Selectmen are seeking input from residents about whether to allow a commuter bus line to provide daily services between the center of Sherborn and the Natick Commuter Rail Station.

The service would be run by the MetroWest Regional Transit Authority.

Interested residents are urged to contact the office of the Board of Selectmen at 508-651-7850 or by emailing Town Administrator Daniel Keyes.

-- Anna Fiorentino

Norfolk parents will get a one-month reprieve from a new $90 bus fee while school officials determine which households are required to pay.

The fee, designed to help to close a gap in the 2009 school budget won't be implemented until Oct. 1, school officials said. That will give them a time to determine which families live less than two miles from their school and will be required to pay the new fee. According to the state, the eligibility radius is determined by measuring the distance from home to school, using the shortest route.

Any student who is riding a bus is required to register with the district and carry a pass.

-- Michele Morgan Bolton

The marijuana discovered last week by firefighters in Newton Fire Chief John LaCroix's city-issued car belonged to his grandson and was mistakenly put in the vehicle by his wife, Marlborough police said today.

Sean LaCroix, 19, who lives with his grandparents in Marlborough, admitted to police that he owned the drugs, Marlborough police captain Paul Valianti said. Police will determine whether to file charges this week.

"It's extremely clear as to whose marijuana it was," said Valianti, adding that it was an "extremely small amount" of marijuana.

The drugs fell out of Sean LaCroix's pocket on Wednesday night inside the LaCroix home, Valianti said.

LaCroix's wife found the drugs, and they decided to put the drugs in her car with the intention of taking it to the police station the following day, Valianti said. LaCroix's wife mistakenly placed the marijuana in the the fire chief's car without his knowledge, he said.

Firefighters doing a "routine" cleaning of the chief's car on Thursday discovered the drugs under the driver's seat and alerted LaCroix, who then went to city hall and informed officials there, city spokesman Jeremy Solomon has said.

After hearing LaCroix's explanation, officials from the city's human resources, legal and executive department advised the chief to go to his hometown police station.

In a written statement on Friday, LaCroix said, "The discovery came as a shock to me...I have never imperiled the safety of Newton firefighters or the general public by using or possessing illegal drugs."

Solomon said today that the 62-year-old LaCroix voluntarily took a drug test at a hospital nearby to "eliminate any question about his fitness for duty." The drug test, however, was "not at the city's behest or recommendation," Solomon said.

-- Rachana Rathi

Newton firefighters are expected to receive $6.1 million in retroactive salary and benefits pay from the city thanks to a binding collective bargaining award from a state labor panel, according to a memo to the city's Board of Aldermen from Mayor David B. Cohen.

The Aug. 6 ruling settled a five-year dispute between the firefighter's union and city. Cohen filed a request today asking the Board of Aldermen to appropriate the money.

"As is typical in an arbitrator's decision, there are no absolute winners and losers," Cohen wrote in a memo to the board today. "Both sides in this dispute gained some of what we wanted and both sides failed to gain some of what we wanted ... it is now time for us to move forward."

Along with five years of retroactive raises, the contract determination by the Joint Labor-Management Committee gave firefighters money for education, set aside a request for random drug testing on firefighters and eliminated a controversial clause requiring firefighters to present a doctor's note confirming each time they or family members are ill.

The award rejected requests by the firefighters for an additional training stipend and an additional union pay step, however.

The contract is only valid until June 2009, and both sides will sit down again in January to begin the collective bargaining process on a new contract.

Tom Lopez, spokesman for the firefighter's union, has declined to comment until the board appropriates the money. The board is expected to take up the matter at its Sept. 2 meeting.

-- Rachana Rathi

A case involving a near-fracas in a men's room between two Wrentham selectmen was thrown out of court yesterday by a clerk magistrate.

Selectman John Zizza told police that fellow board member Robert Cohen confronted him in a Town Hall men’s room during a break from a June 3 board meeting. Cohen “stepped very abruptly” toward Zizza and began shouting, causing Zizza to fear that Cohen would attempt to harm him, Zizza told police.

Wrentham District Court Clerk Magistrate Edward J. Doherty, however, ruled that there wasn't enough evidence to support formal charges against either man, and dismissed both complaints.

Zizza said he was disappointed that the case was dismissed. Cohen said he was happy to put the incident behind him.

-- Calvin Hennick

The Massachusetts Medical Society has finished its program “Hunger in the Commonwealth” and has distributed the one-hour report to local cable television stations across the state for broadcast in September, according to society officials.

The report seeks to educate the public about the growing hunger problem in the state and to encourage people to take advantage of programs that can help them if they are not getting enough nutritious food, officials said.

The program will begin airing on Sept. 1

The program will be broadcast on hundreds of local cable access stations and will also be available via web cast at HCAM-TV's web site beginning Sept.1.

-- Lisa Kocian

The Sherborn Highway Department recently cleared a hiking trail linking Greenwood and Washington streets, town officials said.

The new quarter-mile trail, which connects to an existing 60-acre public parcel known as Bailey Trail, was made possible through an easement granted to the town by the Buntin family.

Officials said that the Conservation Commission is still in the process of arranging for a sign that will be placed at the new trail entrance, which is located just across from 21 Greenwood St.

-- Anna Fiorentino

In a letter posted recently on the Westborough School Department's website, Superintendent Anne Towle said the town's students are expected to be the most diverse ever in the upcoming year.

Around 12 percent of Westborough students do not speak English as their first language, said the letter, which also discussed Towle's thoughts on other subjects related to the upcoming school year.

Around seven percent have limited English proficiency. Minorities make up a fifth of total students. Towle said the diversity would improve students' understanding of the greater world.

An estimated 3,560 students will attend Westborough Public Schools on the first day of school on Wednesday, August 27.

-- John Dyer

A hearing date has been set for Wednesday for two Wrentham selectmen who are each accusing the other of assault.

The alleged incident took place in a men’s room at Town Hall during a break of a June 3 board meeting. Selectman John Zizza told police that fellow board member Robert Cohen “stepped very abruptly” toward him and began shouting, causing Zizza to fear that Cohen would attempt to harm him.

Cohen, in a counter-complaint, told police that Zizza was “hostile and intimidating” and that Cohen feared Zizza would escalate the situation. Neither man is accused of physically attacking the other.

A clerk magistrate at Wrentham District Court will hear the men out in a show-cause hearing at 9:45 a.m. on Wednesday. The clerk magistrate and will then decide whether there is enough evidence for either or both of the men to be formally charged.

-- Calvin Hennick

HOLLISTON

The Holliston Housing Authority has been awarded a $2.67 million state grant to help with the planning and construction of the Cutler Heights affordable housing development.

Town officials learned they had received the Department of Housing and Community Development grant last week, Town Administrator Paul LeBeau said. The project includes 30 apartments that meet state affordable housing criteria and will be built on about five acres of land behind Town Hall.

-- Calvin Hennick

Beware, Natick tax scofflaws, the town is owed nearly $1 million in back property tax payments and interest and officials are coming after it.

Selectmen last week voted to hire the law firm Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane to represent the town in land court as it pursues the back taxes. Finance Director Bob Palmer said the town is owed nearly $500,000, but that interest and penalties raise the total amount owed to more than double that.

Some of the money is likely to be unrecoverable, said Palmer, who noted that some of the debts stretch back into the 1930s. The law firm, which has offices in Boston, Springfield, and Quincy, already serves as Natick’s town counsel.

-- Calvin Hennick

Aldermen Amy Sangiolo and Lenny Gentile got the majority of their colleagues to support a measure challenging Mayor David Cohen's decision not to reopen the city's four branch libraries, but it wasn't enough.

The aldermen needed support from 16 of their 24 colleagues to use a relativel obscure state law to override the mayor's decision and appropriate $259,000 for the branch libraries. According to Newton's city charter, the mayor is the only one with the authority to appropriate money within the budget, but Chapter 44, Section 33 of state law allows city councils to add funds for specific expenditures if supporters can muster a two-thirds majority.

The aldermen voted 13-10, with one person absent, in favor of the measure at their meeting on Monday.

The board's programs and services committee will now take up several additional docket items, ranging from calling on the library trustees and the library director to explain their financial accounting to exploring public-private partnerships to keep the branches open. The branch libraries, which were shut down after a $12 million property tax override failed in May.

-- Rachana Rathi

Newton Mayor David Cohen announced today that the state's most expensive school building project, the new Newton North High School, will cost $195.2 million, said mayoral spokesman Jeremy Solomon.

After six and a half weeks of negotiation, the mayor signed a contract with construction manager Dimeo Construction Co. at a press conference today. The city hired Dimeo Construction under a relatively new law that allows municipalities bypass competitive bidding and hire a "construction manager at risk."

As such, Dimeo must bring the project in at a "guaranteed maximum price" (GMP) or pay the difference out of its own pocket.

"The signing of the GMP signifies the end of the cost increases we have endured during the life of this project," Cohen said at the press conference. "With construction well underway, and with the project ceiling solidified, the Newton North project is on track."

According to Cohen, the final GMP for Dimeo's part of the project will be $162.8 million. The city is also spending about $33 million for design work and other costs associated with the new high school.

In recent weeks, the city was able to negotiate the price down by about $2.2 million, Cohen said in a letter sent to the Board of Aldermen earlier in the day.

"In negotiating the [guaranteed maximum price] with our Construction Manager, Dimeo Construction, our project team scrutinized every assumption in every line item in the project," Cohen wrote. "Working together with Dimeo, we were able to bring down cost assumptions based on the project’s progress and on the bids that we received earlier this summer."

"We remain on track for a September 2010 opening, with our pace of construction proceeding as expected," Cohen wrote. "Now that we know the maximum price of this facility with certainty, it is my hope that our community can collectively look forward to this project for what it is: an investment in Newton’s future schoolchildren."

The high cost of the project prompted state officials -- who will pay reimburse the city for roughly a quarter of the project's cost -- to launch an unprecedented crackdown on local school construction spending.

-- Rachana Rathi and Ralph Ranalli

Police are investigating the death of a man whose body was found at Cutler Park Reservation in Needham Saturday.

MBTA Transit Police, Needham police, and other departments converged on a commuter rail bridge this afternoon in a clearing in the densely wooded area just off Route 128. Officers at the scene had no comment.

Kevin Bowe, a spokesman for the Norfolk district attorney's office, said the man hadn't yet been identified. He said it appeared that no foul play was involved. No further information was immediately available.

Ashland’s Department of Inspection Services is now offering the option of applying for permits online.

Residents can visit the new permitting page on the town's web site and fill out an applications for building (residential or commercial), electrical, gas fitting, and plumbing permits.

The site also contains information about fees. Officials are urging anyone with questions to call 508-881-0100 ext. 641 or to contact Inspection Services via email.

-- Rachel Lebeaux

Another Chapter 40B project wants to come to Southborough.

Local developer Bill Depietri recently told town officials that he intended to file papers to build 16 units on a 6.5 acre parcel on Oregon Road, Town Planner Vera Kolias said. Depietri intends to build under Chapter 40B, which allows him to circumvent local zoning rules as long as one-quarter of his condos are affordable according to state guidelines.

A handful of other Chapter 40B projects have been proposed recently in the town, including an apartment project off Crystal Pond Road and another, smaller condo complex off Route 9 near Woodland Road.

-- John Dyer

The Westborough Food Pantry has seen an unusual amount of activity in recent weeks, said Virginia Lindsay, who helps run the charity.

Normally, the pantry serves about 50 families a week. Recently, around 65 families have been coming to the pantry at least once a week. Lindsay said she believes the tough economy is forcing people to cut back on the amount they can spend on food.

Residents who want to donate food can drop off items at the fire station on the corner of Milk and Grove Streets. Lindsay said monetary donations can be mailed to the food pantry at P.O. Box 502, Westborough, MA 01581.

-- John Dyer

A month after entering their sixth year without a contract, Newton firefighters got word Wednesday of a ruling by state arbitrators that awards union members with retroactive compensation and benefits.

The binding Joint Labor Management Committee decision covers "salary and other compensation adjustments, health insurance benefits, and other aspects of working conditions within the Fire Department," and describes the types of retroactive compensations that are due, according to city spokesman Jeremy Solomon.

Solomon and Tom Lopez, spokesman for the firefighter union, said they would not comment until they had an opportunity to review the decision thoroughly. Solomon said the ruling is not a public document until aldermen approve funding for the award. The city administration has 30 days to docket a funding request with the board. The city is in the process of calculating a dollar amount.

Newton firefighters have been without a contract since June 30, 2003.

--Rachana Rathi

The principal of Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School in Marlborough, Mary Jo Nawrocki, has been selected as one of two Massachusetts Principals of the Year by the National Association of Secondary School Principals and the Met Life corporation.

Nawrocki has worked at Assabet for 30 years. She has served as principal since 2003. The award includes a attending a three-day Principal's Institute in Washington, DC.

In granting the award, the association in a statement said Nawrocki had improved the academic quality of the technical school significantly.

-- John Dyer

A man was struck and killed by an Amtrak train in Westborough yesterday, the second time someone was hit by a train west of Boston in two days.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene after he was struck by Amtrak train 449 en route from Boston to Albany, N.Y., police and Amtrak officials said.

"It was an apparent suicide," said Tim Connolly, a spokesman for the Worcester district attorney's office. "He was on the platform and just prior to 12:30, as the Amtrak westbound train approached the station, he jumped off the platform, ran across the eastbound tracks, scaled the chain-link fence, and then fell onto the tracks just as the westbound train arrived."

The man was struck on the tracks near the Smith Parkway station in Westborough, Amtrak spokeswoman Tracy Connell said.

There were no injuries to the 92 passengers on the train, who were taken by buses to Albany after nearly three hours of delays, Connell said. The authorized speed in that area is 60 miles per hour, Connell said. Westborough police are working with state, transit, Amtrak, and CSX police, to investigate the event.

"I wasn't aware of it until the train stopped," said train passenger Liz Herold of Saco, Maine. "It's a horrible thing, and I feel very bad for the driver."

On Monday night, a 54-year-old man was struck by a commuter rail train in Framingham, police and fire officials said. Gregory Buchanan was flown to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester with leg injuries, Framingham police said. There was no word on his condition.

-- Jeannie M. Nuss