Globe West Community briefing
Ashland town election tuesday
May 17, 2009
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Ashland
Three new candidates will square off for two seats on the Board of Selectmen in this Tuesday's annual town election. Michael Campbell, Jon Fetherston, and Randy Gruber are vying for the spots being vacated by current selectman Philip Jack and selectwoman Cassandra Sammons, neither of whom is seeking reelection. The only other contested race is for two spots on the town's Board of Health, where incumbent Reginald Mimms is up against challengers Leslie Githens and Dimitri Karpouzis. The full list of candidates and voting locations is available on the town's website at www.ashlandmass.com. The polls will be open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. - Rachel LebeauxBellingham
MEMORIAL DAY PARADE TODAY - The town will hold a Memorial Day parade today, starting at 2 p.m. at Bellingham Middle School and proceeding down South Main Street to the Town Common. In addition to the parade activities, the town's historical commission will host an open house with tours around the town center today beginning at 11 a.m.- Rachel Lebeaux
Dover
LOCAL ARTISTS' WORK EXHIBITED - The Friends of the Dover Library are exhibiting the artwork of the Pokanoket Club Studio, a group of 14 local watercolor artists, as the library's May Artist of the Month. The artists are from Dover, Sherborn, Newton, Dedham, Needham, and other area towns. They take classes with Dover resident Fredericka Fiechter, who teaches from her home, the site of a former men's club in Dover that began in the 1800s. The Artist of the Month program is sponsored by the friends organization. Each month the works of a different local artist or artists are displayed in the library. Pieces are available for sale and 10 percent of all sales go to the library. For more information, visit the library's website at www.dovertownlibrary.org.- Anna Fiorentino
Framingham
COAKLEY IS COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER - Attorney General Martha Coakley is scheduled to speak at the Framingham State College undergraduate commencement today at 2 p.m. at the Framingham Village Green. Also today, Charles Desmond, chairman of the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education, will speak at the college's graduate commencement ceremony at 10 a.m. in the college's Performing Arts Center. - Connie PaigeFranklin
GOVERNOR TO HOLD FORUM - Governor Deval Patrick will moderate a community forum in Franklin today from 4 to 5 p.m. at the Franklin Senior Center on Daniel McCahill Way. The forum, one of 36 that officials are holding around the state, will focus on the difficult decisions facing state and local governments confronted with declining revenues. Residents will have the opportunity to ask questions, offer suggestions, and engage with Patrick and their neighbors on these issues. For more information on the forum, visit www.mass.gov/governor/reform or e-mail grassroots.governance@state.ma.us.- Rachel Lebeaux
HOLLISTON
ROPE COURSE TRANSPORT NEEDED - The good news: Holliston has secured a $60,000 high-rope adventure course (think Outward Bound) from Wellesley for $1. The bad news: Holliston needs to move it, and school officials don't have a way to do it. Keith Buday, the school's business manager, is the one who placed the winning bid. "We kind of thought the poles were 30 feet long," said Buday, when in reality, the 13 poles that hold up the ropes and obstacles are 55 feet long. Now, Buday is appealing to residents in hopes that someone has a long flatbed truck they can donate or offer cheaply to transport the course. Buday would like to have the course set up at the Holliston High School and ready for use in either the fall or spring semesters of the 2009-2010 school year. - Megan McKeeHOPKINTON
NEW FIRE CHIEF - Ken Clark is officially chief of the Hopkinton Fire Department, four months after stepping up as acting chief following Gary Daugherty's departure for the Framingham Fire Department. Since starting as a call firefighter for the town when he was just 15, Clark, a lifelong town resident, has risen through the ranks, married, and had four sons. He remembers when the Fire Department was made up of a majority of call firefighters with only one career firefighter working per shift; now the department has 24 career firefighters supplemented by 10 call firefighters. Looking forward, Clark said, the Legacy Farms development will be a major project for the Fire Department to help oversee. He also said the fire chiefs and boards of selectmen in Hopkinton and Ashland are considering sharing resources to better reach parts of their towns. - Megan McKeeMEDFIELD
SINGING FOR MORE SUPPERS - The Community Singers of Medfield perform this afternoon at the United Church of Christ in a fund-raiser for several area food pantries, including the Medfield Food Cupboard. Starting at 4 p.m., the singers will present a concert of barbershop, musical theater, and solo vocal and instrumental music. Judith Weiner, chorus manager, expects about 10 acts in total. "It's going to be a very eclectic program," Weiner said. "We have members from all over . . . [and] individuals in the chorus preparing their own pieces of music." The group is in its 20th year and has about 60 members. Admission is a nonperishable food item or a monetary donation. The United Church of Christ is located at 496 Main St. For more information, call 508-520-8770. - James O'BrienHIKE TO CELEBRATE NEW TRAIL - Registration is open for a 16-mile hike dedicating the newly completed Charles River Link regional trail on June 6. The full trail runs from the Newton-Wellesley border to Medfield, linking two larger hiking routes along the Charles River. The Medfield portion of the hike - about 1 1/2 miles traversing a bluff along Rocky Narrows, following the Charles River - ends at Medfield State Hospital. "One of the biggest natural landmarks in Medfield is along the Rocky Narrows," said hike coordinator Denny Nackoney. "It's a constriction in the Charles River, where, historically, many boats and much traffic passed." The overall event starts at 8:30 a.m. An afternoon segment of the hike - nine miles containing the Medfield section - can be joined at noon at the Guernsey Sanctuary in Wellesley. The hike is free, but registration is required by May 31. To register, call 781-237-5174 or e-mail CRLink@verizon.net. - James O'Brien
Medway
SELECTMEN, SCHOOL COMMITTEE RACES - Two incumbents will face off against a single challenger for positions on the Board of Selectmen in Tuesday's annual town election. Selectmen Dennis Crowley and Richard Dunne and challenger Steven Dahl are competing for the two open spots on the board. The only other race is on the School Committee side, where incumbent Dawn Rice-Norton is being challenged by Jeff DeVolder for a single position. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Medway Middle School. For more information, contact the town clerk's office at 508-533-3204. - Rachel LebeauxMILFORD
TOWN MEETING MONDAY - The annual Town Meeting will take place on Monday at 7:30 p.m. in Upper Hall of the Milford Town Hall, 52 Main Street. Articles to go before voters include a proposal that would have the town obtain a public right-of-way to allow for a signal and intersection improvements project encompassing seven intersections along Route 16. A copy of the full warrant can be found online at http://www.milford.ma.us/warrant.pdf.- Anna Fiorentino
MILLIS
HAZARDOUS WASTE DISPOSAL - Common household products like bathroom and drain cleaners, car wax, and car repair products are all classified as hazardous waste, and should be disposed of properly to avoid dangerous runoff into lakes, rivers, and drinking supplies. Because Millis is part of the Charles River Household Hazardous Waste Collaborative, residents can take these items on Wednesdays from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. until Sept. 30 to the Charles Jerome Recycling/Transfer Station at 33 Medway Branch in Norfolk. - Megan McKeeNATICK
MONEY FOR THE ELIOT BRIDGE - Originally the site of an Indian footbridge dating back to 1651, the Eliot Bridge in South Natick, with its stone construction and four arches, is in desperate need of repairs. A recent Massachusetts Highway Department bridge inspection said a 6-ton weight limit was needed to prevent further deterioration, but a joint effort between town officials, Representative Alice Peisch, a Wellesley Democrat, and Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray led to securing $200,000 in short-term repair funding from the state to prevent the weight limit's imposition. Meanwhile, town officials are also working to secure federal money for more extensive long-term repairs. The bridge, which spans the Charles River, is an important link on Pleasant Street for people traveling to Natick from Dover, Sherborn, and Needham. - Megan McKeeNORFOLK
TOWN ELECTION - Norfolk has a new selectman, a new elementary School Committee member, and a new full-term appointee to the Planning Board following the May 5 election. Advisory board member James Tomaszewski beat challenger Richard Bremilst, 711-176, for a three-year term on the Board of Selectmen. The seat was vacated by chairman Ramesh Advani, who did not run for reelection. Newcomer Linda Andrews and incumbent John Olivieri won 549 votes and 449 votes, respectively, for two three-year terms on the Norfolk School Committee over newcomer Jonathan Hurwitz, who had 440 votes. And Andrea Langhauser, who has been filling an unexpired planning board term, beat candidates Gregory Mirliss and Paul Comendul for a permanent spot on the board. Langhauser had 493 votes, Mirliss 357, and Comendul 112. - Michele Morgan BoltonPLAINVILLE
TOWN MEETING TOMORROW - The annual town report and the warrant for tomorrow's Town Meeting have been posted on the town website at http://www.plainville.ma.us. The meeting is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. at the Beatrice H. Wood Elementary School Auditorium, 72 Messenger Street. Prominent on tomorrow night's warrant are 13 articles proposing zoning changes that officials hope will rejuvenate the town center. Four public hearings were recently held to discuss the changes that encourage redevelopment while safeguarding residents' interests. The proposed plan would place the Planning Board in charge of approving development plans using a new set of stipulations for lot size, building height, parking, and other issues. The town's financial articles are on the schedule for June 1, the second night of Town Meeting. - Michele Morgan Bolton
Sherborn
NEW POLICE CHIEF - Selectmen have appointed Framingham Police Detective Sergeant Richard Thompson as Sherborn's new police chief. Thompson, a Sherborn resident, was one of three finalists referred to selectmen by a Police Chief Selection Committee, which included the fire chief and law enforcement personnel. Thompson is replacing Police Chief Gary Hendron, who recently announced his retirement after 24 years. Thompson will begin no later than July 1. - Anna FiorentinoUPTON
MAILBOXES SURVIVE TOWN MEETING VOTE - Mailboxes on Main Street sidewalks will not become a thing of the past, according to Upton Town Meeting members, who on May 7 defeated a measure to ban the boxes. Kenneth Glowacki, town treasurer and collector, put forth the measure, citing the boxes' impact on aesthetics and handicapped access to sidewalks along the Main Street stretch of Route 140. Environmental protection was also on the agenda at Town Meeting, with members defeating a citizens' petition to revoke town wetlands-protection bylaws, which the town approved in 2004. Town Meeting members adjourned, however, without voting on whether to implement regulations that would allow the town to enforce the wetlands-protection bylaws. Town Clerk Kelly McElreath said meeting members wanted more information about the regulations. A continuation of Town Meeting is scheduled for June 16. McElreath said there are 10 held-over articles "pertaining to money." - James O'BrienWRENTHAM
- Michele Morgan Bolton
Around the region
Ayer
FINE FOR SMOKING POT - Anyone caught smoking marijuana in a public place in town will now be liable for a noncriminal fine of $300, an offshoot of last year's state law decriminalizing possession of less than an ounce of the drug. The new bylaw was one of several major items approved at Town Meeting sessions Monday and Tuesday nights. In financial matters, voters approved an operating budget of $22 million for the fiscal year starting July 1, or $292,000 less than this year's, and agreed that there should be no step-pay increases for town employees next year.- Davis Bushnell
Northborough
DONATIONS FOR BOOK SALE - Friends of the Northborough Library are accepting donations for the group's annual book sale, to be held May 30. Books, audiobooks, DVDs, CDs, and video games are welcome, said Friends member Ellen Church, but organizers are not accepting magazines, encyclopedia sets, or materials in poor condition. Donations may be dropped off at the Northborough Free Library, 34 Main St., during regular business hours. The book sale will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the library, and most books will be sold for 50 cents, Church said. For more information, or to volunteer to help sort books, contact Church at ellenchurch@charter.net.- Keith Cheveralls
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