2021 began with a nation in shutdown because of the coronavirus pandemic, a nation in turmoil because of protestors storming the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election, a nation in a search for answers to issues such as racism, abortion and climate change.

These issues, and many others, continue to impact on the state and local levels.

In Millbury and Sutton, residents masked up and began getting vaccinated. Events that were canceled or "gone virtual" in 2020 began to return in-person in 2021, albeit with masks and social distancing.

Here's a look at some of the headlines from 2021.

On Oct. 20, after 43 years of service, the last five as chief, Richard Hamilton retired from the Millbury Fire Department.

Hamilton began in 1978 as an on-call firefighter and worked his way up the ranks.

He also worked for the town's Department of Public Works.

Brian Gasco was appointed interim fire chief.

After nearly four decades in Millbury Center, Millbury Towne Florist closed its doors in October.

Owner Deborah Berthiume said it was time to retire, especially with the changes in the florist industry.

New police chief and town manager

At the start of 2021, Millbury welcomed Brian Lewos as the town's new police chief, and Sean Hendricks as the new town manager.

The saga of the Care Factory on West Main Street appears to be finished.

The art studio with a cannabis influence -- and running some questionable events -- has been quiet since late summer, when a Worcester Superior Court judge issued a preliminary injunction.

The town had filed a lawsuit against owner/operator Joseph Dion, claiming he was running an illegal nightclub.

The town sought the injunction after the Care Factory was "caught" holding an event on June 5 without a valid Certificate of Occupancy and in violation of a Stop Work and Use Order, according to the lawsuit.

The incidents were the latest concerning the site, which opened in 2019 in a former mill building.

In December 2020, the Care Factory was planning a women's pole-dancing contest. Dion said it was meant as a "fitness" event, but instead drew several complaints, according to the Select Board.

The Care Factory had already been under a cease-and-desist order from town issued two months earlier; the order stemmed from concerns about the site's sprinkler system.

In October 2020, there were several incidents reported by the police, including a guest striking another guest with a bottle.

While Millbury Public Schools followed the statewide mandate on wearing face masks, some parents clamored for the schools to drop the mandate.

At past School Committee meetings, one anti-mask parent accused the committee of not considering the detrimental side effects of mask wearing, calling its decision to follow the mask mandate as “morally reprehensible.’’ Another parent accused the committee of being “derelict’’ in its duties for following the state’s in-school mask mandate, claiming to have a book of facts, evidence and science about masks and COVID-19.

Some parents went so far as to try and stage a special election to recall School Committee members.

In the late summer and early fall, a new mural took shape in Millbury Center.

Artist Eamon Gillen turned the brick wall of the Pearl Cafe, facing the Common, into a colorful peek at Millbury's history, including Armory Village and the Waters Mansion.

Neighbors in and around Rice Road are protesting a proposed plan to bring 46 condo units within 26 duplexes at 17 Rice Road. Whitney Street Home Builders have signed a purchase-and-sale agreement with the McLaughlin Family Trust.

Developer Steven F. Venincasa, of Whitney Street Home Builders, has proposed making several improvements to the area, including an expansion of Rice Road to 20 feet wide and add a sidewalk on one side.

Venincasa added he will realign Rice Road at South Main Street and widen the railroad crossing. The road through the development will be one way. 

R.E. Shaw School Building Project

Construction of the new Raymond E. Shaw Elementary School on Elmwood Street began in May.

When completed in July 2022 (according to the current schedule), the school will house grades three-six with an enrollment of 550 students.

Once construction of the new school is complete, the old school will be torn down (July-August 2022), new athletic fields will be built (September-December 2022) and the entrance driveway will be repaved (July 2023).

According to Schools Superintendent Greg Myers, the project is still on schedule and under budget, despite several challenges.

"The Shaw project is on schedule to open for grades 3-6 next August," said Myers. "Supply chain issues have caused some delays in materials getting delivered, but our project manager, architect, and general contractor have been exceptionally good at working around these delays. 

"The project is still well under budget, despite a few unforeseen challenges. We discovered ledge in the parking lot of the current school, which required basting and delayed the extension of the existing water line. We also discovered buried construction debris from the 1975 Shaw construction project on site, which required additional excavation and earth removal."

For project updates, including a time-lapse video of the construction, visit https://shawproject.millburyschools.org/home

After a winter/spring season that turned into an abbreviated fall II and spring campaigns, high school sports returned to a "regular" season and a not-so-regular, reformatted postseason.

Girls soccer led the way, advancing all the way to the MIAA Division 4 "final four" before falling to Cohasset.

Girls soccer wins state title

In spite of losing several starters midway through the state tournament, the Sutton High girls soccer team managed to capture the MIAA Division 5 title.

After finishing the regular season at 8-5, the Suzies won four in a row en route to a CMADA championship.

In the newly reformatted MIAA tournament, Sutton drew the fourth seed; the Suzies then defeated Oxford in the round of 32, then Georgetown in the round of 16.

Georgetown then filed an appeal to the MIAA, saying that Sutton's eighth-graders were not eligible to play. Sutton did receive an exemption for the regular season, but not for the postseason -- an oversight the MIAA rectified by ruling Sutton would be allowed to play in the tournament, but without the eighth-graders (including two of the team's leading scorers).

The Suzies' response? A double-OT win over Bromfield, a 2-1 win over previously unbeaten Monson, and a 3-2 win over Palmer in the state final.

It was the Suzies' first title since winning the Division 3 championship in 2017.

Overall, it was a great fall for Sutton High's fall teams -- field hockey went undefeated for the regular season and CMADA, falling to Ipswich in the round of 8 of the MIAA Division 4 tournament; boys soccer made it to the final four of the MIAA Division 5 championships; and three members of the cross country team competed in the All-State Meet.

During a meeting with the Sutton School Committee in early November, Superintendent Theodore Friend announced he will be retiring in August 2022.

Friend was hired as Sutton’s school superintendent in February 2010, leaving the Tantasqua Regional School District, where he had been the associate superintendent since 2008. 

Friend began his career in education as a special education teacher, then as an elementary school teacher before moving up to an administrative position by filling in as high school principal in the Worcester Public Schools. He has a degree in educational administration from Cambridge College.

It's been a big year for Unified Global Packaging Group.

In June, Unified bought from the town for $1.45 million the two parcels that make up the 25-acre former state fish hatchery property, which the town acquired from the state for $29,500 when the state got out of the fish hatchery business.

The former hatchery property abuts the 383-acre former Aggregate Industries site, which Unified purchased in December 2020 for $9.5 million. This land deal gives Unified about 450 acres of undeveloped acres off Providence Street in Millbury and Sutton.  

Unified is proposing to use 227 acres of its more than 400 acres to construct three buildings: Building 1 (1.2 million square feet) will be occupied by an undisclosed tenant; Building 2 (700,000 square feet) and Building 3 (340,000 square feet) are for Unified’s future growth. 

In late November, United Global Packaging Group offered to give the town more than $7 million in “off-site improvements’’ in appreciation for the Select Board and Town Meeting approving nearly $18 million in tax breaks in a 15-year Tax Increment Financing package with the town.

-- $5 million contribution toward new athletic fields and park which would be gifted to the town

-- $900,000 to replace a Sutton Fire Department truck and provide enhanced training for firefighters

-- $80,000 to the Building Department to hire a third-party consultant to review plans and provide inspections

-- $100,000 to help fund the Sutton Public Schools' STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education

-- A new vehicle to transport patrons of the Senior Center

Some of these improvements are contingent on whether a tenant is located for Building 1.

Unified, whose company headquarters is 223 Worcester-Providence Turnpike (Route 146), makes a range of packaging material, including corrugated cardboard, wood and molded fiber.