Flu shots

A flu clinic will be held from 9 a.m. to noon on Nov. 3 at Town Hall for residents age 50 or older, and residents between 18 and 50 who have a chronic health problem. The immunizations are covered by Medicare and all seniors' healthcare plans. The cost to others is $20. However, no one will be turned away due to inability to pay. The Acton Pharmacy also will hold a flu clinic open to all residents from 4:30 to 6 p.m. The cost is $20. - Jennifer Fenn Lefferts

NEW ATHLETIC DIRECTOR - Arlington resident Edward "Ted" Dever, 38, has been named athletic director, Superintendent Nate Levenson announced last week. Dever, who has worked in the guidance department at Arlington High and as a hockey coach in Winchester for 10 years, begins his new position immediately. Dever said one of his major goals is to reduce drug and alcohol use among student-athletes. "I don't think this job is only about wins and losses, but always having the welfare of the students in mind," Dever said. - Melissa Beecher

TOWN MEETING TOMORROW - Fall Town Meeting will be called to order tomorrow in the Ayer Middle-High School auditorium at 7 p.m. Voters will decide eight articles, among them a citizens petition to reduce Planning Board members' terms from five years to three; an article requiring retired town employees to join Medicare; and another to expedite the permitting process at the Nashoba Valley Medical Center site at 200 Groton Road. - Melissa Beecher

CULVERT REPAIRS - A failing culvert near Wilson Mill needs repair, and selectmen are asking Special Town Meeting to fund $150,000 for design and engineering costs. Town Administrator Richard Reed said the town will also seek state funds to offset some costs. Special Town Meeting will convene Nov. 5 at John Glenn Middle School at 7:30 p.m. - Melissa Beecher

CEMETERY DEDICATION - Belmont residents may now choose their hometown as their final resting place. Cemetery commissioners planned to officially open the new Highland Meadow Cemetery yesterday in a dedication ceremony. Belmont Cemetery, established in 1859, reached capacity in 1988, forcing residents to choose other locations. Highland Meadow is designed as a pastoral landscape. Instead of upright headstones, it has only flat markers. Residents have already purchased nearly $1.5 million in burial lots since March 2006, said Ellen O'Brien Cushman, chairwoman of the Cemetery Commission. Lots range from $4,000 to $8,000 for casket interment and from $1,300 to $2,600 for cremation interment. Burial in the new cemetery at 700 Concord Ave. began in July. -Dan Tuohy

SCHOOL REVIEW - Staff from the state Department of Education will begin visiting the School Department on Oct. 29 to review student records, as well as education programs and services. Administrators, teachers, and parents will be interviewed, and the department's findings will be detailed in a summary at doe.mass.edu/pqa/review/cpr/reports/#B. The routine visit is to satisfy state and federal requirements. - Joyce Pellino Crane

FOOD DONATIONS WELCOME - The Boxborough Grange is collecting items for the Acton Food Pantry. Items can be dropped off weekdays at 688 Hill Road until Nov. 9 and at Town Hall on Nov. 9 between 6:30 and 10 p.m. Items needed include pasta and sauces, jelly and jams, black beans, soups, and diapers - Jennifer Fenn Lefferts

RUSH-HOUR TWEAK - A ban on right turns from Monument Street onto Lang Street is now in place on a trial basis Monday through Friday from 7 to 9 a.m., after concerns were raised by residents about the safety of the intersection. Comments and concerns about the trial should be directed to the Police Department's traffic safety division at 978-318-3411 or by e-mail to trafficsafety@concordma.gov. - Jennifer Fenn Lefferts

GENERAL STORE GETS VOTE - Town Meeting recently cleared the way for the long-stalled renovation of the General Store. Voters recently passed a land transfer and easements necessary for septic system upgrades and handicapped access to the store, which has been in the midst of upgrading. That vote is consistent with the town's master plan, which calls for a vital town center, of which the General Store is part. - Melissa Beecher

GOING MUNI ON ELECTRIC - Town Meeting endorsed a state bill that lets communities set up municipal electric companies, which advocates say could lower electric bills dramatically. State Representative Jay Kaufman, the bill's lead sponsor, said "munis" save ratepayers money. Still, the Lexington Democrat wants the Legislature to include between $300,000 and $850,000 in next year's budget to study their benefits and drawbacks. Lexington and four other communities would participate in the studies, as would the state. - Connie Paige

PRESCHOOL OPEN HOUSE - Preschool staff will hold an information night for Littleton parents from 6:30 to 7:30 Nov. 7 at the Shaker Lane Elementary School. Parents can visit the classrooms and meet with teachers. Information and application forms will be available. The program integrates special-needs children with other children. A lottery for the program will be held in January. - Jennifer Fenn Lefferts

WILD OATS BECOMES WHOLE FOODS - Wild Oats Market on Mystic Valley Parkway in Medford is closing temporarily Oct. 31. It will reopen as a Whole Foods Market. Whole Foods acquired Wild Oats in August, and the Medford store is one of a handful of the natural food chain stores that will be converted to a Whole Foods. - Christine McConville

ACTING TOWN TREASURER - Selectmen voted unanimously to appoint Mary Ann McKay as acting town treasurer. McKay took over for Elizabeth Craveiro, whose last day was Oct. 16, said Greg Balukonis, town administrator. McKay, who was assistant treasurer, will remain in the position until a permanent replacement is found. - Laura M. Colarusso

MAIN STREET REPAVING - State officials have given the go-ahead for a $6 million reconstruction of part of Main Street (Route 28). Construction crews will reconstruct the road from Washington Street to Route 129. Plans also call for new curbing, sidewalks, and traffic lights. Construction is expected to start next spring and be completed by late 2009. - Laura M. Colarusso

HEART FRIENDLY - A person suffering a heart attack in Town Hall may now have a greater chance of survival. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health certified Shirley as a heart-safe community at the selectmen's meeting Monday night. "It makes me feel safe. That's the kind of community you want to be in," said the chairman of the Board of Selectmen, Lee "Chip" Guercio. The town received the certification after a defibrillator - a device that restarts the heart - was placed in the main corridor of Town Hall last January, according to ambulance director Mike Detillion. All Town Hall employees were trained in how to use it six months ago. As a result of certification, white and red road signs featuring images of hearts with an electrical current going through them will be placed at each of the seven roads leading into town, Detillion said. - Julie Masis

TRASH FEE LOWERED - Selectmen voted recently to reduce the trash fee by $30, to $170. The per-household fee was started two years ago to help Stoneham balance its budget. It generates more than $1 million a year. Selectmen said the fee relief is possible because of the $1.4 million Stoneham has in certified free cash, which is the surplus from the previous fiscal year. - Dan Tuohy

ACTING GLOBALLY - The Board of Selectmen has unanimously declared Wednesday United Nations Day in Wilmington because of the UN's central role in promoting peace, security, and human rights around the world. The proclamation, which celebrates the UN's 62d anniversary, pledged support for the UN's work to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases. - Laura M. Colarusso

SACRAMONE HONORED - Alicia Sacramone, a 19-year-old Olympic hopeful, was honored last week at the selectmen's meeting. Sacramone earned two silver medals at the 2007 World Championships in team and vault competition and is hoping to make the 2008 USA gymnastics team. A 2006 Winchester High School graduate, Sacramone is a sophomore at Brown University. Her parents, Fred and Gail, were on hand Monday night to accept a citation on their daughter's behalf. - Melissa Beecher

AROUND THE REGION

SUPERINTENDENT FINALISTS - The search committee for a new school superintendent recently whittled the 10 candidates for the position to four. Two of the finalists are superintendents elsewhere: Mark LaRoach has been superintendent of the Winthrop, Maine, schools since last summer, and Anthony Polito of Athol is superintendent of Athol-Royalston schools. Another candidate is W. Spencer Mullin, principal of the Daniel L. Joyce Middle School in Woburn. Mullin is a former Dracut resident and former vice principal at Dracut High School. Final nominee Roseli Weiss of Medfield is director of curriculum and instruction in Southbridge. -Rocco Colella

POND NEIGHBORS SEEK DELAY - Following an outcry from lake and pond property owners, state officials are considering postponing for two years stiffer new regulations on nine area lakes and ponds. A hearing is scheduled for Nov. 8 from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Groton-Dunstable Middle School auditorium on whether to delay the new rules until December 2009. The new law requires a management plan for lakes and ponds in the region of environmental concern, including Massapoag Pond in Dunstable and Knops Pond/Lost Lake in Groton. The law restricts construction of new docks on those water bodies until the management plan is in place, and imposes a licensing fee on current dock owners. - Matt Gunderson

JIMENEZ BRIGADE COMES HOME - The Army brigade of former Lawrence resident and missing Specialist Alex Jimenez is returning home in a few weeks, the Army recently announced. Members of the Second Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, have served overseas for 40 months since 2001 and served two tours in Iraq. Jimenez, 25, has been missing since May after members of the brigade were ambushed. An Al Qaeda-linked group claimed Jimenez was killed and buried, but the Army has continued searching for him. - Russell Contreras

GLOBAL WARMING FORUM - Merrimack College will host a panel on global warming at 7 p.m. Nov. 15 in Murray Lounge at the Sakowich Campus Center. Panelists will include Jonathan Lyon and Stephen M. Theberge, codirectors of the environmental science program at Merrimack, and Arthur O'Brien Ledoux, professor of philosophy at the college. It is free and open to the public. - Dan Tuohy