By Matt Byrne, Town Correspondent

Mystic Valley Regional Charter School has hired a new executive director, the school announced.

Martin Trice, formerly head of school at the South Shore Christian Academy in Weymouth, replaces Joseph McCleary, who effectively retired at the beginning of this school year.

Trice, who has 25 years of teaching experience, has worked at the elementary, secondary, and higher education levels.

His career began in 1982 at Rockland High School as an AP psychology teacher, and continued in 1987 at Lexington Christian Academy, where he moved into administration, eventually serving at Dean of Students.

In 1991 after the fall of the Soviet Union, Trice served as consultant to he Ministry of Education in the Republic of Armenia.

The consultancy work was followed by a five-year stint as a vice president and faculty member at Eastern Nazarene College.

“Mr. Trice brings more than 25 years of education experience at all levels to Mystic Valley including international experience and we believe this experience will provide the school with the ability to reach an even higher level of excellence in the coming years,” stated Neil Kinnon, chairman of the Board of Trustees, in a statement.
 
In a welcoming message delivered to the Mystic Valley faculty and staff, Trice said “I am thrilled to be joining the Mystic Valley school community.  This school has accomplished much in a short period of time.  I come with a deep sense of responsibility to carry on the traditions that have made Mystic Valley one of our state’s and even nation’s finest schools."

The following was submitted by the Middlesex Fells Dog Owner Group:

Dog Play, a video and discussion, will be held Tuesday, June 12 from 7-9 p.m. at the Middlesex Fells Reservation's Botume House, 4 Woodland Road, Stoneham.

Watch and discuss videos of dogs with Liz Shaw, CPDT-KA, owner of Magical Mutt. Liz will help us better understand canine social behavior and learn to distinguish between healthy play among dogs and interactions between dogs who may not be having such a good time.

Please make other arrangements for your canine companions!

For more information, go to www.fellsdog.org.

By Matt Byrne, Town Correspondent

In line with a state trend in April that saw a jump in foreclosures statewide, banks foreclosed on more homes in Melrose last month than they did in the same period in 2011, new data has shown.

In April banks initiated four foreclosures against homeowners, up from zero in the April 2011, according to the Warren Group, which tracks housing data statewide. To see a town-by-town breakdown of the statistics, click here.

Auctions of foreclosed homes also leapt for the month, from two counted last April, to eight in the month this year.

Completed foreclosures in the same period also saw an increase, from zero last April to two last month.

The local bump in foreclosure rates is in line with a state trend for the month, according to the Warren Group, which said that April foreclosures -- 1,750 in all -- were the highest monthly total since September 2010.

"Foreclosure activity was so low last year that we're inevitably seeing a rise in foreclosures across the state," said Cory S. Hopkins, editorial director of The Warren Group, in a statement. "It's necessary for a wave of foreclosures to work through the system this year, but it shouldn't cause panic. In order to return to a healthier market, the backlog of distressed properties needs to be cleared from banks' books."

Lisa Lord photos

By Kathy McCabe, Globe Staff

Memorial Day came early for 20 Melrose veterans of World War II, Korea and Vietnam, who traveled to Washington by bus May 11-13 as part of a community project called "Operation Resolve-Melrose," led by five middle school girls.

Operation Resolve is a national program, based in Wisconsin, that aims to bring World War II veterans to visit their memorial in Washington, which opened in 2004. Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School launched a local effort last Veterans Day. The city has about 1,800 veterans, but less than 50 are from World War II, said Ryan McLane, the city's director of veterans services.

To see more photos, click here.

"It's a population that has its challenges because so many of them are aging," said McLane, 30, an Army veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan. The program was expanded to include veterans from Korea and Vietnam, he added.

At the middle school, eighth graders -- Natalie Brogan, Miranda Lombardo, Isabelle Miller, Hannah Wells and Emma Wiklund -- led a campaign that raised over $9,000 for the trip. They solicited donations from community groups. School fund-raisers included a $5 raffle for students to win such privileges as listening to their iPod during lunch.

"The girls really took ownership of the whole process, from fund-raising, organizing and designing the T-shirts, to making sure that everyone had snacks and drinks throughout the bus ride," Lisa Lord, a history teacher at Melrose High who helped organize the event, wrote in an e-mail.

The girls, accompanied by a parent, made the trip. But Wells was sick and couldn't go. But she was able to Skype with her compatriots, who dutifully carried their laptop around the hotel so others could say "hello" to her back in Melrose.

Group photos of the girls and veterans visiting their memorials will be presented at today's Memorial Day assembly at the middle school. Veterans who served in all wars were invited to the assembly.

Veterans who made the trip are, from World War II, Minor McLain, Ralph Leavy, Robert Fuller, Ed Vickery, Tom Dillon, and Charles Murdock; from Korea, John Bernardi, who also served in Vietnam, James Kelly, Robert Leydon, and Freeman O. Dicks; and from Vietnam, David Martorelli and Mike Nocito.

"It was wonderful to see each veteran respond to their particular monument," McLane said. "To give them the chance to see their memorials says a lot about Melrose, and the efforts of the girls who planned their trips."

At the assembly Friday morning, state Representative Paul Brodeur presented the Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School Operation Resolve Club with a citation from the State House of Representatives.

Tom Brow, principal of the middle school, challenged his students to embrace the next phase of this project -- "Operation Thank You" -- that will focus on bringing local Vietnam veterans to Washington next year to visit their memorial.

To launch the fund-raising campaign for that trip, Tim Kelly, senior manager of government affairs for Comcast, presented the girls with a $1,000 check.

Kathy McCabe can be reached at kmccabe@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @GlobeKMcCabe.

World War II veteran Ralph Leavy and wife Angelina had such a good time, they said they would return for next year's trip.

The following was submitted by the office of state Senator Katherine Clark:

BOSTON – The Senate on Thursday capped a framework of nation-leading health care reforms with landmark cost-control legislation that will save the Commonwealth $150 billion in the next 15 years while improving the quality of care and increasing the transparency and accountability of the state’s entire health care system. The bill passed, 35-2.

According to Senator Katherine Clark (Middlesex & Essex), health spending is projected to double from 2009 to 2020, outpacing both inflation and growth in the overall economy. Massachusetts residents, businesses, and state and local government continue to struggle with increasing premiums and other health care cost sharing.

“Every conversation that I have with business owners in my district includes their concerns about mounting health care costs,” said Clark. “We will slow that growth considerably, allowing individuals, families, and small businesses to keep dollars in their pockets at this critical time in our economy while still ensuring access and quality. Our main goal is to preserve the innovation economy in the state while saving millions in health care costs.”

The approved bill, for the first time in the nation, establishes a statewide health care cost growth goal for the health care industry equal to the projected growth of the state’s gross state product (GSP) plus .5 percent from 2012 to 2015 and equal to the state’s GSP beginning in 2016.

This change will result in an estimated $150 billion in savings over the next 15 years, which will be passed on to businesses, municipalities, and residents of the Commonwealth who are struggling with increasing premiums and other health care costs.

In an effort to carefully balance the need to transform the health care industry without harming the number one employment sector in Massachusetts, the bill supports health care professionals in developing innovative payment and care delivery models and establishes tools to help providers meet the targets in the bill through market-based solutions.

Katherine Clark represents Malden and Melrose. She can be reached at 617-722-1206 or Katherine.Clark@masenate.gov.

The following was submitted by Malden Catholic High School:

Malden Catholic celebrated the graduation of 150 students in the Class of 2012 on Saturday, May 19 in Doherty Gymnasium.  Following are details of the graduation:

•Valedictory Address – Presented by Alexander Iascone of Peabody, who will attend Harvard

•Salutatory Address – Presented by Nicholas McMahon of Melrose, who will attend Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Malden Catholic 2012 graduates applied to 259 colleges and universities distributed over 40 states, Washington, D.C., and Canada.  

Members of the Malden Catholic Class of 2012 have received college scholarships with a four-year value of more than $17 million.  Among the scholarships were 34 Presidential Scholarships, 17 Dean’s Scholarships, 10 Trustees’ Scholarships, and five other full scholarships.

Malden Catholic graduates were awarded the following scholarships, generously provided by private donors:

•Edward Shaughnessy –  Michael Pepe, Revere

•Breed Baird Scholarship – Raeshawn Kennedy, Malden, and Emmanuel Powers, Malden

•Piccolo Scholarship – Collin Dickerson, Melrose, and Jordan Noone, Melrose

•James F. Donovan ’37 Memorial Scholarship Fund -- Nolan Carrier, Charlestown, and Michael Cole, Lynn

•Cory Draper Memorial Scholarship – Peter Demirdjian, Everett

•Dana Rosenblatt Scholarship – William Endicott, Malden

•Malden Catholic Alumni Association Legacy Scholarship -- Matthew Farrenkopf, Lynnfield


Degrees were conferred by Edward C. Tyrrell, Headmaster, and by Carol Ann Wronski, Vice-Chair of the Malden Catholic Board of Trustees.   Graduation ceremonies began with Baccalaureate Mass on Friday, May 18, presided by Archbishop Cardinal Sean O’Malley, OFM Cap.  The Call to Worship was offered by Student Council President Dominic D’aurora.  A resident of Woburn, D’aurora will attend Stonehill College.

About Malden Catholic

Malden Catholic High School maintains an 80-year tradition of leading students to achieve academic excellence in a Catholic, familial atmosphere.  Annually, 99 percent of Malden Catholic graduates attend college.  Recognized for its dedicated faculty, challenging curriculum, spiritual guidance, social outreach, and championship caliber athletic programs, Malden Catholic educates young men from more than 40 communities surrounding Boston.  The school is convenient to both Rte. 1 and Rte. 93.  Malden Catholic High School is fully accredited by the New England Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges.  Further information on the school may be found at www.maldencatholic.org.

Kathy Shiels Tully

Melrose's Memorial Day parade this year, held for 100 years, was a first for some. To see more photos of the weekend of events celebrating the centennial of Memorial Hall, click here.

By Matt Byrne, Town Correspondent

Melrose home prices and sales lagged in April when compared to the rest of the state, recent housing data shows.

While single-family home values saw model gains throughout the Commonwealth last month, the market in Melrose was mostly flat, especially for single-family homes, according to data released by the Warren Group, which tracks real estate transactions in Massachusetts. Only one more home sold than in the same month last year, bringing the monthly total to 17 properties placed under agreement.

The median sale price of a Melrose home dropped to $380,000 in April, dipping $31,500 when compared to the year before.

Condominiums fared worse last month, with only three units sold, down from five in April 2011. Prices took a $41,100 hit, to a median monthly price of $205,000.

The bad month for the city comes after years of relative stability for the bedroom community, whose homes retained more value during the recession, but are now lagging in the state's nascent housing recovery.

For town-by-town single-family stats, click here; for condos, click here.

Statewide, April was the strongest month for home prices since October, a sign of a rebounding market, Timothy M. Warren, CEO of the Warren Group, said in a statement.

"Low mortgage rates and an improving job market in the Bay State are encouraging buyers to enter the market," Warren said. "It looks like the months ahead will continue to be positive as the strong spring and summer market heats up. Typically, June is the biggest month of the year for real estate closings."