Fear and Courage…united we stand divided we fall
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear—not absence of fear” Mark Twain
Today I want to discuss the story of Alex and Alex; Alex Hannold and Alex Pretti. Both Alex’s made history “this week” both for two different reasons; connected and disconnected as they were. Both Alex’s symbolize what is possible when we overcome fear with courage, when we act in the face of fear, prepare and push ourselves to find out what we are capable of. Both stories also show the other side of fear, fear acted upon without courage, what could happen and in the case of Alex Pretti, what did happen. Fear is reactive, fear does not prepare, fear does not bring out the best of us, fear stops us in our tracks and kills what is possible. We don’t prepare, and don’t push ourselves to be the best we can be.
All distrust, all contempt, all discrimination, derives from fear, derives from lack of openness, lack of facing the unknown together; and fear is a powerful motivator which can be harnessed for good or bad.
When used to propel us towards what is possible fear, channeled through courage, can propel us to the greatest of heights, heights beyond imagination. We can focus, face, and overcome our fears to create unimaginable feats of human strength, determination and sheer will. Alex Hannold is just that example.
A 40-year-old free-solo climber from Sacramento California, Alex rose to fame quite literally by ascending El Capitan in 2017. What is free soloing? Free soloing is exactly as it sounds, free climbing on one’s own, without ropes, anchors or any gear. This week, Alex Hannold accomplished a historic feat in Taiwan, free soloing Taipei 101 -a 1700ft skyscraper. The world watched while Alex skillfully and carefully climbed 101 floors over 92 minutes without ropes, without anchors and without assistance to summit one of the tallest buildings in the world. All the while Alex had a smile on his face, support of his family, and the world cheering him on to heights few can comprehend. Alex’s climb was awe inspiring. Alex’s climb showed the world what we are capable of as individuals and as a community when we focus and put energy and courage, towards a common goal.
On the opposite end of the earth, we have a story of another Alex, Alex Pretti. Alex Pretti was a 37-year-old intensive care nurse for the Veterans Administration from Green Bay Wisconsin. Pretti graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2011 where he studied nursing. He was a member of the American Federation of Government Employees and a lawful gun owner with no criminal history. From the released reports and current footage, Alex appears to have been in the vicinity of a gathering of protesters, a Constitutional protection provided under the First Amendment, and Pretti was recording ICE officials in Minnesota with his phone. Pretti then became entangled in an altercation while trying to assist a woman whom the ICE official had pushed. In the same footage we can then see an ICE official spray Alex with a deterrent (pepper spray is believed to have been used) and then Alex is tackled to the ground by multiple agents and is eventually shot multiple times. A physician who was present on the scene prior to emergency services arrived, was initially prevented from assisting by immigration agents, but once allowed in, the physician observed at least three bullet wounds in Pretti’s back, one in the upper left chest and one possible wound in the neck. Pretti died at the scene. He exhibited courage in a fearful situation. This writer wonders: What would I have done? What would any of us have done in the same situation?
Two Different Alexes on two different paths on the very same day, with two vastly different outcomes.
What do these two examples say about us as human beings? There are many things to ponder. It is very likely these events will affect all of us in a variety of different ways.
What I am struck by is how as individuals and communities we can, all at the same time, achieve historic triumphs and atrocious tragedies. The slope is slippery and the choices have lasting consequences.
Fear and courage can be looked at as 2 sides of the same coin. However, 1 without the other and unchecked, can have dire consequences. Fear can grip us, fear can overcome us, fear can blind us to who we are and who we can become. Yet fear, when turned to courage, can also inspire us to reach the greatest of heights; heights we never thought possible. It’s a good question to ponder in times like these, no matter the side; is the motive based in fear or courage?
We all have choices, families, allegiances, jobs, missions, passions to pursue and orders to follow; but it is how we choose to behave and how we choose to follow through that will dictate whether we choose the path of fear and destruction or if we channel that fear into connection by means of courage.
I want to encourage each of us on our own terms to think about both Alexes. If you haven’t watched the footage of each, I encourage you to do so. Each situation is frightening to watch for a variety of different reasons. However, for this writer, the courage and triumph of what one man can accomplish is shadowed by the fear of what one man on any level, left unchecked, can destroy.

BOSTON | The Handel and Haydn Society Youth Choruses (HHYC) will host its inaugural Chorale Festival in February, designed to enrich choral music education in Massachusetts public high schools. The HHYC Chorale Festival program will provide in-school instruction, master classes, professional development, and two professional concert experiences for high school singers and choral music educators from Brockton High School, Framingham High School, and Silver Lake Regional High School serving the South Shore communities of Kingston, Plympton, and Halifax. The program will be offered at no cost to the participating schools or students thanks to the generosity of H+H donors.
“H+H is thrilled to continue our commitment to music education with support for choral programs and music educators at the high school level, especially at a time when resources and opportunities for the arts are increasingly limited in public schools,“ said JongHun Kim, Director of Learning Programs for the Handel and Haydn Society.
“This is not your average music class,” continued Kim. “As specialists in historically informed performance, H+H brings the music of old composers to life in a way that feels fresh, exciting, and relevant. This is exactly what we hope the students will experience.”
On Feb. 10, 2026, Chorale Festival participants will come together at the new Josiah Quincy Upper School facility for a full day of learning and collaborative music making led by Anthony Trecek-King, Resident Conductor of the H+H Chorus. Students will explore music by Baroque and Classical composers Handel, Vivaldi, and Mozart, and learn about the historically informed performance techniques used by H+H to recreate the sound heard by audiences in these composers’ day. The Chorale Festival day will culminate in an evening performance accompanied by members of the H+H Orchestra playing on period instruments. HHYC Chorale Festival participants will also perform with the H+H Orchestra to open H+H’s Handel’s Water Music concerts at Symphony Hall on April 10 + 12, 2026.
Ethan Lobenstine is music director at Framingham High School where 45 students participate in the chorus and after school a cappella group. Framingham’s choral program is small for a school of over 2,500 students, but growing. Many in the program are first year students and most are new to four-part choral singing.
“The Chorale Festival is an opportunity unlike anything my students have had before,” said Lobenstine. “It will be the first time my students perform with a professional orchestra at a major venue outside Framingham. I’m especially excited for my students to feel the power and sense of immersion that comes with singing in a large group. Experiences like the Chorale Festival are rare, and formative for young people who haven’t had the chance to be part of music-making on a higher level.”

The Halifax Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to offer the position of Town Administrator to Steven Solbo Jr., currently the Energy Projects Manager for the towns of Sharon and Norwood. The decision capped a night of interviews with three finalists, bringing a former resident back to town to lead Halifax through a challenging fiscal landscape.
In a meeting described by Chair Jonathan Selig as featuring “one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make since being a Selectman,” the Board interviewed three candidates: David Coderre, the Vice President of Procurement for the Worcester Housing Authority and Chairman of the Board of Finance in Putnam, CT.; Justin Paré, a Channel Strategy Executive at VMware and the Town Council President in North Attleboro; and Solbo.
While all three candidates were praised for their qualifications, the Board ultimately gravitated toward Solbo, citing his “hunger,” local roots, and familiarity with the town. Solbo previously lived in Halifax from 2005 to 2013 and described the opportunity as a “coming home” moment.
Solbo brings a diverse background in municipal government, having served as an environmental planner and conservation agent in Bridgewater, an assistant HR director in Middleboro, and currently managing energy projects and grants for Sharon and Norwood. He highlighted his success in securing grants, a critical skill as Halifax faces a difficult budget cycle, noting he has secured approximately $1 million in grant funding this fiscal year alone.
The Board deliberated publicly, weighing Coderre’s strong financial acumen and Paré’s leadership experience against Solbo’s energy and local connection. Selectman Thomas Pratt noted that Solbo “might be the hungriest of the three,” suggesting he would hit the ground running with the most gusto.
Solbo indicated he could be ready to start as early as February 1st.

BOSTON – Governor Maura Healey today announced that the Trump Administration has released federal funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). After more than a month’s delay, the federal funding was released yesterday, and all applications can now be processed.
“For more than a month, President Trump has forced American families to wait in the cold,” said Governor Healey. “As we hit cold winter weather, we are relieved that funds are finally flowing now, and families can apply for help heating their homes. Our team has worked to make this funding available immediately, because our families cannot afford to wait.  I’m grateful to Secretary Augustus and the team at the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities for taking the necessary steps to ensure we were prepared to get the program started again as soon as the federal funding was made available.”
“Home energy assistance is one of the most important tools we have to keep people safe in the winter. For many of the households we serve each year, HEAP is the difference between a warm home and an impossible choice between heat, food and medicine,” said Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus. “Now that this funding has been released, our team and our local partners are moving quickly so that seniors, families with children and people with disabilities can get the help they need as the cold weather sets in.”
LIHEAP is a federal program, referred to as the Massachusetts Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) in Massachusetts, that typically helps more than 150,000 Massachusetts households, representing over 300,000 people, afford to heat their homes during the winter each year. This federal funding usually becomes available in early November, but it was delayed due to the federal government shutdown. Even after the government reopened on November 13, it took the Trump Administration nearly three weeks to release funding – a delay that Governor Healey criticized.
During the pause, the Healey-Driscoll Administration utilized leftover federal funding from last year to support households with a heating emergency. The Department of Public Utilities also extended its shut-off moratorium to October 27, 2025 – April 1, 2026.
All eligible HEAP clients are now able to apply online for heating assistance.

The New England High School Journalism Collaborative is excited to announce that we will hold our all-expense-paid summer workshop for students interested in journalism for the 39th year.
The workshop dates are June 20-27, 2026.
The program is intended to reach out to inner-city students and others in underserved communities. Some preference is given to current juniors and seniors in high school.
Students will be housed and work out of a newsroom at Simmons University in Boston, and learn to report, write, edit for a newspaper, and produce multimedia projects for a website. They will be assigned stories, conduct interviews, and will be exposed to working on a deadline to create their own newspaper.
The New England Newspaper and Press Association will be assisting with the application process. Application guidelines are as follows:
Only students who attend high school in the New England states (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT) are eligible.
Only students currently in high school may apply, including graduating seniors. The program is not accepting students who have already taken part in the program.
Students must be recommended by a teacher.
A letter of recommendation from the sponsoring teacher must accompany the application.
A transcript from the school with the student’s most recent grades must accompany the application.
An essay of no more than 500 words must accompany the application. The applicant can write about why they should be selected to participate in this program OR how writing has helped the applicant explore and understand a problem in their life.
Students will need to upload a headshot.
PLEASE NOTE: You will receive an email confirming the receipt of your application with a link to a Dropbox folder to upload the required documents (letter of recommendation, transcript, personal essay, and headshot).
If you have problems using the form or uploading documents, you should email students@nenpa.com.
The deadline for applications is Friday, April 3, 2026.
Students will be notified of their status by the end of April.
Don’t miss the chance to take part in this unique program, established by the late Carole C. Remick more than 39 years ago. We are looking forward to training the next generation of journalists.
If there are additional questions or if the applicant needs special accommodations to submit information, please email Leah Lamson, NEHSJC managing director, at leah@nehsjc.org.

The Arc of the South Shore, a family-oriented, community-based non-profit providing information, referrals, and community programs for individuals with disabilities, recently hosted a Resource Fair designed specifically for families of teens and young adults ages 15 to 26.
The September 27th event featured 78 registrants and 18 vendors, including The Arc of Massachusetts, Assistive Tech, Comfort Dogs, Commonwealth Financial Group (Child ID Program), Department of Developmental Services, Drew’s Tips, Evoke Change Center, Financial Guide, House of Possibilities, May Center, Norfolk Center Sheriff’s Department, Planned Lifetime Assistive Network (PLAN) of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Reimagine Recreation, Rewarding Work, South Shore Supports, Special Olympics, Supported Decision Making, and Work Inc., Deaf Outreach.
The Resource Fair provided valuable tools, services, and support to help navigate the transition into adulthood. The event also featured break-out sessions hosted by Assistive Technology, PLAN of MA and RI, and Supported Decision-Making.
“We were thrilled to see so many people attend our Resource Fair, and even more buoyed by the amount of vendor interest in demonstrating ways they can provide support as our individuals transition into adulthood, which can be an incredibly challenging and uncertain time,” said Elizabeth Sandblom, CEO of The Arc of the South Shore.  “We continue to work to find ways to provide the knowledge and connections needed to feel empowered and supported for individuals, families, and caregivers, and we look forward to future Resource Fairs as one more way to achieve this.”