Library needs a few hands

The Berlin Public Library is looking for volunteers to help with short-term projects, including shelving books, reordering books, and cleaning the library's grounds in the spring. Most projects would require a few hours a week for around three weeks, according to the library's director, Suzanne McGuire. She said the library does not have the staff to handle a variety of routine tasks. For more information, call McGuire at the library at 978-838-2812. - John Dyer

TALK OF SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER - Police Chief Vincent Alfano is exploring the possibility of creating a position for a school resource officer, who would focus on teaching classes and talking with local students. Details need to be ironed out with the school administration, so the finances are still unknown, Alfano said. The school officer would be similar to a DARE officer but would not focus exclusively on drug-use prevention, he said. Bolton police officers visit schools occasionally as part of their regular patrols but do not have an established presence in the schools, said Alfano. - Matt Gunderson

COLLECTING OLD EYEWEAR - Members of the town's Leo Club, a youth group affiliated with the Lions Club, have been collecting old prescription eyewear and nonprescription sunglasses this month. Known as Give the Gift of Sight, the program distributes the used eyeglasses across the globe to those in need. Residents can donate to the program by dropping off reusable eyewear at the main office of the Tahanto Regional Middle/High School. - Matt Gunderson

LESS ROOM FOR WHEELCHAIR RECYCLER - David Heim, a mechanic who repairs electric wheelchairs from recycled parts, has left his workspace in a rented storage facility in Marlborough and now works out of a shop he set up in his apartment in Hudson. Heim gained attention when the Christopher Reeve Foundation gave one of the late actor's used wheelchairs to Heim's nonprofit, Wheelchair Recycler Inc., shortly after he died in 2004. Heim, who uses a wheelchair, moved out of the storage space a month ago after difficulty over repairing chairs in the facility's parking lot. He said an Acton woman briefly thought she might be able to offer him additional space, but that offer fell through. Because his apartment is small, he had to throw out 10 electric wheelchairs, he said. They can cost around $10,000 apiece. Heim's website is wheelchair-recycler.org. - John Dyer

COUNCIL TO VISIT MUSEUM - The town's Council on Aging will sponsor a trip to Boston to visit the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum on April 16. There will be a guided tour of the museum and lunch in its Garden Café. The bus will depart Lincoln's Pierce House at 10:15 a.m. and will return about 2 p.m. The cost is $15, and checks may be made payable to the Friends of the Council on Aging. For more information, call Julie Pugh at 781-259-8259. - John M. Guilfoil

NO RUN IN THE WORKS FOR MAYOR - Mayor Nancy Stevens announced this week that she will not run for local seats in the state House and Senate that have incumbents stepping aside. State Senator Pam Resor, an Acton Democrat, recently announced that she will not seek reelection this fall, and state Representative Stephen LeDuc, a Marlborough Democrat, is resigning his Beacon Hill seat to become assistant clerk-magistrate at Marlborough District Court. In a statement, Stevens said: "I truly love what I do as mayor . . . I do not want the residents of Marlborough to assume that my having even considered the possible opportunities was reflective of the job as mayor or my commitment to the community. I considered the potential options only to evaluate if I could better serve the residents of the city in another capacity." Stevens is among a number of area elected officials who indicated they were pondering a run for one of the openings. - Lisa Kocian

TREATMENT PLANT FUNDING - The Board of Selectmen have sent a letter to US Representative Niki Tsongas requesting $4 million in federal assistance for the town's newly upgraded waste-water treatment plant. Town Administrator John Curran called the $10 million upgrade, which was required by the state Department of Environmental Protection, an "unfunded mandate," because the town had no choice but to pay for the upgrade. Curran said a variety of federal funding programs might help ease the financial burden on the town. - Matt Gunderson

SESSION ON ADOLESCENCE - The Home Safety Network, a local citizens group that advocates against teenage drug and alcohol abuse, is presenting a workshop, "Girls on the Brink of Adolescence," on Tuesday. The lecture will take place at the Melican Middle School from 7 to 9 p.m. Clinical psychologist Georgia Sassen will lead the workshop, which will focus on how girls interact with each other and their families as they become adolescents. - John Dyer

DONATION PROGRAM EXPANDS - The local "Got Books" program has been expanded to accept CDs, DVDs, videotapes, audiobooks, and records. The gray container marked "Got Books" is next to the Senior Center and residents can drop off donations any time. Got Books (gotbooks.com) is a for-profit company based in North Reading that donates many books to schools and charities. It holds a weekly Charity Book Sale, with half of the profits going to such nonprofit organizations as Local Heroes, which sends care packages to troops stationed overseas, according to the company's website. - Lisa Kocian

ENJOY EACH OTHER'S COMPANY - Expect absolutely nothing to happen in Southborough next Thursday evening. Town officials are asking residents to join an event (or nonevent, one might say) that is occurring throughout Massachusetts on that day. They ask that no municipal meetings, no homework, no athletic practice, or late nights at work transpire. Instead, they suggest families take a step back from their harried lives and simply enjoy one another's company. For more information, contact Laurie Sugarman-Whittier via e-mail at lsugarmanwhittier@southboroughma.com. - John Dyer

QUIET START TO ELECTION SEASON - Nomination papers for positions on the town's spring ballot have recently become available, and the only person to take out papers as of last week was Selectman Stephen Dungan, who is hoping to retain his seat on the board, said Town Clerk Linda Hathaway. Other seats up for a vote in the May 13 election include a three-year term on the Nashoba Regional School Committee, a three-year term on the Board of Health, and a five-year term on the Planning Board. The deadline for submitting nomination papers is March 25. - Matt Gunderson

VERIZON ADDS TOWN CHANNEL - The town's community-access television station, Channel 8, will be available during nonschool hours over Channel 32 on the Verizon FIOS network. During school hours - weekdays between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. - Channel 32 will remain an educational-access station. Verizon officials have said that Channel 8, which airs videotapes of town government activities, such as board and committee meetings, will get its own, dedicated channel in the summer. - John M. Guilfoil

CITIZENS FIRE ACADEMY - The Wayland Firefighters Association is holding a citizens firefighting academy, giving people the chance to learn about the job. Student trainees will have the chance to extinguish a fire and use the Jaws of Life machine, organizers said. There will also be fire prevention lessons. Classes will begin March 26 and run once a week for the following four weeks. For more information or to register, call the association at 508-358-6922. - John M. Guilfoil

LIBRARY GOES WIRELESS - The Westborough Public Library is now offering free wireless Internet access, according to its director, Carolyn Delude. She said the new offering should make it easier to gain access to one of the library's desktop computers, since laptop owners can surf the Internet on their own machines. Delude said the wireless network was much cheaper than the major renovation work required to rewire the library's 1908 building on West Main Street. Wireless Internet is available throughout the library, including the children's room, Delude said. - John Dyer

COOKIES FOR MILITARY IN IRAQ - The Girl Scouts of Westborough are asking residents to provide names of military personnel serving in Iraq to whom they can send boxes of Girl Scout cookies. The contact information can be forwarded to Jenni Speed at Jennifer.m.speed@gmail.com. The Girl Scouts will also raise money and collect names on Saturday, from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m., during their cookie sale at 30 Lyman St. The streetside sale will be shown on the town's local-access cable channel, Westborough TV. - John Dyer

5K CHALLENGE - Sign-ups are taking place for the Bellingham Challenge 5K Run/Walk, a fund-raiser to benefit the Bellingham High School's track and girls' lacrosse teams. The event will take place April 27 at 10 a.m. at Bellingham High School. Prerace entry fees are $18 for ages 11 to 54, and $12 for ages 10 and under, and 55 and over. Entries must be postmarked by April 12 to receive a T-shirt; after the deadline, the entry fee will be $20, with no T-shirt. Same-day registration will be held from 8 to 9:45 a.m. on April 27 at the high school, 60 Blackstone St. The race is limited to 200 runners. For information, visit bellinghamma.org or contact Val Tomolonis, race coordinator, at bhsgirlslax@comcast.net. - Rachel Lebeaux

FUEL ASSISTANCE - The town's Council On Aging is offering help to people seeking assistance with heating bills through a program run by the South Middlesex Opportunity Council, a Framingham-based nonprofit organization that works directly with vendors. For more information, call Rosemary Comiskey in the Council on Aging office at 508-785-0032, ext. 246. - Anna Fiorentino

HOMEGROWN PLAY AT DEAN - Dean College tonight will debut an original play by faculty member Craig William Handel called "Public Speech, Private Thought," which examines a group of students who fall victim to a professor who uses grades as a weapon. The play will be performed at 8 tonight, tomorrow, and Saturday, as well as 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, at the college's Center for Performing Arts. Tickets are $15, or $5 for Dean College staff, faculty, students, and alumni. For information or reservations, call 508-541-1606. - Rachel Lebeaux

HEARING ON CELL TOWER - A public hearing on a request to build a cellular communications tower at 72 North Mill St. is slated to resume next Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. on the second floor of Town Hall. The Board of Appeals has asked for additional information on a request by Omnipoint Communications, a subsidiary of T-Mobile USA Inc., for a special permit and two variances for the proposed 100-foot cell tower. During a hearing last month, a number of area residents said the neighborhood would be hurt by the plan. They also said adequate cellphone service already exists in the area. Representatives of Omnipoint have said the tower, which they described as resembling a flagpole, would cause minimal disruption. The land is zoned for agricultural use. - Michele Morgan Bolton

NEW FUNDS FOR SAWMILL BROOK - A $3 million land purchase would cost the town only about $1.55 million in new taxes, or about $25 per year on the average property tax bill at the project's peak, according to Town Administrator Michael Sullivan. Officials had already said that a $500,000 state grant and $500,000 in leftover water funds could be used to help pay for the 34-acre property. But Sullivan said additional money from the town's water account, as well as conservation funds and money from proposed land acquisitions that never went through, could also be applied to the Sawmill Brook conservation project. The land comes with a conservation restriction for 32 more acres, meaning 66 acres would be protected. Town officials have said that keeping the land undeveloped would protect the town's water supply. Borrowing for the project would have to be approved at April's Town Meeting and at the polls as a debt-exclusion override of Proposition 2 1/2. - Calvin Hennick

NEEDHAM UNPLUGGED - Town officials are preparing to kick off the monthlong Needham Unplugged observance on Saturday. Needham Unplugged is an awareness campaign to remind residents to "unplug their electronics" and spend time with each other, said Jon Mattleman, director of the Needham Youth Commission, the sponsoring organization. The commission has created a calendar with suggested activities - such as board game night, e-mail-free Friday, hiking and volunteering - for residents during March. The highlight of the month, Mattleman said, will be the no-homework, no-activities, no-meetings night slated for March 13. - Laura M. Colarusso

FIRM'S BENTLEY ALUMNI POOL DONATIONS - Bentley College is celebrating a $500,000 gift made possible through donations of alumni who work for an international financial services company, Deloitte LLP. The effort began with a gift from William C. Freda, Deloitte vice chairman and US managing partner, who is a Bentley alumnus serving as a college trustee. He encouraged fellow graduates of the school to chip in, and raised a total of $250,000 that was matched by the company's charitable arm, the Deloitte Foundation. The money supports the $17 million renovation and expansion of Bentley's library, which includes a cafe with wireless Internet access, and giant LCD televisions tuned to financial channels. Tomorrow, the college will dedicate the newly christened Deloitte Cafe with a ceremony featuring remarks by Freda and Bentley's president, Gloria Cordes Larson. - Stephanie V. Siek

CRASH KNOCKS OUT LIGHTS - Traffic signals in Watertown Square were out for most of Sunday following a car crash that involved a Watertown police cruiser. Lieutenant Michael Lawn, the Police Department's spokesman, said the cruiser and a 2007 Ford Fusion collided in the square just after midnight Sunday. The Fusion then went across the intersection and slammed into a utility pole at Charles River Road and Galen Street, snapping it off at its base and cutting power in the square. Lawn would not provide the names of either driver involved in the accident, saying it was still under investigation. He said both were taken to Mount Auburn Hospital and treated for minor injuries. Police officers directed traffic in the square Sunday until power was restored around 8 p.m., Lawn said. - Tom Coakley

BELAFONTE AT WELLESLEY - Performer Harry Belafonte will present a lecture at Wellesley College next month about social justice. Belafonte was appointed by President Kennedy to serve as an adviser to the Peace Corps, and later established the Belafonte Foundation to help African students come to the United States to study. His topic at Wellesley College will be "Social Justice: Within and Beyond Our Borders." The lecture, which is open to the public, takes place at 7 p.m. March 11 in the college's Lulu Chow Wang Campus Center. - Lisa Keen