MassDOT Announces the Winners of the Name A Snowplow Contest

04:17PM / Sunday, December 24, 2023Print Story | Email Story

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) announced the winners of the second annual, "Name A Snowplow" contest for statewide elementary and middle school students in Massachusetts.

The winning plow names are Flower Plower, Edward Blizzardhands, Glacier Gobbler, Polar Pathmaker, Snow B Wan Kenobi, The Snolar Express, Sleetwood Mac, Snow Place Like Home, Snow-hemian Rhapsody, The Mayplower, Snow Monstah, Fast and Flurryous.

This contest received entries from public school classrooms from across Massachusetts. The contest chose names for 12 MassDOT snowplows that will be in service during this 2023/2024 winter season. The purpose of the contest is to celebrate the snow and ice season and to help recognize the hard work and dedication shown by public works employees and contractors during the winter season.?

"Keeping our roads across Massachusetts clear and safe every winter is a tough job. We are glad to see educators engage their students in a fun competition that pays tribute to this essential public service," said Transportation Secretary and CEO Monica Tibbits-Nutt. "I want to congratulate the winning classrooms and look forward to seeing all of the snowplows in the field." ??? ?

The 12 winning classrooms are listed below.

Winning Submissions for K through 4th Grade

District 1

Chester Elementary School

Chester

4th, Mikayla Menin

Flower Plower

District 2

Franklin Avenue Elementary

Westfield

1st, McKenna Mortimer

Glacier Gobbler

District 3

Heritage School

Charlton

3rd, Beth Simoncini

Snow B Wan Kenobi

District 4

Linden STEAM Academy

Malden

4th, Katie Carter

Sleetwood Mac

District 5

Brookfield Elementary School

Brockton

4th, Catelynn Maloney

Snow-hemian Rhapsody

District 6

UP Academy Dorchester

Boston

4th, Katherine Brea

Snow Monstah

Winning Submissions for 5th through 8th Grade

District 1

Buckland Shelburne Elementary School

Shelburne Falls

6th, David Conlon

Edward Blizzardhands

District 2

Mahar Regional

Orange

8th, Kyle Magoffin

Polar Pathmaker

District 3

Burgess Elementary School

Sturbridge

5th, Melissa Forni

The Snolar Express

District 4

William Diamond Middle School

Lexington

8th, Cecilia Vosland

Snow Place Like Home

District 5

Orleans Elementary School

Orleans

5th, Cirrus Farber

The Mayplower

District 6

Pollard Middle School

Needham

7th, Ken Lundberg

Fast and Flurryous

Applications for the Snowplow Naming Contest were submitted by Friday, December 1, 2023. There was no limit to the number of applications that could have been submitted per school.?

A selection panel composed of MassDOT employees chose two elementary school classroom winners that are located within each of the six Highway Division districts.? The winning submissions were evaluated based on two grade-level categories: 1) kindergarten through fourth grade, and 2) fifth grade through eighth grade.?

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SJC: Public Records Petition 'Proper'

Staff Reports 04:22PM / Monday, April 27, 2026

BOSTON — The Supreme Judicial Court in an advisory opinion released Monday found the petition to bring the Legislature and governor's office under the Public Records Law is "proper" as a form of law.

"Its principal purpose is not to regulate the internal proceedings or operations of the two Houses," the court wrote. "Instead, its principal purpose is to provide the public with a new right of access to the records of the General Court and the office of the Governor, applying the existing public records law to those bodies alongside the other governmental bodies already subject to the law. "

The state Senate asked the Supreme Judicial Court to weigh in on whether public records petition was a violation of the state constitution. The Legislature is required to act on the matter by May 5; if not, supporters plan to put it on the ballot in November.

Auditor Diana DiZoglio has championed the petition as a measure to bring greater transparency to the workings of state government and as part of her own battle to audit the Legislature. More than 70 percent of voters approved the audit question in November 2024.

The Senate asked the court whether, first, the petition was a law or a rule that would interfere with its internal processes and, second, would it create "new and unprecedented authority" to the courts to determine challenges to records determinations.

The court offered "that the petition proposes a law and is therefore properly pending before the Legislature" and, for Question 2, concluded "that the proposed measure does not relate to the powers of courts."

The court declined to answer three following questions related to intrusions on Senate authority and General Court authority, and violation of rights of "deliberation, speech and debate" granted to members and staff.

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