Dangerous crossing

May 11, 2008

Between 2003 and 2006, police responded to an average of 21 accidents per year at the intersection of Bedford and Randolph streets, where routes 18 and 139 cross. Last year, though, that number dropped to just 13 after state highway officials reconfigured the crossing, adding new lanes and directional arrows. But a recent report by Abington police shows a sharp increase in accidents at the intersection. "We've responded to 10 accidents there since the start of the year," said Chief David Majenski. "I can't explain it." The intersection was listed in a February 2008 report by MassHighway as among the state's 500 most dangerous intersections. The report, which used data from the Registry of Motor Vehicles, charted accidents between 2003 and 2005. "We had a dramatic decrease" in accidents in 2007, said Majenski. "I wish I knew why accidents are going back up there." - Robert Carroll

STAFF REDUCTIONS EYED - Twenty-three full-time workers and six part-time workers could lose their jobs under the proposed $87 million budget presented to the Town Council by Mayor Joseph C. Sullivan, as the town grapples with a fiscal crisis. Also, the School Department will not fill 5 1/2 empty positions. The job losses are spread throughout the town's departments, said Peter Morin, chief of staff. They include 1 1/2 jobs in the mayor's administrative office, a clerical worker in the Police Department, and a clerical worker and mechanic in the Fire Department. No police officers or firemen are slated to lose their jobs. The job cuts are staggered through at least September and will save about $1 million, said Morin. The budget must still be approved by the Town Council. - Matt Carroll

FUN AT ANY AGE - The town's elders and a fourth-grade class from the Deer Hill School will get together to fly kites next month for the first Let's Fly a Kite Day. The students and senior citizens collaborated last month on a poetry project. "Intergenerational projects are wonderful," said Linda Elworthy, director of Cohasset's Elder Affairs. "The poetry [experience] was a very positive one, so we're going to bring them together on another shared program." Elworthy said the plan calls for the senior citizens and Suzi Corkhum's fourth-grade class to make kites, fly them on Cohasset Common, and then have a picnic lunch. Elworthy also said that logistics have forced her to postpone until the fall a planned birthday party for the town's 80- and 90-year-olds because of the large number who qualify. The town has 1,668 senior citizens (out of a population of 7,588) and 408 are 80 or older. - Johanna Seltz

IN GOOD FINANCIAL STANDING - Standard & Poor's, which makes independent credit ratings for municipalities, has raised the town of Duxbury's ratings to AAA from AA+ for town borrowing. The company said the AAA rating reflects the town's affluent, diverse tax base and a strong financial position maintained over economic cycles. The rating is also based on the town's local economy, high per capita health, and modest future borrowing needs. The Standard & Poor's rating service also said it believes the town will be able to sustain its financial position at current levels and town management will be able to meet future budgetary needs adequately. Raising the town's credit ratings means the town will pay lower interest rates when it borrows money. - Robert Knox

PROPERTY REZONING DENIED - A 100-acre stretch of undeveloped land off Route 3 near Exit 13 will not be zoned commercial. Despite a recommendation by the Planning Board that the parcel behind Tweeter be listed as commercial, voters at last week's Town Meeting unanimously said they want it to remain residential. "It was very clear at Town Meeting that voters wanted the land left the way it has been for the past 10 years or so," said Town Planner Andrew Port. Port said if zoned commercial the property could have brought the town about $750,000 in tax revenue annually. - Robert Carroll

CRISTELLO IS MOVING ON - Charles Cristello is leaving Town Hall after 16 years as town administrator to become Middleborough's town manager in July. Middleborough has roughly the same population as Hingham - about 20,000 - but has far more undeveloped land and faces the prospect of a casino coming to town. Hingham may have lost its town administrator, but last week's election yielded a new selectman. Bruce Rabuffo defeated Grant Hansel, 1,387 to 833, in the race for the seat vacated by Melissa Tully. In the other races, Scott Bosworth defeated Victoria Dolan, 1,302 to 1,097, for a seat on the Recreation Commission, and Kevin Bulman retained his spot on the Municipal Light Board by defeating Roger Freeman, 1,476 to 735. - Johanna Seltz

TEACHER NOMINATED - A reading teacher at the Holbrook Junior/Senior High School has been selected as a semifinalist for the 2009 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year. Katie Sewell, who holds a master's degree from the University of Massachusetts at Boston, has taught in Holbrook since September 2006. Before that, she was a first-grade teacher and high school English teacher in Florida and a middle school teacher in Quincy. The state Department of Education has selected 11 semifinalists for the honor.

- Franci Richardson Ellement

BOARD STICKS WITH ACTING CHIEF - Robert Hollingshead is the town's new fire chief. Selectmen voted unanimously last month to give the job to Hollingshead, who has been acting chief since Francis Lyons retired in January. Hollingshead, 54, has been a Hull firefighter since 1978. He served as interim chief in 2004 and applied unsuccessfully for the top job then. Two other members of the department were in the running for the chief's position this year - Captains Robert Breen and Christopher Russo. Hollingshead scored the highest on the evaluation test for the position. A Hull resident, he teaches fire science at Massasoit Community College and has taught at the state fire academy. -Johanna Seltz

RECOUNT MOVES FORWARD - The Board of Registrars is looking at Wednesday as the date for a recount of the April 26 vote for selectmen after trailing candidate John Haas petitioned for a recount. Haas received three votes fewer than candidate Dennis Randall in the town election, 383 to 386. Because of the closeness of the vote, Haas had the right to petition by gathering 10 signatures from each of the town's four precincts. The Board of Registrars, which oversees elections, was working on certifying the signatures last week. Since Kingston votes by optical scanning device, registrars will do a hand count of the ballots and make decisions on any questionable votes. - Robert Knox

REILLY TOPS BALLOT - Patricia Reilly won the selectman's race by a landslide last Saturday. The 43-year-old Scituate native garnered 1,006 votes in the town election, while John Griffin finished second with 631 votes and Joseph Pecevich came in third with 402 votes, according to the town clerk's office. Reilly has served on the town's Advisory Committee, Personnel Board, and the South River School Council. She was sworn into her new post on Monday.

- Emily Sweeney

BOARD REALIGNS - Kathryn A. Fagan was voted chairwoman of the Board of Selectmen, taking over for Marion V. McEttrick. John Shields was voted secretary for the three-person board. The board usually changes its officers annually. - Matt Carroll

MONEY MATTERS - A $36.3 million fiscal 2009 operating budget will be among the key items coming before annual Town Meeting tomorrow. The meeting, at 7:30 p.m. in the middle school gymnasium, will also consider a $415,358 capital budget and other spending requests, including $400,000 sought by the School Department to upgrade technology (the Advisory Board recommends $275,000). Other articles include measures to authorize the Board of Selectmen to negotiate the purchase of the historic Sergeant Samuel Stetson House and to repair the historic Stetson Ford House, both paid for out of the town's Community Preservation Fund - the exact dollar amounts will be specified at Town Meeting. Another request seeks $200,000 from the Community Preservation Fund to improve pedestrian and bicycle paths. The meeting will also take up a proposal to allow "open space residential design," a type of residential developments that protects a site's natural and historic assets. - John Laidler

CAREER CHANGE FOR BOULTER - Pembroke Police Lieutenant William Boulter Jr., who was elected to the Board of Selectmen April 28, plans to retire from the Police Department on Aug. 8. Boulter, who was the top vote-getter in the three-way race for two seats on the board, has been with the department for 44 years. He was promoted to sergeant in 1971 and to lieutenant in 1996. He served as provisional chief from October 2006, when former police chief Gregory Wright retired, until this past October when Michael Ohrenberger was named chief. Boulter will turn 65 in August, the mandatory retirement age for police officers. "My plans are to continue serving the Town of Pembroke as a selectman and to get in as much fishing, hunting, and flying as possible," said Boulter, a recreational pilot. - John Laidler

BETTER CREDIT - Standard & Poor's recently raised its rating on the town's debt from --AA to AA. The New York-based rating agency said the upgrade reflects the town's continued tax base growth, strong wealth and income levels, and low overall debt. "We expect that the town's financial position will remain positive with strong reserve levels," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Michael Taylor. Overall, the agency found that the town's finances are in good shape, while noting that "slowing residential development, as well as the town's reliance on tax revenues from Entergy Nuclear Generation Co., the town's leading taxpayer, slightly offsets these strengths."

- Emily Sweeney

ROAD REPAIRS PROMISED - The winter's fierce weather has left its mark on the city's roads in the form of potholes. Quincy plans to spend $300,000 to fix them this spring, according to Mayor Thomas Koch. Residents can report potholes to the Public Works Department at 617-376-1914. - Matt Carroll

SCHOOL NEEDS NEW ROOF - Randolph Town Meeting voters will be asked to pay $745,000 to replace the roof on the Young Elementary School. The Finance Committee last week voted to recommend spending the money on the 20-year-old roof after years of patching and repairs to stem leaks. If approved at Town Meeting, which begins May 27, the project would start June 20 when school lets out for the summer and be complete in the fall when students return. - David Connolly

SELECTMEN REORGANIZE - Rick Murray is the new chairman of the Board of Selectmen. A professor of oceanography at Boston University and former member of the Scituate Waterways Commission, Murray is entering the final year of his first three-year term on the board. The board also chose Shawn Harris, who had been chairman the previous year, to be vice chairman, and new member Anthony V. Vegnani to serve as clerk. Vegnani fills the seat held by Paul Reidy, who did not seek reelection. Harris defeated two challengers to keep his seat. - John Laidler

NEW RULE RESTRICTS SEX OFFENDERS - Level 3 sex offenders - those deemed most likely to reoffend - are banned from living within 1,500 feet of any school, playground, day-care center, park, or recreational facility in town. The Town Council approved the restriction last week. The new rule doesn't apply to the half-dozen Level 3 offenders already living in town, unless they move from their current residences, according to Councilor Kevin Whitaker, who chairs the committee that wrote the ordinance. Whitaker said the original proposal restricted nearly the entire town, but the compromise leaves small, scattered locations where the offenders can live. Those in violation would get 30 days to move and then face fines of $150 for the first day and $300 for every day after, he said. "There's been a movement . . . to enact these type of ordinances to protect the public and create awareness of areas that children frequent," Whitaker said. "It's simply a public safety measure." Eight councilors, including Whitaker, voted for the measure, with two abstaining and one absent.

- Johanna Seltz

IMPROVED WEBSITE - The town's year-old website, avonmass.org, has had a makeover. Now much faster, the site also has more content, including a link that will allow residents to pay their taxes online starting with the next bill, said Town Administrator Michael McCue. Home assessments and their descriptions became available on the site last week, as have minutes to meetings of the Board of Selectmen, a listing of permit fees, and many other official documents. - Joan Wilder

PHOTOS TELL THE STORIES - Health Care of Southeastern Massachusetts plans to host a photo exhibit next month in observance of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month. "Love Makes a Family" is a traveling exhibit of photographs and interviews with families that have gay, bisexual, or transgender members. The exhibit will go up June 1 at the David H. Mulligan Center for Health Promotion, and will be open to the general public on various dates throughout the month. The center is at 942 West Chestnut St. For more information, call 508-583-2250.

- Milton J. Valencia

COMMENCEMENT TIME - Robert Jay Lifton, a psychiatrist and author noted for his studies on the psychological effects of war and political violence, will speak next Sunday at Stonehill College's 57th commencement. The ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. on the college's quadrangle; 596 students are to graduate. Lifton will receive an honorary degree, as will Lena Deevy, a nun and executive director of the Boston Immigration Center, and Lawrence C. and Theresa Salameno, Stonehill trustees and benefactors.

- Milton J. Valencia

ROUTE 36 WORK UNDERWAY - Construction has begun on the portion of Route 36 that borders East Monponsett Pond. That section is to be widened to address a dangerous curve in the road. The work is expected to cause traffic delays for the next several months, according to Executive Administrator Charles Seelig, so drivers should seek alternate routes. For more information on the construction, call Highway Surveyor Rose Campbell at 781-293-1760.

- Christine Legere

LEARNING FROM TRAGEDY - Old Rochester Junior High School is presenting "Rachel's Challenge," a motivational program based on diary entries written by Rachel Scott, the first person killed in the Columbine High School shooting spree in Colorado in 1999. The program is scheduled for May 20 and stresses eliminating prejudice, having dreams, choosing influences wisely, using words kindly, and doing good deeds to start a chain reaction of them, according to the Rachel's Challenge website. Student assemblies are scheduled in the morning, with a one-hour presentation for the public scheduled at 7 p.m. There is no charge for admission.

- Paul E. Kandarian

MECHANICAL TRASH PICKUP - Town officials have agreed to enter into a five-year contract with Waste Management Inc. to offer curbside mechanical trash and recycling pickup, beginning as soon as Oct. 1. As part of the deal, the company will provide every home with a free, 64-gallon wheeled trash container and a 96-gallon wheeled bin for recycling items. A truck with mechanized arms will pick up and empty the receptacles on a regular schedule. The trash company's employees will continue to physically pick up refuse for a time, once the contract kicks in, to give residents a chance to get used to the system. The move is seen as a cost-saving measure.

- Michele Morgan Bolton

ROAD OUTLOOK UNCERTAIN - Two months to two years - that is how long town officials believe a section of Bay Road could be closed following last month's collapse of a culvert. Meanwhile, the heavily traveled road will continue to be closed between Walters Way in Stoughton and Castle Drive in Sharon, forcing a steady diet of commercial trucks onto congested Route 138. Southbound motorists can avoid the area by following detour signs leading them along Plain Street to Route 138, which runs parallel with Bay Road. Northbound drivers can detour to Lincoln Street in North Easton to Route 138.

- Robert Carroll