Flouride treatment suspended
Needham officials have recently stopped adding fluoride to the water because of a nationwide shortage of the substance, said William Wanberg, the town's water treatment manager. Needham is searching for another fluoride supplier because its original supplier - LCI Ltd. - could not fulfill the town's needs, he said. The town's water, which usually has an average fluoride concentration of about 1 part per million, "is getting virtually no fluoride," Wanberg said. He expects to receive the next shipment of the compound, which is added to water supplies to combat tooth decay, in January. - Laura M. Colarusso
SHARING VISION FOR NEWTON SCHOOLS - Superintendent Jeffrey Young wants parents to brainstorm on the future of the city's public school system. The first session will meet from 9:15-11:45 a.m. Nov. 13 at the Druker Auditorium in the Newton Free Library. The second is from 6:45 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. in the Newton South High School's student center. Parents will be asked to share their vision of the system by 2020, the year this year's kindergarten class will graduate. Young said he was inspired to undertake long-range planning after reading "The World Is Flat" by a
BOOKSTORE BACK IN BUSINESS - It's been a long haul for Back Pages Books proprietor Alex Green. He closed the bookstore's original Moody Street location Sept. 25 while the business moved into the revamped Lincoln Studios building at 289 Moody St., expecting to reopen within a few weeks. But red tape related to occupancy permits kept the doors closed even as the occupants of the artists' studios on other floors of the former Jordan's Furniture building celebrated their grand opening. Last week, however, Green celebrated Halloween with an open store and an evening of classic horror stories read by novelist Helen Oyeyemi. Green said that's just the first of many special events to help get the bookstore back on its feet, making up for 36 days without income. "It's just nice to have an open store," said Green. The closure was "an unimaginable loss of revenue." - Stephanie V. Siek
DETAILS ON DPW BUILDING - Town officials have planned an informational meeting for Wednesday about a proposed building that would house the Department of Public Works. The warrant for Special Town Meeting Nov. 28 includes an article asking voters to fund design fees for the facility, estimated at $995,000. This is in addition to $325,000 approved at 2006 annual Town Meeting for preliminary design work. This week's meeting, at 7:30 p.m. in Town Hall, will give people a chance to find out why the town needs a new DPW building and what features it might include, officials said. - Stephanie V. Siek
CHAMBER AWARDS DINNER - The 34th annual Watertown-Belmont Chamber of Commerce awards dinner will honor Barbara Epstein on Thursday at the Oakley Country Club. The dinner recognizes businesses and people who have made positive contributions to Watertown or Belmont over the past year. Epstein is board president of the Arsenal Center for the Arts, which underwent turmoil when two top executives left abruptly last fall. The Benjamin Franklin Bank and local Cambridge Savings Bank branch will receive awards for business revitalization efforts, while H&K Insurance will be recognized with a chamber award. Mike Reiss, a Boston Globe reporter who covers the New England Patriots, is the keynote speaker. The dinner begins with a 6 p.m. cocktail reception. Reiss is scheduled to speak at 8. Chamber members, along with the public, are invited to attend. Tickets are $75 each. Call the chamber office at 617-926-1017, ext. 10 for more information. - Christina Pazzanese
SURGE OF FIRST-GRADERS - Maybe it's because Wellesley has a reputation for good schools, but officials have discovered the district has 63 more elementary school students for the academic year than its original projection. Most of the additional students, 32, are first-graders who just moved into town, said Ruth Quinn Berdell, the school system's business manager. She described the surge as "extremely unusual" for a community like Wellesley. The Upham and Fiske Elementary schools are feeling the brunt of the increase, with 17 and 16 more students, respectively, than projected. Berdell said modular classrooms added last year should be able to accommodate the increase. "It's a little bit scary," said School Committee member Suzy Littlefield, "because that sort of thing has a huge impact on our budget." Part of the increase is due to an increasing number of twins and triplets in the population, Berdell said, "but 32 first-graders - that's unprecedented." - Lisa Keen
DOUBLE ELECTION DUTY? - The Board of Selectmen is mulling whether to hold the town's annual election on the same day as the presidential primary vote next spring. The problem is not so simple as it might seem, Town Clerk Kathleen Nagle told selectmen during their meeting Monday night. The elections must be conducted with separate personnel, even though they would be held at the same voting place on the same day and time, she said. It would require her office to find 40 more poll workers than the town typically needs, said Nagle, to handle the two separate ballots with the two separate check-ins and check-outs. However, by holding both elections on the same day, the town avoids disrupting activities at the schools, which host the polls, twice. And the shared votes would improve turnout for local elections, she said. Presidential primary voting turnout in the town is typically 60 to 65 percent, she said, although that could change "if it's all decided before March 4." Local elections have had turnouts as low as 8 percent of registered voters and as high as 31 percent, she said. Wellesley has two selectmen up for reelection in March, Katherine Babson and David Himmelberger. The Board of Selectmen, which must settle the issue by the end of this year, asked Nagle to see whether she can recruit the additional 40 workers before it makes its decision. - Lisa Keen
Around the Region
DEVELOPING AN ALLERGY POLICY - A group of parents - many of them with children who are coping with allergies - has begun meeting to draft a formal allergy policy for the school district. Individual schools already have their own procedures to accommodate students with allergies, but the district does not have a uniform policy, said School Committee cochairwoman Marcia Reni. "One of the things that happens is that as parents transition from one school to the next, there is some confusion," Reni said of the way the district handles allergies. One school, for example, might have a peanut-free table in the lunchroom, while another does not. The policy will also address ways to educate other students and parents of allergy-free students about the importance of adhering to certain allergy-related rules, Reni said. - Alexandra Perloe
MORE POLICE FOR FRENCH HILL - The French Hill neighborhood now has two full-time police officers assigned to it, up from one part-time officer, restoring community policing cuts made in 2003, according to the mayor's office. Community policing puts a focus on police officers and neighborhood residents getting to know each other as part of an effort to fight crime. "Community policing is a philosophy that we embrace as a department, and I am confident that we can have a positive impact on those neighborhoods affected by the absence of the community policing officers during the last few years," said Police Chief Mark Leonard in the announcement released by Mayor Nancy Stevens' office. "Our goal is to enhance the quality of life for the residents and businesses in the French Hill and downtown areas through our community policing efforts, and I am grateful for the support of Mayor Stevens and the City Council for their help in restoring these positions." - Lisa Kocian
FINAL ACT FOR FAMED PUB - Citing the financial pressure of installing a state-mandated sprinkler system costing $30,000, the Sit 'n Bull Pub recently announced that it will be closing. The Main Street pub has been a staple in Maynard for more than 20 years, and hosted performances by wide range of notable acts, including J. Geils, Kinks member Dave Davies, and songwriter and musician Leon Russell. A final party, "Bash for the Bull," will be held at the bar and restaurant next Sunday. Ticket information and other details can be found at bashforthebull.com. - Melissa Beecher
LAND DONATED - Town residents David and Grace Hoag have donated 15.5 acres of conservation land to the Upper Charles Conservation Land Trust. The land, off Winthrop Street, includes undeveloped fields, woods, meadows, and a small pond. The land trust will hold a conservation restriction on the property. For now, the Hoags will continue to live on the property, but it will eventually include public trails, said Jim Wieler, a Medway resident and the Upper Charles treasurer. - Alexandra Perloe
WINE TASTING TO AID SERVICE COUNCIL - The Natick Service Council wants residents to come out and have a drink for a good cause. The Board of Selectmen last week approved a one-day liquor license for the organization to hold its annual wine tasting and auction. All proceeds from the event will benefit clients of the service council, a nonprofit organization that provides assistance to town residents in need. The event will take place at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Charles River Estate. Tickets cost $100 and can be purchased by calling 508-655-1791 or at the council office at 11 Pond St. - Michael Naughton
NO STIPENDS FOR SCHOOL BOARD - Town Meeting voters last week shot down an article that would have paid School Committee members an annual stipend of $200. Most other members of elected boards in Norfolk receive the stipend, but members of the Advisory Committee, which acts as the town's financial watchdog, said they will reconsider the policy covering stipends in the spring. Also, voters approved spending $550,000 from the town's Community Preservation Act fund to purchase approximately 44 acres around Highland Lake. The land is expected to be used for open space or affordable housing. Town Meeting will continue tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. at the H. Olive Day School. - Calvin Hennick
TALK ON ASSABET'S DAMS - The US Army Corps of Engineers and the Organization for the Assabet River are investigating whether to remove dams along the Assabet River in an attempt to wash out phosphorus and invasive weeds from the waterway. The Stow Conservation Commission will hold a public information session tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. in Stow Town Hall on the river cleanup project, which might involve removing the Ben Smith Dam in Maynard. The removal of the dam could change the water levels and width of the river in both Stow and Maynard. - Matt Gunderson
SESSION ON CYBER-BULLYING - The Lincoln-Sudbury-Wayland Domestic Violence Roundtable will host a discussion on cyber-bullying among students on Nov. 13 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at the Wayland Police Department. The panel discussion will include a representative of the Middlesex district attorney's office and local police officials discussing the emerging new dangers of bullying through e-mail, instant messaging, cellphone text messages and other technology-enabled means. - John M. Guilfoil
NOVELIST TO SPEAK - Author Mary Mitchell will be at the Wayland Library on Nov. 13 at 7:30 p.m. to talk about her latest novel, "Starting out Sideways," the library announced recently. Mitchell, recipient of the PEN New England Discovery Award, will discuss her road to publication. "Sideways" follows the challenges of a woman who has to deal with her husband leaving her, a stressful job, her sick father, and meddlesome mother. - John M. Guilfoil 
