Hubbardston Board of Health Defers Scrap Metal Day, Reviews MPHN Nurse Gap

HUBBARDSTON — March 10, 2026 — Hubbardston Board of Health defers annual scrap metal day and flags nursing gap in regional health network. The three-member board — Chair Gael Moncoeur, Dianna Johnson, and Dave Rogers — voted unanimously to approve the February 24 minutes before spending the bulk of its March 10 meeting reviewing the town's shared-services agreement with the Montachusett Public Health Network, which serves 13 area communities but currently has no full-time public health nurse on staff. Rogers stressed that disease investigation cases "require investigation and paperwork within that day — a phone call is not good enough." A request from Select Board member Kitty Young to hold the board's annual free scrap metal recycling day on April 18 alongside the town's Earth Day event was effectively set aside after all three members identified conflicts that weekend, including marathon volunteering and Revolutionary War commemoration events; the board will pursue a May date instead. A possible summer public health intern was discussed, but the board acknowledged it has no budget line for the suggested $3,500 compensation figure.