Sports: Bram the Bright Spot as Marauder Harriers Fall to Minutemen

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Photo: Coming home. 

There were two powerhouses running the Clay Pit Pond cross country course Tuesday, Oct. 6: the cross country teams from Lexington High School and Belmont senior Leah Bram.

It was going to be a mighty high mountain to climb for Belmont High’s harriers to scale past the Minutemen, which has become a juggernaut program. While the boys’ fell by a convincing 15-46, the girls’ ate into Lexington’s score line, dropping a 21-34 decision against the Minutemen’s top varsity lineup (last season Lexington ran a largely second-string team against the Marauders).

Leading Belmont’s Girls’ was its steady star Brams, who has always finished first racing the Clay Pit Pond course and has only lost once in a Middlesex League duel meet in her four varsity seasons (last season to Woburn’s Gina D’Addario who is currently running at defending Division 3 national champions John Hopkins). Brams held a 20 second lead with a little over a mile remaining and finished in 19 minutes and 7.6 seconds, a season’s best and just outside her course record of 18:58.

Second for the Marauders and sixth overall was junior (a recent transplant from Washington state) Sara Naumann who split Lexington’s middle runners with a strong 20:23, followed by senior leader Sophia Klimasmith who set her season’s best of 20:50 in eighth place. Rounding out the varsity race, senior Meredith Hughes (9th, 231.01), final varsity scorer freshman Audrey Christo (10th, 21.03), frosh Eleanor Amer (12th, 22:02) and seniors Brett Koslowsky (13th, 22:04), Emma Chambers (14th, 22:16), Madison Kelts (16th, 22:45) and Carly Tymm (18th, 22:50).

On the boys side of the ledger, freshman Zach Tseng led the Marauders in 6th in 17:18. The rest of the varsity scorers were sophmore Calvin Perkins (8th, 17:37), senior Mike Ferrante (9th, 17:46), junior Manion Wilder (11th, 18:10) and senior Ian Bowe (12th, 18:17).

Sports: Jr. Marauders Take Over Harris Field to Show Off Football Skills

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Photo: Half-time talk with the Junior Marauders.

It was an intense half-time talk from the coaches to the players at Belmont’s Harris Field.

“This is your house! This is your home field and your home crowd. All these people came to see you. This is what you work for. This is what football is all about. Now you have to want it!” 

Look up at the coaches were the faces of a determined team, players willing to go the extra mile … even though none of them are old enough to shave. 

The team on the field last week were 42 seventh and eighth graders comprising the 2015 Chenery Middle School Junior Marauder Football team, for the second year providing essentially an opportunity for middle schoolers to learn the fundimentals of the game while having fun.

“We like to tell the kids they are part of the program that leads to the High School even though some of the players just want to play in Middle School,” said Jamie MacIsaacs, the team’s head coach.

That connection with the growing football culture in Belmont was emphasized as the High School team stopped by to watch the action as Belmont took on Bedford in a game where both sides were on the upslope of the skills learning curve.

But the emphasise of the program is to learn the game and have fun doing so, said MacIsaacs. 

And the team is starting to win games, winning in Winchester after losing the year before. And while the Junior Marauders weren’t able to engineer a victory against the visitors, they did appear to have a good time on their future home field.

Sports: Field Hockey Tweaks D, Rights Ship as Watertown Looms

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Photo: Senior forward Katherine McCarthy scoring against Reading.

Belmont High’s Field Hockey Head Coach Jessica Snith still shakes her head and goes silent when she’s asked about “that” game. The one where Winchester scored four goals in the final 12 minutes to defeat the unbeaten Marauders, 5-4.

“Oh, I hate talking about it,” Smith said.

But two solid victories since has Belmont riding high again (8-1-0) and giving Smith a renewed sense of confidence as she and the team prepares for the regular season game of the year as Watertown, six-time consecutive state Div. 2 champion and winner of 148 straight games (as the Raiders prepare for a strong Lexington squad on Tuesday, Oct. 6) will travel the two-and-a-half miles down Common Street in both towns to Harris Field for the 6 p.m. match on Thursday, Oct. 8. 

On a blustery and cool Saturday afternoon, Oct. 3, the Marauders defeated a team they could not figure out last season, Reading, scoring four goals in the first half to ease past the Rockets, 5-0. 

The win puts Belmont in the Div. 1 North sectional playoffs, the earliest the Marauders have ever secured a ticket to the post season. 

“Now every game is to get up a higher seed so we can avoid the big schools (Andover and Acton-Boxborough) until late in the playoffs,” said Smith.

“Right now, this team is playing so well that we can challenge anyone (in the post season),” Smith said. 

Senior forward Katherine McCarthy scored the opener on an acrobatic shot from in close 11 minutes into the match. Morgan Chase tipped in a shot at the doorstep and Kerri Lynch got back into the scoring grove for the team’s third. Junior midfielder AnnMarie Habelow finished the scoring, her first from about 10 meters in front of the goal, the worst location a team could leave such a deadly scorer. 

On Thursday, the girls defeated Burlington, 7-1, on Thursday, Oct. 1. In that game, Bridget Gardner scored as McCarthy and Habelow each scored a pair. 

Smith said despite the Winchester loss – she has circled the date the Sachems will be visiting Belmont for the return match – the team has been growing in their teamwork such as multiple passes and stopping the other team from breaking out from their zone.

Smith has also tweeked the defense by changing a position player to add stickhandling and speed in the back line.

“We just want to make the change well before Watertown so it doesn’t feel like we’re doing something desperate,” said Smith, who said the Raiders “will be a tough squad [to meet] but so are we.” 

Next up for the girls is a trip to Wakefield on Tuesday, Oct. 6 before Thursday night’s big match.

Light Board Approves New Solar Power Policy; Tariffs Run Until 2017

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Photo: The Working Group shaking hands with the Light Board after turning in their recommendations. 

On a dank and rainy day in which solar panels wouldn’t have a chance to work, the Belmont Light Board – made up of the members of the Belmont Board of Selectmen – approved unanimously a new solar power policy for homeowners and small commercial businesses on Sept. 30. 

The policy and tariff, set forth in a series of recommendations by the Temporary Net Metering Working Group, was filed with the state’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs the next day, Oct. 1.

The recommendation’s acceptance ends years of contentious debate – including a bitter debate at the annual Town Meeting in May – between solar advocates who sought a progressive tariff to promote its use in Belmont and those who questioned subsidizing homeowners who installed solar power panels which they decried as an inefficient and a costly method to reduce carbon usage.

Holding 17 public meetings in a little less than two months, the Working Group – made up of economist and Warrant Committee member Roy Epstein who served as chair, attorney Stephen Klionsky and  “Jake” Jacoby, the William F. Pounds Professor of Management, emeritus at MIT’s Sloan School – worked meticulously creating the policy and setting the tariff, hearing from those who advocated for a highly progressive subsidy but always following its own scholarly course, rejecting the political rancour that fueled much of the previous debate.

“[The recommendations] are a triumph of economics,” said Epstein two weeks ago when the group presented to the Light Board a draft of the recommendations.

“What I’ve seen and what I’ve heard, you’ve helped unite people on this issue,” said Light Board Chair Sami Baghdady, of the Working Group which the board appointed in June.

The establishment of a stable tariff is expected to lead to more solar arrays on Belmont rooftops as it will provide solar companies “a level of financial certainty” as they provide their service in town.

In addition, the town will start an aggressive public information push promoting solar power to residents. 

The recommendations to Belmont Light included:

• Creating a tariff which will only apply to solar arrays with a capacity of 250 kilowatts (kW) or less, which encompasses residential and most commercial sites.  Potential industrial scale solar is not included.

• Each solar user will pay the same rate for the electricity it receives from Belmont Light as any other rate payer.

• When a solar user generates more electricity than it uses, it will be paid a “buyback” price of 11 cents per kWh by Belmont Light. That rate will be in effect until Dec. 31, 2017 when the price will be adjusted once a year using a formula created by the Working Group.

“It’s fairly automatic,” said Epstein.

• The amount due to the solar household for the electricity it delivered back to Belmont Light each month will be credited to the household’s bill. If the amount of the bill is negative, the household will not make a payment to the utility and the “negative” amount becomes a credit used towards the customers next bill.

• The policy has a limit of one megawatt on the aggregate solar capacity in Belmont. The Working Group said that would equal about 280 residential homes. Once that level is reached, the Light Board will assess if there are any problems and can then bump the benchmark upwards.

• The group also recommends that Belmont immediately capitalize on a 30 percent federal tax credit that is likely to expire at the end of 2016 by organizing a “Solarize Belmont” campaign, involving residents, citizens groups as well as the utility’s energy consultant, Sagewell, to encourage residents to “go solar.” 

The Group was split on addressing possible compensation for moving away from retail net metering.   The majority recommends a potential one-time credit to about six households who were the earliest adopters while the minority would allow retail net metering to continue for all current solar households for the next three years.  The Light Board will decide on a compensation policy at a later date. 

“[The Working Group’s] charge had two pieces to it; be fair and don’t discourage solar … and I think we did that,” said Jacoby. 

Major Water Main Break Closed Common Street Sunday

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Photo: Teens will be teens.

A section of a major water main that runs along Common Street ruptured Sunday afternoon, Oct. 4, closing a portion of the main thoroughfare from Cushing Square to Belmont Center for most of the night.

The 12-inch pipe – the largest main used by the town – blew out at approximately 4:10 p.m. A witness said a sudden geyser of water erupted from the corner of Warwick Road and Common where the break took place under the pavement.

Department of Public Works crews arrived after police closed Common Street from Raleigh to Chester roads at 4:30 p.m. to begin the process of turning off the water main before repairs could take place.

Michael Santoro, director of the DPW’s Highway Division, told the Belmontonian Monday, Oct. 5, the main – laid in 1934 – had a 10-foot split running down the middle of the pipe.

Santoro suspected the split was caused “because of age. You can tell as it cracked bell to bell,” said Santoro. 

Water service was interrupted for homes on the east side of Common Street after the DPW shut off the main while a resident said his house on Bay State Road was suffering from low pressure.

Due to nearby gas and electrical lines, crews had to proceed slowly with its work, finally securing a new section at approximately 4 a.m. Monday morning, said Santoro. 

 

Scharfman Race Sets New Record for Runners, Donations

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Photo:

Charlie Conroy stationed himself at the final corner of the two-kilometer portion of the Dan Scharfman Memorial Run with a promise. 

“Keep going! Home is just around the corner! You can make it!” the race co-director encouraged racers as they ran the final meters on the track surrounding Harris Field.

And with that, scores of runners – from those barely four years old and three feet tall to election town officials – began sprinting to the line.

On a brilliant and brisk autumn morning, Sunday, Oct. 4, Belmont came out to run in memory of School Committee member Dan Scharfman and to support the Foundation for Belmont Education’s funding initiative that promotes two of Scharfman’s interests when he was on the committee: introducing technology to Belmont’s public school classrooms and provide professional development for teachers and staff.

The third edition of the Scharfman races proved a joyful exercise for those managing the race and those benefiting from the donations.

“We had over 620 pre-register, which is more than last year. If we get 10 percent walk ups, we are looking at more than 700 runners from both races,” said race co-director Paul Roberts. 

“I think by having the shorter race that younger kids do get entire families involved,” said Roberts.

The top prizes went to Scot Dedeo who won the men’s 5K with a time of 17 minutes and 34.1 seconds followed by a pair of 15-year-olds; James Kitch and Zack Tseng. The women’s race was won by Heidi Kimberly in 20:48 followed by 13-year old Madeline Celicitch and Christy Lawrence.

In the 2K, Chris Burge won the race in 7:30 followed so close by 12-year-old Shea Brams (she was leading the race until the final straightaway). Following Brams in the women’s race was Violet Whitmer , 11, and Charlotte Conroy, 12.

For Jamie Shea, FBE co-president, the day was all she could have wished.

“After days of cold and rain, the weather was an awesome surprise,” she said.

“Last year we raised about $22,000, and we have more runners this year so I would expect that dollar number will go up,” said Shea.

The donations from participants and sponsors will allow teachers to introduce “cutting edge methods in the classroom and to bring engaging material to our students.”

Funding in the past has been used to help bring iPads into the classroom “while a huge amount of money is used to help teachers understand innovative methods that are not technology related,” said Shea.

This Week: A Long List of Events, Meetings This Week

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Photo: 

On the government side of “This Week”: 

  • The Belmont Board of Selectmen is holding an abbreviated “working session” for procedural action at 8 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 5 in Town Hall. 
  • The Zoning Board of Appeals will meet in the Belmont Gallery of Art on the third floor of the Homer Building in the Town Hall complex on Monday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. to discuss a special permit for a child care business on Sycamore Street.
  • The Belmont School Committee is meeting at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 6 at the Chenery Middle School. The evening begins a half hour earlier as the district honors educators who are granted professional status. There will also be stuff about budgets, enrollment, future plans and food services. 
  • The Recreation Commission will discuss the past shortened season and whether to raise residential fees in the 2016 Underwood Pool season, review the tennis court study and discuss the proposed skating rink at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 6 at Town Hall.
  • The Warrant Committee will take up its pension report at its meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 7:30 p.m. at the Chenery Middle School.

• The Belmont Crew Club is holding its board meeting in the Flett Room of the Belmont Public Library on Monday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m.

• Tuesday is story time at both of Belmont libraries.

  • Pre-School Story Time at the Benton Library, Belmont’s independent and volunteer run library, at 10:30 a.m. Stories and crafts for children age 3 to 5. Parents or caregivers must attend. Siblings may visit with adults. Registration is not required. The Benton Library is at the intersection of Oakley and Old Middlesex.
  • The Belmont Public Library on Concord Avenue will have preschool story time at 9:30 a.m. 
  • Story Time for 2’s and 3’s is at 10:30 a.m. 

• State Rep. Dave Rogers will host office hours at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 6.

• Performed by actors Richard Clark and Lynne McKenney Lydick, “Two to Tango” is a pair of theatrical scenes that takes the audience on a bittersweet tour of life, love and love lost. From the dark and stormy war of passion and will in the 12th century realm of England’s King Henry II, to a contemporary clash of bi-coastal emotional cultures, scenes from James Goldman’s The Lion in Winter and Neil Simon’s Visitor from New York, remind us of the strange and unexpected forms love can take and uplift us with the message that love, even bruised and broken, remains a splendid thing. This free performance takes place Tuesday, Oct. 6 at 1:15 p.m. at the Beech Street Center. Supported by a grant from the Belmont Cultural Council.

• Tuesday is Wii Game Night at the Beech Street Center. This Tuesday, Oct. 6, from 4 p.m. to 6:45 p.m., enjoy sports from the comfort of your senior center, rain or shine! Wii is a motion-activated video game console with baseball, golf, archery and more games are available. You can get a workout depending on how hard and how long you play. Beginners welcome.

• The ‘Tween Tuesday Book Discussion Group is holding a Rick Riordan Party on Tuesday, Oct. 6 from 3:30 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. in the Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room on the release of Riordan’s latest book, The Sword of Summer. We’ll talk all things Percy Jackson, Greek mythology and Norse mythology.  Familiarity with the Percy Jackson books is helpful, but not necessary. Register by calling the Children’s Room at 617-993-2880.

• Chef Gerry Connolly will hold another of his cooking demonstrations on Tuesday, Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. in the Belmont Public Library’s Assembly Room as he gets creative with “Fall Squash All-Stars.” Learn to create Southwestern Butternut Squash Soup, Parsnip Puree, Orange Cranberry Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash, and Chayote Squash Chow-Chow Curry, and time permitting, Spaghetti Squash and Patty Pan Squash. Space is limited, so register by calling 617-993-2870.

• The Belmont Garden Club Board meeting is being held on Wednesday, Oct. 7, from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the Library’s Assembly Room. The club pursues a variety of projects to help beautify the Town of Belmont and support its residents. For more information, see www.belmontgardenclub.info

• Infant Storytime, for infants up to 12 months and pre-walkers, includes a short program of songs and rhymes followed by time to play and socialize. The fun takes place on Wednesday, Oct. 7
10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room.

• On Wednesday, Oct. 7, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., the Belmont Fire Department will host a free Open House at the Headquarters Station, 299 Trapelo Rd. Questions can be directed to the Fire Administration Office by calling (617) 993-2200. 
 
• Sustainable Belmont is holding its monthly meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. in the Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room. 
• The Belmont Historical Society Board meeting will be held in the Society’s Claflin Room on the main floor of the Belmont Public Libary on Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 7:30 p.m. 
• The 2nd & 3rd Grade Book Club will discuss The Best Halloween Ever by Barbara Robinson on Thursday, Oct. 8, from 3:30 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. in the Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room, Call the Children’s Department at 617-993-2880 to register. 
• Storytime for 1’s is for walkers and toddlers under 24 months will be held on Thursday, Oct. 8, at 10:30 a.m. in the library’s Flett Room. They will share simple stories, songs, and nursery rhymes, and end with time to play.
• Belmont High Field Hockey vs. Watertown at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8 on the pitch of Harris Field. ‘Nuff said. Just be there. 
• The Belmont Housing Trust is holding a general information session on the trust’s First-Time Homebuyer Assistance Program created by the town to help low- and middle-income families purchase homes in Belmont. The session takes place on Thursday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. in the Flett Room of the Belmont Public Library.
• Dr. Anthony Rao will speak on the challenges of raising young boys into happy, healthy young men that he wrote about in his groundbreaking book, “The Way of Boys: Promoting the Social and Emotional Development of Young Boys,” at Belmont High School’s Little Theater on Thursday, Oct. 8 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sponsored by the Health and Wellness Committee of the Belmont Health Department and the Belmont Public Schools, Rao will talk on understanding how boys think, behave, learn, socialize and what works best to encourage positive behaviors. Leave with practical tips for raising strong, confident boys.
• Literacy Playgroup is a parent and child group that supports child’s language and literacy development on Friday, Oct. 9, 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. in Flett Room. You’ll play, read, sing and take home new ideas. Presented by educators from the CFCE grant program; for children age 4 and under.
• The Senior Book Discussion Group will meet on Friday, Oct. 9 from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., to discuss Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy.

Sports: Football Losses at Home, But Gains in Stature

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Photo: Belmont running back Mekhai Johnson

Belmont High School Football Head Coach Yann Kuman stood before his team moments after the Marauders found themselves on the short end of an 18-15 score against the Woburn High Tanners under the Friday night lights, Oct. 2.

“There’re no words to express how proud I am of this team right now,” said Kuman, after the team’s hard-fought encounter with the experienced Middlesex League squad.

“I say to you what I said to the guys in the huddle, you found your spot tonight. [Woburn] ran you out of the ballpark last year. You guys have more fight and more courage and more pride in what you are as football players and as men then any team I have been privileged to coach,” he said to the team.

In a near-complete turnaround in pose and technique from the previous week’s disappointing performance at Arlington, Belmont stayed with the Tanners for the entire game and had the ball with less than three minutes in the game before giving up the ball near mid-field.

“We’re just one better call, one better block, one better tackle away from a different outcome. There are a lot of these little individual moments that if it goes the other way, we are winning,” said Kumin.

The big takeaway from the game was the improvement from Belmont’s defensive front seven. Led by linemen Justin Aroyan and Lowell Haska, the defense plugged up the middle of the field, making life miserable for Woburn’s running back Brandon Moscat.

The defense forced the Tanners on a three-and-out on its first series before giving up a Hail Mary 25-yard TD pass on fourth down and 10 yards from Tanner QB Tim Concannon midway through the second quarter to give the Tanners a 6-0 lead.

The score came after Belmont held the ball for nearly 10 minutes on its first possession behind the running of Ben Jones and Marauder star senior Mekhai Johnson, who carried the ball 19 times for 165 yards. The 15 play, 59-yard drive stalled at Woburn’s 30-yard line but demonstrated a confidence in the offensive line and the running game.

“I thought the offensive line really came out to play today and did a great job,” said Kumin.

After the Woburn score, Belmont took the ball and behind Johnson’s running and critical passes from Belmont QB Cal Christofori to receivers Trey Butler (6 yards) and Joe Shaughnessy (11 yards), the Marauders drove the ball 54 yards to score on a Johnson one-yard run around the left side, taking a 7-6 lead into the half.

With Jones out of the game since the second quarter, Johnson was the man as he carried the ball six consecutive times to start the third quarter before Belmont was forced to punt.

Woburn appeared ready to give the ball right back as it faced a second down and 17 from its 13-yard line. But a facemask penalty and its ability to make a series of third-down plays allowed the Tanners to march down the field to take the lead, 12-7, on a Moscat one-yard run a minute into the fourth quarter.

Woburn was back on the march a minute later after a Belmont three-and-out that included a 29 yard Moscat run to the Belmont 19. A few plays later, Concannon snuck the ball over the goal line to give the Tanners an 18-7 lead with 5:47 left in the game.

But on the first play from scrimmage, Johnson uncorked an eye-popping scamper around left end and sprinted 74 yards for the TD, his third 70-plus yard touchdown run for the season, cutting the lead to 18-15.

Woburn’s attempt to seal the win by running the ball and taking time off the clock was turned on its head as Aroyan stripped the ball from Moscat and Belmont recovered the ball at their 36 yard line with 2:30 seconds remaining in the game.

On a third and two from the 44-yard line, Christofori’s pass to Rob Aiello was knocked out of the receiver’s hands by a vicious, but legal hit at the Woburn 45 yard line. After waiting for five minutes before resuming play, Belmont’s fourth down play didn’t make it past the 46-yard line. Woburn was able to take the time down to a few seconds before giving it back to the Marauders, effectively ending the game.

For Kumin, the game showed the best of his team as it continues to improve in the tough Middlesex League.

“That was a great football game,” a physically exhausted Kumin said.

“I thought our defense found itself a bit. Obviously, [Woburn] is a team that can do some things and I thought we shut them down pretty well. They squeaked out of here with a three-point victory. We were one play away on that last drive from making it really interesting.”

Next up for Belmont is Reading High at Harris Field on Friday, Oct. 9 at 6 p.m.

Road Closings for Dan Scharfman Memorial Run Sunday,

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Photo: Roads will be closed Sunday morning.

The Foundation for Belmont Education (FBE) third annual Dan Scharfman Memorial Run takes place on Sunday, October 4 at 9:30 a.m.

The Memorial Run starts at the Belmont High School Track, 221 Concord Avenue, and takes a scenic route past the town’s schools, Payson Park Reservoir and Clay Pond.

The following road closings will occur on Oct. 4 to ensure the safety of participants:

•    6 a.m. – 12 p.m. – No Parking on East/West side of Concord Avenue between Cottage Avenue and Underwood ;

•    6 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. – No Parking on Goden Street between School Street and Concord Ave;

•    9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. – School Street closed between Myrtle and Philip Road;

•    9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. – No exit onto Oakley from Selwyn and Hurd;

•    Between 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. – Drivers should be aware of runners on the 5K course (Concord Ave / Orchard Road / Stone Road / School Street / Philip / Elizabeth Road / Jacob / Payson / Oakley / Goden / Concord / Underwood); and

•    Between 10:45 a.m. and 11 a.m. – Concord Ave West bound will have young runnersDin the bike lane running against traffic between Underwood and Goden. Cones will separate runners from traffic.an

In the past two years, the Memorial Run raised more than $40,000, allowing the FBE to fund new programs across the six schools in the Belmont Public School system to give educators and students the best tools, technology and training that foster innovation and love of learning.

 

This Weekend: Scharfman Race Sunday, Organ Concert, Sing-Along

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Photo: David Owens, the newly appointed organist at Belmont’s All Saints’ Episcopal Church

First Friday Evening at the Benton

The Benton Library, Belmont’s independent, all volunteer run library, is open evenings – from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. – on the first Friday of each month. Begin your weekend by exploring the Benton: Use our Wi-Fi, borrow from our collection, buy some of our gently used sale books; all proceeds benefit the library.

Saturday Song-Along at the Library

Belmont Public Library’s Saturday Sing-Along returns with well-loved local musician Liz Buchanan performing original songs and traditional favorites on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 10:30 a.m. in the library’s Assembly Room.

Organ concert Saturday at All Saint’

David Owens, the newly appointed organist at Belmont’s All Saints’ Episcopal Church, will make his local performance debut with an organ recital featuring works by Bach, Rheinberger, Howells as well as his own compositions at the church on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 5 p.m. 

Owens will perform on All Saints’ 34-rank M.P. Möller organ, with its distinctive antiphonal organ, situated in the rear of the sanctuary. A well-known musician in the greater Boston area, Owens studied at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY,  and is active as a composer and pianist.  

A free-will offering at the concert will go to support Mission of Hope International  in Grand-Goâve, Haïti.  For more information go to http://www.allsaintsbelmont.org
Girls Matinee at Harris Field
 
Bring your wellies and a warm coat to Harris Field Saturday afternoon, Oct. 3 as a pair of Belmont High girls teams will be in action: Soccer meets Medford at 2 p.m. and Field Hockey takes on Reading at 4:30 p.m.
 
It’s Never Too Late to Help the Schools While Getting Healthy
 
Join the 600 residents and runners who have already registered for the third annual Dan Scharfman Memorial 5K Run on Sunday, Oct. 4. Join your friends, family members, and teammates by registering on race day. On-site registration begins at 8 a.m. at Harris Field off Concord Avenue; the race at 9 a.m.