Week in Review: Mansfield Kids Help Raise Money for the One Fund, Town Manager Receives High Marks, and More

Mansfield to Leave Crossroads Veterans Services District

Only a week after the selectmen said that Manfield had no intent of leaving the Crossroads Veterans Services District, the town will do exactly that after a 4-0 vote by the selectmen to take such action.

The vote will dissolve the district at the end of June since Mansfield was the only town that bordered the two remaining towns of Norton and Foxborough.
The selectmen were forced to make a decision during their May 1 meeting, otherwise they would have been required to stay in the district for another year.

Disagreements over issues such the structure of the district and who was responsible for the hiring of veteran service officers (VSO) led to Mansfield’s exit of the district and a bleak future for the year old venture.

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Selectmen Give Town Manager Bill Ross High Marks in Evaluation

Three years after arriving in Mansfield to be the new town manager, it appears Bill Ross will continue to serve in that capacity for the foreseeable future.

With the selectmen performing their evaluation of Ross at their May 1 meeting, the town manager was given an average score of 9.79 out of 10. The selectmen praised Ross for his job in Mansfield and his leadership ability.

"I think all five of us have the same exact same message here. As close to perfect, I think that’s what you’ve been," Selectman Jess Apowitz said.

Across the board, Ross was given high marks by the selectmen in six categories. In legislative relations and responsiveness to the selectmen, school committee, town meeting representatives, Ross' average score was a 10 out of 10 with an emphasis on providing information for town meetings and ability to work with others well.

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Mansfield Children's Lemonade Stand Raises Money for Boston Marathon Victims

When Dianna Feinberg and her husband came home from work in Boston the day of the marathon bombings, all her kids wanted to know was what happened.

Feinberg’s two children, Zoe and Jacob saw the reports of the marathon bombing on the news and wondered what was going on in Boston. After asking and finding out that several people were hurt, the two children soon wanted to know how they could help. Coming up with the idea of a lemonade and cookie stand to raise money for the One Fund, the two set up shop outside their house on April 28 with a little help from their parents.

“Everybody had a great reaction. Most people were pleasantly surprised, a lot of people said ‘great job that’s very kind of you,’ Feinberg said.

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Mansfield Fire Local 1820 Raises Over 17k for Charity

Mansfield Firefighters Local 1820 held a charitable fundraiser this past Thursday on April 25th for the St. Baldricks Foundation. This foundation allows volunteers to raise money for Childhood Cancer research. The total amount of money raised for this great cause was $17,720.50.

The local would like to say "Thank You" to every one that had a part in the success of this fundraiser and we could not have done this without the support of our community and the businesses that made this possible. The event was held at TGI Fridays in Mansfield and this is the third consecutive year we have held our fundraiser at this venue. TGI Fridays donated 10% of their food proceeds during the event. We also had a 20'x20' tent donated and set up by Differrentals out of Foxborough MA.

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Le Studio Danse in Mansfield Making Waves

Valerie Brunetti-Spear, owner of Le Studio Danse in Mansfield, said she’s been dancing since she was a small child, and has seen some things throughout the years.

“I was always attracted to dance, I just love it,” she said. “I got serious about it in high school.”

Brunetti-Spear said she did ballet in high school as well as cheerleading, and studied dance at the Boston Conservatory of Music. Since then, she said she’s danced at the San Fransico Ballet Company. She said she’s worked with many instructors, including Mchael Jackson’s former teacher JoJo, as well as Baryshnikov, who instructed the U.S. Olympians.

“I’ve performed at all the local night clubs in New England, including the Wang Theater,” she said. “I also worked with the Cirque du Soleil.”

She added she has performed in two feature films, a movie called Witchboard, a horror movie about the Ouija Board and a Bruce Lee film.

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