Town hall grant

The state has given Berlin $35,000 to help renovate the 1870 Town Hall. The Board of Selectmen on Monday voted to approve the grant from the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism. The money will pay for repairs to the building's floors, staircases, porch and audiovisual equipment, as well as a study of how to make its upper floors accessible to disabled residents. - John Dyer

FIFTH-GRADER'S POSTER MOVES UP - Hannah Mackie, a fifth-grader at Florence Sawyer School, will advance to the next round in the Lions International Peace Poster Contest. Mackie's poster was selected from among a number submitted by Sawyer School students through the local Lions Club. Her work will enter the next round of the competition with Lions Club District 33-A, which represents Central Massachusetts. A total of 350,000 entries are anticipated worldwide for the contest. - Matt Gunderson

MCAS SCORES EARN FREE TUITION - Nineteen seniors from the Tahanto Regional Middle/High School have earned tuition waivers at any Massachusetts state college or university next fall due to their high MCAS scores. The tuition awards, known as the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship, are handed out annually to students whose composite score on the MCAS tests is in the top 25 percentile of their 10th-grade class. - Matt Gunderson

MEDIATION SLATED FOR SMOC SUIT - The town and the South Middlesex Opportunity Council are scheduled to participate in a set of mediation sessions early next month in an attempt to resolve a civil-rights lawsuit filed by the social service agency. The lawsuit alleges that a group of town officials and private citizens conspired to discriminate against Framingham's poor and disabled. Federal mediator Charles Swartwood III will oversee the private discussions, tentatively planned for Jan. 9, 10 and 18. The town has already set aside $150,000 in a reserve fund to pay for legal expenses associated with the lawsuit, including mediation costs. - Erica Noonan

PUB LOSES LICENSE - The Board of Selectmen revoked the Santa Barbara Pub's alcohol license on Monday. The School Street establishment was found to be responsible for over-serving patrons and permitting illegalities on its premises, including an alleged assault in late August. Selectmen were not unanimous in their decision: Carl Leeber, Antonio Loura and Santino Parente voted in favor the revocation, while Joseph Durant and Fred Lucy voted against it. Pub owner Jose Bairos can appeal the decision to the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission. - John Dyer

NEW ART IN HALL - Hudson photographer Jordan Kessler will exhibit his work in Town Hall until Feb. 29. Part of the regional Art Alliance's "Art in the Hall" program, the exhibition can be viewed from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. A 2001 Massachusetts College of Art graduate, Kessler focuses on black-and-white images that he develops, processes and prints himself. - John Dyer

BOOK GROUP FOR YOUNGER READERS - The Lincoln Public Library will host a book discussion for fourth- and fifth-graders Thursday at 4:15 p.m. in its Tarbell Room. The discussion group is "for kids who like to read and want to talk about what they are reading," the library said in a recent statement. There are books available for children to read and prepare for the discussion group. No sign-up is necessary. Snacks and beverages will be provided. For more information, call the library at 781-259-8465. - John M. Guilfoil

HIGH HOPES FOR SPECIAL OLYMPICS - The Special Olympics hopes to start building a $10 million, 25,000-square-foot headquarters in Marlborough next year, according to Bob Johnson, president and CEO of Special Olympics Massachusetts Inc. The new "state-of-the-art office and training center" would replace the nonprofit group's state headquarters in Danvers, said Johnson. "We want to be more central," he said of the move. "We're an organization that's growing pretty dramatically." Statewide, the organization serves 11,000 people with intellectual disabilities, and projects the number to double over the next five years, he said. The new facility, which will have a full-size gym but is not for competitions, will be off Interstate 495, on Forest Street. About one-third of the $10 million price tag has been raised, and the plan is to break ground once the halfway point of $5 million is reached, he said. - Lisa Kocian

POLLING PRECINCTS QUESTIONED - Complaints have surfaced about the town's new polling locations after the town reduced the number of voting areas from four to two in the last year, said Town Administrator John Curran. Selectmen will hold a public hearing to weigh the merit of the complaints on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Town Hall. Some voters have complained about traveling farther to get to the polling stations. The hearing will take place prior to the board's annual tax classification hearing, slated for 8 p.m. - Matt Gunderson

TOYS FOR TOTS - The Fire Department has announced that its station at 11 Pierce St. is a drop-off site for Toys for Tots, a Marine Corps program that collects Christmas gifts for disadvantaged children. Nonviolent toys for newborns and children up to 10 years old can be left at the firehouse until Dec. 20. For more information, call Captain Robert Theve at 508-393-1537. - John Dyer

BUDGET HEARING TUESDAY - Residents will get their first chance to shape next year's town budget at a public hearing Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Town Hall. Earlier this year, voters defeated a proposed $5 million property tax increase that spurred a heated debate and a large voter turnout. There has not been any discussion of another attempt to override Proposition 2 1/2's tax limits for the 2009 fiscal year budget cycle, according to Town Manager Dan Morgado. - Lisa Kocian

BOARD WANTS ZONING CONSULTANT - The Planning Board intends to put an article on the April Town Meeting warrant requesting $75,000 for a consultant to study the town's zoning and subdivision laws, said Town Planner Vera Kolias. The laws have been updated and revised over the years and need to be streamlined to eliminate contradictions and antiquated rules, such as a clause allowing a ski tow in town, Kolias said. - John Dyer

PETITION TO RESHAPE GOVERNMENT - Members of Southborough's former Town Governance Study Committee are circulating a petition calling for the creation of a charter commission as a step toward restructuring the town's government. In its final report to Town Meeting in April, the study committee recommended a number of changes, including the shift to a town manager to handle the town's daily operations, expanding the Board of Selectmen from three to five members, and hiring a human resources specialist, based on Southborough's growth in recent years. Under state law, to make the changes, the town would need to create the charter commission and approve a home-rule charter, according to the panel's report. For more information, e-mail Liz Henry-Veeneman at liz.henry@verizon.net. - John Dyer

STUDENTS START NEWSPAPER - Students at Hale Middle School have published the school's first student-run newspaper, according to the school website. Called the News from the Nest, the first edition of the newspaper came out late last month. Students conduct interviews, write articles and design and layout pages for the paper. - Matt Gunderson

VOLUNTEER TAX COUNSELOR NEEDED - The Sudbury Senior Center's AARP Tax-Aide program is seeking a volunteer to provide free preparation of tax forms and answer questions from town's older residents. The tax seminars would be held early next month at the Senior Center. AARP Tax-Aide is the nation's largest free, volunteer-run tax service. For more details, call Tom Sifferlen at 978-443-5016. - John M. Guilfoil

BOY SCOUTS SELLING TREES - Wayland's Boy Scout troop will be selling Christmas trees today from noon to 6 p.m., Friday from 4 to 7 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the United Methodist Church on Main Street. The Maine-grown trees range from 4 to 9 feet in height and are available for $20 to $60. Wayland's Troop 1 Cochituate is one of the oldest operating Boy Scout troops in the nation. Money raised from the tree sale is used for camping trips and equipment, according to the troop. - John M. Guilfoil

CLUB SEEKS DONATIONS FOR VETS - The Westborough Women's Club is seeking clothes, toiletries and gift items for donation to the Massachusetts Veterans Shelter in Worcester. Telephone calling cards, bus passes, and gift certificates to grocery stores, gas stations and other stores are most in need this year. The club's next meeting is Tuesday at the Evangelical Congregational Church on West Main Street. For more information, call Judy Wilchynski at 508-870-1895. - John Dyer

AROUND THE REGION

FLUORIDATION HEARINGS ON HORIZON - Town officials plan to hold public hearings early in the new year to discuss adding fluoride to Ashland's public water supply, which is drawn from the Hopkinton reservoir. "We want to offer public hearings for those in favor and against it," allowing the Board of Health to take all sides into consideration, said the town's health agent, Mark Oram. Proponents, including the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, which provides fluoridated water to communities across Eastern Massachusetts, say the additive helps prevent tooth decay. Opponents say fluoridation carries health risks, including an increased risk of cancer. Times and dates of the hearings will be posted on the Town Hall information board, as well as on the town's meeting calendar online at ashlandmass.com. For more information, call the Board of Health at 508-881-0100, ext. 681. - Rachel Lebeaux

PROPERTY TAXES RISE - The property tax bill for the average single-family home in town will rise from about $5,810 to $6,014 this year, Town Administrator Paul LeBeau said. Selectmen last week set the tax rate at $14.52 per $1,000 in property value, up from $13.35 last year. Third-quarter tax bills will be sent out by the end of this month, LeBeau said. - Calvin Hennick

BUDGET PROBLEMS - A proposal to raise property taxes this spring is looking ever more likely as department heads ponder a projected $6.5 million budget shortfall. The school system could face some of the most significant cuts, possibly adding up to $3 million, according to Natick officials. The reductions could include laying off 10 elementary school teachers, cutting full-day kindergarten and even closing the Johnson Elementary School if voters do not approve an override of Proposition 2 1/2's limits on tax increases, Superintendent James Connolly said last week. - Erica Noonan

COUNCILOR WANTS RECOUNT EXAMINED - According to Councilor Jonathan Hecht, perhaps the Town Council should investigate why a recount of the Nov. 6 election yielded dramatically different results than the original election tally. Hecht said last week that although the council has no direct authority over election proceedings, it ought to delve into whether the town clerk and other officials are doing their best to ensure the fairness and accuracy of local elections. "You look at the numbers and it doesn't make sense," Hecht said in an interview Tuesday. Hecht, who ran unopposed in his district, represents the two precincts in which vote tallies in the recount varied significantly from numbers on election night. Hecht and the recount winner, Councilor at Large Marilyn Petitto Devaney, have frequently locked horns on issues before the council. During the election campaign, Hecht endorsed a slate of candidates that he said he could best work with as colleagues. His list included Councilor at Large John Donohue, who was bumped off the council by the recount, but not Devaney. - Christina Pazzanese