State Rep Ken Gordon’s April Newsletter

State Representative Ken Gordon’s April newsletter contains the following articles and an image gallery:

Bedford Third Grader Amelia Dyer Honored at State House

Amelia Dyer, a third-grade student at Bedford’s Lane School, was the Division II wi nner of the 2013 Massachusetts School Libraries Association bookmark contest.  Amelia and her family came to the State House last week and were honored at a lunch in the Great Hall.

Amelia’s bookmark featured a design of superman and reflected her love of reading.  We are proud of the excellence and commitment to education reflected by Amelia and her family, the Lane School,  and the School Library Association, and are proud to have presented Amelia with a citation signed by the Speaker of the House and by me, her Representative in the legislature.

Get The Bedford Citizen in your inbox!



Serving the Community, Quite Literally

The Burlington Council of Aging invited its senior citizen members to a lunch hosted by Sen. Kenneth Donnelly and Rep. Ken Gordon last week, to discuss the effects of the Circuit Breaker relief for seniors facing increasing costs of local property taxes and utilities. Also on hand to discus the taxes from the town perspective was Assistant Assessor Jim Doherty.

Ken, and his trusty assistant Rob Peterson, along with Sen. Donnelly’s assistant Hannah Buntich served a lunch of pasta and salad, and Ken’s wife Breena provided home-made Key Lime Pie and Blueberry Pie.  As much as the catered main courses tried to compete, it was the Key Lime Pie that proved to be the memorable part of the meal.

During lunch, the group discussed the state law that reimburses seniors for payments to local property tax and utilities that exceed certain income levels.  They also discussed Burlington’s new provision that reimburses property tax paid by active military personnel (retroactive to 2003) serving in a war zone

Rep. Gordon then repeated the topic at a meeting of the current events group at Bedford’s COA, inviting assistant tax assessor Bruce Morgan and treasurer Victor Garafolo.  The subjects of exemptions from Community Preservation Act assessments for seniors, should they qualify and choose to apply for them, was also discussed at that meeting.

If you think you may qualify for these reimbursements please see your tax preparer or call either Jim Doherty in the Burlington assessors office, Bruce Morgan in Bedford or Wilmington’s assessor’s office.

Health Care Concerns Top Ken’s Late March Agenda

Ken met with a group of physicians and professionals from Harvard Vanguard in Burlington last Friday, capping a week in which he also invited a representative from Health Care for All — a patient advocacy group — as a guest to his “Rappin’ With the Rep” cable show.

“It is important to me that as we discuss health care finance on the government level, the residents of Bedford, Burlington and Wilmington know where to go to access the medical treatment they need,” Ken said. “So this week my focus has been on learning the options open to people who may have avoided an appointment with a doctor or other medical provider simply because they don’t think they can afford it.”

Ken welcomed Hannah Frigand, the Help Line Director at Health Care for All, who talked about the various public and private insurance options available to people who want to see a doctor, dentist or mental health provider.  Also on the show was Marge McDonald, director of the Burlington COA, who asked Hannah about the particular needs of seniors in the community. The show is broadcast most evenings on Burlington and Bedford cable access TV, or call it up at www.bacttv.org.

A few days later, he attended a meeting on Wall Street of Harvard Vanguard professionals who talked about the services they provide.  Harvard Vanguard, which is not affiliated with Partners Health Care or Harvard Pilgrim HMO, is a treatment facility with specialties that include pediatrics, women’s health and other focuses.  Primary Care Physicians are assigned to its network. It had a particular interest in speaking with Ken about closing loopholes in coverage that make it difficult for some people to afford prescription medication, and other inefficiencies.  They discussed their interest in pediatric specialties, such as childhood obesity.

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Subscribe
Notify of

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

All Stories

What’s Bedford Thinking about the Red Sox?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
  • Junior Landscaping
Go toTop