Reporter’s Notebook: Wind gusts nearly take down new Grafton moderator
It apparently takes a lot to rattle new Town Moderator Dawn Anderson, who showed very little in the way of stage jitters Saturday running her first Town Meeting.
Outdoors. On a football field at the start of a weeklong heat wave. With wind gusts that — whoosh! — completely blew away the canopy over her head and brought Town Meeting to a halt as people ran to block the tumbling structure from taking out the entire Select Board.
Anderson quickly called a recess, grabbed a hat, and brought the meeting back in minutes. “I’m very glad I put on extra sunscreen now,” she quipped.
“Madam Moderator,” Select Board Chair Peter Carlson said. “It’s never a dull moment at Town Meeting is it?”
It may be difficult to fill the shoes of Ray Mead, who retired as moderator after nearly two straight decades and won a seat on the Select Board in the town election last month. Anderson, now the first woman to be elected Grafton town moderator, opted instead for a pair of high red heels.
Madame Moderator definitely has her own style.
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There are advantages to Town Meeting on the Grafton High School football field. It’s easy to move around and sit with friends. The turf makes you feel like politics really is a sport (“I lettered in moving the question”). And it’s really easy to tell people where to sit.
“Visitors are asked to sit between the 20 and 30 yard lines,” Anderson announced.
Possibly the backers of the highly debated marijuana and Columbus Day/Indigenous People’s Day could have taken the opportunity to do little touchdown dances or maybe spike their voting paddles upon winning?
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Select Board Chair Peter Carlson 
State Rep. David Muradian’s fashion statement: American flag on top, pink elephants on the bottom 
Grafton residents socialize before Town Meeting 
Grafton RISE members thought ahead and brought their own tent 
Vote green thumbs up for yes, red thumbs down for no 
Fire Chief Micky Gauthier and Fire Captain Rick Allain 
Grafton residents socialize before Town Meeting 
A camera-eye view of the Town Meeting field 
Grafton residents socialize before Town Meeting 
Grafton residents socialize before Town Meeting 
The Select Board checks their notes prior to Town Meeting 
Town Administrator Evan Brassard and management analyst William Blake 
Grafton residents socialize before Town Meeting 
Grafton residents socialize before Town Meeting 
Grafton residents socialize before Town Meeting 
A Grafton family keeps an eye on their phones prior to Town Meeting 
Town Moderator Dawn Anderson, before the canopy went flying
Two warrant articles of note that passed:
Article 38 provides a real estate exemption for Grafton taxpayers who are National Guard Military Reservist serving outside the United States.
Article 39 provides an additional real estate exemption who are granted exemptions on their homes under Mass. General Laws, including certain blind persons, veterans, surviving spouses and seniors.
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Turnout was somewhat light at Town Meeting, whether it was due to the often-requested Saturday, the heat, or a general malaise about the warrant articles. Residents who stayed home to watch the excitement on their TVs had a surprise: GCTV was unable to broadcast live due to a missing component. To make technical difficulties worse, their recap/analysis back in the studio afterward had sound issues.
Attendance picked up toward the end of the meeting: Grafton RISE had set up a system to alert members interested in Indigenous People’s Day and Juneteenth when the articles were getting close.
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