peak travel hours between 4 and 7 pm. Last year the third Thursday, Friday and Sunday in May were even higher volume days with that Sunday ranking as the busiest on I-93 in Boston. This May, graduations, sporting events such as the Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins play-offs and the departures of college students all add to increased travel.

Motorists should allow extra travel time. Pay close attention to conditions at the busy I-84 interchange at Exit 9 in Sturbridge. Other interchanges are also expected to see heavy volume. It is recommended that drivers check radio traffic reports, call the 511 state traffic information line, or check www.masspike.com  and its expanded Road Conditions page and Traffic Cameras page to monitor real-time traffic conditions.

The Turnpike toll plazas will be staffed to minimize traffic delays and inconvenience. Toll managers will be on hand to monitor traffic conditions and to call in extra help if necessary. Despite full staffing levels, traffic conditions at the toll plazas can be impacted by shear volume, weather conditions, accidents and traffic issues on adjoining roadways.

To help improve traffic flow, Turnpike officials have enhanced enforcement approaching the FAST LANE lanes at the I-90 (MassPike) Eastbound toll plaza near I-95 (Route 128). All cash lane customers are advised to keep right. Barrels and cones have been placed between the FAST LANES and the cash lanes. Also an assigned state trooper enforces the lane restrictions. Cash customers who go through a FAST LANE are subject to a $50 FAST LANE violation.

To save time, money and gas, motorists are encouraged to join FAST LANE. Since the free transponder program began in mid-February more than 62,000 transponders have been distributed.

Free transponders are available instantly at FAST LANE Service Centers in Auburn, Natick, and East Boston. Weekend commuters can conveniently pull off the road in Auburn at Exit 10 (9 am to 2 pm) and Natick (Saturday only) next to the McDonalds to pick up a free transponder on the spot. FAST LANE transponder applications are also available online or by calling 1-877-MASSPIKE (1-877-627-7745). FAST LANE is also available for non-commercial accounts at many Registry of Motor Vehicle branch offices and now at Herb Chambers Dealership locations.

Sign up for e-Traveler at www.masspike.com to receive up-to-date emails regarding traffic changes and road restrictions.

Through high energy, fun-filled sessions your child will learn amateur wrestling techniques as well as develop balance, flexibility, coordination, body awareness and self-confidence.

Sessions will be run by the Algonquin High School Coaching Staff and Varsity Standouts.

Bring lunch, workout shorts, a t-shirt and sneakers. Wrestling shoes suggested but not required. Campers may arrive up to ½ hour before camp and be picked-up no later than ½ hour after camp.

Name____________________________________________ M___ F___ Grade__________

Address __________________________________________ Town_____________________

Phone____________________________________________ Age_______

Email (please print clearly) ______________________________________

T-shirt for each participant! Adult Size: Sm Med Lg XL

____________________________________ ___________________________________

(Parent or Guardian Signature) (Parent or Guardian Printed Name)

TUITION: $125 registration (Checks payable to ARHS Wrestling Boosters)

MAIL by June 19th to: Katarina Wrin, Wrestling Boosters Rep.

67 Pine Hill Rd, Southborough, MA 01772

Any questions, contact Katarina Wrin at wrinkat6@aol.com or 508-879-0001

Please note any medical conditions which may affect your child’s participation:______________

Photo by Steve Gabeler. Signers celebrate establishment of the Sudbury-Assabet-Concord Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area


Sudbury, Mass. - On Friday May 1st, a wide range of conservation colleagues from a variety of non-profit, municipal, state, and federal organizations and agencies gathered at the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge headquarters to launch the Sudbury-Assabet-Concord Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area (CISMA), an exciting new effort to manage invasive species in the SuAsCo watershed. Although this collaborative model is more common in the western U.S., this management area, which includes the land of the Sudbury- Assabet and Concord Watershed, comprising all or part of 36 towns in metrowest Boston, is the first project of its kind in Massachusetts.

Invasive species, such as purple loosestrife, oriental bittersweet, and Japanese knotweed, are capable of growing very aggressively and at such high density that they disrupt natural biological systems and degrade habitat for native plants and wildlife. They have been identified as one of the leading threats to native biodiversity in our region, and control of these species is among the highest priorities for many conservation land managers. Through the SuAsCo CISMA, participants will be able to establish new collaborations, draw upon the experience and expertise of their land management colleagues, and leverage resources for more effective invasive species control.

"Invasives represent one of the top threats to habitat quality on our conservation lands," said Libby Herland, Project Manager for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Eastern Massachusetts Refuge Complex. "By working together we can be more effective at controlling invasives and protecting important habitat."

Faced with the fact that invasive species readily spread across ownership boundaries, group members realize that a collective, regional approach is the only effective way to make significant progress in combating their spread. Activities carried out through this collaboration will likely include establishment of an Early Detection/Rapid Response capability, which will enhance efforts to locate and quickly eradicate invasives that are new to the area. Other efforts will include volunteer training in identification of invasive plants, professional training on the best way to control invasive plants, and joint on-the-ground efforts to remove invasive plants from conservation areas.

Laura Mattei, Stewardship Director for Sudbury Valley Trustees, expressed the importance of working together. "Managing these invasive species takes a lot of time and effort. Much of our land is bordered by town conservation land and the refuges, and we are each attacking the problem in a different way, setting different priorities. If we don't work together we will never be able to control this problem."

The twenty-three participants include conservation non-profits, conservation commissions, and state and federal agencies, each of whom owns or manages conservation land in the watershed or advocates for conservation. Federal agencies are represented by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the National Park Service. Towns already involved include Carlisle, Concord, Lincoln, Marlborough, Maynard, Stow, and Sudbury. Non-profit participants include the Concord Land Conservation Trust, Friends of the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge, Lincoln Land Conservation Trust, Mass Audubon, New England Wild Flower Society, New England Forestry Foundation, Organization for the Assabet River, Southborough Open Land Foundation, the SUASCO Watershed Community Council, SUASCO Wild & Scenic River Stewardship Council, Sudbury River Watershed Organization, Sudbury Valley Trustees, and The Walden Woods Project. The Massachusetts Riverways Program has joined as a supporting member.

Formation of the group, which has been supported by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Sudbury Foundation, and the Concord, Assabet, & Sudbury Wild & Scenic River Stewardship Council, resulted from over two years of planning and discussing the benefits of a collaborative approach to managing invasive species.

There is no deadline to join the CISMA, and other groups will be welcome to join in the coming months. Interested organizations can learn more about the effort at www.fws.gov/northeast/greatmeadows/.

All sessions cost $300. Scholarships are available.

Any questions, contact Liz Speranzella at liz@primetimecommunities.com or 508-654-0806

or Coach Foy at chrisgf2@yahoo.com or 508-614-8596

Registration is non-refundable

The driver of a truck was transported to the hospital when two trucks collided Monday afternoon on Route 9 westbound at Flagg Road. The driver's injuries were not life threatening.

Police, fire and EMS personnel responded to the crash at 1:54 PM. The crash had Route 9 westbound down to one lane for approximately one hour while the fluid spill was contained and the vehicles removed. Photos courtesey of Southborough Fire.