Richard W Price

Update: Grafton & Upton Railroad Says Town Started ‘A Nuclear War’

by Richard Price

News

12/14/12

GRAFTON, Mass.— The delivery of four 120 foot propane tanks into Grafton has been delayed by order of the U.S. District Court, with a hearing scheduled for Dec. 21 at 2:30 p.m..

Worcester Superior Court had granted a temporary restraining order, then handed the case to the federal courts per the request of John A. Mauricos, attorney for the railroad. A federal judge will decide the fate of the giant tanks.

This development came Thursday afternoon in a federal courthouse when the Town of Grafton issued a cease and desist order to the Grafton & Upton Railroad to halt the construction of a propane storage facility at the North Grafton depot, an order which was ignored, the town said.

The mammoth tanks were scheduled to be delivered this week and next.

“We are in litigation with the town and have no further comment,” Jon Delli Priscoli, the owner of the Grafton & Upton Railroad said Thursday morning.

The town was caught by surprise during Tuesday night’s Board of Selectmen meeting when Delli Priscoli announced the first of four propane tanks, currently sitting in Fall River, would be delivered on Wednesday afternoon.

At 11:33 a.m. Wednesday, the town issued a cease-and-desist order of final delivery of the tank to the Westborough Road site, saying that federal preemption of railroad business has not been proven.

Delli Priscoli claimed enough documentation and meetings have been held to determine the preemption status.  “We are comfortable with our position and are proceeding as planned,” he said.

According to court documents, Assistant Town Administrator Kevin Mizikar said that Delli Priscoli went to the the Municipal Center after being served, walked into his office and said the town “started a nuclear war, that he intends to win, that all bets were off, and that he intends on burying towns that were not working with him.”

The suit filed in court by the town said that the Grafton & Upton Railroad did not file any construction permits with any departments at the Municipal Center, that the lots where Delli Priscoli is building are zoned by the town as residential, and that the property is located in the water supply protection overlay district and  is in a residentially zoned area with an elementary school,homes, and parks.

In a press release on Friday morning, the town said they have asked the Surface Transportation Board, the federal agency that oversees regulatory issues with railroads, to address whether the Grafton & Upton Railroad project is preempted from local and state laws.

Delli Priscoli appears unfazed by the recent development.  On Friday morning, a reporter for the Grafton Daily Voice witnessed construction continuing at the Westborough Road site where the tanks are intended to rest.

UPDATE: Grafton & Upton Railroad Cease Order Sent To Federal Court

by Richard Price and Jennifer Lord Paluzzi

News12/13/12

GRAFTON, Mass.— The question of when the first of four giant propane tanks will be delivered to the Grafton & Upton Railroad remained uncertain Thursday afternoon after the town’s request for a restraining order against further construction was sent to federal court.

Worcester Superior Court had issued a temporary restraining order on behalf of the town of Grafton against the Grafton & Upton Railroad, prohibiting the Thursday delivery of a 120 foot long propane tank. The town on Wednesday issued a cease and desist order to the railroad to halt the construction of a propane storage facility at the North Grafton depot, an order which was ignored, the town said.

The case was scheduled for a hearing at Worcester Superior Court Thursday afternoon but Assistant Town Administrator Kevin Mizikar, Building Inspector Robert Berger and Police Chief Normand Crepeau, Jr. said they were surprised to discover on arrival that it had been moved to the federal level. Railroads fall under federal oversight.

“We believe it’s a state issue, since we’re just talking about enforcement of the cease and desist,” Mizikar said.

The status of the case in federal court — and whether delivery of the tank will be allowed to proceed — remained in question Thursday afternoon.

According to the Fall River Herald News, the four tanks, which they report as 120 feet long and 34 feet in circumference, are still sitting on a New England Gas Company site in Fall River.

They also report that the propane tanks have been stored on the gas company’s land for 50 years, but have been unused for the last six due to an increase of natural gas consumption and warmer winters.

LPG Ventures, based in Raytown, Missouri, were hired by the Grafton & Upton Railroad to haul the tanks. The company handled burning off any remaining propane in July.

The tank scheduled Thursday  was the first of four to be delivered to the propane transfer site. The others are still scheduled to be delivered on Dec.18, 19 and 20 accompanied by a state police escort, which is mandated by state law. Whether that will still happen will be determined by the court.

The Herald News also reported that the tank is attached to multiple trailer dollies.  The tractor has 40 wheels, including three sections of a dozen each.

On Wednesday morning, the town of Grafton issued a cease-and-desist order of final delivery of the tank to the Westborough Road site, saying that federal preemption of railroad business has not been proven.

“We are in litigation with the town and have no further comment,” Jon Delli Priscoli, the owner of the Grafton & Upton Railroad said Thursday morning.

Grafton & Upton Railroad To Move Giant Tank Through Streets

by Richard Price

Politics 12/12/12

GRAFTON, Mass. — The first of four 80,000-gallon propane tanks will arrive in Grafton by truck Thursday afternoon, Grafton & Upton Railroad owner Jon Delli Priscoli, announced Tuesday during the selectmen meeting, stunning selectmen, residents and a police chief who will face a potential traffic jam.

The speed of the construction of the propane transfer site, which is being done without the input of local officials because of presumed federal railroad exemption laws, quickly turned the meeting into a shouting match.

“He explained to the town, this wouldn’t happen till January,” said Stephen and Kathy Ryan of Waterville Circle. “This involves a lot of people: There are 60 homes and there is a nearby school.”

Although many knew the tanks were coming, Delli Priscoli told the town in earlier meetings that it would be next month. That timeline has accelerated because the tanks were finished ahead of schedule.

The tank, which is about 14 feet high and weighs 225,000 pounds, will eventually store 80,000 gallons of propane fuel on the site located off Westborough Road and North Main Street. Three additional tanks will be delivered on Dec.18, 19 and 20.

The truck route will exit Route 20 to Route 122 and travel slowly through North Grafton, past Wyman Gordon, turn left onto Bridge Street, left onto North Main Street, right onto Waterville Street, and then left onto Westborough Road to the site. The exact time is not known but, under contract, it will be no later than 3:30 p.m.

The tank will be moved by LPG Ventures, a propane tank specialist based in Raytown, Mo., and will be escorted by Massachusetts State Police.

The route, which will originate in Fall River, has been carefully planned with every street corner reviewed and approved by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, said John Holstein, a consultant for Grafton & Upton Railroad. Originally, the tank was to be moved overnight, when fewer cars are on the road, but the plan was changed.

The daytime schedule announcement was “a whole new thing,” Police Chief Normand A. Crepeau Jr. said. He promised Grafton police officers will be on hand to help. “This will create issues,” he said, referring to traffic flow.

No fuel will be stored until the Federal Railroad Board and the U.S. Fire Administration, plus state and local fire officials, have reviewed the final construction, Delli Priscoli said. That will be in the spring, he said.

Delli Priscoli also said he had no control over the tank delivery, and he was surprised that people did not know this.

“We’ve discussed this at every meeting,” he said.

Dennis Flynn,  who built a house that overlooks the site, was appalled at how poorly the town has communicated with the neighborhood.

“You need to learn how to talk to us,” he said.

Stephen and Kathy Ryan say the speed of the site’s progress gives them a sense of powerlessness.

“It’s presented as if we don’t have a choice,” said Kathy Ryan. “We don’t know how much of an investigation has been done into this.”

Grafton & Upton Railroad Owner Gives Tour Of Propane Site

by Richard Price

News

12/07/12

GRAFTON, Mass. — Grafton & Upton Railroad owner Jon Delli Priscoli gave The Grafton Daily Voice a tour of the propane transfer site he is building off Westborough Road in North Grafton.

The construction of the station, which was formally presented in a special meeting Tuesday night at the Municipal Center, is pre-empted from local or state government oversight. Instead, railroads are overseen primarily by the Federal Railroad Administration, the Surface Transportation Board, and state and federal fire marshals.

Most of the construction will be completed by January, weather permitting, with the first of the 80,000-gallon tanks arriving as soon as next week, Delli Priscolli said. No propane will be delivered until the site is reviewed by the appropriate federal agencies and invited local officials, he said.

“I want to be a good neighbor,” Delli Priscoli said.

Grafton & Upton Railroad Plans Propane Transfer Terminal

by Richard Price News

12/05/12

GRAFTON, Mass. — Grafton & Upton Railroad plans to build a propane transfer terminal off Westborough Road in North Grafton, the railroad’s owner said during a special meeting Tuesday night with 200 neighbors with abutting properties.  

The neighbors, in turn, expressed anger and frustration about months of ongoing preliminary construction with almost no communication or local oversight.

The plan is to build four tankers, each capable of holding 80,000 gallons of propane, said Jon Delli Priscoli, owner of the rail line. Trains would unload the fuel into the tanks, and the propane would then be reloaded into tractor-trailer trucks for delivery to a final destination.

A man, who said he has been driving tractor-trailer trucks for 18 years, shouted from the crowd that he was worried about idling trucks near the propane tanks. “How many time bombs will be on site?” he said to a round of applause.

State Sen. Michael Moore, the Board of Selectmen and a large group of state and federal officers attended the meeting in the Municipal Center gym. 

But while most businesses have to go through local oversight and town meetings before a shovel hits the dirt, railroads are different. They are privately owned but regulated by the federal government, giving the town little say because a railroad project is usually exempt from local laws. Federal regulations were designed this way so commerce can flow from one end of the country to the other.

“Laws are drafted in favor of railroads,” said Brian O’Boyle , a section chief with the federal Surface Transportation Board. “I won’t sugarcoat it. You have an uphill battle.”

Propane, a locally produced, alternative fuel, is becoming more popular. But it is also volatile if not handled properly and is prone to explosions and fire.

Many layers of federal agencies, including the Federal Railway Administration, fire safety officers and the Environmental Protection Agency, play a role in the process, Delli Priscolli said. 

He and his consultant, Thomas Godfrey, said no corner will be cut to ensure the site is safe and that modern technology helps reduce catastrophe from human error. “This is a bulletproof system,” Delli Priscoli said.

He also said he wants to be transparent and work closely with his neighbors so they can be comfortable with the business.

Many residents were not convinced. One resident said his insurance carrier would drop him because of the project. “I’ll have to pay twice as much premium,” he said if he ends up signing with a state-mandated plan.

Dennis Flynn, who has lived in town for over 60 years, said this was more than a ‘not in my backyard issue’, but a town and community issue. “I have grandkids who go to school nearby,” he said. He also pointed out that a recent natural gas explosion in Springfield was due to human error.

Grafton Man In Hunt To Cure Daughter Of Rare Disorder

by Richard PriceNeighbors

01/28/13

GRAFTON, Mass. — When Athena was 4 years old and in day care, she started to walk on her toes. Then a year later she began to fall down — a lot.

Her parents took her to the doctor, which led to more doctors, then specialists around the country. Athena was probed, scanned and jabbed with needles. No one knew for sure what to make of this bright girl with black hair and a passion for Adele’s music. In the beginning  Cerebral palsy was their best guess.

Finally, after three years, an accurate diagnosis was made.

Athena has severe DPD deficiency, a rare disorder caused by an inherited genetic mutation. Today, the 8-year-old has lost motor function and needs a wheelchair and an aide when she goes to school. Later in life she might experience epileptic-type seizures, developmental delays and growth retardation. No one knows for sure.

Only 72 children in the world are known to have the severe form of the condition, so medical research was nonexistent — until now. Athena’s father, Paul Ignatius, is in a race against time to raise $350,000 over three years to save Athena and, potentially, others.

He and his wife, Shibi Karukappily, have borrowed $100,000 on their home to fund the first year of research with two pharmaceutical companies: ProCrysta Biologix, Inc. based in Natick, and a small pharmaceutical company in New Jersey that, hopefully, will produce a drug.

Ignatius also started the DPD Deficiency Foundation, which has raised an additional $50,000 in donations and increased awareness about the rare condition. But he will need $124,000 in years one and two for research then the balance for year three.

Ignatius is optimistic that research on lab animals will begin next year, then on humans in two years.

During his quest, Ignatius discovered that finding a cure might help certain cancer patients. Even though severe DPD deficiency is extremely rare, almost 10 percent of adults possess the genetic mutation. It causes a deficiency of the enzyme dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase, or DPD. Most people who have the condition show no symptoms, but when they take certain chemotherapy drugs to battle cancer, they can have a severe toxic reaction that can be fatal.

Ignatius knows the clock is ticking.  Athena lost the use of her legs last summer, and doctors told him the condition could worsen, perhaps to the point where it could kill her if her lungs collapse. Fortunately, for now, she has no developmental delays, but her father said her condition is worse today than it has ever been.

For more information, please visit dpddeficiency.com or the DPD Deficiency Facebook page.

Ex-Wife: Firearms In Grafton Man’s Home Were Stolen

by Richard PricePolice & Fire01/29/13

GRAFTON, Mass. — The ex-wife of a Grafton man charged with possessing numerous firearms without a license told authorities her former husband had stolen some of the weapons, court records said.

Steven K. Woskie, 52, of 77 Follette St., was arrested Sunday with the assistance of a Central Mass. Law Enforcement Council SWAT unit and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, domestic aggravated assault and battery, possession of an assault weapon, three counts of possession of large capacity feeding devices, seven counts of possession of firearms/rifle/shotgun without a license, seven counts of improper storage of firearms/rifle/shotgun, improper storage of a large capacity firearm/rifle, and possession of ammunition without a firearm identification card.

Records on file at Westborough District Court state Donna Vabulas, Woskie’s ex-wife, told Grafton Police Woskie kept a loaded AK-47 in his living room and he had many guns in the house. Grafton Police said Woskie did not have a license to possess weapons or ammunition.

Vabulas spoke to police after her son, Jakob Woskie, arrived at her home on Saturday night bleeding heavily, court records said. Jakob Woskie told police he and his girlfriend had been at his father’s home, where he was attacked by Steven Woskie, first with a bat and then with a claw hammer. Jakob Woskie told police the attack, which left him with defensive wounds on his left hand, teeth marks on his chest and bloody head wounds, was unprovoked. He was treated for his injuries at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester.

Vabulas told police that she and her ex-husband divorced 13 or 14 years ago because of domestic violence to her and Jakob, court records said. She also told police several of the weapons in the home were stolen and that suspects had broken in to take back the firearms.

Jakob told Grafton Police his father was a heavy drinker and abused the prescription drug Percocet, court records said. He told police his father stored the “AK-47 in a large green metal tool box in the living room with more firearms,” and that he was allegedly under the influence at the time of the assault.

Woskie is being held in the Worcester County House of Corrections. Judge David Locke set bail at $25,000 cash or $250,000 surety bond. If he makes bail, the court said he must wear a GPS device, be under house arrest, surrender all firearms to the Grafton Police and must stay free from drugs and alcohol.

Federal Agency To Hear Grafton & Upton Railroad Case

by Richard Price.

News

01/30/13

UPTON, Mass.—The Surface Transportation Board, a federal agency, will hear arguments from the Grafton & Upton Railroad and seven Upton residents before deciding if a wood pellet facility on its property is exempt from state and town laws.

On Jan. 23, the board issued a “declaratory order” to hear the case brought by the residents who claimed on Aug. 1, when they filed the petition, that the bagging, storing, and transloading being conducted by the railroad on their 25 Maple Avenue location is not transportation by a rail carrier as defined by the Interstate Commerce Act. If they succeed, Upton can regulate the operation under their zoning bylaws.

The railroad, owned by Jon Delli Priscoli, in a reply filed on Aug. 21 said there is no controversy or dispute to be resolved because preemption applies in these circumstances, meaning their business is regulated by the federal government.

“This is nothing unexpected,” Delli Priscoli said in response to last week’s ruling. He also said it is procedural for the STB to take this step. In a prior interview with The Daily Voice, he said is confident he will win the decision and is operating within the scope of federal law.

“Myself and my neighbors are happy the STB have agreed to hear our case,” said Joseph Hatch, one of the seven who filed the petition with the agency. He could not elaborate because the case is under review.

The railroad’s operations are also facing opposition from Grafton town officials, who have asked a U.S. Federal Court judge to determine whether Delli Priscoli’s plans to construct a propane transfer terminal fall under federal pre-emption rights. Final arguments in that case are scheduled for Feb. 11.

The STB said in the order they have discretionary authority over the matter and that “questions of preemption are often fact specific determinations, particularly when addressing whether land use restrictions interfere with railroad operations.”

The Grafton & Upton Railroad has until Feb. 25 to reply and comment on the order. The petitioners’ then have until March 11 to respond.  The STB did not reveal in the declaratory order when they will make a decision.

Neighbor: Grafton Car Accident So Bad It Shook Building

by Richard Price.

Police & Fire

01/31/13

GRAFTON, Mass.– A driver was sent to the hospital Wednesday after the car they were driving crashed into a telephone pole at 155 Providence Road splitting it in half.

According to Grafton Police, the accident occurred Wednesday at 5:26 p.m.  Two police units, an ambulance, fire and heavy rescue arrived on the scene. No information was available on the person driving the car or which hospital they were sent to.

According to one neighbor, the car’s impact on the pole was so intense it shook the building.  He said the car was traveling north when it hit the pole, spun 25 yards on the opposite side of the road and hit a guard rail.

A second neighbor, who arrived home moments after the accident occurred, said the rescue squad spent more than 30 minutes with the Jaws of Life cutting the car roof off to extricate the victim.

Neighbors who live in the apartment complex lost power for a time as crews worked to repair the pole and downed wires.

Grafton’s Cummings Looks To Expand School Security

by Richard Price. Schools

01/31/13

GRAFTON, Mass. — Timothy Fauth, assistant principal at Grafton Middle School, opened his MacBook Pro laptop, typed in a password and a few seconds later displayed a series of live video feeds in different parts of the building: stairwells, building entrances and hallways full of students.

The piece of digital security was implemented when the building housed the high school. The middle school and the new high school are the only buildings in the district with this capability.

But after the Newtown, Conn., school shooting tragedy, Grafton Superintendent James Cummings would like this video system installed in the four elementary schools by September as part of an initiative to beef up school safety.

“If, God forbid, anything should happen, any police officer with access can open their laptop,” said Cummings. “They can see what is going on in that building in real time.”

It would cost about $30,000 to install the video system in the four schools, he said, but that would be “fairly cost-effective in the scheme of things.”

To fund the cameras, a town warrant could be written and voted on in May so the district could install the system over the summer, Cummings said.

If approved, cameras would be installed in strategic spots in each elementary school. In an emergency, Grafton police could access that feed from anywhere and pinpoint the location of the threat. “They would know where the intruder is,” Cummings said. “Right now, they would be going in blind.”

The desire to add cameras came after many meetings with his school safety committee and brainstorming sessions with neighboring districts about school safety training called ALICE, an acronym for alert-lockdown-inform-counter-evacuate, he said.

A swipe card system is also being considered for school entrances, Cummings said.

Safety protocols now in place, such as sign-in sheets, buzzer systems and drills, might be tweaked so all school buildings are consistent, he said.

Cummings would also like to implement an evacuation plan and improve the staff’s hand-held radio communications.