Opening for high-tech design teacher in Avon

REVAMPING TOWN GOVERNMENT - Residents interested in helping to shape Bridgewater’s future are invited to apply for a seat on the Town Government Study Committee, which has two openings. The committee is charged with looking at the current municipal system and coming up with recommended changes for Town Meeting to consider at next spring’s annual session. To apply for the committee, send a letter of interest along with qualifications to the town clerk’s office at Town Hall, 64 Central Square, Bridgewater, MA 02324. - Christine Legere

NEW TOTEM POLE AT VA HOSPITAL - A 30-foot-tall totem pole has been erected at the Veterans Administration hospital in Brockton, honoring Native American veterans. A ceremony was held last week at the hospital, which is on Belmont Street. Arnold Deary, a Native American from Carver who volunteers at the hospital, which is part of the VA Boston Healthcare System, said the pole installation is part of a renovation project for a pond area on the hospital campus. The dedication of the pole included a blessing and pipe ceremony. The pole joined two smaller poles on the Brockton VA campus. - Steve Hatch

LONGER DAY AT SOUTHEASTERN TECH - Students at Southeastern Regional Technical Vocational High School in Easton will be in class longer starting in the fall, when the school day will be extended until 4 p.m. The additional 90 minutes will be used to provide more instruction for students, said principal David Wheeler, provided that approval for the new arrangement is reached through negotiations with the teachers union. Part of the impetus for the change was the loss of $500,000 in state funding for transportation. Instead of eliminating late buses, the school opted to have all of the buses leave at 4 p.m., he said. Parents can opt out of the extra time for their children if they have obligations, but must provide their own transportation. - Steve Hatch

DEVELOPER ON ZONING BOARD - Developer John S. Marini has been named the newest member of the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals. “I think he’s going to be a good member of the board,” said the Board of Selectmen’s chairman, Sal Salvatori. Marini will serve a three-year term on the zoning board, replacing retiring member James Fitzgerald. Marini, who is credited for bringing the state’s Smart Growth initiative to Canton in his River Village condominium development, told selectmen that he doesn’t plan to do any more projects in his hometown. Salvatore said Marini brings “an extremely large amount of knowledge” to the zoning board on how development takes place, in Canton and other communities. Salvatore said the town counsel reviewed the appointment and found that Marini’s business relationships and actions do not pose a conflict with his appointment. Selectmen also appointed Kevin Feeney as an alternate to the board. - Elaine Cushman Carroll

BUDGET GETS A TRIM - Town Meeting voters approved a $31.57 million annual operating budget barely a week before the new fiscal year’s start on Wednesday. The spending plan represents a 1 percent decrease from last year’s budget, reflecting a reduction in state aid of about $300,000. The decrease will result in staff and program cuts for a number of departments, including the police and school system. The Department of Public Works is also reducing the number of seasonal workers it will be hiring. Town Meeting wrapped up the warrant on June 23, after being recessed several times while officials awaited final state aid figures. - Robert Knox

HIGH SCHOOL ON PROBATION - Undersized classrooms, outdated electrical outlets, and a failing septic system are just a few of the shortcomings that have resulted in the town’s 52-year-old high school being placed on probation by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. The accrediting organization issued a warning to the school district this spring with a list of more than 60 items that must be addressed. A letter placing the high school on probation is expected to arrive within the next week or so, the School Committee told selectmen Tuesday. School officials hope to set up a meeting with Massachusetts School Building Authority representatives to discuss obtaining the state’s help in paying for a new facility.

LOWER FEE FOR TRASH COLLECTION - The semiannual residential trash bills that are expected to reach local mailboxes this week will be $80, rather than the previous $90, said a Highway Department spokeswoman. The fee’s decrease is based on a number of factors, including savings accrued by the shift from a quarterly billing system, and the town’s high recycling rate. More information about the trash and recycling program is available on the municipal website, www.townfoxborough.us. - Joan Wilder

INVESTIGATING WAMPANOAG FIRE - Fire officials are seeking the cause of last weekend’s blaze that destroyed the Wampanoag Cultural Center building on reservation land in the Freetown-Fall River State Forest. Fire Chief Gary Silvia said the state fire marshal’s office is aiding in the investigation. He said intense flames had spread throughout the building and the roof had caved in when firefighters arrived at about 7:30 a.m. on June 27, and he termed the fire’s cause as of suspicious origin pending an investigation. The building, owned by the Assonet Band of the Wampanoag Nation, is on Ledge Road, an unpaved road in the 227-acre Watuppa Reservation. Ken Alves of Acushnet, who is chief of the band, said it was used for monthly meetings, weddings, birthday parties, ceremonies and social gatherings. He added that it was not insured. “Everything we own as a group was in that building. We have no idea how we are going to start again,” Alves said. He said the Assonet Band was on good terms with the facility’s other users, but it had encountered occasional break-ins and graffiti. Alves said the forest is difficult to patrol and hosts a wide array of visitors, including hikers, horseback riders, and dirt bikers. - Elaine Cushman Carroll

FOX KILLED AFTER ATTACKS - Local police shot and killed a rabid fox last week after it attacked residents of the Halifax Mobile Home Estates on Plymouth Street. According to health agent Cathleen Drinan, the small fox’s first attack was on a man leaving the housing area’s community building. “The fox bit him in the sneaker, and then ran after another man and bit his pant leg,” Drinan said. Following the initial report, there were several other sightings of the fox as public safety and health officials combed the area for it. Some homeowners reported the animal attacking a rabbit and dragging it into the woods, then reappearing in another yard where it tore apart lawn ornaments that resembled woolly sheep. It then attacked a woman as she was gardening, biting her sneaker, and stole a woman’s sneaker off her porch. At that point, police caught up with the animal and shot it. Tests showed the fox had rabies. Drinan said the town’s reverse 911 system was used to warn park residents of the fox’s presence, and to educate them about the dangers of contact with a rabid animal.

WINDOW OPENS FOR DOG LICENSES - Town Clerk Sandra Harris is reminding residents that this is the time of year to license their dogs. This year’s annual licenses cost $15, discounted to $10 for pets that have been spayed or neutered. The discounted fee had been $5 until a recent vote by selectmen. Proof of rabies vaccination is required at the time of licensing. After Sept. 30, a late fee of $25 will be added to cost of the license. - John Laidler

VOTE TO SETTLE JOB CUTS - The start of the new fiscal year Wednesday brought the elimination of a variety of town jobs, including seven in the Police Department, pending a July 18 vote on proposed tax increases that would restore funding for most of the positions. The ballot will ask voters to decide two Proposition 2 1/2 override questions, one requesting $1 million in additional property taxes and the other for $1.7 million, to fund the town’s municipal and school operations for fiscal year 2010. Five police officers and two full-time dispatchers were laid off last week, along with employees in the school system, selectmen’s office, and Highway Department, based on the initial budget. Tomorrow is the last day to register to vote in the special election.

FOCUS ON DOWNTOWN’S FUTURE - The Planning Board is slated to focus on the downtown area during its July 22 discussion on the town’s master plan. While the document suggests a special zoning overlay district be created, the downtown area would probably not see a significant change, since a mix of business and residential development is already encouraged, officials said. According to the Planning Department, traffic flow and parking will most likely serve as the main topics during the meeting, scheduled for 8:30 p.m. in Town Hall. - Christine Legere

SELECTMEN RESHUFFLE ROLES - Selectman Stephen Cushing was named the board’s chairman during its annual reorganization, with Jonathan Henry elected as vice chairman and Roger Blanchette to serve as clerk. Cushing was also appointed the board’s representative on the Marion Music Hall Advisory Committee and Police Station Building Committee, and its clerical union liaison. Henry was named to the Plymouth County Advisory Board, representative to the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development Council, and as police union liaison. Blanchette was named the town’s parking clerk, the town’s public works union liaison and liaison to the town’s School Committee, and appointed to the Buzzards Bay Action Committee.

RESIGNATIONS, APPOINTMENTS - Selectmen accepted two resignations and made several appointments recently. Deputy Harbormaster Ken Pacheco has resigned after working for the harbormaster’s department for two decades, while John McGill has stepped down from the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals. Selectmen appointed Joseph Gleason and Carl Leidhold IV as probationary firefighters, and named Finance Committee member Cornelius Coleman and a former selectman, Stephen Lombard, to the Town Administrator Search Committee. The panel will be recruiting applicants to replace Michael Botelho, who recently retired from his job as town administrator.

FOUR-YEAR PACT FOR CHIEF - Selectmen have signed a four-year contract with new Police Chief Bruce Gates, which gives him a yearly salary of $124,000. Gates, who has been a member of the Whitman Police Department for several years, will also be allowed to keep his sick leave buyback benefit, capped at its current level of $33,850. Other provisions include a requirement that Gates be given a yearly evaluation. The board must also give Gates a year’s notice if they decide not to renew his contract.

SHIFT TO QUARTERLY TAX BILLS - The town has switched to quarterly billing for real estate and personal property taxes, joining the 73 percent of communities in the state that follow the system, according to Sharon’s finance director, treasurer and collector, William Fowler. The tax bills had been issued twice a year. Fowler said the town got approval to make the switch last spring, but waited until this year to give residents and town employees time to adjust. The change will provide a smoother cash flow for the town, he said. For most property owners, their real estate taxes are paid by their mortgage holder through an escrow account, so the change will be minor for them, Fowler said, and for residents who have paid off their mortgages, the switch will make each payment smaller and more manageable.

FEWER CUTS, BUT STILL PAINFUL - After being braced to cut 41 positions to make ends meet, the town’s school district will instead trim just 24 jobs, after grants and last-minute funds from the federal stimulus program bolstered its budget for the new fiscal year. The school district, faced with a $2.1 million cut from its original fiscal year 2010 budget, has decided to cut 17 support staff jobs, four high school teachers, an elementary school teacher, and two librarians, and will also reduce funds for bus service, substitute teachers, and maintenance. “Peoples’ lives will be affected and this is never an easy thing to do,” said School Committee member Alan Mills, “but this could have been worse. We’re not happy, obviously, but at least we are able to keep the basic core of education in place.” The four high school teaching positions are in math, business, English, and social studies. - Robert Carroll

NO TRUCKS ON SUMMER STREET - The Board of Selectmen has agreed to a request from Norfolk to ban trucks from Summer Street, which connects to Everett Street in the neighboring town. According to Robert O’Brien, director of Walpole’s Department of Public Works, Summer Street is a narrow country road with no sidewalks that has become busy over the years and presents some safety issues. The road is a popular route for getting to Gillette Stadium and other destinations without using Route 1. The ban, which must be approved by the state before it goes into effect, would apply to the whole of Summer Street, he said. - Joan Wilder

SUMMER MEALS FOR YOUTHS - Who said there’s no such thing as a free lunch? Local children can now get meals for no charge at the Onset Band Shell and the Gleason Family YMCA on weekdays. Lunch is served at the band shell in Onset Village between 12:30 and 1 p.m., and snacks are provided from 2 to 3 p.m. at the Gleason Family YMCA on Charge Pond Road, where dinner is served from 5 to 6 p.m. All of the food is prepared by the local school system and provided for free to town residents who are younger than 18. There’s no registration necessary, but the food must be eaten at the site. The federally funded program is scheduled to continue until Aug. 21. For more information, call Deborah Perry at the district’s food service office at 508-291-3575, or Jo-Ann Watson at the YMCA at 508-295-9622. - Emily Sweeney

STATE TO HELP WITH RESTORATION - The Massachusetts Historical Commission has awarded West Bridgewater a $25,000 matching grant to help fund engineering work for a proposed restoration project at War Memorial Park. The engineering will specify the measures needed to restore the historic stone walls and foundations at the park that are the remains of 17th- and 18th-century mill buildings, according to Chris Iannitelli, the town’s forestry and park superintendent. The town is covering its $25,000 share of the engineering work through $20,000 authorized by Town Meeting in 2006, and money left from a 2001 dam-repair project at the park. The town was able to apply for the state grant as a result of the park being listed last year on the National Register of Historic Places. The engineering is expected to begin this fall and take about a year. After it is finished, the town plans to seek grant money to help fund the actual restoration. - John Laidler

CHURCH CLOSES DOORS - The First Baptist Church of Whitman, after nearly 200 years as a place of worship and fellowship, held its final service last Sunday. The shutdown of the church is the result of an aging congregation, whose ranks have thinned to about 30 members. Its history began in 1822, when 11 local Baptists joined forces to build a small church at the current location on Washington Street. The building was replaced in 1832, as the congregation grew, and again in 1846. As numbers swelled even larger, it became necessary to put on a major addition, which was completed in the final years of the 19th century. Member Jean Porter said the congregation will be given “letters of good standing” to take to other area American Baptist churches, now that their place of worship has closed. The church building will be placed on the market for sale. - Christine Legere

ORCHESTRA TO OPEN MUSIC FEST - The Duxbury Music Festival, which kicks off Friday with an orchestral performance at the Duxbury Performing Arts Center, runs through July 31 with a series of big concerts, small recitals, and other events at a number of town venues. Free student recitals will take place at the Ellison Center for the Arts, beginning July 16. Outdoor concerts under a tent on the town green include a July 18 concert by Black Sea Salsa Band and a July 19 daytime performance of the operetta “Little Red Riding Hood,” followed by performances by students and faculty of the South Shore Conservatory, the festival’s producer. Concerts will also be held at the Ellison Center on July 30 and 31. Ticket sales and the complete Duxbury Music Festival schedule of events are available online at duxburymusicfestival.org. For more information, contact Laura Carleton at 781-749-7565 ext.14. - Robert Knox

FOCUS ON ROUTE 53 TRAFFIC - Easing the flow of traffic on Route 53 continues to be a major focus of town officials. While a project to expand a section of the state highway west of the Hanover Mall continues, town and state highway officials are now looking at widening a stretch of the busy road from the Route 3 overpass east a half-mile toward the Assinippi General Store at the Norwell line. The project could begin as early as 2011. “We’d like to expand that section from two lanes to four lanes,” said Selectman Alan Rugman. He said a traffic light at the Exit 13 ramp from Route 3 would also be part of the project. “The key for us is to keep this project high up on the state’s priority list,” he said. - Robert Carroll

GOLF FUND-RAISER AT INDIAN POND - The annual Brain Aneurysm Foundation Golf Tournament will take place at the Indian Pond Country Club in Kingston on July 20. The fund-raising event will include golf, followed by dinner at the Indian Pond clubhouse. Nongolfers can use the club’s new pool and tennis facilities before joining golfers for dinner. The cost is $200 for golf and the dinner, or $50 for dinner only. To register online, see bafound.org or call the foundation at 888-272-4602. - Robert Knox