Parade And Ceremony Marks Belmont’s Memorial Day, 2022 [Photos]

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The weather cooperated – brilliant sunshine, low humidity, upper 70s – as Belmont returned to he public celebration of Memorial Day.

It shouldn’t have come as a surprise that the numbers along the route and at the commemoration were down from 2019 as the ceremony booted up for the first time in three years with the parade that started in Cushing Square and traveled to Belmont Cemetery adjacent the Grove Street playground led by a contingency of veterans and guests, girl and boy scouts, all serenaded by the Belmont High School marching band.

At the cemetery, the solemn tribute for the fallen who died in defense of the country commenced with Bob Upton, Belmont’s Veteran’s Service Agent who is retiring at the end of the week, who spoke of those who were honored on this holiday.

“Let’s appreciate our time together here in this beautiful place within this wonderful community of Belmont,” said Upton. “We are here today because of the sacrifices made by so many Belmont families. We are here because of the willingness of someone we love or maybe someone we many not even know who laid down their life for our freedom. We are here to honor them.”

Nor should the day be best known as the unofficial start of summer, suggested the chair of the Belmont Select Board.

“Memorial Day has become a day of picnics, barbecues, parades a day to spend time with family and friends as we look forward to their carefree days of summer,” said Mark Paolillo. “But it must remain a day to pause from our very busy lives to reflect, honor and thank those individuals that have given all to defend our freedoms. We must remember them.”

Speaking on his tenure as the vets rep in town, Upton spoke of some of his most personal rewarding efforts which may have flown under the radar such as creating a low-key coffee hour for veterans at the Beech Street Center, coordinating a trip for an aging WWII vet to Washington DC on an Honor Flight or negotiating what can seem to be an overwhelming amount of paperwork to allow vets survivors to receive the benefits they rightfully have earned.

“Some of my most proudest moments here in Belmont has been working with our veterans and their family members and the stories I heard at events and activities such as today,” said Upton.

Finally Upton read the names of Belmont’s fallen from the Civil War to the War on Terror, taps was played and the parade reassembled to the Veterans Memorial at Clay Pit Pond for a brief commemoration.

Belmont Boys’ Rugby Host St John’s Prep June 10 In Tourney Semis; Girls’ Await State Finals June 18

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Photo: Belmont Boys’ and Girls’ ruggers are seeking to repeat the dual state championships in 2019

It’s tournament time and Belmont High Boys’ and Girls’ ruggers will be seeking to repeat its dual state championships from 2019.

Second-seed Belmont Boys’ will host third-ranked St. John’s Prep in the MIAA Division 1 semifinals at Harris Field at 6:30 p.m., Friday, June 10. The contest will be a rematch of the final game of the season when Belmont (5-1-0) traveled to Danvers and took down the previously undefeated Eagles,14-12.

If they win next week’s game, the Marauders will head to the D1 state finals on Saturday, June 18 at 4 p.m. at Curry College in Milton, to face the winner of defending champions and number 1 seed Boston College (3-2-0) vs the winner of the Milton High (the only team to defeat Belmont this season)/Xaverian Brothers tussle on June 2.

After going undefeated this season, the Belmont Girls’ are an automatic qualifier to the state Division 1 finals where they will meet the winner of the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional/Brookline High contest. The match will take place on Saturday, June 18 at 2 p.m. at Curry College.

This marks the fourth consecutive trip to the state championship match for the Marauders (5-0-0) where they will seek a four-peat, being victorious in every finals since the sport was accepted in the MIAA in 2017.

Sunnyside Up And Running: Chenery Solar Panels Officially Turned On

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Photo: Chenery Middle School Principal Karla Koza at the ribbon cutting for the solar array at the school

In the end of a week when the news about schools was dark, Chenery Middle School Principal Karla Koza said Friday, May 27, that she was happy to have some good vibes coming from her school.

“This is pretty cool being the first school to have this type of ribbon cutting,” said Koza as sixth grade students town and school officials and representatives of Belmont Light gathered in the school to cut the ribbon for the official start of the solar array located on the south facing side of the school.

While the solar panels – the first to be placed on a municipal building in Belmont – have been permitted and energized since January, the newly operational video information screen located near the school’s Main Office will show through charts and real-time data the amount of energy being produced by the panels. For sixth grade students now and in the future, monitoring the level of energy produced by the array will become a part of their science curriculum targeting the use of carbon-free sources to reduce the town’s fossil fuel usage to avoid the dangers of climate change.

The day’s event came about through the efforts of past and present students, residents and the town to place the solar panels at the Chenery. James Booth, a member of the town’s Energy Committee, said a $29,000 donation from the solar installer who worked with Belmont Goes Solar along with $15,000 from an anonymous donor and matching funds paid for the array set up. The installation required the collaborative effort of Belmont Light, town departments, the school district and committee and the firm Sunbug Solar.

The panels will produce 35,000 kilowatts, which will only put a small dent in the 1 million kilowatts the school uses each year. But as Belmont Light’s General Manager Craig Spinale said, ”the town has spoken by passing the Belmont [Climate Action Roadmap adopted by Town Meeting in 2019] on what they want so we will be offering our services to meet those initiatives.”

The array is expected to save the town $130,000 in utility costs over its lifetime.