Foundation accepting applications

The Needham Education Foundation is accepting applications for its autumn grant cycle. Requests of up to $5,000 are due Friday. The nonprofit group is coming off its best year, in which it funded 42 grants totaling more than $177,000, according to an announcement. One of last year's grants was $5,000 for instruments to be used in a wind-power study done by Needham High physics students, according to the group's website. For more information on the foundation or to download an application, go to nefneedham.org.

- Lisa Kocian

CRYSTAL LAKE EXPANSION - City residents will now have expanded access to Crystal Lake. The city has agreed to buy a portion of a property at 230 Lake Ave. for $875,000, said city spokesman Jeremy Solomon. The 8,400-square-foot lakefront parcel will be purchased with Community Preservation Act funds. It is adjacent to the city's other holdings on Crystal Lake: a parcel on Rogers Street and the Gil Bathhouse. City officials did not get approval to purchase the entire $1.9 million property, which includes a house. The seller retained the house and the rest of the property, but agreed to a conservation restriction, an easement along the lakefront at the rear of the property, and a preservation easement on the front facade of the house, according to a Sept. 26 memo from the city's law office to the Board of Aldermen. A closing date has not been set, Solomon said. - Rachana Rathi

BENTLEY NOW A UNIVERSITY - Bentley College is now Bentley University, thanks to approval of the designation change from the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education. "This is a landmark event in Bentley's history as our leadership in business education and research is once again recognized," said Gloria Cordes Larson, Bentley's president, in an announcement on the change. "Bentley has become the model of a 21st-century business university." The school has approximately 4,000 full-time undergraduates, 250 part-time undergraduates, 1,400 graduate students, and 30 doctoral students. The school has long offered a master's in business administration program, and in 2005 added two doctoral programs, in business and accounting. "We believe the hallmark of a first-rate business university is faculty research that informs teaching and impacts practice," said Bentley's provost, Robert D. Galliers. "We see teaching and research as mutually reinforcing and, as a university, this will continue to be the case." - Lisa Kocian

QUESTIONS ABOUT PIGEONS - A flap over getting rid of pigeons in the town's Department of Public Works yard continued as town health officials and a representative from a pest-control company addressed questions about the safety and cost of the effort, including ones raised pointedly by Councilor Angeline KounelisRichard Hatfield, with Waltham Services Inc., said 24 pounds of corn kernels coated with Avitrol were placed three times in the DPW yard and on the facility's roof. The company hasn't been able to determine how many pigeons are flocking there, said Hatfield, adding that no dead birds have been found. Teamsters Local 25, which represents DPW workers, has filed grievances with the town over the continued presence of pigeons roosting in the yard, citing health concerns. Gerry Godin, a union spokesman, told Driscoll in a memo last week the union feels satisfied that the use of Avitrol, a chemical agent that is used to frighten flocks away by causing birds to emit distress sounds, is not a threat to workers, and the union is now simply looking for the birds to be removed.

- Christina Pazzanese

CONTESTING CELLPHONE RULE - Students at Wellesley High don't like the new cellphone policy at the school. At a School Committee meeting Sept. 24, Student Congress representative Mike Kehoe said students consider the punishment under the new policy too harsh. The old policy said a cellphone "may" be confiscated if a student is seen using the device in school. The new policy, he noted, says it "will" be confiscated. The punishment includes detention for a first offense and taking the cellphone away for two weeks for any subsequent infraction. Kehoe said students also think the policy needs to clarify what "using" the cellphone means. He said students are negotiating with administrators about the policy. Kehoe said the students also want to lobby for student parking during construction of the next high school. The School Committee referred the parking issue to the Board of Selectmen. - Lisa Keen

CULTURAL GRANT DEADLINE - Time's running out for organizations, schools, and residents to apply for grants being handed out by the Weston Cultural Council. The annual grants, financed by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, can be used for a wide array of projects in town, from art exhibits and lectures to performances in schools, field trips, and cultural festivals. The council expects to give out $4,300 this year, with most grants ranging from $250 to $625 each. Applications are available online at mass-culture.org. The applications must be postmarked by Oct. 15 and sent to the Weston Cultural Council, c/o Weston Town Hall, Town House Road, Weston, MA 02493. For more details, contact chairwoman Susan Kuhr at susan.kuhr@comcast.net.

- Christina Pazzanese

TOWN WORKERS ON STATE PLAN - Just days before last week's deadline for next year, the town's employee unions agreed to join the state's health insurance program, the Board of Selectmen announced. With the stronger buying power of the state, the town anticipates the move will save taxpayers more than $1.8 million next year and save more than $1.2 million for workers and retirees during the 2010 fiscal year, which starts July 1. As a concession for joining, the town will increase its share of coverage from 80 percent to 85 percent. "Given the annual pressures on the town's budget and the current state of the economy, we need to find as many ways as possible to limit increases in the town's costs," Douglas P. Gillespie, the board's chairman, said in a written statement. "This will be a tremendous help." From 2004 to this fiscal year, the town's health insurance costs went up by 69 percent, while the average increase for those on the state's plan was 47 percent, the board said.

- Christina Pazzanese

TOWN ADMINISTRATOR VACANCY - The town has received about 50 resumes from job seekers applying for the vacant position of town administrator, as a search process gets underway to replace Jodi Ross. Linda Day, the town secretary, said a screening committee has already met once to begin the search process and begin sifting through the resumes. Day said the aim is to have the new administrator step into the position in December. Ross started her new position, as town administrator for Westford, last month.

- Matt Gunderson

DANCING WITH THE PIGS - The Trustees of Reservations is celebrating the opening of its 100th property, Cormier Woods in Uxbridge, with a slew of celebrations across the state, including one Saturday at Powisset Farm in Dover. "Dancing With the Pigs: Powisset Contra Dance" will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. at the farm, 39 Powisset St., and will feature a local band, White Squalls, contra-dance caller Linda Leslie, refreshments, and other activities. For more information, call 508-785-0339. - Anna Fiorentino

DELAY ON TOWN HOUSE PROPOSAL - Local developer Gary White is halting his application for a 19-unit town house project on Lincoln Street in order to explore a new entryway to the site, said White's lawyer, Arthur Bergeron. White was considering building a driveway into the development via Lincoln Street, but that area sits on a hill and could be dangerous in the winter, said Bergeron. He is now considering building an entrance on Broad Street, said the lawyer. Finalizing a possible purchase of a small amount of land and drafting plans for a new access point would take a few weeks, and White would then resubmit his application to the City Council for a permit to begin construction, Bergeron said. - John Dyer

PLEASANT STREET BRIDGE PROJECT - State highway officials at a public information session last week told their Millis counterparts that some details for a state-managed local bridge project have been finalized. The Pleasant Street bridge, which crosses over the Charles River, now accommodates an 18-foot road, barely large enough for two cars to cross the bridge at the same time, Town Administrator Charles Aspinwall said. State officials said that, when the bridge is replaced, the road will be widened to 26 feet, and a 6-foot, 6-inch sidewalk would be added. Aspinwall said work on the 15-month project will likely begin in the spring of 2010. - Calvin Hennick

SENIOR CENTER ON THE RISE - Construction work on the town's new $5.9 million senior center is running smoothly, said Kelly Burke, the Council on Aging director. The foundation has been laid for the Bearfoot Road center and the walls are now going up, she said. Burke said she expects the senior center to be completed on schedule next fall. - John Dyer

NEW OPEN SPACE PLAN - The town's Open Space and Recreation Plan Update Committee has drafted a four-year plan meant to further Sudbury's goals of preservation and conservation. There will now be a 45-day comment period, during which residents can provide reactions to the committee's proposal. Reference copies of the draft are available at most town offices, as well as online at sudbury.ma.us, with the comment period ending Nov. 21. - John M. Guilfoil

HOW MUCH IS YOUR HOUSE WORTH? - The town has an online tool to help residents obtain assessment information on their properties. The tool, available at www.wayland.ma.us, is an interactive map showing town features that play a role in assessed values, including locations of schools, parks, and conservation space. It also allows zooming in to find additional information about neighborhoods. For more details, contact town surveyor Alf Berry at aberry@ wayland.ma.us. or 508-358-3655. - John M. Guilfoil

TEACHER'S WEBSITE WINS AWARD - Jen Moon, a sixth-grade teacher at the Roderick Elementary School, has won an award for her classroom website. Named by the Massachusetts Computer Using Educators group as the state's top classroom website, it includes homework reminders and a calendar of classroom events. It can be accessed from the district's site, wrentham.k12.ma.us. - Calvin Hennick