The gymnasium at Braintree High School was a sea of blue and white Saturday, for the graudation of the Class of 2012.

Click here to see photos from the event.

A Boston Globe photo gallery

The unorthodox features of the historic French’s Common baseball field in Braintree, such as the giant tree down the third base line, give a decided home field advantage to Archbishop Williams High.

French's Common isn't the only ball field in the area where the ground rules require a lot of local knowledge. Click here to see the photo gallery.

Jessica Bartlett

(From left) Salutatorian Margaret Reagan and Valedictorian Victoria Machado stand at the start of graduation

By Jessica Bartlett, Town Correspondent

Approximately 360 students graduated from Braintree High School on Saturday, where the graduates walked across a makeshift stage on the floor of the gymnasium to avoid the downpour outdoors.

Parents and family crowded into the room as well, some watching from a live feed in the smaller auditorium. Officials estimated that over 2,000 people came to the event.

Despite the rain outside, it was a festive indoors, with students joking about the future as they spoke words of wisdom to their classmates.

Matthew Harrington, the Wamps class president who will attend Plymouth State University in the fall, joked that the students may still be immature, but that they were ready to move on to the future.

Margaret Reagon, Braintree’s salutatorian, who will attend MIT in the fall, told her classmates that nothing will compare to this day.

“Finally we’re done with high school… [but] whether you loved high school or hated it, this is not the end of your education,” she said. “Take what you have learned here and expand it.”

For Valedictorian Victoria Machado, who will attend Harvard in the fall, graduating has meant a new beginning.

“I want you to remember what it feels like to be 17 or 18 years old and at the same time brand new. Remember high school – all of it,” she said.

Urging her classmates to remember, she spoke of the challenges yet to come in life, but said that having these memories would help her classmates get through them.

The ceremony recognized not only the seniors, but also Headmaster David Swanton, who will retire this year after 34 years as an educator.

“You will be missed,” said the students presenting the class gift as well as a memento to Swanton.

Superintendent Peter Kurzberg acknowledged the many roles Swanton has had at Braintree High, from being a student all the way to working up at headmaster.

Kurzberg went on to speak about the standard Braintree High graduates had set. Just by looking at the schools the graduates will attend, it was clear he wasn’t exaggerating.

Scholarship recipients alone will go to such institutions as George Washington University, Bridgewater State University, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Services, Boston University, Brown, Holy Cross, Simmons, Suffolk, Vollanova, McGill, Harvard, Stonehill, Bently, Emmanuel, UMass Amherst.

“You represent the best and future of this community, but of the country as well,” he said.

Over 90 percent of the student body will go on to higher education, officials said. Nine classmates will go into the armed forces.

(Records through May 28)

BOYS
1. Duxbury (19-2)
2. Hingham (17-3)
3. Scituate (16-4)
4. Mansfield (14-4)
5. Norwood (13-5)
6. Archbishop Williams (17-3)
7. Foxborough (14-3)
8. Norwell (14-6)
9. Fairhaven (17-10
10. Hanover (11-5)

GIRLS
1. Notre Dame-Hingham (19-1)
2. Westwood (18-2)
3. Duxbury (13-4-2)
4. Norwell (12-7)
5. Cohasset (10-4-2)
6. Hingham (13-7)
7. Archbishop Williams (18-2)
8. Ursuline (15-4)
9. Apponoquet (18-0)
10. Scituate (12-5-1)

Compiled by Andrew MacDougall

19 Cherry LaneJane L. Brennan to Brian P. Costello and Laura J. Costello, $448,150

2115 Washington St. PEJR LLC to Zhaohua Huang, $399,900

45 Oak Hill Rd. Margaret A. Boyle RET and Thomas P. Boyle to Gail M. Ryan and Paul S. Lonardo-Roy, $366,700

61 Leahaven Ter Allan R. Morris to Jamie L. Hale, $312,000

5 Cavanaugh Rd. BAC Home Loans Svcng LP to USA HUD, $310,349

399 Pond St. #G3 Wood RT and Ronald P. Wood to Christopher M. Campbell, $264,000

614 Pond St. #2306 Jerome L. Cole and Barbara J. Cole to Jin H. Lin, $220,000

78 Edge Hill Rd. Bank of New York Mellon to Flaherty Group Inc, $175,000

350 Franklin St. Reed Helen G. Est and Lorraine Eastman to Jean Connor, $39,200

To search for homes for sale in the area, go to www.boston.com/realestate. Copyrighted material previously published in Banker & Tradesman, a weekly trade newspaper. It is reprinted with permission from the publisher, The Warren Group, www.thewarrengroup.com/bg.

By Jessica Bartlett, Town Correspondent

Braintree councilors on Tuesday approved a $101 million budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1, up $4.9 million from the current fiscal year’s budget.

The fiscal 2013 budget includes increases of $2.5 million increase for the schools, $665,614 in finances, $674,664 in the human resources budget, $370,017 for the Police Department, $225,466 for the Fire Department, and $307,253 for the Department of Public Works.

The added money for the schools – which will get their biggest increase in the last decade - is mainly for salary increases, steps increases, and to place nine teachers currently funded with a federal grant onto the payrolls.

There is also increased funding for transportation vendors, language-based programming, payment for out-of-district students, and funding for paraeducators and substitute teachers.

“The priorities upon which this budget is developed include safety, maintaining reasonable class sizes, providing essential class materials, implementing state requirements, and meeting all our contractual obligations,” Superintendent Peter Kurzberg said. “We’re fortunate that through a combination of state, federal, and local funds, we haven’t had to lay off any personnel or leave any positions unfilled and are hopeful to do the same in FY13.”

For the finance budget, according to Councilor Paul Dan Clifford, who chairs the Committee on Ways and Means and analyzed the budget, the increase is largely due to an updated technology system and additional funding for the treasurer/collector.

Additionally, debt service has increased this year.

The human resources budget will increase largely due to employee benefits of the town. Police and fire increases are to increase public safety in the region by adding on additional police officers, and increasing the fire suppression budget.

Public works increases are largely due to increases in building maintenance, equipment maintenance, grounds maintenance, and a $50,000 addition to the snow and ice budget.

Although the total document was approved in its entirety – with a $66,000 reduction to the Blue Hills Regional School to compensate for money the town says it should have gotten back from the school – additional funding may be on the way.

“There may be an ability in the next few months to supplement [the budget] as we get the local aid figures. We’re seeing now with Representative Mark Cusack, Senator John Keenan and Senator Brian Joyce, some increase now after years of reductions…so it’s a good sign for us,” said Mayor Joseph Sullivan.

Still, Sullivan said, the budget is prudent, pragmatic, and achievable, and one that prioritizes school, safety, streets, and services.

“This puts us in the proper placement for the coming year,” Sullivan said.

Clifford agreed that the budget was the perfect size for the town’s needs.

“The budget is the richest it’s been in a decade. [There are] 15 new teachers and it added police officers. It improved stabilization to the highest in Braintree’s history, yet the budget is still conservative,” Clifford said.

The town also approved several budget transfers to close out the books on the current fiscal year, including $15,000 from the Mayor’s Department to pay for Fourth of July festivities and $5,000 from numerous accounts to pay for Fourth of July fireworks.

Several revolving accounts were also approved for the Department of Elder Affairs, the Board of Health, the Library Trustees, the Mayor’s Office, and the School Committee to enable the departments to take money from varied fees and spend them without council authorization.

By Jessica Bartlett, Town Correspondent

Police investigating robbery report
Police are investigating a report from a Liberty Street homeowner that someone attempted to break into her house on Tuesday morning.

According to police, the homeowner said she heard a knock on her door around 9:30 a.m.

She looked out from an upstairs window and saw a man in her driveway. She then heard a loud bang as if someone was trying to break the door down.

Looking out a peephole, she said she saw the man in her back porch. The woman called out to the man, then called "911"

The man fled into the woods behind the woman’s house and out onto a nearby street where police said he told a resident that his wife was in labor and he needed a ride to the T Station.

The resident drove the suspect to the T station. Officers searched the area, but did not find the suspect.

Two arrested in shoplifting incident

Two Randolph women were arrested on Tuesday after allegedly stealing merchandise from two South Shore Plaza stores.

According to police, Loss Prevention officers reported that the women selected and concealed over $250 of clothing at Hollister.

When officers confronted the women, they reported that the women also had eight additional, valued at less than $250 and stolen from Abercrombie Kids.

Both women were placed under arrest and charged with larceny over $250 and receiving stolen property under $250.

By Jessica Bartlett, Town Correspondent

Doc Popcorn is the latest to join the wide array of stores at the South Shore Plaza, offering the freshly popped snack on the lower level of the Plaza near Sears.

The Braintree kiosk marks the company’s third location in Massachusetts, following behind South Station and the Natick Mall.

According to the company’s website, Doc Popcorn was started in 2003, when husband and wife team Rob and Renee Israel began blending naturally flavored popcorn in the kitchen of the New York City apartment.

When they moved to Boulder, Colorado, they started selling their popcorn in malls.Today, Doc Popcorn is sold in 29 states.

Now, local husband and wife team Bob and Kimberly Anderson have jumped on board to help expand the stores throughout Massachusetts.

“We have experienced tremendous joy and success with our first Doc Popcorn location—we are so excited to open our [next] location and bring Doc Popcorn to Braintree,” said Bob Anderson, co-owner of Doc Popcorn store in the Plaza. “It feels great to offer a healthy and tasty snack alternative that puts a smile on the faces of everyone who comes by.”

According to a release, the Andersons are active in business operations, and strive to hire people from within the community at every location they open.

For Rob, CEO and co-founder of Doc Popcorn, the expansion into the South Shore is a welcome opportunity.

“It is because of enthusiastic multi-unit owners like Bob and Kimberly that bring us one step closer to achieving our goal of changing the way people snack in high-traffic venues across the nation,” he said.

Doc Popcorn offers whole-grain popcorn cooked in corn oil. Flavors range from cheesy cheddar, to sweet butter, to sinfully cinnamon and hoppin’ jalapeno.

Flavors are gluten free and nut-free, with soy-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free options available.

For more information about the company, visit http://www.docpopcorn.com

By Jessica Bartlett, Town Correspondent

A Braintree Transit Police officer saved a suicidal Quincy man’s life on Saturday after allegedly talking him down from a ledge of the Quincy Adams Parking Facility.

According to the police report, Officer James Clark was patrolling the garage when he reached the roof level (6A) and observed an unknown male who appeared to be visibly upset.

Police reported that the man was crying and sobbing loudly while running across the roof level towards a railing that overhands the garage.

As the man jumped onto the railing, the officer sped over in his cruiser, got out of the car, and yelled at him “Please don’t go over. Let me talk to you for one minute. Just give me one minute of your time,” police wrote in the report.

The victim, a 20-year-old man, told the officer to leave him alone, saying that he didn’t want to live.

The conversation went on for several minutes while the officer tried to calm him down.

According to the officer, during his initial contact with the man, the officer notified dispatch of the situation and asked them to send several police units along with Emergency Medical assistance.

Police arrived on scene while the officer was talking to the man. While the officer was speaking to him, he would signal Quincy police units to move closer when the man was gazing over his shoulder.

Officers got within two feet of the victim when they lunged at him and secured him around his waist and arms.

The man was taken into custody and transported to Quincy Medical Center for evaluation.

By Jessica Bartlett, Town Correspondent

The Massachusetts House of Representatives has approved a $50,000 appropriation for Braintree to help renovate the East Braintree fire station, legislators announced this week.

According to a release, the House budget for fiscal 2013, which begins July 1, provides the last remaining amount for the town to renovate the station, which has been a long time coming.

The budget still requires approval by the Senate and the governor before being finalized.

The fire station, which opened in 1941, is the second-oldest of fire stations in Braintree, and lacks many of the space requirements needed for modern day equipment.

Renovations will allow the station to house a ladder truck, two fire engines, and equipment to address an oil spill in the Fore River.

“This money from the state coupled with the funds already set aside by the town will finally allow us to renovate the East Braintree Fire Station in order to house a new ladder truck,” said State Representative Mark Cusack, a Braintree Democrat. “This will be the first time we have been able to house a ladder truck in last Braintree in over ten years, which will increase the safety of all residents and businesses in the area.”

According to Peter Morin, chief of operations and staff for Braintree, the town has already accrued $250,000 through numerous capital appropriations to carry out a renovation.

With the recently approved acquisition of a ladder truck for East Braintree, the necessity to upgrade the facilities to house the truck became paramount.

“It’s been a priority for the Mayor and [others] before that to get a ladder truck to ensure that it will service East Braintree,'' Morin said. "That need is being met, so the modifications to the firehouse will also be made.”

The fire truck is being funded by the town and money from a settlement between the Environmental Protection Agency and the hazardous-waste cleanup company Clean Harbors. The EPA had charged Clean Harbors with improperly storing waste at its Braintree site.

Morin added that even if the state funding fell through, the renovation will get done.

“We’ll just get it done either way -- within our own resources if we have to, but it will get done. But the state aid is welcome assistance and relief from financial pressure,” Morin said.

The town hopes to start work on the design in the coming weeks and have the renovations finished by next year.

“Hopefully, it will be complete when that engine arrives,” Morin said.