Animals in the Belmont Gallery’s Opening Reception

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DaVinci’s horses, Rousseau’s primitive wildlife, Picasso’s bulls and even Dogs Playing Poker, animals have been a presence in the works of artists since the first cave paintings.

This afternoon, a menagerie of pets and animals will be present for art lovers and animal lovers to see when the Belmont Gallery of Art holds an opening reception for its latest exhibit “Animal Art” today, Friday, Sept. 19, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Gallery located in the Homer Building in the Town Hall Complex in Belmont Center.

Prizes for ‘Best in Show’ and ‘Best in Breed’ will be awarded by jurors and veterinarians, Dr. Suzanne Kay and Dr. Dawn Binder, from Belmont’s Cushing Square Veterinary Clinic.

The exhibit features animal artworks in a variety of media — painting, sculpture, photography collage, fabric art — by more than 50 local and regional artists.

And visitors can help homeless and abused pets at the same time as ten percent of all sales of artwork will be donated to the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals-Angell to support its mission to find loving families for abandoned and mistreated pets.

Light refreshments – maybe animal crackers – will be served. 

Photo: Timothy Wilson, Three Bills.

Belmont Raises Age for Tobacco, E-Cig Sales to 21 in 2015

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Joining surrounding towns and large municipalities like New York City, Belmont will prohibit the sale of all tobacco products and nicotine delivery devices such as e-cigarettes to anyone under the age of 21 beginning on Jan. 1, 2015.

The move approved unanimously by the Belmont Board of Health at an afternoon meeting on Wednesday; Sept. 17, also impose guidelines on the sale of flavored cigar wrappers and associated products favored by younger buyers to make smoking more enjoyable.

Anti-smoking advocates believe the new regulations will place a damper on older teens and young adults from experimenting with smoking when they are vulnerable to becoming addicted to tobacco.

“Needham has had a 21 [limit] for a decade and the smoking rates for kids there has gone down,” said Stephen Shestakofsky   of Edwards Street who has long been an anti-smoking advocate.

“We know that if you become addicted to tobacco at a younger age, it is much, much harder to quit. So this will make it harder for teens to ‘cheat’,” said Shestakofsky.

Belmont becomes the 30th Massachusetts town or city to adopt the 21 year old sales prohibition.

“We are not going to be an [island] … where kids say ‘well, I’m not going to you I can go [out of town],” said Dr. David Alper, vice chair of the Board of Health, noting that nearby Arlington, Newton, Winchester and Brookline have existing 21 year old sales restrictions while Waltham and Watertown are currently looking to raise their age limits.

The town also placed nicotine delivery vehicles such as e-cigarettes (which heats nicotine and water into a vapor without the cancerous byproducts from cigarettes) since there has not been long-term studies to show they are either safe while also being seen as a “gateway” to tobacco addiction. 

What’s important to note is that the regs are aimed at keeping young adults away from the products. This wouldn’t prevent adults from using it but it will teens,” said Shestakofsky.

Town Clerk Holding ‘Late’ Night Voter Registration Sept. 23

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To celebrate National Voter Registration Day, the Belmont Town Clerk’s office will remain open until 8 p.m., on Tuesday, Sept. 23.

Residents of Belmont who are citizens of the United States and will be age 18 or older on the day of the State election, Nov. 4, may register to vote at the Town Clerk’s office in Town Hall, 455 Concord Ave. Registrants should be certain to have identification that complies with the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).

A voter registration day will be held for Belmont High School students and staff on Wednesday, Oct. 8 from 10:40 a.m., to 12:40 p.m. outside the cafeteria at the high school. Staff and students who are U.S. citizens and will turn 18 on or before Nov. 4 can register to vote.

Just remember, the final day to register to vote or make any changes to your party, address or name, to qualify for the State Election is Oct. 15.

The Town Clerk’s office at Town Hall, 455 Concord Avenue will remain open until 8 p.m. on Oct. 15  to accept voter registrations and changes that evening; mailed registration form .

To learn more about registering to vote, HAVA, and upcoming elections, or to print registration forms, please visit the Town Clerk’s website or telephone the Town Clerk’s office at 617-993-2600.

Sold in Belmont: Big Bucks for Brick Ranch

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A weekly recap of residential properties bought in the past seven days in the “Town of Homes.”

• 22 Vernon Rd. Side-entrance Colonial (1934), Sold for: $717,500. Listed at $749,000. Living area: 1,841 sq.-ft. 6 rooms; 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths. On the market: 62 days.

• 17 Bartlett Ave., #2. Two-level condominium, Sold for: $515,000. Listed at $479,000. Living area: 1,828 sq.-ft. 7 rooms; 4 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 90 days.

• 27 Common St. Brick English Tudor (1930), Sold for: $1,242,500. Listed at $1,250,000. Living area: 2,705 sq.-ft. 9 rooms; 4 bedrooms, 3 baths. On the market: 124 days.

• 59 Tobey Rd. Side-entrance Colonial (1930), Sold for: $780,000. Listed at $699,000. Living area: 1,632 sq.-ft. 7 rooms; 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths. On the market: 40 days.

• 110 Crestview Rd. Post-war brick Ranch (1960), Sold for: $1,122,000. Listed at $1,100,000. Living area: 2,251 sq.-ft. 9 rooms; 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 98 days.

• 24 Eliot Rd. Garrison-Colonial (1950), Sold for: $666,500. Listed at $699,000. Living area: 1,418 sq.-ft. 7 rooms; 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths. On the market: 123 days.

• 96 Country Club Lane. French Colonial (1937), Sold for: $1,480,000. Listed at $1,495,000. Living area: 2,993 sq.-ft. 11 rooms; 4 bedrooms, 4.5 baths. On the market: 107 days.

• 115 Winn St. A pretty Cape (1942), Sold for: $706,000. Listed at $649,000. Living area: 1,267 sq.-ft. 6 rooms; 2 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 36 days.

Summer’s Going and Fall is at the Belmont Farmers Market

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The summer harvest is past and fall produce is showing up at the market including apples, winter squash and some early pumpkins on Market Day in Belmont, Thursday, Sept. 8. Stock up on the last of the peaches, green beans, summer squash and blueberries.

The Belmont Farmers Market is open from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Claflin Street municipal parking lot off Cross Street in Belmont Center.

Guest vendors: Fille de Ferme, first-time at the Belmont Farmers Market, joins Westport Rivers Winery, DC Farm Maple syrup and Seasoned and Spiced. They join all of the usual weekly vendors.

No food truck this week.

In the Events Tent

  • Seta’s Cafe, one of Belmont’s newest restaurants and a winner of a Best Cheap Eats category from Boston Magazine brings samples at 2 p.m.
  • The Belmont Public Library hosts stories for preschool and older children from 4 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
  • Singer/songwriter (and comedy reviewer/critic) Nick Zaino returns to entertain us from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Sports: Boys’, Girls’ Soccer Still Unbeaten, Volleyball Ace Spartans, Harriers Empty Watertown

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A busy – and successful – two days for Belmont High School athletic teams:

Soccer: Unbeaten on the field and between the posts

Belmont High’s Boys’ and Girls’ soccer remain undefeated and not scored upon after tussles with Reading Memorial High School.

Not that Belmont Boys‘ Head Coach Brian Bisceglia-Kane was all that pleased with his charge’s 3-0 victory over the Rockets in Reading Monday, Sept. 15. 

“We did not play very good in the first half,” said Bisceglia-Kane, whose team has advanced to 4-0-0 after scoring three goals for the third consecrative game. “We played better in the second half but we have areas of improvement.”

“Peter Berens was the man of the match as he was outstanding. He kept us in the match,” said Bisceglia-Kane of his senior goal keep.

Midfielders Nick Andrikidis, Charlie Frigo and Ben Lazenby scored for the  Marauders.

In their first real test of the season, Belmont Girls‘ Soccer waited until the final minutes of both halves to score, beating the Rockets, 2-0, on Tuesday, Sept. 16 at Harris Field.

“We were a little flat especially in the second half but I am proud how they played together. This was a real team victory,” said Paul Graham, Belmont’s long-time head coach.

Much of the credit for the tightness of the game rested on Rocket senior goal keeper Meghan O’Brien who was a rock in net, making two brilliant saves including a diving stretch to palm the ball off the line off a header by Belmont’s Alex Dionne midway in the first.

Belmont broke through when freshman scoring machine Carey Allard slide the ball into the net after a scramble out front with three minutes left in the first.

The Rockets played with renewed spirit in the second and took the majority of the play against Belmont. It was the Marauders back three, led by senior center back Lucia Guzikowski, that pressured Readings forwards into erred shots. 

When they got through, senior goalkeeper Linda Herlihy made two outstanding stops on her right post.

The final goal came within the final two minutes off of Belmont’s favorite corner kick. Junior Katrina Rokosz, who just came off the bench, struck the free kick which was headed by midfield star Lizzie Frick finding a poaching junior forward Kristin Gay who roofed the ball past O’Brien. 

Next up for the Marauders will be a clash of undefeated against hosts Arlington High School on Thursday, Sept. 18.

Aces up as Belmont ups record to 4-2

That was close.

“Wow, we nearly blew that,” said Belmont High Volleyball Head Coach Jen Couture after her team was sent into extra points in a fourth set after dominating the Spartans in the initial two sets.

“We were working on some new set ups that included a new setter and libero. And they were doing well until they got frustrated when they lost a few points,” said Couture, seeing the team drop the third set, 20-25.

And Couture’s team was nearly stretched to a fifth set when, after leading 24-20, they dropped four points to see the score tied, 24-24. But a service ace and a Stoneham mistake in setting a return saw Belmont take their fourth match of the young season, 3-1 (25-11, 25-11, 20-25, 26-24).

It was a special afternoon for junior Kabita Das as she broke the team’s record for aces in a game with 11. In addition, Alex Davis made numerous plays out front, helped by the team’s new setter, junior Faye Regan. 

“We are seeing a lot of great hitting and that’s what we wanted at the start of the season,” said Couture.

Up and running and winning

Belmont’s harriers took a quick trip to Watertown and easily put second victories in their column as both the Boys’ and Girls’ Cross Country teams won going away. Both teams won 19-42 with the Marauders taking first, third, fourth, fifth and sixth places.

Next up for the squads will be at powerhouse Reading Memorial next week.

A Return to the Halls: Belmont High’s School Resource Officer

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There’s something new at Belmont High School this school year: a Belmont police officer.

“The first thing [students] asked me was ‘what did we do wrong to deserve this?'” said Dr. Dan Richards, Belmont High’s principal.

Not that Belmont Police Officer Melissa O’Connor is a stranger to the school; the 2001 Belmont High graduate and former captain of the soccer team use to roam the hallways with her friends and teammates.

“It doesn’t look that much different since I was here,” said O’Connor – a seven-year veteran of the force – standing in the central entrance as the final classes of the day are being dismissed.

There remains a perception that whenever a police officer enters a school building “it means there’s trouble inside,” said Richards.

But to the town, school and public safety officials who supported a dedicated school resource officer, those days have changed and with it, the role of the police and schools.

“The law hasn’t come to the hallways of Belmont High School,” said Richards, noting the high school is one of just a few in the area not to have an officer in the halls.

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The re-introduction of the resource officer – one was assigned to the district until budget cuts about a decade ago ended the program – has now less to do with law enforcement than an added hand to assist educators with nearly 1,200 students at the high school, O’Connor and Richards both said.

A 2013 Congressional Research Service study on school resource officers concluded that schools with law enforcement officers did not see any greater reduction in crime or offenses than in the general school-age population. Belmont High has a very low rate of serious incidents compared to schools statewide, which itself is one of the least violent in the country.

Rather then spend her time patrolling the halls targeting minor offenses – a policy the Congressional Research Study calls out as detrimental to students – O’Connor will be supporting the work of the administration and staff, said Richards.

“[O’Connor] will be assisting the administration. The school has a student handbook that we go by, and Melissa doesn’t trump those regulations. When we need further assistance, she’ll be invited in to help us,” said Richards.

“Being a resource to everyone in the school is the most important thing we are trying to do in addition to building relationships with the students,” said O’Connor.

O’Connor’s “beat” now includes being in the hallways, in the cafeteria, at sporting events; seen but also available to anyone, be it student or staff.

“I’m here so the kids can ask me questions in an environment where they are safe and comfortable and can I build relationships with them,” said O’Connor, who holds an MA in legal studies from Curry College.

And within the first week of being at BHS, O’Connor was asked to assist with two female students who had rekindled an argument from the previous school year.

As the assistant principals mediated the issue, O’Connor added a “real world” element to the resolution: “if you continue making ‘bad’ decisions, this is what will occur to you legally. Don’t go down that road,” said O’Connor.

“That’s something no assistant principal has the background to express,” said Richards.

More than resolving disputes

Nor is O’Connor there to work only on dispute resolution. Teachers are approaching her on education subjects, including one who asked her to discuss criminal procedure in the “You and the Law” class.

“For example, I told the class how should kids act and what should we say during a police stop or if the police shows up to a house party. I gave them my take on the matter,” said O’Connor.

O’Connor arrival occurs after a summer filled with images of the militarization of the law enforcement and the reaction to alleged police misconduct.
Yet O’Connor believes being a presence around campus will breed a familiarity and create an openness with the student where “they’ll be seeing me in a different light.”

“I believe soon she’ll be pulled in all sorts of directions as people get more comfortable with [her],” said Richards.

While O’Connor’s role is expected to expand, the question brought up at this year’s Belmont Town Meeting was the appropriateness of removing a police officers from servicing the entire town and into the school, a role that could be performed with an additional counselor or assistant principal.
Richards counted the argument saying that a councilor “can not respond to certain things that Melissa.”

“In this day and age, threats do exist and are part of the everyday life of kids. We are bringing in expertise or insurance to make sure things are safe here,” said Richards. As an example, a councilor can not review the school’s lock-down procedures or be as effective in a stay-in-place emergency as O’Connor.

“She will also bring a new set of eyes to the school’s overall safety and show how we can be safer if you do this and take away what’s wrong,” said Richards.

In the rare case of a major crisis, “I think she will take the lead role and we’d step aside,” he said, hoping that the administrator’s expertise rubs off on O’Connor to where she gains in the education aspect of the job and the administration can view the school through a public safety lens.

O’Connor has been seeking an opportunity to reestablish the position at the high school, noting that she was a sports coach at the high school and Bentley University and “enjoyed creating relationships “because as a student I had a coach or adult who I could talk to to figure out issues.”

After an admittedly “cool” start, the students are beginning to warm up to O’Connor, said Richards. “At first they were a little shy but that’s changing,” said O’Connor.

“They no longer are asking about police duties but the ‘I have a question’ question,” she said.

Vaping Nation Has Belmont’s Board on Health in Its Sights

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Belmont Board of Health meetings are typically quiet affairs with little on the agenda to cause a stir. The last time the board was the center of residents ire was when it ruled two years ago to remove the Underwood Pool’s diving board on safety concerns.

But the board’s Wednesday, Sept. 17 meeting – set to take place at 5:30 p.m. in Town Hall – has caught the eye of a growing grassroots movement and they want their message heard in Belmont.

The Vaping Militia has sent out a “call to action” to its Massachusetts supporters that the health board would discuss and vote on raising the age to 21 for purchasing tobacco products in Belmont.

When asked about the militia, Board vice chair Dr. David Alper was as much in the dark as most people.

“Not a word. Never heard of them,” Alper told the Belmontonian.

“Just checked with the office, and they have also not received any calls or inquiries from them,” he said.

While one’s ears may prick up when a self-describes “militia” could be showing up at your front door, this newly-minted group isn’t a military force but advocates for the use of electronic cigarettes.

“We’re a national organization of people who are fighting for [a device] that helps so many people. We refuse to be quiet when our rights are being threaten,” said Art Barker, who co-founded The Vaping Militia in January.

Vaping is when a person uses a vaporizer or e-cigarette to inhale heated water vapor that contains nicotine, propylene glycol, solvents and flavors. For the majority of current users, vaping is their preferred avenue to quit smoking.

An explanation of vaping and how it differs from smoking tobacco can be found in this USA Today article.

For supporters, vaping is also a safer alternative to smoking cigarettes or other tobacco products “since it removes all the harmful carcinogens found in tobacco,” Barker told the Belmontonian. The lack of cancer-causing agents in the vapor also eliminates health concerns from second-hand smoke.

A trucker by trade, Barker smoked for 27 years, trying every known suppression project – from nicotine patches and gums – with limited success.

“A year-and-a-half ago, I started vaping and I quit tobacco that day,” said the Calimesa, California-native, who credits its use for markedly improving his health.

In the past year, national health organizations and national and local governments have taken a highly critical look at e-cigarettes. Last month, the American Heart Association called the Federal Drug Administration to require e-cigarettes to undergo a lengthy health review while banning their sale to minors and requiring warning labels similar to those found on cigarettes packs.

Vaping does have its supporters. Michael Siegel, a tobacco control expert at the Boston University School of Public Health, told USA Today that e-cigarettes are a benefit to public health as long as it’s used to quit smoking.

For vaping advocates, the threat to their rights is when restrictions to tobacco “dovetails into regulations on e-cigarettes,” said Barker. In fact, the group is “alright” with vaping age restrictions – “we see vaping products being for adults,” said Barker – but all too often new regulations from state and municipal entities “continues to loop all the other [stuff] onto vaping as if it’s a tobacco product.”

“We want to keep vaping viable but when we start seeing bans on its use in parks or just walking down the street, that’s when our freedoms are being threatened,” said Barker.

But Barkers’ defense of helping people quit smoking or preserving their rights will hold little sway with Belmont’s Board of Health.

At Wednesday’s meeting, the focus will not only be on setting a minimum age to purchase all tobacco products to 21, up from 19, but also to broaden the definition of tobacco products to include the e-cigarette, said Alper.

“As e-cigarettes did not exist when the current regulations were written, this updating seems most appropriate to address,” said Alper.

“By including e-cigarettes in the definition, they will be treated like any other tobacco/nicotine product and will, therefore, require a license to sell and limitations on where they can be used, in order to protect nonsmokers,” he noted.

And if Militia members show up?

“It is an open public hearing, and anyone is welcome to attend,” said Alper.

Marsh Street (Half) Closed by Day, Trapelo Under Construction at Night

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Construction on Marsh Street will result in about a half mile of the eastbound (towards Belmont Hill School and Belmont Center) lane to be closed from Country Club Lane to Evergreen Way during the work day today, Wednesday, Sept. 17, according to the Belmont Police Department.

Soon after that road work ends, the major repaving of Trapelo Road gets underway after beging delayed for a day.

From 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. for the next three nights/early mornings, a half-mile stretch of Trapelo Road from Church Street to Flett Road will be under construction.

As with an earlier overnight repaving job in July that effected Trapelo from Lexington and Church streets, the work by contractor Newport Construction is being conducted “under the lights” so to limited the impact on the 30,000 daily commuters that use the road.

Belmont Fire Log: Fire at the Chenery, Lightning Strike Fries Outlet

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Possible lightning strike uses lawn to get inside

Sept. 7 – At a quarter ’til 11 a.m., a resident who was returning from vacation to his Plymouth Avenue house discovered charring to an electrical outlet and the adjacent sprinkler control unit in basement. Firefighters told the man the charring pattern suggests the damage may have been result of electrical storm and a “surge” that likely entered the home through the sprinkler equipment wiring. The homeowner was advised to keep the power “off” at the breaker to the sprinkler and the outlet until a licensed electrician could inspect damage.

Stuck in the elevator

Sept. 11 – For the second time in a week, a person had to be sprung from a stalled elevator. This time it occurred just after 2 p.m. in a Leonard Street office building.

Chenery fire put out quickly 
Sept. 12 – Just before the end of the school day at Chenery Middle School, about 5 past 2 p.m., the fire alarm rang throughout the building. A fire was quickly discovered in a third-floor boys bathroom when it was put out by staff. The entire Belmont company – Engine 1 and 2, the Ladder truck and Rescue 1 – rushed to the building at the corner of Washington and Oakley. Fire personnel found a heavy smoke condition present and began ventilating the area. Belmont Fire notify the Fire Investigation Unit. With fire and police at the school, the parking lot closed and parents already on their way to pick up their children, it was a crowded scene.
Kitchen nightmare

Sept. 13 – At a quarter ’till 8 p.m. a Claflin Street resident reported smoke in the building, possibly coming from a fire in an electrical outlet. The Engine 2 crew investigated and found a shorted receptacle in the kitchen. The power was shut down and the owner advised to contact an electrician.