Students advised to be watchful

October 28, 2007

For the third time since school opened, an Abington student has reported being approached or followed by a man in a pickup truck. On Oct. 19, a 16-year-old high school student said she was walking on Summer Street just after 1:30 p.m. when a man driving a small truck pulled up before reaching out to grab her. The student pulled away and ran for safety as the truck sped off. Last month, two middle school students reported being approached by a man attempting to lure them into a blue pickup using candy as bait. On Sept. 17, an elementary school student told school officials a man in a blue pickup passed by him slowly three times as he walked to school on Walnut Street just before 8 a.m. No students were injured in any of the cases, school officials said. Police, meanwhile, continue to investigate as school officials work to keep parents updated. "When provided with any level of concern our responsibility is to communicate with parents," Abington School Superintendent Peter Schafer said. "We want to remind people to tell their children to be careful." Schafer said school officials are keeping a watchful eye on the students. - Robert Carroll

A DRY TOWN - Braintree residents have been asked to conserve water, as the water supply has fallen under 50 percent, said Selectman Charles C. Kokoros of the Tri-Town water district board, which serves Braintree, Holbrook, and Randolph. A Phase 5 alert was declared, the highest possible, said Kokoros. The town is also trying to save water by limiting certain types of commercial uses, such as watering for dust control, he said. - Matt Carroll

ONCE IN A BLUE LOBSTER - If one in a million lobsters is blue, what are the chances of finding more than one blue lobster? The odds may be slight, but the blue lobster that Cohasset lobsterman Edward Figueiredo found in his traps a week ago wasn't the first he'd caught. "He's been lobster fishing his whole life, and he's caught blue ones and orange ones and albino ones," said his daughter Annette. "I remember years ago my sister and I brought a blue one he'd caught to the New England Aquarium." Figueiredo, 68, took his latest find to the Hingham Lobster Pound, which contacted the aquarium. Scientists say one in a million lobsters is blue, a coloration caused by an excessive amount of protein that combines with a red caratenoid molecule known as astaxanthin. A blue lobster, once cooked, turns red like any other. - Johanna Seltz

TRASH PLAN GETS CLOSER - The committee working on details for the proposed pay-as-you-throw trash disposal plan will meet with selectmen on Nov. 5 at 7:55 p.m. at Town Hall. The committee has been working on fees and cost estimates. Originally offered by public works director Tom Daley, the proposal to charge a fee for each trash bag disposed of at the town transfer station is intended to lower town trash disposal costs and increase recycling. - Robert Knox

FOUNDATION DOUBLES ITS SCHOOL GRANTS - The Hanover Foundation for Educational Enrichment has doubled its grant funding for this school year. The nonprofit organization will give out $20,000 in teacher-generated grants to benefit Hanover students. Since 1991, the foundation has awarded more than $200,000 in support of more than 140 projects in the schools, helping offset budget cuts. "This is unbelievable," Hanover School Superintendent Kristine Nash said of the latest grant figure. "I am thrilled for our staff." Foundation president Jill Joy credited "parents, businesses, and the educational community" for funding "a grant allocation of this size." Grant applications will be accepted at all schools through Oct. 30. - Robert Carroll

ISSUES FORUM - Selectmen invite residents to the fourth annual Town Forum, designed to provide information about major town issues and get feedback. The forum, from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 4, in the Town Hall auditorium, will focus on three topics: the future of the town-owned South Shore Country Club; an update on the proposed school building project, which includes building a new elementary school, renovating two elementary schools and adding to the middle school; and community preservation priorities. More information about the forum is available by calling the selectmen's office at 781-741-.1400. - Johanna Seltz

HOW TO TAKE IT UP WITH YOUR CONGRESSMAN - The district office manager for US Representative Stephen F. Lynch, Bob Fowkes, will hold office hours at Town Hall in the veterans office between 9 and 11 a.m. on Nov. 8. Fowkes will take residents' questions and issues, and discuss legislation. - Franci Richardson Ellement

A WHALING HISTORY - Tales of whales will be the topic at the Hull Lifesaving Museum on Nov. 11, when environmentalist Eric Jay Dolin will discuss his book "Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America." The book traces the rise of whaling from the Colonial era to its golden age in the mid-1800s, when more than 60 ports were part of the whaling business. Dolin, a graduate of Brown University, recently was awarded the New Bedford Whaling Museum's 23d annual L. Bryne Waterman Award. The talk and book-signing will start at 2 p.m. at the museum at 1117 Nantasket Ave. The cost is $3 for museum members and $5 for nonmembers. - Johanna Seltz

VOTERS APPROVE EXIT RAMP - Voters at last Monday's Special Town Meeting backed a proposal to swap land with the state's highway department to build a new exit ramp connecting Kingston's commuter rail station to Route 3 southbound. The vote was 270 in favor to 64 opposed. Voters also supported the creation of a stabilization fund to hold $600,000 the town received from the state for the creation of a Chapter 40R affordable housing district. The stabilization fund forbids appropriations from it for three years. - Robert Knox

PASTA AND POLITICS - The Marshfield Republican Town Committee will host a dinner with state GOP officials on Saturday at the Elks Lodge at 1321 Ocean St. from 6 to 9 p.m. The suggested donation is $10 for adults and $5 for children. Invited guests include Massachusetts Republican Party chairman Peter G. Torkildsen, Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph D. McDonald Jr., Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz, and state Senator Robert L. Hedlund. To reserve tickets, call Ed O'Connell at 781-834-8715, Lynne Cooper at 781-837-8268, or Paul Fitzpatrick at 781-424-9945. - Emily Sweeney

TREE TRACKING - The US Census is taken once a decade. A tree census? It's never been done. Until now. The Milton Department of Public Works is taking the town's first inventory of trees planted in public ways to make sure the tree stock remains healthy, according to the department. Using hand-held computers, Davey Resource Group, a consulting group, will examine every tree planted on town-owned tree strips, noting the tree's location, species, diameter, and condition. The town received a state grant to fund the project. - Matt Carroll

FLU SHOTS - A series of free flu vaccine clinics for residents is being offered over the next few weeks by the Norwell Visiting Nurse Association in conjunction with the Board of Health. Clinics for residents 18 and over will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon and Nov. 8 from 5 to 7:30 p.m., both at Town Hall. Clinics for residents 60 and over will be held at the senior center on Nov. 9 and Nov. 30, from 1 to 3 p.m. No appointment is necessary but proof of Norwell residency will be required. Those receiving vaccinations are asked to wear short-sleeved shirts or sweaters. For more information on the 18-and-over clinics, contact the association at 781-659-2342, ext. 356, or go to nvna.org. For more information on the 60-and-over clinic, call the Council on Aging at 781-659-7878. - John Laidler

ON THE TRAIL - The Board of Selectmen recently approved a plan to develop a portion of the Bay Circuit Trail in town. The Pembroke Bay Circuit Alliance Committee proposed the route, which will run approximately 2 miles from the Hanson line to the Tubb's Meadow parking lot at Monroe Street. The route represents about half of an eventual 4-mile segment of the Bay Circuit Trail that the committee hopes to develop across town. The trail is an evolving recreational corridor from Plum Island in Newbury to Bay Farm on the Duxbury/Kingston line. - John Laidler

TRAIN SCHEDULE CHANGES - Trains on the Plymouth/Kingston commuter rail line will be running on a new schedule, starting tomorrow. The Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Co. announced last week that schedules have been updated to "improve peak hour performance and ease traffic congestion." Four trains that run through Plymouth will be affected. (Many changes are slight, and the departure and arrival times differ by only a few minutes.) To view the updated commuter rail schedules, visit mbcr.net or the MBTA website at mbta.com. - Emily Sweeney

E-MAILING POLICE TIPS - Quincy police have set up an anonymous tip line available through the police Web page from the city's main site at www.ci.quincy.ma.us. Residents can also call 617-328-4527. - Matt Carroll

FINANCES FIRST - Selectmen have approved 22 articles for the Dec. 3 Special Town Meeting, and board members plan to divide the articles into two sets, one for spending requests and one for non-financial requests. Selectmen hope to put all financial items, including requests to cover negotiated pay raises for town unions and funding to make the veterans' agent job full time, to a vote on the first night. Selectmen want the town's finances in order, as they scheduled the annual property tax classification hearing on Dec. 10, and that hearing must be held before this year's tax rate is set. The start time for Town Meeting has not been set. If discussion and action on nonfinancial items spills into a second session, that would not affect selectmen's ability to set the tax rate. - David Connolly

PROGRESS ON DEMOLITION - The abandoned factory at 42 Church St. may be coming down soon, said building inspector Tom Ruble. Town officials including Ruble and Fire Chief Michael Sammon have called for nearly two years for the demolition of the former Hurley shoe factory, saying it is a public safety risk. Several fires have started in the building and vagrants have broken in. Ruble said owner John Rodolph of Pygmalian Realty Trust has recently shown progress in meeting the town's demands. The building has been fenced in, and measures to control rodents prior to demolition have been put in place. Ruble said he has been receiving weekly reports from Rodolph, and that a demolition company may be hired soon. - Milton Valencia

WRITE-INS URGED FOR COUNCIL SEAT - Town Councilor Paul Leary's recent death leaves his council seat available. Leary, who died of cancer this month, was running for reelection unopposed. "Right now anybody who's interested can run on stickers or write-ins," said Town Clerk Franklin Fryer. Candidates must live in District 5, which covers precincts 12, 13, and 15 in the south part of town, Fryer said. The winner of the Nov. 6 election will serve the full two-year term starting on Jan. 1, 2008, he said. Leary, 78, had been on the council since its creation in 2000 and was its first president. A civic stalwart, he served on numerous town boards over the last 50 years, including the Board of Assessors. - Johanna Seltz

AROUND THE REGION

OPEN HOUSE A SNORE - The Caritas Good Samaritan Medical Center celebrated the newest addition to its hospital campus last week - a Center for Sleep Medicine. The hospital held an open house Tuesday to show off the facility, which will offer diagnostic testing and consulting to help patients improve their sleep. Doctors were available to talk about innovative research and treatment options in sleep medicine. The center is in the hospital's Kindred/Goddard Center Medical Office Building, 907 Summer St., Stoughton. - Milton Valencia