No Love For Donald In Belmont As Haley Wins Presidential Primary; Biden Is Dems Preference

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Photo: Town Clerk Ellen Cushman announcing state presidential primary results

While the results of Super Tuesday’s Republican Presidential Primaries held across the country on March 5 solidified his hold on the party, Donald Trump did not find the same level of love in the Town of Homes.

The former president and leading GOP presidential candidate came out second best in Belmont, trailing former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, 1,140 to 851 (55 percent to 41 percent), in the Republican contest. Former NJ Gov. Chris Christie lead the also rans with 25 votes, followed by “no preference” (23), Vivek Ramaswamy (12), Ron DeSantis (9) and Asa Huchinson with 6.

Belmont Republicans proved themselves as outliers as Trump handily won the Bay State, picking up all the available 40 delegates with 60 percent of the vote to Haley’s 37 percent. Haley would suspend her campaign on Wednesday, March 6.

You can find the unofficial results for all races at the Town Clerk’s webpage.

Over on the Democratic side of the ledger, incumbent president Joe Biden secured 3,146 votes of the 3,820 ballots cast by those affiliated with the Democratic party. Just under 10 percent of the Democratic vote, 375 in total, where marked as “no preference.” Dean Phillips (123) and Marianne Williamson (95) also received votes.

“No Preference” topped the field in the Libertarian race with 12 votes, tripling the tally of Jacob George Hornberger with 4.

Belmont Democrats elected Steven Owens as the State Committee Man and Jessica Nahigian as State Committee Woman while the Republicans selected John and Catherine Umina as their representatives.

There was no surprise who topped the field for each parties 35 member Town Committee: Anne Mahon for the Democrats and Tomi Olson for the Republicans.

A total of 5,934 ballots (out of 18,217 voters in town) were cast, with 64 percent Democratic ballots and 35 percent Republican.

It was slightly past 10 p.m. when Town Clerk Ellen Cushman read the primary results, a delay of nearly 90 minutes. A surge of last-minute ballots placed in the drop box at Town Hall created the night’s backlog as each dropped-off ballot is required to be brought to the voter’s home precinct to be tallied.

Filling Spaces: Belmont Announces ‘New’ Asst. Super, A First CUE Leader, Extended Elementary Principals Search

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Photo: The Belmont School District is filling leadership positions

The Belmont School District has taken the “interim” from assistant superintendent Lucia Sullivan’s title as the in-house candidate was hired to fill the post recently held by Janice Darias.

Sullivan’s appointment to the full-time post was one of two selections by Superintendent Jill Geiser in filling major leadership positions in the district over the past month. Sullivan’s promotion was hardly a surprise as she and Geiser have created an effective team after the superintendent arrived in Belmont this past July.

The second announcement was the appointment of Belmont educator Laura Smith as the first permanent principal of the Chenery Upper Elementary School – dubbed by the district as the “CUE” – which will take place July 1. Until then, Smith will continue serving as the CUE’s Elementary Curriculum Coordinator, a position she has held since September.

“I’m excited to step into the role of principal at the Chenery Upper Elementary School, the first leader of the school in its grades four, five and six configuration,” said Smith to the school committee on Feb. 28.

“One message came through really strongly to me is that Belmont really cares about education. And it was affirming to me to have the support of all of those community stakeholders,” Smith said. “I believe in open communication and collaboration; so, with that in mind, please, I encourage you to share your insights and concerns openly as we work together to build this new fourth to sixth [grade] school.”

Prior to coming to Belmont, Smith worked for two years as the district’s Literacy Coach in the Cambridge Public Schools. She brings previous experience as a Cultural Proficiency Facilitator (2015-2021, Cambridge Street Upper School), an Assistant Principal (2009-2015, Kennedy Middle School), and nearly a decade as a classroom teacher of English at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School.

She has a BA in English Literature from the University of Massachusetts at Boston, a MEd degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education where she was honored as a James Bryant Conant Fellow, And she will soon be “Dr. Smith” as she anticipates earning a doctorate in Curricular Studies and Educational Leadership from the University of South Carolina sometime this year.

Still up in the air remains hiring principals at the Winn Brook and Burbank elementary schools in which the job postings remain open with interviews coming in the spring. Geiser told the committee the district is “still within the window” from January to the spring in which a larger candidate pool is emerging.

“There’s a lot of movement” among educators seeking new positions which places Belmont in “a good situation.”

Finally the hiring of an assistant principal at the Belmont Middle School (grades 7-8) is being led by BMS’s Principal Russ Kupperstein.

Belmont Garden Club’s Anne Allen Lecture Focus On Landscaping With Native Plants

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Photo: Landscape at Garden in the Woods (Credit: Wikipedia)

Ulrich Lorimer, director of horticulture for the Native Plant Trust, will be the feature speaker at the fourth Anne Allen Horticultural Lecture to take place Thursday, March 28 from 7:30 p.m. at The First Church in Belmont Unitarian Universalist, 404 Concord Ave. This lecture series is sponsored by The Belmont Garden Club.

Lorimer, an advocate for the use of native plants in the designed landscape, oversees the daily operation of the Garden in the Woods in Framingham, and at Nasami Farm in western Massachusetts. Nasami Farm nursery focuses on the propagation of and research about New England native plants. 

The Anne Allen Horticultural Lecture is a biennial event that honors the life of Anne Allen, a life in gardening, horticulture and public service. Anne was a lifelong member of The Belmont Garden Club.  The Claflin family, which Allen is related, were founding members of The First Church in Belmont UU and founders of the town of Belmont.  

Driscoll’s Winner In 2OT The Difference In Belmont/Watertown’s 1-0 Victory Over Billerica In Div. 1 Playoff Opener

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Photo: Belmont/Watertown’s Molly Driscoll in action against Billerica/Chelmsford

A wrist shot from Watertown High Senior center Molly Driscoll that sent the puck slowly dribbling into the net 30 seconds into a second overtime period gave Belmont/Watertown a 1-0 shutout victory over Billerica/Chelmsford in the first round of the MIAA Division 1 Girls’ Hockey tournament held on Thursday, Feb. 29.

Playing on her home ice at the John A Ryan Rink in Watertown, Driscoll received a pass from her fellow co-captain, winger Lola Rocci, as both teams were playing three-a-side. The Boston University-commit in field hockey redirected the puck through Billerica/Chelmsford goalie Giovanna Gulinello’s pads which then took its time to cross the goal line for the only score of the night.

Belmont’s Jil Costa in net vs Billerica

“It was Molly Driscoll doing what Molly Driscoll does,” said Belmont Head Coach Brendan Kelleher about the senior center’s heroics. He praised Rocci on Belmont’s rush up the rink “carrying the puck up ice with a [player] draped all over. She has nothing in the tank but she kept her feet moving the whole time. She got free and fed it to Molly.”

“It was a great high school hockey game,” said Kelleher in his inaugural season leading the team. “Give Billerica a lot of credit. When you get to those sudden victory games, someone’s got to win, and someone’s got to lose. The paying spectators got their money’s worth.”

Fourteenth-ranked Belmont/Watertown (14-2-3) now advances to the Division 1 “Sweet 16” where it takes on 3rd-seed Lincoln/Sudbury Regional (17-2-1) in an afternoon matinee on Saturday, March 2. The puck drops at 5:30 p.m. at the Valley Rink in West Concord.

No place for the faint hearted in the crease

On the other end of the ice sophomore goalie Jil Costa earned her 10th shutout of the season, keeping a clean sheet for 51 minutes and 30 seconds as she spearheaded another defensive masterclass from a team that has given up a measly 15 goals in 19 games. The best of her clutch saves was with five seconds remaining in the first overtime when Costa swatted away with her stick blade a high puck heading towards goal, a reaction “that’s got to be on [ESPN’s] SportsCenter Top 10 plays,” said Kelleher.

Fronting Costa was Belmont’s defensive pairings – its core made up of Thea Monovich, Aislin Delaney, Martha Dimas and Elsie Larkin-Schultz – which continued their solid coverage they have provided the entire season, preventing clean breaks and keeping the majority of shots coming from the outside.

“I can’t say enough about pairs; they just play a great game again and again. We’ve got senior leadership back there along with freshmen that don’t playing like freshmen. It’s a confident group,” said Kelleher.

Belmont First Year Defender Elsie Larkin-Schultz

Belmont’s Player of the Match was first year defender Larkin-Schultz who provided coverage along the blue line while making a spark on offense, weaving her tall frame into the Warrior’s defensive zone.

While Billerica – a young team with just a pair of seniors while putting three 8th graders and seven first years on the varsity team – had their moments attacking Costa, Belmont had nearly double the shots taken by the Warriors. In the end, it would be left up to Driscoll, Belmont’s leading scorer and the most skilled player on the night, to end the contest.

Kelleher said while he would like to see a balanced scoring attack with all three lines – and a few defenders – getting on the scoring sheet.

“Nothing gets easier this time of year. It’s the old survive and advance. We came with the mindset that we will be back for another game.”

Belmont Town Election Ballot Set With Three Competitive Town-Wide Races And Two Big-Time Questions

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Photo: The town election will take place on April 2

It’s official. Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman announced last week she had certified the candidates who will be on the ballot for the annual Town Election on Tuesday, April 2.

Voters will ponder over three competitive town-wide races with half of the eight Town Meeting precincts along with two big-time questions on the ballot.

In the race for the all-important town body, two well-known members of the town’s financial watchdog will take on an absolute newbie. Colleagues Geoff Lubien and Matt Taylor on the Warrant Committee are out campaigning along with newcomer Alex Howard.

There’s an exciting mix for two seats on the school committee. Incumbent and current chair Meg Moriarty is seeking to return for her second stint on the board. At the same time, first-time candidates for town-wide office, Gen Z Town Meeting member Angus Abercrombie and noted education economist and professor Matt Kraft, are in the three-person race.

In his first competitive race on the ballot in more than 15 years in the post, Mike Widmer will face former school and warrant committee member Mike Crowley for town moderator.

On the legislative side of the ballot, half of the eight precincts – in a weird coincidence, they are the first four precincts, 1-4 – have exactly 12 residents running for a dozen three-year seats. A single precinct, number 5, came up short with only ten on the ballot. Surprisingly, precinct 7, which historically had difficulty finding candidates, will have 14 running with five non-incumbents, while precincts 6 and 8 will have 13 seeking 12 seats. Some of the best races will be for several partial-term seats: three will be running for a single-year post in Precinct 1, with two campaigning for the seats in Precincts 6 and 8.

In many ways, it will be the ballot questions that will bring out the voters in April. The outcome of the $8.4 million Prop 2 1/2 override to supplement the capital budget and the town and school operating budgets – Question 1 – will have long-term consequences for town and school services as well as personal finances. There are advocacy committees for yes and no votes. The second question will change the elected board of assessors to an appointed one. That measure passed at the January Special Town Meeting.

The 2024-25 Belmont School Year Starts After Labor Day As Committee Approves Calendar

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Photo: The 2024-5 school year calendar has been approved

Keeping with recent tradition, Belmont schools will open for the 2024-25 school year after Labor Day as the Belmont School Committee voted unanimously to start classes for first to 12th grade on Wednesday, Sept. 4, two days after the holiday.

There will be four recesses in 2024-2025:

  • Thanksgiving: Nov. 28-29.
  • Winter: Dec. 23 – Jan. 1.
  • February: Feb. 17-21.
  • April: Apr. 21-25.

As 2024 is a presidential year, schools will be closed on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Graduation for the class of 2025 will be held on Saturday, June 7.

The final day of the school year for K-11 will be Tuesday, June 24 which includes five “snow” days added. If schools are not postponed during the year due to the weather, the final day will be pushed up to Tuesday, June 17.

On The Road, Again: Just A Single Home Match For Belmont High’s Winter Teams In MIAA Tourneys

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Photo: Belmont High Sophomore Jil Costa making the skate save vs. Woburn

Marauder fans will be on the road to see their favorites play as three of the four Belmont High’s Girls and Boys Hoops and Hockey teams will be visitors through out the 2024 MIAA high school state playoffs.

Belmont High Girls hockey (13-2-3) is the sole local entry to host a first-round Division 1 playoff game and it will take place in neighboring Watertown’s JA Ryan rink against Billerica Memorial (6-9-5) on the Leap Day (Thursday, Feb. 29) at 7 p.m. Despite losing a single game in regular time (the best in the Division 1 tourney) and giving up less than a goal a game – 0.833 to be exact – the Marauders just hung on to a home game as the 14th-seed due in no small part to a less than a robust scoring offense, Watch for goalie Jil Costa and first line center Molly Driscoll to stand out. The likely Sweet 16 opponent for the winner will be three-seed Lincoln-Sudbury (17-2-1) up on Route 2 in West Concord.

In a rebuilding season in which the team had a hard time creating an on-ice identity, Belmont Boys’ Hockey (8-11-3) was the first team to miss out on a home game as the 17th seed and will be journeying along Route 128 to meet Wellesley High (14-4-2) on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 7 p.m. at the Boston Sports Institute in Wellesley. The “lucky” winner will head to Danvers to take on the one-seed St. John’s Prep.

The one Belmont team that had high hopes on obtaining not just one but two home games was Girls Basketball. On Jan. 26, the team suffocated a good Winchester squad to secure a playoff spot with a 10-4 record, sitting just outside the top 10 in the power ranking calculations and having entered the Top 20 in some polls. But in the past month, the squad could not buy a win, losing its final seven regular season games and falling to 10-11. As the 21 seed. the Marauders will be taking its own Leap Day bus ride to the Rhode Island border to meet 12-seed Bridgewater-Raynham – losers of three of its final four games – on Thursday, Feb. 29 at 6:30 p.m.

It’s not how you earned a playoff spot, just that you did it. Just ask a talented but at times uninspiring Belmont High Boys Hoops squad. With a gaudy 37th ranking in the MIAA power rankings, the Marauders needed in the past fortnight a two-point upset of a 14-6 Arlington team and a rally to defeat Billerica at home to remain above the required .500 mark (11-9) to earn a preliminary “play-in” match against Peabody. It’ll be a journey along scenic Route 128 in afternoon rush hour traffic on Tuesday, Feb. 27 with the game starting at 6 p.m. against the Tanners which made the tournament with an impressive 18-2 mark.

Belmont’s Grappler Takes First Ever MIAA Girls’ Wrestling State Championship At 106 Lbs [VIDEO]

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Photo: Belmont High’s Ava Svistunov in the first-ever finals of the MIAA D1 State Girls Wrestling Championship at 106 lbs.

When hearing last year there would likely be a separate state tournament for girls’ wrestling, Belmont High’s Ava Svistunov and Craig Janjigian, the team’s head coach, said they knew that if her progression continued in the sport, she would be topping the podium.

“We both said it, that I could win,” said Svistunov.

Svistunov with Belmont High Head Coach Craig Janjigian (left) and assistant Head Coach Andrew McCahill.

One year later, their shared vision came true as Svistunov placed her mark on Belmont High sports history, winning the Division 1 state championship at 106 lbs. at the inaugural MIAA Girls Wrestling tournament.

The 15-year-old sophomore dominated the final against Claire Roney of Wellesley High, shutting out the top seed, 7-0, in the Saturday, Feb. 17 match at Newton South High School.

“It’s a big deal, probably,” said Svistunov, still contemplating what she had done five minutes earlier.

“[Svistunov] got the job done. She dominated this tournement,” said Janjigian, who also brought three male wrestlers to the championships.

Belmont High’s Ava Svistunov won the first-ever MIAA D1 State Girls Wrestling Championship finals at 106 lbs.

Svistunov will next wrestle in the Massachusetts Girls’ All-State tourney in Salem on Saturday, Feb. 20, when the top grapplers from across the three divisions will meet to determine the best wrestlers in each of a dozen weight groups.

It was an impressive run through the tourney for Svistunov, who started early Saturday morning by pinning Jasin Abdella of Leominster in 37 seconds in the opening period. Svistunov would have her most difficult challenge in the semifinals against second seed Abigail Muller, also from Leominster. Muller would go up 2-0 early on a quick counter that landed Svistunov on her back. She would recover and score two points on a reversal just before the period ended. The second (of three 2-minute) period saw Svistunov take down Muller to go up 4-2. And for the next five minutes of the contest, Svistunov would use her weight to secure Muller – who would finish third – to the mat and counter every attempt the increasingly exhausted Leominster wrestler made to escape her opponent’s grasp.

The finals against Roney saw Svistunov being efficient and relentless, going up 4-0 early in the match and never looking back, employing the same punishing ground game she employed with Muller. It may not have been the most action-packed of the finals, but it was certainly the most effective. When the official ended the bout, Svistunov flew into the arms of her coaches and then went to greet her mother mat-side.

“Wonderful!” said Svistunov’s mother after the finals. “If I say anything else, I’ll start crying.”

Belmont Musicians, Singers Ready to Welcome Spring At Concerts March 9, 10

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Photo: Sandro Botticelli’s Primavera

Welcome spring with music and song at a pair of concerts performed by Belmont musicians being performed on the second week of March.

The Belmont-Watertown United Methodist Church, 421 Common St. in Cushing Square, will present its Annual Spring Concert on Saturday, March 9 at 7 p.m. in support of New England Justice For Our Neighbors (NEJFON), an organization providing free expert legal advice to low- and no-income immigrants.    

Featuring B-WUMC music director, Yilin You, and an outstanding collection of musician friends will perform music ranging from classical to jazz, in forms of violin/piano duo, brass ensemble, and piano four-hands in the church’s sanctuary followed by refreshments in the parlor.

A $20 donation is suggested to NEJFON at the door or give by contacting https://newenglandjfon.org/

On street parking will be available. A handicapped entrance is located off the small parking lot in the back of the church.

On the next day, the Philharmonic Society of Arlington presents the Arlington-Belmont Chorale and Arlington-Belmont Chamber Chorus in An Almost Spring Concert, on Sunday, March 10 at 3 p.m. at First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church, 630 Massachusetts Ave. in Arlington. 

Music Director Barry Singer and Assistant Conductor Ana Zecic Jeffers will lead the Chorale in a diverse musical program including 

  • Missa Brevis by Dietrich Buxtehude
  • Messe Basse by Gabriel Faure
  • Crossing the Bar by Gwyneth Walker
  • O Love by Elaine Hagenberg
  • Celebrations by Vincent Persichetti, accompanied by members of the Arlington Philharmonic Orchestra.

The Chamber Chorus, under the direction of Barry Singer, will reprise a commissioned work, Three Poems of L. M. Montgomery, by Kenneth Seitz, accompanied by Julie Goldberg, flute.

Tickets are purchased at the door. $20 General Admission; $15 Seniors/Students; $5 Children 17 and under. This venue is wheelchair accessible. Masking is optional.