Berlin's American vision

The Berlin Art and Historical Society will host a talk by Worcester Art Museum educator Martina Tenga on the museum's current exhibition, "An American Vision: Treasures from the Winterthur Museum." Tenga will discuss silver, china, and other decorative art pieces from the exhibition, as well as Henry Francis DuPont, who created the Winterthur collection in Delaware. Admission to the talk, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the 1870 Town Hall, is free, but donations will be accepted. Berlin Art and Historical Society has been trying to ramp up its fund-raising efforts recently to complete work on the Bullard House, an 18th-century town-owned home in Berlin center. - John Dyer

LIBRARY PROJECT FAILS - Officials have canceled the town election this Wednesday after a proposed $4.7 million new library proposal failed to pass Special Town Meeting last week. The project would have been put before voters if Town Meeting had approved it. The proposal, which called for a new library on the town-owned Hillside property, gained a majority of votes but not the needed two-thirds majority to pass at Town Meeting, said library director Nick Langhart. That means the library will continue to experience space shortages and other problems for the near future, Langhart said. Opponents cited the town's current fiscal difficulties as the prime reason for not supporting the project, he said. - Matt Gunderson

OK TO CUT TREES - The Planning Board has approved the removal of two sweet birch trees along Sawyer Road after recently closing a public hearing on the issue, said Town Planner Jennifer Atwood Burney. The street is one of the town's 42 designated scenic roads, which requires the board's OK on tree-removal projects. The trees need to be removed to create driveway access into a home being built, Burney said. - Matt Gunderson

SPECIAL TOWN MEETING ON SEWER COST ISSUE - A Special Town Meeting on March 18 will take up three measures concerning money lost from neighboring towns for sewer costs and refunds to sewer customers who were overbilled over the years. Town Meeting member Frank Reilly, chairman of the B-Fair Committee, said he submitted nearly 400 signatures to have the meeting called. One of the articles would allow Framingham to shut off water and sewer connections for out-of-town customers, unless their town has an intermunicipal agreement with Framingham, according to Reilly. Another article would reimburse all Framingham single-family homeowners who were overbilled for water and sewer service from 1991 to 1999. That could amount to $800 per customer, Reilly said. The meeting is to start at 7:30 p.m. at the Memorial Building at 150 Concord St. - Tanya Perez Brennan

NEW CHAMBER BOARD - The Hudson-based Assabet Valley Chamber of Commerce intends to raise its profile in the coming year, said chamber president Sarah Cressy. As the economy declines, she said, chamber officials are going to help members cooperate and pool resources to stay competitive. By asking members to advertise their membership in the chamber more aggressively and by sponsoring more events, that job will be made easier, she said. Last month, the chamber held elections for its 15-member board of directors. Most members were reelected, including board chairman Bob Larkin of Stow, Cressy said. Larkin owns Frick & Frack, an event planning firm. But newcomer Glenn Davis, a Hudson architect, was added to the board. The chamber has about 550 members from Berlin, Bolton, Hudson, Maynard, and Stow, she said. - John Dyer

DOWNSIZING TO LINCOLN - Boston magazine has named Lincoln one of the "Best places to live if you're downsizing" in its March issue. The list of its top 30 places cites Lincoln's eco-friendly atmosphere. "If you're an empty-nester and you like old-school conservation," the magazine recommends Lincoln. It cites Lincoln's Rural Land Foundation, responsible for protecting up to 35 percent of all land in Lincoln and using it for walking trails and sustainable farming. Of course, the magazine states that you would also pay for the privilege. The median home price in Lincoln is more than $1 million. - John M. Guilfoil

BUDGET DRAFTED - The selectmen have drafted a preliminary budget of $30.2 million for the next fiscal year, which represents a 3 percent - or $884,000 - increase in spending over the current year, said Town Administrator John Curran. But officials still need to find a way to bridge a $300,000 spending gap, he said. In order to balance the budget, the school district will have to cut $200,000 from its proposed budget; the municipal side will have to cut $100,000, said Curran. - Matt Gunderson

HAIR SALON INQUIRY OVER - State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan and Northborough Fire Chief David Durgin released a statement last week saying they have concluded their investigation into the blaze that consumed the Spa at Nicholas Michaels on West Main Street. The Oct. 18 fire started in a space between the basement ceiling and first floor, the release stated, but investigators could not determine the exact cause. Unless someone comes forward with different information, the officials stated, the cause of the fire will be officially deemed unknown. - John Dyer

YOUNG PEOPLE GETTING AWARDS - Four Shrewsbury students will be honored Saturday with Outstanding Youth of Shrewsbury Award at the Gala of Shrewsbury Youth & Family Services. Peter Frongillo and Roderick Geer, two cousins who are both seniors at St. John's High School, are being recognized for their organization of an annual December toy drive, according to a press release. Ben Roy, a senior at Shrewsbury High School, will receive the award for his participation last summer in a 3,800-mile cross-country bike ride from Oregon to Duxbury, to raise money for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. And the youngest honoree, Kayla Lynne Peterson, a sophomore at Shrewsbury High School, organized a new club at her school named CAUSE, or Cancer Awareness to Unite Students Everywhere, which "educates the general public about various cancers, but also offers disease prevention strategies," according to the release. For more information about Shrewsbury Youth & Family Services or its gala event, visit syfs.cfsites.org or call 508-845-6932. - Lisa Kocian

HELP FIND VERNAL POOLS - The Southborough Open Space Preservation Committee will attempt to help residents find and identify vernal pools, seasonal water bodies in which frogs and other creatures reproduce. The committee has scheduled a meeting for 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Town House to explain how vernal pools appear and how to certify them according to state regulations. Only one vernal pool in town was registered with the state last year, said committee member Frederica Gillespie. Now, after committee members searched for pools on town-owned land, she said, Southborough has five registered with state officials. - John Dyer

AIR CONDITIONING - Police Chief Mark Trefry is seeking an $8,000 air-conditioning system for his department following an outbreak of mold in the Police Station last summer. The expense for the new air conditioner will be included in the department's operating budget, which is up for approval at this spring's Town Meeting, said Trefry. He said the mold cleanup ran a bill of $35,000, which cost the town $10,000. The rest of the cost was made up from insurance. - Matt Gunderson

EMERGENCY SERVICE FOR INTERNET PHONE USERS - Sudbury police were recently made aware that some new residents in town who use an Internet service provider's phone service called 911, but were routed to a different town. The Police Department reminds residents who maintain an Internet phone number after they move that they should immediately update their contact information with their service provider. After doing so, residents should call the police at 978-443-1042 to conduct a test to verify that the 911 service is working properly. - John M. Guilfoil

SIGNING FOR BABIES AT THE LIBRARY - Courtney Koumjian from the WeeHands program in Sudbury will present an "Introduction to Signing with Your Baby" program from 1 to 2 p.m. March 19 in the public library's Raytheon Room. The class is offered to parents, caregivers, and babies as a way to lessen the sometimes frustrating preverbal stages for babies, and give a jump start in communicating. Koumjian will speak about the benefits of signing with your baby, teach a few beginning signs, and lead the group in a sign and sing together. Sign up at the library children's desk or by calling 508-358-2308. - John M. Guilfoil

SNOW BUDGET BLUES - The town budgeted around $410,000 for snow plowing this winter, said Joan Provost, business manager for the Department of Public Works. But heavy storms and the rising cost of fuel and salt have forced the department to spend about $560,000 on plowing so far. The Board of Selectmen voted to approve the additional spending, Provost said, but it's possible the DPW will have to go before the board again if more storms hit the area. The DPW has used about 3,240 tons of salt this winter, she said. Salt costs about $10 a ton more this year than in 2007, she added. - John Dyer

PLANTS INVADING - Spring is coming and, with it, an invasion of foreign plants. On Tuesday, the Westborough Woman's Club will present a free lecture on invasive plants by Christy Baines from the Massachusetts Audubon Society. The event will begin at 1:30 p.m. at the Evangelical Congregational Church on West Main Street. Refreshments will be served before the lecture. Membership in the club is open to women age 18 and over. For more information, call Judy Wilchynski at 508-870-1895. - John Dyer

AROUND THE REGION

PHILLIPS TEAM WINS PROGRAMMING COMPETITION - For the second consecutive year, students from Phillips Academy have taken top honors at the annual High School Invitational Programming Competition. This year's first-place team was made up of four members of the class of 2008, all of them members of the academy's computer science club: Alexander Dehnert, John Heroy, Jiageng Luan, and Benjamin Niedzielski. Sixteen teams competed in the event, producing 47 solutions to the nine problems presented. The Phillips Academy team correctly solved eight of the nine problems during the three hours allotted for the competition, which was held in New York. Among other challenges, this year's contest required teams to perform simple user-interface computations, detect tumors within an MRI image, and simulate children's games. The competition was sponsored by the Computer Science Department at St. Bonaventure University. - Brenda J. Buote

SERIES ON IMMIGRATION - The Concord Free Public Library will hold a series of events this month called "Concord Reads About Coming To America." The library is offering more than 20 programs that include music, dance, storytelling, book discussions, film, and food. All events are free, and no prior registration is required. The series focuses on immigration. All programs are listed on the Concord library's website, concordlibrary.org. For more information, call 978-318-3301. - Jennifer Fenn Lefferts

GRANT FOR HISTORICAL FILM - The Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities has awarded a $10,000 grant to the Lexington Historical Society to do preliminary work on an orientation film for visitors to town. The film, "The Day the Revolution Began," is being produced by Rick Beyer, president of Plate of Peas Productions Inc., a local company that has done work in the past for the History Channel. To learn more about the project, visit lexingtonhistory.org. - Brenda J. Buote

MARATHON PARKING AND TRAFFIC RESTRICTIONS - It may be more than a month away, but the town is already focused on clearing the way for the Boston Marathon. Parking restrictions will be posted, as needed, in the days before the race. Then on Marathon Day, April 21, parking will be banned from 5 a.m. to noon on all public ways that are critical to the start of the race, unless there is a permit issued by the Police Department. Also traffic will not be allowed on roads that lead to or from the Town Center after 7:30 a.m. Residents and others who need to travel that day may use back roads that lead out of town. Officials said many people make plans to leave earlier than normal to avoid the inconvenience. Roads will reopen as soon as possible, but no later than noon, they said. - Michele Morgan Bolton

MAJORITY STILL SUPPORT WATER DISTRICT - A Planning Board's survey tallied late last month revealed that 54 percent of 800 respondents supported establishing Sherborn's first public water district in Town Center. Support for the public water district, which would provide town water to downtown municipal buildings, businesses, and residents, rang in slightly below last year's response to the same question on a town election nonbinding ballot question. Now, two articles asking residents to support the creation of the water district will appear on the Town Meeting warrant in April. Results of the survey also showed 28 percent of respondents expressed opposition to creating the district, while the remainder had no opinion on the issue. The survey was sent out to all residents in January. - Anna Fiorentino

RADIO CHAIN - Ever wonder how amateur radio operators communicate in emergencies when mass power sources are down? "Our equipment is simple. . . . We have batteries and we relay, radio to radio," said Roger Turner, director of Walpole Emergency Management and a member of the town's Emergency Management Communications Group. Members use shortwave radio technology to interface with tens of thousands of similar groups throughout the world, and comprise a civilian communications network able to operate when all else fails, as it did during Hurricane Katrina. For those wishing to learn more about emergency communications, the group will conduct a workshop from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 12 at the Walpole Senior Center. The workshop is free, with lunch included, although donations will be accepted. To reserve a spot, call Turner at 508-660-7365. - Joan Wilder