Dover residents form Friends of the Council on Aging

Dover - Resident Joan Panek said that getting older doesn’t mean she has to act old. She said that as she and her friends and colleagues age, limitations are constantly emerging, threatening this type of lifestyle. She said this is exactly why she decided to start an organization to fundraise for an elderly support group.

Panek introduced the Friends of the Council on Aging to the Dover Board of Selectmen last Thursday. She said this nonprofit organization, which would fundraise for the COA, was important because the elderly need the help.

Panek is the first president of the organization.

“Seniors are a special group,” she said. “And we need special services.”

Panek said that the group hoped to fundraise enough to buy a van to transport seniors to and from events and to sponsor a lecture series for the seniors. Their biggest goal is to eventually build a senior center, she said.

“Dover is one of the only towns without a place for the elderly,” she said. “We would like to see Dover join the rest of the commonwealth and get a senior center.”

Joseph M. Melican, who is both a member of the Board of Selectmen and of the Friends of the COA, said that the formation of the group was a difficult task, but an important one.

“It’s been a lot of hard work,” he said. “We’ve been putting the time in.

The COA, a national group that is not allowed to fundraise, receives its money solely from organizations such as the one Panek has started. She said that she is hopeful her group can achieve their difficult fundraising goals.

“I’m optimistic we can go to the community and raise money,” she said. “We really would like to draw in more people to the COA.”

Evan Koslof

6/29/11

Originally Posted: http://www.wickedlocal.com/dover/news/x177095226/Dover-residents-form-Friends-of-the-Council-on-Aging#axzz1QhWeXGcp

Chickering students join the ‘last day of school’ chorus

Dover - Summer vacation time is here for the students of Dover-Sherborn’s public schools. The staff and teachers of the Dover-Sherborn High School, Dover-Sherborn Middle School, Pine Hill School in Sherborn and the Chickering Elementary School in Dover all said goodbye to their students last Thursday.

There was an excitement building outside the Chickering Elementary School in the moments before the bell rang for the last time on Thursday. Fifth-grade parents gathered by the main entrance, ecstatic to see their children exit. And then the doors opened.

Students flooded out the door toward the buses with shouts of “summer” and “freedom,” while parents and teachers stood by cheering and clapping. As the buses left the school campus, hundreds of hands poked out of the bus windows waving at teachers who were saying goodbye to their students for the last time this year.

Nancy Simms is a parent of a graduating fifth-grader and said that the transition is both joyful and sad.

“Its bittersweet,” she said. “It sad to leave Chickering, but it’s happy because she is so ready for sixth grade.”

The fifth-grade students will now be heading to Dover-Sherborn Middle School, where they will meet a whole new town of people. Dr. Theresa Nugent, the principal of Chickering, said that the school will miss the 106 students who graduated this year.

“They have set the bar so high for fifth-grade classes to come,” she said. “They showed what it means to be a Chickering student.”

Ken Wadness, who has been a teacher at Chickering for 20 years, said that this class had become like a family for him. He was a fourth-grade teacher the year before, so he had been with some of the students for two years.

“It’s sort of surreal that they’re leaving,” he said. “I’m going to miss them all.”

His class, 22 students strong, all wore graduation T-shirts, which were voted on by all students and teachers in the fifth grade. As they watched a slideshow of the past year, and cleaned their desks down with shaving cream, they reminisced on the transition they were about to begin. Many students, such as Melanie Hennessey were unsure about how to feel about the transition.

“I’m excited but kind of nervous for middle school,” she said.

Others such as Molly Murphy were more certain that they were excited for the next step.

“I’m looking forward to the freedom at the middle school,” she said. “Instead of walking in a straight line in the hallway, we’ll just get to walk.”

Evan Koslof

jessica Bolandrina
6/29/11

Originally Posted: http://www.wickedlocal.com/dover/news/education/x2108624571/Chickering-students-join-the-last-day-of-school-chorus#axzz1QhRQ6XTw

Needham's Hottest Jobs of Summer 2011

Needham — Although summer’s official kick off was Tuesday, it still seems as though Mother Nature can’t decide which season it is.  June has had its share of boiling hot days and cool spring-like days. After a long cold winter, Needhamites are still trying to get used to the heat. Some have taken the challenge of working in the hottest workspaces and are doing so even as the heat begins to pick up. These people make up the top four hottest jobs in Needham:

 

4: Town House Pizza:
It’s not unusually hot inside Town House Pizza and it may seem odd to have it on the list, but stepping behind the counter is a different story. A few steps past the counter into the cooking area, the sun’s rays and the stove’s heat feed each other to create a steamy inferno. This combined heat can create double the burn for the employees working.

John Stakianakis, who has been the owner and manager for 12 years is from Greece, and still admitted that the place gets hot in the summer.

“You get a little sun burn from the sun and heat from the oven,” he said. “But you keep on going.”

3: Traffic Supervisor:
Doris Salemy said she had a desk job at the Needham Police Department for years. At this job, she would calmly sit in a comfortable chair in a cool, clean room. This however, wasn’t the job she wanted, and so she exchanged it for a much hotter one.

In the summers Salemy now works police details, where for long periods of times, she stands under the sun, directing traffic, in a heavy police outfit. She said that the heat can make it difficult to work in, but it is still worth the change for her.

“You get used to the heat by now,” she said. “I just drink a lot of water.”

Salemy said that it was not unusual for her to sneak off to her car for a few minutes or to duck into the shade to try and escape the heat.

“Some times you just need to get away from the sun,” she said.

2: Shell Station Auto Repair:
The majority of people have probably realized that when you leave your car out in the summer for an extended period of time, and then touch the car hood, there is an aggravating burn.

As mechanics, this is a sensation that the Shell employees have become very aware of. Joey Mansour, the manager and owner of the station said that the worst part was being in such a confined space.

“It’s very hot and sticky in there,” he said.

Mansour said that the staff had tried to counter the heat with six fans and a lot of water, but there was only one thing that could possibly alleviate the heat completely.

“You get to go home to the AC after words,” he said.

1: Mayfair Cleaners: Laundry clothes-presser
Eva Pappas of Mayfair Cleaners, reminisced on the time she spent in the pressing room of the laundry place she works at. She said she would enter a small room, full of rising steam. As she entered, she said the warm, heavy air would fill her lungs and the sweat would immediately form on her forehead. Pappas said she would be surrounded by fatigued workers, wearing cotton t-shirts, with bottles of water by their feet.

This is the average day for a laundry presser at Mayfair cleaners. They enter the store at five in the morning, trying to beat out the mid-day sun, and stay there until early afternoon.

Pappas, who now works in the cool, comfortable, air-conditioned section of the store said that she is glad to have escaped the pressing-area. She said that when she worked in the other room, it was sometimes unbearable.

“It is very difficult to work in the heat,” she said. “I’m glad to be here with the AC.”

Pappas recalled an incident years ago, when a presser passed out from the heat. The rest of the staff dragged him out of the torturous room, and began to throw cool water on the man until he regained consciousness. This is the life of a laundry presser, and demonstrates why their profession has earned the title of Needham’s hottest job this summer.
Evan Koslof
6/24/11

Originally Posted: http://www.wickedlocal.com/needham/features/x438670788/Needhams-Hottest-Jobs-of-Summer-2011#axzz1QE4gBStB

Brookline youth gather for third annual street soccer tournament

Brookline — Under nearly 90-degree weather, kids from first grade to high school gathered for the third annual Street Soccer Tournament at Skyline Park. In this fundraising event sponsored by the Friends of Brookline Soccer, kids ran around in cleats and shin guards in teams of three. As they battled it out, high school players offered words of encouragement as their coaches for the day.

Jeff Katz, the founder of this annual fundraiser said that this was one of his favorite events of the year.

“Look around you,” he said. “The ultimate goal is to have this picture.”

Katz said that these types of events were important because kids could go out and try new things without fear of mistakes, as they might be in a traditional soccer game. Instead of long intense games, the children would play a series of short 10-minute matches.

Katz thought of the idea in February 2009, and said he knew it was a good idea because it would give back to the community while simultaneously making money for Brookline soccer programs.

“It’s a fundraiser you don’t feel guilty about,” he said.

To participate in the event, the teams of five would pay $100 each. Last year, the event brought in $7,000 to the program. Due to scheduling problems, fewer participated this year, but Katz still estimated the event would make between $5,000 and $6,000 this year.

Jan Van Aarsaen, a Brookline soccer coach and a father of three daughters, two of which were participating in the tournament said that he thought the event was fantastic both for his children and the community.

“Its just the atmosphere,” he said. “There’s a feeling of togetherness with this event.”

Suzanne Steele, a mother of four kids, two of which were participating in the event, said that the involvement of high school athletes was a great additional aspect for the young kids.

“It combines high schoolers with the younger people,” she said. “When they do this, I think they can see themselves as high schoolers.

Ari Zimmet, a Brookline High School soccer player, said that this was the third year he was coaching for this event, and that he hopes to continue doing it.

“It gives the kids an idea of what maybe they’re working for,” he said. “Its also just fun.”

Evan Koslof

6/20/11

 

Originally Posted: http://www.wickedlocal.com/brookline/features/x1425879204/Brookline-youth-gather-for-third-annual-street-soccer-tournament#axzz1QE4gBStB

Brookline Teen Center location approved by Zoning Board

Brookline — Organizers of a proposed Brookline Teen Center got the go-ahead to build on the site of a former garage in Brookline Village, but say money needs to keep rolling in to make the facility a reality.

In a Zoning Board meeting Thursday, June 16, the Brookline Teen Center’s new location at 40 Aspinwall Ave. was approved unanimously by the three-person board. Brookline High School social worker Paul Epstein said that this decision would be beneficial to the students of Brookline.

“Now they won’t be able to say the common Brookline comment of ‘We have nowhere to go,’” he said. “It can combat some negative trends going on.”

Epstein started planning the center in 2006, employing a paid staff and student interns to aid in the brainstorming process. In the following years, they raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, which would go to the construction of the site.

In December 2010, the BTC staff leased an automobile garage, which they planned to transform into the center.

Mike Lindstrom, the architect for the BTC, said the new two-story building would include an academic space, a game room, a music studio, an art space, a half court basketball arena, a fitness center, a bowling alley, a dance studio and a café.

“It will be a place kids will want to go,” Lindstrom said.

Epstein said that although this zoning approval was a big step in making the BTC a reality, there was still a lot of work ahead of them.

“Opening the door is just one major hurdle,” he said. “Now we need to keep it open.”

Epstein estimated that the building would cost $3.3 million to construct and approximately $500,000 per year to operate. Epstein said that if fundraising goes as expected, construction could start in the fall, and the center could potentially open by next summer.

A few Aspinwall Avenue residents were concerned about the traffic that the BTC would bring to the already busy cross street, which connects Harvard and St. Paul streets.

Barbara Benagh, who spoke to the Zoning Board, said that while she wasn’t against the BTC, she was worried about what it would bring to the residential area.

“I’m especially concerned about these very late-night events,” she said. “We’re gonna have rush hour traffic at 1 a.m.”

Benagh said that the BTC staff has been working very closely with the Aspinwall neighbors, and so she is confident an agreement will be worked out.

“I really appreciate the process,” she said. “They’re really listening to the community and took our concerns very seriously.”
Evan Koslof
6/20/11

Originally Posted: http://www.wickedlocal.com/brookline/news/x898075944/Brookline-Teen-Center-location-approved-by-Zoning-Board#axzz1QE4gBStB

Fire damages home on Hartford Street in Dover

Dover —

A fire broke out on the kitchen stove and spread at 55 Hartford St. on Thursday afternoon, burning for approximately 20 minutes before the Dover Fire Department extinguished.

In the house at the time was an elderly couple, John and Patricia Kirby, as well as a younger relative. There were no fatalities and nobody was injured in the fire.

Dover Fire Chief John M. Hughes said that the fire that started at approximately 12:45 p.m. created significant damage, but was not as bad as it could have been.

“They called 9-1-1 immediately,” he said. “They did everything right.”

The fire department, which arrived approximately four minutes after they were called, tore down the much of the ceiling and wall panels in the kitchen to make sure the fire didn’t spread, Hughes said.

It is unclear when the family will be able to move back into the house, although Hughes said that on the opposite side of the house, the bedrooms are already habitable.

At least two insurance adjuster arrived at the scene, ready for business.
Evan Koslof
6/16/11


Original Posting: http://www.wickedlocal.com/dover/features/x898069275/Fire-damages-home-on-Hartford-Street-in-Dover?photo=1#axzz1PTYsPblu

Congratulations Class of 2011

In a time when Google wasn’t yet invented and Facebook was nothing but an idea in a 9-year-old boy’s head, a group of children were entering the world. In 1993, when the Buffalo Bills were preparing to lose their third Super Bowl in a row and Meat Loaf was on the top of the charts, a group of babies was born. They would become the Waltham High School Class of 2011.

They would grow up in an environment far more connected to their peers and the rest of the world than that of their parents. With military interventions in Somalia, Yugoslavia and Bosnia and trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, their lives were starting to move toward a more connected world.

They started kindergarten in 1998, the year the Lunar Prospector found evidence of frozen water on the moon, Google was founded, and researchers isolated an enzyme that could slow aging.

The Good Friday Peace pact brought two sides together in Northern Ireland; Europeans decide on one currency, the Euro; and Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire chased the home run record in a summer that thrilled sports fans.

In 2007, they entered high school, and began the awkward period where they straddled the line between child and adult. By this time, many had Facebook accounts, and they had become master navigators of the Internet, in ways that bewildered their parents.

With instant message conversations and links from YouTube (two years old by then) they were explorers of the Internet, sifting through the countless number of websites to learn, play, share and collaborate with other users. In September 2007, as the school year began a new video game called Halo 3 was released, generating $170 million in revenue in its first day released. Suddenly with a click of a button, owners of the game could play with a friend across the globe.

And then there was the mystical tale of Harry Potter – a mirror into the minds of adolescent readers across the globe. The series was a heartwarming fantasy chronicling the rise of young boy to adulthood. The series, which had taken the heart of so many young children, debuted when the Class of 2011 was in kindergarten and ended as they entered high school. Both the readers and the protagonists were going through the same troubles, involved with growing up. The readers were meant to make connections with the book, and learn from the constant theme of friendship against evil. When the final book was released that summer of 2007, more than 11 million people from around the world purchased it in the first 24 hours of its release.

The Class of 2011 is graduating in a very different world from that of which they were born. They witnessed an incredible expansion in connections between people of different cultures and countries by realizing these people share the same troubles, goals and characteristics that make them human. 

As they graduate this June, we hope they appreciate how much change can occur in a mere two decades. In fact, it doesn’t take too much effort to think back to a time when the Red Sox hadn’t won a championship in nearly a century and America didn’t have a “war on terror.”

Now it’s time for the graduating students of 2011 to look to the future and try to change the world just as their predecessors did.

Evan Koslof

6/9/11

Originally Posted: http://www.wickedlocal.com/waltham/news/x2077197279/EDITORIAL-The-Class-of-2011-grows-up#axzz1OodTXdql  (Waltham).

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http://www.wickedlocal.com/newton/homepage/x1725637169/Newton-TAB-editorial-Congratulations-Class-of-2011#axzz1OodTXdql  (Newton).
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Brookline Tab - Not online yet.

Dover-Sherborn High School graduates heading into the world

Dover —

As the breeze pulled at his blue graduation cap, Dover-Sherborn High School Class of 2011 President Jake Philip Vacovec laughed and repeated parts of his speech into the microphone, competing with the roar of the wind and the threatening storm clouds above.

“What comes next is sort of a mystery for all of us,” Vacovec said to the audience as well as the class of seniors seated behind him. “Many of us look forward to the future and what it brings … but its all the things we keep with us when we leave here that are infinitely important.”

On Thursday, June 2, the Dover-Sherborn community watched as 118 students received their high school diplomas, turned their tassels and threw their graduation caps in the air in celebration.

The ceremony took place at the Nathaniel Frothingham Field, the day after a tornado warning was issued across the state. Luckily, most of the storm had passed, but the wind lingered, causing a few graduates to wrap themselves tightly in their gowns.

“It was definitely windy,” graduate Kristan Mary Bertschmann said. “But I am so glad that the ceremony was outside.”

With performances by the Dover-Sherborn Concert Band, the Junction St. Harmonics and the Nomads Vocal Ensemble, the ceremony was filled with a selection of compositions that nearly brought the graduating class to tears.

“No matter where we go from here, we have something in common,” said declamation finalist Phoebe Leigh Laughlin as she addressed her peers. “This ceremony means something for all of us.”

Fellow declamation finalist Ashley Juretha Cooper added feelings she thought her whole class experienced as they reached a milestone in their educational careers.

“I can feel the real world breathing down my neck,” she told the audience. “That’s what graduating does to us.”

As Headmaster Denise Lonergan reached the podium to present the class, fireworks were set off on the side of the field. The audience’s reaction was one of surprise, though graduate and National Honor Society member Katrina Alexandra Miaoulis, said, “The fireworks are kind of a tradition.”

When the fireworks ended and the audience’s attention returned, Lonergan began her speech to the Class of 2011, with what she hoped and expected from them in the future.

“I hope you achieve your dreams no matter what they are,” Lonergan said. “Make the world a better place and cultivate happiness and balance in your lives.” At the end of her speech, she turned to the senior class with a smile and added, “Good luck and be sure to visit.”

Accepting the class was Superintendent Valerie Spriggs, whose speech was short and direct with one point she wanted the class to take with them.

“I have one word I want the students to take,” Spriggs said. “And that word is ‘believe.’ Believe in yourselves. Believe in each other. Believe in your dreams.”

And, with that, Regional School Committee members Shelly Poulsen and Richard Robinson were invited on stage to present the diplomas.

There were 118 diplomas handed out that day, with 37 going to students in the National Honor Society and 16 going to members of the World Language Honor Society.

“It’s always great to watch this change-of-life ceremony,” Sherborn Selectman Thomas Twining said after commenting how hard the students worked to achieve all that they did. Both Twining and Dover Selectman Joseph Melican were present at the graduation, and also gave their greetings to the students who were leaving the community for their next stage in life.

“It was a very nice ceremony and a great milestone in their lives,” said James Zuckernick, father of graduate Sameul David Zuckernik. “The energy and optimism of high school graduates was very high, and it was both melancholy and exciting.”

Though the students will be spread to different colleges and universities, Kyle Fryer left to serve the Marines, so her sister accepted her diploma.

“I’m very happy with the groups of kids in the town,” said Larry Maher, father of graduate Tyler Lawrence Maher. “I couldn’t ask more out of a high school.”

The graduates shared a bittersweet feeling as they threw their caps in the air.

“In just four years of knowing each other, it feels like we’ve known each other forever,” said Vacovec. “But we will always remember our roots.”

Jessica Bolandrina

Evan Koslof
6/9/11


Originally Posted: http://www.wickedlocal.com/dover/news/education/x1725638285/Dover-Sherborn-High-School-graduates-heading-into-the-world#axzz1OodTXdql

Tornado winds carry Brimfield check to Needham

Needham —

In the days after the Wednesday storm that left parts of Western and Central Mass. devastated, and four dead, Kevin Colman emerged from his house and decided to do some lawn work in his back yard. As he moved through his lawn, he was surprised to find a check from a Brimfield, one of the towns hit by the storm.

What is surprising is that Colman lives in Needham, more than 60 miles away.

The check, dirty and worn, was from a towing company, called One Stop Car Care. This garage, once a major towing company in Brimfield, has been reduced to a pile of wood and metal, according to the Brimfield Police Department.

According to the Brimfield police, the owners survived by hiding under the stairs as the tornado surrounded their store.

In the chaotic winds, the check somehow found its way to the calm residential neighborhood of Needham, before landing gracefully by Colman’s shed.

“It’s amazing,” Colman said. “It had to be elevated so high in the air to make it this far.” 

The damage to One Stop Car Care can be seen on YouTube as the owners filmed the aftermath on their smart phones. The surrounding trees are stripped of all branches and leaves. The cars and garage are in shambles. And debris was thrown across Massachusetts in all directions.

The check for nearly $195 was dated back to 1992, and was most likely kept in their archives, although it hasn’t been confirmed.

Colman said that until the owners are contacted, he’ll hold on to the check for safe keeping.

“It’s not going be a collector’s item,” he said. “But it’s still pretty crazy it got here.”

Evan Koslof

6/6/11

Originally Posted: http://www.wickedlocal.com/needham/news/x910433245/Tornado-winds-carry-Brimfield-check-to-Needham#axzz1OXjUMsN2

Newton resident Herb Robinson enters Senate race along with Mayor Setti Warren

Newton —

Newton now has a second candidate hoping to remove U.S. Senator Scott Brown from his seat – Newton Highlands resident Herb Robinson.

Nearly a month after Newton Mayor Setti Warren, a Democrat, announced his candidacy, Robinson threw his hat in an increasingly crowded ring of candidates. Robinson, an engineer, announced his decision to run in a press release. He said that he’s running because he’s been disappointed with the performance of current leaders.

“I’ve been feeling like I had to do it because I didn’t like what I saw in Washington,” Robinson told the Newton TAB Friday.

Robinson said that he decided to enter the race shortly after the nuclear explosion at Fukushima Daiichi. He said that he had always been a strong advocate for the elimination of nuclear power so when the explosion occurred, he said he felt obliged to enter the race.

“It pushed me over the fence,” he said.

Warren’s campaign spokesman, Chuck Gilboy, said that Warren is not thinking about Robinson’s campaign, focusing on his own instead. Warren, who Gilboy said has name recognition, has already made 25 stops on the campaign trail, according to Gilboy.

Robinson said that he also wasn’t worried about his opponent’s decision to run because he said his main supporters would not be from the Newton area. He said that his past of living on “both sides of the fence” has made him an ideal candidate for those less affluent areas.

“I’m not an academic,” he said. “I’m just a practical guy that gets things done.”

Robinson said he is more focused on Scott Brown than any Democratic candidate. He said that of all the Democratic candidates, he was the most capable of beating Scott Brown because he is socially liberal and fiscally conservative.

“With me, you say goodbye to big government without saying goodbye to humanity,” he said. “With Scott Brown, you can say good bye to big government and goodbye to humanity.”

Other candidates for the seat are City Year co-founder Alan Khazei, immigration attorney Marisa DeFranco, activist Robert Massie, and state Rep Tom Conroy.

Evan Koslof

6/3/11

Originally Posted: http://www.wickedlocal.com/newton/news/x437334136/Newton-resident-Herb-Robinson-enters-Senate-race-along-with-Mayor-Setti-Warren#axzz1OXjUMsN2