Mailed free to requesting homes in Douglas, Northbridge, Uxbridge, Linwood, Whitinsville and North Uxbridge
Vol. VI, No. 26
ONLINE:
Complimentary to homes by request
www.StonebridgePress.com
Friday, April 28, 2017
WCS student takes action to raise awareness
BY RAYANNE COOMBS
TRIBUNE CORRESPONDENT
Kade McCann was a
junior at the Whitinsville
Christian School when he
and his family first learned
of his diagnosis of myotonic dystrophy, a genetic dis-
ease that is a form of muscular dystrophy characterized by progressive muscle
wasting and weakness.
McCann, a member
of the WCS track team
explained, “I was first diagnosed on April 14th, 2016. I
had been battling with the
symptoms of the condition
all my life. For example,
severe
gastrointestinal
issues, speech problems,
and muscle weakness and
fatigue.”
Turn To
WCS
page
­­­A14
Rayanne Coombs photo
Walkers and runners raised over $7,500 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. See more photos page 14.
Award given to Trail Riders
for ongoing stewardship
rience, fostering shared stewardship of resources, promoting the agency’s mission, and
supporting staff at a particular
park or throughout the park
system.
Cary VandenAkker, the
Douglas State Forest supervisor, nominated BSTRA.
This is his presentation.
The Bay State Trail Riders
Association is a dedicated
group of horseback riders who
have been strong advocates
for preserving and maintaining multi-use trails, which are
horse friendly. Just since 1995,
BSTRA has put over $210,000
worth into 13 Massachusetts
state park trail projects, which
DCR Chris Hookie photo ultimately benefit all trail
users. They have accomplished
Bay State Trail Riders accepted a stewardship award.
this through memberships,
Bay State Trail Riders our properties. This award is grant writing, donations and
Association received the Shared given to a Friends group, local, putting in hundreds of hours of
Stewardship award from the state or national organization, volunteer work. Department of Conservation or individual including Scouts
Douglas State Forest, Upton
and Recreation.
and other youth volunteers, State Forest and the Southern
Everyone has a role to play for their extraordinary service
Turn To DCR page ­­­A16
in preserving and enhancing in enhancing the visitor expe-
Cormier Woods needs your help
BY MARY BEAUCHAMP, TRUSTEE
Join us on Saturday, May 6
from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for a volunteer Work Day at Cormier
Woods Reservation in Uxbridge
and Mendon. This historic and
beautiful 185-acre property was
donated to The Trustees by D.
James Cormier. It was opened
to the public in the fall of 2008
and is the first Trustees property in the Blackstone Valley.
Participants will help with
clean-up and brush clearing of
trails and parking areas. This
annual work day will help us
to begin spring maintenance
of the trails after the long winter, however, ongoing stewardship is required year-round.
Consider joining with a local
team of like-minded people as
a Trail Steward for Cormier
Woods.
Cormier Woods is abutted
by Meadow Brook Woods in
Mendon, an 87-acre property
that includes nine-acre Inman
Pond, lush woods, and rushing streams. The trail local
system was recently expanded
with connection from Cormier
Woods to the Mendon Town
Forest via a newly established
trailhead on Asylum Street in
Mendon. http://www.mendonma.gov/town-forest-committee
Registration is required.
Visit
www.volunteer.thetTurn To
CORMIER
page
­­­A15
Courtesy photo
Olivia LeBoeuf, Hannah Kasputis, Michael Valliere and Liam Walsh find
Italy on the globe. See more photos page 10.
Tiny students learn
about the world
SUTTON
—
Students
at
Country
Montessori
Preschool and Kindergarten
of Sutton studied the countries of Madagascar and Italy
during a weeklong study program.
Kindergarten
students
learned many facts about
Madagascar, a country in
southeast Africa. They discovered Madagascar is an island
that once was part of Africa by
studying a three dimensional model of the country. The
students learned that several
species of animals like lemurs
and fossa are found only in
Madagascar. They learned
that valuable Madagascar
vanilla bean is derived from
a beautiful orchid that blooms
for one day.
“The children played a
djembe, an African drum,
made percussion instrument
shakers and created draw-
ings of the native ring-tailed
lemurs and chameleons,”
explained teacher Anne
Williams. Students were
taught about the tropical
country’s typography and climate. The children sampled
foods the Madagascar people
eat such as bananas, mangoes
and rice.
Preschoolers in Melissa
Connors’, Erin Moore’s and
Jen Lahue’s class learned to
say several words in Italian,
locate the country on the
globe, listened to stories about
ancient landmarks and created several arts and crafts
projects during their study of
Italy. They played with miniature Roman people on a
foam mat illustration of the
city of Rome displaying the
Coliseum, Trevi Fountain and
Roman Forum.
Children created models
Turn To
STUDENTS
page
­­­A10
14 • Friday, April 28, 2017
Blackstone Valley Tribune
WCS
continued from page A1
­­­
Suzette McCann, Kade’s mother said,
“After the diagnosis we began a long
process of DNA extraction at Boston
Children’s Hospital.”
According to the CDC, muscular dystrophies are a group of diseases caused
by defects in a person’s genes. Over
time, this muscle weakness decreases
mobility and makes the tasks of daily
living difficult. Different types of muscular dystrophy affect specific groups of
muscles, have a specific age when signs
and symptoms are first seen, vary in
how severe they can be, and are caused
by imperfections in different genes.
Muscular dystrophy can run in the family, or a person might be the first one in
their family to have the condition.
McCann did not relish in self-pity
over his diagnosis.
“I spent many days in Boston
Children’s Hospital with kids who had
similar conditions, but were worse off
than me and I felt that I wanted to
help them but I didn’t know how. One
day a representative from the Muscular
Dystrophy Association met with me to
explain the work they do and I realized
this was how I could get involved.”
He decided to take action by turning
his senior year Capstone Project into
a means of spreading awareness about
the disease he, and so many others are
facing.
McCann’s Capstone Project proposal
was to hold a muscle walk at WCS. In
addition, he arranged for his peers at
the school to hear a presentation by
Dr. John Carulli, a senior executive
from Biogen. Dr. Carulli spoke to WCS
students about neuromuscular diseases
and specifically, myotonic dystrophy
DM1 and the research taking place to
find therapies to help people like Kade.
Brady Bajema, WCS Faculty member,
is one of Kade’s mentors.
“It has been inspiring to observe the
journey Kade has taken in response to
his diagnosis,” said Brady. “The time,
energy, and thought Kade has put into
this project is truly rooted in his deep
desire to help build awareness for MD.”
Kade has also been successful rallying support for this cause from many
corporate sponsors throughout the
greater Blackstone Valley.
McCann admitted, “While I have
been facing many challenges, the biggest would be having to learn to accept
the changes my body is and will be
going through.”
He added “My family, friends,
and community are my inspiration.
Without the love and support of all
these wonderful people in my life I
wouldn’t be doing nearly as well as I
am today. I definitely would not have
Kade McCann, Chris Tulley, Mark Bekhet, Nick Visgatis, Andrew Schneider, Austin Orentlich
Melissa Nydam and Ryder Nydam warming
up on the WCS track
been able to pull of my Capstone Project
without their help.”
McCann’s Muscle Walk included
over 200 participants and volunteers,
and raised over $8,000 for the Muscular
Dystrophy Association.
McCann said, “There were a lot of
challenges to organizing the event, but
the most difficult was publicizing it
outside of my immediate community.”
He added, “I was very pleased with
how everything turned out. The whole
event was amazing and went really
well. I would have to say my favorite
moment was when I saw people beginning to arrive and I realized how many
people were going to participate.”
When asked what advice he would
give to a young person who may be
faced with hearing a diagnosis of MD,
McCann said, “First learn as much as
you can about your condition and treatment options. Second if there is an
organization that provides support like
the MDA, for example, reach out to
them because it is better to go through
adversity with a community. And, lastly comma, don’t give up keep pushing
yourself to be the best version of yourself don’t let your disease define you or
take anything away from you. Every
storm runs out of rain.”
He added “My faith, my friends, and
my family. The support I receive from
all of them is what has helped me every
day to overcome whatever challenges
my disease presents.”
The Northbridge Fire Department helped raise funds through their annual Boot Drive. Pictured
are Lieutenant David Holmes and Firefighter Cory Flagg.
Volunteers Sonia Zeyl director of enrollment at WCS, Julie Kaminski, Jakki Cloutier, and
Adelaide Dykstra
Suzette McCann and Dr. John Carulli
WCS High School Principal, Chris VanderBaan and Kade McCann
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