Photo shop

The Northeast Document Conservation Center hosts its fourth annual Photograph Conservation Institute this month for four conservation professionals from Eastern Europe. Students study the history of photography and the deterioration of different types of photographs, and the center provides training in repair and treatment. It is part of an ongoing exchange for Eastern European conservators in partnership with the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Slovakia. The center, a nonprofit based in Andover, specializes in preservation of paper-based materials. It is online at nedcc.org. - Dan Tuohy

PAYING THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE - In a presentation to selectmen Monday, the stipend committee recommended that selectmen continue to receive annual $1,500 stipends, with an additional $500 to the chairman. The committee also recommended that School Committee members receive $1,500 stipends as well. Terms on both boards are three years, and chairmen serve on a rotating basis for one year. The committee reviewed the policies of 24 nearby towns before reaching its conclusions. - Joyce Pellino Crane

SUPERINTENDENT FINALISTS - The search committee for a new school superintendant 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

HOLD THE HORSEPOWER - Town officials will seek funding at the Special Town Meeting Oct. 29 to repair the historic watering trough on Main Street. The granite trough on an island near the Pleasant Street intersection was damaged last year by a car slamming into it, according to the selectmen's office. The cost of repairs is still being researched, but the plan is to use Community Preservation Act funds. - Matt Gunderson

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 pond management plan for lakes and ponds in the region, including Massapoag Pond in Dunstable and Knops Pond/Lost Lake in Groton, and would include these lakes and ponds on the state's list of Areas of Critical Environmental Concern. 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. The proposed amendment would postpone the area-of-concern designation for two years to allow towns to come up with management plans. - 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. A group linked to Al Qaeda claimed Jimenez was killed and buried, but the Army has continued searching for him. - Russell Contreras

YOUTH BUILD - A Lowell nonprofit was one of 96 groups nationwide to be awarded new grants aimed at construction education, and leadership training for at-risk youth, US Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao announced last week. Community Teamwork Inc. will receive $550,000 for YouthBuild Lowell, which will serve 16- to 24-year-old disadvantaged Lowell youth without a high school diploma. YouthBuild Lowell provides classroom construction training and has preapprenticeship programs for the arboriculture and forestry industries. - Russell Contreras

FALL FESTIVAL - The city's Youth Commission and Recreation Department, along with Mayor William Manzi, will host a family fall festival Saturday at Greycourt Park from noon to 3 p.m. The free event will begin with a Halloween costume competition. Other activities will include gymnastics and dance demonstrations, spooky stories, pony rides, and face painting. There will also be hot dogs, chips, and soda. - Christine McConville

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

BUYING FOR A CAUSE - Residents can buy early Christmas presents while raising money for research into congenital adrenal hyperplasia, a life-threatening medical condition, at a fair Saturday. Local businesses sell merchandise and a raffle will raise money for the cause. Proceeds go to the CARES Foundation, whose mission is researching a cure and raising public awareness of the disease. The event is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Margaret "Sis" McGrath Community Center on Hollis Street. - Matt Gunderson

EDWARD DICK IS SELECTMAN - Edward Dick won the town's second special election for selectman to fill seats vacated by two who resigned this year. Last month David Gay won. Dick got the nod with 2,323 votes, far exceeding rivals Douglas Sears, with 1,701, and Ron Hall, with 1,459, according to unofficial results from the town clerk's office. - Connie Paige

TWO FOR PRICE OF ONE - Donald Ciampa is busy wearing two hats this school year. While continuing to hold the high school principal's position, Ciampa also serves as interim assistant superintendent, helping to prepare for the transition to a new superintendent. When David Hawkins retires in July, it will be the first time in 20 years that the School Department is led by someone new. In an e-mail to the Globe, Ciampa said he will apply for the top post. "I am ready for the challenge," he said. Ciampa has been in the system for 15 years and spent the last seven as principal. He said he will be updating the department's strategic plan and creating a new five-year plan during his interim tenure. Hawkins said Ciampa is receiving no additional compensation for his double duty. - Joyce Pellino Crane

TOWN MUST MONITOR PERCHLORATE - After a three-year investigation, the state Department of Environmental Protection placed responsibility this month on the town and the Maine Drilling and Blasting Co. of Gardiner, Maine, for introducing a contaminant into soil that traveled downhill to a public drinking-water supply. At certain levels, perchlorate, a soluble salt derivative, can cause health problems in young children, nursing and pregnant women, and people with low-functioning thyroids. Levels higher than the state limit were discovered in the Cote well off Farmer Way in July 2004. The town has since used a filtering system to push levels to below 2 parts per billion. The compound is found in blasting caps used for construction projects, such as the town's recently built highway garage on North Main Street, where ledge was discovered several years ago. The town and Maine Drilling will share responsibility for regularly monitoring ground-water and nearby wells. - Joyce Pellino Crane

NEW HAMPSHIRE

VALUES UP, TAX RATE DOWN - The town's tax rate for 2007 was recently set at $22.05 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, a decrease of 11 cents from the 2006 tax rate, according to Town Manager Gary Stenhouse. "The approved town services portion of the tax rate is 2 cents below the anticipated rate when the fiscal year 2008 budget was approved, due to higher actual property valuation," Stenhouse said. The tax rate has four parts; the town portion is $7.64, the school rate is $11.08, the state education rate is $2.44, and the county rate is 89 cents. Tax bills will be mailed this week and are due on Dec. 3. - Meg Villeneuve

SURPLUS SPELLS TAX RELIEF - Selectmen voted this month to use a portion of the surplus budget to reduce the tax rate. The board voted, 4 to 1, on Oct. 9 to take a maximum of $1.45 million from the surplus, according to Steve Malizia, town administrator. The tax rate is estimated to be $15.04 per $1,000 of assessed value. Had the surplus not been used, the rate was estimated to have been $15.50. "By doing this, it allows us to return some money to the taxpayers," Malizia said. - Meg Villeneuve

ETHICS CODE BEING WRITTEN - Town Councilor Brian Farmer presented councilors Monday with a draft version of what may become the town's first code of ethics. The draft is being put into ordinance form, according to Town Manager Dave Caron. "The council will review the draft and have a first reading on Nov. 5," he said. The ordinance is the first step toward creation of an ethics committee. - Meg Villeneuve

NOT EXACTLY GOLF PURISTS - The town opened 18-hole disc golf course in September for Frisbee enthusiasts. In disc golf, players throw a flying disc into a basket or at a target, and the goal is to finish the course with as few throws as possible. The course is one of only four such 18-hole courses in New Hampshire. The town is also looking for a new Parks and Recreation Department director, who will oversee the disc golf course and the other recreation programs. Current director Darren McCarthy is moving out of state. - Meg Villeneuve

WAL-MART TEACHER OF THE YEAR - Patrick Moeschen, a music and band teacher at Woodbury School in Salem, was named the top teacher in the state in the 12th annual Wal-Mart and Sam's Club Teacher of the Year program. The Woodbury also received a $10,000 educational grant from the Wal-Mart Foundation last week. Since its inception in 1995, Wal-Mart's Teacher of the Year program has recognized nearly 30,000 teachers nationwide. To learn more about the program, visit walmartfoundation.org. - Meg Villeneuve

AROUND THE REGION

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. - Melissa Beecher

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 eventually 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 - Boxborough Grange 131 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 betweem 6:30 and 10 p.m. Items needed include pasta and sauces, jelly and jams, black beans, soups, and diapers. - Jennifer Fenn Lefferts