Home Care In Webster, MA

WEBSTER - The Webster Family Campground has been given a 30 day extension to evict residents after owners demanded more time from the town.

Neighbors tell WBZ the timeline is irrelevant and despite several health code violations they're not leaving.

"This park here is more than just a park, to us this is our home," says Tricia Maine, who has lived at the campground for 7 months, a newcomer compared to most of her neighbors.

"There's people who've been here 23 plus years like Paula, elderly," says Maine.

But the property's owner Michael Finamore is being told to evict everyone, after the town filed a complaint citing health code violations including unsecured propane tanks, unregistered vehicles, and no hot water.

"It's not true it's not true at all. As soon as he sees unsecured propane tanks around the park he will be right here saying you got to replace those," says Maine.

The town of Webster has deemed the property inhabitable, town administrator Richard LaFond says ownership has previously been taken to housing court for violations, and they're out of chances.

"There is a level of empathy but when you realize, that when a judge says it's uninhabitable, it's not a place where people should be living," said LaFond.

The property owner is working towards finding affordable living options for his residents, but neighbors aren't confident they'll have new place to live when the 30 days run out.

"There is no place for us to go literally no place, all over Massachusetts no housing," says Maine.

The campground owner says he's being told it's his responsibility to relocate any resident who's lived here longer than six months.

It's unclear if that means financially or if he'll just have to find alternative living options. Either way the courts have given him 30 days to evict neighbors.

Webster was founded as a mill village, and that industry’s footprint still looms large in the town.

Just ask Jason Croteau, who has lived with his wife, Pamela, in Webster for 20 years. Croteau is a UPS driver, and most days his route brings him to a six-mill complex tucked between the French River and South Main Street. Croteau knows the hard-to-navigate complex well, often redirecting other delivery people and, on at least one occasion, a lost reporter. Despite the fact that many of the mills have boarded windows, he said, they are mostly filled with commercial tenants: carpenters, metalworkers, consultants, and, according to the warehouse sign for Dr. A.C. Daniels Inc., a “catnip toy maker since 1878.’’

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Webster, which was incorporated as a town in 1832, was founded by Samuel Slater, considered by many to be the “father of the American factory system’’ or the “father of the American Industrial Revolution.’’ Slater chose Webster for its “mill privilege,’’ or its location at the outlet of a large body of water, which has a famous, and equally large, name: Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg. To native Americans in the Nipmuc Tribe, this translates to “Englishmen at Manchaug at the fishing place at the boundary,’’ according to the Webster Lake Association, but other translations — and spellings — have been handed down.

“The lake, obviously, is unpronounceable,’’ joked Croteau, who enjoys it regularly. He owns a boat, which he uses to entertain his three kids (ages 9, 13, and 14) and for the occasional “quiet boat ride at night.’’

It’s “for chilling and trying to relieve some of the stress from the daily grind,’’ Croteau said, “but the summer’s short. In the winter I cross-country ski. I snowshoe. I’ve done 12 miles around the lake in cold weather.’’

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Croteau, who lives near the Connecticut border 10 minutes from the lake, said there’s a bit of an economic divide between the lakeside community and the rest of town. He doesn’t dwell on it, however, he said.

“There’s been a push to clean the town up,’’ Croteau said. “We have a brewery in town now. They’re putting in a riverwalk, and we’re getting a new library.’’

Croteau knows the people along his route, and his fair share of Webster’s population (11,412 as of the 2010 Census).

“My customers are very friendly and giving,’’ Croteau said. “I try to have a good time every day by being respectful.’’

BY THE NUMBERS

15

The number of G’s in a popular 45-letter spelling of Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg. Many residents know different versions of the lake’s name, but in conversation most refer to it as “Webster Lake.’’

1954

The year Nipmuc Water Ski Club was founded. The organization welcomes members of all ages and skills and offers wake boarding, knee boarding, trick skiing, jumping, bare footing, and more.

26.05

The height in feet of the French River on Aug. 19, 1955. The river’s height had been measured at about 5 feet the previous day. The ensuing flood is remembered as one of Webster’s most destructive weather events.

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$2,000

The prize for the closest guess to the exact time that a 40-pound weight attached to an Albert Einstein effigy breaks the ice at Webster Lake. The Webster Lake Association hosts the annual contest, which is in its 11th year. The winning guess for 2017 was Feb. 25 at 1:28 p.m.

1812

The year Samuel Slater founded the East Village textile mill, the oldest of Webster’s three major mill complexes. At its peak, 600 employees worked there. Today, only a tower remains from the historic complex; a shopping center replaced the rest.

PROS & CONS

PRO

Recreation

Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg is a beloved recreational destination. In the summer, people swim, water ski, and wakeboard; in the winter, they cross-country ski, snowshoe, and ice fish.

CON

Economic divide

There’s reportedly one between the lakeside community and the rest of the town.

Ben Berke is a freelance journalist covering arts and urban development. Send comments to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @benjberke. subscribe to our free newsletter at pages.email.bostonglobe.com/AddressSignUp.

On average, Webster, MA residents spend about $324 per month on electricity. That adds up to $3,888 per year.

That’s 66% higher than the national average electric bill of $2,340. The average electric rates in Webster, MA cost 33 ¢/kilowatt-hour (kWh), so that means that the average electricity customer in Webster, MA is using 982 kWh of electricity per month, and 11,784 kWh over the course of the year.

This data is aggregated over the past 6 months.

Key takeaways about electric rates in Webster, MA

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Electric bill savings with solar in Webster, MA

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BOSTON (CBS) - The third confirmed tornado in Worcester County in just the past couple of weeks touched down Saturday morning in Webster. The National Weather Service has determined two tornadoes touched down in southern New England, including one that tracked from Dudley to Webster. This tornado has been rated an EF-1 tornado with winds up to 110 miles per hour. A smaller, shorter-lived tornado touched down in the northeastern Connecticut town of Woodstock. This was rated an EF-0 tornado.

Photos: Webster Tornado Damage

The tornado formed from a storm that quickly spun up in northeastern Connecticut just after 9 a.m. Saturday. In the vicinity of Quinebaug, rotation began to clearly show up on radar. At that time, the NWS issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning that included southern Worcester County. Shortly thereafter, at around 9:40 a.m., rotation increased and the warning was upgraded to a Tornado Warning which included the towns of Dudley and Webster.

As the storm tracked northeast, it's possible that there were several tornado touchdowns or a 'skipping' tornado as the rotation increased and decreased over time. The NWS will be deciding where exactly it was on the ground and how continuous the path was. Damage has been reported in the towns of Woodstock, Connecticut, Dudley, and Webster where structural damage was most significant. It's also possible that there was more damage in the forested areas of northeast Connecticut, which could take a little more time to get to.

The storm weakened after leaving Webster and tracked toward Sutton.

The setup on Saturday was very similar to the Douglas and Upton tornadoes just a week ago. The risk was highlighted on WBZ-TV News the day before, as spin-up tornadoes were a concern. A 'mesolow' formed and tracked across the area, which is a small scale area of low pressure (as opposed to a large storm, like a nor'easter). These small waves of low pressure can increase wind shear, which is a key tornado ingredient. So even without the heating of the day or a typical thunderstorm setup, you can tap that shear and spin-up a quick but potent tornado. We saw it last week, and now again in almost the exact same area!

The risk for tornadic storms is decreasing now and calmer weather is expected for Sunday into the start of next week.

WATCH: Raw Aerial Drone Video Of Tornado Damage

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WEBSTER (CBS) – The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado hit the central Massachusetts town of Webster Saturday morning.

Photos: Webster Tornado Damage

A Tornado Warning was issued for parts of Worcester County around 9:30 a.m. and was later expanded to Middlesex County as severe thunderstorms rolled through the area.

Webster was hit the hardest. The town, which is about 18 miles south of Worcester near the Connecticut state line, is now littered with downed trees and power lines. There are also several shattered windows and many houses and businesses lost electricity.

Residents said there wasn't much time to think.

"It was just coming through. It went through fast. It was loud. The house was shaking," said Sandra Troyse. "A lot of wind. A strong wind coming through, and it was like a burst."

Pam Billett described a harrowing scene and how she tried to get her children to a safe place.

"Just to get the kids safe somewhere in the house, because it was going so fast, the wind, that I didn't have time to really figure out where to put the kids," she said. "As soon as I saw the screen fly off the window, I just said, 'Everybody, get into the bathroom' and my kids were screaming."

About 32 people were forced out of their homes because of the damage, which is most significant on Main Street near the Dudley town line, according to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. The American Red Cross is providing housing assistance to displaced residents.

Related: Webster Tornado: How It Happened

One woman suffered minor injuries when part of a roof fell on top of a car, said Webster Fire Chief Brian Hickey. She was treated and released from an area hospital.

"So they were driving down the main street when the tornado came through. So the roof of this first building came off, and it landed on the second and third building, and part of it landed on top of her car, said Hickey.

There is structural damage to at least four buildings in town. At least two buildings were demolished. Building owner Lou Perrin described the scene as a "war zone."

"Looks like a war zone. The roof from the building here,on that building, and all the brick blew onto my building, causing it structurally to be unsound so it has to be torn down," Perrin said.

"I'm just happy I'm alive," he added.

MEMA said three buildings have been condemned and as many as five are now "uninhabitable." The National Weather Service said it's still too early to know the exact strength, path and length of the tornado. The agency later confirmed a separate tornado touched down in Woodstock, Connecticut. They're also assessing damage in Dudley.

The Webster twister is the third tornado in southern Worcester County in the last two weeks.

WATCH: Raw Aerial Drone Video Of Tornado Damage

The Red Cross set up a shelter at the senior center in Webster for anyone who needs assistance. At the peak of the storms, more than 9,000 customers lost power in Massachusetts, most of them in Webster and Dudley.