By Jaclyn Reiss, Town Correspondent

Wellesley voters mirrored state trends as 56 percent of residents who cast a ballot Tuesday voted for US Representative Ed Markey to replace John Kerry, who resigned his US Senate seat to serve as Secretary of State.

Almost half of the 16,000 registered Wellesley voters went to the polls Tuesday, according to unofficial results from the town clerk's office.

The town reflected state trends, where Massachusetts voters favored Markey at 55 percent over Gabriel Gomez, the investment banker and former Navy SEAL nominated by the Republican Party.

Wellesley has a history of leaning left: the majority of town voters have favored Democratic candidates over Republican ones in the past four elections dating back to 2008, according to a Boston Globe chart.

In the late April special primary election, 26 percent of Wellesley voters cast their ballots. Democrats heavily favored Markey at 82 percent over fellow congressman Stephen Lynch, while Republicans threw substantial support behind Gabriel Gomez with 62 percent of their vote over his rivals, Michael J. Sullivan and Daniel B. Winslow.

At the Boston Park Plaza Hotel, Markey painted a cheerful picture of his work to come as a US Senator during his televised victory speech.

“I am going to the US Senate to build a bold and bright future filled with optimism and opportunity for every family in the state of Massachusetts and across our great country,” he said. "Like you, I am tired of gridlock. But I will never compromise on our principles.”

In his concession speech, Gomez blamed his loss on campaign finances, but simultaneously apologized for his failure to be elected.

"We were massively overspent - we went up against literally the whole national Democratic party and all its allies," he said.

Still, he added: "I offer absolutely no excuse for coming up short."

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Jaclyn Reiss can be reached at jaclyn.reiss@globe.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 Jaclyn Reiss, Town Correspondent

Wellesley's Morses Pond may reopen by this weekend after an independent consultant visits the beach today to investigate the facility's safety protocols and physical environment following the drowning of a 10-year-old boy earlier this month, said Wellesley Police Chief Terrence Cunningham.

As long as the investigator doesn't find any unexpectedly alarming safety issues today, the pool could reopen by the end of the week, Cunningham said.

"If he gives it the green light, we could do it in the next day or two," Cunningham said. "Fingers crossed, I'm hoping he comes in and doesn't see anything glaringly wrong, and if anything, will just say that we need to tweak this and tweak that. Then we can open the beach, and follow up with a full report."

The investigation comes after 10-year-old Alexander Glennon visited the beach June 1 with his father and father's fiancee, along with other family members. Lifeguards approached a woman looking for the boy at about 6 p.m., and then activated an emergency action plan to find him, according to police.

Staff ordered 60 to 70 people out of the water, called 911, and began an organized search, police said.

Wellesley Fire Department divers found Glennon in a swimming area about an hour after he was reported missing, Cunningham previously told the Globe, noting that the pond was fully staffed with eight lifeguards at the time, and that they did “absolutely what they were trained to do.”

Although Cunningham remains optimistic that the beach could open this week, Hans Larsen, the town’s executive director, was vague in providing selectmen with a reopening timeline during a Morses Pond update at Monday night's Board of Selectmen meeting.

“Morses will not be reopened until any issues are fully addressed to the satisfaction of officials,” he said. “As further decisions are made, we will continue making updates online.”

The town is hiring two independent investigators to look into the facility after this month's drowning. Shawn DeRosa of DeRosa Aquatic Consulting will inspect safety policies and procedures and conduct a site visit today; and Jeff Snyder of SeaVision Underwater Solutions, Inc. will survey the bottom of the water to see if there are any unsafe areas.

“We want to determine whether there are any anomalies of the bottom that are incompatible with a safe swimming area,” Larsen said.

DeRosa will also study the beach’s emergency action plan; staff qualifications, responsibilities and ongoing training programs; placement of staff at the beach; and overall management operational procedures, Larsen said.

The scope of the investigation also calls for DeRosa to visit the facility after the pond has reopened for an operational audit, to make sure all policies, procedures and safety protocols are functioning safely, Larsen said.

“As you would expect, concern for the safety of residents and other guests who visit the pond is the highest priority,” Larsen said Monday night. ”It’s important to subject all aspects of Morses to a comprehensive independent review.”

The independent reviews are separate from the Wellesley Police Department’s investigations into the drowning, which have been completed pending a toxicology report from the medical examiner’s office, Cunningham said.

"We've wrapped up our investigation," he said. "We have completed over 30 interviews, which included lifeguards, staff, recreation officials, and family members of victim. We're still waiting for the toxicology report, which could take six to eight weeks, but it looks like the cause was accidental by drowning."

At last night's meeting, some residents were critical of the way the search and rescue operation was organized after Glennon was reported missing.

Trond Undheim said he hoped officials would closely study the pond's emergency action plan to better incorporate any beach-goers who wished to help in the search and rescue process.

"I felt helpless being kept out of water," said Undheim, a Wellesley resident who said he was present at the time of the drowning. "I made my point to the officials there, and also to police after, that we wanted to be involved in the rescue operation. But that was not taken into account. That was probably not the best use of a lot of human resources on-site that could swim and that could help."

Board of Selectmen chairwoman Terri Tsagaris said the issue had come to officials' attention, and would be studied closely.

"This is an issue that has been raised to us and police and recreation staff, and is something the independent auditors will look at," she said.

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Jaclyn Reiss can be reached at jaclyn.reiss@globe.com

By Jaclyn Reiss, Town Correspondent

A decision by Wellesley school district officials to reassign a popular high school orchestra conductor to the elementary level has struck a bad chord with local students and their parents.

Dozens of Wellesley's student musicians and parents went to a School Committee meeting last week to protest the moving of Mary Alice McCann, who has headed up both the middle school's and high school's orchestra for the past few years.

The reassignment has McCann swapping out her high school duties for the elementary school, while continuing to head up the middle school's orchestra. The current elementary school teacher is slated to head up the high school's orchestra beginning this fall.

Kenyon Alexander, 16, said he donned the tuxedo usually reserved for orchestra performances to add emphasis to his plea to School Committee members, begging them to push for a reconsideration of the decision.

"She has given me knowledge that is irreplaceable to me, and that I haven’t gotten anywhere else," Alexander, a rising senior, said over the phone last week. "It's a crime to replace her because I want other people to learn as much as I did."

McCann declined to comment, but an assistant superintendent said that she had expressed interest in teaching in the elementary schools, an idea which her supporters discounted.

Alexander's mother, Nan Alexander, helped organize the School Committee protest efforts, bringing a stack of over 50 letters from students, recent graduates, and even other local conductors -- all pleading with officials to reverse the decision.

Nan Alexander said under McCann's direction, the program has been split into both chamber and full orchestras to help tailor teaching to each student's level.

The Wellesley orchestras have also recently been winning various gold and silver medals from the Massachusetts Instrumental and Choral Conductors Association, and McCann was named "Orchestra Director of the Year" in 2012 by the Massachusetts Music Educators Association, Nan said.

"She took a fledgling program and built it into a powerhouse," she said.

School Committee chairwoman Diane Campbell said committee members are not allowed to discuss personnel changes, and assistant superintendent Salvatore Petralia said the reassignment is due to "programmatic changes."

"Ms. McCann has expressed a strong interest in teaching at the elementary school level and, in fact, has ten years of experience as a successful strings teacher at the elementary level," Petralia said in an email. "Her continuation as the teacher/conductor at the middle school, and new assignment as teacher/conductor at the elementary level maintains her responsibility for two-thirds of the WPS strings program."

However, some local parents scoffed at Petralia's insistence that McCann volunteered for the elementary school job.

"I don’t believe that for one second," said Matthew Kelley, who has two daughters in the middle school's orchestra.

Kelley said during the middle school's spring concert earlier this month, McCann told the audience that there was no place else she'd rather be than with kids at the high school.

Cynthia Scott, whose son is a rising senior in the orchestra, said McCann had started planning this spring to bring the high schoolers on a trip to Europe next April, setting up an informational meeting a few weeks ago to talk to parents about the scope and cost of the trip.

"I know she wasn’t planning on leaving her job because she had met with the parents for a planning session about what this would entail," Scott said. "I don't think she sought out the change. I don't know anyone who has spoken with her about her wanting to move to the elementary school. I find [Petralia's response] shocking."

Kelley also said he didn't think teaching beginners matched up with McCann's demonstrated skills.

"At the elementary level, you're probably just trying to keep the kids on rhythm, and maybe working on dynamics. But at the high school level, it's a nuanced and complex art, and she just excels at it," Kelley said.

Scott adamantly argued that the whole situation could have been avoided somehow.

"Not knowing what the problem was, all I can say is, couldn’t there have been another solution without removing her from the high school?" she said.

Administration officials said the reassignment won't affect McCann's pay, and Petralia said conducting at the middle school level "represents a majority of her current assignment."

Petralia said although he could not comment on this particular reassignment, decisions on personnel matters like these originate in the subject's department, and are vetted by principals, department heads, curriculum officials, and human resources before the superintendent makes the final call.

Petralia also said the reassignment was final -- much to the chagrin of Wellesley parents, who said administrators should weigh in the public's outcry before making a decision.

"I'm outraged at the process," Scott said. "This all happened in secrecy behind closed doors. There was no opportunity for the rest of the community to voice our support."

Kelley agreed, noting that the students decided on their schedules for next year before knowing about the instructor switch.

"The way they did it was terrible and unfair to the kids, and betrays everyone's trust," he said.

And putting McCann in the elementary school after building a higher-level orchestra will seemingly end her local career on a low note, Kelley said,

"Putting her in the elementary school is just such a mismatch of skills," Kelley said. "It's like taking the starting pitcher for the Red Sox, and then telling him that he'll be pitching relief for the minors. It in no way makes sense."

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Jaclyn Reiss can be reached at jaclyn.reiss@globe.com

By Matt Rocheleau, Town Correspondent

Buses will replace commuter rail service on part of the Framingham-Worcester cmmuter rail line Saturday evening while officials test the line’s signaling system, the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company announced.

On June 15, replacement bus service will run between West Natick, Framingham and Worcester stations for the following inbound trains: P564, from Framingham at 9:45 p.m. to West Natick at 9:49 p.m. to South Station, and P566, from Worcester at 12:50 a.m. to West Natick at 1:33 a.m. to South Station; and for the following outbound trains: P565 from West Natick at 9:15 p.m. to Framingham at 9:21 p.m., and P567 from West Natick at 11:46 p.m. to Worcester at 12:30 a.m.

“Part of the process in the transfer of the train dispatching system from CSX to MBCR requires us to test the signaling system,” the company said in an e-mail. “To minimize the impact of this phase to our customers – this work will take place from Saturday evening into Sunday morning.”

“We apologize for any inconvenience caused by this work,” the e-mail added. “We thank you for your patience during this disruption to the service.”

E-mail Matt Rocheleau at mjrochele@gmail.com.
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By Jaclyn Reiss, Town Correspondent

Absentee ballots for Wellesley residents are now available for the special election for the US Senate seat, where Republican Gabriel Gomez is pitted against Democrat Ed Markey.

Voters who are eligible to vote absentee for the election may file applications at anytime, or vote in person, before the 12 p.m. June 24 deadline, according to Wellesley's town clerk's office.

Absentee applications must include the voter’s name and voting address, and instructions on where to send the ballot. An application may be filed by the voter or a family member, and can be sent by postal service or email, but must include an original signature.

Voters who require a mailed ballot should take into account mailing times to send and receive ballots, according to the town clerk's office.

The clerk's office is also reminding local residents that the voting location for Precinct H has changed to Wellesley High School's band room, which has direct access to the eastern sidewalk. Voters cannot use the school's main entrance, as it is locked for security reasons.

Those parking at the high school should use visitor parking spaces along the driveway curve beyond the stop sign, the town clerk's office said.

The rest of the precincts' polling locations are as follows:

Precinct A: Bates School cafeteria, 116 Elmwood Rd.
Precinct B: Sprague School gym, 401 School St.
Precinct C: Upham School gym, 35 Wynnewood Rd.
Precinct D: Schofield School gym, 27 Cedar St.
Precinct E: Fiske School gym, 45 Hastings St.
Precinct F: Dana Hall - Shipley Center, 142 Grove St.
Precinct G: Wellesley Free Library - Wakelin Room, 530 Washington St.

The polls will open at 7 a.m. on June 25 and close at 8 p.m.

For more information, visit the Wellesley town clerk's official website.

Visit Boston.com's politics page for more information on the Senate candidates.

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Jaclyn Reiss can be reached at jaclyn.reiss@globe.com

By John Swinconeck, Town Correspondent

Wellesley residents will have expanded access to the Green Line this fall, thanks to a $400,000 grant awarded by the MetroWest Regional Transit Authority.

Selectwoman Ellen Gibbs announced the grant Monday.

The grant will link Wellesley to MBTA’s Green Line by way of a bus service.

According to Gibbs, the service will be available to the general public within Wellesley, and can accommodate disabled persons as well as high school students.

Although no exact date has been determined, there will be time for public input before the service goes online sometime this fall.

Wellesley is currently served by the MBTA’s Worcester-Framingham rail line.

Contact John Swinconeck at johnswinc@gmail.com. Follow @johnswinc on Twitter.

By John Swinconeck, Town Correspondent

Wellesley’s Executive Director Hans Larsen said the investigation into the June 1 drowning of a 10-year-old boy at Morses Pond is continuing, and that the pond remains closed.

Larsen said in an interview after Monday's Board of Selectmen meeting that officials are still assessing whether there will be changes to the rules and regulations governing swimming at the pond once it reopens.

Morses Pond was fully staffed with eight lifeguards when Alexander Glennon of Manchester, N.H. drowned at the popular Wellesley swimming spot during an outing with his father and friends, according to police.

The boy was found by Wellesley Fire Department divers inside an area demarcated for swimming a little over an hour after he was reported missing.

Contact John Swinconeck at johnswinc@gmail.com. Follow @johnswinc on Twitter.

By Globe Staff

Morses Pond in Wellesley will remain closed until further notice as police continue to investigate the death of a 10-year-old New Hampshire boy who drowned in the popular swimming spot last weekend, police and town officials said Wednesday.

In an open letter emailed by police to Wellesley residents, officials offered condolences to the family and friends of Alexander Glennon of Manchester, N.H., and provided details about the drowning, which occurred Satruday.

"On June 1, the pond was fully staffed with eight lifeguards," the letter said. "Alexander was visiting the pond with members of his extended family. Late Saturday afternoon a lifeguard observed a woman looking around the beach area.The lifeguard approached her and asked if everything was OK. She explained that she was looking for a missing ten year old boy but thought he might be with another family member."

The lifeguard offered to clear the water and begin a search, the letter said. "After quickly confirming that Alexander was not with his father, the lifeguard immediately activated the prearranged Emergency Action Plan."

The plan includes the removal of all swimmers from the water, a 9-1-1 call to the Wellesley Emergency Communication Center, a search of the grounds surrounding the pond including the lifeguard house, shoreline and parking area, and a thorough line search of the water.

Members of the Wellesley Police Department arrived within four minutes of receiving the 9-1-1 call, the letter said. The Wellesley Fire Department, Natick Fire Department, Massachusetts State Police, and the Massachusetts Environmental Police also responded.

"The officers on the scene coordinated a search of the beach and surrounding areas. Two Wellesley Fire Department divers arrived on scene and located Alexander in the water soon thereafter." the letter said.

Members of the Wellesley Fire Department and AMR paramedics began administering CPR to the boy and continued the efforts while en route to Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

"Medical personnel continued treatment but despite their best efforts, they were not able to save Alexander," the letter said.

Due to the ongoing investigation, Morses Pond will remain closed until further notice, the letter said, and all inquiries should be directed to the Wellesley Police Department.

"We wish to thank all of the lifeguards, Morse’s Pond staff and all the first responders involved in this tragic accident for their professionalism and dedication during the search for Alexander," the letter said. "Grief counselors have been made available to the lifeguards. Our heartfelt sympathies extend to the family and loved ones of Alexander Glennon."

By Jaclyn Reiss, Town Correspondent

The Wellesley Theatre Project will present two musicals - "Disney’s Aristocats Kids" and "You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown" - both featuring local children, in repertory later this week.

All performances will take place on the Babson College campus at The Sorenson Center for the Arts, located at 231 Forest St. in Wellesley. Play dates are on Thursday, June 6; Saturday, June 8; and Sunday, June 9.

Based on Disney’s 1970’s film of the same name, "Disney’s Aristocats Kids" features a score including favorites from the movie, like "Scales and Arpeggios" and "Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat."

The plot follows Thomas O'Malley and his rag-tag bunch of alley cats as they try to save Madame's "aristocats" from Edgar the cat-napping butler.

"You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown," a musical based on the comic strip “Peanuts” by Charles M. Schulz, follows an average day in the life of Charlie Brown as he navigates lunch, Valentine's Day, and baseball season with both wild optimism and utter despair. Audiences will follow Charlie as he takes on life with his well loved comic book friends Lucy, Schroeder, Linus, Peppermint Patty, and Snoopy. WTP will perform the Broadway revival version featuring updated orchestrations, and two brand new songs.

Featuring 45 students between 7 and 14 years old, cast members reside in Wellesley as well as neighboring communities including Needham, Weston, Waban, Wayland, Natick, and Newton.

“Through the rehearsal process, it’s been great to see these talented kids build friendships, create their characters, and then come together to present two distinct and fun shows," said Hillary Drew, executive director.

"You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown" will be performed June 6 at 4 p.m. and June 8 and June 9 at 7:30 p.m.

"Disney’s Aristocats Kids" will be presented June 6 at 7 p.m. and June 8 and June 9 at 5:30 p.m.

Tickets cost $12 for adults and $6 for students and seniors, and may be purchased online at www.wellesleytheatreproject.org or at the door. The organization offers a $3 discount if customers purchase tickets to both shows using the code "CBCOMBO."

Wellesley Theatre Project’s season is sponsored in part by First Commons Bank.

For more information about these productions or upcoming summer camps, visit the organization's website or call 781-235-1550.

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Jaclyn Reiss can be reached at jaclyn.reiss@globe.com