Volunteers to aid children needed in Avon

ECONOMIC FORUM PLANNED - Town officials, Bridgewater State College administrators, and members of the local business community will discuss their interests and concerns during a two-hour economic development forum on Tuesday. Michael Hunter, state Undersecretary for Housing and Economic Development, will offer some opening remarks before the group breaks up for roundtable discussions. Topics include Bridgewater’s Central Business District, potential college and business partnerships, economic development, and workforce development, and infrastructure and housing. Each discussion group will produce a list of their top three issues, which they will work on until the next forum, set to be held next June. Tuesday’s event opens at 8 a.m. on the Bridgewater State College campus.

HONORING MARCIANO - The city’s love affair with native son Rocky Marciano continues its up-and-down journey. A pencil portrait of the former boxing champion was added to the walls of the Brockton Public Library last month, but a statue donated by the World Boxing Council is now on hold. The portrait was donated by Andover artist Joseph Gemellaro. The WBC’s 24-foot bronze statue, which is to be placed outside the high school football stadium, is on hold due to financial constraints. Marciano was the world heavyweight champion from 1952 to 1956. He had a 49-0 record, and died in 1969 in a plane crash.

VOLLEYBALL TEAMS WORKING HARD - As the Canton High School girls volleyball team heads into the playoffs this week, they have already won the respect in their community off the court. The 28 girls on the junior varsity and the varsity teams, and their coach Pat Cawley, have participated in three major community service projects last month alone and are likely looking for more. “These girls are phenomenal,’’ said Ed Amico, who is the director of the school’s community service program. Amico said the girls in early October took part in the 6-mile breast cancer walk in Boston, raising about $2,000 in pledges. Later last month, Cawley read about a volleyball player from Lexington named Molly who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and the girls decided to organize a “Volley for Molly’’ fund-raiser at a match. They raised $1,100 for that charity. To cap the month off, Amico said all 28 players have signed up to be among the roughly 70 Canton High School students who will take part in the Halloween for the Hungry food drive for the Canton Food Pantry. The drive ends today. The pantry needs help to meet the demand for food. “This has nothing to do with the school requirement. They met that long ago,’’ Amico said. “Their parents should know their daughters are the epitome of what a student athlete should be.’’ Amico added, “By the way they are a phenomenal volleyball team as well.’’

MASTER PLAN SURVEY - The Carver Master Plan Committee is seeking input through an online survey on what is important to residents about the town today and in plans for its the future. The survey results will be used by the committee working on an updated master plan for the town’s future. The survey asks residents what they like best about living in Carver, what economic issues they see as important to the town’s future, what role environmental issues should play in planning for the future, and whether changes should be made in zoning rules to support renewable energy or historic preservation. The online survey is available at www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=nXWolmitEYLXTTDParHiHA_3d_3d. Hard copies of the survey are available at the planning office in Town Hall, the library, and the senior center. The deadline for completing the survey is Nov. 30. - Robert Knox

MOTHER TO SPEAK TO STUDENTS ON DRINKING - Dedham High School’s Parent Organization will present guest speaker Kathi Meyer, a self-described “mother on a mission,’’ on Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. in the school auditorium. Meyer is the mother of Taylor Meyer, the King Philip senior who died last year after binge drinking with friends before and after a homecoming game and then getting lost in the woods. Meyer’s talk is open to the community. She will offer a presentation to students earlier that day.

FLU CLINIC - A flu vaccination clinic is scheduled from 4 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the East Bridgewater YMCA at 635 Plymouth St. A sign-up sheet will be available at the welcome desk. The shot is free to participants of Medicare Part A and B. Those enrolled in an HMO will need to pay $25 for the shot. Contact your HMO prior to the clinic to check on reimbursement. Receipts will be supplied at the clinic. Those with questions may contact Marge Smith at 508-378-3913, ext. 208. - Christine Legere

BOOKS RETURNING TO LIBRARY - The two-year, $4 million upgrade of the Ames Free Library is winding down with a “book brigade’’ scheduled to return 5,000 books from the temporary quarters in Frothingham Hall on Barrows Street to the Main Street library Saturday morning. The brigade, for which volunteers are needed to pass books from one to another, will operate from 9 a.m. to noon; next Sunday is the rain date. A moving company will return the rest of the collection of more than 62,000 items. The library reopens Nov. 30 with new restrooms, expanded parking, an elevator, central heat and air conditioning, restored wood floors, and a new circulation desk. Frothingham Hall closes Friday and will be renovated as the new home of the Council on Aging and Recreation Department. Library books will not be available between Nov. 9 and Nov. 30, although books from the regional network can be picked up at the library cottage at 56 Main St.

FREE MULCH AND COMPOST - The town has both medium grade mulch with wood chips and compost available for free at the town compost site across from the highway department at 70 Elm St. Officials say to take all you want. The site is open Monday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. The site must be vacated by 4 p.m. According to a highway department spokeswoman, the two gardening and landscaping materials will be available until the first snow, when the site will close. For more information, call the department at 508-543-1228.

VOTING REGISTRATION DEADLINE - The deadline to register to vote in the primary for the special election for US senator is Nov. 18. The local Town Clerk’s office will be open that day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The primary election will be held on Dec. 8.

- Christine Legere

ASSESSORS’ POST FILLED - The Board of Selectmen and the Board of Assessors recently appointed Kathleen Keefe to fill the assessors’ seat recently vacated by the resignation of Susan Thornton. Keefe is a former member of the Recycling Committee. She was recently appointed principal assessor for the town of Whitman effective tomorrow, Nov. 2 after having served as administrative assistant in the office for 3 1/2 years. Her appointment to Hanson’s Board of Assessors is through the town election next May. At that time, voters will elect someone to fill the remaining year left on Thornton’s term, which expires in 2011.

- John Laidler

LIBRARY SEEKING INPUT - The Mansfield Public Library is looking for input from residents on what they like best and least about the facility, what their favorite reading topics are, and what programs should be added. The survey is available through a connection to the library’s site on the town’s website at www.mansfieldma.com or by going straight to the library’s website at www.sailsinc.org/mansfield.

USE OF EMERGENCY SERVICES ON WARRANT - Voters at Town Meeting next spring will be asked if they want the town to pay the cost of emergency police, fire and medical details for the town’s annual Fourth of July fireworks display held off Silvershell Beach. Selectmen agreed to put the matter on the Town Meeting warrant after recently meeting with fireworks committee members to discuss the matter. The committee has struggled in recent years to come up with the money to cover all costs, which total roughly $45,000, of which approximately $13,000 is used to pay for emergency services. Officials said that in many area communities, the towns pay for the emergency coverage, while in Marion donations have paid for it. - Paul E. Kandarian

EIGHTH GRADERS TO SPONSOR HOLIDAY MEAL - The Old Rochester Regional Junior High School’s eighth-grade class is sponsoring the 19th annual Thanksgiving Dinner for Tri-Town Seniors, scheduled this year for Nov. 22 at noon, with doors to open by 11:15 a.m. Three hundred tickets are being distributed - 100 for each of the district’s member towns of Marion, Mattapoisett, and Rochester - through the town’s councils on aging. Shut-in meals are being made available for delivery, also through the councils. For information, or to make a donation to the program being offered to senior citizens, call Paula Cavanaugh or Erin Sullivan at the junior high school at 508-758-4928. - Paul E. Kandarian

BUDGET PROCESS BEGINS - Preliminary budgeting for fiscal 2011 is just beginning, and the outlook for the schools looks even more grim than it was this year. In a written budget update, School Superintendent Robert Sullivan notes the administration’s struggle to maintain level services in the current year was unsuccessful, resulting in larger class sizes, insufficient professional development, and lagging supply, material, and maintenance accounts. Sullivan then warned that the fiscal 2011 budget, if it maintains the same level of service seen this year, will be $1 million in the red. “Our initial review of potential cuts to staffing and programs . . . creates a story that is disturbing, demoralizing and harmful to the learning process,’’ wrote Sullivan. - Christine Legere

PUBLIC TV WINS AWARDS - Norwood Public Access Television has been recognized for outstanding performance, winning three awards in the Alliance for Community Media’s 12th annual Video Festival for the Northeast Region. NPA-TV staff members Jack Tolman, Karen Feeney Murphy, Ryan Walker, and Meghan Staffiere will accept the awards in Connecticut on Saturday. Coming in first in the “Live Event’’ category was NPA-TV’s coverage of the 2009 Dancing with the Norwood Stars. In third place in the same category was Norwood Digest: Live at the 2008 Norwood Day. Placing second in the “Issues & Political Process’’ category was Norwood Votes 2009: Election Night Results. The host of the latter two shows was volunteer Jack McCarthy. More than 70 public access stations throughout New England and New York participated in the contest. NPA-TV station manager Jack Tolman said, “We are so proud of what we have accomplished in only five years here in Norwood, and to have that recognized on this level is quite an honor.’’ For more information, visit www.npatv.org.

PERMIT PROCESS CHANGES - An additional step has been added to the process of getting a building permit in town, one which officials hope will fend off future uncomfortable situations. Selectmen last week approved a measure that will require anyone seeking a building permit to first get a zoning permit from the town. “It would cost $25, and you get your answer within two weeks,’’ said selectmen chairman Barry DeCristofano. DeCristofano said this should prevent the “awkward’’ situations that have occurred when projects that had been granted building permits and were already under construction were found to be in violation of the town’s zoning codes. The new measure, which includes a review by town zoning enforcement officer Robert Karling, is a proactive measure for a town without a full-time staff, DeCristofano said. He said the additional permit will cover any projects that require a building permit, including new construction, additions and some signage. Those who fail the zoning review can still seek relief from the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals.

WEIGEL BECOMES FIRE CHIEF - Scott Weigel has been named fire chief. Weigel, who had been serving as interim chief following the retirement in July of Scott Ashworth, was named permanent chief by selectmen recently. The position had been posted but selectmen said Wiegel’s was the only application received. Weigel has served on the department for many years, selectmen said, and was sworn in for a three-year term. - Paul E. Kandarian

INDIAN FESTIVAL WELL ATTENDED - More than 400 people celebrated the Indian festival of Diwali last weekend, hosted by the Indian American Association of Sharon at the Sharon Middle School, said Reema Chandra, the press/media liaison of the association. Diwali, popularly known as the Festival of Lights, has traditionally been celebrated at homes with religious rituals but is now an opportunity for people of Indian backgrounds living abroad to celebrate Indian cultural heritage, Chandra said. The celebration in Sharon began in an informal setting as a dinner celebration with a handful of families, continuing until 2005 when the Indian American Association of Sharon became an official organization. Last weekend’s event included cultural performances by children of all ages, dinner, and dancing.

TOWN MANAGER MAY HAVE NEW JOB - The third time’s looking like a charm for Mark Stankiewicz. After twice falling short in recent bids for similar positions in nearby towns, the six-year Stoughton Town Manager could be named Plymouth town manager as early as Tuesday. An Oct. 20 vote by Plymouth’s board of selectmen left Stankiewicz one vote short of being chosen. But Selectman John Mahoney, who initially did not vote for Stankiewicz, confirmed last week he will switch his vote to give Stankiewicz the required four-vote super majority. “I do believe Mr. Stankiewicz is qualified for the position,’’ said Mahoney. Stankiewicz, meanwhile, remained cautiously optimistic. “I won’t feel comfortable that I have the position until all the paperwork is signed,’’ he said. If he is offered the position and accepts, Stankiewicz must give Stoughton at least 30 days notice of his departure.

FOUR FIREFIGHTERS TO BE REHIRED - Town Meeting concluded Monday night with the approval of a new contract with firefighters that will allow the department to rehire four whose jobs were cut earlier this year due to budget shortages. The firefighters made contract concessions, including no wage raises for the first year of the three-year contract and the reduction of staffing levels from eight to seven firefighters per shift. Town officials praised the firefighters for “thinking of their own and doing the right thing,’’ said Town Clerk Ron Fucile. - Joan Wilder

TOWN MEETING TURNOUT LIGHT - Turnout was light for last week’s Town Meeting. Out of 14,884 registered voters, only 550 attended on Oct. 26, and 330 showed up on Oct. 27, according to the town clerk’s office. On the first night of Town Meeting, voters tabled a proposal to build senior housing in West Wareham. The plan called for building up to 200 units of rental housing on 18.5 acres of town-owned property on Charlotte Furnace Road - known as the Westfield Site. The article put forth at Town Meeting would have authorized the selectmen to lease the land to a developer who would design, build, and operate over-55 housing on the site. But no action was taken - the majority of residents at Town Meeting opted to indefinitely postpone the article.

FIELD PROJECT LAUNCHED - Town officials recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new soccer field at the Howard Elementary School. The project also involved construction of a new septic system below the field. The new system replaced a previous failing septic system that the town was under state order to upgrade. The new field has been in use since this summer, but the ceremony was an occasion to celebrate completion of the project, according to Board of Selectmen chairman Matthew Albanese. A state grant funded $250,000 of the $300,000 project cost. “It’s a great resource for so many youngsters, who enjoy one of the fastest-growing sports in America,’’ Albanese said of the new field. “And by combining the septic system with the soccer field, we literally got every penny out of our state assistance for the project.’’ Albanese praised forestry superintendent Christopher Iannitelli, the town’s Comprehensive Water Resources Management Plan Committee, and other volunteers and town officials who he said “made the project a reality.’’

CANTON STREET HEARING - The Norfolk County Commissioners have scheduled another public hearing on proposed changes to the layout of portions of Canton Street based on petitions filed by Westwood. It will be held at 2 p.m. on Nov. 18, at the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds second floor hearing room, 649 High St., Dedham. The proposed reengineering is related to the Westwood Station development and existing traffic management issues. Canton Street is a county way and part of the regional transportation network. County Commissioners chairman Francis W. O’Brien of Dedham, John M. Gillis of Quincy, and Peter H. Collins of Milton will conduct the hearing. The public is welcome and invited to be heard. Copies of the petition and related material are on file at the Norfolk County Engineering Department. Call 781-461-6128 for more information.

- Michele Morgan Bolton

DRUG INFORMATION FOR PARENTS - A drug information forum for parents, sponsored by Whitman and Hanson police departments, the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District, and the Plymouth County District Attorney’s office, is set for 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 3, at the regional high school performing arts center. The event will feature guest speakers, a question and answer session, and resource materials.