The first entry in Daniel's 7th Grade Journal, written 9/10/2010
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
The Bus
I think the bus right is pretty much the same except now I have to walk to the bus stop instead of going to the end of the driveway and the ride is longer. I think it's very stupid that they don't make good french-fries anymore. I don't like taking all my books for all my classes everywhere. I don't use my locker because it's too much work to open it. I liked Friday because I did not get very much homework. I don't like writing unless it's just a little bit at a time. I like math and social studies the most. Actually my favorite subject is lunch. I don't like it when we get a ton of homework. I like when I go to lunch because I don't have to work, no homework, and I can talk to my friends. I don't like that I don't have some classes with friends. But I think over all it's kind of boring.
The first entry in Daniel's 7th Grade Journal, written 9/10/2010
The first entry in Daniel's 7th Grade Journal, written 9/10/2010
Monday, November 28, 2011
The Egg
I was asleep in my bed one night. It was very dark outside then all of the sudden I heard a knock on the front door. I got up, picked up my flashlight and went to my bedroom door then I made my way down the stairs. At first when I opened the door I thought it was another dead rat that our cat had left there. Then when I shined my light on it I realized that it was shaped like a huge egg. I picked the object up and went back to my room closing the doors quietly so that I wouldn’t wake my parents up. Then I fell asleep again. The next morning I had completely forgot about the egg so I got up, ate breakfast and went to the bus stop. After school I went to put my pack in my room. As I put it down, I saw the egg and remembered what had happened the night before so I got a hammer and cracked the egg. It was empty.
Written by Daniel on 9/17/2010
Written by Daniel on 9/17/2010
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Hubbardston health board approves burial on family land Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Hubbardston health board approves burial on family land
HUBBARDSTON — A local family will finally be able to bury their 14-year-old son who was killed three months ago in a car accident in Minnesota.
The Board of Health voted last night to grant a temporary tomb permit which will allow Pamela Roper to bury her son Daniel Davis on family land on Partridgeville Road. The family may, in the future, return to the board for a permanent permit, which would require a town meeting vote.
After the temporary permit was approved, Tomas Larson, chairman of the Board of Health, apologized to Paul Flint, Ms. Roper’s husband, for the process taking so long, but said the board had to abide by a legal opinion issued by town counsel. The process was delayed after town counsel expressed concern about burials on private property. Interim Town Administrator Brian Bullock worked with the family and proposed the temporary tomb permit.
Mr. Flint said last night that when the burial will take place will depend on the weather. With heavy rain expected and a possibility of snow on Saturday, he said the family would wait to see how the weekend weather develops.
— George Barnes
The Board of Health voted last night to grant a temporary tomb permit which will allow Pamela Roper to bury her son Daniel Davis on family land on Partridgeville Road. The family may, in the future, return to the board for a permanent permit, which would require a town meeting vote.
After the temporary permit was approved, Tomas Larson, chairman of the Board of Health, apologized to Paul Flint, Ms. Roper’s husband, for the process taking so long, but said the board had to abide by a legal opinion issued by town counsel. The process was delayed after town counsel expressed concern about burials on private property. Interim Town Administrator Brian Bullock worked with the family and proposed the temporary tomb permit.
Mr. Flint said last night that when the burial will take place will depend on the weather. With heavy rain expected and a possibility of snow on Saturday, he said the family would wait to see how the weekend weather develops.
— George Barnes
Hubbardston couple gets burial OK Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Hubbardston couple gets burial OK
By George Barnes TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
HUBBARDSTON — A compromise may finally allow a family to bury on their land the 14-year-old son they lost three months agoSelectmen voted last night to recommend to the Board of Health that it issue a temporary vault permit to allow Pamela Roper and her husband, Paul Flint, to bury Mrs. Roper's son, Daniel, on land near their home on Pitcherville Road.
Daniel died Aug. 2 in an accident in Minnesota while the family was headed to Idaho. Since then the couple have tried to have him buried near their home, but the town's legal firm issued an opinion that various requirements needed to be satisfied for it to happen, including receiving approval from town meeting.
Interim Town Administrator Brian Bullock told selectmen that with a temporary vault permit, the family can go forward with the burial and if they wanted the permit to become permanent, at some point they would have to seek town meeting approval.
The board voted 2-1 to support issuing the temporary permit. Selectman Matthew Castriotta voted no, saying he does not approve of burials on private property.
“I think it should go to town meeting as it has always gone to town meeting,” he said.
Selectman Ernest Newcomb said he is not opposed to burials on private property, but consideration should be given about how the grave would be cared for should the family someday sell the land. He also asked what it would cost the town if the family went to town meeting to get the permit made permanent and voters rejected it.
“Who has the burden of paying costs of disinterment?” he asked.
Mr. Bullock said the town would not be responsible for the costs because it would be on private property.
Mr. Flint, who was at the meeting, said he was happy with the selectmen's vote and hopeful the Board of Health will approve the permit at its meeting tonight. The board meets at 6:30 p.m.
Legal limbo over boy's burial from Worcester Telegram and Gazette Sunday, November 20, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Legal limbo over boy’s burial
An elaborate “monkey bridge” made of thick rope and tree limbs stretches high across a narrow creek behind the home of Paul Flint and his wife, Pamela Roper. It was built by Roper’s son, Daniel Davis, with help from some fellow Boy Scouts.
Near this bridge, below a sloping lawn that leads to acres of woods, is where Ms. Roper hopes to bury her 14-year-old child.
“Down here would be really nice,” Ms. Roper said quietly, standing under a gray and sunless sky. “Daniel really liked it here. He loved exploring in the woods.”
In the early hours of Aug. 2, Ms. Roper and six of her children were driving along a Minnesota highway, headed to Idaho to visit relatives. Near the South Dakota state line, bleary with exhaustion, she fell asleep at the wheel. The 2000 Dodge Durango veered off the road, sailed through a ditch and slammed into a bridge embankment. Daniel was killed instantly; she and her other children suffered various injuries, but survived.
The townspeople of Hubbardston rallied to the family’s aid, holding bake sales, delivering food and driving the children to doctors’ appointments. For that, the parents are grateful.
But they’re not as thankful to town officials. Today, more than three months after his death, Daniel’s body remains in the basement of a Worcester funeral home. Despite the best efforts of Daniel’s mother and stepfather, officials have yet to grant their request that the boy be buried on their 30-acre property on Pitcherville Road.
“It’s like having a scab that we have to pick open, over and over,” said Flint, Daniel’s stepfather, his voice choked with sobs. “It brings everything back and makes it hard to function. It eats at me. I love my wife, and this is what she wants. I can’t imagine the hell she’s going through.”
Flint has jumped through myriad bureaucratic hoops to grant his wife’s wish. He’s attended two selectmen’s meetings, called and written to various state officials and submitted maps of his property. He’s received the go-ahead from the town Conservation Commission and the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The matter seems to have stalled in September, after the town sought the advice of town counsel. While Hubbardston has no regulation about private burials, its Boston lawyer responded with a two-page opinion citing various chapters of state law and a laundry list of requirements that must be satisfied. Most daunting is that, in his opinion, the burial must be approved at Town Meeting, which isn’t scheduled until next spring.
But Flint isn’t quite sure where the matter stands, and you can’t blame him. Last Thursday, for example, Selectman Michael Stauder initially said he had no knowledge of the family’s private burial request. When contacted again several hours later, he corrected himself and said he now remembered it.
“But we’re not the final approval,” he said.
“Who is?”
“Nobody seems to know that,” he replied. “But I know he needs approval from DEP.”
As noted, Flint already has that. He also has the support of town Conservation Commission member David Klinch, who spoke on Flint’s behalf at a selectmen’s meeting in September.
“The Board of Health effectively punted it to the selectmen,” Klinch said. “So the selectmen should have to sign off. It’s a shame it hasn’t been resolved. I wish I could have done more to help him.”
Ms. Roper, 43, said it’s important to her that Daniel be buried on their land. She and her children moved from Idaho to Pitcherville Road in 2009, after meeting Flint on a website frequented by Mormons. They married in October.
“Birth is a personal thing,” Ms. Roper said. “Death should be, too. I know it’s just Daniel’s mortal remains, but that’s all I have left of him. I want him nearby and so do the children. The human race has been burying people close-by for thousands of years. Why can’t we do that now?”
Home burials are unusual but hardly unique. In Hubbardston alone in recent years, several people have been buried on private land, including former Boston Patriot Ron Burton in 2003. In 1997, town meeting voters allowed a family to create a private cemetery on Prentiss Hill Road, but whether town meeting approval is required in all cases is unclear.
Generally, communities require that the casket be placed inside a concrete grave liner or sealed vault. Daniel was embalmed in South Dakota and returned to Massachusetts Aug. 22. A service was held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Gardner.
Daniel was an honor roll student and would have entered the eighth grade at Quabbin Regional High School this fall. His remains now lay in a casket at Graham, Putnam and Mahoney Funeral Home.
“I’ve done several home burials, and I’ve never seen a problem like this,” said Peter Stefan, president of the funeral home, who has been frustrated in his efforts to help the family. “The town counsel is just passing the buck, as far as I’m concerned. This shouldn’t be a problem.”
Ms. Roper, whose eight children range in age from 5 to 25, said that Daniel’s burial would be a family project. Her 9-year-old son Cedric wants to build a fence around the grave, and her daughters plan to plant flowers. She said she believes that a home burial will help her family heal.
Ms. Roper said she remembers only parts of the horrific crash. She remembers waking up as her out-of-control SUV skated over the grass. She recalls hearing her son Cedric crying. Her 19-year-old daughter Laura, seated in the front, later told her that she cried, “What did I do? What did I do?” over and over.
“Unfortunately, I’m all too aware of the role I played,” said Ms. Roper, who suffered three compression fractures in her back. “But I can’t go back and change anything. I just have to go on. People say I’m strong. I try to believe it. I try to act like it.”
On Friday, Stauder said he looked further into the family’s wish to bury Daniel at home, and will ask interim Town Manager Brian Bullock to spearhead the process.
“There’s a lot of different boards involved, so many layers of local and state bureaucracy, and no one has shepherded them through the process,” he said. “It seems like most of the pieces are in place. We’ll certainly offer him all the help we can give. He needs a champion.”
Bullock agreed, saying the delay is probably because of the “uniqueness” of the request.
“I’m a little surprised it’s still an issue,” he said. “Everyone grieves for that family and I don’t think anyone has a problem with their request. But it’s probably taken too long.”
Legal limbo over boy’s burial
Near this bridge, below a sloping lawn that leads to acres of woods, is where Ms. Roper hopes to bury her 14-year-old child.
“Down here would be really nice,” Ms. Roper said quietly, standing under a gray and sunless sky. “Daniel really liked it here. He loved exploring in the woods.”
In the early hours of Aug. 2, Ms. Roper and six of her children were driving along a Minnesota highway, headed to Idaho to visit relatives. Near the South Dakota state line, bleary with exhaustion, she fell asleep at the wheel. The 2000 Dodge Durango veered off the road, sailed through a ditch and slammed into a bridge embankment. Daniel was killed instantly; she and her other children suffered various injuries, but survived.
The townspeople of Hubbardston rallied to the family’s aid, holding bake sales, delivering food and driving the children to doctors’ appointments. For that, the parents are grateful.
But they’re not as thankful to town officials. Today, more than three months after his death, Daniel’s body remains in the basement of a Worcester funeral home. Despite the best efforts of Daniel’s mother and stepfather, officials have yet to grant their request that the boy be buried on their 30-acre property on Pitcherville Road.
“It’s like having a scab that we have to pick open, over and over,” said Flint, Daniel’s stepfather, his voice choked with sobs. “It brings everything back and makes it hard to function. It eats at me. I love my wife, and this is what she wants. I can’t imagine the hell she’s going through.”
Flint has jumped through myriad bureaucratic hoops to grant his wife’s wish. He’s attended two selectmen’s meetings, called and written to various state officials and submitted maps of his property. He’s received the go-ahead from the town Conservation Commission and the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The matter seems to have stalled in September, after the town sought the advice of town counsel. While Hubbardston has no regulation about private burials, its Boston lawyer responded with a two-page opinion citing various chapters of state law and a laundry list of requirements that must be satisfied. Most daunting is that, in his opinion, the burial must be approved at Town Meeting, which isn’t scheduled until next spring.
But Flint isn’t quite sure where the matter stands, and you can’t blame him. Last Thursday, for example, Selectman Michael Stauder initially said he had no knowledge of the family’s private burial request. When contacted again several hours later, he corrected himself and said he now remembered it.
“But we’re not the final approval,” he said.
“Who is?”
“Nobody seems to know that,” he replied. “But I know he needs approval from DEP.”
As noted, Flint already has that. He also has the support of town Conservation Commission member David Klinch, who spoke on Flint’s behalf at a selectmen’s meeting in September.
“The Board of Health effectively punted it to the selectmen,” Klinch said. “So the selectmen should have to sign off. It’s a shame it hasn’t been resolved. I wish I could have done more to help him.”
Ms. Roper, 43, said it’s important to her that Daniel be buried on their land. She and her children moved from Idaho to Pitcherville Road in 2009, after meeting Flint on a website frequented by Mormons. They married in October.
“Birth is a personal thing,” Ms. Roper said. “Death should be, too. I know it’s just Daniel’s mortal remains, but that’s all I have left of him. I want him nearby and so do the children. The human race has been burying people close-by for thousands of years. Why can’t we do that now?”
Home burials are unusual but hardly unique. In Hubbardston alone in recent years, several people have been buried on private land, including former Boston Patriot Ron Burton in 2003. In 1997, town meeting voters allowed a family to create a private cemetery on Prentiss Hill Road, but whether town meeting approval is required in all cases is unclear.
Generally, communities require that the casket be placed inside a concrete grave liner or sealed vault. Daniel was embalmed in South Dakota and returned to Massachusetts Aug. 22. A service was held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Gardner.
Daniel was an honor roll student and would have entered the eighth grade at Quabbin Regional High School this fall. His remains now lay in a casket at Graham, Putnam and Mahoney Funeral Home.
“I’ve done several home burials, and I’ve never seen a problem like this,” said Peter Stefan, president of the funeral home, who has been frustrated in his efforts to help the family. “The town counsel is just passing the buck, as far as I’m concerned. This shouldn’t be a problem.”
Ms. Roper, whose eight children range in age from 5 to 25, said that Daniel’s burial would be a family project. Her 9-year-old son Cedric wants to build a fence around the grave, and her daughters plan to plant flowers. She said she believes that a home burial will help her family heal.
Ms. Roper said she remembers only parts of the horrific crash. She remembers waking up as her out-of-control SUV skated over the grass. She recalls hearing her son Cedric crying. Her 19-year-old daughter Laura, seated in the front, later told her that she cried, “What did I do? What did I do?” over and over.
“Unfortunately, I’m all too aware of the role I played,” said Ms. Roper, who suffered three compression fractures in her back. “But I can’t go back and change anything. I just have to go on. People say I’m strong. I try to believe it. I try to act like it.”
On Friday, Stauder said he looked further into the family’s wish to bury Daniel at home, and will ask interim Town Manager Brian Bullock to spearhead the process.
“There’s a lot of different boards involved, so many layers of local and state bureaucracy, and no one has shepherded them through the process,” he said. “It seems like most of the pieces are in place. We’ll certainly offer him all the help we can give. He needs a champion.”
Bullock agreed, saying the delay is probably because of the “uniqueness” of the request.
“I’m a little surprised it’s still an issue,” he said. “Everyone grieves for that family and I don’t think anyone has a problem with their request. But it’s probably taken too long.”
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