By L.E. Crowley, Town correspondent

A Hingham dog owner is expected in Hingham District Court Monday to face criminal charges in connection with two biting incidents at a Hingham Square art gallery.

Those incidents resulted in an order last month to put the English mastiff to death, though a court last week allowed it to be moved to a shelter in upstate New York.

According to court documents, Megan Ullman, who owns the dog and the art gallery with her husband, Robert, is due in court Monday on charges of disorderly conduct, causing serious bodily injury, assault-and-battery with a dangerous weapon, and reckless assault with a dangerous weapon.

The dangerous weapon is the Ullmans' 8-year-old English mastiff Gabriella.

Hingham police issued the complaint to the court during the last two weeks, and the court issued a summons by mail for Megan Ullman to appear on the charges.

The Ullmans' attorney, Jeffrey Clifford, could not be reached for comment Friday.

By Johanna Seltz, Globe Correspondent

Ice cream lovers here exhaled in relief last week when they learned the iconic Brigham’s in Hingham Square would remain open, despite the news that the corporation has filed for bankruptcy.

Similar happy sentiments were heard in Quincy, where the Brigham’s in Wollaston will stay in business because it, too, is privately owned. There is still a restaurant open at the former Brigham’s in Weymouth, but it is now called Bob’s Muffin.

But folks in Braintree and Kingston were expecting bad news for the corporate-owned restaurants there. And the Brigham’s in Brockton has closed.

‘‘This Brigham’s location is not closing,’’ said a sign in the window of Hingham’s eight-booth restaurant, which has been a downtown fixture since 1954.

Larry Corthell, general manager of the neighboring Noble’s Camera Shop, made the sign because so many people were worried that Brigham’s would close, he said. The sign explains that the restaurant is independently owned and not affected by the corporation’s plan to file for bankruptcy protection.

‘‘What I’ll do for free food,’’ Corthell said with a laugh. ‘‘I eat there a couple of times a week. Everybody here does. Without it, I’d probably be brown-bagging.’’

Luke T. Cooper, managing director of the Baltimore equity firm that owns 13 Brigham’s restaurants, has said he hopes to keep some of them open, even though he’s filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.

Cooper bought the 95-year-old New England chain 18 months ago. (Brigham’s ice cream brand is unaffected by Cooper’s financial troubles; HP Hood bought the ice cream business last year.)

‘‘We’ve been paying the employees out of the registers; we haven’t gotten any paychecks in four weeks,’’ said John Weafer, corporate manager of the Kingston Brigham’s. He said they were notified Nov. 6 that employee health insurance had been canceled as of Aug. 31.

‘‘Two weeks ago we were told we would be fine through the holidays. ... We haven’t been told anything [since then]. It’s very confusing. We only know what it says in the newspapers,’’ he said.

‘‘Thank goodness we have nothing to do with what’s going on [as reported] in the newspapers,’’ said Pat Halliday, who owns the Hingham Brigham’s. ‘‘But it’s really too bad for all those people working in the corporate stores.’’

Halliday has run the Hingham restaurant since 1998 and bought the license to operate under the Brigham’s name in 2004, she said.

‘‘It’s a separate, sole proprietorship,’’ she said. It’s also a family affair. The work force varies from three to eight, depending on the season, and almost everybody is related, she said. Nieces and nephews work there, as did Halliday’s daughter until she married and had four children.

Her 83-year-old father, Raymond Parks, arrives early to make the soups, chowders, and American chop suey. He also shops for fresh vegetables and groceries. He owned three Brigham’s over the last 40 years, Halliday said — the one across from the Prudential building in Boston, one at Westgate Mall in Brockton, and the one at the Hanover Mall.

Halliday’s customers also have longevity. Last week, college students she has known since they were in grade school stopped in for their ‘‘last fix’’ of ice cream before going back to school.

‘‘We have a lot of regulars. People walk in and I usually know what they want,’’ she said. ‘‘There’s one customer, Chris, who comes in three or four times a week. I see his truck and I start making his extra-thick coffee frappe. It’s his coffee fix for the day.’’

Then there’s the couple, Jean and Gene, who arrive for coffee every day, she said.

Dorothy Galo, Hingham’s superintendent of schools, said she eats lunch at Brigham’s ‘‘almost every day.’’

‘‘I walk in and they hand me a Diet Coke,’’ she said. ‘‘I feel very good that they’re still going to be there, for Patty and her crew, as well as for me.’’

‘‘I hope they stay forever,’’ said Marty Baron, who’s owned Carolann’s Childrens Shoppe next door for the last 25 years. ‘‘I’m open seven days a week and I’m there seven days a week. I like ice cream — strawberry and chocolate chip with jimmies.’’

On the other side of Brigham’s is the 59-year-old Whitney Gordon’s Jewelers, owned for the last 24 years by Lorraine and Michael Campbell. Lorraine Campbell said they bring their lunch from home, but still are glad Brigham’s is surviving.

‘‘We have mutual customers — longtime, loyal customers — and they are very relieved that [Brigham’s] will still be here,’’ Campbell said. ‘‘We like the fact that it won’t be an empty store next door. That’s a big thing for the downtown. ... And she runs a great shop and is a very nice neighbor.’’

Johanna Seltz can be reached at seelenfam@verizon.net.

While the Company Theatre doesn’t perform “A Christmas Carol” every year, the Norwell troupe’s version of the Dickens novel has almost achieved the status of a South Shore tradition. This year’s production opens the day after Thanksgiving, with Michael Warner in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge.

Warner, a Company Theatre veteran who lives in Quincy, has played Jacob Marley, Fred, and Scrooge in three pervious productions, and in an interview with the Globe, he talked about his approach to portraying the legendary miser.

Playing Scrooge was so much fun the last time I did it that I knew if I had the chance to try again, I’d do it.

It’s been 11 years since the last time I played the role, so it’s kind of hard to remember how I did it -- which is good. I’ve come so far as an actor and performer in that time. The fact that I’m older helps me portray someone who’s older. Even some simple things like the voice come a lot easier. I was able to try some new things, and the directors always try to give a new production some new twists. The movie just came out with Jim Carey, and we’re aware of that, and we want to give this play a little more animation than before and make it come alive.

To prepare for this part, I watched some of the older movies, and god knows there are so many versions of it, which is great because you can draw on so many things. Usually, the actors in the movies are much older and they can show how older people behave.

As a singer, I’m a natural high tenor, so I really have to go to the complete opposite to get the voice right. Everything about Scrooge is dark, and when he’s yelling at someone, for example, you really have to get that down-in-the-throat, scraggly, old timer type of voice.

One of the movie versions I liked in particular was actually more of a musical version, it was “Scrooge” with Albert Finney. I loved the way he would say certain things, especially after the transformation when he wakes up on Christmas morning. I’m a very visual person; if I see something I can really bring it to life a lot easier.

I like to believe there is some good in Scrooge. I just think that it’s so buried within him that he never wanted to think about it or worry about it. But deep down, there’s a kind of regret that he let this beautiful girl go when he was young, and he has these emotions when his sister died, but they’re buried.

So when he goes back and starts seeing all these scenes from the past, all these emotions start to come to the surface, and that’s what helps with the transformation. If there’s really nothing good in him, I don’t think the transformation would be as believable.

“A Christmas Carol” runs from Nov. 27 to Dec. 30 at The Company Theatre, 30 Accord Park Drive, Norwell. Tickets are $29 to $31 and can be ordered online.

By L.E. Crowley, Town correspondent

State and local law enforcement officials are joining victims of drunk drivers and their advocates to support a bill that would require repeat drunk drivers use an in-car breath test.

The device, which is already being used by 4,000 convicted drunk drivers across the state, shuts off the vehicle if the driver’s breath shows alcohol content of 0.02 percent or higher.

“This is a step in the right direction,” said Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz, who joined several drunk driving victims, state legislators, and anti-drunk driving advocacy groups at the Hingham Police Department for a demonstration of the device.

By Joan Wilder

Every Thanksgiving for all the years of their marriage, my parents would get up very early to wrestle an enormous turkey into the oven so it'd be cooked before the sun set. They filled our holidays and every day of our lives with an abundance of food as though it was nothing – as though it was truly their greatest pleasure.

Mostly he shopped and she cooked, but they each did both. My parents loved feeding their daughters -- and anybody else who dropped by our house. My mother made dinner every single day, never a night off, never a "fend for yourself kids." My father knew good fruits and vegetables and drove miles to get chickens or chuck roast on special, keeping our freezer full.

From the time I had my first apartment in college, my father would try to send me back to school with a case of tuna fish, even though I'd fight him off. And for years after I left home, my mother would regularly tell me how to roast a chicken.

"Joni, you know how to make a roast chicken, right?" she'd start, and although I'd impatiently snap, "Yes, Mom," she'd continue right on instructing me.

It was always roast chicken, which must have been because chickens were cheap, simple to bake, and a great source of protein: if I could make a chicken, I'd always have something good to eat.

I guess she didn't know what else she could do to care for me off on my own in a world beyond her reach.

I understand that now.

Food can speak volumes.

It was the only language I had one day last summer, when out of the blue, my first, serious, post-college boyfriend came to my house in Hull to have dinner with my husband and me.

When I got his phone message, I didn't recognize his voice. But he'd said his name and the area code on the caller I.D. matched where he lives. I had followed his life from afar through a mutual friend, and knew that he'd suffered an unspeakable loss a while earlier. I knew that he'd left his law practice, bought a boat, and was on a month-long sail with a pal.

I called the number he left.

Our conversation was brief. He said he was on the North Shore on route to Hingham where some of his wife's relatives lived. He said that if the wind was good, maybe we could have a cookout at their house that evening.

"Or, we could have it here," I said, without thinking at all. We left it vague and hung up.

It was a Saturday, and my husband and I had just returned from a trip. I'd planned on doing very little that day, and suddenly I was maybe going to make dinner for a bunch of people.

But I couldn't mobilize. I could not get myself to go to the store for food, even though I'd (sort of) offered to cook. I didn't believe he was actually going to make it all that way (through the years or the nautical miles?) and be here for dinner. Besides, I thought, his relatives would most likely invite us over. He probably hadn't even registered my faint invitation.

The only thing I was able to do as I waited to see if he was really coming, was make a big pot of brown rice.

Years before, when Sailor and I were together, we were vegetarians and ate lots of brown rice.

Do you know brown rice? Good, nourishing, full of fiber and B vitamins brown rice? It still occupies a central position as a basic staple in my world: sort of like, air, water, and brown rice.

I shucked several ears of corn and thought about how close we'd once been. How sweet and smart he was: how hurried I'd been to find my way to something big and important.

I broke a head of garlic apart and slowly minced a large pile of it, as I'd been doing for decades. I finely chopped carrots and thought about Sailor's recent life. I couldn't understand how people live through some of what we live through.

I stripped the kernels from the corn and sautéed them with the garlic and carrots, then added the mixture to the rice. With some soy sauce and toasted sesame oil for flavor, it was my old brown rice salad.

At five p.m., when I still hadn't heard a thing I was so relieved -- figuring that the evening was off. Then, at six, the sailor's sister-in-law called from Hingham and somehow it ended up that everyone was headed to our house.

I raced to the store, got chicken (!), mesclun, and a watermelon, somehow managing to get everything together for grilling by the time I picked up the sailor and his mate at the A Street dock.

The relatives, my husband, and the sailor's friend were a fun, talkative group that made any awkwardness easy. Sailor was as handsome as ever and seemed well -- if somewhat dreamy and off on his own as though the sea had soothed a part of him away. He was hungry and ate a lot. Covertly, I watched his every mouthful, which included two big helpings of rice.

The food wasn't great, but the brown rice, my delicious brown rice salad, saved me from feeling embarrassed by the otherwise mediocre meal. And it also served in another way, there in the center of the table. It was like a stand-in for Sailor and me, a stabilizing force, a ballast: holding who we were, what we'd become, and the present moment all in a big wooden bowl.

The rice was my mother's roasting instructions, my father's cases of tuna fish. I was helpless to stop life from hurting my old friend, but I could feed him.

I offered brown rice instead of the heart full of words I couldn't utter – my sympathy over his daughter's recent death.

I offered brown rice.

I offered brown rice.

A last-place finish ended up producing a first-place essay for Molly Gorman, a junior at Notre Dame Academy.

Groman, a Hingham resident, was awarded the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association's District H Sportsmanship Award for her essay on sportsmanship. In "The Day I Was Proud to Finish Last,' Molly described how she helped a cross country runner suffering from an asthma attack during a race.

"At first, I too ran by her, focused on victory, however, after a few steps, I stopped racing and returned to her side to give her assistance,'' Molly wrote. "After a while her breathing trouble subsided, and my fellow competitor and I walked the mile or so back along the trail where we crossed the finish line together."

Molly received her award at the MIAA's Sportsmanship Summit attended by more than 1,000 students at Gillette Stadium on Nov. 20. The first prize included an award of $500 and a plaque from the MIAA.

"While we take great pride in winning, one of the cornerstones of the NDA athletic program is our emphasis on cooperation and sense of responsibility to the larger community,'' said Donna Brickley, the school's athletic director.

By Dave Copeland, Globe Correspondent

A Georgia company that franchises high-end privately operated preschools plans to open its first Massachusetts location within 12 months.

Darin Harris, chief operating officer of Primrose Schools, said the company has secured property in Hingham. Primrose plans to open five additional locations in Massachusetts within the next four years and has been scouting potential locations in Bedford, Billerica, Canton, Lexington, Lynnfield, Sharon, Mansfield, Wayland, and Woburn.

Harris said company research indicates Boston is a good market for “the high premium segment, early childhood education that we offer,’’ adding, “It’s also a market where there was very little competition.’’

Harris said that the company, which sells franchises to operators of the schools, is spending $3.5 million to open the first Primrose school in the area and that the 12-month timetable was a conservative estimate. The facility, which would employ between 25 and 30 people, could open sooner if the permitting process goes quicker than expected, he said. The company is still searching for a franchisee for the Hingham location.

“We want people who have a good business background, people who love children, and people who really want to be in the business,’’ Harris said. “A lot of this business is about being active in the community.’’

Harris said that potential franchisees should be able to raise $350,000 and have a net value of $500,000 or more.

Primrose, based in Acworth, Ga., has 210 preschools in 16 states, mostly in the Southeast. Unlike traditional day care centers, Primrose offers educational programs for children 6 months to 6 years old, as well as after-school daycare programs for children between 6 and 12.

Jonathan Palumbo, spokesman for the Executive Office of Education, said Primrose has not begun the licensing process with the state, adding that officials will do “due diligence’’ before licensing the school to a particular franchisee.

“We’re most concerned with the quality of the operation,’’ he said.

Palumbo said franchising preschools wasn’t as common in Massachusetts as it was in other parts of the country.

“But if you were to look,’’ he said, “I think you would find instances where single owners are operating multiple locations in the state.’’

Harris said Primrose and companies like it have not been badly hurt by the recession, a sentiment echoed by Greg Helwig, chief development officer of Kiddie Academy, a competitor that operates 103 preschools in 23 states, including New Hampshire and Connecticut.

“Recent studies indicate that women comprise almost one-half of America’s labor force,’’ Helwig said. “The demand for high-quality education-based child care will continue to rise.’’

“I wouldn’t call our business recession-proof, but I would call it recession resistant,’’ Harris said. “When times are tight, we see that one of the last things parents want to cut is enrollment in our program. Even when one parent loses a job, we’re seeing them find ways to keep their children in Primrose Schools, even if it’s only for two or three days a week.’’

Bloom Lingerie Boutique is celebrating its first anniversary with an expanded store and product line.

The shop at 61 Water St., near Hingham Harbor, is now 900 square feet, or about double the original size, and swimwear has been added to the lingerie and bridal wear offerings. The company expects to launch a revamped website around he end of the year.

By L.E. Crowley, Town correspondent

The owners of an English mastiff have 10 days to decide if they will appeal a court decision that allows their dog to avoid being put to death for two biting incidents.

The decision, issued this morning by Hingham District Court Clerk Magistrate Andrew Quigley, would transfer the dog to a shelter in upstate New York—a location much farther than a Rockland location the owners had hoped for.

“We will weigh our options and make a decision,” said Jeffrey Clifford, a lawyer for Megan and Robert Ullman, the owners of Gabriella, who was ordered by Hingham selectmen last month to be euthanized.

Clifford said the concern is whether the New York shelter has space for Gabriella, and whether the family can be assured the dog won’t be euthanized without their knowledge. “We don’t think they will (kill the dog), but it is a concern,” Clifford said.

Hingham Police Lieutenant Mike Peraino praised Animal Control Officer Leslie Badger for finding a place that would take the dog and for working out this arrangement. “Nobody wanted to see the dog euthanized, but we needed to find a compromise that would protect the town and make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Peraino said.

He said the town was not in favor of the Ullmans’ proposal to move the dog to a Rockland kennel owned by Patty Benton. The site was too close to the family, and there were concerns the kennel, equipped with two fences around the property—was not secure enough to prevent the dog from escaping or being kidnapped, Perraino said.

According to court officials, the Ullmans have 10 days to appeal the magistrate’s decision to a judge.

After a lengthy hearing in late October, Hingham selectmen reluctantly voted to euthanize the dog after two incidents when the English mastiff bit women at the Ullmans’ Hingham Square art gallery.

The first incident took place in June 2008, when Gabriella punctured and scratched the thigh area of Hingham resident Stacey Wakefield, wife of Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield. At the time, the shop was supposed to have been locked and closed by Megan Ullman.

Hingham Police took the Ullmans to court following the Wakefield incident, and after several hearings, criminal charges were reduced to a civil complaint and the Ullmans were required not to bring the dog to their shop.

A year later, Braintree resident Krista Brewer was bitten in the abdomen. The Ullmans described the injury as minor, but photographs shown during the selectmen’s hearing showed extensive bruising and swelling.

Brewer’s father, Dick, who attended Thursday’s hearing, said afterward that the Ullmans and their lawyer’s description of the wound is “highly offensive.” “It wasn’t an alleged bite,” Brewer said.

Late last month, selectmen issued a statement explaining their decision because of the numerous calls they received over the decision.

At today’s hearing, Clifford said there have been instances where dogs have been brought to no-kill shelters and expected to live, but were euthanized anyway. He said the space at the
New York shelter was made available after a dog at the shelter was euthanized.

Badger said that particular dog’s circumstances were different, and that Gabriella would not be put down. Quigley assured Clifford and the Ullmans that Gabriella would not be clandestinely euthanized.

“(Badger’s) said it five times that (Gabriella) will stay there for the rest of her natural life,” Quigley said.

MASSACHUSETTS SENATE

Hingham police to demonstrate interlock device
Sen. Hedlund bill would require device in cars of drunk drivers

BOSTON, MA – Hingham police on Monday will demonstrate interlock safety devices, which are installed in vehicles to prevent drunk drivers from starting their cars.

The devices are the subject of a bill filed by Sen. Robert L. Hedlund, R-Weymouth, that would make the devices mandatory for anyone convicted of drunk driving. Interlock devices work like in-car breathalyzer tests.

In order to start a car with an interlock device, which is wired into the car’s ignition, the driver must blow through the tube into the device, which then analyzes the driver’s blood alcohol content. If the reading is .02 percent or higher, the vehicle will not start.

“These devices are in use elsewhere around the country and show promise as way to reduce repeat drunk driving offenses,” said Sen. Hedlund, who was a main sponsor of Melanie’s Law, the state’s tough anti-drunk driving law. Under Melanie’s Law, interlock devices are mandatory for repeat drunk drivers.

Safe Start Inc., one of four companies authorized to install the devices in Massachusetts, will be on hand at the Hingham Police Department garage starting at 4:30 p.m. to demonstrate how the device works.

“Interlock devices are an effective and reliable way to prevent drunk drivers from getting back behind the wheel,” said Hingham Police Sgt. Steven Dearth.

Also attending the event will be Jill O’Bryan, of Rockland, who was struck by a repeat drunk driver in 2005. Jill, now 25, has undergone 26 surgeries to repair damage from the accident and recently underwent a complete knee replacement.

“You have to wonder how many people have not been injured by drunk drivers since the state started mandating the use of interlock devices,” Jill’s father, Rick O’Bryan, said.

As of October 2008, 533 Massachusetts drivers had been required to use interlock devices. Of those drivers, only two had reoffended.

Hingham Police will also be promoting their 7th annual Designated Driver Program, which recruits local bars and restaurants to offer free non-alcoholic drinks to patrons serving as designated drivers.