Opening Day of New Underwood Pool All Depends on the Weather

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The commute for construction supervisor Ernie Raney to his newest assignment can’t be beat.

He leaves his house on Lincoln Street, heads to School Street, then down Cottage Street and there he is, at the site of the new Underwood Pool.

“Really close,” said Raney, who is currently overseeing large earth moving equipment remove the final concrete remains of the historic pool – the oldest outdoor municipal pool in the US which opened in 1912 two months after the sinking of the Titanic and the first game at Fenway Park – as the team begins moving through its list of objectives.

“Right now I have five or six guys doing the demolition,” said Raney, who works for general contractor New England Builders and Contractors of Methuen.

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After bringing in equipment and fencing in the construction site on Monday, Nov. 2, the demolition company made quick work of the 102-year-old bathhouse and pool. Excavators have ripped out the pump room and tore out trees along Cottage Street. On Wednesday, Nov. 12, crews removed large trees along Concord Avenue.

After the demolition process, next for Raney is laying the foundation for the bathhouses.

Then, it’s all about the weather – in particulate, a warmish forecast – which will determine if the construction team will finish the $5.5 million complex by early/mid-July, which Raney said is the “ideal” completion date.

“If we have relatively normal temperatures, we’ll have the foundations done. And we’ll keep going as long as the weather holds out,” said Raney.

“If the temperatures holdout, we could continue work for the next two months,” the Belmont resident said. Most of that work will be framing the bathhouses.

But Raney said the major work on the pools will need to wait until the spring of 2015 due to the material being used.

“Winter isn’t the time to pour concrete for an outdoor pool,” said Raney.

Once the temperatures rise, the majority of the work will be done; pouring and curing the concrete, laying the plumbing, installing fixtures and installing the filter systems.

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“It will be very busy in the spring, it’s when we will have the most guys here on site,” said Raney.

In the next week, the public will have two chances to learn more about the construction and the time frame it is working under:

• The Underwood Pool Building Committee will hold a public meeting on Thursday, Nov. 20, at 7 p.m., in the Assembly Room at the Belmont Public Library, where the members of the construction team will be introduced and answer questions.

• The Building Committee and the Belmont Board of Selectmen invite the public to the official groundbreaking ceremony for the new pool complex on Friday, Nov. 21 at 8:15 a.m. at the construction site.

Butler Students, Superheroes Fun Run for Enrichment

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The dank, misty conditions this past Friday was no match for the likes of Batman and Captain America as the superheroes stood superhero like in the middle of the Butler Elementary School playground.

Nor was a mere 1 mile jog around the grounds of the Waverley Square school going to stop the duo from assisting Butler’s entire student population of 340 in running the same distance.

“This is a fantastic idea,” said Ann Ozawa, who came with her husband to cheer on her third grader, Zoe, as she did laps around the schoolyard.

“The kids were up and ready to go this morning and all the kids were here early,” she said as groups of parents cheered on the kids.

Yet the morning run was not some collective act of super-dopper strength, but part of a school-wide Fun Run fundraiser that exceeded the goals of students and staff.

With a goal of raising $10,000, the students – through online pledges from family, relatives and friends – smashed the objective and took in more than $18,000 with an extra $3,400 from corporate sponsors.

“The kids really surprised us. They really came through and really amazingly,” said Butler PTA’s Miriam Lapson.

(In fact, the only act of bravery was that of Butler Principal Michael McAllister who wore the Batman outfit for the entire morning as part of an agreement to get into a super hero costume if the fundraiser exceeded its goal.)

In past years, the school’s Parent Teacher Association ran an auction every three year to raise funds, said Lapson, who was on the fun run committee.

But with the school’s population changing demographics – the Butler students are more multicultural and have a wider income disparity than the other five schools in the district – “an auction just wasn’t going to work,” she said.

“We wanted something that everyone could take part in, whether you could or could not contribute, your parents don’t have to speak English. The only qualification was that you are a student at the school,” said Lapson.

That’s when the group thought of the fun run, said Lapson, which would have the added benefit of being a healthy activity and promoting physical education.

With help from The Original Get Movin’ Crew, a fun-run company based in Milford, Michigan, Butler students collected the $10,000 goal with three days to spare.

The funds raised will provide for two years of enrichment programs such as field trips, in-school enrichment, library books, teacher supplies and professional development for the Butler staff.

One superhero said the funds raised are greatly needed by staff and teachers.

“It’s huge for us. It allows us to purchase things and offer opportunities to kids we wouldn’t otherwise,” said Batman/McAllister.

“Unfortunately, some of the enrichment funding has been pulled out as we standardize our curriculum,” said McAllister. “The PTA comes through for us on that front.”

The Why and How of Paying for Belmont Center’s ‘Facelift’ Debated Before Town Meeting

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After town officials gave a lengthy, detailed explanation of the financing and work proposed for the $2.8 million Belmont Center reconstruction project, Town Meeting Member Ed Kuzanjian came to the microphone and asked the assembled officials at the Nov. 6 warrant briefing held at the Beech Street Center one question.

Why?

“What are we getting for the money?” queried the School Street resident at the meeting hosted by the Warrant Committee and the Belmont League of Women Voters.

“Convince me to spend $3 million … here when we don’t put in curbs, we don’t do sidewalks and we don’t do other things around town?” said the long-serving Precinct 6 member.

The reconstruction project – which will be the sole major article before the approximate 290 members at the Special Town Meeting on Monday, Nov. 17 at the Chenery Middle School – was not just question on why its being done now but for its funding which is precedent setting new approach to financing capital projects.

For town officials, the need for the project – read the project’s highlights here – is quickly evident just by walking down the center’s main drag, Leonard Street, and the side streets. Narrow sidewalks, haphazard traffic patterns, a limited amount of pedestrian amenities and real safety concerns for walkers and cyclists have bedeviled residents and business owners for the past two, if not three, decades.

With its “tired look,” it’s little wonder several officials called the project a “facelift” for the town’s main retail business hub.

With the completion last year of the Center’s water and gas infrastructure and the new road work being completed in the town’s other two business locations of Waverley and Cushing squares, “[t]his seemed like the time to talk about Belmont Center,” Glenn Clancy, the director of the Office of Community Development and the town’s engineer,

Clancy told the audience the alternative to the project would be a simple a layer of asphalt – which would cost $900,000 – on the roadway.

But after that, “we will not talk about the center for another 20 to 25 years,” said Clancy.

With the improvements – wider sidewalks, a creation of a new “common” in front of Belmont Savings Bank, a bike path, improvements to streets that allows for a more natural flow of traffic and a modern parking program – will make “Belmont Center an attractive destination point; it is the main commercial area of Belmont,” said Clancy.

With the landlord of the former Macy’s site preparing to seek tenants for the landmark location, “there is an economic redevelopment component to revitalizing Belmont Center. If I was opening a business and I had a choice of a location that is sketchy in its presentation or go someplace that recently had a facelift and everything looks really nice, I’m going to the nice location,” said Clancy.

When Kuzanjian asked if businesses have commented on the reconstruction, Belmont Board of Selectman Chair Andy Rojas said the entire package of upgrades “add up to a better business climate.”

“Every business owner I’ve spoken to, that understands what the … finished project will look like is in favor of it,” said Rojas.

Kuzanjian countered that current studies of vehicle patterns show that there will be “minimal, if any improvement” on center traffic at the project’s completion, which town officials did not dispute.

“We don’t gain anything by doing [the project],” said Kuzanjian. “I don’t see any huge plus that’s worth three million bucks.”

“My question is why this year? Do we have the money so next year we aren’t screaming and yelling at Town Meeting that the School Department is going down the tubes again?” said Kuzanjian.

David Kale. Belmont’s Town Administrator, told Kuzanjian and the audience that all the Selectmen are asking the Special Town Meeting is whether they would like to continue with the project – which has been on the drawing boards since 2010 – “based upon all the benefits that have been outlined and finance it … from free cash.”

The project’s financing – read about the unique way the town will pay for project here – which relies on the town’s “free cash” account also came under a series of questions.

Before the meeting, the town’s free cash account was certified by the state’s Department of Revenue at $7.465 million, an increase of $1.3 million from the previous year’s amount, which Kale described as “very good news.”

“I’m a little concerned about dipping into free cash,” said Lewis Road’s Penny Shaffer, remembering previous Town Meetings where the members were told to “carefully husband [it].”

“[Town Meeting has] gotten into the habit, which I support, of taking some of the free cash and putting it into the operating budget,” said the Precinct 7 member. “But I am concerned on spending free cash on [a capital project]. Why aren’t we bonding the entire amount?”

“Is it because we are feeling so rich?” said Shaffer.

Town officials pointed to the need to strike a balance to use the town’s savings, which has been increasing over the past few years through very conservative budgeting practices, and then bonding a smaller portion of the project.

Kale said if the entire project was bonded, the town would pay $320,000 allocation the first year, as opposed to the $168,000 the first year by bonding $1,475,000 under the current proposal.

Duty, Honor, Country: Schools Salute Vets in Remembrance Observances

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The Chenery Middle School Wind Band played patriotic music, the chorus sang the “National Anthem” and several students made speeches and recited poems to their classmates and the two dozen men – many slowed with age – sitting on chairs on the side of the stage.

They were an array of armed forces veterans from Belmont and surrounding communities, coming to the school as the living embodiment of the commitment and sacrifice they gave to the country.

The school-wide assembly, held on Monday, Nov. 10 in the Chenery auditorium, is an annual commemoration of the service of all veterans and those currently in uniform.

“I want to thank all of you for showing up today because twice a year, we feel like rock stars,” said Kip Gaudet, commander of Belmont’s Veterans of Foreign Wars Post on Trapelo Road.

“We come here to represent those who can’t be here, who paid the ultimate price for the freedoms that we enjoy today,” said Gaudet, who was awarded a bronze star for “heroic or meritorious achievement or service” as a radio man in Vietnam.

Chenery’s Principal Kristen St. George advised students to take a moment on the holiday to personally reach out and thank a veteran “for their contribution … for fighting for things that are important to us and our country.”

St. George read the names of veterans with a connection to the “Chenery community” and for the student to simply “listen and to reflect.” Included in the names were of Chenery teacher Ryan Schmitt and Army Spc. Jonathan Curtis, an alumni who was killed in Afghanistan in 2010.

Gaudet read the names of the veterans who stood to receive the applause from the auditorium, including Frank Morrissey, a 96-year-old vet from the US Navy.

“Hopefully these events reminds the students of freedom’s cost,” said Gaudet after the service, before leaving with his fellow veterans for visits at the Butler and Winn Brook elementary schools before a lunch at the VFW post.

“The veterans get appreciated for their service and the kids learn something, so this morning is like a two-way street,” he said.

The highlight of the ceremony was the reading and a musical rendition of the poem, “In Flanders Fields” by Canadian Lt. Col. John McCrae who wrote the poem on May 3, 1915, moments after presiding over the funeral of his friend, Alexis Helmer.

“In Flanders fields the poppies blow
      Between the crosses, row on row,
   That mark our place; and in the sky
   The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

“We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
   Loved and were loved, and now we lie
         In Flanders fields.

“Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
   The torch; be yours to hold it high.
   If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
         In Flanders fields.”

Belmont’s Brams Takes 6th in Eastern Div. 3 X-C Championships, Girls’ Place 9th

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Belmont High School junior Leah Brams finished in sixth place at the Div. 3 Eastern Massachusetts championships held Saturday, Nov. 8 in Wrentham, matching her placement from a year ago.

Brams 18 minute, 54.9 seconds over the five-kilometer (3.1 mile) course earned her a third consecutive trip to the Div. 1 state finals being held this year at historic Franklin Park in Boston on Saturday, Nov. 15.  Junior Samantha Coletti of Whitman-Hanson Regional won the race in 18:18.7.

This year’s meet also saw the girls’ team earn a top-ten ranking for the first time in more than 15 years as the Marauders finished an impressive 9th with 264 points, bettering their 333 points and 13th place finish last year.

Belmont’s juniors Sophia Klimasmith and Meredith Hughes barely missed the 30th place cutoff to join Brams at the state championships as the pair finished in 34th (20:09) and 38th (20:16) respectively. They would have had to beat 20:00.9 which the 30th finisher achieved to have qualified.

Freshman Camilla Carere finished her first championship in 85th (21:42) followed by junior Emma Chambers (101st, 22:25) and junior Carly Tymm (22:36).

Belmont’s high ranking was achieved with one of its varsity runners, sophomore Elisabeth Silletto, out with an injury and a team made up entirely of underclassmen, one of only a handful of squads racing Saturday which could make that claim.

On the boys side, the team finished 19th in the Div. 3 section with 492 points, led by senior Ari Silverfine who raced home in 30th in 17:17, as he prepares for the indoor and outdoor track season in his speciality, the 800 meters. Following Silverfine was fellow senior Charles Smith in 80th (17:55), sophomore Wilder Manion (107th, 18:25), junior Mike Ferrante (124th, 18:41), Ian Bowe (151st, 19:30), Noah Miller-Medzon (159th, 20:02) and Connor Quinn (161st in 20:07).

Belmont Selectmen Seek Residents to Join Committee to Implement Community Path

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Now is the time to decide the when, where, what, why and how much of a community path running through the heart of Belmont.

After more than two decades after it was first suggested, the Belmont Board of Selectmen last week created the Community Path Implementation Advisory Committee, a five-member temporary advisory committee which will recommend strategies for the design, construction and implementation of a multi-use path from the approved route selected by the selectmen earlier this year.

The routes are included in the final report of the Community Path Advisory Committee submitted in June.

The committee will also identify funding sources for a feasibility study of the route options, which will include a technical evaluation.  The feasibility study will allow the town to establish a cost estimate to be used in the development of capital budget planning and solicit grant funds to fund the project.

For supporters of the multi-use path running from Cambridge to Waltham, the selectmen’s decision to move on the project is good news.

“This is great news. Support in town for the path in Belmont is strong. It looks as if the [Selectmen] recognize that and are embracing the recommendations of their Community Path Advisory Committee. I’m happy and relieved to see that,” said Paul Roberts, who noted the committee needs the right blend of skill and expertise to pursue answers to some important questions. 

“It is also critical that the Selectmen give committee members a free hand to pursue all the options that are on the table regarding the routes and possible features of the path,” said Roberts.

“The Community Path Implementation Committee should pursue and incorporate the best advice from experts and engineers  so that the final plan – whatever it is – will be one that is in the long-term best interests of the town and the hundreds of thousands of individuals who will use the path in the decades to come,” he said. 

Residents with experience in the design, construction and implementation of similar projects are highly encouraged to apply.

Applications should include a completed Community Volunteer Interest Form and Resume. The form is available in the Office of the Board of Selectmen or online.

Please submit all applications to the Selectmen’s Office or by e-mail to selectmen@belmont-ma.gov by Monday, Nov. 24.

Sports: Girls’ Swimming Preps for State Championships with 3rd in Sectionals

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The feature photo is of the winning 200 yard medley relay squad in the 2014 North Sectionals from Belmont High School: (from left) Alison Sawyer, Maya Nagashima, Jessie Blake-West and Emily Quinn. (Ginny Blake photos).

The Belmont High School Girls’ Swimming team dove into the pool with the big girls of Massachusetts swimming this weekend and gave them more than they could handle.

Coming off winning the Middlesex League Meet the previous week, the Marauders’ took home third place in the team event in the MIAA North Sectional held Sunday, Nov. 9 at Wellesley College.

In competition against powerhouse Division 1 schools – including Acton-Boxborough (second) and Andover (first) – with nearly twice as many students to recruit to winning swimming programs, the Marauders compiled 217 points, finishing higher than strong teams as Chelmsford, Central Catholic and league rival Lexington.

Belmont’s performance – up a place from last year’s fourth in the sectionals – augurs of another epic battle between the Marauders and Bishop Feehan High School of Attleboro for the Div. 2 State Championships taking place this Sunday.

Last November, the Shamrocks won the title with Belmont the runner up.

Leading the Marauders was their junior ace Jessie Blake-West who took home three sectional victories; the 200-yard medley relay (with senior Maya Nagashima, junior Emily Quinn and freshman Alison Sawyer in 1:53.36), the 200 individual medley (2:11.57) and her speciality, the 100 butterfly.

In the race, Blake-West powered through the 100 yards in 57.20 seconds, winning by a remarkable 2.37 seconds in a contest usually decided by tenths of seconds.

With her 6th place in the 200 freestyle relay – with Sawyer, junior Solvay Metelmann and freshman Ophelie Loblack (1:45.30) – Blake-West helped account for just about half of Belmont’s point total.

The Marauders’ impressive breaststroke trio of junior Emily Quinn and seniors Sarah Osborn and Klaudia Nagrabska took three of the top eight spots in the race, with Quinn taking second by dipping under 1 minute, 10 seconds (1:09.82) with Osborn fourth (1:11.68) and Nagrabska seventh (1:13.05).

In the scoring column, Nagashima was fourth in the 100 backstroke (1:04.06) and seventh in the individual medley while Quinn took 13th (2:23.54) in the IM. Also taking a fourth was junior one-meter diver Cynthia Kelsey who finished in the top tier with 448.40 points. The frosh Sawyer also scored points with a 12th in the 50 free in 26.30 while on the opposite end of the distance spectrum, junior Sara Noorouzi‘s 5:42.22 was good for 13th in the 500 free. And contributing 12 points was the 400 free relay of Loblack, sophomore Dervela Moore-Federick, senior Eunice Lee and Metelmann coming in 11th in 3:58.80.

But it wasn’t just those scoring points who swam well; in fact, nearly all the Belmont swimmers made impressive appearance in the sectionals.

Belmont’s distance swimmers – Lee in the 200 free (21st in 2:07.95), sophomore Allie Beecroft (19th in the 500 dropping her time 5:49.81 by nearly 10 seconds) while Noorouzi (22st in 2:08.03) and junior Elizabeth Levy (24th 2:09.39 in the 200 and 17th in the 500 in 5:47.00) taking on the gut busting 200/500 double – and the sprint free squad – in the 50, Metelmann (26.68), Loblack (26.73) and sophomore Molly Thomas (26.78) took 18, 19, and 20th while Loblack and Sawyer broke the minute mark in the 100 free – all showed a great amount of improvement in their pre-meet times.

In the IM, Moore-Federick put in a great 37.30 second 50 yard butterfly segment in her 2:27.04 for 21st while fellow 10th grader Katerena Nalbandian finished 20th in the breast stroke in 1:16.69.

Lee placed 24th in the butterfly; while in the backstroke, Thomas in 20th brought home sophomore Grace Newberry (1:08.25 for 22nd) and Metelmann (24th in 1:08.58).

Next up, the state championships.

Belmont’s Panos Named to Yearly Top 50 Women in Law in Mass

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Belmont’s own Laura Panos has been named one of 50 Top Women of Law in Massachusetts for 2014 by Massachusetts Lawyers’ Weekly.

This annual award is given to “exceptional women who have made outstanding achievements in the field of law, and highlights women who are pioneers, educators, trailblazers, and role models.”

“I am honored to join the list of extraordinary honorees for 2014,” said Panos.

This year has been a strong year of growth and progress for the Law Office of Laura Panos, located in Belmont Center at 50 Leonard St., which provides employment and labor law counsel to companies and individuals, including a large number of locally-owned businesses.

Panos represents clients in all aspects of employment law, and is frequently before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. The practice uses a small-firm, relatable approach to provide prompt, cost-effective and practical representation for a range of workplace issues with a high level of client satisfaction.

“Our familiarity with both sides of the employment relationship makes us strategic advocates for all of our clients,” said Panos. She and her team are committed to giving back to the community, and have dedicated over 50 hours of pro bono legal services this year.

For additional information please visit www.panoslawoffice.com .

Sports: Lazenby’s Last-Second Goal Sends Belmont Boys’ Soccer to D2 North Semis

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Senior midfielder Ben Lazenby‘s second goal of the game, coming “at the death” of regular time, gave Belmont High School Boys’ Soccer a dramatic 2-1 victory over hosts Chelsea High Saturday night, Nov. 8.

With less than 15 seconds remaining in the second half, senior forward Luke Gallagher delivered the free kick – senior midfielder Sami Belkadi was fouled 25 meters out – to the onrushing Lazenby who headed the ball behind the reach of Chelsea’s goalie Angel Figueroa.

“I knew that time was running out and that we would have only a couple more chances. I told [senior midfielder] Danny [Rizzo] this is my ball and go back post and maybe I’ll head it to you,” Lazenby told the Belmontonian and Belmont Marauders Media.

“I just made the run like I did the whole game and [senior forward] Luke [Gallagher] played a great ball. I was open and I finished,” said the co-captain who started the scoring in the first half with another header off a free kick.

See Lazenby’s post game interview and his two goals here, courtesy of the BMM.

The rousing win against a tenacious and skilled Red Devils propels the Marauders (15-3-2) into the Div. 2 North sectional semifinals against the number-one seed Concord- Carlisle Regional High School in Chelmsford on Thursday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m.

The undefeated Patriots (17-0-1) is currently ranked second in the Boston Globe Top 20 Boys’ Soccer teams, having held the number one spot for most of the season. The team, led by Head Coach Ray Pavik, won the 2010 Div. 2 state championships and were state finalists the next year.

The last time the two teams met was in a first-round encounter in the 2012 sectionals where Concord-Carlisle came back from a two-goal, second half deficit to defeat the Marauders, 3-2, in overtime.

“We can only prepare our own team, we have no control how Concord-Carisle will play,” said Belmont Head Coach Brian Bisceglia-Kane. 

With a Concord-Carlisle assistant coach watching from the stands, Belmont – despite being without leading scorer senior midfielder Charlie Frigo – used its quickness and physical advantages to close down on the slow-starting Red Devils who attempted to catch the Marauders on the counter attack. In the few ventures into the Marauder area, Belmont’s back line, anchored by senior defender Amar Fernald, swept aside the challenge.

Lazenby’s first goal came from sophomore defender Edward Stafford‘s long ball off a free kick with 16 minutes remaining in the half. The team’s midfield quarterback out-jumped the scrum 10 meters from goal and looped a perfect header over the retreating Figueroa.

The second half saw Chelsea come out with a confident resolve in their game, stringing short passing with quick dribbling through the middle of the field showing a great deal of flair and creativity with the ball. Led by midfielder Wilbert Tejada – one of the most best players Belmont met this season – and Derilson DePina, Chelsea used its momentum to keep the majority of the action in the Marauders end of the field.

“They kind of dominated us in the second half,” said Lazenby.

“It’s always a challenge to meet a team that plays a style that we don’t see during the regular season so they took it to us in the second half,” said Bisceglia-Kane.

The Red Devils knotted up the score at one when Tejada placed a pass onto the feet of a streaking Carlos Cartagena who beat Belmont goalkeeper Peter Berens with 24 minutes left in the second half . 

With Belmont relying for long stretches on players such as senior forward Norman Kilavatitu due to injuries, “it got ragged out there,” said Bisceglia-Kane, who called a timeout 90 seconds after the Chelsea goal to speak to his on-field captains before talking to the team. 

Belmont was able to keep Chelsea from taking the lead by asserting “more pressure and working together as a team,” said Lazenby.

As the game entered the late stages, Belmont was able to exploit space down the right side – Belmont nearly scored with eight minutes remaining but a one-timer by Gallagher skipped over sophomore Daron Hamparian‘s left foot at the left post – where some tenacious work by Belkadi resulted in the foul that set up Lazenby’s heroics.

For Bisceglia-Kane, the game showed the players there is always a way back from adversity on the pitch.

“Their goal only tied it up so it wasn’t as if we went behind. But it showed that we have the ability to meet the challenge of being scored on and play our game.”

 

This Week: Veterans Day Tuesday, Stealing Masterpieces Wednesday

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On the government side of the week, the Community Preservation Committee will hear presentations from groups seeking CPA funds as well as ask them questions at the committee’s public meeting at Town Hall on Thursday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m.

Juliette Fay will speak about her latest novel, The Shortest Way Home, at Belmont Public Library’s “Books and Bites” from 11 a.m. to noon, Monday, Nov. 10. Described by Library Journal as “a moving, introspective look at what it means to be family, and to be truly home,” The Shortest Way Home is the Massachusetts resident’s third novel. All are welcome to attend this free program. Books will be available for purchase and signing. Refreshments will be provided. The Assembly Room is handicapped accessible.

The 7th and 8th Grade Book Club will discuss Ava Dellaira’s Love Letters to the Dead, in the Young Adult’s section of the Belmont Public Library on Monday, Nov. 10 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Also choose December’s book and enjoy some snacks.

Tuesday, Nov. 11 is Veterans Day.

The Belmont Historical Society presents author Anthony Amore, director of security at Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum for the past five years, who will give an illustrated lecture on the notorious theft of 13 priceless masterpieces from the museum in March 1990, “Stealing Rembrants” at the Belmont Public Library’s Assembly Room on Wednesday, Nov. 12 from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. The lecture is free and open to the public. Copies of Amore’s book, Stealing Rembrandts, will be available for purchase. Refreshments will be served.

 It’s an early release day for all public schools – elementary, middle and high schools – on Wednesday, Nov. 12. 

The Belmont League of Women Voters will be meeting in the Flett Room of the Belmont Public Library on Thursday, Nov. 13 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The Board of Library Trustees and the Friends of the Belmont Public Library invite the public to attend a reception to honor retiring Library Director Maureen Conners for her 18 years of service on Thursday, Nov. 13 from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the library’s Assembly Room.
The Beech Street Center’s Senior Book Discussion Group will discuss Bleak House by Charles Dickens (Chapter 1 through Chapter 31) on Friday, Nov. 14 at 11 a.m. at the Beech Street Center. The group will discuss Chapter 32 to the end on Friday, Dec. 12 at 11 a.m.
The Beech Street Center will be screening The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, by documentary filmmaker Ken Burns on Friday, Nov. 14, at 1 p.m. Viewers will watch Episode 5, “The Rising Road” concerning FDR’s first two terms from 1933 to 1939.