Photo: Yard sales this weekend.
Here are this weekend’s yard/moving/garage sales happening in the 02478 zip code:
• 69 Elm St., Saturday, Aug. 26, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• 26 Jeanette Ave., Sunday, Aug. 27, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• 54 Sycamore St., Saturday, Aug. 26, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• 126 White St., Sunday, Aug. 27, 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Photo: Belmont lemonade salesperson.
The days are not as long as they were just two weeks ago and the high temperatures just break 80 degrees. High school teams are practicing on Harris Field while kids are loading up on school supplies.
Summer is nearly over.
But in the final two weekends, before school resumes, you can still enjoy one of the joys of summer somewhere in town: freshly-squeezed lemonade from a paper/plastic cup, the creation of a young entrepreneur on a Belmont sidewalk.
So take the time to stop by and visit your local lemonade stand and purchase a glass (along with a side order of cookies if that’s also for sale) in an effort enjoy the last days of summer before heading home to wrestle through your closet to find the sweaters and boots you’ll need to wear soon enough.
Photo: Belmont Police Assistant Chief James MacIsaac.
After earlier this week making what he called “one of, if not the most, difficult decision I have ever made,” Belmont Police Assistant Chief James MacIsaac has had a change of heart and will not accept the appointment as Chief of Police in Wayland.
“I have made the determination that remaining in Belmont as the assistant Police Chief is in the best interests to me and my family,” said MacIsaac in an email to the Belmontonian earlier this afternoon, Friday, Aug. 25.
The sudden about face by MacIsaac comes just days after he was offered the position to be Wayland’s top cop on Monday, Aug. 21. While saying becoming a chief was a long time goal of his, MacIsaac decision will allow the lifelong resident – who has lived all but two years in Belmont – to remain in his hometown police department which he joined in 1999.
MacIsaac was appointed Belmont’s assistant chief in July 2012.
Photo: Road work on Washington and Branchaud.
The prep work has been done, and the work to replace a major utility line a block from the Chenery Middle School is set to begin today.
National Grid is scheduled to replace the natural gas main at the intersection of Branchaud Road and Washington Street. As part of this project, we will also replace the natural gas service piping that connects the main to the customer’s gas meters of nine houses.
Traffic will be affected at the site.
Construction is expected to begin on Friday, Aug. 25 and end approximately on Monday, Sept. 4, all dates weather permitting. The first day of school at the Chenery Middle School is Wednesday, Sept. 6.
We will work hard to complete this project promptly and with minimal disruption to the community,” said Grace Sawaya, Community & Customer Management manager for National Grid in a press release to the town.
National Grid has produced a YouTube video on the gas main replacement process, in addition to a second video explaining the replacement of the service pipe to customer homes at ngrid.com/serviceline.
“We’re here for you if you have any questions about this project. Please contact me at 781-907-3419
We look forward to working with you as we upgrade our community’s infrastructure,” said Sawaya.
Photo: Belmont Police Assistant Chief James MacIsaac.
Belmont Police Assistant Chief James MacIsaac will be named Wayland’s top cop, replacing Police Chief Robert Irving who is retiring after 15 years leading the department.
The Wayland Board of Selectmen had scheduled an executive session to discuss negotiation strategy in hiring a new chief at its Monday, Aug. 21, meeting.
“I have been offered the position of Chief of Police in Wayland contingent upon me passing the pre-employment screening and background investigation,” MacIsaac told the Belmontonian in an exclusive interview.
“Becoming a police chief has always been a goal of mine. A few years back, I made a list of communities where I would be willing to work if the opportunity should arise. The Wayland job opened up, and I applied,” said MacIsaac.
MacIsaac praised Irving on leadership in Wayland, noting the department received in 2015 a state certification from the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission.
“Achieving Certification is no easy task, and it’s a tribute the Wayland police personnel and their command staff. I also like that the public safety, police, and fire, operate out of a building that was constructed in 2003,” he said.
A lifelong resident – who has lived all but two years in Belmont – MacIsaac joined the Belmont Police in 1999 and was appointed Belmont’s assistant chief in July 2012.
“I have been fortunate to have Chief [Richard] McLaughlin as a mentor as I do not think I have met a person with as much dedication, integrity, and empathy as Chief McLaughlin,” said MacIsaac.
While achieving a chief’s appointment is a milestone for those in law enforcement, MacIsaac said it is bittersweet leaving a position in his hometown’s police department.
“I can easily say that this has been one of, if not the most, difficult decision I have ever made. I truly enjoy working and living in Belmont. My experiences in Belmont have helped to make me a better person and better police officer. I have benefited immensely from growing up, living and working in Belmont and I will always be grateful to the residents, fellow police officers and town employees who have helped me along the way,” he said.
MacIsaac – known by his friends as ‘Jamie’ – grew up on Grant Avenue with his parents and five brothers and sisters, graduating from Belmont High School in 1985. He and his wife, Joanne, have raised their three children in Belmont.
He also founded in 2015 the Belmont Junior Marauders, successfully reviving the football program for 7th and 8th graders at the Chenery Middle School. MacIsaac was also an assistant football coach at Belmont High School for several years.
MacIsaac earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Massachusetts Boston in 1990, and his master’s from Western New England College in 2000. MacIsaac also graduated from the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy, in Quantico, Va. in 2009.
MacIsaac is heading to a town of half the population of Belmont, about 13,400, that according to the website Neighborhood Scout (using FBI statistics) was the safest community in the state in 2015 with a mere seven total crimes including one violent assault. In comparison, Belmont had 162 total crimes in 2015. Recently, the most newsworthy event involving the police was a bear wandering through the town back in June.
Photo: Out goes the lights.
A wide swath of Belmont including Belmont Center to the Waverley Square neighborhood will experience a second “eclipse” in as many days.
But the blackout on will occur when Belmont Light switches off the power to 67 streets as the municipal electrical utility starts the process of transferring the current electrical delivery system to one fed through the new Blair Pond substation which was commissioned earlier this summer.
The streets impacted by the outage can be found here.
Belmont Fire and Police departments and other emergency service have been coordinating with the utility to ensure that the public’s safety will be met.
Call Belmont Light at 617-993-2800 with any concerns or questions.
Updates can be found at Belmont Light’s web page and on Facebook and its Twitter feed.
Photo: Exhibitors at last year’s Meet Belmont
Residents, new and old, and those thinking about moving to Belmont are invited to learn more about town departments, local government, schools, nonprofits and volunteer opportunities at the Meet Belmont Community Information Fair taking place on Tuesday, Aug. 29, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Chenery Middle School, 95 Washington St.
The 15th annual event is free of charge and fully accessible.
While designed to introduce new residents to community resources, all residents are encouraged to attend.
More than 90 exhibitors will be on hand, along with local government representatives and others. The Town Clerk’s Office will be registering people to vote. Everyone is asked to support the Belmont Food Pantry by bringing a non-perishable food or toiletry item.
The Meet Belmont Community Information Fair is presented by the Belmont Vision 21 Implementation Committee, also producers of Meet Belmont “Talk of the Town” and the Meet Belmont podcast series.
The fair is co-sponsored by Belmont Public Schools with support from Belmont Light and Belmont Car Wash. For more information about Meet Belmont find us on Facebook at facebook.com/meetbelmont or email meetbelmont@gmail.com
Photo: The illustration of Belmont’s Town Hall, circa 1881.
While some people like to spend their vacation sitting by the pool or hiking on far off trails, this July Selectman Adam Dash took some of his time away from work to hit the internet with the goal of seeking out items for sale with a Belmont theme.
“I’m interested in seeing what’s out there,” said the first-term selectman who lives on Goden Street.
Dash said during one of his treks online; he happened to “stumble upon” something that immediately caught his eye: a hand-colored single-page illustration of Belmont’s Town Hall with a detailed floor plan of the building’s first floor as depicted in the Aug. 6, 1881 issue of “American Architect and Building News.”
“Somebody 135 years ago must have felt that this was worth some architectural significance because they put it into a national publication,” said Dash.
The magazine that ran the image began in 1876 before changing its name to “American Architect” in 1909. It ceased publication in 1938 when it was absorbed into the “Architectural Record” which today is one of the leading architectural monthlies in the US.
Not many issues of the “Building News” survive and most of those editions do not have color illustrations “so this is a rare find, probably the only one in existence,” said Dash.
The drawing of the familiar landmark off Concord Avenue shows that the building hasn’t changed much since it was constructed in the early 1880s although its uses have: the Selectmen’s Room was the town’s reading room while the town administrator’s office was the book room. Dash speculates that the counter likely where books were checked out by the public.
A seller from Minnesota had put the drawing up for sale for a price “that wasn’t going to break the bank,” said Dash.
“I showed it to Phyllis [Marshall, the interim Town Administrator] and said ‘That belongs in the Town Hall.’ So I said ‘I think I’ll get it and donate to the town.'” Which Dash will do at the Board of Selectmen’s meeting on Monday, Aug. 21.
“I figured it would be nice for the public to see,” said Dash.
Photo: The poster for Monday’s Eclipse Viewing Party.
Looking for a place to see the (unfortunately for us in Belmont will be a partial) solar eclipse that’s happening on Monday afternoon?
Then head to the front steps of the Belmont Public Library, 336 Concord Ave., as the library is holding an Eclipse Viewing Party on Monday, Aug. 21 at 2:15 p.m.
The staff will have official eclipse glasses, star candy and other celestial snacks to celebrate this rare heavenly event with town residents and patrons.