Book sale to aid libraries

The Friends of the Acton Libraries will hold their next book sale from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday in the meeting room of the Acton Memorial Library. Sunday is give-away day from 2 to 4 p.m. The sale will feature thousands of used books for children and adults, and there is a limited number of audiovisual items. The Friends of the Acton Libraries support Memorial Library, West Acton Citizens Library, and the elementary, junior high, and high school libraries. - Jennifer Fenn Lefferts

SCHOOL PANEL CANDIDATE - Local lawyer Judson Pierce has announced his candidacy for a seat on the School Committee. Pierce, a native of Arlington who was educated in the town's public schools, brings to six the number of candidates vying for a seat on the committee. Voters will elect three candidates to three-year terms on the panel in the town election on April 5. This is the first time that Pierce has run for public office. - Brenda J. Buote

SLOWDOWN SOUGHT - Attention, downtown speeders: You are being watched. The town recently entered into an agreement with the consulting firm Weston & Sampson Engineers Inc. of Peabody to perform a downtown traffic study. Once the ground thaws, workers will install nonpermanent hard-rubber humps and signs and monitor passing car speeds via stationary radar guns. If the installations work on a temporary basis, the town will apply for funds and install permanent speed bumps with crosswalk infrastructure, according to Christopher Ryan, director of the Department of Planning and Development. The study was initiated because of increased complaints from downtown merchants about speeding, Ryan said. The town is paying the firm $9,500 to do the study, with the money available through income generated from a Community Development Block Grant. - Taryn Plumb

UNCONTESTED CONTESTS - Low turnout is expected at Saturday's town election because no candidate is facing official opposition. Town Clerk Doreen Tremblay said she expects fewer than 500 of the town's 8,000 voters to turn out. The town had that many voters for one recent election in which only one race was contested, she said, so uncontested races would likely have even fewer. In Saturday's race, Selectman Mark Siegenthaler is running for reelection and Michael Rosenberg is seeking the vacant seat of Selectman Gordon Feltman, who died Jan. 29. All the remaining seats will likely be filled by incumbents, except for Robert B. Murphy who is seeking a seat on the Board of Assessors; Jane Puffer, who is running for a Housing Authority spot; and Rachel Field, who is running for library trustee. Although they will all likely win, a write-in candidate could sway the tide in an election with so few votes. Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at John Glenn Middle School . - Kytja Weir

OVERRIDE OFF BALLOT - There will be no Proposition 2 1/2 override question on the ballot for the annual town election next month. However, town officials continue to struggle with the operating budget for next year and may decide to call a special election between now and May to make up a budget deficit. Last Saturday was the deadline for the Board of Selectmen to decide on placing an override question on the ballot. But with questions about the budget still unresolved, the board decided to hold off for now. Selectmen chairman Angelo Firenze said the town started with a deficit of close to $3 million but has made cuts and used reserves to bring it down to $700,000. The town has proposed an additional $300,000 in cuts for nonschool trims and $400,000 for education-related cuts. School officials, however, have raised concerns about the impact those cuts would have on services. - Jennifer Fenn Lefferts

LONGO MOVES ON - Selectmen and town employees bid farewell to Town Manager Rocco Longo last Thursday. Longo was given a Boston rocker with the town seal and a Billerica blanket. With his departure, an interim management team has taken over the administrative role while a screening committee begins a search for a replacement. Principal assessor Richard Scanlon will serve as interim town manager. Library director Barbara Flaherty will assist him, and town accountant Paul Watson will oversee the budget. Longo is taking over as town administrator in Marshfield. - Joyce Pellino Crane

HILBERG STEPPING DOWN - Selectmen chairwoman Kristin Hilberg says she will not run for reelection this year. Hilberg said it was a difficult decision but she needs to focus on her family and career. "I'm a single mom and I've got kids to support, so I need to focus on my real estate career," she said. - Jennifer Fenn Lefferts

PLANNING BOARD HEARINGS - In addition to a hearing on the Asian supermarket chain H Mart's request for a special permit to operate a food court at its proposed 3 Old Concord Road site, the Planning Board tonight will hold several hearings or discussions related to new and continued applications. Among others, the board will open a hearing on a request from ConforMIS Inc., a company that develops osteoarthritic and joint-treatment implants and instrumentation, to conduct light manufacturing and chemical storage and disposal at 2 Fourth St. It will also continue hearings on Trammell Crow Co.'s plans to build the fifth and final building on its Corporate Drive campus and Cafua Management Co.'s proposal to put a Dunkin' Donuts at 69 Middlesex Turnpike. The board meets at 7:30 p.m. in Town Hall. - Eric Moskowitz

OVERRIDE ALTERNATIVE - Faced with the unlikelihood of voters passing a $450,000 override request for the public schools budget, the Finance Committee recently outlined a proposal that would in effect exchange technology for teachers. As explained to the Board of Selectmen at their last meeting, the proposal involves moving the $80,000 set aside in a long-term capital expenses budget for new school computers to the operating budget, potentially restoring the services at risk of being cut, which include world language faculty and a language arts specialist. The School Committee is expected to review the proposal at an upcoming meeting. - Nancy Shohet West

LONGTIME RESIDENT HONORED - Marian Thornton has been named this year's honored citizen by the Public Ceremonies and Celebrations Committee. Thornton, who has lived in town for 40 years, has served on a number of boards and committees focusing on environmental and land preservation issues. She began by joining the Concord-Carlisle League of Women Voters. Thornton later founded a recycling and drop-and-swap program, and cofounded the Concord Home Ownership Corporation to acquire homes for resale for low-income families in town. She has also been on the town's Natural Resources Commission and the Concord Land Conservation Trust. An honored citizen is selected each year and is chosen based on exceptional volunteer service to the town. Thornton's name will be added to the plaque in the Town House, and she will be asked to lead the Patriots Day Parade. - Jennifer Fenn Lefferts

ANOTHER OVERRIDE SOUGHT - Officials will once again ask residents to approve a Proposition 2 1/2 override. Totaling $786,000, the override would fill a $684,000 gap in the overall budget and cover three additional needs totaling $102,000, according to finance director Lorraine Leonard. The three additional needs include $12,505 to cover 10 extra hours for the Council on Aging director; $15,715 to pay for Harvard Public Library monitors; and $73,780 to cover a special education position and textbook budgets at the town's two schools. The override would have to be passed at both Town Meeting on March 29 and the annual town election on April 1, according to Leonard. Harvard faces overrides at least every other year, Leonard said, because it does not have enough income to weather increasing health insurance and utility costs. Residents approved a $650,000 override for fiscal year 2008. The overall projected budget for fiscal year 2009 is $21.9 million. - Taryn Plumb

SCHOOL BUDGET SESSION - The Lexington Town Meeting Members Association will hold a school budget information meeting this evening at Cary Hall. The meeting, slated to begin at 7:30, is the second in a series of meetings being hosted by the association to provide Town Meeting members with information about the issues on which they must vote at Town Meeting on March 19. There are 60 articles on the warrant for Town Meeting, including a proposal to streamline the permitting process for residential developments and a request to appropriate $835,000 for various school projects. The entire warrant may be viewed online at ci.lexington.ma.us/. - Brenda J. Buote

SCHOLARSHIP OFFERED - The Littleton Scholarship Trust is accepting applications from seniors and alumni of Littleton High School, as well as Littleton residents who graduated from Nashoba Valley Technical High School. Last year, the Littleton Scholarship Trust awarded about $100,000 in college scholarships. Applications are available at Littleton High School and the Reuben Hoar Library, as well as through the high school's website, littletonps.org. Applications must be postmarked by April 15. - Nancy Shohet West

HONORED BEFORE DEPLOYMENT - Mark O'Brien of Medford, an emergency medical technician and corrections officer with the Middlesex County sheriff's office, will be honored today at a luncheon with Sheriff James V. DiPaola. O'Brien is a combat medic with the Army National Guard, and the luncheon will serve as a deployment ceremony in which O'Brien's co-workers, fellow veterans, and local, state, and national officials will honor his service as well as that of all members of the military. In the coming days, O'Brien will head to Fort Benning, Ga., where he will be assigned to a unit that will deploy to Iraq, said Michael Hartigan, a spokesman for the sheriff's office. Additionally, DiPaola will sign a declaration pledging support to reservists and National Guard members. Representatives from Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve, a Department of Defense organization that protects the workplace rights of those who serve in the Guard and Reserve, will also attend today, Hartigan said. - Eric Moskowitz

ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION PLAN - The Advisory Committee on Cities for Climate Protection has developed a plan to help reduce carbon emissions. The plan includes items such as expanding public transportation, implementing increased safety measures for bicyclists and pedestrians, and adopting a no-idling campaign for motor vehicles. The plan also calls for educating the public about fuel-efficient cars and renewable energy sources. The goal is to reduce emissions by 10 percent by 2012. - Laura M. Colarusso

PARKING PLACARDS - Residents can now buy parking placards that will give them more parking time downtown. The town will be starting the new parking program on April 1 to help free up downtown street parking spots for shoppers. Those who buy yearly or quarterly permits will be able to park in designated municipal lots for more than two hours. A yearly placard will cost $200 and a quarterly card will be $60. But because three months of the year will have passed when the program begins, Town Administrator David Ragucci said, the yearly placards will cost $150 this year. Placards are available at the town clerk's office and the Chamber of Commerce. Violators who park for more than two hours without the placards will face $25 fines . - Kytja Weir

EASTER EGG HUNT - The Board of Selectmen has unanimously voted to let the Recreation Commission use the Town Common for the annual Easter egg hunt, which is scheduled to take place at 2 p.m. March 22. In the event of rain or other inclement weather, the event will be held in the Wilmington High School cafeteria. - Laura M. Colarusso

DEVELOPMENT PLAN - A public hearing begun last week on a development proposed for Hamilton Farm, a property the town bought last year, will resume March 20. The proposal from Abbott Real Estate Development calls for building 62 age-restricted units, including four buildings of a dozen units each near Pepper Hill and Edward drives. The plan also calls for four duplexes and two triplexes off Ridge Street. The farm is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was the last working farm in Winchester. Last March, voters approved a $13.6 million debt-exclusion override to buy the land. Then in November, Town Meeting approved the sale of a portion of the land to the Abbott group, in partnership with Stockard, Engler, Brigham. The deal calls for the rest of the property to be conserved as open space. - Kytja Weir

TEACHERS PROTEST STALLED TALKS - The Woburn Teachers Association last weekend mailed 5,000 postcards to school parents explaining that the teachers have initiated a work-to-rule action as a result of stalled negotiations to renew the contract that ended last summer. Teachers are arriving and leaving a few minutes before the start and end of the school day and are not participating in unpaid activities or offering their usual after-hours help for students, said Nancy Whalen, union copresident. "It's going to be very difficult. It's not fun for us at all," said Whalen, adding that talks are at an impasse because the district wants teachers to accept a greater share of health insurance. That would more than negate their raises and cost teachers an average of $1,000 per person, she said. School Committee lead negotiator Patricia Chisholm said Woburn can no longer afford to pay 90 percent of teachers' insurance, given budget constraints. - Eric Moskowitz

PELOSI VISITING - US Representative Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House, and Governor Deval Patrick will be featured speakers at the inaugural ceremony of University of Massachusetts at Lowell chancellor Martin Meehan on April 4, the school said last week. Pelosi will deliver the keynote address to cap off a weeklong celebration honoring Meehan, who took over as chancellor in July. The week of events will include lectures, exhibits, a concert, and an inaugural ball. - Russell Contreras

TREES TAPPED FOR MAPLE MONTH - A local farm will kick off the state's Maple Month tomorrow with a ceremonial tree tapping. The state Department of Agricultural Resources and Massachusetts Maple Producers' Association chose Turtle Lane Maple Farm to host the annual event, which celebrates March as the height of the state's maple-syrup-making season. Paul Boulanger and Kathy Gallagher of Turtle Lane Maple Farm have already started collecting sap and boiling it this season. They said they had produced about five gallons as of last week, but said it is too early to know how good the season would be. The ceremonial tapping runs from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and features local maple food products from local businesses. For more information, call 978-258-2889 or visit turtlelanemaplefarm.com. - Kytja Weir