The Villager files: Week of October 24

Above: A political brouhaha was the talk of the town 20 years ago

Each week we take a look back at the top stories reported in the Southborough Villager 10 years, 20 years, and 30 years ago. Here are the stories that were making headlines during the week of October 24. If you have memories about any of these events, please share them in the comments.

10 years ago: Board won’t support ‘add/ren’ article
With the special town meeting to decide what to do about space issues at Algonquin only two weeks away, Selectmen approved a warrant that would present voters with five different options in the form of seven articles. Only three of those articles would also be on the warrant in Northborough. Of the seven articles on the Southborough warrant, three were placed there by petition of Southboro Solutions, a group lobbying for a separate high school for Southborough. Those articles were to amend the regional agreement to allow for two schools, to form a building committee, and to authorize selectmen to find a piece of land for the new school. In approving the warrant, all three selectmen said they opposed the addition-renovation option favored by the regional school committee. (Southborough Villager, October 26, 2011)

20 years ago: Selectman pushes for hiring of son
Selectman Thomas McAulliffe battled rumors that he offered to trade votes with another selectman to secure support for his son, who was one of 103 applicants vying for a position with the Southborough Police Department. McAuliffe acknowledged that he lobbied the other two selectmen on behalf of his son Michael, but denied any backroom deals to swap votes. “If it’s a crime to lobby for your son, then I plead guilty,” Selectman McAuliffe said. The other two selectman, along with then-Police Chief William Colleary, expressed concerns about Michael McAuliffe’s limited on-the-job experience. In the end, he didn’t get the position. (Southborough Villager, October 31, 1991)

30 years ago: A small price for winter warmth
As most Southborough residents got ready for cooler temperatures, the Southborough Villager reported one couple was staying toasty warm in the town’s first solar home. Doug and Kathy Curtiss built their 1,350-square-foot passive solar home on Mt. Vickery Road for $54,000. Underneath the living room floor was a bed of crushed rock that stored heat from the room’s large southern-exposure windows. Small fans were used to circulate warm air throughout the open-concept home, which was made snug by the addition of 12-inches of insulation (four inches was standard at the time). With a mere 20% of the home’s heat coming from the backup electric heater, Doug Curtiss said he expected to spend only $200 heating his home that year. (Southborough Villager, October 23, 1981)