By Dave Eisenstadter, Town Correspondent

The Neponset Valley Chamber of Commerce will host sales expert Mark Wayshak at the Irish Cultural Centre in Canton.

Wayshak is author of “Game Plan Selling” and “Breaking All Barriers” and will speak about the changing environment for sales staff.

Salespeople were in power because they had information buyers needed, but today buyers are in command because everything they need to research products, services, and companies is available on the internet, according to the chamber statement.

Wayshak’s talk is geared to help salespeople achieve success in such a climate.

The session will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 14, at the Irish Cultural Centre at 200 New Boston Drive in Canton. It will run from 8 to 10 a.m. The cost is $15 for chamber members and $25 for general admission.

For more information, email Cristoff Shay at cristoff@nvcc.com or call 781-769-1126.

By Abby Jordan, Globe Correspondent

A plan to clean up the former Medfield State Hospital site along the Charles River contaminated by a decades-old oil spill and construction debris is moving forward after town officials this week gave the project the nod.

The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, June 18, unanimously approved the state Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance’s conceptual plan, which could take one and a half years to complete. The plan calls for cleanup of a 3.2-acre portion of the hospital site contaminated by old hospital construction and disposal debris, and of an 1,800-square-foot area along the river bank where sediment from a 1978 oil spill rests.

The plan also calls for demolition of three buildings at the hospital — which has been closed since 2003. The laundry, the Odyssey House and the Carriage House are in disrepair and will be taken down, according to the plan.Implementation of the plan and disposal of materials could cost the state an estimated $8.5 million.

The state first presented the plan to the public at a meeting June 6. However, it is not the first time DCAMM has proposed a cleanup plan of the state-owned site. A 2011 plan drew opposition from town officials, river organizations and residents, leading to the town’s request for mediation. The new plan is a result of the state and town joining forces to focus to find the best outcome for the site.

Following Tuesday’s selectmen approval, the next step is the permitting phase, said Assistant Town Manager Kristine Trierweiler. During the June 6 public meeting, officials said as the design process moves forward, residents will have an opportunity to add input.

Conceptually the plan includes moving excavated waste uphill away from the river, capping and containing it, then doing wetlands restoration, meadow creation and reconnection of the Bay Circuit Trail. A canoe launch is also planned.

The Charles River Watershed Association calls the new plan “significant departure from the initial plan offered in 2011.”

“This is a winning solution that will protect the Charles and restore this beautiful stretch of riverfront,” said Margaret Van Deusen, deputy director and general counsel for the association. “This cleanup will serve as a model for the future remediation of contaminated state lands along waterways.”

Abby Jordan can be reached at abbyjordan13@gmail.com

Girl Scouts of Eastern Mass. announced Thursday that 51 Girl Scouts have earned the Girl Scout Gold Award-- the highest recognition a member of the organization can achieve.

The award recognizes a service project within a girl's community that creates change and becomes ongoing while also portraying a girl's organizational, leadership, and networking skills. To earn the award, girls must complete the Silver Award and a minimum of 80 hours of service, according to a press release.

The awards were given in a ceremony on June 19 at the Marlborough Holiday Inn.

Here is a list of the girls and an explanation of their projects:

Emily Allard, Stoneham
Allard's project, Lindenwood Cemetery Visitors Project, helped visitors easily locate the cemetery plots of their friends and family. She replaced the street signs and poles and created a detailed map of the cemetery near the entrance. Smaller paper maps are also available for visitors to take with them.

Claire Bagnani, Chestnut Hill
Bagnani’s project, Elder Youth Connection, helps senior citizens who are living alone or lacking support systems. Children of Brookline regularly spent time with the elderly and provided assistance by grocery shopping and running errands. The partnership between elder housing communities and the youth of Brookline formed a strong bond among the two communities. The program, titled SHOP, will continue this relationship between the senior citizens and high school students.

Andrea Bourke, Kingston (she moved to Maryland but remained in her Kingston GS troop through Skype and other technology)
The Chesapeake Bay is one of the unhealthiest waterways in the world, due to human habitation, development, deforestation, overfishing and nutrient pollution. Bourke's project, Save the Bay, aimed to promote awareness for this regional issue and brought about change by educating others on how they can affect the problem. She worked with a school that bordered the bay to create a rain garden designed to catch rainwater off the roof of the building closest to the bay. The garden was 800 square feet and contained native plants. Bourke also created posters and brochures to educate others on how to keep the bay clean. The EcoClub at the school will maintain the garden.

Meckila Britt, Ashland
Britt's project, One Skein of Yarn, helped bridge the gap between generations through knitting and crocheting. She managed a group of individuals, ages 10 to 101, who spent time together learning to knit and crochet. The group made hats, scarves, and mittens for the homeless. In December, they assembled their projects into gift baskets that were delivered to a local family shelter. They also provided a basket of home-baked goodies for the shelter staff. The group continues to meet and make additional items for other shelters.

Emily Buckley, Canton
Buckley's high school requires that each student complete 20 hours of community service. The only source of these opportunities is through the Career Center website, which was not maintained properly and needed to be updated with more current and diverse opportunities. Buckley's project, Career Center Website Rehabilitation, provides easy access to information on local nonprofit organizations, as well as organizations outside the community, offering students more diverse service opportunities to choose from. Members of the school's chapter of the National Honor Society will update the website annually.

Rachel Cabitt, Rowley
Cabitt's project, Painting History, combined art and history to educate the community about the town's history. She painted a mural in the town hall and held workshops in the library to share the historical aspects depicted in the mural. She then had participants express what they learned artistically.

Kathryn Chiffer, Topsfield
Chiffer's project, Project Lunchbox: Let's Eat!, educates elementary school students and their families about the link between healthy eating and positive school performance. She taught multi-generational nutrition and cooking classes, which included reading labels and understanding marketing strategies used by manufacturers. She maintains a blog to educate the wider community about the importance of healthy eating and writes a weekly column in her school's newsletter. Chiffer also convinced the school cafeteria to add one of her healthy recipes to the menu. Her school will continue to support her endeavors by applying for a grant to fund an expansion of her program.\

Arianne Chipman, Hingham
Chipman's project, Green Thumbs Gardening, teaches local elementary school students the value of growing local produce and supporting local farms. She helped them plant a garden that was maintained over summer break by students and their families. An autumn harvest was shared by the school community, allowing for cost savings on the school's produce. The school will be continuing this program.

Jennifer Crawford, North Reading
Crawford's project, Interfaith Leadership Summit, addresses religious intolerance. Through the summit and a video documentary, she educated local youth groups about different faiths and encouraged them to teach others what they learned. High school students from the area participated in workshops on diversity, acceptance, tolerance, religious pluralism and identities. Crawford's church youth group plans on making this an annual event.

Danielle Davies, Boxford
For over 15 years, the Boxford Town Library has been in poor condition, with limited storage and very little usable space for programs and activities. Davies' project, Boxford Library Rescue, gave the library a much needed update and reorganized the library's storage space. Davies worked with volunteers to clean out the library barn, providing the library with more storage and better access to materials stored there. In addition, they reorganized and repainted the current space, giving the library a fresh look and more space for community programs and events. The Friends of the Library have agreed to maintain the storage space.

Jessica Desmond, Chelmsford
Women and children are often victims of violence and do not know how to protect themselves. Desmond's project, A Fighting Chance, collaborated with self-defense instructors and local police officers to provide workshops on basic self-defense, while also educating participants on laws related to domestic violence and rape. She created a video to be used by her dojo, which has decided to run a six-week course on self-defense for women and girls.

Emily Doucette, Maynard
Doucette's project, Organizing for the Future of the Choral Program, organized her school's choral collection based on music type, artist, and title. Doucette created a log documenting resources and a new storage system that holds more music, and updated file cabinets with new paint. She also created a Guide to Being a Chorus Librarian to ensure that her new organized system would be maintained. She utilized Facebook and a blog to recruit volunteers.

Elizabeth Driver, Topsfield
Driver's project, Read, Reinforce, Reach Out, provided supplemental materials for classrooms with autistic students. She assembled binders containing literacy materials and activities that reinforce concepts taught in classroom books. Driver created two displays, one aimed at adults and the other toward children, at the local library to educate the public about autism. She also visited some elementary classrooms to emphasize the importance of understanding autism and inclusion.

Jazmin Eltoury, Quincy
Eltoury's project, Creating a Safe Environment for Youth in Town, provides the children in her community safe opportunities to participate in outdoor activities on a regular basis. She started a teen group that met regularly at the local sportsman club. She also created an instructional video to teach the fundamentals of archery and help parents get their children involved in archery and outdoor activities in a safe environment.

Claire Faddis, Boxford
Faddis' project, Water Conservation Education and Promotion, promotes water conservation through education. Faddis worked with second graders in her community, educating them about wasting water and the important role water plays in their daily lives through classroom activities. Students now conserve water by turning off the water when brushing their teeth and checking for leaking faucets. She also taught adults in the community about using rain barrels to capture water, which can be used to water gardens and lawns. She wrote numerous articles on rain barrel usage for the local paper and created a website which will continue the education process.

Caitlin Fitzmaurice, Scituate
Fitzmaurice's project, A Child's Sanctuary: Go Green for Marine Life, brings community awareness to marine biodiversity and teaches the community to protect this special habitat. She ran two events for families that held a number of interactive, fun and educational activities about marine life and the harmful effects humans can cause. She worked closely with NOAA/Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and trained their volunteers, who will continue to provide Fitzmaurice's workshops to the community.

Colleen Fitzpatrick, North Reading
Fitzpatrick's project, Parish Park Rededication and Cleanup, constructed a memorial garden in North Reading's Parish Park to honor the town's veterans. She, along with volunteers, created a beautiful, reflective space where townspeople can remember and appreciate the veterans. Upon completion, Fitzpatrick organized an event to honor the veterans and to dedicate the space to them.

Kiersten Flodman, Rowley
Flodman's project, Babies on the Go, gave access to developmental toys for families with new babies. She worked with community groups to gather supplies, make blankets, and assemble bags containing rattles, books, blankets and laminated cards explaining the importance of developmental play. Local physical and occupational therapists and service providers distributed the bags to their patients.

Alicia Healey, Canton
Healey's project, Mission Pet Safe, is an educational campaign for pet owners. The campaign addressed pet safety, including accidental poisoning, car accidents, proper restraint practices, pet first-aid kits and heat-related deaths from dogs left in cars. Healy, with the help of volunteers, created bookmarks, a traveling display, first-aid kits, brochures and puzzles for preschoolers. She gave presentations at the library and the middle school and high school. She also wrote an article for the newspaper, shared the information on global websites, and created a website and blog.

Emma Holland, Hingham
Holland's project, Sounds of the Past, involved working with fellow student musicians to compile and bring back historical 19th-century American music to the town's historical society. She researched, transcribed and learned the music with help from her fellow musicians. The group recorded the music, which is now available for use by the historical society and can be found on YouTube. They also held a live performance of the music for the local elementary school. To view her project blog, visit www.gssoundsofthepast.tumblr.com.

Caroline Hultin, Sudbury
Hultin's project, Up and Out for Gold 2012, addresses homelessness. She worked with Heading Home, a nonprofit that provides emergency, transitional, and permanent housing to low-income homeless and formerly homeless families. Hultin, with the help of volunteers, furnished and cleaned an apartment for a homeless family. She also recruited younger Girl Scout troops to collaborate with Heading Home to set up additional homes.

Anna Krah, Medfield
Krah’s project, Coexisting Cultures, expanded cultural education in her community. She created a Chinese Club at Medfield High School and introduced the plight of people in Nicaragua to children in the third grade. As a result of their experiences, high school students expressed greater interest in a Chinese exchange program and the third graders gained a better understanding of the global impact of community service.

Danielle Lapierre, Chelmsford
After being used by the community for years, the Lady of Fatima statue at St. Mary's Church has become overgrown and inaccessible. Lapierre's project, Create St. Mary Parish Marian Grotto, involved designing and building a beautiful grotto with the help of many volunteers. The newly transformed space is now a place where the community can meditate, reflect or pray. A dedicated group of parishioners will maintain the area and already plan to add a waterfall feature.

Katherine LaScaleia, Sudbury
LaScaleia’s project, Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Reducing Idling in the Community of Sudbury, educates both youth and adults about the environmental, economic and health hazards of idling. She ran a bike rally to inspire children to ride their bikes while also teaching them about the dangers of idling. She used various methods to bring awareness, such as writing a series of articles for the newspaper on the hazards of idling and created a website where people can take a pledge to reduce their idling.

Whitney Ligonde, Dedham
Ligonde's project, Educational Inequality, organized high school students to tutor younger students one-on-one through the middle school's homework club. Working with school staff, she changed the policy that only National Honor Society students were allowed to tutor middle school students. She worked with the math department to train the tutors and develop a curriculum. Her high school will continue her work by making this an official club.

Christina Liotti, Danvers
Liotti's project, Seniors on the Move, aims to inspire senior citizens to become more active. With the new Danvers Rail Trail in mind, she created a club called Walk with the Seniors. Students from her school walked with seniors as a group, giving them a sense of security and the option of assistance if needed. Her high school has made this an official community service option for students.

Anne LoVerso, Southborough
LoVerso’s project, Childhood Health and Fitness through Circus Arts, addresses childhood obesity and the lack of childhood health and fitness. She worked with a local circus school to develop a static trapeze curriculum with step-by-step instructions for tricks, spotting, warm-up exercises and conditioning. She, along with a team of volunteers, held a workshop for 4th and 5th graders to share circus activities and provided information on healthy eating at a large community event. Her curriculum will be used by gym teachers in elementary schools. The National Honor Society has also agreed to hold a fitness booth at their opening day event.

Alison McDermott, Hingham
McDermott's project, Teens Teach Technology, helps senior citizens feel more comfortable with using technology. She and her peer volunteers provided workshops on Skype, Twitter and Facebook. The senior citizens are now able to connect with family overseas, reconnect with old classmates and share photos with loved ones. McDermott created a binder and PowerPoint presentation for future workshop leaders.

Samantha McGoldrick, North Reading
McGoldrick's project, Raised Beds for North Reading Food Pantry, involved creating and maintaining four raised garden beds behind the food pantry building. These gardens help supply the North Reading Food Pantry with fresh fruits and vegetables to serve families. The local garden club has agreed to care for the gardens and will donate plants to keep the project going.

Molly McGowan, Waltham
McGowan’s project, The Imagination Station, addresses the lack of imaginative play present in many children’s hospitals. For a hospital play room, she created a cabinet that is filled with imaginative play toys and that can be accessed 24/7 by children and their families. She worked closely with a Child Life Specialist to determine appropriate activities for hospitalized children of all ages. McGowan created a committee of volunteers who will maintain the imagination station.

Jessica Merritt, Pembroke
Merritt's project, Water Safety, brought community awareness to drowning and how it can be prevented. She created informative and interactive activity stations that included open water education and CPR demonstrations. In addition, she created a binder with all the information needed to continue this awareness program, which the town landing chairman has agreed to do.

Melissa Moody, Newton
Moody’s project, Wetlands: The Final Frontier, brought community awareness to the local wetlands. She worked with DCR officials and local volunteers to install informational posts throughout the Charles River Wetlands. Each post has a QR code that visitors can scan with their smart phones. The code directs them to a website (www.qbqtrail.org) with information about that particular part of the wetlands.

Katelin Oberlander, West Yarmouth
Oberlander's project, Mini Clinic for Field Hockey, gives younger girls a better understanding of field hockey before they enter high school. She held field hockey clinics where girls practiced the sport, learned to work as a team, enjoyed exercise and learned about proper nutrition to keep their bodies fueled.

Leda Olia, Newton
Olia’s project, Will Run for Fun, introduced elementary school children to long-distance running to promote enthusiasm for the sport at a younger age. She created an afterschool long-distance running program and employed high school volunteers. She also produced a handbook, which will be used by future volunteers to continue the program.

Ann Pastorello, Tewksbury
Pastorello's project, Operation Blanket, helps educate the community about animal shelters and animal adoption. She worked with local children and members of the senior center to create blankets and treats for cats at the MSPCA shelter. Pastorello created a PowerPoint presentation and flyer that she shared at various workshops. She also made a YouTube video demonstrating how to make the blankets.

Hannah Peternell, Westford
Peternell's project, New Student Protocol, creates a welcome program for new students at Westford Academy. She designed an infrastructure of support, such as welcome phone calls to new students, invitations to a new student orientation banquet and appointing peer counselors to show new students around, to help ease their transition into a new school. The program will be continued by the school's guidance staff and peer counselor group.

Samantha Rizzo, Canton
A can is recycled in 6 weeks, but takes hundreds of years to decompose in a landfill. Rizzo raised public awareness about the need to recycle through her project, Recycling Receptacles. She gave a presentation to her local Board of Selectmen to show why the town needed public recycling receptacles and explained the costs between different types of receptacles. She made a public service announcement on recycling, which will air annually on Canton Community Television. Rizzo also created recycling stickers to encourage the public to use the new receptacles.

Kristina Ryan, Burlington
Ryan's project, Heartbeat Awareness Program, addressed teen pregnancy and provided support systems for teen moms. Ryan partnered with Heartbeat Pregnancy Health Center, a nonprofit organization that provides free resources to pregnant teens such as free ultrasounds, prenatal and infant care, counseling, and items needed for the baby. Ryan gave community presentations to teens and their families about the health center and the resources available. She also collected supplies for the teens and newborns that the organization will distribute.

Meredith Scheiring, Hingham
Feeling inspired to help teens who are newly diagnosed with diabetes, Scheiring's project, Diabetes Domain, created a website for those with diabetes. On the site, people can share inspirational and personal stories, advice, regrets, words of encouragement and information on developing technology for diabetic care. The College Diabetes Network will maintain the website: diabetesdomain.wix.com/dd.

Kristen Shevlin, North Reading
Shevlin's project, Backyard Gardens, addresses the issue of limited access to healthy foods. She worked with members of the community to build raised-bed gardens. Some fruits and vegetables are for community consumption while others are donations to the local food pantry. She also provided healthy recipes for the food pantry to hand out to patrons. A younger Girl Scout troop will continue her project.

Charlotte Skolnick, Pembroke
Skolnick's project, Self-Guided Historical Tours of Pembroke, provides the community with an interactive experience of the town's rich and interesting sites. She worked closely with the Pembroke library staff to develop accurate descriptions of the historical sites. With a team of volunteers, she created two walking routes and three driving routes through town. Skolnick held a kickoff event to introduce the walking tours to her community.

Gabriella Smith, Andover
Smith's project, Rediscovering Haggetts Pond Through Modern Technology, promotes the trails surrounding Andover's Haggetts Pond. She used modern technology to make the trail's information more accessible and appealing. Using GPS and cartography software, Smith created a detailed map of the area. She worked with volunteers to develop an informational website about Haggetts Pond as well as a kiosk displaying a QR code that brings smart phone users to the website.

Eliza Lily Snow, Hingham
Snow's project, Middle School Circle Club, is a club for middle-school children, with and without disabilities, to interact and socialize in a safe, judgment-free environment. The bi-monthly club focuses on the importance of inclusion and acceptance. The Circle Club helped to strengthen friendships and inspired members to participate in the high school's Best Buddies program. Students from the Best Buddies program will continue the Circle Club at the middle school.

Amelia Steeger, Medfield
Steeger’s project, Cranes for Change, created environmental educational clubs at the local afterschool program for children in grades 2–6. She also set up a monthly group at her church to explore topics like chemicals in body care products, recycling and repurposing materials, and growing organic foods. She worked in conjunction with Medfield Green to sponsor a Forever Green Family Night Out. Each participant created a paper crane to symbolize their pledge to help the environment. This event will be continued by Girl Scouts working on their Sow What? Journey.

Jennifer Sullivan, Wakefield
Sullivan's project, Replacing Missing House Numbers, addresses the issue of house numbers not being visible to emergency personnel. With the help of volunteers, she checked approximately 5,000 houses in Wakefield and notified owners that their house numbers were missing or not easily visible from the street. Sullivan worked with the local fire chief to send letters informing residents of the safety issue. A local hardware store offered a discount on the purchase of new house numbers if residents showed the letter. The local fire department will continue her crusade.

Samantha Traficante, Kingston
Traficante's project, Kiosk and Signage Maintenance at Open Spaces, brought public awareness to Kingston's conservation properties. The properties were run down and vandalized, and Traficante worked with a team of volunteers to clean up the properties and repair information kiosks. She also created map boxes to hold site maps at each location.

Katerina Tsoutsouras, Rowley
Tsoutsouras' project, Loving Literature: Helping Children Develop a Love of Books and Reading, addresses illiteracy by finding ways to motivate children to read more. She scheduled weekly book club sessions at the Ipswich Library and United Methodist Church for children ages 5 to 8. Volunteers offered reading sessions for different skill levels and time for crafts to further engage the children. When parents were surveyed, they expressed that the children were more interested in reading at home in their free time after attending the sessions.

Emily Van Laarhoven, Southborough
Families with children who have special needs have trouble finding qualified babysitters. In order to have child care they have to hire a specialist at $25-30 an hour, or rely on older siblings. This is often detrimental to the family dynamic and creates additional strain both financially and mentally on parents. Van Laarhoven’s project, Training Course for Babysitting Kids with Special Needs, trained volunteers to recognize and understand specific special needs diagnoses, creating a pool of knowledgeable and skilled babysitters at a reasonable rate.

Stephanie Wasiuk, Maynard
Wasiuk’s project, Music for the Future, organized the high school band’s music into an easy-to-use system, making resources easily available to students. She restored over 200 boxes of organized material, made note of missing pieces, and documented the contents. She also created a how-to manual for the system and a shelving unit to track music being returned and ensure its proper storage.

Laura White, Reading
White's project, Spreading Shakespeare, helped people appreciate Shakespeare by exposing them to his work. With the assistance of volunteers dressed in costumes from the 1500s, she held workshops for teens at the library's Teen Summer Reading program and worked with younger children at Camp Rice Moody. She also helped middle school students put on a performance of Twelfth Night. A recording of the performance and how-to videos can be found on YouTube.

Anna Willms, Wellesley
Willms' project, Preparing Children for an Eye Examination, addresses children's fear and anxiety concerning eye exams. She created a video and booklet to educate children on what an eye exam entails. The video and booklet have been given to Mass Eye and Ear and Children's Hospital to help alleviate their young patients' fears.

By Nancy Shohet West, Globe Correspondent

"Streak runners" don't ever take a day off, but they do vary their daily running routines. Here are a few favorite routes shared by runners west of Boston who belong to the US Running Streak Association.

Bill Robertson, Ashland; streak began 2/8/77:

“Now that I’m living in Ashland, my favorite route is the Boston Marathon course. It is familiar, and, of course, has all the miles marked."

Dr. Harvey Simon, Newton; streak began 10/31/78 and ended 4/24/13 after glaucoma surgery:

“During the first 22 years of my streak, I averaged about 84 miles a week. My usual daily route was an 11-mile run that took me up and down the four Boston Marathon hills in Newton; on weekends, I ran various longer loops through Wellesley, Needham, Weston, and Dover, usually chasing fast friends. In recent years, I’ve been running half as far along quiet neighborhood streets in Newton. But my favorite Massachusetts route is my summer run in the Berkshires.”

Scott Cyphers, Bedford; streak began 8/29/05:

“Minuteman [Bikeway] can be nice if you don’t get run down. In addition to the well-known paved part from Bedford to Alewife, there is a branch from Bedford to Billerica called the Bedford Narrow Gauge Rail Trail, and another branch, Reformatory Branch Trail, to Concord Center.”

Paul Miller, Medfield; streak began 2/10/10:

“The roads around Farm Pond and the Charles River in Sherborn have a great mix of terrain and the scenery can be very picturesque at certain times of the year, especially after snowstorms in the winter.”

Nancy Shohet West can be reached at nancyswest@gmail.com.

By Dave Eisenstadtler, Town correspondent

The Neponset Valley Chamber of Commerce will hold a reception for business leaders and members of the public to speak to their legislators in Dedham.

The event will be held at the Endicott Estate from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 23.

The cost of attendance is $15 for members, $25 for non-members, and $10 for Facebook fans of the chamber.

There will be no formal speaking program; instead participants can mingle and network with one another and with legislative and business leaders in the community. Complimentary hors d'oeuvres, beer, wine, and other refreshments will be available.

Registration is required at nvcc.com or by calling 781-769-1126.

By Dave Eisenstadter, Town Correspondent

Norfolk County’s sheriff is looking for volunteers to mentor prisoners at Norfolk County House of Correction in Dedham.

Mentors are paired with inmates while they are in prison, and they continue to meet after the release from prison, according to Sheriff Michael G. Bellotti, who began the program in 2011.

“The idea is to help the inmates stay on a productive, law-abiding path after they leave our walls,” Bellotti said.

Prospective mentors are interviewed and screened by Norfolk County Sheriff’s office staff to determine how well they will fit the program, but Bellotti said people from all walks of life could make good mentors.

About 40 mentors have been paired with inmates since the program began.

Funding in 2011 came from a US Justice Department grant received by the non-profit organization Volunteers of America, which partnered with the sheriff’s office to administer the program.

Anyone interested in becoming a mentor can contact Assistant Superintendent Patty Spataro at 781-751-3416.

By Dave Eisenstadter, Town Correspondent

Norfolk County’s register of deeds will host a free informational seminar about using computers to research property records.

William P. O’Donnell will hold the seminar at the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds at 649 High St. in Dedham on Thursday, May 9, at 4:30 p.m.

The seminar is intended for both real estate professionals and the general public, and will include a presentation, written handouts, and hands-on exercises.

Computer assisted land records research is currently available both at the registry and on the Internet at www.norfolkdeeds.org.

The seminar is free, but anyone planning to attend should register by contacting Alicia Gardner at 781-461-6104 or agardner@norfolkdeeds.org, and providing name, address, e-mail, and a daytime phone number.

By Thomas Connors, Guest Columnist

Four years after proposing a rail trail spanning Newton, Needham, Medfield and Dover, the project is still slow, but finally picking up speed. The south section (Red Wing Bay at the Dover town line to Needham Junction) is being studied by a consulting firm, and town meeting will be asked to support leasing and construction. However, the fate of the North section, 1.1 miles from the Newton town line at the Charles River behind Staples to the new Senior Center at the MBTA Needham Heights commuter rail station, is still up in the air. Converting this section into a greenway will result in a low stress bicycle route between the towns of Newton and Needham, greatly increasing safety to bicyclists, and making an easy and safe walking path for our new Senior Center and residents of the expanded Wingate assisted living center on Gould Street. Residents of Evelyn Road will have a pleasant access to Needham Heights and Newton, for biking, walking with friends, family and dogs. Unfortunately, with the current state of affairs, this prime open space will turn into a wasteland consisting of unused, decaying rail tracks overgrown with weeds and various trash strewn around, as well as the arsenic from the rail ties seeping underground. In addition to the squandered recreational opportunity, the inaction on the North section will result in depressed neighboring property values as well as potential environmental hazard.

The good news is the recently released MAPC study of using the rail line as a bus bypass road to avoid congestion on Needham Street in Newton resulted in a conclusion that was cool to the idea of a bus sharing the narrow rail trail with walkers and pedestrians. Calling the proposed bus project “costly and challenging”, there was little to encourage the town of Needham to pursue a bus option rather than commencing active planning for a rail trail. Newton has engaged with Iron Horse, a New Hampshire-based non-profit, to construct their mile with a free or low cost surface in autumn of 2013. Iron Horse is ready, willing and able to proceed south from the Newton town line, constructing the free or low cost path simultaneous with Newton, also in the fall of 2013. Iron Horse can build the North section in Needham in 2013 while doing the section in Newton, thereby connecting the two towns with a linear bicycle and pedestrian greenway.

A few challenges remain, such as designing good safe road crossings at Gould and Webster Street, but the Needham DPW and Traffic Management Committee have long experience in road calming and traffic management. Engineering problems are their specialty and the traffic volumes are well within normal range for rail trail crossings, with many successful local examples of crosswalks and push-button light signals including the popular Minuteman Bikeway in Lexington.

The final challenge is the bridge over route 128, scheduled to be removed in 2016 as part of MassHighway’s Add-A-Lane project. However, MassDOT has repeatedly re-affirmed its commitment to replace the rail bridge and is waiting for the town of Needham to specify the purpose of the bridge. The MBTA has previously studied extending a Green Line spur from Newton to Needham Heights and found it prohibitively expensive and has not included it in their 30 year funding request. The recently released MAPC bus-bypass road study has removed bus traffic as a feasible use of the bridge, so the only remaining option is the most inexpensive – a bicycle and pedestrian linear park greenway rail trail bridge.

We urge the town of Needham to collaborate with Newton and MassDOT and the Needham Heights community to commence planning the rail trail, in particular to utilize Iron Horse to construct a basic free or low cost path in 2013, and submit a request for MassDOT to replace the existing bridge as a bicycle and pedestrian bridge several years from now when the Add-A-Lane project gets to that area of their project. Taking these steps is financially prudent and responsible, and will result in a safe low-stress crossing over route 128, for today’s residents and generations to come.

Thomas Connors is a cofounder of the Friends of the Needham Rail Trail Greenway and the Bay Colony Rail Trail Association. The Friends of the Needham Rail Trail Greenway is having their monthly meeting at 7:30 PM on Thursday March 28, at the Needham Public Library. Meetings are posted at http://www.NeedhamRailTrail.org and http://www.facebook.com/Needham.Rail.Trail everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend.

The Neponset Valley Chamber of Commerce has announced the participants of the 14th annual Flavors of Neponset Valley tasting event.

The event will take place on Wednesday, March 20, from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at Patriot Place in Foxborough. Tickets are $40 or $375 for 10.

For more information, visit www.nvcc.com or call 781-769-1126.

Restaurants and beverage companies include:

Angry Cookie
Aquitaine Bar a Vin Bistrot
Atlantic Coffee
Bertucci's – Norwood/Canton
Off the Vine Catering
British Beer Company
Burke Distributors
CBS Scene
Chili's-Walpole
Dave & Busters
Davio's Northern Italian Steakhouse
Dancing Deer Bakery
Easton Country Club
Edible Arrangements of Foxboro
Ever So Humble Pie Company
Harrow's
Harpoon Brewery
HESSCO Elder Services
J&L Catering
Jalapenos Grill
JP Licks at Legacy Place
Kendall Jackson/M S Walker, Inc.
Kings at Legacy Place
Konditor-Meister
Lemate Cocktail Mix
Mayflower Brewery
Mai Pearl
Meat House
Narragansett Brewing Co./Colonial Wholesale Bev.
Norton Country Club
Olivadi
One Bistro
Quality Beverage
Raes Fresh
Raven's Nest
Salem Food Market
Showcase
Skipjack's Seafood Emporium
Summer Shack
Tastings Wine Bar & Bistro
Tavolino Resturant
Texas Road House
Twenty8 Food & Spirits
Twist Bakery

Medfield resident Michelle Jacques will appear in Woodland Theatre Company's production of A Chorus Line as Bebe.