Sports: Brams’ Win Streak Ends; Volleyball on the Verge; Boys’, Girls’ Soccer Take Ones, Field Hockey Blows by Red Devils

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Psst, Andrew MacDougall of the Boston Globe: The name’s Brams, Leah Brams. 

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In MacDougall’s logy write up of the cross girls’ country duel meet between Belmont High School and host Woburn High on Tuesday, Oct. 7, the correspondent described Brams as “a runner from Belmont” battling with Tanner’s star senior harrier Gina D’Addario “as the two entered the final 300-meter straightaway” of the race.

It took D’Addario breaking a quarter-century Woburn course record for her to defeat Brams – who came within one second of breaking the record herself – for the first time in three years and for anyone to defeat the Belmont runner since she first started racing for the Marauders. That “runner from Belmont” was undefeated for nearly three seasons and is now 4-1 head-to-head against the Woburn senior.

It was a long shot that Brams could go four years undefeated in Middlesex League competition and it took a record breaking effort to do so as the Tanners – which ran five top seniors against Belmont’s quartet of juniors and a freshman – defeated the Marauders, 20-41.

Brams will defend her two-time Middlesex League title against D’Addario later this month.

The boy harriers matched up better against Woburn, only falling by 25-31.

Volleyball on the verge of post season

Belmont High School’s Volleyball season could reach a milestone tonight, Wednesday, Oct. 8 against host Burlington. A win this afternoon over the Red Devils will send the Marauders (9-3, 8-2) into the post season as they will reach the 10-win mark.

Belmont has won their last two matches, at home vs. Winchester, 3-1, on Thursday, Oct. 2 and away, 3-0, against Wilmington on Monday, Oct. 6.

 

Soccer each pick up close shut out wins

Despite throwing everything at the Burlington High School Girls’ Soccer team – including playing nearly each and every player he had on the bench – it took a funky sort of goal for host Belmont (7-3-1) to come away with a 1-0 shutout against the Red Devils at Harris Field on Tuesday, Oct. 7.

Belmont’s junior forward Kristin Gay got a foot on the ball just inside the left post and slotted it into the back of the net after only 13 minutes of play in the first half to give the Marauders the only goal needed as the defense – seniors Lucia Guzikowski and Lizzy Ferrante, and freshman Natilie Marcus-Bauer held Burlington to a couple of shots on goal – and midfielders Ava Colasin and Alex Dionne controlled the Red Devils and prevented them from racing onto long passes. Guzikowski nearly double the margin six minutes later hitting the crossbar from distances.

“Another game that a complete team win as all players on team played very well,” said Belmont Head Coach Paul Graham who is inching towards his 300th career coaching win. 

After losing two matches in a row – overmatched at home by Winchester, 2-0, on Sept. 30 and downed 1-0 to host Wilmington Oct. 2 – the Belmont Boys’ Soccer team got back in the winning column with a 1-0 victory over Burlington High in Burlington. Belmont now stands at 8-3-0, just two victories from the post season.

Field Hockey takes out frustrations on Red Devils

After tying Wilmington, 1-1, on Oct. 1 and then losing to non-conference power Concord-Carlisle Regional, 2-0, the next day, the Belmont High School Field Hockey (7-3-1) team took out their frustrations on host Burlington in racking up a 9-2 victory Monday night, Oct. 6.

While admitting that the Wilmington game was “not our best,” Belmont’s Head Coach Jessica Smith said the team played well against a power team from Concord.

“I like scheduling games against strong teams because it challenges us, especially with the playoffs starting in just a few weeks,” said Smith on Wednesday.

The team plays Wakefield on Wednesday, Oct. 8 before a rematch against one loss Reading on Harris Field Friday afternoon, Oct. 10.

Breaking News: Pool Fundraiser Reaches Goal to Construct New Facility

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The Underwood Pool Building Committee has reached its fundraising goal of $388,000 to meet the lowest bid to construct the new Underwood Pool complex, according to Ellen Schreiber, the committee member who headed the fundraising drive.

“This will allow the Underwood Pool Building Committee to award the construction contract and get started on the project ASAP, following the expected acceptance of the donations by the Belmont Board of Selectmen. The contractor has said that, if the winter weather cooperates, he will try to have the pool ready for next summer,” said Schreiber.

The fundraiser was started in September after a general contractor withdrew a bid within the Committee’s $4.2 million budget to construct a new two-pool complex to replace the current 102-year-old facility at Cottage Street and Concord Avenue. The next lowest bid came in at $4.6 million.

The fundraiser was given a considerable boost after the Belmont Savings Bank Foundation, the charitable offshoot of the Belmont Savings Bank, gave the committee a $200,000 grant in September.

The full story will be available after 1:30 p.m. 

Open (Fire) House to Celebration National Fire Prevention Week

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The Belmont Fire Department is holding an open house at the Fire Department Headquarters on Wednesday, Oct. 8 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. as part of National Fire Prevention Week.

Demonstrations of fire prevention and safety by members of the fire department will be performed. Pizza will also be provided by Papa Ginos. 

The HQ is located at 299 Trapelo Rd.

Sixth Annual Belmont Serves Happens This Coming Columbus Day

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How can you make a real difference in Belmont, and still have lots of fun?

Hundreds of Belmont residents, of all ages, will join together on Monday, Oct. 8, Columbus Day, for the sixth annual Belmont Serves Day of Community Service.

“Belmont is community that values service to others. With a wide variety of projects for all ages and skill levels, Belmont Serves is both festive and the largest town-wide service project of the year,” said John Robotham of the Belmont Religious Council, which sponsors Belmont Serves.

All are invited to gather at St. Joseph’s Parish Hall (corner of Common and School streets) at 8:15 a.m. to register, have a light breakfast, and select a project.

After a brief orientation, projects teams begin their work at locations all over the town. Everyone returns at 12:30 p.m. for an ice cream celebration. The event concludes at 1 p.m., so volunteers can enjoy their afternoon time with friends and family.

Rev. Joe Zarro, pastor of Plymouth Congregational Church and vice president of the Belmont Religious Council, is excited about his first Belmont Serves Day:

“As a new resident of Belmont I’m grateful for this kind of community organizing, and Plymouth is thrilled to have an opportunity to serve in an interfaith, town-wide setting,” he said.

Doug John, president of the Belmont Religious Council explains why he looks forward every year to Belmont Serves:

“I like getting to make connections with fellow Belmontians of other faiths while doing worthwhile service within our community. I believe building a stronger sense of community cooperation is important for our town. “

The Belmont Food Pantry relies on Belmont Serves to completely restock their supplies for the fall. More than 2,000 bags of groceries were collected door-to-door at last year’s event.

In addition to the food drive, there will be conservation projects at Rock Meadow, Claypit Pond and Lone Tree Hill, as well as painting the ticket booths at Harris Field on Concord Avenue. There will also be an Eagle Scout project at the Mary Lee Burbank Elementary School. The project will clean and prepare an area of the Burbank School grounds for a second service date that will plant bushes and flowers that can grow and thrive in this shady area. Walker Thomas, the aspiring Eagle Scout, and his scout leaders will lead this project .

Belmont Serves has become a town tradition, with enthusiastic endorsements from the Board of Selectmen, Belmont School Department, and other community organizations.  While the event is free and open to all, a suggested donation of $5 per adult will help defray the costs of food and related items.  Community service hours can be earned by middle and high school students through this event. Additional information and on-line registration are available at the Belmont Serves web site.

How to donate to the Belmont Food Pantry on Belmont Serves Day

Teams of volunteers will be distributing grocery bags door-to-door with instructions. Just fill up your bag with non-perishable items (canned goods, paper items, toiletries), and leave it on your doorstep Monday morning, October 8, before 9:00 am.  Donations can also be taken directly to the Food Pantry on Monday morning, at its new location in the modular building behind Belmont High School.

If you would like to help distribute grocery bags before Belmont Serves day, you can volunteer when you register on-line.

What should I wear and bring?

Please wear cloths suitable for outdoor activities (long pants, long-sleeve shirts, jackets if needed). For conservation and painting projects, plan on getting dirt or paint stains! Bring a refillable water bottle – we will provide fresh water refills, but not plastic water bottles. Bring work gloves for all outdoor work projects, and optionally bring rakes, pruning sheers, loppers, and shovels if you have them. Please put your name on any tools you bring and take them home!

Stormy Weather Early Wednesday Morning

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There is low to moderate risk that Belmont and the rest of eastern Massachusetts will experience a few strong to severe thunderstorms overnight and into early Wednesday morning, Oct. 8, according to the latest update from the The National Weather Service.

The likely peak of the Hazardous Weather Outlook issued by the NWS will be from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m., Wednesday.

Due to the strong winds which will accompany the storms, down branches and perhaps some downed power lines are possible as trees are still full of leaves, said the Service in a report issued at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 7.

If residents should experience a power outage, they should call Belmont Light at 617-993-2800.

Yet the NSW said it can not rule out small hail or even an isolated tornado coming from the storm.

Despite the possible stormy weather, clouds will pass with sunshine likely in the afternoon.

Belmont Fire Log: Fall’s First Flue Flub Up, Barrel Blaze at Winn Brook

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Barrel blaze

Sept. 28 – At a quarter ’til 8 p.m., fire teams were sent to the field adjacent the Winn Brook Elementary School where they found a white plastic trash barrel on fire. Fire personnel made quick work of the blaze and the Highway Department was asked to remove and clean up the debris.

Belmont Light in charge
Sept 29 – A little after 8 a.m., Engine 2 was sent to Pleasant Street near Cityside Subaru for reports of arching electrical wires. Belmont Light was also on the scene, cutting power to the line and putting out a small fire on the line with an extinguisher.

Gas issues in the basement
Sept. 29 – A minute before 5 p.m., Engine 2 took off to a School Street address to investigate a carbon monoxide alarm going off. The homeowner said the basement CO detector displayed readings of 25 parts per million, a bit too high to hang around. While the homeowner’s detector was outdated (the model was last manufactured in  1995), there was some gas in the basement, about 10 ppm; there was normal readings on the first and second floors. Personnel decided to shut down the burner and the separate heating unit and red tagged them for service. After the building was ventilated, a second set of readings were conducted and it turned out normal.

The first of many flue calls this season
Oct. 2 – At just about 2:20 p.m., the department went hurrying to a York Road house after a report the house was full of smoke. The Engine 1 crew entered the house and discovered that someone hadn’t open the chimney flue before starting a fire in the fireplace. The result: heavy smoke throughout building. Personnel from Engine 1 and Ladder 1 extinguished the fire and ventilated the building.

Caught in time
Oct. 2 – At 5:35 p.m., fire crews set off to the Baptist Church on Lexington Street after a building fire alarm rang. On arrival, the crew from Engine 1 discovered the cause: an overheated light ballast behind the stage. The light was shut off, just in time.

Too many cooks
Oct. 3 – A quarter ’til 9 a.m., all fire companies headed to a two family on Waverley Street in which smoke was coming out of a second-floor window. They arrived to find the resident of the second floor resident waiting on the street. The Engine 1 crew went inside to investigated while personnel from Rescue 1 evacuated the first-floor occupant. Turned out the blaze was a cooking fire. Ladder 1 assisted Engine 1 in venting the second floor and shutting down the stove. Fire officials told the tenant not to use the stove until her appliance was serviced by a licensed professional.

Coal fired, not today

Oct. 3 – At a quarter past 11 a.m., Ladder 1 arrived at Mark & Toni’s Pizza on Trapelo Road in Cushing Square. Not to pick up that day’s lunch special but to investigate a natural gas odor. Since it did smell a little gassy, as a precaution the employees were asked to step outside. While the department and the gas company could not find abnormally high readings using their CO detection equipment, the business’ heating unit was red tagged, just in case. Fire officials spoke further with the business owner and both parties agreed to close the business for the day.

Slow cooking shut down
Oct. 3 – Just after noon, yet another call concerning a possible gas leak, this time in a two-family on Falmouth Street.  Turned out the odor was coming from the gas stove on the first floor. Firefighters soon discovered that the oven was on at a low temperature and food was cooking inside. Crews shut off the stove and the gas main before venting the apartment by opening the windows and doors. The department notified National Grid and red tagged the stove for good measure.

It happens to us all 
Oct. 3 – At just about 9:20 p.m., fire crews were sent to McLean Hospital due to a fire alarm. The cause: burned popcorn in the microwave.

‘I Ran the Dan’: Second Scharfman Memorial Run Tops First

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There were parents who could run very fast and teachers who are strictly middle of the pack, youngsters who could out race most adults and a pair of superheroes – those would be The Mighty Thor (Ed Chen) and Captain America (Mike Worthington) – all who came to Belmont High School’s Harris Field on Sunday to race either over five kilometers and a flat mile.

The racers also brought a great deal of heart as more than 700 runners – both fast and not so fast – participated in the second annual Dan Scharfman Memorial Run 5K on a brilliant autumn morning, Oct. 5.

“We even had more people come out than last year that is fantastic and the day is gorgeous, so it was perfect running weather. We’re thrilled,” said Jamie Shea, president of the Foundation for Belmont Education.

The race is held to raise money – with the hope to top $20,000 from this year’s race – for the foundation’s education innovation fund, the goal of the man for which the race is named.

Dan Scharfman was a school committee member and a long-time supporter of education and the performing arts who sought to bring technology into the classrooms by teaching Belmont educators “the tools and the practices that they need in order to bring innovative techniques into the classroom,” said Shea.

After his untimely death from a heart attack in Jan. 2013, the FBE decided to hold a road race in Scharfman’s memory – Dan was a dedicated ultra-distance runner – with the aim to assist in the foundation’s four-year, $450,000 Innovation Teaching Initiative campaign. This spring, the foundation funded $50,000 for professional development in all grades and curriculum.

For Iris Ponte, leading the four-member Henry Frost Children’s Program team, the race was to remember “Dan, who was an awesome guy.” She can recall when she was a lifeguard at the Underwood Pool, “we would keep the pool open for him so at the end of his big runs he would come flying into the deep end almost every evening.”

“The town has not been the same without him,” said Ponte.

It’s that sort of memory that Rachel Scharfman hopes the annual race will rekindle each year it’s run. Rachel – who with her brother, Jacob (who also sang the National Anthem), aunt and mother, Muriel Kummer, participated in the race – recalls her father being a community leader, runner, friend and, now, an inspiration.

“His biggest passions are combined today in this one event,” she said.

“I know once a year, this town will gather to support the Dan Scharfman Education Innovation Fund. We’ll come together not to mourn but to carry forward Dan’s great loves; running and education.”

Moved up from November to October, this year’s race would be competing with nearly 30 established road races in the crowded fall running calendar. In addition, several long-standing charity events were taking place in Boston and surrounding communities. But came they did, in greater numbers than the first race.

With the help from the Belmont High School Volleyball team – which was spread around the course as marshals and timekeepers – and a hoard of volunteers, the race was successfully completed under a bright warm sun on the cool fall morning.

Racers climbed from Harris Field to the Payson Park Res before starting back down Goden Street before taking a lap around Clay Pit Pond and returning to Harris. The one-milers sped around the “Pit” before sprinting home.

Along the route, the runners passed four of Belmont’s six public schools in another tribute to Scharfman.

As for the winners, Chris Leitz of Watertown (in 17:26.1) took first followed by Belmontian’s Joe Shaw and Belmont High senior cross country captain Ari Silverfine. Rachel Henke of Cambridge (20:15.9) was the top woman with Belmont teacher Sara Saba-Sher second and Christy Lawrence third. In the one mile, Chris Burge broke six minutes by a hair in 5:59.4 followed by Shea Brams in 6:10.4.

“It feels great to finish in the top three,” said Silverfine, just as the race announcer urged all the runners to tell their friends “I ran the Dan!”

“But this is real special because I know the Scharfman family and Dan was a great man.”

‘MacBeth’ Bleeds on the Beech Street Stage Today at 4PM

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The New Rep Theatre’s classic company returns to the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., today, Tuesday, Oct. 7 at 4 p.m. to deliver a performance of the “Scottish Play,” Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.” 

Considered one of The Bard’s darkest and most powerful works, this tragedy dramatizes the corrosive psychological and political effects produced when evil becomes the means to power. The play is suitable for children over 12 and most adults.

Cost: $10 adults, $5 kids under 16. Come early for the best seats.

After Half Century Wait, Chenery Football Returns to Harris Field

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They ranged from six-footers to those challenged to break five feet; ones who run like the wind and others who still have the looping strides of a kid in the playground.

But each member of the Chenery Middle School Football team who took Harris Field at Belmont High School were making history on Friday, Oct. 3.

It’s been five decades since the last Belmont middle school team ran onto the home field of the town’s football teams.

“I told the kids, if they choose to play in high school, they only play about 20 games on this field, their field, so they had to make the most of it,” said Chenery’s Head Coach James MacIsaac.

And how they performed. Before a vocal throng of family and fans, the Cheetahs tackled (sometimes), caught passes (sometimes) and ran (a lot) as a team against a polished and older Melrose squad.

“We have some terrific players and all the kids have worked very hard which caught me by surprise of the caliber of play in our league,” said MacIsaac, who is leading the resurgence of middle school football which has laid dormant since the 1960s.

The new middle school football team, for upper school students in 7th and 8th grade, has been on the field since the final week of August, learning fundamental skills and formations while adding their own inert football knowledge to their play.

“The progression of the team [since August] has been great. I can’t say enough of how quick the kids get everything the coaches give them. We don’t have problems with kids not showing up for practice. It’s been a great experience for all of us,” said MacIsaac.
The middle school program is part of the resurrection of a football culture in Belmont, which has been on the wane since Belmont High School won the unofficial state championship 50 years ago this fall.

With the town-wide sports boosters club on the rise and a new young head coach at the High School, “I hope we see a return of football that is a great sport. It offers a lot of kids who don’t play a lot of other sports the opportunity to be around other kids their own age and compete,” said MacIsaac, who has been an assistant coach at the High School.

As for the score? Belmont lost as time ran out as Melrose stopped the Cheetahs on the goal line.

I would have liked to win, but everyone had fun today and that’s what we strive to do with our program,” said MacIsaac.

Photo of the Day: Rising Community Tide for New Underwood Pool

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In Jane Austen’s day two hundred years ago, you’d communicate with your neighbors or a friend by leaving a note on a fence post or in a nook of a stone wall.

And while today, there is high speed G4 internet and instant messaging available to keep us informed, the people raising $200,000 to meet the new low bid to construct the new Underwood Pool has decided to use the Austen-like “note” to the community at Belmont’s major intersections.

With just under four weeks remaining, the effort to preserve the 2015 summer swimming season by building the new Underwood has raised more than 80 percent of its goal.