Garden speaker series

WATER FLUSHING - The town has begun flushing its entire water system to remove accumulated mineral deposits and sediment from pipes, in an effort to have fewer dirty water incidents than were reported last summer. Officials say the flushing causes water to become discolored for a short time, usually an hour or less. The flushing can also lower water pressure temporarily but should not cause residents to lose pressure completely; those who do should immediately contact the Department of Public Works at 508-966-5813. Flushing will take place Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and officials hope to complete the process by the end of the month. A posting of streets to be flushed will be updated regularly on the town’s website, www.bellinghamma.org. - Rachel Lebeaux

APPOINTED BY SELECTMEN - Selectmen recently appointed new members to various boards and positions, including Jim Repetti as deputy director of emergency management, and John Sugden, Pete Sherman, and Ford Spalding to the Board of Fire Engineers. Selectmen also appointed Camille Johnston to the Board of Registrars; Scott Seidman to the Dover Community Center Building Committee; and Jane Brace, Sierra Bright, Andrew Thompson, Amey Moot, Catherine White, Boynton Glidden, Justine Kent Uritam, and Rich Oasis to the Open Space Committee. Appointments varied from one- to three-year terms, and began July 1. For a complete list of annual appointments contact the town clerk’s office.

KIDFIT PROGRAM - The Framingham Parks and Recreation Department has received a $15,000 grant from the MetroWest Community Health Care Foundation, an independent charitable organization, to be used for the KidFit program, according to Trish Powell, Framingham’s superintendent of recreation. KidFit, held at the Suburban Athletic Club, teaches children the importance and essentials of a healthy lifestyle while helping them adopt healthy eating and fitness habits. The program is open to children ages 5 through 17. There is a fee of $30 per student. KidFit participants attend the club twice per week for one hour. Interested residents can contact the office to register for the next 13-week session, scheduled to begin July 27. For more information, call 508-879-6544. - Connie Paige

CHARTER SUBCOMMITTEE FORMED - The Town Council on July 1 accepted the report of a commission recommending changes to the town’s charter. The charter review commission recommended against changing the length of or staggering public office terms but urged changing the town treasurer from an elected to an appointed position and better defining the responsibilities of the town administrator. Town Council chairman Chris Feeley appointed Councilors Shannon Zollo, Tom Doak, and Stephen Whalen to a subcommittee to make any necessary changes to the charter. When completed, the charter revisions will be sent to the Legislature for approval as a home-rule petition and go on the ballot for voter approval. Residents can review the proposed charter changes at franklinma.virtualtownhall.net.

COMMUNITY GARDENS AVAILABLE - The Holliston Agricultural Commission finished preparing land for new community gardens. Residents without enough room or the proper growing conditions now have a chance to cultivate a plot owned by the Pinecrest Golf Club. Participation is limited to 10 gardeners, and the $10 per month fee during the growing season includes water for the gardens. An online application is available at www.hollistonagcom.org.

JOB SEARCH HELP AVAILABLE - Though it’s been in existence since March, Hopkinton Public Library’s one-on-one job search help has been used only once, by a recent college graduate whose mother works at Town Hall. “I would love for more people to come in and use our facilities and our knowledge,’’ said library staff member Susan Marshall. She and her co-workers have assembled an exhaustive list of online and in-person resources for job seekers, and can point people in the right direction to get the help they need. Librarians are also available to help with computers, since almost all jobs require either online applications or typed resumés, said Marshall. She said the library now has a dedicated section of job search books, as well as DVDs that teach interview skills. “We want to try to help people find the resources they need,’’ said Marshall. - Megan McKee

SPAY AND NEUTER CAT CLINICS - The Medfield Animal Shelter is hosting a series of low-cost surgical clinics for unspayed or unneutered felines. Shelter manager Judy Ambrose said Dr. Ann-Marie Roche’s van-based Stop Clinic would be at the nonprofit shelter’s West Street facility next on July 31 and at least once every three weeks through the summer. Last year, the clinic spayed or neutered more than 500 cats at the Medfield location, said Ambrose - 200 of those being free-roaming animals that people brought in. “The cat overpopulation is so dire in this area,’’ Ambrose said. Numbers for Medfield were not available, but the Massachusetts Animal Coalition estimates the statewide homeless cat population at more than 500,000. The cost of the operation at the Medfield clinic - a day surgery for which cats are dropped off at 8 a.m. and picked up at 5 p.m. - is $75 for male cats, $85 for female. Ambrose said financial aid is available for qualified owners. To book an appointment, call Ambrose at 508-359-8989.

HEARING ON RETIREMENT COMMUNITY - A public hearing to review a special permit and plan for Daniels Village, an 80-unit retirement community, has been continued to Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Sanford Hall at Medway Town Hall. The proposed development would sit on a 51-acre site west of Winthrop Street and south of Lovering Street. As proposed, it would include 33 single-family homes and 47 town houses clustered into a mixture of triplexes and duplexes. Eight units would be set aside as affordable housing. Any resident who is interested in the proposal is invited to attend the public hearing or submit written comments to the Medway Planning and Economic Development Board at 155 Village St., Medway 02053 or medwayplanningboard@townofmedway.org. For more information, call the development office at 508-533-3291. - Rachel Lebeaux

MEDICAL CENTER FUND-RAISER - Milford Regional Medical Center will host its 20th Annual Golf Classic on Aug. 31. The event will also feature a fund-raising Radiothon - involving interviews with Milford Regional staff, patients and family members - between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., in partnership with WMRC-AM (1490), a Milford-based radio station. Proceeds from this year’s Radiothon will benefit the Oliva Patient Comfort Fund, which supports cancer patients as well as hospice services. Over the past two years, the Radiothon has raised more than $60,000. To make a pledge online, go to www.milfordregional.org/golf.

POLICE UNION DELAYS RAISE - The Millis police union has voted to defer members’ 3 percent raises until July 1, 2010, a move that saved one of the department’s 14 positions. “It was a tough decision for everybody,’’ said union head Dominic Tiberi. “We basically did it to save a guy’s job.’’ Tiberi said the police officer hired most recently had received notification from town officials that his job would be eliminated, though he never had to stop working since the union and the town came to an agreement by June 30, the end of last fiscal year. “Personally, I don’t think we can be lower staffed than we are,’’ Tiberi said. He said the current police contract ends next fiscal year, and negotiations will probably begin in the winter.

SENIORS, STAFF WANT NEW CENTER - Tom Swan volunteers at the Natick Kennedy Senior Center three afternoons a week, often helping seniors e-mail their relatives or apply for jobs online. But some afternoons, Swan must compete with the knitting club whose chatter isn’t muffled by the cubicle wall that divides its space from the computer lab. And when the roof leaks, he and the center’s staff must scramble to shield the donated computers from dripping rain. The senior center, housed in a 10,000- square-foot addition to a former school, falls short in meeting seniors’ needs, say the people who work and socialize there. Moira Munns, director of Human Services and Council on Aging, can tick off long list of the center’s shortcomings: Three social workers share one office; appointments sometimes overlap. All of the center’s activities must be shuffled among a few rooms that also serve as storage space. She is hoping that a debt-exclusion override to fund a new center will be approved by voters. The senior center’s building committee last week voted to try to get a debt-exclusion override to fund a new center on next spring’s ballot. Plans for the new center, which would cost $10 million, include more than three times the current space with a “great room’’ for all-ages community activities, a full kitchen, a gym, and enough room to house an adult day-care center, which Natick does not currently have. The project would be built in multiple phases on the current senior center site.

SUPERINTENDENT’S OFFICE MOVED - School Superintendent Don LeClerc’s office has relocated from the Freeman-Centennial School on Boardman Street to the second floor of Town Hall at One Liberty Lane. The move is an effort to cut costs and share expenses with the town, officials said. For at least the coming school year, the former office space will be used by the district’s Special Education Department. - Michele Morgan Bolton

CONFERENCE ON UNDERAGE DRINKING - Teachers and other officials from the King Philip Regional School District recently participated in a conference on underage drinking prevention sponsored by the Norfolk district attorney’s office. It follows a number of incidents resulting from underage drinking parties in the three-town district of Norfolk, Wrentham and Plainville, including the death of Plainville resident and high school senior Taylor Meyer. The state’s Executive Office of Public Safety and Security underwrote the conference costs. Among those in attendance were health teacher Jenna Gallagher, School Committee members Wendy Robeson and Charlene McEntee, middle school principal Susan Gilson, high school principal Jill Proulx and School Superintendent Richard Robbat. - Michele Morgan Bolton

AUDIO BOOKS FOR IPOD USERS - The Sherborn Library is now offering residents an audiobook service that is iPod-compatible. The audio program, which began two years ago, allows residents to rent from a selection of 3,000 digital books, ranging from the classics to those that assist in learning a language, available for download to media devices. Only recently though, has the library made 800 of those books available in iPod format. The program was created when NetLibrary, a site that provides access to many library collections including Sherborn’s, and Recorded Books, an audio book publisher, formed a partnership. Instructions for software installation, and creating an account can be accessed at library.sherbornma.org or by calling NetLibrary support at 800-848-5800. Residents can also pick up directions on how to use the service at the library’s front desk. - Anna Fiorentino

SAVING THE CHAMBER - The Upton Historical Commission meets tomorrow night to renew its emphasis on raising funds to repair the Upton Chamber, a centuries-old man-made cave near Elm Street. “The lintel stone has dropped,’’ said commission chairwoman Barbara Burke, describing structural damage caused over the past year by the loss of two supporting stones within the cave. Either rainwater erosion or vibrations from foot traffic caused the stones to fall out of place, Burke said. The Historical Commission also wants to install fences around both the cave and along the steep bank of a nearby brook. In addition, the omission has doubled its scheduled days for maintenance around the cave. The all-volunteer upkeep days are now scheduled to take place every second and fourth Saturday through the end of August. The fund-raising meeting will be held at the Upton police station, at 30 School St., starting at 7:30 p.m. The next cleanup is scheduled for July 25; volunteers meet at 18 Elm St. at 9 a.m. - James O’Brien

PAYING TAXES ON LINE - Residents can now pay real estate and personal property taxes online at www.wrentham.ma.us. Town officials have created the online process as a convenience for property owners and to help streamline the availability of municipal funds. There is no charge for payments made from a checking account, but credit card transactions will result in a processing fee. Officials have said they hope to add excise taxes to the online payment option next year. For more information, call the Wrentham collector’s office at 508-384-5413.

TRIATHLON FOR SCHOOLS, HOSPITAL - Athletes will swim, bike, and run nearly 19 miles in Marlborough on July 26 during a triathlon to raise money for the Marlborough Public Schools Foundation and Children’s Hospital Boston. Martin Levins, president of the foundation, said money raised for Marlborough “goes to what the [school] principals say they need . . . to purchase program supplies, for wellness activities, and, if we raise enough, toward infrastructure.’’ Levins said the Marlborough triathlon is the first installment of what is hoped to be an annual event. The race is part of a series of Massachusetts charity triathlons founded by Tim Crowley, an Olympic triathlon coach; Olympic triathlete Jarrod Shoemaker of Sudbury; and race director Bill Burnett. Shoemaker is expected to attend the Marlborough event. Registration is $80 per individual or $125 per team. To register, visit www.marlborotri.com/register.php. - James O’Brien