Hearing on tree removal

Berlin's tree warden, Dennis Bartlett, has scheduled a hearing on the removal of about 100 trees around town. The hearing tomorrow will be held at 7 p.m. in the town offices on Linden Street. A list of trees slated for removal is posted in the offices. All the trees are small and dead, Bartlett said. The hearing is required by law before cutting can begin. - John Dyer

POWER LUNCH - Officials have made the transition to an automated lunch-payment system at the high school, a concept that will be implemented across the Nashoba Regional School District this year. Known as Power Lunch, the system requires students to use a five-digit code or scan lunch cards to purchase lunch. Cash payments are no longer accepted. Prepayments to the lunch card accounts are made on the district's website or by dropping a check in the high school main office's lockbox.

- Matt Gunderson

LIBRARY SEEKING WAIVER - Library director Nick Langhart said last week that he is optimistic that the town will get a certification waiver from the state Board of Library Commissioners. "This is the first time we've ever had to ask for one," he said. Earlier this summer, it was announced that because of budget cuts the library was going to fall about $7,000 short of the budget level required to maintain certification with the state library board. Langhart said the board will decide in February whether to grant the waiver.

- Matt Gunderson

A BOOST FOR SCHOOL LAB - Representatives from Battelle, a nonprofit research and development organization with an office in Natick, will visit the McAuliffe Regional Charter Public School in Framingham next month to check up on a science lab at the school that is being made possible by a donation from the Columbus, Ohio-based group. Battelle donated $7,500 to the school for the laboratory. The nonprofit regularly gives money to schools across the country that focus on science and math, said Katy Delaney, public relations manager. "We had heard from the school that they were looking to build a science lab and wanted to help them get started," said Kellie Zupkofska, manager of Battelle operations in Natick. The money will be used to purchase laboratory equipment, among other things, she said.

- Tanya Pérez-Brennan

FIRM PENALIZED - H. LaRosee & Sons has agreed to pay a $2,000 penalty for violating state waste-water and air pollution regulations, according to the Department of Environmental Protection. Last year, DEP inspectors determined that unlicensed operators were overseeing the waste-water treatment system at the firm's electroplating operation at 15 Broad Street in Hudson, where dangerous chemicals are used. The inspectors also determined that the company did not have an air quality plan for its paint spray booth. The company has agreed to pay the fine and comply with regulations, the statement said.

- John Dyer

TIPS FOR HELPING KIDS - A Boston physician and childhood development specialist, Dr. Eileen Costello, will give a talk geared toward parents and teachers, "Quirky Kids: When to Worry and When Not to Worry," from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Lincoln School Library on Ballfield Road. Costello will discuss how caregivers can work together to foster a child's success in school and social life. Special attention will be paid to conditions like autism. - John M. Guilfoil

ON LOOKOUT FOR ASIAN BEETLES - Officials from the US Department of Agriculture were inspecting trees in Marlborough last week after they discovered that a firewood dealer had acquired logs a few months ago from Worcester, where harmful Asian longhorned beetles have been discovered. Under USDA rules, no one can take wood out of an area of infestation encompassing Worcester and surrounding towns, including portions of Boylston and Shrewsbury. Terrill Wright, owner of Northeast Wood on Maple Street,said he uses wood from Worcester but has seen no beetles, which can eat and eventually kill many common varieties of Massachusetts trees. Wright has not sold the wood and said he did not know if he would be able to sell it. If beetles are found in his woodpile, officials could decide to cut down every species of tree the beetles like to eat within a quarter-mile radius of the business. - John Dyer

ZAP PROGRAM - Officials at Fowler Middle School are expanding the ZAP program to all grades at the school this fall, after a pilot program in grades 4 through 6 was successful last year, according to the school website. An acronym for "Zero's Aren't Permitted," the nationwide program requires students who fail to complete homework assignments to finish schoolwork during lunch period after eating their lunch. Students can also be forced to stay after school to complete their assignments, if they don't have time to finish the assignment during lunch.

- Matt Gunderson

SATELLITE VIEW - Satellites are mapping the town. Officials are spending $110,000 appropriated by Town Meeting last year on satellite images that officials will use to have an accurate map of the town, said David Kane, management and geographic information systems director. Kane said the new map will help officials see how development has affected wetlands and other aspects of the environment while giving homeowners and prospective buyers a bird's-eye view of neighborhoods. The last time a satellite map was created for the town was 1997, Kane said. The mapping should be completed early next year.

- John Dyer

ADVICE ON HEATING COSTS - Town officials have created a brochure to help residents facing home-heating difficulties. Town Manager Daniel J. Morgado said the brochure contains strategies and resources to cut heating costs and potentially rescue overdue accounts. "We tell them they need to start by working out what they can with NSTAR," he said. "If they're not on fuel assistance, we tell them how to get on fuel assistance and how to straighten out their situation." NStar agreed to mail the Shrewsbury brochure to 161 gas customers who have been recently shut off for nonpayment or are at imminent risk of being shut off. "When prices rise, outreach and collaboration become more important," said NSTAR representative Caroline Allen. Morgado said design and production of the brochure was funded by a state grant. - James O'Brien

FLU CLINICS - The Board of Health wants to give flu shots to as many Southborough residents and employees as possible. To that end, the town is conducting two flu clinics next month, the board announced. The first, scheduled for Nov. 6 at the town's Senior Center from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., is for town and school employees and residents over 65 years old. The second, for residents 19 and older, is scheduled for Nov. 8 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Woodward School Cafeteria. For more information, contact the board at 508-481-3013. - John Dyer

LOCKDOWN DRILL - In an effort to improve the school's emergency protocol, officials at Nashoba Regional High School staged a lockdown drill Oct. 16. Such drills, which involve locking the school and taking preventive steps against an external threat, are common in public schools across the nation. The lockdown was done in conjunction with the police and fire departments. - Matt Gunderson

SCHOOL COMMITTEE OPPOSES CAP - Citing the cuts made to the town's kindergarten to Grade 8 school system after a property tax increase failed this year, the Sudbury Public School Committee has told selectmen it is opposed to the Finance Committee's recommendation to cap budget increases at 4.5 percent annually over the next three years. Speaking at a Finance Committee meeting in September, representatives from the Sudbury and Lincoln-Sudbury school systems expressed concern over the proposed cap, which the Finance Committee unanimously recommended Sept. 15. - John M. Guilfoil

POLICE SERGEANT SAYS THANKS - Wayland police Sergeant Richard Manley, speaking by phone from his hospital bed at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, said last week he wanted to express his thanks to everyone who has called him and sent their regards since he was hit by a car Oct. 11 while riding his bicycle in Stow. Manley, 51, was seriously injured, suffering a broken pelvis and collarbone and some swelling in his spine. He is the most senior officer on the force, with 30 years of service. He is also the department's training officer and has been the night shift commander for more than 20 years. Manley could be off the job for several months while he recovers.

- John M. Guilfoil

TOWN MEETING RELOCATES - The town has notified residents of a change in the location of the Special Town Meeting set for Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m. The meeting will be held in the Wayland Middle School Gymnasium. For more information, call the selectmen's office at 508-358-7755. - John M. Guilfoil

LIBRARY HOURS EXPANDED - The Westborough Public Library is now open Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m., change that library director Carolyn Delude said reflects added traffic from students and others, now that the school year has begun. The library usually closes Sundays from June to September, she said. Delude said she hopes the library can maintain its current hours in the future, when the town's economic fortunes are likely to become bleaker. In the past, the library has closed on Sundays year-round, she said. - John Dyer

NEW FISHING JETTIES - The Upton Community Preservation Committee has approved money for the construction of three new fishing jetties at Pratt Pond this fall, according to committee chairwoman Rena Richard. Funding for the $40,000 construction project was approved Oct. 1. Richard said the jetties will minimize environmental damage from fishermen climbing up and down the steep banks of Pratt Pond, and will improve facilities to host annual fishing derbies in Upton. The jetties will extend 12 feet out into the water and one will be equipped for handicap access with an adjacent handicap parking space. In an Aug. 27 letter to the state Department of Fish & Game, the Upton Board of Selectmen are seeking a $20,000 reimbursement for the cost of the jetties. Richard said residents would vote whether to approve construction of the jetties at a Nov. 18 Town Meeting. - James O'Brien

FIRE CHIEF IS INTERIM MANAGER - The Board of Selectmen chose Fire Chief Gary Daugherty over treasurer and collector Maureen Dwinnell to serve as interim town manager until a permanent replacement is named for Anthony Troiano, who recently resigned from the position. Daugherty filled in for Troiano during the four months the former town manager was out recuperating from serious injuries suffered in a car accident that left a woman dead. Daugherty, who will be paid $2,000 a month above his chief's salary, is also in the running for Framingham fire chief, a fact the board did not know before making their decision. Selectmen will be interviewing applicants for positions on the newly created town manager search committee at their meeting Tuesday night at Town Hall, Room 215. The meeting will begin at 6:30, and the discussion on the search committee is planned for 7:50. The committee will consist of two at-large town residents, two Personnel Committee representatives, and one Appropriations Committee representative.

- Megan McKee

FUTURE OF FOOD - The Ashland Public Library is presenting "The Future of Food" as the latest in its free documentary films and discussion series. The film will be shown Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the library's community room. The 88-minute film offers a look at the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have filled US grocery store shelves for the past decade. For more information about the film, visit thefutureoffood.com. Viewers are invited to stay for discussion after the screening. - Rachel Lebeaux