Election winners in Acton

PROPOSAL TO SPEND LESS - The town's proposed operating budget for the 2010 fiscal year, which starts July 1, is $22.1 million, $195,000 less than this year's budget. Included in the proposal are 3 percent cost-of-living increases for town employees, both union and nonunion. If state aid proves to be insufficient to cover the spending plan, some personnel cuts may have to be made, Town Administrator Shaun A. Suhoski said. The budget is among the issues to be setttled by Town Meeting on May 11.

SEWER STUDY FUNDING APPROVED - Town Meeting has approved an appropriation for the town's share of funding for a study of the local sewer system. The study is aimed at reducing the amount of water being processed by the system, thus saving money for rate payers. The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority study would include a townwide survey of homes with sump pumps. Just under half of the study's cost, approximately $581,000, would be covered by an MWRA grant. - Nancy Shohet West

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR FEMALE STUDENTS - The Board of Selectmen is accepting applications for the Mabel Felton Marble Memorial Scholarship. Created by the Marble family, the scholarships provide approximately $2,000 a year to graduating female high school students living in town who plan to continue their education. Applications are available at the selectmen's office at Town Hall and the guidance departments at Tahanto Regional and Assabet Regional Technical high schools. Applications are due May 11. - Julie Rappaport

SMALL BUMP FOR SCHOOL BUDGET - The Nashoba Regional School Committee drafted a budget for next fiscal year, which starts July 1, that calls for a spending increase of 1.6 percent. The budget, which would decrease operational spending in a variety of areas, would total $42.16 million, $662,473 more than this year. The budget requires approval by the regional district's member communities, Bolton, Lancaster and Stow. - Matt Gunderson

OPENING ON MINUTEMAN BOARD - The town is looking for a resident to serve as Boxborough's representative on the Minuteman Regional Vocational High School's School Committee. For more information or to volunteer for the open seat, contact John Fallon, the town moderator, at 978-264-0069.

SPEND LESS, EARN MORE - Devote more time and attention to school spending and promote more commercial development - those are the two recommendations in a recent report on the town's finances. Written by the Revenue Study Committee, formed by selectmen to investigate the town's budgetary woes since 2003, the report is available at the town website, boylston-ma.gov. The committee's job was also to explore possible options for coping with revenue declines that the town faces. - Matt Gunderson

MOSQUITO PLAN LOSES VOTE - Selectmen have decided not to give next month's Town Meeting the opportunity to decide whether Carlisle should join the Eastern Middlesex Mosquito Control Project. Their vote followed a Board of Health recommendation against placing the proposal on the May 4 warrant, based on concerns about the mosquito control program. The health officials said they would investigate the regional program's safety and usefulness before making a new recommendation on the town's participation. - Nancy Shohet West

TAX HIKE APPROVED - Concord voters on Tuesday approved borrowing $750,000 for repairs to Concord-Carlisle High School; now, the property-tax increase that would cover the loan must be approved at Town Meeting, which convenes on April 27. The vote in favor of the Proposition 2 1/2 debt-exclusion override was 1,705 to 727. The proposal must still be approved by voters in Carlisle, where Town Meeting also begins on April 27 while the town election is May 12. The Concord election also featured a contested race for the Board of Selectmen, with three candidates vying for two seats. Elise Woodward received the most votes with 1,835, followed by incumbent Gregory Howes, who received 1,722 to win the second position. David Karr finished with 993 votes. About 22 percent of the town's registered voters turned out for the election. - Jennifer Fenn Lefferts

OPENING FOR TOWN WEBMASTER - After serving six years as the Internet portal master for the town website, Kathy Icenogle says she plans to resign from the position in June. Icenogle, who built the town website in 2007 with her husband, recently posted a bulletin on www.dunstable-ma.gov, asking for volunteers to fill her shoes in maintaining the site. Interested residents can call her at 978-649-9224.

SETBACK FOR STATION AVENUE PLAN - The Board of Selectmen has rescinded its award of a bid proposal from Burlington-based Capstone Properties for the creation of a mixed-use development along Station Avenue, said Town Manager Mark Haddad. In making the recent decision, selectmen determined the financial blueprint laid out by the company relied too heavily on debt and state grants and therefore was not viable, said Haddad. Selectmen and the Groton Electric Light Department, the owner of one of the Station Avenue parcels, are debating what to do next for the redevelopment of the downtown site, he added. - Matt Gunderson

LONGER SCHOOL DAYS - To make up for eight snow days this winter, hours for Harvard Elementary School and Bromfield School students will be extended by 45 minutes for one day per week, starting tomorrow and continuing through May. Most of the dates are Mondays, except for May 26, the day after the Memorial Day holiday. On the longer days, elementary school students will be released at 4:05 p.m., instead of 3:20 p.m., and Bromfield School students will be dismissed at 3:05 p.m. rather than at 2:20 p.m. The schools will let out for the summer June 26.

MORE TO DO DOWNTOWN - Area residents want more shopping and dining opportunities downtown, according to the results of a recent Hudson Business Association survey. The association polled 111 people over the past six months about what kinds of changes they would like to see downtown. Of the total respondents, 90 lived in Hudson and the rest came from neighboring towns. The wish list included more dining and retail options, from bagel shops and bookstores to boutiques and a high-end food market. When asked what keeps them away from downtown, most said parking and heavy traffic. The survey's results will be "enormously valuable" for efforts to revive downtown, association president Arthur Redding said. For details on the report, visit www.hdsonbusinessassociation.com. - Julia Rappaport

LIMITS ON GROUP HOMES DEFEATED - Two warrant items calling for limits on group homes in town were rejected by Town Meeting voters March 28. The first item called for a seven-person committee to study town-supported group homes in Lincoln and a two year-moratorium on using town money to support group homes. The second would have required the town to own any property being used as a group home. The warrant articles stemmed from the town's decision last fall to use $500,000 in Community Preservation Act funds to help Woburn-based CMARC buy a five-bedroom house on Concord Road for a group home for autistic young adults. At the time, some residents felt they were not being included in the decision that put a group home in their neighborhood. - John M. Guilfoil

LINCOLN RESIDENTS ON BOARD - Two Lincoln residents, Nancy Marshall and incumbent Mark Collins, defeated candidates from Sudbury for two seats on the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional School Committee in Monday's election in both towns. In an official tally, Marshall's 1,898 votes gave her the best overall showing. Collins, the incumbent, was closely behind with 1,853. Robert Haarde had 1,350 votes, while fellow Sudbury resident Robert Stein had 831.

AGENCY OK'S RUSSELL PROJECT - The Massachusetts School Building Authority has approved projected repairs to the Russell Street School. The authority told selectmen it has established a budget of $15.1 million for the project, with an approximate total grant amount of $7 million. Residents are encouraged to attend a presentation on the project Thursday at 7 p.m. at the school. - Nancy Shohet West

DENTAL CARE FOR SENIORS - A program that met with much success last month is coming back to town. The Massachusetts Dental Society van that provided free dental care to 14 seniors at the city's Senior Center is returning April 10 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Area dentists will be on hand to conduct free checkups and screenings for oral cancer. Interested seniors can call Nancy Fernandez at 508-485-6492, ext. 15, for an appointment. - Julia Rappaport

TOUR NEW POLICE STATION - A ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house at the new police headquarters on Main Street, originally scheduled for last Sunday but postponed by bad weather, has been rescheduled for April 26 from 2 to 4 p.m.

HEARING CLINIC - The senior center is hosting a free hearing clinic on Friday at 12:30 p.m. Peter Lee of Professional Hearing Healthcare of Westborough will conduct the clinic. Interested seniors should call 508-393-5035 to make an appointment. Transportation is available through the town's Council on Aging, and can be arranged by calling 508-752-9283.

BUDGET SURVEY - In an effort to gauge public opinion on perhaps the toughest budget cycle in memory, town officials are asking residents to complete a survey on how to best handle a projected deficit. The survey, which can be filled out on the town website, town.pepperell.ma.us, covers variety of issues, such as what town services are valued most and whether residents would support a property-tax increase through an override of Proposition 2 1/2. The deficit for the fiscal year starting July 1 is estimated at $1 million to $1.3 million. - Matt Gunderson

POLICE CHIEF RETIRES - Police Chief Paul Thibodeau was scheduled to retire Friday, and his position will not be immediately filled. Town Administrator Kyle Keady said the town will designate an interim chief. Thibodeau, 54, has worked for the Shirley police force for 32 years. - Julie Masis

HOTEL PLAN IN TROUBLE - Plans for a 124-room extended-stay hotel on 2 acres at Lake Street and Boston Turnpike Road are apparently dead in the water unless the developer returns to the Planning Board with a new proposal, officials said. In November, the Planning Board gave provisional approval for the hotel plan filed by Liberty Investment Properties, but stipulated that a special permit would be required to avoid stricter zoning imposed on such develop ments last May. Town Planner Eric Denoncourt said the developers never appeared at January and February hearings, however, and failed to pay the full application fee. The Planning Board then rejected the hotel plan at its March 5 meeting. A 20-day window for appeal by developers elapsed last week.

HIGHER BUDGET ON WARRANT - Town Meeting voters April 13 will decide on a $42.7 million operating budget, among other items. The budget figure is an increase of 2.46 percent over this year's budget. Other items on the Town Meeting warrant include some capital expenses, the appropriation of Community Preservation Act funds, and updating the town's salary administration plan and personnel bylaws. Town Meeting starts at 7 p.m. at the Trottier Middle School. - Calvin Hennick

STUDENTS ADVANCE IN MATH - Four Hale Middle School students have advanced to this spring's American Invitational Mathematics Examination, a competition that serves as an intermediate examination to the USA Mathematical Olympiad. The four students are Thomas Granger, Steven Tang, Aaron Wassall, and Zachary Wassall. - Matt Gunderson

FULL WARRANT FOR TOWN MEETING - Residents taking part in the annual Town Meeting, which convenes tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High, will be deciding 32 warrant articles, including the fiscal year 2010 budget. Local Boy Scouts delivered a copy of the warrant to residences in preparation for the meeting, in which all registered voters are eligible to participate. Residents with questions or who had not received a copy of the warrant may call the selectmen's office at 978-639-3382. - John M. Guilfoil

STUDENT PRESS WINS TOP HONORS - The Wayland Student Press has been awarded a Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Crown Award, given out by Columbia University. The Wayland Student Press, started in 2007, has achieved national fame in its short history. - John M. Guilfoil

SELECTING NEW TOWN MANAGER - Selectmen expect to appoint a new town manager Tuesday. The board was scheduled to interview finalists - Medway Town Administrator Suzanne Kennedy, Sturbridge Town Administrator James Malloy, and a former Uxbridge town manager, Jill Myers - for a second time last week. The incumbent town manager, Henry Danis, is retiring July 1. - Calvin Hennick